In the battle room of the battleship Qin Shihuang, the commander of the Southern Expedition Fleet, Lu Yuanshan, summoned all the captains of the First Fleet and the Second Fleet.
The captains of each ship came to the battleship Qin Shihuang to attend a military meeting.
There is a nautical chart of the Nanyang region on the wall of the war room, and a sand table of the Nanyang region on the table.
The sand table is very rough. Due to the lack of information, it can only simulate the rough outline of the island, which is not as refined as the previous sand table.
Lu Yuanshan held a wooden stick in his hand and pointed it at a city in the Strait of Malacca.
"This place is called Danmaxi. It used to be a city where maritime merchants from all over the world had to stop when traveling between the East and the West.
More than a hundred years ago, Portugal occupied the Kingdom of Malacca, which is now the Kingdom of Fojo, and captured the place of Damasik.
The location of Tammasik is extremely important as it directly blocks the Strait of Malacca.
This is the only way for Westerners to travel to the East.
If we want to capture Java Island, we must capture Damasik and block the routes used by Westerners to support Java Island.
At the same time, they attacked the Portuguese and captured the important city of Danmaxi from them.
Our navy has not forgotten the history of the Portuguese and Dutch forming a combined fleet to launch an attack on us.
We don't care about the Portuguese here in Danmasi. Once we have a war with the Dutch, we will be anxious.
The Portuguese fleet cooperates with the Dutch to cut off our retreat, which is too risky.
In order to ensure the absolute safety of our southern expedition fleet, we must first destroy the Portuguese fleet.
Capture Tamasi and control the Strait of Malacca.
In this way, we can cut off the Dutch's supply lines.
You can also concentrate on dealing with the Dutch without fear of enemies hiding in the dark.
There are three major forces in the Nanyang region, the Portuguese, the Spanish, and the Dutch.
The main Spanish power was on the island of Luzon.
According to the information our fleet has, the Spanish army has not dispatched.
They want a piece of the pie now, and the fleet is too late to dispatch.
The Second Fleet will also help us keep an eye on Spain. These Spaniards will never get away unless they don't want Luzon.
There are two remaining forces in the Nanyang region, both of which are the current enemies of our Great China Dynasty.
We must try to form a one-on-one situation and never let them join forces."
In addition to the reasons mentioned above, Lu Yuanshan.
He also received His Majesty's words relayed by his old leader, Navy Minister Li Qingmu.
"If you want to hold Java Island, you must hold the Strait of Malacca."
The meaning of His Majesty's words is already obvious.
The Southern Expedition Fleet defeated the Dutch and captured Java Island. It also wanted to seize Tammasik and other places controlled by the Portuguese.
The official target of the Southern Expedition Fleet was the Dutch, but secretly there was another target: the Portuguese.
In His Majesty's words, the Portuguese had to pay some interest after occupying the trench for so many years.
How could the Portuguese be allowed to just slap their butts and run away? There is absolutely nothing so cheap in the world.
Lu Yuanshan and Zhang Wanfeng discussed it.
He chose to capture Damascus and the Strait of Malacca first.
After the Chinese navy captured Danmaxi, they also had a rear area of their own in the Nanyang region.
The navy of Great China captured Danmaxi to facilitate the reception of supplies transferred from Guangdong.
Danmaxi is far away from the front line of Java Island, and it is the place closest to the front line of Java Island.
It allows the transport ship of the Logistics Department to safely transport materials here.
A repair shipyard and hospital are set up here, which is also convenient for repairing ships and treating injured soldiers.
Lu Yuanshan didn't know that their Chinese navy was attacking the Dutch fleet.
Can it be resolved quickly?
If it becomes a protracted war, they will face off against the Dutch for a long time.
The Dutch had the port of Batavia where they could repair warships and replenish their troops.
The number of warships and personnel of the Dahua Navy is decreasing with the war. Even if a warship has a small problem or a soldier has a small wound, if it cannot be repaired and treated, it will cause heavy losses.
Lu Yuanshan and Zhang Wanfeng, in order to avoid this situation, decided to attack the Portuguese first and seize an advance base.
They decided on this attack sequence, and these were just internal factors that helped them make up their mind.
The external factors that made them make up their mind were the most important.
That is the Portuguese in Danmasi. Their strength is not as strong as the Dutch.
They also purchased some Western books from Spanish people and learned about them through Western businessmen.
Portugal is a country that is in decline.
The Portuguese colonies around the world were successively provoked by Spain and Britain.
The Portuguese's strength declined and they could not even defend their core territory.
The Portuguese did not have many troops stationed in Danmaxi, and the Portuguese fleet here was also extremely weak.
It was the first time for Lu Yuanshan to command such a huge fleet in battle.
The Dahua Navy also needs to find a soft persimmon first to accumulate experience and enhance morale.
The Chinese Navy's attack on the Portuguese will definitely alert the Dutch to the power of the Chinese Navy.
Lu Yuanshan was not afraid of alerting the enemy. The Chinese Dynasty announced the news of the attack in newspapers and sent such a huge fleet to the expedition.
As long as the Dutch were not stupid, they would have noticed their movements long ago.
It's not just the Dutch, there are several strange ships hanging around their fleet, hanging in the distance.
Among these people are none other than spies from the Spanish, Portuguese, and Dutch.
These ships are not warships, but sailing clippers.
They are more flexible than warships and can be located very far away, far beyond the range of naval guns.
Lu Yuanshan sent destroyers to drive them away.
The destroyers sailed toward them, the ships immediately moved away, and the destroyers followed the fleet.
These ships continued to follow the fleet.
They are like brown sugar, there is no way to drive them away.
The fleet was moving slowly, and there was no way to speed up and get rid of them.
There are not many artillery guns on these ships, which will not affect fleet operations.
Lu Yuanshan ordered a destroyer to stare at them and ignored these people.
After Niu Xiangshan listened to Lu Yuanshan's words, they, the officers, had only known that the target of the battle was the Dutch on Java Island.
Unexpectedly, when I came to Nanyang, my first enemy turned out to be the Portuguese.
The Governor and the others kept such matters a secret.
The Portuguese and the Dutch are both their old rivals.
The first battle when the navy came to prominence was the battle with the combined fleet of the Dutch and Portuguese.
They had won that year, and he believed that this time would be no exception. Their warships were more powerful and their soldiers had been trained for longer, so there was no reason for failure.
Niu Xiangshan looked at the map and asked: "Governor Lu, you just mentioned that one of the reasons for attacking Tammasik and occupying Malacca is something I don't understand.
I looked at the map and found that the long and narrow strait of Malacca was indeed the only way for the West to come to the Great China Dynasty.
But the Dutch don't need to take this route, they can go directly around Java and go to Batavia from the southern tip of Java."
While Niu Xiangshan was talking, he also made gestures on the sand table with his fingers.
Lu Yuanshan said nothing. He looked at Cao Zhengyuan, the deputy chief of staff of the First Fleet who was responsible for navigation affairs.
"Chief of Staff Cao, please explain to everyone."
Cao Zhengyuan took a wooden stick and drew a circle along the shore directly from the Cape of Good Hope at the southernmost tip of Africa.
"When Westerners want to go to the East, they go north through the Cape of Good Hope and westward along the land in the Red Sea area.
Sailing on the sea, directly crossing the vast sea, is extremely dangerous.
Westerners now only rely on compasses for navigation. They do not have a sextant and cannot determine their position on the sea.
Even if you can determine your position, you still need to consider the actual risks.
Especially in the sea area between Africa and the Southern Ocean, the sea conditions are extremely dangerous.
The shore can replenish sufficient fresh water and goods.
When sailing at night, there is a lighthouse to guide the course, making sailing very safe.
This kind of safe and guaranteed route is the route that all forces like.
The most important waterway for this route to enter East Asia is the Strait of Malacca.
According to what we have learned, once the Strait of Malacca is blocked.
The Dutch could skip the Strait of Malacca and head to Batavia along the southern part of Java Island.
Many sailors are unfamiliar with this route, and they want to open up a new route.
But there is no lighthouse along the way, so they need to build a new lighthouse.
This requirement will slow down the progress of their fleet.
I have heard from Tang Defeng and others that there are many reefs at the southern end of Java Island.
If the Dutch want to open up new routes, they must pay a huge price.
We went all the way south from Guangzhou. Because there was no lighthouse at night, our boating speed was extremely slow at night.
Once there is a storm, there is no place to take shelter.
Now these problems, as long as we block the Strait of Malacca.
The Dutch will have to go through it all over again, which will delay their time."
Captain Niu Xiangshan, after listening to Chief of Staff Cao Zhengyuan’s story.
He thought about the hardships of being a pioneer, traveling all the way from Guangdong, and sailing at night.
Blocking the Strait of Malacca would affect the Dutch's material supplies, and they would make a lot of money.
Without the Strait of Malacca, these Dutch people could only take a long way around and walk on unfamiliar waters.
Affecting the Dutch's material supply speed will increase their chances of victory.
Maybe the transport fleet was half a month late, which could change the outcome of the war.
After Lu Yuanshan saw Niu Xiangshan, several generals asked questions, and he patiently answered them.
Seeing that these generals no longer raised any questions, they all agreed to the plan to attack Malacca.
With a smile on his face, many officers of the Southern Expedition Fleet did not guess that his target was Malacca.
The Portuguese in Malacca would not have guessed that the Great China Navy would be its first target.
With the current strength of the Great China Navy's Southern Expedition Fleet.
The Portuguese were unprepared and they were bound to lose.
Lu Yuanshan confidently arranged naval operations.
"The First Fleet is responsible for blocking the Strait of Malacca and destroying the coastal defense guns on both sides of the Strait of Malacca.
The Third Fleet is responsible for attacking the Portuguese fleet and Portuguese ports.
After our navy achieves victory, we will notify the Lu Xiaoqiu Department of the Ninth Army and ask the army to send some troops ashore to receive the victory."
Lu Yuanshan did not eat alone. He handed over the task of attacking the Portuguese to the Third Fleet.
When they have a decisive battle with the Dutch fleet, the Third Fleet will also help them suppress the battle.
In a battle, there is nothing to say about letting the Third Fleet act as a support, while the First Fleet is stronger and takes the main offensive position.
After two battles, it will be a matter of course, and this time let the Third Fleet take the main offensive position.
The officers of the First Fleet also understood this truth, and no one objected.
The officers of the Third Fleet originally thought that they would not have much military merit, but this time they got the main attack mission.
Everyone is very happy and will not object.
Zhang Wanfeng, the commander-in-chief of the Third Fleet, took the lead this time.
He explained in detail the plan to attack Malacca to the officers of the Third Fleet.
At the end of the military meeting, Niu Xiangshan happily returned to the cruiser Wenzhou with a stack of documents in his arms.
Chief of Staff Shi Lang stayed on board the cruiser Wenzhou and took control of the warship.
The captains are all going to a meeting. If there is an enemy attack during this time.
They, the chiefs of staff, will assume the responsibility of captains and command warship operations.
Niu Xiangshan handed the document in his hand to Shi Lang and briefly introduced the content of the meeting.
“I really didn’t expect that our pioneer ship would really act as a pioneer this time.
These are the warning signs of war. If we can see the signal from the flagship, we will fight according to the signal.
If the signal fails for various reasons, then we will fight according to this plan."
Niu Xiangshan commanded the cruiser Wenzhou to brave the wind and waves, serving as the vanguard of the Third Fleet.
The warships rise and fall on the waves, as if celebrating the arrival of war.
They were heading south with full sail, but suddenly changed direction and headed west towards the Strait of Malacca.
…………………………
Sedes, Spanish Minister to the Chinese Dynasty, and Phil Reed, Attaché of the Embassy.
Take a sailing speedboat and follow the army of the Great China Dynasty far behind.
The entire fleet moved very slowly in order to take care of the transport ships and troop carriers.
Sides and others also know the specific goals of the Dahua Dynasty.
With the speed of the sailing clipper, it is impossible to lose it.
Sides learned from the Dahua Dynasty newspaper that the Dutch massacred the Han people in Java.
This behavior angered the Chinese Dynasty, and they sent a huge fleet to attack the Dutch.
Sides had nothing to do in the embassy every day, mainly collecting the customs and customs of the Great China Dynasty.
He felt that there was no way he could miss this opportunity.
No matter which side wins this naval battle, he will report the results of the war back to Spain.
At the same time, he sent someone to notify Manila to immediately enter a state of war readiness.
The Spaniards also had a history of massacring Han Chinese.
Who knows whether the fleet of the Great China Dynasty will attack Manila.
Sides and military attaché Phil Reed took a clipper ship to Guangzhou.
When they arrived in Guangzhou, the First Fleet and the Third Fleet had completed their rendezvous but had not yet set off.
When Thades saw this huge fleet, he felt chills running down his spine.
Manila's current defense may not be able to withstand the attack of this fleet.
They waited anxiously until the fleet set sail.
Sides saw the movements of this huge fleet.
They followed the coast of Vietnam and headed south.
At this time, Sides was completely relieved that the navy of the Great China Dynasty was only going for revenge and did not choose to attack Manila in the west.
They followed all the way, secretly frightened by the strength displayed by the navy of the Great China Dynasty.
From the telescope, Sides saw that the Dahua fleet that was supposed to be heading south suddenly turned to the west.
He looked surprised and then reacted.
Sides rapped the deck with his cane regretfully and said: "Malacca, this direction is the Strait of Malacca.
The purpose of the Great China fleet was to occupy the Strait of Malacca.
Malacca's location is so important, I should have guessed the goal of the Chinese Navy a long time ago.
Ten Batavias are not as important as one Malacca Strait.
Let’s follow up quickly and see the true strength of the Dahua Navy fleet.”
