The Wanli Emperor of the Ming Dynasty was extremely rebellious

Chapter 698 Unable to Win, Seeking Peace
On the second day of the tenth month of the thirty-fifth year of the Wanli reign (1691), around 7:00 AM.

The sun had just risen, and the smoke of battle in the southeastern waters of Pernambuco seemed not yet to have dissipated.

On the naval flagship, the generals were all beaming with joy.

They are finally about to launch a counterattack.

Wanli carefully examined the map before solemnly saying, "According to reports from the spyship Flying Dragon, the Dutch have mobilized five or six hundred merchant ships and are heading towards Bahia."

This time, they mobilized only merchant ships, without any additional cannons.

It seems they've already converted all the merchant ships that could be converted; they probably have no more ships to convert and are preparing to retreat.

Not all merchant ships could be fitted with cannons, especially Dutch merchant ships.

In order to speed up shipbuilding, they mostly did not use very thick planks.

They all understood this very well. After all, the thicker the wooden board, the harder it was to shape. If they wanted to make it faster, they used a thinner one instead.

Most of the Dutch ocean-going merchant ships were built in this way.

These merchant ships simply cannot be fitted with cannons, because the deck cannot withstand the recoil of the cannons. After firing a few shots, the deck will crack, and the cannonballs will fly around wildly. After firing a few more shots, the deck will probably be shaken off.

There's something even more fatal about it: it's not very durable.

Their decks, sides, and bottom were all made of thin wooden planks, which couldn't withstand the sharp, conical shells at all.

That thing, if it fires a single shot and hits, it can penetrate the side, deck, and bottom all at once.

In other words, this kind of merchant ship cannot be hit by cannonballs; if it is hit, it will sink!
This is probably the main reason why the Dutch and Anglo-French allied forces chose to retreat.

Last month, they converted hundreds of such merchant ships to provide support, but most of them were sunk. Those that were hit by shells on the deck or even the sides sank to the bottom of the sea.

This proves that the Dutch no longer have sturdy merchant ships to convert, and this battle should come to an end.

As for the five or six hundred merchant ships heading towards Bahia, they were definitely going to pick up the infantry, after all, they still had more than 100,000 infantry here.

These are all military achievements; the enemy's infantry and navy probably numbered more than 100,000.

Upon hearing this, all the generals nodded excitedly to show that they understood.

Upon seeing this, Wanli immediately ordered, "Kemai, Yiming, you will soon return to Ningwuwei by boat."

Three days later, you will lead your combined land and naval forces across the ocean, first cutting off the enemy's retreat, then deploying your forces to encircle the Gold Coast.

Yu Zigao and Qin Yiming nodded repeatedly, saying, "Your humble servants understand, your subordinates understand."

Wanli then instructed in detail: "Yunqing, you will send a message to the bay behind, ordering Guozhu to lead the four hundred Weiyuan warships and all the Flying Dragon ships there to hurry over."

The day after tomorrow, you will lead your fleet south to wipe out their ships in this area.

Deng Zilong heard this and nodded repeatedly, saying, "I understand."

Wanli nodded slightly and then carefully instructed, "Rusong and Rulong, the day after tomorrow, you will also lead the Shenwu Camp and Shenshu Camp soldiers here by land to clear out the land forces they left behind in this area."

Remember, do not overtake Yun Qing's fleet. If you reach the front of Yun Qing's fleet, you will likely be bombarded by their remaining warships.

Upon hearing this, Li Rusong and Wang Rulong nodded repeatedly and said, "Your subordinates understand."

There shouldn't be any problems now.

They appeared to have only two hundred battered Weiyuan warships left, but in reality, they had a thousand more behind them, and their Flying Dragon ships numbered over two thousand.

If the two groups of troops were divided equally, each group would have six hundred Weiyuan warships and over a thousand Flying Dragon ships.

This strength is already unmatched at sea today; it would be invincible even if it were to sail alone.

Wanli thought about it carefully again, and then instructed: "Remember, if the enemy surrenders, do not kill them."

Next, we'll be developing the Eastern Capital Region of North America and even the Central Capital Region of America. We'll definitely need a lot of people to mine coal then, and the captured colonial bandits will be perfect for that."

Upon hearing this, the generals nodded repeatedly and said, "We understand."

Wanli thought about it carefully for a while before waving his hand and saying, "Alright, everyone go and make your preparations."

The generals responded with a resounding roar and rose to take their leave.

At this moment, Shan Sinan stepped forward and bowed, saying, "Your Majesty, Deshera requests an audience. He has been waiting outside for a while."

What's this guy doing here?
He had already told this guy not to come over unnecessarily during battles.

They had to set up screens because this guy was going to get on the ship, which was a lot of trouble.

Wanli said with some helplessness, "Have someone set up the screen first before letting him come up."

Before long, Desila came running up with a respectful expression.

At this moment, he was filled with utmost admiration for His Majesty the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty.

He had been keeping a close eye on the naval battle from his camp near the port.

The Ming Empire lost an estimated thousand warships in this battle, yet His Majesty the Emperor of the Ming Empire remained here, showing no intention of retreating! Even Spain at its peak could not withstand such a fierce attack.

The Ming Empire was truly formidable, and His Majesty the Emperor of the Ming Empire was even more formidable.

He greeted the emperor respectfully before carefully saying, "Your Majesty, the Governor-General of Goa has sent someone to inquire."

This war has been going on for a year, and our merchant ships are all hiding off the southern coast of Africa, afraid to come here. How are we going to do business this year?

Why didn't you say so sooner!
It was only then that he realized that Portuguese merchant ships had to pass through the Gold Coast to transport their goods back to the European continent.

If they hadn't gone to war, things would have been better. After all, the Gold Coast is located in the Gulf of Mexico to the east of Africa, which is like a nest. If Portuguese merchant ships didn't go around that nest to resupply, they could still sneak back to the European continent.

Once the war began, the Dutch and Anglo-French allied forces continuously dispatched ships from the Gold Coast, and Dutch and Anglo-French allied ships passed through this waterway almost every day.

Under these circumstances, it would be highly unlikely that Portuguese merchant ships would be able to bypass the Gold Coast and sneak back to mainland Europe.

The Portuguese outposts in Africa probably discovered this situation early on, so they told their merchant ships to wait in southern Africa and not come looking for trouble.

In fact, there is now more than one sea route to Europe.

Portuguese merchant ships could have easily followed the Kuroshio Current to Japan and the Eastern Seas, bypassed the canals in central America, and then crossed the ocean to reach Europe directly, without having to go through the Gold Coast.

However, it was too late by then. Their merchant ships had already headed to southern Africa, and it would probably take more than a year to circle back and take the canals through central America.

Emperor Wanli shook his head slightly, then solemnly said, "We have already begun our counterattack. Wait about half a month, and I will send a ship to take you to southern Africa to inform your merchant ships."

what?
You can still launch a counterattack!

Upon hearing this, Desila couldn't help but recall the warships he had seen during his last visit to the Ming Empire.

Those countless warships were so numerous they practically blotted out the sky.

It seems that His Majesty the Emperor has mobilized the ships they sent to the southern part of the South Seas.

He thought for a moment, then nodded repeatedly and said, "Okay, I understand."

After saying this, he bowed and withdrew.

At this moment, he still had some doubts. Could the Ming Empire really defeat the Dutch and Anglo-French allied forces within half a month?
De Shera's estimate was actually a bit conservative.

Wanli's intention was to encircle and annihilate the main forces of the Dutch and Anglo-French allied forces within half a month!
The Dutch and Anglo-French allied forces were already at their limit; at least at sea, they had little fighting power left.

They have fewer than 600 warships that they can operate, and the vast majority of them are badly damaged.

As for their army, it was no match for the well-equipped soldiers of the Beijing Garrison.

The Ming army advanced by both land and sea, sweeping everything in its path.

The Dutch and Anglo-French allied forces were utterly terrified and panicked when they saw the six hundred dark-colored Weiyuan warships.

Having fought against the Ming Empire for so long, they naturally knew the power of these ironclad warships.

This thing can withstand one or two salvos without any problem. To penetrate its armor, it would take at least ten warships firing three or more salvos at it.

What's even more terrifying is the cannons on these warships. Not only is their range frighteningly long, but their rate of fire is also frighteningly fast, and their power is also astonishing.

Their warships would be riddled with holes from a single cannon shot, and their armed merchant ships could be pierced through by a single shell.

They were already struggling to withstand even a hundred of these dark warships, let alone six hundred.

When victory is possible, they are desperate men; when victory is impossible, they can only flee for their lives.

The problem is, these warships are very fast, and if the wind isn't strong enough, they simply can't escape.

The Dutch and Anglo-French allied fleet of warships and merchant ships was chased so badly that by the time they reached the Gold Coast, there were fewer than three hundred ships left.

As it turned out, there were still six hundred dark warships waiting for them in the waters near the Gold Coast.

Left with no other option, the Dutch and Anglo-French allied forces raised the white flag and surrendered.

This was exactly half a month ago.

The Ming Empire did indeed encircle and annihilate the main forces of the Dutch and Anglo-French allied forces, and recaptured the Gold Coast and most of the area under the jurisdiction of the Viceroy of Brazil.

However, because the Dutch and Anglo-French allied ships fled in such a disarray that they did not have time to pick up the garrison south of the Governor-General of Brazil. They still had to send ships with the Beijing garrison troops to recapture the area one by one.

De Shera was overjoyed when she received the news.

He immediately dispatched his trusted subordinates to take over the area that had been recaptured, and at the same time sent fast ships to notify their merchant ships to quickly deliver goods to Europe.

Unexpectedly, less than a month later, before the Ming Dynasty had fully recovered the territory under the jurisdiction of the Governor-General of Brazil, news came from Europe that the Netherlands, Britain, and France had requested peace talks!

Generally speaking, when the Dutch, British, and French discovered that they had lost contact with the Gold Coast and that war reports from the Viceroyalty of Brazil had also ceased, they sent merchant ships under the guise of other countries to check on the Gold Coast.

As a result, they discovered that the Gold Coast had been occupied by the Ming Empire, and their more than 200,000 troops and thousands of ships had all disappeared!
Under these circumstances, they would naturally have to quickly request peace talks.

(End of this chapter)