Gou was a member of the imperial family in the late Ming Dynasty

Chapter 1300 Redemption
Zheng Hongkui was naturally overjoyed by such a great victory. However, after meeting the surrendered Dutchmen and learning some news after interrogating the prisoners, Zheng Hongkui was filled with regret.

Zheng Hongkui never expected that after the interrogation, he would learn that the Dutch fleet's supreme commander, Admiral Capelen, had actually escaped, and that he was the one who led those main warships in a desperate fight to escape from the encirclement.

Due to the chaos and poor visibility at night, Zheng Hongkui was unable to identify General Capelen's flagship, the Batavia. Moreover, he did not have time to determine whose warships those that escaped the encirclement belonged to, or who was on board.

After all, the entire Dutch fleet, consisting of over a hundred warships, was trapped inside the port. Compared to so many warships, the escape of a few was insignificant in the grand scheme of things. Regardless of who was in command, they would react in the same way as Zheng Hongkui. He couldn't possibly send most of his warships to pursue the escaping ships, could he? Therefore, the correct choice was to do everything in his power to annihilate the Dutch fleet trapped in the port.

The problem was that among the escaping warships was the Batavia, the ship of the Dutch supreme commander, Admiral Cappellen, which was undoubtedly a pity. But what was done was done, and Zheng Hongkui could only accept reality. After all, this battle had almost completely annihilated the main Dutch fleet. Apart from the Dutch and Mataram warships that were burned, sunk, or lost in the chaos due to collisions, the Ming army captured a total of seventy-one warships and armed merchant ships of various sizes. They not only achieved a stunning victory but also took Sulumayi in the process.

Such a victory was astonishing. Aside from their own fire ships, the Ming army's losses consisted of only three warships damaged in the battle while besieging the port. Personnel casualties were also minimal; five Madura soldiers responsible for the fire attack went missing, but the rest were brought back. The Ming army suffered three dead and eleven wounded in action. Compared to the victory, these losses were negligible.

Having captured most of the Dutch fleet, the Netherlands' strength in the South China Sea was essentially crippled. Moreover, after the Dutch fleet surrendered, their warships became the spoils of victory for the Ming Dynasty. Although there weren't many main warships among them, there were still quite a few armed merchant ships and warships of the Mataran people. After thinking it over, Zheng Hongkui directly incorporated the intact Dutch main warships into the Ming fleet and sent personnel to take them over.

As for the armed merchant ships and the warships of the Madaram people, Zheng Hongkui could not keep them all as spoils of war. Whether they were the Portuguese, the British, the Swedish and Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, or the Madura people who participated in the joint fleet, they were all allies, so he could not treat them unfairly.

Especially for the Kingdom of Madura, this great victory would have been impossible without Prince Durano's contributions, and his merits were considerable. Therefore, after recapturing Surumay, Zheng Hongkui not only fulfilled his promise to hand the place over to Prince Durano and instruct him to send people to restore order as soon as possible, but also generously gifted the captured Mataram warship and two intact armed merchant ships to Prince Durano. This greatly pleased and deeply moved Prince Durano.

As for the other four countries, they were basically just bystanders in the previous war, but they still reaped considerable benefits afterward. The remaining armed merchant ships and other spoils were divided among everyone, and the profits they gained exceeded their contributions in the war. Everyone was all smiles.

Moreover, the British and Portuguese even sought an audience with Zheng Hongkui, suggesting that they could use the captured Dutch as leverage. According to the rules of war in Europe, these prisoners were already spoils of war for the Ming Dynasty, and the Ming Dynasty had every right to dispose of them.

However, as prisoners of war, there were rules allowing for either self-redemption or ransom by the Dutch East India Company. The Dutch officers and soldiers captured, including captains and sailors of armed merchant ships recruited by the Dutch East India Company, were all of considerable value.

As a maritime power, the Netherlands is a strong nation in Europe. The Dutch East India Company, the world's first joint-stock company, has been hailed as the world's most profitable company in recent years. Therefore, money is not scarce for the Netherlands or the Dutch East India Company. They could easily categorize the prisoners according to their status (nobles or commoners), rank (officers or soldiers), and position (captains or sailors), setting clear prices for them to pay for their own redemption or later purchase them from the Netherlands. This would be far more appropriate than simply disposing of them.

This suggestion somewhat tempted Zheng Hongkui, but considering the court's attitude, he dared not agree entirely for the time being. After all, the Ming Dynasty's reason for sending troops this time was that the Dutch had impersonated pirates and attacked Ming merchant ships. Since war had begun, prisoners of war had to be handed over after victory. This not only demonstrated the Ming Dynasty's prestige but also gave an explanation to all the people of the Ming Dynasty. If he, as the supreme commander, secretly sold the prisoners in this way, the court would be in deep trouble if they found out.

However, Zheng Hongkui also knew that there were many benefits involved. According to the Portuguese explanation, if we take the war between the Netherlands and Spain in the colonies ten years ago as an example, the Dutch redeemed prisoners of war from the Spanish at a price of 300 florins for ordinary soldiers, 1000 florins for junior officers, and 3000 to 5000 florins for mid-level officers of the rank of major and above and ordinary nobles. This would be a huge income.

It's important to remember that during the recently concluded World War I, over four thousand Dutch were captured. Half of them were officers and soldiers of the East India Company, and the other half were captains and sailors of armed merchant ships who had been conscripted. Even the latter generally had the ability to redeem themselves, let alone the former, whose value was far greater.

Even considering the average soldier's value at 300 florins, these men alone were worth a staggering 1.2 million florins—an astronomical sum not only in Europe but also in the Ming Dynasty. While Zheng Hongkui was tempted, he couldn't resist the allure. Besides, the Ming fleet needed to secure benefits for its troops before going on campaign. Without rewards after victory, how could the soldiers maintain morale? Furthermore, although they had captured Sulumay and seized some gold and silver spoils, the territory had already been returned to Madura. Zheng Hongkui couldn't simply go back on his word and allow his men to plunder and kill in Sulumay. Moreover, he was representing the mighty Ming Dynasty; he simply couldn't do that.

After much deliberation, Zheng Hongkui consulted Wang Fuzhi, who offered him a suggestion. Although the prisoners would inevitably be presented as tribute later, this was merely a formality; they couldn't possibly send all the prisoners back to the Ming Dynasty, could they?
Sending so many people to the Ming Dynasty presents numerous challenges, not to mention the difficulties of transportation. They also had to provide for their basic needs along the way, offering no benefit whatsoever and even having to pay out of their own pockets. Moreover, although they won the battle, Batavia remained intact, and even the Dutch fleet's supreme commander, Admiral Capelen, had escaped. What they captured were merely ordinary Dutch officers and soldiers, along with a number of conscripted armed merchant ship crew members.

These people are not of much practical use, and even if we offer prisoners, taking back one or two hundred would be enough. Furthermore, we still need to fight Batavia, so appropriately redeeming some prisoners is not a problem. Zheng Hongkui can simply submit a memorial to the Emperor explaining this matter and use the money obtained from redeeming prisoners to support the troops and pay for later war expenses.

As long as half of the wealth obtained from the final redemption is given to the imperial court, that is, His Majesty, and the other half is kept for himself to share with everyone, it wouldn't be a problem for Zheng Hongkui to make some money for himself.

Upon hearing Wang Fuzhi's suggestion, Zheng Hongkui immediately smiled. This method was indeed excellent, so he wrote a memorial explaining the matter overnight and had it quickly sent back to China. He also summoned the British and Portuguese who had made the suggestion. Europeans were adept at this kind of thing, and they could handle the task of distinguishing prisoners and setting ransom prices. Zheng Hongkui only required that a roster be compiled first, and that the Dutch regular army be put on hold for the time being, while the armed merchant ships originally belonging to Dutch merchants could be ransomed first.

In any case, the redemption of these people would not affect the overall situation. In addition, their ships were either destroyed in battle or had been captured and distributed. Even if they gained their freedom, they would not be able to leave Sulumayi for the time being, and it would not affect the subsequent course of the war.

General Capelen narrowly escaped death and finally broke through the Ming fleet's encirclement and pursuit, crossing the strait to the Java Sea in the north.

By this time, it was already broad daylight, and the Ming warships that had been pursuing him had retreated. He was finally safe.

Looking at his flagship and the four damaged warships that had escaped with it, General Capelen felt utterly despondent and couldn't help but shed tears.

Just a few hours ago, he was the supreme commander of a fleet of over a hundred warships, and in the blink of an eye, his fleet was destroyed. He, who once commanded a large army, now had only five warships left, including his flagship, and all five were damaged to some extent. Among them, the Queen of the Sea was severely damaged, with its stern destroyed and three large holes in its hull. If it weren't for the luck that the Ming army's shells didn't hit the ammunition compartment, this warship would have sunk to the bottom of the sea long ago.

Looking back towards the strait, even though they were far away, the distant rumble of cannon fire could still be heard. General Capelen dared not imagine whether the following warships would escape as luckily as he had, but regardless, his fleet was finished. Even if a few more warships escaped, it would not change the overall situation. After this battle, the Dutch main force in the South China Sea was reduced to less than one-tenth, and they no longer had the ability to contend with the powerful Ming fleet.

"Sir, where do we go now?" The adjutant knew his superior was upset, but he still asked, forcing himself to be polite.

"Where to? Where else can we go?" General Capelen felt bitter. His previous bravado had become a joke, and he even contemplated suicide. But looking at the familiar faces around him and the expectation in their eyes, he suppressed his pain and said to his adjutant, "Raise the flags and tell all the ships attempting to break out: hard to port, head west, we're going back to Batavia!"

(End of this chapter)