Chapter 242 Serious Protest to Daming

Author: tx Cheng Zhi

Chapter 242 Serious Protest to Daming

Chapter 241

Gunfire rumbled in the Subic Strait, smoke filled the air, and vision was obstructed.

The current naval battle makes Dutch sailors feel extremely depressed and aggrieved.

Although they are well-trained, even if they face the Spanish Armada, they are not without power. However, the problem is that the naval guns of the Ning Navy have a farther range than theirs. They can only attack within three hundred meters.

It has a high hit rate. However, Ning Haijun's naval guns can reach a distance of more than 1,800 meters.

Although Ning Haijun's hit rate is poor, the problem is that Ning Haijun's naval guns are too powerful. Once they hit, their warships will either die or be disabled.

The Tulip only took two hits, and the cabin turned into a sea of ​​flames. The Dutch sailors who were trapped in the fire on the deck and could not get out were burned to a crisp on the outside and tender on the inside. The screams shook the earth. Gunpowder barrels were burned one after another.

It burned and exploded, causing a violent explosion. The entire hull deformed, cracked, and tilted amidst the deafening explosion...

"It's over, it's over...I'm going bankrupt!"

Putmans' face was full of despair, as if he were mourning for his heir.

"Fort, fort, counterattack... your brain is filled with water!"

"Reporting to the colonel, the fort at the port was demolished by Zheng Zhilong's people!"

"Demolished?"

Alfonso didn't come back to his senses for a long time: "Why should the fort be dismantled?"

"Who knows what they were thinking!"

During the attack on Subic Port, the losses of the Zheng fleet were actually not small. Coupled with the more than 200 warships sunk by the Ning navy, they had a serious shortage of artillery. The British East India Company's current strength is not

Not strong, the artillery that can be sold to Zheng Zhilong can only be transported from the mainland.

In desperation, the forts at Subic Port were dismantled by Zheng Zhilong and installed on the battleships. Of course, these artillery were actually the cannons on the Spanish battleships, so the problem was not big.

But the problem is that without the fire support of the fort, relying only on the naval guns on the battleships, the Dutch East India Company has numerous disadvantages in terms of quantity and quality.

Li Zhixiang said: "The first, second, third, and fourth squadrons withdraw from the battle, and the fifth and sixth squadrons join the attack!"

"yes!"

Ning Haijun saw that the guns of the Dutch East India Combined Fleet were too old and had a short range, and could hardly pose a threat to Ning Haijun's warships. In this case, Li Zhixiang had the idea of ​​​​training troops.

Compared with the 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th Strike Squadrons, the 5th and 6th Squadrons lack actual combat experience. Taking advantage of this rare opportunity, the 5th and 6th Squadrons can practice their skills.

Fortunately, the Fifth and Sixth Squadrons participated in the attack on the Dutch Combined Fleet, otherwise the Dutch Combined Fleet would have been completely annihilated in half a day at most.

Although the Fifth Squadron and the Sixth Squadron are mostly new recruits and lack actual combat experience, the Fifth Squadron and the Sixth Squadron with full firepower fought very lively, with rows of shells flying overwhelmingly towards the Dutch Combined Fleet.

The power is shocking.

However, when firing at this distance, and since they were all new recruits, the hit rate was indeed not very good. Most of the shells hit the sea, in vain, stirring up clumps of tall and large water columns, and the sea looked like it was boiling.

Bubbles rolled, thunder and lightning flashed.

After the initial chaos, the Dutch Combined Fleet gradually adapted to the bombardment of the Ning Navy. So what if it doesn't adapt? Anyway, just do it if you can't.

Alfonso said: "The range of our naval guns is far inferior to that of the Ming Navy. Only by approaching within three hundred meters as soon as possible can we use the broadside firepower to destroy the opponent. Otherwise, this battle cannot be fought."

"dash forward!"

As the Dutch Combined Fleet launched an attack on the Fifth and Sixth Squadrons of the Ning Navy, the distance between the two sides quickly narrowed. Due to the shortened distance, the hit rate naturally increased greatly. In the blink of an eye, four warships were hit by high-explosive bombs.

, the deck, sails, and masts were all ablaze, and the sound of explosions was endless.

The Dutch Combined Fleet lost eight battleships in half a day. If Zheng Zhilong had lost eight main battleships, he would definitely not have blinked an eye. But the problem is that the Dutch East India Company only had 150 thousand-ton ships.

The number and manpower of the above battleships are their shortcomings.

Having just lost eight warships, including five armed merchant ships, Alfonso could no longer hold on: "Hans, you must let Zheng Zhilong send troops, otherwise we can only surrender. The disparity in strength between the enemy and ourselves is too great, even if God is invited here

, and we can’t win this battle!”

The current combat loss ratio is 8 to 0. Six of the main warships of the Ninghai Navy were hit one after another, and nearly 70 sailors were lost. However, the loss of the warships was not large.

Putmans also knew that what Colonel Alfonso said was true. The loss of eight battleships was a very heavy casualty. If it were not for the large number of colonial native sailors on the battleships and armed merchant ships, thousands of them would have died.

In Subic Port City, a castle originally built by the Spanish, Putmans met Zheng Zhilong for the first time.

At this time, Zheng Zhilong was very relaxed, as if this war had nothing to do with him.

"Your Excellency Nicholas!"

"Hans, you came just in time. I just got the West Lake Longjing tea. This is new tea before the rain. It can only produce less than two kilograms per year. Come and taste it!"

Putmans was now anxious and angry. He hurriedly said: "You can drink tea anytime, but the problem is that there is no time. The battle in Subic Bay is not going well. We hope for your help, my friend."

!”

"I also want to help you, my friend, but you also know that we had a battle with Ning Haijun a while ago, and our Zheng fleet suffered heavy losses!"

"The current situation is very serious. In the words of your Ming Dynasty, it is called the death of lips and the coldness of teeth..."

"My friend, even if you say this, even if you are hiring, there will be a price, right?"

Zheng Zhilong comes from a trading background and is no novice in negotiation. He has rich experience. It is absolutely impossible for the Dutch to use him in vain!

"what do you want?"

"Cannons and battleships!"

"This also comes with a price!"

"My friend, you have thought about bringing the entire Formosa (general) under your rule, letting the glory of European civilization spread to every corner of this treasure island, and letting all Formosa people return to the Lord.

In my arms?"

Zheng Zhilong has received news that after Ning Haijun landed in the senior officials, he began to quickly encroach on Zheng Zhilong's territory. Because Zheng Zhilong usually extorted those immigrants, Zheng Zhilong was actually not popular among the senior officials. Almost 90% of these immigrants defected to Ning Haijun.

For Zheng Zhilong, the current senior officials are worthless.

You want to defend, but you don't have enough strength. If you want to defend the generals, you must add more troops to the generals. But the problem is that the Ning Navy has never encountered an opponent in land warfare. Their Zheng family claims to have more than 200,000 troops.

But the problem is that there are a large number of pirate family members here, and less than 100,000 people can actually go into battle.

But 100,000 people still had to defend the old territory of Fujian and fight land battles with Ning Haijun. Zheng Zhilong lacked the courage, so he took the opportunity to sell off the top officials, which could be regarded as clearing out non-performing assets.

Putmans rolled his eyes and said: "Of course I do! Which country would think that its territory is too small? The problem is that it can't be done!"

Da'an is a treasure land with fertile land and rich resources. They plant sugar cane, mine mineral deposits, and develop shipping in the south, making huge profits. Now there is an opportunity to legitimately acquire the entire Da'an, how can they let it go?

As the governor-general of the Great Council, Putmans knew very well the value of the Great Council.

"Now is your chance!"

Zheng Zhilong smiled and said: "I am willing to resell the land of Formosa (big officer) to you. How much are you willing to pay?"

"Ten thousand guilders!"

To be fair, Putmans' bid was actually quite sincere. One Dutch guilder can be exchanged for twenty pounds. With the cost of the British Sea Monarch being 45,000 pounds, at least two ships can be built, including the 109-door ship.

artillery.

Ten thousand guilders is equivalent to two hundred thousand pounds, which is enough to accommodate four super battleships such as the Sea Monarch with a displacement of more than 1,600 tons.

If Zheng Zhilong had four Sea Monarch-level super battleships, he would not be at a disadvantage when facing the main battleships of the Ning Navy, because this super battleship has served in the British Royal Navy for more than sixty years.

"My friends, you'd better be sincere, time, time is the most important thing!"

"Fifteen thousand guilders!"

"Ten guilders!"

"Impossible, at most 30,000!"

"We each take a step back, ninety thousand guilders!"

"fifty thousand!"

"Eighty thousand, otherwise, we'll have an interview!"

Zheng Zhilong smiled and said: "I don't want your Dutch East India Company's money. I need battleships and naval guns. With your Dutch shipbuilding capabilities, I will use these 80,000 guilders to order a Dutch third-class battleship from you!"

The Dutch do not have super battleships. Their largest main battleship is the third-class battleship, also known as the Seven-Province class. This battleship has a displacement of more than 1,500 tons and has 72 guns, including three 36-pounders.

cannon and twenty-two twenty-four-pounder cannon, sixteen eighteen-pounder cannon, and thirty-one twelve-pounder cannon.

The firepower of this kind of warship is quite powerful, which has laid the foundation for the rise of the Dutch Navy. Even an 18-pounder cannon is enough to cause fatal damage to warships under 600 tons. Even the main warship of the Ning Navy, two

The fourteen-pounder gun also has a greater killing effect.

If it is directly hit by a thirty-six-pounder cannon, especially if it is hit at the waterline, it is possible that one shot will enter the soul.

Putmans actually does not have the power to sell Dutch third-class battleships. In fact, the entire Dutch Mediterranean Fleet does not have many such third-class battleships, less than a hundred.

Even in the naval battle between the Netherlands and the Spanish Downs in 1639, the new Dutch navy won a complete victory and completely annihilated the huge fleet formed by the Spanish. The number of participating Dutch navy and armed merchant ships was only 152.

Putmans was forced to sign a city alliance with Zheng Zhilong, agreeing to purchase the Taichung area at a price of 80,000 guilders, and at the same time, hire Zheng Zhilong to fight at a price of 20,000 guilders.
To be continued...