Nanming: I can build wonders

Chapter 165 This is Daming Territory!
Near the Natuna Islands, only [-] kilometers away from Zengmu Shoal.

A Dutch East India Company naval fleet consisting of 3 level 4 sailing warships, 4 level 5 sailing warships, and 7 armed merchant ships is sailing northeast, and they are patrolling here as usual.

On the watchtower of the mainmast of the flagship Batavia, two Dutch officers were leisurely drinking the Tibetan Immortal Wine from Dongning.

"Fergus, do you still have the rum from the Ming Dynasty? I only have the last bottle left." The Dutch officer named Daken raised his head and took a sip of the sweet liquor, then looked at the person beside him. companion.

"Daken, don't think of my treasures. Since those greedy Ming people set high tariffs last month, the price of these rums has doubled several times."

"My monthly salary is almost used to buy that rum. If I had hoarded a case of rum, I wouldn't have to blow the sea breeze on this mast now."

Fergus said angrily, beating his chest and stamping his feet.

While they were drinking and chatting, a sailor on the left side of the watchtower suddenly shouted.

"Sir! A large number of sailing warships have been found in the northeast!"

Hearing this, the two Dutch officers looked at each other, and they both saw doubts in each other's eyes.

Battleship?

Although this is a busy waterway, there are only a few sultanates in Kalimantan nearby, so how can there be warships!
Fergus raised the monocular telescope in his hand and looked in the direction the sailor pointed.

The next moment, his expression changed suddenly, he didn't look like he was just drunk at all, he just sobered up.

"It's the Ming people, it's the Ming people's naval fleet. God! So many large warships."

Fergus saw clearly that the Dutch's nightmare was flying on the fleet - the Great Tomorrow and the Moon Flag!

As Ming Zheng became more and more influential in the Nanyang region, the forces in the surrounding countries also knew what the Great Tomorrow Sun and Moon Flag looked like.

Not to mention the Dutch, they have fought several tough battles with Ming since the beginning of the seventeenth century, and they dare not forget the symbol of this old rival.

Fergus hurriedly put down the binoculars and leaned over the railing, shouting towards the deck below.

"Ming Army Fleet! The Ming Army Fleet is found in the northeast!"

At the bow, Captain Lanard heard the call from the mast, and he immediately picked up the binoculars on the table to look northeast.

"Three decks! That's a first-class sailing warship! There are five of them, more than a dozen second-class sailing warships and a considerable number of third-class warships! Where did these Ming people get their warships!"

Captain Lanard frowned tightly, what is the situation, such a fleet is also one of the best in Europe.

This is a joint fleet composed of the Minhai Fleet and the Guangdong Fleet. The first batch of warships built by the Anping Armory, except for the Victory, have all been launched.

All the newly launched warships have been pulled out this time, and there are also many big bird ships, and the rushing ships are almost eliminated. The lineup is very strong.

Why does the Netherlands regard second-tier warships as first-tier warships?

Because the grading standard adopted by Zheng Kezang's navy was the standard of the British Navy at the end of the eighteenth century.

And now it is the seventeenth century, and the warships of the Dutch are very different from the British naval warships of the same period, and their warships are often smaller.

During this period, the most powerful warship of the Dutch East India Company was the Hector, which could be regarded as a lightweight third-tier battleship.

It has only two decks and is equipped with far fewer guns than British warships of the same level, with only 50 or less.

However, although the Dutch have fewer guns and smaller boats, it is not for nothing that they can become sea coachmen.

For the navy, the Dutch have their own unique understanding, that is, the only thing that is fast is not broken.

The warships of the Netherlands are all equipped with heavy artillery of more than 32 pounds. This is the configuration that only the first-class warships and second-class warships of other countries have.

They are typical of small boats with cannons. With the power of large-caliber artillery and the high speed brought by their small bodies, the Dutch's third-tier warships can completely suppress other countries' warships of the same level.

Sometimes, it can even compete with first-tier and second-tier warships.

However, today they are not all on patrol. The Batavia, where Captain Lanard is currently located, is the strongest battleship in the patrol fleet. It is only a Tier 24 battleship equipped with 12 4-pounder guns.

The other ships are not worth mentioning.

Compared with this Fujian-Guangdong joint fleet that suddenly appeared, the Dutch patrol fleet is as weak and helpless as a child.

"Sir, the enemy is coming towards us, what should we do?"

The first mate on the ship asked Ranald.

"Let's look at the situation first. When the distance between the two sides gets closer, let the flag bearer send a flag to ask why they came to the Dutch territory." Lanard said in a deep voice.

During this period of time, the relationship between the Netherlands and Mingzheng eased slightly, and the two sides tacitly reduced naval contacts, and even had trade exchanges.

Therefore, Lanard does not intend to retreat directly, in case someone is just passing by.

Lanard wondered if there was a possibility that the Ming Navy on the opposite side had received some news that it was here to search for the Spanish expeditionary fleet.

If this is the case, then the teammate who should be sold has to be sold, and the fleet on the opposite side needs the main force of the Dutch Republic to hope to win. How can their East India Company mess with such a boss!
This is the era of giant ships and cannons. People have big warships and fierce cannons, so they have the final say.

The fleets of the two sides were getting closer and closer, and the sailors on the Dutch warships looked at the Ming Zheng Navy fleet that looked like a fortress at sea and began to breathe shortly.

The sense of oppression is too strong!

When the two fleets were 700 meters apart, Lanard ordered:
"Banner, ask them what their purpose is here?"

"Yes, sir!"

The semaphore soldiers immediately ran to the side of the ship, waved the command flag at the approaching Ming army fleet, and passed on the message.

Zhu Tiangui and Liu Guoxuan on the opposite side also received the semaphore from the Netherlands, Zhu Tiangui said without any hesitation: "Tell them, this is Daming territorial waters, let them go!"

Mingzheng's joint fleet came here, except for patrols and training, it was here to provoke trouble, and it was impossible to give them a good look.

Ming Zheng's standard-bearer faithfully delivered this domineering message.

On the Batavia, there was chaos, "Sir, the Ming people on the opposite side said this is their territory, let us leave."

After Captain Lanard heard this, his face became very ugly.

When did this place become the territory of Ming Dynasty?Why doesn't he know?
You must know that Natuna Island is quite close to Batavia, and it is the most important site of the Dutch East India Company, otherwise it would not come here often to patrol.

Mingren on the opposite side is also too arrogant, aren't they really afraid of the Netherlands?
Suddenly, Nader remembered the history of the competition for Formosa Island (the Dutch name for Yizhou Island), and found that the Ming people were not really afraid of an imperialist country like the Netherlands.

Bad ball, do we really have to go to war!

(End of this chapter)