The Strait of Malacca is a strait currently under absolute control by the Portuguese. The Portuguese built a fortress in Malacca and deployed a huge fleet. Even the increasingly powerful Imperial Navy has nothing to do with Malacca for the time being.
Although the Portuguese who blocked the Strait of Malacca did not explicitly refuse ships from other countries to pass through this strait, this was only superficial.
There are currently many merchant ships that can pass through this strait. Some merchants from indigenous countries in the West Asian region are able to pass through this strait, but they inevitably need to be under the full supervision of the Portuguese.
Even the merchant ships of the empire can actually use this strait!
However, once you enter this strait, you basically leave your life and death in the hands of the Portuguese. No one knows if any 'accidents' happen while passing through the strait.
Of course, the Portuguese will never admit that they did it. They will say that it was pirates or a storm.
In order to avoid this risk, Datang Western Company never passed through this strait from the beginning. The route they took was from the domestic mainland, then arrived at the Luzon Islands (Philippine Islands), and then departed from the Luzon Islands.
, bypassing the west of Borneo from the east, entering the Banten Islands (Indonesia Islands), and finally arriving at Banten (Java Island).
At this time, Banten has developed into the empire's most important supply port and military base in the southern seas. More than 2,000 soldiers have been stationed here for a long time to resist the indigenous kingdoms on the Banten Islands. It is also the
Guard against the Portuguese and numerous pirates in Southeast Asian waters.
After arriving in Banten, the merchant ships of Datang Western Company went through the final round of rest and replenishment of cargo, then crossed the Banten Strait and entered the edge of the Indian Ocean, and then headed westward along Sumen Island (Sumatra Island) in the Banten Islands.
However, during this period, Sumen Island was still under the control of indigenous forces such as the Kingdom of Aceh, and the Portuguese also had certain influence on it. Therefore, the Datang Western Company did not establish a colony on Sumen Island for the time being.
The Acehnese, who had serious hostile relations with the Portuguese and frequently fought wars with each other, cooperated and rented their ports for supplies.
Then they will leave the Banten Islands, go straight into the vast Indian Ocean, and go all the way west to India. They will follow the ocean currents and monsoons, and finally cross the Indian Ocean and finally enter India!
This section of the route actually enters the depths of the vast Indian Ocean, which is the safest time.
Where is the dangerous route? Actually close to the coastline!
For example, in the waters of Southeast Asia, there are many pirates here, and the Portuguese are also among them. Maritime security is not optimistic, especially from Malacca to Borneo, the southernmost tip of the South China Sea, and the sea area connected to the Banten Sea (Java Sea), which was controlled by the empire.
Maritime merchants call this area of the Malacca Sea, where many pirates are active.
In addition to here, there are several other dangerous routes, such as the Andaman Sea west of the Strait of Malacca, where pirates often ambush and attack passing merchant ships.
As for how many of these pirates are Portuguese, how many are Acehnese, or how many are Indians or even pirate ships disguised as imperial navy and company fleets, it is unknown.
That thing, everyone is doing it anyway, but everyone refuses to admit it, so no one can say who is wrong!
But it is undeniable that whether it is the Malacca Sea or the Andaman Sea, they all have a common feature, that is, they are close to the Strait of Malacca, but one is in the east and the other is in the west.
The Andaman Sea is the eastern beginning of the Indian Ocean route. Whether it is merchant ships passing through the Strait of Malacca or merchant ships bypassing the Strait of Malacca and entering the Indian Ocean via the southern coastline of Sumen Island like the Datang Western Company, most of them inevitably need to pass through the Andaman.
Island waters.
The same is true in the waters of Malacca!
This can also indirectly reflect the importance of the Strait of Malacca!
Pirates all know how to ambush at the east and west ends of the strait!
However, even if they know that this route is very dangerous, the merchant ships still have to go there bravely. However, everyone has their own way of survival.
Ordinary maritime merchants will deploy naval guns on merchant ships to turn them into armed merchant ships.
Large-scale maritime merchants will organize fleets to go to sea as a group, and sometimes invite navy warships to escort them.
However, the merchant fleet of Datang Western Company does not need to be like this!
They have their own battleships for escort!
Today, a rather small fleet of Datang Western Company sails in the Andaman Sea!
The size of this merchant fleet is not large, but it is not small either. It has three armed merchant ships and a frigate for escort!
In order to ensure profits, in fact, even if it is an escort frigate, in addition to necessary materials, there is also a large amount of goods in the warehouse. Datang Western Company is a commercial company, and it cannot be just for fighting, even if it is a warship escort
, then you have to ensure that you won’t lose money.
The commander of this small fleet is Tong Shangchao, the captain of the Arctic frigate of the Datang Western Company fleet. He wears on his shoulders a third-class military rank exclusive to the Datang Western Company fleet. This third-class military rank is naturally not a naval lieutenant colonel.
, Army Lieutenant Colonel, etc., are special military titles for armed employees of Datang Western Company.
The armed employees of Datang Western Company also have military ranks in order to better distinguish them. However, their military ranks do not use the common army and navy commanders, lieutenants, etc., but use relatively low-key numerical titles.
For example, first-class employees can generally be regarded as generals of the army or navy. Generally speaking, most of these first-class employees are the main persons in charge of the Datang Western Company's fleet, and they also belong to the class of senior generals.
The captain of a cruiser is generally a second-class employee, the captain of a frigate is a third-class employee, and the captain of an ordinary small military vessel is a fourth-class employee. These three levels are actually roughly equivalent to the level of a colonel.
As for ordinary officers, they range in number, and the lowest-ranking sailors or Marines are ninth-class employees.
Generally speaking, the commander of a squadron is concurrently served by the cruiser captain or frigate captain.
Tong Shangchao has been very lucky recently. After he led the fleet from Bandan Port, he had a smooth journey. He also picked up a pirate ship on the way. He bombarded it with several rounds of naval artillery, just to rush over to the pirate ship without knowing what was going on.
The pirate ship that wanted to rob was driven away.
But he didn't expect that his luck would end today!
When he used his binoculars to see three ships heading towards him at high speed, he frowned!
Those three ships are not big, but they are all multi-masted clippers, and they are full of artillery. Such ships generally have only two uses, either as warships or as pirate ships!
However, these three clippers do not fly the flags of various countries, but have no logos at all. What does this mean? It means that they are most likely pirate ships, or pirate ships disguised as warships of the navies of various countries!
No matter what kind it is, it is not a good thing for his fleet!
Damn it, I didn’t expect to encounter these damn pirates as soon as I entered the waters of Amanda!
However, as a veteran retired naval officer, even though he retired from active service half a year ago and then transferred to Datang Western Company, he still maintains the grace of an imperial soldier!
After putting down the telescope, he said to the adjutant beside him: "Send the order, first-level combat readiness!"
Level 1 combat readiness, this term almost means that a battle is about to break out, and all departments must prepare for the battle quickly!
When Tong Shangchao issued the combat readiness order, a large number of officers and non-commissioned officers came to the cabin of his ship Arctic and took action quickly. However, the first thing they did was not to open the gun windows and load ammunition. Their first thing was
What's the matter?
The first is to change shifts. The ship sails 24 hours a day. Most of the officers and sailors work in shifts. In order to ensure that all crew members have combat effectiveness when a battle breaks out, sailors who have been working continuously for a long time are allowed to rest and change.
Enter the sailors who have rested.
What's the second thing?
The chefs on the ship started cooking in advance!
Yes, when preparing for war these days, the first thing to do is actually not to do anything else, but to rest and prepare meals.
As for the real battle, it won't break out for a while, or to be more precise, it won't break out within a few hours!
In this vast sea, even if both sides have discovered each other, the actual distance is still several kilometers or even ten kilometers away.
Moreover, the ships are moving. As long as the speed difference between the two sides is not too big, then if one side turns to avoid it, the other side wants to catch up. Even if it has a speed advantage, it will not be that easy.
Therefore, after discovering potential enemies, Tong Shangchao's fleet did not sound the battle alarm in a big way, but rested when it was time and ate when it was time to eat.
Even Tong Shangchao himself, after giving the order to rest and adjust the course, was ready to have a meal!
But everyone knows that these few hours are just the dullness before the storm!
After Tong Shangchao's fleet discovered potential pirates or unknown warships disguised as pirates, they did not stupidly turn around and run away. At this time, they turned around because the wind was in the wrong direction, making it easier to catch up, and they were going to India.
, what's the point of turning around and going back to Wandan?
However, there was no sailing without rest and adjustment. They made slight angle adjustments according to the wind direction in order to obtain greater speed!
After seeing the course of this fleet, it is not difficult to guess what Tong Shangchao was thinking. He wanted to take advantage of the wind direction and directly break through the enemy's interception!