Hu Pingjiang looked in surprise at the envoy He Liba who had come to Xinsheng Island, and the dozens of embarrassed subordinates behind him. He didn't understand why the other party came here again, and he looked like he was fleeing.

of.

"General, save me!" He Li took an arrow step and was about to rush over, but was stopped by several local soldiers.

"Tell me, what's going on?" Hu Pingjiang wondered, should we ask us to capture the city for them and fight the Ruan clan and the Hard clan again?

"The Annan people bully others too much!" Heliba said sadly and angrily: "They are chasing after us in an attempt to murder us!"

"Huh?" Hu Pingjiang raised his eyes and looked across the sea. There seemed to be no ships approaching Xinsheng Island.

"General, the Annamites are really behind us." Heliba also looked back at the sea, and then turned to Hu Pingjiang and said: "We set off from Bintonglong with the intention of heading to the Kingdom of Cambodia for assistance. But I didn't want to,

Encountered more than ten Annan warships at sea, intercepted and killed us."

"Were you chased here by that Annan navy?" Hu Pingjiang asked.

"Exactly." He Liba said: "The Annan warships were pursuing us urgently, and we did not have time to turn into the big river (Mekong River), so we fled in a hurry to the general's place."

"Did you find anything on the watchtower?" Hu Pingjiang turned around and asked.

A country soldier quickly ran to the watchtower on the beach to ask if he had seen any new ships on the sea.

"Report, sir!" The country soldier quickly ran back, "Thirteen ships appeared on the sea and are coming towards us!"

"Blow the trumpet! Warning!" Hu Pingjiang glared at Heliba and a few soldiers occupying the city. Damn it, they actually got me into trouble!

He Liba looked at Hu Pingjiang innocently, he was really being chased here by Annan!

Due to the location of Xinsheng Island, many fishermen from Siam, Cambodia, Champa, and even Annam often visit this island and land for repairs. Therefore, it is located near Xinsheng Fort at the southernmost tip of Xinsheng Island, and the coast is almost everywhere.

You can land and dock. Therefore, there are no coastal defense batteries set up near the pier.

However, there are fifteen artillery pieces of various types on the walls of Xinsheng Castle. There is also a rural military camp of more than 300 people in the city, equipped with more than 200 flintlock guns and various swords and other cold weapons.

In addition, there are thousands of immigrants staying here all year round, most of whom are strong and able to be armed at any time. Therefore, they have no fear of enemy attacks.

More than a dozen Annan warships slowly approached Xinsheng Island. They seemed to have discovered the Xinsheng Fort on the island, but they did not dock and land immediately.

After a while, a small boat slowly approached the Xinshengbao Pier. A country soldier walked over with a knife in his hand.

As a general of the Annan Nguyen Navy, Le Xuanping is mainly responsible for patrolling the entire sea area between Champa and the Kingdom of Cambodia. In addition to combating pirates, they will also block Champa's external contacts and apprehend smugglers.

In the morning, while patrolling the waters of Bintong Long (today's Panlang, Vietnam), he suddenly found two Champa merchant ships sailing along the coastline. Li Chunping immediately brought a dozen warships to approach.

But when the other party saw them, they immediately fled toward the southwest in panic. Since they did not dare to accept the naval inspection, there must be something wrong.

So more than a dozen Annan warships chased them all the way. In the afternoon, they saw the two merchant ships sailing to the island near the Kingdom of Cambodia from a distance.

This island is said to be occupied by a group of Ming people. In the past year or so, large ships have been traveling between the Ming Dynasty and this island. Out of awe of the celestial kingdom to the north, the Annan Navy generally would not come here.

But now, those two suspicious-looking merchant ships coming out of Bintonglong must have some kind of ulterior secret, and they must be caught.

After a while, the warship approaching the dock for negotiation came back.

"General, those Ming people want us to leave quickly." A soldier from the Ruan family in Annan reported.

"You didn't say that we just wanted to catch the Champa people who fled here, and we didn't have any hostility towards them?" Li Chunping asked.

"I told you, General." The Annan Ruan soldier said with a grimace: "They said that no outside armed forces are allowed to take away anyone or anything that comes to the island."

"Huh?" Li Chunping frowned. These Ming people are so arrogant! After all, I, Annan, am also a big country in the south, but I am treated so rudely.

"How is their city defense?" Li Chunping asked.

"They have...artillery, a lot of artillery!" said the soldier.

"A lot of artillery!" Li Chunping was surprised. It was just a castle built on such a small island, but there were actually many artillery deployed!

Li Chunping raised his eyes and looked around and found that there were no big ships around. There were only seven or eight small boats on the pier, but most of them were empty.

Since we can't land on the island to beg the Champa people, we can't just leave. Li Chunping ordered a dozen Annan warships to stay slightly away from the coast of Xinshengbao and wander around nearby.

"Hey, you damn Annan people, do you want to besiege and blockade our Xinsheng Island?" Hu Pingjiang couldn't help but feel happy when he saw a dozen Annan warships scattered on the sea at the head of the city.

Annan's so-called warships are not even as good as Hanzhou's transport ships, which are only slightly larger than a fishing boat of more than ten tons. They are equipped with relatively primitive water warfare weapons such as rackets, catapults, and poles. They are about to

When it comes to fighting, they probably have to rely on the soldiers on the ship to join gangs and fight to the death.

As long as there are one or two "Expansion Ships" here, these Annan people will not be so arrogant and dare to block our Xinsheng Island!

However, several "Expansion" transport ships took eight to nine hundred immigrants to Batavia just a week ago. It would take more than twenty days to return.

"You idiot, if you can afford to stay here for three to five days, wait for Zheng Zhilong and his other immigration ships to come over and sink you all into the sea!" Hu Pingjiang said bitterly.

He Liba looked at the dozens of Annan Ruan clan's patrol boats on the sea with a worried expression, but he was extremely excited in his heart. Although he didn't know the strength of the Ming people who occupied this island, as long as he gave Annan Ruan a

If you find an enemy, that is the best result.

Yes, when they were chased by the Annan Nguyen family's patrol boat, they had the opportunity to escape into the big river (Mekong River), and then went upstream, directly to the vicinity of the Royal City of the Kingdom of Cambodia. It can be thought of that the Kingdom of Cambodia refused to occupy the city several times.

He Liba felt chilled as he asked for help and showed a desire to take advantage of the situation.

After hesitating for a moment, he immediately took two ships and sailed towards this place called Xinsheng Island by the Ming people. He was betting that as the sovereign state of the Ming Dynasty, the armed forces to which it belonged would definitely be proud of themselves.

They will not be handed over to the navy of the Annan Ruan clan. In that case, they will inevitably conflict with the Annan Ruan clan.

Sure enough, the Ming people on the island categorically rejected the Annan Ruan clan's request and did not hand them over. In order to maintain their dignity, the navy of the Annan Ruan clan temporarily blocked the island. If the Ming people's ships were nearby,

It would be even more perfect, sinking the naval warships of these arrogant Annan Ruan clan.

"Can our artillery reach them?" Hu Pingjiang asked several gunners.

"The 12-pounder can fire, but it probably won't have much power when hit, and its accuracy cannot be guaranteed." A gunner from the Hanzhou Coastal Defense Team estimated the distance and then replied.

"Fire a few cannons to scare those naughty Annan people!"

It costs money to fire a few shots. When the gunner saw Hu Pingjiang's depressed look, he refrained from saying anything to dissuade them. Annan Xiaobang, just go ahead and hit them. This is just a warning to them.

"Boom! Boom! Boom!" Three artillery shells were fired from the top of Xinsheng Castle, and as expected, they landed around the Annan Ruan clan's warship, stirring up three huge water columns.

Li Chunping was shocked when he saw the opponent suddenly fired artillery, and the shells landed around the warship. The Ming people's artillery on the island could actually shoot so far!

He quickly ordered all the warships to move back as quickly as possible, hundreds of meters away from Xinsheng Island. At this time, Li Chunping wanted to retreat. There were many artillery on the island and their power was so powerful that he, the people and the ships were unable to land and attack.

.

But in order to maintain the only trace of dignity in his heart, he decided to stay for another half an hour, and then he could return and inform the naval commander that he pursued bravely, but encountered a strong enemy and lost in the end. However, with good command, he returned safely with his troops.

.

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After more than ten days of sailing, the remaining fleet of the Chinese-Dutch Allied Forces had sailed past the southernmost coast of the Kingdom of Cambodia, and was very close to Hanzhou’s Xinsheng Island here. Everyone in the fleet was relieved, and they could finally return home safely.

.

Many of the frail shipwrights and their family members on the ship were extremely frightened in Cavite, and after more than ten days of sailing at sea, they all had many health problems. When they arrived at Xinsheng Island, they had to take a good rest before continuing to Hanoi.

continent.

Driving more than a hundred miles north, you can see Xinsheng Island in sight. Suddenly, several gunshots were heard in front of you.

"What's going on?" Cao Xiong's expression changed and he asked quickly. Maybe someone came to attack our Xinsheng Island.

"There are more than a dozen small boats near Xinshengbao Pier, and they seem to be confronting the shore!" the lookout said loudly.

Cao Xiong raised his monocular and looked in the direction of Xinsheng Castle. He saw more than ten small boats in front of him, scattered far away on the sea near the pier. The boats were full of people. They seemed to have noticed their arrival, and they started to move in a panic.

Adjust the sails and prepare to turn.

"It should be the navy of that small country nearby." Cao Xiong murmured, "Why did we get into trouble with them?"

When Li Chunping saw five large ships approaching in the distance, he felt panicked and ordered the sailors to quickly turn around to avoid these large ships. They must be reinforcements on the island, and his own small ships were absolutely no match.

"Hey, the Han Chinese seem to be in trouble." The captain of the leading Dutch armed merchant ship said with a smile: "Let us help them drive away these native boats!"

"Boom! Boom! Boom!..." Several shells landed near the fleet of Annan's Ruan Navy, making the turning boats even more panicked. Some oarsmen on the boats rowed randomly, trying to speed up and escape.

.

"Our ship is back!" Hu Pingjiang excitedly saw several large ships approaching on the sea in the distance. The tall figure of the "Pioneer" was particularly prominent.

"Get ready to meet the great commander!"
Chapter completed!