The Han culture is spreading strongly in Southeast Asia

Chapter 232 The Terrified Dutch

Batavia, Java Island, headquarters of the Dutch East India Company.

Governor Petrus was awakened from his sleep by a rapid knock on the door. He opened the door impatiently, but saw that the person who appeared outside was the commander of the company's fleet in Batavia, Rear Admiral Levi Hendrick.

"Your Excellency, Governor, there is urgent news from Ceylon."

Governor Petrus' sleepiness disappeared in an instant. He jumped up and was about to ask his servant to notify other directors in Batavia when he heard footsteps again. The people had arrived.

The urgently convened meeting was filled with most of the senior executives of the Dutch East India Company in Southeast Asia.

Governor-General Petrus Albertus van der Pala.

Company director, administrator of Batavia, and historically the next governor-general was Jeremias van Riemsdijk.

Fleet Commander: Rear Admiral Levi Hendrick and Brigadier General William Otton.

As well as three senior clerks, including Holdyke, two clerks in charge of recording, and some attendants.

It can be said that the top management of the entire Dutch East India Company has gathered here.

"The French supported Prince Andé with a third-tier battleship, a fourth-tier battleship, more than ten cruisers and armed merchant ships, and an army regiment." Rear Admiral Levi Hendrick said in a deep voice.

"This is the news just sent back from Ceylon. The French-sponsored fleet has escaped the entanglement of the English fleet and successfully arrived in Local Administration."

"Is my darling Louis getting senile? Didn't they just lose the battle?" Company director Jeremias screamed angrily.

"These damn guys actually sent a powerful third-class battleship to the East. Do the French have ten such battleships now?

I'm afraid not. Instead of quickly recovering their own strength, they chose to give a warship that could destroy the balance of power in the East to Prince Andai. How crazy!"

Brigadier General William Ottoen took a look at the list of French infantry regiments supporting Ha Tien and couldn't help but take a breath.

"I know this Colonel Reinstein. He graduated from the Kingdom Military Academy in Paris. He is an excellent aristocratic officer, particularly skilled in cavalry and artillery."

Brigadier General William pointed to his head and said, "If there weren't some problems with his brain, he should be able to at least become a brigadier general."

Governor Petrus had a headache. "Oh my God, this is terrible news!"

Even now, His Royal Highness will be very difficult to deal with if we lose our naval advantage again and if he receives such a reinforcement.

The power balance in the South China Sea will be completely reversed.”

“I think everyone remembers what happened here 30 years ago.

Now, His Royal Highness has begun to regard himself as the protector of the Chinese in the South China Sea, which will be a big trouble."

Governor Petrus' words made everyone a little impatient.

The clerk of Semarang asked hesitantly, "Could it be that this prince wants to avenge his compatriots? Isn't it said that this prince hopes to ascend the throne of the King of Guangnan?
Would he choose this moment to go to war with us and the United Provinces?"

"Of course!" cried Holdyke.

As the Dutchman who was most familiar with Prince Andé, everyone looked at him in horror as soon as he opened his mouth.

"Your Excellency the Governor, everyone." Holdyke said in a deep voice: "Even if I don't know this Prince, I know he will definitely take the opportunity to cause trouble.

Because it's like an excited boy who gets a perfect rifle. His only thought is definitely not to hide the gun, but to find a target that makes him excited and shoot it. "

Secretary Holdyk's expression became strange, and Governor Petrus even stood up angrily.

"Obviously, this target requires the use of a third-tier battleship. Only we can do it. No one else is worthy of using this battleship."

Rear Admiral Levi Hendrick was so angry that he almost fainted. Is being powerful also a sin?

And he was still a little weak. If this was a hundred years ago, the fleet that the French supported to Ha Tien would not be worth mentioning at all.

Because at that time the company had 30 warships, hundreds of armed merchant ships, and a total of more than 2,000 artillery pieces. A third-level battleship could not pose a decisive threat at all.

But now, the company's financial resources no longer allow it to maintain such a powerful fleet in the South China Sea.

The largest warships of the Dutch East India Company at present were two fourth-class battleships with about fifty guns.

And due to the weakening of national strength, the navy of the Federal Republic is no longer what it used to be.

Their total tonnage dropped from just over 100,000 tons to a pitiful 45,000 tons.

Once considered the pride and symbol of the Dutch Navy, the 96-gun Amsterdam was sold for scrap in 1738.

The even more terrifying 102-gun first-class battleship Ian Dracht was unable to go to sea as early as 1712, and soon disappeared from the public's sight.

Up to now, the navy of the entire United Provinces Republic does not even have a first or second class battleship with more than 74 guns.

Of the main third-level battleships with 70-74 guns, only two old Princess-class and three Nassau-class battleships remain.

And there are five Princess Louisa-class battleships, which I don't know if they can be considered third-level battleships. They only have a pitiful 50-54 guns.

The regular army was in such a miserable situation, and the Dutch East India Company was even worse off. They had no third-level battleships, only two fourth-level battleships.

The rest of the warships were too small to be used as cruisers and could not enter the battle line.

The slightly larger of them is the 820-ton Temer, which was built in 1733 and originally called the Morien 1763st. It was sold by the navy to the Dutch East India Company in .

This tier IV battleship had a total of 52 guns, the largest of which were 22 18-pound cannons.

The other ship was Prince Friso, with a displacement of 727 tons and a total of 50 guns, the largest of which was 22 18-pound guns.

Furthermore, the warship was technically the private property of Rear Admiral Levi Hendrick, who had brought it from the Dutch Navy to the Dutch East India Company. The two parties had a semi-employment relationship: the company paid for the lease of the Prince Friso and was responsible for nothing else, requiring only a six-month bill.

The third-class battleship Crown Prince that the French gave to Prince Andé had a displacement of 1400 tons, 74 guns, and a maximum caliber of 26 36-pound cannons.

Moreover, this battleship is newer than the company’s two fourth-level battleships and has been repaired. The speed of the two is surprisingly not much different.

It can be said that unless the Dutch fleet was not caught by the Crown Prince, this third-level battleship alone would be able to destroy the fleet of the Dutch East India Company.

After analyzing the situation, Holdyk saw that Rear Admiral Levi Hendrick's face was pale, and he suddenly had an idea.

Levi Hendrick didn't notice Holdyk's look at all. He was almost going crazy with anxiety.

Because he was originally the captain of the Prince Friso, he had to work very hard to get this battleship out of the navy of the United Provinces Republic, and he still had two loans that had not been repaid.

This would have been sunk by the fleet supported by the French to Ha Tien.

No! Just don't sink it. As long as we monitor it and prevent the Prince Friso from going out to perform combat and escort missions to earn money, he will be finished.

It's like you found a source of goods, took out a loan to buy a heavy truck to transport the goods, but you didn't even earn the interest on the loan, and the business is about to fail. Anyone would feel that disaster is imminent.

However, before Major General Levi Hendrick could speak out his objection, Brigadier General William Otton became impatient.

"No, we can't let this happen, Governor. We must do something."

Damn it, if the navy can’t win, they can still fight guerrilla warfare in the ocean, but the army can’t retreat into the jungle, it would be better to die than to do that.

“According to Major Marco’s report, Prince Andai has at least 1,500 soldiers under his command, whose combat effectiveness is comparable to that of the Company’s army.

"If we add Colonel Reinstein's French infantry regiment, we won't be able to hold out, and Batavia will be in danger of falling," Brigadier General William Ottoen shouted intimidatingly.

"Damn the British! How could they allow these French aid fleets to pass through the Cape of Good Hope and come to the East? They are committing a crime!"

Some people began to curse the British. They were so fierce when they attacked our Lowland fleet. Why couldn't they destroy this fleet in the Atlantic?

"Perhaps we could contact the British in India. They certainly wouldn't want to see the French gain an important ally like Ha Tien in the East, with a powerful fleet."

The Semarang clerk next to Holdek started to make another suggestion, and then the atmosphere immediately became cold, and even the clerk himself was embarrassed.

Because everyone present knew very well that Prince Andai coveted the land of Batavia, but he would not necessarily adopt the most brutal hostile policy, and things had not reached the final step.

But the British, especially the British East India Company, are devils who eat people without leaving any bones. It is said that they starved four million Indians to death in the great famine in Bengal last year.

Not four hundred, not forty thousand, but four million!
Their treatment of the Batavian natives and the Chinese was already cruel enough, but compared to the British, they could even be considered kind.

To cooperate with such a person, haha, everyone here would rather choose to be Prince Andai's prisoner.

"Peter, you are most familiar with this prince. Think about whether there is any way to divert his attention?" Governor Petrus called Holdyk's name affectionately.

Holdyk couldn't help but get goosebumps. The Governor had never been so friendly to him before, because he was the confidant of the previous Governor and was the target of exclusion and attack.

"Governor, we don't have much choice." Although he knew that he might be labeled by Governor Petrus as colluding with Prince Ande, the benefits were too great and he felt it was worth the risk.

"Because this shot, which is ready to be fired, must have a target, a target that will satisfy the prince and will not be completely harmful to us."

Governor Petrus thought for a moment and understood what Secretary Holdyk meant.

"Peter, although Johor Vice King Deng Bolani has escaped the control of the company, we cannot let Prince An Dai control Johor. The consequences will be too serious!"

Before the rise of Mozibu, the Dutch supported a thug in Southeast Asia for cost reasons. He was a Bugis from Sulawesi.

Armed by the Dutch, these guys were very powerful and helped the Dutch do a lot of dirty work along the way.

But in recent decades, the Bugis people have gradually begun to break free from Dutch control.

So far, under the leadership of the five brothers headed by Raja Dengpolani, they have successfully occupied the southernmost tip of the Malay Peninsula.

They controlled the sultanates of Pahang, Perak, Selangor and others, and in fact sidelined the Sultan of Johor. From being a Dutch thug, they became a competitor.

“Governor, we do not need to destroy the Bugis, and the Dengbolanis are not opponents who can be defeated quickly.

We just need to direct Prince Andai's battle to establish his authority towards the Bugis people. I heard that the conflict between the Chinese in Kelantan and the Bugis people in Perak and Terengganu is very sharp.

I think that perhaps we can allow Prince Anthony to occupy Terengganu, so that Prince Anthony can take his attention away from the company.

It can also create irreconcilable conflicts between the Chinese and the Bugis, forcing the Bugis to move closer to us.”

Hearing what Holdek said, the expressions on Governor Petrus and Director Jeremias' faces relaxed.

Perhaps, this is a good choice.

. . . .

The setting sun is slanting, and there is a dessert shop that is not uncommon in Batavia. The owner is a thin Chinese man, but his desserts are famous far and wide, and his business is very good every day.

"A-er, go buy some pears. The candied pears are selling well today!"

At the boss's call, the dark-skinned Ah Er ran over quickly and then went into the kitchen to look for a basket for pears.

"Tell His Royal Highness that if he wants another Tier 4 battleship, I can arrange it for him in half a year at most.

But I want a baronship and land in Ha Tien, and I won’t accept any other place.”

(End of this chapter)