Chapter 762 Demonstration
Regarding the negative consequences that this may bring to themselves, the Dutch are not unexpected, but even though they clearly know that this is helping their competitors in disguise, there is currently no better way to change the balance of strength between the two sides in the Fujian Strait. Haihan's arrival on the island of Taiwan has become unstoppable. The only thing the Dutch can do now is to find a way to protect their own Taiyuan Port from being attacked by their opponents.
When Li Dou returned to the living room, his confidence was much stronger than before. Now that Qian Tiandun has expressed his support for such negotiations, Li Dou no longer needs to worry about what responsibility he will bear for this.
"We can consider continuing to retain the East India Company's right to govern the Damuan Port area, but there is a prerequisite." After Li Dou came back, he immediately put forward the conditions he had just discussed with Qian Tiandun: "At least give us money every month Transport a thousand immigrants of the type specified by us. If you can do this, then we can talk about the details of the next transaction.”
Philip shook his head repeatedly and said: "The Port of Damuan originally belonged to the East India Company. I cannot agree with this 'reserved' statement. In addition, regarding the designation of immigration types, the conditions cannot be too detailed, otherwise I will search all over the Far East. We may not be able to find the person you want.”
"The conditions for immigration require that we can negotiate slowly. There is no need to rush this." After talking to Qian Tiandun, Li Dou had already made the priorities of this matter very clear: "Since you have objections to the arrangements for Damuan Port , then let’s talk about Damuan Port first.”
In a negotiation like this that is related to the vital interests of both parties, it is not possible for two negotiators to sit down and reach a final agreement in a few words. Both parties must make certain compromises in exchange for a unanimous opinion. Compared with the Netherlands, Haihan does have a relatively obvious military advantage in this area, but if it really wants to use force, it does not mean that it can casually crush the Dutch who have been operating in Taiyuan Port for several years. Coupled with the irresistible condition of human trade, Haihan was no longer willing to use force to easily solve the Dutch stronghold.
Li Dou has become quite proficient in this kind of tongue-twisting over the past few years. Since the beginning of his transfer to Wanshan Port to engage in port management, he has been dealing with people from all walks of life. He has had a lot of contact with people from all walks of life and is no stranger to negotiation matters. Among the current staffing at the Penghu base, Li Dou should be considered the most suitable person to take on the job of negotiation.
While Li Dou was negotiating with the Dutch envoy Philip, Qian Tiandun was also arranging for the navy to be stationed locally to prepare for an armed parade near Damuan Port in the near future. Qian Tiandun knew that the reason why the Dutch took the initiative to come to negotiate was that they felt the pressure brought by the nearby Penghu base. However, the degree of this pressure was obviously not strong enough, so that the Dutch thought they still had room for bargaining. What Qian Tiandun had to do was to put the muzzle of the gun directly into the throats of the Dutch, so that they could quickly recognize the fact that who was stronger and who was weaker.
Due to financial problems, the establishment of the Navy's Fourth Fleet, which was originally supposed to be deployed at the Penghu base, has been short of adding a flagship. Currently, four "Exploration-class" and four "Explorer-class" warships form the local garrisoned navy. In addition to the main combat force, there are three supply ships, two troop transport ships, and two fast reconnaissance boats. Although the lineup still lacks a flagship, its actual combat effectiveness should far exceed that of the Dutch armed fleet in Damuan Port.
If it is a large-scale combat operation, the preparation period will definitely be longer, but Damuan Port is only a few dozen nautical miles away from Magong Port in Penghu. With the speed of the Haihan Fleet, one day is enough to make a round trip. In addition, it was just a demonstration rather than going to fight, so the corresponding preparations were simplified a lot. Of course, in the military's internal records, the real purpose of this operation will definitely not be mentioned. It will only be an ordinary daily sea training of the Fourth Fleet.
On November 5, the negotiations came to an end, and Philip, who had not made much progress on Haihan's side, returned to Taiyuan Port by ship. Except for Haihan's agreement to use human trade as a condition for retaining the East India Company's governance rights in Damuan Port, almost all other conditions were insisted on. This was far below the negotiation bottom line that the Dutch expected to be acceptable. Philip did not dare to make the final decision. He could only go back and inform Chief Hans first, and he would make the corresponding decision.
As soon as Philip left, the Fourth Fleet set off from Magong Port early the next morning. All ships except two troop carriers and a supply ship remained in the harbor were involved in the operation. Qian Tiandun personally took command of the fleet and sailed to Damuan Port in the southeast.
Compared with the central area of Taiwan where Qian Tiandun last set foot with the special operations force, the natural conditions of Damuan Port are obviously much superior. The width of the channel at the entrance of the harbor here is only more than a hundred meters. The land on the left and right sides of the channel are like a pair of large claws of a crab, tightly protecting the key point of entering the harbor. The pier built by the Dutch is located at the northeast end of the harbor. Before arriving at the pier, you need to pass through two sections that are as narrow as the entrance channel, which shows how dangerous the location is. As long as enough coastal defense forts are built in these two places, it will be enough to defend against invaders from the sea.
The Spanish also tried to challenge this Dutch stronghold in the early years. However, when they realized the difficulty of attacking here at the cost of two sailboats, they wisely chose to retreat and went to the north of Taiwan Island to find another foothold. If they really had to fight hard and didn't sink ten or eight ships in Taiyuan Port, they probably wouldn't even have a chance to get ashore. And this is a price that the Spaniards are absolutely unwilling to pay.
The Haihan Fleet set off in the early morning and arrived at the sea outside Damuan Port in the afternoon. This large fleet with obvious signs has attracted the attention of Dutch ships patrolling the sea several nautical miles away from the coast.
"Look at how nervous these Dutch people are!" Takahashi Minami couldn't help but complain when she saw the fireworks warning signal rising into the sky from the Dutch sailing ship.
"These guys are quite vigilant. They recorded the situation and looked back to see if there was any way to get rid of their patrol boats in advance." Qian Tiandun's focus was obviously different. If the Dutch send a warning to the land in advance, it will obviously be much more difficult to launch an offensive from the sea. This is exactly what Qian Tiandun wants to avoid as a commander. But in this era, there are no long-range weapons with a high hit rate and sufficient lethality that can sink a small or medium-sized sailboat within visual distance in a very short time. Unless the opponent's patrol boat is far enough away from the coast, it will be difficult to subdue or sink it before it sends a warning signal.
The few small boats on the sea immediately turned around and sailed to the entrance of the harbor like frightened animals. The purpose of Haihan's trip was to intimidate them, and they had no intention of pursuing these ships, so they watched them escape back into the harbor from a distance.
About half an hour later, apart from the Haihan fleet, there were only seagulls passing by at low altitude on the sea outside Taiyuan Port. However, the Haihan fleet did not get too close to the entrance of the harbor and kept a relatively safe distance - from the telescope, it can be seen that there are several coastal defense batteries built on the coasts on both sides of the entrance channel. Qian Tiandun didn't want his men to take risks to test the opponent's range, because this kind of information could be bought from Taiyuan Port for money, and there was no need to put himself at risk. Moreover, Qian Tiandun did not intend to give the Dutch an excuse to break the armistice agreement first. After all, this operation was to coerce the Dutch to agree to the terms of the deal, not to actually attack Damiang Port.
"Inform all ships to keep a distance of two thousand meters from the coastline and not to get too close." Qian Tiandun ordered: "Let the two reconnaissance boats go in the north and south directions respectively to scout the nearby coastline, within a limit of ten nautical miles. , withdraw immediately if any situation arises.”
The signal flag on the flagship quickly transmitted Qian Tiandun's order to other warships, and the two brisk reconnaissance boats immediately turned around and sailed to the north and south.
This type of reconnaissance boat named "Dragonfly Class" can be simply regarded as a miniature version of the "Exploration Class". The hull shape and sails are copied from the design of the large ship, but the tonnage is less than fifty tons and only one size larger. About a quarter of the "Exploration-class" warship. Each "Dragonfly-class" reconnaissance boat has a capacity of only ten people. The wooden hull does not have any redundant equipment and supplies, nor is it equipped with artillery. Almost all hull components that can reduce weight and drag have been cancelled. The steel keels and mast cores used on large warships have all been abandoned and installed on this kind of reconnaissance boat. Because of its light hull and shallow draft, it can also carry out tasks upstream from the estuary and deep into inland rivers. Although the speed cannot reach the exaggerated dozen knots of the two catamaran sailing ships "Speed" and "Lightning", the average speed of more than eight knots is enough for this light and small sailing boat to surpass the contemporaries at sea. Competitors are far behind.
Of course, superior performance must also come with corresponding sacrifices. The price paid for the "Dragonfly-class" reconnaissance boat is that the crew's living space on the ship has almost no comfort at all. In addition to the space for storing supplies in the cabin, There were only a few hammocks for crew members on duty to rest, and there wasn't even a stove to provide hot food. If the time at sea exceeds five days, this kind of reconnaissance boat must obtain supplies on the way to maintain operation.
However, for the current Haihan Navy, these shortcomings are relatively easy to overcome. After all, when the Haihan Navy is actually performing combat missions, it will ensure a relatively stable supply operation, and the activity area is often not too far away from the mainland.
The design and finalization of the "Dragonfly-class" reconnaissance boats was completed at the Ministry of Shipping last year. In the first half of this year, four boats were built simultaneously by the Victory Port Shipyard. After completing various tests after launching, they were respectively assigned to be stationed in Cam Ranh Port, Annan. The Third Fleet and the Fourth Fleet stationed in Fujian have replaced the previous practice of using "Exploration-class" warships as reconnaissance ships. This kind of reconnaissance boat has been in service in Penghu for less than two months. It was not even dispatched when it landed in Zhuoshui River last time. This time the Fourth Fleet went south to demonstrate outside Taiyuan Port. It can be regarded as this kind of reconnaissance boat. The reconnaissance boat performs its first mission.
Qian Tiandun brought the fleet out for training this time. He also had the idea of shooting the grass and hunting the rabbit. On the one hand, he used force to deter the hesitant Dutch, and on the other hand, he also tested the daily training status of various naval units. There is also a secret purpose, which is to reconnoiter the offshore area near Taiyuan Port. Even if you don't land, you must at least find out the conditions of the nearby coastline. If one day you fall out and really want to use force to deal with Taiyuan Port, at least you don't need to do it again. It's cramming.
The Haihan fleet was calmly conducting various navigation training in the waters off Damuan Port, but the Dutch in Fort Jelandja could no longer keep calm at this time. When the news that the Hai-Han fleet with red and blue flags appeared outside the port of Damian was returned to Fort Jelandia, Hans immediately ordered all local personnel and institutions to enter a state of war. The first reaction of the East India Company's officer in Taiyuan was that the Haihan people had lost all patience and planned to attack Taiyuan Port. Although Hans had thought about how to deal with this situation more than once, and had made corresponding emergency plans, when the moment actually arrived, Hans sadly found that the area under his jurisdiction was still under immediate control. I made a pot of porridge randomly.
Except for a very small number of soldiers who rushed to combat positions immediately after receiving orders, the first thing most people did was to go home and pack up their belongings in preparation for fleeing. Although it is said that the Haihan people have blocked the only access channel to the port, these people still have no consciousness to resist the enemy's invasion. Although very few of them have seen the Haihan militia, they generally believe that the local armed forces are not enough to stop the Haihan attack - after all, the Shibazhidu, which has tens of thousands of troops, has been defeated by the Haihan people's cannons. Next, what can Damuan Port, which has less than a thousand troops, do to stop the Haihan people?
There are many coastal defense forts built near Taiyuan Port, but these artillery pieces have not been fired for several years. Whether they can continue to be used safely remains to be seen. The key is that the local gunners who know how to fire guns have long been rusty. It's hard to say whether it can withstand the attack of the Haihan fleet.
Once the port was breached, the only defense facility the Dutch could rely on was Fort Geranje, which had only completed the first phase of its construction. Historically, this castle was built in 1624, and it took nearly thirty years of construction to be completed. Although the appearance of the Haihan people allowed it to complete the first phase of the project nearly two years earlier than the original history, it depends on Most people are pessimistic about the current level of completion to resist the Haihan people with strong ships and powerful guns.
(End of chapter)