Rise of the 1630s South America

Chapter 314 The Returning Fleet

It is the ship of the Second Fleet sailing into the Xinhua Bay!However, their condition did not look very good. The bowsprit of the "Super Brave" walking in the front did not know where to go, the foremast mast was also broken, and the sail surface was more or less damaged; The appearance of the "Common Market" looks okay-if you ignore the doors and windows of the second floor of her poop, the captain's cabin on the third floor and the bridge that have been smashed by shells many times.It looked like they had encountered a battle.

"After a fight, it's such a virtue!" Facing the crowd who came to check the situation, Wang Tiehammer said with a wry smile: "Don't worry, it's nothing serious, and there are no casualties, it's just that this matter is a bit embarrassing, grandma! "

The two warships of the Second Fleet were quickly pulled into the dock of the ship repair station and began to undergo some renovation and maintenance.In the city, Wang Tiehammer had already talked to Shi Qinjie and others about the tortuous experience of this trip to the north to find the route.

"In the first ten days of June (1640), with the permission of the Ottomans, we took a rest in Basra, their military port." After Wang Tiehammer lit his pipe, he said slowly: "We took a rest and replenished the supplies. Finally, we sailed out of the Persian Gulf, where we were spotted by a Portuguese ship off Muscat, but were quickly out of their sight in the dark. We continued sailing along the Persian and Indian coasts, making maps , while collecting hydrological information along the route. On June 6, Lao Han and I took refuge in a river in order to avoid the storm. According to the analysis of Lao Han and I, the river was probably the Indus River. After the storm passed, Our two ships hoisted the Portuguese flag, and then headed south along the west coast of India; in order to avoid encountering Portuguese ships, we have been sailing in areas far away from the Indian coastline, but we still encountered Portuguese patrol fleets on the way. They adjusted their course to escape their sight, but I guess the Portuguese must have noticed it. In the East India region, no matter whether it is the British, Portuguese or Dutch, a warship as huge as the Common Market It’s rare, I guess they guessed our origin, but for various reasons, they turned a blind eye and let us go.”

"On July 7, we encountered a Dutch fleet in the waters near Galle Fort in the southwest of Ceylon Island. Grandma, bear, we forgot to put away the Portuguese flag at the time. The Dutch had about seven or eight ships. When we saw us, we rushed up." Wang Tiechui took a deep breath of the cigarette, and the spicy smell of the smoke eased his mood a little, and he continued: "It's not good for us to lower the Portuguese flag and raise it again at this time. Our navy ensign, but I reckon the Dutchmen would still be able to hit it even if we did that. His grandma, that gunfire was so fierce! The redheads had the upper hand and just surrounded them, trying to eat them in one bite We are two ships. Lao Han's 'Super Brave' was running fast, I let him go first, my ship fought and retreated, and finally broke through all the way to the east, and finally got rid of these Dutch ships at night. Mom Yes, if it weren't for our captain, I really want to beat up these Dutchmen, they are too arrogant!"

"Why did the Dutch appear in the waters near Galle? Isn't Galle Fort a Portuguese stronghold?" Speaking of this, Shi Chinger couldn't help asking: "I know that the Portuguese and the Dutch have been in Ceylon before. Fighting each other, has Galle Fort been occupied by the Dutch? Uh, haven’t they signed a ten-year peace agreement? Could it be that the news from Europe hasn’t reached here yet?”

"Galle Fort is probably already in the hands of the Dutch!" Han Dezhi had just returned from the ship repair station, and at this moment he heard Shi Qingjie's question and immediately replied: "The Dutch ships came from Galle Fort. It seems to be a fleet patrolling the sea. As for the peace agreement signed by the Dutch and the Portuguese, I can tell you clearly that it is limited to Europe, and the overseas colonies of the two sides are still at war. For example, Brazil, such as Ceylon Island, has already become a mess. The Portuguese have to face the Jaffna Kingdom established by the Tamils ​​in the north, and at the same time, they have to deal with the Dutch attack from across the sea. Wonderful."

"So that's what's going on, are the Dutch so arrogant in every sea area now..." Shi Qinjie nodded silently, and then said to Wang Tiehammer: "Old Wang, go ahead, you have escaped from the pursuit of those Dutchmen What do you do next?"

"I didn't give up at the time, and wanted to go east again, so I followed the ocean current and the southwest wind with Lao Han and headed towards Malacca. But I think we went in the wrong direction when we got rid of the pursuit of the Dutch. In addition, the weather in those days has not been very good, we have not been able to determine our position, we only know to sail forward along the ocean current according to the position we estimated." Wang Tiechui took another sip from his teacup, and then stood with the station. Han Dezhi at the door looked at each other with a wry smile, and said: "Now that I think about it, it was luck at the time. If we hadn't lost our way and followed the normal route, I don't know how many Dutch fleets we would have encountered on the way. Then we would probably It's over! Lao Han is probably fine and runs fast, but my "Common Market" is hard to say. The Dutch can deal with it with three or four ships, and it will be too much for more. If they come with seven or eight ships I have to run away too."

Hearing this, Shi Qinjie and others frowned.I used to only know that the Dutch are powerful, have a large number of ships, and the Dutch are doing business all over the world to grab colonies, but I didn’t expect that the Dutch fleet in the Far East is so large. Even if they are all armed merchant ships, that number is enough to make the East Coast It's a headache, after all, ants kill elephants a lot.Of course, the East Indies are the lifeblood of the Dutch, and the high density of ships here is also conceivable.

However, the Dutch's maritime strength is indeed beyond doubt.Shi Qingjie vaguely remembered that in this era, except for those ships that were not suitable for long-distance voyages, the Dutch still had a huge fleet of more than 20 ships around the world. The name of the sea coachman is really not for nothing!If any country wants to compete with the Netherlands at sea at this time, it really must think twice.Britain, a country with a seafaring tradition, still spent [-] years, recruited several helpers, and fought three wars when it faced the Dutch, which exhausted the Netherlands.Please note that the British did not completely defeat the Dutch, but dragged them down, which shows the original strength of the Dutch.

"On July 7, we saw a coast, but we didn't know where it was." Han Dezhi followed Wang Tiehammer's words and said, "Old Wang told me that this is the Andaman Sea, and I reckoned it was. After walking back and forth several times near the coastline, drawing a lot of maps and comparing them, it was finally determined that this place should be near Mawlamyine in later generations of Myanmar. We rested here for two days and replaced the damaged canvas and the leaking boat. At the same time, we went ashore to trade some fresh meat with an indigenous village. In early August, we left Mawlamyine and sailed south. We didn’t try to cross the Strait of Malacca again. It’s useless. The Dutch or Portuguese over there They would not allow us to set foot in that sea area. So we didn't touch that bad luck, but returned to New China along the current. However, when we passed near Aceh, we still encountered a group of Dutch ships. The other party bullied our captain and surrounded us. We went up and fought fiercely, and finally the team of armed merchant ships found that they couldn’t eat us, so they withdrew again. And we were also eager to return, and we didn’t bother to entangle with them, so we also escaped. Well, the damage on the ship is mainly It was born in this battle."

"The Dutch are very strict about their territory. Except for a few British, French or Danish ships that have exchanged interests with them, they will be hostile to outsiders as soon as they appear in the vicinity." Wang Tiehammer He said depressedly, "This time, Lao Han and I are not strong enough, so we don't have the confidence to challenge them. But we want to fly directly to Daming, and the Netherlands is a hurdle that we can't get around. This matter must be resolved as soon as possible. In my opinion, we Just concentrate a few battleships and forcefully break through there once!"

Everyone shook their heads and laughed.Wang Tiechui laughed himself, and then shook his head: "Forget it, even if you gamble all your belongings and succeed, we have nothing to do when the Dutch block the door. It's not easy to handle! We still have to talk to the Dutch. Let’s talk, let’s see if it’s possible to solve it in other ways, but I think the possibility is extremely low. Damn, the Dutch are now monopolizing the Far East route. What about questioning? As long as someone starts, we must be the second to respond."

"If it doesn't work, we can only smuggle in, but it's not through the Strait of Malacca. The success rate is too low." Zhang Xiao, the captain of the "Broken Wave" sitting inside, said suddenly, "We can go east along the ocean current, and then get closer. When the Dutch landed, they turned to the south, followed the coastline of Australia, bypassed New Guinea, went north, and arrived directly from the ocean east of the Philippines to the coast of Daming.”

"After reaching the coast of Australia, both the current and the wind direction may be unfavorable. How do we go?" Wang Tiehammer frowned and thought for a while, then said, "There is no way. Although I have never walked through the New Guinea island, I have I also know that the wind direction and ocean currents there are changeable, so it is difficult to walk, unless..."

"Can a steamship sail in such a complicated environment?" Zhang Xiao snapped his fingers and said with a smile, "Now this is not a problem."

(End of this chapter)