The Han culture is spreading strongly in Southeast Asia

Chapter 425 The Cunning Eastern Emperor

The battle of Semarang ended quickly because in this city of more than 80,000 people, there were 30,000 Chinese, making it the place with the highest concentration of Chinese on the entire island of Java, even more than the political center Batavia.

Moreover, Shi Yaer has been operating here for many years, and he has established a network of relationships and even a mobilization system.

In addition, after the Red River Massacre, a large number of Chinese in Batavia fled to Semarang, which gave this place a sufficient mass base.

Therefore, as soon as the soldiers of the Shinden Guards Regiment landed and had not yet entered the city, the Chinese volunteers in the city responded with a riot.

Now, not to mention the navy in the port, even the district governor Gerardus who hurriedly ran from the port to the bastion of the city hall was blocked and had to surrender in the end.

In the port, the battle did not even start. The Dutch fleet was blocked in the port waiting for negotiations without firing a single shot.

In fact, the sailing warships at this time were somewhat similar to heavy cavalry in some ways. After losing their maneuverability, their combat effectiveness was not strong.

Major General Suffren was wearing the uniform of a French naval general, while Shi Yaer was wearing a bright red flying fish suit, which was very cool.

So even though Shi Yaer was just a middle-level manager in the secret service agency and Major General Suffren was the fleet commander, the two Dutch naval generals still regarded Shi Yaer as the one who was really in charge.

"Captain, we've counted the Dutch fleet in the harbor. It consists of two Tier 3 battleships, two Tier 5 cruisers, and six armed merchant ships."

A captain of the Embroidered Uniform Guard whispered in Shi Yaer's ear, and Shi Yaer was immediately very excited, but of course he did not show it on the surface.

Originally, the strength of the Dutch East India Company Navy was only one level four battleship, but now this level four battleship may be deployed in Peacock Port, but there are two more level three battleships.

This is a huge profit, especially the Batavia. Although it is an entry-level third-tier battleship with only fifty-four guns, it is a new ship!

Especially the more than 1,000 naval officers and soldiers on these two third-level battleships, who are the talents that Dayu needs most at present.

"We need at least two interoperable titles, otherwise we would rather be prisoners." Major General Peter Melville, who was of a slightly lower status, made an offer without any hesitation.

Do you think they will fight to the death for the United Provinces?
This is obviously impossible, because in Europe, which was in the era of the rise of great powers, it was normal to serve across borders. At the same time, after being captured, fighting for other parties was not a shameful thing in the mainstream concept.

What's more, strictly speaking, these two can be considered half mercenaries.

Lieutenant General Van Ginsburgh was from the Austrian Netherlands, or Belgian, and Major General Peter Melville was the son of a Scottish immigrant; neither was a true descendant of the United Provinces.

Of course, in the culture at that time, it was normal for mid- and low-ranking officers and soldiers to connect seamlessly, but for them, such senior generals, it was still somewhat inappropriate.

Therefore, the price they asked for was relatively high.

This mutual exchange of titles between China and France was a special agreement between Mozibu, Louis XVI and Joseph II.

How to do it specifically?

For example, if the Earl of Jinshi conferred upon Colonel Marco by Mo Zibu was a mutual title, he would need to write a letter personally to Louis XVI and Joseph II before conferring the title.

After obtaining their consent, the ambassador to Paris or Vienna will come forward to select a place in these two countries, purchase a manor, and name it Jinshi Manor.

Of course, if you are a little thick-skinned, you can also ask Louis XVI or Joseph II to reward you with a small manor and name it according to the circumstances.

Only in this way would the Earl of Jinshi of the Chinese Empire be regarded as a European earl when he arrived in Europe.

Then Marco would be the Count Jinshi in the Chinese Empire and the first Count Marco in Europe.

Similarly, France and the Habsburg Monarchy also had to go through this procedure to enfeoff each other's nobles.

After arriving in China, these European inter-communication nobles also enjoyed all the privileges of Chinese nobles, including being able to enter the palace to meet the emperor at any time, being allowed to wear noble formal attire, being able to move freely in China and buy property, etc.

With so many benefits, the canonization process naturally needs to be more strict.

Since this agreement came into effect more than four years ago, Mozibu has only conferred the titles of mutual earl on Vice Admiral Fragosse and Manuel Bourne, the man worth a thousand gold coins.

In addition, Louis Cullen, who died in the bloody battle of the North River, was posthumously conferred the title of Baron Hutong.

This shows how exorbitant these two guys' demands are.

As a middle-level official in a secret service agency, Shi Yaer, who was born and raised in Southeast Asia, speaks French and Spanish, and is familiar with dealing with all kinds of people, would certainly not be intimidated by the exorbitant prices asked for by these two.

What a joke! These two are completely unsophisticated in Europe, which still has a strong aristocratic atmosphere.

One of the important reasons why the cohesion of the Federal Republic has been declining year by year is that it cannot enfeoff nobles.

Even the lowest rank of baron or knight is not enough. If you really want one, you can only go to the hereditary ruler William V and ask him to confer the title in the name of Prince of Nassau or Prince of Orange.

But William V was just a puppet. He would have been crazy to use his princely title to confer a knighthood on the United Provinces.

In other words, it is already great enough for these two guys to be able to obtain Chinese titles, and they are dreaming about exchanging titles with each other.

Shi Yaer shook his head. Not only did he not allow the mutual exchange of titles, he even refused to give me a unilateral Chinese title. Captain Shi would save it for the Emperor Guangzhong.

"Generals, in the East, in Seres and China, titles can only be earned through military merit, and I think it's the same in Europe.

Well, right now, His Majesty is looking for people. With your abilities, are you worried about not getting a title?"

The two of them looked at each other and felt that the offer was too low and did not meet their requirements. However, since they were both prisoners, they still patiently asked:

"Sir, since His Majesty the Emperor is unwilling to give us a title, what can we get?" "The position of Vice Minister of the Navy, triple the salary, and an estate near Batavia," Shi Yaer said loudly. "Of course, I hope you two will consider this carefully. This is the closest you will ever get to aristocracy."

"Also, I could actually go out right now and announce to all the middle and lower-level officers, soldiers, and sailors that if they join the Chinese Navy, everyone will enjoy double their salary and an immediate reward of ten pounds each. I think they would be very happy."

As soon as Shi Yaer said this, the faces of the two Dutch naval generals became even uglier. Those guys below would never dare to dream of getting a title, so as long as they paid enough money, they would immediately turn their guns against them.

"Gentlemen, please believe that the commander is not that important, because the Kingdom of France will send a sufficient number of officers to His Majesty the Emperor Guangzhong."

Major General Souffran came out at the right time to break the camel's back. My goodness, I, the legitimate fleet commander, haven't even got a title, and you two actually want to exchange titles with each other.

If you really get it, it will make me seem worthless!

"Make a decision. Time is of the essence. If you refuse, please enter the prisoner-of-war camp now. His Majesty the Emperor can exile you to the Tatar steppes, 5,000 kilometers away."

"Ahem!" Seeing that he would not get the title, Lieutenant General Van Ginsburg, who had been silent all this time, nodded.

"John, I think we can accept the current conditions. His Majesty still has many enemies to eliminate, and there are still many opportunities to achieve great things and become a noble!"

. . . .

Peacock Port is located at the westernmost part of Java Island, about 90 kilometers away from Batavia.

This port is not big and there are not many people around. The reason why it has become a very important military port on Java Island is because it is relatively remote, hidden, easy to defend and difficult to attack.

At the same time, as the second largest port on Java Island, Batavia Port bears the heavy responsibility of importing a large amount of tin ore and exporting crude tin ore, and it cannot be used as a military port.

But this concealment is ineffective for Dayu, because the Viscountry of Penang Port where Mo Zibu was stationed is about two hundred nautical miles away from here.

Lin Tonghuo was extremely excited. The forty samurai under his command had already charged forward, leading the way for the army.

Having been a viscount on Penang Island for seven years, Lin Tonghuo had already fully understood the situation here. He knew clearly the specific location of Peacock Harbor, the berthing position of warships, the coverage range of the artillery batteries, the surrounding hydrological conditions, etc.

Especially regarding the hydrological conditions, in order to obtain clear and real data, his two brothers-in-law died here.

"A Zheng, A Hai, rest in peace!" Looking at the huge fire in Peacock Harbor in the distance and the fierce roar of the Dayu warship, Lin Tonghuo wiped away his tears behind his back.

He scattered the paper money in his hand onto the shimmering sea, which was reflected by the fire at Peacock Harbor.

A Zheng's boat was capsized by wind and waves, and A Hai was discovered by patrolling natives. He died in the sea during the chase.

"Gentleman, three Dutch warships surrendered in Peacock Harbor, two were captured, and over two hundred native soldiers were captured. General Pingnan asked if you need such miners. They can be sold or given away at a low price as a reward."

When Lin Tonghuo heard the message from the samurai on the boat, a cruel look appeared on his face.

"Yes, of course I do! I want all these Javanese natives to die of exhaustion in the tin mines on Penang Island!"

. . . .

"This cunning Oriental man has deceived us all!" A loud curse broke out from Fort William in the British Indian colony.

In the Governor's Office, Governor Warren Hastings took the emergency notification documents that had just been sent from Europe and threw them everywhere.

Baron Woodhall, an important member of the committee, picked it up and took a look, his face turning pale. "The Chinese Empire recognized the United States of America last September, declared hostility with the Kingdom of England in December, and officially declared war on us in January this year.

Why is London only informing us of such important news now?"

Baron Woodhall's face was full of disbelief. If they had known earlier that the Chinese Empire would declare war on the Kingdom of England, they would not have cheated the Qing Dynasty out of 100,000 taels of silver, nor would they have treated Tonghe and the Burmese King Meng Yun as disposable consumables.

This requires careful planning, providing some real materials and allowing them to make a big deal out of it.

"This is a conspiracy, a complete conspiracy. Last year, the Chinese Empire's ambassador only expressed his intentions in front of the highest level of the French Kingdom. The actual declaration of war, announced to the world, was not made until January of this year."

Warren Hastings turned abruptly, looking at Baron Woodhall, and said, "I suspect there must be some secret alliance between France and China. That's why the cunning Emperor Guangzhong used such a trick to delay the declaration of war until now."

"Not good!" Baron Woodhall suddenly exclaimed, "Is Emperor Guangzhong planning to send troops to attack Fort William Province?"

Warren Hastings thought carefully for a moment, then shook his head hesitantly.

"It shouldn't be that bad. All of France's strongholds in India have been eliminated. They can't do that with just the strength of China's navy and army."

Baron Woodhall breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing this and nodded in agreement.

Manet, the last French stronghold in India, had been captured by the British army, and more than 300 prisoners from Europe alone were captured.

This may not seem like a large number, but in fact it is the vast majority of France's military personnel in India, because there are only more than 500 Europeans in total, and the rest are local indigenous vassal troops.

"What's the situation in Lower Burma?" Warren Hastings suddenly asked. "I suggest temporarily suspending the war with the Kingdom of Mysore. We can first allocate some resources to aid Lower Burma. We can also have the Kingdom of Arakan work with us."

"All is going well," Baron Woodhall replied. "Colonel William Bailey has instigated a rebellion against an important vassal of the Guangzhong Emperor. It is said that widespread fighting against the Chinese has begun in Lower Burma."

"Then increase our efforts and don't let him have the mind to covet India!" Warren Hastings said viciously.

(End of this chapter)