***
The southern tip of Luzon Island also extends in a southeast direction, with four or five islands as large as Mindoro Island below it, and Mindanao Island is further south.
Both Mindanao Island and the several large islands to its north are currently under the control of the Sulu Sultanate. If Wang Guichen and his men head southeast, they will be walking headfirst into the arms of the enemy.
After two days and two nights of rapid sailing, the eagle ship that Wang Guichen had sent in advance to report the news finally arrived at Fusu City. At this time, outside Fusu City, there were still 70,000 to 80,000 natives who had not been transported back to Daqin in time, and merchant ships coming from the country were endless.
After receiving the letter, Zheng Sihai, the admiral of the South China Sea Fleet, was in a dilemma. Now Wang Guichen, Shi Lang and Hai Rufeng each led two battalions of troops outside. In terms of strength, the South China Sea Fleet was not as good as the Dutch, and now it was scattered into four groups, each in a different place.
There were still 6,500 marines in Fusu City, but there were not many warships. There were only fourteen gunboats left, and 82 small and medium-sized bluff ships and eagle ships of various types. Although there were a large number, none of them were equipped with artillery.
Now the Dutch have gone crazy. There are forty-eight large gunboats concentrated together. If they were all arranged in a battle line, there would be seven or eight hundred shells in one salvo. The scene would be quite terrifying.
Regardless of what Zheng Sihai decided, Zhao Han, the deputy commander, had already said, "If the Dutch are heading north with the wind, their speed will not be much slower than our eagle ships, and they will probably be arriving soon. Admiral, we must quickly send two eagle ships north to inform the merchant ships coming to Fusu Port from China to take shelter. At the same time, let Hai Rufeng and Shi Lang prepare early and respond flexibly."
"What Zhao Chenshi said is true. Come here, immediately send the two eagle ships Huang Dong and Xie Bian to the north."
“Yes!”
Zhao Han then suggested: "Admiral, now that our South China Sea Fleet is dispersed and the enemy is strong, it is not advisable to go out to sea to fight them head-on. It is better to send a few more speedboats to monitor their movements. Our army will first defend the forts in the harbor. With the equipment of our Marine Corps, it would be best if the enemy could land and fight."
Zheng Sihai said: "The more than 100,000 natives in the military farms are a big problem. If they are not kept under tight supervision, chaos is likely to break out. If foreign enemies attack and civil unrest breaks out, the situation will be dangerous."
Tong Haifeng said: "Admiral, this is not right. In addition to controlling Luzon Island, our mission is to ensure the safety of the southeastern coastal provinces of Qin. If our army retreats to Fusu Port, and the Dutch find that they cannot attack by force, what should we do if they set sail north to attack the southeastern coast of Qin?"
Chen Hui also said worriedly: "Indeed, the East China Sea Fleet should have returned to its home port of Ningbo Shuangyu. If we retreat to Fusu Port, the Dutch will most likely take advantage of the situation and attack the prefectures and counties along the southeast coast of Daqin.
Guangxi, Guangdong, Fujian, Taiwan, thousands of miles of coastline. The Dutch can launch attacks everywhere, especially Taiwan Island, which has few troops stationed there now. If the Dutch reoccupy it, I'm afraid they will have to pay several times the price to take it back in the future."
In fact, Chen Hui was wrong. It would be easier if the Dutch attacked Taiwan Island.
The Emperor of Qin now regards the entire South China Sea as the inner lake of Qin. Taiwan Island is just an island in the inner lake. Therefore, he has never been in a hurry to immigrate to the island, but instead wants to strengthen control over islands like Luzon.
Anyway, if Nanyang has become the territory of the Qin Dynasty, it doesn't matter if Taiwan is left alone for another 300 or 200 years before being developed. No one can take it away.
Under such circumstances, if the Dutch attacked Taiwan, even if they occupied Taiwan, it would not cause a huge shock to the country, because the officials in the DPRK and China did not attach much importance to Taiwan.
But if the Dutch attacked the densely populated counties along the coast, even if only one county was invaded, burned, killed and looted, it would cause a political storm in the Nanjing court.
The navy's "incompetence" will be magnified a hundred times by the officials, and your majesty's long-standing favoritism towards the navy will become the focus of attack by all officials. By then, I am afraid that even if your majesty wants to protect them, he will not be able to do so, and can only push forward one or two naval generals to quell public anger.
In this era, information is transmitted slowly, and people sometimes make some wrong judgments due to lack of information. If Zheng Sihai knew that Qin Mu had already dispatched the East China Sea Fleet and the North China Sea Fleet to the south to prepare to attack the Zheng family of Jiaozhi, he would not be so worried.
But he didn't know, so he couldn't hide in Fusu Port and allow the Dutch to go north and invade the southeast coast of Qin. He couldn't afford this political risk.
In this situation, although the enemy was strong and we were weak and the consequences of leaving the port were unpredictable, Zheng Sihai could no longer defend Fusu Port.
"All warships immediately replenish their supplies and follow me out of the port!"
“Yes!”
*****
Two days and two nights later, in Biyao Mountain, north of Fusu City, Hai Rufeng could not help but curse the moment he received the urgent message.
He has been running the business in Baguio for a long time, unlike Wang Guichen who just opened his business in Mindoro, so it is not a pity to give up.
They have been staying in Baguio until their bodies are almost covered with hair. Is this easy
When personal soldier Li Hao saw Hai Rufeng cursing, he also started to curse: "Damn it, it seems that we have to fight to the red-haired devil's hometown. General, give the order, we will go to the red-haired devil's hometown and turn him upside down..."
"Stop talking nonsense, isn't that annoying enough? Do you know where the red-haired ghost's hometown is?"
"I know!" Li Hao saluted with his chest puffed out, and answered loudly: "General, the Red Haired Devil's hometown is in Europe, in the Netherlands, a year's sailing distance from Daqin. But so what? His Majesty said: If the invaders can go there, I can go there too! The Red Haired Devil can come to cause trouble for us, so why can't we kill him in his hometown..."
"Go! Go! Go!" Although Li Hao was courageous, it was not the right time. Hai Rufeng kicked him aside and shouted, "General Han!"
At this time, more than 30,000 indigenous people were mining in the Baguio mining area. The news of the indigenous "rebellion" in Fusu City had already spread here. The 30,000 indigenous people were now being forced by the Qin army to mine. The phenomenon of them jumping away privately happened from time to time. If the Dutch came to kill them, I am afraid that everything would be in chaos.
In Hai Rufeng's opinion, the Dutch were very likely to attack Baguio. There was such a large gold mine and no coastal artillery defense. The benefits were great and the risks were small. Would the Dutch let go of the Baguio gold mine
Han Rang was the Marine commander sent by Zheng Sihai to reinforce Hai Rufeng. He asked back, "What is General Hai going to do?"
"The Biyao mining area will be temporarily handed over to General Han. I have to return to the ship immediately. If the enemy comes, I will be responsible for leading them away."
"Okay, as long as the enemy doesn't attack in large numbers, this general will ensure that the Biyao mining area is safe. Take care, General Hai."
"Take care of yourself!"
Hai Rufeng acted decisively. He handed over the Baguio mining area to the Marines and hurriedly crossed mountains and rivers to return to the seaside.
The gold mines in Baguio were already being mined on a large scale, and there was only enough time to build a simple port on the seashore for ships to dock. However, there was no artillery like the Fusu Port to resist enemy ships.
If the Dutch come to attack the Baguio gold mine, without coastal artillery to stop them, the enemy can land anywhere and will be difficult to deal with!
At this time, Hai Rufeng didn't know whether Zheng Sihai's main force retreated to Ningfusu Port or what? He couldn't contact him for a while, so he thought about it and sent an eagle ship to the north quickly to contact Shi Lang.
Shi Lang had no gold mines, and like Wang Guichen, they had just opened. Hai Rufeng instructed the captain of the Eagle Ship, "You immediately go to General Shi Lang and ask him to lead the warships south to join me as soon as possible. I am worried that the Dutch will attack the Bayao gold mine. If possible, ask General Shi to send his marines to reinforce Han Rang in Bayao by land. Do you understand?"
The captain of the eagle ship answered loudly: "Don't worry, General, I will definitely deliver the letter."
“Go quickly!”
“Yes!”
Hai Rufeng then shouted, "Mo Liang."
"Please give your orders, General."
"Take two eagle ships to the south to scout the enemy. Once the enemy fleet heads north, one ship will return to report the situation, and the other will continue to monitor. We cannot let the enemy disappear."
"Yes, General."
After Mo Liang answered, he immediately set sail with the two eagle ships and headed south.
This time, the Dutch suddenly attacked in large numbers, making the entire South China Sea Fleet extremely passive. Now, Hai Rufeng, Wang Guichen, and Shi Lang each led a fleet outside, and they were like scattered sand. If they were not careful, they might be defeated and annihilated by the Dutch one by one! (To be continued...)
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