1635 Han style rises again

Chapter 257 Dili Offensive and Defensive Battle: Stalemate
"The Dutch have landed." Qi Dalu stood at the top of the city, holding up his binoculars and looking towards the direction of the pier.

"It must be that they have received reinforcements, so they have the confidence to dare to land." Xu Chuanxing said.

The five Dutch ships have been lingering in the sea outside Dili Port, and have not sent any personnel to land. It is estimated that they are not strong enough to go ashore.Since they dared to make a large-scale landing now, they must have received reinforcements.

"You said, how many people will they come?" Qi Dalu asked.

"It is estimated that at least 1000 people will come. If there are fewer people, they will not dare to come!" Xu Chuanxing said with a smile.

"If only 1000 people come, then the brothers in the Marine Corps and the township barracks can shoot three shots each, and all of them can be solved."

"Haha..." Xu Chuanxing laughed loudly, and patted Qi Dalu on the shoulder, "Okay, let the brothers equalize later, and don't shoot too much."

The chief officers of the two marines at the head of the city were joking, and the nearby soldiers and village soldiers also felt a burst of relief in their hearts.Perhaps, the Dutch are not very experienced, and they will be able to drive them into the sea in a few days.

Major Frost Fritz, the commander of the Dutch Army, stepped onto the pier of Dili Port and looked up at the front. More than 200 musketeers guarding more than 300 native servants have already moved forward to a place more than 800 meters away from Dili City. , and began to build temporary camps.

He took a deep breath, and then ordered several officers to supervise and guide the hundreds of native servants who stayed behind, and immediately unload the supplies and four cannons from the ship.

For the Hanzhou Army, Major Frost Fritz is quite afraid.From the initial battle at Jishuiwan two years ago to several battles in the Philippines last year, he had a clear understanding of the combat effectiveness of Hanzhou soldiers.

Now facing the "friendly army" who was once brave and good at fighting, he has no certainty of victory in his heart.Even though, the number of troops he led reached more than 100, far exceeding the Hanzhou army in Dili City.But he is still not optimistic about the outcome of the attack on Dili City.

"Captain Hewitt, what's going on in the city?" Major Frost Fritz brought the remaining Dutch mercenaries to the city of Dili. He looked up at the city wall in the distance, and then turned to ask a Dutch Army officer.

"So far, Dili City is very quiet." Captain David Van Hewitt said: "There are very few Hanzhou soldiers on the city wall. They seem to be a little... despising us."

"Their past achievements have reason to despise us." Major Frost Fritz said: "So far, their army does not seem to have lost a battle."

"In the past, I heard that they were all active attackers. Today, it's their turn to defend passively." Captain David Van Hewitt said: "Perhaps, we can try to defeat them once!"

Major Frost Fritz looked at the aristocratic officer who had just come from the Netherlands not long before him, and couldn't help shaking his head.Hanzhou is not an ordinary native kingdom army. It not only has a large number of guns and artillery, but also has excellent performance. The soldiers are well-trained and have amazing combat effectiveness.

The same number of Dutch mercenaries may not be able to face the Hanzhou Army.Today, the Dutch army attacking Dili City has more than 100 people, twice the Hanzhou army.Perhaps, relying on the advantage of numbers, they can break into Dili City.

"Today, all soldiers enter the temporary camp to rest. After the artillery is in place, a tentative attack will be launched tomorrow." Major Frost Fritz ordered: "Defensive trenches must be dug around the camp, about 100 meters out of the camp, set up A bonfire or a brazier. There must be two or three soldiers on duty at night, and the duty officer makes inspections from time to time.”

"Yes, sir!" several Dutch officers promised loudly.

"Major Fritz, do you think the Hanzhou army will launch a night attack at night?" Captain David Van Hewitt asked.

"Even if they don't attack us at night, there is always nothing wrong with being more prepared! Believe me, a little more caution on the battlefield will save our lives." Major Frost Fritz said to the urgent water back then The fact that the natives of Aceh in Wangang dispatched war elephants to launch a night attack still has lingering fears.
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"The deputy captain is asleep?" Xu Chuanxing asked in surprise.

"Yes, the vice-captain has forced all the off-duty soldiers to sleep." A marine soldier reported.

"Hey, Qi Dalu is very relieved!" Xu Chuanxing said with a smile.

"The deputy captain said that the Dutch will definitely not attack from day to night today."

"That's natural." Xu Chuanxing said: "The Dutch's artillery is not in place, how dare they attack! However, everyone should be careful and be vigilant."

"Captain, Captain Zhou from the township barracks said that the Dutch have already arrived. For safety's sake, do you want to dispose of the remaining hundreds of natives in the city?"

"Get rid of hundreds of natives?" Xu Chuanxing was stunned for a moment, "These soldiers from Xinxiangbao are ruthless!...Let's keep them for now, and we will have to rely on them to repair the city walls and carry supplies in the future."

"Captain, what if they make any noise when we fight with the Dutch?"

"They didn't dare!" Xu Chuanxing said, "If we hadn't stopped them when they entered the city, they would have been slaughtered by the soldiers of the Weihali Kingdom."

"Captain Xu, you called us here. If you need anything, just tell us!" At this time, several village chiefs among the more than 400 immigrants in Dili City walked up to the city wall, saluted Xu Chuanxing, and asked eagerly .

"The Dutch have already landed. It is estimated that the fight will take place in the next two days." Xu Chuanxing said: "You guys are old immigrants from Xinxiangbao, and you must have received some village soldier training. So, after you go back , organize the more than 400 immigrants, and distribute all the weapons in the warehouse. Of course, it is impossible for you to stand on the city wall now. Now you have to follow the instructors we sent over to practice. Maybe the situation In times of crisis, you have to stand on the city wall with us."

"I can save it." The leading village chief came from Shandong. After more than a year of general training, his stature looked sturdy. "Go back now, so I can organize those immigrants to practice."

"In addition to the daily practice, you also need to spare your manpower to take care of the vegetable fields that have been opened up in the city, and add some adjustments to the food for the big guys." Xu Chuanxing continued to order.
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At dawn the next day, the Dutch barracks outside the city of Dili had begun to hustle and bustle. More than 100 natives, dragging four 4-pound cannons, slowly approached the city wall. More than 200 Dutch mercenaries held muskets and guarded behind them to prevent the Hanzhou army from rushing out suddenly.

What is strange is that until the Dutch established the artillery position and erected the four artillery pieces, there was no movement of the Hanzhou army in Dili City.

"It seems that the Hanzhou army in the city is fully prepared and doesn't care about our artillery attack at all." Major Frost Fritz held up a binoculars and carefully observed Dili City.

"Could it be that they have no way to deal with it?" Captain David Van Hewitt asked.

"Captain Hewitt, haven't you seen the artillery on the city wall?" Major Frost Fritz said, "Don't forget that the Portuguese have operated Dili City for more than 100 years, and all the city defense facilities It must be complete. Since Hanzhou has the confidence to reject our East India Company's ultimatum, it must have strengthened the defense of Dili City to some extent. We must treat this with caution! Not like you are doing now, for no reason despise the enemy!"

"Yes, Major Fritz!" Captain David Van Hewitt blushed a little after being reprimanded, silently watching his own artillery do the final adjustment work.

On the city wall, Qi Dalu stood behind a 12-pound cannon, constantly calculating the distance between the two sides.

"Lao Ye, are you sure you can knock out the Dutch artillery during the three rounds of bombardment?" Qi Dalu asked.

"Not sure!" Ye Zhongqiang, the artillery squad leader transferred from Xinxiangpu, replied without turning his head.

"Then why don't you bombard the Dutch while they're transporting their artillery?"

"A fixed target is better than a moving one."

"You are also a fixed target."

"We are in a high position, and they still can't figure out the terrain here. At least three or four rounds of test firing will have to go through."

"What if you haven't knocked them out during these three or four rounds of test firing?"

"Then shoot at each other. Damn, who is afraid of whom!" Ye Zhongqiang said with a smile: "At least, our artillery is much more powerful than the Dutch!"

"Boom!" The Hanzhou artillery on the head of Dili City took the lead in firing.

The projectile flew out of the muzzle, passed over the Dutch artillery position in an instant, and finally landed in an open space, bounced a few times, and rolled into the field.

"What, it's higher!" Ye Zhongqiang ordered: "Reduce the height of the artillery by two points."

"12-pound artillery!" Captain David Van Hewitt was a little surprised that such a heavy artillery was deployed at the top of the city.Then, if the enemy wants to, they can directly bombard the position where they are assembled at this time.

"The artillery guards are not allowed to move, stay on standby. The brigade retreats immediately!" Major Frost Fritz apparently also noticed the power of the artillery at the top of the city. He was startled and immediately issued an order.

"Hey, the Dutch are scared away!" Several marine soldiers in the city couldn't help being happy when they saw the Dutch brigade start to retreat.

"Boom! Boom!" Two more cannons rang out at the top of the city, a 4-pounder and an 8-pounder.

The projectile still didn't hit the Dutch artillery position, but one of the projectiles hit the native servants guarding nearby, knocking down five or six natives in an instant.

Although the soldiers in the Dutch artillery position were nervous, they manipulated the artillery in an orderly manner.

"Boom! Boom!" On the Dutch artillery position, two cannons fired. The projectiles hit the thick city wall, shaking off the nearby soil layer, leaving two deep impact marks.

Qi Dalu felt that with the impact of the shells, the entire city wall vibrated slightly.However, he believes that the target of the Dutch artillery should not be the city wall, but the fragile city gate.

(End of this chapter)