Gou was a member of the imperial family in the late Ming Dynasty

Chapter 1312 Suicide
Initially, Reinice didn't believe the anonymous report, but the problem was that the report was so vivid and detailed that some of the details were too much. In addition, after receiving the report, Reinice sent people to investigate and found that Ribeck had indeed left Batavia several times to go out to sea, and the direction he went was east of Batavia.

In addition, Ribeck visited the board's headquarters in Batavia multiple times before and after his voyage. Although it was unclear what he was doing there or who he met, Reinice was almost certain that the report was highly credible because of it. This made Reinice extremely uneasy.

As the governor of Batavia, Reines was the highest-ranking official of the East India Company in the Far East, and the destruction of the fleet's main force had put him in a very difficult position. In particular, the three directors, led by Jacob, had originally intended to remove him from his post as governor because of the outbreak of war, and now they were secretly negotiating with the Ming Dynasty behind his back. What were they trying to do?
To find out the truth and for his own safety, Reinis, after much deliberation, decided to act immediately upon Ribeck's return to Batavia. Thus, when Ribeck returned to Batavia, Reinis, who had been prepared, had him kidnapped and ultimately found the peace treaty from the Ming Dynasty that Ribeck had brought back.

After reading the terms, Reinius was both shocked and furious. He never expected that Jacob and his men would actually sell him out, using him as a "price" in the peace talks. If they succeeded, he would definitely suffer a terrible fate in the hands of the Ming Dynasty. How could Reinius just surrender like that? For his own sake, he decisively took the initiative to subdue Jacob and his men, even at the cost of using force to kill these bastards who wanted him dead.

Unfortunately, although Reinice was quick, he was still a step too late. Just as he sent men to the board's headquarters to catch them off guard, Jacob and the others also sensed something was wrong due to Ribeck's sudden disappearance and summoned the board's guards to take the same action as Reinice.

Thus, an accident occurred as both sides rushed to each other's locations, attempting to gain control first, leading to the outbreak of this civil war. After the civil war broke out, although Reinius temporarily gained the upper hand, he was unable to defeat Jacob and his men who had retreated to their base to hold out. Moreover, at this time, both General Capelen and the Batavia garrison declared neutrality, clearly intending to wait for a victor to emerge before taking sides.

This situation left Reinice helpless. Unable to secure military control and General Cappellen's support, he could only grit his teeth and try every possible way to break through the board's headquarters. However, with the garrison troops not taking sides, his forces were unable to break through the enemy's defenses.

Helpless, Reinius could only ask Colonel Cohen for a solution. Colonel Cohen eventually gave him an idea: to temporarily deploy two cannons from the walls of Batavia and bring them into the city to bombard the board's headquarters.

With the powerful cannons, the board's headquarters would be no match for them. A few shots would break through their defenses, and then we would have the initiative to either capture Jacob and his men or kill them on the spot.

Reinius, who was in a hurry, agreed to the suggestion, and so the two cannons were transported down from the walls of Batavia and taken directly to the board of directors' residence.

But Reinice never expected that this action would create a breach in Batavia's defenses. The Batavia garrison, already without its supreme commander, was in disarray and could only barely defend against the Ming army's attack. However, without artillery, a powerful weapon, it became the main direction of the Ming army's advance. Without artillery support and fire, the city's defense forces could not stop the Ming army's attack at all, which ultimately led to the Ming army scaling the city walls and breaching Batavia.

"Sir, you go first, I'll bring men to stop them!" In southeastern Batavia, Reinius, who was almost in dire straits, had no energy left. Apart from Colonel Cohen who was escorting him, he only had a guard of less than thirty men.

Meanwhile, not far away, the Ming army was steadily advancing. The well-equipped Ming army was not only numerous but also extremely capable, and it wouldn't be long before they reached them.

"Leave? Where to go?" Reinius murmured, Batavia was finished, and he had no way out.

With most of Batavia captured, even if I managed to break out from here, I wouldn't escape the Ming army's pursuit!
Moreover, as the governor of Batavia, Reinius had lived in the Far East for eleven years and knew the local situation very well.

If one wanted to escape after leaving Batavia, the only possible way was to head south into the rainforest. But how could a person stay in a tropical rainforest? It was fraught with danger. Even a local native would face great risks if he went in alone, let alone a Dutchman. Without enough manpower and a local who knew the jungle to guide him, he would face death.

Moreover, such deaths are extremely cruel and terrifying. They are either poisoned by venomous insects, swallowed by pythons, or killed in various other ways. Reinice did not want to end up like that. If he became food for the creatures of the jungle, he would not only die without a burial place, but would also become the excrement of pythons and other animals. Just thinking about it made Reinice shudder.

"Colonel, how long have you been following me?" Reinice suddenly asked.

"Ten years, sir. I followed you in the second year after you came to the Far East. At that time, I was just a captain who had just been transferred from the mainland," Colonel Cohen blurted out.

“Ten years, that’s not a short time.” Reinice nodded, recalling the first time he met Colonel Cohen. At that time, Cohen had just been transferred from the mainland to Batavia in the Far East. Reinice was not yet the governor, but merely a senior manager of the East India Company in the Far East.

Time flies, and in the blink of an eye, the once young Reinius has not only entered middle age but has also become the governor of Batavia. The young captain, with Reinius's support, has risen to the rank of colonel and remains by his side.

"Colonel, take your men and surrender." "Surrender? Your Excellency…."

"Continuing to resist is pointless. If it weren't for those bastards like Jacob, how could Batavia have been so easily breached by the Ming people? The war is now a complete failure. Even if we manage to escape, do you really think we can cross the tropical jungle, which is more dangerous than hell? As the governor of Batavia, I give you my final order: lay down your weapons and surrender!"

"I..." Colonel Cohen was at a loss for words. He looked at his superior with tears welling up in his eyes: "But you..."

“You might still have a chance to survive after surrendering, and besides, you were just an executor of those events; I was the one who truly made the decisions! I am the governor!” Reinice said, feigning ease. “I think the Ming Dynasty isn’t unreasonable. As long as I take full responsibility, they shouldn’t make things difficult for you. As long as you live, when you have the chance to return to your homeland, telling everyone the truth about the loss of Batavia will be enough!”

Colonel Cohen fully understood Reinice's intentions, and while he was moved, he also felt a deep sense of pity. If he laid down his arms and surrendered, he would certainly have a glimmer of hope, but what about Reinice? Don't forget that one of the important demands in Jacob and the others' negotiations with the Ming Dynasty was that Reinice, as the culprit who started the war, must be severely punished.

From this perspective, if Reinius had fallen into the hands of the Ming Dynasty, his fate would have been extremely tragic. Yet, Reinius issued an order for himself to surrender. This was clearly an attempt to protect himself and those who followed him.

Although Reinius made many mistakes as governor and even some decisions that harmed the company's interests, Colonel Cohen considered Reinius not only his mentor but also his benefactor, and even now, he still thinks of them.

"Your Excellency the Governor..."

“Colonel!” Seeing that Colonel Cohen was about to say something, Reinice sternly interrupted him before he could finish: “I am ordering you as Governor! Colonel! Don’t forget you are a soldier!”

"Yes, Your Excellency the Governor... I accept your orders..." Colonel Cohen straightened his chest, raised his hand to salute Reinice solemnly, and after lowering his hand, his shoulders slumped instantly. He took a deep breath, turned around and gave the remaining men the order to lay down their weapons and raise the white flag to surrender.

Just as Colonel Cohen was arranging for someone to negotiate with the Ming army in preparation for surrender, a sharp gunshot suddenly rang out from behind him.

He turned around abruptly and was shocked to see Governor Reinice bleeding from his chest, a smoking musket lying at his feet, and him swaying and falling backward.

"Your Excellency! Your Excellency the Governor! Your Excellency Governor Reince!"

When Colonel Cohen sprinted to Reinice's side, embracing his fallen body and calling out urgently, the governor of Batavia had already closed his eyes forever, his body gradually losing its warmth. But there was no fear on his face; instead, there was a relieved smile on his face, as if he had let go of everything.

Governor Reinius is dead. As governor, he had his own pride, and he absolutely refused to become a prisoner and suffer the humiliation of being judged by the Ming Dynasty. Moreover, facing no way to escape and with no chance of survival, he was willing to meet God in this way.

After Reinice's suicide, Colonel Cohen wept bitterly, and the remaining soldiers were also saddened by it; everyone was deeply distressed.

Wiping away his tears, Colonel Cohen vowed to himself that he would do everything he could to survive. He remembered what Governor Reinnis had said to him before he died: as long as he lived, he could return to his homeland and tell everyone the truth about Batavia, so that everyone would know that the loss of Batavia and the death of Governor Reinnis were due to the betrayal of the board of directors, and only then would there be a chance to clear Governor Reinnis's name.

"Attention, everyone!" Colonel Cohen stood up and gave the order in a hoarse voice: "Lay down your weapons and raise the white flag! We... surrender!"

(End of this chapter)