Chapter 734 A tough offensive and defensive battle

For Heihan, the most ideal outcome is for both the Dutch and the Dutch to lose in the battle. They will not be able to recover in the next few years and continue to contain each other. This way, when Heihan is full-fledged in the future, he will start to expand his sphere of influence southward.

, their strength is not enough to stop Haihan's attempt. And the intelligence that can be collected during the battle between these two families will also become an important basis for Haihan's military to study targeted tactics in the future. But it is a pity.

So far, the intelligence obtained is only scattered information from the periphery, and there is not even the slightest bit of precise information on the central battlefield of the actual battle.

"Intelligence work still has a long way to go!" Tao Donglai sighed: "It is a pity that we have such a good opportunity but cannot get detailed battle reports!"

Yan Chujie responded: "The local sea area has been completely blocked by the Matalan people. Now we can only wait patiently for the war to end. However, Hao Wanqing gave me a guarantee, saying that the personnel stationed by the Ministry of Security in the area are very capable and are very useful in gathering intelligence.

We will definitely not disappoint the executive committee.”

In the next ten days, news that Matalan Port was attacked by a Dutch fleet successively reached the Port of Ampena and the Port of Cam Ranh in the south of Annan. Roger's previous speculation about the Dutch plan seemed to be gaining ground little by little.

The ground has become a reality. Since these news have reached the ears of the Haihan people, then the main force of the Ma Dalan army fighting in Batavia must have also received the news. I just didn’t know that Ma Dalan was in the situation of being ransacked by his opponent.

Whether the military can still persist in carrying out this war?

On August 7, the siege of Batavia on the Southeast Asian island of Java lasted for nearly a month, during which both sides paid an extremely heavy price.

There are no longer any forts outside the northern city wall where the Dutch officer Bart is stationed that can be used for defense by the defenders. Even the two seemingly indestructible forts outside the north gate, which guard the only passage in the northern section of the moat, have been completely transformed into

Although the Matarlan army failed to destroy the two fortresses with trebuchets, they still used manpower to pull out the two nails that lay across the siege road. For this reason, the Mataran army probably

Three thousand soldiers died, and about 600 Dutch defenders died in the flesh and blood millstone outside the north gate.

After clearing away these obstructive fortresses outside the city, the Mata Blue Army determined the main direction of the siege to be the northern city wall, and launched attacks day after day. After trying all kinds of heavy weapons, both sides

The offensive and defensive battle finally entered the stage of hand-to-hand combat. Although the Dutch defenders had more advanced weapons and had city walls to defend, they still inevitably suffered a large number of casualties in the face of the siege enemy forces that were ten times their own every day.

.

At the beginning of the war, the Dutch garrison numbered nearly 3,000 people, but as of early August, only about 1,400 people were still fighting on the front line, and the losses had reached 50%.

The city guard army, composed of various motley armed forces, has now been recruited into its third batch. The first two batches of personnel have also suffered a considerable number of casualties in the war. Most of the men under the age of fifty in the city have been temporarily recruited into the army. The situation of the war

When the situation was tense, the newcomers even only had half a day to train, and then they were given an iron-tipped spear and were driven to the city wall to participate in the defense of the city.

The combat effectiveness and fighting will of these newcomers who have been driven to the shelves can be imagined. The area guarded by them has been in critical situations many times when the enemy attacked the city. Fortunately, every time the Dutch army was able to arrive in time to rescue them.

, using muskets to quickly eliminate the enemy troops who climbed to the top of the city. However, the emergence of this situation has actually shown that the city wall of Batavia City can no longer be defended. A rational commander should indeed consider whether to use

Preserving strength is the operational goal, but if it were not forced by the situation that there was nowhere to retreat, Van Diemen might have announced his abandonment of the city long ago.

During this period, an episode also occurred. Some people in the council believed that the chances of continuing to fight against the Marlan Country were not high. In order to avoid Batavia being massacred by the enemy after its fall, the military should immediately send people to fight against the Maran Kingdom.

The Blue Army negotiated a peace, using conditions such as ceding territory and paying compensation, and first let the Horses and Blue Army cease fighting - at least opening a channel so that the Dutch could evacuate the city of Batavia with dignity.

This approach may sound very timely, and it may be regarded as a plan to save lives and the last bit of face, but it is undoubtedly a great humiliation for the military, which has been fighting fiercely for nearly a month and has suffered huge losses in personnel.

And after the news spread, it also had a great impact on the defenders and people in the city. Many people didn't know whether war or peace would follow, and people suddenly became panicked.

Van Diemen was adamant at this time, and did not object to the council's proposal, so he directly expelled the person who came up with the idea from the north gate and asked him to negotiate with the Ma Da Blue Army - whoever came up with the idea would be the winner.

Be responsible for solving it.

Of course, Van Diemen knew very well that at this stage of the war, both sides had paid a heavy price, and the anger could no longer be calmed down. Let alone negotiating a peace, even a temporary truce was unlikely.

The Blue Army is now holding its breath to attack Batavia regardless of casualties. After the city is broken, the first thing they will probably do is to kill all the Dutch in the city. Now it seems that the city's break is just around the corner.

How could it be possible to let the Dutch in the city leave safely at this time?

Sure enough, the representatives of the council who went to negotiate with the Dutch Council in the city did not get a good end. Soon the Malamans sent back his head and stated that they would not engage in any form of truce with the Dutch Council in the city.

negotiation.

After seeing the lessons learned from the past, the people in the council finally calmed down and did not dare to make any comments on the command of the military. Because Van Diemen had announced that any negative plans such as armistice and withdrawal would not be proposed again.

All the people may be spies of the enemy forces outside the city, and must be dealt with harshly. At this point in the war, Van Diemen no longer cares about the identities of these people in the council, because no one knows that there are others

If you have no chance of surviving until the end of the war, you must first overcome the difficulties in front of you.

The quality of the small stoves that Bart has been enjoying since the beginning of the war has declined significantly recently. Dishes such as chicken, duck, and seafood are no longer available in the recent supply. After all, the siege lasted too long, and it was difficult to make rice.

The bank's reserves cannot be replenished and these good things can no longer be supplied. However, basic meat and wine can continue to be provided. The standard of food that Bart can enjoy is even better than that of the Council and his immediate boss Van Diemen.

Be better.

But now Bart can no longer enjoy the small stove provided by Cheng Dapeng as easily as he did at the beginning of the war. The many injuries on his body have affected his daily eating. Bart's left hand was damaged by a musket during the battle a few days ago.

He was injured in the chest, and currently his entire forearm is wrapped with gauze. Cheng Dapeng vividly called it a fiddler crab.

In addition, Bart's face was also injured by the bow and arrow of the horse hitting the blue army in the battle a few days ago, but he was lucky. If he had been higher, he would have shot through the eye. But this injury affected his eating

, unable to chew food, Cheng Dapeng could only change the main content of Xiaozao to preserved egg and lean meat porridge.

However, Bart's interest in enjoying food was not hampered by his injuries. He was drinking porridge from a bowl with one hand, which made Cheng Dapeng watch in amazement. Although he had not been to the restaurant these days

Watching the battle on the city wall, but listening to Bart's narration of the battle that day every day, it was quite immersive. Cheng Dapeng asked himself that if he had been fighting on the city wall for so many days, his spirit would have collapsed, and he would not have the leisure to enjoy food.

"This is really great!" Bart put down the porridge bowl, picked up the scallion egg pancake, took a big mouthful, and said vaguely: "Boss Cheng, I must admit that you are indeed right!"

"Ah? What's right?" Cheng Dapeng didn't come back to his senses for a while.

"This..." Bart pointed at the scallion egg pancake with his left hand that was held like a fiddler crab, and said with a satisfied expression: "A few days ago, you said you could no longer provide chicken as food. I thought it was a pity.

But now I think you are right, leaving the chicken at least we still have eggs to eat, which is great!"

Cheng Dapeng replied dumbfounded: "Little things, little things, Mr. Bart has given me a reward!"

"Boss Cheng, would you be afraid if the defense line was breached by the Blue Horsemen and the city of Batavia fell?" Bart suddenly changed the topic and asked a very serious question.

Cheng Dapeng hesitated for a moment, then shook his head and said: "To be honest, I am not afraid, because I have experienced more dangerous situations than this before."

"But you never thought that you might lose your life in this place, right?" Bart smiled bitterly: "I never thought about this kind of thing before, but in recent days, this idea suddenly came to me.

…Maybe I won’t have the chance to return to my hometown.”

Cheng Dapeng had been with Bart for many days, so he could naturally feel his emotional fluctuations very keenly, and he subconsciously asked: "But the city defense can no longer be defended?"

Bart hesitated for a few seconds, then nodded and said: "Boss Cheng, you have been very good to me during this period. I am willing to treat you as a friend, and I hope you can survive the war well. So I don't want to hide it from you.

, the time that this city can continue to defend is running out, you'd better prepare early and think about how to save your life and property."

Cheng Dapeng asked: "Does General Van Diemen know about this?"

"Of course I know, but that's how war is. Either you die or I die. If you lose, you have to pay the price. This is what we knew the day we became soldiers." Bart's mood slowly calmed down and he said slowly: "

But you are just a civilian. Even if the Matarans capture Batavia, they will not massacre the city easily. After all, their purpose in starting the war is to conquer the city, not to completely destroy it."

"Is there... no chance of improvement?" Although Cheng Dapeng also knew that he had a high chance of surviving after the fall of Batavia, he did not want to see the day when the city was taken over by the Malayan people. Cheng Dapeng

Peng himself didn't know where this idea came from. Maybe it had something to do with his contact with Bart during this period.

It took a long time for Bart to respond this time: "There may be a turning point...but I'm not sure because...we don't know if it's too late yet."

Cheng Dapeng suddenly remembered that Bart had mentioned inadvertently one day last month that Van Diemen seemed to have some targeted formations before the war. But during this time, the situation of the defenders became more and more passive. Cheng Dapeng

For a time, he thought that Van Diemen's trick might not have any effect. But hearing Bart's words today reminded him of the conversation at that time.

Cheng Dapeng thought about it in his mind for a moment before he said: "Master Bart, if there is any little person who can help me, I will die without mercy!"

Bart shook his head and said: "There is no way, we can't even get out of the city now, how can we ask for help?"

Cheng Dapeng is such a clever person. He already thought about it as soon as he heard this: "Master Bart, what you mean is that there are reinforcements somewhere outside the city?"

Bart nodded and shook his head. Cheng Dapeng looked worried and asked again: "There are reinforcements, but they are not outside the city?"

Bart nodded this time and admitted Cheng Dapeng's guess: "Reinforcements... are at sea!"

"Since there are reinforcements, why don't they come to relieve the siege of Batavia?" Cheng Dapeng asked puzzledly. It has been a month since the war started. If Van Diemen and others had prepared an army before the war,

With the troops outside, wouldn't a month be enough for them to prepare and come to Batavia for rescue?

"It's really hard for me to explain to you... This is a very complicated plan..." Probably out of concern for military secrets, Bart hesitated to speak.

Cheng Dapeng could only guess on his own: "Are these reinforcements wandering on the sea waiting for a suitable opportunity? But the Matalan people have blocked the harbor, and the reinforcements don't know where Batavia is.

No matter how the war is going, it is difficult to find a suitable time to send troops."

"Although your guess was not entirely correct, you got a part of it right." Bart was also someone who couldn't hold back his words, so he couldn't help but reveal some inside information: "This support army has to perform some other tasks first, and then come to Bart."

Davia comes to the rescue."

Cheng Dapeng understood immediately and immediately responded: "So now Batavia wants to attract all Ma Dalan's army here and let the fleet perform other tasks? If they move slowly, they will not be able to catch up.

Come to Batavia to relieve the siege?”

"That's roughly it." This time Bart readily admitted Cheng Dapeng's guess: "According to the time agreed in advance, the counterattack should be launched recently. But no one can predict things at sea, and small weather changes can cause

It may delay the fleet's schedule, so we don't know if we can hold on until the day when reinforcements arrive."
Chapter completed!