1635 Han style rises again

Chapter 596 Indian Affairs ([-])
The two armed merchant ships under the British East India flag, the "Wildford" and the "St. Helens" set off from Fort St. George in Madras (now Chennai, India, or Chennai) on the east coast of India. Ready to return to its northwest stronghold Surat.

When traveling to Mangalore on the west coast of India, I met two small galleys sailing from Goa. Looking at the waterline of the ships, I knew that the ships were full of cargo.On this vast sea, he encountered two good fat sheep, and their force was relatively weak. Wilmer Lawston, the captain of "Wildfoor", was greedy, and immediately sent a signal to his companion "St. Helens", and cooperated with them. Cooperation, to hijack the two Portuguese cargo ships, and add an extra income for their return journey.

The British merchant ships have always been known for their large number of cannons, and the two armed merchant ships of the British East India Company that are going to be a pirate have a displacement of more than [-] tons. Facing the two small Portuguese galleys, they can be called big bad wolves When you meet the little white rabbit, you have an absolute advantage.If the Portuguese ships hadn't seen the two British armed merchant ships clearly harboring malicious intentions from a distance, they had no time to turn around and fled southwest in advance, maybe the British would have rushed forward.

But these two small Portuguese galleys somewhat underestimated the speed of the British ships and their superb handling skills.I saw the two armed merchant ships on the other side quickly separated. One ship went straight to the north and advanced quickly, while the other followed the Portuguese's galley and followed closely, as if to encircle them on both sides.

Seeing this, the Portuguese ships did not dare to waste time turning around. Instead, they relied on their dexterous hulls, and after traveling several miles southwest, they suddenly made an oblique plunge, turned around, and headed southeast. Under the bombardment of British armed merchant ships, Dangerously passed the intercepted "Verdefu", and then continued to flee south.

The two armed merchant ships of the British East India Company saw each other under their noses, and escaped from their pincer attack. Frustrated, they turned their bows and chased after the Portuguese ship.

Relying on coquettish positions to avoid, the two poor Portuguese galleys rushed from left to right. Under the constant artillery fire from the British, they desperately headed south, trying to drag them into the night and use the cover of night to get rid of the British's attack. chase.

Speaking of it, the Portuguese are quite sad. They came to India at the end of the 15th century and were the first European countries to establish colonial power in India.But 100 years later, those who came after, the Dutch, the British, the French, seem to have no respect for the old-timers who colonized India at all.First, the Dutch followed in the footsteps of the Portuguese and came to India, held it down and masturbated vigorously, and seized many of its strongholds in India.

The British stepped on the faces of the Portuguese, entered India, and established their own colonial power.Their East India Company came to India twice to seek the dream of getting rich.The first time, I came to India in 1607, but was disturbed by the powerful Portuguese and failed.

For the second time, in 1613, the British East India Company came again. They secretly contacted the Mughal emperor Jahangir, trying to persuade the emperor to sign a trade treaty, obtain trade privileges, and eliminate Portuguese obstruction and interference.In this way, the British East India Company could trade throughout the Mughal territory.Before they reached an agreement with the emperor, the Portuguese got the news first.

The Portuguese sent four armed merchant ships from Goa, threatening with force, hoping that the weak British merchants would retreat.However, even though the stubborn British only had two armed merchant ships, the strength contrast was somewhat disparate.But they did not admit defeat, and instead launched an armed confrontation with the Portuguese, and the two sides fought at sea for several months.

Since the British ships were superior to the Portuguese fleet in terms of firepower and speed, as a veteran colonist of India, the Portuguese fleet was defeated and suffered heavy losses.This amazed the Indian governor and officers and soldiers who were watching the battle by the sea.It turned out that the Portuguese, who had always been strong in India, would lose to a newcomer.

In order to check and balance Portugal's power, the Indians immediately allowed the British to set up a business house in Surat to engage in commercial trade and transport European industrial products to India in exchange for raw materials such as cotton, spices and gems.Not only that, but the East India Company also received an imperial edict from the emperor to levy fixed taxes on the goods it handles. You must know that Indian merchants at that time had to pay various taxes in various names.

Therefore, the Portuguese, as the first country to establish a colonial power in India, not only have to face the squeeze of the Dutch, but also the encroachment and invasion of the British. Coupled with the lack of domestic support, life has been going well in the past few years It's getting harder.

The two British East India armed merchant ships that were pursuing obviously also saw two unknown ships coming from the south. To be cautious, they slowed down and formed a defensive formation. They planned to see the situation first. Then decide what to do next.

Although the sudden appearance of these two ships in the waters here ruined their good deeds and made the British very depressed, they still did not dare to act first.The main reason is that they don't know where the other party came from, and they are even more worried that more armed merchant ships will arrive later.

Judging from the appearance of the two ships, they were obviously in the style of Spanish Manila galleons, but there was an unfamiliar flag hanging on the mast, which was obviously different from the traditional Burgundy cross flag of the Spanish Navy, which made the British feel a little confused for a while No brains.However, the opponent's ship seemed to have a certain force, and the guns on both sides of the ship's side had been opened, which was not comparable to the two Portuguese galleys.

The fleeing Portuguese ship seemed to have some relationship with the coming armed merchant ship of unknown forces. After drawing a large circle on the sea, it slowly approached the other party, then turned its bow, and formed a battle formation with them, forming a confrontation with the British .

"Are you sure you can defeat them?" Jiang Fubao walked up to Jiang Genquan and asked quietly.

In the current situation, even if the Qi people don't want to fight, they can't help them, but fortunately, the number is 4:2, and their side has the upper hand.

"I can't tell." Jiang Genquan said with a solemn face: "The sailors on our ship have never fought, and the personnel are selected by the navy. If there is a fight, it will all depend on luck."

"Haven't you guys trained before?" Jiang Fubao was very surprised when he heard this, "The gunners on the ship have also fired a lot of cannons, so they don't have any combat effectiveness?"

"Boss, training and actual combat are two different things!" Jiang Genquan said with a wry smile, "However, if there is a fight, we will naturally work hard to be worthy of the wages."

"...Tell all the sailors and gunners that this battle can be won, and each will be given an extra five silver dollars!" Jiang Fubao said fiercely: "The dead in the battle will give their families 100 yuan, the wounded will give 20 yuan, and the disabled will be given [-] yuan. Raise him for life!"

As soon as this remark came out, the sailors and gunners on the ship suddenly burst into cheers, and their morale also rose. Aren't they just two armed barbarian merchant ships? There are at least four of them on our side. In a fight, it's not necessarily who wins. Woolen cloth.

"Fengqing No. 2" and "Fengqing No. 3" are two former armed merchant ships of the Qi State Navy, and they were the first former Spanish armed merchant ships captured.With the continuous replenishment of naval ships in the past few years, many armed merchant ships that are older or in poor condition have gradually withdrawn from the ranks of naval ships and have been taken over by domestic shipping companies and trading companies.

In terms of the number of artillery and the strength of the ships, the two armed merchant ships of the Indian Trading Company are obviously superior to those of the British East India Company. Compared with others.

Now that you have decided to fight, you must preemptively strike. "Fengqing 2" rushed over first, and fired when it was hundreds of meters away from the British ship.This move surprised the British armed merchant ship. Could it be that the opponent's artillery shooting technology is very sophisticated, and at such a long distance, did they start bombardment calibration?
The battle entered a melee stage from the very beginning. Relying on their strong guns, the two armed merchant ships of the Qi State rampaged and bombarded with artillery, while the two Portuguese galleys kept wandering around the periphery, frequently attacking the British warships. cold arrow.

The British armed merchant ships in the battle group were very depressed. In terms of sea skills and tactics and ship handling level, the two Manila galleons opposite seemed very clumsy, and the two Portuguese galleys were negligible in terms of firepower.But the other party was grouped together, facing them, it was almost a random beating.

Those two Manila galleons, with their rough skin and thick flesh, seemed to be fighting desperately, trying to get close to them and bombard them.

Not to mention tactics!

There is no gentlemanly manner!

After firing another artillery volley, which severely bombarded the Manila galleon that was slanting in again, the "Wildfoux" made a sharp turn and headed northwest, and at the same time sent a signal to the "St. Helens" to get ready. retreat.If the fight continues, even if the opponent is finally defeated or even sunk, he will definitely be seriously damaged.We came all the way to India to get rich, not desperately.

Seeing the two British armed merchant ships threatening to flee, the sailors on the "Fengqing 2" and "Fengqing 3" burst into cheers, and then chased after them with some reluctance.In the two-hour battle just now, the opponent didn't seem to have been hit by many shells from his own side. Instead, the side of the ship he was hit by was broken, sawdust flew across, and even a pair of sidesail masts on "Fengqing No. 3" was interrupted. More than twenty casualties.

How reconciled did the sailors on the Qi State ship, why not take advantage of the opponent's retreat and fire a few shots fiercely to relieve the sullenness in their hearts.

The two armed merchant ships of the East India Company obviously did not want to continue to entangle with these ships without the slightest sense of martial arts, so they opened all their sails and accelerated to the north.

(End of this chapter)