Java, Batavia Fortress.

When a Dutch East India Company caravell returned to the port of Batavia with the bad news that "a large number of Ming troops had successfully landed on Temasek Island and the Strait of Johor", the city's rulers immediately fell into a panic. Because they knew that the main force of the Dutch East India Fleet was lying in ambush at the mouth of the Klang River, not far from Temasek Island.

There was no reason for them to watch a large number of Ming troops carrying hundreds of boats slowly land on Temasek Island and the northern shore of the Straits of Johor – not in a day or two! Because it was not only lightly armed infantry that had to go ashore, but also a large number of heavy artillery. According to the reconnaissance of the Dutch carvelloin, the landing force of the Ming Dynasty was busy for at least six days!

Six days!

God created the world for only six days! Isn't it enough for Rear Admiral Troppe's fleet to sail from the Klang estuary to Temasek? Moreover, the southwest wind is blowing in the strait these days, and the wind direction is still relatively favorable. So Trop's fleet did not come, something must have gone wrong.

Perhaps the main force of the Ming Dynasty's Nanyang Fleet also sailed into the Strait of Malacca and forced Trope's fleet back...... It is even possible to defeat Rear Admiral Trope's fleet, after all, the numerical superiority of the people is too terrible!

And as soon as Trop's fleet retreats, Johor Castle will definitely be lost.

The more than 10,000 but less than 20,000 native soldiers concentrated there had limited combat effectiveness and could not hold for too long, and the Dashun army in the Penang area was too far away from Johor Castle to take 20 days (about 600 kilometers) by land, and the Johor fortress would definitely be lost by then.

As soon as the Johor fort and Temasek Island are lost, the southeast entrance to the Straits of Malacca is under the control of the Ming Nanyang Fleet.

Although there is still the Sunda Strait to navigate, how long will this strait remain open? The Ming Dynasty is not Britain and Portugal, this country is in the South Seas, here is the Celestial Empire! The reason why Westerners can gain a foothold here in Nanyang is nothing more than seizing the opportunity of the decline of the Celestial Empire. But now that the Celestial Empire has been revived and has been killed...... Therefore, after the princely states here in Nanyang change hands in Johor, they will definitely re-establish their positions soon, and the Banten Sultanate, which has a great contradiction with the East India Company, will definitely take refuge in the Ming Dynasty.

At that point, the Sunda Strait will also be locked! Batavia would also become the tomb of the Dutch East India Company.

Governor Matsolko, knowing that the catastrophe was imminent, immediately ordered all white civilians in Batavia to retreat to the fortress, and requisitioned all the sailing ships passing through Batavia, apparently preparing to escape.

On the 20th day of the seventh month of the lunar calendar, another carava ship circling the Makassar Strait brought new bad news - a huge Ming fleet has passed through the Makassar Strait and is heading for Java!

Needless to say, this must be to occupy the island of Java! Now that Rear Admiral Trop has no news, the Ming fleet is menacing again, and it seems that the Dutch East India fleet is likely to be defeated.

Governor Matsolko didn't dare to wait any longer, and immediately issued an order for all to retreat, wanting to evacuate thousands of Westerners in Batavia before the Ming fleet blocked the port of Batavia, take the Sunda Strait to bypass Sumatra, and withdraw to Aceh, and then make plans......

Just when the Governor was standing in front of the window of his governor's office in Batavia Castle, watching the Westerners who had become refugees below hurriedly packing their bags and preparing to board the ship and run away, one of his secretaries rushed to report in a panic - Wei Qingmu, the consul of the Ming Dynasty, urgently asked to see him!

"Wei Qingmu?" Governor Matt Solko thought to himself: What is this guy here for? To bribe the Governor? This governor will not surrender! He was silent for a while, and finally sighed: "Please let him in......"

Wei Qingmu looked anxious, sweating profusely, and when he saw Matsolko, he didn't even save his greetings, and asked directly to the point: "Governor, are you trying to escape?" ”

"Escape?" Matt Solko snorted, "It's not an escape, it's just a strategic shift!" Consul Wei, you wait, our Dutch East India Company will definitely come back! ”

This is also a cruel statement, and Matt Solko himself does not believe it.

Because after the loss of Batavia, the Spice Islands to the east of Batavia will definitely be lost! That was the most important source of profit for the East India Company...... Without the spices of the Spice Islands, it is questionable whether the East India Company could exist or not, and how could it come back?

"Why are you leaving now that you're coming back?" Wei Qingmu smiled, "How troublesome is it to come and go?" It's better to stay in Batavia. ”

Remain? As a captive? Still is......

Matt Solko looked at Wei Qingmu with a grim face, waiting for his next step.

Wei Qingmu said: "Ten days ago, your East India Fleet engaged in a fierce battle with the escort formation of our South Sea Landing Fleet in the southeast of the Strait of Malacca, less than 100 miles from Temasek Island...... Both sides were defeated in this battle, and more than ten ships were damaged or seriously damaged. By the end of the battle, the East India Fleet had withdrawn from the Strait of Malacca!

Therefore, the days of fighting and killing here in Nanyang are almost over, and the big guys can enjoy peace again, do business together, and make a fortune together. Your Excellency the Governor, if you leave with the Westerners of Batavia now, you will miss the opportunity to make a fortune! ”

Although the Ming fleet was the first to evacuate, they completed the task of blocking the Dutch fleet from continuing eastward and protecting the safety of the landing fleet.

At the end of the battle, the Dutch abandoned their anchorage at the mouth of the Klang River and retreated to Penang to recuperate, that is, to withdraw from the Strait of Malacca.

As for the losses on both sides, they are very heavy!

The 11 warships of the Ming army were either sunk or heavily damaged, and only the flagship Wuhan Fu, the Feixiang-class Jiangbei, and the military-class Dongshengwei and Yulinwei returned to Temasek's anchorage. The remaining seven ships were either damaged or stranded, and even the four ships that returned to the anchorage were all covered with holes, charred and black, and almost scrapped.

The losses of the Dutch were even greater, with only 21 of the 32 ships finally staggering to Penang, and as many as 11 ships were damaged or stranded, including the battleship HMS Seven Provincial Councils, which had a capacity of 950 tons. Of the 21 warships that arrived in Penang, eight were badly damaged and difficult to repair, including HMS Sealand Provincial Council......

In addition, the naval officers and men on both sides also suffered heavy casualties, and the number of killed, seriously wounded, captured, and missing on the Ming side exceeded 1,100!

Although the Dutch side withdrew from the battlefield late and had the opportunity to salvage the officers and soldiers who fell into the water, the loss of personnel exceeded 1,300 people!

After retreating to Penang, the Dutch East India Fleet, which had suffered heavy losses, was dealt another blow, and the reinforcements of Dashun State, which should have arrived there a long time ago, were nowhere to be found...... Moreover, the land on the west coast of the Malacca Peninsula on the other side of Penang Island has been occupied by the Ming army moving south.

In desperation, the Dutch East India Fleet had no choice but to continue its retreat along the coastline of the Malacca Peninsula, retreating all the way to Burma to find a place to repair ships.

However, Wei Qingmu didn't know the whereabouts of the Dutch East India Fleet at this time, he just knew that the Ming Navy had won the sea control of the South Sea Islands! Therefore, he had to fulfill another important mission issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs - to ask the Dutch colonists to stay!

Why stay?

Of course, it's to stay and colonize together!

This must be inconceivable in the eyes of later generations, they have defeated the colonists, why don't you get rid of them quickly, and ask them to stay and continue to colonize, is this like a word?

But Zhu Cihong, who was far away in Yingtianfu, had his own economic and colonial accounts.

Economically, the establishment of the Twelve Duchyes on the Malacca Peninsula and the island of Sumatra required a lot of investment, which in turn required a lot of trade to pay off. Therefore, he did not want the sea coachmen to leave the South Seas, but hoped that they would stay, and it was best to participate in the construction of the Twelve Duchies of the South Seas.

On the issue of colonization, the Western colonizers in the South Seas are actually not real colonizers, because they will not colonize a few people in the South Seas, and it is more appropriate to say that they are investors and profiteers!

And the twelve principalities of the Ming Dynasty and the other principalities that will be established are the real colonizers......