"Oh my God! Why did this haunting Ming ship reappear? De Knight picked up the binoculars and watched in amazement at the sight of the fast cruiser Star Island that appeared behind him. Pen × fun × Pavilion www. ｂｉｑｕｇｅ。 ｉｎｆｏ

The veteran Trop, who has always been calm, was also dumbfounded: "Where is our ship?" Didn't we send two cruisers to deal with it? Was it thrown off by it? There's no reason for that! It's really thrown off, our ship should be back! ”

The Dutch did not know that their two ships, the Black Swan had sunk to the bottom of the sea to feed the fish, the Fort Middle, and the Star Island had more than twenty people on board, receiving the surrendered Fort Middle, and at the same time lowering the boat, and salvaging the Dutchmen who had fallen overboard the Black Swan and taking them to Fort Middle. Subsequently, the Ming army drove the captured Dutch cruiser to the Hindu.

Seeing this nasty Ming ship again, the Dutch were in a bad mood.

The Star Island did not come closer, but followed not far behind, like a tail that could not be shaken off.

"Shall we send two more ships to sink it?" De Knight asked.

Trop frowned, pondered for a moment, and then spoke: "I suspect that the Ming people must have ambushed several ships somewhere waiting for us to divide our troops!" Now we can't pass, our immediate priority is to seize the port of Singapore as soon as possible, where the shipyards and fortresses of the Ming people are located, and as soon as we conquer Singapore, they will have to surrender to us. ”

The Dutch simply didn't dare to let the entire fleet go back to deal with the Star Island, and use the entire fleet to deal with a ship, and it was a clipper that a battleship could not catch up, and no one would do such a stupid thing, it was a waste of time and a waste of energy. Let his main force be led by the nose by a few enemies, that scene is simply unbearable to witness.

For example, in a land battle, if you have several scout cavalry dangling in front of you, and you hate it, do you want all the heavy infantry and heavy cavalry to press down and chase him? Then send the scout cavalry to deal with him.

De Knight said, "This Ming ship is so annoying! Even if they have an ambush in other waters, it is estimated that the number of ships will not be large, so we will send six cruisers to deal with it. ”

Using six cruisers to deal with one cruiser can be regarded as the Dutch thinking that they have given enough face to the Ming army. But the Dutch didn't know that if the Star Island really killed the killer and bombarded it with flowering shells, six Dutch fourth-class cruisers really couldn't beat one Star Island!

Seeing that the six Dutch warships turned their heads and rushed in his direction, Zhang Jian hurriedly ordered to turn, broke away from the Dutch fleet, and entered the Indian Ocean in circles with six Dutch fourth-class cruisers.

Trop no longer cared about the small ship that had escaped, nor did he care too much about his six cruisers, his goal was to reach Singapore as soon as possible, occupy the city, and force the Ming navy to surrender to him.

The Dutch fleet entered the Strait of Malacca and sailed in the direction of Singapore. But at this moment, there was another episode that made the Dutch uncomfortable: the Ming catamaran clippers, which had not been seen for a long time, reappeared, and the small boats swayed unscrupulously in front of the Dutch, making de Knight feel as if he had eaten a fly.

The boats never came within range of the Dutch, who could not catch up with them, but could only watch them swing in front of them.

However, to de Knight's relief, the boat may not have been self-sustaining, and it had disappeared after wandering in front of the Dutch for two days and two nights, either to report the news or to resupply.

"Stupid Orientals! It's just stupid! They thought that a small ship like their own fast could scare off our Invincible Armada! Poor Dongfang Mingguo, there is not even much fresh water and food on such a small boat, and he can only wander in front of us for two days before he runs away! De Knight said with a sneer.

Trop was not so relaxed, perhaps he felt some danger: "Can't you say this, look at the fast boat of the Ming people, the whole hull is covered with copper!" The cost of that kind of boat is definitely not low! They are willing to spend so much money to build this kind of boat, there must be a use for it! If nothing else, let's talk about reconnaissance and communications, and we have nothing to do with these fast boats. ”

Yes, the firepower of the catamaran was pitifully weak, with only one three-pounder gun to scare the small sampan. But if such a ship had not strayed into the windless zone, none of them would have been able to sink them.

The catamaran vanished from the Dutch's view and turned into the mouth of a small river.

"Are you here? Found the red-haired fleet? When Emperor Hu Dedi saw Tang Wei, he asked straight to the point.

Tang Wei replied: "We have found the fleet of the red-haired ghost, but we have calculated the time, it is too late for you to attack nearby tonight, and the fleet of the red-haired ghost will not pass through this estuary tonight." It's three o'clock in the afternoon, and the red-haired man's fleet is seven knots, and there are still four hours to go, and in four hours they can go twenty-eight nautical miles, that is, a hundred miles, and they will pass thirty miles downstream. ”

"It's not enough for the red-haired ghosts to pass, I just don't know where they'll stop to get fresh water." Hood Emperor said.

According to Wang Xinyu's pre-formulated plan, if the Marine Corps special forces want to attack the Dutch fleet at night, it must be the night when the Dutch stop to get fresh water, and they may spend the night near the coastline, and then the Marine Corps special forces will have the opportunity to attack the Dutch fleet. But the chances of such a situation are very slim, and it is entirely a matter of chance.

Tang Wei said: "You better get on the big boat, go to the southeast first." Even if we don't have a chance halfway, the red-haired ghosts will always attack Singapore, and when that happens, your chance may come. ”

"It seems that this is the only way to go!" Hu Dedi nodded.

As a master like Cai Dezhong, Ma Chaoxing and others, Cai Dezhong killed Tartars on the mainland, but Emperor Hu Dedi waited for the red-haired ghost in the Nanyang area, waited for a few months, and did not wait for the fighter plane, and Emperor Hu De, who couldn't wait to make great contributions, was suffocated. But the sea is vast, and it is really not easy for them to find an opportunity for a surprise attack.

Marine Corps special forces carried their canoes and boarded a clipper boat belonging to the Marine Corps.

The clippers left the estuary and headed southeast of the Strait of Malacca, ready to wait for the Dutch at the next estuary. As long as the Dutch wanted to replenish fresh water, they would inevitably stop their ships at night, and then they would have a chance to catch a handful. Because in the Strait of Malacca, there is a high probability of terrible Sumatran gales at night, and that is because of the structure of the islands and the sea, there is a possibility of eight to ten strong winds that penetrate the Strait of Malacca at night.

When many navigators learned of this special situation, their fleets passing through the Strait of Malacca often stopped at night to find an estuary to spend the night to avoid possible Sumatran storms.

However, Hood did not wait for the opportunity to attack the Dutch fleet, which did not stop at all to replenish fresh water, but sailed all the way to the waters of Singapore.

"The red-haired ghost has too much guts, right? They actually gambled on their luck and bet that they would not run into the Sumatra storm? However, their luck is also good, there is no night wind these days. Failing to get the opportunity to attack at night, Emperor Hu Dedi was very puzzled and muttered to himself. The Dutch were indeed lucky, and it was smooth sailing all the way to the waters of Singapore.

But once they reached the waters of Singapore, the Dutch's good fortune ran out.

The Dutch fleet arrived off the coast of Singapore on 6 November. Standing on the helm of the battleship Seven Provinces, de Knight picked up his binoculars and looked ahead at the port of Singapore.

"What a miracle! After these years of construction here, these Ming people have built such a big city! There are shipyards, bustling bazaars, castles and forts! How many merchant ships stop here every day! If we hadn't signed a treaty with the Qing people this time to deal with the Ming people, I'm afraid that Singapore would soon take the place of Batavia! Trop sighed as he looked at the Singapore Harbor lined with buildings in front of him.

The speed of construction at Singapore's port can be described as spurious, with two shipyards and a ship repair yard built here, and the desert island overgrown with weeds has been transformed into a bustling metropolis with new factories and high-rise buildings in the city.

Five- and six-storey buildings can be found everywhere in Singapore, and you can even see seven or eight storey tower-like buildings.

That was Wang Xinyu who brought a lot of craftsmen who originally built towers from the mainland to come here and use the technology of building towers to build high-rise buildings. In this era, it is not easy to build a seven- or eight-storey high-rise building. However, those high-rise buildings, which are generally symbolic buildings, are not built much, after all, the cost is too expensive.

The ubiquitous four- and five-story buildings cost much less than seven- or eight-story buildings, and were not so sturdy that even if the Dutch were able to land, these four- and five-story buildings could be turned into fortifications for street fighting.

But it is obvious that Wang Xinyu did not intend to let the Dutch land, because after the Dutch landed, street fighting would definitely cause serious damage to the city.

The Dutch were going to attack Singapore, and those batteries were a nuisance. According to the Dutch, the batteries were not very accurate when firing at long distances and had a limited threat to the fleet. However, once the infantry landed, they would be attacked by batteries and suffer heavy losses. If you don't send infantry to attack the battery, and the fleet directly breaks into the harbor and bombards the city of Singapore, God knows what awaits you underwater in the harbor area. If the fleet is blocked at the entrance by barrages, underwater piles, and mines, the battery can accurately bombard the stalled fleet.

"If you want to destroy or occupy the city, you still have to land." De Knight hesitated for a long time, but finally made up his mind to send his infantry to land.

The Dutch fleet approached the shore of Singapore, and at a distance of three kilometers from the battery, the fleet halted its advance. The Dutch ships released small boats laden with infantry and rowed towards the shore of Singapore.

At this time, the Dutch were horrified to find that the fort three kilometers away actually spit out fire!

"Boom" a shell fell on the sea around the Dutch battleship, and a column of water rose into the sky.

"Oh my God! The Ming people actually opened fire so far away! De Knight was taken aback.

At a distance of three kilometers, it is simply impossible for a smoothbore gun to hit the target as if it were shooting at the moon. However, the whistling of the cannonballs really startled the Dutch. Listening to the sound of the cannonballs, de Knight thought it must be the sound of a giant cannon over 200 pounds!

How big would a two-hundred-pound cannon be? The 64-pound heavy cannon weighed more than 12,000 pounds, and the 200-pound cannon was estimated to weigh 40,000 pounds! That's a terrifying behemoth.

In fact, the heavy artillery of the Singapore battery was not that large, that is, more than 15,000 pounds, and the caliber of the cannon was equivalent to a sixty-four-pound gun, but because of the long shells, the shells weighed 110 pounds. This is an oversized front-loading rifled gun, which can sink a fourth-class ship or severely damage a battleship in a single shot, even with a single shell hit.

The Dutch didn't know that the Singapore cannon used rifled guns, and thought that the hit rate at such a distance would definitely not be high.

"We don't have to be afraid of the artillery of the Ming people! Although they forged this perverted two-hundred-pound cannon, the gunners of the Ming people were obviously a group of rookies! They opened fire at such a distance, it was a waste of shells! De Knight scoffed at the gunners on the Ming batteries.

Before the words fell, another shell whistled.

The cannonball accurately hit a Dutch fourth-class cruiser, this shell fell from the air at a forty-five degree angle, and accurately smashed on the Dutch battleship, the cannonball smashed the upper deck of the Dutch ship like a hammer to pieces, countless fragments splashed, and the Dutch sailors on the deck fell a large piece. The shells pierced the light gun deck, drilled into the heavy gun deck, and finally into the bilge, penetrating directly from the bottom of the ship.

With just one shell, a fourth-class ship was pierced from top to bottom, leaving a huge hole in the bottom of the ship, which could not be blocked at all, and the fourth-class cruiser began to sink.

Compared to the rifled guns of the hexagonal clippers, the battery guns do not need to look at the impact of the recoil on the hull, and the battery guns can be built larger and use more ****** to gain more power. Although this shell weighed only twenty pounds heavier than the shell of a hexagonal fast battleship, it was at least three times more powerful than the ninety pound shell of a naval gun!

De Knight was surprised that a fourth-class cruiser had been sunk with a single shot, but he still blamed the Ming army's luck in hitting the target at such a long distance, so he did not give the order to withdraw his troops, but let the boat continue to land close to the shore.

There was a piercing scream, and a cannonball landed in the sea water next to the battleship Seven Provinces, raising a huge column of rushing water.

Because the battleship was aimed at the flowering shell, the shell fell into the water and exploded, and the column of water that rose was particularly high. (To be continued.) )