Chapter 498

On the third day, which was the sixteenth, they suddenly collided with the Dutch fleet.

Detection is mutual.

In this sudden standoff, neither side intended to commit their full forces immediately.

Instead, they sent out small boats to harass and probe.

Although there was no major engagement, the minor skirmishes were extremely fierce.

In just one day, forty Fukien ships under Zheng Zhilong's command were damaged and burned.

Another thirty-plus ships suffered varying degrees of damage and needed to return to the shipyard for repairs.

The losses totaled over seventy ships.

Yet the Dutch gained no advantage either; similarly, pirate vessels under Liu Xiang, Li Guozhu, and others also suffered damage to over ninety ships.

It can be said that after one day, both sides were evenly matched.

Such a result left Su Qiao far from satisfied, and General Putmans was equally dissatisfied.

However, Su Qiao knew that professional matters should be left to professionals.

Although the first day's battle situation was not very good, one could only say there was a slight advantage.

Nevertheless, Su Qiao did not interject, nor did he issue chaotic orders as an outsider instructing an insider; he still left the matter to Zheng Zhilong to resolve.

Instead, he was responsible for sending people to contact the Dutch for negotiations.

Fight while talking, that's all.

Actually, it was because the Dutch had plundered a large number of Great Ming ships, and many fellow Great Ming people had been detained.

In Taiwan, there were nearly a thousand of them.

These people could not simply be ignored, could they?

Su Qiao contacted the Dutch through merchants, demanding they immediately release the Great Ming people and return the plundered goods.

Naturally, the Dutch replied with disagreement and refusal!

Instead, they sent a letter.

They demanded that Great Ming must immediately cease trade with Spain, Portugal, and other nations, and in the future could only trade with the Dutch; furthermore, goods prices could not be set entirely by the Great Ming people—they must participate, or rather, only if they agreed would it be acceptable, otherwise the war would continue!

"You have all heard it; these Dutch barbarians are so arrogant, as if they have already consumed our Great Ming. This official decides henceforth to refuse all trade with the Dutch, and to treat these Dutch barbarians differently from other vassal states; we shall not implement so-called great-nation benevolence, but rather the resolve to strike even those far away!"

Su Qiao then crumpled the letter into a ball, threw it on the ground, and said.

Vice Prefect Li Heyu hesitated and said, "My lord, it is not that this subordinate disagrees, but I worry that if you make this decision, what if Your Majesty and the court do not agree? Perhaps it would be safer to first report to the court and wait for the results before we decide?"

Upon hearing this, Su Qiao glared at him. "Battle opportunities change in an instant; how much time would this back-and-forth require? What if there is a delay in between? Therefore, according to this official's opinion, we should execute first; if anything goes wrong, this official will take the blame!"

"Yes!"

Since Su Qiao had spoken thus, who dared to oppose?

Afterwards, Su Qiao had someone write a reply to the Dutch.

"First, the Dutch must surrender unconditionally!

Second, all plundered Great Ming merchants and goods must be returned!

Third, compensate Great Ming for war losses of ten million taels..."

As these points were listed out, the officials below were all dumbfounded.

Even Zheng Sen, standing behind Su Qiao, felt that Su Qiao was purely not intending to resolve matters peacefully with the Dutch.

He simply wanted to fight!

Ten million taels was practically robbery!

However, even though the officials below each had other thoughts in mind and wanted to oppose, they dared not say so openly due to Su Qiao's imposing presence.

Behind the scenes, these memorials were very likely to be sent up.

They actually guessed correctly; Su Qiao simply did not intend to let the Dutch go.

Not only did he intend to sweep away the Dutch this time and recover Taiwan.

He also planned to bring Ryukyu, Lu Song, the Strait of Malacca, and so on under Great Ming control.

Even the Dutch East India Company, Su Qiao also wanted to lay hands on.

Thus, when this letter reached Putmans' hands, he immediately tore it up in a rage.

And after venting his anger in the meeting room, he led the combined fleet to press forward once more.

And this time, it was not the "small skirmishes" of the first contact!

As soon as the battle began, Liu Xiang and the other combined pirates swarmed forward in a frenzy.

Zheng Zhilong's three younger brothers, controlling the Zheng family's sea ships, immediately rushed to meet them.

Both sides became fiercely entangled, engaging in a chaotic melee; cannon fire roared, fighting was brutal, and occasionally warships were blown into fragments or sank directly into the sea.

In a short time, both sides lost over a hundred warships.

Zheng Zhilong's expression remained calm; these losses seemed not to weigh on his mind.

Once the battle begins, it is the final battle!

The fighting continued from morning until nightfall.

It can be said that both sides fought for a full day!

This was merely the contact phase of small vessels, a period of mutual probing.

They had not yet become thoroughly entangled.

After visibility decreased in the evening, the warships entangled between both sides slowly withdrew toward their respective camps.

At night, both sides, in tacit understanding, did not continue fighting, but instead jointly salvaged and rescued crew members who had fallen into the water.

Zheng Zhilong's face did not look very good; today he had tried many different Battle tactics.

However, the results were not considered very good.

Kill a thousand enemies, lose eight hundred of your own.

Despite holding a slight advantage, the Zheng family navy suffered heavy casualties, with combat losses exceeding two-thirds.

Tomorrow, the small boats cannot be deployed; the main fleet must be thrown in entirely to decide the outcome!

"Someone come! Order all wounded and damaged ships to withdraw from the battlefield. As for the other warships, they must not rest; spread out and pin down these red-haired devils. Do not let them escape!"

"Yes!"

After the person nearby went to deliver the order, only he remained.

On Zheng Zhilong's expressionless face, a trace of pained expression finally appeared.

How could he not feel pained!

Having fought the Dutch all day today, the naval warships sent out were basically those originally under his command.

Yet in one day, two-thirds were lost!

From this, one can imagine how fierce today was.

Before, with others present, as the Regional Commander of the entire navy, he could not let his emotional fluctuations affect the soldiers under his command.

So he could only endure it tightly; now that no one is watching, he can relax a little.

The wounded were sent away, and it would still take time for the news to be transmitted back.

The first day of the clash between the two sides could be described as intense yet not intense.

It was intense because both sides deployed hundreds of warships for a great battle on the sea.

It was not intense because the most critical and decisive main fleet had not been thrown in.

Both sides were waiting for the arrival of an opportunity!

On the second day, heavy fog rose over the sea; originally, both sides were to continue fighting.

Who knew this heavy fog would arrive so suddenly.

The warships of both sides on the sea reached over a thousand; the number was truly quite massive.

A single careless mistake could easily cause one side to fall directly into a trap.

In the heavy fog, visibility was poor for both sides; to prevent friendly fire, neither launched an attack.

Instead, both dispatched numerous small fleets to probe, hoping to locate the other's main force.

By the end of the day, both sides had suffered almost no significant losses; it was merely a day of probing.

Immediately following, April 29th.

The Dutch actually dispatched merchant ships to arrive at the Quanzhou port to formally submit a declaration of war.