The Han culture is spreading strongly in Southeast Asia

Chapter 500: The Money Power of the Chinese Empire
September 1781, 9. August 20, the sixth year of the Guangzhong reign of the Chinese Emperor.

Taking advantage of the last Indian Ocean trade wind blowing northwest, the supplied Combined Fleet set out again.

During this deployment, since the third-class battleship King Yanping was seriously damaged and could not be repaired, in order to maintain the scale of the fleet's battleships, with the consent of the retired Emperor Mo Tianci, the third-class battleship King Xia Zhongwu, which was newly built by the Qui Nhon Shipyard at the end of last year, was added to the fleet.

So this time, two level three battleships, two level four battleships, and four level five sailing cruisers were dispatched.

In addition, there were twenty-seven armed merchant ships and eleven large transport ships, and the entire fleet had a total of forty-six large ships.

Such a large scale is intended to maintain naval superiority in the Indian Ocean as much as possible.

After all, although Chen Lian and Lieutenant General Suffren left several brigantine fast frigates for surveillance in the Palk Strait between the Indian mainland and Ceylon, and there were also spies on merchant ships of various countries on Ceylon, there was no guarantee that the British would not send a fleet to the East for support.

So, they anticipated the enemy in the Indian Ocean from the widest point.

In addition to the 46 large ships and 33,000 soldiers of the combined fleet, there were also 35 Konbaung Dynasty galleys and 6,000 soldiers following the combined fleet.

On the tenth day of August, the joint fleet arrived at Sittwe, an important seaport city in the Arakan Kingdom, which was also where the Bengalis of the Arakan Kingdom lived.

These Muslims from India monopolized Arakan's trade and owned dozens of paddle boats.

They were mainly responsible for dumping opium products produced by the British East India Company in Bengal and inferior textiles shipped from Britain to Arakan, while purchasing food in Arakan and shipping it back to Bengal.

It's outrageous that Bengal has to buy food from Arakan. This is because the British have planted a lot of opium in Bengal, a "crop" with higher economic returns.

Historically, after the British took control of the whole of Myanmar, they moved the capital of the Arakan Kingdom from Myawan to Sittwe and migrated more Bengalis.

These Muslims who arrived in the Arakan Kingdom one after another were the famous Rohingya people in later generations.

Since these Muslims were brought in by the British to support the tyrant Sanda Tumana and control Arakan, Chen Lian had no reason to be polite to them.

Wu Yao, the commander-in-chief of the left army of the Konbaung Dynasty who came with the joint fleet, also fully witnessed what strength is.

The combined fleet broke into Sittwe Port violently, and then launched a massive bombardment of Sittwe Port with dozens of 36-pound naval guns and hundreds of 16 to 32-pound naval guns.

The paddle boats of the Muslims in Sittwe had no chance to fight back and were blocked in the port and sunk. The small artillery in the port was also hit by hundreds of shells before it could even open fire.

The army then rushed into Sittwe city even more violently and began to enjoy the power of the victor.

This time, Chen Lian did not stop the fleet officers and soldiers from fully displaying their bestial side, because the upcoming siege of Fort William would definitely be extremely difficult, as it was the most difficult bastion to capture in Asia.

An hour after the officers and soldiers of the combined fleet entered Sittwe, Chen Lian allowed the Burmese army to enter the city.

The Burmese army, who had been waiting outside the city impatiently, immediately rushed in howling and carried out the final looting.

Huang Renyong and his team were very lucky to discover the home of a wealthy Muslim merchant. In the backyard alone, they dug out two large boxes of various gold items and silver coins.

Qin San held the flintlock rifle in a show of force and drove away the group of greedy Burmese soldiers who were surrounding the door.

When Huang Renyong and others inside had almost finished looting and were carrying the boxes out, Qin Sancai waved his hand lightly and left with the Burmese army's countless thanks.

This is called the rule. Of course, the vassal army can only eat the leftovers.

After occupying Sittwe, Chen Lian left Vice Admiral Ma Bo (Manuel Bonn) to garrison Sittwe and began to build the fleet's own naval port in the Indian Ocean.

Chen Guangtai, the resident of Mabo, led 3,000 soldiers and 5,000 people of the Burmese commander-in-chief Wu Yao to the capital of the Arakan Kingdom, Pyin Uyen, to overthrow the puppet Arakan King Sanda Tumana supported by the British.

On August 27, the fleet arrived at the mouth of the Hooghly River and successfully destroyed several British artillery batteries at the mouth.

Of course, this was because the power of the Kingdom of England in India suffered a severe blow.

The fall of Madras and Fort St. George made Governor Warren Hastings realize that if he did not concentrate his forces for defense, Fort William might also be captured.

Therefore, he wisely gave up defending this wide estuary, which could be destroyed by the army landing at any time, and only used it as a warning beacon.

With the current strength of the British in India, their limited manpower and artillery can only be used to defend Fort William southwest of Kolkata and Chittagong on the east side of the mouth of the Ganges, and cannot be wasted elsewhere.

However, after the combined fleet landed, it did not immediately attack Fort William.

Because the total number of officers and soldiers in the fleet is only about 27,000, while the British Indian Army has about 16,000 more.

Although the British Indian Army was mostly composed of Indians, its combat effectiveness was still acceptable.

The number of troops is not even twice that of the enemy, so it is obviously impossible to directly attack a strong bastion like Fort William.

At the same time, the Hooghly River is just a small tributary of the Ganges before it reaches the sea.

Therefore, the water volume at the mouth of the Hooghly River is not particularly large, and a third-class battleship would still run the risk of running aground if it rashly entered, so caution must be exercised.

The safest way was to use manpower to drag the large-caliber naval guns outside the bastion. Therefore, the combined fleet still had to wait for its own cattle and horses - the Mysore Kingdom's army to arrive.

Vice Admiral Suffren unfolded the map of the eastern Indian continent carefully drawn by the Combined Fleet, pointed back and forth between Fort William and Chittagong, and said to Chen Lian:
“We are now almost certain that England has not sent a fleet to India.

Then the only fleet still active in the Indian Ocean at this time was the British Indian Fleet that was defeated by us after the Battle of Trincomalee.

This defeated fleet also had a third-level battleship, a fourth-level battleship and twenty brigantine armed merchant ships.

If we don't remove them, the oceans will remain dangerous for us."

Vice Admiral Suffren didn't know that the British Indian Fleet's HMS Hero III battleship had been abandoned and sunk by the British, so he still thought the British Indian Fleet had a third-class battleship. Chen Lian nodded, his face full of congratulations. "Your Excellency, Vice Admiral, first of all, congratulations. I have received an imperial decree from His Majesty the Emperor. If you are willing to remain in the Imperial Chinese Navy after the war, you will be awarded the rank of Admiral."

You are the first admiral of the Chinese Empire. You will be forever engraved in the history of the Chinese Empire Navy.

Of course, compared to this honor, His Majesty is going to confer upon you the title of Viscount, recognized by both the Chinese Empire and the Kingdom of France, and to reward you with 2,000 silver dollars for the Battle of Trincomalee, which seems slightly inferior, but it is still what many people dream of.

After hearing Chen Lian's words, Lieutenant General Su Fulang stood up, touched his chest and saluted towards the east, looking a little excited.

This man was also an unlucky guy. His father, Paul de Suffren, was a marquis in Provence.

This background seems high, but it is actually very miserable.

Because by the time Lieutenant General Suffren was born, all that was left of this once glorious Marquisate family was the Saint-Canna Castle and the two small villages around it.

This amount of property was obviously not enough to maintain the status of a marquisate. In order to save face, Lieutenant General Suffren's father had to borrow money from everywhere.

Due to his poor family situation, Vice Admiral Suffren was forced to join the navy at the age of fourteen, and he participated in the War of the Austrian Succession that year.

In the following thirty years, Lieutenant General Suffren fought in many battles, and most of his salary was used to subsidize the expenses of the Marquisate inherited by his brother.

Because in France, without the halo of the marquis, Suffren would not have been able to be promoted to major general or above, let alone come to India as a front commander.

Simply put, Lieutenant General Sufran is fifty-three years old and has almost no property. All his income goes into the family.

One thing can prove how embarrassed he was.

Before coming to India, Louis XVI specially rewarded Lieutenant General Suffren with 1,500 livres in recognition of his achievement in repelling the British fleet in the Siege of Savannah in North America and forcing a British 36-gun frigate to sink itself to avoid being captured by the French army.

Even with this bounty of less than 200 taels of silver, he was forced to send about 150 taels back home to help his brother who was in financial trouble.

Chen Lian looked at Lieutenant General Su Fran who was a little excited. After two years of getting along with each other, he finally figured out Lieutenant General Su Fran's background.

This very good naval commander needed at least 30,000 silver dollars, equivalent to 220,000 livres, to fill the growing gap in his family's income, and he also needed about 10,000 silver dollars to maintain a decent life after his retirement.

The only one who could offer this price for Lieutenant General Su Fulang and recognized his value and was willing to offer this price for him was the Chinese Empire, to be precise, only Emperor Mo Zhao.

This is called precise control!
This naval commander, who was admired by even Napoleon and was called "perhaps the most capable naval commander in French history" by the British, his arch-enemy, will wholeheartedly serve the Imperial Chinese Navy.

"Lieutenant General, His Majesty the Emperor is very generous to anyone with talent. As long as you are loyal to him and the Imperial Navy, money and status will be readily available.

At the same time, as the supreme commander of the fleet, I have full confidence in your abilities.

Give the order, and together we will take Fort William and destroy the British rule in India!"

The reason why Chen Lian chose to say this to Lieutenant General Su Fulang at this time was because the battle was about to reach the most difficult stage.

He was worried that Vice Admiral Suffren would consider France's interests and strategic objectives too much and put the fleet in danger, which was a tendency he had shown during the last siege of Madras.

So at this critical moment, Chen Lian must ensure that Lieutenant General Su Fulang has no reservations and serves the Chinese Empire wholeheartedly.

Especially in naval warfare, Chen Lian is basically still a layman, and Cai Qian and others have not yet grown up.

As for Lieutenant General Van Ginsburg and Major General Peter Melville who defected from the Dutch side, they are not as trustworthy as Lieutenant General Suffren.

"General, please rest assured. I, Pierre André de Suffrand, am willing to offer my all to the Chinese Empire and His Majesty the Emperor."

"Very good, Lieutenant General, I believe that His Majesty the Emperor will reward your loyalty. So what should we do next?" Chen Lian said to Lieutenant General Su Fran with a smile.

"Admiral, I want to divide the fleet into three groups. Vice Admiral Van Ginsburg will lead five fast warships to guard Chittagong and keep a close watch on the port.

Lieutenant General Mo Gongyan led five warships to patrol between the mouth of the Hooghly River and the port of Sittwe in the Kingdom of Arakan. As long as they found any trace of the British Indian fleet, they would entangle them.

I, with my fleet, will be waiting off the coast of Madras."

Chen Lian's eyes lit up. "If I remember correctly, the Mysore Kingdom's 20,000 troops will be riding a large number of offshore sailing ships and heading north to approach us."

“Yes, the British will definitely know this news. If they don’t intercept them, the situation in Fort William will be very critical when the Mysore soldiers arrive.

If they come to intercept, this will be our best chance to destroy the British fleet."

Upon hearing this, Chen Lian immediately stood up, because according to France's interests in mainland India, preserving the Kingdom of Mysore was their top priority.

The British fleet in the Indian Ocean was barely a drop in the bucket for the Kingdom of England.

Even if Fort William is captured this time, we will still face a more powerful English fleet in the future. It is impossible to defeat Britain at sea in one fell swoop.

So from the French perspective, preserving the strength of the Kingdom of Mysore would allow them to have an ally in India that is more reliable than China, and they would continue to be qualified to tangle with the English in the future.

But China was different. Its goal was to destroy the English Indian Fleet in order to quickly eliminate the threat and possibility of British intervention in the South Seas.

And it took a long time for Britain to realize who was qualified to speak loudly in the East.

Now that Lieutenant General Sufran is willing to use the soldiers of the Kingdom of Mysore as bait, it is enough to prove that he has begun to consider China.

"Lieutenant General, I now grant you full command of the combined fleet!" Chen Lian solemnly handed over the supreme command of the fleet. The siege of Fort William was about to begin.

(End of this chapter)