The sea of western Luzon.

Two huge Western warships sandwiched more than a dozen large merchant ships in the middle of the waves, on the masts, a white lion's crown flag hunted under the blowing of the sea breeze, on both sides of the battleship, hundreds of black guns were divided into three columns, and the battleship with five masts and seven sails traveled very slowly, keeping pace with the surrounding merchant ships.

On the deck of the main ship, two well-dressed Dutchmen each set up a monocular diorama to watch the movement around, the old one was wearing a straight Dutch naval uniform, he put down the monocular and wiped the sparse red hair that was blown by the sea breeze with his hand: "Your Excellency Winter, there is no danger here, except for the Spaniards, I don't think any sea force can compete with our fleet, please rest assured." ”

The young man named Winter was dressed in the gentleman's costume popular in Europe, with a delicate triangular hat on his head, his face was a little pale, and his cheeks were flushed by the sea breeze, he was a rich man, and his grandfather was one of the directors of the Dutch East Indias.

"Your Excellency, this is the first time in my life that I have sailed to do business, and my grandfather told me that the sea brings us not only treasure, but also danger, so I hope to be cautious, this shipment will only be safe until it reaches Luzon."

The major nodded, and expressed his understanding to this rookie who had been sailing: "Your Excellency, do you really think that these worthless goods on the ship can be sold for three or four times the price in Luzon?" My God, if that's the case we... No... You're rich. ”

Winter squinted his eyes and looked at the seagulls hovering in the sky and said, "Yes, according to my intelligence, Luzon has been blockaded by pirates, and as long as we have powerful warships to protect merchant ships, the price of goods can be doubled." "Winter is speaking with confidence, he trusts his judgment.

The major gloated: "The Spaniards are finished, these guys who used to be arrogant can't even deal with pirates, I think it won't be long before they obediently get out of the Far East, which is the Far East of the Dutch." ”

Winter nodded slightly in agreement.

At this time, there were suddenly more than a dozen black shadows on the sea level, which were quickly caught by the sharp-eyed major, he hurriedly set up the monocular, and after a while, he breathed a sigh of relief and said: "It is the Spanish Navy patrolling the nearby waters, with a total of four sail warships and seven armed merchant ships, it seems that these pirates have really made the Spaniards suffer, and even dispatched half of Spain's naval force to cruise." ”

The major pursed his lips mockingly: "Your Excellency, we are a merchant ship and fly the Dutch flag, the Spanish Navy will not pay attention to us, should we say hello to the Spanish Navy?" ”

At this time, the first mate on duty in the wheelhouse rushed to the deck and reported: "The Spanish Navy has issued a warning to us and ordered us to stop advancing and be inspected by the Spanish Navy. ”

"What?" The major's face was swollen red, and he raised the monocular, and sure enough, he saw that someone on the flagship of the Spanish Navy was waving a flag asking for inspection, and the major put down the monocular angrily and scolded: "Spain has no right to interfere with our commercial activities, and according to the understanding signed between the company and Spain in 1657, the merchant ships sent by the company have the right to trade in Luzon." They're violating trade agreements by doing so. ”

"Your Excellency, what do you think we should do?" The Major turned to Wen on the side for advice.

Prior to this, the Spaniards had been very polite to the merchant ships of the Dutch East India Company, because of the disparity in strength between the two sides, and there was no need for the Spaniards to offend them, but now the Spanish authorities had determined that the pirates were related to the Dutch, and ordered the navy to keep a close eye on all Dutch ships.

Winter bit his lower lip and seemed to hesitate, there were indeed some prohibited items in the merchant ships, including one hundred and thirty new Portuguese breech guns and a large amount of ammunition, which were sold by the Dutch East India Company to the local resistance in Luzon, and the merchant ships of the East India Company had never been subjected to the Spanish Navy's inspection, and because of this, they dared to be so unscrupulous, but today it seems that the situation is not good.

"Immediately return to Java." Winter gave the order that if the Spanish Navy inspected it, the breech gun would inevitably be searched, and he did not dare to take this risk.

"Homecoming!" The major conveyed the order.

The caravan began to withdraw its sails and turn its rudder, and after a careful half-spin on the water, it took the southern route and headed for quasi-Java.

However, the Spanish navy apparently had no intention of abandoning the caravan protected by force, and they continued to follow suit and constantly use flags to order the caravan to be inspected. The unusual behavior of the Dutch made the Spanish naval commander even more convinced that they were related to pirates, and he intended to teach them a lesson.

The caravan traveled more than ten nautical miles with the Spanish navy that followed closely behind, and the Dutch caravan still showed no signs of stopping for inspection, and the impatient Spanish warships began to fire warning shots and give combat orders.

"God, what the hell is going on? Did the Spaniards find out about our deal with the local resistance in Luzon? Because of this, they were going to go to war against the powerful Dutch East India Company? "The Major found the Spaniards to be very unreasonable.

"Your Excellency Major, do you think the Spaniards will attack our caravan?" Winter's face showed agitation.

The major shook his head and replied very confidently: "This is absolutely impossible, I think the Spaniards just want to scare and scare us, their strength is very weak, if the Spanish Navy dares to attack us, it is tantamount to provoking the powerful eastern ......"

In the middle of the major's words, he was disrupted by a violent cannon fire, dozens of shells whizzed, and a puff of gray gunpowder smoke filled the Spanish battleships behind the caravan.

With a bang, the lead ship on which the major was riding was hit by a cannonball on the mast, and a fire ignited on the sail, and one of the shells fell on the deck and exploded, causing a loud crash.

"Lie down!" The Major threw Winter to the ground, and the sound of an explosion followed, sending sawdust flying across the deck and choking smoke.

The major coughed and fanned the irritating smell of gunpowder at the tip of his nose with his hand, pulled Winter up and said, "Your Excellency, are you all right?" He greeted as his eyes scanned the deck and mast to inspect the ship's damage.

"We have been attacked by the impudent Spaniards, who dare to attack the legitimate merchant ships of the mighty East India Company, children, immediately prepare for battle!" The major was apparently also enraged, and he decided to strike back.

In January of the second year of the new year, the caravan of the Dutch East India Company was attacked by the Spanish Navy in the waters of Luzon, and was sunk by the Spanish Navy with one battleship and two merchant ships, and the rest were all captured.

The news reached the Java Governor's Palace, and the Dutch East India Company declared war on the Spanish colony of Luzon.

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The number of words in today's chapter is relatively small, a little something, please forgive me, since the book opened, it has been maintained two times a day, three thousand words per update, never stopped, and may be more in the future.