The fleet was grounded at the entrance to the channel of Horaku Island, and as in previous days, it was impossible to approach Horaku Port from the south and southwest under the prevailing winds. Four battleships folded their sails one after another. The Sulus sent out their remaining galleys. The battleships were tied to cables and powered by galleys, which towed the battleships into port one by one.

Harbour is not located in the middle of a bay, but on a relatively straight shipping lane, with the outer islands providing shelter for the harbor. Therefore, the water in the channel was deep enough for Chen Shouxu's four warships to come close to the range.

This was the first time that Chen Shouxu's fleet carried out a shore bombardment operation. The Spaniards had few guns on the seaside side, and they moved most of their guns to the east of the city where the pressure was greatest.

In order to obtain a more stable firing platform, the battleship anchored and stopped. The counterattack fire encountered by the fleet was negligible. The fire controller raised the muzzle of the gun, and there was no need to aim at a target as large as a city. The rate of fire doesn't have to be fast.

Chen Shouxu set up a chair on the stern deck. Lin Tongwen left some tea leaves before leaving, and now Chen Shouxu is drinking tea while sitting and chatting with the guests for a long time.

Four battleships were firing a broadside salvo, and the Spaniards, struggling with shells, became their background

Elliot, the fire controller on the open deck, walked over with a gun, pausing to allow the gun crew to adjust the direction of the muzzle. And explain to the gun commander what the reasons for the adjustment were.

An 8-pounder cannon fired, in the back seat. Chen Shouxu put down his teacup and opened his binoculars, and the walls of Hele City were trembling under the shelling.

"Bangillo, if it goes on like this, Hele City will fall in two or three days at the latest. Hasn't your sultan gathered the remaining pearls? ”

Alimud stood aside respectfully: "The Sultan hopes that the commander will understand that the siege of Hole Port is more difficult than we expected, and now the military spending has been overrun. ”

Chen Shouxu sighed, the Sultan of Sulu was really poor, "Banjilo, I have never done this kind of loss-making business, you are doing this, it is difficult for me to explain to my brothers." ”

Alimoud: "I hope the commander will understand our difficulties. The Sultan said that he did not withhold the money, but that he wanted to be given a period of grace, and that he would compensate you at the interest rate that is now in force. ”

Chen Shouxu: "The prevailing interest rate? Today, cotton traders in Batavia borrow for 6 months at an interest rate of 80%. It is not unusual for an investment like yours to have an interest rate of 200%. Is your Sudan solvent? ”

Alimoud: "The Sultan said he wants to be a long-term ally with the commander. In addition to money, he will try to meet other requirements. He has already asked the Sultan of Brunei to support another batch of gunpowder, and we will make up for the consumption of your fleet. ”

Chen Shouxu: "Banjiluo, look at you, there is not enough rice now. Originally, I thought that you might as well pay for it with food. ”

Alimoud: "We need to wait for the next wave of Makassar's convoy to arrive. You know, Borneo has some good fields, except for volcanic areas, but most of them are barren and have very low food production, and we are also very difficult. ”

In the East Indies, the most fertile land is undoubtedly Java, the island is densely covered with volcanoes and the land is fertile. The two largest sultanates on the island of Java, Mataram in the east of the island and Banten in the west of the island, are both famous rice towns.

The Sultanate of Matalan's flagship export is rice. They controlled the Matalan-Borneo-Malacca rice triangle trade. However, Mataran was very hostile to the Dutch, and although Batavia was located on the island of Java, the land of rice, the Dutch could not get enough staple food nearby, so they had to travel all the way to Siam to import rice. When Mataran besieged Batavia, the Dutch must have held down the green and green in the war. But they also almost fell into a state of food shortage. The Sultan of Banten, who was equally disgusted with the Dutch, feared that Mataran would be the next target after Batavia included Banten, and hastened to release the rice blockade to the Dutch. The extent to which these people are pulling each other back home is really staggering. Typical rather with friends, not with domestic slaves.

In addition to Java, the volcanic islands of Sumatra and Sulawesi are also fertile and rich in food production. Aceh in northwestern Sumatra and Makassar in Sulawesi have also become two great powers. Of course, in addition to rice, Aceh also has an Indian cotton business, and Makassar is the only major spice exporter in the market other than the Dutch. They were the other two ends of the Coromantle cotton and East Indian spice trade in addition to the Dutch.

Borneo is more miserable, with very few volcanoes in the territory. The nutrients in the soil are carried away by rainfall, and the soil is very poor. This is a very important factor in why Borneo became a Chinese settlement in later generations. Most of the greens don't look at the land of Borneo at all. The Chinese used their toil, diligence and brains to gain a foothold in Borneo.

Seeing Alimoud mention the volcanic ash, Chen Shouxu remembered the captain of the Tempest a few days ago. Roberts and what he talked about in the chat. Roberts was a large plantation owner, well-educated, and hobby collecting books, and he really found interesting things in these broken islands.

"Benjilo, there is a family of dukes in the West, and their family motto is to listen to me. But now no one remembers their proverbs, but they remember another of their mantras, 'Debts must be paid.'" Debt is something that everyone goes through, and sometimes it's not a good experience. Chen Shouxu took out a bag and handed it to Alimoud: "I allow you to use another thing to pay for the military." You look at what's in the bag. ”

Alimoud took it, bowed his head and twisted a little with his fingers. "Volcanic ash?" He was all too familiar with this thing, and the large islands of Sulu were all volcanic islands. There are more volcanoes in the Philippines.

Chen Shouxu: "One of my captains, when I see that your residents will use the boat to load this volcanic ash back to the fertile fields. ”

Alimoud nodded, "The fields on the other side of Borneo are all fertilized by volcanic ash and dung. ”

Chen Shouxu: "Okay, Bangillo. Tell your Sultans to send someone to dig up the ash. The more the merrier. ”

Alimoud was pleasantly surprised: "You allow us to pay off our debts with volcanic ash? ”

Chen Shouxu: "Yes, Bangillo. You're right, we're going to be long-term partners. ”

Alimoud didn't ask Chen what he wanted the ash to do, and he happily went back to the Sultan to get his life. There are a bunch of active volcanoes on Mindanao, and all he needs to do is find some slaves to dig up the ash. There are almost no costs worth mentioning, but they can cover the debts that would have been paid with silver, and no matter how you look at it, it is a big profit.

Chen Shouxu saw off the guests. If there was something more valuable, he would not have chosen volcanic ash as a substitute for silver. However, now that the fleet has an additional Manila galleon, the Sulu people can no longer provide anything else that can carry the galleon, and instead of running empty, it is better to decorate more or less local products, genuine local products.

Chen Shouxu's naval guns joined the siege sequence, and the Spaniards' defense of the city turned into a desperate struggle. Two days later, Sulu soldiers in galleys made their way to the city from the city wall on the seaside side, and they killed almost all the Spaniards in the city.

Chen Shouxu waited for another half a month, and the galleon completed the mast and sail decoration during this period, and the results of the trial voyage were very good. The Sultan complied with the agreement and provided Chen Shouxu with an 800-man mercenary. In addition to Lindenberg's 200-man artillery, there were 400 Mindanao Highlanders and 200 Sulu soldiers led by Alimoud.

These Highlanders believe in something strange that is a blend of Catholicism, Greenism, and Totem Spirits. On the Moro side, they are proper cannon fodder coolies. Chen Shouxu didn't bother to care about the beliefs of these people, and he didn't mind that the Sultan gave a discount when paying. He gave the same amount of rice to these highlanders, and he didn't expect that this would already make these slave soldiers grateful to Dade.

It is now the beginning of March, and the situation in the surrounding area has changed drastically.

Despite the fact that it was a headwind and adverse sailing season from Malacca to Sulu, the news of the capture of Malacca by the Dutch was delivered to Hole Island by clipper ship at any cost. This is a great earthquake for all the countries of the East Indies. Malacca changed hands, and the Batavia Iron Throne was finally forged.

Some sultans drank three glasses of joy with joy, while others trembled at the meaning behind the news.

Chen Shouxu's time is also very short, and the appointed date is getting closer and closer. Chen Shouxu submitted his new personnel appointment to the Fleet Council, and he continued to use the Changshui as the flagship, and Stirling was transferred to the captured Manila galleon, now the captain of the Nanhai; Thomas Mello succeeded him as captain of the Long River; Rhaegar took over as captain of the Excellence, and he did a good job aboard the whaling ship Melville. This time, I got the captaincy I had always wanted, and I caught up with Robert at the same time.

In terms of seniority, this personnel adjustment is sorry for one person, Aramby on the Storm. Roberts. Chen Shouxu talked to Roberts twice, it's not that he is biased, in fact, as an old partner, he has a very good relationship with Roberts. But at sea is no joke, and Roberts did not prove that he was competent as the captain of a cruiser. Chen Shouxu talked to him to tell him to wait for a while, and he would have a more suitable position.

The Council was surprised that Thomas Mello had been promoted to captain of the cruiser by skipping Roberts, but since Roberts himself had not said anything, the personnel change was approved.

The northeast wind blew from starboard, waving the sails and flags, and Chen Shouxu once again hoisted the blue sailing flag and ran towards the destination of his expedition. There are 30 days left and a straight line range of 1,200 nautical miles. The prevailing northeasterly winds have weakened compared to January, and in another month, the trade wind belt will move northward again and bring the whole of East Asia into the southwest monsoon season.

Smoothly pass through the Balabac Strait and see the sparkling South China Sea in front of you. The northeast monsoon forms a westward cyclone near Palawan, blowing the surface waters of the Sulu Sea into the South China Sea.

The fleet goes with the wind.

In order to avoid the reef-ridden Nansha Islands, Chen Shouxu first sailed southwest along the coastline of Borneo. The eastern boundary of the South China Sea flows southward along the coastline of Borneo. It's a vague current, coming and going. But at least it will not cause any resistance to the fleet's southward movement, and the northeast wind is enough to allow the fleet to ride the wind and waves.

The fleet did not pass through Bandar Seri Bega, Brunei. Brunei was originally a middle power on Borneo and the suzerainty of the Sultan of Sulu. However, the Spaniards captured the capital of Brunei in the last century, although the Spaniards failed to establish a colony due to malaria and finally withdrew to the Philippines. However, after this blow, Brunei has never been able to regain its original national strength. The Sulu took the opportunity to gain independence from Brunei and turned Brunei into a subject state of Sulu by interfering in Brunei's succession to the throne.

Chen Shouxu saw that there was no reef on the west side of starboard, and hoisted a signal flag with full rudder on the starboard side. The bow of the ship broke the waves, and a huge fleet sailed into the depths of the South China Sea, disappearing from the eyes of fishermen inshore, leaving only a dozen white tracks.

——

Almost at the same time, Centipede Island (Greater Natuna Island). A bearded man faced nearly a thousand young men, "Brothers, put down your hooks and hoes, and let us pick up our swords again." ”

The sea breeze ruffled everyone's clothes, ushering in the earth-shattering response.

——

Siam Capital, Ayutthaya, Chinese Island, Lin Family Shipyard. Lin Tongwen shook Yang Xin to the Zuogang Hall of the Ayutthaya Dynasty, the current "glorious rich businessman", "The matter of the mud, please ask Brother Yang." ”

Yang Xin hurriedly ducked aside, "Brother Lin, don't worry, as long as you capture Pattani, you will nominally recognize the suzerainty of Siam." I'll leave the rest to my brother. ”

Lin Tongwen: "Please convey the sincerity of Phaya on my behalf, and there will be heavy thanks after the matter is completed." ”

Yang Xin looked behind Lin Tongwen, and the Zhenla coolies were carrying barrels of gunpowder and grain onto the Lin family's big ship. sighed, "Brother Lin is betting on all his net worth." ”

Lin Tongwen said angrily: "Money is something outside the body, for the future of this Nanyang Chinese, Lin must fight for this." ”

——

Indian Ocean Andaman Sea, Siam Tana Salin Port. A large armed merchant ship with the St. George flag flying the flag on its mast docked and was unloading bundles of Coromandel cotton cloth.

Cox, the chief captain of the British East India Company Surat and the Coromantle Coast, looked at the request of the Chinese Taipan in the port in front of him, "You want me to sell you 4 more 18-pounder cannons and 4 12-pounder cannons on the basis of the original 8 cannons?" ”

Taipan: "Yes, Captain, I'll pay you a double and a half of the price." ”

Cox: "You're buying the heaviest gun on my ship." ”

Taipan: "Britain currently has no enemies in the East Indies. You guys have good relations with both the Portuguese and the Dutch. There's no danger in returning home, right? ”

Cox: "It's not about the honor of St. George's flag, it's beyond the planned arms deal, and I'll have to ask Meswald, the general manager of the company in Surat." ”

Taipan: "Twice the price." ”

Cox: "Deal!" ”

——

Malacca, devastated and devastated. Traces of war abound.

The Portuguese city of Malacca, originally had 20,000 inhabitants, 7,000 of whom died in the war, and the remaining 10,000 or so fled to various parts of the East Indies. Now only the Dutch, more than 500 Chinese and a few slaves remain.

The Malacca Administrator is drafting a report to Anthony Van Diemen,

"Your Excellency......

War and disease devastated the city of Malacca, and the outside of the city was almost completely destroyed, leaving almost nothing of the houses left. Houses on both sides of the Malacca River were also destroyed, orchards and gardens on both sides of the city were deserted, and fruit trees were cut down.

……

If this continues, Malacca will bring losses to the company on the books. I'm not suggesting to you the resumption of Malacca's trading function, I'm just trying to keep a basic breakeven in the city.

……

I ask you again to transfer some Chinese to me. Not too many, 800-1000 people enough, that would be very useful.

By the way, I would like to report to you something that could have a drastic impact on the situation in the South China Sea. A large pirate fleet of more than 10 warships has arrived from the Caribbean, and they have recently sailed into the South China Sea. There has been no news of their looting of the company's ships in the South China Sea. I

I advise you to keep an eye on this matter, which, according to some Chinese hints to me, seems to be related to them. Maybe the company can benefit from this. I will continue to keep you informed of the follow-up progress.

……”

Outside the city of Malacca, Qingyun Pavilion. The Portuguese's predecessor, Kapitan Cheng Jung-sook, is in talks with another local Chinese family leader, Lee Wei Ching.

As with most wars in Southeast Asia, the Dutch did not embarrass the Chinese in the city after they captured it. But they abolished the autonomy of the Chinese, well, in fact, it was not to cancel the autonomy of the Chinese, and Van Dimen had no intention of leaving the Chinese in Malacca before. Indeed, some of them followed the returning Dutch fleet to settle in Batavia.

Li Weijing, the word Junchang, is thirty years old this year, and it is the time when he is in the prime of life. Zheng Zhenshu is much older than Li Weijing, and is actually Li's uncle.

"Jun Chang, since the occupation of Malacca City by this Hongmaoyi, not a single merchant ship has come to trade in the past two months. We're going to have to do some work for the Dutch to replenish the coal, and that's not going to work. ”

"Uncle Zhen. I was told that Angmaoyi had no intention of running Malacca. They just used this Malacca as the home port of the warship, and the red hairy Yi gave the order. All Chinese ships were not allowed to cross Malacca to the west, nor were Aceh, Johor and Indian merchant ships allowed to cross Malacca to the east. Violators will be subject to seizure. ”

Zheng Zhenshu sighed: "Hongmaoyi, everyone wants to transport goods to Batavia, and they can only trade with them in Batavia." ”

Li Weijing: "Uncle Zhen, Van Dimen means to destroy the port of Malacca and suspend the function of the Strait of Malacca as a trade route. ”

Zheng Zhenshu: "Jun Chang, I'm old, and Qiji is still young. In the future, sooner or later, it will be yours to talk here. See if there's any way to deal with it. ”

Zheng Qiji is the eldest son of Zheng Zhenshu, and he is only ten years old.

Li Weijing said tentatively to Zheng Zhenshu, "Uncle Zhen, Lin Tongwentuo in Pattani brought me a message, saying that there is something important to discuss with me. Do you want me to go? ”

Zheng Zhenshu picked up the teacup and took a sip slowly, "Jun Chang." The descendants of the Lin family have not been very safe recently. No one knows what he's up to. It's fine to talk to him, but be careful. ”

Li Weijing: "I can save it." ”

Zheng Zhenshu looked at the ruined Malacca City: "Jun Chang, when you get there, you have to remind him not to cause trouble like Yamada Nagamasa." ”

Li Weijing Yilin, "My nephew understands. ”

=========

1. Da Ni is the name of the Ming Dynasty in Pattani.

2. Zheng Zhenshu, Zheng Qiji, and Li Weijing are real people in history.