Off the coast of Guangzhou, three small islands named Laowanshan, Lingdingshan and Wengshan stand on the sea.
It is about 180 miles away from the nearest land. Although the three islands are not big, they are all named after mountains because the islands are covered with undulating mountains and dense trees.
The three small islands are located in places with deep ocean currents, and the surrounding waters are rich in fish products. They are the favorite places for fishermen in Guangdong to fish. Because there are these three small islands here, fishermen can also rest on the islands.
Stay here for a long time.
However, the three small islands are located in remote areas. The islands lack fresh water and are not suitable for long-term living. Therefore, they are only used as a temporary settlement for fishermen and have a permanent population.
Since June, this place has been occupied by the Francois. Their warships are cruising nearby, and dozens of fishermen's fishing boats have been attacked and sunk by them. This group of Francois bandits is the
In this way, they tried to force the Ming Dynasty to grant them the privilege of opening a port to station on the coast of Guangzhou and conduct trade.
The autumn sun was shining brightly. After the previous few days of rainy days, the French sailors were all lying on the deck topless and sunbathing. The rainy days were finally over, so why not enjoy it while the sunshine was just right.
Six warships floated on the wide sea with the waves.
Leading this fleet of six warships was Yasin, the deputy commander of the Eastern Fleet of the Franconian Kingdom. This man was also the governor of the Xingang Base of the Champa Kingdom. Since His Majesty King Manuel of the Franconian Kingdom assigned Alme
Count Da was the commander-in-chief of the Eastern Fleet and led the first thirty warships to attack the Eastern coast.
land, conquered many ports in the Eastern countries, and plundered a large amount of wealth. Everyone in the Franconian Kingdom believed that this kind of action was a way to make a fortune, so the state and individuals funded a considerable amount of money to allow Almeida's Eastern Fleet to
The scale has become even larger. From the initial thirty warships, it has now increased to more than one hundred warships.
Of course, because they occupied too many places, the fleets were stationed in various ports to protect the trade of the Franco Kingdom. In each of the occupied places, governors were also established to manage local trade and interests.
Yaxin was originally just a gangster in the army. However, this person was quick-witted, good at seizing opportunities, and had been looking for such opportunities.
Ten years ago, when the Eastern Fleet was making a fortune in the East, Yasin tried every means to join the Eastern Fleet. For ten years, he followed Almeida to kill everyone, and even replaced Almeida in the battle against Mansiga.
He blocked a crossbow arrow fired by a local native. Although he paid the price of an eye for this, his official career was prosperous from then on, rising from lieutenant to deputy commander-in-chief of the fleet.
Although there are as many as eight deputy commanders-in-chief of the Eastern Fleet, this is still a very high position.
After capturing Xingang, Yaxin set his sights on the Ming Empire in the Eastern Continent. But he knew that it was a monster that was not easy to deal with, so he planned to only make money and monopolize the trade routes.
The Champa Kingdom has close ties with the Ming Dynasty. After occupying Xingang, he met a prince of Champa named Bu Guliang. Through his matchmaking, he established a relationship with a prince of the Ming Dynasty. Under the operation of that prince, he
Several warships were sent to Tuen Mun Island and obtained the right of residence on Tuen Mun Island.
Since then, a steady stream of money has flowed into his pockets, and Yaxin has made a lot of money and is very fat. Within a year, he has bought a large manor in the southern part of the Franji Kingdom and married a
A beautiful wife. At the same time, her career is also improving.
By sharing interests, he had already established a relationship with King Manuel's brother Fisher King. Fisher told him that soon he would become the commander-in-chief of the Eastern Fleet, taking over Almeida's position, and
Will be appointed Governor General of India.
It can be said that everything went smoothly, and Yaxin was about to become a famous figure in the history of the Franco Kingdom. But at this moment, a marquis from the Ming Dynasty came to Guangdong. And overnight, he led a group of fishermen and
The local ragtag navy not only recaptured Tuen Mun Island, but also detained their own warships, horses, and personnel.
One of the detained lieutenants, Figo, came back and sent a message to the Ming Dynasty people, saying that he wanted to use money to redeem people. Yaxin was furious. This bad Ming Dynasty prince who came out cut off his own financial path and asked for his own money.
Spending money to redeem people? How can you let him get used to it? This way of making money cannot be cut off. You must show them how to behave.
So Yasin led six warships and set out from Xingang. They easily recaptured Tuen Mun and rescued the hostages. By the way, they also killed a group of people and kidnapped a group of Ming Dynasty women.
If the Ming Dynasty had not built an artillery fort above Humen, and the bombardment from a high position was very fierce, he would have planned to sail the warship to the Pearl River and bombard it deep into the interior of Ming Guangdong to appease his anger.
Of course, the Prince of the Ming Dynasty sent someone to warn him not to go too far. He only needed to force the court to allow trade to proceed and restore the original financial path. Yaxin followed suit and felt that this was the best result. Dongfang
The fleet is not ready to go to war with Ming yet. If he really angers Ming and the two sides start a war, his private actions will make him guilty.
Commander-in-Chief Almeida is a prudent person. He has already warned everyone that some countries can be conquered by force, but the Ming Empire is not easy to mess with. Before you are completely sure, you should not make enemies with it, lest all your previous efforts will be wasted.
The Ming court rejected the request, so Yaxin led his troops to cause nuisance along the coast. He knew that the Ming Dynasty had issued an imperial edict to lift the sea ban. People went to the sea one after another, and foreign merchants from all over the country were also ready to trade. He was so busy along the coast.
Harassment will naturally force the other party to consider their own conditions.
These days, although they were floating on the sea, they attacked many fishing boats and killed many people. There was no response from the Ming Dynasty, and they were a little bored.
Yaxin was half-naked, with his hairy chest exposed in his military uniform, leaning on a canvas chair and basking in the sun. He had one eye squinted, looking very contented.
In the cabin, two soldiers carried a dying woman out. The woman's hair was messy, her clothes were torn, and a large area of skin was exposed. Her eyes were closed, and she seemed to be dying.
"What's going on? What's wrong with that woman?" Yaxin asked with a frown.
"Dear Chief Yaxin, this woman kidnapped from the Ming Dynasty is going to die. Last night, Lieutenant Kamil played too hard and broke the woman. She was bleeding profusely." A soldier reported.
Yaxin frowned and looked at a drunken bearded captain sitting next to him with a glass of wine in his hand.
"Camille, can't you take it easy? This is the third woman you've messed with. Can't you change your perverted ways?"
The bearded Kamil shrugged and said: "Dear deputy commander, you can't blame me. I'm so bored every day. What else can I do except play with these women? There have been no ships for more than ten days in a row. We are drifting every day.
What’s the point of being on the sea?”
Yaxin scolded: "Let's play with it, why should we ruin her?"
"She refused and bit me. You see, the part on my arm was turned purple by her bite." Camille rolled up his sleeves to show his wounds.
"Besides, I was just annoyed, so I stabbed her with a stick, and she fainted. Dear Commander, you wouldn't scold me for a Ming Dynasty woman. If she was about to die, you would throw her into the sea.
That's all." Camille rolled her eyes.
Yaxin cursed and waved his hands to the two soldiers carrying the woman.
Two soldiers picked up the dying woman and threw her over the side of the ship. With a pop, the woman sank into the sea.
"I tell you, Lord Governor, there is no way we can stay here every day. I suggest that we either drive to the coast of the Ming Dynasty to kill people and bombard their fishing villages and towns, or we simply go back to the Xingang base. We can't get anything if we stay here.
Not even." Camille said, belching wine.
"Camille, I think you miss the local women in Newport. Hahaha." A soldier lying on the deck squinting in the sun laughed.
"So what? Xingang is so nice. The local women are a bit ugly, but there are many of them. A piece of bread can sleep for one night. Besides, the weather is getting cold now. Xingang is like spring all year round, and it is very comfortable
"Why are you wasting your time here? Governor of Yaxin, what do you think?" Kamil said.
Yaxin frowned. He didn't want to leave here and go to Xingang. He also raised several local beauties in Xingang and lived like an emperor. But things here were not done well. The Ming Dynasty did not give any reply.
If you just leave like this, nothing will be done and you won't make any money. How can you leave?
"Be patient a little longer. The Prince of the Ming Dynasty we contacted said that as long as we make more trouble, he can use this to write to their emperor and agree to our conditions. Camille, you are right. We think we can
It will hurt them more to hit them. But it will take some time, and the port will replenish food, water, and ammunition. We will hit them directly inland and let them know the consequences of neglecting us." Yaxin said solemnly.
"That's great. Bring the three warships from Newport with us. Ten warships are enough to make them howl like ghosts. As long as we don't go ashore, our warships and artillery are invincible." Camille shouted.
road.
Yaxin nodded slightly. He still had great confidence in his warships and artillery. The Ming Dynasty's warships and artillery were simply ridiculous. Unless they relied on large numbers of people, they were useless. As long as he did not go ashore, they would
Just get beaten.
At this moment, the mast stared at a sailor who was looking around with a telescope and shouted overhead.
"What is that? It seems to be a ship. A big ship. Mr. Governor, yes, that is a big ship."
"Where?" Yaxin jumped up and put the black eyepatch on his face over his blind left eye.
"It's right there on the island. It's sailing around the island and heading towards us. It's such a big ship." the observation post shouted loudly.
Yaxin rushed onto the ship's deck, picked up the telescope and took a look. Sure enough, a large black ship was on the sea a few miles away. It was sailing around the Lingding Mountain island in the west of the three islands.
Come here. The hull of the ship reflects dim light in the sun.
"It's a warship. It has artillery and gun windows. It hangs the flag of the Ming Dynasty. It's the navy of the Ming Dynasty." Yaxin said loudly: "Send the order, prepare to fight, there are enemies."
The horn whistled, and the battle warning was quickly transmitted to each warship. The French navy on the six Centipede ships heard the sound and moved towards the battle position without having time to put on their clothes. The anchor was activated and the triangle sail was quickly pulled.
In the cabin, the gunners started busy preparing for battle.
Less than half the incense injection time had passed, and all the ships had already begun to form a cone-shaped battle formation and rushed towards the enemy ship on the side of the island several miles away.