Daming Yinghua

Chapter 173 Minghe Naval Battle ([-])

In the southeast of Fujian Province in early March, on the night-shrouded sea, the Dutch ship "Cod" sailed eastward at full speed with its sails inflated.

Its task was to sail out of the waters beyond the sight of the Daming Jinmen Guard before dawn, and successfully transport the second batch of forty men to Penghu Island.

Gullit is under the oil lamp, writing the letter that will be sent to Batavia and presented to Governor Cohen.

"Dear Governor, without interference from the navy of the Ming Dynasty, the voyage of the Galen boat took one day and night from the Baisha Island called by the natives of Penghu Island to the unnamed island east of the Jinmen Gate of the Ming Dynasty Guard. From Jinmen It will take another two to three hours to reach the remote harbor in Tongan, Xiamen. Because of the purchase of slaves from the Ming Dynasty, I saw a small boat in Tongan that looked like a hammer. Its load would not exceed [-] tons, but it could It holds more goods and people, and it travels very fast, and it is easy to hide in the night and avoid the detection of the Ming navy. I implore the company to allocate funds to buy more Tong Ansuo ships from the Chinese. Your faithful Gullit .”

Gullit finished writing, put down the quill, read it again, smiled and said to Zheng Haizhu who was sitting opposite: "Mrs. Zheng, I found that the way you stared at this letter is far better than seeing a handsome gentleman like me." warm."

Zheng Haizhu said without hesitation: "Yes, because the ship mentioned in this letter may allow me to earn another commission."

Like a cat asking for credit, Gullit stretched his waist and said: "Look, I really obey you. If you sell Fujian boats, I will write to the company immediately."

Zheng Haizhu's face was calm, and he said indifferently: "You are short of boats. Soldiers like Chief Lufen only see warships loaded with dozens of cannons. I wish the Ming Dynasty Navy could not see him. Wait until you really have the ability Occupy the whole of Fujian, and then use such a big ship to load piglets."

As she spoke, she picked up the letter paper and stared at the cursive characters that resembled German words.

However, the interpreter will not know that Er Zheng is matching the code.

Why didn't she find it a little ironic.In many eras before and after, criticizing the current problems may only be like this, expressing it to foreigners whose Chinese listening is still at an early stage.

In today's operation, Zheng Yi was afraid that Yu Zigao's general manager would be reckless and impatient, and accidentally injure Zheng Haizhu if his gun accidentally fired, so he volunteered to take the boat to intercept the "Codfish".

"Miss Zheng, don't worry, with Mr. Yu's military order in place, the sons and daughters will not make arbitrary claims tonight. However, with the current arrogance of the Dutch, it is estimated that here in Luowan, a big battle is inevitable."

Their conversations were all in the southern Fujian dialect, and the Chinese from Fujian that Gullit brought from Batavia could understand, and they translated in a low voice for Gullit.

When she finished Gullit's letter to the Governor of the East India Company and returned to the deck, she saw that Yu Zigao's officer, Zheng Yi, had arrived on the "Codfish" and was pretending to be a "pig". The Ming soldiers all issued knives.

A trumpet arrow flew from Zheng Haizhu's hand to the sky, and the sharp sound was farther than the whistle.

Zheng Yi nodded, looking at Zheng Haizhu with burning eyes.

Zheng Haizhu ordered the translation loudly.

Suddenly, the rope on Zheng Zhilong's shoulders loosened, and at the same time he was pushed up by the Ming army who had been prepared under him, Zheng Zhilong stretched out his arms and grabbed the deck to support it.

Gullit's roar came from the cabin.

The interpreter from Batavia was so frightened that he sat down on the ground, while the Dutch soldier woke up from his stunned stunned, blowing his whistle, and ran to the deck to call the police to his companions who were drinking.

On the other side, Gullit held his chest artificially and said: "Mrs. Zheng, you seem to hate your men from the Ming Dynasty so much, and you like our Netherlands very much. I thought I would have a chance."

Wine is also a good item for sea trade, the premise is to subdue the Dutch first and put away the robbers.

The leader of the Dutch soldiers turned around and looked at the two Junk ships. He didn't see Mars at the position of the ship's side.

Zheng Haizhu took another sip of wine.

"God, when did you break free from the rope!"

In the direction of the dark Liuluo Bay on the right side of the "Cod", two lucky boats that had been quietly crawling for several hours showed a fierce light as if a wolf suddenly opened its eyes, and lit up many lanterns.

Seeing that Yu Zigao's navy ship had reached the distance where it could be connected, Zheng Haizhu heaved a sigh of relief, turned around and walked to Gullit's cabin.

He just read a strange meaning from her eyes.

With the sound of the iron chain being dragged, the bilge deck of the "Codfish" was opened, and the lanterns carried by the Dutch soldiers reflected Zheng Zhilong's face and the hemp rope that tightened his shoulders.

With the bamboo sails up, the junk gained speed from the sea wind, bowed, and headed for the Cod.

Zheng Haizhu raised his eyebrows and squinted at the Dutchman: "Since I'm tied up with a rope, I have nothing to be afraid of. If I can coax them into the boat from the fishing village, I can coax them a second time. At least tonight, we all I can sleep peacefully. Gullit, if you want to be a knight, stand behind me and protect me."

Elder Zheng Ge of Ningde said that her grandfather was highly valued by the Holy Master back then, and that wisdom and bravery had been passed down to future generations.

The translator was busy and added these few sentences.

"Mr. Gullit, who always thinks he is handsome and affectionate, I don't want to use your surname, I just want to share the spoils with you."

"Tell them, whoever fires the first shot, or fires the first shot at the Junk, I'll turn around and have my men slit Mr. Gullit's throat. Put down the musket, and get out of the emplacement."

Zheng Zhilong's hands were behind his back.

"Bang bang bang!" The door of the cabin was suddenly knocked violently, and some hurried Dutch words sounded outside the door.

"Auntie, let's go to the deck and see if the ship is heading southwest!"

Zheng Haizhu squatted down, and said softly: "Of course it is to Xiangshanao. Don't be afraid, Azai, if you are not caught by the patrolmen in Nan'an, there is Jinshan in front of you, which allows you to earn a lot of money and send it home."

The Ming woman spoke too fast, and suddenly used a lot of unfamiliar words, Gullit probably didn't understand.

The leader then spoke a string of Dutch, and the soldiers began to place their muskets at their feet.

Gullit stopped her: "Those piglets are all tied up with ropes, let them make noise."

The Ming army tied up the Dutchman whose beard was crooked and left someone to guard him. Then they climbed up the ladder that Zheng Haizhu quickly put down.

Receiving the signal "there is Jinshan in front", Zheng Zhilong let out a "huh" and nodded slightly at Zheng Haizhu.

Zheng Haizhu suppressed her voice, but expressed it freely.

As Zheng Haizhu said, he pushed Gullit away carelessly, walked to the cabinet again, poured a small glass of wine, woke up for a while, took a sip, and smacked his lips.

"Gullit, I do think that you Europeans are very powerful. Whether it was the Queen of Spain at the time or the consul of the Netherlands today, you know how to use the power of the country to support brave merchants and sailors. And we The Ming Dynasty is used to antagonizing and separating the government from the people. What our emperor and our court like to do most is to squeeze us non-official businessmen and more common people. They don’t care about the ocean. What is the world like, what is the world on the land on the other side of the ocean. What they love most is to be confined in their gorgeous and dirty officialdoms and mansions, remotely control their minions, and enslave the bodies and minds of thousands of civilians. In our Forbidden City It is not surprising that the emperor is like a waste, because the end of totalitarianism has never lacked such arrogant, stupid and cruel leaders. And inside and outside the Forbidden City, there are more Ming men who climbed to high positions by kneeling and licking that person , or bite each other to gain self-interest, it doesn't matter the reduction of national power at all."

"Hi, hi, Zheng, are you crazy!"

This woman really has a few tricks. In terms of blood and seniority, she can actually be regarded as my niece.

That feeling was like when he was lazily opening the window in the early morning when the birds were singing and the flowers were fragrant, but suddenly he was met with a stormy sea amidst lightning and thunder.

In just a few breaths, Zheng Zhilong jumped up all over his body, kicked Gullit, who hadn't reacted yet, into the cabin, then pulled out his dagger, and shielded it in front of Zheng Haizhu.

Zheng Haizhu avoided the strong perfume smell mixed with the strange smell, folded the letter paper with dried ink, and put it into the tin box with beautiful patterns on the small table.

The dagger cut dozens of ropes while the Dutchman was writing letters to the governor and talking to women.

On the deck, Batavia, who was brought up by Zheng Zhilong as an interpreter, stopped trembling when it was time to save his life, and shouted in Dutch to the Dutch soldiers and sailors on the deck.

"General Zheng, just tie these Dutchmen to Jinmen, don't hurt them, it's bad luck to kill them."

Not to mention, the wine that Hongmao kept on the boat was not bad, not spoiled, and the compound aroma of dried fruit and smoke was still there.

Gullit opened the door, and a Dutch soldier reported: "The Chinese slave labor in the bottom cabin kept banging on the cabin door and yelling loudly. Our translator went to ask, and they said inside that a member was inspired by the goddess of the sea. , they were told that they were not going to work in Xiangshanao, they felt cheated and wanted to see Mrs. Zheng."

Gullit was shocked, and then caught a glimpse of the fleeting ridicule in the eyes of the Dutch soldiers, and said with a "huh": "Go, go and have a look."

At dusk on the beach in Nan'an, when the Ming men who were searched one by one got on the boat and headed to the bilge, Zheng Haizhu stuffed them with rice cakes with a kind face, and took the opportunity to quietly hand the dagger to Zheng Zhilong.

He raised his face and stared at the condescending Zheng Haizhu and Gullit.

Gullit stood up and walked behind Zheng Haizhu, chanting the Hokkien "governor", "guard", "day and night", "fast boat" and other pronunciations, pointing out the Dutch words on the letter one by one.

It seems that the Ming people really just wanted to take hostages, not bombard them.Besides, their own people are still on this boat.

Then, he lowered his cheeks more and more: "Mrs. Zheng, you really should learn the language of my motherland as soon as possible, so that you can understand my pursuit of you in ancient and beautiful Dutch."

Zheng Haizhu also held his breath and concentrated on Zheng Zhilong's belt, and after grabbing it, he gritted his teeth to help.

The sergeants of the Fujian Navy disguised as "pigboys" in the cabin could not see the sea in the distance.Zheng Zhilong could only use the pocket watch he bought from the Portuguese to estimate the progress of the voyage based on Zheng Haizhu's experience when he took the "Cod" for the first time, and confirm to Zheng Haizhu whether he had arrived near Jinmen.

"I'll go and have a look." Zheng Haizhu put down his wine glass, frowning slightly.

There lay evidence of Dutch ambition.

"Mr. Gullit is in the hands of the Ming people. Don't shoot. The Ming people will not kill you. They just escort everyone to Jinmen Island and let our officers negotiate. Ah, the Junk boat over there is also theirs." .For God's sake, don't shoot, don't shoot. They have a lot of people, and there are gunboats. We only have a dozen people, and we can't win by shooting."

Gullit, who was still looking provocative a moment ago, gradually faded from his obscene eyes and became surprised.

As soon as Zheng Yi finished speaking, he saw two Ming soldiers escorting Gullit onto the deck.

"You woman, you are so despicable! God will punish you, and you will go to hell!"

Gullit stared at Zheng Haizhu angrily.

"Gullit, don't be stupid, where did hell come from? You Dutch killed so many black slaves, did you go to hell? Not only did you not go to hell, but you became the richest man in Europe. In this world, there is no God, only Ming and Netherlands, either talk or fight."

(End of this chapter)