The Black Sails of the Ming Dynasty

Chapter 139 Sea Ghosts
The fireball was moving very fast, getting closer and closer, turning almost half the sky bright red.

The firelight illuminated the surrounding sea, revealing dozens of fire ships. Around the fire ships, sampans were rowing away.

The lookout was so frightened that his brain went blank. After regaining his senses, he shouted that the enemy was attacking and scrambled up the mast.

The sentry snapped out of his panic and rang the alarm bell at the bow of the ship.

Moments later, alarm bells rang throughout the fleet, and the sleeping crew members were rushed onto the deck without even having time to put on their clothes.

"Enemy attack on port side!"

"Damn it, take your hammocks away!"

"Cannon doors open, all personnel in position!"

"Weigh anchor! Weigh anchor now!"

As Cohen dressed and walked out of the cabin, he was greeted by this chaotic scene of war.

On the distant sea, dozens of fire ships swept in with the wind, moving at great speed, truly unstoppable.

The firelight made Cohen's pupils appear orange-red.

He roared, "Where are the Zelan Griffin and the Night Watchman? Why aren't they sounding the alarm!"

The first mate hurriedly explained, "The enemy didn't turn on their ship's lights, it's too dark on the sea, and there's wind and snow, so we really can't see anything!"

Cohen roared, "Damn it! There's no time to wait for anchor to be raised! Tell the sailors to hoist the sails and get out of the fire!"

"Yes, sir! Raise the sails quickly! Everyone, climb the masts!"

"Boom boom boom!" A burst of fire came from afar, followed by a barrage of cannon fire.

Then another cannon was fired from another spot on the sea, clearly indicating that two ships were engaged in a gun battle.

The first mate glanced at the location and exclaimed in horror, "It's the Night's Watch! The Night's Watch has engaged the enemy!"

"Fireship, one hundred paces!" The lookout climbed the watchtower at top speed, panting as he shouted the report.

The Batavia had just raised its sails and hadn't yet picked up its speed. In addition, it hadn't pulled up its anchor, so it was even slower. With the fire ships approaching, there was no way to avoid them.

"Fireships, fifty paces!"

Cohen had no choice but to shout, "Prepare sand and seawater, prepare to put out the fire!"

The sand had been prepared in advance, while the seawater was pumped from the sea by a water pump on the deck, with more than ten crew members carrying buckets to collect the seawater.

"Fireships, ten paces!"

Cohen could already see the entire burning fire ships; they were clearly dozens of Ming Dynasty-style warships, with iron hooks and barbs stuck in their bows.

Fire attack was precisely the naval warfare tactic that the Ming Dynasty excelled at!
Cohen was filled with remorse. Had he known that the Ming navy would be so decisive in launching an attack on the Dutch, he should have attacked the Ming navy first after looting Qiongzhou Island!
It was too late for regrets. The Batavia had no way to avoid being hit by a fire ship on its port side, with iron spikes deeply embedded in its hull.

The crew, who had been prepared on the side of the ship, kept pouring seawater and sand down the fire, but the fire ship was filled with tung oil, so how could a little sand and seawater extinguish the fire?

As dozens of buckets of sand and seawater were poured in, the fire not only did not weaken, but the flames actually grew even higher. Even the soldiers on the ship's side felt the scorching heat and dared not lean out of the ship's side.

Moreover, a northeasterly wind is blowing right now, and the flames are being propelled by the wind, licking fiercely at the hull of the Batavia.

The sailors could only desperately pour seawater onto the hull to resist the raging fire of the tung oil.

Meanwhile, the Batavia's anchor was not raised, and it could not shake off the fire ships by sailing fast, so it was at a loss for what to do.

In the midst of the crisis, Cohen came up with an idea and hurriedly said to the first mate, "Tell the ship's carpenters to go down to the cabin and saw off the piece of plank that the fire ship has pierced!"

As the Batavia struggled in its death throes, the Polaris behind it was simultaneously pierced by three fire ships.

The Polaris was smaller than the Batavia and had almost no chance of survival; it was engulfed in flames in just over ten minutes.

The fire spread along the port side of the North Star, all the way to the cabins and decks, and finally set the sails ablaze.

The sails had no fireproofing measures and were highly flammable. In addition, sand and water were difficult to pour onto them. In just a few moments, the bottom sail, top sail, and damasce caught fire one after another.

Soon, the three main masts, along with their rigging, were engulfed in flames.

The fire on such a large ship was incredibly intense, illuminating the surrounding sea as if it were daytime.

You can feel the heat wave even from a distance.

The crew of the North Star jumped overboard in a frantic rush to survive. Under the firelight, the sea was like a dumpling-pouring scene, filled with Dutch crew members struggling to stay afloat.

Behind the Polaris, several Dutch warships were hit by the fire ships to varying degrees and caught fire.

For a moment, the entire Lingdingyang Sea was incredibly bright, and it could be clearly seen even from General Mountain.

"Minister! Minister! Come quick! Something's happened! Someone's launching a night attack on the barbarians with fire ships!"

Xu Zhaokui, without bothering to put on his clothes, came out of the tent barefoot and hurried to the top of the mountain to check in the snowy winter night.

At a glance, he saw the raging fire and was so shocked that he couldn't speak.

His personal guards and servants caught up with him, carrying clothes and shoes, and helped him dress.

Xu Zhaokui asked those around him, "Do you know which naval force has arrived?"

The people on either side remained silent. It was so dark, and from the hilltop, they could only see the fire ships and the burning Dutch ships. They couldn't even see how many warships were coming, let alone which army it was.

One thing is certain, however: the visitors must be the Ming Dynasty navy.

Only the Ming Dynasty navy would use such a large-scale fire ship tactic. Even if the foreign barbarians wanted to imitate it, they wouldn't have that many fire ships.

The Guangdong Commander thought for a moment, then cupped his hands and said, "This humble officer guesses that the visitors may be from the troops of General Ma of Zhelin Bay."

Xu Zhaokui thought to himself that this was a good idea. According to the report from Ma Chenglie, the deputy commander of Nan'ao, he had also defeated Li Dan's troops in a night battle using fire ships on the 28th day of the twelfth lunar month last year.

This tactic is exactly the same as last year's; isn't it Ma Zongzhen's usual tactic?

It is truly a blessing for the nation that Fujian and Guangdong, with their coastal defenses, can produce a military genius like General Ma!

Thanks to General Ma, the red-haired barbarians didn't underestimate the Ming Dynasty.

After dressing and putting on his shoes and socks, Xu Zhaokui looked out to sea and saw that the dozens of fire ships had all sailed around the Dutch fleet.

Most of them did not hit the Dutch, but drifted ashore and ran aground, while a small number burned up on the ocean surface.

However, the remaining fire ships dealt a heavy blow to the Dutch fleet. Two Dutch ships were already engulfed in flames on the hilltop, and three more were rammed by the fire ships. The Dutch were frantically trying to put out the fire.

Further out on the dark sea, flashes of light and the sound of cannons could be heard from time to time, as if ships were engaged in a cannon battle.

The sound of cannon fire was extremely dense, almost continuous.

The patrol officer listened intently for a long time, then exclaimed with delight, "It's the sound of heavy breech-loading cannons!"

The surrounding officials all nodded in agreement, and even Xu Zhaokui smiled.

To be honest, these people couldn't tell the difference between the heavy breech-loading cannons and the siren cannons. They just saw the fire ships and assumed that the ships were the Ming Dynasty navy, and that if they were the Ming Dynasty navy, they would naturally be equipped with breech-loading cannons.

"boom!"

Amidst the intense shelling, a loud bang was heard, followed by a sudden cessation of the shelling.

The sound was so loud that even those far away on General Mountain felt a tremor in their hearts.

The distant sea was illuminated by the flames of the explosion. A warship was ablaze, and through the flying snow, firelight, and thick smoke, one could vaguely see a huge gap blasted in the middle of the ship, as if a large chunk of flesh had been devoured by a sea monster.

A while later, the ship experienced several more small explosions, and the fire intensified.

This situation, where a large explosion leads to smaller explosions, has occurred before during naval battles between the Netherlands and Portugal.

All the officials knew that the gunpowder room on the ship had exploded.

By the light of the fire, the crowd could barely make out the shape of the ship; it was a Hongyi warship. The officials on the mountain were immediately excited and overjoyed, and they all celebrated.

The firelight illuminated the surroundings, revealing a huge shadow moving across the sea, creating a sense of oppression, just like the back of a sea monster leaping out of the water.

The shadow flashed by, and soon after, the sound of cannons rang out again on the dark sea.

The cannon fire was deafening, almost as powerful as the Dutch fleet's salvo.

After more than ten rounds of shelling, the sea fell silent and returned to stillness, with only boundless darkness as far as the eye could see.

The officials, unable to see what was happening or know the extent of the battle, felt a pang of anxiety. They craned their necks, widened their eyes, and held their breath, searching the dark sea.

……

On the Jaslan fort, the captain, the priest, and other garrison soldiers were awakened by the fire, smoke, and cannon fire.

He stared blankly at the scene before him.

On the sea, the raging fires of the Dutch fleet illuminated the entire beach in every detail, revealing the frozen corpses of countless Dutch sailors, which were pushed ashore like dead fish.

You can still hear the Dutchmen's panicked commands and screams.

Further out on the beach, in the Dutch army's camp, the soldiers were also awakened and stared blankly at everything in front of them.

The priest's voice trembled slightly: "Captain, is this the Portuguese navy?"

The captain shook his head blankly: "The Macau warships have all sunk. Portugal only has troops in Malacca and Goa in the Far East. These two places are too far away to come to the aid. Even if they did come, they couldn't possibly bring so many fire ships."

The priest's eyes lit up, the firelight reflected in them: "So, this is divine punishment..."

"Father, what did you say?"

“I say, this is God’s wrath, divine punishment! God has come to punish the heretics!” The priest stood up, opened his arms, and shouted to the guards.

“Go to Macau, spread God’s will, tell everyone, take up arms, and fight back against the infidels!” The priest’s face was excited, and his voice was loud and clear.

Inspired by him, the surrounding guards all took up their weapons and stood up.

……

St. Anthony's Church.

The doors and windows had been boarded up with tables, chairs, and wooden boards, and only a few candles remained to provide light, making the sanctuary somewhat dim.

The women, carrying wooden sticks and candlesticks, took turns keeping watch at night.

Hearing the thunderous cannon fire outside the city, they were all frightened and quickly called out to their leader, saying, "Lady Qin, listen, isn't that... the Dutch have invaded?"

Qin Niangzi was the one who had organized the women to guard the church. She had only been asleep for less than half an hour when she was woken up. Upon hearing the booming cannons, she was also frightened, but she did not show it on her face and pretended to be calm.

"Boom!" A huge explosion, like thunder, came from afar.

"Ah—" The women all shuddered in fright. Some dropped their wooden sticks, and others screamed. "Shut up!" Madam Qin scolded the screamer.

The man was so terrified that he broke down and screamed to himself.

Qin Niangzi and the nuns worked together to subdue the person, binding her hands and stuffing a strip of cloth into her mouth.

After doing all this, Madam Qin walked up to the high platform and said to everyone, "I hear the cannon fire is still far away, so there's no need to panic. Just to be on the safe side, everyone should stay alert for the rest of the night, keeping watch by the windows and candles. If there's any disturbance on the street, proceed according to the previous plan!"

After these words were spoken, the women calmed down a bit and went about their duties. Some went to stand guard, while others went to comfort their crying children.

As Qin Niangzi descended from the high platform, a teenage girl approached her, took her hand, and whispered, "Mother, don't be afraid, I'm here."

Madam Qin smiled, patted her daughter's head, hugged her, and whispered in her ear, "If the Japanese pirates come in, run out the back door, understand?"

The girl said, "Let's go together."

Madam Qin smiled gently and said, "Of course. When the time comes, you go and move the wooden planks blocking the door, and I'll be right behind you."

The girl felt a little relieved and clung to her mother tightly.

……

On the Batavia.

Braving thick smoke and high temperatures, the ship's carpenters finally managed to cut the hull into which the fire ship had pierced.

Cohen immediately ordered the sails to be raised and the anchor to be taken, his eyes fixed on the situation on the distant sea.

Judging from the loud explosion, the Night Watchman had been sunk by the gunpowder chamber explosion, and now the only hope is that the Zellander Griffin will hold off the enemy.

If he could stall for a while, giving his fleet some time to get rid of the fire ships and leave this area full of fire targets, his fleet would still have a fighting chance.

Of course, his fleet had been ambushed and suffered heavy losses, and he was out in the open while the enemy was in the shadows. With all these unfavorable conditions combined, any commander with a brain would have ordered a retreat.

But there are still over 800 landing troops on the shore!
It didn't matter if the Japanese ronin and native mercenaries died, but the Dutch East India Company soldiers couldn't die, at least not be abandoned by the governor to die.

Even if the Dutch navy escaped unscathed, but the landing force was completely wiped out, his expedition plan would still have failed.

The subsequent strategic plans to harass the Ming Dynasty's Jin and Xia states, advance on Penghu, and then march into Dongfan would all become empty talk.

This is a huge strategic failure, causing incalculable losses, and he may lose his position as governor as a result.

Therefore, even though he was at a disadvantage, Cohen had to take a gamble. He knew that there were no other Portuguese warships in this area, and the enemy could only be the Ming Dynasty navy.

Once they were freed from the fire ships, the Dutch army would have laid out their battle lines, and the corrupt Ming navy would have been no match for the Dutch!
Cohen was absolutely certain about this!
"How much anchor have you taken in?" Cohen shouted toward the winch at the bow.

“One-quarter left.” The boatswain’s voice came from the darkness.

Almost there! If only the Zelan Griffin could hold on a little longer, just ten more minutes!
The Zelan Griffin was a medium-sized Yahate ship, and its twenty-four cast-iron cannons alone were enough to contend with the ancient ships of the Ming Dynasty navy.

Cohen thought to himself.

As for the Night Watch being hit in the powder chamber, that was just good luck for the Ming army.

In a naval battle, such good luck is impossible to have twice!

On the sea, the sound of cannons continued to come, then suddenly, the cannons stopped, and the sea fell silent.

All Cohen could hear was the howling wind and the sound of waves. He stared wide-eyed, searching carefully on the sea, but all he saw was darkness and foam. He found nothing.

If he weren't the governor, he would have loved to shout the name of the Zeeland Griffin!

How could such a large ship just disappear like that? Why didn't they fire their cannons?
Could it be... that it was sunk?
In an instant, Cohen's heart sank to the bottom.

How is this possible? Only a few rounds of shelling? Could the Ming army's toy-like firearms and dilapidated warships sink a proud Dutch navy warship?
Even if it were sunk, the sound of gunfire should have gradually stopped, not suddenly disappeared.
Could it be...

Cohen suddenly understood, his heart pounded, and his blood felt colder than the howling wind and snow on the Lingdingyang Sea.

The enemy had actually ended the battle long ago. The reason the shelling was still going on was to create a false impression. In reality, the main force had already taken advantage of the night to sail towards the remaining Dutch warships.

The remaining Dutch warships, including the Batavia, were all within range of the firelight, making them easy targets in the dark!

He shouted hysterically with all his might, "Raise the sails! Full speed ahead!"

The anchor is not fully retracted yet, and it is very dangerous to move forward at full speed.

All the crew members were used to unconditionally obeying the captain's orders. The sail handler on the boom untied the sail buckle, the snow-white sail was lowered, and the ship slowly accelerated, tilting to starboard by the anchor.

Just then, a burst of fire suddenly appeared on the sea not far away.

Instantly, the sound of artillery fire echoed across the Lingdingyang, and solid iron bullets flew in almost a straight trajectory.

The Batavia was hit by five or six cannon shots at the stern and suffered heavy damage. Fortunately, the Yahat ship did not have a sterncastle, otherwise it would have collapsed.

Even so, the Batavia was severely damaged.

The helmsman turned the rudder wheel slightly twice, but the ship did not respond. The rudder wheel, which usually required two people to operate, was now turned very easily. He had no choice but to shout, "Rudder damaged, steering failure!"

This barrage was originally aimed at the midsection of the Batavia. The Batavia was moving forward, causing most of the shells to miss, but it also damaged the fragile rudder, so it was better not to move at all.

Cohen's heart skipped a beat, and he ordered, "Return fire at the muzzle flashes!"

Fortunately, the Batavia was heading southeast, so even if it didn't turn, its movements wouldn't be noticed for the time being.

For a time, the Batavia was on the sea, exchanging fire with an unseen enemy ship.

By the light of the enemy ship's cannons, Cohen could vaguely make out that the enemy ship had a high hull, two gun decks, and nearly thirty guns on its sides. It would not be an exaggeration to identify it as a main warship of the European Navy.

Such firepower configuration not only overwhelmed the Ming Dynasty navy, but also surpassed that of the Batavia.

Even more astonishingly, the enemy ship was completely dark from bow to stern, with no lights on at all except for the muzzle flashes of its cannons, like a ghost on the sea.

The Batavia was downwind, and the smoke from the enemy ship's gunpowder drifted in with the wind. Coupled with the snow obstructing visibility, the gunners could see nothing and could only fire into the darkness by feel.

After a round of shelling, all I could hear was the sound of shells hitting the water.

The hull cracked, and the sailors cried out, but not a single sound came out.

This further terrified the gunners of the Batavia.

After three rounds of shelling, nothing was hit, while the Batavia had already been hit by more than twenty shells.

The gunners' fear had reached its peak; some had already left their positions, pulled out crosses, and knelt down to pray.

The artillery sergeant roared, "Stand up! Get to loading ammunition! The crosshairs won't scare us away..."

"boom!"

With a loud bang, a solid iron shot pierced the hull of the Batavia and then blasted out from the starboard side.

When the gunners came to their senses, they found that the gunnery officer had disappeared, leaving only the severed limbs of his legs lying on the deck, surrounded by large patches of blood.

Batavia, 100 meters to port.

The Santa Ana sailed quietly on the sea, parallel to the Batavia.

According to Lin Qian, the Saint Anna has been renamed according to the Ming Dynasty's name and is now called Tianyuan.

The Tianyuan entered the dock for refitting in early August and completed the refitting at the end of October. After a brief sea trial, it made its first deployment and faced such a tough battle.

Fortunately, after several rounds of bombardment, Lin Qian discovered that the Dutch ship's combat strength was far inferior to that of the Tianyuan, so he ordered the Tianyuan to confront the Dutch flagship.

At this time, at the stern of the Tianyuan, there were also the Changfeng, Yunfan, and three captured Dutch armed merchant ships, the Faraway, the Cape of Good Hope, and the Spice Route, a total of five ships, each searching for Dutch warships to engage in cannon battle.

The Dutch anchorage was brightly lit by the fire ships, making the warships easy targets on the sea, and there was no situation where friend or foe could not be distinguished.

The battle raged in the darkness, and the command system was essentially paralyzed, with each ship fighting its own battle.

This was exactly the effect Lin Qian wanted to achieve; he had repeatedly clarified the tasks to the ship owners before the battle.

The goal was to inflict maximum damage on the Dutch fleet under cover of darkness.

Once the Dutch are out of the range of the fire ships' illumination, or when the sun rises and the sky brightens, the ships will withdraw from the battlefield.

As long as the mission can be completed, how to proceed on the battlefield and how to bombard are all up to the ship owners.

Even after dealing with the two Dutch sentry ships, Lin Qian's fleet no longer maintained its battle line.

This kind of unconventional command style, in this era, is simply outrageous.

Even the elderly, such as Bai Qing, Bai Langzai, and Lei Sanxiang, had their doubts.

But in practice, it has proven to be very effective.

After all, the famous British naval commander Nelson, who was born more than 140 years later, used this method to command his fleet.

Military strategists have also given this command style a general name: "mission-based command".

Lin Qian knew that the Dutch navy was powerful, and even if they fought the Portuguese first, it would be difficult to achieve a mutually destructive effect. Inspired by the battle on the night of the 28th of the twelfth lunar month last year, he devised this tactic of fire attack and chaotic warfare.

"Task-based command" is the most suitable command method for this kind of chaotic battlefield.

With the exception of the Batavia, Dutch warships were accustomed to maintaining a line formation with their flagship.

Accustomed to rigid tactics of following the flagship's orders step by step.

This has further reinforced the rigid mindset of fighting during the day and resting at night on the sea.

Suddenly attacked by Lin Qian at night and losing the flagship command of the Batavia, they were at a loss for what to do.

Some experienced captains ordered their ships to weigh anchor, hoist the sails, and flee out to sea.

Some were ordered to remain in place and return fire at the enemy's gunfire.

Others panicked and kept urging the lookouts to obtain the flagship's command.

Amidst the blazing fire and blizzard, the Dutch fleet was like a seal surrounded by a pack of killer whales, hiding on the ice, waiting for death.

Lin Qian's ship owners, such as Bai Qing, Zheng Zhilong, Zheng Aqi, Shi Kai, and Mu San, were mostly from the Tanka people, with rich maritime experience, and some were even exceptionally talented. Without exception, they had all undergone repeated trials in actual combat.

Each time the fishing fleet from the Dongfan Strait set sail, Bai Qing was the fixed captain of the Changfeng, while the captain of the Yunfan changed each time, in order to train personnel.

After three months of rigorous "training," today is finally the time to test the results.

On the Tianyuan, Lin Qian keenly noticed that the enemy flagship was having difficulty turning, and ordered the right half-rudder to turn as a test, but the enemy flagship did not respond.

Lin Qian then gave a risky order: "Turn right and head southwest!"

(End of this chapter)