The Han culture is spreading strongly in Southeast Asia

Chapter 623 Don’t Be Soft-Hearted

The dusk was dark, dark clouds obscured the moon in the sky, and even a few stars were visible.

The entire tent was silent. Most people were asleep, with only the occasional cries of livestock and the sounds of people walking back and forth.

This is the largest indigenous camp in the Barisan Mountains, with more than 60,000 natives gathered here.

The tropical rainforest is extremely dangerous even for indigenous people.

They simply didn't dare to live in the rainforest by simply finding a place and building a few huts as later generations believed. That was seeking death.

In fact, the most important thing about living in a tropical rainforest is to be close to the water source but not right next to it.

Being close to a water source, access to water is guaranteed.

It is not suitable to be located close to a water source because if the river flows slightly slower, a large number of mosquitoes will breed.

Even though the Chinese have the help of quinine water which is expensive but available, this thing will still cause the death of about 0.03% of the population every year. That means that now about 5,000 Chinese in Southeast Asia die from malaria every year.

The mortality rate of the indigenous people is at least one percent, which is about one hundred in ten thousand. If they dare to stay near the river where the water flow is not smooth, they may be wiped out by malaria.

Therefore, although it was not easy for the Chinese to find all the indigenous people in the vast Barisan Mountains, the indigenous people did not have many places to hide and were forced to live in clusters as much as possible.

But once it is discovered, thousands or tens of thousands of people will suffer a devastating disaster.

A Jambi native turned over in his damp bed in annoyance; he had slept very uncomfortably.

Because his bed couldn't actually be called a bed. It was just a few wooden sticks covered with some branches and leaves. The only clothes he had were sheets.

In this jungle, there are mosquitoes, poisonous snakes, scorpions, poisonous spiders, big crocodiles, etc. None of them are easy to deal with. Even the natives have to be careful. It is normal to have poor eating and sleeping.

"Whoa, whoa!"

A little baby was bitten by mosquitoes and his body was covered with red rashes. His skin was scratched and began to ooze fluid. He didn't understand what was happening and could only cry to alert his parents. He was in great pain.

The native, who was already unable to sleep, became even more sleepless because of the crying. He got up irritably, muttering curses and walked out of the shed.

"what?"

As soon as he walked out of the shed, the native couldn't help rubbing his eyes, because suddenly there were stars of light in the distance, arranged in a very regular pattern, and moving forward continuously.

Thanks to the favorable geographical conditions, the indigenous people on the Southeast Asian islands have plenty of fish, shrimps, and crabs in their diet, so they basically do not suffer from night blindness.

So he quickly saw what was coming from the other side.

Those were groups of Tang soldiers wearing black battle uniforms, and each starlight was a torch!
The native opened his mouth to shout, but suddenly he felt a piercing pain in his waist and ribs, and then a big smelly hand covered his mouth.

A feeling of powerlessness quickly spread throughout his body. Reluctant and confused, he looked to the left with great effort. He did not see a human face, but he saw a horn made of buffalo horn around his waist.

"Minan. Nan." The native tried his best to utter two syllables with his covered mouth. He finally knew what happened, but he had no time to notify anyone.

Mao Xiangsheng secretly exclaimed that it was a close call, as the first wave of attack was almost ruined by this native. He waved his hand and quickly gave orders.

"The soldiers from Songcheng and Jeddah marched to the left.

Aizu, Sendai, and Tosa domain soldiers walked to the right.

Seventh and Eleventh Silla Infantry Companies, follow me in the middle.

The troops from Gwangju and Chungju, along with the Jiading garrison troops, were divided into ten squads and set fires and dropped bombs everywhere.

Mao Xiangsheng now has rich experience. He has participated in the conquest of Japan and Goryeo. He is one of the middle-level officers in the Dayu army with the most experience in commanding local vassal troops.

His military rank was also promoted to colonel, and he was only one step away from becoming a general. Although this step seemed like an insurmountable chasm, Mao Xiangsheng was full of energy and had been preparing for it.

Following his arrangements, the vanguard of 2,500 people, supported by the Minangkabau people, quickly rushed into the native camp.

A violent explosion suddenly rang out in the early morning. Many natives rushed out of their sheds in panic, and were then shot down by the Chinese soldiers who had been waiting there.

In the darkness, many people were crying and running around. Hong Wanjin commanded an infantry company composed entirely of Silla people, standing still like a reef.

Because of his accurate discovery, he was promoted and had a small company of Gwangju soldiers under his command.

They were like reefs, and the frightened natives were like tiny waves.

Under the cover of darkness, the natives ran around like headless flies, and were immediately crushed to pieces when they bumped into the reefs of Hong Wanjin and his group.

There was a sudden flash of fire, and a large number of natives who were running over fell down. Hong Wanjin's company did not pursue them because these people would come back.

Sure enough, after a while, bursts of gunfire rang out from other places, like lightning.

The natives could not bear the damage and in their terror forgot that they had been beaten just now, so they rushed over again crying.

Hong Wanjin suppressed his nervousness and observed carefully. There were not many people coming.

"Bayonet, bayonet!"

He shouted loudly, and as soon as the soldiers raised their muskets, the natives rushed over.

'Kuji! Kuji!'

The sound of the bayonet stabbing into the chest was like piercing a bag full of water. When it was pulled out, there was a popping sound as air quickly entered.

After three rounds of stabbing, the pressure was growing. Hong Wanjin immediately changed his fighting style. He suddenly fired a fierce volley of gunfire and bombs, quickly killing hundreds of natives.

Because it was so dark, the natives could only judge from the light of the fire that this place was not easy to deal with, so they immediately ran to other places.

Then after a while, the sounds of volleys of gunfire and bombs from the other side suddenly began to sound.

Just like that, in the darkness, the terrified natives ran around in panic, and were constantly knocked down in large numbers by the Chinese army who had already occupied various positions.

"What's going on? What's going on?" Sultan Qasim of the Sia Sultanate ran out wearing a tight white cotton robe.

But no one could answer his question because his guards were also in a panic, and the maids had already started screaming and running around.

"Sultan Qasim, hurry, here!" Someone called his name in the chaos. Siya Sultan Qasim was overjoyed because the person who called him was Raja Alam of Minangkabau.

Although Alam was one of the few monarchs who was not called Sultan but was called the old-fashioned Raja, and was therefore not very popular, Sultan Qasim was still very happy to see him at this time.

At least at this moment when his mind was in chaos, someone could make an idea.

Sultan Qasim shook off the panicked guards and walked over immediately, but halfway there he realized something was wrong, because there were a few strong men beside Alamraja who did not look like Minangkabau people.

Sultan Qasim was suddenly enlightened and turned to run, but it was too late because Yamagami Toru, who was extremely professional in this field, had already taken out his legendary equipment.

Divine gun-break the poverty light and strike!
Bang! With a loud noise, the exploding bullet directly blew the head of Qasim Sultan, who had just turned around, into a bloody mess.

"Let's do it!" Yamagami Toru shouted, drew out the sword from his waist, and rushed forward.

"Kill them!" A group of Japanese warriors drew their katanas and slashed at the others inside. A camp of 60,000 people couldn't be the size of a basketball court, but stretched for four or five miles.

Therefore, although the 2,500 raiders entered the core area of the camp with the help of insiders, it was impossible to kill them all in a short time.

So when the sky began to brighten, the pioneers began to drive.

Open fire on the east, south and north sides, leaving the west alone.

The natives who had lost their leader were in chaos. Even if there were a few smart people, they would not be able to organize the terrified people in this situation.

The result was that the natives fled out from the west like a torrent, and then the Yangwu Army and many elite vassal and town vassal soldiers who had been lying in ambush in the woods on both sides of the road immediately opened fire.

Bombs as big as pomegranates fell from the sky, and then bullets rained down without stopping for a full hour.

It was so tragic. The road, which was about two kilometers long, was littered with mutilated corpses. Many natives were groaning in pain on the ground before they even died.

Occasionally, there were some people who were completely uninjured. They sat there blankly in the pile of blood and flesh, their minds almost completely insane. Only five out of a hundred could escape from here.

"Let the trainee officers go down to make up the damage, especially the trainee officers from the Guazhou Army Officer School and the Beijing Cavalry Officer School. They must all go.

Each person must kill at least ten people and cut off their heads and hand them in. If they are short of one head, we will give them a rank of D in this apprenticeship."

Brigadier General Luo Renyong, commander of the left guard of the Yangwu Army, spoke loudly, looking down on those trainee officers who had never killed anyone.

The trainee ability is divided into five grades: Excellent, A, B, C, and D. Grade D is the lowest. If you get this evaluation, you will definitely fail and forget about getting the rank of Central Guard.

Therefore, although several trainee officers were frightened pale by the Shura scene below, they still had to hold their knives and walk down with an fearless look.

In fact, apart from the two things that Sultan of Aceh Alauddin Muhammad Sayyid did not anticipate, namely, steamships and the fact that China had specialized mountain and jungle corps, there was another thing that he did not anticipate.

That is, in order to achieve success in one battle, Zheng Miao mobilized 6,000 Beijing troops, 6,000 navy, 10,000 Nanyang envoys' garrison troops, 30,000 Nanyang vassal troops and Dongyang vassal troops, and more than 50,000 various Chinese volunteers, Nanyang volunteers and slave soldiers.

A force of over 100,000 was something the Acehnese could never have imagined.

Because in Southeast Asia, no country can mobilize an army of this size, which is beyond their understanding.

The Acehnese are quite good at fighting. Historically, they resisted the Dutch colonists for almost a hundred years. But what this shows more is not that the Acehnese are good at fighting, but that the Dutch are weak.

Not to mention conquering Aceh, even conquering the Palembang Sultanate was full of twists and turns. After its peak period, the Batavia authorities of the Dutch East India Company dispatched 3,000 people and dozens of armed merchant ships at one time, which was considered a lot.

With such a small number of people, it is certainly impossible to quickly defeat Aceh. They can only fight while instigating internal conflicts among the indigenous people, so that Aceh can naturally appear brave and warlike.

However, the national strength of the Dayu Dynasty of the Chinese Empire at that time was not comparable to that of the Dutch East India Company in the same time and space.

Even if it was just a Prime Minister like Zheng Miao, he could easily mobilize a force of 100,000 people, which was thirty times the number of Dutch colonists in the same space and time.

How could the small Sultanate of Aceh afford such a blessing?

On the 22nd day of the 11th lunar month, with the support of the Minangkabau people, the Chinese Empire quickly disintegrated the indigenous alliance on the island of Sumatra.

For twenty days, the entire Barisan Mountains were enveloped in blood and gore. Sia Sultan Qasim was killed, and the rest of the sultans of Palembang, Makassar and other countries were captured.

Their entire family, including the family of Sia Sultan Qasim who was beaten to death, were imprisoned and prepared to be taken to Nanjing Yingtian Prefecture for questioning.

So apart from the other native sultans and chiefs of Aceh, only a few escaped and hid in the mountains and disappeared.

At that time, there were 2.2 million natives on the entire island of Sumatra, of which the Sultanate of Aceh alone accounted for about 800,000, and the other sultanates shared the remaining one million.

The number of people who responded to the call of the Sultan and tribal leaders and stayed in the Barisan Mountains was about 400,000.

During the twenty-day campaign, more than 40,000 people were killed, more than 160,000 were captured, and the remaining half fled.

On November 29, Zheng Miao convened another military meeting in Jambi City and decided to leave the Yangwu Army Central Guard in command, and Army Major General Du stayed in Jambi to continue leading people to clear out the scattered natives from various places.

Zheng Miao personally led 10,000 elite troops and sailed directly to Banda Aceh, the capital of Aceh, via steam-powered ships.

At the same time, Army Lieutenant General and Bandit Suppression General Dong Jinfeng led 50,000 infantry and cavalry to clear out the enemy from land, and continuously compressed the natives on the westernmost island of Aceh towards Banda Aceh in the west.

On December 11, Dong Jinfeng captured Lansa, an important city on the way to Aceh. After looting, his troops burned the city to ashes. All the food stored by the Acehnese people that could not be taken away was also burned.

The Acehnese who fled from Lansar could only cover their mouths in the jungle, tears of pain streaming down their faces.

It's only December now, and almost all the food has been burned. God knows how many of them will survive after so many of them fled into the jungle, with little food and no houses to live in.

On December 26, the army arrived at Bataan, the last important town before Banda Aceh. To the left of the city was an impassable tropical rainforest, and to the right was a volcano that was still erupting.

If we want to continue advancing to Banda Aceh from here, we must take Bataan.

The one guarding Badan was Prince Saif, the younger brother of the Sultan of Aceh. He stood on the top of the Badan Fortress, pointing to the overwhelming Han army in the distance and said to the people around him with a smile:

"Don't underestimate them because they have many people. Our fortress is strong enough. Even if we fight until the rainy season comes, they won't be able to get close."

The Acehnese around were also full of confidence, and flattery poured out of their mouths without paying.

Dong Jinfeng smiled and nodded, saying to the people around her, "The Acehnese are indeed more powerful than other natives. They were able to build a fortress made of stone and lime mud right here."

At this time, there were still more than 30 years before the invention of modern cement, but items such as hydraulic lime had already appeared. These new and old combinations were called lime mud in China.

"But they shouldn't have met us. They are destined to die without a complete body." Dong Jinfeng laughed.

It turned out that he had captured tens of thousands of young and strong natives and used them to death. In this situation where manpower was not spared, the Yangwu Army brought six 48-pound large mortars.

This small Acehnese fortress is not a bastion, how could it possibly withstand it?

Sure enough, on the third day of the battle, the Chinese army successfully deployed the mortars.

Then six guns began to bombard the Bataan Fortress continuously. After only one day of bombardment, the fort was riddled with holes and could not be defended at all.

Prince Saif, who was still boasting three days ago, was hit by a huge stone bullet while supervising the battle and went to see his God in an instant.

At this point, all roads leading to Banda Aceh are open.

However, Dong Jinfeng did not start attacking the city immediately because he had received a battle report. Due to the strong wind, the navy did not immediately attack the military port of Banda Aceh, but was repairing on a nearby island.

Commander-in-Chief Cai Qian decided to start the war on land first. When the fighting became intense, the navy would appear directly from the open sea to poke Banda Aceh in the ass and prevent the Sultan of Aceh from escaping in the chaos.

Dong Jinfeng certainly had no objection to this arrangement. It would be a good thing if the navy did not come to take away such a great achievement as taking Banda Aceh and destroying the Sultanate of Aceh.

"Except for the officers and soldiers of the Yangwu Army, all the other Nanyang vassal and Dongyang vassal soldiers should disperse and bring back all the natives you can see. Those who cannot be brought back will be executed on the spot."

This is a common practice in Dayu. The Beijing Camp and the Imperial Guards rarely get their hands dirty doing dirty work.

"Mao Xiangsheng, go control the Japanese soldiers and tell those warriors that the time has come for them to serve. Don't show any mercy!"

(End of this chapter)