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Chapter 1021: A Tiger Can't Beat a Pack of Wolves
"Okay, the location will be Batavia, and I will send the right person to participate." Hong Tao was not opposed to the peace talks. Anyway, the Ming Empire won the war, and no one could get what they couldn't get on the battlefield at the negotiation table.

However, we must also consider the reality. If the Dutch are forced into a corner and become the public enemy of Europe, it will not be good for the plan to integrate Asia. Politics itself is the art of compromise. When it is time to talk, we must talk, and when it is time to fight, we must not be cowardly.

"Your Majesty, please rest assured. When I return to Enniao Port, I will write a letter to inform the company's top management as soon as possible."

With the emperor's verbal agreement, Cohen was completely relieved. Obviously, the Ming emperor did not intend to expand the war, which was good news.

"Come on, serve breakfast. I'm still hungry. Governor Cohen, please come and have some... and Captain Aleps, please come and sit with us.

I'm curious about the New World, so we can talk about it while we eat. For example, how European countries divide the occupied areas, which ports are more prosperous, the details of local life, etc., anything is fine."

After finishing the serious business, Hong Tao rubbed his stomach. He was indeed a little hungry. He had not eaten anything since he had woken up that morning. But it was boring to go back to the cabin and eat alone. It happened that Cohen and the captured Spanish captain were there.

We set up a small table on the rear deck and prepared some snacks with hot cocoa tea. Although the wind was a bit strong, the hull was swaying, and there were splashes from time to time, it did not affect the sailors' eating and chatting, especially because the topic was relatively novel, the New World!
Just as Hong Tao was eating biscuits, drinking hot drinks and chatting leisurely with a Spanish captain and a Dutch governor, a small but fierce naval battle was taking place 80 kilometers northwest of him.

Two small-hulled warships, using flexible turning and crosswind high speed, surrounded a tall and majestic sailing ship, spewing flames at an average speed of about thirty seconds, and fired four-kilogram wedge-shaped cast iron solid shells out of the barrel at a speed of several hundred meters per second.

"Hold on, brave soldiers, God is with you! Fire back, and aim higher!" Count Supero, wearing half-body armor and a high-crowned helmet, stood on the poop and loudly encouraged the sailors and soldiers.

The battle had been going on for more than an hour. At first there was only one enemy ship, but soon another one arrived. It was obvious that the enemy ships had a way to communicate with each other remotely, such as the small umbrellas floating in the wind and the black smoke coming out from under the umbrellas.

It is indeed a novel invention, using gunpowder to launch it into the sky, and then using wind power to increase its suspension time. If you observe it with the naked eye, it can be spotted at least a few miles away in good weather, and it can be even farther away with a telescope.

But the more these ingenious devices the enemy has, the more difficult the situation for himself and the sailors will be. The artillery on the Ming Navy warships has a longer range and greater power than the Kabarin cannon on the Queen's ship. As long as it hits the hull, it will at least make a hole as thick as a thigh. The hard oak planks cannot resist it at all.

The larger caliber cannons on their own ships seemed weak and powerless at this time. Even though the movement was more shocking, the effect was almost zero. But no matter whether they could hit the enemy or not, they had to persist in firing. The sound of the cannons could partially dispel the fear and panic in the hearts of the sailors and soldiers.

"Bang...crash..." With a loud bang, the starboard side of the stern was hit again, and the thick bulwark was violently torn apart, with large pieces of wood flying everywhere. One of them just happened to pierce the earl's unprotected right forearm, and blood appeared on the spot.

He climbed up from the deck and pulled out the wooden splinter from his forearm. The sight before him made even the battle-hardened warrior feel slightly nauseous. The helmsman was unfortunately hit in the torso by a cannonball that penetrated the bulwark. His chest was completely invisible, and his head was still connected to his shoulders. His internal organs were limp and flowed onto the deck.

"Don't worry about me, carry him down...Right 20!" Resisting the feeling of nausea, the Count stepped over the helmsman's body and stood behind the steering platform, issuing orders while turning the steering wheel. Although he knew from the beginning that it was dangerous to be left behind, he still underestimated the situation. The main battleship with a displacement of 800 tons was completely powerless against two cruisers of less than 300 tons, and could neither hit nor escape.

Now he could no longer think about fighting to the death and inflicting casualties on the enemy, and there was no possibility of escape. His only hope was to delay time as much as possible, buying enough time for the other ships in the fleet to move away, thus doing his duty to the officers and soldiers who had followed him through life and death.

"Your Excellency, the sailors can't hold on any longer. Give the order..."

More than half an hour later, the captain, with a head covered in blood, and the boatswain, who was also injured, supported each other and climbed up to the stern deck, pleading with the commander expectantly.

Another faint sail appeared in the distance, and soon there would be another enemy ship. Besides the several leaking holes on the hull, the sails and rigging had also been damaged to varying degrees, and they really couldn't hold on any longer.

The sailors had already made it clear to the boatswain that they would no longer work on the masts. The gunners had not said they were going on strike, but they had suffered the most casualties. The two gun decks were in a mess, and most of the gunners had gone to the bottom cabin to drain the water. They didn't know if there would be another enemy ship.

"...Captain Corrado takes over the command! It is my honor to work on the same ship with you. Long live Spain, long live the king!" Looking up at the empty mast beams and then looking down at the dilapidated deck, Supero finally let go of the steering wheel.

He took out a silk handkerchief to wipe the stains off his breastplate, adjusted his helmet, tried to straighten his back, walked down the stern deck with a leisurely pace, and entered the captain's cabin without looking back.

"Lower the sails...lower the flags...everyone line up on the foredeck and gather your weapons on the quarterdeck!"

A few minutes later, a muffled sound was heard in the cabin. The captain wiped his face, gave the order to surrender to the sailors and soldiers, and took off his sword and pistol and threw them on the deck.

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The battle that lasted for several days ended. This naval battle, in which no one knew why it was fought and what benefits it would bring, finally ended, and most people were finally relieved.

General Supero was a nobleman, he had his pride and dignity, he would rather commit suicide than be captured and tarnish the family honor. Sailors, soldiers and most officers did not have these considerations, they just wanted to survive.

But whether they can survive in the end depends on whether the Ming Navy is tolerant. Judging from the sound of the artillery, the possibility is still very high. Since the sails and flags were lowered, the other side seems to have stopped shooting.

(End of this chapter)