However, compared to the last incident, this time things seem to have changed a little.

This time the gentlemen of the East Indies Affairs Committee were very different in their opinions, especially among those members who knew the strength of the Second Fleet of the Navy of the East Coast Republic and the fact that they were in collusion with the Portuguese in Mozambique, that it would be unwise to enter into hostilities with the East Coasters, which would have caused a heavy financial burden.

To make matters worse, if the fleet of the easterners left the port and entered the open sea, they could calmly ambush the Dutch ships in the waters at the southern tip of Madagascar, near the Cape of Good Hope, and the flutes laden with spices were not fast enough to be caught by them and could be sentenced to death. The East India Company had less than 60 large ships in the Far East, and the rest were some offshore junks, so should these merchant ships be equipped with escort warships? How much does it cost? And how many warships will it take to be able to effectively resist the kind of powerful battleship equipped with 66 guns of the people on the east coast? Did the East India Company have such warships in the Far East? How many more specialized warships are there in the Far East? The answer is obviously disappointing.

Once a Dutch spice ship was sunk in large numbers, the damage was enormous, and no one could be held responsible. Although the Dutch could retaliate against attacking the merchant ships of the people on the east coast, first, because of the small number of their merchant ships and the difficulty of ambushing, and second, because the people on the east coast implemented a centralized escort system, the cost of the attack was also quite high.

Well, since the East Coasters have promised not to try to enter places where the Dutch are tight, such as the Banda Sea or the Straits of Malacca, there is nothing to talk about between the two sides. The two sides could return to their previous state of relative peace, which would also ensure that some Dutch ships would not inexplicably disappear from the sea. Isn't it?

It has been a long time since the disappearance of the armed merchant ship Voyager in the waters off the island of Mozambique. So far, there is no clear statement. Although some claim to have seen the ship in the harbor of the East Coasters, which had already been refitted. But it was not confirmed after all. Therefore, in order to avoid more unexplained disappearances of ships, wouldn't it be good to ease relations with the people on the east coast? You know, most of the East India Company's efforts are now being dragged to deal with the Kingdom of Mataram, the Sultanate of Johor and the island of Ceylon, and there is no need to provoke the East India Company when the East Coasters have not touched the core interests of the East India Company, which is not cost-effective from a financial point of view.

At present, the Governor van Dimen was the only one in the Council who was strongly advocating the destruction or containment of the maritime and land forces of the East coasters in the Indian Ocean and the Far East, but the other gentlemen were unwilling to cooperate with the Governor in such matters. The money seekers would only take the ledger and remind the Governor that they had spent too much money on the newly conquered islands of the Mataram Kingdom, the Sultanate of Johor, Ceylon, and the Banda Archipelago, and that they would not start any hostilities against the people on the eastern coast at this time, as it might seriously damage the company's commercial interests.

God never intended to keep His Christians going well. Captain Fries sighed in his heart, and then said: "In this case, I agree to withdraw from the territorial waters of your country, but the extent of the sea area under your jurisdiction is ......"

"One shot!" Second Lieutenant Juan replied immediately, and after thinking about it, he added: "But at the same time, our country also enjoys special interests here, and no country, organization or individual is welcome to come to trade or settle down. ”

"But I insist that the Dutch East India Company has the right of free navigation in this sea area, well, you call it the Sea of Okhotsk. You can't stop the Dutch East India Company from exploring the vicinity. The proceeds of the expedition were at the disposal of the Dutch East India Company. You know, we're looking for Treasure Island. "Captain Fries was the first European to land on the island. He had a keen interest in the Strait of Fries, which bears his name, and the waters of the area, so he spoke out for his interests.

"Unfortunately, your request is not permitted." Second Lieutenant Juan stopped Captain Fries, who was about to protest, and said, "But you can keep the full force of the appeal. This is done by submitting a complaint to your company through your country's East India Affairs Authority in Batavia, which you can then raise at the annual Good Hope Consultation and we will assess it. But now, unfortunately, your request is not permitted. ”

Captain Fries was silent. The people on the east coast had at least three ships here, except for the flute-shaped ship (equipped with 4 guns), which had little firepower, and according to the information he observed, each ship was equipped with at least 10 guns, some of which were quite small in caliber, and in the event of a conflict, his side might not have any advantage. You must know that the two armed merchant ships on your side, the "Castelliku", have 12 guns, but most of them are small-caliber 8-pounder guns; The "Bregens" had 10 guns, and except for two 12-pounder guns, the rest were basically 6-pounder and 8-pounder guns. The number of artillery pieces is about the same, but the average caliber is not as good as others, and the speed of other people's ships is quite fast, so they really can't have an advantage in fighting, and most of them may suffer some losses.

Thinking of this, Captain Fries decided to take a step back and try his best to restrain the conflict. Anyway, the other party can't patrol here all day long, and he can always find an opportunity to peek here. So he quickly said, "As you said, I'm going to ask the company to appeal to you because it's not reasonable." ”

Second Lieutenant Juan nodded, and then told Captain Fries, "Now, then, please withdraw from this sea, I hope I won't see you here again." Goodbye, Captain Fries, you can go on and find your Treasure Island and good luck. With that, he and his entourage descended the gangway of the "Castelliku" to the transport boat, and then went down the undulating waves towards his own ship.

"Captain?" The boatswain, whose face was still flushed with rage, stepped forward and whispered, "We should send these heretics into the sea to feed the whales, they are a bunch of cowards, stupid cowards!" We can win! ”

Captain Fries gave them another firm look, then turned and walked onto the bridge, and began to give the order: "Turn south-east, and we will leave this sea." There is a northerly wind all year round, and there is crushed ice on the sea, and apart from a few savage natives, only the deer herd may have some value. Well, at least we've confirmed that they've built a stronghold in Aniva Bay, so I think we're pretty much done. If Governor Van Diemen or the gentlemen of the East India Affairs Council wish to have any ideas, then ask them to send another fleet, for at least with the strength of our two ships we will not be able to win in a head-to-head confrontation. ”

"Captain, are you saying that the next time we come here there will be a Grand Fleet? A large fleet enough to wipe out these heretical ships? God, I bet they must have sold their souls to the devil, otherwise how could they have that strange ship that spews black smoke and runs so fast! Terrible heresy! The boatswain was still chattering.

Captain Fries didn't bother with the nonsense of the boatswain, but walked back to the bridge and raised his binoculars to observe the two ships of the people on the east coast. After more than 20 minutes, Ensign Juan, who was in a transport boat, returned to his boat, and the two boats rowed a very small radius and headed lightly north. They didn't even open the sails a few times, but they were so incredibly light that they succeeded in making Captain Fries and the others stunned.

"Is that pagan magic?" Captain Fries muttered as he crossed his chest.

The armed merchant ships "Castelliku" and "Bregens" turned awkwardly (as opposed to the East Coast Sailboat) and sailed southeast. When crossing the Fries Strait again, the captain decided to go aboard the Capitol Ground (Capture Island) for a brief expedition. Unexpectedly, when they retreated from the island without finding anything, a heavy fog suddenly began on the sea. This is a very common weather phenomenon in the waters of Setoi Island, where cold and warm currents meet, the climate is extremely changeable, and fog is commonplace.

Sailors built a day or two here to rest and wait for good weather to arrive. However, Captain Fries, considering that he had a secondary mission to explore Treasure Island, insisted on sailing south to explore it now. The sailors, though dissatisfied, could not twist their arms around their thighs and still carried out his orders.

In this way, the two armed merchant ships of the Dutch East India Company, fortunate or unlucky, stumbled south, rounding the northeastern corner of the Asian continent (Hokkaido Island), and then crossed the Tsugaru Strait in a violent wind and entered the Sea of Japan. After entering the Sea of Japan, they made their way along the coast and soon found themselves in the wrong direction, which appeared to be the east coast of North Korea.

However, although this sea area is unfamiliar, Captain Fries and the others do not feel so afraid, because it is much safer than exploring a strange sea area. Coupled with the fact that pirates in the waters were scarce and completely incapable of posing a threat to them, Captain Fries couldn't think of a reason to worry. However, before that, he still needs to solve a small problem, that is, the two ships of his fleet have been damaged by different strokes in the previous gale, especially the "Castelliku", the planks of the "Castelliku" have been leaking, and can only be barely blocked with canvas, and the sailors are draining almost all the time, so they are in urgent need of shore repairs.

On April 20, 1645, two armed Dutch merchant ships suddenly sailed into the eastern Korean port of Wonsanjin, and then Captain Fries went ashore with several retinues waving white flags. The port was extorted and looted by the East Coast a few years ago, and the local residents remember it vividly, after which the local garrison was specially increased. At this time, after seeing several red-haired people swaggering ashore, the Korean officers immediately organized soldiers to rush up and arrested Captain Fries and others without saying anything.

At this time, Captain Fries vaguely remembered the former captain of the "Bregens", who had also been captured by the Japanese the year before, and he cursed the barbarians and argued loudly, but no one understood what he was saying. He and his entourage were soon tied up, and their next destination on their journey would be the Joseon royal capital or even the Qing dynasty's Beijing. (To be continued......)