Due to time constraints, the Executive Committee did not originally plan to visit both sides of the Taiwan Strait during its trip north. They just followed the past practice and notified the Fujian side in advance by telegram of the approximate time when the Executive Committee's fleet would pass through the strait.
Otherwise, the sudden appearance of such a large fleet in Fujian waters, many of which are naval warships, may cause local misunderstandings and panic.
Despite this, the Fujian government, after receiving the news, still followed its usual practice and sent an armed fleet to wait near Chaozhou to perform escort missions during the transit of the Executive Committee fleet.
Not only that, Xu Yuzhuo, the governor currently in charge of Fujian, also put down his government affairs, temporarily returned to his old profession, and personally went to sea to serve as the commander of this escort fleet.
Fujian and Taiwan, facing each other across the sea, are two special areas within the Haihan rule. They are located between the two major regions and the Donghai Region, but they are not under the jurisdiction of these two regions and exist independently in terms of administrative divisions.
After Xu Xinsu passed away, Xu Yuzhuo took over the Fujian region as the heir recognized by the Executive Committee. The Executive Committee also kept its promise to Xu Xinsu and did not immediately merge Fujian into the two major regions or the Donghai Region. It did its best both administratively and militarily. May have retained its original independence.
However, the Executive Committee will not allow the Xu family to be the local emperor in Fujian. Taiwan across the strait is one of the means used to suppress Fujian, ensuring that at least half of the strait waterways are under the control of Haihan.
Once something happens in Fujian, the Taiwan fleet can blockade all important ports in Fujian in the shortest possible time, control the strait waterways, and cut off Fujian's most important financial source.
Of course, the executive committee has been very satisfied with the loyalty shown by the Xu family and Xu Yuzhuo so far, and they have never contradicted the government orders from Sanya.
After the fleet led by Xu Yuzhuo rendezvoused with the Executive Committee fleet in the Chaozhou waters, the first thing he did was to send a signal to express his intention. Then he took a small boat and went to the ship where the Executive Committee members were, and said hello to his superiors in person. .
Although Xu Yuzhuo's move slightly delayed the fleet's schedule, it was an extremely smart move. This was to show his respectful attitude and gain an opportunity to meet with his superiors; secondly, it was also to reassure the Executive Committee that the purpose of leading the fleet was only to escort, and there was absolutely no malicious intention.
Then the Fujian fleet took on the role of pilot, leading the huge fleet to continue heading north.
When the fleet sailed into the waters between Zhangzhou and Penghu, the escort fleet from Taiwan also joined.
On the Dutch sailing ship, Su Keyi was asking his son Su Yongshan with great interest: "Yongshan, do you think there is any difference between the Fujian fleet and the Taiwan fleet?"
Su Yongshan's observation skills were not bad, and he immediately replied: "Father, the scale of the Fujian fleet's dispatch is obviously much larger, and the number of warships is almost double that of the Taiwan fleet."
Su Keyi asked: "What else?"
Su Yongshan said: "The other is that the warships of the Taiwan fleet are larger and have more gun ports visible on the sides. I would venture to guess that their combat power should be higher than that of the Fujian warships."
Su Keyi nodded slightly and said: "Although you are not familiar with military affairs, you still understand the key points." Su Yongshan asked: "These two fleets face each other across the sea. They should be of the same level. Why is there such a difference?"< br>
Su Keyi patiently explained the reason to him: "This Fujian fleet was originally owned by the Fujian Navy of the Ming Dynasty. It was mainly composed of Fu Ship and Guang Ship of the Ming Dynasty, plus the small warships purchased by Xu Xinsu from Haihan in the early years. . Although the ship is somewhat old, the Fujian fleet has hardly participated in wars in recent years. Without demand, there is no motivation to spend money on updating. ”
"As for the Taiwan fleet, its existence has the intention of suppressing the coast of Fujian and monitoring the movements of the Xu family. Of course, the configuration of the warships must be better. The Executive Committee... after all, it is impossible to completely trust the old ministers of the Ming Dynasty!"< br>
Su Yongshan reminded: "Father, I think Haihan's arrangement is not necessarily to monitor Fujian. The Taiwan fleet is said to be stationed in Penghu and Kaohsiung ports, and it happens to sandwich our Damuan Port in the middle. The intentions are not very friendly.”
Su Keyi coughed twice and said: "Haihan has long admitted that Damuan Port is fully controlled by the East India Company. Besides, Damuan Port is only a commercial port now, and there is no possibility of armed conflict with Haihan."
Having said that, Su Keyi knew in his heart that the situation Su Yongshan said did indeed exist.
When Spain and the Netherlands divided the island of Taiwan, one occupied Taipei and the other occupied Tainan. However, Spain was unlucky and became Haihan's first choice. So Haihan moved in, Taipei changed hands, and Spain's maritime trade routes in Northeast Asia were interrupted.
Seeing that the situation was not good at that time, the Dutch East India Company adjusted its strategy in time and sought peace talks with Haihan, and was finally able to save the colony of Damuan Port.
Of course, although the place was saved, it was not without cost. The borders of the Dutch territory in Taiyuan Port were defined, the size of the garrison was also restricted, and no more shore defenses were allowed to be built in the port. All the forts and forts that had been built were also demolished.
This means that Damuan Port can only remain an undefended trading port, retaining only the armed personnel needed to maintain local security. External security and defense issues are left to the Haihan garrison in Taiwan.
This situation is certainly not a result that the Dutch are happy to accept. It is tantamount to ending the Netherlands' development prospects in Taiwan. Moreover, as long as Haihan needs it, he can cut off the Dutch trade routes to Northeast Asia at any time just like he did with the Spaniards. .
But people under the roof had to bow their heads. The Dutch East India Company knew that its force was inferior to Haihan, and trying to resist would only bring trouble to itself, so it had no choice but to accept such an arrangement.
Although the relationship with Haihan is now pretty good, it is very clear within the East India Company that Damuan Port is a scar that records humiliation. Normally no one would take the initiative to touch this scar. At this time, Su Yongshan, who was not familiar with the past, suddenly mentioned it. Su Keyi was caught off guard and could only pass the topic with a few perfunctory words.
But no matter what, Haihan's military strength is obvious. The scale of these two armed fleets serving as escort missions in the Fujian Strait is enough to make the Su family's father and son envious.
Su Keyi even thought that the current state of Damuan Port was not necessarily a bad thing. At least old rivals like Portugal and Spain would not dare to come here to cause trouble. The East India Company did not need to build fortifications or station heavy troops here. In fact, it was considered a bad thing. I also saved a lot of money.
Thinking of this, Su Keyi suddenly felt much better, and the smile reappeared on his face.