Having worked for the East India Company for more than a decade, he was trusted by the Governor, and who had traveled between Java and Northeast Asia for a long time, and was familiar with the sea conditions along the way, so it was fitting that he should be the commander of the search and rescue fleet. ¢£Top¢£Dot¢£Small¢£ said,

The search and rescue fleet consisted mainly of Van Longen's own seven armed merchant ships, plus two armed troop carriers under the East India Company. Originally, Van Longen did not intend to organize a separate group of men from his own fleet, but Governor Cohen thought it necessary to send a certain number of soldiers to assist in the operation, because it was impossible to determine the real cause of the disappearance of his own ships, and if there was really a mastermind behind the interception of Dutch merchant ships at sea, then sufficient troops might allow Van Longen to be more confident in dealing with it.

A fleet of nine sailing ships and nearly 1,000 people would be a mere wandering at sea if they were not lucky enough to find the missing ship. The cost of such a fleet to go to sea was not a small amount, and in order to avoid all this expenditure being wasted, the East India Company still let Van Longen's merchant ships undertake a certain number of transportation tasks.

The fleet will carry a number of spices, tin, sumac wood and other tropical products produced in Java, as well as some local products from Persia, India and Ceylon. These goods will be transported to the port of Dayuan, where they will be distributed by local merchants by sea to Daming, Korea, Ryukyu, Japan and other countries. This fleet could locally load a shipment of goods purchased from these countries and return to Batavia the same route. After such a trip, in addition to the cost of search and rescue operations, the fleet can still make a certain profit, and the captain and crew will not complain too much about this errand.

"No one in the Far East will try to rob such a fleet, and the Governor need not fear for our safety, and in two months we will return to Batavia in good condition. Seeing that Governor Cohen, who had come to see him off, did not look very good, Van Longen could only say some words to comfort the other party.

In fact, the voyage from Batavia to the port of Dayuan is more than 2,000 nautical miles, and it takes more than half a month for the fleet to reach its destination, and no one can guarantee what kind of accidents will happen during this long journey back and forth. Van Longen's seven armed merchant ships were armed with a variety of guns, and the largest, the Netherlander, was equipped with twelve 12-pounder guns and two 24-pounder guns. The two armed troop carriers were also equipped with eight guns each, and the total number of guns in the entire fleet exceeded seventy, so that an artillery battle at sea would not frighten any opponent.

But even though the combat capability of this fleet is not weak, Van Longen is not arrogant enough to think that he is leading an invincible armada. Because he had also heard of the gunboats built by the Haihan people on Qiongzhou Island, the smallest one was also equipped with ten guns, and based on such warships, he defeated the eighteen Zhi fleet, which was several times his size, at the mouth of the Pearl River.

Van Longen had had direct contact with Eighteen Zhi and had a general understanding of the level of armament of this group of pirates. Although he also didn't take Eighteen Zhi seriously, if Fan Longen was to deal with the siege of these pirates, he might not be able to win and retreat. Moreover, it is said that since the second half of last year, the fleet of the Haihan people has fully taken over the defense of the waters around Qiongzhou Island, which at least shows that the strength of the Haihan fleet is far above that of the Daming Naval Division.

Van Longen would rather encounter the Portuguese or the Spaniards at sea than encounter an opponent like the Haihan fleet in this search and rescue mission, because the first two opponents are also well known, and the Haihan are like killers lurking in the shadows, unable to see their true strength.

Governor Cohen responded with a violent cough, and although he was only forty-four years old, far from the age of age, his health had deteriorated in recent years, and it was in fact difficult for him to maintain his normal working condition. If it weren't for the fact that the two Chinese doctors in Batavia had been taking prescriptions to recuperate his body, he would have hung up a long time ago. Today, when he came to the port of Batavia to see off Van Longen's fleet, he had also been unwell, and had never risen from the chairs carried by the two native attendants.

In fact, Peterson Cohen died on September 21, 1629, in the original history, but after the Haihan people came to this plane, many things changed unconsciously. The two Chinese doctors who treated him actually worked with Ma Yu for a period of time in the immigration transfer center in Lijiazhuang, Guangzhou, before coming to Batavia, and also learned some advanced Haihan medical knowledge, and later accepted the employment of others to come to Batavia to make a living. However, they could only diagnose the approximate cause of Cohen's disease, and there was no way to cure his chronic lung disease, and the only thing they could do was to use some soothing prescriptions to condition his body and make his condition deteriorate more slowly.

"Mr. Van Longen, any force that threatens the East India Company must be eradicated and not tolerated!" Cohen finally relieved himself before he spoke: "Whether it is the Portuguese or the Spaniards, if they want to attack our ship, then fight back fiercely! Don't be afraid of war, in the Far East, we are the most powerful force!"

Van Longen said to himself, I'm just an armed merchant ship, not a Dutch navy, and self-defense is okay, do you really expect me to fight with them? However, he agreed very well: "Rest assured, Governor, if it is really the damned Spaniards who attack us, then I will definitely show them the terrible power of the Dutch!"

Cohen coughed a few more times, then added, "Considering your military skills, I have sent my best men, Mr. Spikes and Mr. Broward, to assist you in this mission, and in the event of an armed conflict, they will command the soldiers to destroy the enemy." If you are undecided, please consult with them as well. ”

"It was easy for me to act with two good commanders. Van Longen bowed slightly to the two officers standing beside Cohen. Although they were not official officers of the Dutch Republic, they were merely commanders appointed within the East India Company, and their command was only the armed personnel of the company's own organization, but in the colonies of the East India Company, they were real government troops.

Born in 1585, Jacques Spikes had spent a long time in Korea and Japan in Northeast Asia as a representative of the East India Company, and had been in the Far East for ten years when Van Longen arrived at the East India Company. Hendrik Brauwer, born in 1581, also spent some time in Japan, having joined the East India Company as a sailor as early as 1606, before Spikes.

In its original history, these two officers also served as governors of the East India Company. Cohen was succeeded by Jacques Spikes when he stepped down in 1629, while Hendrik Brower took over from Spikes in 1632 as eighth governor. However, in this time and space, because of the arrival of the Haihans, the life of Governor Cohen was inadvertently extended, so they were not able to ascend to the throne according to the time in the original history.

"But if you let these two go to sea with me, what will happen to the local defense?" Van Longen is no stranger to the identities of these two officers, they are both senior officers of the Batavian garrison, and the transfer of two people at a time will indeed have a certain impact on the local defense of Batavia.

"That's not a problem. Cohen waved his hand lightly and said, "Mr. Van Dimen has returned from Delnath." ”

"Presumably, our admiral must have brought back a lot of gains, right?" Van Longen heard the news for the first time, and hurriedly asked.

"Yes, that place is said to be rich in cloves and cardamom, and there are also tin mines, all good things. Speaking of this, Cohen's sick face also flashed a little proud: "It was a wise decision to send him on an expedition to the east. ”

"Your Excellency has always been so wise. Van Longen unabashedly slapped a sycophant.

Anthony van Diemen, born in 1593 in Columberg, the Netherlands, was a less successful merchant before joining the East India Company in 1618 and based in Batavia, where he became a naval officer. A year earlier, Cohen had appointed him commander of an expeditionary fleet to lead a fleet eastward to explore the waters east of Java and south of Luzon, where he would strike at and expel the Portuguese had already established power.

Delnate is located in the Maluku archipelago, about 1,500 nautical miles east of Batavia, crossing the Java Sea, the Flores Sea, the Banda Sea, and the Maluku Sea. Although the voyage was long, the abundance of spices and tin ore in the area was well worth exploiting.

The following paragraphs will be re-edited and updated later, and the following paragraphs will be re-edited and updated later, and the following paragraphs will be re-edited and updated later

Van Longen said to himself, I'm just an armed merchant ship, not a Dutch navy, and self-defense is okay, do you really expect me to fight with them? However, he agreed very well: "Rest assured, Governor, if it is really the damned Spaniards who attack us, then I will definitely show them the terrible power of the Dutch!"

Cohen coughed a few more times, then added, "Considering your military skills, I have sent my best men, Mr. Spikes and Mr. Broward, to assist you in this mission, and in the event of an armed conflict, they will command the soldiers to destroy the enemy." If you are undecided, please consult with them as well. ”

"It was easy for me to act with two good commanders. Van Longen bowed slightly to the two officers standing beside Cohen. Although they were not official officers of the Dutch Republic, they were merely commanders appointed within the East India Company, and their command was only the armed personnel of the company's own organization, but in the colonies of the East India Company, they were real government troops.

Born in 1585, Jacques Spikes had spent a long time in Korea and Japan in Northeast Asia as a representative of the East India Company, and had been in the Far East for ten years when Van Longen arrived at the East India Company. Hendrik Brauwer, born in 1581, also spent some time in Japan, having joined the East India Company as a sailor as early as 1606, before Spikes.

In its original history, these two officers also served as governors of the East India Company. Cohen was succeeded by Jacques Spikes when he stepped down in 1629, while Hendrik Brower took over from Spikes in 1632 as eighth governor. However, in this time and space, because of the arrival of the Haihans, the life of Governor Cohen was inadvertently extended, so they were not able to ascend to the throne according to the time in the original history.

"But if you let these two go to sea with me, what will happen to the local defense?" Van Longen is no stranger to the identities of these two officers, they are both senior officers of the Batavian garrison, and the transfer of two people at a time will indeed have a certain impact on the local defense of Batavia.

"That's not a problem. Cohen waved his hand lightly and said, "Mr. Van Dimen has returned from Delnath." ”

"Presumably, our admiral must have brought back a lot of gains, right?" Van Longen heard the news for the first time, and hurriedly asked.

"Yes, that place is said to be rich in cloves and cardamom, and there are also tin mines, all good things. Speaking of this, Cohen's sick face also flashed a little proud: "It was a wise decision to send him on an expedition to the east. ”

"Your Excellency has always been so wise. Van Longen unabashedly slapped a sycophant.

Anthony van Diemen, born in 1593 in Columberg, the Netherlands, was a less successful merchant before joining the East India Company in 1618 and based in Batavia, where he became a naval officer. A year earlier, Cohen had appointed him commander of an expeditionary fleet to lead a fleet eastward to explore the waters east of Java and south of Luzon, where he would strike at and expel the Portuguese had already established power.

Delnate is located in the Maluku archipelago, about 1,500 nautical miles east of Batavia, crossing the Java Sea, the Flores Sea, the Banda Sea, and the Maluku Sea. Although the voyage was long, the abundance of spices and tin ore in the area was well worth exploiting.