It has been more than half a year since Huang Zhongtong accepted Zhao Xin's order to go to West Borneo to collect information about Lanfang Company.
When he left Bacheng with his two men, he did not go directly to Borneo. Instead, he first took a boat to Hoi An, and then took a boat from Hoi An and returned to Zhanglin Port in Chenghai before the Lunar New Year. . You must know that the three people’s hometowns are all from Fengshun County, Chaozhou Prefecture, which is very close to Dabu County, so when they appear in Zhanglin, there is no problem at all in terms of living habits or accent.
Zhanglin, located in the southeast of Chaozhou Prefecture, has quickly developed into the largest port in eastern Guangdong since the maritime ban was relaxed during the Kangxi period. Commercial activities are very prosperous, and many people from all over eastern Guangdong come here to work. And every year with the northeast monsoon, people come south There were countless red-headed ships, which can be said to be like sails and shadows like clouds. With these sea trade ships, a large number of poor Hakkas and Chaoshan people joined the tide of immigrants to Southeast Asia.
In general, there were two main routes to Nanyang during the Qianlong period. Xiamen Port was populated by immigrants from Zhangquan, while Zhanglin Port was populated by Chaoshan and Hakka people.
Relying on Beihai Town's network in Hoi An, Huang Zhongtong and the others first settled in a sugar shop on Xianqiao Street to work as odd jobs. Time soon passed on the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, when Huang Zhongtong had already caught up with a recruiter to go to West Borneo. In May 1793, that is, at the end of the second lunar month, three people carrying a shabby baggage and hundreds of other Chinese from Jiaying Prefecture and Tai Po landed in Pontianak.
After spending half a year traveling in such a large circle, there was no question about Huang Zhongtong's identity, and no one could find out that they were actually spies sent by Beihai Town.
Zhao Xin wanted to check the situation of the Lanfang Company's gold mine, so Huang Zhongtong and the others told the snakehead from the beginning that they were going to West Borneo to pan for gold. It was precisely because the three of them were Hakkas and half of Taipo, so Soon we went to a mining area called Shalaman.
The various mining areas under the control of Lanfang Company are divided into public and private ownership. The public ownership adopts the method of leasing to external parties. Due to the large amount of gold produced, the Shalaman mining area naturally became privately owned and belonged to Chen Lanbo, the second-in-command of Lanfang Company.
Chen Lanbo, a Hakka from Dabu, founded the Lanfang Society with Luo Fangbai sixteen years ago. There is a saying that the word "Lanfang" comes from their names. The first battle between this man and Luo Fangbai was in With the support of the Sultan of Pontianak, he merged with Tiandi Huihuo, killed him until his blood flowed like a river, and drove him out of Dongwanlu.
As "new customers" arriving at the mine for the first time, Huang Zhong and the three of them were paid a monthly salary of two Spanish silver dollars, including food and accommodation. The time to go to the mine every day was from 4 a.m. to 6 p.m., with a break during the hottest time at noon. Two hours. In addition, I eat five meals a day, including brown rice and salted fish.
Sounds like a good condition, right? You have to know that two Spanish silver dollars are equivalent to 1.42 taels of silver. Huang Zhong and the three of them thought so at first. However, after the first month of hard work, they discovered that there was Various "pits".
By the way, all the "big brothers" in West Borneo are really thieves, just like the Chinese plantation owners in Batavia. In order to prevent the workers from running away after receiving their wages, the gold mined has to wait until the annual furnace is opened for refining, and the company Only then will unified settlements be made with the miners in each mine based on the quantity and quality of the output that year, and only then can the Chinese workers get their wages.
But do you think this is the end? No! The method of exploitation is one after another. As long as the Chinese workers can't pay off the debt, they can't even think about leaving. They will work until they die!
Different from those Chinese workers on the other side of the ocean in later generations who had dreams of "golden mountains" and were eventually sold as "piglets", the Chinese workers in the 18th century were exploited by their own people, and each company was worse than the greedy capitalists of later generations. And nothing less.
Let’s use an analogy. Suppose Huang Zhongtong doesn’t drink alcohol, doesn’t drink tea, and doesn’t smoke opium; he doesn’t mend his clothes when they are torn, and he goes barefoot when his shoes are torn; and the most important thing is that he never gets sick. That’s good. After the furnace is settled, , from the book, he can get at least 24 Spanish silver dollars.
Wait a minute, I haven't paid for the boat ticket before I come here! In addition, there are food, drinks, berths and other miscellaneous expenses on the boat, and all of them are calculated with interest. Moreover, when you get to the mine, the food expenses for five meals a day will cost you. The accommodation provided by the mining area also requires rent.
Huang Zhongtong found that the price calculation standard given by the company was much higher than the market average price.
So I went back to Bao Duo'er and found out that three-quarters of his salary had been deducted, and Huang Zhongtong could only get 6 silver dollars. In fact, this guy couldn't even get these 6 Spanish silver dollars, because he had to buy them all the time. Some daily necessities. At this time, those in the company responsible for providing high-priced goods appeared...
"It's been a hard day, would you like a few sips?"
"Not good at wine? How about some tobacco? This is tobacco from Tingzhou, Fujian. It is no worse than the Jian cigarettes that were sent as tribute to the emperor. Take a puff and the whole house will be filled with fragrance!"
"Don't like smoking? Oh~~ We have a gambling house here, do you want to play a few games? If you win the bet, you kid can jump over the dragon's gate!"
"Well, I've never seen a guy as disdainful as you. Well...I'll tell you this alone. I won't tell most people. We have a "lucky and longevity ointment" from Tianzhu. , take a bath every day, it is absolutely "comfortable and relieves fatigue", and it can also prevent miasma. To be honest, the miasma in West Borneo is worse than that in Chaoshan. If you fall ill one day, you will spend a lot of money. If you don’t talk about money and medicine, your life may not be guaranteed..."
Because the gold mining work in the mining area is extremely hard, many old miners lie in the room and puff away as soon as they have lunch. Afterwards, they stare at each other in a daze, and then start sweating profusely.
Zhao Xin had told Huang Zhongtong about the dangers of opium before. He didn't quite understand it at that time, but during the two months in the mine, he really felt it.
By the way, it is indeed abominable for Europeans to sell opium to Southeast Asia and Guangzhou, but what about the Chinese companies and plantation owners who provided opium to Chinese workers? Without these people, opium would not have become popular among the poor people at the bottom.
This chapter is not over yet, please click on the next page to continue reading! Since Huang Zhongtong came to the mine, in addition to trying to curry favor with the foreman and obtain inside information, he would also call one or two old miners with whom he has good relationships to drink and chat every now and then to find out more information, so he could only advance his salary from the mine.
Just like those plantations on Java Island that issued lead coins to Chinese workers, because West Borneo was rich in tin mines, Huang Zhongtong received tin coins called "Picis".
This kind of money is issued by Lanfang Company itself, and every 40 coins are exchanged for 1 Spanish silver dollar. The appearance of the coin is the same as that of clear copper coins. On the front are the four words "Lanfang Company" and on the back are the Manchu "Baoguang". It refers to the Baoguang Bureau of the Ministry of Household Affairs of the Qing Dynasty. As for why Lanfang Company's money is printed with Manchu characters, it is the same as Luo Fangbai letting his "Lanhe Camp" bravely wear the Qing army's green camp uniform. It is to pull up the big flag and make a tiger skin.
It is said that the Heshun General Office of Sanfa also does the same. On the front of the tin coins are "Dagang Company", "Heshun", "Fifteenth Branch" and so on.
There are certain rules for the issuance of these company currencies, and coins are usually minted before the Spring Festival. This is also the end of the year for the Chinese, and cash is urgently needed to settle accounts.
Although Huang Zhongtong is smart, he does not understand economics. In fact, the tin coins issued by "Big Brother" are an important part of the gold mine exploitation system. In conjunction with the account books, it continuously exploits the labor income of Chinese workers and makes them They are heavily in debt; on the other hand, the upper echelons of Luo Fangbai and Lanfang Company are extremely wealthy.
In the history of another time and space, another very important contradiction why the Dutch wanted to extend their hands into Borneo in the later period was that the coinage behavior of the Chinese company violated the economic interests of the "sovereign country". When the Dutch colonial government in the 19th When they launched the "Company War" in the middle of the century, they found that there were no Dutch copper coins circulating in the company's territory.
For veteran colonists like the Netherlands, economic interests are above all else. No one can tolerate this!
On the contrary, in Bacheng, because Chinese workers were engaged in technical jobs in the plantation system, the most severely exploited were the Javanese. This also laid the groundwork for the Dutch to instigate the Javanese to hate China later.
To put it bluntly, there is no such thing as unreasonable hatred in this world. Even if the Dutch are big flies with sharp teeth and sharp mouths, their eggs must have cracks before they can bite them.
By the end of the fourth lunar month, Huang Zhongtong and the other three, who had been working in the mine for two months, all felt that the investigation was almost done, and no longer wanted to live such a hard and tiring life, so they told the foreman that they should resign and go to Dongwan. Lu sought refuge with fellow villagers.
Unexpectedly, the mine owner took out his account book, crackled the abacus, sneered and said that it was okay to leave, and each person had to find 3 Spanish silver dollars in the mine. The noses of Huang Zhongtong's two men were almost crooked with anger, and they wanted to take out their guns and die immediately. other side.
However, Huang Zhongtong behaved like a miser like a Chinese worker, and spent a long time complaining with the mine owner. Finally, the total was reduced to 8 silver dollars, and he paid five taels and six cents to settle the matter.
After returning to Pontianak, the three people who had been isolated in the mining area learned about the Dutch attack on Bacheng. Unfortunately, because Lanfang Company received a warning from the Dutch, all the ships in Pontianak Port were I won’t go to Bacheng.
Huang Zhongtong had no choice but to take his men on board a merchant ship bound for Penang Island. He planned to go to Georgetown to find Gu Lihuan to see what he could do...
On June 16, 1793, the thirteenth day after Zhao Xin arrived in Bacheng, the Northern Navy's frontline headquarters located at "Nordwijk Castle" received a report from the reconnaissance team that had been lurking near Wandong in the early morning. , the army led by former VOC Governor Altin set off from Wandong at 6 o'clock this morning, with a total number of combat soldiers ranging from 15,000 to 20,000, in addition to more than 10,000 baggage troops.
After waiting for so many days, the Dutchman's third claw towards Bacheng was finally exposed, so Zhao Xin was also ready to fight.
He had no time to delay. If nothing unexpected happened, the offensive and defensive war between Britain and France over local governance would break out in more than a month. He didn't care at all whether the French died or not, but once local governance was lost, the Kingdom of Mysore would have access to the North Sea.
The road to the town stronghold "Pazayarai" would be blocked by the British, which Zhao Xin would never accept!
Furthermore, "Pazayarai" has only one company of the Northern Navy, so Bacheng must send ground troops and fleets to provide support. To go to India, you must pass through the Liene Islands controlled by the Dutch.
After holding a battle situation analysis meeting with his staff officers and He Xiwen, Zhao Xinxian ordered Wen Dai, who led the reconnaissance team, to carry out sniper warfare against the enemy's baggage troops and try to destroy the enemy's logistics materials and supply lines as much as possible.
If conditions permit, it would be best to burn down the Dutch's grain warehouses.
Subsequently, he sent a message to the Nanyang Fleet hidden in Cam Ranh Bay, ordering Zheng Wenxian to lead seven motor-sail gunboats modified by Guangzhou Shipbuilding to form the first squadron to completely eliminate the VOC fleet entrenched in the sea off Bacheng and the west of Banten Port, and to attack Wanwan
Dan Port implemented a naval blockade. Guo Xuexian, who had just arrived in Hoi An from Naha Port, was ordered to go to the Citrus Ao base to complete supplies, and then led Beihai No. 2, No. 3 and a Guangzhou gunboat to form the second squadron and headed for Lionai.
Islands, bombarded the Dutch stronghold at the throat of Malacca, Malacca City, forcing the defenders there to surrender, thereby quickly controlling the Strait of Malacca.
After arranging the maritime combat plan, Zhao Xin held a combat meeting at the Bacheng Military Control Conference that night, attended by all officers at battalion level and above.
In order to achieve the plan of annihilating the Dutch army and the Banten Sultanate's native soldiers on the western front, a staff officer under Zhao Xin thought about the battle plan for several days and presented it all to everyone present.
That is, around the area surrounding Langas Betong, we concentrated our forces to attack from the north and south wings, attacking two points first. Then, the North Marine Battalion made a breakthrough from the north line, detoured to the rear of Langas Betong, and together with the Sendai Domain servants, attacked the area.
The enemy forces entrenched between Serang and Langas Betong were divided into several pieces and then annihilated one by one. The first part of the special operations battalion led by Erlu went straight to Serang, attacking the Dutch transportation lines, and waiting for opportunities to destroy the troops stationed in Serang.
Long's supplies and grain warehouse.
This chapter is not over yet, please click on the next page to continue reading! Before the attack is launched, thirty artillery pieces of the North Navy will provide artillery coverage for up to twenty minutes to ensure that the troops on the north and south wings can complete the penetration.
The main reason why the staff dared to plan this way is that the special operations battalion has identified all the terrain and roads in Langas Betong and Serang for more than a year, including where the water sources are drinkable and where they can be used.
Large groups of people camped and so on.
Furthermore, during the several months of training at the Cam Ranh Bay base, the Sendai clan's servant troops have been conducting physical training and combat skills specific to the tropical rainforest area. Originally, these Sendai soldiers, who were born out of road construction workers, were very able to endure hardships.
In addition, he eats well during training, gets enough rest, and keeps up with medical treatment, so his combat effectiveness is still good.
After the staff officer finished speaking, Zhao Xin stood up and made a mobilization speech: "The Dutch are trying to encircle us and drive the Northern Navy out of Bacheng. Now we are surrounded by enemies from both sides. There are 20,000 enemies on the western front, who stick to us every day like dog-skin plaster. And in the southeast
Wandong also dispatched more than 20,000 enemies in an attempt to besiege the city of Ba. At sea, there are also fleets from the Dutch and the indigenous Sudanese who are trying to blockade us."
The officers below all looked at Zhao Xin intently, especially the battalion commanders of the servant army. Their eyes flashed with excitement and no fear. Without him, Zhao Wangdian's current reputation is too great. In many
From a human perspective, as long as he takes action, there is no battle that cannot be won.
At this time, Zhao Xin continued to say loudly: "If you ask me, what does this mean? As long as we fight well and quickly, and win quickly, victory will definitely belong to our Beihai Navy!"
"Long live Zhao Wangdian!"
"Long live Beihai Town!"
"Kill the Dutch!"
The officers below could no longer sit still and stood up and shouted. Zhao Xin was also a little excited by the scene in front of him. It is no exaggeration to say that this battle will directly determine the future fate of millions of people in Southeast Asia.
.
Seven years have passed since he first met the British and learned the truth about the opium trade. Until today, Zhao Xin finally saw the dawn of keeping opium west of the Strait of Malacca. Of course, he also knew that in order to achieve this
For one goal, it is not enough to defeat the Dutch and occupy the Strait of Malacca. The South Asian subcontinent is the main battlefield for the decisive battle!
"This time, we not only want to teach the Dutch a lesson, but also drive them completely out of West Java and the Strait of Malacca. After that, we will continue to attack the Banda Islands, Sumatra and Borneo to drive the Dutch out of here.
Pull out all the strongholds in the sea area and let them get out of Malacca!"