Daming pirates

While Yu Xiaotian was busy, three months could be said to have passed in the blink of an eye. Although these three months were not long for him, they allowed him to do a lot of things.

.

First of all, in the past three months, news finally came from the south. The Battle of Penghu, which lasted for more than a year, finally came to an end in the autumn of the fourth year of Tianqi, that is, in August.

Yu Xiaotian sent people to collect detailed information. After the Spring Festival in the fourth year of Tianqi, Nan Juyi mobilized heavy troops and a large number of naval warships from Fujian to send troops to Penghu and started a big battle with the Dutch in Penghu.

Although the government and army always had an absolute advantage in terms of strength and number of ships, the attack on Penghu never went smoothly, and the war was always in a stalemate.

By July, Nan Juyi could no longer stand the stalemate war situation, so he once again mobilized more than 3,000 soldiers from Fujian, as well as a large number of artillery and muskets to support the Penghu battle.

The Ming army finally gained a slight advantage and fought all the way to the Hongmao City built by the Dutch in Penghu. However, the Ming army's victory only ended here. Facing the not too strong Hongmao City, the Ming army

The military could never take any advantage.

The Dutch relied on their artillery and muskets to defend Hongmao City and continued to resist, making it difficult for the Ming army to advance under Hongmao City.

In August, Nan Juyi once again increased his troops in Penghu, and ordered the Ming army to advance by land and water. The three groups launched attacks on the Dutch at the same time. Only then did the Dutch confirm that there was no point in continuing this battle.

Before this, the Dutch had always had a sense of luck, believing that if the Ming army could not capture Penghu, they would retreat, acquiescing to the fait accompli that they controlled Penghu.

But when the war lasted until August, they felt that they had been wrong. The officials and the court of the Ming Dynasty showed extraordinary determination and put on a posture of never giving up. They repeatedly increased their troops to attack Penghu. The Dutch

Finally, they realized that it was impossible for them to steal Penghu as a trading port between them and the Ming Dynasty.

At this time, the government was actually riding a tiger, with more than 10,000 officers and soldiers hanging at sea for a long time. Supply was not easy for the Ming Dynasty. They could not raise more food, wages and ammunition to meet the needs of the officers and soldiers, but for the red-haired Dutch

However, the city could not be attacked for a long time, which made them quite helpless. The Ming side had the upper hand in name, but in reality the two sides were still in a stalemate.

It's just that the situation on the Dutch side is worse, because the Dutch's nearest supply point is thousands of miles away in Batavia, and the support that the Dutch East India Company can provide to Penghu is even more limited.

Nowadays, their maritime hegemony is being challenged by the newly rising maritime overlord, the British, and they are even less able to mobilize more troops and ships from the mainland to fight against the Ming Dynasty in the East.

As a result, the Dutch in Penghu were seriously short of troops. In addition, the Ming Dynasty continued to increase naval warships to blockade Penghu in an attempt to cut off their supplies.

Although the Dutch relied on their limited ships, they still tenaciously broke through the blockade of the Ming Dynasty Navy and sent some supplies to Penghu. However, these supplies were only a drop in the bucket in terms of consumption. By August

, the Dutch red-haired city was almost running out of ammunition and food.

More importantly, they did not have enough personnel to supplement them. The wounded in Red Hair City could not receive effective treatment and could not be sent back to Batavia in time, causing their combat attrition to be very serious.

When the battle reached this level, it had become a torment for both sides, and at this time both sides thought of Li Dan and others again.

Li Dan and others have actually been paying attention to the outcome of this battle. Because Li Dan has a feud with the Spanish, he hopes to hook up with the Dutch, fight against the Spanish, and at the same time obtain a stable partner.

So as soon as the Dutch took over Penghu, they took the initiative to come to the door, colluded with the Dutch, and gave them advice. At the same time, they also helped the Dutch intercept transactions with the Spanish in Manila in the Taiwan Strait.

Chinese merchant ships forced Chinese merchants to trade with the Dutch.

However, the attitude of the Ming Dynasty officials and the court also made them realize that the Dutch occupation of Penghu was actually not a good choice. As Li Dan, who was familiar with the Ming Dynasty official way of doing things and thinking, he quickly figured out the reason.

In fact, the truth is very simple, that is, Penghu has been included in the territory of the mainland's political power a long time ago. As early as the Song Dynasty, troops were stationed here. In the Yuan Dynasty, Penghu patrols were set up here.

Si, Ming Dynasty also regarded this place as the territory of Ming Dynasty.

For the Ming Dynasty emperor and officials, this was intolerable for the Dutch to occupy this place, because if they urgently tolerated the Dutch staying in Penghu, it would be equivalent to acknowledging that Penghu was no longer the territory of the Ming Dynasty, which was tantamount to losing ground!

No one dares to bear the responsibility for this crime. Once word spreads, the people in the world will probably drown them to death.

So no one from top to bottom dares to say that Penghu is no longer needed, let’s just let it be occupied by the Dutch! So since no one dares to take the responsibility, the only way is to get it back through war.

Now that both sides are in a dilemma, it has no practical significance for the Dutch to continue to stay here. Therefore, when they see that both sides are in a difficult situation, they all think of middlemen like Li Dan, so Li Dan and others help

The Dutch pointed out a "clear path"

That is to ask the Dutch to take a step back, go to the top of Taiwan Island, and completely abandon Penghu. The reason is very simple, that is because until now, the Ming Dynasty officials have not officially included Taiwan Island into the territory. Taiwan Island

So far, it doesn’t even have an official name. Some people call it Liuqiu, others call it Taiwan and Taiwan Members, and some even call it Chicken Coop.

Taiwan Island is basically an enclave at present. For hundreds of years, no one has really controlled it. Instead, it has become a paradise for some pirates and a place where some immigrants move.

As early as a few decades ago, this place was occupied and operated by the famous pirate Lin Feng, but later because Lin Feng advocated resisting the Spanish invasion in Manila, he led all his men to Luzon and finally gave up the island of Taiwan.

Moreover, it is not far from the Ming Dynasty, at least closer than Manila to the Ming Dynasty. Although the geographical location is not as good as Penghu, being here will not attract the attention of the Ming Dynasty officials. In addition, Taiwan Island is also very large and has relatively rich natural resources.

Much more.

So Li Dan and others gave the Dutch an idea to move to the Dayuan area of ​​Taiyuan Island and re-establish a city there.

On the other hand, they also had secret contacts with the Ming Dynasty officials, and were willing to help Nan Juyi and other Ming Dynasty officials persuade the Dutch to abandon Penghu, so that they would no longer have to ride a tiger and end the Battle of Penghu as soon as possible.

So both the Ming government and the Dutch finally accepted this suggestion. At the end of August, the Dutch finally announced that they would abandon Penghu and evacuate here.

The condition in exchange was that the Ming army did not intercept him and allowed him to leave Penghu smoothly. In the end, this long-lasting war was finally concluded.

For both of them, this matter was a matter of great joy. Nan Juyi and other Ming official officials could finally report to the court in a decent manner, and they could declare a great victory, saying that they fought hard and defeated the Red Army.

The Mao people were expelled from Penghu. They were promoted and made rich when they should be promoted. They could even be famous throughout the ages and become a national hero of the Chinese people in history.

For the Dutch, the nightmare of nearly half a year has ended. They can finally take a breather and continue their work in a different place. They no longer have to worry about being blocked in the city and eventually slaughtered. Their main purpose in coming to the East is

But those who want to make a fortune don’t want to risk their own lives. Giving up on Penghu is not a bad thing for them.

But the real situation is that although the Ming Dynasty won a victory in name, it actually ended in defeat. It did not really defeat the Dutch, but finally compromised on the Dutch and allowed the Dutch to run away.

When they arrived on the island of Taiwan, which was across the water from the mainland, they rebuilt their castle, laying the groundwork for future troubles.

It is obvious that this kind of trouble will be faced by Yu Xiaotian in the future. So far, history has continued to move forward on its original trajectory and has not deviated from its original trajectory. And on this

In the trajectory, a huge variable appeared, that is, Yu Xiaotian and the Sea Wolf Group he created.

It is no longer an exaggeration to call the Seawolves a group now, because in the past year or so of development, the Seawolves have not only possessed a very strong maritime armed force, but have also been developing rapidly in other aspects.

On the basis of inheriting the legacy of the original Shark Gang, Yu Xiaotian began to develop simultaneously in several aspects.

First of all, he made great efforts to develop the land on Nanyue Island. In more than a year, he cultivated nearly 3,000 acres of land on the originally barren Nanyue Island, planting upland rice, sweet potatoes, potatoes and corn, as well as a small amount of

Rice, sweet potatoes, potatoes and corn were all three crops that were just introduced to the Ming Dynasty from the Spanish or Portuguese in recent years, and were gradually accepted by the Ming people and began to be expanded and planted.

Among them, the most widely introduced one is probably the sweet potato. It is easy to grow, does not require soil selection, and has a relatively large yield. It can be used as a very effective staple food or supplementary food. Yu Xiaotian came to this world and ate it for the first time.

Among the meals, there is porridge cooked with shredded sweet potatoes and brown rice. It can be seen that this kind of food has become very popular in the late Ming Dynasty, especially in the south.

(The second update is here. I would like to say thank you again to Brother Dharma Starry Sky! I am grateful for your support!)