1635 Han style rises again

Chapter 627 Raiders of Timor Island ([-])
April 4, night, Rhode Island.

The battleship "Xingming" of the State of Qi was quietly parked outside a bend in the northern part of the island. There were no lights on the entire ship. Several lookouts stared at the black as ink on the mast and the side of the ship. The small island seemed to be wary of something.

In the afternoon of the same day, when the Dutch East India Company fleet that came to support Timor Island retreated to Kupang Port, it was intercepted by nine armed merchant ships under the Qi Navy.After a fierce fight, finally a Dutch armed merchant ship and two galleys fled into the port, and the remaining Dutch ships fled to the southwest in all directions.The twelve professional warships of the Qi State immediately aimed at a target, and then chased after them, vowing to leave more Dutch warships behind.

The "Xingming" followed a Dutch armed merchant ship of about [-] tons, and chased it with all its strength.After leaving the coastline of Timor Island, with the help of the gradually increasing wind, the distance with the opponent was quickly shortened.

However, that Dutch armed merchant ship was extremely flexible. It seemed that a group of veteran ship operators were driving it. Whenever the "Xingming" approached it, it could always change its direction in advance and open the distance by tens of meters in an instant. It can also avoid the fierce side gun positions of the "Xingming" just right, which makes the officers and soldiers of the Qi State Navy very depressed.

Although the "Xingming" bombarded the opponent with more than a hundred shells along the way, it seemed that it had not caused substantial damage to it and was still running tenaciously.Along the way, probably in order to reduce the weight of the hull, the Dutch armed merchant ship continued to throw the supplies on board into the sea.This scene made the officers and soldiers of the Qi State Navy who were chasing after them feel distressed.That is their spoils!

In the evening, the two ships sailed to the vicinity of Luodi Island, more than 60 kilometers southwest of Timor Island.Originally, I thought that the other party would definitely take advantage of the cover of night and take the opportunity to escape from the "Xingming" to pursue.But for some reason, the Dutch armed merchant ship sailed straight to the coast of this small island, and even washed up on the beach and ran aground on the shore.

Although they didn't know what happened to the ship, the officers and soldiers on the "Xing Ming" revived their hope of capturing the Dutch armed merchant ship.Afterwards, it stopped on the sea hundreds of meters away from the opponent, and closely monitored it, waiting for tomorrow's dawn before making any calculations.

The "Dreadnought" is the flagship of the East India Company who came to support the Timor Island fleet this time. The commander of the fleet, Lieutenant Colonel Arthur Copeland, was on board.Along the way, under his skillful command, they avoided the interception and bombardment of Hanzhou warships again and again. It stands to reason that night is the best time for them to get out of trouble.

However, at this time, the "Intrepid" had no choice but to choose to run aground on the beach, otherwise, the ship would be in danger of sinking in the sea.Because, during the naval battle that took place at noon, a big hole was opened in its side waterline position by the Hanzhou battleship "Han Ping", and it was working hard to do damage control along the way.Fortunately, there were more than 200 mercenaries on board, and there was enough manpower to plug the leaks and drain water desperately, so that the ship would not tilt and sink.

However, that damn Hanzhou battleship was like a lingering ghost, entangled with it resolutely, chased it, and never gave up its prey.Chasing and fighting all the way made it impossible for the "Fearless" to stop and deal with its own damage.Although, they ditched almost all the supplies on board, trying to reduce the weight of the ship.Sailors and mercenaries were also asked to plug the hole with many spare sails desperately to reduce the influx of sea water.

However, with Hanzhou's continuous shelling and the impact of waves, the damaged hole is getting bigger and bigger. It is no longer a situation where water leakage can be avoided by sealing it manually.In order not to be buried in the sea, Lieutenant Colonel Arthur Copeland had to order the ship to sail towards the island, and then ran aground on the beach.

The night was dark and silent, but all the Dutch officers and soldiers on the "Fearless" knew that the Hanzhou battleship that had been chasing them was anchored not far from the coast, staring at them quietly like a hungry wolf.Waiting for dawn, they will immediately pounce on them and bite them frantically.

"Gentlemen, if you have any good suggestions for the current situation, please feel free to put them forward."

In a cabin that was covered and airtight, Lieutenant Colonel Copeland called all the officers together to discuss how to get out of the current predicament.However, in his heart, he had no hope of getting out of trouble safely. The ship ran aground and was in a strange island with an unknown environment. There was no need to expect anyone to rescue them.

As long as they wait until dawn tomorrow, the Hanzhou people will inevitably launch a fierce attack on them under good sight.Unless, they are willing to surrender unconditionally.But as a commander, his reserve and pride prevented him from making this less honorable suggestion himself.

"Lieutenant Colonel Copeland, can we use small boats to carry armed soldiers, sneak up to the Hanzhou battleships, launch a surprise attack on them, and seize their battleships?" Army Major Aika de Ruyter suggested: "We have more than 200 soldiers on board, and if we add sailors, there are nearly 400 people. If we take the ship from the board, we will definitely have the advantage."

"You may only have one chance to seize the ship." Lieutenant Colonel Copeland pondered for a while, and then said softly: "The Intrepid only towed a small boat, and it can carry up to 25 soldiers at a time. If, you can't To control the situation at the first moment, the warships of the Hanzhou people will inevitably move to the depths of the sea quickly."

"Sir, let the army try. If we can't capture the warships of the Hanzhou people, then after dawn, we will...surrender to them." A naval officer said in a low voice.

Lieutenant Colonel Copeland stared fixedly at the alien from the Ruyter family, then nodded, agreeing to his suggestion.You know, his uncle is the most famous Vice-Admiral of the Federal Republic, Michel de Ruyter (this gentleman once raided the Thames Estuary in 1667 and severely damaged the British Navy), and several uncles and brothers are also in the Navy. However, this son of a naval family chose to join the army and traveled all the way to serve in the East India Company.But within the East India Company, no one dared to ignore the huge energy behind Major Ruyter.

Major Aika de Ruyter immediately selected 25 mercenary veterans with rich combat experience, boarded the only small boat, and took advantage of the night to row towards the Hanzhou battleship hundreds of meters away.

The deputy captain of the "Xingming" Mill had just finished writing the logbook, blew out the candles, and then walked out of the cabin, stretched his arms vigorously, and moved his stiff neck.Then he walked to the side of the ship and looked at the dimly glowing sea outside.

"Sir." A side observer saw Mir approaching, quickly took out the pipe from his mouth, and saluted him.

"Did you find anything?" Mill asked casually.

"Return to sir, except for the sound of sea water churning, there is no movement for the time being."

"Watch. I suspect the Dutch will surprise us at night. Otherwise, they'll be dead by dawn."

"Yes, sir." The sailor replied respectfully, and then subconsciously looked towards the sea.

"Huh?" Seeming to have discovered something, the sailor suddenly leaned out of the ship's side and looked in the direction of the island.

"There's a small boat coming!" Mill's blue eyes flashed with a strange look.

"Warning!... Blow the horn!"

As he spoke, Mir quickly drew out the dagger at his waist and took a few steps back.When the enemy makes a surprise attack at night, they must lean in, first throw the flying claws, and then climb and board the ship.If it was close to the side of the ship, it might be injured by the flying claws.

"Beep beep..."

The shrill sound of the horn pierced the silent night sky in an instant, and the whole ship suddenly burst into clamor, with sailors holding short knives and muskets pouring out of the cabins and bilges.

"Bang! Bang! Bang!..." Seven or eight sailors put their muskets on the side of the ship and fired a salvo at the vague shadow of the boat below.

"Ah..." There were several screams, and then there was the sound of someone falling into the water.

"Bang! Bang! Bang!..." The Dutchman on the boat also started to fight back, shooting a Qi sailor who was avoiding him, and fell on the deck, screaming and rolling.

"Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!..." Seven or eight flying claws were thrown up, and then they clasped the side of the ship tightly. A group of Dutch mercenaries began to climb up with daggers in their mouths.

"Cut the rope!" Mir yelled, and slashed at a rope.

"Boom! Boom! Boom!..." Suddenly, several tin cans were thrown up from under the boat, with flames and green smoke still faintly emitting.

"Bomb!" When Mir saw it, his scalp felt numb. He didn't care to cut the rope any more. He bent down to pick up one, and threw it back without raising his head. Then he wanted to pick up the second one, but suddenly realized that What, lift a foot and kick it to the stern.

"Boom!" The tin can bomb that was kicked in the stern exploded, and Mill felt a sharp pain in his legs and chest. Oh, God, I was shot, and fell heavily on the deck.

The Dutch raid failed in the end. There were only three mercenaries who were able to climb onto the "Xingming", but they were hacked to death as soon as they stepped on the deck. The rest were either knocked down into the sea, or Shot by muskets on the boat.When several torches were thrown onto the boat, all the Dutch mercenaries jumped into the sea and swam vigorously towards the island.

In order to prevent the Dutch from continuing to send small boats to raid their own side, the "Xingming" pulled anchor and sailed towards the depths of the sea for several miles, widening the distance from the island.

As soon as it was bright the next day, the menacing "Xingming" approached the stranded Dutch armed merchant ship, ready to blast it to pieces.In the raid yesterday, two officers and soldiers on board were killed and six were injured, which made everyone feel extremely angry.

Just as the gunners of the "Xingming" were gearing up and preparing to start a fixed target training performance, the Dutch armed merchant ship hoisted a white flag.

Surrender!
Two small boats carrying more than 30 armed sailors approached the "Fearless", preparing to take over this armed merchant ship that caused countless troubles to the officers and soldiers of the Qi State Navy.

"Damn it, you dared to sneak attack on us yesterday and hurt my good brother. If you capture them, these Dutchmen must suffer more!" Bosun Zhan Baoyi cursed and climbed on the "Fearless", and then from He jumped over the side of the ship and stood on the deck.

Gathering his mind, he looked up, and then froze.

Why are there so many Dutch red-haired ghosts on board!
The deck was densely packed with Dutch officers and sailors. All of them had put down their weapons, and with a look of unwillingness on their faces, they stared coldly at the officers and soldiers of the Qi State Navy who boarded the ship.

"You guys..., don't move around..." Zhan Baoyi swallowed hard, and then held the musket behind his back in his hand, "You are now captured by the navy of our Daqi Kingdom!"

(End of this chapter)