I

Wandan City.

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 stages 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 led to the continuous shrinking of Wandan's territory. It couldn't win the battle, couldn't cultivate the land, and could only slowly wait to die.

To be honest, Ageng is a wise sultan, not just a person waiting to die.

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 fleets sailed to India and the Philippines, and even fought back and forth with the Dutch fleet. It was not until his later years when his son fought for power with him and Holland supported his son that 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 continued to fight for two years. He even once surrounded his son and the Dutch coalition forces, but was forced to retreat due to lack of food and grass. He was eventually defeated and captured by the Dutch. From then on, King Banten surrendered to the Netherlands and became something like a chieftain.

With China occupying Coconut City (Batavia), the port was opened to all nations.

The Governor of Yecheng also offered preferential tariffs, and a large amount of Chinese goods were shipped to Yecheng, rarely going to Wantan Port. British, French, Indian, and Persian merchants opened business houses in Coconut City one after another, and Banten Port gradually declined. What was once an international port has become a port for exporting local products, and spices can also attract merchants from all over the world.

Trade declined, territory shrank, and population decreased. The financial situation of the Banten Kingdom simply could not 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 the land of Banten. 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 sect master 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 civil war with his father for two years in history.

This guy had a strong desire for power, but his father lived too long, so he used Holland's help to kill him. At the same time, he admires strength and feels that the Netherlands is very powerful. An An is content to be a puppet, constantly betraying national interests and completely disregarding the life and death of its citizens.

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. And there were even fewer Han people under his rule. Even if he conquered the territory, he could not effectively cultivate it and could only encroach 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 sultans are left. They seem to be more unified, but in fact their population has dropped sharply and their strength is 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 the Governor of Semarang, China externally, and he was actually canonized by the emperor. But for several years in a row, he refused to be appointed as an official by the imperial court, and it was clear that he wanted to be the 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 and 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. I 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 led 500 Datong troops into the city. 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 his subordinate officials, more than ten of whom were promoted and transferred, some went to the Northeast and some to Burma. Although they were remote and poor, they were really promoted.

There are also levels of overseas governors. The governor of Luzon has the highest rank, which is roughly equivalent to the right minister.

As for the Governor of Semarang, that is, at the magistrate level, 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 so will I."

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, only two or three steps away from Zhang Xianzhong.

Clang!

Zhang Xianzhong is just a killer. He doesn't want to talk nonsense. He steps forward with his sword drawn 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. The seats they vacated 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 eat and drink well. 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 acting in disobedience. Some tasks could not be carried out at all, and Zhang Xianzhong was too lazy to waste time. He asked the officials to report their names, select the three most disobedient ones, and behead them directly at the gate of the Governor's Mansion.

Administrative efficiency has been rapidly improved. Although they are still following orders, at least they are truly 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, the army should be given adequate pay and food.

After only three months of training, they started fighting.

This guy led 500 Datong troops and 1,000 local Han soldiers to kill south without warning. Hundreds of years later, it 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 it is 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 arrive in this town every month and are then transported along the river to Semarang to go to sea. Not only that, if the Sultan of Yogyakarta wants to attack Semarang, his 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 collect ships to prevent the leakage of military information. They set off at night and marched all the way, leaving the local soldiers behind and arriving at the outskirts of the town at dawn.

This is an important commercial town. A small earthen fort was built between the two mountains 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 don't 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 Chinese?"

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.

As a port city, Semarang needs inland goods to go through this town. Zhang Xianzhong killed so indiscriminately, who among the indigenous merchants in the interior 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 recover slowly. As for 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.