(There is a change at 12 o'clock in the evening, and I ask for a guaranteed monthly pass at the beginning of the month!) ）

The shipping routes of the 17th century were different from those of the 19th century, although they also relied on the power of the wind, but the shipping routes were very different. Compared with the 19th century, when sailing from China to Europe, sailing ships often choose to sail straight to the Cape of Good Hope from the narrow waterway of the Sunda Strait between Java and Sumatra, in the 17th century, because the longitude cannot be measured at sea, can not be accurately located, so the merchant ships of various countries are choosing to sail on the coast between Africa and India, so as to ensure safety, and because of this, in this era, the importance of coastal sea ports is far beyond the imagination of the world, almost every country that tries to go to the sea, They will set up bases on the coast between Africa and Asia, but for a country that has just gone to the sea, the Ming Dynasty has no overseas strongholds, and even the only stronghold in the Indian Ocean, the Galle Castle in the southwest corner of Ceylon, and the surrounding area, were also seized from the Dutch East India Company after the capture of Batavia.

After the fleet left Tianya City (Galle), it broke into the Tianzhu Sea, and after the fleet sailed away from Tianya City, a storm soon blew on the sea, which also made the fleet see the power of the sea. After a month of sailing in the sea, the fleet finally approached the Cape of Good Hope.

Although da Gama had discovered the Cape of Good Hope as early as 1486, it was not until 1649 that the Dutch established their first port stronghold, Cape Town. Even the Cape of Good Hope was an extremely important port, and Cape Town in 1666 was still a humble seafaring stronghold. Like many similar trading ports, this is just a humble seaside town.

Although the Dutch have only been in charge of Cape Town for a dozen years, the seaside town with a population of less than 1,000 people and just over 300 whites is extremely lively. It is not only an important base connecting the Eurasian continent. It was also one of the sources of another lucrative trade in the Age of Discovery, the slave trade. However, because the slave trade to the Americas was not carried out today, the black slaves captured by the Dutch, except for a few for their own use, were exported to the Arab region on a scale far from comparable to that of later generations.

Early that morning, the fleet, which had been sailing on the sea for a month, finally saw the Cape of Good Hope, and Zheng Ming, as the admiral of the fleet, knew very well that this was the territory of the Dutch, and also knew that just a few months earlier, the South Sea sailors had just seized Batavia and Galle in Ceylon from the hands of the Dutch East India Company. However, this did not prevent him from choosing this port to rest.

"What will happen to you if the Dutch refuse us entry, King of the County?"

Standing beside Zheng Ming, Li Long, who was a few years older, asked with some curiosity, as the envoy of the mission, although he understood the "law of the forest" in this era, he was still learning.

"Knock it down!"

Zheng Ming replied directly, holding the binoculars, and then ordered.

"The fleet is ready for battle!"

With an order, a fleet of sixteen warships and two merchant ships lined up in a line, and the open cannon window, the cannon sticking out of the cannon window, pointed straight at Cape Town, pointing to this small city with only a few hundred white people. But only half an hour later, the city of Cape Town, which was already in chaos, sent a small sampan and arrived at the fleet with a white flag. Then they brought back the ultimatum of the Ming Empire.

or war, or peace.

The battle was that the Ming army captured the port, and it was they who handed over the city.

"King of the Counties, since we are going to visit Europe, why do we have to provoke the Dutch, if I am not mistaken, the sea power of the Dutch is now extremely considerable in Europe."

Li Long's brows furrowed, until now, he couldn't understand this chaotic fist of the navy.

"Pei Shen,"

Xiong Cixu, who was wearing a five-grade official robe, came behind him at some point.

"Actually, the answer is very simple, now that the war between the Dutch and the English is raging, all we need is to choose a suitable ally."

"You mean, we chose England as an ally?"

Of course, Li Long would not underestimate Xiong Ci because he was a righteous envoy, after all, he often dealt with Westerners, and if it weren't for their unwillingness to live in Europe, how could there be anything about him.

"No!"

Shaking his head, Xiong replied.

"We chose the loser!"

"Loser? Why directly conclude that England is a loser? ”

Walking to the side of the board and standing beside Li Long, Xiong Cilu said with a smile.

"The Netherlands went to war with Great Britain, and this was already the second war between the two countries, the last time ending in a British victory. This time, the Dutch waited for many years, and only this year did they take the initiative to declare war on Britain. ”

When Xiong Cixu's words fell, Zheng Ming nodded and said.

"Indeed, according to the information available to the Naval Intelligence Service, Britain will lose this battle. Five years earlier, the British had welcomed back Charles II, and when he was made king, they appointed his younger brother, the Duke of James York, as supreme commander. A new offensive was launched overseas against the Dutch colonies. However, Britain's naval power was no longer what it used to be: Cromwell's military dictatorship suppressed opposition at home, and foreign expeditions to Ireland and Scotland, as well as wars with Spain, left the country with a debt of £2 million. And because of corruption in the political and military circles, the foreign debt is as high as 1 million pounds. The annual allocation of the Navy was only two-thirds of the Navy's budget, resulting in dilapidated ships, lack of salaries and low morale among soldiers and soldiers, and a serious weakening of the Navy's combat effectiveness. In contrast, after the defeat of the Netherlands in the First Anglo-Dutch War, they had always sought the opportunity to regain control of the sea. After many years of hard work, the Dutch Navy has 103 large warships, 4,869 guns, and 21,631 officers and men. In addition, the efforts of Admiral Michel Adriansson de Reuit, and the formation of an anti-British alliance with France and Denmark in the Netherlands. France and Denmark began to provide various types of assistance to the Netherlands. It can be said that the British have no hope of beating the Netherlands at the moment, which is why we chose England. ”

Although there is no official contact between the East and the West in the real sense, compared with Europe, since the establishment of the Naval Intelligence Department three years ago, the Navy has learned about potential opponents in Europe through various channels, and even as early as two years ago, it sent intelligence officers to Europe on European merchant ships as merchants, which makes the Ming have a basic understanding of European countries compared to the almost ignorance of the Ming Dynasty in Europe. Coupled with his understanding of history, Zhu Mingzhong finally chose England.

"Why do we choose losers?"

In the face of Li Long's incomprehension, Xiong Cixu said as if he was teaching his juniors.

"Because, the loser of the last war...... Be willing to do whatever it takes to win! Otherwise, they will lose even more! ”

What the!

In an instant, Li Long's whole person was stunned, until this moment, he finally knew the true intention of attacking the Dutch, and even knew the role that England would play in this conflict next.

"England, but only a seafaring nation that has just risen, and they may have more prospects in the future than the Netherlands, but now, the Dutch have in their hands what we need, Batavia, Galle, Cape of Good Hope, these belong to the Dutch, and if we want to go to the sea, we must seize these areas as our naval strongholds."

Xiong Cixu's tone was unhurried, and he said, looking at the seaside town a few miles away.

"If we choose to ally with the Dutch, could the Dutch cede these regions to us simply because of the alliance? Of course not! ”

It's simply impossible, the Dutch need spices from Southeast Asia, and if they cede Batavia, it's almost tantamount to digging up their meat.

"So, we need to change the way, which is to cooperate with the English, in fact, as early as last year, after the Netherlands declared war on the British, we have already had some contact with the English side, and the British have agreed to give us a few Sumatra and Indian strongholds, as a return for our war against the Netherlands, of course, the Netherlands should not know this news now, and when they know the news,"

Xiong Cixu looked at the thoughtful Li Long and asked rhetorically.

"At this time, how will they react?"

"They will find that the situation is slipping against them, and they will have to consider whether they need to divide their forces against us, especially if we occupy the Cape of Good Hope, and if we can threaten their stronghold in West Africa again, then the Dutch will have to face up to the threat we pose."

As a soldier, Zheng Ming knew better than the two civilian officials beside him that the purpose of this trip, the purpose of this trip was to enter the stage of Europe, and the Europeans would not show a fanatical welcome because of the arrival of the Ming Dynasty, they might welcome the goods of the Ming Dynasty, but they would never welcome the merchant ships of the Ming Dynasty. Therefore, the Ming must show them their strength, and in this war, proper performance is undoubtedly conducive to the next visit.

"Confronting the ...... of Threats"

After pondering for a moment, Li Long looked at Zheng Ming beside him, his eyes were full of doubts, could it be that the purpose of this trip was not just to visit?

"Visit!"

As if he understood the question in Li Long's eyes, Zheng Ming replied in a deep voice.

"If we didn't show our importance, then for the European countries, we were just a group of guests from the East, just like the arrival of the Japanese Nagakura in Europe, which caused a sensation, but that's all! And what we need is to let Europe know that there is a great power that wants, and has entered the European stage, whether they want it or not! They're coming! ”

Zheng Ming looked at the sampan in the harbor, the corners of his lips lifted slightly, and a strange look flashed on his face. His Majesty's promise once again flashed in his mind......

If you can successfully complete the task this time, I will give you the surname of the country and attack the lord Yanping!

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