My father is Jiajing

The monsoon winds of Southeast Asia carry a salty and humid scent as they sweep across the Strait of Malacca in Sumatra.

Yu Dayou stood on the bridge of the flagship of the Nanyang Fleet, the giant ship "Jiajing," and gently tapped his fingers on the huge sand table of the sea in front of him.

He was mentally rehearsing the upcoming battle, trying to seize the most advantageous opportunity!
"General, our vanguard has arrived in Penang, but the red-haired barbarians have not yet made a move."

Yu Qiang, the commander of the Imperial Guard, reported in a low voice.

Upon hearing Yu Qiang's report, Yu Dayou nodded slightly, his gaze sweeping over the dense markings on the massive seascape sand table before him.

The main force of the Nanyang Fleet, consisting of thirty-eight warships, is currently lurking at the eastern entrance of the Strait of Malacca, while a decoy force of five Fujian ships is patrolling the western entrance, deliberately exposing their whereabouts to mislead the barbarians who occupy this area.

Finally, after much deliberation and deduction, Yu Dayou made up his mind.

Yu Dayou's voice was calm and steady as he decisively ordered, "Order all camps to move out at midnight tonight and take Malacca in one battle!"

Upon hearing Yu Dayou's order, Yu Qiang immediately clasped his hands in salute, "This subordinate obeys!"

Then Yu Qiang hurriedly went to convey Yu Dayou's orders to the various camps.

As night fell, the long-calm Strait of Malacca was finally swallowed by darkness. The islands and mountains on both sides of the strait, as well as the azure waters in the middle of the strait, all turned completely black at this moment, as if it were a doomsday place, filled with an eerie calm.

The governor of the Dutch East India Company, Van der Layton, was also having dinner in the newly built Malacca fortress, and he was in a very good mood.

Two years ago, although Johnson lost Orange City while he was based in Taiwan, he redeemed himself by securing Japanese assistance for the company.

Moreover, in the past two years, the East India Company has finally achieved its goal of extending its influence to the East once again and building a new fortress in Malacca.

He also intended to use this fortress to curb the westward advance of the Easterners, protect the interests of the company and the Kingdom of the Netherlands, and of course, most importantly, his own interests.

Just as Van der Layton was enjoying his meal, a sudden, urgent bell rang out from the direction of the harbor.

This surprised Van Deledon slightly, as he hadn't even had a chance to put a piece of the steak he had just cut into his mouth.

"Report to the Governor! The Eastern fleet has launched a surprise attack on the port!"

A soldier rushed in, anxiously reporting the current situation.

Van Dryden looked at the soldier who came to deliver the message, put down his knife and fork, and asked with a serious expression, "What's going on?"

The soldier quickly replied, "The Easterners have arrived!"

Van der Layton had a bad feeling. He got up from the table, walked quickly out, and headed toward the watchtower at the highest point of the fortress.

When he climbed to the top of the watchtower, the scene before him was simply unbelievable!
Van der Layton saw dozens of Ming warships appear like ghosts on the sea below the harbor, raining rockets down on the anchored Dutch warships.

Even more terrifying, several oddly shaped small boats were rapidly approaching, their bows even spitting flames.

"Oh God, that's a fire ship! Quickly, move the gun emplacements to defend!"

After a moment of stunned silence, Van der Layton quickly issued the order, but it was too late.

The Ming army's "fire dragons emerging from the water" rockets were already raining down, igniting the ships in the harbor.

Five more fire ships rushed into the harbor with the tide, colliding with Dutch warships one after another, and flames instantly engulfed the entire waterway.

Everything felt like a nightmare!
Van Dryden never imagined that all of this would happen so quickly, as if God was playing a joke on him, or Satan was deliberately toying with him.

Meanwhile, Yu Dayou, aboard the Jiajing warship, watched the battle unfold through his binoculars, feeling a surge of excitement. He had initially thought it would take considerable effort to achieve his goal, but to his surprise, it had been accomplished so quickly.

Yu Dayou immediately smiled at Yu Qiang beside him and said, "Yu Qiang, now it's up to your Marine Corps to perform!"

Yu Qiang immediately patted his chest, clasped his hands in a fist and bowed, "General, just watch over things, this humble general will certainly not fail in his mission!"

Yu Dayou laughed heartily, "Alright, as long as you can achieve the final victory, I will ask for the greatest credit for you!"

Upon hearing Yu Dayou's words, Yu Qiang became excited as well.

Immediately, Yu Qiang bid farewell to Yu Dayou and led a marine corps of two thousand elite soldiers in small boats, charging fearlessly toward the enemy's dock under the cover of darkness and the flames of war.

These elite Marines were mostly trained by Yu Dayou in Zhejiang, Fujian and Taiwan. They were equipped with improved muskets, while the rest carried rattan shields, long spears and standard sharp sabers.

After landing, they quickly formed a "Mandarin Duck Formation," advancing in groups of five, providing mutual cover for each other.

The Dutch defenders hastily engaged in battle, but their arquebuses frequently misfired in the damp night and failed to inflict any effective damage.

The Ming army, however, was well-prepared. Their muskets' fuses were wrapped in oiled paper to prevent moisture damage. Some elite units were even equipped with flintlock muskets!
However, this type of flintlock firearm cannot be mass-produced yet, and the production cost is very high. Therefore, those who can wield a flintlock firearm are either military officers or recognized sharpshooters.

With these flintlock muskets in hand, they were like a sharp blade in the nighttime beach landing, directly slicing through the Dutch defenders' lines, making the two thousand marines as ferocious as wolves in a sheepfold!

Finally, after a night of fierce fighting, as dawn broke and the first rays of sunlight rose over the eastern sea, the Ming Dynasty's Sun and Moon Dragon Flag was raised atop the watchtower of the Malacca Fortress!
Van der Layton retreated with his remaining troops to the church in the city, and finally raised the white flag at noon, choosing to "discretion is the better part of valor" with his last remaining men.

Moreover, surrendering is not a shameful thing for Van der Layton. He surrendered several times when he served the Dutch royal family, and in the end he still got his current status.

Therefore, surrendering was just a common occurrence for a veteran pirate like Van der Layton!
"General, the Governor-General of the Red-haired Barbarians requests an audience."

Yu Qiang escorted a red-haired, blue-eyed barbarian over.

Yu Dayou sat upright in the makeshift military tent, with the interpreter Wang Meng standing beside him.

This young official had studied Dutch in the Hongwen Academy system and had also served in the Nanyang Fleet under Yu Dayou for many years. He was a pragmatic official who was knowledgeable about Western affairs.

Van der Layden said in broken Dutch, “General, your attack on our East India Company territory without cause will ignite a war!”

After Wang Meng translated, Yu Dayou sneered and retorted directly: "Malacca was originally the location of the Ming Dynasty's old port pacification commissioner. You have occupied it for many years, and today it is simply being returned to its rightful owner."

Wang Meng immediately translated Yu Dayou's words, and Van Derleyton was also taken aback when he heard the content of the sentence.

He then said, "As far as I know, you Easterners haven't been here for over a hundred years. How can we be considered to have stolen it?"

Wang Meng immediately translated Van der Layton's words, and Yu Dayou chuckled, "Under the whole heaven, all land belongs to the king. Our Great Ming is a nation bestowed by heaven, with the responsibility of ruling over all and governing the four seas. Not to mention a hundred years, even a thousand years, this is still the land of the Great Ming!"

Then Yu Dayou stood up and said forcefully to Van der Layton, "Go back and tell your so-called board of directors that from now on, whether it's the South Seas or the West, they are all the oceans of the Great Ming!"

Van der Layton was speechless for a moment after hearing Yu Dayou's domineering words, and could only stand there dumbfounded.

To his even greater surprise, the Eastern general did not imprison him but instead offered to release him. This further convinced Van der Layton that he was a fortunate chosen one of God!

After letting Van der Layton go, Yu Dayou ordered the entire army to rest in Malacca for three days!
Three days later, Yu Dayou summoned his generals to discuss and prepare the next phase of the battle plan!

"General, our scouts report that the Dutch have reinforced their warships in Colombo, Ceylon (Sri Lanka)."

One of the recruits pointed to a mark on the huge sand table in front of him and then continued, "At least eight large warships, and several armed merchant ships."

Yu Qiang couldn't help but remind him, "General, although our army has won, the repeated battles have consumed a great deal of ammunition. Should we return to resupply first?"

Upon hearing this, Yu Dayou shook his head slightly and frowned, saying, "Speed ​​is of the essence in war. The barbarians expect me to return, but I insist on taking Ceylon directly!"

Having said that, Yu Dayou tapped his finger heavily on the location of Colombo, "This place is the throat of the West. Zheng Zhongguan once erected a monument here. If we recover this place, the gates to the West will be wide open!"

That night, a dark-skinned messenger secretly arrived at the military camp.

Wang Meng introduced Yu Dayou: "General, this is an envoy from the Kingdom of Kandy, Ceylon. The Dutch have forcibly occupied the coast, and King Rojasingha II of Kandy is willing to join forces with our army to resist the Dutch."

The envoy presented a scroll of palm-leaf letter with both hands, on which the intention of forming an alliance was written in Ceylon.

Yu Dayou inquired in detail about the terrain of Ceylon and the deployment of Dutch troops, and the envoy answered him one by one.

"it is good!"

Yu Dayou slammed his fist on the table and stood up. “Tell your king that in half a month, our army will be at the foot of Colombo. Please have the Kandy army attack the land fortress of the Dutch at the same time!”

After the envoy left, Yu Qiang asked worriedly, "General, can the barbarians be trusted?"

Yu Dayou smiled meaningfully: "There are no permanent enemies in the world, only permanent interests. The Kandy people hate the red-haired barbarians to the bone, so this alliance can be formed."

Three days later, the Nanyang Fleet, having completed its repairs, set sail again.

Thirty warships sailed majestically into the depths of the Indian Ocean, their bows cleaving through the azure waters, leaving long white trails in their wake.

As the outline of Ceylon appeared on the horizon, the lookout on the Jiajing warship suddenly sounded an alarm: "Enemy ship spotted ahead!"

Yu Dayou quickly climbed onto the ship's deck, where he saw more than ten warships flying the Dutch tricolor flag standing ready in the distance.

Most striking was a massive three-masted warship, its hull black and its sides riddled with cannons—the Dutch East India Company's flagship, the "Sea Coachman."

"Those red-haired barbarians! They actually dare to go out to sea to fight!"

Yu Qiang gripped the sword hilt tightly, unable to contain his delight.

Yu Dayou smiled as well, "Perfect timing! I was just wondering how to find them. Issue the order: transform into the 'Five Tigers and Sheep Formation' and surround and annihilate them!"

The Nanyang Fleet quickly deployed into battle formation.

Five of the largest Fujian ships formed the main force in the center, while ten Cangshan ships on each side stretched out like sharp claws, and the remaining ships maneuvered to encircle and surround them.

The "Sea Coachman" opened fire first, with cannonballs whistling past the Ming fleet and kicking up huge columns of water.

The other ships in the Dutch fleet also opened fire, and the sea was immediately filled with smoke.

Yu Dayou exclaimed, "These red-haired barbarians are something else!"

Then Yu Dayou didn't even bother to get close and annihilate the enemy; instead, he wiped them all out in one fell swoop.

Immediately order the artillery to return fire!

It should be noted that the cannons of the Ming Dynasty were different from the solid shot used by the foreign barbarians. The Ming Dynasty's cannonballs were mostly exploding shells, which scattered countless iron fragments after exploding, causing fatal injuries to the deck personnel.

More importantly, the Ming Dynasty's cannons had a longer range!
Therefore, this counterattack,
The deck of the "Sea Coachman" was instantly littered with flying blood and gore, everyone was stunned by the explosion!

They never dreamed they would encounter such a strong opponent!
You should know that they were already invincible in the West, otherwise they wouldn't have traveled thousands of miles to the Ming Dynasty to search for the legendary land of gold described in Marco Polo's Travels.

The naval battle lasted for two hours, with almost one side suffering casualties. Just as the Dutch were about to give up and were preparing to turn back, thick black smoke suddenly rose from the direction of Colombo.

"General, look! The Kandy people have made their move!"

Wang Meng shouted excitedly.

Sure enough, the Dutch fleet's formation began to fall into disarray again, with several warships darting around the sea like headless flies.

Seizing the opportunity, Yu Dayou immediately ordered: "All troops, advance! We must annihilate the enemy!"

As soon as Yu Dayou issued his military order, all the officers and soldiers of the Nanyang Fleet became excited, and they were all eager to show their skills!
Finally, as the sun set, the Ming Dynasty's sun, moon, and dragon flag was raised over the port of Colombo.

The remaining Dutch forces retreated once again to the fortress within the city.

However, under the fierce attack of the Ming army, these remnants wisely chose to surrender, just as naturally as Van der Layton.

The next day!

Inside the Colombo Fortress Hall, Yu Dayou met with King Rajasingha II of Kandy.

The dark-skinned, thin young king, dressed in a seemingly ornate but actually loose robe, bowed deeply to Yu Dayou.

"General, your divine might helped me drive out the red-haired barbarians. I will forever remember your great kindness."

Through Wang Meng's translation, the king spoke sincerely.

Yu Dayou chuckled and returned the greeting, saying, "Your Majesty, there's no need for such formalities. These barbarian devils have seized control of the sea routes and plundered merchants. As the Celestial Empire, the Great Ming should uphold justice."

The talks continued late into the night. An agreement was eventually reached: Ming troops would garrison key coastal locations such as Colombo, while the Kingdom of Kandy would control the inland areas; the two sides would engage in trade, with the Ming army exchanging Ming tea and silk for Ceylon gems and spices.

The following day, Yu Dayou held a grand ceremony at the port of Colombo. A stone tablet inscribed with "Great Ming Western Ocean Pacification Commission" was re-erected in a prominent place in the port, and the newly built forts around it were beginning to take shape.

This stone tablet is of great significance, as it proclaims the return of the Ming Dynasty, which was once again the most powerful dynasty in the Yongle era, with all nations paying tribute to it!
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