"Boom! Boom! Boom!..." On the sea surface of Banda, the "Qiming" fired another salvo at the Dutch armed merchant ship in front. Two of the shells hit the opponent's hull and hit the deck.

A mess.

Qi Dajiang led six ships, including the professional battleship "Qiming", after leaving the small island (Yendena Island) that was tentatively designated as a temporary supply island. Under the guidance of several captive Portuguese naval officers,

It quickly rushed towards Ambon, the center of the Dutch East India Company's rule in the Spice Islands.

Just two or three days away from Ambon, the attack fleet encountered a Dutch armed merchant ship at sea. Without any hesitation, six warships immediately surrounded and attacked the Dutch armed merchant ship.

Seeing that the situation was not good, the Dutch armed merchant ship pulled up its sails and immediately fled to the northwest.

How could Qi Dajiang miss the opportunity to finally catch the Dutch merchant ship? The six warships immediately filled up their sails and chased in the direction of the Dutch merchant ship.

Because the "Qiming" was the fastest ship, it caught up with the Dutch merchant ship first and immediately launched a bombardment on it.

The Dutch merchant ship "Lilac Tree" opposite was very depressed. The warship opposite obviously looked much smaller in tonnage and shape than itself, but its artillery was extremely dense and fierce. There were at least seven or eight cannons on just one side.

Above. Damn it, are you encountering a professional battleship?

The opponent relied on their fast movement and ferocious firepower to tightly entangle their "Lilac Tree". Where visible to the naked eye, several other warships of the opponent could already be seen approaching quickly.

"Turn! Turn!" the captain of the Lilac Tree shouted loudly: "Get away from it, don't get entangled with it!"

However, no matter how it turned, the "Qiming" could always quickly get in front of it, making it impossible for the "Lilac Tree" to escape.

"Boom! Boom! Boom!..." Soon, the "Yangwu" and the "Pioneer" rushed over first and surrounded and bombarded the Dutch merchant ship from three sides.

Faced with the siege of five or six warships, our own side lacked firepower and had no hope of escape. After being hit by several more shells, the "Lilac Tree" simply raised the white flag and stopped resisting.

"Yangwu" and "Yangwei" each put down a small boat, carrying a dozen Marines, and sailed towards the Dutch armed merchant ship.

"Are you the navy of Hanzhou?" the captain of the Dutch merchant ship asked tremblingly as he looked at the Marines in blue and black military uniforms.

"What are you talking about?" A Marine soldier walked up to the captain holding a musket. He obviously didn't understand the captain's question. "You are now captured by our Hanzhou Navy. Please be honest."

, otherwise, I will sink you all into the sea."

"Ding Xiaoshuan, tell him it's useless, but he doesn't understand." A Marine officer cursed, "Hurry up and clean the cabin below and bring everyone up."

This is a Dutch merchant ship coming to Ambon to load spices. In addition to spices, there are also some cassava, sago and other grains on board, as well as rosewood (i.e. Ambon wood, Indian rosewood tree), as well as some gold and silver coins.

The capture of a Dutch armed merchant ship was considered an appetizer for this trip to Ambon. After a few repairs, several Hanzhou ships immediately sailed to the vicinity of Ambon Island.

That night, six Hanzhou ships anchored on a coast, repaired all night, and launched a strong attack on Ambon at dawn the next day.

Ambon is located on the south side of a long and narrow bay on the island. According to the Portuguese officer's description, more than twenty artillery pieces were deployed at the Ambon port, and small fortresses were built to protect the left and right sides of the fort. More than a thousand meters away from the pier, It is Ambon Castle. There should be about two hundred East India Company mercenaries stationed inside all year round, and there may also be varying numbers of native servants.

The capture of Ambon must be completed in the shortest possible time. This is because the merchant ships of the Dutch East India Company will frequently travel here to ship spices. If the move is delayed for a long time, it will inevitably attract follow-up reinforcements from the Dutch.

"Still the old way, let the Marines land a dozen miles away from Ambon to see if there is a chance to launch a surprise attack. Your fleet will separate a few warships and ambush at the entrance of the bay to see if they can attack and capture more Dutch merchant ship." Niuhu said.

"The march in the mountains and forests won't be like that in Cavite, Luzon, right?" Li Fade asked with lingering fear.

"Even so, we can only launch a surprise attack from the flanks or rear of Ambon." Niuhu said: "In the rush, no one can guarantee that we can break through from the front of Ambon."

"Okay, let's follow Hu Zi's plan." Qi Dajiang said: "We will start with the Qiming and ambush four ships at the entrance of the bay, trying to intercept and capture the Dutch merchant ships coming to Ambon."

"During the day, if our marines don't have a chance, we will lurk at night to see if we can capture Ambon City with a night attack." Niuhu said, "If we succeed in Ambon City, we will set fire to it." , after your fleet receives the signal, attack the dock fort to contain their firepower. We will disarm the fort from behind."

--------------------------

There were already more than a hundred Dutch servants who had climbed to the top of the city in the north of Shenli. The Han soldiers were obviously a little outnumbered and they gradually couldn't hold on anymore and began to retreat.

The natives shouted excitedly, and some of them went down the city wall to seize the city gate. The remaining people began to rush deep into both sides of the city wall.

"Quick, rush over! Break the city!" Captain David Van Hewitt was shaking with excitement and loudly ordered the mercenaries behind the trench to attack the city wall.

"Creak..." There was a gritty sound of the city gate opening, and the natives gathered under the city burst into cheers and poured in through the crack in the door that had not yet been fully opened.

The resistance of the Hanzhou soldiers on the city wall became weaker and weaker. They gradually retreated to the two bastion watchtowers about three to four hundred meters on both sides of the city wall, relying on the half-person-high protective walls as the final support.

As more and more natives rushed into the city, the mercenaries who followed also rushed in with muskets. After the city was broken, except for the government treasury, all other properties would be at their disposal. If these were Isn't it a pity that the ignorant natives took possession of better property in advance, or simply set fire to it and destroyed it.

"Keep going forward, don't gather at the city gate." After Captain David Van Hewitt entered the city, he found that many natives and mercenaries were gathered more than 300 meters ahead, and they did not rush forward. , did not disperse to both sides, and shouted a little anxiously.

Now that the city defense has just been broken, we should rush into the city quickly and not give the Hanzhou army a chance to gather for counterattack again. Now, all the natives and mercenaries who rushed into the city have gathered not far from the city gate. Wouldn't it be a waste of time? time.

"Captain Hewitt, there is a wall blocking the front, and the Hanzhou army is blocking the attack." A second lieutenant ran over and reported to him.

"Don't be afraid of casualties! Drive the natives and break through the wall quickly!" At this time, the Dutch army commander Major Frost Fritz also rushed into the city of Dili with a group of mercenaries. He quickly took over the command.

Then he gave a loud order: "All soldiers must rush forward in three directions quickly without stopping. The wealth in the city is waiting for you! Attack!"

At this time, the sound of musketry suddenly became intensive, and the Dutch troops attacking the city were stubbornly blocked by Hanzhou soldiers from three directions.

The Hanzhou Marines and local soldiers, illuminated by torches on both sides, continued to fire at the advancing Dutch army. The native servants who rushed to the front held up short knives and held wooden spears and rushed to the front.

both sides

When the Hanzhou soldiers approached, they suddenly discovered that there was also a half-man-high low wall connecting the neighboring houses, blocking their front. And behind the low wall, a group of strong men holding spears were staring at them eagerly.

"Bang! Bang! Bang!..." Under the bright light of the torch, the expressionless Marines fired another volley, knocking down the natives who rushed in front of the low wall.

"Yeah!..." The natives in front retreated, but were pushed forward by the people behind. Several frantic natives, waving short knives, tried to climb over the low wall.

"Stab!" A low voice shouted from behind the low wall.

The strong immigrants raised their spears and stabbed them fiercely, stabbing several natives who had climbed over the low wall to death on the wall.

"Major, there are low walls built by Hanzhou troops directly in front and on both sides. We are temporarily blocked by them!" A Dutch officer ran over and reported to Major Frost Fritz.

"Put more musketeers on the city wall and attack the Han Chinese soldiers behind the low wall from above!" Major Frost Fritz looked at the surrounding terrain. Their troops currently entering the city were all blocked by the Han Chinese troops.

He arrived at a place more than 300 meters away from the city wall. If he could observe from above the city wall and had been to the city of the Ming Dynasty, he would have discovered that the Dutch army that invaded the city was in a terrain similar to an urn city.

"What's on the ground?" Captain David Van Hewitt struggled to squeeze through the crowd and prepared to move towards the city wall, but he almost tripped over something under his feet.

I grabbed a handful from the ground and picked it up and saw that it was a clay pot, but there was a strong smell of saltpeter on the pot, and there was a long lead on the mouth of the pot.

He tore off the fuse, opened the rag that sealed the pottery pot, and poured out the contents, including iron nails, gravel, and gunpowder. Captain Hewitt looked at the ground with the faint firelight at the top of the city, and found that nearby

There were many such clay pots, as well as seven or eight buckets, and the ground was covered with saltpeter, firewood, and various fire starters.

What is this? Captain David Van Hewitt looked at the walls on both sides with some confusion.

"It's almost done." Xu Chuanxing's voice was trembling.

"Well, that's almost it." Qi Dalu looked at the city from the bastion watchtower on the city wall, and then nodded.

"Start dropping bombs!"

A dozen Marines with excellent arm strength picked up a hand-thrown bomb from the ground, lit the fuse, waited for a few seconds, and then threw it towards the densely packed Dutch army below the city.

"Boom! Boom! Boom!..." More than twenty hand-thrown bombs were dropped one after another from the bastion watchtowers on both sides of the city wall. The sound of explosions caused chaos in the Dutch army that broke into the city.

However, before the Dutch commander could give new instructions, fires quickly began to burn under the city, making the team even more chaotic. The natives and mercenaries panicked to avoid the flames.

"Boom! Boom! Boom!..." More than ten hand-thrown bombs were thrown down, hitting a group of people behind them, causing the fire on the ground to become like a prairie fire.

"Exit the city!" Major Frost Fritz was shocked when he saw the flames shooting up everywhere. The Hanzhou army deliberately lured us into the city and wanted to use fire attacks to deal with us.

"Major, the fire near the city gate is too big to leave the city. We..."
Chapter completed!