The Rise of Ming Dynasty 1646

Chapter 718
The fleet has been away from the captain for two days, Cesareo looked back, and all he could see was the blue water and the Partner as the fleet's rear guard.

He suddenly muttered out of nowhere, "Maybe this raid is not wise..."

"Martin, what are you talking about?" Kauu, the Batavian military representative standing next to him, frowned and glanced at him, "The Spaniards are retreating steadily in the Netherlands, and now is the best opportunity to completely defeat them. The decisive battle cannot be affected by military expenses!"

His deputy, Patrick, continued: "Since Mr. Owat accepted the 'fair trade' agreement of the Ming Dynasty, in less than three months, our revenue in the Far East has dropped by 30.00%! And our income is still going on. The downward trend. So Governor Masiike almost immediately agreed to send fleet reinforcements."

The 30.00% profit was obviously taken by the Daming Ocean Caravan.In the trade with Japan, regardless of the cost of the fleet or the purchase price of the goods, the Helan people are much higher than that of Ming Dynasty. If there is a fair competition, they will definitely be at a disadvantage.

"Yes, I know that. It's just..." Cesareo licked his dry lips, "I think maybe we shouldn't confront this huge Eastern Empire head-on. I have seen its horror with my own eyes... ..."

Kaw interrupted him: "You mean those warships on their berth?"

"This is indeed one of the reasons..."

"Then it's even more important to do it as soon as possible," Kau Wu resolutely said, "Before those ships are launched, our fleet still has an advantage for the time being."

Patrick added in a low voice, "Within a year, Batavia will only have the warships at hand."

"Advantage?" These two words made Cesareo even more uneasy.According to intelligence, the Ming Dynasty now has 3 warships with thirty guns, six with twenty guns, and 6 warships with ten guns.

After receiving the reinforcements, the large fleet has only 1 fifty-gun, three thirty-gun warships, five twenty-gun warships, and 3 medium and large armed merchant ships.

In terms of quantity, my side is still at a disadvantage.

Seeing the depressed mood of the newly promoted captain of the Hector, Kauwu patted him on the shoulder again and said, "Yes, an absolute advantage. The Eastern fleet must have at least five times as many warships as ours. spell.

"What's more, now we still have the trump card of the Dodratchet. In the Far East, it is completely an invincible dragon."

He smiled, "Actually, what I care more about is the Manila Fleet watching from behind. If the naval battle with Ming is not a big loss, I even want to suggest that General Bess take the Spaniards by the way."

He has reason to be so confident.Based on his experience, the quality of Helan's warships, the quality of sailors, and the level of naval warfare tactics are far higher than those of the Ming Dynasty.

What's more, this time the Grand Fleet has taken the absolute initiative. It will lay an ambush on the trade route from the Ming Dynasty to Japan, sink a few main battleships of the opponent, and then seek a decisive battle.

Almost foolproof.

"But..." Cesareo wanted to say something more, but suddenly he heard a horn shot from the direction of the flagship, and then the speed of the entire fleet suddenly slowed down.

"What happened?"

As soon as he finished speaking, the second officer of the Hector quickly rushed into the forecastle, and said in a hurry: "Master Captain, the flagship just issued a signal and ordered everyone to turn around and return to the officers!"

With nineteen large ships and twelve auxiliary junk ships, it is not easy for such a large fleet to complete a 180-degree turn.

When the entire fleet turned its head south and headed towards Taiwan again, Cesareo's second officer had learned the details and was reporting to him.

"As soon as we left, there was a huge fleet surrounding you?" The captain was still bowing his head in thought, and Kauu was already shocked, "Could it be the Spaniards from Manila?!"

"No, Captain," said the second officer, "according to the person who reported it, it may be the fleet of the Ming Dynasty."

"Impossible!" Kau Wu shouted, "How dare these Easterners take the initiative to attack us? It is impossible for them to have such courage..."

"Ming people are very smart." Cesareo suddenly said, "This is their territory, and they have too many ports. Even if we burn down their Chongming base, it will only be an insignificant loss to them. But If the port of Zeelandia is attacked, it will be a disaster for the officials."

The second officer nodded immediately, "Especially our fleet isn't there yet."

Cesareo looked at him and said, "Do you know the size of the enemy fleet?"

"The report came from the patrol boats on the periphery of Dayuan. They didn't investigate carefully because they were afraid of wasting time. But they said that they saw at least two large ships with [-] guns and seven or eight small gunboats."

Patrick only felt a chill down his spine, "Fortunately, the sea conditions were bad yesterday, and the fleet moved slowly. Otherwise, when the reporting ship catches up, the officers don't know what will happen..."

"It's not a problem for Port Zeelandia to rely on the fort to persist for five or six days." After all, Cesareo was a good general under Bess, and after confirming that the battle was inevitable, he quickly calmed down.

He tapped on the railing of the forecastle, narrowed his eyes and said, "The Orientals have been prepared for a long time and have been hiding along the coast of Fujian.

"Fortunately, they are too impatient. If we launch an attack after we are far away, the port may really be destroyed."

Before dark, the Dayuan fleet stopped sailing—the water in the Taiwan Strait is not deep enough, and even if you are in a hurry, it is not safe to travel at night.The captains of all the warships gathered on the Dodratchet, and under the auspices of Bess, they discussed urgently for most of the night, and arranged a series of tactics for the unexpected situation.

"Obviously Ming's ambitions are very big." Bess finally said, "They want to defeat us and monopolize the trade with Japan and North Korea. They even...take away the big officials.

"Helan's fate in the Far East depends on this battle."

……

Two days later.

On the sea more than 40 nautical miles northwest of Dayuan, the Dodrechet encountered the second clipper who reported the message head-on.

As soon as the reporter boarded the ship, Bess asked anxiously, "How is the situation, sir?"

"The Ming fleet blocked the port. Yesterday, two [-]-gun battleships tried to rush into the port, but were repelled by the fort. However, several of our peripheral patrol ships and merchant ships were lost."

Bess felt relieved when he heard that the port was fine, and asked again, "Then where are they now?"

"Here, their main force suddenly headed north this morning. We have a ship following up, but there is no report yet."

"Damn it, they must be nearby." Bess frowned and looked around, "I'm afraid their guard ship has spotted us."

He said to the herald: "The main fleet is on standby at the windward port. Spread out the junk ships and find the enemy's trace as soon as possible!"

"Yes!"

(End of this chapter)