() "Jasper...my friend, may you be well in heaven." William faced the vast and boundless sea and silently crossed himself.
William will never forget the look in his eyes full of reluctance when his friend Jasper was about to return to the embrace of the Lord. He was so talented. At Leiden University, he was unanimously recognized by all his classmates and was well-deserved to be the number one man.
At the Siegen Military Academy, he was the cadet who received the most awards from Principal Walhausen and trained the hardest and most conscientiously. In the future, whether he was a businessman, a politician, an admiral, or even the emperor of the "East India Empire", as long as he was given time,
He will definitely be able to do it, William firmly believes in this.
However, as the saying goes: "You can buy a clock, but you can't buy time."
Jasper died, on the way to his ideal, with all his talents, he died without achieving anything.
At the last moment, Jasper gave all his books, armor, weapons, money, viols... all the property on the "Heusden" to William. His only request was that William inherit his
will to fulfill his dream.
William felt very embarrassed. If he had not met Jasper at Leiden University and developed such a deep friendship, he might have inherited the family business and become a decent businessman; he might have stayed in Leiden and become a businessman.
A popular teacher; he may return to his hometown and become a Palatine militia leader to defend his homeland. No one can say clearly in the future, but he will definitely, absolutely, never go to Asia. But in the end William agreed to give it a try
, that was, after all, his friend’s last plea in life.
On October 2, 1625, William, who became the acting captain, arrived in Batavia on the "Heusden", finally ending this long and sad voyage of 6 months and 1 day. In Batavia
Via and William signed a three-year contract with the East India Company. They served as captain of the "Heusden" with a monthly salary of 110 guilders (about thirty taels), and officially began their life in Asia.
However, after only two years, William felt physically and mentally exhausted, and decided to return to China as soon as the three-year contract period with the company was up. Maybe he felt sorry for Jasper, but he was really fed up with the endless traveling and doing business.
, the war, especially the Batavia war he participated in against the surrounding Malay black people, was a sad, naked, and merciless massacre.
William's own hometown was being devastated by war, and he felt the same way. When his family was fleeing his hometown, he witnessed the convoy behind him being overtaken by a group of soldiers. The men were shot dead, and the women were stripped naked. Their belongings were stolen.
The scene of looting was deeply engraved in his mind and would be unforgettable for a long time.
William never naively believed that war should not exist in this world, but he insisted that war should be limited to battlefields. He could not accept the slaughter of unarmed civilians under any circumstances, even if the other party was a little black man who he considered barbaric and uncivilized.
His justice and bravery made as many as two dozen Malay indigenous warriors willing to become his slaves and work for him. Company colleagues described them as "they are not ordinary little niggas. They are very ugly and very powerful."
nigger."
As they said, if the company soldiers had not relied on halberds, spears, muskets, and field cannons to simply compete in swordsmanship, these Malay warriors armed with kris blades and highly skilled in martial arts would have torn apart the Dutch in front of them in an instant.
Broken into pieces. Of course, the Dutch are not good at swordsmanship, so this comparison is unfair. The comparison is also with the Portuguese and Spanish, who are recognized as sword masters in Europe.
Compared with the average Dutchman, William's swordsmanship is excellent. This has nothing to do with him being a German. Harald Thebaert, a famous swordsman in Antwerp, once traveled to Spain. In 1622, in order to make himself
With his swordsmanship, he further entered Leiden University to study mathematics. Both William and Jasper received his careful guidance, which made their swordsmanship, which could only be considered good at first, improve by leaps and bounds, and they became outstanding swordsmen in the eyes of their classmates at Leiden University.
One of William's satisfactions in Asia is that he has seen a variety of novel and unique martial arts systems. For the first time in the Far East, he has already fought with several Japanese samurai in the palace. These were jumping around like cats.
The Japanese samurai he went to left a deep impression on him. Of course, he was the winner in the end. This time he went to a place called Tamsoia (Copper Mountain) near Lamoa (Nanao Island) to suppress the Ming pirates Iquan (一官). If he was lucky enough to meet
A master from the Ming Dynasty, he will have no regrets at all when he leaves Asia next year.
When the Dutch fleet successfully arrived at Tongshan Bay, a pale moon was quietly rising from the east. De Wet discovered that there were 300 to 400 pirate ships anchored in the bay. It was getting dark now, and the terrain of Tongshan Bay was also extremely complicated.
It would be very dangerous to break in and be surrounded by a large number of pirate ships. De Wet decided to stay put and rest for a night before starting a battle with iquan (一官) tomorrow.
There is no doubt that the Pirate Alliance is now the overlord of the South China Sea of the Ming Dynasty. Their eyes are all over the sea. The Dutch fleet set sail from Wuyu Island and stationed at Dongmen Island outside Tongshan. Every move is under the surveillance of the pirates.
Huang Chen lowered his head and played with the teacup in his hand intently, with a very serious expression, as if he was admiring a work of art. The other leaders around him were also speechless, either the old god was there, or they were deep in thought, or they simply closed their eyes to rest.
There are a few familiar faces missing, such as Liu Xiang. Instead of following Zheng Zhilong back to Tongshan, they chose to stay in Guangdong, obviously preparing to leave the alliance.
Alliance leader Zheng Zhilong knew in his heart that this was unavoidable. Men on the sea were used to being at ease. They always gathered when they were united and separated when they were not united. The loss of men and ships this time would not have a great impact on the strength of the alliance, so he turned a blind eye.
Eyes, didn’t say much.
Zheng Zhihu, who was sitting next to Zheng Zhilong, suddenly slapped the table and shouted: "You're all mute?! Huh? Talk! Normally everyone brags about how capable they are, but now that they see Hongyi coming, they all act like a turtle and scream.
Mr. Zheng looks down upon him."
Hearing Zheng Zhihu's thunderous shouts, the leaders straightened up a little. To be honest, although Zheng Zhilong was the leader of the alliance, he was also majestic, but everyone was more afraid of Zheng Zhihu. This guy's martial arts skills were extremely high, and he was vaguely the leader of the alliance's martial arts.
With his posture, he could easily kill 99% of the people in the hall. His temper was extremely hot, and he often forced competitions in the name of sparring, beating all kinds of dissenters.
Zheng Zhilong coughed lightly and scolded: "Second brother, please don't be rude. Most of the people here are your seniors. How can you be so open-minded and talk nonsense."
Zheng Zhihu hummed heavily and glanced at everyone coldly.
After a while, no one said anything. Seeing that Zheng Zhihu was about to get angry again, Li Kuiqi said slowly: "It's not appropriate for me to fight Hong Mao head-on. I might as well set fire to the boat and drive them away."
"This method is feasible." As soon as Li Kuiqi spoke, everyone nodded in agreement.
The opponent's fleet is not large, and the Hongyi cannons are numerous. Hundreds of them can be fired at the same time. No one wants to rush forward and die. What's more, Hongyi doesn't only have such a few ships. If the attack is severe,
If we attract strong reinforcements, what should we do?
Many of you here still remember the scene when Hongyi first came to the Ming Dynasty. The so-called "big captain is thirty feet long, the big blunderbuss is more than two feet long, and a cannon can blast dozens of miles" is of course nonsense, but the most important one is
Even if the head and tail of the big one are cut off, it is still fifteen or six feet long. There are more than forty red barbarian cannons placed on it. Walking hand in hand, it is like a cannon city on the sea. It is intimidating to people.
Zheng Zhilong was not very satisfied with this proposal. He was going to teach the Dutch a lesson and let them figure out who has the final say in the South China Sea to avoid further troubles. Since everyone was unwilling, he could not force it, so he could only stop it.
Thoughts in my heart.
Zheng Zhilong nodded. Everyone began to discuss. Fireship attacks were a specialty of pirates, but no one of the leaders of the parties wanted to suffer. The less powerful ones said less would be given, the more powerful would give more.
It was only fair if they were evenly divided. The argument turned red and red, and Huang Chen remained silent, watching the commotion on both sides with the mood of watching a monkey show.
In the end, it was Zheng Zhilong who made the final decision. He sided with the less powerful. I wonder if he was truly selfless or if he wanted to win people's hearts? After all, powerful people like Li Kuiqi, Zhou Lao, Huang Chen, and Zhong Bin would not be moved by a small favor.
Nearly a hundred fire ships have been gathered, fifty of them will be used in the first wave of attack, and the remaining ships will depend on the situation.
As for when to dispatch, the red barbarians must be well prepared the night before, as a surprise attack is not easy to succeed. The best time is Yin hour. Before dawn is when people are most sleepy and tired. The red barbarians may be negligent, and the attack at this time can have miraculous effects.
After everything was settled, the leaders left in twos and threes, catching up on sleep and making preparations. Naturally, they were the same as during the Peace Day. Anyway, they were determined not to conflict with the Hongyi fleet head-on.
Huang Chen stepped out of the room, took his subordinates who were waiting outside, and walked towards the station. As he walked, he explained everything to Zhao Hongyi in detail.
Looking at Zhao Hongyi's steady steps, his calm expression, and the light majesty exuding from his body, Huang Chen couldn't help but sigh in his heart. Although Zhao Hongyi was quite talented when he was in Dachen Mountain, he always had a lingering aura of being a small family.
Since entering Fujian, he has experienced successive battles and developed old and new military camps. Finally, the sharp edge of his sword has been sharpened, and he has gradually become a general.
After hearing what Huang Chen said, Zhao Hongyi nodded and said, "I will order people to prepare the fire ship immediately after I return."
Huang Chen turned his head and glanced at Zhao Hongyi, his mouth slightly curved in a strange arc, and said: "How can we do it with just a fire ship?"
Zhao Hongyi was slightly startled and asked: "What does the big leader mean...?"
Huang Chen smiled again. It was a Dutch ship. Not to mention other things, the ship itself and the naval guns alone were enough reasons for him to take a risk. When he was in the center left, he had no ability to attack the Dutch. Now he has
With the Pirate Alliance as his backing, why should he be polite to the other party?
Confirming his guess, Zhao Hongyi frowned and said, "Big Chief, Hongyi has always been strong and cunning. I don't think we can take this lightly."
"No matter how much it costs, I will take action." Huang Chen waved his hand. He had a feeling that he had to take action, it was necessary, otherwise he would regret it later.
Seeing Huang Chen's resolute attitude, Zhao Hongyi nodded and said, "I understand."
As soon as the two of them ended their conversation, Yang Dong geared up and said, "I've long heard that Hong Mao Fan is very powerful. Let's have a good fight with them this time to see if they are as evil as the rumors say."
Huang Chen looked sideways at Yang Dong and said: "The Dutch spanned half the world, armed with large ships and cannons, and they were rampant for a while. No one could stop them. Of course they are not people who have gained a reputation in vain. You must not have the slightest contempt, otherwise you will be eaten.
Big loss."
"Cross, cross what ball?" Yang Dong asked with a confused look on his face.
Others were also confused and puzzled.
"..." Huang Chen was speechless for a moment. Can he explain to this ignorant man and others that the world is round? The answer is obviously no. Not to mention that he spent so much time explaining it.
In the end, whether the other party believed it or not, the source of his knowledge was unclear. Did he want to reveal to them the fact that his soul came from the 21st century? Stop joking! Huang Chen pretended to be angry and said: "What the ball! Who said the ball?"
?Did you listen to me? I am warning you not to underestimate the Dutch."
Yang Dong couldn't help but muttered: "You clearly said something about the ball."
"Shut up." Huang Chen threatened: "If you keep talking nonsense, I'll lock you up."
"……."
Time passed quietly, and the Yin hour was approaching in the blink of an eye. In the dark Tongshan Port, strong figures jumped onto small boats such as foot boats and eight-oars loaded with diesel gunpowder with only blurred vision. Fire boat attacks were the most dangerous thing for pirates.
Commonly used methods are always harmful to officers and soldiers, but this method usually kills one thousand enemies and damages eight hundred, and the casualty rate is extremely high. Unless it is a heavy reward, it is not enough to move people's hearts. There are also some people who are jealous and have made mistakes.
, no matter active or passive, this time we must have the determination to die.
At the same time, Huang Chen also took action. He ordered Chen Si to guard his home, and Ruan Jin led ten large ships to go ahead and detour from the northeast to the south, that is, behind the Dutch fleet. Huang Chen, Zhao Hongyi, and Zhang Xing led twenty ships
The big ship followed the fire ship. He had no intention of engaging in a head-on battle with the Dutch fleet, which would be no different from committing suicide. His idea was to see if there was a chance to intercept one or two Dutch ships. With ten against one, Huang should have a chance to defeat his opponent.
There are only about forty large-scale ships under Chen's command, but this time he dispatched a full thirty ships. This shows his great courage and determination. It also shows that he does not allow failure.
The leader of the alliance, Zheng Zhilong, seems to be interested in fighting the Dutch, and is preparing to dispatch as many as fifty warships. Compared to Zheng Zhilong, Huang Chen, and others, they are much inferior. Although there are some actions, most of them are fishing in troubled waters and picking up the pieces.
There are only a few people who dare to fight for cheap ideas.
Amidst the sound of paddling, a boat and an eight-oared boat left the port and sailed towards the silent Dongmen Island. Perhaps the pirates chose the most correct time to launch the attack, or perhaps the Dutch did not expect it.
Until their opponent dared to take the lead, perhaps for some other reason, the Dutch didn't sound the alarm bell until fifty pirate fireships had crossed most of the distance.
"Dang! Dang! Dang!"
"Enemy attack - enemy attack -"
De Wet was having a sweet dream. In the dream, the fleet he led killed all the Chinese pirates. Quan (an official) was defeated and captured. He knelt in front of him and hugged his legs, begging for his life.
One life, for which he was willing to pay any price. De Wet thought he was benevolent, so he decided to keep Quan (one official) alive, but in order to make up for the stupid mistakes he made, he needed to donate all his property
, just at this moment, the bell rang.
DeWitt got up from the bed in a daze. It took him a moment to realize that this was the alarm bell. He didn't even have time to put on his gorgeous and bloated clothes. He immediately stumbled out of the captain's cabin and followed the spiral staircase to
On the deck, he stared at the sea of fire just around the corner and shouted nervously: "Damn it! These shameless pirates deserve to go to hell!"
"Your Excellency, Commander, are we?" The soldier captain and boatswain looked at De Wet at the same time.
"Quick! Cut the cable, cut the cable..." De Wet did not hesitate at all and immediately issued the order to retreat. It was true that he hated iquan, but now he was facing pirates in dark, rugged and unfamiliar terrain.
Attacked by fireships and warships, the fleet is very likely to suffer extremely serious losses or even be annihilated.
What's more important is that he is about to return to China and enjoy a decent life. There is really no need to put himself in danger for a mere resentment in his heart. That is not a choice that a calm and rational gentleman should make.
The Dutch fleet was forced to cut the cables and sail overseas, shelling the approaching fireships from time to time.
Seeing the continuous dazzling flames of the Dutch fleet and the rumbling sound of the cannons, Huang Chen was so envious that he drooled with envy. He had previously captured a red cannon from Lin Balao's ship and shot two more from Tongshan. Later,
After successive battles, the number of red barbarian cannons increased to six, which was not a small number in the pirate alliance. However, compared with the Dutch, they were really insignificant.
The fire ship had a time limit and could not go deep into the ocean. More than a hundred warships under Huang Chen, Zheng Zhilong and others bypassed the sea of fire and pounced on the Dutch fleet diagonally.
The Dutch fleet fired fiercely again, and the shells easily tore apart the pirate ship's planks with a scream. Some ships were only hit by a few shots and turned into a sea of flames. However, many pirate ships remained unmoved and remained fearless of life and death.
One after another.
Soon, an unexpected scene appeared. Ten large Chinese-style hard-sailed ships suddenly emerged from the dark ocean and faintly blocked the path of the Dutch fleet. Who was Ruan Jin?
De Wet was shocked. If he was entangled by the small fleet on the opposite side, he would definitely be overtaken and surrounded by pirates. He did not hesitate and immediately ordered the "Houston (hew)" and four other junk ships (Chinese sailing ships) to stop the pirates.
He himself led the flagships "Vrede" and "Erasmusmuns" to take the opportunity to escape from the battlefield and escape to the center left. (To be continued. Mobile phone users please go to read.)