1635 Han style rises again

Chapter 799 Colonization of South Africa ([-])
November 1664, 11, Fort Changning.

Nearly [-] armed guards, shop assistants, and Coqin's servants lined up in a loose queue, standing on the square, listening to the lectures of Chen Hongan, the chief executive of Changning Fort.

"Gentlemen, we all come from the mainland of Hanzhou, or India, and some even came directly from Daming, across tens of thousands of miles of sea waves, to this wild continent. Here, we share weal and woe, live and die together .Come here, why? It’s nothing more than wanting to get a piece of wealth and wealth that can be passed on to future generations.”

As Chen Hongan said, he kicked over a wooden box next to it, and a pile of Hanzhou silver dollars rolled out of it in an instant, scattered all over the place.

"This time, we are about to set off to conquer those indigenous tribes and show the prestige of our trading company. Although there is no danger, after all, on the battlefield, swords and guns have no eyes, and it is inevitable to cut a wound and bleed. Here, on behalf of the trading company, I will reward each person who went to the war with 20 yuan of silver dollars from Hanzhou. If anyone unfortunately loses his life or is disabled, our trading company will definitely send the pension and compensation to your family members, and we will definitely not let you go in vain Fight desperately for my company."

"The natives are ignorant and backward, not to mention that they don't have many blades, but they don't even have a piece of body armor. On the other hand, our equipment has sharp steel knives, sharp spears, sharp muskets, and powerful cannons. Coupled with the leather armor and plate armor you are wearing, it can be said that you are armed to the teeth. This battle should be victorious, and you vow to subdue the surrounding indigenous barbarians, establish the momentum of our trading company, and show the prestige of our great Qi. In the future , This vast area, no matter which tribe or nationality, will become the coolies we drive and enslave. And all the wealth here will also belong to each of us, and you can take it as you like!"

"Slaughter those barbarians, kill those natives!"

"Kill them all, steal them all!"

"Occupy all the land here, and let all their natives become our slaves!"

"..."

The armed guards gathered in the square brandished their weapons and yelled loudly, their eyes filled with crimson, wishing they could rush to the camps of the indigenous tribes immediately, hack and kill their tribesmen and rob them of their wealth.

Damn, in this wild continent, there is no kingly law!Since the trading company mobilized us to go out and kill those indigenous tribes, we must release our inner demons and grab some valuables by the way.

"Damn it, I didn't say that I would completely wipe out those indigenous tribes!" Chen Hong'an looked at the restless guards, and couldn't help but have a bad thought in his heart.

"Boom! Boom!"

Suddenly, two rumbling gunshots came from the port, which immediately startled the guards gathered in the square. They couldn't help but look at each other, with incredible expressions on their faces.

What's going on?We are holding a swearing-in meeting here, and the crowd is furiously preparing to take a boat to conquer the aborigines near Da'an Fort. What does the sound of artillery from the pier mean?Could it be that those natives rowed their boats and came to attack our lair on their own initiative!
"Director Chen!" A guard hurried over and said angrily, "There are two sailing ships trying to force their way into the harbor!... Our wharf battery has fired warning shots, but the other party is still hovering near the headland. Captain Sun asked me to report to you that the two ships that arrived were probably Western pirates!"

"Western pirates?" Chen Hong'an's eyes widened, he was stunned for a while, his face showed a bit of ferocity, "Damn it, which country's pirates are so reckless, dare to attack our Changning Fort What is your idea?...I want them to come and go!"

Since 1497, the Portuguese Vasco de Gama discovered this bay suitable for mooring ships during his voyage to India. Subsequently, from the sixteenth century onwards, slave traders, whalers, pirates and merchants from various European countries often visited Here, either avoid the storm, or take a short rest here.

Until seven years ago, the Qiguo African Trading Company occupied this bay, built forts, ports, and wharf forts, and then declared that the territory here belonged to the Daqi Kingdom. Except for the merchant ships of the Dutch East India Company, other European countries were prohibited from entering the port. ships enter.

Merchant ships, slave ships, and whaling ships that don't have much force will generally withdraw from the harbor obediently after receiving the warning from Qi's coastal defense fort, and find another place to dock.Gradually, news spread that this place was occupied by a southern New World country, making many passing ships dare not set foot here again.

The geographical location of Fort Changning is very superior. It is located on the Indian Ocean coast at the southeastern tip of the African continent. It is about ten days’ voyage from Cape Town controlled by the Dutch in the southwest, and only two or three days’ voyage from the northeast to Maputo Port controlled by the Portuguese. The gateway from the Indian Ocean to the Atlantic Ocean.

The port of Changningbao is still a natural harbor with a mouth of only 300 meters and a water depth of 10-12 meters. The inside of the bay is 4 kilometers long and 5 kilometers wide, shaped like a gourd.The two forts at the pier are located in prominent positions on both sides of the mouth of the bay, which can block any enemy ships trying to break into the port.
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Outside Changning Port, two three-masted sailing ships flying the blood-red pirate flag quietly parked on the sea, gently heaving up and down as the waves rolled.

Olivier Giroud, the captain of the "Bella Bell", approached the "Bona" in a small boat, and then with the help of sailors, he climbed onto the side of the ship with difficulty.

"Dear Captain Giroud, I think we may have chosen the wrong target." Theo Hernandez, the captain of the Bona, warmly embraced Olivier Giroud, then with a wry smile on his face , shook his head and said: "You have probably seen that the other party has a coastal defense turret, and the artillery power is not small. We may not be able to break into the port, and then land and seize the castle that is said to have countless wealth."

"Theo, are you ready to give up?" Captain Giroud asked with gloomy eyes: "You know, there are nearly two hundred Lord's people on Bourbon Island (Reunion Island) waiting for us to bring back urgently needed production and daily necessities. If we return empty-handed, not to mention that many slaves will starve to death, even our compatriots will fall into a difficult and desperate situation.”

"Then, Captain Giroud, do you mean that all of us are required to forcibly break into the port under the fierce firepower of enemy forts?" Hernandez frowned, "You know, go to the port with a battleship How unwise it is to attack a strong fort. Besides, the two ships we belong to are just ordinary armed merchant ships. As long as the enemy shell hits our ship, it will be a huge disaster."

"Hernandez, there is a turret at the entrance of the harbor. We can go around and land elsewhere." Giroud pointed to the northwest direction of the harbor. "The terrain there is relatively low and flat, which is very suitable for landing. As long as we The crew are brave enough to rush to the beach, and they will surely kill the city built by the Hanzhou people."

"Girou, can you guarantee that when we land, those Hanzhou people will not be waiting on the beach with muskets, waiting for us to go ashore one by one to die?" Hernandez shook his head and said, "Even if we successfully We landed on land, but we couldn’t carry artillery ashore, how to break through the castle of the Hanzhou people? You have to know, since they can place artillery at the entrance of the harbor, they must also arrange corresponding artillery at the top of the city.”

"However, if we give up at this point, how can we solve the difficulties encountered by the residents of Bourbon Island?" Jirou spread his hands and said with a wry smile.

In 1642 the French occupied Reunion Island and renamed it Bourbon Island in 1649.Since 1663, some French immigrants and their slaves brought from Madagascar have successively settled in Bourbon Island, as a stop for French ships traveling to and from the Indian Ocean, subject to the French East India Company.

Two months ago, a huge typhoon hit the entire Bourbon Island and brought a rare torrential rain.Several strongholds of French immigrants, houses and farmland, were all destroyed by the flood.

After the torrential rain, all the French immigrant strongholds were in a mess, and more than half of the people were killed or injured. Not to mention that there were not many houses left to shelter from the wind and rain, even the food and daily necessities needed were washed away by the torrential rain and flood. It is extremely miserable.

When the "Bella Bell" and "Bona" under the French East India Company passed the island, they were immediately shocked by the tragic experience of the residents on the island. The immigrants, disheveled and unkempt, picked wild fruits. , boiled fish in white water, and dig wild vegetables, it seems that they have all gone back to the ancient times of ignorance.

The governor of Bourbon Island thought that the two French merchant ships from India would have some edible supplies, but was disappointed to find that the goods they carried were all pepper, indigo, saltpeter, and a large amount of Indian cotton.As for food, if the moldy black bread and dried meat were counted, the amount was too small, and it could not meet the needs of the nearly [-] French immigrants on the island for several months.

At the request of the Governor of Bourbon Island, two French merchant ships unloaded part of their cargo and prepared to go to the surrounding area to purchase some necessary food and production and living tools.The nearby island of Mauritius, which was occupied by the Dutch East India Company, became their most ideal trading partner.

However, when the hopeful French arrived on the island of Mauritius, they found that the island had also been hit by a typhoon. Although the damage was not as great as Bourbon Island, some houses and farmland were also damaged to varying degrees.As for the food and production and living tools they want to buy, I'm sorry, the Dutch are also a little bit overwhelmed, and they don't have much reserves, so they can't provide them with more help.

Just as two French merchant ships were about to leave Mauritius and go to the coast of Madagascar to plunder the local aborigines, some Dutch people were heard at the port saying that the Hanzhou people from the southern New World were developing very rapidly along the southern coast of Africa. The two strongholds they built , not only have abundant supplies, but also purchased a large amount of ivory and fur from the local aborigines, which are transported back to the Hanzhou mainland or India through the island of Mauritius every year.The Dutch strongholds in Mauritius and Cape Town also often purchased various production and living utensils from the Hanzhou people, which was much less troublesome than trafficking these materials all the way from Europe.

After hearing the news, the French all showed helpless expressions on their faces.They also knew about the two strongholds built by the Hanzhou people.But what is exasperating is that, except for the opening of their ports to the Dutch, merchant ships from any country are prohibited from entering the port, let alone going to trade.

After some discussion, the French immediately made a bold decision to break through the stronghold of the Hanzhou people and rob them of all their wealth.Because, according to their speculation, the reason why the Hanzhou people did not allow ships from other countries to dock in the port must mean that their force is very weak and they are worried about being attacked, so they made this move.That being the case, why not try your luck and grab one from the Hanzhou people.

Today, two French armed merchant ships have been attacked by forts outside the port of Fort Changning. This shows that the Hanzhou people in this area are not soft persimmons. .

"Perhaps, we can try to send an envoy ashore to negotiate with the Hanzhou people to see if we can obtain trade opportunities." Hernandez held up the binoculars and carefully observed the distant place for a while. Harbor, turned to Giroud and suggested.

"They...they won't just kill the envoy we sent, right?" Jirou asked worriedly.

"Should...no." Hernandez was also a little uncertain, "I heard from those Dutch people that Hanzhou people should also be regarded as members of the civilized world, and they probably wouldn't make rash killings to pass on Messengers of peace. Otherwise, they will be severely punished for offending the great kingdom of France."

When Giroud heard this, he couldn't help but took a deep look at Hernandez, disapproving of what he said.Who cares about countries (powers) that can cross thousands of miles of seas and come to colonize and trade on the African continent, or in other words, who would be afraid of the Kingdom of France far away on the European continent.

After some mobilization, the French promised to reward each volunteer with 5 livres (1 livre is equal to 8 taels of silver), and successfully recruited three brave sailors, who rowed boats and waved white flags. Go to Hanzhou people's dock.

Watching the small boat slowly enter the mouth of the bay and sail towards the depths of the bay, but the fort of the Hanzhou people did not fire bombardment, which made everyone on the two armed French merchant ships breathe a sigh of relief.

Jordan Weiletu looked at the pier getting closer, and couldn't help but stop the oars in his hands. Four or five armed men with oriental faces, holding muskets, stared at their boat.

"Oh, I hope the merciful God can bless us!" Weletu muttered softly, and then squeezed out a few smiles on his face, trying to show himself more friendly and cordial.

With a sound of "Boom!", the boat bumped into the berth of the pier built with boulders, and the three French envoys stood up nervously, ready to board the pier.

The Hanzhou people on the shore ignored the cables thrown by them, and no one stepped forward to give them a hand. They watched them struggle to climb up the pier with cold eyes.

"Gentlemen, we are the envoys of the French East India Company. We are here to express our peace wishes and trade requests." Weiletu said with sweat on his forehead.

There was no response, and there were still many cold eyes.

Wei Letu couldn't help but looked back at his companions, what should we do, these Hanzhou people obviously don't understand our language, how should we communicate with them?
"Touch!" Suddenly, the sound of a musket firing came.

"Oh, God!... They are going to kill us!" The faces of the three French envoys turned ashen.

(End of this chapter)