The wind blows from the South Sea

Chapter 86 Why?

Landa Pass Fortress

When it was first in the hands of the Huang family, only a few stone houses were built here, and more than ten Huang family servants were stationed to guard the mules, horses, carts and people entering and leaving the mountain pass.

After the Nanyang Company captured this place in one fell swoop, it carried out continuous construction according to the dangerous mountain terrain. From the construction of a tall city wall spanning the entire valley entrance to the scale of the fortress, it never stopped.

Since the original valley mouth was not large, with one side leaning against a steep cliff and the other side close to the fast-flowing Calabash River, after the gradual construction of the fortress was completed, there was not much room for strengthening.

Therefore, a new valley front fortress was built about 2.7 kilometers in front of the original valley entrance, taking advantage of the relatively narrow and favorable terrain.

Construction began in early March 1859 and was in full swing.

After the plan is completed

The "Valley Front Fortress" and the "Taniguchi Fortress" will form a double-layered fortress defense system that can support each other, which will greatly enhance the defense depth and strength of the Landa Valley and improve its defense capabilities.

Feng Guohui was very concerned about the construction of the "Guqian Fortress" and would come from Surabaya City every three or four days to inspect the progress of the project here.

The terrain of the valley front fortress is far less steep than the valley mouth fortress. It is divided into three parts: the left bank fortress, the right bank fortress and the ridge fortress. It is the first line of defense against the enemy.

It is only 14.6 kilometers away from Sishui City. It is composed of a series of rolling hills. The high hills are more than 780 meters and the short peaks are more than 260 meters. The forest is lush and green. Across this area is the flat Sishui Plain.

The front of the fortress on the right bank is wider, and a defensive wall with a length of 828 meters needs to be built. A defensive bastion is also built on the side near the Hulu River and the side near the mountain.

The Ridge Fortress is in the mountains 6.6 kilometers away on the right bank. There is a valley road there that can bypass the back of the valley front fortress, which is a great hidden danger.

To this end, Feng Guohui has ordered that 350 people be transferred from the Ridge Fortress construction site and 800 coolies from the iron mines. Together with the original more than 2300 workers of the Right Bank Fortress, they will carry out assault construction. The main project of the Right Bank Fortress must be completed within two months.

approaching war

This place should be strengthened to 1 to 2 companies, that is, between 180 and 200 troops, to ensure a solid defense.

The surface of the rushing Hulu River has expanded from 44 meters to 92 meters here. The water flow has slowed down and it no longer has the ferocity of rushing down the mountain stream.

If the Dutch army detours here, the fortress in front of the valley will be defeated without attack and become a deaf ear... decoration.

It was planned to build a 7.5-meter-high city wall, but now most of it is only about 4 meters, only half completed, and the construction progress is already behind schedule.

More than 630 workers worked day and night to build it, which lasted more than three months. The Ridge Fortress has gradually taken shape, and about % of the project has been completed.

More than 30 masonry houses were built behind the fortress for the daily accommodation and training of the garrisoned soldiers. There are also water reservoirs, hay sheds, etc., and the facilities are relatively complete.

The formulation of this deadline was based on Feng Guohui's prediction of military operations related to the Governor-General's Office in the Netherlands East Indies and the result of considering the worst-case scenario.

He took his men lightly and lightly into the depths of the valley, and checked the progress of the ridge fortress 6.6 kilometers away from the right bank fortress, and felt quite satisfied.

Late September

The front of the defensive wall is 7.5 meters high and 3.8 meters wide. The front is made of large rocks, and the cement trenches are filled evenly. The main body of the wall is made of rammed earth, and the inner side is built with black core bricks, with caves reserved for hiding soldiers and weapons. library.

The Ridge Fortress consists of a towering bastion as its main body, with 6.2m-high walls spread out on both wings, about 272 meters long from east to west, closing the entire valley road.

After 8 days, Feng Guohui came to Landuo Mountain again for inspection. This was the sixth time he came here this month.

It can be said that as long as the army is stationed, the Ridge Fortress already has complete defense capabilities.

The left bank fortress is about 170 meters wide and connected to the mountain collar about 517 meters high. It mainly consists of a 6.8-meter-high and 3.2-meter-wide defensive city wall, two artillery positions and ancillary military camp facilities behind the defensive wall.

Compared with the ridge fortress, the progress of the right bank fortress with the largest amount of work is not satisfactory.

The right bank fortress is the main body. From here, you can go directly to the Taniguchi fortress along the road along the Hulu River. After breaking through, you will enter the core of Tieshan Town. Defense is particularly important.

When Feng Guohui arrived, the entire main body of the city wall had been completed. What was left was the superstructure of the cone-shaped bastion, the cave ammunition depot dug into the mountain rock, and some auxiliary military facilities.

After Feng Guohui led people to conduct an on-site investigation, he believed that it was necessary to build a defensive wall here, and usually no less than one platoon of soldiers would be stationed there.

He guessed

No matter how slow the Governor of the Dutch East Indies was, nearly two months after the Surabaya Incident, he could more or less understand a partial and complete picture of the incident.

in the worst case

The Dutch army mobilized heavy troops to invade on a large scale. It would take at least 2 to 3 months to expand the army and mobilize troops, which meant that the war would resume between July and August.

Through various channels, Feng Guohui learned in detail about the current stationing and deployment of the Dutch colonial army and knew that it was temporarily unable to launch a large-scale military operation.

Now the Dutch army has 10 fingers blocking 9 holes... and they can't separate themselves at all.

More than half of the white colonial army, which totals more than 8000 people, is stationed at the forefront of the military confrontation on Sumatra Island. There are more than 2600 soldiers left on the large island of Kalimantan, and no more than soldiers remain on the main island of Java.

As for the total number of 2.5 indigenous servant troops, there are about 13 people left on Java Island, and the two together only amount to more than 000 people.

After retaining the minimum garrison, how much military force can be deployed to suppress the rebel forces in Surabaya City? At best, it is just about the same strength as the Nanyang Army after the expansion.

The Nanyang Army is now a strong regional army built with elite equipment and high-intensity training. It really needs guns and cannons, and its combat effectiveness has far exceeded that of the long-haired remnants who use cold weapons.

It was with this elite army in his hands that Feng Guohui dared to act with confidence and brought the entire East Java region into his own sphere of influence.

If the Dutch army invaded, the most likely way would be one by sea and one by land.

The sea route runs from the Surabaya Strait from the sea to the land, and the Seven Stars Fortress is a defensive measure to prevent the Dutch army from attacking by sea.

The overland route was the Dutch army's massive invasion from west to east, starting from West Java. The movement along this route was even louder and could not be concealed from the public.

The Nanyang Company has set up multiple spy posts in important cities such as Batavia and Bandung, and will quickly report any signs of trouble.

In order to prepare for the war against the Dutch army, Feng Guohui basically put off his plan to open a new trade route on the western front this year.

Wu Siwen's troops' continuous military campaign to suppress several indigenous tribes west of Yanwang City has now come to an end and has achieved the good results expected in advance.

The Nanyang Army's deterrent power in the hinterland has greatly increased. Wherever the military orders are sent, the local indigenous tribes all surrender and surrender.

Through the clearing operations, Wu Siwen's troops opened up a smooth zone 32 kilometers deep to the west, clearing out most of the indigenous population along the way.

Chen Yong's cavalry battalion grew to more than 230 people, most of whom rode mules, and there were also 44 horses, forming a rare cavalry unit in the area.

At its peak, the Dutch colonial army was equipped with about 1300 war horses and a cavalry team of 136 people, mainly used for communication and delivering military orders.

Now, this cavalry team has been disbanded.

the reason is simple

As a noble arm, maintaining a 136-man cavalry team requires five times the military expenditure of the same number of infantry. This is an additional expense that the Governor-General of the Dutch East Indies will never tolerate.

in this regard

The Dutch are very picky. The weapons and equipment level of the soldiers are still far behind the first-class level in Europe.

The remaining war horses of the Dutch colonial army were used by white officers with a total of more than 1200 people. They were mainly riding horses rather than cavalry.

The cavalry unit owned by the Nanyang Army is the largest mobile cavalry force in the entire Java Island.

Today, the number of white officers and soldiers in the Dutch colonial army has dropped by one-third. Most of the mercenaries from Flanders, Prussia, Switzerland and France have also disappeared, and their military strength has declined unprecedentedly.

The Dutch colonial army strictly prohibited the recruitment of Walloons, Arabs, and people from Britain, the United States, and other countries to serve in the Dutch overseas colonies. Other foreigners who could not prove that they were fluent in Dutch or German would not be accepted.

Of course, the Dutch colonial army is expected to invade in large numbers from July to August. This worst-case scenario is just Feng Guohui's estimate.

All military preparations are based on this time point as the deadline.

The right bank position of the Valley Front Fortress plays a particularly important role and must be completely completed before the end of August. It can only be advanced and cannot be postponed.

Due to the natural gap between white society and Chinese society, it is impossible to deeply understand the high-level decision-making trends of the Dutch Government House, and can only wait passively.

We cannot rule out the possibility that the Dutch colonial officials, fearing that things would become too big to deal with, tried their best to cover up the changes in Surabaya.

In that case, it will of course be more beneficial to the development of the Nanyang Army and win a valuable period of growth opportunities.

Batavia Old Town, Governor's Palace

Small conference room on the second floor

The governor-general, Count Charles Ferdinand Bahou, sat at the top of the long table with an ugly expression. On either side of him sat the political officer James Loudon, the governor-general's secretary Gosens, and Lieutenant General Koch of the Royal Netherlands Army. , Rear Admiral Jule of the Royal Navy, Lucius, the resident officer affiliated with the Home Affairs Administration, Highfield, the secretary, and more than a dozen senior officials.

All the senior decision-making officials of the Governor's Mansion are gathered here, and everyone's face is full of worries, as if something big has happened.

If a big bomb were thrown in, the top brass of the Governor-General's Palace in the Netherlands East Indies would definitely be wiped out.

The governor, Count Charles Ferdinand Bahou, was the first to attack. He banged on the table and asked;

"Now I just want to know, where did this bullshit Nanyang Company come from? What is going on? Who can answer this question clearly and accurately?

What happened in Surabaya City?

How does the Internal Affairs Bureau control the local area? Why is the entire East Java region now out of control and we are being manipulated like fools who don't know anything?

This is absolutely ridiculous, can anyone tell me why? "

(End of this chapter)