1635 Han style rises again

Chapter 630 Chips
April 5, Batavia.

In a plantation in the west of the city, several ferocious natives were beating and kicking a Chinese man, and the attack was quite vicious.The beaten Chinese man was covered in blood and wailed continuously.

The Chinese who looked around showed expressions of unbearable expression, but no one dared to step forward to make a rescue. They just kept looking at the Netherlander standing in front of the house, hoping that he would open his mouth to stop this atrocity.

Simon Cohen tilted his head slightly, listening to his German butler report what was going on here, his indifferent expression gradually showed a hint of surprise.

"Let them stop." Simon Cohen softly ordered: "If you beat someone up, there will be a shortage of strong laborers in the farmland... As for the natives stealing Chinese property, there is no evidence, so let it go, no need No more pestering."

Hearing this, the butler bowed to Simon Cohen, and then walked to the chaotic crowd ahead.Swinging his arm, he slammed the whip in his hand on the back of a native who was still being violent, and yelled at them loudly.

A few natives were whipped, and they dispersed screaming. When they turned around and saw that it was the housekeeper in the manor, a fawning and wretched smile appeared on their faces. They bent over, lowered their heads, and slowly retreated to the distance. .

The housekeeper looked at the Chinese coolie lying on the ground with pity, and stretched out his hand to signal to several Chinese companions beside him to carry him to the straw hut where he rested, so that he could recuperate for the time being.If he could survive a few days without dying, he might recover gradually and become a good farmer on the plantation again.

If it was a few months ago, the owner and housekeeper of the plantation would definitely not allow the natives to bully the Chinese coolies.They are far superior to those stupid and lazy natives in terms of farmland management and working attitude.Every Chinese coolie is the favorite field expert of many plantation owners.

However, since the second war broke out between the East India Company and the mainland of Hanzhou in the south more than two months ago, due to suspicion that Hanzhou might have placed a large number of spies in Java Island and Batavia, the East India Company has launched a war against the city. All Chinese businessmen are subject to special controls. In addition to paying a certain security deposit, they are also prohibited from going out at will, let alone sailing to sea without permission.

As for ordinary Chinese, the Batavia City Hall first detained them all for a period of time, and later delivered these people to more than a dozen plantations outside the city for management and hard labor.The number of these Chinese, as many as [-], was forced to do the hardest labor in the plantation every day, and the food was extremely scarce, and they were often beaten, scolded and insulted by the supervisors.

At the same time, in the harsh environment of the plantation, these miserable ordinary Chinese were bullied by the natives.They seemed to be instigated and acquiesced by the Dutch, and they continued to find a way to make trouble in front of the Chinese and provoke all kinds of troubles.Generally, when fierce disputes and conflicts occur, those high-ranking Dutch people will deliberately favor the natives, and also impose a certain degree of corporal punishment and admonishment on the Chinese.

Therefore, the natives, who were also plantation coolies, became more and more courageous. They developed from petty theft of Chinese goods to blatant robbery.Coins, clothing, daily necessities, and even daily food, these natives snatched everything they saw from the Chinese in groups of three or four.

In less than two months, due to abuse, looting, and heavy labor, coupled with the harsh living environment, more than 130 Chinese died one after another, and nearly a hundred were injured or disabled.The whole living situation can be described as dire straits and miserable.
-
"Dear Mr. Jimenez, do you think we are in the current situation of the East India Company, will Hanzhou agree to our terms of peace talks?" Fred Upton, senior commercial counselor of the East India Company, held a cup of tea, slowly Tasting slowly, the tip of the tongue feels the bitterness of the tea leaves, but a fresh fragrance comes from the nostrils.

"I don't have much hope for the outcome of the current negotiations with Hanzhou." High Representative for External Affairs Yvel Jiménez shook his head, showing a trace of helplessness and unwillingness on his face, "After all, Hanzhou is still in a strategic offensive now. At this stage, they should want to gain more bargaining chips in the war. Kupang, Ocussi, Ambon, Middelburg, Ternate, and even several trading strongholds in Borneo may all be attacked by Hanzhou human attack."

"If the Hanzhou people have enough bargaining chips, our East India Company may pay a huge price for it." Fred Upton said solemnly: "However, I think that in the follow-up war process of Hanzhou, The necessary restraint should be exercised. . . . They will not corner us."

"Mr. Upton, what is the basis for your judgment?" Evel Jimenez asked curiously.

"The fundamental interest of Hanzhou is immigration. Of course, there is also the geographical security based on their own needs in the mainland." Upton said: "And these two points are inevitably affected by our East India Company, and it can even be said that Potential threat. Originally, we have the most powerful sea power in the entire East Indies. In terms of this fragmented geographical environment, we can infinitely magnify this advantage. Therefore, from the heart of Hanzhou, there may be a There is a strong sense of insecurity. The security of their home and overseas territories, as well as the most critical migration routes, are under attack from us at any time."

"In this case, the war between our East India Company and Hanzhou is a natural thing. They need to show us the power they have, and at the same time threaten us in the opposite direction. Hanzhou is also capable It can cut off the trade routes of our East India Company at any time, paralyze our entire commercial channels, and suffer the most serious economic losses."

"Now, they have done it, and they have forced our East India Company into a very embarrassing situation in a form of comprehensive overwhelming. We will not be able to assemble a powerful mobile fleet again for at least a few months. The Spice Islands, Timor Island, Sulawesi Island, and even Java Island, we lost our command of the sea and let the Hanzhou Fleet gallop. However, I think their offensive stopped here."

"why?"

"The Hanzhou people will devote their main energy to the most important immigration in June and July." Upton said with a smile: "At this time, they will stop their offensive against our East India Company and organize the dispatch of a large number of ships. , to the Ming country. At this time, it should be the best time for us to find ways to have peace talks with them."

"If the Hanzhou people don't plan to stop, give up the annual immigration work, and continue the war with our East India Company. Will this happen?" Jimenez asked thoughtfully.

"During the first Han-Dutch war ten years ago, they didn't delay the immigration work." Upton shook his head and said: "Now, they have a larger population and stronger strength, so there is no reason to interrupt the immigration work. Unless, they They really want to put our East India Company to death, and then monopolize the entire East Indies. But I don’t think they have such a big appetite at present, let alone the strength.”

"That is to say, in June and July, if Hanzhou stops its offensive and begins to emigrate. Then, they will control the scale of the war within a certain range, and we will have peace talks with Hanzhou possible. Is that so?"

Jimenez somewhat understood the meaning of Upton's words.Hanzhou just wanted to prove its own strength through this war, and warned the East India Company not to try to cut off their immigration routes by relying on the large number of armed merchant ships at sea, let alone pose a fatal threat to Hanzhou's geopolitical security.

Of course, Hanzhou may also get involved in the East Indies through this war, share the economic benefits here, and perhaps seize some territories that they think are viable.

"However, in the future peace talks with the Hanzhou people, we were preempted by them and gained a lot of chips. But after that, we must make as few mistakes as possible, and don't provide the Hanzhou people with too many excuses and reasons to expand the scale of the war. "Upton said: "Of course, in order for us to end the war with Hanzhou decently in the future, we can't do some things too much, lest the other party raise the asking price."

"Oh, dear Upton, can you make that clearer?"

"At present, there are more than 4000 Chinese in Batavia, and their situation seems to be very bad." Upton considered his own words, "Hanzhou people have always claimed to be defenders of the interests of the Chinese in this area. If so, they have to Knowing that the Chinese here have been treated unfairly, I am worried that they will make a big fuss about it. In addition, the Hanzhou people successively wiped out two of our fleets, more than [-] armed merchant ships, and captured our trading stations. , Stronghold. In this way, the employees and family members of the East India Company who fall into their hands will be a very considerable number. Therefore, we must be cautious when dealing with those Chinese.”

"Dear Upton, your reminder is too timely!" Jimenez was shocked when he heard this, and nodded quickly, "I must report this to the Governor immediately. If the Chinese in the city are attacked Some unfair treatment made the Hanzhou people retaliate for this, which is very unfair to those poor captured company employees and their families."

Upton looked at the upright Jimenez, although he didn't think so, but there was a knowing smile on his face.
-
March 5, Timor Island, Kupang.

After more than ten days of heavy artillery bombardment, several huge cracks appeared in a section of the city wall of Gubang uncontrollably.However, the Hanzhou people seemed to have expected this, and did not show any more excitement. They continued to bombard in a leisurely manner, torturing the nerves of the Kupang defenders who were gradually collapsing.

Everyone knows that the fall of Kupang is inevitable.In fact, they could have continued to dig trenches and snake-shaped traffic trenches to conquer this castle that was thought to be impenetrable. The defenders of the ancient state thought that there was no practical and effective way to deal with it.

However, the Hanzhou army seems to want to verify various siege methods, and is also experimenting with some new weapons.They are like cats who are full and have nothing to do, wantonly teasing the "mouse" in their hands, fiddle with them, and lick them.When the "rat" tried to resist, it immediately stretched out its sharp claws and slapped it fiercely, and then had to crawl on the ground and let it tease.

A few days ago, some colonial officials suggested to the governor of Kupang to stop the unnecessary resistance and surrender to the Han people outside the city.It is said that the captives in Ambon and Kupang ten years ago were not abused by the Hanzhou people.As long as they complete their approved daily work arrangements every day, they will be given the necessary supplies.Some colonial officials with higher positions will also receive preferential treatment from them.

That being the case, why risk your life to continue to resist the siege of the Hanzhou people.After fighting for more than half a month, anyone with a discerning eye can see that Hanzhou is using Kupang to practice various siege methods.

The governor of Kupang, Fons Maynard, also hesitated for a long time, unable to make up his mind.Originally, they expected that Batavia could send a support fleet to rescue them, but unexpectedly, the Hanzhou people gathered all their ships capable of fighting, and surrounded and annihilated the reinforcement fleet in one fell swoop.Then, in a clumsy but very effective way of digging and digging, the pier fort and all the defensive facilities on the periphery of Kupang were swept away.

Now, watching them bombard the city wall with heavy artillery, and from time to time, they also fired shells that would explode. In this firm and confident way, while slowly destroying the ancient city defenses, they also destroyed all the morale of the defenders. .

That being the case, if you can't fight or defend, then surrender!

After sending surrender representatives out of the city to negotiate with the Hanzhou people, and after obtaining the guarantee of the personal safety of all the soldiers and civilians, the Gubang defenders, led by Governor Fons Maynard, left the city empty-handed and surrendered to the Hanzhou army.

The battle of Timor Island for more than a month finally came to an end with the surrender of all the Kupang defenders. The Daqi Kingdom thus took the island and completely expelled the forces of the Dutch East India Company from Timor Island.

In the evening of that day, when the officers and soldiers of the Qi State were celebrating their victory, several civil affairs personnel who took over Kupang hurried to the former Governor's Mansion to meet Qi Dajiang.

"Damn it, I'm going to kill them all!" Qi Dajiang's eyes widened angrily after hearing the report from the civil affairs personnel, and then he stood up abruptly and shouted loudly: "Xu Chuanxing, immediately lead the troops to kill all those Dutch red-haired ghosts!" Put them all on the square outside!...I want to avenge those Han people who died unjustly!"

"Governor, be careful!" Zhenhai commander Gu Sanping who came to deal with the post-war affairs hastily got up and persuaded: "The Dutch people only surrendered at noon today, and we will slaughter them all that night. This is... against morality! Or, the king once said that the captured Dutch people should be properly placed, and they should not be killed or abused, thinking that they will be used as hostages and exchange chips in future negotiations with the Naho people."

"Master Gu, treat the Dutch people well on the premise that they will not harm our soldiers and civilians." Hong Chuanxiang, the company commander of the Fifth Marine Corps, retorted dissatisfiedly: "However, the governor of Gubang actually used the excuse of preventing our country from attacking Gubang , wantonly killing the Han people in the city, and regardless of the old and the weak, women and children, this behavior can be described as an act of beasts. Today, we have broken this ancient state, and naturally we must avenge those Han people who died innocently!"

When Qi Dajiang heard that the king was mentioned in Gu Sanping's words, his face showed a little hesitation.But when I think of the more than 160 Han people, no matter how they struggled and begged for their lives, they were still all killed in the forest outside the city by the Dutch mercenaries, many of whom were ignorant and ignorant children.At that time, how hopeless and helpless they were, just because they were Han Chinese.

"Tomorrow, the governor of the ancient state will be beheaded for public display, and the officials and soldiers will be slaughtered!" Qi Dajiang said in a deep voice: "No matter what, we have to make an explanation for those Han people who died innocently!... Some bargaining chips, don't worry about it. "

(End of this chapter)