The Great Bandit in Kangxi Year

Chapter 262 Chapter 266
In mid-March of the third year of Huaxing, the commander-in-chief of the expeditionary force, Wang Dashan, led five sharpshooters and 3 Korean soldiers, and under the escort of [-] cruisers, successfully landed on Papua Island.

However, the island of Papua covers an area of ​​78.5 square kilometers, and there are not only more than 600 million natives, but also about 5 Dutch immigrants. There are many swamps, and the terrain is diverse and complex, which adds to the difficulty of colonization out of thin air. Although the expeditionary force has nearly 4000 people and dozens of cruise ships that can be called, the strength is still somewhat lacking.

In the end, Wang Dashan decided to follow the old rules, first attack all the ports on Papua Island, then repair the fortifications of the ports, use the ports as a base, and then attack inland.

Under the bombardment of the Sea Lion-class or Seal-class cruisers, the Imperial Expeditionary Force successfully landed on land. They thought they were going through the motions, but they were blocked by the Dutch and the native troops.

Although the imperial army did not suffer many casualties, it directly angered the imperial soldiers. At this time, the soldiers of the expeditionary force had been on the expedition for more than half a year, and they were already a little impatient, because the general ordered that as long as the island was captured as soon as possible, half of the soldiers You can apply to return home.

This time, all the imperial troops were eager to fight. Among them, there was a small star-shaped fort in Port Moresby, which was the basis for the Dutch to rule Papua. was breached.

Within half a month, the Imperial Expeditionary Force successively occupied more than a dozen ports and gained hundreds of millions of silver dollars in wealth. The Dutch side suffered heavy losses, but the remaining [-] armed forces fled to the interior of Papua in an attempt to recapture everything that belonged to them. They believed that the United Provinces would not ignore the war in Southeast Asia.

During this period, the indigenous army suffered more than [-] strong casualties. The main reason was that they were too stupid to charge down the muzzle. The indigenous tribes everywhere were dumbfounded, but all the tribes were even more hostile to the Dahua Imperial Army, or Migration, or alliance, continued to fight against the imperial army, and killed the special envoy sent by the imperial army.

Although the special envoy was not from the empire, Wang Dashan was still extremely resentful, but he was very puzzled. The emperor's meaning was very clear. What he wanted was colonization. In the final analysis, it was wealth and material things, not massacres. What's going on? In Indonesia, the fight has reached this level, whether it's the Dutch or the natives, they will voluntarily surrender, but now they're looking like they're never going to die, something's wrong!"

Wang Han was also frowning, which didn't match his age, and he said calmly: "General, I'm afraid it was the Dutch who made the trouble. Most of these natives are Melanesians and Papuans. It’s very passive, so it’s better to strengthen our guard, and we’ll talk about it after a clear investigation.”

"That's right, the place has a large population and rich products, and the emperor attaches great importance to it, so we can't rush forward, and it's reasonable to proceed step by step. Let's repair the existing ports and cities immediately, stockpile ammunition and food, and investigate the other party's movements in many ways. "Wang Dashan slammed the table down and said loudly.

"General, this place is very close to Australia. Why don't you ask the Black Dragon Fleet to send some warships to have a look, lest there are Dutchmen everywhere, it would be even better if there are, so as to save them from being at ease." Wang Han suggested with a chuckle again.

"Well, order Liu Guoxuan to take fifty warships to see if there are any large and excellent ports and occupy them together."

Although the situation in Papua is not optimistic, they don't pay much attention to it. These indigenous troops can't make any big waves, but they don't know that there is a huge Dutch fleet hidden in Australia.

The leader among them is Joseph. Joseph has come to Papua since he failed to unite with Japan, but the situation in Indonesia is getting worse, especially after he learns that the star-shaped fortress in Batavia has also fallen, he is even more terrified. The star-shaped fortress It is almost invincible in Europe, but it is unbelievable that it is like paper in front of the Dahua Empire.

Little Portugal gained independence from Spain by relying on star-shaped fortresses, and the same is true for the Netherlands. Europeans relied on star-shaped fortresses to block the erosion of the Ottoman Empire. Joseph felt that Papua was no longer safe on the spot. After the warships were repaired, he I went directly to Australia with all the warships and some taxes. After half a month, I finally found a good port.

Moreover, he has already dispatched a squadron to the Cape of Good Hope in Africa. As long as the reinforcements from the United Provinces arrive, he can get the situation and intelligence in Southeast Asia, as well as the weaknesses of the Great China Empire.

Yes, Joseph has already thought of a clever plan to make the Great China Empire surrender, that is, gather all European warships to cross the Pacific Ocean, directly attack the Bohai Sea of ​​the Great China Empire, and land, and attack the opponent's capital with all their strength until the opponent surrenders.

However, this plan required a lot of preparatory work.

If you compete with the other party for Southeast Asia, it seems that the loss outweighs the gain, because even if it captures Southeast Asia, Dahua will continue to compete with other countries, and it will be a protracted war, which is not in line with the interests of the countries, but as long as the Dahua Empire is captured Emperor, there will definitely be civil strife in the huge Great China Empire, and then the countries will have an opportunity to take advantage of it. Maybe even the huge Great China Empire will become a colony of various countries.

However, there is a prerequisite for this, that is, the European countries must cooperate closely, not only to assemble a huge fleet and defeat each other's main fleet, but also to assemble an army of more than 50. It will not work if there are fewer people, because the opponent's There are too many armies.

Based on Joseph's guess, although there are many warships in the Dahua Empire, they are scattered all over the place.

In this way, countries will need more than a year of preparation time. Joseph is really not sure to persuade countries, but he will try his best to persuade them. If not, he will try his best to make the Netherlands withdraw from this war. After all, he deeply understands Dahua The strength of the empire, whether it is the navy or the army, is far beyond the imagination of the countries.

In fact, the best result is that the Netherlands will get rich, and let Britain, France and other countries collide with the Great China Empire. Joseph sighed, this time the defeat, the Dutch East India Company is facing bankruptcy, and I am afraid that he will also be fired.

While he was thinking wildly, an adjutant under his command came to report: "I found the Black Dragon Fleet. There are about fifty warships. Commander, we can't run away anymore. The glory of the Dutch will soon become the laughing stock of the Europeans."

"Well, compared with life, glory is the laughing stock, set off immediately, and the Cape of Good Hope is the destination." Joseph sighed, he knew that if he withdrew, he would become the celebrity "the most timid Dutchman" in the whole of Europe, but It is extremely irrational to be an enemy of an unsinkable warship. He would rather bear all the infamy than bury all the warships under his command at the bottom of the sea.

"Commander, if you go on like this, you may spend your whole life in prison." The adjutant also sighed and persuaded him kindly.

"I don't care about that much anymore. Just take the Dutch Far East Fleet to the Cape of Good Hope. Let's go. Let's go. These Maori are really barbaric. They cannibalize people. I don't want to see them again." Joseph felt extremely uncomfortable in his heart. Shang shrugged, saying indifferently.

.......
When Liu Guoxuan arrived with his fleet, he saw that the Dutch fleet was already ten miles away.

He put down the binoculars and exclaimed in his heart: "I didn't expect that the Dutch Far East Fleet has been hiding here. Fortunately, the opponent escaped, otherwise the outcome would be hard to say."

The squadron he led at this time only has ten Sea Lion-class cruisers, and the others are all Seal-class cruisers. Seal-class cruisers are not opponents of battleships, and there are only ten Sea Lion-class cruisers. Cruisers would be in danger.

However, the Dutch fleet ten miles away has more than [-] capital ships, including more than [-] battleships, and its combat effectiveness cannot be underestimated.

As for whether Holland is really leaving or wants to kill the carbine, Liu Guoxuan is not sure about these, so he had to send one Seal-class cruiser back to Batavia to deliver the news, and leave five Seal-class cruisers to scout the enemy ships. I took other warships to Port Moresby, and first explained the situation to Wang Dashan.

Wang Dashan was shocked in his heart. He didn't expect that there was such a huge hostile fleet hidden around him. If he attacked him secretly, he would suffer heavy losses in several ports in Papua. It seemed that he was too careless, and he thought of a terrible consequence. No matter how tightly guarded Malacca was, the European fleet could penetrate to the border of the empire and attack the heart of the empire. This was troublesome, because according to the charts, Europeans could sail across the Pacific Ocean directly to the border waters of the empire.

He knew that this battle was not easy to fight, because the army and navy of the empire had to guard each side separately, but the other side could concentrate on attacking every part of the empire.

Wang Dashan quickly sent people to report to the empire, and stepped up the hoarding of ammunition, food and grass. It is very likely that Papua will be the main battlefield.

After another half month, Wang Dashan finally got the reason why the native tribes were hostile to the imperial army. It turned out that it was the Dutch who did it.

In the past, it was a colony of the Netherlands, and a large amount of poll tax was collected every year. Seeing that the imperial army was coming, the Dutch discussed it, and it was absolutely possible to compete with the imperial army only by relying on the power of the natives.

They convened all the tribal leaders, and first publicized that the soldiers of the Dahua Empire are demons, and they are the kind that eat people without spitting out their bones. Anyway, all kinds of evil titles have been placed on the heads of the Dahua Empire, which shocked the indigenous leaders. Fear of abnormalities.

The Netherlands also promised to abolish the poll tax and other tyranny, and gave some gifts to the indigenous leaders, but only if they united against the imperial army.

When the imperial army landed on the island of Papua, they slaughtered more than [-] provocative and hostile natives, further embodying the evil of the empire, so the tribal leaders became hard-core cannon fodder for the Dutch.

This time Wang Dashan raised funds, and after a while he didn't have a good idea. The main reason was that he couldn't understand the language, and it was difficult to clarify various misunderstandings. However, the imperial army was indeed not here for tourism, and it was a bloody colonization.

"Come on, first contact and buy the small tribes. While keeping the ports and cities, the strongholds will gradually expel and capture the natives, and sell them cheaply to the tribes inclined to the empire, and kill all Westerners they encounter. " Wang Dashan has no good solution, it seems that the war in Papua will not be resolved in a short time, unless there is a large-scale massacre, but this needs to be consulted with the emperor.

……

However, within a month, the Black Dragon Fleet began to mobilize frequently. Among them, 30 Sea Lion-class cruisers and [-] Seal-class cruisers defended the Strait of Malacca, and [-] Sea Lion-class cruisers and [-] Seal-class cruisers defended the Papua area.

The remaining [-] Seal-class cruisers returned to the sea, and the remaining [-] Sea Lion-class cruisers of the empire defended the empire's waters. As for the strait between Sumatra and Java Island, it was full of mines. With tens of thousands of sea mines, if the opponent attacks Southeast Asia from this route, they will definitely be crushed to pieces.

Moreover, thousands of 200mm fortress guns are being shipped from the empire and will be placed at the junction of the two islands.

In order to increase the empire's military strength in Southeast Asia, 20 Korean soldiers and [-] servants will also arrive on the islands in Southeast Asia one after another. Although they are cannon fodder, they are somewhat useful.

The empire does not now have sailors in the naval fleet. There are fifty sharpshooters, ten royal army divisions, five marine divisions, 60 cavalry, four sharp artillery divisions, and other special arms, totaling more than 160 million field troops. It looks like a lot, but now there are only ten Royal Army divisions and about 20 Royal Cavalry left in the capital area, which means there are only more than [-] people.

Jiang Tao put down the memorial of Wang Dashan and others, and took a deep breath. That is to say, this battle is not safe. European powers have many ways to enter the imperial sea without the knowledge of the imperial navy, and they will do whatever it takes. Disturbing the frontiers will cause great losses to the empire. You must know that most of the light industries are located in the coastal cities, and years of hard work may fall short.

"The strength of the navy is still too small. It is safest to take the initiative to annihilate the opponent's main battleship. Unfortunately, the current empire does not have this strength." Of course, this is the worst plan. Jiang Tao sighed in his heart, hoping that the European powers Target Southeast Asia.

"No, we can't sit still. If we occupy the Cape of Good Hope in Africa, we can block European warships in the Atlantic Ocean before the Suez Canal is launched. Alas, it's too late now."

Jiang Tao denied himself again. If he gathers a hundred Sea Lion-class cruisers to attack the Cape of Good Hope in Africa, he may meet them in the Indian Ocean. After all, it is already mid-April, and the speed and flexibility of the Sea Lions are far inferior to the opponent's warships. If the opponent ignores their own fleet and directly attacks Southeast Asia or the mainland of the empire, the situation will be even worse, and it seems that they can only defend.

(End of this chapter)