EBE Chapter 620 The Burning Fleet
Chapter 620 The Burning Fleet
Chapter 620 The Burning Fleet
As the saying goes, water and fire are incompatible. The sea does not catch fire. The reason why the Dutch fleet was in a sea of fire was because Wang Wenzhou ordered the catapults to launch only whale oil.
In this era, there was no petrochemical industry, and oil was a very precious commodity, consisting mainly of vegetable or animal oil. Even in war, oil-based fire attacks were rarely used because the cost was too high.
For this reason, Vincent never expected that Wang Wenzhou, that spendthrift son, would be willing to use so much oil in order to win the battle.
In this era, all warships were made of wood. Not to mention wood, even steel could catch fire if it got wet with oil. In no time, every single Dutch warship was on fire.
Looking at the burning fleet, Vincent helplessly ordered, "Pass down the order: everyone abandon ship and escape."
First Officer Layton of the HMS Hendrick nodded and immediately ordered the messenger to relay the message.
The sailors on the Dutch warships jumped overboard to escape. Although fires raged on the surface, as long as they dived underwater and swam a short distance, survival was not a problem.
A moment later, Layton returned to the command room and said, "Commander, the crew has abandoned ship. You should abandon ship as well."
Vincent shook his head and said with deep emotion, "Twenty years ago, the Hendrick was launched, and I was fortunate enough to be one of the first sailors on a warship. Since then, I have worked my way up step by step, from a sailor to the captain of the Hendrick, and finally to the commander of the Taiwan Fleet."
“Sigh…” Vincent sighed and said with a wry smile, “I knew it would be a tough battle today, but I didn’t expect us to lose so quickly! You go. If you are lucky enough to survive, be sure to tell the governor to be careful of Wang Wenzhou, the Ming army commander. He is a cunning man and he should not fall for his tricks again!”
Layton quickly advised, "Your Excellency, please leave! This defeat is not due to a lack of skill. If the Second Fleet dares to come, we will surely achieve a great victory."
"Pat pat!" Vincent patted Layton on the shoulder and said, "You go, don't worry about me. The Hendrick is like my child, I can't let it leave this world alone."
"Your Excellency!" Layton still wanted to offer some advice.
Vincent shook his head, pushed Layton out of the command room, and locked the door.
Left with no other option, Layton had to escape on his own.
The Hendrick had a large hole burned through its hull, and seawater quickly flooded in, causing the warship to slowly sink.
With tears in his eyes, Vincent stroked the ship with reluctance. Although the Hendrick was nearing the end of its service life and had long been transferred from the main fleet, Vincent still had a deep affection for it. It had not only witnessed his youth, but it was also the most important companion in his life.
……
On the "Little Lanlan," Wang Wenzhou was in high spirits. This battle was a resounding victory. He hugged Li Ling and kissed her, then said with a smile, "Jian Fengyu, pass down the order to clean up the battlefield. Capture as many of these Dutchmen in the sea as you can; they're all pocket change!"
"Yes!" Jian Fengyu accepted the order and left.
Wang Wenzhou patted Liu Li's bottom and said with a smile, "Baby, go get some wine and have a drink with me."
"Okay!" Liu Li nodded and quickly did as instructed.
Wang Wenzhou was afraid of danger and did not dare to bring Chen Yuanyuan and Li Mei on the ship, but he could not be without pretty girls by his side, so this time he only had Li Ling and Liu Li with him.
Li Ling was quite pleased. She rarely had the chance to be alone with Wang Wenzhou, and she wanted to take this opportunity to curry favor with him. After all, she, a princess of South Korea, couldn't be a maidservant forever.
Liu Li felt somewhat aggrieved. They were all Wang Wenzhou's women, so why was there such a big difference? Chen Yuanyuan and Li Mei could rest safely on Penghu Island, but she was dragged into danger by Wang Wenzhou. It was really unfair.
Two hours later, Jian Fengyu came to report: "Reporting to my lord, the battlefield has been cleaned up, and a total of more than four thousand prisoners have been captured. All of the enemy's warships have sunk, except for one warship, which was not burned and was captured by Liu Xiang."
Wang Wenzhou put his arm around Liu Li and took a sip of wine from her mouth, saying with a smile, "Baby, your dad is pretty lucky. Jian Fengyu told Liu Xiang that the warship he captured is his."
“Yes!” Jian Fengyu nodded.
"Let's go back to Penghu to rest for a bit, and then march on Taiwan tomorrow. Without the fleet, the Dutch in Taiwan are like a beautiful naked girl standing in front of us; we can have sex with them whenever we want," Wang Wenzhou said with a loud laugh.
Just then, the two babies left on the island found themselves in danger.
Admiral Robin van Persie, commander of the Dutch Second Fleet aboard the Flying Dutchman, was heartbroken. He never imagined that the Taiwanese fleet would be reduced to ashes in just one hour.
Naval battles in this era were quite slow, since ships weren't fast. It would take several hours for two fleets to circle around and fire cannons. Once one fleet's sails were damaged and it lost its mobility, it would either surrender or the other side would approach and board the ships for hand-to-hand combat.
This was the primary naval warfare tactic of that era. Although cannons existed, it was practically impossible to destroy large warships using cannons alone. The power of cannons was limited, and the shells they fired were solid shot, which could not explode.
The Dutch plan was quite meticulous: Vincent's Taiwanese fleet would tie down Wang Wenzhou's fleet, while Van Persie would lead the Dutch Second Fleet in a surprise attack. With this coordinated attack from both inside and outside, it would be virtually impossible for Wang Wenzhou to win.
But the Dutch never expected that Wang Wenzhou's fire attack would be so effective this time. In less than an hour, the Dutch fleet in Taiwan was wiped out.
Van der Ce learned of the destruction of the Taiwanese fleet from Leiden. Leiden was lucky; after jumping into the sea, he remained submerged and was not caught by Wang Wenzhou's men who were cleaning up the battlefield.
Layton swam frantically toward the direction from which the Second Fleet had come, and finally encountered the Second Fleet, which had arrived late.
Van der Si wanted to continue the attack, partly to avenge his friend Vincent, and partly because Wang Wenzhou's fleet was currently cleaning up the battlefield and could not quickly organize a formation to meet the attack.
However, Layton opposed the attack. He recounted the size of Wang Wenzhou's fleet, stating that although the Second Fleet was powerful, it was not worth it to fight a pack of wolves against a tiger, as it would result in heavy losses on both sides.
Furthermore, Layton said that Wang Wenzhou's supply point was on Penghu Island. Now, while Wang Wenzhou's fleet was away, they should directly attack Penghu Island, so that Wang Wenzhou would not be able to attack Taiwan and would have no choice but to obediently return to Fujian.
Van der Sie thought for a moment. The Second Fleet had come from the Netherlands, a journey that took more than four months, with little rest along the way, constantly adrift at sea. The officers and men had indeed endured considerable hardship, but the decision to launch a surprise attack was made solely to encircle and annihilate Wang Wenzhou's fleet.
Although a surprise attack was still possible, the chances of victory were slim. Therefore, Van der Ce agreed to Leiden's plan and led his fleet straight to Penghu Island.
Penghu Island was indeed Wang Wenzhou's supply point, with a thousand troops stationed there, as were Chen Yuanyuan and Li Meibao.
When the Dutch Second Fleet sailed toward the port, Chen Yuanyuan was completely dumbfounded. What should she do?