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This period was the Thirty Years' War in Europe, and it was also the period when the Dutch rose rapidly.
Rejoice's life was a life of witnessing the growing strength of the Dutch navy. The Netherlands is a major commercial country. It was originally a province of Spain and became an independent country in the late 16th century. Since Rejoice was a child, the Netherlands' maritime trade has been prosperous, which has made the Netherlands a maritime power. And because of the prosperity of business, the Netherlands has a lot of money, which enables the Netherlands to hire a large number of mercenaries to serve them.
At that time, the Netherlands had 15,000 ships and more than 100 shipyards. In the naval battle between Spain and Britain in 1588, the 30,000-strong Spanish army, the overlord of the sea, was completely wiped out. Although Britain became the overlord of the sea in one fell swoop, it had far fewer ships than the Dutch. This is why the Dutch got the title of "Sea Coachman".
The number of troops under Rejoice's command who actually belonged to the Dutch regular army was less than one-tenth. In other words, in the power struggle between Rejoice and Tang Tong, not many Dutch people were killed. The Netherlands was a maritime power that was almost entirely supported by mercenaries. Its strength was just an illusory bubble. Historically, the Dutch maritime strength did not reach its peak until the 1680s, when it began to decline in confrontations with the French and British.
The era when Rejoice appeared was when the Dutch's maritime power was gradually rising, so Rejoice was proud in his heart. He could not tolerate the provocation of a weak maritime country - the Ming Dynasty. Although the Ming Dynasty still had the power of the Celestial Empire in this era, after Zheng He, the Ming Dynasty, which was once the world's number one maritime power, gradually declined. Although it is said that a lean camel is bigger than a horse, in the era of Rejoice, the Ming Dynasty's navy was indeed no longer able to withstand it.
Historically, if Zheng Zhilong had not been competing with the Spanish and Portuguese for colonies (Portugal was still under Spanish rule at the time and became independent after 1648), he would not have been able to resist the Dutch with his strength. However, the Dutch in history were indeed a bit arrogant, and later they even fought with the British and the French. Otherwise, the Dutch might have taken advantage of the chaos in the late Ming Dynasty to blast open the gates of the Ming Dynasty with artillery.
Now, because of Tang Tong's arrival, the Ming Dynasty's maritime strength has rapidly expanded. Perhaps Leioz didn't know it, but Putmans knew it very well. Putmans once told Leioz about the rapid rise of Lord Tang in the Ming Dynasty in a report. But Leioz didn't pay attention to it before. It was not until Heipi came to Southeast Asia that Leioz began to pay attention to him.
Rejoice was very proud in his heart. In the words of later generations, this was the pride that a strong country had. He firmly believed that his Dutch fleet was the strongest at sea. Unfortunately, Rejoice forgot that most of his men were mercenaries. These mercenaries did not have the same Dutch pride as him, nor would they be like him, brave enough to take the lead for the pride of the Netherlands. These people had already been demoralized by the powerful muskets of the Ming Dynasty in the exchange of fire with Heipi's men.
The first to fire were the Spanish. In the past, Spain was the real maritime power in Europe, and it was an old maritime power. However, in the naval battle with Britain in 1588, Spain suffered a crushing defeat and its 30,000-strong army was wiped out. From then on, Spain's national strength rapidly declined. First, the Netherlands gained independence from Spain, and then in the rapidly changing 17th century, Spain's industry and commerce failed to keep up with the pace of European development. In the Thirty Years' War in Europe, Spain quickly gained the status of a powerful country, and its original vassal state, Portugal, also gained independence.
Of course, at this time, Portugal was still a vassal state of Spain, and the Thirty Years' War in Europe had not yet ended. The major European powers did not have the energy to compete with the Netherlands and Spain for colonies in Southeast Asia. The Spanish also hated the independent Dutch in their hearts, and for the sake of the interests of Southeast Asia, the Spanish had more reasons to fight the Dutch to the end.
The Spaniards were unaware of the Ming Dynasty's naval strength. The fleet equipment brought by Heipi this time seemed very advanced. Even more advanced were the muskets of Heipi's men. Although the Spaniards did not get a breech-loading rifle of this kind, they had witnessed its power, which also prompted the Spaniards to think about making friends with the Ming Dynasty.
Blackie on the left wing saw through a telescope that the Spanish fired first, and he was busy asking his men to prepare to fire. Blackie had made up his mind that if the Spanish could withstand the Dutch artillery fire, he would go forward to take advantage, but if the Spanish could not, he would go ashore directly to attack the Dutch station. Anyway, once they were on land, no matter how many more Dutch there were, it would be useless.
"Sir, those Western devils' ships have sailed away." Hei Pi was observing the Spanish fleet through the telescope at this time, and one of his men suddenly said to him.
"What..." Hei Pi was stunned for a moment, then turned to look at the Dutch fleet. He saw that six warships were sent out from the Dutch fleet to meet Hei Pi's side. It seemed that the Dutch were afraid that Hei Pi and his men would go around behind them and cut off their retreat.
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