When the South China Sea Fleet set sail in the South China Sea again, it was already March.

With the establishment of Taiwan and Luzon provinces, there are now merchant ships coming and going between Xiamen in Fujian Province, Huwei and Dayuan in Taiwan Province and Pasalen and Fusong in Luzon Province, but the ships going back and forth are all small merchant ships and cannot transport a large number of personnel and equipment, so when 20,000 troops are dispatched from Fujian to garrison Luzon, the South China Sea Fleet is also needed to provide transport ships and escorts.

It took about a month to transport all the personnel and equipment to Luzon, including some of the horses.

For a month, Mr. Cheng had been in Subic Bay, Luzon Province, where he was building a naval base, a bay surrounded by mountains surrounded by cliffs and a narrow outlet only in the direction facing the South China Sea.

Now Subic Bay is still a wasteland, overgrown with weeds and thorns, the terrain needs to be leveled, the wharf also needs to be built, and there are houses for soldiers to stay, training grounds, etc., and it has been busy for more than a month, and the base has some prototypes and reserves some military supplies.

When the South China Sea Fleet transported all the land forces from Fujian to Luzon, Zheng Zhilong began to reorganize the fleet, and the target of his voyage this time was the Malacca waterway, as a former pirate leader, he fully understood the important role and status of Malacca in the trade between the East and the West, which coincided with Zhu Youzhen.

It was the Portuguese who now controlled the waterways of Malacca, and as their national power gradually declined, the Portuguese gradually withdrew from the various trading bases in the east and put their main forces into the Americas, which were their new favorites.

But the grape people who tasted the sweetness refused to give up the Malacca waterway.

Malacca was originally a long and narrow waterway for free navigation, and Zheng He's fleet was unimpeded here, and no one was seen to collect taxes, although there were many small countries along the coast, but none of these small countries had the ability to control the Malacca waterway.

The Portuguese, who were the first to enter the South Seas, conquered the Manchurian kingdom on the east coast by virtue of the superiority of fire # guns and artillery, and controlled the Mahacca waterway, and all passing merchant ships had to pay taxes to them.

Sitting on the ground to collect taxes brings huge economic benefits.

After the Dutch entered the South Seas, they coveted Malacca, and twice sent ships to attack Malacca, but both in vain.

This time, Zheng Zhilong led the main force of the South China Sea Fleet, which was aimed at the Malacca waterway.

From Subic Bay to Malacca, you had to pass Borneo (present-day Kalimantan), where there were a large number of trading posts established by the Dutch and guarded by the Dutch navy.

When the South China Sea Fleet first entered the South China Sea, it was attacked by the Dutch, Spanish, and Portuguese coalition forces, although the Portuguese fleet was the first to flee the battlefield, but Zheng Zhilong did not know whether there was an alliance between them, and whether the Dutch would assist the Portuguese, so he was extra careful.

As the South China Sea Fleet passed along the coast of Borneo, the Dutch soldiers on the shore and on board immediately became nervous, and even the ships left the harbor and waited for them, and at the same time, they sent small clippers to inform the headquarters of the East India Company in Batavia (present-day Jakarta).

Zheng Zhilong now had no plans to attack Borneo, and despite the tensions on both sides, neither fired the first shot, and the Dutch ships on Borneo did not withdraw to port until the South China Sea Fleet left Borneo and sailed close to the Malay Peninsula.

But the Dutch on the island of Java were nervous again.

The Governor of the East India Company, Spex, stood on the shoreline, looking at the endless sea level, and he fell into deep thought, although his eyes could not see the fleet of the Great Ming, the last defeat of the Combined Fleet pierced him in the heart like an awl.

The purpose of the Ming fleet is unknown, which makes him restless, since receiving the report from Borneo, he has been sending small ships to monitor the Ming fleet from afar, and Spex is now convinced that the Dutch fleet far away from the mainland is far less than the Ming fleet, and the local navy is impossible to come to the South Seas in a short time.

Not to mention the distance, the main enemy of the Netherlands at sea is the British Empire, and it is impossible for Dutch warships to come to the far east on a large scale.

"Your Excellency the Governor, the Ming navy has no intention of attacking us." A military attache beside Spex brought him from his musings.

"So what is their goal? With so many ships, wouldn't they be here to show off their martial arts? "The most disturbing thing about Spex is that he doesn't know the goals and movements of the Ming fleet, and if a real disaster comes, he is not afraid, it is a big deal to lose his life in the war and ascend to heaven as soon as possible.

However, the Ming fleet circled around Borneo for half a circle, and is still not far from Borneo, besieging but not attacking, and the Dutch fleet does not have the ability to take the initiative to attack.

Waiting is unsettling, while waiting for disaster and death is worrying.

"We don't know what they're aiming for, but if they're targeting us, they should start attacking from Borneo, which is close to their province of Luzon and should be easier to supply, but they let Borneo go, obviously not coming at us."

"Malacca, I understand," Spex suddenly came to his senses, the Ming fleet had passed through all the Dutch trading bases, and if they were to attack, they would have attacked a long time ago, "Come on, get on the clippers and go to meet the commander of the Ming fleet." ”

"Your Excellency the Governor......"

"Since the Ming are not our strongholds, they are not our enemies, at least not now," Spex didn't know, if he was deceiving himself, "Once the Ming occupy Malacca, our eastern trade will be in trouble." ”

"Your Excellency the Governor, now Malacca is not under our control......"

"It's different now, the Portuguese occupy Malacca, as long as we pay taxes, we can still pass through Malacca freely, with the strength of Portugal, Malacca will be ours sooner or later, once the Ming Dynasty occupies Malacca, who knows what will happen in the future?" Spex's brow furrowed, he became more and more worried about the massive Ming.

"Your Excellency the Governor, are we going to help Portugal?"

"Help? Last time we joined forces to deal with the Ming fleet, the timid Portuguese were the first to escape from the battlefield, if it weren't for their escape that disrupted our plans...... "Spex can't go on, if the Portuguese don't flee, can the combined fleet defeat the Ming fleet?" He himself had no faith.

"Your Excellency the Governor, what are we going to do with the envoys we send to the Ming fleet? Is it to stop them from attacking Malacca, or is it to negotiate the future with them? ”

"Let's see what happens!" Spex's estimation that with his current naval strength, it is far worse than the Ming Navy, and he does not have the strength of World War I at all, and he does not want to be like the Spanish governor Tabora, who will withdraw from the South Seas forever after only one battle, and it seems that it is more likely to negotiate.

But will Da Ming negotiate with him? What does Daming need? What benefits can Da Ming leave him? Spex's heart was bottomless.

The Dutch messenger's clipper was intercepted by several ships of the Ming Dynasty, and the messenger was taken to Zheng Zhilong's flagship "Nanhai", and several personal soldiers escorted the messenger to prevent him from doing something unfavorable to Zheng Zhilong.

"I've seen Commander Zheng!" The messenger had already seen the ships of the Ming Dynasty, the huge and orderly fleet, the well-trained soldiers, and the large-caliber naval guns, which had already made him secretly surprised in his heart, and in the face of the mighty commander of the Ming Navy, the messenger bent down very modestly, stroked his right hand on his left chest, and gave Zheng Zhilong a salute.

"You are a courier from the Netherlands?" Zheng Zhilong is familiar with Dutch, and he can fully understand the words of the messenger, and the translator next to him is just a spare tire.

"I am on the orders of Governor Spex, and I have come to meet the commander of the navy of the Ming Dynasty." The messenger was already so calm by Zheng Zhilong that he couldn't raise his head.

"I want to correct me, I am not the commander of the navy of the Ming Dynasty, but the commander of the South China Sea Fleet of the Ming Dynasty, and the Ming Dynasty has other fleets." Zheng Zhilong looked more and more calm in front of these former opponents.

"South China Sea Fleet? Other fleets? The messenger subconsciously looked at the dense ships on the sea, and then at Zheng Zhilong's face, he desperately tried to hold back his surprise.

"Now tell me what Sparks sent you here for?" Zheng Zhilong smiled slightly, he didn't bother to explain to such a messenger.

"Governor Spex wants to know, what is the goal of the Ming fleet here?"

"Target?" Zheng Zhilong's face turned angry, does it need to be reported to you on the military operations of my South China Sea Fleet? "This is our military secret, how can we tell you?"

"Your Excellency Commander, don't be angry, Governor Spex has no other meaning, he just wants to coexist peacefully with Daming, and I hope there will be no misunderstanding between the two sides."

"Peaceful coexistence?" Zheng Zhilong's face warmed slightly, he stared at the messenger's blue eyes, when did the Dutch take the initiative to coexist peacefully with Daming? "We are also willing to coexist peacefully with the Netherlands and share the fruits of trade between the East and the West, as long as you show enough sincerity."

"Of course we have sincerity, sincerity, otherwise the Governor would not have sent me to His Excellency the Commander," the messenger rejoiced, that as long as they coexisted peacefully, the Dutch would continue to enjoy the great profits of the trade in the East,' ...... Your Excellency Commander, can you tell us why the Ming fleet came to Borneo? In order to avoid misunderstandings between the two parties......"

If it weren't for the huge size of the South China Sea Fleet, it would be strange if there was sincerity, Zheng Zhilong didn't believe that the Dutch were willing to share huge trade profits with the Ming Dynasty, "I can only tell the Governor of Spex, the Ming fleet is here, the target is not the various trading bases of the Netherlands, you don't have to worry, and please ask the Governor of Spex to sail all your ships into the port, and don't follow the Ming fleet." ”

"Not us?" The messenger doesn't seem to believe Zheng Zhilong's verbal assurances.

"If our target is your stronghold, I'm afraid we have already uprooted all the Dutch strongholds on Borneo, can we wait until now?" Zheng Zhilong seemed to be a little displeased, he didn't understand such a simple truth.

"Yes, yes, I believe in the sincerity of Your Excellency the Commander."

"Then you must also show corresponding sincerity," Zheng Zhilong waved the messenger away, "Go back and tell Governor Spex, don't try to interfere with my actions, and soon I will send someone to negotiate with him, coexist peacefully, and share the interests of Nanyang." ”