Gou was a member of the imperial family in the late Ming Dynasty

Chapter 1069 Panic
The Dutch have been entrenched in Xiaoliuqiu for more than ten years. After the Penghu War between the Ming Dynasty and the Netherlands, the Dutch ostensibly withdrew from the Penghu Islands and gave up the occupation of Xiaoliuqiu. However, due to Zheng Zhilong's deliberate indulgence, the Dutch quietly made a comeback a few years later. By bribing Zheng Zhilong and obtaining the other party's tacit consent, they once again occupied the Penghu Islands. Later, they used this as a springboard to officially land on Xiaoliuqiu and began to build a city on the island to rule it.

However, this time the Dutch were much smarter than last time, and Zheng Zhilong also made three rules with the Dutch in private, requiring the Dutch not to plot against the Ming mainland again. As for what they did in Xiaoliuqiu, he would not care, but if they intended to get involved in the Ming mainland, especially Fujian, Zheng Zhilong would never give up.

The Dutch also knew this, knowing that the Dutch's power in the Far East was no match for the powerful Ming Dynasty, not to mention that the previous defeat also proved this. Moreover, as the overlord of the South China Sea, Zheng Zhilong controlled the entire South China Sea region, and even the Dutch did not dare to go against Zheng Zhilong's wishes.

In this way, the two sides reached a tacit understanding. The Dutch were at ease to operate in Xiaoliuqiu, and Zheng Zhilong also got a lot of benefits from the Dutch. In addition, the presence of the Dutch in Xiaoliuqiu also allowed Zheng Zhilong to nurture the enemy and exert pressure on the court through the Dutch when necessary, thus ensuring the stability of his position.

But Zheng Zhilong never expected to run into an emperor who did not play by the rules, Zhu Shenzhui. Zhu Shenzhui not only saw through Zheng Zhilong's plan at a glance, but also had the idea of ​​​​solving Zheng Zhilong's group. So after Zheng Zhilong's accident, the Zheng Group began to collapse, the military force was officially incorporated by the court, and the internal forces were greatly adjusted. The influence of the Zheng family was greatly weakened. After the entire group was controlled by the court, the Dutch in Xiaoliuqiu still knew nothing.

The Dutch now in Xiaoliuqiu are slightly different from the Dutch who recovered this place when Zheng Chenggong recaptured it in history. Although their military strength and population on the island are roughly the same, because they arrived nearly ten years earlier, the two cities built by the Dutch were not yet fully completed, and the city defenses were not as strong as they are in the future. Even the so-called governor of Taiwan was not the later Kiyomi, but Kalon.

This Taiwan Governor was later translated into Taiwan Governor-General, but it is more appropriate to call him the Supreme Executive Officer. Because at present, the Dutch dominance in the Far East was in the hands of the East India Company, and the East India Company's headquarters in Asia was Batavia. Little Ryukyu or Taiwan was just a development point under Batavia, and its main person in charge was just the Chief Executive appointed by the East India Company. How could he be qualified to be called the Governor-General?

Kalon came to Xiaoliuqiu two years ago to succeed his predecessor as the chief executive. After taking over as the chief executive, Kalon continued the Dutch high-pressure policy here, still cruelly ruling the local people, and relying on force to force the people to build cities and farm for him, thereby consolidating the regime here.

For Kalon, the Dutch had been doing this for more than a decade, and the effect was very significant. In addition, Kalon was born into an aristocratic family. Although he was just a down-and-out aristocrat, he was still a member of the aristocracy. Moreover, before coming to Xiaoliuqiu, he was already a senior business of the East India Company in Batavia. As long as he worked in Xiaoliuqiu for a few years, he could return to Batavia when the time came.

After returning to Batavia, Kalon would be eligible for further promotion and take up a higher position in Batavia, and it is even possible to become a member of parliament. So in Kalon's view, Xiaoliuqiu is just a stop on his life journey, and he does not care about it.

Moreover, since cooperating with Zheng Zhilong, the Dutch have been doing well in Xiaoliuqiu, and there has been no reaction from the Ming Dynasty. As time went on, Caron and other Dutch people never considered whether Xiaoliuqiu would be attacked by the Ming Dynasty.

When Zheng Zhilong got into trouble this time, the Ming Dynasty kept a tight blockade on the news. Besides, Zheng Zhilong had just gone to the capital to "retire", and the court did not want to take his life directly. And Kalong, who was far away in Little Ryukyu, had no idea about the Ming Dynasty at all. So when the Ming Dynasty fleet arrived in Penghu, Penghu was completely unprepared.

In the past, Penghu might have been guarded by Dutch warships, after all, the Dutch mainly occupied the Penghu Islands at that time. But now the Dutch have landed directly from Penghu to Xiaoliuqiu, so Penghu's status has naturally declined a lot.

Furthermore, the Dutch did not have many people in the entire Xiaoliuqiu. All together, there were only about 2,700 people, and these 2,700 people had to garrison two cities respectively. In addition, minus the demand for sailors and warships, the actual number of troops that could be used would be even smaller.

But the area of ​​Xiaoliuqiu is not small. The southern part of Xiaoliuqiu currently occupied by the Dutch is a very large area. Scattering these 2,700 people there would be like dropping ink into the sea and would have no effect at all.

Due to the lack of Dutch troops, it was naturally impossible for the Dutch to continue the defense of the Penghu Islands as before. What was even more surprising was that a week before the Ming Dynasty sent troops, a warship that was originally here received an order from Batavia to go to other places in Southeast Asia to perform a mission. As a result, when Shi Daxuan's fleet arrived at the Penghu Islands, the entire Penghu Islands had no protection at all.

Shi Daxuan directly issued an order to attack the Penghu Islands. The entire military operation went very smoothly. On the same day, the Ming army landed on the Penghu Islands and captured the main port. The dozen or so Dutch stationed there did not put up much resistance at all. Faced with such a powerful military force, these Dutch surrendered without even thinking about it.

After taking Penghu, Shi Daxuan immediately interrogated the captives and soon found out the situation of the Dutch in Xiaoliuqiu. When he learned that the Dutch in Xiaoliuqiu had no idea about the military operations of the Ming Dynasty, and that the Dutch fleet was not in Xiaoliuqiu, and that there were only two warships in the entire Xiaoliuqiu, Shi Daxuan was overjoyed and immediately decided to rest in the Penghu Islands for two days and directly attack Xiaoliuqiu. Since the Dutch were entrenched in the southern area of ​​Xiaoliuqiu, there were two most suitable places for landing in this area, one was Taijiang and the other was Luermen.

Both ports are close to Fort Anthony, one of the cities built by the Dutch. Due to the complex terrain of Luermen Port and the tides, direct landing is somewhat difficult, but Taijiang is a good port. As long as Taijiang is taken directly, the gateway to the south of Xiaoliuqiu will be open to the Ming Dynasty. Moreover, the Dutch currently have only two warships stationed in Taijiang, and there is no defense at all. Shi Daxuan chose to attack Taijiang without thinking.

After two days of rest, the Ming fleet set out from the Penghu Islands and headed straight for Taijiang.

In the evening of the same day, the Ming army arrived at the waters near Taijiang. At this time, the Dutch had not yet received the news that the Ming Dynasty had started the war. The troops on the island, including the warships in Taijiang, were still doing nothing as usual. Even the sailors and soldiers on the warships did not take any precautions. Nearly half of them did not stay on the warships because of the poor living conditions, and went directly to Fort Anthony to drink and have fun.

Shi Daxuan had fought many battles and knew that opportunities were rare. He sent his son Shi Lang as a pioneer to lead 20 warships to attack Taijiang under the cover of darkness. At midnight, the harbor was quiet. The Dutch on the Dutch warships had already fallen asleep. As for the Dutch soldiers on duty, they were perfunctory and even dozed off.

Taking advantage of the night, Shi Lang approached slowly. When he arrived near the port and saw that the Dutch still did not react, he was overjoyed and gave the order to attack. He led the warships and rowed them quickly. When he arrived next to the Dutch warships, Shi Lang climbed onto the enemy ships directly with hooks and cables. After reaching the enemy ships, Shi Lang led his men to attack without saying a word, until the sharp knife cut the enemy's neck. The Dutch who were sleeping suddenly woke up, but it was too late.

After a fierce battle, Shi Lang took down the two Dutch warships without much effort. Except for the Dutch who were killed at the beginning and those who stubbornly resisted later, the rest of the Dutch laid down their weapons and surrendered. After the two warships were dealt with, the entire Taijiang Port was opened. After receiving the news sent back by Shi Lang, Shi Daxuan laughed and ordered the entire fleet to enter the port and land.

By the early morning of the next day, Shi Daxuan's troops had completely occupied Taijiang Port and the areas on the shore, and the army also landed one after another.

At this time, the Dutch had just learned of the Ming army's landing. When the Dutch soldiers who escaped from the port returned to the city with this news, Caron, who had just woken up, thought he was dreaming. It was not until he confirmed again and again that this was the fact that he felt as if struck by lightning and was stunned.

"How is this possible? Why would Zheng Zhilong suddenly launch an attack? Wasn't it already discussed long ago? We haven't treated him unfairly over the years!" Caron was shocked by the news and was even more puzzled as to why he was attacked like this. They were obviously in the same group, so how could they suddenly turn against each other?
"Sir! Now is not the time to discuss this issue. The key is to defend Fort Zeelandia and Fort Antonius, and at the same time ask for help from Batavia, and hold on and wait for reinforcements!" Caron was anxious like an ant on the hot pan, and had no idea what to do. Major Hermann on the side remained calm. Although he was also extremely shocked by the news, he immediately put forward the most prudent suggestion.

"Yes, yes, yes! Let's garrison first and then ask for help!" Caron nodded quickly as if he had grabbed a life-saving straw, and then asked Major Hermann anxiously who to send for help and how to garrison appropriately.

Hearing what Caron said, Herman was completely speechless. You know, you are the chief executive here! He is just his deputy. Caron usually shows off his power and puts on a noble attitude from time to time. I really thought he was capable. I didn't expect that this guy would panic like this before the enemy even attacked. It was really a disgrace to the nobles.

Helplessly, Hermann could only take on this task temporarily. At this time, he dared not let Caron, an incompetent man, take control of the overall situation. Since the Ming army had already landed in Taijiang, if Caron was allowed to make decisions again, everything would be over if there was a mistake.

Moreover, Hermann was Caron's deputy, holding the rank of major, and was the highest-ranking Dutch officer in Xiaoliuqiu. As a soldier, he had no choice but to fight when the war broke out. In this way, Hermann temporarily took over the military command and issued an order to the two cities to hold on and wait for reinforcements. At the same time, he sent people from Fort Zeelandia to the west to the sea, bypassing the Penghu Islands and going to Batavia for help. As long as the reinforcements from Batavia arrived, they still had a chance to turn the tables.

(End of this chapter)