Chapter 398: Evacuation or War

Liang Yao joined forces with the pirates in Southeast Asia in the South China Sea, and then headed south in a mighty manner to the waters near Pontianak.

With such a large-scale fleet sailing, it was natural that it could not escape the eyes and ears of the Dutch and Indian authorities.

After learning of Liang Yao's intentions, Tevez ordered General Cruson to immediately organize a fleet and head to the waters near Pontianak to intercept Liang Yao's fleet and prevent Liang Yao from landing in West Borneo.

Even the Dutch armed merchant ships anchored in Batavia Port were directly requisitioned by the Dutch and Indian authorities.

"Madman, simply madman. Is the U.S. government endorsing him behind his back, or is he acting daringly?"

Tevez felt puzzled and angry at Liang Yao's series of incredible actions.

After reading the information sent back, Krusheng's expression gradually became serious.

Four modern steamships of over 1,000 tons, one of which is the most advanced hidden-wheel warship.

This is a maritime force that cannot be underestimated.

After the Anglo-Dutch War, the Netherlands' national power declined, and Belgium's independence in 1830 severely damaged the country's vitality.

At this time, the national strength of the Netherlands was no longer what it used to be. It was just trying to maintain the dignity of the last great powers and was the weakest link among the great powers.

Tevez's intensive mobilization finally gathered 9 sailing warships, one of which was a three-decker Rotterdam with a displacement of up to 2,300 tons and 95 guns. This was the only remaining second-class ship of the Dutch and Indian authorities. The Dutch-Indian authorities’ last card.

It's just that the Rotterdam is a ship built in the late 20th century, and the hull is a bit old.

The remaining eight sailing battleships are fourth-, fifth- and sixth-level ships with displacements ranging from 400 tons to 1,500 tons and armed guns ranging from 20 to 60 guns.

Like the Rotterdam, these sailing warships are relatively old and the condition of the ships is worrying.

Does the Dutch and Indian authorities have any new ships?

Yes, after all, the Netherlands was once a coachman on the sea. The emergence of steam battleships also gave insightful people in the Netherlands a premonition that steam battleships that were not bound by wind would be the future of the navy.

Starting in 1848, the Dutch began to concentrate financial and material resources on developing their own new generation of steam warships.

The result of the Dutch is the name (the name of a volcano on the island of Java. I don’t know how to translate it. If someone knows, please add it and I will change it into a Chinese translation).

< is a three-masted steam paddle steamer that uses both steam power and sail power. It has a displacement of 781 tons, a power of 110kw, and a length of 8 meters. It is equipped with a single-cylinder coal-fired steam engine and 6 front cannons. It is the most advanced steamship in the world. one.

Historically, in order to promote Japan's opening to the Netherlands, after the Black Ship Incident and the founding of Japan, under the lobbying of Hendrik, the president of the Dutch Trade Association with Japan, William III of the Netherlands agreed to send a steamship to Germany as a gift. Sichuan shogunate.

Of course, the Dutch are not doing charity. The real purpose of the Dutch is to allow Japan to further open its market to earn more business benefits.

Hendrick also thoughtfully considered that if ordered from the Netherlands, the construction period would be very long, and the ship currently in service in the Dutch East Indies was a new ship that had just been commissioned in 1853.

Therefore, in the end, with Hendrik's help, the Dutch authorities directly gave the number to the Japanese shogunate.

The Japanese shogunate named it Kanko Maru. Kanko Maru was the first steam battleship of the Japanese Navy. It was later used as a training ship and trained the first generation of naval talents for the Japanese Navy.

"Your Excellency, with all due respect, the maritime power we can mobilize is currently limited. I request a postponement of handing over the ship to the shogunate authorities!"

Crusen requested the call to strengthen the fleet.

The Japanese shogunate didn't pay for the ship anyway.

Like another time and space, after the founding of Japan, Japan began to seek cooperation with Western countries, hoping to obtain advanced steam warships from Western countries.

The Netherlands and Japan have a long history of trade cooperation, and the Japanese have a good impression of the Dutch, so Japan is more inclined to cooperate with the Dutch.

In modern times, the Japanese navy was based on the British. This is a stereotype among people.

In fact, the Japanese Navy first used the Netherlands as its division. Not only did the Kanko Maru arrive in Nagasaki, Japan, but also instructors from the Royal Netherlands Navy.

It wasn't until the Iwakura mission visited Europe and carefully inspected the European countries that they learned that the Netherlands was just a second-rate small country and that Britain was the number one naval power.

Japan soon gave up learning from the Dutch navy, and turned to the navy to fully learn from the British, with Britain as its teacher.

"The number is a gift given to the Japanese shogunate by His Majesty's personal order. Requisitioning it rashly may affect the friendship between the Netherlands and Japan."

The < number was a gift personally ordered by King William III of the Netherlands to the Japanese shogunate. Tevez was undecided for a while.

"Your Excellency! Is the friendship between the Netherlands and Japan more important or our interests in the East Indies?!" Cruson sent a soul torture to Tevez.

This is not a very difficult question to answer. The friendship between the Netherlands and Japan is illusory, but the Netherlands' interests in the East Indies are real.

The East Indies is the most important overseas colony of the Netherlands and the last fig leaf, so there is no room for error.

"I'll leave the call to you." Tevez made up his mind.

After getting Tevez's permission, Cruson transferred the sightseeing pill.

The East Indies Fleet, consisting of 9 warships and 18 armed merchant ships, sailed to Pontianak to assist the Pontianak garrison in defending Pontianak and the benefits gained by the Dutch-Indonesian authorities on the island of Borneo.

The East Indies Fleet, led by Crusen, cruised at a speed of 8 knots and headed for Pontianak.

In the waters near Pontianak, Crusen met a huge fleet, which was Liang Yao's fleet, and it could be said that it was all Liang Yao's assets.

Liang Yao had four steam warships with a displacement of more than 1,000 tons and 11 loach-class ships. Among these 11 loach-class ships, Liang Yao's own 8 loach-class ships had been replaced with Sacramento guns, and the Guangdong Navy's 3 loach-class ships were still equipped with old-fashioned muzzle-loading cannons.

In terms of sailing ships, Liang Yao had 16 clipper ships with a displacement ranging from 700 tons to 1,200 tons, equipped with 22 to 30 6-pound Sacramento guns.

The rest was the atmosphere group composed of the Guangdong Navy and the small sampans of Southeast Asian pirates.

The two fleets met on the sea and confronted each other.

But in terms of numbers and momentum, Liang Yao, who came out in full force, was obviously better.

"This sea area belongs to us, the Netherlands! You have entered the Dutch waters, and I will give you ten minutes to consider whether to choose to evacuate our waters or go to war!"

Crusen also issued an ultimatum to Liang Yao, requiring Liang Yao's fleet to evacuate the waters near Pontianak.

While issuing the ultimatum, Crusen had already sent out flag signals, ordering all ships to seize the upwind direction so as to obtain a strong maneuvering position after the war.

Crusen's East Indies fleet had a low steam rate, and only one and two steamed old-fashioned sailing warships could fight without the help of wind.

The rest of the ships were still sailing warships, and he had to follow the combat rules of the sail era to give full play to the greatest advantages of his warships.

The so-called upwind and downwind are not the same as tailwind and headwind.

Instead, in the wind direction perpendicular to the direction of the sailing warship, the one above the vertical wind direction is the upwind direction, and the one below is the downwind direction.

The upwind direction and the downwind direction have their own advantages. In short, the advantage of the upwind side is that it is easy to gain mobility advantage, and the disadvantage is also obvious, that is, it may lose firepower advantage.

In the warships of the sail era, the waterline of the lower deck is very low, and the layout rule of the deck guns on each deck of the sailing warship is that the lower the deck, the stronger the firepower of the upper deck.

Taking the Christian second-class battleship as an example, the lowest deck has 28 42-pound guns, the upper deck has 28 24-pound guns, and the top has 26 12-pound guns.

The lower deck guns are the main firepower output of the sailing warship.

If it is in the upwind direction, the tilt of the hull can easily allow the sea water to flood the lower and even upper decks in the direction of the enemy, resulting in only the top deck with the weakest firepower being able to fire.

The enemy is the opposite. Although the enemy's ships will also tilt under the action of wind, the muzzles pointing to the wind direction, that is, the muzzles pointing to the direction of their own ships, are basically not affected by wind and waves, so the enemy can ensure the maximum firepower output.

In the sail era, the navies of various countries had different regulations on whether to seize the upper wind or the lower wind during battles.

A general rule is that naval powers tend to seize the upper wind to gain the greatest maneuverability advantage and strive for the initiative on the battlefield.

Countries with relatively weak naval power tend to seize the lower wind and wait for the enemy to tire.

The British Navy and the Dutch Navy are representatives who like to seize the upper wind.

The French Navy, which has relatively weak maritime power, likes to wait for the enemy to tire in the lower wind position when fighting with the British Navy.

Because of the gap in the quality of sailors between the British and French navies, after the French Navy's gunners fired a round of salvos, the British Navy's gunners can often fire three or even more rounds of salvos.

The difference in the quality of sailors made up for the firepower output lost by the British Navy in the upwind position. Therefore, in naval battles, the British Navy tended to seize the upper hand, gain mobility advantage, and strive for the initiative on the battlefield.

The French Navy, on the contrary, generally did not like to seize the upper wind direction and fired at the British Navy while losing its main firepower output.

Of course, strength is also relative. Facing the British Navy, the French Navy likes to fight at a disadvantage, but when facing an opponent with weaker maritime strength than itself, the French Navy will also take the initiative to seize the upper hand.

When fighting with the Spanish Navy, the French Navy often went against the norm and seized the upper wind position during the battle to obtain a rare mobility advantage to engage in battle.

Wind direction is only a factor that can determine the outcome of naval battles in the sail era, not a decisive factor.

The commander's decision, strength comparison, equipment level, sailor's morale, combat experience and tactical literacy, and even accidents can all become factors that determine the outcome of a naval battle.