By the first light of dawn, the Vostok, which had been on the sea for a long time, had drifted far enough away in the sea that a few weeks earlier they had crossed the strait for the first time, and for the English sailing ship it was almost a miracle that for a century, only Portuguese and Dutch merchant ships had sailed through the Taiwan Strait. Then trade with Japan.

However, for the "Vostok", the reason why the "Vostok" sailed all the way north with a £20 chart purchased from Macao was not to trade with Japan, but to open up a new trade route.

Because of the headwind, the "Vostok" has been sailing for two full months since leaving Macao, and although the bottom of the ship is full of attachments, it is still sailing on the sea at a speed of about seven knots, looking for the city that only exists on the nautical chart.

In winter, the sea fog formed by the convergence of cold and warm air currents on the sea will always block everything on the sea, so that the people on the ship cannot recognize their position at all. Just when everyone was starting to despair, the sea fog disappeared, and although the location was not yet certain, everyone was confident about the voyage ahead.

"Since the Chinese destroyed Shuangyu a hundred years ago, there have been no European merchant ships in this sea!"

Holding the binoculars and looking at the shore looming in the distance, Captain Thomas said in an excited tone.

"Perhaps, we should be near Shuangyu Port now!"

He said this because he had realized that the merchant ships had deviated north.

"I think as long as we can reach our destination - Ningbo!"

As a pioneer of trade routes, he stared at Smith in front of him, and his tone was extremely excited.

"You don't know, Ningbo is very close to the best raw silk in China, and even closer to the porcelain production area, which is now controlled by the Zheng family, who themselves are merchants engaged in maritime trade, and believe me, they will not stop us from trading in Ningbo......"

The reason why he took the risk to come here was because Smith, as a British merchant, wanted to get a cheaper source of goods here, and if it were not for the fact that he learned in Guangzhou that the Zhejiang Province where Ningbo was located was controlled by Zheng Chenggong, he would never have ventured here, after all, Zheng Chenggong was different from other Chinese, and Xiamen and Kinmen under his rule welcomed merchant ships from all over the world to trade.

Now that Ningbo is under its control, it naturally will not exclude merchant ships from various countries. Because of this, while everyone was watching, Smith, as the owner of the ship, had already ordered the captain to sail.

However, the difficulties encountered along the way were far greater than imagined, and it took longer to sail against the wind, and the sea fog at sea almost obscured everything through the Taiwan Strait, making it possible for the "Vostok" to run aground at any time, so that they had to stay offshore to avoid the reef.

Until now, the sea fog has finally disappeared, and the heavens and the earth have returned to everyone's field of vision, and when the sun rises, the captain, who seemed to be a little excited, said helplessly.

"Mr. Smith, I think we may have come to the wrong place......"

Thomas, who had already measured his latitude, said in a helpless tone.

"The location of the island shows that it is neither Shuangyu nor Ningbo there, but another unknown port, and we deviate from the ...... to the north"

Suddenly, at this moment, the lookout post shouted loudly to the deck,

"A boat was seen in the direction of the bow on the port side, and only the mast could be seen on the horizon. It's a European-style mast sail ......."

The lookout deliberately emphasized, so that everyone's faces changed, they knew very well what the outcome of encountering European merchant ships here would be, it would be an inevitable battle, whether the Dutch had always monopolized the trade in the north, they would never tolerate the British intruding into this sea, and now the encounter at sea is likely to make the other party turn from a merchant to a pirate.

At this time, the entire deck of the "Vostok" was silent, and Thomas looked at the sailors and shouted even louder.

"Well, you all know that the Dutch will definitely not let us go easily, everyone is ready to fight!"

In this era, it is a common law that merchants at sea can become pirates at any time.

The toes of the battle-ready ship snapped, the hammocks on the merchant ship were quickly put away, and the little twelve-pounder guns on the deck were pushed out. The crew, who had been beaming with joy and joy about the arrival of their destination, would have been nervously operating the artillery, and the cold wind blew over them, making them feel the chill to the bone. But more of it was nervous, and everyone looked nervously into the distance.

By the time the crew of the Vostok began to operate the guns, the European-style ship was already in their sight. It was the first time they had seen it.

Only two minutes after the first shout of the lookout post, the "Dutch ship" had unfurled its foremost and mainmost sails, which had not been fully opened. Because they are upwind, its speed seems to be very fast, and it is rapidly approaching the "Vostok".

"My God!"

When he was able to see it through the binoculars, Thomas couldn't help but let out an exclamation, because what appeared in the eyes of others was not an ordinary armed merchant ship, but a warship!

It was a three-masted warship, its hull was very different from that of a merchant ship, more slender and perhaps more agile, and its gun window was clearly visible on the side of the ship.

At this time, when it was discovered that the enemy ship was not just a merchant ship, but a warship, and the whole deck was silent, at this time, a gunner on the deck, who seemed to be very experienced, explained to the young man beside him:

"You see, this is not a merchant ship, but a warship. There were thirty or forty cannons, and we're in trouble this time, man, maybe, we're all going to see God. ”

"Damn it!"

As the two ships approached, on the crowded deck, everyone knew what was behind them, and it was obvious: a Dutchman warship, its gun windows had been opened, and it was clear that they were ready for battle. Seeing this scene, almost everyone was like ashes.

Fighting against merchant ships and warships is simply looking for death!

Today!

We, all of us, will die!

Just when everyone was worried about the fate that followed, suddenly Thomas, as if he had discovered something, tried to adjust his telescope, and had already seen the ship clearly......