When Sultan Ageng received the news of the loss of his country, he slumped on the throne and was speechless.
The Banten Kingdom is no longer the former Banten Kingdom. In the early days of the Dutch invasion, they could send tens of thousands of troops to attack. But now, the territory of Sumatra Island has been occupied, and the total population of Banten is only about 100,000.
China is not the Netherlands. The Dutch have few people and can only occupy key cities. Outside the cities, they have to rely on the Han people to cultivate land.
The current situation is that more and more Han people are directly reclaiming land and expelling local indigenous people. This has led to the continuous shrinkage of Bandan's territory. It cannot win after fighting, and it cannot cultivate the land. It can only slowly wait to die.
To be honest, Ageng is a wise sultan, not someone who just waits for death.
Historically, he tried his best to resist the Dutch. He also relied on the profits from Banten Port to build an elite navy. His trading fleet sailed to India and the Philippines, and even fought back and forth with the Dutch fleet. Until his later years, his son fought with him for power.
The Netherlands supported his son, and the Banten Kingdom fell into internal strife and weakened.
At that time, a war broke out between father and son, and the entire Dutch army was dispatched. Ageng persisted in fighting for two years. He even surrounded his son and the Dutch coalition at one time. Due to lack of food and grass, they were forced to retreat, and were eventually defeated and captured by the Dutch. From then on, King Banten
Surrendered to the Netherlands and became something like toast.
With China occupying Coconut City (Batavia), the port was opened to all countries.
The governor of Yecheng also offered preferential tariffs. A large amount of Chinese goods were shipped to Yecheng and rarely went to Bandan Port. British, French, Indian, and Persian merchants opened business stores in Coconut City, and Bandan Port gradually declined.
What was once an international port has become a port for exporting local products, including spices, which can also attract merchants from all over the world.
With trade declining, territory shrinking, and population decreasing, Banten's financial situation simply cannot support a large-scale army and navy.
No matter how wise the monarch is, there is nothing he can do in this situation. If he wants to break the situation, he must first defeat the Datong Army.
To fight or not to fight?
Ageng Sultan looked exhausted and called his son Ha Yi: "You personally led a team to China and asked the Chinese emperor why he invaded Banten's territory. China is the suzerain and Banten is a vassal state. The vassal state has no fault. Why did the suzerain
Want to send troops? If the suzerain does this, wouldn’t it make so many vassal countries feel cold?”
"Yes!" Hai Yi accepted the order.
Ha Yi is the prince who defected to the Netherlands and fought a two-year civil war with his father in history.
This guy had a strong desire for power, but his father had not lived too long, so he used the help of Holland to kill him. At the same time, he also admired power and felt that Holland was very powerful. He was willing to be a puppet, constantly betraying the interests of the country, and completely disregarding the interests of the people.
Life or death.
Over in Yecheng, Governor Liu Hanyi also received the news.
He envied Kuang Hong so much. The Han people in Palembang had multiplied for more than two hundred years and numbered tens of thousands. They could open up large areas of territory in one go. However, the Han people under his rule were even smaller. Even if they conquered the territory, they could not effectively cultivate it.
, can only be nibbled away bit by bit.
Otherwise, he would directly send troops to destroy Wandan!
To the east of Coconut City, the once powerful Matalan Kingdom was split into five sultanates. After several years of melee, only four sultanates were left, seemingly more unified, but in fact the population dropped sharply and the strength was not as good as before.
Among the remaining four sultans, one is Han and his name is Zheng Yongshou.
He was known as the Sultan internally and as the Governor of Semarang, China externally, and he was actually canonized by the emperor. However, for several years in a row, he refused to be appointed as an official by the imperial court, clearly intending to become a local emperor here.
A few months ago, Zhang Xianzhong, who was a mayor in Taiwan, was suddenly summoned by the prefect: "Do you want to be promoted?"
Zhang Xianzhong replied: "I think so."
The prefect said: "The Governor of Semarang is disobedient. He accepts the canonization by the imperial court, but refuses to send officials. Your Majesty intends to make you the governor of Semarang. Are you willing to take this job?"
Zhang Xianzhong asked: "How many soldiers can you give me?"
"There are only five hundred Datong troops." said the prefect.
Zhang Xianzhong thought for a moment, then gritted his teeth and grinned: "I've done this deal!"
When Prince Hai of Wandan Kingdom took a boat to Nanjing, Zhang Xianzhong had already arrived in Semarang.
A fleet of six ships escorted Zhang Xianzhong to his post, accompanied by more than ten officials and 500 Datong troops.
The governor of Semarang, Zheng Yongshou, was quite frightened and went to the port to greet him personally: "My little minister Zheng Yongshou, meet the angel!"
Zhang Xianzhong smiled and said: "My name is Zhang Xianzhong. I don't know if you have heard of my name."
Zheng Yongshou said quickly: "It's like thunder piercing my ears."
"Thunder-piercing ass," Zhang Xianzhong laughed and scolded, "If you knew who I was, you wouldn't have reacted like this. To tell you the truth, I was a rogue, once rebelled against Emperor Chongzhen, and fought against the current emperor.
He also served as emperor for several years!"
"Ah?" Zheng Yongshou was dumbfounded.
Zhang Xianzhong said: "When I was emperor, I had 200,000 soldiers. How many thousands of soldiers do you have?"
Zheng Yongshou was frightened, so he subconsciously bowed and replied: "Not many, not as good as angels."
Zhang Xianzhong said: "I'm too lazy to tell you this. Let's go to the city first."
"Angel, please come this way." Zheng Yongshou personally led the way.
Zhang Xianzhong entered the city with 500 Datong troops. The next day, he summoned officials from Semarang and said that there was an imperial edict to be announced.
A group of local Han officials came to receive the order honestly.
In fact, there was no imperial edict at all, only a letter of transfer. Zheng Yongshou and more than ten of his subordinate officials were promoted and transferred, some to the Northeast and some to Burma. Although they were remote and poor, they were really promoted.
Overseas governors also have levels. The governor of Luzon has the highest rank and is roughly equivalent to the right minister.
As for the Governor of Semarang, that is, at the level of a prefect, there are many official positions available in Xuantu Province.
Five hundred Datong troops surrounded the scene. Zhang Xianzhong personally read out a transfer document, and then said to the guys: "Everyone, let's set off. Leave early and arrive early. You will save worry, and I will save worry too."
A local named Wang Hongwen said: "This... we have lived overseas for a long time and are really not familiar with Chinese customs. I'm afraid we won't be able to do it after we go there."
"Come here." Zhang Xianzhong said.
Wang Hongwen walked anxiously and was only two or three steps away from Zhang Xianzhong.
Clang!
Zhang Xianzhong is just a killer. He doesn't want to talk nonsense. He draws his sword and steps forward, and his head falls to the ground.
What a fast knife!
What a sharp knife!
Zhang Xianzhong looked around at the crowd: "Anyone else want to say something?"
Everyone was frightened, they had never seen anything like this.
Zheng Yongshou wanted to speak, but he hesitated, his eyes falling on the bleeding blade.
"Since I have nothing to say, let's get on the road quickly!" Zhang Xianzhong raised his left foot and wiped the blood from the blade with the sole of his shoe.
More than a dozen Semarang officials, escorted by the Datong Army, quickly boarded the ship and left. Their vacated seats were filled by officials brought by Zhang Xianzhong.
Immediately, Zhang Xianzhong moved into the Governor's Mansion, sealed the documents, account books and treasury, and asked the Datong Army to take over the city defense.
In the days that followed, he summoned the local leaders and merchants and repeated the same two sentences: "If you listen to me, you will have good food and drink. If you don't listen to me, I will send him to have a drink with the King of Hell."
The local Han people were dissatisfied but did not dare to resist.
Because Zhang Xianzhong killed someone again!
The exiled officials he brought began to work, but some local officials were disobeying them. Some tasks could not be carried out at all. Zhang Xianzhong was too lazy to waste time. He asked the officials to report their names, select the three most disobedient ones, and escort them to the gate of the Governor's Mansion.
Just behead him.
Administrative efficiency has been rapidly improved. Although they are still following orders, at least they are actually following orders.
After suppressing these guys, Zhang Xianzhong no longer took care of the clerical affairs and handed over all the tedious work to the deputy governor. He summoned the local army, issued some matchlock guns, and practiced with the 500 Datong troops. Moreover, he provided adequate military pay and food.
Enough.
After only three months of training, they started fighting.
This guy led 500 Datong troops and 1,000 local Han soldiers, and went south without warning. Hundreds of years later, that place belonged to the Belgas District of Semarang, Indonesia, and is now just a mountain town. Not only does it have a large river valley, but also
The only way from the interior of Central Java to the ocean.
Today, it belongs to the territory of the Sultan of Yogyakarta.
Goods under the jurisdiction of the Sultan of Yogyakarta must be transported to this town every month, and then transported along the river to Semarang and out to sea. Not only that, if the Sultan of Yogyakarta wants to attack Semarang, the army must also pass through here.
In a word, it is a strategic location, an important commercial location, and it is also an important agricultural area.
Zheng Yongshou, the local emperor, closed his door and became the governor. He did not expand externally at all, and did not even win such an important portal.
Now it is Zhang Xianzhong's turn to make the decision. He will not be idle. Not to mention how much territory he will expand, he will at least occupy the gateway to avoid military threats in the future.
The total distance was only 20 kilometers. Zhang Xianzhong only asked the soldiers to bring dry food and did not even bother to recruit ships to prevent military information from being leaked. He set out at night and marched in a hurry, leaving the local soldiers who were lagging behind, and arrived at the outskirts of the town at dawn.
This is an important commercial town. Between the two mountains, a small earthen fort was built and dozens of Javanese soldiers were stationed there.
Before dawn, the attack began.
The small earthen fort was so short that it could be climbed up using a ladder, and the defenders were defenseless. Zhang Xianzhong took the lead and climbed up the earthen fort first, killing any living people he saw.
After occupying the earthen fort, Zhang Xianzhong said to the soldiers: "Once again, rush into the town and kill anyone who can't speak Chinese. Turn over everything you grab, and you are not allowed to keep it privately!"
The small town encounters a killer star and faces an unforeseen disaster.
The soldiers rushed into the houses and shops in the town and asked everyone they saw: "Are they Han?"
Those who couldn't answer were killed with a knife.
A lot of goods were snatched away, and Zhang Xianzhong made a profit, but the Han merchants in Semarang complained endlessly.
Semarang is a port city, and all inland goods needed must go through this town. Zhang Xianzhong killed so indiscriminately, who among the inland indigenous merchants would dare to transport goods to Semarang?
Zhang Xianzhong didn't care. The important territory was a matter of life and death, and it must be in his own hands.
Moreover, the foreigners had to be killed and then the Han people from Semarang were moved here.
As for business, it will slowly recover. On this trade route, are the Han merchants anxious but not the indigenous merchants?
In just over three months since Zhang Xianzhong took office, the area under the jurisdiction of the Governor-General of Semarang has doubled, and it is no longer a purely commercial city.
The Sultan of Yogyakarta was not a vegetarian. He was attacked inexplicably. He immediately ordered to summon troops and gathered 20,000 troops to kill Zhang Xianzhong.