Taking advantage of the first southwest monsoon of May, the Dutch fleet departing from Batavia came prepared.

The flagship Middelburg has a displacement of 550 tons, four 24-pound long-barreled naval guns on board, and four 400-ton Galen ships in the fleet. Although the rest of the speedboats are small boats with a displacement of 100-200 tons, the number of 10 boats is quite considerable.

The great temptation thrown before crossing the power is something that the Dutch in history have never encountered. In this plane, the combined effect of the two crown trades, slaves and raw silk, led the Dutch to send a fleet far larger than the historical scale to Dayuan Island this time.

Following the common practice of the Age of Discovery, when Commander Putmans came to the sea today, it was natural that he divided the expected objectives of the fleet into three tiers: normal trade, trade under the gun, and trade under occupation.

The male lion will only divide the territory with the male lion with the same strength, and the weak are not eligible to participate in the banquet. So Putmans' immediate priority today is not to trade, but to test the strength of his opponents.

......

Seeing the small boat carrying the merchant Maur returning to the mouth of the Grand Fairway, Putmans, who was standing on the stern of the flagship, began to give the order at this moment: the fleet was moved to one mile. The next moment, as the flag was passed, the ships of the Dutch fleet began to hoist some of their sails one after another, and began to move the ships that had not anchored to the periphery.

One mile is usually taken 3 nautical miles in the ocean, which is equivalent to 5.556 kilometers.

Originally, the Dutch fleet came from the south, and they anchored more than 2 kilometers south of the fairway. Now, with the order of Putmans, 15 Dutch ships went out to sea for another 3 kilometers, which was already at the same level as the fairway of the Dayuan, and there was a faint intention of blockade.

The two destroyers, which had been cruising north of the fairway, did not react violently: they were still slowly circling there, monitoring the Dutch fleet.

Soon, not long after Maugel entered the fairway, a dinghy with a spinnaker rushed out of the channel like a sharp arrow, and the Middelburg had just finished adjusting its position, and the dinghy was already parked beside the ship.

Climbing up from the soft ladder, in addition to Maugelle, there is no doubt that there is also a "big nobleman" in the Dutch cognition.

These ancient nobles, who are said to have come from the hinterland of the Ming Kingdom, were usually tall and had a unique temperament that allowed others to distinguish them from others at a glance.

Putmans is no exception. Although he had only known beforehand from the reports and the accounts of some people, as soon as he boarded the ship today, he immediately distinguished the visitor from the two short, dark and thin native retinues behind him.

The person who walked towards him with a smile was tall and had a unique demeanor. The man had short hair, wore an eerie short blouse, long trousers, black leather shoes, a strip of colored cloth around his neck, and black and white ornaments on his neckline and one ear...... On the whole, compared to the nobles and earth kings that Putmans had seen, the decoration of these Ming nobles was not complicated.

A brief handshake was quickly made, and the guests were ushered into the cabin.

......

After sitting in the cabin, the person who came quickly informed his identity: Tang Xiaoqiao, the senior negotiator. It is worth noting that the negotiator, who looks quite handsome and has a somewhat familiar style, speaks fluent Dutch at the moment.

Although some of the grammatical aspects were different from those of the red-haired ones, it was enough for the two sides to communicate, so the atmosphere in the cabin became a little more lively.

"Sorry, it's a short voyage, but after more than a month of wandering, you know, there's only rum left on board." After introducing each other to his entourage with Tang Xiaoqiao, Commander Putmans pushed a wooden cup in front of the visitor.

"Oh, I beg your pardon, it's the worst rum I've ever drunk." After Tang Xiaoqiao politely tasted the so-called rum that was sour in the cup, he couldn't help but complain.

"No way, this is sailing."

"I'm sure you'll be drinking high-quality rum soon."

Tang Xiaoqiao pointed in the direction of Dayuan with a smile on his face: "In order to welcome the trade season, we not only imported sugarcane from Fujian, but also raised the land of the northern line of Tail Island, and built beautiful hotels and bars on it. Trust me, you're sure to get the most authentic rum there. ”

Without waiting for these Dutchmen in front of him to react, Tang Xiaoqiao, who was a bit talkative, said quickly at this time: "In addition, the name of the bar is 'Pirate Bar', how is it, it feels very good, right?" Now there's a shortage of pretty Dutch hostesses and a dwarf who can dance the table...... Of course, Spanish chicks do. ”

"Before the bar and the chick, don't you feel that there are some more important topics that we need to exchange opinions on? Dear Don. ”

Looking at the yellow-skinned negotiator, who did not seem to feel the atmosphere in the cabin getting colder in the slightest, Putmans had to open his mouth to interrupt the conversation.

"Well, what do you want to talk about?" Tang Xiaoqiao, who put away the joke form, leaned back in the chair at this time, crossed Erlang's legs, and showed a smile on his face, "I knew you were going to be like this".

Putmans said slowly with a cold face: "Negotiations on trade agreements and sovereignty over Dayuan Island. ”

When Tang Xiaoqiao heard this, he asked a little puzzled: "Trade agreement?" Could it be that the agreement that Mr. Peternoiz had brought to Batavia a few months earlier had not been signed by Governor Cohen? ”

Putmans was a little stuck, but his tone quickly hardened again: "That agreement has been signed by Governor Cohen, but a new agreement needs to be discussed. ”

"A new agreement that represents your personal will?"

"Yes. Unreasonable agreements should be torn up and we will make a new one. ”

When Tang Xiaoqiao heard this, he showed the kind of narrow smile that was full of gossip: "Hans, can I call you Hans?" ”

"Absolutely, dear Don."

"Very well, then let me guess: dear Hans, you must have the right to command every soldier of this fleet?"

"Don, I admire your aristocratic sensitivity. Yes, you've got the crux of the matter, and I'm ready to order this mighty fleet to attack Dayuan Island and turn your new bar back into an open-air plaza. ”

"Understood." Tang Xiaoqiao raised his hand at this time to interrupt the follow-up words of dear Comrade Hans: "Believe me, no one here knows better than me those programs behind the gate of the country. ”

When Tang Xiaoqiao said this, he put away Erlang's legs, and fastened the buttons of his suit while standing up: "It's too stuffy in the cabin, let's go out and talk?" ”

"Absolutely." A group of people immediately got up and followed Tang Xiaoqiao to the outside of the cabin.

"I would venture to ask, why wasn't Cai the one who came to negotiate today?" In the process, Mr. Johannes van der Hagen, an old friend of the people, was a little puzzled by the fact that today's negotiator was not Cai Feiming, whom he was familiar with.

"Do you need to ask? Latecomers are not qualified enough, and of course they have to take on more dangerous jobs! Tang Xiaoqiao said this, with a sad expression on his face.

"The most dangerous work involves negotiations, and the participants have to be prepared to be hostages." Putmans interjected coldly at this point.

Tang Xiaoqiao did not respond to Comrade Hans's aggressive statements. By this time, he had come to the stern of the Middelburg, and was watching the Dutch fleet in the cool sea breeze.

"A very powerful fleet." After Tang Xiaoqiao observed it for a few moments, he turned around and leaned on the side of the boat, then smiled and said to Putmans: "The source of your confidence. ”

"Yes, the fleet is power." Comrade Hans did not hesitate to push back.

Tang Xiaoqiao nodded unconcernedly, then stretched out his hand and pointed overboard the ship: "Before we discuss the issue of hostages, dear Hans, can you tell me what valuable cargo there is on that ship?" ”

What Tang Xiaoqiao pointed at with his finger was the Cookken, a speedboat located behind the right of the flagship.

With a displacement of only 120 tons, the Cooken was the smallest in the Dutch fleet.

"There were only soldiers and artillery on that ship, and there was no cargo on board." Putmans, a veteran driver who served as a court judge in Batavia and was also in charge of local Chinese affairs, saw through the other party's tricks at the first time, so he clearly told Tang Xiaoqiao: There was no cargo on board, only heroic soldiers...... Although the Cookken still had some spices and hides on board.

"Very well, then that's it."

"Huh?"

"Dear Hans, have you ever heard of the Italian cannon? Oh yes, it should be called a Roman cannon this year? ”

At the same time as Tang Xiaoqiao's voice fell, a red dot suddenly "floated" from Dayuan Island, 5.5 kilometers away.

The red dot plunged headlong into the water five meters to the left of the Cooken at a speed that no one could see, and then there was a violent explosion in the water, and a column of water as high as the bow of the ship shot out on the surface of the ocean...... At the same time, a string of rumbling noises in the sky was long overdue.

"What is this?" Before the Dutch could react, the second red dot arrived as promised. THIS TIME, THE SHELL ACCURATELY HIT THE SIDE OF THE COOKKEN, AND AT THIS MOMENT, THE 40MM HIGH-EXPLOSIVE WARHEAD DETONATED INSTANTLY, AND THE HIGH-PRESSURE GAS CONVERTED INTO EXPLOSIVES IMMEDIATELY EXPLODED THE SHIP'S SIDE, FORMING A CONTINUOUSLY DIFFUSING SPHERE. The Dutch soldiers within the sphere were blown away in an instant, their bodies covered in shrapnel and fragments of the ship's planks.

With the second red dot hitting, six more shells rushed into the sky in the next few seconds, and the Cookken was blown to shreds and ignited.

However, this is not the end. At the end of the five-second magazine change, another series of seven red dots flew in - this time the Cooken was completely finished, and it began to slowly sink to the bottom of the sea, and the whole process took less than a minute from the first shell......

Shocked by the huge roar and explosion and firelight from 200 meters away, Comrade Putmans finally reacted at this moment. Then the Dutchman, in a panic, drew his sword: "God, this is shelling!" Look what you've done! ”

Tang Xiaoqiao, who was always smiling, was still leaning on the side of the boat at this time. After giving Comrade Hans two minutes to understand the situation, Tang Xiaoqiao smiled and stretched out his hand, slowly pulling away the blade in front of him: "Dear Hans, now, you and your fleet are my hostages. So, gentlemen, would you like to go to the pirate bar for a glass of rum? ”