Chapter 217 Sweeping the South China Sea: The Portuguese who are aware of current affairs
In fact, the naval fleet led by Xu Huoqing set off early on December 19 and did not stay in Manila for long - the remaining 3,000 Han people in Manila were fully armed and were managed by Xu Yucheng
, and the Zheng family's naval fleet will arrive in a few days, and the shipping cargo ships carrying a large number of Han immigrants may arrive faster, so there is no need for the Xu family's naval fleet to continue to stay.
The information sent by Batavia that "Du Wenqiang has been captured, come to rescue quickly" was received by the fleet halfway, so it had to speed up and move forward at full speed. Fortunately, it did not encounter a big storm along the way.
As for the naval battle that broke out in Batavia Bay, the process is nothing to write home about. It can only be described as "no suspense and no challenge".
Because in terms of ship performance, whether it is speed, firepower, defense, communication and command, Xujiazhuang's steam-armored warships have an absolute crushing advantage.
Another raid launched at night disrupted Van Galen's tactical arrangement.
In terms of intelligence, Du Wenqiang and other intelligence lurkers had already informed the enemy and knew themselves and their enemies.
Therefore, no matter what aspect, the naval fleet led by Xu Huoqing had no chance of losing. It destroyed all the opponent's ships without even receiving a single cannonball, and fought a war with zero casualties.
After the Marines successfully landed, the Dutch colonial authorities surrendered and took control of everything in Batavia.
Xu Huoqing then stepped on the pier with his leather boots like a winner, and entered the city with his head held high.
…
Governor's Palace, in the Council Hall.
Xu Huoqing saw the crestfallen Governor of Batavia Anthony Van Diemen, who was standing in front of him with a depressed look. He handed a golden cane, a symbol of power, to Xu Huoqing and said: "Your Excellency, you
Victory, you have won everything here, we accept this defeat, but out of the tolerance of the winner, please allow me to make a small request."
With the help of Su Minggang's translation, I understood the meaning of his words.
Xu Huoqing asked: "What are the requirements? Tell me."
Anthony Van Diemen said: "We have obtained the right to continue doing business in Batavia. We are willing to spend money to rent a trading station, pay taxes to you, and promise not to take any forceful retaliation. We are businessmen, and we have nothing to do with Xujiazhuang.
Exactly the same, businessmen who just want to make money, please don't deprive us of our right to do legitimate business." The Dutch East India Company is about to go bankrupt, and he is likely to face accountability and severe punishment from the board of directors. Even so, he will do everything possible.
Find ways to reduce losses, recover from the negative impact of failure, and strive to strive for some good conditions.
"I personally have no objection to your request in principle. Xujiazhuang is willing to do business with everyone, but..."
Xu Huoqing shook his head and said: "I'm just a soldier. I can't make up my mind on this kind of thing. I have to ask the headquarters what it means. I can only promise to give you an answer as soon as possible."
"Then how long do I need to wait?" Anthony asked, one month, or two months?
"Three days, maybe just one or two days. Our communication is very efficient."
"Okay, I'm willing to wait for the answer!"
An electric light flashed across Anthony Van Diemen's mind, and with a flash of light in his eyes, he suddenly realized that Xujiazhuang's communication technology was extremely advanced, perhaps reaching the level of thousands of miles a day. Unbelievable, unbelievable, if the Dutch East India Company
, how great would it be to be able to master this kind of technology? As long as he can get this technology, even the loss of ten Batavias will be worth it, and he will make a lot of money, which is enough to offset all his responsibilities.
So this made him more determined that he must stay. Even if he would suffer a certain amount of hardship, even if he would be treated unkindly, he must improve his understanding of Xujiazhuang and find ways to get more information. He must not just
Going back in such a gray state.
…
the next day.
Through wireless telegraphy, Harbor City sent a reply, and it was an instruction personally issued by the owner of the village. There were mainly three instructions:
First, the Dutch are allowed to continue to do business legally in Batavia, but those who cannot speak Chinese can only stay for up to six months. Those who exceed the deadline will face fines and deportation.
Second, Dutch military forces are not allowed to appear in the east, and individuals are not allowed to carry any weapons. Once violated, the Xu family army can immediately kill and destroy them.
Third, focus on Anthony Van Diemen. He is not a simple figure, but a top talent and handsome man.
"The owner of the village is in doubt again. It's absolutely right to follow what the old man said."
Xu Huoqing nodded secretly.
That afternoon, he told Anthony Van Diemen the reply, saying that this was the attitude of Xujiazhuang's top management.
"Okay, I agree to all these terms, no problem."
Unexpectedly, in the face of so many harsh conditions, Anthony nodded and agreed without thinking, acting like an excellent loser. He also began to worship Su Minggang as his teacher that day and learn Chinese from him. Look at this posture.
, it seems that he really plans to master the profound language of Chinese within half a year.
But Xu Huoqing no longer had the intention to pay attention to him.
December 26th, early in the morning.
After only a short two-day rest, I replenished a batch of fresh water, vegetables and fuel.
The Xu family's naval fleet staying in Badaliya Bay, all six steam-armored warships, carrying 1,500 marines, set off again, heading straight for the Portuguese-controlled city of Malacca - as for just now
After taking Batavia, the 1,500 Marines left behind, plus the tens of thousands of Han Chinese workers under Du Wenqiang's control who had been quickly armed, were able to firmly control the city.
And in the bay.
Count Van Galen, who narrowly survived the naval battle, now became a fisherman who had to fish in a small boat in order to support himself. He saw the six boats spewing gray smoke and speeding away.
The steam-armored warship turned extremely pale and murmured: "It's over. The era of sailing ships is over. This world no longer belongs to us, but must belong to Xujiazhuang."
…
As the colonial center of the Portuguese in the East, Malacca is not far from Batavia.
The Xu family's naval fleet sailed at full speed for two days and nights.
On the morning of the 28th, they entered the Strait of Malacca, arrived outside the Port of Malacca, and aimed their guns at the ships in the port, ready to fire at any time.
But to the surprise of Xu Huoqing and others, when these six strange ships with no sails and automatic armors blocked the port, they did not open fire and sink any targets. After a panic, the Portuguese in the city quickly launched an attack.
A white flag was raised and a Han envoy was sent to express his willingness to surrender.
"Why was it surrendered? Is there any fraud involved?" Liang Yuntao, the captain of the Yangwei, said in the communication channel, feeling unconvinced.
"Commander, what should we do?" Captain Zhang Tie of Corpse Mountain asked.
"Accept their surrender first, send five hundred marines ashore to receive them, and maintain a high degree of vigilance." Xu Huoqing thought for a while and said.
"yes!"
…
Soon, we will be in the city of Malacca.
In front of the Xu Jiajun Marines, all the Portuguese soldiers handed over their weapons. Governor Alonso Fernandez, a balding middle-aged man, also handed over the city defense map and other information with a smile.
The attitude of surrender is very sincere, and I even feel like I am looking forward to this moment.
Only then did Xu Huoqing and others confirm that the Portuguese were really going to surrender without any deception.
So they also docked and entered Malacca, a city with hundreds of years of history.
Inside the Governor's Palace.
Xu Huoqing had to ask the doubts in his heart: "I see that there are several gunboats in your port and hundreds of soldiers in the city. Why are you so weak when you surrender without a fight?"
Translated by translators.
Governor Alonso Fernandez blushed when asked and said: "Resistance is a dead end and has no chance of winning. What else can we do if we don't surrender?"
Xu Huoqing was speechless and unable to refute such a reasonable answer.
In fact, Xu Huoqing is not very clear. Among the Western countries, although there are powerful colonial empires such as Spain, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom, there are also small countries like Portugal, which are the weakest link among the Western powers.
Although Portugal kept up with the trend of the great voyage, it also owned many colonies overseas and seized a lot of resources and wealth. However, it did not become stronger as a result, but became weaker and weaker.
Because Portugal's European homeland was annexed by Spain in 1580, it was equivalent to the subjugation of the country, and Portugal's population, economy, military or technological strength were all very weak. Facing the likes of the Netherlands and Britain
As a great sea power, its overseas colonies have been shrinking in recent years, and it can only focus its operations on Brazil in South America.
As for a colony like Malacca, even though it controlled key sea lanes, it was unable to operate it. Instead, it attacked each other with the local Kingdom of Johor and Aceh, and fell into a triangular war. None of the three parties had an absolute advantage to defeat the other.
Losing all three, it is constantly consuming Portugal's resources, unable to bring in profits, and has become a long-term bleeding wound and burden.
Therefore, even if the Xu family's naval fleet did not come to attack, the Portuguese would have long thought of abandoning this place.
Now that Xujiazhuang has come to take over, Governor Alonso felt relieved and even made a request: "People in the Ming Dynasty have a saying that 'he who knows the current affairs is a hero.' General Xu, look at how well we know the current affairs.
Is it okay to give us such a good site and give us a piece of land for free? Let us set up a business station here? In the future, it is not too much for our businessmen to enjoy tax-free treatment, right? General Xu, we are already your friends, I treat you like this
Be generous, as a friend, shouldn’t you also be more generous?”
I saw this strange governor with a shy face, a cheerful face, and a familiar face who made demands without any surprise.
Xu Huoqing felt quite speechless. Aren't the colonists all cruel, obedient and unreasonable? How could such a weird thing happen? This chapter has been completed!