EBE Chapter 619 Hellfire Sea
Chapter 619 Hellfire Sea
Chapter 619 Hellfire Sea
The next day, Liu Xiang's fleet, consisting of more than 600 warships of various sizes, set sail and, upon reaching the designated sea area, stood ready. A closer look would reveal that many of the warships had fire ships, laden with incendiary materials, strapped to their sides.
Liu Xiang glanced at the sky; the Dutch fleet should be arriving soon.
Suddenly, a sailor on the mast shouted, "Boss, the Dutch are here!"
Liu Xiang scolded, "Where did this 'chief' come from? How many times have I told you, we are now government soldiers, you should call me General! If you keep calling me 'chief' all the time, people will think we're planning a rebellion, that's unacceptable!"
"Yes, sir! The general's reprimand is correct!" The sailor shook his head with a wry smile. Although they were now government soldiers, they still went out to sea to rob. Apart from their families, who had all moved to Fujian, their lives were no different from before.
Liu Xiang picked up her binoculars and looked inside; it was indeed the Dutch fleet.
The Dutch Taiwan fleet, consisting of 42 warships, was fully deployed. Apart from the flagship and the "Sea Serpent"-class battleship captured from Wang Wenzhou (which were second-class battleships), the rest were all fourth-class battleships. Even so, each warship was a behemoth to Liu Xiang's fleet.
At this moment, the warship where Liu Wei was located sent a flag signal, asking Liu Xiang when to take action.
Liu Xiang thought for a moment and then instructed, "Pass down the order: don't rush. Wait until Lord Wang and the others have completed the encirclement before we begin our attack."
"Yes!" the messenger immediately relayed the order.
Onboard the HMS Hendrick, Vincent, commander of the Dutch Taiwan Fleet, was filled with worry. He hadn't expected that Liu Xiang's fleet had grown so much in just a few days; Liu Xiang had never been able to deploy so many warships before. It seemed that his allegiance to Wang Wenzhou had indeed brought him some benefits.
Vincent was prepared to die today, because he knew that once the war started, he would not only have to face Liu Xiang's attack, but also guard against Wang Wenzhou and Zheng Zhilong's sneak attacks.
If things went wrong, the Taiwanese fleet would be surrounded. But Vincent was determined to stick to the original plan and hold off the Ming fleet. In just two hours, the Dutch Second Fleet would arrive, and then they could attack from the inside and annihilate the Ming fleet.
Why two hours? Because in this era, ships were inherently slow, and time needed to be given for Wang Wenzhou to bring his hidden fleet into the battle.
Vincent ordered, "Signal the Liu Xiang fleet with flags, instructing it to move closer to us."
"Yes, sir!" The messenger immediately signaled with flags.
Liu Xiang curled his lip. "I can't align myself with you. Once Lord Wang's fleet completes its encirclement, we'll launch a fire attack. I don't want to be burned to ashes with you."
Liu Xiang instructed, "Tell Vincent to come closer to me."
Vincent shook his head. Join forces with you? Do you think I'm that stupid? All your little, dilapidated ships are just waiting to get close to my fleet so they can board and engage in hand-to-hand combat once the battle begins. My great Dutch fleet is strong and powerful; I won't fall for your tricks.
Vincent thought for a moment and instructed, "Tell Liu Xiang that our boat is slow to turn around. Let's turn around first, have them come over, and then we'll go to Fujian together."
For a time, both fleets on the sea harbored their own agendas. Liu Xiang and Vincent each found excuses to stall for time. The Dutch fleet formed a circular defensive formation, waiting for Wang Wenzhou's fleet to appear. Meanwhile, Liu Xiang had already begun instructing his subordinates to launch fire ships from their warships, preparing for a fire attack.
At this moment, Wang Wenzhou's main fleet and the Zheng brothers arrived simultaneously. To Wang Wenzhou's surprise, he had originally thought that the Dutch, seeing the approaching fleet from afar, would frantically try to break out before the encirclement was fully formed.
At this point, Liu Xiang had to launch an immediate attack to delay the Dutch breakout. However, the Dutch did not do so; instead, they remained there as if they had not noticed them.
The encirclement was completed quickly, and the Dutch fleet was completely surrounded.
Wang Wenzhou was puzzled. Had the commander of the Dutch fleet lost his mind? My main fleet could fight you to a draw, and with the fleets of Liu Xiang and Zheng Zhilong, annihilating you would be a piece of cake. Why didn't you run away?
Wang Wenzhou thought for a moment and then ordered, "Send out flag signals to tell the Dutch that they are surrounded and should surrender immediately."
A short while later, the messenger reported: "Sir, the Dutch refuse to surrender."
Wang Wenzhou curled his lip, truly unable to understand what this Dutch fleet commander was thinking.
"Pass down the order! All troops, attack!" Wang Wenzhou commanded.
"Yes, sir!" the messenger relayed the order.
The attack was first launched by Liu Xiang's fleet, with 500 fire ships surging toward the Dutch fleet.
The Dutch weren't going to sit idly by and wait to be killed. Vincent was just trying to buy time; he didn't want to be burned alive. He immediately ordered his fleet to fire at the oncoming fire ships.
"Bang bang bang..."
The Dutch fleet began firing salvoes, and fire ships were constantly being capsized by the cannon fire.
Wang Wenzhou never intended to launch a direct attack; he simply wanted to burn the Dutch fleet to ashes.
Wang Wenzhou commanded, "Order the fleet to have the catapults begin firing!"
At Wang Wenzhou's command, the catapults on his fleet's warships began firing forward.
The catapult's range was very short, at most about 150 meters. Keep in mind that Wang Wenzhou's fleet was at least 1 kilometer away from the Dutch fleet.
Vincent was baffled. Was this Ming Dynasty fleet commander out of his mind? Why was he suddenly firing at an empty sea?
At this moment, the Zheng brothers, who were positioned on the flanks of the Dutch fleet, launched their attack.
Vincent realized the situation was dire. If they were allowed to charge and engage in hand-to-hand combat, they would be annihilated quickly. Although his fleet had powerful warships, the ships were small, and there were no dedicated combat personnel.
Vincent immediately ordered his fleet to retreat towards Wang Wenzhou's fleet. Although Wang Wenzhou's main fleet was more powerful and could fight his fleet, it consisted of massive warships and couldn't possibly resort to hand-to-hand combat without its powerful cannons.
Although Vincent couldn't figure out what Wang Wenzhou had just shot into the sea, this was the best option for him now.
Wang Wenzhou's fleet retreated at a leisurely pace, continuing to fire catapults into the sea as it went.
Seeing the Dutchmen charging towards him, Wang Wenzhou smiled slightly. "Idiots, I knew you'd jump into a fire pit."
A short while later, the Dutch fleet sailed into the area where Wang Wenzhou had just fired his catapults. At this moment, Liu Xiang and the Zheng brothers' fleet joined forces and chased after the Dutch.
Wang Wenzhou ordered, "Ignite all the catapults."
In an instant, catapults in Wang Wenzhou's fleet launched a series of large fireballs. The fireballs, instead of extinguishing upon hitting the sea, ignited the surrounding water. In no time, the Dutch fleet was engulfed in flames, as if it had stumbled into a sea of fire.
Vincent was completely dumbfounded. How could this be? How could water catch fire?! God! Save me! Is this hell?