"Dear General Robben, you have finally arrived. 【Reading.com】From a distant hometown to the East, can you still adapt? If you and your subordinates need anything, please feel free to contact me. For the sake of our common interests, I will certainly try to meet your requests. May you achieve great victories. Afelai said enthusiastically.

"Your Excellency Governor Afellai, I've kept you waiting. My fleet is all ready, and there is nothing that needs the help of the Governor. If necessary, I will send my adjutant to contact your adjutant. Of course, I would be grateful if the Governor could order that all the maidens in the vicinity of the harbor be expelled. They were so welcoming. Robben said expressionlessly.

Afellay understood Robben's reaction. This guy was originally a ruthless pirate who didn't recognize his six relatives. Among the navies of the Western powers, there are too many pirate-born generals. Especially in the British Royal Navy, almost everyone has experience as a pirate. No matter how you look at it, it's a wonderful flower.

As far as the facts are concerned, Robben was indeed a genius of the Dutch Navy, with a strong record. Purely in terms of military exploits, the other four admirals were no match for him. However, Robben's surname flaws are also very prominent. He was originally a mixture of genius and contradiction.

In the eyes of everyone, Robben is definitely a person who is arrogant and empty-eyed. Except for his own subordinates, everyone else is worthless in his eyes. Among the five admirals in the Netherlands, the one with the worst popularity and the least sociable is this Robben. Due to his eccentric temper, he has not officially started a family until now.

Afelai deeply suspected that Robben's initiative to lead the fleet to the East this time was not his lonely surname. Afelai's only hope now is that this eccentric Robben can really lead the Dutch Navy and defeat the damned White Coats Navy. Otherwise, the interests of the Dutch in the East would have been completely lost.

After meeting with Afelai, Robben listened to Esco's report.

For Robben's strange temper, Esco, as a junior, naturally knows it very well. In front of Robben, Esco didn't dare to hide it in the slightest. What happened in the Oriental Sea, he reported it to Robben clearly. For those details that you don't know, you can also provide insiders and can ask at any time.

Listening and listening, inadvertently, Robben was a little dissatisfied with Esco's attitude. His brow furrowed slowly. Although he did not speak, nor did he make any other gestures, those who had been with him for a long time knew that Robben was not satisfied with Esco's report. So, someone secretly reminded Esko with his eyes.

Unfortunately, although Esko received a reminder from others, he didn't know how to correct it. It was the first time he had dealt with Robben. For Robben's eccentric temper, Esko is aware. But it's one thing to know, it's another thing to adapt.

What kind of debriefing Robben needed, Esko didn't know at all. He can only report according to his own wishes. In his heart, there was a subconscious thought that if his report could not satisfy Robben, it would be best to let Robben remove his position, and then he would be unofficial and light.

"Remove me from my official position!"

"It's better for me to be the commander of the detachment!"

In Esco's mind, two thoughts were very strong.

In fact, Esko succeeded Seedorf as commander of the Dutch Far East Fleet, which was not so qualified. The commander of the Dutch Far Eastern Fleet, according to the regulations, should have at least the rank of vice admiral. The commander of the detachment should be the rank of rear admiral. With Esko's merits and qualifications, at most he was awarded the rank of rear admiral. If you want to be awarded the rank of vice admiral, you need to fight for at least three or five years.

But, curiously, after Esko announced Seedorf's will, there was no disagreement from everyone. Afele soon signed an order officially awarding Rear Admiral Esco the rank of Rear Admiral. The Governor is a strange position, with a certain amount of military power. He also held a high-profile banquet to congratulate Esco on his position of trust.

The commanders of the other detachments of the Dutch Far Eastern Fleet had no opinion on Esco's ascension. On the contrary, they also expressed their sincere congratulations to Esco. Obviously, they did not find the position of commander of the Dutch Far Eastern Fleet attractive. Esco's assumption of this position is a good thing for them.

If it had been before, of course, such a wonderful thing could not have happened. Commander of the Dutch Far Eastern Fleet, that was a sought-after position. It must be known that the annual profits made by the Dutch East India Company are simply astronomical. As the commander of the Far Eastern Fleet, I don't know how many benefits you can get every year.

Even if you don't do anything, a steady stream of silver will quietly flow into your treasury. If you use your brains a little and use the power in your hands to seek a little self-interest for yourself, you are afraid that the treasury at home will continue to expand in order to hold more and more wealth. Seedorf's family has been fat in the past few years!

In the past, I don't know how many people sharpened their heads and worked hard to rub onto this golden throne. Seedorf also achieved this position by virtue of his outstanding record and a very strong backstage. It is impossible to hold this position if you have strength and no backstage, or if you have a backstage and no strength.

It's all because of the damn white-clad navy.

The appearance of the white-clothed navy made the post of commander of the Dutch Far East Fleet a real chicken rib, tasteless to eat, and it was a pity to abandon it. Sitting in this position, the advantages are not to say that there are none, but the disadvantages seem to be more. If you are not careful, you may not be able to save your life. If you can't even save your own life, what's the use of earning more wealth?

To be honest, it was not easy for Esko to be put on the throne of commander of the Far Eastern Fleet. As the commander of the Far Eastern Fleet, there is no way back. The order in the Netherlands was that it was necessary to fight to the death with the white-coat navy and not to back down. Maybe others can disobey the yang and the yin, they can ambush, they can discount, but he can't. The eyes of countless people were on him. If he doesn't perform as well as he wants, he could be court-martial at any time.

If he could choose again, Esco would definitely change his decision. He still honestly became the commander of a detachment. At the very least, it doesn't need to be so nerve-wracking, and there won't be no way back at all. It's a pity that in this world, there is no regret medicine. Now that he has taken over Seedorf's position, there is only one way to die.

During this time, Esco has been studying with Afelai on how to reverse the current decline. If this continues, the Dutch will really have to completely abandon their interests in the Far East. The most direct way is to win the battle. For the sake of the Dutch, the Dutch Far Eastern Fleet had to find a way to defeat the White Coats Navy. However, this task, from any point of view, is quite difficult.

"Major General Esco...... I think you were less than thirty years old. You're three years younger than Solum. But you look like you're fifty years old. I'm only 53 years old. Robben felt that Esco lacked the vigor that some young people should have, and he had to remind him vaguely.

Originally, as an admiral, he basically wouldn't have taken a young rear admiral into account. Even if the other party has any shortcomings, he doesn't bother to point them out. He was not a teacher at the Naval Academy, and was in no mood to mentor them. Born as a pirate, he has a serious lack of attention, let alone care, for other people. However, Robben was not very familiar with the situation in the Far East, and he had to rely on Esco's help.

Esko came back to his senses, and did not hide his decadence, and said with a wry smile: "I'm sorry, Your Excellency the honorable general, I ...... Distracted. ”

Robben frowned and said: "Mr. Esco, as a soldier, you lack enough faith in victory, and you have no courage to forge ahead at all. ”

Except for Esko's wry smile, all that was left was a wry smile.

There is no way, he, as a commander, really has no confidence in doing it.

The most fundamental reason was that he had almost lost confidence in defeating the White Coats Navy.

I don't even have the confidence to win, where does the vigor come from, where does the spirit come from? He didn't fall into a state of drinking to kill his sorrows, which was already very good. Robben's eyes are still very sharp, and he sees through Esco's most fundamental weakness at a glance. Of course, there is no need for Esco to hide his weaknesses.

The previous battle with the Fourth Fleet of the White Navy made Esco feel that the Dutch's prospects were very bad. The artillery of the Whitecoat Navy was so powerful that the Dutch were no match at all. Later, the battle at the port next to Palinbian made Esco feel that the artillery of the white-clothed navy could no longer be described as powerful, it was simply perverted.

In the face of a group of perverted guys, a group of perverted cannons, Esco really has no confidence. Nanyang was originally the doorstep of the white-clothed army and navy, and others fought in the Nanyang sea and had too many advantages. No matter how hard the Dutch tried, it seemed impossible to win on someone else's doorstep.

Robben had actually heard of Esco's name. His own experience is similar to Esco's. If you want to talk about the time he has been a pirate, he has been more than Esco. Finding out that Esko had indeed suffered a big blow, Robben had to pay attention to it. With Esco's surname, if he hadn't suffered a very serious blow, Esco would never have been so depressed. He said slowly: "Esco, you weren't like this before, you never give up easily. What is it that makes you so worried? ”

Esco said with a wry smile: "Mr. Robben, if I say that I have lost faith in the future and cannot assume the command responsibility of the Far Eastern Fleet, will you send me to a court-martial?" ”

Robben frowned, shook his head again, and pondered for a moment before he said slowly: "Is the white-clothed navy really that difficult?" ”

Esco shook his head, his face was a little strange, and said with a wry smile: "Actually, it's not. The navy of the white coat army is not very difficult to entangle......"

Robben actually made a joke, his deep-set eyes flashed, and he said slowly: "Isn't it difficult to entangle...... Is that very difficult? ”

Esco shook his head and said, "Actually, the white-coated navy is not difficult. Their combat experience and the quality of their personnel are far inferior to those of our army. They are too young to have enough experience to precipitate. If they were to fight us hand-to-hand, they would not be our opponents. ”

Robben said keenly: "They have too many warships? Moving too fast? Or is their artillery fire too strong? Or do they never engage in hand-to-hand combat with us? ”

Esco said helplessly: "Your Excellency, all of these factors you mentioned exist. To be honest, the development of the white-coat army and navy simply cannot be described by common sense. In just a few years, the White Navy has produced so many warships, which is really terrifying. As if their warships did not cost at all. ”

Robben nodded silently and didn't say anything.

In fact, in his heart, he could already feel Esco's helplessness.

Fighting on a vast and flat ocean, general tactics and stratagems, are of little use. The two sides compete only in strength. In particular, naval battles between countries are completely a great contest of strength. Even the most talented generals are inseparable from the support of strength. And the number of warships is a large part of the strength.

The original plan of the Dutch was to immediately concentrate all the warships after the arrival of the reinforcement fleet led by Robben, pull out the port next to Balin, give the White Army Navy a hard dismount, and seriously hit the morale of the White Army Navy, and at the same time capture the artillery of the White Army Navy, from which the secret of the White Army Navy's artillery was figured out.

In every respect, the port of Pakin was too much of a threat to the Dutch. Ever since the White Navy occupied the port of Balin, the Dutch merchant ships had been cautious when they passed by. Many Dutch merchant ships did not even dare to pass by in the vicinity of Palin. This has led to a big impact on their business.

With the occupation of Brunei by the White Navy and the establishment of a base in Dernath, the situation of the Dutch became more and more serious. At an even more critical time, news came that the white-coated navy showed signs of coveting Ambona. Ambona is an important trading port in East Jakarta. If Ambona was occupied by the White Coats Navy, the interests of the Dutch in the Far East would be wiped out. This is something that the Dutch should avoid no matter what.

(To be continued)