Chapter 416 Sheliao Island

Dog Harbour was important, and if the Dutch East India Company had reinforcements arriving at Dashi, it would be the first stop.

Therefore, for the sake of prudence, Lin Xiao left the steady He Shouxin, and asked him to restore order while keeping close vigilance against Nanyang until Zheng Chenggong recovered the big man and sent someone to take over.

Before leaving, he instructed He Shouxin to send troops to sweep around to ensure the safety of his abdomen and back, at least, he should take the opportunity to clean up the Dutch people on the side of Guanyin Mountain and completely extinguish the eyes of the Dutch people.

……

On the afternoon of 28 June, the "Qinzhou" and "Longsheng" finally arrived off the coast of Jilongyu, the northernmost part of the island, and cruised near Jilongyu.

Along the way, the wind and waves did not abate at all, but this time Lin Xiao was very cautious, they meandered north along the coastline, although it took some more time, but finally there was no danger and arrived safely.

The chicken coop, that is, Keelung City in later generations, has a mountain shaped like a chicken coop, hence the name.

This place is surrounded by mountains on three sides, one side faces the sea, the terrain is more hilly and less flat, the east and west sides are surrounded by volcanic groups, and the Wuzhishan mountain range, only the middle is not too wide on both sides of the river valley, is a relatively flat low-lying land, and the rest of the area is mostly mountainous.

Although this kind of mountainous land is generally not high, it is mostly steep slopes, and is not suitable for cultivation and habitation, so far, from here to the nearby Vale Tamsui Valley, the number of inhabitants is not very large, mainly immigrants who came from the Song Dynasty, as well as local natives, most of whom live by fishing, hunting and farming.

Outside the coastline of the chicken coop, there are several islands, among which the larger ones are Sheliao Island, Jilong Island, as well as Vase Island, Pengjia Mountain, Plum Vase, etc., among them, the latter islands are very far from the shore.

Holding the binoculars and looking at them for a long time, Lin Xiao felt a little strange.

He saw that the volcanic island in front of him was still more than ten miles away from the mainland, and there was no legendary Dutch castle on the island.

Turning his head to look south, Lin Xiao saw that on the mainland, near the coastline, there were still a few small islands, but there were no castles found there.

Didn't it mean that the Spaniards built a fort and a dock on this chicken coop island, which was later occupied by the Dutch?

"This is Jilongyu?"

Lin Xiao put down the binoculars and said to Situ Zheng, "Send someone up to take a look." ”

"Yes."

Situ Zheng understood and turned to leave.

At the sound of an order, the "Qinzhou" released a small boat, carried a special operations team slowly to the shore, and boarded a small dock......

It didn't take long for the dinghy to return.

After asking, Lin Xiao learned that except for some local fishermen, there were not many Dutch people on this island at all, and the soldiers searched for it, and only caught three sentry agents, and brought back a few locals.

After some interrogation, Lin Xiao realized that he had indeed made a mistake.

This seaside castle is not on the lonely Jilong Island, but on another small island called "Sheliao Island".

When the Spaniards invaded the area, they were met with fierce resistance from the local population, who were quite troubled by the frequent attacks by the locals.

Therefore, they did not dare to build a city on the mainland, so they had to occupy this island and build this castle called "San Salvador" at the mouth of the river, and used it as a base for exploration and trade.

Later, through bloody suppression, they gradually subdued the locals with the advantage of firearms, and gradually extended their tentacles inland.

Eventually, they traveled up the Jilong River to the mouth of the Tamsui River, where they built a new castle and named it "Santo Domingo City", which was the prototype of Taipei City.

About ten years ago, the Dutch expelled them and renamed the castle "North Holland" and the one at the mouth of the Tamsui River "Fort Anthony".

The "North Holland" castle built on the mountain in front of you is actually on the back of the island, and it is invisible in the open sea.

Lin Xiao nodded again and again, that's right.

This Sheliao Island is much larger than Jilong Island, and it is close to the coast of the mainland, firmly guarding the mouth of the Jilong River, and the geographical location is very important, and it is militarily reasonable to build the castle there.

"How many soldiers are there on that island?"

Lin Xiao asked.

"At the moment, there are less than three hundred people stationed in the castle, all of them ...... in the castle"

The warrior in charge of the interrogation replied, "There are even fewer on the other side of the Tamsui estuary, less than a hundred. ”

"The fishermen...... Willing to be a guide? ”

Lin Xiao asked thoughtfully.

"Yes, Master Hou, it's voluntary."

"Okay, did you ask if there are any local people in the castle?"

"I've asked, Master Hou,"

The warrior's tone was affirmative, "The castle is full of Dutch soldiers, and no locals are allowed to enter. ”

"Well, that's good."

Lin Xiao nodded and said to Situ Zheng, "Pass my order, set sail, and enter the port." ”

……

The situation was clear, and Lin Xiao didn't want to delay any longer.

He decided to take it all in one go, taking advantage of the fact that it was not yet dark, and took Sheliao Island in one fell swoop.

However, after gradually approaching, Lin Xiao found that it was not easy to land on Sheliao Island smoothly.

No, it's not easy, it's very difficult!

Like the mainland coastline, most of the coastline of this island is a series of strange rocky cliffs, and under the monstrous waves, even the special combat personnel have almost no possibility of climbing up.

The whole island is relatively flat only near the pier, and the pier and the castle are at the mouth of the river valley on the other side.

Lin Xiao chuckled in his heart - if you want to get close to the dock, you must first sail into the Chicken Coop River!

It's just that this Jilong River is neither wide nor deep, and the "Longsheng" will definitely not be able to enter, so it can only rely on the "Qinzhou" to ride through the pass.

To make matters worse, in this way, his cannon battery lost its range advantage.

Unable to strike from a distance, they could either stop in the river and engage the Dutch at close range, or ignore it and drive all the way upstream, out of range of their artillery fire, and then bombard with all their might.

Either way, there's a lot of danger.

It seems that bloodshed and sacrifice are inevitable.

After a moment of silence, Lin Xiao ordered someone to call the captain Jiang Dazhuan.

“…… That's the way it is, tell me what you think. ”

"Master Hou, do you need to dodge the cannon and drive a thousand paces?"

Captain Garlic frowned slightly.

This garlic is an old sailor, and listening to his tone, he is obviously inclined to the latter way.

"Yes, at least a thousand steps to avoid all the artillery fire, do you have any confidence?"

"Lord Hou......"

Captain Garlic said, "You, let's go to the Dragon Ascend......

"Are you...... Let me run away? ”

Lin Xiao glanced at him faintly and teased.

"Forehead ......"

"This ship is quite sturdy, can't it sink after a few shots?"

Lin Xiao's eyes flashed, and he cheered up, "What, do you dare to do it?" ”

"Dare!"

Garlic gritted her teeth and stepped forward and shouted.

"Okay, then let's go and prepare,"

Lin Xiao patted him lightly on the shoulder, "The specific situation of the waterway, go and ask the guide." ”

"Yes!"

……