1635 Han style rises again

Chapter 759 Visit of the Indian Task Force ([-])

July 1659, 7, Aceh, Weh Island.

"Send people ashore to completely wipe out the remnants of pirates on the island!"

Four armed merchant ships under the banner of the Indian Trading Company slowly docked near a small island more than 20 kilometers northwest of Aceh City. After dispersing more than ten small boats nearby, the fleet commander Gu Chuanliang just observed for a while. Looking at the situation on the shore, it was confirmed that there was no coastal defense battery, and the landing order was immediately issued.

Four days ago, when the four armed merchant ships under the Indian Trading Company arrived at Daxi Island (now Great Nicobar Island, India) with the task force, they happened to encounter a group of pirates besieging Anhua Fort on the island (today's eastern part of Great Nicobar Island) town of Tenra).Several leading warships immediately approached the pier and launched a unilateral massacre of the pirate ships anchored on the shore.

Under the cover of naval guns, more than [-] guards recruited by the Indian trading company quickly landed on the shore, blocking the pirates who were about to withdraw and run towards the pier.Most of the guards from the Marine Corps, the Self-Rescue Army, and the Loyalty Army fired several rounds of volleys with muskets, and then rushed over with bayonets.

After a short and intense rush, the guards who landed on the shore killed and injured more than 160 pirates on the spot, captured more than [-] pirates, and the remaining nearly [-] pirates fled into the forest.

Several shopkeepers of the accompanying Indian trading company looked at the tragic situation in Anhuabao, and couldn't help feeling sad.In the entire fortress, except for the warehouse area and management area, almost all wooden houses and walls were set on fire by pirates.The fortress, which was originally poorly equipped, was even more dilapidated. More than a hundred natives and slaves were killed, and the rest fled to nowhere in the forest.More than 70 stronghold guards and guards stationed here also suffered more than 20 casualties, which can be regarded as a heavy loss.

However, fortunately, they came in time, and some of the goods and food accumulated here are well preserved, which is somewhat comforting.A senior treasurer sighed and said that the trading company may have to spend an extra amount of money to rebuild this stronghold.

Originally, both the king and the military expressed strong dissatisfaction with the lagging construction of trading companies in India and supply points along the way. They believed that the strongholds and supply points under the trading companies were relatively simple and dilapidated. The guarantee is not very sufficient. For this reason, it is recommended that the trading company suspend the operation and dividends for two years, and carry out a vigorous construction of its affiliated business station bases and key supply points at sea, so as to provide certain material and logistical support for the Qi State Navy to enter the Indian waters.

A bunch of merchants, can't all take advantage of money!The government gives you 30 years of exclusive rights to trade monopoly, but it doesn't mean that you want to earn a lot of money so that you can eat your brains full of fat.After more than ten years of development, your Indian trading company has accumulated more and more capital, and its profits have grown rapidly every year. In this way, you should help the government and the military to do something!
If not, the government would not mind authorizing another trading company to operate in India.

Therefore, Bai Yuangui, the big shopkeeper of the Indian trading company, ordered the senior shopkeeper in charge of security to recruit more than 300 armed guards in the mainland of Hanzhou and several nearby overseas territories, and planned to send them to several business station strongholds in India and Daxi Island. Strengthen the defense forces in the above-mentioned areas.

At the same time, he made up his mind and ordered several shopkeepers of trade and transportation to spare precious shipping space, purchase a large amount of cement and more than [-] coastal defense guns, and prepare to transport them all to their strongholds and commercial stations. A large-scale infrastructure construction and defense upgrade.

The six armed merchant ships of the Indian Trading Company and the Nanyang Trading Company accompanied the task force to Malacca, passed by Quang Ninh, were recruited by the military, and helped fight a war with Banten.After breaking through the city of Wandan, the military did not treat the two trading companies that actively participated in the war badly. In addition to selling the many looted materials to them at a low price, they also let them take away the captured Wandan natives, regardless of their number. , as a free coolie for them to develop overseas strongholds, they behaved extremely generously.

Thinking of the withered population and harsh environment on Onishi Island, several accompanying shopkeepers of the Indian Trading Company asked for more than 350 people at one go, and planned to throw all of them there. It is necessary to develop and improve the living environment and infrastructure here.

Now that I came to the island, I didn't want to encounter such a situation.However, it happened that the many Banten natives who had been brought in came in handy to carry out some arduous reconstruction work.

Afterwards, after some torture, it was learned that, except for a small number of pirates from the Malay Peninsula, most of the rest were from several tribes in the coastal area of ​​the Kingdom of Aceh.In addition to their fixed tribal settlements on land, they also have an important gathering spot on a small island more than 20 kilometers northwest of Aceh.Every time after going out to sea to plunder merchant ships, they will stop here to rest and distribute the stolen goods before returning to land.

As for why they robbed such a poor stronghold in Qi State, those pirates explained that half a year ago, when two Western merchant ships from India passed through Aceh, they had intentionally or unintentionally declared to them that Daxi Island was the most important place for Hanzhou merchants. The trading base of Hanzhou and India, where countless wealth from Hanzhou and India have accumulated, and the defense force is still very weak.As long as you grab this stronghold, you will gain unattainable wealth, which is enough to live a lifetime of luxury and reach the pinnacle of life.

Therefore, in the eyes of many pirates, Daxi Island suddenly became a rich island full of countless gold and silver.These rumors have aroused the greed of many impoverished Aceh pirates.Several groups of pirates joined forces for a while, and quickly reached an agreement to go to Daxi Island to grab one.For this reason, these daring Aceh pirates specially found a group of Malay pirates who were familiar with the location of Daxi Island to participate in this feast of wealth.

Through further questioning of the pirate captives, it was learned that the Westerners who advertised that Atlantis possessed countless wealth to attract pirates to attack turned out to be Englishmen.This immediately made several shopkeepers of the Indian trading company furious. These Western ghosts, who can't compete with us Qi people in the trade activities in the Indian region, would actually use such a sinister trick.

You are unkind, don't blame me for being unrighteous!When we arrive in India, let you British and barbarians take a look at the means of our Qi people.No way, when the time comes, gather a few armed merchant ships and bring people to the door to pull out some of your merchant strongholds and break your foundation.

However, before retaliating against the English merchants, these daring pirates must be dealt with severely.The Kingdom of Aceh, we won't be able to beat it for the time being, but the small island where the pirates are entrenched needs to be swept up to completely destroy this pirate den.

It is known that the pirates on that small island are almost mobilized, there are only dozens of people left behind, and the rest are women, children and children.For such a small target, naturally there is no need to bother the naval task force to kill chickens. Several shopkeepers of Indian trading companies immediately ordered the fleet commander Gu Chuanliang to lead four armed merchant ships and carry more than 200 guards to slaughter the island. .

The guards of the Indian trading company stayed on the island for three days, killed more than [-] pirates, the elderly and the weak, captured more than [-] women and children, and seized a large amount of property looted by the pirates.When evacuating, the guards burned the pirate camp, and then set sail to return to Atlantis.

"The geographical location and living conditions of this small island are much better than Daxi Island. If you have the opportunity, you can try to persuade a few big shopkeepers to occupy it, which is comparable to Temasek Island under the Nanyang Trading Company." The fleet commander Guan Gu Chuanliang glanced back at the small island infested with pirates, and couldn't help thinking secretly.
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On August 8, at the mouth of the Ganges River (now the Bodo River in Bangladesh, the Ganges River is called the Bodo River when it enters Bangladesh), Hatia Island.

After leaving Daxi Island more than 20 days ago, the ships of the Indian Task Force of the Qi State Navy adjusted their course and sailed straight to the north, aiming at the Bengal region of the Mughal Empire, preparing to visit the ruling center of the region—— Dhaka.

The fleet sailed for several days and passed through the waters of an archipelago (Andaman Islands).After sending people to visit several islands for a short period of time, they buried Qi State boundary markers and erected signs to declare that the sovereignty of all islands in the area belonged to Qi State, and named these islands the Yiling Islands.

For the expansion of territory, some naval officers and soldiers are extremely disdainful when they see the army fighting hard on the battlefield to gain some territory.A war, after several months or even years, cost tens of thousands of troops, countless soldiers died on the battlefield, and finally even captured a small piece of territory.

Unlike our navy, as long as you are lucky enough at sea, you can discover many unowned lands, bury a few stone tablets, set up a few signs, and then you can declare them to the world, and bring these unowned lands under the rule of Qi.The huge Weiyuan Island (today's New Guinea Island), the fertile Bliss Island (today's Tasmania, Australia), the beautiful Gonggong Island (today's North Island of New Zealand) and Jingwei Island (today's South Island of New Zealand), The resource-rich Kuafu Island (now New Caledonia), as well as many small islands in the South Pacific and the Indian Ocean, have become the most important overseas territories of our country.

In terms of importance and contribution to the country, our navy is much stronger than the army.Therefore, our state of Qi should spare no effort to develop a powerful navy and become the most powerful minion for the country to expand its territory and maintain maritime hegemony.

After the fleet left the sea area known as the Yiling Islands, it arrived in the southern coastal area of ​​Myanmar three days later, then traveled all the way north along the coastline, and after another week of driving, it arrived near the mouth of the Ganges River.

There is a port with relatively good conditions nearby - Chittagong, which currently belongs to the Kingdom of Arakan (also known as the Kingdom of Rakhine).More than 100 years ago (1518), Portuguese Indian colonists sent a small fleet to visit the port in an attempt to obtain trade privileges.

The Portuguese fleet consisted of a small carrack, a caravel suitable for shallow waters, a Galliot clipper with rowing power, and a native Indian dinghy.

However, the Portuguese trade request was flatly rejected by the general of the Bengal Sultanate in Chittagong at that time, and used the port fort to block the Portuguese at sea.

By 1538, the rising Arakan Kingdom (also known as the Rakhine Kingdom) captured Chittagong, and the area has since been controlled by Portuguese mercenaries and Burmese pirates loyal to the Arakan Dynasty.

When the Qi Navy task force consisting of a thousand-ton battleship and four professional warships arrived near the mouth of the Ganges, the many pirate ships that were swimming in the surrounding waters immediately scattered and fled, or hid in Chittagong, or fled Entering the river fork on land, and watching the movements of the Qi fleet nervously.

The red rising sun and yellow dragon flags flying high on the masts of several battleships are almost the same as the flags of those Hanzhou merchant ships traveling to and from the Indian waters.This can't help but make those pirates feel anxious. Could it be that pirates in some obscure place robbed Hanzhou merchant ships, which attracted their navy to suppress and retaliate?

The upper reaches of the Ganges have turbulent rapids, narrow channels, and many rapids. In the middle reaches of Bangladesh, the Ganges accepts the largest tributary, the Yamuna River.In the dry season, the river is about one kilometer wide, and in the rainy season, the river is five or six kilometers wide. After collecting more tributaries, it rushes to the downstream estuary.

Therefore, if the task force relied on the Ganges shipping information provided by the Portuguese, theoretically all the ships in the fleet could go directly up the river to Dhaka, and then go to meet the favorite of the Mughal emperor who was stationed in Bengal. Governor-General Maharaja Mir Jumra.

Regardless, for the sake of prudence, the fleet commander, General Guangwei (Major Admiral) Mill ordered the fleet to temporarily station on this small island near the mouth of the Ganges, and sent a fast cruiser with a displacement of [-] tons to enter the mouth of the Ganges first, except along the way. In addition to measuring the waterway of the river on the spot, Shuo also went to Dhaka to say hello to the Bangladeshi governor in advance, explaining that the Qi State Special Service Fleet represents the Daqi Kingdom and will pay a friendly visit to the place, so as not to cause unnecessary misunderstandings by the Mughal Empire and hostility.

On August 8, the Qi State fast cruiser that went to explore the road returned to the fleet's temporary berth, accompanied by several officials from the Mughal Empire on board.After seeing several Qi warships, especially the thousand-ton battleship, they were obviously a little shocked.

Afterwards, they welcomed the visit of Qi's navy.However, in view of the narrow waterway of the Ganges and the large number of transport ships, if the ships of the Qi State sailed into the Ganges, they were worried that it would cause chaos on the river.Therefore, the officials of the Mughal Empire who came to negotiate told Mir, the commander of the Qi Navy Fleet, that they were only allowed to go to Dhaka on the small fast cruiser they took on this trip if they wanted to see the governor.

After hearing this, Mir couldn't help laughing.After listening to the report of the officers returning to the fleet, the river from the mouth of the Ganges to Dhaka is five or six kilometers wide, and the water flow is relatively gentle, which can fully satisfy the fleet's navigation.As for what they say is that the shipping lanes are busy and that the entry of the fleet will cause some confusion, this is purely an excuse.

The officials of the Mughal Empire are afraid that putting the Qi fleet into the mouth of the Ganges will pose some kind of threat to the imperial towns and residents along the way!
The Mughal army in this period was not the landlubber army that was afraid of water battles back then.In the process of gradually annexing the states of Bengal, they united a large number of feudal lords with a complete shipbuilding industry, and successfully integrated new artillery.Although it is still difficult to mass-produce European-style high-sea warships, they can already have a firepower advantage in relatively calm shallow seas, which also makes the limited number of European-style light sea-going ships unable to parry.

However, the many inland river warships owned by the Mughal Empire Navy were not enough when facing the professional sea warships of Qi, especially the battleship "Hanhe" with a displacement of [-] tons , It is extremely deterrent to the officials of the Mughal Empire.

This Mughal Empire is a bit aggressive!

(End of this chapter)