1635 Han style rises again

Chapter 637 Battle in the West of Hanzhou ([-])
On September 9, Hanzhou, Pearl Harbor (now Broome, a port in northwest Australia).

The Dutch's siege of Pearl Harbor lasted seven days, and they lost three heavy artillery pieces and more than [-] men. However, they were still at the bottom of the city and never attacked the top of the city.

The resistance of the Hanzhou people was unusually tenacious. Although there were not many defenders in the city, their morale was very high.What is even more frustrating is that they not only accumulated a large amount of civilian supplies in the city, but also had a lot of ordnance and ammunition.The Dutch gunners under the city often struggled to destroy a cannon on the top of the city after some hard work, but the other party immediately lit up lanterns and torches at night, lifted the damaged cannon down the top of the city, and then replaced it with a new one. The artillery was relocated to the top of the city.

East India Company mercenary captain Hans Riele privately believed that they could not capture this strong fortress. Although they had more than 2000 soldiers, all of them were completely useless. , the charging soldiers fell into the soil very weakly, struggling before dying, and screaming horribly.Oh God, this military operation, for their mercenaries, was a complete tragedy.

Hans Riele is a Swiss mercenary who was recruited by the East India Company five years ago, and after seven months of sailing, he crossed the Cape of Good Hope and came to the remote East Indies.As a professional mercenary, he enjoyed this adventurous lifestyle, as he often said to his companions: "I like war, not peace."

When I came to the far east, I first served as a garrison soldier in Batavia, the headquarters of the East India Company, to maintain and defend the safety of this bustling trade center.Among the more than 7000 personnel of the East India Company stationed in Asia, about two-thirds are military officers, and more than half of the European soldiers are from the German region.

Along with many German and Swiss officers, Hans Rieler was sent to many different areas by the East India Company to solve various situations.During his five years with the company, he traveled to far-flung corners of Asia.Participated in the battle against the Portuguese on the island of Ceylon, also experienced the killing of the natives on the island of Java, and suppressed the riots on the island of Ambon, and also accompanied the armed merchant ship and the merchant ship of the Ming Dynasty Nicholas. fight.

In August last year, they also attacked the Portuguese and Gowa people in Makassar, and even experienced the incident of the Dutch fleet bombarding Hanzhou merchant ships. Until today, they have participated in this expedition to Hanzhou mainland.

Hans Rehle was a good professional, a professional soldier, a mercenary, and like other Swiss, he had spent the first half of his life in war.With several years of outstanding performance, at the beginning of the year, he was promoted to captain and became a grassroots commander.Of course, salaries and bonuses have also increased substantially.

As a soldier, he has a bloodthirsty and brutal side.When killing the natives on the Java Island, they like to cut off their ears. In addition to proving their military exploits, they often show off their powerful force.When he accompanied an armed merchant ship to rob a small Portuguese merchant ship at sea, he would kill the crew on board until only one person remained.The reason for this is that they did not immediately surrender and hand over the goods after he issued a warning, but dared to fight back boldly.

As a mercenary, what I like most is to capture the enemy's stronghold towns, because in wartime, each soldier will be granted a "private plunder license", which can legally rob his own property.Over the years, Captain Hans Reiler, apart from accumulating a handsome salary, his biggest income was the personal belongings looted in battle.There are gold and pearls from the native kingdom, various gold and silver coins on the merchant ships of European countries, and of course, exquisite porcelain and silk produced in the Ming Dynasty.

Before coming to the mainland of Hanzhou, the chief officer, Lieutenant Colonel Albert Cue, told them about the wealth of Hanzhou. It is said that this powerful kingdom has several huge gold mines, and countless gold and silver have been excavated. It can also produce many industrial products, and exchange them for a large amount of gold and silver coins from the East Indies, Ming Dynasty, Japan, and India.If it is possible to break through the coastal towns of Hanzhou, all soldiers can get [-]% of the capture, which must be a lot of wealth.

However, Captain Hans Riele knew that Hanzhou was not comparable to the native states he had attacked.They have a very capable army, and use weapons like theirs, if not better.Ten years ago, the East India Company had a war with Hanzhou. At that time, Hanzhou seemed to have the upper hand in some local battles, breaking through several company strongholds.

However, our East India Company mercenaries failed to capture any of the strongholds of the Hanzhou people in that war.For an enemy like Hanzhou, Captain Hans Reiler and other mercenaries were the least likely to face it, because they did not have any military advantage over it.

Sure enough, after coming to this coastal town in the northwest of Hanzhou, although we have more than 2000 people and more than a dozen warships, our strength far exceeds the defenders of this small town.However, since seven days of continuous attack, no progress has been made, and more than 400 casualties have been reported instead.Among them are more than 40 mercenaries.

For the Hanzhou people stationed in the small town, Captain Hans Reiler and his companions were full of resentment, but more helpless and disappointed.They hid in the castle and kept firing artillery to prevent the troops from approaching the city wall.Even if the charging troops were able to avoid the terrifying artillery fire and reach the city, they still had to face the relentless musket attack from the defenders.

The bastion protruding from the city wall can shoot and kill soldiers trying to climb the city wall in three directions. If the crowd is dense, the Hanzhou people will throw bombs and huge logs, causing terrible casualties to the siege soldiers.

It can be seen that this small city has mobilized all the people, and there will always be about 150 militiamen stationed on the city wall. So far, their defense has not made any major mistakes. On the contrary, as the battle continues Pushing forward, their defense seemed to be getting better and better.

The commander, Lieutenant Colonel Albert Cue, may have been eager to restore the reputation and prestige of the East India Company, or to prove his command ability, he had suggested launching a full-scale assault. Besieged on all sides, trying to break through a little bit, and then disintegrate the resistance of this small city.However, this order to disregard the lives of soldiers was opposed by more than a dozen officers.

Most people who apply for the East India Company mercenaries just want to get a lot of money. Even if some people want to experience an exciting adventure, it is by no means such an act of sending their lives in vain!

This tough battle has fallen into a very embarrassing deadlock.Facing such a well-defended small city, more than [-] landing troops can only stay in the city in vain. Supplies will be a huge hidden danger for us.

Captain Hans Reiler was ordered to lead a team of mercenaries and hundreds of natives to conduct a careful search near the small town. Except for a few cattle, sheep and poultry that the Hanzhou people had no time to clean up, there was nothing left. More gains.The houses in the nearby farms were all empty, not even a broken bowl remained.

However, fortunately, there are large tracts of vegetables and fruits grown outside the city, which may have been prepared by local residents for merchant ships passing by here.Nowadays, it is cheaper for the mercenaries and native servants of the East India Company.

During dinner in the evening, a Germanic officer suggested that this small town is difficult to conquer, so it is better to withdraw the army and go to another Hanzhou coastal stronghold. Maybe with good luck, a town can be conquered when the Hanzhou people are unprepared.You must know that the Hanzhou people have set up at least a dozen strongholds in the western region, and there are always places where defenses are lax.

The commander, Lieutenant Colonel Albert Cue, seemed very moved when he heard this suggestion. He was going to take a boat to the expedition fleet stationed in the harbor tomorrow morning to meet with the supreme commander, Major General Gris Kopet.

Although withdrawing troops and leaving here is a very embarrassing decision for all mercenaries, but it is not a long-term friendship to stop troops here in vain.Maybe, in other Hanzhou coastal strongholds, a breakthrough can be formed suddenly, wouldn't that be a happy thing for everyone.

However, on this night, the native servant camp on the right side of the mercenaries was suddenly attacked by the defenders in the city.Six or seven majestic bulls, with flames on their tails, rampaged frantically through the native camp.These mad bulls overturned a tent, and the bewildered natives were knocked down and trampled.

In the faint light of the flames, it seemed that dozens of ferocious Hanzhou militiamen were holding their unique muskets and bayonets, stabbing the natives who were running around, turning them into bodies Cold corpse.

Captain Hans Riele quickly rushed out of the camp with more than 60 mercenaries, preparing to intercept and kill the Hanzhou militiamen who came to raid the camp from behind.

However, less than 20 meters away from the camp, they suddenly saw many faint flames flashing indistinctly in front of them. Before they could react, those dots of flames flew towards them suddenly.

"Oh, God...it's a bomb!" Captain Hans Riele felt a heavy object hit him and rolled to the ground, and suddenly realized what the flying things were.

"Boom! Boom! Boom!..." At most, only half of the bombs thrown had exploded, but it was these seven or eight bombs that caused the small army of Captain Hans Riele to fall into chaos. More than a dozen people were killed and injured, and the momentum of the advance was stopped.Some vigilant mercenaries immediately raised their muskets and fired in the direction where the bombs were thrown just now, trying to kill the Hanzhou militiamen who were sneaking up.

Captain Hans Riele fell on his back to the ground, clutching his neck with his right hand, with his mouth open, desperately exhaling, but still feeling painfully suffocated.From the neck, blood seemed to be "bubbling" outwards, and the palm of the hand could not block the wound at all. The scene in the eyes was gradually slackening, and the consciousness became a little blurred. Ching Ming.

Oh god, is this the end of my adventure?Captain Hans Riele stared fixedly at the empty night sky with a pair of dull eyes.A faint sound of the horn sounded in the distance, and then, it was quiet.

(End of this chapter)