Southern Ming Rebel Army

Chapter 626 Self-destruction

Malacca, also known as the Strait of Malacca, is a strategic passage connecting the Pacific Ocean and the Indian Ocean. The port of Malacca, which controls the strategic point, became the focus of competition among Western colonists.

In the sixth year of Zhengde reign of Emperor Wuzong of Ming Dynasty, Portuguese colonists took the lead in occupying the Port of Malacca. However, with the weakening of Portugal, the newly emerging Dutch were eyeing this place covetously. In the fourteenth year of Chongzhen reign of Emperor Wuzong of Ming Dynasty, the newly emerging Dutch seized the Port of Malacca from the Portuguese.

The Dutch captured Malacca and collected tolls from there, earning a large amount of income every year. After capturing Malacca, the Dutch wanted to strengthen Malacca’s defenses on a large scale and increase the local garrison to defend the Port of Malacca.

However, the Netherlands was preparing for war with the British at the time, and due to the huge investment made by the Netherlands in the port of Batavia, the mainland was already unable to make further investments in the port of Malacca. Moreover, Batavia had been built by the Dutch into a hub for maritime trade in the South China Sea, with extremely lucrative profits.

Therefore, until this time, the main force of the Dutch was still in Batavia. However, as Hansugg believed, this amount of force was more than enough to deal with pirates and local states. However, facing a new empire, without reinforcements, and relying solely on the garrison of Batavia, Batavia would certainly not be able to be defended.

Once Batavia is lost, Malacca Port will definitely not be able to be defended, and by then, all the Dutch strongholds in the East will disappear.

In fact, in Ru Hansui's mind, he believed that if reinforcements could not arrive, he should contact Portugal, Spain and the British whose influence had just reached South Asia.

It’s just a pity that the mainland is already preparing for a second war with the British, and an alliance with Britain is destined to be an impossible goal.

The Portuguese had already obtained a stronghold in Macau early on, and they explicitly refused to join the alliance. Only the Spaniards, because they had lost Luzon, were very interested in Ru Hansui's suggestion.

However, the Spaniards had failed in the war with the Qian Dynasty for Luzon, and their power in the East had been extremely weakened. Even if the Spanish and Dutch joined forces, they were no match for the Qian Dynasty.

When Ru Hansuige learned that Zheng Chenggong was going to send troops again, he could only do his best. He ordered the armory to be opened and organized a local army of more than 1,200 people.

Together with the 2,300 Dutch soldiers, Ru Hansuige believed that with 3,500 men stationed at the bastion, it would be no problem to hold out for a year. As for what to do if the food ran out after a year, Ru Hansuige felt that if he reached such a desperate situation, even if he surrendered, he would be treated like a hero when he returned to his homeland.

………………

When the huge fleet set sail from Brunei and headed for Batavia again, Zheng Chenggong, who was on the flagship, watched the fleet ride the wind and waves, but felt inexplicably lost deep in his heart.

When the emperor rose in the south of the Yangtze River, his power was not much weaker than Meng Jun's. However, in the following days, Meng Jun rose rapidly as if he had been given the destiny, and he could only helplessly be inferior to him.

As the saying goes, if you can't compete yourself, then compete with your son. As a result, there seems to be some gap between his eldest son and Meng Jun's eldest son. Zheng Chenggong decided to return to Fujian after the battle and teach his son personally.

Time passed slowly. The fleet sailed smoothly all the way with almost no strong winds and waves. On November 9, the seventh year of Zhaowu, the fleet arrived safely off the coast of Batavia.

Above the night sky, the inky black sky is full of twinkling stars, and the stars seem even brighter on the sea. Zheng Chenggong stands at the head of the flagship, his eyes as sharp as torches, piercing the night. The tall lighthouse of Batavia can be vaguely seen in front of him.

Zheng Chenggong heaved a sigh of relief when he saw the lighthouse. Although the Zheng family came from a pirate family, he was still frightened by the strong wind and waves. Now that the fleet arrived safely, this battle can be said to be a sure win.

The howling sea breeze made the sails of the warships rustle, but it did not disturb Zheng Chenggong's calm state of mind. He raised his hand slightly and issued an order: "According to the plan, bypass the forts and land the army."

The last time, Zheng Chenggong would rather endure the damage from the artillery than storm the Dutch fleet in the port. That was because if the fleet was not destroyed, the process of the infantry landing would become extremely dangerous, not to mention the subsequent supply and baggage transportation.

Although the port is more suitable for landing, there are now artillery batteries. Zheng Chenggong naturally cannot force a landing at the port despite the threat of the artillery batteries. However, the water depth in other places is not enough, so the landing troops can only change to small boats to land.

The Dutch defenders on the watchtower were not blinded by the appearance of such a large-scale fleet. Soon, torches suddenly lit up on the watchtower, followed by warning sounds that pierced the night sky.

Zheng Chenggong remained calm and ordered nonchalantly: "Keep the formation and speed up!" He had already decided to bypass the artillery position. If he could land quietly, that would be the best. If he was discovered, it would not affect the overall situation.

After the watchtower sounded the alarm, the outer artillery began firing. The sound of cannon fire echoed off the coast of Batavia, but these sounds seemed more like alarms.

The fleet was so far away that the artillery shells could not threaten the landing fleet at all. The landing troops were also completely unaware of the threat of the artillery batteries. The artillery shells hit the water column rising from the sea, which was still several miles away, and the threat to the landing troops was zero.

The soldiers in charge of the landing boarded the small boats that had been prepared in advance. These small boats were light and flexible. Under the cover of the large ship, they rowed towards the shore under the cover of night.

The rowing soldiers were all trying their best, their clothes were soaked with sweat. After about half an hour, the first batch of boats successfully reached the shore. The soldiers quickly jumped off the boats and rushed to the beach.

The soldiers in charge of rowing paddled hard in the opposite direction to meet the second group of landing troops.

When the alarm sounded from the watchtower, Ru Hansuige was awakened from his sleep. At this time, there was a riot in the city of Batavia. The soldiers in the barracks were urgently summoned, put on military uniforms and picked up guns. They were waiting for Ru Hansuige's orders.

At this time, the commander of the remaining Dutch fleet, Opdam, urgently asked to see Governor Ruhansig, and both of them looked solemn.

Opdam asked Ruhansuige whether to send troops out of the city to stop the Qian army from landing. Ruhansuige pondered for a long time. Just when Opdam was getting impatient, Ruhansuige shook his head and said, "Although our army has more than 3,000 people, it is naturally no problem to deal with the natives, but if we face the Qian people, then this amount of troops may not be able to stop them from landing!"