Southern Ming Rebel Army

Opdam's face was covered in blood, and the Batavia Governor Ruhansug beside him was a little panicked. He thought he should be safe on the flagship, but it seemed not so safe at this moment.

"Commander, the firepower of the Qian people is very fierce!" Ru Hansuige said somewhat uneasily.

Opdam showed an ugly smile on his face. He comforted him, "It's okay, Your Excellency the Governor. Look, with just this much skill, three of the Qian people's gunboats have sunk, and two or three others have been seriously damaged and have now retreated. Don't worry, as long as the Zheng family dares to charge the port, victory will definitely belong to us!"

The gunboats of both sides fought back and forth. The Qian Dynasty had more warships, almost three times that of the Dutch fleet. However, with the cover of the port artillery, the number of single-wheel artillery of the Dutch fleet was not inferior to that of the Qian army.

The naval battle was magnificent and tragic. General Chen Yaoce, the commander of the Qian army, leaned on the broken wheelhouse and shouted, "Reload quickly and change to shrapnel shells!"

At this time, there were several large holes on the side of Chen Yaoce's warship, and there were large stains of blood and wood chips on the planks. Many wounded soldiers had been dragged aside. The battle was fierce and there was no time to take care of the wounded soldiers.

Hearing the general's urging, the gunners loaded the guns nervously and anxiously. While loading powder bags into the barrels and compacting the shells, they looked up at the Dutch fleet opposite.

The gunner yelled, "It's loaded!"

"Quick, quick, quick!" The officer urged and helped push the artillery out. As the dark turret stretched out its gun window, the gunner immediately lit the fuse.

There was a loud "bang" and the gunners became a little deaf. The air was filled with smoke. The gunners pulled the cannon back while observing the situation on the opposite side through the gun window.

To everyone's delight, the shrapnel bomb exploded on the opposite deck. It can be imagined that it would cause great suffering to these Western barbarians.

Although the Dutch fleet fought under the cover of artillery and had a great advantage, they had fewer ships. Chen Yaoce's tactic was to ignore the artillery and attack the Dutch warships with all his strength.

The closer the fleet is, the greater the damage each round of bombardment will cause. This kind of naval battle is a test of real strength.

Up to now in the battle, more than ten warships of the Qian army have sunk, and nearly twenty have been damaged and retreated, with nearly half of the warships destroyed.

Of the 17 ships in the Dutch fleet, six had sunk, and the remaining eleven ships had no way to retreat. Every surviving ship was already badly damaged.

Zheng Chenggong's face looked extremely ugly at this time. The Qian army's warships had suffered heavy losses. Although the Dutch ships were also seriously damaged, the artillery of the fort had no losses and was still firing.

There are hundreds of cannons on the artillery platforms in the port of Batavia. Each round of shelling will cause damage to the warships of the Qian army. The longer the time drags on, the greater the damage to the warships.

Zheng Chenggong also had some hidden worries in his heart. On the one hand, if his own warships suffered serious losses, it would inevitably affect his control over Luzon and Tainan. On the other hand, if the court's warships suffered too much damage, he was also worried that the imperial censors in the court would find an excuse to blame him.

Ru Hansuige looked at such brutal fighting and the warships of the Qian army navy swarming in. As a native with a population of only a few million, Ru Hansuige felt a little scared that the Eastern Empire had so many ships.

And the most important thing is that although these Oriental ships are not as good as theirs, there is actually no generation gap. Compared with the Battle of Liaoluo Bay, they have made great progress.

At this time, the flagship where Ru Hansuige was located was hit by several shells at the same time, including solid shells, shrapnel shells, and chain shells. The chain shell even broke the main mast in half. With a creaking sound, the mast fell down hard, causing the huge flagship to shake.

Ru Hansuige hurried to the fleet commander Opdam and said that he would go to the shore to organize the defense because the Qian army might land on the coast.

Ru Hansuige was embarrassed to say that it was too dangerous now and he wanted to run back to the shore. Opdam didn't have time to expose him at the moment and just nodded to show that he understood.

Ru Hanshuge took a few people, launched a small boat, and paddled hard towards the coast. Ru Hanshuge regretted it very much now. If he had known this would happen, he would not have come to watch the battle.

Columns of water splashed up around the Dutch flagship. The sea water was splashed into the sky, and then fell down, soaking the sailors on the deck. Even Opdam was drenched like a drowned chicken.

"Commander, the bottom of the ship has been pierced by enemy artillery! The sea water can't be stopped!" A soldier urgently reported to Opdam.

At this time, the Dutch flagship had been severely damaged, even the main mast was broken, and now it was almost becoming a sitting duck. Opdam was startled and immediately gave the order to move the command ship.

The two sides fought fiercely for more than an hour. At this time, not only had the Dutch flagship sunk, but Chen Yaoce's flagship was also paralyzed on the sea by the concentrated fire of the artillery. Chen Yaoce also moved the command ship.

At this time, Chen Yaoce's arm was severely injured. A cannonball hit the side of the boat, and the splashing wooden strips hit Chen Yaoce's right arm hard, making his right hand completely powerless.

There are only six ships left in the Dutch fleet still resisting, but the warships of the Qian army are also badly damaged. Almost all the ships are damaged, but there are differences in the severity of the damage.

Chen Yaoce ordered his men to send flag signals, requesting Zheng Chenggong to send more warships for support. Chen Yaoce believed that as long as another thirty ships were provided, all the foreign ships hiding under the artillery positions could be sunk.

But what Chen Yaoce did not expect was that Zheng Chenggong actually ordered him to retreat. Chen Yaoce couldn't believe it. He turned around and picked up the telescope, looking at Zheng Chenggong's flagship. He saw that there was indeed a flag of retreat on Zheng Chenggong's flagship.

Chen Yaoce was unwilling to give in, but the military order was as firm as a mountain. He gritted his teeth and shouted, "Turn rudder! Retreat!"

Fighting at sea is different from fighting on land. Ships consume fresh water, food, gunpowder and artillery shells every day. Moreover, a large number of ships in the fleet now need to be replenished with gunpowder and artillery shells. Every extra day will reduce the combat effectiveness.

Zheng Chenggong was extremely angry when he saw the dense artillery batteries still bombarding the retreating warships. He swore that after conquering Batavia, he would not leave a single person alive and would kill all the barbarians.

In this battle, the main force of Batavia's fleet was destroyed. Although they were not completely annihilated, Zheng Chenggong knew that the homeland of these barbarians was more than ten thousand miles away from here.

After returning to Brunei to rest, the next time I come, I can directly bring the infantry to land from somewhere else and bypass these forts. After the infantry captures the forts, the land and sea forces will then besiege Batavia.