William II, Prince of Orange and the ruler of the Netherlands, stood on the "Prince", the flagship of the Dutch fleet, and looked at the Port of Lisbon in the distance with a telescope.
The Dutch and British teamed up to blockade the Portuguese port of Lisbon.
The conflict between Britain, the Netherlands and Portugal has a long history: the Netherlands drove the Portuguese out of Ambon in 1605, the Dutch drove the Portuguese out of Jakarta in 1619, and Malacca in 1641. In 1623, the Netherlands began to attack Portugal's Brazil. The British In 1622, the Portuguese captured Hormuz, and in 1630, the British used force to force Portugal to stop maritime commercial competition.
Of course, in Europe where artillery fire is everywhere, these are not big wars. These are not the reasons why Britain and the Netherlands jointly attacked the Portuguese mainland and even blocked Lisbon. The fundamental reason is that Britain and the Netherlands have obtained the most advanced technology in the far East , possessing weapons that surpass all European colleagues.
After acquiring the technology of the Formosa-type front-loading rifled gun from the far East, the Dutch began to mass-produce this new weapon, and in just a few years, hundreds of thousands of them were installed.
The Dutch are the well-deserved overlords of this era. The world at this time is in the Age of Discovery. There are about 20,000 merchant ships in the world, and 15,000 of them are Dutch. The Netherlands only has a population of more than one million, but There are hundreds of thousands of sailors.
After the Dutch obtained new rifles from the East, their armed forces became even stronger.
In Europe, no power will be silent. Strength is a bargaining chip, capital, and the ability to expand territory. The ruler of the Netherlands, William II, used Formosa rifles to build the strongest army in Europe. Finally, the first question to consider is where to use this army.
There is no doubt that Portugal is the best target.
Portugal was too weak, too rich, and too close to the Netherlands. This small country that had expanded its territory around the world in the 16th century controlled large colonies in the New World and Africa, and gained enormous wealth from the colonies. However, the Portuguese Instead of using this wealth to strengthen the country, it was squandered and used to import luxury goods from all over the world.
Portugal had colonies all over the world, and the most coveted by the Dutch was Brazil.
William II reached an agreement with Cromwell, the British ruler: the Netherlands and Britain would attack Portugal together, surround Lisbon, and force the Portuguese to sign a city-wide alliance. In the end, the Dutch wanted Brazil in the New World, and the British wanted Mozambique in Africa.
William II was a hero. In his hands, the Netherlands signed a treaty with Spain. The Eighty Years' War between the Netherlands and Spain, the Dutch motherland, officially ended, and the Netherlands gained independence. In this war with the Portuguese, William II was even more indifferent. Have no doubt that you will win.
The Netherlands is already so powerful, even more so than the vibrant Britain. And the weak Portugal has nothing, nothing but gold coins.
William II even personally boarded the warship blockading Lisbon, the Portuguese capital, to watch this unsuspicious war.
This time, on the sea, the Netherlands dispatched thirty-one battleships to blockade Lisbon. The British also dispatched seventeen battleships. Now all the outbound channels from Lisbon have been blocked. In just one month, the Portuguese colonial empire will collapse economically.
On land, Cromwell and William II sent 100,000 infantry to land in Portugal from Porto, preparing to deal a fatal blow to the sluggish Portugal.
Dutch Admiral Narsingh said to William II: "Prince, our 70,000 soldiers and 30,000 British soldiers have landed from Porto in northern Portugal. Our 70,000 soldiers are all equipped with Formosa rifles.
Encountered Portuguese legions north of Porto."
"There is no doubt that our new rifles will tear the Portuguese into pieces! This is a war with no suspense."
William II raised his chin arrogantly and said: "Okay, very good!"
After a pause, William II said: "After getting Brazil this time, I want to go back to the parliament and ask those stupid members, am I, William II, qualified to be the king of the Netherlands? If I get Brazil, I can't become me.
A reason for coronation, what else does the Dutch Parliament need?”
Narsingh knelt down on one knee and said: "Your Highness, you are already the king of the Netherlands in my heart!"
William II smiled softly and said: "God bless you, Narsingh, you will always be the admiral of the Dutch Navy!"
Narsingh's face was filled with joy and he said loudly: "Prince, let us bombard the countryside on the west bank of Lisbon with cannons. Let the weakened Portuguese see what absolute strength is!"
William II nodded and said: "Okay, Admiral, you will be in charge. Our fleet should indeed show its strength..."
However, before William II finished speaking, he suddenly heard the lookout on the mast shout loudly: "The Portuguese fleet has left the port!"
William II was stunned and said in surprise: "This is impossible!"
Narsingh stared and said loudly: "Impossible, there are only seventeen warships in Lisbon Port, and we have forty-eight warships. What can the Portuguese do to fight us?"
However, just as Narsingh roared, the Portuguese battleships had already sailed out of Lisbon Bay. The entire Portuguese army was dispatched, and seventeen battleships were launched to deal with the British and Dutch forces.
William II took a breath and said: "The Portuguese do not know how to live or die, do they think they can defend Brazil through bravery?"
Narsingh shouted loudly: "Prince, it's time for the Portuguese to understand the fighting power of our Netherlands. Prince, give the order to sink all Portuguese warships!"
Just as Narsingh roared loudly, the Portuguese fleet gradually stopped on the sea two miles away. The three largest battleships turned their bows and aimed more than 90 side string guns at the Dutch and
British Combined Fleet.
William II was stunned for a long time before he said: "Are the Portuguese crazy? No artillery can penetrate the hull of a battleship at such a long distance!"
He paused and said, "Except Li Zhi's rifled cannon."
Narsingh shouted: "Prince! The Portuguese must be completely crazy! They..."
"boom!"
"Boom boom boom!"
"Boom boom!"
Continuous shelling sounded on the sea outside Lisbon Bay. More than ninety cone-shaped shells pounced on the Dutch fleet like a god of death. The sharp steel-core shells mercilessly broke through the Dutch and British ships.
battleship armor.
In the unbelievable eyes of William II, a huge explosion exploded inside the battleship of the Anglo-Dutch Combined Fleet. The belly of the battleship seemed to be blooming, and countless pieces of wood were sprayed above the sea...
