New Shun 1730

It was like this for one day, two days, and seven or eight days in a row.

So much so that the nervous Dutch soldiers were already a little tired.

They must gather near the Governor's Mansion every day to strengthen the security of various city gates. The forts are fully manned every day, and all vacations are cancelled.

The warships were at sea, watching the Dashun fleet running around on the sea. They neither dared to get too close nor relaxed their vigilance. The gunners had to be on standby in the cabin at all times, even to the point of having to poop. Report to the gunnery commander.

But there was no unexpected situation on Dashun's side. On the contrary, the Marines near the manor took turns to rest; the young people who went out for inquiries and inspections every day also went out on time.

People on the Council would inevitably say behind his back that the Governor was neurotic, but Valkenir would rather he was really neurotic.

Until Dashun's fleet entered the port again, Liu Yu's illness miraculously recovered.

The Dutch fleet commander, who followed the Dashun fleet in an armed "escort", reported to the governor the Dashun navy's itinerary.

"After they set sail from Batavia, they sailed north, docked at Palembang, and presented gifts to the local Sultan. They sent a few people off the ship, saying they were looking for the stone tablets left by Zheng He. The emperor seems to have a hobby of collecting stone tablets and inscriptions.”

"But other than that, there doesn't seem to be any special behavior."

Valkenir said angrily: "Idiot! This is a peculiar move in itself. The attitude of the Sultan there towards us will change with the arrival of the Dashun fleet. If he wants to continue eastward, he may even go to Sulla Weixi and other places will comfort the local Chinese, and these fleets will also follow. "

"Tell your sailors to seize the time to rest. This companionship game must continue until they completely leave Southeast Asia and embark on the journey to Europe. During this period, there cannot be any relaxation."

"To ensure that wherever the Chinese warships arrive, our fleet must also arrive."

"When the chiefs see the masts of Chinese warships, they can also see that the masts of our Dutch are no less than theirs."

"We need to send someone to ask what the Chinese on the warships said to the local chiefs. Was there any other conversation besides giving gifts?"

"What on earth is he going to do?"

…………

In the manor, the staff at the core level of the fleet were sitting there, and Mantou, who had returned from the fleet, was handing out a simple map to everyone.

What was drawn on the map was immediately recognized by the staff officers present. It was a standard bastion.

The scale and the name of the fort are marked in words on it.

Bengkulu, Marlboro Fort.

For the time being, Britain is not an enemy, but the high-level spies who came from the Privy Council Staff Headquarters have always been good at stealing.

This time I went to Bengkulu to buy goods. With the trust of the East India Company, I easily entered Marlboro Fort.

With his memory and excellent drawing skills learned from Weihai, he drew a map of the British fortress on the other side of the Sunda Strait.

Including trench depth, fort configuration, and port conditions, all are introduced in great detail.

If you don’t fight now, you may not fight in the future.

The function of the general staff is to make various plans for future wars in any possible direction.

Right in front of the table, Liu Yu, who was said to have been acclimatized and sick before, was sipping tea with his face glowing and looking very good.

The news that the steamed buns came from the Xuanwei Department in Jiugang put him in a good mood.

Bengkulu's goods have been sent away without encountering any interception by the Dutch on the way.

The Dutch warships were all attracted to Batavia by Liu Yu. The arms ships sailing from Bengkulu sailed unimpeded and sent British-made cannons and muskets to the Chinese rebels operating in the Bandung volcanic area, as well as a The batch number is called "Heroes Recruited from Macau".

As long as he struggles in Nanyang until the wind direction changes in January, and there are enough armaments and officer corps in the south, Batavia will not be able to take advantage.

Navigating Southeast Asia is a technical job. Among the "Four Anxi Towns", Ceylon will have tens of thousands of immigrants in the future, Malacca will serve as the governor's office and trading port, and Bangka Borneo will have miners. Batavia lacks a stable foundation. .

These rebels are trying to lay a good foundation for the future military town in the Bandung area. Otherwise, once the status of the transit port disappears, Batavia will be an empty shell and cannot stand at all.

The people who completed the delivery took the overland route directly from Bengkulu to the Xuanwei Division in the Old Port, met up with the fleet, and quietly sent back the news and the defense map of Fort Marlboro.

The staff officers present were all affiliated with the Privy Council. They were a group of people that Dashun had access to core military secrets, and their loyalty was not to be mentioned.

Liu Yu took a sip of tea and said slowly: "I asked you to follow me to Europa this time. I said it was to see Europa's military. In fact, there is nothing to see, so that's it. It's useless to watch it. Dashun, where can we find an opportunity for tens of thousands of people to line up for battle?”

"The real purpose is to take advantage of this opportunity to comfort Nanyang and let you come to the battlefield in advance to take a look, collect some intelligence, and formulate a rigorous and detailed battle plan."

"The imperial court has made a decision to go to Southeast Asia, and this matter is top secret."

The staff immediately stood up, their excitement palpable, but Liu Yu waved his hand and said: "Sit down, sit down."

"It's not a big deal. As long as the navy can win, there's no difficulty. Before I went to the West, His Majesty had approved the shipbuilding plan, using all the wood I had accumulated before, two battleships a year; six cruisers, for three years."

"Even if the Dutch are experienced in naval warfare, we have one battleship and four cruisers, and we can't win against one of their armed merchant ships. Then the navy will commit suicide collectively."

Several people from the navy said that the art of war says to estimate the enemy leniently, but isn't the estimate of the enemy by the Whale Marquis a little too lenient?

Liu Yu added: "Even if the Dutch knew the news after the war started, even if the Dutch deployed troops, it would take at least a year and a half for reinforcements to arrive."

Clapping his hands, the adjutant unfolded a simple map of the South China Sea. Liu Yu picked up the teaching stick and talked about the general situation of the Privy Council as if he was teaching them in Weihai before.

Including the timing of the war, it was the outbreak of the European war, and the Netherlands was deeply involved in the European war against France and Prussia.

At the same time, the immigrants in Ceylon have gone through the most difficult days. They have reclaimed wasteland and built houses. All the sufferings are over and good days are coming.

The situation also includes the secrets of the Chinese uprising army in southern Batavia.

"Make good use of this opportunity to comfort Nanyang and formulate attack tactics for various strongholds and fortresses; formulate a complete logistics supply plan. You don't have to consider the ships and sailors for logistics supply. What is the trade company for? They can't just pay that little money to monopolize it. They have military obligations."

"The overall battle concept basically ensures three things."

"First, Ceylon is the first target. Tens of thousands of Chinese will be the pillars of the future Nanyang military town. We must occupy Ceylon before the Dutch notice and choose to massacre."

"Second, Batavia is the boundary. We have a year and a half to slowly gnaw the strongholds east of Batavia, and we can consider siege tactics to reduce casualties. But from Batavia to the west, Malacca and other places, It must be fast. Don't formulate any siege tactics, and use strong attack means to quickly take it down. "

"Third, logistics, logistics, and logistics. I don't want to see half of the people die in the battlefield before a few are killed in logistics supply issues. The supply plan must be detailed and clear. "

"Money is not a problem; I won't talk about ships and sailors. The military obligation of the trading company is to do this. Let them organize and monopolize, just to be able to quickly call on their fleet forces in wartime for easy management. "

"What you have to do, in addition to the offensive supply plan, is to formulate a transportation plan within one and a half years, and various fortresses will stockpile supplies for more than one to two years. "

"Any other questions?"

The staff thought about it, and it seemed that there were indeed not many problems in the war.

Since the court wanted to go to war, of course it was a lion fighting a rabbit. Although the sea route was long, the land battle could only rely on the Marine Corps, but the Dutch land battle force here was originally sparse, and the Marine Corps was enough.

In terms of the navy, Dashun was in East Asia, and there was no threat to coastal defense at this time, and the main battleships could be withdrawn to the south.

The only thing is... what should we do with the Chinese citizens in the cities occupied by the Dutch?

After hesitating for a moment, someone finally raised this question.

"This question... is actually simple. Warn the Dutch that if they dare to massacre, no Dutch will be left after the city is captured. As long as you can capture Ceylon and use your lifelong knowledge to capture Malacca within a few days, and show your strong siege ability, the Dutch will not be stupid enough to massacre."

"If you can capture the city, the people in the city will be safe. If you can't capture the city, the people in the city will be in danger."

"So, the more perfect your attack plan is, the safer they will be; the more you hesitate to consider their safety, the more dangerous they will be."

"Any other questions?"

The staff officers whispered to each other and shook their heads, indicating that there were no problems.

"In that case, let's take action. When we have a holiday, we will go to Batavia to play and remember the topography of the city. There are many reasons, such as drinking, whoring, watching plays, gambling, and buying local specialties."

"I also have to chat with the Dutch Governor of Batavia. The long sea route is extremely boring. It is the time to work on a battle plan. There is no rush to make a plan. Let's take a look first."

"The meeting is adjourned."

The adjutant put away the map, and the various staff officers stood up to see him off. Someone outside would take them to various places to eat, drink and have fun.

Liu Yu ordered someone to notify the Governor of Batavia that his health had improved and he would have a meeting today.

Soon, the carriage of the Governor's Mansion arrived at the manor and took Liu Yu to the Governor's Mansion.

Valknir smiled and asked with concern: "Is the Marquis's health getting better?"

"Yes. I am not used to the climate here."

Valknir didn't know whether it was true or not, so he said quickly: "The climate here is indeed different from your country. It is easy to get sick when you first arrive. You may not know that when Batavia was first established, the annual mortality rate in the city was about 30%."

"There are swamps everywhere, full of mosquitoes. Of course, this is thanks to the power of the Chinese. The first governor said that without the Chinese, there would be no Batavia."

"The 17-member committee specially presented the first Kapitan Su Minggang with a plaque of "founding father."

After expressing his concern, Valknir changed the subject and said: "The prosperity of Batavia depends on the power of the Chinese. But Batavia cannot be so prosperous with only the power of the Chinese."

"This is the prosperity within the corporate system. Without the corporate system, Batavia would be ordinary."

"Badavia itself does not have much value. Only within the corporate system will it be the pearl of Southeast Asia."

"More than a hundred years ago, your Ming Dynasty thought that Luzon was rich in gold and silver. But in fact, it was the silver from South America that was transported to Luzon. In the hands of the Spaniards, Luzon was rich in gold and silver; but in the hands of your Ming Dynasty, it was just a place that produced malaria and fever."

"I think, of course, the Marquis Understand this truth. "

"The company has been struggling for more than a hundred years. The Surat trading post, the Persian trade license, the European tea market, and the sales channels in the Americas are the roots of Batavia's prosperity. Without these, Batavia may not even be as good as the Ezo. At least the Ezo still has fish and shrimp, and there is no malaria and fever that makes people desperate. "

The words about the poorhouse a few days ago made Valknier decide not to beat around the bush with Liu Yu and to make it clear directly-Badavia is part of the company system. Without the system, it is just an ordinary port.

Without the system, it is not even a tasteless chicken rib that is a pity to throw away. It is really not a big piece of fat meat.

Liu Yu nodded and agreed with these words, but then directly cut into the topic of business.

At least, pretend to look like a business.

"I sent someone to ask the Chinese people in Batavia. They generally miss the days when Batavia was a transit port. Your company has now opened direct trade in Guangzhou, Songjiang, and Zhangzhou, and from time to time, a ban on Tang ships entering the port will be issued."

"Once Tang ships are banned from entering the port, the lives of many Tang people in the city will be very difficult."

"I want to know if the governor has the right to suggest to your company's board of directors to abandon direct trade with China and continue to adopt Batavia as a transit point?"

"If the governor cannot decide, don't waste my time. This time when I go to Europe, I will go directly to Amsterdam to talk to your company's board of directors."

"I am very determined about the poorhouse and want to treat the symptoms and the root cause. Then, as long as the status of Batavia as a transit port can be resolved, the living conditions of the Tang people engaged in handicrafts, restaurants, inns, and casinos in the city will be greatly improved."

"The court ordered me to comfort Nanyang, which is to relieve the people's difficulties and give them what they need. Can you make the decision on this matter?"

Valkniel was stunned for a moment.

The people in the council next to them felt like they were dreaming, secretly pinching themselves, thinking... Is there such a good thing?

Direct trade with China is of course beneficial to the company as a whole, but without transit, Batavia's "millions of boatmen depend on food and clothing", just sit there and wait?

This is not Batavia asking for power from the board of directors, but China's proposal.

If this is really possible, how can everyone not make more than 30,000 or 50,000 a year? Now that we want to immigrate to Ceylon, the benefits of extorting head taxes, tacitly allowing slave workers to go ashore, and privately issuing residence permits are all gone, and we are short of money.