Late Ming sea owl

Chapter 342 Triangle War
At the Keelung Shipyard, the Changping and the Champion stood on the slipway. The double hulls of the two ships had been covered and they looked quite complete.

"Director Pan, what stage have we reached now?" Lin Hai asked the director of the Ship Bureau beside him. When he came last time, the two cruisers were just keels and rib frames.

"Captain, the lower decks below the waterline of both ships have been laid. The Champion is laying the gun mounts, and the Changping is a little slower, still installing the elbows to support the gun decks."

"Very good. We must proceed step by step and not rush." ​​Lin Hai then asked, "Based on the current progress, when can these two boats be launched?"

"It should be ready in about a month and a half." Director Pan added, "It will take another month for outfitting and testing after launching. It will probably be delivered to the Navy Department by the end of June, and no later than the end of July."

It took about eight to nine months from the start of construction to delivery, which is a very fast speed for Huiyou Company, which is building a cruise ship for the first time.

Lin Hai was eager to improve the strength of the Navy Department, so he did not propose the requirement to leave the keel and ribs on the slipway for a year after they were built. After all, the drying time for this batch of wood was relatively short, and now was not the time to pursue the lifespan of the warship.

He then asked, "What happens after these two ships are built? How long do you estimate it will take to build two more ships?"

Director Pan replied: "With the experience of the first time, the workers will be able to do it faster the second time. I estimate that six or seven months should be enough if everything is ready."

"Then let's start preparing quickly. After the Changping and Champion are launched, we will immediately start building two more cruisers." Lin Hai was very happy to hear this. At this rate, he could build two more cruise ships by the beginning of next year, and he could also seize the tail end of the north wind season and head south to participate in the decisive battle with the VOC.

"Yes, Commander." Director Pan paused for a moment and then asked, "Are the two ships behind still using the designs of Changping and Guanjun?"

Lin Hai hesitated for a moment before asking, "Old Pan, what do you think?"

"If it's your opinion, it would be best if both ships use the Changping design..." Director Pan observed Lin Hai's expression and continued, "Champion is a test model of a flat-deck battleship. I think we need to see how it performs."

"This is a safe strategy. Let's do as you suggest." Lin Hai nodded in agreement. According to his request, the Champion had not been fully verified when the construction of the next two ships started, so there was really no need to rush.

After inspecting the construction of the cruiser, Lin Hai went straight to the Navy Department to meet Miguel, who had just returned from Manila and needed to know the results of this mission as soon as possible.

"Governor Tavola agreed to the company's request to order two cruisers from the Cavite shipyard, which are expected to be delivered before the end of the year. He also expressed interest in the joint military deployment to Batavia. Although he did not explicitly agree, he did not refuse it either. He just said that he still needed to coordinate the position of Goa."

Miguel's words surprised Lin Hai a little. Tavola actually said that he would coordinate Goa's position so quickly. This was smoother than Lin Hai expected. After all, so far, the navy of Huiyou Company has not shown enough strength to convince Tavola that it is qualified to participate in the main battle with the VOC fleet.

The Philippines is definitely interested in forming an alliance to destroy the VOC. After all, they have planned this kind of thing many times themselves, but the target of their alliance is mainly the Viceroy of Goa.

As early as 1615, more than 1616 years ago, the then Governor of the Philippines Juan de Silva sent the Jesuit Ribera to Goa. The two sides agreed to send fleets to meet in Malacca the following year and then look for an opportunity to fight the VOC main fleet. The Viceroy of Goa readily agreed to this, and the two sides hit it off and each sent a fleet to Malacca in , but ultimately failed to fight the VOC.

The reason lies in the changing situation in the Strait of Malacca. Since the Portuguese captured Malacca in 1511, they have been fighting each other for hundreds of years with the Johor Sultanate, the orthodox successor of the Malacca Dynasty, and the Aceh Sultanate, which has risen rapidly in the west of Sumatra. This is known as the Triangle War in history.

This is a game similar to the Romance of the Three Kingdoms. Any two of the three countries have fought wars and formed alliances, but the main theme is the competition between Portugal and Aceh, while Johor is swaying back and forth like a fence-sitter.

Unfortunately, in 1615, the old Sultan Aladdin Riat II of Johor, nicknamed "The Drunkard", drank the last glass of wine in his life. The last thing he did before his death was to conclude an alliance with the Portuguese.

The successor to the throne of Johor Sultan was the drunkard's only son, Abdul Jalil III. However, his throne was soon usurped by his uncle Abdullah Mayat, who exiled him to the Lingga Islands.

The usurper Abdullah Mayat was the youngest brother of the old Sultan. He had been captured by the new Sultan of Aceh, Mahkuta Alam, two years ago. That year, Batu Sawa, the capital of Johor, was captured by the Aceh army.

The Sultan of Aceh then married his sister to him and sent 2,000 soldiers to escort him back to his country. The coup in Johor must have something to do with Aceh. What’s even worse is that the Sultan of Johor who usurped the throne was a pro-VOC and had always been close to the Dutch, Portugal’s old enemy…

The situation reversed overnight. Shortly after Spain and Portugal reached an alliance, the Sultan of Aceh also set up a plan, which was for Aceh, Johor and VOC to jointly drive the Portuguese out of Malacca.

So the fleet sent by the Viceroy of Goa had a battle with the coalition forces of Aceh and Johor as soon as they arrived in Malacca. Although Portugal won the battle, it also suffered a lot of losses. After all, Aceh claimed to have sent 30,000 people and 300 ships.

A few weeks later, the Dutch fleet arrived late and the Portuguese were forced to fight another fierce battle with the Three-Nation Alliance. Malacca's naval power was almost completely lost, and they could only rely on the solid bastions to defend tenaciously.

Fortunately, the Spanish fleet led by the Governor of the Philippines Silva appeared in time and helped the Portuguese to break the siege. Otherwise, the city of Malacca might have changed hands more than 20 years ago.

Although the Spanish had saved Malacca, they were unable to continue their fight with the VOC fleet. The reasons were twofold: first, the fleet of their ally, the Portuguese, had been crippled; second, Johor's defection had caused Malacca to lack supplies, and the Spanish fleet was in a state of difficulty in replenishing supplies.

To make matters worse, the Governor of the Philippines, Juan de Silva, contracted dysentery at this critical juncture and soon died. The Spanish fleet, leaderless and short of supplies, could only return to Manila in great disappointment, and the general offensive of Spain and Portugal against the VOC was declared bankrupt.

Lin Hai was very clear about this period of history. He also knew that Spain and Portugal had planned several similar actions, but they were ultimately abandoned for various reasons. This was why he had always been confident in the coalition plan, provided that Huiyou Company could demonstrate sufficient strength.

"We also proposed that the company will capture Dayuan in the second half of this year, and invited the Philippines to send people to watch the battle. What was Governor Tavola's response to this?" Lin Hai asked.

"Of course he won't refuse this." Miguel said, "Governor Tavola has appointed General Don Juan Longuillo as a special envoy. He will lead a cruiser to visit Keelung before the end of June, and then go to Dayuan with the company's fleet to watch the battle."

(End of this chapter)