***

Soon after Zheng Sihai's main force left Fusu Port, the combined fleet of the Dutch and Sulu reached the outside of Fusu Bay.

Fusu Bay has a strong fort built by the original Spaniards, and the Qin army is superior to the Spaniards in terms of weapons and troops.

The commander-in-chief of the Dutch Eastern Fleet, Callant, wisely gave up the storming of Fusu Harbor and chose to continue north.

He had already inquired clearly, the Qin army had a detachment along the coast of Baguio and further north, and he also had the intention of going north to attack the coast of Great Qin and forcing the Great Qin Navy to fight a decisive battle.

Zheng Sihai certainly wouldn't go away, but he didn't immediately fight the Dutch, but played a game of cat and mouse with the Dutch at sea.

However, who is a cat and who is a mouse, it depends on how it ends, and the jury is still not determined.

That night, Zheng Sihai's nearly 100 warships, large and small, anchored near Huangyan Reef, and after scattering vigilant dinghy on the periphery, Zheng Sihai summoned Tong Haifeng, Chen Hui, Lin Youmei, Zhang Yao, and other battalion commanders to discuss the matter.

The cabins are all lowered to prevent the lights from escaping.

Zheng Sihai first said: "My South China Sea Fleet has the responsibility to defend the territory. His Majesty has already said on the Jinluan Palace that the South China Sea is just a bath in the Imperial Garden, and if we let the enemy army roam the South China Sea, and there is no way, how can we explain to His Majesty;

On the other hand, in the entire South China Sea now, our Great Qin's merchant ships come and go frequently, if the Dutch warships continue to run rampant, it will have a strict impact on the trade of Great Qin, and the longer the time passes, the greater the loss of our Great Qin, you can understand. ”

What Zheng Sihai said is indeed a problem that cannot be ignored, but presumably what he is most worried about is being killed by the Dutch to the southeast coast, once the Dutch wantonly burn and loot on the southeast coast, he, the admiral of the South China Sea Fleet, will be able to do it.

Of course, no one can escape the responsibility of the battalion commanders, and everyone is a grasshopper on a rope.

You must know that many ministers in the DPRK and China have always complained about the emperor's vigorous development of the navy. If the navy, which the emperor had high hopes for, proved to be incapable of guarding the sea gates, then the navy would surely become the target of public criticism.

Zhang Hui continued: "Lord Admiral, there are a large number of small warships in Sulu Country, like ant colonies, they are very troublesome, and they will cancel out the assault ability of our army's small and medium-sized warships. Therefore, the general thought that he should find a way to annihilate this group of ants first, and then he would have a much better chance of winning a decisive battle with the Dutch. ”

Lin Youmei, the commander of the second battalion, also said: "I agree with General Zhang's opinion, there must not be much tacit understanding between the Dutch and the Sulus. We can use the method of fighting and leaving, and constantly attack the Sulu boats from the periphery. It's best to find an opportunity to do a night raid and get rid of these swarms of ants in one go. ”

Zheng Sihai said: "This has to be the enemy to anchor at night to have such an opportunity, now it seems that the enemy has no intention of night at all, they are coming north day and night." ”

Tong Haifeng muttered: "Lord Admiral, in fact, if the enemy does not anchor at night, it is possible to attack him, as long as he can find a suitable sea area. There's a lot to be done. The Dutch warships are generally larger than ours, with a sinking draft, and there are many reefs in the South China Sea that small boats can enter. Big ships don't work. In the case of a night battle, using these reefs, it is easy to separate the large ships of the Dutch from the small ships of the Sulus. ”

***

Bonaparte. Napoleon once said: Never think that your enemies are stupider than you.

If the Dutch are stupid. It is impossible for the Netherlands to stand out among the Western countries and become the hegemon of the world's oceans in this era.

If Callant had been stupid, he could not have become commander-in-chief of the Dutch Eastern Fleet.

War is like that. When you are calculating others, others may be calculating you.

On the sea less than seventy miles away from the Yellow Shoal Reef, hundreds of warships of all sizes led by Calant were densely covered with the sea.

In order to prevent collisions, a lamp is hung on each ship, and from a distance, the stars on the ocean are dotted like countless stars twinkling on the sea.

On Calant's flagship, the soldier brought two cups of coffee, and Captain McCoth served one to Calant, then took his own cup and tasted it elegantly. He casually asked, "Your Excellency Commander, where do you think Zheng Sihai's fleet will be at this moment?" ”

"Scarborough Shoal."

McCows was almost choked on his coffee halfway through his sip of coffee, and he asked incredulously, "How can Your Excellency Commander be sure that Zheng Sihai's fleet is at Scarborough Shoal?" ”

"Not sure." Callant glanced out the porthole at the dark sea before continuing, "But I believe my instinct is correct, Zheng Sihai is most likely to anchor at Huangyan Reef at this moment. ”

McCows became more and more curious, he put down his coffee cup and asked seriously, "May I ask Your Excellency, Commander, how did you tell me where your intuition came from?" ”

"I have a friend in Amsterdam who used to be poor and hungry and then went to the Americas to make a lot of money and became rich, but he still used to hide food in his bedroom, and when he went out, he always chose to stay in hotels close to restaurants."

"Your Excellency Commander, does this have anything to do with your judgment that Zheng Sihai is anchored at Huangyan Reef?" McCows asked very humbly.

"It's a subconscious that's rooted in the depths of the human soul, and once formed, it's hard to eliminate. As far as I know, Zheng Sihai has not had much experience in ocean sailing, at most he has been cruising in the coastal waters for a few years, and it is unlikely that he can get rid of this subconscious of human beings.

Zheng Sihai led his fleet out of the port of Manila, but he avoided fighting, and they had defeated Wilson before, so it was impossible for them to hear of our arrival and flee back to Qin immediately.

I guess he must have weighed the strength of both sides and made the decision to cruise around us, looking for an opportunity to launch a surprise attack. I have to admit that Zheng Sihai made a very wise decision.

Captain McCaws, please look at the chart, near this sea area, there are no islands, only one Huangyan Reef, so I guess that if Zheng Sihai orders to dock at night to recuperate, he will definitely choose the Huangyan Reef area. ”

"But Your Excellency, it's just a small reef."

"Yes, in your eyes and me, it's just a rock. But for people who have not had a long sailing experience and are not completely accustomed to the sea, it is a reliance, at least in their subconscious, because of the existence of this reef. ”

If Zheng Sihai heard Callant's words, they would definitely widen their eyes, open their mouths, and stay stunned until their saliva flowed to the ground and they forgot to close their mouths.

Compared with people like Calant, who have traveled all over the world and fought countless turbulent waves, Zheng Sihai is indeed too tender, and the gap has nothing to do with whether he is smart or not, but only in experience.

It is difficult for a person who has not fought against the stormy waves in the open ocean, no matter how smart he is, to have such a consciousness, because it is the nature of human beings to anchor on the shore or on an island, and everyone thinks that it is a matter of course, and will not go deep to reflect on this behavior.

"Your Excellency Commander, what if Zheng Sihai is not in Huangyan Reef?" McCows was still a little unsure.

"Do they have anything to lose to us if they don't have at Scarborough Shoal? We're just off course. ”

"That's right." McCows suddenly became energetic, took his coffee and finished it, and then said, "Your Excellency, Commander, please allow me to bring a warship from the west to besiege the enemy at the Yellow Rock Reef. ”

"As you wish, Captain McCows, the enemy will definitely send small boats to guard the perimeter, take care to cover the lights on your ship, so as not to be detected by the enemy in advance."

"Your Excellency Commander, you are the wisest fleet commander I have ever seen, and this time we will definitely be able to annihilate Zheng Sihai's fleet."

McCows wasted no time in slapping a sycophant before hurried out of the cabin, and after the light and message, and after half a pillar of incense, McCows took a third of the battleship to break away from the main fleet and sail westward, preparing to encircle the Scarborough Shoal.

At this moment, Zheng Sihai, who was anchored near the Huangyan Reef, never dreamed that a small reef would become the coordinates of the enemy's locking on to their location;

They were about to be encircled and still ignorant of it, and they were still deliberating about how to separate the boats that attacked the Sulus.

******************

PS: Send two chapters first.,There will be a chapter today.,If the code word is good.,There's even two chapters.,Ask for monthly ticket support.,Ask the brothers to help keep the eighth in the category!.

(To be continued......)