Chapter 497

The casualties were truly heavy!

Putman saw that fighting this way would not work.

He felt he had made a wrong decision.

They were the masters of the sea, pirates of the ocean; how could they abandon their ships to fight on foot?

This was using their own weaknesses to attack others' strengths.

Moreover, he could not drag things out here against the Great Ming forever; he understood in his heart that they were, after all, very far from the Far East.

The Great Ming's resources, potential, and population were all too vast.

The longer they delayed, the stronger the Great Ming would become.

They must find the Great Ming Navy as soon as possible, engage the Great Ming Navy in a decisive battle, and destroy the main force of the Great Ming Navy.

Only then could they seize the initiative in the war.

Putman did not continue to entangle with the Great Ming's Nan'ao Island garrison; he quickly withdrew with his fleet and continued northward.

April 11th!

When Liu Xiang and the other allied pirates were searching the sea for Great Ming ships.

They suddenly discovered Great Ming warships.

And there were fully more than thirty Great Ming Navy warships!

Liu Xiang's pirate warships and the sea-going vessels currently equipped by the Great Ming Navy were not even on the same level.

Upon encountering them, they fled wildly, daring not to approach and harass.

The pirate ships were smaller and faster; moreover, they were unsure if more enemies lay in the distance and feared it might be a trap.

So after pursuing for a while, they returned..........

……

The news successively reached the ears of Su Qiao and Zheng Zhilong and the others.

Especially that the Dutch United Fleet discovered at Nan'ao Island had already moved north.

Everyone clearly understood that battle was imminent!

With a serious expression, Zheng Zhilong divided the warships under his command into three parts.

One part served as the flank, ready at all times as a support force.

One part acted as scouts, searching for the Dutch United Fleet.

The third part, namely Zheng Zhilong's flagship, commanded from the center to hold the line.

Once they encountered the enemy's main force, they would all press forward!

Originally, Su Qiao thought they would meet quickly and then begin a standoff and decisive battle.

But who knew that bad news would follow in quick succession.

This also made Su Qiao furious.

It turned out that these Dutch bandits had not gone north obediently at all.

Instead, they dragged their feet northward slowly while plundering Great Ming coastal ships.

Not only that, they even engaged in burning, killing, and looting at times.

Places such as Xiamen, Jinmen, Gulangyu, and nearby villages, among others, had all been plundered by them.

They not only stole grain and treasures; if there was resistance, they even killed people and burned houses.

When the news reached Quanzhou Prefecture.

Su Qiao and the others were holding a meeting, or rather, were studying how to deal with the Dutch.

As a result, the news was delivered to them.

Bang!

Su Qiao smashed the tea cup in his hand hard onto the ground.

"Beasts! No different from the Japanese pirates! General Zheng, you must give this official a definite answer: when can you find the Dutch and engage in a decisive battle?"

The officials present dared not speak out of turn.

It was the first time they had seen Su Qiao angry, so angry.

Although they understood that this matter was indeed not something to be happy about.

But was it necessary to get so angry?

Though they grumbled inwardly, no one dared to provoke Su Qiao's bad temper.

Zheng Zhilong was startled; he quickly rose, clasped his hands, and replied: "My lord, the Dutch are plundering in places like Xiamen and Jinmen, which are already not far from here; or rather, judging by the traces before us, it is likely that the two sides will meet within these few days!"

"Good! The purpose of our Great Ming soldiers is to protect the homeland and expand the territory; we cannot allow the Dutch to bully our Great Ming people. I give you one last week; you must find the Dutch main fleet as soon as possible and then engage in a decisive battle!"

351, the naval battle begins!

"Yes!"

Zheng Zhilong dared not bargain; besides, he also felt one week was sufficient.

So he quickly agreed!

After urging Zheng Zhilong, Su Qiao turned his attention to the other officials of Quanzhou Prefecture.

"The Dutch are plundering our Great Ming coastal people; we cannot continue to let them go unchecked.

All the Battalion Commanders, Squadron Leaders, small units, and so on, are to be sent out.

Spot the enemy and give early warning.

If they dare to come, fight them!

Even if it is one-for-one, our Great Ming can afford it!

If this official finds out that anyone flees the battlefield or disregards the lives of the people, you will bear the consequences yourselves."

"Very well, we shall arrange this immediately!"

Prefect Zhou Xun hurriedly agreed.

They were still quite apprehensive about Su Qiao's anger.

If they failed to do well, Su Qiao might take the opportunity to attack them; relying on his imperial envoy's authority to dispose of matters at his discretion, he could easily deal with them.

Everyone was there to mix and earn military merit; no one intended to drag their feet and get themselves caught in the mess.

So after Su Qiao gave his arrangements.

The Dutch realized something was wrong.

They could no longer raid!

Replenishing food was difficult; Great Ming soldiers could be seen almost everywhere.

They looked sparse and scattered.

Yet as soon as the Dutch dared head toward a village, Great Ming soldiers would rush up frantically to fight.

Even the bombardment from warships and cannon fire could not scare them away.

To avoid being hit by cannon fire, Great Ming soldiers spread themselves out very widely.

They looked scattered and disjointed.

The warships and cannons of the Dutch also required gunpowder consumption.

The quantity of gunpowder was limited; it could not be used endlessly.

They still needed to use gunpowder to engage Great Ming warships; they could not simply waste it on Great Ming soldiers so casually.

If people did not gather in groups, firing a single cannon shot might not even kill one person.

Only when the Dutch headed toward the villages would Great Ming soldiers swarm up.

At that moment, firing cannons was even more impossible.

The probability of hitting their own men was extremely high!

Suddenly, the Dutch were extremely frustrated; they could not even raid anymore.

They could only continue northward honestly and properly.

It was the sixteenth day of the fourth month.

The Dutch United Fleet led by Putmans was finally discovered.

The moment Zheng Zhilong received news at sea, he raised signal flags to send a message notifying all naval fleets.

Two days earlier, the Fujian Navy had already encountered several times the combined pirate ships led by Liu Xiang.

Zheng Zhilong sensitively perceived that the Dutch were not far away.

Thus, he boarded a warship and headed directly south to search.