The Han culture is spreading strongly in Southeast Asia

Chapter 424 The Twilight of the Empire

The salty, damp and cold wind in the early morning blew across Semarang, which was the second largest city and the largest port on Java Island after Batavia.

This is also one of the few cities in Southeast Asia named after Chinese people. Almost four hundred years later, this city still gives us a glimpse of the power of the Ming Dynasty fleet at that time.

Since it is called Semarang, there are quite a few Chinese in this city. After the Tanjung Bandung Massacre more than 30 years ago, the number of Chinese decreased for a while, but now they are increasing again and becoming more and more assertive.

Because they have Mo Zibu backing them up.

If Tong really understood these situations, he would be even more desperate. Even if the British were really willing to take the time to study them, they would conclude that the Dutch were useless.

But unfortunately, they were not able to understand it properly.

The port of Semarang is mainly used for commercial purposes. In fact, according to general practice, a port that is used too much for commercial purposes cannot be used to berth warships.

But recently, the Dutch East India Company encountered a little trouble. The British began to attack and plunder the Dutch East India Company's merchant ships sailing from Batavia to Europe.

British borrowers were ready to eliminate their debts by eliminating their creditors.

This led to the merchant ships sailing from Batavia to Europe urgently needing the cover of armed merchant ships or even warships. Each batch of spice ships sent to Europe was basically accompanied by several armed merchant ships with more than a dozen cannons but also able to carry some cargo.

With such demand, it is not surprising to see cargo ships, armed merchant ships and even warships appear in a port.

At the Semarang Fort, when a strong southeast wind blew, the Dutch boat on guard on the distant sea raised its red soft sail and used the small triangular sail on the boat to sway left and right with the wind to warn the fort.

Because it discovered that at least fifteen warships and armed merchant ships were approaching rapidly. At the same time, behind these fifteen ships, there were at least thirty transport ships.

But its efforts were completely ignored by the defenders on the fort.

Colonel Marco looked at his officers and the soldiers who had been bribed like him, blocking the door of the room full of officers.

"From now on, we will all change from employees of the VOC to mercenaries of the Chinese Empire.

This is our best chance to be on the winning side, and I hope everyone understands as much as I do how much this will benefit us.

Whether you need a salary, an estate, or even a title, the great and generous Emperor of the Seris Chinese Empire can satisfy you."

Colonel Marco was quite clever. He secretly transformed the colonial armed forces, which basically belonged to the national army, into employees of the VOC company. This way, he greatly reduced the resistance of his officers and soldiers.

After the officers had no objections, Colonel Marco suddenly walked over and stabbed one of the officers, who looked a little panicked, to the ground with one knife.

"Everyone, don't panic. Captain Druidtel's grandfather participated in the infamous raid against the Seres. Only with his death can we all be truly safe."

When the officers and soldiers in the room heard Colonel Marco mention these things, they shuddered. They remembered the Red Creek Massacre thirty years ago.

If we don't change our ways now, we will be in trouble if the Chinese Empire really takes control of Java Island in the future.

"Turn the guns around, block the entrances and exits of the harbor, and sink any ship that dares to go out to sea immediately!" After taking control of the situation, Colonel Marco shouted loudly.

. . . .

"A red flag with a golden sun and moon has been raised at the Semarang Fort. Colonel Marco has taken control of the fort!"

On the sea, less than ten nautical miles away from the port of Semarang, the fifth-class sailing cruiser Guo Zhiqi at the front of the fleet was the first to send back a signal.

Major General Sufran adjusted his military cap excitedly, "Then we will land from the eastern beach and order the third-class battleship Prince of Yanping and the fifth-class cruiser Chen Yonghua to provide cover.

After landing, the officers and soldiers of the Shinden Guards immediately took control of all key facilities in the port of Semarang.

The remaining warships will seize the upper hand and, together with the Semarang Fort, blockade the harbor. If the Dutch fleet dares to go out to sea, they will be sunk immediately.

After making the arrangements, Major General Su Fulang looked at Shi Yaer and said, "Captain Shi, I want you to take an old lock boat to the port.

Those Dutch naval officers don't have strong patriotic fervor, so they should be able to surrender."

. . . .

Standing on the forecastle of the Batavia was Peter Gerardus van Offstraten, a young man in his twenties who was the regional governor of the Dutch East India Company on the northeast coast of Java.

He was an important member of the Batavia power circle and historically served as the Governor-General of Batavia for the Dutch East India Company for five years.

The Batavia was a third-tier battleship with fifty-four guns, belonging to the famous Princess Louisa class, with a displacement of approximately 1,100 tons.

District Governor Gerardus smelled the fresh paint on the hull and a satisfied smile appeared on his face.

The Batavia is not an old ship, but a new ship built this year. The voyage it just made from the Netherlands to Batavia was its first sea voyage.

Not far from the Batavia stood a larger 1759-ton battleship, the Nassau-class battleship built in .

It is much larger than the Batavia, which is also a third-class battleship but can only be considered entry-level, and carries 68 guns.

However, as it is an old ship and has been performing escort missions near Cape Town, the Nassau is in somewhat poor condition.

"Mr. Lieutenant General, Governor Rainier has had some health problems, but he still instructed me to do a good job of reception.

If the officers and soldiers of the fleet are satisfied with the hospitality in Batavia, we hope that in three days the fleet can sail north to the Gulf of Siam to support those who are trying to restore Siam.

We need to show the increasingly ambitious Emperor Seris the power of Europe's naval powers."

This is really terrible. When an empire starts to dive downhill like a runaway car, stepping on the brakes may have the same effect as stepping on the accelerator.

Even slamming on the brakes can be more harmful than stepping on the accelerator.

The reason why the Batavia came to the East on its first voyage was that it was built with most of the funds provided by the Batavia authorities of the Dutch East India Company. Although it belonged to the Navy of the United Provinces, the party that paid for it should still receive some preferential treatment.

Therefore, it became a very reasonable voyage for the Batavia to sail to Batavia.

In order to intimidate Mo Zibu and Dayu, after the Batavia arrived in Cape Town, the authorities of the United Provinces approved the Nassau, which was carrying out an escort mission in Cape Town, to go with it.

So, these two third-level battleships plus three armed merchant ships, a total of five warships formed a squadron and arrived in Batavia.

This was originally a voyage to show off one's strength, and it might actually have some effect, because the main force of the Chinese Navy is actually the French naval officers and soldiers, who only have more than a thousand people.

This was far from enough for a large empire like China. Even with warships, the number of men alone couldn't possibly power so many sailing ships. Therefore, the Chinese Empire's navy only looked powerful, but it was completely bloated. As long as the Dutch fleet left the port, the Dayu Navy could only watch helplessly.

You may not be able to beat him, and even if you beat him you may not be able to catch him.

Fleet Commander Vice Admiral Van Ginsburg smiled faintly and said to the regional governor, "Please convey to the fleet officers and soldiers the gratitude for Governor Rainier's warm hospitality.

I think tomorrow, in less than three days, I will be able to take the Nassau, the Batavia, and ten armed merchant ships to the north.

As for Emperor Seris, he currently lacks a large number of professional naval officers and sailors to serve him. Therefore, even if he built a hundred warships like the Batavia, it would be difficult for them to immediately form a combat capability.

Rear Admiral Peter Melville, the aging commander of the Nassau, nodded in agreement. "For at least five years, we won't have to worry about the threat from Seris, unless the Emperor of Light suddenly acquires over two thousand qualified naval officers and men."

As for what to do five years later, none of the three expressed any opinion, because anyone who was not a fool could feel that the future of the Federal Republic was already very bleak.

Five years later, they were either defeated by the British or the Serbs.

This atmosphere of despair about the future permeated all the Dutch people. Even the hereditary ruler of the Republic, Prince William V of Orange and Nassau, was planning a retreat to England or Prussia.

However, when the number of more than two thousand came out, Major General Peter Melville's heart suddenly skipped a beat.

Because their fleet, together with the East India Company naval officers and soldiers currently in the port, has exactly more than 2,500 people.

"Huh?" Peter Melville, feeling very strange, looked up and was immediately confused.

Because from his position, he could just see the huge cannons of the Semarang Port Fort turning their muzzles and aiming at them in the port.

"Your Excellency, Governor, what are the guards at the fort doing? Isn't this a bit impolite?"

Peter Melville was a little unhappy. This was not only impolite, but extremely impolite.

The district governor looked in the direction of Brigadier General Peter's finger, with a look of confusion on his face, but he soon thought that the colonial army with very low training intensity was making a joke, and he wanted to cover it up.

"Colonel Marco is a very cautious officer, I think..."

"What's that? Why did the patrol ship outside the harbor raise its red sails, but the artillery didn't give any warning?" Before the district governor could finish his words, someone else shouted loudly.

"Boom, boom!" At this moment, the roar of fierce artillery sounded, and the third-class battleship Yanping Wang on the easternmost side opened fire first.

The thirty-seven naval guns on one side of it began to bombard the small artillery battery on the easternmost side to cover the landing of officers and soldiers of the Shendian Guards Regiment.

"Enemy attack, enemy attack, quick, let the Land cruiser rush out first and report the enemy's position and number!"

Vice Admiral Van Ginsburg is very experienced. As an old maritime power, the United Provinces has not completely declined.

The quality of its naval officers and soldiers is still very good, but because the country continues to fall into the quagmire, their fighting spirit and morale are not very strong.

So just two minutes after Vice Admiral Van Ginsburg gave the order, the flag signalman on the Batavia sent out the flag signal.

In the distance, the Land-class V cruiser belonging to the VOC company immediately rang the assembly bell and was ready to leave the port within three or four minutes.

Don’t think it’s slow, it’s very troublesome for the sailboat to leave the port at this time, because the sails will not be hung when it is moored at the dock.

To go out to sea, you must first erect the fallen masts, then pull them with static ropes, and then hang the sails. Only then are you ready to leave the port.

In order to make the sailboat move, it is necessary to continue to measure the wind direction, position and strength. After these are complete, the ropes that can affect the sails can be manipulated.

Finally, the number of sails to be raised and how high to raise them are determined based on the wind direction and wind strength. The traction and pilot boats equipped in the port work together with them before we can go out to sea.

This system feels complicated even to talk about, let alone operate it.

This is also the reason why the navy at that time, having no experience in the past two or three decades, could not form any combat effectiveness.

This is also the biggest reason why King Mo almost lowered his face to lick his brother and let him marry a 36-year-old pockmarked woman who had smallpox.

Without the help of a century-old naval power like France, the newly born Dayu would be unable to drive soft-sail warships.

Of course, they just can't drive soft-sail warships. In the near sea, Chinese hard sailing ships are easy to operate, can leave the port quickly, and can move faster in the near sea. Except that they can't compete with soft-sail warships in the open sea, they can still have no problem guarding the near sea.

Just as the Lander began to move slowly, the alarm bells of the Batavia and Nassau rang and they began to summon officers and soldiers to their positions.

With a loud bang, an explosion sounded even closer, and the thing that Lieutenant General Van Ginsburg and others were most worried about happened.

Orange-red flames spurted out from the Semarang Fort, and shells weighing twenty to thirty kilograms whizzed down from great heights, splashing water more than ten meters high in the direction of the Lander's advance. One of the shells almost hit the Lander directly.

The officers and soldiers on the Land were so frightened that they immediately lowered the soft sail that had just been raised and dared not move forward.

At this time, dense gunfire was heard. It turned out that the Dutch navy was already negligent enough in defense, and the army was even more utterly defeated.

Well, in other words, this kind of colonial semi-militia army is not as good as the Dutch army in the mud.

More than 300 of them were guarding the eastern artillery position, but before the officers and soldiers of the Divine Lightning Guards could rush into their firing range, these guys fled in panic.

Vice Admiral Van Ginsburg and Rear Admiral Peter Melville looked at the district governor in shock as more than a dozen shells were fired from the platform in Semarang.

There was a sound of ghostly howling in the harbor, and the splashing water was blown onto them by the breeze.

District Governor Gerardus looked at the old lock ship with a huge white hard sail, which was a combination of Chinese and Western styles and was speeding towards him in the distance. His face turned pale and his mind was in a mess.

After a long while, he proposed: "Semarang City Hall is a bastion fortress. Generals, let's retreat to the bastion first."

However, Lieutenant General Van Ginsburg and Major General Peter Melville looked at each other and shook their heads at the same time.

What a joke, a naval commander went to the city hall to hide, not to mention whether it was useful or not, that would be too shameful.

"We won't go. The navy soldiers will stay with his warships." said Major General Peter Melville.

The district governor looked at the two men deeply. He didn't know whether they were telling the truth or lying, and he didn't know what to say. He sighed and got off the boat with the guards around him.

(End of this chapter)