1635 Han style rises again

Chapter 635 Battle in the West of Hanzhou ([-])
September 9, Pearl Harbor.

In the early morning, just after dawn, the white sky is still a little misty.However, the Dutch mercenaries and native soldiers who walked out of the camp one after another were all tired, helpless and resentful.

The damned Hanzhou people harassed them all night last night, sometimes throwing a bomb towards the edge of the camp through the fence of the trench, making all the soldiers in the camp think that the Hanzhou people would launch a night attack, and immediately began to be on full alert.But after a long time, there was no movement from outside the pitch-dark camp. The Dutch mercenaries and native servants were relieved. The Hanzhou people thought they were on guard and left.

However, when the tranquility had just been restored in the Dutch camp and all the soldiers were about to fall asleep again, there were suddenly piercing horns and the beating of a metal instrument (gong) outside the camp, instantly piercing the silent night sky.

If the Dutch ignored it, within an hour, the Hanzhou people would suddenly fire muskets from outside the camp.Everyone knows that with such a long distance, the projectile will definitely not be able to hit the battalion, but in this case, how to make the Dutch soldiers sleep and rest?

Some soldiers with big hearts simply stuffed cloth into their ears, covered their heads, and fell asleep.But there are still some soldiers who are worried, what if the Hanzhou people suddenly convert this harassment tactic into a real night attack?

The commander, Lieutenant Colonel Albert Cue, tried to send a team of soldiers to wipe out or expel those annoying Hanzhou harassers, but unfortunately, those Hanzhou militiamen who seemed to have adapted to the night shot at the Dutch mercenaries who came out of the camp. A volley fired, killing two and injuring three on the spot, forcing the group of soldiers to retreat quickly to the camp.

Therefore, the Dutch army in the camp guarded the camp and let the opponent make noise outside. Could it be that they really dare to attack the camp?
"My lords, I feel that before attacking, we should send people to the city to try to persuade the Hanzhou people to surrender." Yuan Derun, the leader of the Chinese Volunteer Army, came out and said: "After all, there are only more than 300 people in the city, and the number of soldiers who can fight is at most [-]." Yu, it is estimated that it will be difficult for our army to attack the city."

After hearing this, Lieutenant Colonel Albert Cue nodded. It would be best if the city could be conquered without a fight.Anyway, the heavy siege artillery hadn't been unloaded on the shore, so we couldn't launch an attack immediately, so it's better to test it out.

Under the watchful eyes of all the guards in Pearl Harbor City, a Chinese with a white flag slowly walked to the bottom of the city, and then shouted loudly that he wanted to enter the city to meet the person in charge of the city.

A rope directly pulled the Chinese with the words to the top of the city, and then led him to the commander's mansion in the city to meet Lu Chunling.

In addition to several officials and township captains, there were also several businessmen present in the official hall.Seeing the representative of the Dutch come in, it turned out to be a Chinese face, and everyone looked at it curiously, a little friendly and a little strange at the same time.

"Let me wait for Xiancheng to surrender?" Lu Chunling had a mocking expression on his face, "However, since the founding of Qi State, there has never been an army that surrendered without a fight, let alone a place where Xiancheng surrendered. Commander. Besides, the Dutch have never conquered any stronghold town in our country!"

As soon as the words were finished, all the Qi officials and businessmen present laughed.They have an absolute psychological advantage when fighting against the Dutch for city defense.The Dutch are not good at siege, and they are not defeated in every battle. This has always been an existing tradition of their land warfare.

"My lords, the Netherlands is very powerful today. There are more than 2000 troops outside the city, dozens of cannons, and the military strength is several times that of the defenders in the city. If you don't surrender, once the city is broken, the Dutch commander may attack you because of Hanzhou. What Kubang did was to massacre the city. Please think twice!" the Chinese who was speaking for the Dutch persuaded earnestly.

"Are you willing to surrender?" Lu Chunling turned to look at everyone present.

"I haven't seen the real chapter, how can I surrender?" Guo Dengmin, the deputy captain of the township army, shook his head and said: "In Daming, the establishment of slaves swept the Central Plains, attacking the city and plundering land, so powerful, we are not willing to surrender! Can it be surrendered to the barbarians?"

The rest of the people present all nodded in agreement. With the Dutch's loose siege ability, it is estimated that most of them will not be able to attack.If they surrendered, although they could save their lives, everyone's property in the city would definitely be snatched by the Dutch.

I want to ask ordinary Hanzhou people what they are most afraid of. They are not afraid of death, tiredness, or suffering.

I came all the way to Hanzhou, went through all kinds of hardships, got up early and worked late, finally got a stable home and accumulated some savings, why should you red-haired ghosts take it away!
"It's nothing to say, if the Dutch want to enter the city, we have to do our best! Let them come in on Lao Tzu's body at last." After the Dutch representative left, Wang Jincai, the captain of the township soldier, said impatiently: "I have never experienced a battle." , the work of defending the city is handed over to Lao Guo, and everyone obeys his command."

"In order to encourage everyone to defend the city and retreat from the enemy, several businessmen and I have decided to jointly donate 2000 yuan of Hanzhou silver dollars." Zhou Yingping, a big businessman from Jianye Mansion, cupped his hands with several officials and the captain of the township soldiers present: "Defend the country , Guarding the hometown is everyone's responsibility. But when the lower body is weak and weak, and can't hold a knife or gun, I can only contribute a small amount of financial resources to show my heart."

Three years ago, Zhou Yingping met the king of Qi through Bai Yuangui, the big shopkeeper of the Indian trading company, and presented a beautiful woman in an attempt to make a comeback in Hanzhou and restore his former family business.

Although King Qi didn't accept the girl Bai Zhijun immediately, he also showed some appreciation and love.Considering that this person still made some contributions to their foothold in Hanzhou, he was introduced to Hanzhou General Trading Co., Ltd. to do some Nanyang agency trade.Over the past few years, he has earned a lot of money.

In February, Indian trading companies issued additional shares and bonds. Many businessmen and factory owners were afraid to buy because of the difficulties in their operations due to the outbreak of war.But when Zhou Yingping saw that King Qi offered 20 to buy the shares and bonds of the Indian Trading Company, he did not hesitate to take out [-] Hanzhou silver dollars to buy the shares and bonds.

Back then, it was because he didn't follow King Qi closely that he was almost down and out in Daming.Now, when he develops in Hanzhou, he naturally has to follow the pace of King Qi. Even if he loses the money, he believes that he can earn back doubled by selling King Qi in the end.

In June, the Ministry of Household Affairs of the State of Qi auctioned more than ten Dutch merchant ships captured by the navy fleet in Jianye City at low prices.Originally, he had just invested [-] Hanzhou silver dollars in the Indian Trading Company, and he had taken a lot of goods from the Hanzhou General Trading Company, so Zhou Yingping had no extra funds to participate in this auction.

However, the officials of the Ministry of Accounts issued a document to inform all merchants who intend to bid for the Dutch merchant ship that if they cannot provide sufficient funds to purchase, as long as the corresponding collateral is delivered to the Ministry of Accounts, they can only pay [-]% of the purchase price, and then promise to make up the balance within two years. Merchant ships can be photographed.

Hearing that there was such a bargain, Zhou Yingping immediately mortgaged the shares and bonds of the Indian trading company to the Ministry of Accounts, and then took a picture of a Dutch merchant ship.

More than 20 days ago, Zhou Yingping and several businessmen obtained the approval from the Ministry of Industry and Commerce, and prepared to go to Linhai (now Port Hedland, Western Australia) by boat to haul a load of steel products and hardware tools, and then to Baba, Sumatra. Neighboring Kingdom Trade.

Unexpectedly, my luck was really bad. When I arrived at Pearl Harbor, I encountered a large-scale invasion of the Dutch East India Company.Not to mention that the merchant ships docked at the port were captured by others, and because the city was breached, he and the residents in the city would be massacred and killed by the Dutch.

Now, as long as the defenders in the city can unite as one, repel the Dutch attack, and keep the city safe, the merchants who pass here can have a chance of survival.At this time, money is the least important thing. Instead of ruining the city and killing the barbarians, it is better to spend some money to boost the morale of the city.

At present, Guo Dengmin, the deputy captain of the township soldiers in the city, took over the defensive command of the city, organized all the strong men in Pearl Harbor, and the merchants and sailors passing through the area, and assigned various combat preparations, preparing for a good battle with the attacking Dutch. .

Lieutenant Colonel Albert Cue, the commander of the Dutch Army, heard that the Han people in the city were unwilling to surrender and were preparing to defend the city. Although he had expected it in his heart, he was still a little disappointed.It seems that to capture this small city, the troops still need to fight hard.

It wasn't until the afternoon that the Dutch unloaded four 24-pound heavy guns from the ship, and then dragged them all the way towards Pearl Harbor.

The 24-pound heavy gun made by the Dutch has a multiple diameter of about 20-22, an elevation angle of 10 degrees, and a range of up to 2000 meters, and an elevation angle of 5 degrees, which can also approach 1000 meters.However, firing artillery at this distance, as to where the shells can fly, is beyond the control of the gunner.However, in order to bombard the city walls of the Hanzhou people, the only way to keep the artillery firing directly is to keep the shells on a straight trajectory and increase the destructive power of the shells, so the effective shooting distance is only within the range of 350-400 meters.

Therefore, the Dutch drove the natives, dragged the artillery to a place about 400 meters away from the city, and then carefully observed the city wall. Seeing that there was no movement from the defenders, they breathed a sigh of relief.It is estimated that this kind of small town will not be equipped with powerful heavy artillery, that is, ordinary 3-pound guns or 4-pound guns, which are used to deal with the soldiers who are attacking the city.

Afterwards, the Dutch began to build artillery positions, while the Hanzhou defenders at the top of the city watched coldly and did not respond. Presumably their hearts were full of helplessness and despair at the moment.

"Boom! Boom! Boom!" The Dutch artillery position had just been built, and a group of gunners were shirtless, carrying shells, filling gunpowder and projectiles, and preparing for a few rounds of test firing.But suddenly, the artillery at the top of the city began to roar, and three projectiles whizzed towards the Dutch artillery positions. One of the shells directly hit a gunner, interrupted him in the middle, and then smashed heavily on the ground with blood stains up, then bounce and roll backwards.

"what!……"

"what!……"

A few shrill screams immediately sounded in the formation, and the Dutch gunners around were in chaos.

The artillery of the Hanzhou people can shoot here easily and accurately!

Then, the artillery deployed by the Hanzhou people at the head of the city is not just a small 3-pound or 4-pound cannon. It is very likely that there will be 8-pound to 12-pound cannons, and it is not even ruled out that the opponent has installed 18-pound heavy artillery.

God, these cunning Hanzhou people waited for us to build up the artillery positions before starting the bombardment. They clearly came here to blow up these heavy siege artillery!
"Boom! Boom! Boom!"

More than a minute later, another round of artillery salvo was fired from the top of the city. However, apart from brushing against one unlucky person, it did not cause any more damage.The Dutch artillery commander hesitated for a moment, gritted his teeth, and ordered the gunners to launch a counterattack on the spot, hoping that by virtue of God's blessing, he could first knock down the artillery at the top of the city, remove the threat of the artillery position, and then slowly bombard the city wall.

Guo Dengmin, the deputy captain of the township soldiers, was lying on the crenel of the city wall, holding up his binoculars and looking at the Dutch artillery positions in the distance.The artillery fired four rounds. Although seven or eight Dutch soldiers were killed, the artillery that threatened them the most was still not blown up, and I couldn't help feeling anxious.

I remember that when I followed the Qi Marine Corps to fight against the Qing Army, whether it was a siege or a field battle, the artillery of the Marine Corps was able to suppress the artillery fire of the Qing Army very quickly. A group of their self-rescue troops then launched a charge, chasing death and chasing north, reaping the lives of the enemy, and winning one victory after another.

But today, a group of amateur gunners at the head of the city actually took advantage of the city wall, and they were unable to defeat the Dutch artillery for a long time, which made people really anxious.

However, Guo Dengmin did not rush to press the gunner. A dozen or so good guys were already working hard to control the cannon there. Shirtless, struggling to fetch shells, prepare gunpowder, and mechanically repeat the artillery firing steps under the command of the gunner.

"Ah!" As a shell was fired, it slammed heavily on the battlements, and the flying gravel hit the shoulder of a gunner, who immediately screamed and fell to the ground.

"Immediately carry it down and let Lang Zhong Haosheng heal it!" Guo Dengmin stretched out his hand to call for two township soldiers to come forward, carry the wounded away, and at the same time ordered the backup gunners to fill in the vacancy.

By 18 o'clock in the afternoon, after losing one heavy artillery and killing [-] people, the Dutch temporarily terminated the battle and withdrew the remaining three heavy artillery from their positions.

Immediately, the soldiers and civilians in Pearl Harbor erupted into enthusiastic cheers. Some flamboyant country soldiers stood at the top of the city, made various insulting actions to the Dutch who were evacuating their positions, and laughed at their failure.

"Tomorrow, we must build an artillery position with more protection in advance." Lieutenant Colonel Albert Cue looked at the city ahead, frowned and said: "Moreover, we have to unload more heavy artillery from the ship to participate in the battle." Tomorrow's artillery battle. I think that the resistance of this small town may exceed our expectations."

"Sir, our landing force has an absolute superiority in numbers and can attack this small town from several directions at the same time." A captain officer suggested: "In this way, the Hanzhou people will definitely not be able to take into account attacks from several directions."

Lieutenant Colonel Cue nodded slightly, expressing his approval of the officer's suggestion.It took a lot of trouble to assemble so many warships and landing troops, and it took some achievements to explain to the governor.Otherwise, the prestige and reputation of the East India Company will be trampled underfoot by the Hanzhou people.

(End of this chapter)