1635 Han style rises again

On July 1667, 7, Gonggong Island (North Island of New Zealand), southwest of Xing'an Fort, west bank of Xing'an River (Wairoa River).

In fact, according to the strict definition, the Maori should not belong to the complete farming nation.Although they grow sweet potatoes, taro, and yams, they still need to rely on hunting and fishing for their livelihood.

For the specialties in the sea, the Maori prefer seafood such as crabs, lobsters, and eels.As for hunting on land, neither Gonggong Island nor Jingwei Island has large animals.Not to mention carnivores such as tigers and wolves, there are no deer, horses or even rabbits.

However, during this period, there was a large bird with a body height of more than three meters on the island-the moa, but it became the target of predation by the Maori as their main source of meat.Although this animal looks like an ostrich, it has three toes, a fat body, and stubby lower limbs.The funny thing is that this kind of bird has completely degenerated wings, no wings, no wings, no flight, and very slow running speed.

When the Maori came here, this guy was not afraid at all, and even flirted with the Maori, but in the eyes of the Maori, it was clearly a walking "roujiamo".

The Maori during this period were still in a slavery society.They are very similar to the Indians in North America. They are organized into tribes, but they are very martial. However, the tools and weapons they use are still made of wood or bone.

Due to the limitation of food production, the number of Maori is very small. It is roughly estimated that there are about [-] to [-] Maori on the two islands of Gonggong and Jingwei, divided into countless tribes, large and small.

The Maori have honed their fighting skills in games since childhood, and learned to use various weapons made of stone, wood, and bone.Although members of each tribe recognize a common ancestry and allegiance to one or several chiefs.However, frequent disputes and fights between hundreds of Maori tribes and neighboring clans are still inevitable.After the battle, they would directly decapitate the captives and put their heads on wooden sticks. Legend has it that they especially like to suck brains.

The Maori tribe has a special class of warriors. They do not need to work, but are responsible for fighting and protecting their homes.As for the labor, it was handed over to ordinary common people and slaves.

They most often use a "tayaha" wooden spear.The spear is more than 1.5 meters long and has a sharp end and a flat end.The Maori had no armor, and this wooden spear was deadly, killing enemies quickly, whether by stabbing or striking.

However, in the eyes of the people of Qi, the overall military aspect of the Maori is backward, and they have not even invented bows and arrows.You know, during this period, even the backward Indians used bows and arrows extensively.The long-range weapons owned by the Maori are mainly javelins, which generally have a range of only 30 meters.This kind of javelin has no metal tip, and even uses shark's teeth in order to increase the lethality.

On the west bank of the Xing'an River, as soon as dozens of small galleys docked on the shore, teams of heavily armed guards rushed to the shore.They were all wearing half plate armor, iron helmets, and muskets in their hands, and rushed fiercely towards a Maori tribal camp in the distance.

The villages inhabited by the Maori generally have defensive functions. For safety reasons, they are mostly built on the top of the mountain.Generally speaking, when a Maori tribe begins to settle, they will begin to build this kind of fortification system called Pa in the highlands.

When a war breaks out, people from all tribes will quickly evacuate from nearby villages and concentrate supplies and manpower in Pa.Pa's fortifications will rely on terraced mountains to be distributed in layers, and defensive facilities such as ditches, fences, and towers will be built.In order to prevent the besiegers from cutting off the water source, Pane often dug a huge reservoir to store water.Facilities such as granaries, arsenals, and religious places for the defenders to pray are also available.

When many galleys appeared by the river, the Maori tribal warriors on high alert issued a battle alarm and began to quickly transfer the tribal people.Therefore, when more than [-] armed guards recruited by the Handong Trading Company rushed onto the river bank and rushed towards the tribal camp, almost all the Maori had safely evacuated to Pa on the top of the nearby mountain.

While the armed guards set fire to the Maori camp, they carefully inspected the simple thatched huts.Abandoned in the camp, some disabled or sick Maori elders watched indifferently the bandits who broke into their tribal camp and wreak havoc on their homes.

"General Manager, the Maori fortress is set on the top of the mountain, with wooden fences and towers built inside. There is also a ditch behind the wooden fence, which is at least three meters deep by visual inspection. A large number of mounds are piled behind the ditch, forming An earth barrier with a certain slope is used to protect the buildings behind. The height of such an earth barrier plus the depth of the trench is about four or five meters high."

"On the top of the earth barrier, the Maori also built a layer of fence. In this way, the entire camp has two layers of defense. If you attack rashly, it may take a lot of effort. I am afraid that the casualties will not be less.  … Damn, these natives don’t know how to complete such a fortification. You must know that the tools they can use are only a small amount of iron farming tools obtained from us, and most of them still rely on wooden shovels and catalpas, and Some long wooden sticks that have been sharpened." After inspecting the Maori camp, Tan Jiangchuan, the captain of the guard, hurried over to report the situation to Qi Pengwu.

"Then how do you think you can get in?" Qi Pengwu took off his helmet and asked calmly.

"Unload a few cannons from the ship, transport them to the Maori camp, and blast them at several key points." Tan Jiangchuan suggested: "The other party's camp is built with wooden fences, and blast them away with cannons. It shouldn't be difficult after a few cuts."

"How about that trench?"

"Use muskets as cover and organize personnel to build several wooden bridges. With our superior firepower, the Maori can only passively hide in the camp, waiting for us to kill them..."

"Boss, the Maori sent an envoy." At this moment, a guard came to report.

"I guess, they sent envoys here at this time, most of them wanted to question why we didn't keep our promises. We clearly agreed to their peace proposal, but suddenly sent troops to attack them." The envoy chopped it off, so as not to hear him come and make noise."

"The two countries are still fighting each other!" Qi Pengwu said leisurely: "Anyway, it will take some time to get the artillery ashore. Let's see what tricks they play!"

A majestic Maori was brought in front of Qi Pengwu. His angry expression, combined with the colorful tattoos on his face, made him even more ferocious.He roared loudly at the Qi people, and kept waving his hands and beating his chest vigorously, as if he was reprimanding the Qi people for invading their homes for no reason and destroying the peace agreement reached between the two sides.

"Our ancestors once said such a sentence, how can others snore and sleep on the side of the couch." Qi Pengwu looked at the Maori man with teeth and claws in front of him, and said with a sneer: "This indigenous tribe is so close to our Xing'an Fort, and they also passed They have been in constant contact with us for more than ten years, and have grown from a tribe of less than 500 people to a large tribe with a population of [-]. This has already constituted a serious threat to us. will grow into a kingdom."

"What the chief manager said is very true." Tan Jiangchuan held the handle of the knife tightly, staring at the Maori envoy without blinking, lest the other party suddenly violently hurt others and pose a threat to Qi Pengwu.

"I heard that there is an ancient and strict rule passed down by the Maori people. In the world, only women and land cannot be shared with others." Qi Pengwu shook his head and said, "The immigrants we migrated here need exactly these two things they have. So, the conflict between us and these natives will be irreconcilable in the future. The climate here is pleasant, the land is fertile, and the rivers are criss-crossing, and the water source is not lacking. This place will definitely be incorporated into the official territory of our Qi State, set up prefectures and counties, and arrange officials. It is necessary for our Handong Trading Company to clean up the indigenous tribes in this place in advance for the government, and provide a clean and refreshing site for future immigrants. Maybe in the future, we will The trading company can sell these two islands to the government for a good price."

As for the Maori who are a martial nation, whoever dares to rob his land clearly wants to fight, and it is an endless war.In the past ten years, with the increase of immigrants, the more than ten strongholds of Handong Trading Co., Ltd. have gradually invaded the land of the Maori people and planted wheat, barley, oats, vegetables and fruits to meet the daily needs of local residents and passing ships. need.As a result, the previously harmonious and friendly relationship between the two parties has become increasingly tense.

In addition, the aborigines of the Maori tribe do not have the concept of private property, and believe that whether it is flying in the sky, swimming in the water, or running on the ground on the island, it is the food given to them by God.Therefore, when they saw the pigs, cattle, sheep, chickens, ducks and other livestock and poultry raised by the immigrants from the Qi State, they would directly rob or kill them. This also aroused the anger of the immigrants from the Qi State. Indigenous, violent conflicts occurred from time to time.

In order to protect the operating profits of the trading company, the several chief executives who acted as the acting governors of Dongzhou local affairs before Qi Pengwu did not take a tough line against the armed conflicts between the immigrants in various strongholds and the local Maori, and they all adopted a peaceful approach.As for the thorny land dispute, those Maori were given a large number of daily commodities in exchange for the land they claimed.

Because, in their eyes, there is no need to use knives and guns for things that can be solved with money. After all, it costs money to recruit guards and maintain local forces, and it also affects the development of the local economy and people's livelihood.

However, since Qi Pengwu took over as the general manager of Dongzhou as the young owner of Handong Trading Co., in order to prove his ability, he immediately changed his previous gentle policy towards the local Maori and adopted a tough approach.As long as there are conflicts between the strongholds on the island and the nearby Maori, no matter right or wrong, they will counterattack with force and force, vowing to subdue and domesticate the local indigenous tribes.

"He babbled a lot, what was he talking about?" Qi Pengwu frowned seeing the Maori envoy still yelling, and turned to ask a fifteen or sixteen-year-old boy.

"Back to Chief Manager, he said that we did not keep our promises. We not only detained the tribal elders who came to negotiate peace, but also dispatched troops to attack their camp without authorization." Yu Changcai replied respectfully: "He also said that their entire tribe is not Will succumb to our threat of force, each of them will take up arms, fight us bravely, and deal us the heaviest blow."

Yu Changcai is the child of an immigrant from Xing'anbao and a local Maori woman. He is only 15 years old this year and knows a little of the local Maori language, so he was used as a temporary interpreter and enlisted in the armed guards.Perhaps it was because of the Maori militant gene in his blood. He didn't show any fear because of his young age. Instead, he held a musket and looked eager to try.

"Hehe..." Qi Pengwu couldn't help chuckling when he heard this, his face was full of contempt.

During the conquest of the surrounding Maori indigenous tribes, more than 500 fully armed guards were assembled and mobilized to quell any resistance from them one by one.Just relying on some crude weapons they hold, how can they be the opponents of our artillery and muskets.If they do not surrender, then the fate that awaits them will only be complete destruction, whether it is their tribal camp or their bodies.

"Chairman, be careful!" Suddenly, several people around him exclaimed.

"what!……"

The Maori envoy with a sad and angry look suddenly moved, began to dance their traditional war dance, and approached Qi Pengwu step by step with shouts.Seeing this, several guards nearby couldn't help but stab him with a musket with a bayonet attached.Immediately, he knocked the Maori envoy to the ground and let out a mournful cry.

"Before dark, break through the camp of the natives. But those who do not surrender will be shot!" Qi Pengwu said coldly, looking at the Maori envoy lying on the ground twitching constantly.

"Yes, Chief Manager!" Several guard captains promised loudly.

"You're fine, just stay by my side from now on." Qi Pengwu turned around, patted Yu Changcai's shoulder with a look of admiration.

"Thank you, Chief Manager, for your appreciation!" Yu Changcai responded excitedly, blood dripping continuously on the musket bayonet held in both hands.

At three o'clock in the afternoon, with the roar of artillery, the Maori camp built on the top of the mountain was broken into several holes in less than half an hour.At this time, all the Maori in the camp have mobilized, and even the women will join the battle. They follow the men and throw stones and javelins at the enemies outside the camp in an attempt to deter the opponent's attack.And the several muskets owned by the Maori were also operated by the bravest warriors among them, shooting at the attacking Qi guards.

However, because the distance was too far, they did not cause any harm to the enemy. Under the loud yelling of the tribal leader, they stopped counterattacking one after another, holding wooden spears and holding stones, and waited for the enemy to attack in the camp.

Qi Pengwu didn't pay too much attention to the battle on the top of the mountain. With more than [-] guards armed to the teeth and a few cannons, it would not be difficult to break through the Maori camp.Right now, he was staring at the dozens of "Moka Mokai" heads lined up in front of him, feeling a chill in his heart.

What a bunch of ignorant and brutal barbarians!Qi Pengwu waved his hand and ordered the guards to dig and bury these "arts" made by Maori, which looked too pervasive.I really don't understand, these barbarians still put these heads in their living places, and regard them as treasures.

"Chairman, what should we do with the old natives who were abandoned by their tribe?" A guard captain asked for instructions.

"Let it run its course." Qi Pengwu looked at the old Maori sitting in the camp with indifferent faces in the distance, and said disapprovingly.

Those abandoned Māori elderly are actually not very old, only in their 30s, but they are suffering from various diseases, such as arthritis, tooth loss, dementia and so on.Gein, these Maori often eat the same kind, and the consequences (prions).So much so that during this period, the life span of the Maori was very short, with an average life expectancy of only about 30 years old, and they were already considered centenarians in the tribe when they lived to 40 years old.

"Wan Sheng!"

"Wan Sheng!"

"Get in!..."

Suddenly, there was a burst of enthusiastic cheers from the top of the mountain, followed by bursts of shouts.

"Sir, the native camp has been broken!"