Chapter 496

Zheng Sen cupped his hands and said to Su Qiao.

Having followed Su Qiao to learn, he called himself a student.

Even without an official title, there was still a teacher-student relationship involved.

Under these circumstances, when Zheng Sen called himself a student, Su Qiao did not object.

"Enough. If the Dutch are retreating, let them retreat; for now, ignore them. Tell your father to intensify training immediately. Wait for their reinforcements. When their reinforcements arrive, that is when we engage!"

"Yes!"

A month passed slowly.

Under Zheng Zhilong's training, the combat power of the naval soldiers had improved greatly compared to before.

Coupled with the boost from advanced warships and cannons, their morale and fighting strength were no less than the Dutch.

Zheng Zhilong was even more high-spirited!

And what about Putmans?

Or rather, the Dutch? The support fleet they were waiting for had also arrived.

Understanding that this battle was unavoidable—a war to decide the hegemony of the Far East—they intended to stake everything on it.

It was driven by both greed and the expansion of power, and also the result of the East India Company's pursuit of profit.

While Zheng Zhilong actively prepared for war, once the Dutch reinforcements arrived, they immediately began to consolidate, and they also slowly began to approach Great Ming with Liu Xiang.

Unlike before when they had retreated, they were now somewhat arrogant, repeatedly attacking Great Ming merchant ships.

After receiving the news, Su Qiao immediately ordered the Maritime Trade Office to issue an order.

Great Ming merchant ships and foreign merchant ships trading amicably with Great Ming were to temporarily cease navigation.

They would be allowed to sail only after this battle was fought.

Su Qiao even went to the Quanzhou Prefecture Yamen to take command.

"The Dutch reinforcements have arrived. Their strength has increased, and they have become arrogant. Now they do not fear our Great Ming navy; instead, they are slowly approaching. General Zheng, you are the main commander of this campaign. What is your opinion?"

Su Qiao, seated in the head position, asked Zheng Zhilong below.

Zheng Zhilong stood up with a resolute expression, cupped his hands, and said, "My Lord, rest assured. The naval soldiers have greatly improved their combat power through training now. Seventy thousand soldiers sleep with their weapons ready day and night! As long as the Dutch barbarians dare to come, we dare to level them!"

"Hehe, General Zheng, your courage is commendable. The results of training the navy are also good; you have merit. Although we do not fear the Dutch, we must still remain vigilant!"

Su Qiao offered a reminder and said nothing else.

Assistant Prefect Wang Da spoke up at this moment: "My Lord Su, General Zheng, this humble official wishes to ask if there is anything we need to prepare."

"Grain, medicine, cloth, and so on; all these are needed!"

"My Lord Su, the ships have basically all been supplied to the navy; there are no spare ships left."

Quanzhou Vice Prefect Li Heyu hurriedly said.

He was the one responsible for this.

Su Qiao nodded and said, "I know. However, we can build some small boats. Additionally, we can borrow ships from other wealthy merchants and the like. No matter what, after the battle begins, if our Great Ming soldiers fall into the water, they will definitely need rescue. This point cannot be a drag!"

"Yes, this humble official will arrange it immediately upon returning!"

No matter what, since Su Qiao had already spoken and made the decision, he dared not contradict him, so he had to agree.

Afterwards, Su Qiao inquired about some other trivial matters.

Such as medicine, grain, and so on.

These were also very important: the wounded, the soldiers eating, and so on. Who knew how long this battle would last?

If the Dutch were cunning and did not annihilate their main force in one go, the time would have to be extended.

This needed to be reserved in advance! Door.

450, The Dutch head north!

Great Ming had made war preparations, and the Dutch were not idle either.

Their fleets were now united, with the number of warships directly breaking through sixty.

One could say their combat power was extremely strong, plus over a thousand small pirate ships led by Liu Xiang and other allied pirates.

With such strength, only Great Ming still had the ability to fight.

Other powers had absolutely no courage to face them.

On an afternoon after several weeks of standoff.

It was also April 7th. The new Dutch Taiwan Viceroy, Putmans, led dozens of Dutch warships, with his flagship the Midelburg at the head, pressing towards the vicinity of Great Ming's Nan'ao Island.

Putmans made almost no attempt to conceal himself.

Warships blocking out the sky and sun almost covered the entire sea surface.

Nearly a thousand warships appearing on the sea was still very spectacular.

Let alone that they were enemies.

Fortunately, almost everyone knew Great Ming was about to engage the Dutch, and everyone was very vigilant.

Ships patrolled near the coast, responsible for alertness.

The moment the Dutch combined fleet appeared, it was discovered by the sentry soldiers.

Subsequently, the news was transmitted to Nan'ao Island.

The Nan'ao Island garrison immediately became vigilant and quickly lit beacon fires, requesting reinforcements from the Quanzhou Navy and others.

Putmans' original plan was to launch a direct surprise attack.

Ideally, he would easily occupy Nan'ao Island in one stroke and establish a forward base there.

By the time Great Ming came to its senses, they would have already trimmed Nan'ao Island into a fortress.

With the support of ship-mounted cannons from the harbor ports along the coast, the Dutch would absolutely dominate.

Yet they never expected that even sailing deliberately at night and launching a surprise attack before dawn, they were still discovered by the people of Great Ming.

When the Dutch United Fleet arrived at Nan'ao Island, preparing to close in for an attack.

The Nan'ao garrison fired first.

Nan'ao Island is protected by city walls, and cannons are mounted on the ramparts.

It was impossible for the Dutch cannonballs to pierce the city walls, nor could they clear them.

So several volleys hammered the walls until they were pockmarked and cratered.

But it produced no real effect.

At this, General Putmans was utterly stunned.

He truly had not expected it to turn out this way.

He had overestimated their own strength.

Yet he was unwilling to simply retreat.

After all, their numbers were considerable; altogether they totaled tens of thousands.

Although not so many could disembark to fight.

The quantity was still substantial.

After a brief consideration, Putmans decided to try a charge.

The forces committed were not large: over eight hundred Dutchmen, and over a thousand from Liu Xiang and the allied pirates.

Altogether nearly two thousand, charging toward the Nan'ao walls with war cries.

However, the Nan'ao side had long been prepared.

The Battalion Commander, the captain defending the city, Fan Ruyao, immediately summoned the able-bodied youths rallied within the city, bringing up the pre-prepared thunderstones, rolling logs, boiling oil, and other supplies.

When the Dutch and pirates attacked together, they launched a decisive counterattack.

The Dutch and pirates had neither siege engines.

Nor did they have experience in siege warfare.

Arriving here, they naturally became pure targets.

They inflicted no harm whatsoever on the Duicheng Sect or the defending soldiers, and were defeated outright.

With heavy casualties, they turned and fled.

By the time they reached the shore, fewer than eight hundred remained.

Of these, three hundred were Dutchmen.