The Colombo Fortress was built by the Portuguese in 1518 when they seized land from the Sinhalese Kingdom of Koti. It was called Colanto Tower at the time. The Sinhalese Kingdom on the island failed to attack it several times.
At that time, the Sinhala and Tamil tribes on the island of Ceylon had been fighting for thousands of years. The Sinhalese Kingdom of Koti itself was also in a state of division. The Portuguese took advantage of the situation. They first occupied the coastal strongholds and then took over the Koti Kingdom. After the Portuguese captured the entire Colombo area, a large number of Iberian-style buildings have been built around the fortress: white-painted walls, red-tiled roofs, and a central pavilion in the middle. These Within the Portuguese community in the area, it is obvious that many Portuguese have spontaneously armed themselves.
On the flagship of the convoy "Flying Tiger", Zheng Zhilong and the fleet commanders saw in their binoculars a large number of armed Portuguese people running towards the fortress despite artillery fire.
Shells fired from the Flying Tiger's cannon continued to hit the fortress walls. The two cruisers attacked the Portuguese community offshore. Explosive bombs and thunderbolt rockets continued to explode in the red and white Portuguese buildings, setting off fireworks and bringing out a crowd. The ball of fire set many houses on fire.
Zheng Zhilong watched the development of the war on the upper deck of the Flying Tiger. His eyes were shining and his breathing was rapid. He was extremely excited. Great achievements like Ban Chao who destroyed the country and massacred the city were taking place under his hands. This made the young Zheng Zhilong fall into a certain fanaticism. When he joined the Chinese Army, the Chinese Army had already defeated the Red Barbarians in Penghu, besieged Macau and defeated the Portuguese. Defeated the Greeks and seized Luzon Island. They went straight to the Japanese pirates' lair and defeated the Shimazu clan of the Satsuma Domain. The Ryukyu Kingdom was also powerful in the South Seas among the European powers... Zheng Zhilong deeply regretted that he was born too late and did not catch up with the days when the Chinese army spread across the world. Now, he finally has the opportunity to fight in Bihuo Qubing, the place where Ban Chao conquered. The place has become famous. The Cape of Good Hope was an advantage of the Dutch. He thought that his income was too easy; now on this island in front of him, Zheng He, the eunuch of the imperial dynasty, once commanded an army to capture the king here. Now it is his turn, Zheng Zhilong came to destroy his country. In the Chinese Military Academy, what Yin Feng instilled in the students were the deeds of those heroes who opened up territories in history. Traditional Chinese military science has now been transformed into Confucianism. The selection of generals is purely based on nature in war. Elimination, not to mention low efficiency, but also because the inheritance of military science relies on scattered family teachings or blind speculation. Either there will be scholars who talk about military affairs on paper, or there will be mediocre generals who rely solely on empiricism to fight. If you want to get a military like Qi Jiguang Genius. That can only depend on luck.
In the past ten years, the Chinese Military Academy has established a complete training system for non-commissioned officers and officers through planned, organized, large-scale and targeted training. In addition, the Chinese military's generous rewards and political benefits Superior status. Although handsome talents and generals are rare, the military academy system has built a good educational platform for the emergence of such talents.
Zheng Zhilong, who was too excited, did not notice that a fleet appeared on the southern sea. It was not until the captain of the Flying Tiger rushed in front of him that he retracted his gaze from the shore.
"What? It's the Dutch fleet." He quickly ran to the stern of the ship, wanting to see it with his own eyes.
The captain ran back with him: "The lookout has confirmed that the fleet coming from the south is flying the flag of the Orange family. It is correct that they are Dutch."
Suddenly, the sound of gunfire resounded under their feet. The ship's hull moved horizontally one foot to one side. The two had to hold on to the starboard side of the battleship to stabilize themselves. This was the simultaneous salvo of forty cannons in the two gun bays below the starboard deck. As a result, at the same time, the lookout's shout came from the main mast: "Flang robot battleships have come out. There are two ships in the direction of the port."
"It's just a human gadget with 20 guns. Let our two schooners go to meet it. The Flying Tiger and the cruiser "Yun No. 1" continue to bombard the fortress. Let the cruiser "Yun No. 2" go to the south. Look at the Dutch What do you want to do?"
The captain of the Feihu felt that it was unwise for Zheng Zhilong to divide his forces to meet the enemy when the enemy's situation was unknown: "Director Zheng, let's deal with the Dutch first."
Military leaders like Zheng Zhilong, who have suddenly appeared like comets in the past few years, lack some experience after all. They still seem a bit immature now.
Zheng Zhilong hesitated for a short time. Suddenly a voice relieved his confusion: "Director Zheng, the Dutch envoy is still on our ship. This fleet will not go to war with us." The speaker was Li Jin. He was sitting on both sides. Traffic boats with eight oars each arrived from Xinxing.
Zheng Zhilong suddenly became enlightened. His mind turned around and he immediately made a judgment: "Director Li, take the Xinxing and the Dutch envoy on board to the south. Block the Dutch fleet. The escort fleet will attack the Portuguese with all its strength. The marines will immediately prepare to land."
The lookout's voice came from overhead: "Southern. Red-haired fleet. Two battleships. Three masts. Equipped with 30 cannons. There are also more than 100 auxiliary ships."
"What? What auxiliary ships? Why are there so many?" Everyone was surprised. They rushed to the stern of the ship and looked south with telescopes. They only took a glance. Zheng Zhilong took a breath and laughed: "What did I think it was? The fire attack ship turned out to be the 'Pulao' ship of the Nanyang natives. Don't pay attention to it. The Xinxing has been equipped with waterline iron sheets. It can sink these ships if it is rammed."
The so-called "pulao boat" is a sailboat with a balance pole commonly used by the Malays in Southeast Asia.
After all, Li Jin was in charge of the diplomatic work of the Chinese Company. He had a good understanding of overseas situations. He said to Zheng Zhilong: "These Pulao ships are called 'Oluwa' by the Sinhalese people in Ceylon. In other words, the Dutch are and People from the local princely states came together to attack Colombo."
Zheng Zhilong immediately said: "Uncle Jin, you are saying that the local natives may be against us."
Li Jin was very impressed by this young man's keen reaction ability. He nodded and said: "You should have read the intelligence from the Military Intelligence Department: The Sinhalese people on this island have two kingdoms: Koti and Kandy. The former is a vassal of the Portuguese. The latter is a vassal of the Portuguese. The people tried their best to resist the Portuguese attack. Our company has never dealt with the local natives. The Portuguese have been operating here for more than 110 years. The red-haired barbarians have also made friends with the locals many years ago... I guess this Kandy country We have formed an alliance with the Dutch Red Hairs, so we will come together to attack Colombo." He paused and said slowly: "The top priority of our fleet now is to bring the property on the cargo ship back to Taiwan Port..."
Zheng Zhilong understood Li Jin's hint and his face turned red: "You mean... I understand. The red-haired barbarians themselves will not attack us, but they can connive and support the natives to attack us. Moreover, the geography and humanity here We don’t know very well. Could it be..."
There was some conflict between Zheng Zhilong's ambition to conquer overseas and his reason.
"There is a large fleet ten miles north." The lookout shouted again.
"What happened? The Port of Colombo is really busy today." Zheng Zhilong muttered. He turned around and ran towards the bow deck.
Coming from the north was an Arabian-style dhow. The lookout recognized it as a Tamil fleet from the north of Ceylon. Among them was a European-style two-masted armed merchant ship flying the Dutch flag.
Li Jin took a deep breath and said to Zheng Zhilong: "It seems that the Dutch are bound to win Colombo during this trip. The Tamils from the north of Ceylon are also coming."
Zheng Zhilong glanced at the direction of his fleet on the western sea. He gritted his teeth and ordered: "Stop preparations for landing operations. The schooner and cruiser Yun 2 went back to protect the fleet. Xingxing sent an envoy to the Dutch, Jin Bo. It's up to you to handle this matter. Tell them: We just want compensation from the Portuguese. As long as our demands are met, we will leave here. To avoid conflicts between the two countries, we hope they will not enter when our troops are anchored in the harbor. Port area.”
Li Jin cupped his hands and asked, "I will do my duty as I should. It's just that one of us died and ten others were injured in the shelling. How should we calculate this compensation?"
Zheng Zhilong sneered and said: "Uncle Jin, just keep your mouth open. Anyway, the Portuguese are surrounded on all sides and have troops approaching the city. I guess they will agree to anything. We are not taking advantage of the fire. We are just asking for justice."
Li Jin chuckled bitterly: "Director Zheng, you are right to do this." After he and Zheng Zhilong bowed their hands to each other, they went straight off the transport boat to prepare for diplomatic negotiations.
The Flying Tiger continued to bombard the Portuguese residential areas of Colombo, blasting the Iberian-style Colombo city into pieces. At the same time, the Chinese Company sent a European fleet to negotiate with the Dutch and reached an agreement. After the Portuguese paid compensation to the Chinese Company. The Chinese army evacuated Colombo. After that, the Dutch can do whatever they want.
The Chinese fleet stayed in Colombo for two days. It not only destroyed the small Portuguese fleet, but also continuously bombarded the Colombo fortress area. At this time, the land side of Colombo was already full of Sinhala troops, who were eyeing the Portuguese fortress. When the people were in dire straits, they had no choice but to fully agree to all the claims made by the Chinese army. They compensated Zheng Zhilong's fleet with property worth a total of 250,000 taels of silver. They almost emptied the Colombo Fortress of the wealth that the Portuguese had accumulated for more than a hundred years. .
The Chinese army also secretly provided some arms to the Portuguese so that the Portuguese could persist in resisting.
The Dutch had to wait and watch at sea. The native troops of Ceylon on land did not dare to attack the fortress rashly without the support of Dutch artillery fire. Therefore, the Dutch waited anxiously and even sent envoys. He arrived at the European convoy and said he was willing to pay compensation for the accidental attack on the Portuguese.
The northern Tamils and the local Sinhalese are feuding. The anti-Portuguese tripartite coalition formed by the Dutch this time has an unstable foundation. Therefore, the Dutch are worried about changes over time. Their own side started a war first. So it is very Eager to send the Chinese people away.
Zheng Zhilong unceremoniously extorted another sum of money from the Dutch Red Mao Yi, worth a full fifty thousand taels of silver, and then walked away.
The Chinese company's blue flag with Chinese characters disappeared behind the horizon. The Dutch couldn't wait to attack the Colombo Fortress from both sea and land. The Portuguese resisted with all their strength.
The Portuguese sent a fleet commanded by Rui Freire de Andrade from Lisbon to Hormuz in the previous year. It arrived in the Persian Gulf in June 1620. The fleet came to Asia. It was originally In order to resist the Abbasid Shah's army and the British East India Company, after receiving the news that the Dutch were besieging Colombo, they rushed to rescue Colombo.
The fleet sent to Europe by Li Jin, Zheng Zhilong and others arrived in Malacca a month later, successfully completing the third voyage to Europe by the Chinese Company.
At the same time that the European fleet arrived in Malacca, the Portuguese fleet was defeated by the Dutch fleet in Colombo. The Colombo fortress continued to resist for two months and then surrendered. As the Portuguese Andrade fleet was forced to rescue Colombo, the defense was empty. After a five-month siege, the Portuguese fortress of Muz surrendered to the Abbasid Shah's army and the British East India Company in May 1622. The Portuguese Asian empire began to shrink and collapse.