Late Ming Dynasty: The Counterattack Begins with Sea Pirates

Dutch troops are marching on their way to Keelung.

The whole process was quiet and peaceful, with only the sounds of footsteps on the ground and wild grass, and the chirping of birds from the distant forest.

There was no one there, not even a house. The village that had been burned down was now mostly overgrown with weeds. In a few more days, unless you went close, you probably wouldn't be able to tell that anyone had ever lived there.

Even as you get closer to the chicken coop, you can't feel much life; this area seems like it has never been developed.

As for the strongholds, houses, and other structures abandoned by the Spanish, they were all destroyed when they left.

Everything seemed to resemble spring, yet everything also resembled spring.

The last stronghold of the Spanish was called San Salvador (Chicken Coop).

When the Dutch arrived again, the garrison in the city had dwindled to just over three hundred men.

The Dutch believed they outnumbered the Spanish four or five times, and this time they even had siege cannons.

We are determined to win.

Hans initially considered persuading the Spanish to surrender, since both sides could see that the outcome was already decided, and any further resistance would only increase casualties.

However, the Spanish did not completely give up.

After the last attack, the Spanish chose to rebuild the fortress overlooking San Salvador, thus preventing the Dutch from bombarding the main city from its elevated position.

The Spanish in the city were completely unmoved by Hans's attempts to persuade them to surrender, treating his words as utter nonsense. They even uttered a few simple Dutch phrases from the city walls, which were, of course, used as insults.

Seeing the Spaniards laughing and joking even as they faced certain death, Hans, enraged, immediately ordered the cannons to be opened and the city attacked.

With the sound of several cannon shots, the stones in the city were dented, and flying stones were scattered everywhere.

However, due to the limited caliber and quantity of the missiles, one or two bombings were not enough. Under repeated bombings, gaps were finally created in some areas.

Hans immediately ordered an attack on the city!

All the Dutchmen rushed forward, and the Spanish in the city gave up after a brief resistance.

It seems he's just being stubborn.

In this battle, the cost was not even that high; the biggest cost was that the artillery shells they brought with them were almost used up.

Hans looked at the group of Spanish prisoners with a cold smile.

"Let me see who was making such a ruckus in the city just now?"

He grabbed a man at random and stabbed him with a knife, ending his life. Only after the man had completely fallen to the ground did he look at his face.

"Oh God, what a loser! If you didn't say that, then who did?"

He then grabbed another person, didn't even look at him properly, and stabbed him with a knife.

Hans only stopped after killing three people.

"Tie all these people up and transport them to Batavia (Jakarta) so they can be properly tried."

The Spaniards around them were so terrified by Hans's earlier outburst that they lost their minds, trembling but daring not to resist.

If they wanted to resist, would things still turn out this way?

"Governor, the history of the Spanish in Taiwan is now over. That Moore is definitely going to suffer a lot!"

"Heh, not Moore, it's the person behind him."

"The person behind it?"

"The Governor-General of the Philippines, Coquela."

"Anyone who is Spanish will do."

Hans immediately ordered all the prisoners to be driven ahead of the column and returned to Fort Zeelandia!

……

A fleet of sailboats suddenly appeared on the coast where trade routes were taking place.

The larger ones are tens of meters long and are placed at the very front of the entire fleet, while the smaller ones are only a few meters long and are laid out at the rear of the fleet.

All the ships were packed with people, even on the decks.

This display of force was truly rare at the time.

The main difference is that the leading boats are all Western-style, while the ones behind them are all fishing boats.

Whose troops are these?

Seeing the scale of the vessel, even though Chi Honghai did not fly any special flags this time, Zheng Zhilong's patrol boats did not dare to approach.

If someone dares to step forward like that, it's like knocking on the gates of hell at midnight—a death wish on their own.

They immediately turned the boat around and headed towards Kinmen.

After all, with such a big commotion, we still don't know what they're up to, or even where they're from. They say they're Westerners, but what's with the fishing boats behind them? They say they're from the Ming Dynasty, but even if you searched the entire Ming Dynasty, you wouldn't find a boat like that!

This matter must be reported clearly to Zheng Zhilong.

Watching Zheng Zhilong's ship sail away, his subordinate reminded Chi Honghai.

"Master, if we let them go like this, what if they tell Zheng Zhilong?"

Chi Honghai watched the sailboat gradually disappear into the distance. "It's alright. With such a commotion, especially in coastal waters, it can't be hidden. Let it go. They still need to find out whose fleet it is."

Chi Honghai tapped his fingertips rhythmically on the side of the boat: "By the time they fully realize what's happening, the position of the island's owner in Taiwan will already be mine."

The fleet continued toward Fort Zeelandia.

Soon, the alarm bells at the Zeelandia Tower rang again.

"Ta-da!"

In an instant, all the Dutch in the city rushed up the city walls, shouting something and looking panicked.

Upon hearing the bell ring, Liu Qingjiang finally felt relieved.

"Those who were coming are here!" He grabbed his weapon. "Tell the brothers to prepare to fight!"

Looking out from the tower, countless ships floated on the sea, like a handful of rice scattered in a basin of water, swaying closely together, but always pressing in on one's side.

The most important one was the lead battleship. Looking through their binoculars, the Dutch repeatedly shouted, "Third-class battleship! Third-class battleship! Third-class battleship!!!"

Meanwhile, the alarm bells kept ringing and never stopped, as if continuing to ring the alarm bells would provide a solution!

"Big brother, when is it time for us to make our move?"

"Don't rush. We'll charge up the city wall after the shelling stops. Everyone, find something to hide in now. We've all experienced the power of the Tianquan before."

"yes!"

On the sea, the Tianquan sailed to the vicinity of Fort Zeelandia and turned the entire ship sideways.

The fleet behind was instantly split into two parts.

The three lead ships, Dinghai, Dinglang, and Dingbo, continued sailing towards Fort Zeelandia in the direction of the Tianquan and opened fire further.

The remaining fleet, led by the Huiyuan, Huicheng, Huian, and Suian ships, all headed towards Luermen.

Subsequent fishing boats, under the cover of four naval guns, passed through the narrow space of Luermen and made detours to Hecha Port and Zeelandia.

The resistance encountered throughout the process was very limited.

Firstly, the situation was very sudden. Secondly, facing so many ships, including a third-rate battleship, was not only psychologically overwhelming, but also meant that their manpower was insufficient to cope.

In less than half a day, the landing force had already landed along Beixianwei Island and Hecha Port.

"Master! They've really made it through! Fatty San and the others have already passed through Luermen Gate!"

Chi Honghai looked ahead through his binoculars and said calmly.

"Attack Relanja City first!"

"What?! My lord! You yourself said before how difficult Fort Zeelandia was to attack! Taking the most difficult one first, won't that...?"

"Attack Relanja City first!"

Chi Honghai said again with absolute certainty!