1635 Han style rises again

Chapter 277 Han He's First Naval Battle

On January 1639, 1, Qi Dajiang and his party of four warships stopped at Gouer Island (Christmas Island) for a while, then turned around and sailed northeastward to the Kingdom of Matalan Sultan for a large-scale arms transaction.At that time, the Hanzhou fleet will unload a lot of military funds, and then take away hundreds of tons of rice and corn and nearly a thousand women used to pay for weapons.

Although the fleet used only one ship for trading military supplies, Hanzhou still used four warships to go there at one time.In addition to escorting, there is also the opportunity to intercept and kill the single Dutch merchant ship.

Looking at the Gouer Island that was gradually going away, Qi Dajiang couldn't help looking back at this small island not far from Java Island.Starting from here, it is very close to the colonial stronghold of the Dutch East India Company on Java Island, and far away from the main trading routes around it, so it is difficult for outsiders to find it.This small island must be firmly occupied, and it is necessary to seize the time to build this small island and turn it into a forward base for attacking the Dutch.

Five days later, the fleet approached the coast of Java Island and began to sail eastward slowly. Under the guidance of a navigator who had been here before, they looked for the trading place agreed with the Matalan Sultan Kingdom.

"Cross this bay, and go further for less than 1 miles. I think we will soon reach the place agreed by the natives." The navigator from "Flying Fish [-]" pointed to a peninsula protruding out of the bay ahead, and said: " However, there is no proper wharf there, and our boats cannot reach the shore, so we have to use native boats to transport them to the shore bit by bit. In this case, we may stay there for a day or two."

"Staying for a day or two is still a bit risky." Tang Anshan, the first officer on board, said, "If a passing Dutch armed merchant ship finds out, we won't be able to deal with it."

"That can't be helped. The natives only have seven or eight small boats there, and they can only transport them bit by bit."

"When we arrive at the place, one of our ships unloads the cargo, and the other three ships are on guard in the open sea." Qi Dajiang thought for a while and said, "However, we still need to urge the natives to speed up the unloading speed. If four or five Dutch ships pass by, We really can't handle it!"

One afternoon, the fleet arrived at the harbor where the Matalan Sultan Kingdom traded. Several sailors and the contact person who had participated in several arms transactions took a small boat and headed for the shore.

The professional warship "Qiming" and the armed merchant ship "Yangwei" patrolled the open sea vigilantly in case there were Dutch ships passing by.

About an hour later, hundreds of natives appeared on the coast, and they shouted excitedly towards the two large ships docked on the shore.Then, seven boats sailed over.

"Long and short knives, 150 pieces, iron spearheads, [-] pieces, leather armor, [-] pairs, plate armor, [-] pairs, tents, [-] pieces, muskets, [-] rods, [-] cannons, and [-] pieces of gunpowder. Barrels, projectiles,..." Tang Anshan took out a list of weapons from his arms, and read them one by one to the native leader on board, while the contact person and interpreter next to him translated in a low voice.

The leader looked around the "Yangwu" while listening to the interpreter's words.When he heard the artillery, his eyes lit up.

You must know that the artillery used by the Sultan Kingdom of Matalan is still an antique product bought from the Portuguese more than ten years ago, and it has long been worn out.Now, this Hanzhou has sent them artillery, and there are still twelve.Then, if they attack the Dutch with this, they will have a strong suppressive firepower.

Most of the muskets and cannons that Hanzhou used to trade were captured from Ambon City. Except for six or seven heavy 18-pound guns left in Weiyuan Fort, all of them were used to compete with Matalan Sultan. Kingdom deals.

The speed of unloading was slower than expected. In addition, because Hanzhou brought more than a dozen artillery pieces, it not only made it more difficult to unload, but also forced the Matalan Sultan Kingdom to raise additional exchange materials.

Gold, pearls, precious stones, women, grains, and even a large amount of livestock and poultry such as pigs, cattle, sheep, chickens, ducks, and geese. Several civil affairs scribes from Weiyuan Castle racked their brains to exchange the goods between the two sides, while talking to the horse The leader of the Kingdom of Dalamsutan disputed the conversion value of the goods between the two parties.

In the afternoon of the third day, seeing that the goods on the Hanzhou ship were about to be unloaded, they suddenly heard the sound of rumbling guns from outside the bay. Luo Rucheng on the "Yangwu" felt nervous, did he meet the Dutchman?

The three Dutch armed merchant ships "Middlemere", "Cotterlet" and "Holward" transported part of the mercenaries and native servants under the city of Dili to Ambon. Kupang, ready to return to Batavia.

When passing through a bay off the coast of the Sultan Kingdom of Matalan, I saw three armed merchant ships wandering there from a distance. Looking at the shape of the hulls, two of them turned out to be Spanish Manila galleons.The Dutch were very surprised. When did the Spaniards come near Java again?Didn't the two sides just sign a truce?Are they trying to attack the passing Dutch merchant ships here?
Although the two Spanish Manila galleons are much larger in terms of tonnage than the traditional Dutch galleons in terms of specifications, and the other party also has a smaller warship.But the three Dutch armed merchant ships rushed over without hesitation, preparing to drive them out of the Java Island waters.

Qi Dajiang hesitated for less than a minute when the three Dutch armed merchant ships appeared, and then signaled to the other two warships to engage the enemy!

At this time, the "Yangwu" was still anchored in the harbor, and Luo Rucheng was still handing over the cargo to the natives. Naturally, they couldn't abandon their companions and run away without a fight.

The "Qiming" was the fastest and rushed to the front of the Dutch armed merchant ship first. When the distance was more than 700 meters, the two 12-pound cannons on the bow fired two shells, but failed to hit any target and landed on the ground. On the right side of the foremost Dutch warship, two huge water jets were stirred up.

"They are not Spaniards!" Captain Lloyd Foster, the captain of the Dutch armed merchant ship "Hollward", saw through the binoculars the oncoming slightly smaller warship, Most of the running faces looked like Ming people, and they immediately shouted: "They are the fleet of Hanzhou!"

When Hanzhou's "Qiming" approached the Dutch "Hollward" by more than 500 meters, it adjusted its direction slightly and skipped to the opponent's right side, expecting to bombard the opponent with its many broadsides.

"Boom! Boom! Boom!..." Seeing that the opponent's small but extremely flexible warship was heading straight towards him, the Dutch armed merchant ship "Hollward" immediately launched a violent bombardment with its bow artillery. But none hit the target.

The two ships met sideways quickly, and both sides fired sideways artillery almost at the same time, and the dense rain of bullets poured towards each other.

"Oh, God, such a small ship has such a strong firepower! ... How many guns do they have on the side?" exclaimed a Dutch officer.

According to the regulations of the Dutch armed merchant ship, the opponent's armed merchant ship with a appearance of more than 400 tons is equipped with a maximum of ten artillery pieces.But judging from the density of firepower just now, seven or eight shells were fired from the side of the other side, so this ship may be equipped with more than [-] cannons.Could it be that the opponent is a professional warship?
Lieutenant Andrew Florent, the first mate on the "Middlemere", watched in astonishment as the three Hanzhou warships lined up, passed the Dutch warships one by one, and confronted the Dutch armed merchant ships with side guns. boom.

The most popular linear tactics in this era, when he was a liaison officer in Hanzhou, he taught those Hanzhou naval officers and soldiers who knew almost nothing about naval warfare.

Now, as the enemy, the Hanzhou Navy and the Dutch East India Company's first sea confrontation, they began to use this tactic clumsily, and competed head-to-head with the Dutch Navy, which has rich experience in sea combat.

In fact, when it comes to the strength of warships, the three warships of Hanzhou are obviously stronger than those of the Netherlands. They were captured from the Spanish galleon Manila. It is said that the Hanzhou Fleet should be able to hang three armed merchant ships in the Netherlands.

But an hour later, the situation on the battlefield was just the opposite. With their flexible speed, large-caliber artillery, and skillful coordination, the three Dutch armed merchant ships beat the three warships of Hanzhou into a mess, " "Yangwei" has been shot more than [-] rounds, almost smashing the stern part of the ship.Had it not been for the "Qiming" to make a quick rescue, the damage might have been even worse.

Hanzhou naval officers and soldiers are far behind the Dutch naval officers and soldiers in terms of maritime combat literacy and combat skills.

"Boom! Boom! Boom!..." The Pioneer was hit by two more shells on the side, breaking two large holes in the lower cabin and damaging three gun positions, causing many casualties.

"Rush over! Rush to it and fight it desperately!" Qi Dajiang shouted loudly.

The Hanzhou battleship was like three clumsy wildebeests being hunted by three ferocious hyenas, and their bodies were covered in blood and flesh.Kong has a strong body and sharp teeth, but he can't help these flexible hyenas.Simply sticking to them, fighting for the chance of being scratched again, bit them hard.

"Turn! Turn! Avoid him!" Lieutenant Andrew Florent shouted loudly, "Don't let it get close to us!" He knew well that the officers and men of the Hanzhou Navy had no experience in this kind of gunship bombardment, and they were skilled at handling gunships. They are also uneven. If they are allowed to get closer, with the weak body of the Dutch armed merchant ships, I am afraid they will not be able to withstand much artillery.

The naval officers and soldiers of the three Hanzhou warships seemed to be a little bit anxious, and they all wanted to get close to the Dutch armed merchant ships to improve the accuracy of their artillery bombardment.However, except for the "Qi Ming" professional warship that could approach the Dutch warship and carry out an effective attack, the other two warships have been following behind each other and have never been able to approach.

"Another Hanzhou warship has been found in the northwest!" The watchman shouted loudly: "There are seven more native boats!"

On the flagship "Midmer" of the Dutch fleet, Major Eugene Paris looked a little disappointed. The enemy's support arrived, so the situation they were in was extremely bad.It's a pity, if there is another hour or two, maybe one or two Hanzhou warships can be sunk.

"Signal, we retreat!" Major Eugene Paris ordered.

The Hanzhou Fleet did not dare to chase the Dutch Fleet, and the "Qi Ming" followed for a few miles. Finally, after confirming that the other party had really evacuated, it turned back to the temporary dock of the Kingdom of Matalan Sultan with other warships.After quickly loading up the weapons trade supplies paid by the Matalan Sultan Kingdom, without stopping, sailed directly and headed southwest.

(End of this chapter)