On the 21st of March, a fleet of twenty large ships of Yasan Kannon sailed to the north of the city of Geranza, from where they landed and marched towards the city. The troops participating in the battle this time not only had 2,000 soldiers of the trapped regiment, 1,000 soldiers stationed in Hsinchu, but also 1,000 naval artillerymen. The artillerymen unloaded the ship's 100 18-pounder guns from the fleet and became marines, following Li Yelu Guanyin to seek recurry against Lanza.

Ya Kannon wants to start a formal war with the Westerners who are plundering the southeast coast. Westerners are not a small enemy, you know, the twelfth century, so to speak, is the century of Westerners.

The Netherlands had previously dominated the continent in Europe, but gained independence from Spain and developed into the leading maritime and trade power in the 12th century. At this time, the number of merchant ships in the Netherlands exceeded the number of merchant ships of all European countries combined, and it was known as the "coachman of the sea".

In 1003, the Dutch began to concentrate their efforts, which eventually led to the creation of the United Dutch East India Company. The company's operating model also served as an organizational model for the overseas expansion of the European powers for more than 200 years. The subsequent establishment of the East India Company in various European countries can be said to be the abuse of the Dutch United East India Company.

The United Dutch East India Company was first and foremost a colonial and military organization, and secondarily an economic organization. Under the authority of the highest authority in the Netherlands, the East India Company not only had a monopoly on trade in the entire Indian and Pacific Oceans, from the Cape of Good Hope to the Strait of Magellan, but also had the power to establish independent rule, conscript, declare war, conclude peace treaties, and even mint currency in this vast territory.

At this time, in the fourth year of Xianping, except for a few areas, the Dutch United East India Company had actually controlled the sea power in the world's major seas, and was a well-deserved global hegemon at this time. The Viceroy of the Dutch East India Company was located in Batavia, later known as Jakarta, Indonesia. It can be seen that the Far East, or East and Southeast Asia, is the key area for the Dutch East India Company.

The island of Taiwan, which was called Formosa by the Dutch at this time, can be described as a battleground for soldiers in the Far East. The island of Taiwan is not only huge in size and vast in area, but also located in the middle of the trade route between the islands of the South Seas and the Japanese Kingdom. It can be said that whoever controls Taiwan controls the trade routes between the Western countries and Japan. Using Taiwan as a base, it was easy to plunder Western ships bound for Japan from the colonies in Southeast Asia.

At this time, the Dutch were in full swing and were forging ahead, sending troops to fight the Spaniards for Formosa. The Spaniards founded the city of Keelung in northern Taiwan, while the Dutch founded the city of Geranza in the southwestern part of the island. Compared to the small castles of the Spaniards, which numbered a few hundred people, the Dutch city of Geranza was much larger.

The city of Geranza was built in the southwest corner of Taiwan Island, and in the later Tainan area, it was composed of a series of castles. The core of the fort is built on a small island outside the harbor, four kilometers from the main island of Taiwan.

The Inner Fort is the core castle in the fourth year of the Apocalypse, the construction of the core castle was completed in the fifth year of Xianping, and the outer fort was completed in the fourth year of Xianping. It took a total of eighteen years to build. ”

Fort Geranza is a Thermal-Weapon-era bastion with a large number of heavy artillery defenses. "The inner fort is square, about 115 meters wide, sitting on the north and facing south, a total of three floors, the wall is about 2 zhang 9 feet, 3 feet 8 inches thick, the four corners of the top floor are built with a protruding 17 zhang 4 feet of the fortress, the wall thickness is 5 feet 8 inches, and there is a watchtower attached. Fifteen heavy artillery pieces were set up on the top floor, and deep wells leading to the sea were dug in the north and south to prevent fire. On each side of the second floor, there is a Zhongyuan fort, which is equipped with 12 heavy guns. On the north side, there is a small door and brick staircase that leads down to the basement and ammunition depot. ”

"The outer fort is low, and it is attached to the northwest corner of the inner fort, with a wall thickness of three feet and eight inches, and a breastwork wall four feet high, and there are bastions protruding from the northwest and southwest corners. The outer fort is 165 meters long and 77 meters wide. "The entire castle wall is paved with bricks, made of oyster ash and sand made of glutinous rice juice and sand. The bricks of the inner fort are one and a half inches thick, and the outer fort is one and a half inches. The entire castle was the residence and military center of the Dutch governor in Taiwan. ”

To the east of Fort Geranza, on the land of the main island of Taiwan, there is also a Fort Chikan. Chikan Fort was smaller, and "the fort consisted of a large platform and two small platforms in the southwest corner. The entrance to the fort is located in the center of the west side, and there are gun mounts in the east, west, north and south, with a total of eight heavy guns. The circumference of the whole building is 140 meters, the height of the building is three zhang and six feet, there are cellars and wells in the fort, and the outer wall is 1 meter and 80 centimeters thick. ”

There are quite a few merchants and residents around Chikan Fort, which is actually a town. The Dutch traded deerskins and other items with the local natives in this town. The Dutch not only traded here, but also collected taxes from the indigenous and Han Chinese through military coercion.

This time to attack the Westerners, Yehu Guanyin relied on his own 100 18-pounder guns, so Yehu Guanyin took Lu Hu, who had rich experience in artillery command, as the commander-in-chief of the front. According to the informants, there were 2,000 defenders in the forts of Geranza and Chikan. Of these, there were 300 in Chikan and 1,800 in Geranza.

Yaren Kannon landed and attacked the city of Geranza by land, and the first thing to capture was Chikan Fort. After the Chikan Fort, the Fort of Geranza became an isolated city on a small island. At that time, Ya Yu Guanyin can attack, retreat and defend, and can gain the initiative in the war.

When Ya Yu Guanyin went ashore, he let a Fujian Han who had lived in the town of Chikan Fort for many years lead the way. The Fujian Han man seemed to be very afraid of the western red hair, although he got twenty taels of silver from Ye Yu Guanyin, and was determined to take the risk to lead the way, but he trembled all the way, looking behind him all the time, as if he was worried that he did not escape after the defeat of Ye Yu Guanyin. He stopped a few steps after a few steps, and did not move forward until the guards behind him pushed him by the hand.

The closer he got to Chikan Fort, the paler his face became. Finally, when he reached a place five miles from Chikan Fort, he threw himself on his knees with a thud, trembling all over. He prostrate on the ground, raised his head and said loudly to Ya Yu Guanyin: "Princess, you can't go ahead, and the red hair will be killed if you go any further." I don't want any money, princess, be merciful, let me go back! ”

Yayo Guanyin looked at the guide coldly and did not speak. The "Admiral of the Navy" Lu Hu beside Ye Yu Guanyin kicked the guide and scolded: "The dignified Song people, are you so afraid of red hair? King Yan fought in the south and the north, killing hundreds of thousands of Khitans, you are so afraid of a few red hairs? ”

The guide kowtowed on the ground, trembling and said, "Princess, this red hair is not as vicious as the Khitans, it is even more vicious than the Khitans!" "When the princess said that she was going to fight Relanza, I thought that the princess would at least send tens of thousands of people to attack. Now there are 2,000 red hairs in the city of Geranza, but the princess has 4,000 Han soldiers to attack, this battle..."

Suddenly said loudly: "This battle, I'm afraid it's more than lucky!" When Lu Hu heard the guide's words, he was a little annoyed, and shouted with a knife: "Wu Na man, if you talk nonsense again, I will cut off your tongue!" The guide's face turned pale, and he did not dare to say more, but he could not control the trembling in his body. Under the push of the guards, he walked forward little by little, walked for half an hour, and finally brought the team to a small mound three miles away from Chikan Fort.

"Princess, in front of you is Chikan Fort, the fort... There are eight cannon guns in the fort, which are very sharp. Uncle be careful of the artillery fire. Ya Kannon stood on the mound and looked at it, and saw that Chikan Fort was already in view. To the west, ten miles away, the Fort of Geranza, isolated on a small island, is also visible. There is no need for a guide to lead the way.

However, Ya Yu Guanyin was worried that if he let go of the guide, this guide would turn to the Westerners in fear and leak the information of Ye Yu Guanyin's soldiers and horses. So Ya Yu Guanyin simply asked the guide to be tied up and placed in the Chinese army.

The guide was tied up by Ya Yu Guanyin, and he was shaking all over, as if he was about to be shot and killed by a white Westerner. Westerners had long known about Yang Peng's arrival, but instead of going out of the city to meet the battle, they retreated in the castle, ready to rely on the fortress and cannons to defend it. Ya Yin Guanyin sneered and waved his hand. The flag commander waved the command flag, and the artillerymen immediately went into action, unloading all the 100 18-pounder guns from the gun carriage and lining up on the saline ground by the sea.

As soon as the artillery began to be arranged, the eight heavy guns in the Chikan Fort opened fire on this side. Only a few cannon booms were heard from three miles away, and a few shells flew over at great speed like meteors. The distance was too far, and the first round of shelling of the Westerners hit very low. All seven shells flew off, and only one solid shell entered the artillery queue of Ya Yu Guanyin, which hit one of the artillerymen and broke his right leg.

Amid the screams of the wounded, the medical team ran up and carried the wounded down on a stretcher. The guide, who was tied to the Chinese army, trembled even more when he saw that the red-haired cannon began to hurt people. He is now tied up in the Chinese army, and he can't escape if he wants to. He was so anxious that he was sweating, and he only regretted that he was greedy for money and waded into this troubled water for twenty taels of silver.

Seeing the casualties of the troops, Ya Yu Guanyin was a little annoyed and scolded, "Barbarian!" ”。 When the artillerymen loaded the cannons with shells and aimed at the fortress in the distance with guns and other tools, Ya Yu Guanyin waved his hand quickly. The flag commander waved the command flag, and a hundred artillery commanders lit a hundred heavy guns.

The scene of a salvo of 100 heavy guns is breathtaking. Ya Yu Guanyin stood in the middle army, only to hear a loud rumbling sound suddenly, the sound pressed on the eardrums like a mountain, as if to deafen people's ears, people can't help but cover their ears. The heavy guns on both sides spewed tongues of fire violently, and huge sparks erupted from the barrels. The sparks spit out by the cannon were connected, and from Yang Peng's point of view, the artillery fire on the left and right sides looked like two fire dragons.

The body of the 100 heavy guns fell backwards, and the recoil force was pressed to the ground through the structure of the gun carriage, and the gun body pressed down to the ground, and then rebounded by the force, and lifted it upwards and shook it. The huge recoil of a hundred heavy cannons shook the ground nearby, and Ya Yin felt that he had suddenly reached the ship, and his feet kept shaking.

The pack horses pulling the artillery wagons had already been led two hundred meters away, but they were still frightened by the roar of the heavy artillery, and they were about to flee. It was all up to the groom to hold on to the reins to stabilize it.

A hundred rounds of bombs shot out of the barrels and headed for Fort Chikan, three miles away. Chikan Fort is a square fortress with a side length of more than 30 meters, and the target is not small. At least a dozen shells fell into the castle. Bombs rampaged through the castle, crashing into various fortifications and breaking down weakly walled fortifications. Then wait for the fuse to ignite the gunpowder in the shell, and the bomb explodes.

With a boom, shotmarites burst out in all directions, sweeping through Chikan Fort like a storm. A round of shelling, I don't know how many Westerners were killed. It was also the first time that a hundred heavy artillery pieces were placed on land to fire a salvo. This kind of majesty, you really have to see it with your own eyes to understand how shocking it is. The Dutch at Chikan seemed to have been disrupted by a salvo, and the eight heavy guns of the Dutch did not fire again until the artillery on this side was loaded with ammunition and ready to fire a second salvo.

The flag waved again, and a hundred eighteen-pounder guns opened fire again. Another rumbling cannon rang out, the ground shook, and a hundred shells were fired at the Dutchman's fortress. This time, the artillerymen adjusted the angle of fire according to the situation of the first shot, the hit rate was higher, and more than thirty shells entered the Chikan fort. Ya Kannon looked through a telescope and saw sparks emerging one by one in Chikan City.

It is conceivable that after the bomb exploded, the scene of more than 30 shotgun rains swept across the entire fortress. After two rounds, the artillerymen of Yari Guanyin were preparing for a third salvo, and a white flag was raised at Chikan Fort.

The Westerners surrendered. With eight solid cannons against a hundred bomb cannons, the odds of winning such a battle are too small. The defenders of Chikan Fort were bombed twice, and knowing that if they continued to fight, they would be completely annihilated, and surrendered.

However, Yaren Guanyin was not prepared to let the Dutch go. For these Dutchmen who often went to war without declaring war and often captured the Han people along the coast of the Great Song Dynasty to go to Nanyang to be slaves, Ye Yu Guanyin did not have a good feeling. These robbers burned, killed and looted at every opportunity on the southeast coast, how could they have treated the Great Song people as human beings?

For example, in the second year of Zhidao, the Chinese slaves captured by Western colonists were forced to build the Hongmucheng Fortress in Penghu. The fort took three months to complete, 1,300 of the 1,500 Chinese slaves died of exhaustion and starvation during these three months, and the surviving 270 were sent to Batavia as a personal gift to Governor Kuhn, of whom only 137 finally arrived, and the rest died on the way.

For these Dutch, Yaren Guanyin felt that there was no morality to talk about. Now that he has the upper hand, how can he let them go just because of a white flag? Ya Kannon sneered, just as if he didn't see the white flag, and waved his hand to let the artillerymen continue firing. Ya Yu Guanyin is not Yang Peng, if Yang Peng is here, maybe it won't be like this.

The artillerymen continued to reload and fire, firing two more rounds into the city of Chikan. In each round of shelling, the gunners hit more accurately than the last. In the fourth salvo, at least 60 shells smashed into the Chikan Fort, blowing up the fortress to the ground.

The western defenders in Chikan Fort can't stand it, where is this still a strong and defensible fortress? It's just a cage to be beaten for nothing! They wailed and abandoned Chikan Fort, opened the gate and ran into the harbor. The defenders of Chikan Fort, of more than 300 people, were probably killed by Ya Yu Guanyin, and the remaining 100 or so red hairs jumped into the small boats in the harbor one by one, trying to row to the Geranza Fort on the island to escape.

The gunners adjusted their angles and fired at the fleeing boats. A hundred cannons roared, and shells rained down on the Dutch ships. I saw only one shell smashing into the boats, smashing the boats several meters long into pieces. In the indiscriminate bombardment of hundreds of cannons, all the 11 small boats that escaped were blown up by the cannons and sunk in the sea.

The Western soldiers were either killed by shells, or fell into the sea and desperately swam towards Fort Geranza. But the port of Chikan Fort is more than ten miles away from the small island where the Fort of Geranza is located, and not everyone can swim through. I am afraid that most people will sink into the sea with all their strength and die in the belly of a fish.

The soldiers laughed, put away the gun carriages, and drove towards the Chikan Fort. Chikan Fort was built on top of a small mound, and after more than ten years of Westerners' operation, a commercial settlement developed under the fort, which is a town without walls. The town was inhabited by Han Chinese slaves captured by Westerners, free Han Chinese who traded, and some Southeast Asians from the South Seas.

Seeing that the white and foreign Han armies in Chikan Fort were fighting, these people closed the doors one by one and hid in their homes. These residents of Chikan Town are very afraid of whites on weekdays, and they have to avoid the road and let the whites go first. A single look from a white man can make them nervous and escape.

In the eyes of these people, white Westerners are powerful and invincible. At this time, seeing that the sound of the cannon had stopped so quickly, they had the courage to open the door and take a look at the situation. As a result, they saw the white flag fluttering above Chikan Fort, and they were speechless with wide eyes.

The whites in Chikan Fort were defeated so quickly? Ya Lai Guanyin's soldiers and horses entered Chikan Fort and saw the red-haired corpse lying in the fort. The soldiers searched the fort and found more than 100 taels of gold and more than 3,000 taels of silver. It seems that the Dutch only used this Chikan Fort as an armed stronghold and did not store a lot of money in Chikan Fort.

In the Chinese army of Yehu Guanyin, the bound guide saw that Yehu Guanyin's artillery easily defeated the three hundred red hairs of Chikan Fort and attacked Chikan Fort, and opened his mouth wide in surprise. He marched with the army, and when he reached the bombed Chikan Fort, he no longer shivered, and his face regained some composure.

However, he was still very afraid of the two thousand Dutch sailors in the main fortress of Geranza, and anxiously said to Yaren Guanyin: "The princess might as well do it when she sees it, and go back!" The Fort of Nageranza is different from the Fort of Chikan, there are 2,000 red hairs in the fortress, and the defense is tight, and there are dozens of heavy artillery pieces alone. Those cannons stand behind the strong forts, and the uncle's 100 cannons are probably no match for them..."

Ya Kannon did not let the timid guide continue to ramble, interrupted his nonsense, and asked, "Is the island where Fort Geranza is located, connected to the mainland at low tide?" The guide shook his head and said, "No." That island is extremely dangerous, the princess still don't commit a crime..."Before the guide finished speaking, he was kicked in the stomach by Lu Hu. Lu Hu scolded: "You can say whatever you want, what do you do with so much nonsense?" ”

The guide didn't dare to say anything more and kept his mouth shut. Ya Yin Guanyin groaned and said, "In this way, you can only attack it with a boat. "Ya Kannon led the fleet into the harbor in front of Chikan Fort, loaded the ship with 4,000 soldiers and cannons, and sailed to the small island where the Fort of Geranza was located. Before landing on the island, Yayo Kannon had the ship go around the island and carefully observe the topography of the island with a telescope.

The island is long and narrow from east to west, narrow from north to south, and there is a small bastion on the high ground to the north. On the boat, Lu Hu pointed to a high ground on the north side of the island and said: "Princess, although the east side of the island is vast, and landing on the island from the east can be far away from the artillery fire in the Fort of Geranza, but the terrain on the east side is too low, and it is not good for us to attack the red hair from there. I don't think it's better to storm the heights to the north with artillery fire. As long as you take that high ground, you can bomb the red hair from a high position. ”

Ye Yu Guanyin looked at the high ground north of the island with a telescope, nodded, and secretly said that Lu Hu was worthy of being an artillery soldier, and he had a lot of ideas about artillery battles. The high ground to the north is the commanding height of the entire island, and there seem to be several cannons in the small bastions on it. Concentrate a dozen large ships to bomb, and it can still be taken.

As long as you take that high ground, it will not be difficult to take the castle of Geranza. Ya Kannon waved his hand and said, "Okay, storm the high ground north of the island. The flotilla turned a corner and sailed to the north of the island. The sea bottom on the north side of the island is very shallow, and in many places it is impossible to sail boats, and only twelve ships can be spread out at a time. Li Zhi sent twelve steamers towards the north of the island, and as soon as they came into range of the enemy, the small fortress on the high ground opened fire.

Only a few cannon booms were heard, and the heavy artillery in the small fort fired eight shells. The cannonballs pierced the sky and headed straight for the twelve-wheeler. Seven shells missed, and a huge column of water was stirred up in the sea near the steamer. A cannonball hit the port side of a steamer, making a big hole in the ship's boat.

Twelve steamers rushed forward under artillery fire, drove to within three miles of the commanding heights, and aimed their port side at the small fort on the hill. One hundred and eight heavy guns fired. The sea was turbulent and difficult to aim, and the hit rate of the shells was not as good as that of the land artillery, but there were also seven shells that hit the small fortress.

The bomb exploded in the fortress, and the shotgun projectiles in the shells rained out in all directions, and a ghost crying wolf howled in the fortress. The men in the small fort were clearly badly damaged, and when they fired the second round of artillery fire, only five cannons were fired. This time, all five cannons missed, and not a single shell hit Li Zhi's twelve large ships.

One hundred and eight eighteen-pounder guns opened fire again on the small fort, which received another seven or eight shells. The Western sailors in the small bastion collapsed. In just two rounds of artillery fire, the interior of the small fortress was blown to pieces. Half of their men were killed, and there was no room for gunners to fire. The dozens of red-haired people who were still alive did not dare to fight again, so they escaped from the small fortress with their heads in their hands and ran towards the Fort of Geranza below the high ground.

Yayo Kannon had a company land first, ascend to the heights and take control of the small fortress. He then landed the fleet calmly on the north side of the island and transported seventy heavy guns to the high ground.

Yaren Kannon himself ascended to the high ground, standing on the high ground overlooking the Fort of Geranza at the foot of the high ground. In the binoculars, the western defenders in Fort Geranza looked panicked. Now that the firepower of the Yahu Kannon forces had taken the high ground to the north, the Fort of Geranza was completely exposed in front of the Yahu Kannon's cannons. There were constant people running back and forth in Fort Geranza, as if to convey changing orders and appease the defenders.

The artillery on the top of Fort Geranza was constantly pushing up the elevation angle of the cannons, as if preparing to attack the artillery of the Ya Yin on the high ground. Yayu Guanyin sneered. The domination of Westerners in southern Taiwan for more than a decade is coming to an end.

After all, what happens next, let's see how it will be broken down next time.