Throughout September, the Dutch fleet remained stranded in the Copper Mountain area.
One is to avoid the continuous storm, and the other is to wait for the arrival of pirates such as Liu Xiang and Li Guozhu.
After several negotiations, Liu Xiang and Li Guozhu finally strengthened their determination and came to join the Dutch fleet.
"Liu, based on your understanding of Zheng Zhilong, will he fight us to the end?"
Liu Xiang stared at the sea in front of him, his eyes full of greed.
He always felt that this sea belonged to him and was taken away from him by Zheng Zhilong.
"Zheng Zhilong regards this place as a forbidden area and will never allow anyone to get involved. He will not give up until he defeats us."
Hans Putmans nodded silently after hearing this.
"With all due respect, your shabby ships are no match for the Dutch."
Liu Xiang gave him a sarcastic look.
"War is not just about good weapons. Hans, I advise you to be careful. After all, this is Zheng Zhilong's territory, and he has countless pairs of eyes here. Maybe at this moment, he is hiding in the shadows and peeping
.Once you reveal your flaws, you will feel his terror."
Hans Putmans curled his lips, always feeling that Liu Xiang was being alarmist.
This damn pirate obviously had the same interests as the Dutch, but in order to invite him to come out, Hans Putmans had to offer many generous conditions.
In the opinion of Hans Putmans, Liu Xiang is far more hateful than Zheng Zhilong.
After getting rid of Zheng Zhilong, he decided to liquidate Liu Xiang.
This lucrative ocean must belong entirely to the Dutch.
On October 15th, Zheng Zhilong's fleet rushed to Haicheng to join forces with Fujian Governor Zou Weilian.
It was in Haicheng that Zou Weilian swore an oath to fight.
He appointed Zheng Zhilong as the vanguard and put all the ships of the Fujian Ming Army under Zheng Zhilong's command.
Zheng Zhilong divided the huge fleet into four parts.
Two of them circled to the west of Tongshan, and the other two stayed to the east of Tongshan. In a pincer attack, they began to search for traces of the Dutch in the nearby waters.
On the 17th, the Zheng family's scouts finally saw the shadow of the Dutch outside Tongshan.
At the same time, the Dutch also learned of Zheng Zhilong's arrival.
"Akito is planning a decisive battle. They have more ships and more people. We must have a perfect strategy and cannot wait for them to come over."
Although Anthony Van Diemen was only a parliamentarian, he was also familiar with war.
His opinions were taken seriously by Hans Putmans.
"My idea is to attack the Akito to the west first. After taking care of them, go back and destroy the enemies to the east. Akito's ship is too slow, and dividing the troops like this will only lead to death one by one."
Anthony van Diemen felt very good about his operational arrangements.
Liu Xiang, Li Guozhu and other pirates don't care.
Anyway, they knew that they were only supporting in this battle, and their ships could not help the Dutch too much.
Plans were drawn up and the Dutch fleet took action.
But there is one thing Liu Xiang said is right.
This is Zheng Zhilong's territory after all. Before the Dutch fleet left the port, their whereabouts were learned by Zheng Zhilong.
"Now the various ministries are still lagging behind, and we must hold back the Dutch."
Zheng Zhilong looked around at the generals, hoping that one of them would stand up.
As expected, he was not disappointed.
"Brother, I'm going to stop the Dutchman."
Zheng Zhihu never said a word about the war.
At critical moments, you can still rely on your brothers.
Zheng Zhilong made arrangements for this.
"Don't fight head-on with the Dutch. As long as you can hold off for three days, we will win this battle."
Off the coast of Tongshan.
The Dutch fleet sailing out of the port suddenly received an order from the flagship, turned their ships around, and headed towards the east.
Liu Xiang was confused and hurried over to ask.
"Hans, aren't you going to fight the enemies in the west? Why are you heading east now?"
Standing on the podium, Hans Putmans was extremely proud.
"Liu, you all know that this is Zheng Zhilong's territory. How could I not think of it? There will definitely be a spy reporting our actions to Zheng Zhilong. I think Zheng Zhilong must be fully prepared in the west at this moment. In this case, we will give
It's a surprise for him."
Liu Xiang's eyes were astonished. He didn't expect that Westerners could also play tricks.
He knew very well that if Zheng Zhilong was really deceived by Hans Putmans' plan, this time would probably be more disastrous.
The next day, Zheng Zhihu, who was tasked with blocking the enemy, encountered two Dutch warships off the coast of Tongshan.
After a hard battle, the two Dutch warships were wounded and headed east.
"No, big brother is in danger. Send someone quickly to report to big brother. The Dutch have played a trick of attacking in the east and attacking in the west."
A small speedboat in Zheng Zhihu's fleet quickly headed east.
But after so long, is there still time to report to Zheng Zhilong?
Zheng Zhihu did not know that Zheng Zhilong had not encountered the Dutch fleet at all.
This is not because the Dutch are slacking off, but because someone reminded Zheng Zhilong.
"According to the information we got from interrogating Dutch prisoners, Hans Putmans is an experienced general, and his best skill is deception. As an officer, I always feel that he will not go west, let alone
It might be coming towards us."
Zuo Hua's words were so conclusive that Zheng Zhilong couldn't help but fall into deep thought.
He was actually a little annoyed.
What’s frustrating is that there really aren’t many talented people under my command.
Although he has many generals, and they are all very brave in fighting, but not many people can help him with this kind of resourcefulness.
In particular, this was his first contact with the practice of searching and summarizing enemy generals' combat habits before a war.
"Give me the order to withdraw from Chongwu. Send someone else to tell Lao Er to proceed carefully and not to rush in."
Because of Zuo Hua's reminder, Zheng Zhilong avoided a head-on collision with the Dutch.
For a time, an eerie tranquility formed in the sea off Fujian.
Both sides knew that the decisive battle was coming, and both sides gathered all their energy and began to search for traces of the other side on the sea.
This is a short story in words, but it is long and tedious in practice.
The two sides went back and forth on the sea for more than ten days. In the end, Zheng Zhilong came out on top.
The local snake gave Zheng Zhilong great benefits.
Let him discover the traces of the Dutch first.
"There were strong winds and waves the day before yesterday. In order to avoid danger, the Dutch docked all their fleets in Liaoluo Bay. I saw with my own eyes that the Dutch even boarded the shore and plundered everywhere. I'm afraid they won't leave for a while."
After getting this information, Zheng Zhilong burst out laughing.
"God is really helping me."
Because after this period of testing, the Zheng Zhihu fleet in the west has advanced to the Zhenhaiwei area.
Even if no scouts find traces of the Dutch, as the battlefield shrinks, the Dutch will be surrounded.
But now the Dutch have nothing to hide from Zheng Zhilong.
"Send a clipper to tell Xi Mian that we must arrive at Liao Luo Wan early tomorrow morning. As soon as you arrive, take action immediately without waiting for my order."
