"Prime Minister Zhong, Keelung Port has arrived, send an order down, all ships are on alert, and prepare for battle!"

Zhu Youxiao ordered loudly to Zhong Jixiang not far away.

"Yes!"

Zhong Jixiang immediately became energetic and gave various orders to the herald on the side.

On Zhu Youxiao's handsome ship, a short and low sound of orders sounded, and then the herald waved a vigilant flag on the mast.

The lookout posts on the rest of the warships saw the flagship's flag change, and the captains began to convey orders in a hurry.

The sailors rushed to their respective positions, quickly removed the tarpaulins covering the cannons, took out the bows and arrows, bullets, and shells stored in the cabins, and sent them to the deck, where they were distributed to the officers and men of various posts on the battleship.

The Royal Marines who came with the ship, under the command of their respective squad leaders, squadron leaders, and group leaders, took out their repeaters and muskets, loaded their arrow magazines, and loaded their bullets, and lined up on the deck.

Everyone began to raise the level of vigilance and was ready to deal with all emergencies and attacks.

Zhu Youxiao ordered the fleet to line up in the area around the mouth of Jilong Bay to raise vigilance.

"Let's go, go and have a look."

He said to Zhong Jixiang, and let the flagship sail to the small island outside the mouth of the bay.

The name of this island is not unfamiliar to Zhu Youxiao.

In his previous life, because of curiosity, he had read some information about Keelung Port on the Internet and consulted some information about Taiwan, so he still knew a little about this small island isolated outside Jilong Bay.

This island is the more famous Heping Island, commonly known as Sheliao Island.

It is located right at the entrance of Jonlong Bay and has become a natural barrier to Kernlong Bay.

It can effectively block the impact of the northeast monsoon in winter on the bay, making Jilong Bay a natural deep-water harbor.

Due to its natural geographical advantages, it has become the most important northern gateway to the island of Taiwan and the most important fishing port in Taiwan.

In short, the excellent natural geographical advantages make this Jilong Bay the most important place in Taiwan in this era, and it is also a place where merchant ships and pirates like to dock.

Many ships come and go here, and they choose to rest, rehydrate, and repair their boats......

In addition, before it was occupied by the Spaniards, it was also one of the nests of the Japanese during the era when the Japanese were rampant.

The Japanese hid here, and used it as a base to set out for the coast of China, where they plundered.

After being defeated by the Ming Dynasty officials, they fled back to Jilong Bay to take refuge and made this place their paradise.

In recent years, with the gradual decline of the Japanese Koukou, the place has gradually become deserted.

Although there are still many pirates along the coast of Daming, and they are also habitually called Japanese pirates by people on the mainland, most of these pirates are also thieves and merchants, and the harm is far less powerful than the previous Japanese pirates.

Jilong Bay, which was originally more lively, has become less noticed, and only passing merchant ships or pirates will anchor here to take shelter or rest.

It wasn't until it was occupied by the Spaniards and built into a large and well-established port that it regained its fame.

Zhu Youxiao looked at the peaceful island outside Jilong Bay.

Since it was early in the morning, the sky had just brightened, and the visibility on the sea was very low, so it was not clear to see a little farther away, and only some conditions on the shore of Heping Island could be seen.

The area of this island of peace is about three or four square kilometers, which is neither big nor small.

However, unlike the Peace Island in his memory, it is not just a small island at the moment, there are two small islands in the east and west, mainly in the east and west, and there are two small islands, which are not connected to the slightly larger island in the middle.

Zhu Youxiao was a little puzzled by this, but after thinking about it for a while, he was relieved.

The vicissitudes of time over the past few hundred years, coupled with the continuous accumulation and construction of later generations, it is likely that the other two small islands were linked together with the main island of Heping Island, forming a conceptual whole in later generations.

At the moment, there is not much influence from man and nature, so it is not surprising that the three islands are not all connected.

However, on the whole, the island of peace as the main island looks very conspicuous.

After Zhu Youxiao carefully observed the surrounding terrain, it was roughly the same as the map depicted by Xiaohong and the intelligence collected by the intelligence department, this Jilong Bay was indeed a natural, easy to defend and difficult to attack.

If the forces that control this place are strong enough, they only need to build dozens of forts on Heping Island and the opposite bay, and set up hundreds of artillery pieces to defend Jilong Bay, which is impregnable.

Then, if the enemy wants to attack Jilong Bay and does not find a way to pull out these forts first, it is basically wishful thinking.

These forts can control the two waterways that enter Chicken Coop Bay.

Any ships and fleets that tried to force their way into the bay would be bombarded by the ballistas of these batteries.

Even if the enemy can pull out the forts around the mouth of the bay and enter the inside of Chicken Coop Bay, it doesn't matter.

Jilong Bay itself is also a dangerous place surrounded by mountains on three sides, and in the bay, as long as you choose a few places that are easy to defend and difficult to attack, dozens of forts will be built.

Then, the security aspect here can basically be said to be foolproof.

In terms of the surrounding terrain, as long as you control a few points, no matter where the enemy lands from, if you want to capture Jilong Bay, you will have to pay a huge price.

Moreover, whether you can take it or not is still between the two theories.

Of course, to do all this, it takes enough manpower, financial and material resources to support it, and it is difficult for ordinary people and forces to do this.

But these are too simple for the Ming Royal Navy fleet, and this is not a thing.

Since the Spanish occupied Chicken Coop Bay, they established a so-called Salvador city on the island of Peace, and simply changed the name of Chicken Coop Bay to Santiago Bay. ok essay network

The Spaniards were the first maritime powers to rise in the West, although they were defeated by the British at the Battle of Calais, and their armada was almost wiped out.

However, the camels that starved to death were bigger than the horses, and the Spaniards, after all, were the first maritime powers that roamed the world, amassing great wealth, and now they are not weak, although they are in rapid decline.

The architectural model here is basically a European-style fortress structure, which is not clear to others, how can Zhu Youxiao not know?

The fortress structure is so strong that it is extremely difficult to destroy if ordinary artillery is not large.

This kind of fortress is not as simple as the various guards and walled forts of the Ming Empire in the past.

Zhu Youxiao held a telescope and stood on the bow of the flagship, observing more than a dozen forts here.

He also found that the forts built by the Spaniards were so elaborate that they could form a network of fire against each other, which just happened to firmly block the mouth of Chicken Coop Bay.

The main fort of the Spaniards is in the bay of Chicken Coop Bay, which is much larger than the castle on the island of peace.

Firing on the surface of the sea, except for the latest main gun on each Leopard cruiser, the rest of the guns simply could not hit that far.

This shows that when the Spaniards built several bastions, they had anticipated the possibility of being attacked by a strong enemy, and built a complete fortification here.

While observing the topography of Heping Island and the situation of the surrounding waters, Zhu Youxiao continued to think about his plan in his heart.

Just as the huge fleet appeared outside Chicken Coop Bay, a Spaniard clipper suddenly sailed out of the bay and headed for the fleet of the Royal Navy.

Obviously, this is the other party's guard ship, after discovering the arrival of the mysterious and unknown Grand Fleet, it is estimated that after hesitating for a while, it was only then that he dared to meet the Ming Royal Fleet.

When the clipper approached, a general dressed as a Spanish school officer took out a simple loudspeaker and shouted at Zhu Youxiao and others on the nearest flagship in front of him:

"What are you here for? This is our Spanish territory, get out of here! ”

Although this guy screamed loudly and spoke a foreign language, everyone couldn't understand it.

However, anyone can hear that in his shouting, there is a bit of a strong outsider and a strong middle, which makes people feel that he does not have much confidence.

"Your Majesty, this Westerner he said ......"

Huang Jianjie, who was on the side, immediately said to Zhu Youxiao's translator.

After listening to the relay of Huang Jianjie, deputy director of the Military Intelligence Bureau beside him, the gadfly smiled gloomily, and ordered the ship to step forward a little and let Huang Jianjie go to talk to him.

This former Dutch translator, because he is too talented, has been performing well since he was reused by Zhu Youxiao.

In addition, he is extremely familiar with the customs and languages of various countries and places in the South Seas, and it is impossible for Zhu Youxiao not to bring this guy with him when he starts a series of major battles in the ocean this time.

In this situation, this is where he comes in handy.

Huang Jianjie, this once talented licking dog, is now high-spirited.

The second-grade master is not something that ordinary people can mix, he is considered lucky, and there is green smoke on the ancestral tomb.

He walked unhurriedly to the side of the ship, raised his hand and raised a large copper horn.

Now this thing has become the standard general short-range communication equipment of the Royal Navy of the Ming Empire, and each warship has two or three on it.

lest in some cases, when the command is spoken on the ship, the officers and soldiers who are a little farther away will not be able to hear clearly.

"We are the fleet of the Ming Empire, passing through here, we want to enter Jilong Bay and dock to replenish water! Don't get in our way, lest there be misunderstandings! ”

This translator, who was originally a Westerner, is indeed a rare talent, and as soon as he speaks, he is reasonable, not at all like a guest, as if he is the master here.

On this expedition, Huang Jianjie was taken by Zhu Youxiao by his side, and continued his translation work in addition to his duties as a part-time staff officer and intelligence officer.

He is now a villain, and as soon as he speaks, he is full of confidence and unceremonious.

And his voice, under the gathering of the copper speaker, seemed very loud, and the voice came far away, and the other party could naturally hear it clearly.

The other party was obviously startled by this loud voice, and was stunned for a moment, only to know that it was the people on this strange warship that started to speak, so he strengthened his courage and approached and shouted:

"As I have already said, this is the territory of our Spanish Empire, and outsiders are not allowed to enter, since you are passing by, then you can go."

"Your Majesty, that's what he said......"

Huang Jianjie hurriedly nodded and hurriedly relayed the words of this Westerner to Zhu Youxiao word for word.

"These Westerners have always been accustomed to arrogance, and they simply don't know whether to live or die!"

Zhu Youxiao secretly sneered, and he didn't go on long-winded, and then flew down and jumped onto the opponent's clipper.

His figure flashed rapidly, and his big fist knocked out several Westerners on the clipper in an instant.

"Come down a few people, tie up these dogs!"

Zhu Youxiao moved his fists and feet, feeling quite refreshed, and continued to order, "Immediately divide the fleet into two, leave ten large warships, and take this island outside with me!" ”

"Prime Minister Zhong, you lead the rest of the warships and soldiers to immediately assault Keelung Bay, and strive to catch the other side by surprise!"

"It is necessary to use more main artillery to bombard the enemy's station, and do not launch a landing battle casually!"

With that, he flew back to the flagship, directing his soldiers to prepare for battle.

A moment later, the Royal Navy's Grand Fleet, which was divided into two, and ten of its great warships, led by Zhu Youxiao's flagship, galloped towards Heping Island.

Zhong Jixiang ordered the remaining large warships to immediately divide into two columns, line up, form a battle formation, and begin to sail quickly along the two channels on the left and right of Heping Island, towards Jilong Bay.

In an instant, the battle is already on the verge of breaking out!