Chapter 499

It can be said that upon hearing this news, Su Qiao couldn't help but complain inwardly.

They've been fighting for nearly half a month, yet they only now submit a declaration of war.

Their skin is truly thick!

However, this thing was intended for the Great Ming court and Zhu Youjian; no matter how disgusted Su Qiao felt inside, he could only accept it.

Su Qiao, representing the Great Ming court, also returned a piece of paper.

On it was merely a single character written by Su Qiao with a brush.

Fight!

The thick fog over the sea persisted for three days.

By the afternoon of the thirtieth, the thick fog finally began to slowly dissipate.

The signal was immediately sent out to summon all the warships.

At dusk, Zheng Zhilong and the Dutch finally committed their main warships, beginning the first true engagement.

Red light flickered across the sea in patches, and the roar of cannon fire never ceased.

Although the Great Ming main fleet had a few fewer large warships than the Dutch.

Yet relying on their superior performance and the extreme range of their cannons.

They immediately gained an absolute advantage.

Before the Dutch warships could even get close, the Great Ming warships had already fired.

And their accuracy was extremely high!

Whether it was luck or something else, no one knew.

The moment the concentrated fire opened, the Dutch vanguard warship was struck by more than a dozen cannonballs.

It stopped dead on the spot, completely powerless.

Even the sails were engulfed in a sea of fire, making it impossible to maneuver the warship to evade; instantly, it became a living target.

The Great Ming navy's following warships unleashed a second concentrated volley, finishing it off directly.

The Dutch fleet didn't even have a chance to attempt a rescue.

It was reduced directly to fragments!

Although they had fewer ships, relying on the advantage of cannon range and superior maneuverability.

In just two hours of naval combat, the Great Ming warships held an absolute upper hand.

They destroyed four enemy warships and damaged seven.

The Great Ming warships had only six damaged, while the rest remained unharmed.

As the night grew deeper, visibility worsened for both sides, so they gradually withdrew from the battlefield.

When reporting the battle results to his subordinates, Zheng Zhilong's mouth was stretched wide open, extremely pleased.

Although he hadn't achieved a decisive victory in a single arrow today.

It did prove that the strength of the Great Ming main naval fleet was absolutely capable of crushing the Dutch.

In contrast, the Dutch, especially the commander Putmans, had very grim faces in the meeting room.

He had originally thought he held a sure victory.

Who knew that upon engaging the Great Ming navy today, the damage would be so severe.

It was only because the naval battle had started at dusk and didn't last very long.

Otherwise, who knows how much more damage would have been inflicted!

Putmans increasingly felt his chances of victory were low; what if he failed?

He sat in his chair, feeling extremely uncertain inside.

Before the probing began, he had been full of confidence.

But as the probing engagements increased, the little pride and confidence in his heart diminished.

Soon, just like now, it was completely empty!

Hiss!

Could it be that I need to leave myself a way out?

The more Putmans thought about it, the more he felt it necessary to consider what to do after a defeat.

First, he must shift the blame; second, he must secure a large sum of money to take back.

Because if he failed, he certainly could not hold a higher position upon returning.

He would very likely be sent back to his country.

If he had money, his return would be comfortable; even if he wanted to make a comeback in Dongshan, having Qian Cai would make it very easy.

The next day, the naval battle continued!

Early in the morning, both sides began contact and probing.

By the time the morning sun rose and evaporated the sea fog completely, when visibility was clearest.

Both main fleets moved close and began to engage!

This time, the Dutch had learned their lesson; they did not attack individually. Instead, like a turtle shell, they gathered their warships together, slowly approaching the Great Ming warships.

Seeing the Dutch in this formation, a cold sneer curled Zheng Zhilong's lips.

"Fools! If they truly engaged in close combat, I would have been somewhat wary. Now they present such a formation; heaven truly aids me! Someone, order all warships to disperse and attack while maneuvering; do not approach. I will kite them, grinding them to death from afar!"

"Yes!"

Following Zheng Zhilong's order, all the naval warships from various routes began to move.

353, the Dutch are fleeing!

Gao Yingyue, the Deputy Commander of the Southern Route on the left wing, along with Zhang Yongchan, the Mobile Corps Commander of Quannan on the right wing, and Wang Shangzhong, the Mobile Corps Commander of Penghu, obeyed Zheng Zhilong's orders.

They led their warships to stay away from the Dutch warships, relying solely on their artillery superiority to bombard the enemy.

Although their accuracy plummeted.

But the absolute safety was worth it!

When the Dutch warships approached, they retreated; when the Dutch withdrew, they pressed forward.

In any case, they would not allow the Dutch to escape their firing range.

And the Dutch warships' cannons lacked the range to ever hit them.

Even with poor accuracy, after several volleys, a few cannonballs would inevitably land on the Dutch warships.

The Dutch losses were also extremely severe.

At least under Putmans' observation, their fleet suffered significant damage in an instant.

Even if not destroyed immediately, they probably wouldn't last long.

He felt this battle could not be won, so he decisively ordered the messenger on the flagship to transmit the command.

Retreat!

The crews on all warships had been waiting for the flagship's order.

Now that they received the order, they immediately turned around and fled.

We were just about to beat Uncle Du, and you're running away now; who would be willing to accept that?

Zheng Zhilong had not forgotten the military pledge he made before Su Qiao.

The Dutch could not be allowed to escape; the enemy's main force must be annihilated!

Zheng Zhilong then ordered: "Immediately order all warships to pursue with all speed; do not allow the enemy to escape! Even if it means chasing them to Taiwan, you must catch them!"

"Yes!"

The Great Ming Navy warships began a swift pursuit.

The Dutch ships' speed was only slightly slower than that of the Great Ming ships.

It would take some time to catch up.

Instead, the damaged ships and the pirate vessels of Liu Xiang and other gangs were incredibly slow.

Within a short time, they were caught up by the Great Ming Navy.

Small ships, and slow speed.

It was simply one cannonball, one little friend.