The morning air was exceptionally fresh, and the feathered birds sang in the warm glow, but the burly and majestic governor of Formosa, Putmans, was not in the mood.

Having just driven away the two high-spirited representatives of the Dutch East India Company, they saw Lieutenant Colonel Vincent, the supreme commander of the Formosa Colonial Army, who had a prominent aristocratic status, striding in.

The tall and handsome Vincent had regained his former elegance, bowed to the beautiful clerk Elena, and then sat down generously on the chair opposite the governor: "Your Excellency the governor, just now two insatiable flies came to you to buzz again?" ”

Putmans leaned heavily in his chair and habitually held his big belly and smiled bitterly: "And like the previous times, complain to me that the camphor and deerskin you receive are getting less and less. ”

"The treacherous merchants of the Ming Dynasty and the stupid natives of the mountains were increasingly tempted by the port of Tamsui to the detriment of the East India Company, and the representative of the East India Company demanded that I issue a decree as soon as possible, prohibiting the export of ten kinds of goods, including camphor, deerskin, white vine, and cane sugar, and that they could only be sold to the two trading houses established by the East India Company in the local and southern ports."

Vincent smiled at Elena, who brought him coffee, and when he heard Mr. Governor ask him how he was, he immediately replied in a loud voice:

"Four days ago, our six main warships took the initiative to attack, sinking more than 20 enemy warships on Matsu Island with heavy artillery fire, destroying all the material transit warehouses and most of the buildings in this naval port, and then quickly turned around and launched a retaliatory attack on the hateful sneak attackers on the Penghu Islands, dealing a severe blow to the ignorant and barbaric enemy."

"The Navy's six main warships returned triumphantly last night without any damage."

Putmans smiled with satisfaction: "Excellent! However, we can no longer provoke Zheng Yiguan, although the city of Geranza has a strong defensive force, and Zheng Yiguan's fleet and the official Fujian army cannot cause substantial harm to Formosa, but the four-month war between the two sides has seriously affected the interests of the East India Company. ”

"The Far Eastern Church in Batavia advises us on this purpose. I ask that on behalf of the colonial army, negotiate with Zheng Yiguan as soon as possible to safeguard Dutch interests in the Far East. ”

Vincent obviously didn't know the news, and stood up in shock for a moment: "Do they think that Zheng Yiguan's hundreds of small sampans can defeat us?" ”

Putmans was full of contempt for Vincent, who was strong in the outside world, and still had a kind smile on his face: "Don't get excited, dear lieutenant colonel, sit down!" ”

"Have you forgotten our freshwater port, hundreds of kilometers to the north? You know that, too. What did the very mysterious Ming general, who seemed to have infinite wealth do in the past year, desperately immigrating to the northern region of Formosa, desperately cultivating wasteland, setting up all kinds of factories, building a freshwater port and harbor fortress that was not inferior to Batavia in just one year, and having an army of tens of thousands of flintlock pistols and a fleet of more than a dozen advanced warships. ”

"The owner of the port of Tamsui was a high-ranking general appointed by the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty himself, and even the fierce and savage Tatar cavalry was cut off by him with five thousand heads...... Think about it, such a valiant and warlike general has never attacked us. Don't you find it incomprehensible to us not to contact us, but to watch us fight against the local Fujian army of the Ming government and Zheng Zhilong's fleet? ”

Vincent was stunned for a while before he expressed his opinion: "Previously, the conclusion made by our colonial army and the East India Company was very clear, the Ming Empire had fallen into a full-scale war, and the war with the barbaric Tatars in the north for more than ten years had exhausted the national strength, and the heavy taxes had caused the people to revolt continuously, and the entire northern and central regions were shrouded in the flames of rebellion. ”

"So far. The emperor and the central power of the Ming Empire were no longer able to control the army and nobles in the vast land, and Zheng Zhilong, who occupied the southern seas of the Ming Empire, was a typical example. He waged war only for his own interests and inflating ambitions, not for the sake of the Ming Empire and their emperor. ”

"You're right, but who can guarantee that our Freshwater Harbor garrison to the north and their fleet won't join the war against us? You must know that the Ming Empire has not yet been divided, and the mysterious general with the same surname as the Ming Emperor is still the general of the Ming Empire, just like the shameless Zheng Zhilong. Independence was not declared, and if he led the army and warships of the port of Tamsui south to attack us, do you think we will be able to defeat him? Putmans asked unhurriedly.

Vincent thought for a moment, "Is this the judgment made by those people in the East India Company?" ”

Putmans nodded silently, took out a document from the drawer and handed it to Vincent: "I delivered it the day before yesterday, but unfortunately I haven't been able to find you." I guess you went out to fight with the naval warship. ”

Vincent immediately put down his coffee cup, quickly flipped through the beautifully bound documents, and slowly raised his head after a few minutes: "How is it possible to ask us to take the initiative to negotiate with Tamsui Port to jointly attack Zheng Yiguan, and for this reason, we will not hesitate to cede half of the interests of Formosa and the maritime trade route?" Could it be that the greedy merchants of the East India Company thought that the military power of the port of Tamsui was so strong that it was invincible? ”

Putmans smiled calmly: "If you look at the last page, there is not only the autograph of the governor of Batavia, but also the autograph of the commander-in-chief of the colonial army in the Far East, General Lang Bojieren. ”

Vincent quickly flipped to the last page, and after reading all the signatures, he was in high spirits: "Got it!" After the combined Tamsui army wiped out the most powerful Zheng Yiguan fleet of the Ming Empire, the task force from the Netherlands should also arrive, and then turn the muzzle to attack the Tamsui Harbor, completely smashing all the naval forces of the Ming Empire, and the entire Far East will soon become a colony of the Netherlands! ”

Putmans smiled appreciatively: "I have to say, dear Vincent, I am amazed by your keen gaze and excellent judgment...... What sound? Who's firing indiscriminately? ”

Vincent, who was very familiar with the sound of naval guns, quickly ran to the window, and soon saw that on the sea five kilometers away, four warships of his own side were shelling each other with six warships flying the blue flag of the Ming Empire, and before he could react from the extreme shock, the alarm bell in the southeast corner of the castle rang "dangdang", and thousands of disheveled colonial officers and mercenaries rushed to the defensive position, and more than 2,000 family members, craftsmen, merchants and priests in the castle rushed out of their homes one after another, and the exclamations of panic rang out.

Putmans, armed with his sword and spent, strode to the platform facing the sea in front of his office, snatched the monoculars from the adjutant's hand and took a quick look, listening to the heralds' reports and giving concise and crisp orders.

"Ahh

"Oh God! How could this be ......"

The sea was filled with gunsmoke, the cannon roared, and the exclamations of the city continued to sound, and the six Dutch warships that had been dispatched had not yet entered the maximum range of their guns, and two of them had been hit by the enemy's long-range artillery fire to the point that their masts were broken, and then a raging fire broke out.

After completing five salvos of five salvos, the six blue-flagged Daming battleships turned again with amazing speed and agility, forming a long arc in a longitudinal formation, and once again successfully seized the upper hand, and then quickly cut into the inner line close to the coast, and launched a fierce artillery bombardment on the four Dutch warships that had fled back to the harbor in panic.

The two Dutch warships that had suffered heavy losses had already caught fire and were completely out of control, and the surviving officers and men on board jumped into the sea one after another, and soon found two large armed merchant ships flying blue flags speeding up from the northern sea.

The exclamations of the city grew louder and louder, and the pale-faced Governor Putmans grabbed Vincent, who had run to his side, and before he could ask if he had seen the red and black banners of the Tamsui Harbor army, he was interrupted by the sound of horses' hooves behind him.

Before Putmans could realize, a dense burst of gunfire rang out from behind the castle, and the colonial lieutenant in charge of the rear defense rushed along the inner side of the wall.

But before the lieutenant could rush up the three stairs, Putmans was shocked to find that more than 2,000 cavalry had appeared on the ground one kilometer north of the castle, and the banner held high in front of the cavalry was the red and black battle flag that he was all too familiar with. (To be continued.) )