Arnhem's plan was to grab the money and run away immediately, far away. Since the Dutch East India Company did not represent the Dutch government, the East India Company's actions did not lead to a direct war between the Chinese Empire and the Dutch Republic.

In Arnhem's view, even if they gave up the Dutch East Indies or dissolved the Dutch East India Company, they would not be distressed, as long as they got the huge wealth on the two treasure ships of the Chinese Empire, every employee of their company would share the money that could not be spent in a lifetime.

In business, this is a pretty cost-effective deal, if you don't do it, you will sit and wait for death, and if you do it, you can fight a billionaire. As businessmen, in the face of huge interests, they will undoubtedly choose to take risks.

"If you don't object, then I assume that everyone agrees"

After Arnhem finished speaking, the board members immediately considered the pros and cons in their hearts, and soon reached an agreement to support Arnhem.

"Tell us about your plan?"

At the request of the Board of Directors, Arnhem's advisor Rayoz and East India Fleet Turner gave a general briefing on the plan of action. The majority of the board members are non-military personnel, so Reyoz explained in as simple and plain terms as possible.

"This time, the gold and silver treasures plundered by the Chinese Empire from Egypt are conservatively estimated to be worth more than a billion silver dollars."

Rejouz whetted everyone's appetite before explaining, "All the treasures are packed on two huge Nuwa-class transport carriers, which are huge but slow at sea, and our warships can capture them. ”

One board member asked, "So how do you go about dealing with the escort fleet of the Chinese Empire?" I heard that the Royal Navy of the Chinese Empire attached great importance to this and sent a powerful Fourth Fleet (Indian Ocean Fleet) to escort it"

"That's right," Rejouz explained, "the Fourth Fleet took the initiative to participate in the escort of more than 70 warships, and its strength was very strong. However, according to our intelligence. From the Red Sea all the way to the Andaman Sea, there were many pirates along the way, and it was not the traditional sphere of influence of the Chinese Empire, so for the sake of safety, the main force of the Fourth Fleet would participate in the escort. ”

Rejoz continued: "However, according to the provisions of the Imperial Chinese Naval Law, the Fourth Fleet of the Chinese Empire has jurisdiction over the Indian Ocean and the surrounding waters. According to their naval law, the Indian Ocean Fleet could only escort to the Andaman Sea, and the rest of the distance would be handled by the Chinese Imperial Homeland Fleet. And the Strait of Malacca, where we control zhì, is the only way for them to pass, and when the Indian Ocean Fleet returns. The participation of the South China Sea Fleet and the Luzon Coast Guard in the South China Sea is a good opportunity for us to take action. ”

Another board member asked: "It's just that the Chinese Empire will not be defenseless against us, and if you do something in the Strait of Malacca, they must be on guard."

At this time, Turner suddenly said: "That's right, if we make a move in Malacca, the Indian Ocean Fleet that has just returned will soon turn around." So, we won't do it in Malacca, wait until more than a day after the Indian Ocean Fleet has left. At that time, the treasure fleet had already crossed the Strait of Malacca and was heading to the South China Sea, and before entering the South China Sea, they would first reach the Gulf of Siam, where the Luzon Coast Guard would hand over to the South China Sea Fleet before entering the South China Sea and heading north. ”

"You mean to do it in the Gulf of Siam?"

Turner nodded and said, "Siam and Vietnam on both sides of the Gulf of Siam are both vassal states of the Chinese Empire, and in fact, as long as the treasure fleet crosses the Strait of Malacca, it will enter the traditional sphere of influence of the Chinese Empire. At present, the Chinese empire is extremely powerful, and it will certainly be conceited and arrogant, so it neglects to take precautions. We only need to defeat the Luzon Coast Guard to get two treasure ships. As for the South China Sea Fleet that came to meet them, I believe that their strength is not yet the match for our East India Fleet."

"The South China Sea Fleet is subordinate to the Chinese Imperial Continental Fleet, patrolling the periphery of the South China Sea, and has roughly twenty cruisers and dozens of frigates. We all know that the Chinese Empire has controlled the entire Pacific Ocean, and it is difficult for the mainland to be attacked from the sea, so although the home fleet of the Royal Navy of the Chinese Empire is the first fleet, its strength is the worst of the six fleets, and it is basically cruisers and frigates for coastal defense, which can deter vassal countries and pirates, and it is not at all the opponent of our East Indies Fleet, so everyone can rest assured"

"However, although the strength of the South China Sea Fleet of the Chinese Empire is very poor, after all, there is still the Pacific Fleet nearby, if the Pacific Fleet rushes to help, what will we do?"

Arnhem explained at this time: "You don't have to worry about this, there are two Pacific Fleets, and the Second Fleet is stationed in Hawaii, which is too far away. The Third Fleet is stationed in Guam and will take up to a week to arrive at the earliest. We had already left with our treasures. ”

Turner added: "Recently, the Peruvian colony of the Chinese Empire has risen the Golden City of the Ancient Inca, which is said to be another treasure worth billions of silver dollars, and the Third Fleet is busy rushing to Peru to escort this treasure back to Beijing, so we are absolutely safe here."

"It's so unreasonable," one of the board members slammed the table and said, "How can they be so lucky?" Got a huge fortune from Egypt first, and then gave rise to the Golden City in Peru? Together, these two fortunes are worth hundreds of years of our hard-earned money."

A strong atmosphere of jealousy suddenly filled the entire conference room.

Arnhem said with a smile: "The current Chinese Empire is the Spanish Empire more than a hundred years ago, and it is so rich that it will surely become a thorn in the side and a thorn in the flesh of all countries in the world." And what we have to do is to do the same as when the British robbed the Spanish treasure fleet, and their wealth will eventually flow into our pockets."

Rejouz chimed in: "Let's raise a glass and toast to this first business"

The meeting room of the merchants suddenly changed to another atmosphere, and one of the most powerful pirate gangs was officially born.

Once the plan was finalized, the detailed actions were left to Turner and Reyoz. The other members of the board of directors of the East India Company began to pack up their belongings and hire ships to prepare to leave Batavia.

Although Turner was the commander of the Dutch East India Fleet, Reyots was the former commander, and with the cooperation of the two, the Dutch East India Fleet prepared for battle in an orderly manner.

The Dutch had long been dissatisfied with the power policy of the Chinese Empire, and the purpose behind the Dutch naval military action in the Mediterranean was to get close to the Suez Canal, which was controlled by the Chinese Empire. Similarly, with the bottom of trade profits of the Dutch East India Company, the company, which had been established by robbers, was ready to return to its old business. It's just that the target of robbery was transferred from the Spanish Empire to the Chinese Empire.

In order to counter the maritime power of the Chinese Empire, the Dutch government built ships on a large scale, and the Dutch East India Company was not idle.

During these years, the Dutch East India fleet expanded rapidly. At present, the Dutch East India Fleet had seven second-class battleships, twenty-two third-class battleships, fifty-three fourth-class battleships, more than one hundred and twenty cruisers, and more than 300 frigates.

This result was caused by the expansion of the Chinese Imperial Navy, and in order to resist the possible naval invasion of the Chinese Empire, the Dutch East India Company almost threw all its money into it to build such a large fleet.

A few days later, as the Chinese Empire's treasure fleet was about to make its way out of the Bay of Bengal and into the Andaman Sea, the Dutch East India Company was on the rise, and the East India Fleet, under the leadership of Commander Turner and adviser Rayots, practiced day and night, training in gunnership, fleet tactics, and preparing to occupy the two treasure ships, the Dongting Lake and the Poyang Lake.

Naturally, the work of the Dutch could not be concealed from the intelligence officers of the Chinese Empire, and in addition to continuing to encourage the Chinese community to make trouble and create trouble in Batavia, the Secret Service also informed the Military Intelligence Bureau of the situation of the Dutch East India Fleet, and quickly reported it to the Imperial Admiralty.

It was the Luzon Coast Guard who was in charge of transporting the treasure fleet to the Strait of Malacca, and they were completely unaware of Plan P, which was known only to the Royal Navy's Pacific Fleet Command and the Indian Ocean Fleet Command, except for the Imperial high-level officials. Of course, Li Yan, the commander of the treasure fleet who was used as a decoy, was also among them, and more Li Zicheng was there.

The Third Fleet of the Imperial Chinese Navy had left Mapula Naval Base in Guam a month earlier, claiming to be on its way to the Peruvian colony. Governments understood that the Third Fleet was there to escort the ship, as a large amount of gold and silver treasures unearthed from the Golden Lake were being transported from Lima back to Beijing.

But in fact, when the Third Fleet entered the Marshall Islands, it suddenly turned around and sailed to the Arafura Sea in northern Australia, where it hid.

The Arafora Sea is deserted, with hundreds of nearby islands uninhabited, and since the Chinese Empire took over, the region has been classified as a deserted land, and even trade routes have been cancelled.

The commander of the Third Fleet is Shi Jianfei, the flagship Dingyuan, who commands the Sea-Lion-class third-class battleships: "Hai" and "Feng", and the Beiyun-class fourth-class battleships: "Lu", "Fu", and "Chen", and other 50 main warships of the Third Fleet, as well as a number of communication ships.

At the same time, in order to ensure that Plan P was foolproof, the Admiralty secretly transferred ten "Tian" battleships of the first rank of the Second Fleet's Tianqiong-class battleship stationed in Hawaii to Shi Jianfei's command.

In this way, the number of main battleships in Shi Jianfei's hands reached sixty, which was enough to bite the main force of the Dutch East India Fleet and delay the time to wait for the reinforcements of the main force of the Indian Ocean Fleet to arrive.

On the 15th, the Luzon Coast Guard sent six cruisers and 30 frigates to meet the entrance to the Strait of the Andaman Seahorse. The Luzon Coast Guard is under the direct jurisdiction of the Governor's Office of the Colony of Luzon, and it is not a first-line naval establishment, and its combat effectiveness is okay to fight pirates, but it is obviously impossible to fight against the Dutch East India Fleet.

But because they didn't know about it, they entered the Strait of Malacca with great fanfare as usual. When Rejoz and Turner, who were monitoring from the shore of the Straits of Malacca, saw it, they did not suspect it, but sneered, as if they were looking at a group of people who had stepped into the ghost gate with half their feet.

A day later, the Luzon Coast Guard arrived in the Andaman Sea, handed over to the Indian Ocean Fleet, and the treasure fleet was transferred to the Luzon Coast Guard for protection and sailed into the Strait of Malacca.

At the same time, Turner was also reported.

"As you expected, the Indian Ocean Fleet did not leave, they live in the Andaman Sea, it seems that they are intimidating us, don't act rashly, it is said that they will stay for two days"

Rejoz smiled and said, "It's normal, if they leave right then, it's obviously not normal."

"In two days, the Indian Ocean Fleet will receive news that the treasure fleet has safely left the Strait of Malacca, and then we will do it"

"I'm so nervous," Turner said, looking at the passing ships in the Gap, his expression odd.

Rayoz suddenly said, "How do you think this should be divided into treasures?" ”

Turner looked at Rayoz suspiciously, and said, "How else can you tell the difference?" Shares are distributed according to the board of directors."

"In that case, there won't be much to be gained from you and me."

"Worth more than a billion dragon coins, how can we get a few million, and the rest of our lives is enough to squander"

Rejoz sneered and said, "Do you think the government of the Chinese Empire will give up lightly?" Do you think that our abandonment of the Dutch East Indies will be able to quell the cost of their loss of the treasure fleet? Although Europe can take refuge, let's not forget that the Allied Powers led by the Chinese Empire have great influence on Europe, where can we get asylum? ”

Turner looked at Rayoz in amazement and said, "Then why didn't you say it earlier?" In that case, we shouldn't have done it."

Rejoz smiled and said, "Don't worry, those old foxes have already thought about it, they will take the money, and we will carry the black pot?" ”

"How so? You're kidding," Turner said, a question mark on his face.

"It's been like this since ancient times," said Reyoz, "There is an old Chinese saying that the cunning rabbit dies and the lackeys cook the board of directors, and the bunch of guys can do anything for money, but they will definitely think about the way back, and to appease the anger of the Chinese Empire, a group of people must be sacrificed." And those of us who are soldiers are the first to bear the brunt."

Turner said: "Then it's too late for us to give up on the action"

"Give up the action, you and I will be beggars too"

"What then?"

"The best thing to do is to take a group of brothers, take enough gold, and we will go to be pirates"

"What do you mean?"

Rayoz patted Turner on the shoulder and said, "There's still one day, think about it yourself"

With that, Reyoz left on his own, leaving Turner on the spot.

At the end of the year, under monsoon conditions, the treasure fleet sailed at night in an unfavourable direction, so it could only sail north when the wind direction was deflected during the day.

At noon on the 16th, the treasure fleet of the Chinese Empire, escorted by the Luzon Coast Guard, safely sailed out of the Strait of Malacca into the Gulf of Siam, and docked at the port of Bangkok in the evening.

The King of Siam had already learned that the treasure fleet was docked in Bangkok for the night, and sent someone to invite Li Yan and others to the Bangkok royal palace for hospitality. However, the Dongting Lake and Poyang Lake did not enter the port directly, but anchored in the deep waters of the Gulf of Siam. Zhao Xiang, the commander of the Luzon Guard, also knew that the stakes were heavy, so he refused the request of the King of Siam and strictly guarded the treasure fleet.

At night, the lights on the two treasure ships were bright, and the guards who originally rotated in two shifts changed to three shifts, and Li Zicheng also added additional secret whistles and changed passwords day and night.

In the bridge of the Dongting Lake, Li Yan and Li Zicheng could not sleep, and the officers and men of the entire treasure fleet were waiting for each other and maintained a high state of alert.

"Either tonight or tomorrow, they will probably come, otherwise there will be no chance"

"I won't come tonight" Li Yan said: "We docked in the Gulf of Siam, this is the territory of Siam, once something happens, we will hide directly in the port, the port is one, the Dutch will come in by all means I think they will wait for us tomorrow, somewhere outside the Gulf of Siam"

Li Zicheng nodded and said, "What you said makes sense, but I still can't sleep, it's the first time I've been so nervous."

Li Yan smiled: "Maybe it's because of the sea, but on land, I think with your ability and guts, you will sleep with peace of mind now."

"I love to hear this" Li Zicheng smiled and said, "It's just that I really don't believe that Zhao Xiang and his subordinates can hold the treasure ship, so it is better to inform them."

"Don't" Li Yan hurriedly said: "The high-level did not disclose the news to them, there must be their intentions, if we sue Zhao Xiang, it will not be good if something happens."

Li Zicheng said worriedly: "But I inquired during the day, and I heard that the fleet of the Dutch East India Company is very strong, and this Zhao Xiang's guard is estimated to be unable to hold out for two hours."

Li Yan said with a smile: "Two hours should be able to hold up the loss of the treasure fleet, Zhao Xiang will be shot, so he will go down to six cruisers and thirty frigates regardless of the battle, if he has a good roundabout, there is absolutely no problem."

Li Zicheng asked, "However, how far can the rescue fleet go in two hours?" At best, thirty nautical miles, what is the use of the top? ”

Li Yan smiled slightly, and asked rhetorically: "Don't forget that there are two treasure ships, how long do you think our two treasure ships can hold out?"

Li Zicheng immediately replied: "With me guarding here, the Hongyi people will rest and come up."

"Isn't that enough" Li Yan said with a smile: "You are guarding the treasure ship and standing on the last line of defense, how can they have a chance?" ”

Li Zicheng smiled, it was a tacit acquiescence.

Li Yan said again: "Look at our treasure ship, as tall as a city, each treasure ship is guarded by a thousand soldiers, ten infantry guns, it is a mobile fortress, and it takes a day and a half to attack it, besides, the Dutch dare not open fire on our ship, so they can only rely on jumping gang battles to fight us at close range, so it is easy for us to defend and difficult to attack, and some of them have a headache."

Li Zicheng thought about it, and suddenly felt that the pressure had decreased sharply and he was much more relaxed.

Then, Li Yan said: "I don't think I will wait too long, if my judgment is right." The Dutch really dare to do it only tomorrow, that is the only chance, so they will leave in the middle of the night tonight and rush to wait in front of us. And our reinforcement fleet will follow them closely, and if you avoid the sentry ship factor, you can arrive in four hours at most. ”

Li Zicheng nodded and said: "I hope it's okay, otherwise something happens, the Admiralty may shirk responsibility, I'm afraid that it will be the two of us who will be implicated in the end."

Li Yan understood what Li Zicheng meant, and it was not easy to say anything about the political affairs, so he said: "Don't think so much, go and have a drink."

The two of them went back to the room to drink, because they were going to face a big battle tomorrow, they were a little nervous, and they didn't dare to drink more, just to relieve the pressure. V