Chapter 117: Conflict at Sea

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The Sea of Java is located between the island of Java and Borneo. It is bordered by Borneo in the north, the southern end of the Makassar Strait in the northeast, Celebes, Flores and the Bali Sea in the east, Java Island in the south, the Sunda Strait (through the Indian Ocean) in the southwest, Sumatra in the west, and Gbarnga and Belitung Island in the northwest, with a total area of more than 400,000 square kilometers.

After the Dutch invaded Indonesia and took control of the islands of Java and Sumatra, the Java Sea became a bathtub for the Dutch. The Dutch crossed the Java Sea and launched a new invasion of Borneo. With their superiority in firearms, neither the local natives nor the Chinese were far from being the opponents of the Dutch.

In order to intensify the invasion of Borneo, the Kingdom of the Netherlands sent a total of more than 20,000 army troops and a large fleet to Indonesia. Among them, the fleet has a total of more than 20 warships, including two third-class battleships, six fourth-class battleships, twelve fifth-class battleships, and six sixth-class battleships. In terms of naval strength alone, the Dutch East India Fleet was undoubtedly second to none in the entire South Seas, stronger than the Spanish Luzon Fleet and the British Far East Fleet. Of course, Britain also deployed a powerful Indian fleet in the Indian Ocean, which was formidable. This made the Dutch dare not easily provoke the British in the South Seas.

The sea in Java was very busy, and merchant ships from Europe brought back all kinds of resources obtained from Indonesia. They also brought various industrial products from Europe and sold them to the local natives, plundering a large amount of wealth at a different price. The total population of Indonesia now. Tens of millions of people. This is undoubtedly a huge market for Europe. It's just that this market is completely in the hands of the Dutch. After the new China became strong. Merchants from Xinhua also began to dump goods into the market. Compared with European goods, Xinhuaguo's goods are much lower than Dutch goods because of lower labor costs and transportation costs. Despite all the restrictions imposed by the Dutch, they could not stop Xinhua from seizing their market. Under such circumstances, the Dutch often made things difficult for the merchants of the new Chinese country. Fortunately, Xinhua is becoming stronger and stronger, and the Dutch do not dare to be blatant, for fear of triggering a conflict with Xinhua.

February 2, 1838. Three warships passed through the Makassar Strait and entered the Java Sea. These three warships are different from the wide and bloated warships of the West. The hull is streamlined, with a single deck, and the gun positions are far less than those of warships in Western countries. However, the dragon flag with a blue background hanging from the tall mast fluttered in the wind. The identity of these warships is revealed. These are the three 'Shark-class' cruisers of the Second Fleet of the Xinhua Navy. After Long Yufei's order was given. The Second Fleet of the Xinhua Navy placed the main sea area of its activities in the Celebes Sea. At the same time, a fleet was sent to cross the Makassar Strait into the Java Sea to escort the merchant ships of Xinhua. Previously, Xinhua learned that Xinhua's merchant ships were often harassed by the Dutch. However, at that time, the strength of Xinhua was limited and it was unable to provide protection for merchants. Now, Xinhuaguo has the ability to protect their safety! Sending warships to the Java Sea is the first step in this!

Three 'Shark-class' cruisers. The ship numbers were 21, 23 and 25, and the commander of the fleet, Lu Haipeng, personally commanded the operation this time. This is the first time that the Xinhua Navy has crossed the Makassar Strait into the Java Sea. Hydrographic data along the route need to be recorded so that the Xinhua Navy can travel frequently to and from this area of sea in the future. At the same time, it was also preparing for a future war with the Dutch!

The Java Sea, a sea area more than 200 kilometers north of Surabaya. A Xinhua merchant ship is sailing northeast. Behind them were two warships flying the Dutch flag. They are a fifth-class battleship and a sixth-level battleship.

The distance between the Xinhua merchant ship and the two Dutch warships was less than ten kilometers. At the current speed, there are still two or three hours at most, and the Dutch warships will catch up with the merchant ships of Xinhua!

On the merchant ship, a long, fat-headed, big-eared businessman from Xinhua constantly broke out in a cold sweat on his face, and looked behind him from time to time. Seeing that two Dutch warships were chasing them viciously, the expressions on their faces kept changing.

"Damn red-haired ghosts, are you in a hurry to reincarnate?" The fat merchant scolded viciously.

"The owner, if we had known what we were doing, we would have compensated them a little money! You don't have to get to this point! The captain of the merchant ship said with some frustration.

"Humph! Those dog-day red-haired ghosts, Lao Tzu is just doing business, but they want to blackmail Lao Tzu, where is there such a cheap thing! The fat merchant stiffened his neck and said.

The captain said no more, but his eyes were full of worry.

"It would be great if our navy could protect us!" The captain of the merchant ship sighed.

"Your Majesty's navy is doing its best to deal with the Spaniards! Wait, when you win the battle against the Spaniards, Your Majesty will definitely attack these red-haired ghosts! When the time comes, our good days will come! The fat merchant longed.

The two Dutch warships pursued the merchant ships of the Xinhua Kingdom for a very simple reason. The fat merchant was trading in Surabaya when he got into a conflict with a local native, and as a result, he injured the native. The Dutch were on the side of the natives and demanded huge compensation from the fat merchants. The fat businessman thought he had been blackmailed and fled Surabaya overnight. As a result, the Dutch navy caught up with it.

"Signal the Helder to take it from the left and stop the yellow-skinned monkeys! They actually dared to abscond in fear of crime, and this time they will definitely not let them go! If you don't punish them, you will never give up! "On the battleship 'Alke', a Dutch naval lieutenant commanded. His name was Claire, and he was the captain of the battleship 'Alc'. The battleship "Alke" is a fifth-class battleship with a displacement of more than 600 tons and 36 cannons. The other battleship, the Hyder, was a sixth-class battleship of more than 300 tons and equipped with 24 guns. When the Xinhua merchant ships fled from Surabaya, the two warships happened to rest at the port of Surabaya. After receiving a report from the local Dutch officials, they volunteered to catch up. This was a good errand for the Dutch Navy. Once they catch the escaped Chinese merchant ships, they will definitely take the opportunity to extort a sum of money.

"Yes, sir!" A junior lieutenant replied.

Soon, the sixth-level battleship 'Holder' relied on its speed and outflanked it from one side, preparing to intercept the merchant ships of Xinhuaguo!

"Signal the yellow-skinned monkeys to stop the ship immediately, or we'll attack!" The commander of the battleship "Holder" ordered.

However, the merchant ships of the new China Kingdom turned a deaf ear to their warnings. Fools know that if they stop and fall into the hands of those Dutchmen, will they still have a way to live?

"Boom! Rumble! Rumble! "The battleship 'Holder' opened fire. The cannonballs streaked across the sky and fell into the sea, splashing columns of water.

Although it did not hit the merchant ship, it scared the sailors and fat merchants on the merchant ship to the point of trembling. After all, they are just ordinary people.

"Holy shit, how dare they shoot! Lao Tzu is a member of the Zamboanga Lin family! One of Lao Tzu's nieces, but she is about to marry His Majesty the King as a concubine, they dare to kill Lao Tzu, and His Majesty the King will avenge Lao Tzu once he does! The fat merchant yelled. He is a side of the Lin family, Lin Rui, the secretary of Long Yufei, the king of Xinhua, and he really has to be called uncle. Fat businessmen usually don't use this matter to show off. However, at this time, it doesn't seem to be of much use to change their current situation!

The two warships of the Dutch Navy kept closing the distance between them and the merchant ships of the Xinhua Kingdom, and began to bombard them with artillery. It's just that because the distance is not close, and both sides are sailing fast, the hit rate is not high. However, if no miracle happens, the merchant ship will definitely be caught by the Dutch navy in the end, otherwise, it will only be sunk!

"Commander! There are two Dutch warships in front, and they attack one more merchant ship! "On the 21st warship, the communications officer reported to the commander of the fleet, Lu Haipeng.

"Which country's merchant ships?" Lu Haipeng immediately asked. This is the eastern part of the Java Sea, and most of the merchant ships of Xinhua usually pass through here!

Soon, as the distance narrowed, the warman determined that the merchant ship attacked by the Dutch was a merchant ship of the New Zealand Kingdom.

"Order the ships and get ready for battle! Holy shit, those Dutch dare to attack our merchant ships, this is simply looking for death! Lu Haipeng gave the battle order.

The three 'Shark-class' cruisers immediately accelerated and rushed over. At the same time, the cannon in the bow of the warship No. 21 opened fire. Although the two sides were separated by more than ten kilometers, which was far beyond the range of the 105 mm naval guns in the bow of the 'Shark-class' cruiser, Lu Haipeng did not expect to be able to hit the Dutch warship, as long as he warned the Dutch and asked them to stop attacking the merchant ships, it would be enough!

"Boom! Rumble! "Explosions rang out on the sea. The sudden appearance of the Xinhua warship surprised both the fleeing Xinhua merchant ships and the attacking Dutch warships!

"Ahh Oh my God! It's our navy! Our Navy is coming! Now we are saved! The fat merchant shouted excitedly. The whole merchant ship cheered and jumped for joy.

On the other hand, the two warships of the Dutch Navy immediately stopped attacking the merchant ships of the Xinhua Kingdom. The sudden appearance of three 'Shark-class' cruisers of the Xinhua Navy made them dare not act rashly for a while! (To be continued......)