I

"They found out."

Tiehong was in the castle at the moment, observing the Dutch fleet with a telescope.

Li Dingguo's army did not come because the distance was too far. The men who sent troops to occupy Busuanga Island were the black brothers who were responsible for garrisoning Luzon.

There were a total of three thousand troops stationed in Luzon. Tie Hong brought two thousand over, and the remaining one thousand stayed in Manila to defend the city. These three thousand troops were formed by recruiting peasant soldiers from Fujian and Guangdong. They had never fought many battles, and their combat effectiveness was definitely not as good as that of the regular Datong Army.

Of course, taking Busuanga Island is more than enough.

The Dutch castle on the island was built more crudely than the earthen castles in Han villages and towns in Liaodong because they were reluctant to spend money. There were only more than 30 defenders, and their combat effectiveness was very poor. They were okay at beating the natives, but they were bombarded by the Datong Navy and directly chose to surrender in Kaicheng.

This island is actually not that bad. It is larger than Amami Island and only smaller than Ryukyu Island.

Although the island is mountainous, there is a lot of land that can be cultivated, but the indigenous agricultural technology is too backward. If the Han people migrated here to cultivate and develop the land, the food produced could make tens of thousands of people self-sufficient, not to mention the possibility of fishing offshore.

Vanderlaan heard Adop's warning and quickly asked his adjutant to send an order and send a flag for the fleet to leave the bay.

But it was too late, because the ambush site of the Datong Navy was too close.

Hidden behind several small islands in the northern part of the bay are more than twenty Chinese warships. There are also a large number of islands in the southern part of the bay, which hide more than 60 Chinese warships.

After seeing the Dutch fleet, the Sultan of Brunei and the Sultan of Sulu all sent ships to report the news, so that the Chinese navy could easily set up an ambush.

As for the Chinese army, why did it dispatch troops faster than the Dutch fleet?

The reason is simple: it takes time for the Dutch governor to mobilize his troops.

Of these 18 Dutch warships, 5 were transferred from Malacca, and 100 land troops were even drawn from Malacca.

As for the Chinese army, after the emperor issued the order, the clipper sailed to Shanghai overnight. The Shanghai Fleet set off immediately, bringing along the Ningbo Fleet along the way, and then the Fuzhou Fleet. Each of the three fleets took out 80%, and the remaining 20% ​​continued to perform the original mission. There is also the Guangzhou Fleet, which is responsible for patrolling the coasts of Guangnan, Guangxi, and Guangdong to be wary of the Dutch coming from here.

In order to rush for time, the Shanghai, Ningbo, and Fuzhou fleets did not even bring enough military rations, and all were resupplied in Luzon.

"Zuo Manduo, block the opening, don't let the red-haired ghost escape!" Hong Xu shouted.

On the other side, Shi Daxuan was also shouting: "Side sail, set the side sail quickly, we are against the wind!"

Wan Bangyan was in the extreme southwest, drawing out his command sword and roaring: "Full sails, no need to fire cannons, just rush over and cut the enemy fleet in two!"

This sea area is perfect for an ambush.

If it were not for the alertness of the Dutch Army Commander Adop, who observed the fortress and discovered traces of shelling, the Dutch Navy would still be sailing to the port foolishly. By then, it will be completely blocked and there will be no room to move.

There was no need to use a telescope anymore. Vanderlaan could see clearly with the naked eye that nearly a hundred Chinese warships were coming from the northeast and southwest.

If the Dutch fleet breaks through directly, the wind direction will be crosswind. However, they must first sail against the wind toward the southwest, and then escape with the crosswind, because there are several small islands blocking the front - they cannot go around the islands with the wind, because they will be too close to the Chinese fleet and will collide head-on with Shi Daxuan's troops.

But going around the island against the wind is even more impossible because there are too many Chinese warships to face.

Vander Laan made a prompt decision and ordered: "Sail northeast and hit us directly!"

As a result, 18 Dutch warships sailed toward the northeast with the wind, where there were 23 warships led by Shi Daxuan.

Shi Daxuan's fleet sailed due west, changing from headwind to crosswind, trying to physically block the opening and prevent the enemy ships from escaping the encirclement.

"Boom boom boom!"

Both sides were firing, with Shi Daxuan firing broadside cannons and the Dutch fleet firing bow cannons.

"Block it, don't let the red-haired ghost escape!"

The 650-ton Dutch battleship "Stubborn John" charged at full speed and hit the side of a 200-ton Chinese warship.

A large gap instantly appeared on the side of the Chinese warship. It was hit so hard that it almost flipped over and fell upside down in the sea. The ship was basically hopeless and would sink in a short while. The navy soldiers jumped into the sea to escape.

Vanderlaan yelled: "Don't get entangled with the enemy ships, quickly go around the island and break out!"

Wan Bangyan was located on the southwest side of the battlefield and was still pursuing at full speed with the wind.

Hong Xu's position was due west. He ordered: "Turn to the north and go around the island to intercept the enemy!"

Even if the Dutch fleet could break through from Shi Daxuan, it would still have to sail through a narrow channel against the wind. It is the peninsula extending from Busuanga Island and the passage formed by the long strip of small islands in the sea. As long as Hong Xu ran fast, he could block the Dutchman in the narrow passage.

In less than ten minutes of fighting between the two sides, Shi Daxuan's fleet suffered heavy losses, and two of them had been damaged by Dutch battleships.

At that time, the speed of the Dutch fleet also slowed down, and the two sides were entangled at close range in the narrow sea area.

"Boom boom boom!"

On both sides of the enemy, one was escaping, the other was blocking, and both were firing at the same time.

While shelling, Shi Daxuan ordered to approach the docking port. He was from Zheng Zhilong's old unit. No matter how many artillery pieces he was equipped with, he always wanted to fight on the side and grab the enemy ship by the way. The lives of the soldiers were still second to none.

Not long after, another Chinese warship sank. It was really too close, and it took two rounds of broadside shelling. Of course, the Dutch warships that fought against it were not much better, and the hull suffered heavy damage in many places.

Only the Dutch battleship Stiffy John was too big and extremely sturdy. While firing and charging, all the Chinese warships that wanted to join the ship were knocked away by this thing.

Finally, the Stubborn John successfully broke out and sailed against the wind in the narrow channel.

Wan Bangyan led the Taiwanese fleet, advancing at full speed with the wind, and finally entered the battlefield at this moment, killing the tail of the Dutch fleet. The warships of both sides were entangled at close range, and it was easy to cause accidental damage when firing. Wan Bangyan also ordered to split up and join the sides.

At this point in the battle, Hong Xu also led his troops around the island and was about to block the only passage.

Suddenly, the Stubborn John rushed out of the narrow channel, spread its sails and fled due to the crosswind. Four hundred kilometers away was Scarborough Shoal. Immediately afterwards, another one escaped, a 400-ton Dutch ship.

Hong Xu's ship is the "Datong", a 500-ton galenic ship snatched from Spain. Seeing that he had no time to pursue, he simply ignored the two enemy ships that had broken through and ordered the entire army to completely block the passage.

The remaining Dutch warships suddenly fell into despair. Some chose to surrender, while others resisted.

With this kind of bad terrain, no matter how good naval warfare technology is, it will not work. If they run a little faster, the warships of the two armies may collide with each other, just to see who can win the boarding battle.

The result of this battle:

The Chinese navy was sunk three ships, severely damaged five ships, and suffered more than 600 casualties.

Of the Dutch fleet, one was sunk, four surrendered, 11 were captured during the boarding battle, and the remaining two successfully broke through.

The Datong Navy had so many casualties, most of which were caused by taking on the side. There were hundreds of Dutch troops on one of the enemy ships, and the two sides fought from the deck to the cabin.

"Damn it, I still let the red-haired ghost run away with two!"

Shi Daxuan was furious. Ninety percent of the casualties in this battle were his soldiers, and the three ships that were sunk were also his troops.

However, they said that the two Dutch warships that escaped went northward and then followed the wind to the east, and soon arrived at the Spanish colonial island of Mindoro. They did not dare to return the same way, nor did they dare to go to Luzon and Taiwan, or even dare to provoke the Spanish, but they could bully the natives.

As if to vent their anger, the two Dutch warships, led by Vanderlaan, landed in the southernmost part of Mindoro.

There is an indigenous tribe there. A few years ago, when China and the Netherlands joined forces to deal with Spain, the Netherlands even instigated the indigenous tribes here. They took the natives with them to attack the Spanish gathering points. After the war, the natives suffered retaliation from Spain.

Now, Vanderlaan pointed to the indigenous village and said: "We need trophies to level this place!"

There were hundreds of troops on board the two Dutch warships. Vanderlaan even asked two hundred sailors to disembark and attack innocent natives with muskets.

The indigenous people were unable to resist at all, so they abandoned their homes and fled.

The Dutch army pursued them wildly and captured nearly a hundred natives. Those who are too old will be killed directly, while the young men, women and children will be taken back to the ship.

Vanderlaan added: "Take away the food and furs and burn all their thatched houses!"

A raging fire broke out, and there were many bodies on the ground.

Countless indigenous people were hiding in the mountains and forests, looking at their burned homes in the distance, hugging each other and crying and wailing.

Since then, sailing southward, all Spanish territories were occupied, and Vander Laan did not provoke them again. They took the stolen food and slaves to Cuyo Island in the Sulu Kingdom, and once again massacred the indigenous people in a violent manner, burned their houses, and robbed the indigenous people of their food.

Then, around the southern coast of Kalimantan, we returned to Batavia in despair.

Fandelin stood on the tower of the Governor's Mansion, watching only two battleships return, and his heart suddenly froze.

It's over, it's all over!

The Dutch East India Company's warships can be rebuilt, but he, the governor, will definitely be dismissed from his post by the headquarters.

Vander Laan and Adop came to the Governor's Palace in disgrace to resume their duties.

"What's going on?" Vanderlin said angrily.

"We were ambushed," Vander Laan said.

Vanderlin said: "The navy was ambushed?"

Vander Laan explained: "Luzon is China's territory. If you want to rescue Jelanze, you must go through the Luzon Sea. I guessed that the Chinese navy must be gathered in Manila, so I wanted to use Busuanga Island as a base, and both the navy and the army were deployed there." Land on Sanga Island, then send warships to Manila to investigate, and deploy combat plans based on specific circumstances."

"Then what?" Vanderlin asked.

Vander Laan began to shirk responsibility: "The defenders on Busuanga Island are all trash. How long ago, the fortress was actually occupied by the Chinese. The sea area near Busuanga Port has an extremely complicated terrain and is full of islands. , warships can be hidden everywhere. What’s even more disgusting is that there is an island blocking the vicinity of Busuanga Port. After our army is ambushed, we have to bypass that island if we want to break out!"

Vanderlin was too lazy to listen to the explanation and said, "Write your resignation letter with me."