mousepad-d2 Chapter 73 Capelen's Worries
Chapter 73 Capelen's Worries
With the naval battle over, Qin Yunwu did not order the pursuit of the four fleeing two-masted fast ships. Those escaped ships could not cause any trouble, and besides, he did not expect the battle here to be concealed from the main Dutch force.
"General, what should we do with those surrendered Dutch ships? If we want to continue pursuing the main Dutch force, having them with us will only slow down our sailing speed."
Just then, his adjutant came up and asked Qin Yunwu a question.
Qin Yunwu looked at the Dutch ships that were raising white flags and being taken over by his own warships. The eight heavily damaged ships were obviously not worth taking over. Even if they were forcibly taken over, they would probably sink on the way to the nearest port.
Therefore, he ordered that all valuables be removed from the eight badly damaged ships, the sailors be transferred to the intact ships, and then the ships be scuttled.
Of the seven ships that surrendered, there was one Dutch merchant ship, one armed merchant ship, and five two-masted fast ships.
That Dutch merchant ship was the flagship of the Dutch commander. Although the hull was also badly damaged and the sails were torn in large pieces, it was still barely able to be used in battle.
The other six ships also had varying degrees of damage, mainly due to torn sails affecting their power. Once the sails were replaced and the damage to the hull was repaired, they could be put back into battle quickly.
Qin Yunwu felt somewhat regretful if these ships were scuttled along with the heavily damaged ones. After all, building a ship required a considerable amount of manpower and resources (not considering the system), especially since the two merchant ships could be used as troop transports after being de-armed.
After a moment's thought, he decided to assign sailors to each ship to control the vessels and guard the prisoners, and to have a heavily damaged Class 6 ship transport the seven ships back north to the port of Jinghai County for repairs.
As for himself, after transferring all the ammunition from the captured ships, he led the remaining six warships to continue pursuing and harassing the Dutch fleet.
It took the Ming army time to clean up the battlefield. During this time, four fleeing two-masted fast ships billowed their sails and left the battlefield far behind. However, internal disagreements soon emerged among them.
The captains of three of the fast boats believed that the Ming army's reaction was so swift, and that they also had warships with superior firepower, so they were certain they would be no match for the Ming army in the upcoming battle.
Out of fear, they actually veered off course and fled to the nearest Dutch stronghold to avoid trouble. Some even decided to return directly to Ceylon in the East Indies to avoid the upcoming battle.
The only ship that decided to stick to its duty was the fast ship "Haiyan". Its captain knew that he could not stop his comrades, so he could only command his fast ship to continue to catch up with the main fleet and report to Capelen on the disastrous defeat of the squadron and the terrifying strength of the Ming navy.
However, the captains of the other three fast ships, fearing that he would report their escape back to Ceylon to Capelen after rejoining the main fleet, unanimously decided to fire on the ship in an attempt to sink it and solve the problem at its root.
The Haiyan was completely unprepared for an attack from its comrades. The deadly shelling first came from the port side, and the shells struck the vicinity of the ship's side to everyone's astonishment, creating huge columns of water.
The other two ships were still hesitant about whether to fire on their friendly forces, but seeing that someone had already taken the lead, the two captains gritted their teeth and ordered to fire.
The cannonballs fired by the three fast boats struck the hull of the Haiyan hard, breaking some of the locks or leaving several holes. The unsuspecting sailors on the deck were shaken and knocked over, all with horrified expressions.
"They...they're insane!" The captain of the Seagull was filled with disbelief and rage. He quickly realized the enemy's intentions and roared, "All personnel to gun positions! Fire back! They don't want us to live, so they shouldn't live either!"
However, the Haiyan was already damaged, and its crew was demoralized and exhausted from the previous battles and hasty escape. Faced with the sudden attack from three friendly ships, they were almost unable to mount an effective resistance.
The gunners scrambled to their positions to load ammunition and return fire, but before they could fire, a new wave of enemy shelling followed, with shells falling more densely around the Haiyan and onto its hull.
A mast was struck, making a sickening cracking sound, and slowly toppled over. The death toll on the deck rose, and flames began to rise.
"Abandon ship! Launch the small boats!"
Seeing the ship rapidly losing control and seawater pouring in through multiple holes, the captain of the Haiyan roared in grief and anger.
He took one last look at the three ships that were still firing, the ships that had once fought side by side, his eyes filled with despair and curses.
The Haiyan slowly tilted and sank. Seeing this, the three mutineer speedboats stopped firing and watched indifferently as the survivors jumped into the sea and climbed onto the only one or two small boats available.
Some sailors asked whether they should continue firing to destroy the two small boats and ensure that the people who had fallen into the water had no chance of survival, but the captains refused.
In their view, this place was far from land, and even if the survivors climbed onto the small boats, they would all die without food or fresh water, so there was no need to waste time on them.
After confirming that the Haiyan was beyond saving, the three mutineer speedboats hastily changed course and sped away southwest without looking back, as if they wanted to leave this disgraceful murder and their fear of the Ming army behind.
Capelen was unaware of all this. He stood on the deck, gazing uneasily at the distant horizon. His unease stemmed not only from the attack on Batavia, but also from the squadron behind him.
He had arranged with the squadron beforehand that a fast ship would be dispatched periodically to rendezvous with the fleet and report on the situation.
However, more than the agreed time had passed since the last report, which made Capelen worry that something unexpected might have happened at the squadron.
He knew the naval lieutenant he had appointed. Although his military skills were not outstanding, he was cautious and experienced. Even if the twenty-four ships were attacked, it was impossible for them to be completely annihilated without sending back a single message.
In a state of extreme unease, Capelen still ordered two fast ships to return along the same route to check on the situation of the detachment. However, a day later, the fast ships returned with bad news—
The detachment is very likely to be completely annihilated.
The two fast boats returned along the original route but did not find the detachment. Instead, they spotted the pursuing Ming fleet in the distance and saw the Ming warships with the character "朙" (Ming) on their battle flags and signs of battle on their hulls through their binoculars.
Having realized this, the Clippers dared not approach any further. They immediately changed course, hoisted their sails, and retreated to rejoin the main fleet, reporting the news to Cappellen.
After hearing the adjutant's report, Capelen's heart sank, and his face turned very ugly.
The fleet consisted of 24 ships, and even if their combat strength varied, they could not have been easily annihilated. How did the Ming army manage to do it?
Could it be that the Ming navy's strength far surpassed that of the Spanish in the Far East and Southeast Asia? But before the Chinese captured Manila, they were nothing more than sheep being bullied at will by the Spanish.
Even if that prince who claimed to be a member of the Ming Dynasty imperial family brought it from Taiwan, it couldn't possibly be that powerful. If he really had such terrifying naval strength, how could the Tatars have taken Taiwan away?
Is it...
Does God really not protect His lambs, but instead protect those non-religious Chinese people?
For a moment, Capelen felt a chill run down his spine.