1635 Han style rises again

Chapter 335 The end of the Batavia offensive and defensive battle
December 1639, 6, Batavia.

The army of the Kingdom of Mataland had been besieging the city for two months. In order to capture the city occupied by the Dutch, Mataland mobilized almost all the troops in the country, trying to drive the Dutch out of the island in one fell swoop.

Although, the Kingdom of Mataland has more than a dozen artillery pieces supported by Hanzhou, hundreds of muskets, and nearly [-] troops have been dispatched.However, they were unable to capture Batavia for two months.Although, their army attacked the top of the city several times, and even occupied a section of the city wall twice.But in the end, it was repulsed by hundreds of Dutch mercenaries with musket fire, and suffered heavy casualties.

The frontline leading generals of the Kingdom of Mataran have learned that a group of Dutch troops sailed to their rear to attack the royal city of Karta (now Yogyakarta, Indonesia).In order to defend their sultan king and their royal city, 500 troops were urgently dispatched to return to Karta.

However, some generals also suggested that when the Dutch sent troops to attack their royal city, the defensive force in the city must be reduced, and the army should launch a full-scale attack on Batavia.If you send troops back to support Wangcheng, not to mention missing a good opportunity to attack the city, even if you send troops back, you may not be able to rescue them in time.

The commander-in-chief of the Kingdom of Mataran hesitated again and again. Out of awe of the Sultan King, he finally sent 500 people back to the royal city of Karta.And this also made the Dutch in the city a little relieved.

Not long after that, the Dutch troops who attacked Wangcheng returned without success and suffered a lot of losses.When the army of the Kingdom of Mataran who was besieging the city on the front line learned about it, their morale was greatly boosted.At the same time, the army of the Kingdom of Banten, who had been dormant in the west of Batavia for three months, felt that the war had been going on for such a long time, and had waited for the best opportunity to attack, and began to slowly move to the western suburbs of Batavia. , Waiting for an opportunity to attack the city.

Faced with this situation, the Dutch East India Company once again mobilized in the city. Some of the company's middle and senior staff and sailors on merchant ships docked at the wharf also carried muskets and climbed to the top of the city to assist the mercenaries, the Ming people, and the natives. Servants guard the city.

More than a dozen armed merchant ships docked at the wharf outside the city also began to guard day and night, together with the people in the warehouse area of ​​the wharf to guard against possible attacks by the natives.

"Looking at the posture of the Dutch, the situation seems to be a bit bad!" He Qing gloated and looked at the Dutch who was waiting in full force behind the city.

"It is said that the Wandan Kingdom from the west is also calling." Li Dazhu said: "I guess they are a little bit overwhelmed."

"If the natives come in, we won't be able to run away... Maybe we will be regarded as the accomplices of the Dutch and be liquidated and slaughtered by those natives." He Qing then said with some worry.

"Not at all. Batavia's city defense is relatively tight, and the natives can't get in. Besides, it's been fighting for two months, and the natives probably can't hold it anymore."

"The natives may not be able to break into Batavia, but if we guard the pier, we are the last cannon fodder for others." He Qing said.

Li Dazhu looked around, then at the Dutch armed merchant ships docked at the pier, and angrily spat at them.

On the watchtower of the southern city of Batavia, Governor of Batavia Anthony Van Daiman and Army Commander Colonel Pete Kurucs both stared solemnly at the Matalan Kingdom barracks outside the city, and remained silent for a while.

"Colonel Kurucs, the natives are obviously preparing an attack of unprecedented scale." Governor Daiman said softly: "Are you sure you can defeat them?"

"Governor, if the natives cannot be massacred, they will continue to besiege our Batavia." Colonel Pete Kurucs said: "The 2000 people consumed in the early stage were just captured by the new tribes they conquered in the east. Servants. And the troops who attacked us recently may be their real people. Therefore, it is necessary for us to deal a heavy blow to them, to let the natives understand that even if they get some artillery and guns, they still cannot defeat us."

"What you said is very reasonable." Governor Daiman nodded and said: "Then make arrangements. Use the method of the Hanzhou people in Dili City to gather and annihilate a part of the Matalan Kingdom's army. Then, turn around and clean up the self The Kingdom of Banten without limits."

"Obey, Governor." Colonel Pete Kurucs said: "We will definitely inflict an impressive blow on the army of the Kingdom of Mataland!"

At the same time, in the Matalan camp outside the city, the commander-in-chief of the army, Sorantita, stood on a high wooden platform, pointed the long knife in his hand obliquely in the air, and shouted loudly: "God bless you!" We! Tonight, we will meet with the Kingdom of Banten to attack Batavia, kill all the Dutch, and seize Batavia. The Sultan King has a word, let you obtain and enjoy the wealth and women in the city!"

"The true God is great!"

"Long live His Majesty Sultan!"

There were bursts of cheers in the camp, and thousands of native soldiers showed fanaticism in their eyes.More than ten days ago, news came from the royal city of Karta. With only seven or eight hundred soldiers, they forced back the Dutch armed forces of nearly a thousand people, and attacked and killed them all the way to the sea.In addition to causing the Dutch to lose more than 300 people, they also seized a large number of artillery and muskets, as well as supplies discarded on the roadside.

Although the Kingdom of Mataran lost more than 2000 people during the two-month siege and defense, they were only servants captured after they conquered the new tribe.Under the city of Batavia, they still have 7000 people, all of whom are elite soldiers who have been fighting against the eastern part of the island all year round.If you fight hard, you will be able to break through the city and get the wealth accumulated by the Dutch over the decades.

What's more, the Kingdom of Banten will also raid the west side of Batavia and the dock area tonight to distract the Dutch defense forces.Under such circumstances, the Dutch in the city will definitely take care of one thing and lose another, and if they are unable to cope, they may let them break through the city wall and break into the city, fulfilling the long-cherished wish of the Kingdom of Mataland to expel the Dutch for decades.

It was night, Batavia was under siege from Mataran Kingdom and Banten Kingdom in three directions from east to west, south and east. Although the artillery bombarded the city head continuously, thousands of natives swarmed towards the city wall under the cover of night. Jump over.The night not only greatly restricted the precise strikes of the Dutch artillery and muskets, but also the boundless darkness gave the natives more courage.

"Your team will follow me to the shipyard!" A Dutch officer led a few mercenaries and shouted loudly towards Min Zhuang stationed in the warehouse area: "Don't dawdle, follow up immediately!"

He Qing and Li Dazhu looked at each other, each grabbed a spear, stood up helplessly from the ground, and walked behind the Dutch officer with dozens of Ming men.After two months of fighting, He Qing and Li Dazhu seemed to be the leaders of this group of people with their extraordinary courage and combat skills.

Except for the north side of Batavia, artillery and guns rang out on the other walls of the city. It was obvious that the natives outside the city had launched another full-scale attack, and the scale was even larger than before.They are still fortunate that they can stay away from the flames of war and avoid damage by hiding here at the pier.But now they are being transferred to the ship yard on the west side of the pier.There, there must have been signs of the natives' intention to attack.

It stands to reason that there is a small fort near the shipyard, and there are several armed merchant ships on the sea. The protection is also tight on weekdays, and the terrain near the sea and the estuary also limits the large-scale attacks of the natives.

But tonight the natives attacked aggressively, and the Dutch were unable to determine the enemy's situation, and the shooting of artillery and muskets was also greatly reduced. For a while, they felt a little unsustainable on the top of the city.

And the Dutch merchant ships patrolling the coast in the west also discovered the small boats of the Banten Kingdom, apparently trying to sneak attack on the docks and their shipyards at night.Therefore, the Dutch temporarily gave up the defense of the warehouse area, and transferred some of the people to the shipyard to assist the Dutch in the castle on the river bank to deal with the attack of the natives.

The Batavia shipyard was built on the banks of the Seriwang River, only 500 meters away from the sea, but a fortress was built along the river to protect the safety of the shipyard.A two-meter-high parapet was built near the shore of the shipyard. Under the arrangement of several Dutch officers, He Qing and other Minzhuang built defenses along the parapet to deal with the natives who might rush over.

Sure enough, when fierce battles broke out in the east, west, south, and south directions of Batavia, dozens of small ships from the Kingdom of Banten braved the gunfire of Dutch armed merchant ships and headed upstream towards the shipyard.

On the warships on the river bank and in the nearby fortress, the sound of artillery and muskets continued to ring out. After a while, a small boat started to catch fire. It was the natives who desperately set fire to the arsonist boat before dying, but as the river flowed, they Slowly drifted towards the mouth of the river.

Numerous native boats were sunk, and hundreds of natives floated up and down in the water.Some were shot to death by firearms in the fortress on the shore, and some were rammed into the water by armed merchant ships criss-crossing.But there were still many natives who swam to the shore with all their strength, and tried to sneak towards the shipyard under the cover of night.

He Qing leaned on the parapet, seeing the flickering fire, watching the almost one-sided massacre on the river bank, not only silently lamented the futile charge of the natives.Even if they could rush to the parapet of the shipyard, they still had to face the musket fire of the Dutch mercenaries.Perhaps, in the dark night, a few natives who slipped through the net would rush forward, and then it would be their turn, the forced conscripts, to fight hand-to-hand to deal with these natives one by one.

The attack launched by the natives on the shipyard was undoubtedly suicidal. The biggest role they played was probably to disperse some Dutch defense forces and create opportunities for breakthroughs in other directions.

At three o'clock in the night, the cheers of the natives were faintly heard first, and then the artillery and guns fell silent.

Could it be that the natives have entered the city?When the Dutch mercenaries and Minzhuang stationed at the shipyard were looking at each other, they suddenly heard a violent explosion from the direction of the south city of Batavia. Before everyone could react, there were several more explosions. It resounded throughout the city, and the ground shook accordingly.

Then, bursts of gunshots rang out again, and there were intermittent roars of artillery.After more than an hour, the fighting in several directions outside the city of Batavia gradually stopped, and cheers from the Dutch came from the city.

"The natives over there were repulsed?" Li Dazhu asked in a low voice.

"It should be...he was beaten back." He Qing said with some uncertainty.

"Then we've had another day."

"Yeah, I lived another day."

"Damn Dutch, if only we could fight all the natives outside the city!"

"Before they run out, we must die first."

"Thinking about it, staying in Hanzhou for more than a year is the most comfortable period of time for me." Li Dazhu said quietly: "They are all bad Dutch people, and they don't let us live a good life."

"Keep your voice down." He Qing looked around and said in a low voice, "Why don't we burn this shipyard?"

When Li Dazhu heard this, he immediately became startled, grabbed He Qing's arm, and said in a low voice: "He Tou, burn this shipyard, all of us will not be able to escape!"

"Who said we burned this shipyard?" He Qing's face showed a stern look, his eyes looked at the native servants on the other side of the protective wall, and said softly: "The natives came to attack, those few The individual may be their internal response."

Li Dazhu followed He Qing's gaze to see five or six native servants holding spears, gathered in a corner of the parapet, and seemed to be talking about something in a low voice.

"Well, these thieves are probably discussing how to cooperate internally and externally to burn down this shipyard." Li Dazhu immediately understood and nodded.

(End of this chapter)