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   Chapter 664 661 [Ambush at sea]

   "They found it."

   Tie Hong is in the castle at the moment, observing the Dutch fleet with binoculars.

  Li Dingguo's army did not come because the distance was too far. Those who sent troops to occupy Busuanga Island were the black buddies who were in charge of stationing Luzon.

   Luzon garrisoned a total of 3,000 troops, Tie Hong brought 2,000, and the remaining 1,000 stayed in Manila to defend the city. These 3,000 troops were formed by conscripting farmers and soldiers from Fujian and Guangdong. They have never fought much, and their combat effectiveness is definitely not as good as that of the regular Datong army.

   Of course, taking Busuanga Island is more than enough.

  The Dutch castle on the island was built more crudely than the earthen castles in the Han villages and towns in Liaodong because they were reluctant to spend money. There are only more than 30 defenders, and their combat effectiveness is very bad. They can beat the aborigines, but they were bombarded by the Datong Navy, so they directly chose to surrender in Kaesong.

  This island is actually not that bad. It is larger than Amami Island and only smaller than Ryukyu Island.

  Although the island is mountainous, there is also a lot of land that can be cultivated, but the indigenous agricultural technology is too backward. If the Han people migrated here, it would be good for land reclamation and development, and the food produced could allow tens of thousands of people to be self-sufficient, not to mention fishing in the offshore.

  Vander Laan heard Adorp's warning, and quickly asked the adjutant to issue an order to signal the fleet to leave the bay.

   But it was too late, because the ambush site of the Datong Navy was too close.

  Behind a few small islands in the northern part of the bay, there are more than 20 Chinese warships hidden. There are also a large number of islands in the southern part of the bay, hiding more than 60 Chinese warships.

  The Sultan of Brunei and the Sultan of Sulu, after seeing the Dutch fleet, all sent ships to report that the Chinese navy could calmly set up an ambush.

  As for the Chinese army, why is it faster than the Dutch fleet?

  The reason is simple. It takes time for the Governor of the Netherlands to mobilize troops.

   Of the 18 Dutch warships, 5 of them were transferred from Malacca, and even 100 troops were drawn from Malacca.

  As for the Chinese army, after the emperor issued an order, the clipper sailed to Shanghai overnight. The Shanghai Fleet set off immediately, took the Ningbo Fleet halfway, and then took the Fuzhou Fleet. The three fleets each took 80%, and the remaining 20% ​​continued to perform the original mission. In addition, there is the Guangzhou Fleet, which is responsible for patrolling the coasts of Guangnan, Guangxi, and Guangdong, and is on guard against the Netherlands coming from here.

  Shanghai, Ningbo, and Fuzhou fleets, in order to catch up with time, did not even bring enough military rations, and all replenished in Luzon.

   "Left full rudder, block the opening, don't let the red-haired ghost escape!" Hong Xu shouted.

   On the other side, Shi Daxuan was also shouting: "Side sail, hit the side sail quickly, we are against the wind!"

  Wan Bangyan was in the most southwest, pulled out his command knife and roared: "Open the sails, don't need to fire, go straight there, cut the enemy fleet in two!"

  This sea area is perfect for ambushes.

  If it weren’t for the vigilance of the Dutch army commander Adorp, who observed the fortress and found traces of shelling, the Dutch navy would still be foolishly sailing to the port. At that time, it will be completely blocked, and there will be no room to move.

   There is no need to use binoculars at all. Van der Laan can see clearly with the naked eye that nearly a hundred Chinese warships are coming from the northeast and southwest.

  If the Dutch fleet breaks through directly, the wind direction is a crosswind. However, they had to sail to the southwest against the wind first, and then escape across the wind, because there were several small islands blocking the front-it was impossible to bypass the islands with the wind, and they were too close to the Chinese fleet, and they would collide head-on with Shi Daxuan's troops.

  But it is even more impossible to go around the island against the wind, because there are too many Chinese warships to face.

  Vander Laan made a decisive decision and ordered: "Sail northeast and hit it directly!"

  So, 18 Dutch warships sailed downwind to the northeast, where there were 23 warships led by Shi Daxuan.

  Shi Daxuan's fleet sailed due west, changing from headwind to crosswind, trying to physically block the opening and prevent the enemy ships from escaping from the encirclement.

   "Boom boom boom!"

  Both sides are firing guns, Shi Daxuan fired the broadside guns, while the Dutch fleet fired the bow guns.

   "Stop it, don't let the red-haired ghost go!"

  The 650-ton Dutch battleship "Stubborn John" rammed into the side of a 200-ton Chinese warship while charging at full speed.

  A large gap appeared in the side hull of the Chinese warship. Under the violent impact, it almost turned over and fell into the sea. The ship was basically hopeless and would sink in a short while, and the navy soldiers jumped into the sea to escape.

  Van der Laan roared: "Don't get entangled with the enemy ship, quickly bypass the island to break through!"

  Wan Bangyan is located on the southwest side of the battlefield, and is still chasing at full speed with the wind.

   Hong Xu's position was due to the west, and he ordered: "Turn to the north, go around the island to intercept the enemy!"

  Even if the Dutch fleet can break through from Shi Daxuan, it has to sail against the wind through a narrow channel. That is the peninsula extending from Busuanga Island, and the channel formed by the long strip of islands in the sea. As long as Hong Xu ran fast, he could block the Dutchman in the narrow passage.

   Less than ten minutes after the two sides fought, Shi Daxuan's fleet suffered heavy losses, and two ships were damaged by the Dutch battleship.

  At that time, the speed of the Dutch fleet also slowed down, and the two sides were entangled at close range in the narrow sea area.

   "Boom boom boom!"

  Both the enemy and us, one is fleeing, the other is blocking, and both are firing at the same time.

   While shelling, Shi Daxuan ordered to approach the ship. He is Zheng Zhilong's former unit. No matter how many artillery pieces he is equipped with, he always wants to fight on board and **** the enemy ships by the way. The lives of the soldiers are second to none.

   Not long after, another Chinese warship sank. It was too close, and it was full of two rounds of broadside shelling. Of course, the Dutch warship that was bombarded with it was also not much better, and the hull suffered heavy damage in many places.

  There is only the Dutch battleship Stubborn John, which is too big and extremely strong. While firing guns, they rampaged, and all the Chinese warships that wanted to join the ship were knocked away by this guy.

  Finally, Stubborn John successfully rushed out and sailed against the wind in the narrow channel.

  Wan Bangyan led the Taiwan fleet, advancing at full speed with the wind, and finally entered the battlefield at this moment, killing the tail of the Dutch fleet. The warships of the two sides were entangled at close range, and it was easy to accidentally injure them by firing. Wan Bangyan also ordered to split the ship.

  At this point in the battle, Hong Xu also led his army around the island, and was about to block the only passage.

  Suddenly, the Stubborn John rushed out of the narrow passage, sailed across the wind and fled to the north, and Huangyan Island was 400 kilometers away. Immediately afterwards, another escaped, a 400-ton Dutch ship.

  Hong Xu's ship is "Datong", a 500-ton Galen ship snatched from Spain. Seeing that it was too late to pursue, he simply ignored the two enemy ships that had broken through and ordered the entire army to completely block that passage.

  The remaining Dutch warships suddenly fell into despair. Some chose to surrender, some stubbornly resisted.

  This kind of bad terrain, no matter how good the naval warfare technology is, it will not work. Run a little faster, and the warships of the two armies may collide. It is nothing more than to see who can win the boarding battle.

  Results of this battle:

  The Chinese navy was sunk three ships, five ships were severely damaged, and more than 600 soldiers were killed or injured.

  Dutch Fleet, one ship sank, four ships surrendered, eleven ships were captured in the boarding battle, and the remaining two ships successfully broke through.

  The Datong Navy had so many casualties, most of which were caused by boarding. On one of the enemy ships, there were hundreds of Dutch troops, and the two sides fought from the deck to the cabin.

   "Damn it, let the red-haired ghost run twice!"

  Shi Daxuan was furious. Ninety percent of the casualties in this battle were soldiers under his command, and the three ships that were sunk were also his troops.

  But said that the two Dutch warships that escaped went northward and then headed eastward with the wind, and soon arrived at the Spanish colonial island of Mindoro. They dare not go back the same way, and they dare not go to Luzon and Taiwan, and they dare not even provoke the Spaniards, but they can bully the natives.

  As if to vent their anger, the two Dutch warships, led by Van der Laan, landed in the southernmost part of Mindoro.

  There is an indigenous tribe there. A few years ago, when China and the Netherlands joined forces to deal with Spain, the Netherlands even turned against the indigenous people here. They took the aborigines to attack the Spanish gathering point. After the war, the aborigines were retaliated by Spain.

  Now, Vanderlande pointed to the indigenous village and said, "Let's level this place, we need booty!"

   There were hundreds of troops on board the two Dutch warships, and Van der Laan even disembarked two hundred sailors to attack innocent natives with muskets.

  The natives were powerless to resist, and they abandoned their homes and fled.

  The Dutch army pursued frantically and captured nearly a hundred natives. Those who are too old are not to be killed directly, and young men, women and children are brought back to the ship.

  Vander Laan said again: "Take away the food and fur, and burn all their thatched huts!"

  The raging fire ignited, and there were many corpses on the ground.

  Countless aborigines hid in the mountains and forests, looking at their burned homes, hugging each other and crying bitterly.

  Since sailing south, it is all Spanish territory, and Vanderland did not provoke it again. They brought the looted food and slaves to Cuyo Island in the Sulu Kingdom, and once again massacred the aborigines in a venting style, burned down their houses, and robbed them of their food.

   Then, around the southern coast of Kalimantan, I returned to Batavia in a dingy manner.

  Van der Lin stood on the tower of the governor's mansion, seeing only two warships returning, his heart froze immediately.

   It's over, it's over!

  The warships of the Dutch East India Company can be rebuilt, but he, the governor, will definitely be dismissed by the headquarters.

   Van der Laan and Adorp came to the governor's mansion in disgrace.

   "What's going on?" Van der Lin asked angrily.

  Vander Laan said: "We were ambushed."

  Van der Lindao: "The navy was ambushed?"

Van der Laan explained: "Luzon is China's territory. If you want to rescue Zeelandia, you must go through the waters of Luzon. I guess the Chinese navy must be gathered in Manila, so I want to use Busuanga Island as a base. Land on Sanga Island, then send warships to Manila to investigate, and then deploy a combat plan according to the specific situation."

   "And then?" Van der Lin asked.

Van der Laan began to shirk his responsibilities: "The defenders on Busuanga Island are all trash. It took a long time for the fortress to be occupied by the Chinese. The sea area near Busuanga Port has extremely complex terrain and is full of islands. , Warships can be hidden everywhere. What's even worse, there is an island blocking the vicinity of Busuanga Port. After our army is ambushed, we have to go around that island if we want to break through!"

  Van der Lin didn't bother to listen to the explanation any more, and said, "Come write the resignation letter with me."

  (end of this chapter)