Chapter 351 After the war

As the midpoint of the voyage between the Strait of Malacca and Macau, China, the importance of the seaports on the Indochina Peninsula to the Portuguese is self-evident. In order to establish a new colonial stronghold on the Indochina Peninsula, they put in a lot of effort.

The Portuguese also put a lot of thought into who to choose as their partners in the Indochina Peninsula. The main forces on the east coast of the Indochina Peninsula are the Thang Long government controlled by the Zheng family in the north, and the Hue government controlled by the Nguyen family in the central and southern parts.

regime, as well as the Champa State in the south. The Champa State has been suppressed by Annan in recent decades, and most of its territory has been lost. Although the Champa people are very stubborn and are still actively participating in Siam and Malay

war, but their strength was too weak, and the Portuguese were not interested in spending precious resources to support such a declining dynasty.

Among the two sides of Annan, the Zheng family in the north, which occupies the Red River Delta, a treasure land for grain production, is undoubtedly stronger than the Ruan family in the south. But the only problem is that there is no suitable natural harbor in their territory, and there is no

It is not on the traditional shipping route. On the contrary, there are several port cities in the area controlled by the Nguyen family in the south. There are also traditional trading ports like Hoi An, which are right at the midpoint of the shipping route. Comparing the two sides, the Portuguese take it for granted.

The South Vietnamese court was chosen as a partner.

If the Portuguese wanted to gain more benefits in South Vietnam, they first had to ensure that the South Vietnamese regime would not be destroyed, so they sold a large amount of arms to South Vietnam and helped train new troops using firearms - just like the Crossing Group in North Vietnam

What they did was exactly the same. The Portuguese were once very optimistic that with their military assistance, South Vietnam would be able to wipe out the Zheng family in the north in at most three to five years.

But this view turned into a joke after the appearance of the Haihan people. Half a year ago, this mysterious force appeared on the Annan battlefield like a divine soldier descending from the sky. It used fierce artillery fire to defeat the South Vietnamese troops who had already gained the victory.

To fight back, in more than ten days of fighting, South Vietnam lost more than 20,000 people. And the new army, which South Vietnam was proud of, was also beaten into a miserable state. If it were not for the advice of the Portuguese officer,

If we retreat in time, the Haihan people may have already made a huge impact on the battlefield on the north bank of the river.

Although South Vietnam lost miserably in this battle, the Portuguese knew very well that North Vietnam was at the end of its tether and did not have the strength to conquer South Vietnam in one go. The key to the matter was the Haihan people who suddenly jumped out to participate in the Annan Civil War. If they must stir up trouble

After all, it would be difficult for South Vietnam to resist the combination of land and water. But fortunately, the Haihan people seemed to have no intention of fighting. After driving the South Vietnamese army back to the south of Zhengjiang River, they did not go south to pursue it. This made the Nguyen family and the Portuguese

Everyone breathed a sigh of relief. Half a year passed, and no new war broke out between the north and the south. A large number of Haihan goods began to appear in the South Vietnamese market. It seemed that everyone had gradually forgotten the threat of the Haihan people, and in South Vietnam,

The Portuguese gradually lost the motivation to exact revenge on the Haihan people.

However, at this time, the Haihan people who had disappeared for half a year actually came out again, and this time they went directly to the hinterland of South Vietnam, the area where the Portuguese were most concentrated, Hoi An City. It only took a little more than half a day for the Haihan people to capture

In order to defend the ineffective Hoi An City, they spent several days emptying the city, not forgetting to tear down the city wall when leaving.

The Portuguese, led by Eduardo, can actually understand what the Haihan people mean by doing this - Hoi An is the most important commercial city in South Vietnam, and destroying it is equivalent to destroying the cornucopia of South Vietnam.

It will be difficult for South Vietnam in Anseong to have enough financial resources to continue the confrontation between the North and the South.

Moreover, the purpose of the Haihan people was not limited to this. Eduardo also noticed that almost all local Annan merchants and Western businessmen were spared and suffered from the confiscation of their homes by the Haihan militia. However, most Chinese businessmen avoided this disaster. As long as they could prove themselves

With Ming ancestry, almost all of them survived this disaster unscathed. The Hai Han people seemed to be protecting the Ming people by doing this, but Eduardo understood that this was a cruel move - the Chinese businessmen were already locals in Hoi An at this time.

The richest and most powerful force, but how could others be willing to watch them live in peace? These Chinese businessmen had the same appearance and spoke the same language as the foreign enemies who invaded the local area. After the war, they were regarded as pirates by the local people.

The Han accomplices are almost certain. If they want to live an easier life in the future, they may have to consider leaving here as soon as possible.

After the Portuguese came to Hoi An, the Chinese businessmen fought the most fiercely, both covertly and overtly. Compared to the Portuguese who traveled half the world to come here, the Chinese businessmen settled in Hoi An much earlier and almost dominated the society.

Anhui accounts for more than 70% of foreign trade. The Portuguese want to compete for a larger market share, but at the same time they cannot offend the Chinese businessmen who can transport rare goods from the Ming Dynasty. But even the Portuguese, who are bent on fighting for control of Hoi An, cannot

There is no intention to completely drive Chinese businessmen out of Hoi An, because the result of doing so will inevitably hurt the Portuguese's own interests. However, the Hai Han militia has no such scruples. It has already given the Chinese businessmen their status in Hoi An with just one move.

It fell instantly. Although the Chinese businessmen did not lose their money, they lost the social foundation to take root here.

The chaos came faster than Eduardo expected. Less than an hour after the Hai Han fleet left Hoi An Port, a commotion broke out in the ruins of Hoi An.

Some local businessmen and people who suffered losses in this looting gathered together to demand an explanation from the Chinese businessmen who were unscathed. The verbal denunciation quickly lost control and turned into a big fight. But the Haihan people may have expected it.

When such a situation occurred, before leaving, he distributed a lot of swords, guns and sticks collected in the city to local Chinese businessmen. However, all the weapons in the city had been confiscated by the Haihan militia, and the local forces besieging the Chinese businessmen could not find any weapons for a while.

It can only be used to pull bricks and stones from the ruins. Both sides suffered casualties in the fight.

The battle soon expanded from one or two Chinese businessmen who were attacked to the whole city. As a result, many Chinese business halls in the city became Chinese refuges. Thousands of Chinese businessmen who settled in Hoi An had to deal with this situation.

They huddled together to keep warm and resist attacks from local people. By the evening of that day, the number of people killed in fighting between different camps had risen to over a hundred. The evacuation of the Hai Han militia not only failed to bring peace to Hoi An, but triggered further serious violence.

conflict.

The chaotic fighting in the city continued on the second day, with more casualties than on the first day. Many former business partners turned against each other during these two days, and there were even many cases of family breakups. Businessmen in Western countries acted more rationally.

Hiding outside the city, most of them have realized that no matter who wins in the end, the Annamites and the Chinese in this area have become incompetent, and there may be no way for them to coexist peacefully in the future. And in the past, Hoi An City

Prosperity will probably never be restored because of this new hatred.

In the early morning of the third day, several large Chinese business associations began to organize and break out of the city. They evacuated to the river despite being attacked by bricks and stones, and began to board boats to evacuate Hoi An City. As for the places they can go to now, there are probably only

There are two ways, either to return to the Ming Dynasty or to make a living in the territory of the Haihan people.

When the Hai Han militia occupied Hoi An, almost every Chinese businessman's home was visited by Hai Han officers. In addition to persuading the Chinese businessmen not to go against the Hai Han militia, they also left them with nautical charts so that they could use them when necessary.

We left Hoi An at that time and settled in Victory Port on Qiongzhou Island. Of course, it would be best to evacuate this place with the fleet of the militia, and you can get free escort along the way.

But in the end, only a handful of discerning people realized the changes that were about to happen in Hoi An City, and chose to pack up their belongings and evacuate Hoi An together with the Hai Han militia. Those who stayed behind with illusions experienced a hellish two days and two nights.

Most of the people lost their property and even relatives in this riot, and they could not bear this hatred on the Haihan militia. After all, it was not Haihan who did evil in the past two days, but the people who had become red.

An eye-catching local.

The Portuguese guild hall was not attacked by local mobs. This was certainly not because they had any superior majesty, but their property was also robbed by the Haihan people, and even the guild hall was demolished to pieces. Now

There is no profit or water at all. Except for the more than two thousand kilograms of food that the Hai Han militia "mercifully" left behind when they evacuated, the Portuguese in Hoi An can be said to have nothing. Even their boats on the dock were all destroyed by the Hai Han people.

They were taken away in the name of expropriation. According to Eduardo's estimate, the Portuguese's direct economic losses in this disaster alone exceeded at least two hundred thousand taels of silver. If the entire Hoi An City was included, Eduardo was very

It is difficult to estimate how much the Haihan people gained from this transaction.

But one thing is certain - Hoi An City, which has lost its huge wealth and Chinese businessmen, will soon become a dead city. Not to mention that the South Vietnamese court has no spare money to rebuild Hoi An City. Even if it does, it will be difficult to restore Hoi An City to its past.

's prosperous.

Eduardo also knew that the Macau Council was in contact with the Haihan people, but it was clear that this contact did not change the Haihan people's attitude towards South Vietnam, and it might even be regarded as a sign of weakness by the Haihan people. Eduardo believed that this meeting

After An was sacked, all the previous measures taken by the Portuguese in the local area, including military aid to the South Vietnamese court, had become of little significance. However, he could also feel that the Haihan people had not killed all the people on his side.

Due to their malicious intent, except for the first few unlucky ones who sought death, the Haihan people never tortured or killed any Portuguese.

Of course, the most critical thing was Officer Haihan's direct statement. Eduardo remembered that the Portuguese-speaking officer said to him before leaving that as long as the Portuguese stayed out of the matter and stopped interfering in Annan's domestic affairs, everything would be easy to discuss.

But if they choose to continue supporting the South Vietnamese court, Haihan cannot guarantee that they will not take certain necessary measures against the Portuguese in the future.

As for what kind of necessary means, Wang Tom did not say clearly, but Eduardo himself could guess to some extent. Since the Haihan people planned to completely cut off the South Vietnamese court's financial resources, it would not be enough to cut off the Chinese businessmen. They must also think about

There is a way to get the Portuguese to withdraw from this chess game. Wang Tom’s words are both a warning and a reminder. Since the Haihan people have the ability to fight across the sea, the entire east coast of Annam can be regarded as their attack range, while South Vietnam has

Without a decent maritime defense force, unless the Portuguese send their own fleet to help them, South Vietnam will never have a maritime trade port city like Hoi An again in the future.

Would the Portuguese send their own fleet to fight against the Hai Han people for the benefit of South Vietnam? The answer is of course no. Although Eduardo himself was quite painfully looted in this disaster, he still believed that this was not enough to constitute a serious crime.

There is a good reason for Portugal and Haihan to enter a state of war. Although it was known before that the Haihan people had certain maritime combat capabilities, and in January they successfully carried out several raids deep into the upper reaches of Zhengjiang River and the coast of South Vietnam, but

After Eduardo confirmed with his own eyes the warships and combat methods of the Haihan people, he believed that it was necessary to raise his understanding of the Haihan military strength to another level.

Although Eduardo has never seen Haihan's warships before, he is still a person who has set foot on half of the world. He can still see the combat potential of a fleet. Haihan's warships are not the clumsy style of the Ming Dynasty.

, the appearance is simple and bright, similar to Western-style sailing gear, but there are significant differences in appearance. At a glance, you can tell that this kind of warship is not an ordinary civilian ship, or even modified from a merchant ship, but is actually built for maritime combat.

And the designed warship. In other words, the Haihan people are not joking. This is not a private armed force of a civilian organization at all, but a real army!

The Portuguese only had a small military advisory team in the Annam region to provide services to the South Vietnamese court. But this team was stationed in Hue Province in the north, and water far away could not save the fire nearby - of course, even if they met at the right time, Eduardo

They don't think they can fight against the Haihan militia of nearly a thousand people on a frontal battlefield. As for the navy, there is no need to count on it. There is no Portuguese navy in the east of Manchuria. There are only seven or eight armed merchant ships that regularly escort cargo ships sailing in the area.

On the Far East route of Macau - Hoi An - Malacca - Goa, armed merchant ships did not seem to have any advantage against the Haihan warships.

Of course, the Portuguese, who were able to colonize the world, did not have warships at their disposal, but they were just a little further away. Currently, the naval unit closest to Hoi An is stationed in Goa on the west coast of India - the voyage from there to Hoi An is more than 6,000 nautical miles.

, the warship would have to sail for about two months to arrive, and there was no way the Governor of Goa would let his precious warship go so far to fight a naval battle with an unknown goal and no certainty just for the sake of losing a bunch of businessmen.

Even if the victory or defeat does not matter for the time being, the military expenditure for sending a warship to travel such a long distance is still an extremely terrifying figure. The local Portuguese merchants in Hoi An were looted this time, and they will not be able to raise the money to move reinforcements in a short time. Refund 10,000 yuan

To put it bluntly, even if we could raise the money to bribe the Governor of Goa to send troops, it would probably be half a year before the reinforcements arrived, and by then the Haihan navy would have arrived.

No one dares to challenge them no matter how big they develop and whether their own navy can defeat them.

Eduardo was not just a loser. He quickly made a corresponding decision. First, he sent an envoy to Hue Prefecture to report to the Military Advisory Group and inform them of the disaster that had occurred in Hoi An City. Then he sent an envoy from Hue Prefecture.

Ships were sent north and south to report the news to the strongholds in Macau and Malacca, and then ships were sent from Malacca to Goa to complete the relay - the slightly larger ships that could go to sea in Hoi An Port were all taken away by Haihan and Chinese businessmen.

, it is not easy to find a boat to cross the Thu Bon River now, and if you want to report the news, you can only go in a big circle.

The second step is to organize the local Portuguese people to temporarily avoid the riots in Hoi An City. After most of the Chinese businessmen evacuated, the social order in Hoi An City has been completely lost. People began to kill each other for the limited food and ownerless wealth in the city.

.Some stragglers who had previously escaped from Hoi An City and entered the northwest mountains returned to Hoi An City after the Hai Han People's Group left. However, these people failed to play a role in maintaining order. Instead, they quickly joined the riots and were on the front line.

When things have reached this point, all discerning people know that Hoi An City is completely ruined. Even die-hards like Eduardo, who once firmly supported the South Vietnamese court and persuaded other businessmen to provide military assistance to South Vietnam, now have to change their minds.

It was time to consider how to find another way out. It was not just a matter of whether to find another location to build a trading port, but also whether to continue to support the South Vietnamese court and choose a path that would continue to confront the Haihan people.

The Hai Han people have made their attitude very clear. The conflict of interests between South Vietnam and Hai Han is irreconcilable. If the Hai Han people destroyed the first trading port like Hoi An, the same thing will definitely happen again.

It happens again. If the South Vietnamese court does not have the ability to protect itself, then the end of building another trading port will probably be the same as here. What's more, after the incident in Hoi An spreads, there will probably be no more Chinese businessmen from the Ming Dynasty in South Vietnam.

Settled down.

It was not until five days after the Hai Han people evacuated Hoi An that reinforcements from Hue Province in the north finally appeared. However, they arrived too late, and the city they saw was completely in ruins. This former trading port

In the past ten days, they have experienced a series of violent baptisms such as shelling, closing the city, ransacking homes across the city, demolishing city walls, riots, arson, robbery, etc. The South Vietnamese general who led the team could not even believe what he was seeing.

The scene that arrived.
Chapter completed!