Dongping Island Navy Pier.

The second-class battleship Daqin, which had just been incorporated into the Dongping Island Navy, was slowly entering the port, and the huge hull was like a small mountain, giving people a strong sense of oppression.

At this time, on the wharf, Feng Xiang, the commander of the Dongping Island Navy, was dressed in military uniform, and the two detachment leaders behind him, Zheng Cheng (left captain), Guan Wu (right captain), as well as Fan Jingyu, Liu Dongling, Tan Chao, Feng Wei, Bai Yan, An Jianhai, Shen Fei, Ji Yu, and Dou Fengsong, captain of the transport fleet, were also watching excitedly.

I saw that the mast of the Daqin not only fluttered the battle flag of the Great Bright Sun and Moon Jintao, but also the red and blue Canglong Rain-covered Navy flag fluttering below, as well as a big flag with the word "Liu".

The governor of Shanxi, the general of Longhu, and Liu Juntao, the uncle of Ningbei, came to Dongping Island in person!

At this time, the soldiers and civilians on Dongping Island had been living here for several years, and they had built this barren island into a prosperous military port.

The island has reclaimed a large area of arable land, and is basically self-sufficient in grain, vegetables, melons and fruits. In addition to the military port, a number of settlements similar to the later communities were also scattered throughout the island, including men, women, and children, and there were already four or five thousand people on the island.

Now that Liu Juntao, the uncle of Ningbei, has come to Dongping Island, giving these thousands of people great encouragement, and everyone on the dock is waving their arms and shouting loudly.

However, those ordinary people and the families of the navy were so excited, but the officers and men of the Dongping Island Navy below Feng Xiang felt differently, and they knew why Liu Juntao, the uncle of Ningbei, came.

When Liu Juntao got off the boat and appeared and stepped on the school review platform of the military port, everyone felt that their hearts were rippling, and it was difficult for them to cheer loudly, and the tide of Wansheng did not stop for a long time.

Liu Juntao only said a few words in the face of thousands of naval officers.

"Now that the Dutch have pressed to our doorstep, this battle is a battle that will determine the luck of our navy for a hundred years! The governor is watching, the fathers and elders of Shandong are watching, and tens of millions of people are also watching! ”

"This battle is to create my great cause in China! After this battle, my emperor's navy will run rampant across the ocean, soldiers, you will all go down in history! ”

Speaking of this, Liu Juntao suddenly pulled out his sword and pointed to the sky: "My emperor is bright, Wan Sheng!" ”

Wansheng! Wansheng!

The tide of shouts broke through the low-pressure clouds, and the prelude to the battle between the navy and the Dutch for the right to sea transportation on Dongping Island officially began.

Dongping Island Navy Office, at this time Liu Juntao was only left in front of Feng Xiang, Feng Xiang advised again, hoping that Liu Juntao would return to Rizhao County to wait for the battle report, even if it was to wait in Andongwei.

Once the Dongping Island Navy starts a fight with the Dutch, this Dongping Island is on the sea after all, and it is too dangerous.

Feng Xiang only felt that it was inappropriate, so he repeatedly admonished him, and when Liu Juntao announced this decision at the Governor's Mansion of Datong Town, the roars of the ministers and officials of the shogunate almost overturned the entire roof.

Guo Yongzhong and Zhang Baigui, the two old men, even scolded, if it weren't for the current identity of Liu Juntao, Guo Yongzhong, as his father-in-law, would have gone up and pointed his nose to reprimand Liu Juntao.

Even Tang Yu, Liu Zi'an and other henchmen did not support Liu Juntao's proposal, and Liu Juntao could only continue to negotiate and bargain with everyone, and finally came up with the reason that once the war was unfavorable, the sea route income would be lost.

After talking for a while, Liu Juntao and Feng Xiang talked about the current war situation, in fact, Liu Juntao didn't think about fighting with the Dutch at first, but only wanted to threaten the Dutch with a newly built fleet, so that they could retreat in the face of difficulties, and the worst thing was to fight a moderate naval conflict with the Dutch, thus forcing the Dutch to bow their heads and accept the fact that they controlled the maritime trade routes of Japan and Korea.

However, according to the information obtained by the Ministry of Intelligence from various maritime merchants, the reaction of the Dutch was beyond Liu Juntao's expectations, the Dutch not only gathered a sizable fleet in Manila, but even gathered a lot of natives as cannon fodder, such a fierce reaction made Liu Juntao understand that he underestimated the arrogance of the Dutch and the determination to gain a firm foothold in the East.

The two discussed for a while, although the newly built fleet has basically taken shape, but the training is still a little unable to keep up, especially the skilled sailors are still lacking a lot, and it is difficult to say what it will be like to fight with the Dutch, who have a deep naval background.

Liu Juntao also asked: "Navy, are you sure to win?" ”

This battle can be said to be the most bottomless battle in Liu Juntao's heart since his rise, first of all, he is not familiar with the naval battle, and secondly, although his side has some advantages in battleships, but in terms of manpower and experience disadvantages are obvious, the skills of newly recruited sailors are generally insufficient, and the naval officers and men have no concept of large-scale naval battles.

According to intelligence, the Dutch have now amassed at least fifteen warships and forty or fifty large armed merchant ships in Manila.

On the surface, although the Dongping Island Navy has a slight advantage, the other side is a regular army with a rich naval accumulation, which is far from being comparable to these young boys who have left home halfway, so Liu Juntao was very nervous before this battle.

However, this battle is no longer certain, but this battle cannot be fought without fighting, and it must be fought as soon as possible.

Liu Juntao has already received the news that the Dutch now have no fear, and seem to have asked for help from the mainland, if the Dutch wait until the next fleet arrives, then the Dongping Island Navy will be difficult to compete with it, even if there is silver, it will be too late to build warships and cast artillery.

And for Liu Juntao, even if the battleship can be built non-stop, even if the artillery can be cast non-stop, but there are not so many captains and sailors, and the current scale is almost to the limit of manpower.

Feng Xiang naturally understood these truths, and immediately said decisively: "There is no chance of victory, there is the will to win!" This victory depends on the death-defying heart of our navy! ”

Feng Xiang naturally wanted to go to the battlefield in person, and at this time, he honestly admitted that he was not sure of victory, which made Liu Juntao's heart even heavier, but after thinking about it, he didn't know how to increase his chips.

Seeing Liu Juntao frowning and sighing, Feng Xiang naturally knew his intentions, so he said with a smile: "Don't bother with it, coming to Dongping Island in person is already the greatest support for our navy." ”

Liu Juntao also showed his face when he heard this, but his eyes became cold, and he said: "Even if you can't win this battle, you have to break the backbone of the Dutch Navy!" After that, I will ask the Ministry of Commerce to invest a lot of money to build warships all over Shandong, and use silver to stir the sea into a pot of porridge! ”

Feng Xiang was also arrogant, and said: "Don't worry, our navy is a paving stone for the army, how can we let the officers and men of the Tiance Army go ashore safely!" ”

Since this battle was to determine the fortune of the navy, Liu Juntao naturally had to bet on the land and navy. This battle was the opening of the way for the navy and the follow-up of the army.

There was no complete certainty in this naval battle, but Liu Juntao didn't believe it, he couldn't crush the Dutch who had just gained a foothold in Luzon with more than 17,000 soldiers trapped in Shandong Town.

Liu Juntao estimated that at this time, there were no more than 17,000 Dutch people in Luzon, men, women, children, military and civilians.

This is the difference in strength, once Liu Juntao wants to put his strength on the sea with all his might, as long as it takes time, there is no Europa country that can compete with it, after all, this is not the ocean of the Manchu Qing Dynasty in the later generations, and now the Western powers have not yet developed, and they do not have such strong strength.

Even if the Dongping Island Navy was defeated in this battle, as long as the Dutch Navy could be severely damaged and made unable to cover the sea routes, Liu Juntao would be able to turn the tide of the war by relying on the trapping army.

Just when Liu Juntao and Feng Xiang made up their minds to fight to the end regardless of victory or defeat, in Luzon Manila, the colonial chief Fan Zerui also loudly declared in a loud voice: "The interests of the Netherlands in the East cannot be violated!" Once we lose the trade routes between Japan and Korea, the future of our Far Eastern company will be bleak! In Asia, we Dutch must not fail! And we cannot allow the yellow-skinned monkeys to impose defeat on us Dutch! This is a great insult to those of us who have been blessed by God! ”

Then the colony commander Van Zerui looked around at the crowd and spoke with the greatest zeal among the merchants, officers, and representatives of the inhabitants present: "I can't imagine anything more shameful in this world than those yellow-skinned monkeys who have defeated us Dutch!" ”

At this time, all the Dutch were excited, and it seemed that they were really like divine help, and they were united as one, ready to fight a decisive battle with the Ming Dynasty.

At the same time, the Dutch navy also began to mobilize, in addition to the warships and armed merchant ships that had been assembled before, the colonial commander Van Zerui also ordered the interception of more than a dozen armed merchant ships passing during this time, and all of them were temporarily requisitioned.

At this time, the colonial chiefs Van Zerui and Robin? Van Persie had assembled fifty-eight armed merchant ships and fifteen warships.

At the same time, the two also agreed that once the war with the Ming Navy began, the Dutch fleet that attacked would be led by Robin? Led by Van Persie, he strived to destroy the Ming navy in a war to achieve the effect of deterring the Ming Dynasty.

The colonial commander Van Zerui led 300 Dutch musketeers (500 Dutch musketeers were stationed in the fleet), 400 halberders, 150 cavalry, and 3,000 native soldiers to defend Manila.

Of course, according to the estimation of the colonial commander Fan Zerui, I am afraid that there will be no chance for himself to play in this battle, and only by relying on those fifteen warships and fifty-eight armed merchant ships, he can achieve a "complete" victory, such a force is a force that cannot be ignored even in the West, let alone in this distant and ancient East!

In the port outside Manila, the colonial commander Fan Zerui looked at the fleet that was setting sail, and his heart was also full of ambition, as if he had seen the bright prospect of defeating the Ming Dynasty navy and completely controlling the trade routes of Japan and Korea.

"On this sea, after all, it is still the world of us Dutch!"