1635 Han style rises again

Chapter 259 Dili City Offensive and Defensive Battle: Crisis

The Dutch have been under the city of Dili for more than ten days. At the beginning, the artillery battle between the two sides stopped after less than three days.

Of course, it wasn't the Dutch who broke into Dili, nor the Hanzhou army that repelled the Dutch landing force.Covered by the superior firepower of the numerous artillery at the head of the city, the Dutch lost three artillery pieces one after another. After a dozen gunners, they chose a strategy of avoiding battle.

The Dutch established a stable camp in the original warehouse area near the dock, echoing the previous camp under the city of Dili, and were ready to wait for more reinforcements to arrive.For a castle with complete defense facilities like Dili City, and the defenders still have artillery and muskets.In a short period of time, I am afraid it will be impossible to break through.

As for whether to implement a long-term siege, the commander of the Dutch Army, Major Frost Fritz, and the commander of the attack fleet, Lieutenant Colonel Dakman Barek, cannot decide on their own, because it will require a lot of supplies and more troops. support.They sent a fast liaison ship back to Batavia to ask Governor Antony van Dyman whether to proceed with the siege.

It took more than two months for Hanzhou to capture Dili City. Maybe they have stored enough supplies in the city. If they choose to besiege, it must be a long-term process.Does the East India Company really need to pay such a high price in order to capture the city of Dili?

Looking at the Dutch who were constantly strengthening their camp in the distance, Xu Chuanxing couldn't help but smiled wryly. It seemed that they didn't plan to attack by force and were planning to besiege for a long time.

"Dalu, go to Captain Zhou of the township barracks and check the food and gunpowder reserves in the city to see how long we can last." Xu Chuanxing turned to Qi Dalu and ordered.

After simple statistics, based on the current population in the city, the food in the city is enough to last for about six months.Gunpowder is relatively sufficient, and several large-scale offensive and defensive battles can be carried out, but the premise is that the Dutch are willing to pay a heavy price.

"Would you like to get rid of some of the natives? In this case, we can last longer." Zhou Zuwang, the captain of the township barracks, said, "Who knows how long the Dutch will keep us trapped."

"It's better not to, it's against the harmony of people!" Xu Chuanxing glanced at Zhou Zuwang. When he was in Daming, this guy was probably a desperado, and he regarded human life like nothing.

"I always feel that it is a hidden danger to keep these natives. Those who are not of our race must have a different heart!" Zhou Zuwang continued: "They have been killed by us once, so there is no guarantee that they will not have the intention of revenge."

"The ones who slaughtered them were the people of the Weihali Kingdom, not us." Xu Chuanxing said.

"However, when you entered Dili City, you came in together with the soldiers of the Weihali Kingdom." Zhou Zuwang said: "In their eyes, we are the same as the Tubang soldiers who slaughtered them."

"Let's keep it for now." Xu Chuanxing pondered for a while before making a final decision, "I still need them to do some rough work in the city."

Zhou Zuwang couldn't help but swear in his heart that the killers in the army actually have the heart of a bodhisattva.Walking out the door, seeing a group of timid natives, he couldn't help spitting, and said cursingly: "Leave your lives for a few days, and let me work hard! Otherwise, you will all be slaughtered!"

"Hee hee... Captain, these stupid savages can't understand your words, you're just wasting your mouth." A soldier following behind said with a smile.

"In the future, if you whip them a few more times, they will understand our words!" Zhou Zuwang said, "These natives are really lazy and stupid. Kill them all and replace them with the people of our Ming Dynasty. , how wonderful!"

"Da Ming is so far away, how long will it take so many people to fill this island." The village soldier said, "I think, let's keep them to work first, and then slaughter them when we have more Ming people."

"Hey, you're really clever." Zhou Zuwang slapped the soldier, "You fucking want to use these stupid savages to do things for you, don't you?"

The group of natives stood respectfully by the side of the road, and waited until Zhou Zuwang and the villagers were far away before they stood up straight and walked slowly towards the city, carrying various defensive objects near the city wall.

However, one of the natives had a strange gleam in his eyes, and he turned his head to look deeply at the village soldiers wielding knives and guns in the distance.

Setuluka was a member of the lower-level officials in the Portuguese Dili colonial institution. As an entourage of the former governor of Dili, he stayed in the distant city of Haojing for several years and could speak a little Chinese.When the city of Dili was broken, he and many Portuguese surrendered to the Hanzhou Marine Corps at the Municipal Office.

With the retreat of the soldiers of the Kingdom of Weihali, Setuluka and the surviving natives recovered from the tragic massacre.Although the Ming-like Hanzhou army occupying Dili City is powerful, they are not as brutal as the soldiers of the Weihali Kingdom.Some of the natives were shipped by them to unknown destinations, and the remaining 400 people were driven by the Hanzhou people who came one after another to clean up the burned ruins in the city, and carried out a series of heavy construction inside and outside the city wall. Work.

It was originally thought that Dili City was occupied by the Hanzhou people, nothing more than a change of ruler.Just like those Portuguese, they always need someone to do the dirty work in and out of the city.

However, just now, I just inadvertently heard those Hanzhou soldiers in gray uniforms discussing that when the Ming immigrants here increase, they will all be killed.There was a complete chill in Setuluka's heart. These people from Hanzhou didn't need them to do anything, but only needed the land and houses here.

I heard that a group of powerful forces have come outside and are attacking the city. I don't know if they will become more tolerant and leave poor survivors like them behind.
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"Brother Menghou, what do you think of Hanzhou?" Wang Zheng asked with a smile.

"It's too remote, and there are fewer people." Bi Maokang shook his head and said, "It's not as powerful as a county in Daming."

"It's not bad. It's only been three years since Hanzhou established a business here." Wang Zheng said, "Besides, there is a completely different situation here than my Ming Dynasty."

"A small country with few people is naturally easy to govern. And Hanzhou is newly established, and its vitality naturally appears." Bi Maokang said slowly: "However, Cao Xiong, Qi Tian and others pay more attention to culture and education. I think I am a Ming Dynasty 200 For many years, there has never been a prefecture or a county where all young children can learn to read and write. This is a grand event!"

"It's more than culture and education!" Song Yingxing said with a smile: "The industry of all kinds of crafts, skills and real objects are also very important. Menghou Gong, although Hanzhou is small, but the research is very wide, and all the money and materials are provided. I did my best that day. The cost of the engineering institute is comparable to the needs of a whole government of the Ming Dynasty."

"It is commendable to emphasize culture and education, and to pay attention to all kinds of crafts. But Hanzhou seems to be a little light on Confucianism. Moreover, the general manager of Hanzhou seems to be quite contemptuous of the Jiangnan Donglin Party members. They want to abandon the millennium. Confucianism?" Bi Maokang said.

"The members of the Donglin Party value ethics and advocating Confucianism, but in terms of state affairs, they also... somewhat hinder the government." Wang Zheng said softly.

He has lived in Hanzhou for nearly half a year, and discussed the situation in Ming Dynasty with Qi Tianzhu.Although Qi Tian is not familiar with some Confucian culture and poetry, scriptures and scriptures, he has an amazing grasp and interpretation of the current political situation.He can give a comprehensive interpretation of the financial decline of the imperial court, the continuous refugee riots, and the rise of the Later Jin Dynasty and the frequent seizure and massacre of Hebei and Shandong from the political, economic and military aspects.

In the final summary, I can't help but say with a sigh that Daming will perish, due to barbarism, tragedy, and even a deep helplessness.

Therefore, Wang Zheng has been more or less affected by Qi Tian's remarks at this time. As he said, the decline of Daming seems to be caused by natural disasters, but it is more caused by people.With the existing Da Ming mechanism, it is probably already powerless to recover.

"What's going on outside, it's so noisy!" The three of them were chatting, but they heard shouts and shouts from outside.

"Three old gentlemen, don't worry." Soon, the village soldiers who went out to inquire about the situation came back and said, "There were children playing with fire outside the city in the evening, which accidentally caused a fire in the forest. The town mobilized the town soldiers and the townspeople to deal with it."

"Oh!... Don't hurt anyone." Wang Zheng said.

The three of them went out of the house, and in the night, they saw a red flame in the direction of the north of the city, reflected in the night sky, which was extraordinarily dazzling.

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"Zhou Zuwang, I'm going to kill you!" Xu Chuanxing stood on the top of the city, looking at the burning place in the city, and roared ferociously.

In the middle of the night, Xu Chuanxing, who was sleeping near the city wall, was woken up by the marine soldiers on duty, saying that there was a fire in the city.

Xu Chuanxing immediately gathered all the marines and township soldiers near the city wall, and quickly boarded various sections of the city wall and guarded several city gates to prevent the Dutch from raiding the city.Subsequently, a team of Marine Corps soldiers was sent to the place where the fire broke out to check the situation.

Not long after, it was learned that the grain depot in the city was on fire, and Qi Dalu was directing all the town soldiers and immigrants to fight the fire and rush out the grain in the treasury.

All the important treasuries in the city are guarded by township soldiers, who are responsible for maintaining order in the city.Now, the grain depot is on fire, and the township soldiers are not on duty. Naturally, it is the problem of the township captain Zhou Zuwang.

"Bang! Bang! Bang!..." Near the city gate, a group of natives wielding sticks rushed towards the marines.The squad leader immediately ordered the soldiers to shoot without hesitation, and after only two rounds of shooting, they knocked down more than a dozen natives.The remaining natives were obviously a little scared and started to back away.

However, a group of local soldiers came after them. After firing a row of guns, they rushed over with spears in their hands and stabbed all the natives to the ground.

"Where's Zhou Zuwang?" Xu Chuanxing grabbed a village soldier and asked.

"The captain is leading people to kill the rioting natives."

"The natives are in a mess?"

"I don't know. We killed the natives who set the fire and chased them in the direction they were fleeing. But the captain said that the natives in the city may not be reliable anymore, and we should kill all the natives we encounter. "

Xu Chuanxing was taken aback when he heard the words. There are more than 500 natives in the city, and it should be impossible for all of them to be in chaos.

"Captain, why don't I take someone to stop those local soldiers?" said a Marine Corps officer.

"There's no need to go." Xu Chuanxing shook his head and said, "Everyone guards the city gates and walls, but anyone who gets close to the natives will be killed."

The grain depot in the city caught fire, and the loss must have been huge. Perhaps, with fewer people, it would be able to last a little longer.

It was night, the Dutch didn't know what happened in the city of Dili, so they didn't take the opportunity to attack the city, but kept watching in the camp, listening to the sound of gunfire from time to time in the city.

"How much food is left?" At dawn the next day, Xu Chuanxing asked quickly when he saw Qi Dalu who was blackened by the fire.

"According to the current remaining people in the city, it is estimated that they can last for more than a month at most. If it is saved, it may last for two months."

"Bastard!" Xu Chuanxing cursed in a low voice.Judging from the posture of the Dutch, even if the landing force is withdrawn, their fleet will definitely continue to block Dili City.

I don't know what kind of situation Dili City will face in two months.

(End of this chapter)