1635 Han style rises again

Chapter 235 Killing Each Other ([-])

"Third brother, sister-in-law is pregnant, you don't have to go." Qi Tian persuaded Qi Dalu.

It is now July 1638, and the long-planned military action to retaliate against Portugal is about to begin.Hanzhou dispatched a company of marine soldiers and transported them to Xinxiangbao successively, preparing to attack the Portuguese colonial stronghold of Dili on Timor Island together with the Kingdom of Weihali.Niu Hu, the chief officer of the Marine Corps, arranged for Xu Chuanxing, the captain of the Third Marine Corps, to take command. Considering that Qi Dalu's wife was eight months pregnant, he was not assigned to accompany the team.

But Qi Dalu was not happy, claiming that as the vice-captain of the [-]rd Marine Corps, he had to follow his teammates to participate in the battle and insisted on going.

"There are many wives of officers and soldiers who are also pregnant with their children. Why do they have to go with the team?" Qi Dalu asked rhetorically.

"Because..., because..." Qi Tian didn't know what to say for a long time.

"I don't want to be different from others." Qi Dalu said, "I want to rely on myself and walk out of my own way."

Qi Tian sighed slightly, looked at Qi Dalu, and said with concern: "I went to Timor Island, and pay attention to prevent mosquito bites. Also, remember that you are a commander, not a warrior who charges into battle."

"I save it!" Qi Dalu grinned, "Remember to give my son a good name!"

"What if it's a daughter?" Qi Tian asked.

"Then you need a nice name!"
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On July 7, the last batch of officers and soldiers of the Hanzhou Marine Corps came to Xinxiangbao along with three armed merchant ships.

On July 7th, the three armed merchant ships of the Hanzhou Expeditionary Fleet, which had been repaired for five days, were loaded with more than 16 Marines and some supplies. After two days of sailing, they sailed into the meeting point agreed with the Weihali Kingdom—— A bend in the river near Lakono in the northern part of Timor Island (now the small town of Manatuto, East Timor).

All the way upstream in the river bend, densely packed boats were docked. In order to unplug the Portuguese stronghold in Dili, the Kingdom of Weihali mobilized a total of more than 1000 and [-] soldiers.Half of them are equipped with swords and spears sold to them by Han Zhou, and there is also a musket force of more than fifty people.

"Plan to set off tomorrow morning, and strive to arrive near Dili by noon. Our three warships from Hanzhou approached the port of the Portuguese and fired bombardment at the pier to attract their attention. You go around from behind the jungle near Dili to the enemy's fort, Launch a surprise attack on the Portuguese." Qi Dajiang held a wooden stick and simply drew an attack route map on the ground, pointing to several commanding generals of the Kingdom of Weihali as he spoke.

"You guys, won't you just leave us behind?" Natatuka, the leading general of the Kingdom of Weihali, asked in a blunt tone.

As the attack on the Portuguese colony of Dili this time, the Weihali Kingdom was very cautious.The Dutch in the west robbed most of their land, and the Portuguese continued to infiltrate the inland, encroaching on their land and slaughtering their people.Now, this Hanzhou native from the south said that he had also been bullied by Portugal, and wanted to unite with them to fight against the Portuguese.

In this regard, the Weihali Kingdom readily agreed, and Hanzhou could provide them with a large number of iron swords and some muskets, which played a great role in their resistance to the Portuguese.But they also knew that Hanzhou also occupied a piece of coastal land on the south side of the island.They said that it was only for the convenience of the Hanzhou ships going to and from the supply transit, and they would not encroach on their land too much.

The Kingdom of Weihali is dubious about the words of the Hanzhou people. These outsiders always think of plundering wealth, oppressing and killing their people on the land of the Kingdom of Weihali.Could Han Zhou, an outsider, be excluded?

"If you don't believe us, you don't have to go!" Qi Dajiang said coldly after hearing a native from Xinxiangpu translate the words, then stood up and wiped the attack route map drawn on the ground with one foot "We can fight the Portuguese ourselves!"

Several Hanzhou military officers also glanced coldly at the leading generals of the Weihali Kingdom on the opposite side, and followed Qi Dajiang to leave the meeting place.

"Deputy Commander Qi, these natives don't trust us. They really blinded us to prepare for nothing." Xu Chuanxing, the captain of the third marine team, shook his head and said, "Tomorrow, are we really going to fight Dili by ourselves?"

"These natives were probably bullied by the Dutch and the Portuguese, so they should also be wary of us Hanzhou people." Qi Dajiang was not as angry as he seemed just now, "Don't worry, they will definitely look for them when they turn around." Ours. Otherwise, it would be a waste to prepare more than 1000 people and collect so many boats!"

"Oh?" Xu Chuanxing was taken aback for a moment, and then immediately came to his senses, "These natives are deliberately taking Joe!"

"That's all they can do!" Qi Dajiang said with a smile: "Now, besides our Hanzhou, who else can these natives rely on?"

Sure enough, at night, several leading generals of the Weihali Kingdom took advantage of the opportunity to provide supplies to Hanzhou, with an extremely respectful posture, and also said that General Natatuka was unable to speak freely because of his hard work and lack of energy. Misunderstood allies.

Naturally, the Hanzhou side will not affect tomorrow's attack because of some verbal conflicts.Several military officers and the leading generals of the Weihali Kingdom gathered again to discuss and refine the details of tomorrow's specific operations, trying to break through Dili in one fell swoop.
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"Gentlemen, we can take a short rest tonight. Then, we will set off at midnight, and we must arrive at the royal city of the Kingdom of Weihali before noon tomorrow. At that time, we will completely destroy their ruling center. If possible, it is best to capture or Kill their sultans and viziers. Then the whole kingdom of Vihari will be reduced to a mess, and the organized threat we once faced will cease to exist.” Conrad Kos, Commander of the Portuguese Attack Fleet Major Tower said loudly.

Perhaps, history is full of coincidences.When Hanzhou united with the Kingdom of Weihali to attack the Portuguese colony of Dili, Giorgos Diawara, the governor of Portugal in Oecussi, also organized more than 600 Spanish soldiers to unite with the Kingdom of Larantuca. Thousands of soldiers, loaded by an armed merchant ship of more than 50 tons and more than [-] small boats, were preparing to raid Baucau, the royal city of the Wahali Kingdom.

Governor Giorgos Diawara also ordered Major Conrad Costa, Commander of the Attack Fleet, to organize some soldiers and go to Timor Island if the raid goes smoothly and the loss of personnel is not large. To the south, try to attack that Hanzhou colony as a punishment.

The Portuguese had been preparing for this attack for more than a month. For the inland area of ​​the island, they contracted to a certain extent, abandoned some small strongholds, and hit personnel and materials in several strong fortresses.This was done in order to paralyze the natives, pretending to be weak and retreating.

At the same time, soldiers from various strongholds were slowly concentrated in the two coastal ports of Oecussi and Dili.Three days ago, after the Portuguese joined more than a thousand soldiers from the Kingdom of Larantuka in Oecussi, they set sail and arrived at the port of Dili first.After a little rest here, load up the Spanish soldiers gathered here, plan to set off at midnight, and arrive at the royal city of the Kingdom of Weihali tomorrow afternoon, and smash the opponent's ruling center in one fell swoop.
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In the early morning, three armed merchant ships from Hanzhou took the lead in sailing out of Hewanli (now the North Lakono River in East Timor), and then more than 50 small boats from the Kingdom of Weihali also sailed from Hewanli into the sea one after another.

Many small boats, filled with soldiers and supplies, slowly followed the big boat in Hanzhou and headed for the Portuguese colonial stronghold of Dili.If the angle of view on the sea is gradually narrowed, it will be clearly seen that two huge groups of ships, only intersecting for more than ten miles, with their backs facing each other, are fiercely rushing towards their respective locked targets.

Port of Dili, coastal defense fort.

"I'm really envious of those guys who boarded the ship in the middle of the night last night." A gunner leaned lazily on the wall of the fort, but his eyes showed envy.

"Yes, those guys are really lucky." Another gunner echoed: "A force of more than 1000 people will surely be able to easily break through the royal city of the natives. They are going to make a fortune again!"

"You said, the gold, silver and jewelry in the native king's city are all packed in baskets." Another gunner showed a greedy expression in his eyes.

"We shouldn't be gunners... Now here, we are blowing the sea breeze and basking in the sun, how can they be as happy as they rob!"

Many gunners talked about how those conscripted musketeers were going to loot property in that native royal city, and lamented the loneliness and helplessness of being a gunner.

However, none of them noticed that a warning flag was constantly waving on the watchtower on the hillside in front of the fort.

"Why is there no movement in the fort of Dili Port?" Qi Dajiang carefully observed Dili Port with a binoculars.

Three Hanzhou armed merchant ships have sailed into the bay of Dili Port. Logically speaking, the Portuguese should have discovered them.But the fort in the port did not move at all.

"Could it be that you want to bring us closer before fighting?" Qi Dajiang was a little suspicious.

Can't wait any longer.Seeing that the time has passed noon, maybe those natives who landed early will launch a counterattack at any time.In order to cover their raid, the Hanzhou battleship had to make some moves.

"Fire at the warehouse area of ​​the port!" Qi Dajiang ordered: "The ships take turns to move forward and shoot!"

"Boom! Boom! Boom!..."

The cannons on the bow of the "Xinghan" fired a salvo at Dili Port first, but the effect was very bad. Only one shell hit the shore, and the rest fell into the sea, setting off several huge waves. water column.

"The enemy is attacking! Gunners, gunners... all in place!" A Portuguese officer shouted mournfully from the fortress at the port of Dili.

"The enemy is coming?...Where is the enemy coming from? The Dutch are coming again?" Many gunners rushed to their forts in a panic, but a terrible idea appeared in their minds: Dili just mobilized a large number of people to attack the natives The king city, and the enemy came to attack at this time, it seems to have chosen the most suitable time!

Dili Port seems to be a bit dangerous.

(End of this chapter)