It's really unbelievable that the fleet of the Song Empire is so difficult.

Their heavy warships, in particular, are as powerful as behemoths on the sea.

The invasion of the Song Empire's fleet in the Caribbean brought not only shock but also fear to the Spaniards and Dutch.

In the governor's palace of the Dutch colony 'Cayenne' in southern Central America, the commanders of the Dutch fleet gathered together with sad faces to discuss how to deal with it.

But they said they couldn't do anything about it.

Yes, the Song Empire doesn't enter the oil and salt, and it won't negotiate with you at all.

Now that people are gaining the upper hand, why should they make peace with you?

And they have nothing to do with the Holy See, so you can't use the Holy See to suppress others.

It can be said that the Dutch had no way to deal with the Song Empire.

At the same time, the Dutch also knew that the Song Empire would never give up if it did not occupy Central America, but they could not give up the interests of Central America on their side, so the Dutch could only fight the empire head-on.

Unfortunately, the warships and artillery were not as powerful as the Song Empire, and more than a dozen naval battles of all sizes ended in defeat for the Dutch.

This made the fleet, which was already insufficient, suffer more than a dozen defeats, and the number of warships was drastically reduced.

It can be said that now the Dutch no longer have the strength to resist the Song Empire.

But even so, the Dutch were not willing to let this defeat and cede the interests of Central America.

"The Song Empire's shipborne artillery had a long range, basically double the range of our artillery. So before we could get closer, they could fire at a distance and deal a blow to us. ”

In the governor's office, a Dutch captain who had participated in the naval battle said to everyone with a sad face.

Everyone in the audience nodded after listening to his words.

They were very clear about the power of the artillery of the Song Empire's fleet.

Because they all saw it with their own eyes, or were directly involved in naval battles.

And most people are still alive and standing here. I think God blesses it.

"Their flowering shells are very powerful, and when they hit the hull, they can break through the wooden hull. Not to mention the sailors on board, but if they were wiped with such debris, they would not survive. ”

Another captain told everyone what he had seen.

"What's more, the opponent's warship is also inlaid with iron plates, and it has super high defense. After we got close to each other, the shells couldn't penetrate the hull of the other party, and they couldn't cause damage at all. At this time, a captain next to him also spoke. His voice was loud and sounded terrified. "And their sailors use very powerful weapons, which are the kind of resistance on the shoulder, and then come at your warship, and then a flame hits the ship, which can cause a big gap......"

When it came to the warships and weapons of the Song Imperial fleet, these Dutch captains felt that it was an eye-opener.

Especially since they've all experienced it firsthand.

"I desperately wanted the two ships to approach and engage in a broadside battle. But the kind of weapon that the other party resisted on his shoulder, it gave me a lot of damage from afar. If I hadn't been clever enough to jump into the sea at the time, I guess I would have been like the sailors on my ship. They all sank into the sea with the battleship. ”

Everyone, you are talking about the power of the Song Empire.

Governor Thomas sat there with a cold face, watching the captains say nothing.

Now this situation is a headache for him, and he doesn't know what to do now.

On the Song Empire's side, he sent an envoy, but the Song Empire's side was soft and hard. No matter what the emissary said, it was a message that there was no power other than the Empire on this side of the Caribbean.

The situation is stronger than people.

Now the strength of the Song Empire is too strong, and he, the governor, has no choice.

I wanted to ask for help from the mainland, but the country is now mired in war. The army was on fire with the Spaniards in the Netherlands, and the navy was entangled by the British in the North Sea.

Therefore, now there is no local strength to help itself.

Now the Song Empire's fleet is fast. Having recently occupied all the colonies in the northern Caribbean, the Spaniards were finished.

Now they only have two colonies left on the west coast, and there is no way to confront the Song Empire.

And they themselves can't match the Song Empire now, do they really want to surrender?

Governor Thomas couldn't help but think to himself.

Surrender is not a solution.

At the very least, after surrendering, they can get a decent end and not suffer a crime.

But if he handed over the benefits to the Song Empire like this, if the captains under him agreed or not, the local side would not let him go.

At that time, even if I return to my homeland, I think I will be sent to prison for the rest of my life.

After all, the interests on this side of the Caribbean are too great for the mainland to withstand losses.

Thomas was well aware that most of the revenue in the Dutch treasury came from the Caribbean colonies.

Gold and silver, tobacco, cotton, corn and wheat are all very popular commodities here.

If the Caribbean were to be lost, the Dutch treasury would have been reduced by at least a third.

That's not a small number.

Although the Dutch defeated the Spanish fleet in India and the East, taking the place of the Spaniards.

But relying on trade in the East alone, the profits simply could not make up for the profits after the loss of the Caribbean.

"Your Excellency, think of a solution. We can't sit still here, the Song Empire's fleet is approaching Vikrus, and their next target is there. ”

The captains stopped talking and focused their eyes on him.

Thomas came back to his senses and looked at the big guy who was looking at him with a look of hope.

Damn, Lao Tzu is not a savior, if there is a way, will I let you come here today?

Thomas cursed the guys in his heart.

"To be honest, I don't have much more to do. Now we can only bite the bullet and concentrate all the warships to defeat the fleet of the Song Empire, is there any other way out? ”

Hearing Thomas say this, the faces of all the captains turned ugly.

Many of them seemed to have something to say. But it's very embarrassing.

With a roll of his eyes, Thomas came to his senses.

I'll you xxx, I feel that you guys are playing this abacus.

Seeing everyone's faces, Thomas suddenly came to his senses.

He kind of understood what the captains were looking for him for today, and he felt that they wanted to hear from here that they came up with an idea, and that it was still the idea they wanted to hear.

And the idea is to say 'surrender' in two words.

Seriously, it's not that Thomas didn't think about surrendering, but the problem is that if he makes this decision, these captains will be fine. But he's got a big deal of it himself.

When the time comes, these captains will be able to keep themselves out of the matter if they say 'follow orders' or something.

But as for the governor himself, he is definitely going to settle accounts after the autumn.

Thinking of this, Thomas continued to curse viciously in his heart.

You guys think beautifully, and you actually hit this idea.

He also deliberately asked me if there was anything I could do, pretending to be disgusting.

Isn't it clear to everyone what the situation is now, wouldn't it be redundant to ask me if there is a way.

If you can't beat others, and you won't talk to you, it's obvious that there's a way to go. Surrender.

Thinking about it, these captains are also analyzing the current situation, which is why they gathered at Thomas's Governor's Palace.

But though the captains were eager to hear Thomas say this, they were very clever not to say it.

Because everybody knows that. If he really surrenders, the person who made this proposal today will definitely be liquidated in the future.

Therefore, this kind of thing must not be said. Although I think so in my heart, I must never say it myself.

That's why these captains came here. He began to preach how powerful the Song Empire's warships were and how advanced their weapons were, in order to put pressure on Thomas's heart, and at the same time to know that they were no match for the Song Empire's fleet.

In this way, in the absence of other options, what choice does Thomas have?

However, when Thomas spoke his decision, they were all dumbfounded.

They didn't expect that under such a disadvantage, Thomas would actually have to fight with the Song Empire's fleet.

Isn't this about letting these people go to their deaths?

It's no wonder that these captains would look so ugly after listening to Thomas's words.

Whoever is put on this thing will be like this.

The captains were uncomfortable, and so was Thomas.

He guessed the intentions of these captains, and couldn't help but be afraid.

Thanks to the fact that I didn't think much about the way of surrender just now, if I just asked a little bit, I don't know if these people would pick themselves up and put this issue into practice.

At that time, the name of surrender and loss of land was worn by him Thomas on his head, and these people didn't have any.

Thinking of this, Thomas really hated it in his heart.

These guys don't want to fight with the Song Empire, and they also want Lao Tzu to carry the black cauldron, they are really damn goods.

The more you don't want to, the more Lao Tzu will let you fight the Song Empire.

Anyway, you also want Lao Tzu to die, since this is the case, there is nothing wrong with me letting you die.

Thinking of this, Thomas coughed and said, "Everyone hear clearly, we must not surrender." The interests of the Dutch must not be discarded, even if we die in battle, we must fight for the Netherlands! ”

Looking at the shouting Thomas, the captains were excited, but only perfunctorily agreed.

Thomas was unimpressed by the reaction of the dejected captains.

Anyway, he can only achieve his purpose.

"You all go back, gather all the warships under your command as soon as possible, and we will wait for the fleet of the Song Empire in the waters of Cayenne, either he will die or I will die!"

But when the captains left the Governor's palace with their heads down, Thomas called his henchmen.

"Master, did you tell me something?"

Thomas looked at the butler who had watched him grow up, and said to him very seriously: "Now is the time of life and death, you need to help me do something." If it works, then we're in a better place, and if I don't, I'm probably doomed. ”

Seeing that Thomas was so serious, the old butler, who was about to be seventy years old, became serious too.

"Could it be related to the Song Empire? Do you have any ideas, sir, but didn't you already make a decision just now? ”

The old butler asked.

Anyway, there are no outsiders here, and this old butler is also trustworthy and his confidant.

Therefore, there was nothing he could not say to the old butler.

Besides, now this matter has to be done by the old housekeeper.

Thomas sighed deeply, and then said to his loyal old butler, "How can this be taken seriously, I don't think those captains will really carry it out." Now that they are working against the Song Empire, it is no different from sending them to death, and they are not fools, how can they die. ”

Thomas didn't have much hope that the captains would actually honor his decision.

He knew very well what these guys were.

I wonder if after these people leave the Doge's Palace, they will take their warships to other places.

What's more, it may directly surrender to the Song Empire.

Of course, the premise is that after surrendering, they can obtain the citizenship of the empire and never return to Europe.

And it would be better if the empire could still promise them their current rights.

So, Thomas also has his own plans.

Despite the fact that the Netherlands still have many colonies in the south, their naval strength has almost been destroyed.

The remaining warships were temporarily organized, and they could not be the opponents of the Song Empire.

Therefore, there is simply no way to hold on to this war.

Taking advantage of the fact that the people of the Song Empire have not yet occupied all the Dutch colonies, and he still has some bargaining chips in his hands, Thomas knows very well what he should do.

Send to death, he won't.

He hadn't lived long enough, and he was so young that he was going to die.

"There is a merchant ship of our family in Cayenne Harbor, you should go to the port immediately and take my warrant to Vikrus City. The target of the Song Empire's fleet is that city, and I estimate that the defenders there will not be able to resist it for long before they surrender. And what you have to do after you go there is to protect yourself, and when the fleet of the Song Empire captures Vikrus, you immediately go to their commander and give him this letter," Thomas took out a letter sealed with fire paint from under his desk and handed it to his old butler. (To be continued.) )