1635 Han style rises again

Chapter 367 Attacking Ancient State ([-])

Kupang, Timor Island, May 1640, 4.

On the Dutch armed merchant ship "Hollward", the captain, Captain Lloyd Foster, stood on the pier and sighed slightly as he watched more than a hundred Dutch mercenaries and native servants board the ship one after another.If you remember correctly, in more than a year, the Dutch have dispatched armed personnel to Ambon from Kupang and other colonial strongholds for the second time.

Hanzhou attacked Ambon twice, not only destroying the entire city, but also capturing all the East India Company colonial officials and civilian family members, and handing over a large number of weapons to the natives on the island, making the situation on Ambon repeatedly eroded.

For this reason, the East India Company had to organize a large amount of materials and armed personnel once again, preparing to completely and completely resolve the native riots on Ambon Island.This time they did not rely on the army of the Sultanate of Ternate, but a force of nearly 700 people composed of mercenaries and native servants, launched another round of bloody suppression on the island.At the same time, a large number of inventors and native coolies were recruited from Java Island, and the city of Ambon was restored regardless of the cost.

In five months, at the cost of more than a hundred lives, Ambon City was quickly repaired, and the defense facilities and strength were even better than before.If the Hanzhou people dare to attack Ambon again, they will definitely be beaten here.

Captain Lloyd Foster's shipment of armed personnel was going to Ambon to rotate the army that had been suppressing the riots on Ambon Island for several months.

After dealing with the Dutch for more than two years, the rioting natives have learned a lot of combat experience, and they no longer confront the Dutch head-on.They hid in the dense forests and carried out ubiquitous sneak attacks on the Dutch who went out sporadically.Even, they will attack the Dutch trading stations at night.This posed a great threat to the rule of the Dutch in Ambon, and at the same time caused great trouble to the acquisition of cloves.

Although the bloody suppression made many native tribes feel fear and was forced to submit to the Dutch again, in the eyes of all the natives, it was also full of hatred.But the Dutch didn't care about the feelings of these natives at all. In order to better control Ambon Island, the East India Company placed the Ming natives conscripted from Java Island near the city of Ambon.Those tribal camps that were killed and emptied were directly designated as Dutch plantations.Moreover, it is also planned to continue to migrate thousands of Javanese natives to settle here in order to consolidate the ruling order of the Dutch.

As for the natives who participated in the riots, except for some who were directly executed to warn the natives on the island, all the rest were punished as slaves and transported to various colonial strongholds for the colonial construction of the East India Company, and they were labored to death.

More than 100 people were taken from Kupang to Ambon, and replaced by nearly a hundred Ming people and native servants transported from Batavia.They have all experienced the siege of Batavia and have certain combat experience. With the support of dozens of Dutch mercenaries, they should be able to maintain the security here and deter the nearby natives.

Moreover, Kubang is very close to Oecussi, and there is a fleet of ships in Dili Port controlled by Hanzhou to carry out blockade missions.If there are foreign enemies attacking Kupang, as long as they can hold on for five or six days, they can get support from the two places.

In the afternoon, all the materials and personnel on the "Holward" had been loaded on board. The captain, Captain Lloyd Foster, ordered the bosun to raise the sails, and they left the port one after another with another armed merchant ship. sailed out of the pier.

On the top of Gubang City, He Qing and Li Dazhu looked at the Dutch armed merchant ship that was gradually leaving, and looked at each other with expressions of lovelessness.

Who would have thought that the Dutch colonial authorities in Batavia did not disband all the armed civilians after the siege, but retained nearly [-] armed civilians.In the past few months, they followed the Dutch mercenaries to continuously attack the strongholds reserved by the natives near Batavia to ensure the security of the city's periphery.

It may be that they suffered huge losses under the city of Batavia. The key points occupied by the Kingdom of Mataram and Banten in the early stage did not make strong resistance at all under the attack of the Dutch.As long as there is a slight artillery bombardment, they will quickly retreat.

By December last year, the Dutch had not only restored all the spheres of influence they had previously controlled, but also extended them by more than 30 kilometers in three directions, east, west, and south, subjugated more than ten native tribes, and established a large buffer zone.

In February of this year, Batavia dispatched more than a hundred Ming and native servants to go west to Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) with a group of Dutch mercenaries. With the cooperation of the local Kandy Kingdom, they landed in the northeast of Ceylon. Henkel Mari of the Ministry, and then stationed there, and carried out armed colonization.

He Qing, Li Dazhu and more than 50 Ming armed men were transported to Kupang a few days ago, and more than 100 Dutch armed men here were replaced to Ambon.Suddenly leaving Batavia and coming to this strange Dutch colonial stronghold, many Ming people felt inexplicable panic and anxiety.They didn't know whether the Dutch would let them return to Batavia or allocate land for free after the one-year service promised by the Dutch.

Here, the surrounding area is surrounded by native tribes, and the only people who can rely on it can only be the Dutch colonial officials and mercenaries here, but the people who can truly trust and rely on each other are more than 50 of their own compatriots.

"You said, if we organize brothers to snatch a Dutch armed merchant ship at the pier, I don't know if we can escape here smoothly?" Li Dazhu said quietly.

"It's about six or seven hundred steps from the city to the pier, which is enough for four or five rounds of artillery bombardment from the top of the city." He Qing looked at the Dutch merchant ship that was gradually going away, and said softly: "What's more, there are many sailors on board. , it is impossible to watch us rush to the boat."

"Then we have to stay in Kupang for a year honestly and help the Dutch guard this stronghold?"

"I'm afraid not only to guard the stronghold, but also to work as a coolie for those Western masters." He Qing said depressingly.

After staying in Batavia for more than a year, he also learned about the situation of the Dutch East India Company. In the entire Dutch colonial system, only those middle and high-level colonial officials are the real Dutch. Many low-level officials and subordinates They are all employees from various countries they recruited from Europe, and even most of the armed forces are all hired.

Therefore, in the East India Company system, the Dutch are the first class, the European employees are the second class, and the remaining Ming and natives can only be ranked at the bottom, belonging to the status of being driven and enslaved.

Therefore, He Qing and his group of Ming armed forces who came to Kupang for defense naturally had to do some hard labor for the Dutch colonial officials and mercenaries in the city in addition to performing defensive functions.

"The Dutchman!" Li Dazhu took a sip of water towards the city, but he didn't want to, and the mercenaries in the watchtower of the city wall in the distance shouted loudly, and then several mercenaries walked towards them with muskets on their backs.

After being kicked and beaten a few times, He Qing, Li Dazhu and other Ming servants laughed together, bowed their waists, stepped back from the city wall, and headed for the camp in the city.

"It would be great if Hanzhou came to attack this place!" Walking on the road, He Qing muttered to himself.
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On April 1640, 4, a Hanzhou fleet composed of six warships had just completed supplies from Xinxiangbao (now Suai, East Timor), and slowly headed towards the west side of Timor Island with a weak southeast wind. drive away.

Qi Dajiang stood at the bow of the boat, looking at the emerald green coast on the right, still feeling uneasy.They set off from Jianye Port half a month ago and planned to go to Kupang controlled by the Dutch East India Company via Xinxiang Fort, and seized this place in one fell swoop by means of a surprise attack, teaching the arrogant Dutch a profound lesson.

In Qi Dajiang's view, this raid on Gubang was a very risky military operation, and a little carelessness may cause heavy losses in Hanzhou.Therefore, as the commander of the Hanzhou Navy Fleet, Qi Dajiang felt an inexplicable anxiety and uneasiness about the raid a few days later.

"Commander Qi Er, you don't need to worry so much." Sun Weiqing, the first officer on board, comforted: "Let's attack Gu Bang tentatively first. If we can't take it down within three days, we just turn around and leave. The commander-in-chief is before leaving. Didn’t I tell you before, it’s best if you can hit it, and if you can’t get it quickly, there’s no need to force it.”

"But what I'm afraid of is that we will meet the Dutch fleet there and block us into the port of Kupang. In this way, the whole army will be in danger of being wiped out!" Qi Dajiang said with a frown: " The situation is like walking on thin ice, how can you not worry?"

"At that time, we will capture the pier and immediately separate the ships more than ten miles away from the coast for vigilance. In addition, two flying fish boats will patrol the east and west sides dozens of miles ahead, and we should be able to detect the arrival of the Dutch ships in advance." Sun Weiqing said: "Besides, why did the Dutch assemble their fleet in Kupang for no reason? We have been fighting the Dutch for more than a year, and God has always been on our side. If we want to attack Kubang this time, we still have to in this way."

Qi Dajiang looked at Sun Weiqing's resolute expression, and felt a little ashamed in his heart. As the general, he seemed a little indecisive.Could it be that he is really like what Qi Tian said, just an ordinary general who fights dull battles, and he is far away from those so-called famous generals in history.

"Damn it, people are dead, and they will not die for thousands of years!" Qi Dajiang said harshly: "What if the Dutch fleet comes? It's not like we don't have the capital to fight!"

On April 4, the Hanzhou attack fleet arrived outside Kubang Port. According to the report of the "Flying Fish No. 11" surveyed in advance, there were no large ships in the port, only three or four small fishing boats, and they were hiding in the dock at this moment.

Qi Dajiang had followed Cao Xiong to help the Dutch transport supplies and personnel to Kupang two years ago, and he had a vague impression of some port defenses here.There are at least ten cannons on the pier fort, and two 18-pound heavy cannons. If you rush into the port rashly, you will inevitably be bombarded by Dutch artillery.

Therefore, attacking Kubang port, the Hanzhou people adopted their usual method and landed on the beach on the left side one kilometer away from the pier.What is gratifying is that when the soldiers of the first and second marines of Hanzhou's new formation rowed to land in small boats, the Dutch did not send any blocking troops to stop them.

By around four o'clock in the afternoon, nearly [-] soldiers of the Hanzhou Marine Corps, local soldiers, and native servants of Timor Island had established a temporary camp at the landing site.Niu Hu, the battalion commander of the Marine Corps, ordered the landed officers and soldiers to immediately reinforce the temporary camp, preparing to rest here for one night, and then attack the Kupang Wharf fort early in the morning.

The governor of the Dutch East India Company in Kupang, Knell Rawlins, was on the castle near the pier, watching several warships from Hanzhou leave the harbor and head for the open sea.He knew that the Hanzhou people did not think that the pier was guarded by forts and gave up their attack.They must have been monitoring and guarding East India Company merchant ships outside Kupang Port.

I have to say that the Hanzhou people picked a good time. The more than 100 mercenaries and natives who were stationed here were just transferred to Ambon a few days ago, and they were replaced by a group of bright men who had been here for less than ten days. people and native servants.Although they had experienced the siege of Batavia, if they sent out the city to fight against the extremely powerful Hanzhou army, Governor Quinell Rollins deeply doubted whether they would be able to last for half an hour.

(End of this chapter)