On the 21st of October, Li Zhi's fleet of twenty large ships sailed ten miles north of the city of Geranza, from where it landed and marched towards the city. Pen × fun × Pavilion www. ｂｉｑｕｇｅ。 ｉｎｆｏ

The troops participating in the battle this time not only had 2,000 soldiers of the trapped regiment, 1,000 soldiers stationed in Hsinchu, but also 1,000 naval artillerymen. The artillerymen unloaded the ship's 100 18-pounder guns from the flotilla and became marines, accompanying Li Zhi to conquer Geranza.

Li Zhi wanted to start a formal war with the Dutch who were plundering the southeast coast.

The Dutch are not a small enemy, you know, the seventeenth century, it can be said that the Dutch century.

The Netherlands had previously dominated the continent in Europe, but gained independence from Spain and developed into the leading maritime and trade power in the 17th century. At this time, in the fourteenth year of Chongzhen, the number of merchant ships in the Netherlands exceeded the number of merchant ships of all European countries combined, and he was known as the "coachman of the sea".

In 1602, the Dutch began to concentrate their efforts, which eventually led to the creation of the Dutch Union East India Company. The company's operating model also served as an organizational model for the overseas expansion of the European powers for more than 200 years. The subsequent establishment of the East India Company in various European countries can be said to be the abuse of the Dutch United East India Company.

The United Dutch East India Company was first and foremost a colonial and military organization, and secondarily an economic organization. Under the authority of the highest authority in the Netherlands, the East India Company not only had a monopoly on trade in the entire Indian and Pacific Oceans, from the Cape of Good Hope to the Strait of Magellan, but also had the power to establish independent rule, conscript, declare war, conclude peace treaties, and even mint currency in this vast territory.

At this time, in the fourteenth year of Chongzhen, except for a few areas, the Dutch United East India Company had actually controlled the sea power in the world's major seas, and was a well-deserved global hegemon at this time.

The Viceroy of the Dutch East India Company was located in Batavia, later known as Jakarta, Indonesia. It can be seen that the Far East, or East and Southeast Asia, is the key area for the Dutch East India Company.

The island of Taiwan, which was called Formosa by the Dutch at this time, can be described as a battleground for soldiers in the Far East. The island of Taiwan is not only huge in size and vast in area, but also located in the middle of the Nanyang Islands-Japan trade route. It can be said that whoever controls Taiwan controls the trade routes between the Western countries and Japan. Using Taiwan as a base, it was easy to plunder Western ships bound for Japan from the colonies in Southeast Asia.

At this time, the Dutch were in full swing and were forging ahead, sending troops to fight the Spaniards for Formosa. The Spaniards founded the city of Keelung in northern Taiwan, while the Dutch founded the city of Geranza in the southwestern part of the island. Compared to the small castles of the Spaniards, which numbered a few hundred people, the Dutch city of Geranza was much larger.

The city of Geranza was built in the southwest corner of Taiwan Island, and in the later Tainan area, it was composed of a series of castles. The core of the fort is built on a small island outside the harbor, four kilometers from the main island of Taiwan.

The inner fort is the core castle in the fourth year of the Apocalypse, the fifth year of Chongzhen was completed, and the outer fort was completed in the fourteenth year of Chongzhen. It took a total of eighteen years to build. ”

Fort Geranza is a Thermal-Weapon-era bastion with a large number of heavy artillery defenses. "The inner fort is square, about 115 meters wide, sitting on the north and facing south, a total of three floors, the wall is about 2 zhang 9 feet, 3 feet 8 inches thick, the four corners of the top floor are built with a protruding 17 zhang 4 feet of the fortress, the wall thickness is 5 feet 8 inches, and there is a watchtower attached. Fifteen heavy artillery pieces were set up on the top floor, and deep wells leading to the sea were dug in the north and south to prevent fire. On each side of the second floor, there is a Zhongyuan fort, which is equipped with 12 heavy guns. On the north side, there is a small door and brick staircase that leads down to the basement and ammunition depot. ”

"The outer fort is low, and it is attached to the northwest corner of the inner fort, with a wall thickness of three feet and eight inches, and a breastwork wall four feet high, and there are bastions protruding from the northwest and southwest corners. The outer fort is 165 meters long and 77 meters wide. ”

"The entire castle wall is paved with bricks, made of oyster ash and sand made of glutinous rice juice and sand to make a triad of clay to make it. The bricks of the inner fort are one and a half inches thick, and the outer fort is one and a half inches. The entire castle was the residence and military center of the Dutch governor in Taiwan. ”

To the east of Fort Geranza, on the land of the main island of Taiwan, there is also a Fort Chikan. Chikan Fort was smaller, and "the fort consisted of a large platform and two small platforms in the southwest corner. The entrance to the fort is located in the center of the west side, and there are gun mounts in the east, west, north and south, with a total of eight heavy guns. The circumference of the whole building is 140 meters, the height of the building is three zhang and six feet, there are cellars and wells in the fort, and the outer wall is 1 meter and 80 centimeters thick. ”

There are quite a few merchants and residents around Chikan Fort, which is actually a town. The Dutch traded deerskins and other items with the local natives in this town. The Dutch not only traded here, but also collected taxes from the indigenous and Han Chinese through military coercion.

This time to attack the Dutch, Li Zhi relied on his own 100 18-pounder guns, so Li Zhi took Lu Hu, who had rich experience in artillery command, as the commander-in-chief of the front.

According to the informants, there were 2,000 defenders in the forts of Geranza and Chikan. Of these, there were 300 in Chikan and 1,800 in Geranza.

Li Zhi landed on the shore and attacked the city of Geranza by land, and the first thing to capture was Chikan Fort. After the Chikan Fort, the Fort of Geranza became an isolated city on a small island. At that time, Li Zhijin can attack, retreat, and defend, and can gain the initiative in the war.

When Li Zhi went ashore, he let a Fujian Han who had lived in the town of Chikanbao for many years lead the way.

The Fujian Han seemed to be very afraid of the Dutch red hair, although he got Li Zhi's twenty taels of silver, and was determined to take the risk to lead the way, but he trembled all the way, always looking behind, as if he was worried that he would not escape after Li Zhi's defeat. He stopped a few steps after a few steps, and did not move forward until the guards behind him pushed him by the hand.

The closer he got to Chikan Fort, the paler his face became. Finally, when he reached a place five miles from Chikan Fort, he threw himself on his knees with a thud, trembling all over.

He prostrate on the ground, raised his head and said loudly to Li Zhi: "Uncle, you can't go ahead, and the red hair will be killed if you go any further." I don't want any silver, uncle, you are merciful, let me go back! ”

Li Zhi looked at the guide coldly and did not speak.

Li Zhi's "Admiral" Lu Hu kicked the guide and scolded: "The dignified people of the Ming Dynasty, are you so afraid of red hair? Xingguo Bonan fought in the north and south, and killed tens of thousands of Tartars, so you are so afraid of a few red hairs? ”

The guide kowtowed to the ground, trembling and said, "Uncle Xingguo, this red hair is not as vicious as a tartar, it is a little more vicious than a tartar!" When Emperor Wanli Xian was in power, when the power of the Ming Dynasty was shocking and terrifying, the governor Nan Juyi attacked Penghu, which was garrisoned by hundreds of red-haired people, with 10,000 people, and fought for several months in the dark. The red hair is rampant in the four seas, where is not the sweeping place? Red-haired centaurs, one can top at least ten Han soldiers! ”

"When Uncle said that he was going to fight Relanza, I thought that Uncle would at least send tens of thousands of people to attack. Now there are 2,000 red hairs in the city of Geranza, but the uncle has 4,000 Han soldiers to attack, this battle..."

The guide glanced at Li Zhi with a pale face, and suddenly said loudly: "I'm afraid this battle is more than lucky!" ”