Persian Empire 1845

Chapter 352 Governor-General of the Dutch East Indies
The day after the start of the war, Nha Trang was completely occupied. The Iranian navy gained a base and continued its northward advance to attack Hue and Tua Than.

At this time, Vietnam was in chaos, and Emperor Tu Duc led his officials to flee to Hanoi. But the Iranian navy did not give them a chance, and after resupplying in Nha Trang, they attacked Tua Thanh in Hue.

Iran has been preparing for this war for a long time. This timing was also carefully chosen by Iran; every country has its own affairs to attend to, and Vietnam's attempts to seek support would be fruitless.

But on the other side of the sea, someone was watching this war closely. Ludolf van der Beller, the newly appointed governor of the Dutch East Indies, was in Batavia, where he had to preserve the kingdom's largest colony for the sake of the country.

Currently, the situation in the Dutch East Indies is relatively good, with a booming economy and increased industrial and mining output. Dutch control is very firm. However, these are all superficial appearances; behind this prosperity lies a deep and unfathomable crisis.

First, there was the Aceh War on Sumatra, where the local people used guerrilla warfare to kill a large number of Dutch troops. This was actually happening every day, but at some point, things changed. The Aceh people used cannons and firearms, launched a successful counterattack, and joined forces with the Siak people to the south against the Dutch.

The island of Sumatra was engulfed in conflict, and the economic situation made him even more uneasy. It was well known that the Dutch had only two centers of influence: Java and the Maluku Islands. The Dutch held absolute dominance in the Maluku Islands, but in Java, the local population was the majority. And the Chinese made up the majority of local trade.

The Dutch initially thought that after Lanfang's independence, many Chinese had left, allowing them to take advantage of the situation. However, they soon realized they were being too naive. The local Chinese community banded together, forming a chamber of commerce to manage the Chinese economy in Java. Coupled with the Chinese's hard work and dedication, the local economic situation remained unchanged, still controlled by the Chinese.

The charts presented by the finance minister were alarming: Iranian trading companies controlled 60% of tin exports; local Christian merchants boycotted Dutch goods; and Iranian capital was buying up large tracts of land in Sumatra. All of this indicated that Iran was preparing to further annex the Dutch East Indies.

What's most chilling upon closer inspection are some of the recently seized items: a guerrilla warfare manual written in Persian, a map of Sumatra marked with Dutch garrison positions, and a letter stamped with the seal of the Tehran Armory.

It's now a done deal: Iran is secretly supporting Aceh. This is another devastating blow to the Netherlands, following the loss of Lanfang. The consequences of losing Sumatra would be unimaginable.

The military conference room was filled with smoke. Two battle maps hung side-by-side on the wall: on the left, in Vietnam, Iranian forces had formed a pincer movement, the navy controlled the central coastline, and the army advanced from Cambodia. On the right, in Sumatra, red markings indicated that the Aceh guerrillas' area of ​​operation had tripled.

"Gentlemen," the governor tapped the table, "the Iranians are fighting two wars simultaneously—one openly against Vietnam, and the other secretly aiding Aceh."

The torrential rain pounded against the Gothic arched windows, and Governor Van der Beller's gold pocket watch cast a trembling shadow on the oak table. The breaths of twelve senior officers condensed into white mist in the enclosed conference room, mingling with cigar smoke like an invisible net.

“Gentlemen,” the governor suddenly shattered a Persian crystal ashtray with his pocket watch, the flying shards carving a crack across the Vietnam campaign map, “this isn’t two wars—” his fingers traced the crack from Hue to the depths of the Sumatran jungle, “but the two blades of a Persian scimitar.” Vice Admiral Van Heitz, the naval commander, sprang to his feet, the gold tassels on his saber jingling violently. “We’ve lost four hundred men in Aceh!” His fist slammed on the table, knocking over the tin model symbolizing the Dutch fleet. “Tehran must pay the price!”

"The price?" Finance Minister de Vries sneered, slamming the ledger onto the table. The parchment pages automatically turned to a page marked in red ink: "In the past three months, a third of our oil imports from Persia have gone missing. Meanwhile, the Aceh guerrillas have suddenly acquired kerosene-fueled bombs."

In the ensuing silence, Colonel Meyer, the intelligence chief, silently pushed a document over. "This is an order we captured: recommending that the Sudan prioritize attacks on Dutch plantations, especially areas 17 and 29." —These numbers correspond to the coordinates of rubber plantations invested in by the Dutch royal family.

"It seems that Iran is preparing to take over Sumatra. And the Acehnese and Chinese are its right-hand men."

The governor's words were not unfounded. The Acehnese and the Chinese were indeed the two ethnic groups closest to Iran. Look at Lanfang's treatment; he only needed to pay a sum of money each year to live freely. Pontianak had been integrated into the largest city in Borneo, and land had been reclaimed, the docks expanded, and a railway line opened from Pontianak to Surabaya.

Lanfang's rapid development made the Dutch envious; if they were to annex Lanfang, their revenue would increase by at least a quarter. But now that they have Iran's protection, that idea has vanished.

However, Iran and the Netherlands are still discussing the rights of Shia merchants in the East Indies. The Netherlands does not want Iranian merchants to gain more profits, but Iran also wants to compete for spheres of influence. In addition, there are many princely states in Southeast Asia, so various countries want to divide up the remaining territories.

Since its defeat in World War II, Siam has faced a series of unequal treaties. First, there was a trade treaty with Britain, followed by a friendship treaty with France. A section of Bangkok became a public concession for all the participating countries.

Spain also wanted to join the fray, and the Philippines began its so-called modernization process. As one of only two colonies capable of generating value for Spain, it wasn't forgotten when the decision was made to boost the economy. More and more merchants from various countries flocked to Manila, but Iranian merchants preferred the southern island of Mindanao, where the land was underdeveloped and suitable to become another colony.

None of the nations would relinquish their spheres of influence. Britain occupied southern Malaya, centered on Singapore; the Netherlands controlled most of the islands; and Iran occupied parts of Borneo and the Indochina Peninsula. Spain and Portugal can be disregarded, leaving only France without any Southeast Asian colonies. However, this is actually beneficial; one less competitor makes things easier for them.

Tensions between the Netherlands and Iran over Sumatra continue to rise, and the final outcome remains uncertain; it now comes down to who has more power and allies.

(End of this chapter)