Sumatra Island, near the coast of Aceh, in a ‘凵’-shaped bay.
The three-nation combined fleet has been resting inside for three days.
Until now, there are no plans to continue setting off as a whole team.
You may need to take another three or five days off.
Bad luck.
All I can say is that it was extremely unlucky.
You must know that the combined fleet set out from the European mainland, crossed the Atlantic Ocean southward, skirted the Cape of Storms (i.e. the Cape of Good Hope), then entered the Indian Ocean, arrived at Malabar and Ceylon (Sri Lanka) in India, replenished food and fresh water, and then headed straight
Heading east, towards the Strait of Malacca.
It lasted more than five months and covered nearly 20,000 nautical miles. During this period, we did not encounter too many storms and waves. We only damaged a few ships at the storm corner, so there were basically no serious problems.
The journey went smoothly, which made commanders such as Marton Tropp, Antonio de Oquendo and Pennington think that they had been blessed by God, driving away the storm and giving them a bit of confidence to win.
confidence.
Unexpectedly, just when they were about to arrive in Nanyang, and were about to see the land of resources and wealth that belonged to them, they were extremely happy and sad, and bad luck struck. A tropical storm with a maximum wind force of more than 12 levels set off dozens of meters high.
Huge waves crazily destroyed the combined fleet.
Lasted two days and one night!
More than a hundred gunboats sank directly to the bottom of the sea, and tens of thousands of crew members were buried in the belly of the fish, with no possibility of being rescued.
Before the war even started, they lost a full third.
Morale has suffered a heavy blow, and it can be described as gloomy. Repairing the damaged ships is also a quite arduous project, and a thick shadow has been cast on everyone's mind.
The evening of June 16th.
The captain's dining room of the battleship San Martin.
Sitting at the dining table, using a knife and fork, and wearing a white scarf around his neck, he ate a fairly generous meal of bread, fried fish, bacon sausages and other foods in an elegant manner.
"I think we should dispatch some ships as soon as possible to carry out the mission of attacking Malacca Port. This port is only more than two hundred nautical miles away from us. Our warships can arrive in about two days and launch a surprise attack, and Xujiazhuang's defensive force
Weak, as long as we send thirty to fifty Galen ships, we can win and capture this important stronghold." Marton Tropp said.
"No, I don't support this approach."
Antonio stopped eating, shook his head and said: "Thirty or fifty warships are too few. Once Xujiazhuang's support fleet arrives, just two or three steam clippers may be able to wipe out this advance fleet and make it impossible to stand firm.
Heel, we must not divide our forces, otherwise we will definitely be defeated individually. Only by uniting together can we have the possibility of victory. Otherwise, not to mention the elimination of Xujiazhuang, it may be difficult for us to regain the stronghold of Malacca Port."
"In fact, we have lost the possibility of destroying Xujiazhuang. God is not on our side this time."
Pennington said even more pessimistically: "One-third of the main battleship was destroyed by the storm, and the rest suffered some damage. It will take at least a week to repair it. But today, the crew we sent to cut down the trees again
We were attacked by the Kingdom of Aceh, and hundreds of people were killed by indigenous poison darts, which delayed our progress in repairing the ships. In addition, some ships had problems with insufficient food and fresh water. What is even more frightening is that the crews of several ships
, the collective contracted the disease, causing a lot of panic...bad news came one after another. In this state, it is impossible to defeat Xujiazhuang, who is waiting for work."
"Do you mean to go home?"
Marton Tropp said with an ugly face: "We have gone around half of the world and worked hard to get here. We haven't achieved any results, so we just come back empty-handed? If we give up halfway like this, what will happen next time?" When will we come back? The Netherlands has emptied its treasury, do we still have the ability to organize the next expedition?"
"Of course you can't go back like this!"
Antonio said: "But we can adjust our goal. Instead of taking the destruction of Xujiazhuang as the first task, we first sweep Xujiazhuang's strongholds in Nanyang and recapture our colonies. In addition, during the battle, it is best to capture several intact We will build a steam clipper ship and bring it back to Europe for our craftsmen to imitate. If we can master the construction technology of the steam clipper ship in this way, then our expedition will be a success, and a huge success. !”
"It makes sense. I support Antonio's proposal." Pennington said.
"All right!"
Marton Tropp thought for a while and could only nod his head and said: "Then starting tomorrow, we will remove the planks and parts from some of the ships, repair a hundred warships first, and then go to capture the Malacca Port. Seize the steam clipper and wait for Xujiazhuang's reaction to deal with it. If that doesn't work, we will take the steam clipper and retreat to Europe as quickly as possible."
"Can."
"This is a prudent move."
The three commanders reached a consensus.
…
June 17, at four o'clock in the morning.
In the silent bay.
Only the regular sound of the waves could be heard, but it was not very loud and did not affect most of the crew members, who were all immersed in their sleep.
And with the slight sway of the boat, the quality of sleep is also improved, and it feels like lying in a baby cradle.
Marton Tropp had a very wonderful dream. In the dream, he led the fleet to successfully conquer the East, wiped out Xujiazhuang, obtained all the craftsmen and technology, grabbed countless treasures, and slept with the beauties of the East. , and successfully occupied the east and became the king who ruled here.
As a result, countless exquisite ceramics, silky silk, sweet tea, as well as bicycles, mechanical watches, soaps and other specialty products, including steam clippers, were all in his hands, bringing him endless wealth and making him He became the richest man in the world and the most powerful man at the same time. The power he possessed was incomparable to both God and the Pope. They might even kneel before him, which means he could surpass even God.
But because he was too powerful and wealthy, people all over the world united to resist him, formed an unprecedentedly large fleet, and launched artillery attacks on his territory.
"Boom~"
"Boom boom boom~"
Naturally, Marton Tropp would not show weakness. In his dream, he ordered his fleet: "Counterattack, counterattack, and eliminate every one of those who dare to covet my wealth!"
"Boom~"
A loud noise sounded in my ears.
The ship's hull shook violently.
Marton Tropp suddenly woke up and sat up, and the rumbling sound of cannons extended from his dream to reality, becoming more intense and dense, and there were also sounds of gunpowder explosions and a lot of screams. sound.
"What's going on?"
He quickly got up, put on a coat, staggered out of the cabin, and stood outside the deck.
firelight.
Strips of orange fire were projected from at least a few miles away from the bay, turning into arc-shaped trajectories, falling into one's own fleet at extremely high speeds, and as long as they hit the ship, a violent explosion would occur.
.
Through the dim moonlight and starlight, Marton Tropp could vaguely see a dozen ship-shaped black figures, lined up in a straight line, firing cannons from the side, firing hundreds of shells in each round.
The range is more than three to four thousand yards, far exceeding the cannon on their side.
The rate of fire is even more terrifying. One round can be fired every three breaths, and the rate of fire is ten times that of a heavy cannon!
But what should I do if the firing rate is too fast and the gun barrel overheats?
Marton Tropp saw that the black figures in a battle line began to turn in circles, turning the other side of the ship towards them, and continued to fire fiercely with the rapid-fire artillery on the other side.
.
In this way, they kept firing at the outer entrance of the bay, constantly moving in circles to change the direction of the sides, so that the firepower could be guaranteed to be continuous.
Naturally, after being awakened, the combined fleets in the bay launched round after round of counterattacks and charges in an attempt to break through the blockade and defeat the dozen or so enemy warships. However, dozens of warships in a row failed to do so.
He rushed forward in fear, but due to the slow speed, insufficient range and extremely slow rate of fire, he failed to attack the opponent. On the contrary, under the battle line tactics, any warship that came forward would be easily attacked.
It is a fire attack, and as long as it is hit by more than ten cannonballs, a raging fire will ignite, and a fatal explosion will occur.
Until dawn.
Overseas, there were already numerous sunken ships with broken sails, thick smoke billowing out, and not a single intact ship could be seen.
Standing on a floating wooden board, holding a piece of white cloth in his hand and waving it numbly, as a sign of surrender, Marton Tropp had no light in his eyes, only endless pain and despair, especially when he saw
When the sixteen steamships, whose surfaces were covered with countless steel plates, like sixteen giant beasts, sailed into the bay and appeared in his sight, at this moment, Marton Tropp felt like a
The clown who overestimates his own abilities.
…
In the virgin forest near the coastline.
Thousands of indigenous warriors from the Kingdom of Aceh also saw countless sunken ships in the bay, as well as the sixteen armored warships that made them tremble.
The country's Sultan Inskanda Muda, a majestic old man in white robes, had to murmur: "Is this the power of Mingren? Even gods are nothing more than this, right? Maybe, I should take the initiative to send an envoy
, go and improve the relationship with Akito. This is not a force that mortals can resist. If we continue to fight against Akito, even with God's blessing, we will turn into dust."
…
At noon.
The 'Xin Cai Long', a converted steam cargo ship that spewed out black smoke and came at the fastest speed, finally arrived at this place not long after the naval battle under the command and repeated urging of Captain Zheng Cai.
Inside the bay.
But Zheng Cai discovered through the telescope that it was too late. He was still late this time.
The naval battle has ended, and it has entered the stage of capturing prisoners and cleaning the battlefield.
The captain's command room.
Zheng Cai slapped the control console in front of her hard with her palm, stamped her head and feet, and said with great regret: "It's too late, we hurry up and hurry up. This time we are still late. We failed to catch up with this battle and lost another time."
The opportunity to build a good relationship with Xujiazhuang failed to prove our worth. Alas! Why am I always so unlucky? I want to please Xujiazhuang, but why can't I do it? "
It's too difficult.
Zheng Cai felt that it was too difficult for her.
In fact, he is very clear about his role in the eyes of Xujiazhuang's senior management - a dog, a loyal dog who must listen to Xujiazhuang's words when needed. He himself has already made the corresponding awareness. As long as Xujiazhuang needs it, he will be there at any time.
He would not hesitate to serve the interests of Xujiazhuang, even if he stabbed the Zheng family in the back.
In addition, in private, he also passed on a lot of confidential information about the Zheng family, but these were small contributions. They were his own job and he should do it well. They were not considered major contributions.
Only by actively performing, making some great achievements, and proving his worth can Xujiazhuang look at him with admiration, support and train him, and give him more generous rewards.
Like more steam ships.
For example, a radio communication device that functions like a clairvoyant.
For example, Xujiazhuang’s artifacts ‘mortar’ and ‘quick destroyer cannon’.
These are the treasures that he is extremely coveted and eager to obtain.
Then several years passed.
When Xujiazhuang was colonizing overseas and sweeping across Southeast Asia, he followed behind him all the way. Apart from helping to clean the battlefield and maintain order, he did nothing serious.
During the two-plus years of peaceful development, they were engaged in maintaining order at sea, driving out pirates, or rescuing ships in distress. These were trivial chores not worth mentioning.
Only this time, the Western combined fleets came out in full force and launched an unprecedented military challenge. A shocking sea battle that will determine who is the global ocean hegemon is about to break out.
Not only did Zheng Cai attach great importance to this matter, felt excited and vowed to perform well, the Fujian Zheng Group also immediately entered a state of full mobilization. A total of 387 Fulong ships were dispatched, and the only three steamships were also dispatched.
They all were sent out, with a total of 390 ships equipped with tens of thousands of cannons. Their overall strength was not weaker than that of the Western United Fleet. At the same time, they hoped to show the sincerity and ability of the Zheng family in front of Xujiazhuang, their ally, and also saved
The purpose of trying to please Xu Jiazhuang is to get more steamships and various artifacts. The purpose is actually the same as Zheng Cai.
Zheng Cai felt a strong sense of crisis when she thought of competing with her family as a loyal dog. She had little advantage. Naturally, she became more active and worked harder. She risked burning out the boiler and overloaded the operation, causing many accidents.
The black smoke turned out to be too late.
"Is Xujiazhuang too strong and doesn't need my help, or am I, Zheng Cai, unlucky and unable to seize the right opportunity? In two years, I will be thirty years old. When will I be able to stand out and have a team of my own?"
A powerful fleet?”
Zheng Cai sighed helplessly.
However, he came a little late this time, but after signaling his identity, the Xu family fleet gave him a good job, which was to help rescue the prisoners who fell into the water and transport the prisoners to New Loulan City... And these prisoners
Most of them are high-value talents. It would be a pity to kill them. They can be used after surrendering. Those who are disobedient and unruly are sent to the mines to dig for two years, and then they are basically honest. Zheng Cai found that the total number of prisoners was nearly two.
Wan, if he can allocate five to six hundred people and buy himself two or three ships, he will be the commander of a small fleet. Xujiazhuang cannot digest so many prisoners, so he will allocate several hundred people to them.
He's totally fine.
Thinking of this, he was full of motivation and started the work of salvaging prisoners. He was very busy. During the period, he could also seize a small amount of property from the broken warships and floating corpses without having to hand it over, so he could salvage the prisoners.
I got a lot of oil and water, and I had money to buy a boat.
"Not bad, not bad. It's great to hang out with Xujiazhuang. Even if you can only drink a little soup, it's what countless people dream of. It's a first-class job."
Zheng Cai sighed secretly.
…
June 20th.
Shortly after the Battle of Malacca.
"Oriental Times" published a report on the front page [Victory in the Battle of Malacca, the ambition of the Western United Fleet was destroyed!], which reported in detail the situation of the naval battle and praised the Xu family's naval fleet for its quick response and powerful strength.
And he ridiculed the vulnerability of the Dutch, Spanish and British combined fleets.
Soon this report aroused considerable repercussions in the Ming Dynasty. Readers praised loudly and bluntly said that the provocation of ants was ridiculous. This glorious victory made many people feel proud and proud, and even thought of joining the navy.
The idea of venturing out on the sea.
Beijing, in the Forbidden City.
"Okay, okay, this Xujiazhuang navy is so powerful. It didn't even hurt a single soldier. It wiped out all the Western combined fleets with zero casualties. It's a big revelation!"
"Haha, a few small Western countries sent hundreds of gunboats, traveling tens of thousands of miles away, in an attempt to defeat the East and re-colonize and enslave Southeast Asia. Haha, they are greedy and extremely stupid. They are just trying to beat the stone with an egg, and they are wishful thinking!
"
"However, the benefits brought by the sea are getting bigger and bigger nowadays. Even the Zheng family in Fujian has hundreds or thousands of large ships, which can obtain tens of millions of wealth from the sea every year, and the Ming Dynasty court does not even have a decent ship.
We don’t even have a navy. Should I invest some resources and build a Ming royal fleet instead of letting Xujiazhuang dominate the limelight and gradually monopolize most of the resources at sea..."
Zhu Youjian put down the newspaper, stood up and walked back and forth, and came up with the idea of building a royal fleet. It didn't need to be very large, just twenty or thirty ships would be enough, preferably steam clippers.
but……
Not to mention whether Xujiazhuang agreed to provide steam engines.
Based on the construction cost of only 300,000 silver dollars per large steam ship, a small fleet of 20 ships would require an investment of 6 million, not including the cost of personnel training, purchase of weapons and ammunition, and daily use, which is particularly expensive.
Very powerful.
Think about it, think about it carefully, and it will be difficult to come up with the money within two or three years, so you can only look at it later.