Chapter 762 Demonstration

Regarding the negative consequences that this may bring to themselves, it is not that the Dutch have not thought of it, but even though they clearly know that this is helping their competitors in disguise, they currently have no better way to change the balance of power between the two sides in the Fujian Strait.

Haihan's arrival on the island of Taiwan has become unstoppable. The only thing the Dutch can do now is to find ways to protect their own Taiyuan Port from being attacked by their opponents.

When Li Dou returned to the living room, his confidence was much stronger than before. Now that Qian Tiandun had expressed his support for such negotiations, Li Dou no longer needed to worry about what responsibility he would bear for this.

"We can consider continuing to retain the East India Company's right to govern the Damuan Port area, but there is a prerequisite." After Li Dou came back, he immediately put forward the conditions he had just discussed with Qian Tiandun: "At least give us money every month.

Send a thousand immigrants of the type specified by us. If you can do this, then we can talk about the details of the next transaction."

Philip shook his head repeatedly and said: "The Port of Damuan originally belonged to the East India Company. I cannot agree with this 'reserved' statement. In addition, regarding the designation of immigration types, the conditions cannot be too detailed, otherwise I will search all over the Far East.

We may not be able to get the person you want."

"The conditions for immigration require that we can negotiate slowly. There is no need to rush this." After talking to Qian Tiandun, Li Dou had already made the priorities of this matter very clear: "Since you have objections to the arrangements for Damuan Port

, then let’s talk about the affairs of Taiyuan Port first.”

In a negotiation like this that is related to the vital interests of both parties, it is not possible for two negotiators to sit down and reach a final agreement in a few words. Both parties must make certain compromises in exchange for a unanimous opinion. Compared with the Netherlands, Haihan

, it does have a relatively obvious advantage in force in this area, but if it really needs to use force, it does not mean that it can simply crush the Dutch who have been operating in Taiyuan Port for several years. In addition, there is human trade.

With this offer that was irresistible, Haihan was no longer willing to use force to easily resolve the Dutch stronghold.

Li Dou has become quite proficient in this kind of tongue-twisting over the past few years. Ever since he was transferred to Wanshan Port to engage in port management, he has been dealing with people from all walks of life and has had a lot of contact with all kinds of people.

He is no stranger to negotiation matters. Among the current staffing arrangements at the Penghu base, Li Dou should be regarded as the most suitable person to take on the task of negotiation.

While Li Dou was negotiating with the Dutch envoy Philip, Qian Tiandun was also arranging for the navy to be stationed in the local area and preparing for an armed parade near Damuan Port in the near future. Qian Tiandun knew that the reason why the Dutch took the initiative to come to negotiate was because he felt

The pressure brought by the nearby Penghu base was obviously not strong enough, so that the Dutch believed that they still had room for bargaining. What Qian Tiandun had to do was to point the muzzle directly at the Dutch.

On people's throats, let them recognize the facts of who is strong and who is weak as soon as possible.

Due to financial problems, the establishment of the Navy's Fourth Fleet, which was originally supposed to be deployed at the Penghu base, has been short of adding a flagship. Currently, four "Exploration-class" and four "Explorer-class" warships form the local garrisoned navy.

In addition to the main combat power, there are three supply ships, two troop carriers, and two fast reconnaissance boats. Although the lineup still lacks a flagship, the actual combat power should have far exceeded the Dutch armed fleet in Damuan Port.

If it is a large-scale combat operation, the preparation period will definitely be longer. However, Taiyuan Port is only a few dozen nautical miles away from Magong Port in Penghu. With the speed of the Haihan Fleet, one day is enough to make a round trip. In addition, it is just a demonstration and not

Going to fight, the corresponding preparations have been simplified a lot. Of course, in the military's internal records, the real purpose of this operation will definitely not be mentioned, it will just be an ordinary operation of the Fourth Fleet.

Just daily training at sea.

On November 5, the negotiations came to an end, and Philip, who had not made much progress on Haihan's side, returned to Taiyuan Port by ship. Except that Haihan agreed to use human trade as an exchange to retain the East India Company's governance rights in Taiyuan Port.

, almost all other conditions were insisted on. And this was far below the bottom line of the negotiation that the Dutch expected to be acceptable. Philip did not dare to make a decision, so he could only go back and inform the chief, Hans, and he would make a response.

decision.

As soon as Philip left, the Fourth Fleet set off from Magong Port early the next morning. Except for two troop transport ships and a supply ship staying in the port, all other ships participated in this operation. Qian Tiandun personally led

The fleet commander took the fleet and sailed to Taiyuan Port in the southeast.

Compared with the central area of ​​Taiwan where Qian Tiandun last set foot with the special operations force, the natural conditions of Da Yuan Port are obviously much superior. The width of the channel at the entrance of the harbor here is only more than a hundred meters, and the land on the left and right sides of the channel are like crabs.

A pair of large tongs tightly protect the key to entering the harbor, and the pier built by the Dutch is located at the northeast end of the harbor. Before entering the harbor and reaching the pier, you need to pass through two sections that are as narrow as the entrance channel. Its location is dangerous.

The extent is evident. As long as enough coastal defense forts are built in these two places, it will be enough to defend against intruders from the sea.

The Spanish also tried to challenge this stronghold of the Dutch in the early years. However, when they realized the difficulty of attacking here at the cost of two sailing ships, they wisely chose to retreat and went to the north of Taiwan Island to find another foothold.

If they really had to fight hard and didn't sink ten or eight ships in Taiyuan Port, they probably wouldn't even have a chance to land ashore, and such a price the Spaniards were absolutely unwilling to pay.

The Haihan Fleet set off in the early morning and arrived at the sea off Taiyuan Port in the afternoon. This large and well-marked fleet had already attracted the attention of Dutch ships patrolling the sea several nautical miles away from the coast.

"Look at how nervous these Dutch people are!" Minami Takahashi couldn't help complaining when she saw the fireworks warning signal rising into the sky from the Dutch sailing ship.

"These guys are quite vigilant. They recorded the situation and looked back to see if there was any way to get rid of their patrol boats in advance." Qian Tiandun's focus was obviously different.

If the Dutch send a warning to the land in advance, it will obviously become more difficult to launch an offensive from the sea. This is exactly what Qian Tiandun wants to avoid as a commander. But in this era, it is not

There is no long-range weapon with a high hit rate and sufficient lethality that can sink a small or medium-sized sailing ship within visual distance in a very short time. Unless the opponent's patrol ship is far enough away from the coast, it will be difficult to sink it.

subdue or sink them before they can issue a warning.

The few small boats on the sea immediately turned around and sailed to the entrance of the harbor like frightened animals. The purpose of Haihan's trip was to shock, and he had no intention of pursuing these boats, so he watched them escape from a distance.

Return to the harbor.

About half an hour later, apart from the Haihan fleet, there were only seagulls passing by at low altitude on the sea outside Taiyuan Port. However, the Haihan fleet did not get too close to the entrance of the harbor and kept its distance.

A relatively safe distance - from the telescope, you can see that there are several coastal defense forts built on both sides of the entrance channel. Qian Tiandun does not want his men to risk testing the opponent's range, because this kind of information only requires spending

Money can be bought from Damuan Port, and there is no need to risk one's life. Moreover, Qian Tiandun does not intend to give the Dutch an excuse to break the armistice agreement first. After all, this operation is to coerce the Dutch to agree to the transaction conditions, not to

We really want to attack Taiyuan Port.

"Inform all ships to keep a distance of two thousand meters from the coastline and not to get too close." Qian Tiandun ordered: "Let the two reconnaissance boats go in the north and south directions respectively to scout the nearby coastline, within a limit of ten nautical miles.

, withdraw immediately if any situation arises.”

The signal flag on the flagship quickly transmitted Qian Tiandun's order to other warships, and the two light reconnaissance boats immediately turned around and sailed to the north and south.

This kind of reconnaissance boat named "Dragonfly Class" can be simply regarded as a miniature version of the "Exploration Class". The hull shape and sails are copied from the design of the large ship, but the tonnage is less than fifty tons and only one size larger.

About a quarter of the "Exploration-class" warships. Each "Dragonfly-class" reconnaissance boat has a capacity of only ten people. The wooden hull does not have any redundant equipment and supplies, nor is it equipped with artillery. All the equipment that can reduce weight and drag are

Almost all the hull components have been cancelled. The steel keels and mast cores used on large warships have also been abandoned and installed on this kind of reconnaissance boat. Due to its lighter hull and shallow draft, it can also be traced from the estuary.

Go upstream and deep into the inland river to perform tasks. Although the speed cannot reach the exaggerated dozen knots of the two catamaran sailing ships "Speed" and "Lightning", the average speed of more than eight knots is enough for this brisk sailing ship.

Small sailing ships left their contemporaries far behind on the sea.

Of course, superior performance must also come with corresponding sacrifices. The price paid for the "Dragonfly-class" reconnaissance boat is that the crew's living space on the ship has almost no comfort at all. In addition to the space for storing supplies in the cabin,

There are only a few hammocks for the rest of the crew on rotation, and there is not even a stove to provide hot food. If the time at sea exceeds five days, this kind of reconnaissance boat must obtain supplies on the way to maintain operation.

However, for the current Haihan Navy, these shortcomings are relatively easy to overcome. After all, when the Haihan Navy is actually performing combat missions, it will ensure a relatively stable supply operation, and the area of ​​activity is usually not too far away from the mainland.

The design and finalization of the "Dragonfly-class" reconnaissance boats was completed by the Ministry of Shipping last year. In the first half of this year, four boats were built simultaneously by the Victory Port Shipyard. After completing various tests after launching, they were respectively assigned to be stationed in Cam Ranh Port, Annan.

The Third Fleet and the Fourth Fleet stationed in Fujian have replaced the previous practice of using "Exploration-class" warships as reconnaissance ships. Less than two months after this reconnaissance ship came to Penghu and entered service, even the former

It was not dispatched even after landing at Zhuoshui Creek. This time the Fourth Fleet went south to demonstrate outside Taiyuan Port. It can be regarded as the first time this kind of reconnaissance boat has performed a mission.

This time Qian Tiandun brought the fleet out for training. He also had the idea of ​​​​shooting the grass and hunting the rabbit. On the one hand, he used force to deter the hesitant Dutch, and on the other hand, he also tested the daily training status of various naval units. There are also

A secret purpose is to reconnoiter the offshore area near Taiyuan Port. Even if you don't land, you must at least find out the conditions of the nearby coastline. If one day you fall out and really want to use force to deal with Taiyuan Port, at least there is no need to improvise.

Already.

The Haihan Fleet was calmly and leisurely conducting various navigation training in the waters outside Damuan Port, but the Dutch in Fort Jelandia could not keep calm at this time. When the Haihan Fleet with red and blue flags appeared,

The news outside the port of Da Yuan was transmitted back to Fort Jelandia. Hans immediately ordered all local personnel and institutions to enter a state of war. The first reaction of the East India Company's officer in Da Yuan was that the Haihan people

He had lost all patience and planned to storm Taiyuan Port. Although Hans had thought about how to deal with this situation more than once and had made corresponding emergency plans, when this moment really came

At that time, Hans sadly found that the area under his jurisdiction was still a mess.

Except for a very small number of soldiers who rushed to combat posts immediately after receiving the order, the first thing most people did was to go home and pack up their belongings and prepare to flee. Although it is said that the Haihan people have blocked the only access channel to the port, these people still did not

The awareness to resist the enemy's invasion. Although very few of them have seen the Haihan militia, they generally believe that the local armed forces are not enough to stop the Haihan attack - after all, the Shibazhidu with tens of thousands of troops have been defeated.

Under the gunfire of the Haihan people, what can Damuan Port, which has less than a thousand troops, do to stop the Haihan people?

There are many coastal defense forts built near Taiyuan Port, but these artillery pieces have not been fired for several years. Whether they can continue to be used safely remains to be seen. The key is that the local gunners who know how to fire are already unfamiliar with their skills.

It's hard to say whether it can withstand the attack of the Haihan fleet.

Once the port is breached, the only defense facility the Dutch can rely on is Fort Geranje, which has only completed the first phase of the project. Historically, this castle was built in 1624 and took nearly thirty years of construction.

Declared to be fully completed, although the appearance of the Haihan people allowed it to complete the first phase of the project nearly two years earlier than the original history, most people still insist on relying on the current degree of completion to resist the Haihan people with strong ships and powerful artillery.

Pessimistic attitude.
Chapter completed!