Southern Ming Rebel Army

Chapter 607 Big Storm

The Siamese envoy left the capital in a panic. He felt that the Qian Dynasty was very different from the Ming Dynasty recorded in their Siamese history books. Or perhaps it was because the current Qian Dynasty was a newly established empire and the founding monarch was still alive.

Therefore, the envoy decided to return to Siam first. His advice was that the king should not confront the Central Plains dynasty head-on at this time.

Their Siam is too far away from the ruling center of the Central Plains. The Central Plains dynasty cannot remain strong forever. They will weaken one day. This time may be a hundred years, or maybe two hundred years. But as long as Siam is still there, they will be able to get rid of the control of the Qian Dynasty one day.

Just as the Siamese envoys left the capital, Zheng Chenggong, who was far away in Brunei, finally repaired the damaged warship.

During the time of repairing the ship, 30,000 infantrymen assisted Brunei in suppressing the rebellion. The several thousand rebels had neither armor nor firearms, and were all short and thin.

Even though Zheng Chenggong's infantry was not elite, it was easy for them to defeat these local soldiers. In this battle, the infantry sent by Meng Jun did not even take action.

Upon learning that the Qian Dynasty's army had easily suppressed the rebels, Borkiamahan, the king of Brunei, was overjoyed. He immediately opened the treasury and wanted to reward the rebel army. However, this move was unanimously rejected by Zhang Shun and Zheng Chenggong.

Ma Han was still a little confused, not knowing whether he had done something wrong or whether the money he gave was not enough, so Ma Han privately sent his confidant to ask Zhang Shun for advice.

Zhang Shun heard that this man was really stupid, so he said to Ma Han's confidant: "The emperor's army is on an expedition to suppress rebellion, and it is a taboo to reward privately!"

Zhang Shun felt that he had spoken very straightforwardly, but Ma Han's confidant still looked confused. Zhang Shun was so angry that he said directly: "We are all the emperor's teachers. Your lord bypassed the emperor and rewarded the three armies generously. Does this mean he has the intention of usurping the throne?"

Mahan's confidant understood what he said. He waved his hands in fear and said, "No, no, my lord can't possibly have such thoughts. This... this, this!!!"

Zhang Shun signaled him not to get excited, saying that he and the Prince of Nan'an knew the character of the King of Brunei, so he asked the King of Brunei to be at ease.

When the confidant told Ma Han the whole story, Ma Han turned pale with fear. The army was now in Brunei, and he saw them beating the rebels like beating children. If they turned around and came to attack him, it would not be easy.

Ma Han was so frightened that he summoned all his ministers to discuss how to remedy the situation. All the ministers said that they should send an envoy with valuable gifts to apologize to the emperor.

When Ma Han heard that most of the vassal states of the Qian Dynasty had stationed generals and ministers, he wrote another memorial to Meng Jun, requesting the Qing Dynasty to set up generals and ministers in Brunei, and also requesting that the Qing Dynasty's army be moved to Brunei to provide protection.

Not to mention the actions of the Brunei Sultan, after repairing the warships, Zheng Chenggong once again led the army in person to prepare to attack Batavia. This time, Zheng Chenggong used a large number of Fu ships to transport infantry.

Because the Dutch fleet was basically destroyed and the infantry landing would no longer be threatened, Zheng Chenggong decided to bypass the fort and wait for the infantry to land before using the infantry to capture the fort. By then, it would be easy to besiege Batavia by land and sea.

Zheng Chenggong had more than a hundred large and small warships, as well as more than two hundred Fu ships and various types of ships for transporting troops and supplies, with more than 8,600 infantrymen on board. The huge fleet, with its huge ships and masts connected, sailed towards Batavia on a grand scale.

But things did not go as planned. When the fleet was halfway through its journey, it was hit by a violent storm. The sound of the wind and the tsunami was deafening, and the waves were so turbulent that the warships were like fallen leaves in the rough waves, swaying precariously.

Zhang Shun saw this and his expression suddenly changed. He immediately ordered all the ships, saying, "Quickly take the ropes and tie two or three ships together head to tail! Steady the rudders and sails of all the ships. Anyone who dares to run away without permission will be punished by military law!"

The storm this time was so severe that even the most experienced sailors who were familiar with the sea could not be 100% accurate. Zheng Chenggong looked extremely ugly. If he had a huge three-masted gunboat like the one under his feet, he would naturally be able to withstand such a storm.

But this time, the army was accompanied by a large amount of baggage, supplies, and troop transport ships. If a major mistake was made, it would undoubtedly be a huge loss for both the Zheng family and the imperial court.

Although the ships fought hard against the storm, until the next day, when the sky cleared, nearly 30% of the warships were either overturned by the strong wind or blown away by the storm.

The soldiers on the ship were unable to withstand the natural disaster and countless people drowned, with a total loss of nearly 3,000 people. Zheng Chenggong was heartbroken when he witnessed this tragic scene, but he could do nothing about it.

The fleet and infantry encountered a storm, and most of their supplies, troops and warships were damaged. Under this condition, they could no longer capture Batavia. Zheng Chenggong had no choice but to gather up the remnants of his army and lead the remaining warships to retreat to Brunei in a panic to rest and reorganize in preparation for future actions.

The fact that the Qian army navy encountered a storm was known to the Governor of Batavia, Ru Hansui. Ru Hansui knew this because one of their ships was blown into the waters near Batavia and captured by a Dutch patrol boat, along with more than 70 people on board.

Ru Hansuige laughed very happily when he heard this. He said excitedly to the disabled fleet commander Opdam, "Dear commander, God seems to be on our side. The Daqian people encountered a big storm on their way to attack us. Perhaps this storm has sent most of their warships to the bottom of the sea."

Opdam shrugged and replied, "Governor, God is certainly on our side. Will God bless those pagans?"

“Hahaha, praise God!”

Ru Hansuige was very happy because he had learned during the interrogation that the Qian army's attack this time should have used up most of the Qian army's strength. Ru Hansuige estimated that if the Qian army wanted to launch another attack, it would take at least a year, and this was already Ru Hansuige's prediction of the worst outcome.

The longer it drags on, the more likely it is that reinforcements from the Netherlands will arrive. Although war between the Netherlands and Britain is imminent, Ru Hansugg believes that the Netherlands will not give up Batavia so easily. The longer the time, the more variables there will be.