1635 Han style rises again

Chapter 726 The Great Voyage (End)
Cape Town, May 5.

"They should be merchant ships from France. Look at them, they may have encountered a huge storm at sea." Fliet Lambert, the port supervisor of the Dutch East India Company in Cape Town, pointed to the two ships The ship entering the port smiled and said, "If you guessed correctly, their destination should be India. Huh, a group of Frenchmen who want to make a fortune!"

"Fengxing 5" navigator, Lieutenant Renyong (Lieutenant) Tian Jiansheng smiled noncommittally when he heard the words of an interpreter next to him. full of disdain and ridicule.Perhaps, just as the king described in the Naval Academy when he introduced the geography and humanities of Europe, the entire continent of Europe is broken into one place, and the land is full of countries that are opposed to each other.

"By the way, dear Tian, ​​in order to thank you for the gift you gave me yesterday, I'm here to tell you some important news." Fleet Lambert's eyes flashed a hint of cunning, "When you arrived in Cape Town Half a month ago, five armed merchant ships from England stopped here to rest. One of our company employees overheard these Englishmen discussing how to rob a place that is everywhere in addition to normal trading activities. A country of gold and silver."

"Huh?" Tian Jiansheng looked at the stinking port official suspiciously.

"Tian, ​​I have heard rumors from our Batavia company employees that they have discovered gold and silver mines in many places in the northern and eastern parts of Hanzhou.... Is that true?" Fleet Lambert said There was a greedy look in Te's eyes.

"Mr. Lambert, are you implying that those Englishmen are going to plunder our Hanzhou mainland?" Tian Jiansheng couldn't help but widen his eyes.

Have these Englishmen's brains been caught by the door?Not to mention that all prefectures, counties and towns in Hanzhou have fully implemented the village soldier system. In the face of any foreign invasion, they can easily mobilize hundreds or even thousands of armed village soldiers, which is far from the ordinary Tubang kingdom So easy to land and loot.

What's even more surprising is, do these deadly English pirates treat the dozens of professional warships in our country as nothing?

Therefore, Tian Jiansheng was very skeptical about the authenticity of this news. It is likely that the Dutch wanted to use this to sow discord between them and that England.

"Three years ago, our East India Company and your Hanzhou formed a joint fleet to severely attack the English ships that appeared in the Indian waters." Fleet Lambert said: "I think the English may For this reason, I will take revenge on you Hanzhou. In addition, your commercial expansion in northern India seems to have greatly harmed the interests of the English and made it difficult for them to do business. They will definitely be upset about this .”

"Haven't the English thought of taking revenge on your East India Company?" Tian Jiansheng looked at the other party's schadenfreude, feeling a little annoyed in his heart.

"Retaliate against us?" Fleet Lambert was stunned for a moment, then smiled, "Our war with England ended two years ago, and the governments of both sides also signed a corresponding peace treaty. So...they didn't Reasons to retaliate against us. After all, all actions at that time were acts of war."

"..." Tian Jiansheng took a deep breath, "If these English pirates attack our Hanzhou mainland, will your East India Company's strongholds and trading stations in the Nanyang region provide them with a short rest and logistical supplies?"

"No, no, no..." Fleet Lambert shook his head vigorously, "Your Hanzhou is the closest business partner of our East India Company in the Far East, and we will not do anything to harm your Hanzhou Therefore, we will not provide any help to a group of despicable English pirates. But I believe that with your Hanzhou's growing sea power, you will definitely teach these overwhelmed English pirates the heaviest lesson."

On April 1654, 4, Britain and the Netherlands ended the war between the two sides and signed the "Westminster Peace Treaty". According to the peace treaty, the Netherlands recognized that Britain had the same trading rights as itself in the East Indies and agreed to pay 15 sterling reparations, agreed to salute British ships in British waters, and ceded the Atlantic island of St. Helena.

Although on the surface, the war between the two sides seems to be evenly divided, with no win or lose, but in fact, after the United Kingdom completely controlled the sea power in the English Channel, it completely paralyzed the Dutch economy that relied on trade for survival, and finally had to pay a humiliating condition. Ended the war with Great Britain.

Therefore, the Dutch are very unconvinced by this result deep in their hearts.The Dutch Navy has accumulated rich naval combat experience in long-term battles with French pirates and the Spanish Navy. Admirals also have a high command art, and Dutch sailors have relatively high combat quality.However, it was only because of the lack of coordination capabilities of the ships in the naval battle, and because the United Provinces reduced their naval investment before the war, which led to a lack of equipment and numbers, so that they were at a military disadvantage, and the British navy had the upper hand.

Therefore, after the defeat of the Anglo-Dutch war, the Netherlands was obsessed with the British "Navigation Regulations", and began to try their best to seek an opportunity to focus on seizing the sea.During this period, Admiral Michel Adrianson de Ruyter succeeded the commander-in-chief of the Dutch Navy after the death of veteran Tropp. He made great efforts to reorganize the navy.And reorganized the navy's strategic thinking: that is, it realized that the escort of merchant ships alone could not defeat Britain.Only by changing this passive strategy, abandoning merchant ships, and using the main force of the navy to seek a decisive battle with the British fleet and seize command of the sea, can the war be won.Under the guidance of this strategic thinking, the Netherlands stepped up the construction of large warships.

With Britain and the Netherlands in a state of truce, the Dutch don't mind causing some problems for the proud English.Although in Europe, we can't do anything to you for the time being.But in remote India and the East Indies, we can use the strength of the Hanzhou people to indirectly attack the commercial interests of the English.It would be the best if these brave Englishmen really went to attack the mainland of Hanzhou in an attempt to plunder the legendary land of gold and silver.

For some unknown reason, the Hanzhou people seemed to be hostile towards those Englishmen.Three years ago, the Dutch East India Company only tentatively proposed to establish a joint fleet to cruise the route between the Strait of Malacca and the Indian waters to combat rampant piracy and safeguard the common maritime interests of both parties.The Hanzhou people actually agreed, and sent two professional warships to participate in the formation of the joint fleet.During more than two years of military cooperation, the Hanzhou people did not mind targeting the English at all, and were willing to cooperate with the Dutch to weaken and expel the commercial interests of the English in India.

So, during the Anglo-Dutch truce, why not provoke Han Zhou to teach those arrogant Englishmen a lesson?If the English can be expelled from India, then we Dutch will share the rich Indian market with the Han Chinese in the future and gain more commercial benefits.
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On May 5, after some rest and replenishment, the exploration fleet left Cape Town and slowly drove eastward along the coastline.

On May 5, the fleet stopped at a headland bay (now Alg Bay, South Africa, Port Elizabeth) extending out to the sea to avoid a sudden storm.

The naval officers and soldiers who landed and explored found a huge bird (ostrich) nearby, with a body length of about 1.8-3 meters and a height of 2.4-2.8 meters.It looks very strange, with a small head supported on a snake-like slender neck, with a short, flat, triangular mouth composed of several horny sheaths, and two frog-like eyes. Big brown eyes.The torso is thick and short, the sternum is flat, and there are a pair of short wings that appear to be very disproportionate to the body, but they have obviously degenerated, without flight feathers, and cannot fly.

This kind of big bird runs very fast, and when it saw many crew members trying to round them up, it quickly galloped away with two huge toes.After some hard work, the crew managed to shoot two large birds, adding an unusually delicious addition to everyone's dinner.

"This coastal area is lush with water and grass. It faces the junction of the two oceans. There are mountains in the northwest and east. The terrain is dangerous. If you establish a stable base here and deploy several main warships, you can intercept those from Europe. merchant ships." Fleet Commander, Lieutenant Xuanjie (Major) Lu Zusheng stood on a high slope, looking at the mountains and rivers in the distance, "Of course, our country of Qi can also use this place as a springboard to connect with Europe. "

"This place is only three or four days away from the Dutch stronghold in Cape Town. If we rashly establish a stronghold here, I am afraid that we will be feared by the Dutch." Feng Xing No. 3 Captain, Lieutenant Ren Yong (Lieutenant) Fan Fude felt that this This officer seems to be particularly fond of "staking land", whenever he finds any strategic location, he wants to bring it under the rule of Qi State, and plans to establish a stable maritime stronghold.

But the question is, can the current strength of our Qi State really support us to occupy so many points around the world?
"Hehe..." Lu Zusheng saw the disapproving expressions of several subordinates, and he didn't take it seriously, and said softly: "In this era of global colonization, only by being aggressive and bold, can we have the opportunity to create a new era for our country in the future." The most favorable situation is to expand more living space for our Chinese civilization. If we don't do some things now, we have to wait until the strength is fully available before we put them into action. At that time, how can we know that we will encounter How many constraints and strong opponents?"

"Our country of Qi occupies the continent of Hanzhou alone, and is surrounded by seas on all sides. The future enemies must come from the sea. Looking at the whole world, only the western barbarians in Europe, relying on the convenience of the sea, gallop around the world and seek the benefits of the world. If things go on like this, The western barbarian countries in Europe must be rich and strong, and their maritime power will also be greatly improved. Therefore, our future enemy of Qi must be the European maritime power. Therefore, my colleagues in the navy need to plan ahead and look to the future."

"My lord commander, what you said is very true!" After hearing the words, everyone immediately nodded in agreement.

On June 6, the fleet adjusted its driving direction, sailed southeast, and headed for the westerly belt.

On June 6, after several days of sailing, the exploration fleet entered the south latitude westerly belt, then adjusted its course again and headed east.

On June 6, the fleet found a barren island (now the French Kerguelen Islands) near 20 degrees south latitude.The island is wet and often has snowstorms, the surface rocks are exposed, and the vegetation types are also single. There are no tall trees and shrubs, and it is mainly covered with herbaceous bryophytes.Animals are mainly walruses, seals and birds.The coast is heavily cut, with many steep fjords and large peninsulas.There are mountains and plateaus in the interior, most of which are covered by glaciers.However, there are many lakes and marshes near the coastal lowlands, and the streams and rivers are short and fast, connecting the lakes.

The wind speed on the island is so strong that even flies and butterflies are forced to give up their wings in evolution.It's not habitable at all, much less developed, but it's a haven for penguins, walruses and seals.

After a short stay here for two days, the fleet officers and soldiers buried several Qi State boundary monuments in various places in the archipelago to declare territorial sovereignty.Afterwards, the fleet continued eastward, heading towards Hanzhou's homeland.

On July 7, the exploration fleet began to adjust its course, heading northeast, for the last voyage.

On July 7, the exploration fleet encountered two whaling ships from Batavia in the waters more than 14 kilometers southwest of Hanzhou.

During this period, when it came to whaling capabilities and technology at sea, the Dutch were ranked second, and no one dared to be number one.Since learning that there are a large number of whales in the southern waters of Hanzhou more than ten years ago, it has attracted more than a dozen Dutch whaling ships.These sea warriors from the North Sea and the Barents Sea, based in several prefectures and counties in the southwest and southeast of Hanzhou, constantly cruised between the South Pacific and the South Indian Ocean, searching for and killing whales, and then selling them on the spot. Hanzhou people.

The Dutch whaling ships that have traveled thousands of miles here will earn more than hunting whales in the North Sea and Barents Sea.Because the Hanzhou people will not only buy a large amount of high value-added whale oil, whale skin and whale bone, but also buy the small mountain of whale meat.Although the price of whale meat is very low, it is still more profitable than throwing it into the sea needlessly before, isn't it?
When the sailors of the two whaling ships heard that the two Qi State exploration ships had completed a high-latitude global voyage in a year, they were all in awe.You know, in this era, to explore a new route, and to cross three oceans and two continents in a row, how hard it is, and how dangerous it is on the way.

The crew members of the whaling ship contributed their few fresh supplies and officers and soldiers of the exploration fleet to express their greatest respect.

After bidding farewell to the two whaling ships, the officers and soldiers of the exploration fleet headed towards the upcoming Hanzhou continent with great eagerness.

At 7:18 am on July [-], after a year, the exploration fleet, which traveled tens of thousands of miles and circled the earth, arrived in Tai'an (now Albany, southwest of Australia) in the southwestern region of Hanzhou.

After hearing the news, local officials and hundreds of people flocked to Tai'an Wharf to warmly welcome these sea warriors who returned safely.

(End of this chapter)