Ming Zuo

Chapter 684

In the era when there were not many observation methods, sailing at night was definitely an act of courting death.

Therefore, the Dutch could only park their fleet in Liuluo Bay and wait for the dawn.

It's a pity that they waited for dawn, and they also waited for Zheng Zhilong's fleet.

The coast of Fujian is Zheng Zhilong's hometown.

In this place, regardless of day or night, even with their eyes closed, the members of the Zheng family can still move freely.

When the eastern sky turned white, Zheng Zhilong's fleet slid past Liuluo Village and suddenly appeared in front of the Dutch.

"How the hell did they get here?"

The dire alarm rang through the Dutch fleet, making Hans Putmans feel cold.

Anthony van Diemen was equally panicked.

"Hans, a decision must be made quickly, otherwise we are in danger."

Do you still need him to say it?
The moment Hans Putmans saw Zheng Zhilong's fleet, he knew that his side was in danger.

"Send an order to Liu Xiang and Li Guozhu, tell them to attack quickly, and don't let Zheng Zhilong approach."

Hans Putmans quickly thought of a solution.

That is to use the dilapidated sailboats of Liu Xiang and Li Guozhu to stand in front of the Dutch fleet and buy time for our side to regroup.

As long as the Dutch fleet can quickly form a battle formation, then this battle will still be fought.

Unfortunately, it ignores an important factor.

Zheng Zhilong's fleet came from the southeast.

Why did you choose this direction?
"Hehe, the strong wind has risen. Our army is going down with the wind, as fast as a horse. What can the Dutch do to stop it?"

Yes, Zheng Zhilong took the upper hand.

In today's naval battles, whoever can gain the upper hand will gain an absolute advantage.

Because in the case of sailing warships, whoever can take advantage of the wind speed will have absolute speed, putting the side in a favorable situation.

This is the case with the Zheng family's fleet.

All their ships bulged their sails, and like a pack of wolves, they rushed towards the Dutch fleet in Liuluo Bay.

Mixed in the Zheng family's fleet, Zuo Hua was amazed again and again.

"This Zheng Zhilong is really not to be underestimated. He will definitely be a strong enemy of our army in the future."

The staff members nodded after listening.

After getting along for so many days, everyone has a deep understanding of Zheng Zhilong's temperament and ability.

At the very least, the capture capability of this fighter plane far surpasses the rising stars like them.

Liu Xiang and Li Guozhu received orders from the Dutch and knew that the situation was critical.

They didn't dare to preserve their strength, and hurriedly turned the bow, hoping to stop the Zheng family's fleet.

It's a pity that Zheng Zhilong didn't pay attention to them at all.

"Use a banner to ask the second child to pester Liu Xiang, and don't let him come over to make trouble."

After receiving the flagship's order, Zheng Zhihu led his fleet to rush towards Liu Xiang.

Soon, the two sides became a ball on the sea.

Although Liu Xiang had a lot of ships, Zheng Zhihu was really powerful in fighting.

He concentrated three ships to besiege Liu Xiang's flagship.

Liu Xiang didn't take it seriously at first, but when his boat was hit twice, he couldn't help but feel like dying.

"Where did Zheng Zhilong get the cannon?"

At this time, of course Zheng Zhilong no longer hides his family background.

Zheng Zhihu and the other two ships were equipped with bronze cannons sold in Shandong.

As soon as the confrontation, the excellent performance of the bronze cannon gave Liu Xiang a head blow.

On his boat, the bow and stern of the boat were shot, and all of them were punched with big holes.

If it hadn't been for the position of the shot above the water, his ship would have been flooded.

Even so, Liu Xiang's boat also suffered heavy casualties.

The saddest thing is that the ships of Zheng Zhihu and others are all out of their range.

The gunner on Liu Xiang's boat could only stare blankly, there was nothing he could do.

After letting Zheng Zhihu entangle Liu Xiang, the main force of Zheng's fleet was even faster and rushed directly into the Dutch queue.

At the forefront of Zheng's fleet are more than a hundred small boats.

The purpose of these small boats was certainly not to attack the Dutch with artillery.

These are all fire boats.

Zheng Zhilong knew very well that even though he was supported by artillery from Shandong, the performance of the warship was still far inferior to that of the Dutch.
In a real artillery battle, he is still no match for the Dutch.

Then you can only take the old way.

That's sea of ​​fire tactics.

In order to carry out this tactic he offered a sky-high reward.

Every time a Dutch warship is burned, two hundred taels of silver will be rewarded.

There were sixteen people on one of Zheng's fire boats.

Sixteen people will share the two hundred taels of silver, which is definitely a huge fortune.

Under the reward, there must be a brave man.

Zheng's people fought bravely one by one, regardless of the fierce artillery fire from the Dutch.

Behind the fire boats, Zheng Zhilong's main force of fifty gun boats provided them with cover.

The sea was billowing with gunpowder and smoke, and the battle had entered a fierce state from the very beginning.

Zuo Hua put down his leisure and started to fight.

"Coordinates 187.2, 63.3, positive and negative 5, fire."

The two cannons on the Zuohua battleship fired in turn.

As a result, one shot was missed, and the other hit the side of the Dutch battleship Middelburg.

Middelburg is one of the few large warships in the Dutch fleet.

It has three upper and lower layers of broadside guns, plus four cannons at the head and tail, and there are more than seventy heavy cannons in total.

In addition, there are dozens of light artillery on the deck.

It can be said that the Middelburg is a giant fire monster moving at sea.

But no one thought that this monster was injured before it showed its power.

The moment the artillery battle started, the seasoned Hans Putmans noticed something was wrong.

"These guns are queer."

Anthony Van Diemen thought of something, and cursed bitterly: "It must be the damn Englishman who helped Zheng Zhilong."

Hans Putmans shook his head slowly.

"The English have no such artillery, nor have I ever seen one."

He counted silently, and had long since discovered that Zheng Zhilong's cannon could be fired every thirty counts.And the range is very long, which is actually the same as the heavy artillery in the Dutch fleet.

Such artillery, he can guarantee that it is unique in the world today.

Where did Zheng Zhilong get such amazing technology?

It's a pity that the chaotic battlefield doesn't allow him to think about it.

In just a short while, the desperate Zheng's fireboat had rushed into the ranks of the Dutch.

Hans Putman saw with his own eyes that the Brooks Paradise had been surrounded by Zheng's fireboats.

Those soldiers of the Zheng family, who regarded life as nothing, approached the Brooks Paradise, fixed the fireboat with claw hooks, and then lit the fire.

Those fireships were all filled with gunpowder and kerosene. Once they ignited, the fire immediately shot up into the sky and began to spread to the Brooks Paradise.

Those Zheng's soldiers jumped into the water.

As for how many survived, no one knows.

The surroundings of the Dutch fleet were already full of flames, as if falling into a galaxy.

It's a pity that although this galaxy is beautiful, it is very deadly.

(End of this chapter)