1635 Han style rises again

Chapter 862 The Dutch in Cape Town
On May 1671, 5, 18 kilometers northwest of Hekoubao, beside the Jishui River (now the Buffalo River in South Africa).

More than ten carriages formed a semicircle by the river, covering more than 50 guards. More than 100 indigenous captives were bound with their hands and feet, and the captured cattle and sheep were all placed by the river.And a dozen cavalry wandered around the periphery of the chariot formation, echoing the guards lining the river.

Chen Yongkuan looked at the positions where the wind was leaking everywhere, and then raised his head to look at the countless aborigines gradually approaching in the distance, and couldn't help but bitterness in his mouth.With more than [-] people facing the attack of [-] to [-] natives, the difference in strength is more than eight times. From this point of view, it seems that it will take a lot of hard work to survive.

However, looking at the dozens of Qi State guards in the formation, they seemed to be able to hold their breath. Under the orders of the commanders at all levels, they all calmly checked their weapons and reloaded their ammunition in a calm manner.He even took the time to cut down a dozen small trees that were as thick as bowls, and put them in the huge gaps between the vehicles, thinking that they would repel horses.

"Three rows of musketeers, spears and short knives, stand by behind the formation!" Xu Kaisheng shouted loudly in the formation: "All brothers cheer up and listen to my commands. ... Do not move around without orders , let alone run away without authorization! Damn, whoever dares to retreat before the battle, I will chop him up with a single knife!... Remember, we have muskets, armor, and chariots, just relying on hundreds of natives, and even one There are no blades, so you can't get close, and you can't punch in!"

"It's okay." A musketeer with a childish face saw that Chen Yongkuan and a dozen former Eight Banners officers and soldiers turned pale and looked a little nervous, and comforted him with a smile: "As long as we keep firing muskets, the aborigines will not be able to rush in." Maybe, after four or five rounds, the natives will collapse. At that time, we have to run faster to catch the natives. Not to mention, those black barbarians run really fast!"

"...the aborigines drove a group of cattle!" Chen Yongkuan saw that the aboriginal team in the distance was getting closer and closer, and there were dozens of cows on one side. With the advantage of numbers, start a scuffle with us. If so, we will be in danger."

"..." He Dagui was stunned for a moment, "I can't think of such a way to break the formation. Would those stupid black barbarians think of it?"

"Otherwise, why did they bring a herd of cattle here when they attacked our Hekou Fort?" Chen Yongkuan became angry, his eyes wandering around, thinking about where he should escape if the aborigines broke the battle for a while.

"Those cows, shouldn't they be the rations they brought on the road?"

"Why would they bring a herd of cattle for rations?"

"These black savages don't know how to farm, so naturally they can only bring a herd of cattle as rations."

"..." Chen Yongkuan was stunned, "But an army with a little battle experience should know that using fire bulls to charge the battle is the most effective way....We don't have artillery!"

"Hey..., you fucking think highly of those natives!" Ma Zhengyong, the deputy captain of the guard, sneered and said, "Look, they are not as smart as you think. Fighting them doesn't take your brains at all!"

"...First row, get ready!"

Following an order from the captain Xu Kaisheng, the twelve guards in the first row raised their muskets and aimed steadily at the rushing natives.

They didn't even use the fire ox to charge into battle!

Moreover, these natives shouted and rushed over with wooden spears in a swarm. There was no formation, let alone outflanking.

Is this a war?

The clan fights between random villages in the Qing Dynasty are probably more organized and coordinated than the offensive methods of these natives!

"put!"

"Bang! Bang! Bang!..."

Following Xu Kaisheng's shout, twelve muskets fired instantly, and the rushing natives threw seven or eight of them down immediately, but the brigade of natives only paused for a moment, and continued shouting towards the car formation.

"Second column, put!"

"Bang! Bang! Bang!..."

"Third column, put!"

"Bang! Bang! Bang!..."

Although the guards only had more than 40 muskets, their continuous shooting still caused huge casualties to the aborigines who rushed to the battle. After five rounds of volley, they killed more than forty people, making the remaining aborigines visibly shaken , began to cringe.There were still [-] meters away from the enemy, and nearly [-]% of them were killed or injured before contact. Moreover, the sound of musket shooting and the puffs of green smoke made all the natives feel a little scared.

the enemy will

Cast a powerful sorcery that can easily kill us from the air!
When the muskets in the car formation fired another volley and knocked down seven or eight natives, all the people turned their heads and ran back, trying to avoid this evil enemy from a distance.

"Wan Sheng!"

"Wan Sheng!"

"..."

Seeing that the aborigines were repelled, the guards in the car formation burst into cheers immediately, boosting their morale.

"What are the natives doing?"

Just as the guards relaxed a little and were about to meet another attack from the aborigines, someone noticed a strange scene suddenly appearing in front of the aborigines on the opposite side.

A majestic aborigine brandished a wooden spear and stabbed a cow fiercely. Several aborigines next to him took the gourd to catch the blood gushing from the cow, and then poured it on the faces and bodies of the aborigines one by one.An aborigine with a naked upper body, colorful patterns painted on his face, and a few huge feathers on his head, jumping, waving his hands, and making passionate cries from his mouth.

"Looks like you're dancing to a god..."

"Could it be that they want to invite their indigenous gods to deal with us?"

"I can't tell....Maybe, the natives are doing some kind of magical witchcraft."

"Then should we also invite our gods? Maybe, those natives cast spells, perform a body protection technique, and make them invulnerable. Wouldn't our muskets become fire sticks?"

"..."

"It's all fucking nonsense!" Xu Kaisheng said loudly: "How can there be any invulnerability? Even if those natives can invite all their gods and Buddhas down, they will still be shot down! Just wait and see, they will rush up in a while, and they will still be shot!" With the way of fighting just now, if you shoot them out with one shot, they will definitely have a blood hole in their bodies!"

The religious ceremony of the aborigines lasted for an hour, and then under the blessing of the wizard and the blessing of the gods in the sky, they charged again with confidence and fearlessness.The native warriors smeared with cow's blood looked extremely ferocious, holding wooden spears, like black evil spirits gushing out of hell.

"Bang! Bang! Bang!..."

Amidst the continuous sound of gunfire, bullets were still shot into the bodies of the natives without hindrance. While taking their lives away, they also left the survivors with great fear and wordless disappointment. companion.

After only four rounds of musket salvo, the natives were defeated again irresistibly, and the decline was even worse than before, running all over the mountains and plains.

Seeing the opportunity, more than a dozen cavalry immediately drove their horses, brandished their sabers, and charged in the direction of the natives' retreat.

The guards in the car array immediately moved the frame and killed them with muskets.

"His grandma, he really thinks highly of these natives!" Chen Yongkuan smiled wryly, then held a dagger, and rushed towards the scattered natives along with his companions.

--------

Cape Town, May 6.

"On April 4, the team arrived at a valley about 27 leagues (1.5 league equals 1 meters) north of Cape Town, and found the first indigenous camp. The troops rested for a while, and then launched an attack, killing 5557 Hottentots People (Note 55), 1 prisoners, 21 sheep and 125 cattle were captured. 18 troops were slightly injured, and no one died.”

"On May 5, about 3 leagues north of Cape Town, another camp was discovered, 2.5 Hottentots were killed, 63 were captured, and 25 sheep and 124 cattle were captured."

"On May 5, at a position about 11 leagues northeast of Cape Town, a third camp was discovered, 3.2 people were killed, 27 people were captured, and 9 sheep were seized"

"On May 5, a fourth camp was discovered at a bend in the river about 19 leagues northeast of Cape Town. 2.5 people were killed, 48 were captured, and 13 sheep and 53 cattle were captured."

"On May 5, on the way back to Cape Town, the troops found an indigenous camp, killed 25 people, captured 16 people, and seized 5 sheep."

"..."

The governor of the Dutch East India Company in Cape Town, Jan van Riebeek, read the battle log presented to him by the sheriff Captain Vincent Jansen, with a satisfied smile on his face, then stood up, holding a teacup, and walked to On an iron stove in the corner of the room, a bubbling hot water pot was picked up to reheat the cooled tea.

Governor Van Riebeck held a warm teacup in both hands, walked to the window, looked at the Fort of Good Hope which was still under construction, but frowned involuntarily.

In 1664, the relationship between Britain and the Netherlands was tense, and it was rumored that war would begin. The Dutch East India Company decided to build a permanent stone fort near Cape Town in order to prevent the British from attacking the place.

Since 1666, the company invested a lot of money and shipped various building materials from Europe to start building the Fort of Good Hope.But until the end of the Second Anglo-Dutch War, the British did not send a fleet to attack Cape Town, which relieved the nervous East India Company.

In July 1667, Britain and the Netherlands signed the "Breda Peace Treaty". Britain relaxed the "Navigation Regulations", gave up its rights and interests in the Dutch East Indies, and returned Suriname, which was seized during the war in Dutch South America.The Netherlands formally ceded the Hudson Valley and New Amsterdam, and recognized the West Indies as the British sphere of influence, and the two sides restored peace.

Without the threat of war, the company would naturally not be willing to continue investing large sums of money in building such a costly permanent fortress.Relying on the strength of the Cape Colony itself, it is impossible to complete this arduous project.As a result, this grandly planned Fort of Good Hope became an unfinished project, continuing the previous model of an ordinary supply station that was almost undefended.

Twenty years ago (20), van Riebeek and other Dutch East India Company employees were sent to the site to establish a way station for resupply ships passing through Asia.In a short period of time, they established a stable station, as well as corresponding vegetable gardens and orchards.

Then, the pioneers also dug aqueducts from the Qingxin River on Table Mountain to divert the river water for irrigation, and traded sheep and calves with the Khoi people here with the crops they planted.In addition, their forests on the southeast sides of Table Mountain and in Hout Bay provided plenty of timber for building houses and boats.

The main defense facility in Cape Town is a two-story castle built in 1654 with mud and wood as raw materials.It is naturally not a problem when dealing with local indigenous attacks.But if it is faced with the attack of European countries with powerful military forces, it may be difficult to hold on.

Since last year, a terrible news has been circulating in the courts of European countries. France has been brooding over Holland's backstab in the legacy war a few years ago.The shrewd Dutch seem to be a little unable to believe these "rumors", and still look forward to the brilliant achievements of defeating Britain and coercing France a few years ago.

Throughout the seventeenth century, almost every war mediation and post-war peace talks took place in the Netherlands.And the proud Netherlanders considered themselves guardians of the law, defenders of the faith, saviors of kings, victorious avengers, and arbitrators of Europe.

Moreover, the Netherlands has established a solid "Triangle Alliance" with the United Kingdom and Sweden, Denmark is its traditional ally, and the business of the German states is monopolized and controlled by Dutch capital, because Spain, which was favored by the Netherlands in the Heritage War, made friends with it.In this situation, will France risk the world's shame and attack us Holland?

However, a colonial official who was well versed in European affairs told Governor Van Riebeck that the French were likely to really attack their Dutch mainland.Because, at this time, the German emperor was busy dealing with the rebellion in Hungary within the empire, Sweden was paralyzed by negotiations with France, the weak Spain was always hesitant to choose whether to break with France, and the traditional ally Denmark joined the triangle alliance because of Sweden , And have a dark grudge with the Netherlands.As for Britain, they will probably not forget the humiliation of the bombing of London by the Dutch fleet a few years ago.

Therefore, there seems to be no power in Europe that can prevent Louis XIV from letting go of his territorial ambitions and coveting the huge wealth possessed by the Netherlands.

So, once France launches a war against the Netherlands, will the colonial stronghold of Cape Town far at the southern tip of Africa be attacked by the French navy?

Over the years, in addition to maintaining a huge army that daunts all European countries, France also spent more than 3000 million francs to build a powerful navy, which has more than [-] large warships equipped with [-] heavy guns and a More than a hundred small and medium ships.

Once a war breaks out, while France aggressively attacks the mainland of the Netherlands, it is likely to send a fleet to attack and capture the various colonial strongholds of the Netherlands in Africa, such as the Gold Coast (part of today’s Ghana), the Slave Coast (today’s Ghana , Benin, Togo and coastal Nigeria), Mauritius, and Cape Town.

For this reason, Governor Van Riebeck ordered the sheriff Captain Vincent Jansen to lead the troops to clean up the indigenous tribes near Cape Town and plunder more livestock in case of emergency; Local immigrants and indigenous slaves began to step up the construction of the defense facilities of Fort Good Hope.

"Perhaps, we should contact the Hanzhou people in the east." Governor Van Riebeck said to himself: "Compared to our relatively weak strength in Cape Town, they are extremely powerful in the coastal areas of South Africa. It would be the best if we can pull them into the water and deal with the French together!"

　The Khoisan are divided into Hottentots (meaning "foolish people", or Khoi) and Bushmen (meaning "bush people", or San).These two are the contemptuous names of the Dutch colonists for the indigenous people in southern Africa. The Hottentots were later changed to the Khoikhoi, which the local residents called themselves, meaning "ordinary people".

　　
　
(End of this chapter)