Griffin Commander in the Late Ming Dynasty

In addition, Fort Zeelandia is surrounded by moats, the outer city has four bastions, and the inner city has two bastions. The inner city is a square with two floors and the city wall is nine meters high.

There are nearly a hundred cannons installed on the three-story fortress, which can exert firepower along the sides of the wall and facing the open area. It is truly easy to defend and difficult to attack. It is a real bastard.

The basement of Fort Zeelandia is a warehouse, which stores a large amount of ammunition, food and sundries. With such a strong configuration, Paul is confident that he can defend the city and wait for reinforcements to arrive.

The battle at sea has come to an end. The volunteers who have captured a large number of new giant ships are now regrouping their fleet and approaching the shore according to the established goal. They will launch a bilateral attack on the colonists on the island with another force. At this moment, Paul is unaware of the fact that the big city on the other side is also being attacked.

Seeing the fleet approaching, Paul couldn't help but feel nervous. He loudly encouraged his soldiers: "Soldiers, show your skills and let the Chinese have a taste of the shells! Shoot them into the sea to feed the sharks!"

As the governor, Paul's motivation had a very effective effect on his officers. Many Dutch officers and soldiers were so excited that they kept shouting.

"Your Excellency Governor, all artillery pieces have been loaded and are ready to fire at any time!"

Paul immediately responded, "Ready to volley!"

As soon as he finished speaking, hundreds of artillery pieces on Fort Zeelandia fired at the same time. The sound of cannons shook the sky, and a moment later, large waves were seen on the sea in the distance. However, the effect of this wave of artillery fire was very poor. The large ship had not shown the other strange weapon of the volunteers because it was quickly surrounded and attacked. But now, it showed its role, which is the defender's shield.

A large number of shells were blocked by the shield, deflected and fell on the water, causing a splash. It was more like an atmosphere group than an attack, and seemed to be more of a warning to the Ming army fleet, don't come closer, we are very strong!

The Volunteer Army's ships actually stopped at this moment, and a large number of scouts were released to detect the locations of various firepower points on Fort Zeelandia and mark the firepower strike forces in the rear.

Paul mistakenly thought that his tactics seemed to have worked, which made the corners of his mouth slowly rise, and a confident and satisfied smile appeared on his face: "If they dare to get closer, they will surely be blown to ashes by the merciless rain of bullets, leaving no trace of armor!"

"A bunch of cowards!"

"A guy who only knows how to attack by surprise! Despicable!"

The officers and soldiers nearby also joined in the booing, cursing, and some even spitting.

Since the Dutch invaded Dongfan twenty years ago, two or three hundred soldiers were able to defeat seven or eight thousand local indigenous people. Since then, the Chinese in Formosa (Dongfan) have been seen by the Dutch as weak, cowardly and vulnerable.

Even though they were defeated in the previous Battle of Liaoluo Bay, they were blocked at home and beaten to a pulp this time. Paul and others were dissatisfied from the bottom of their hearts, thinking that it was all because of these damn Chinese guys who had no martial ethics, who came to cheat and attack by surprise. I am an old comrade on the sea with hundreds of years of experience, but I couldn't show the power of the Dutch Navy!

The cheers on Fort Zeelandia did not last long, as in the distance, bursts of explosions were heard.

"Governor, the Chinese have attacked Chikan Tower in the east!"

Paul was horrified. Chikan Tower and Fort Zeelandia formed a pincer attack, but the defense there was far inferior to that of Fort Zeelandia, and there were fewer defenders. It would be bad if they were breached.

What he was most worried about was that once the enemy captured Chikan Tower, they would besiege Fort Zeelandia. That would be the end of him. Although Fort Zeelandia was indestructible, the landlords had no surplus food. The food here was not enough to support a long-term battle. The enemy only needed to besiege it without attacking, and it wouldn't be long before the soldiers who were short of food would surrender automatically.

Paul asked quickly, "How many enemy troops are there?"

The messenger said hurriedly, "I don't know, there seem to be several thousand people, and they also have a strange giant beast. Your Excellency the Governor, please send reinforcements. The soldiers in Chikan Tower are too few and can't stop them at all! Before I arrived, the casualties in Chikan Tower were already very heavy!"

"Quickly send 500 people to support!" Paul made a prompt decision and immediately sent troops to support.

According to the Dutch estimation, twenty-five Chinese put together were not as good as one Dutch soldier, as they were all timid and could not endure a long battle.

This arrogant view was deeply rooted in the hearts of every Dutch soldier and had become their irrefutable conclusion. (The statement comes from the memoirs of Kui Yi, the "Governor of Taiwan" of the East India Company)

Facts have proved that the self-confidence in the hearts of these Dutch people is like an illusion, which will quickly shatter when encountering the cruel and hard reality.

Both Chihkan Tower and Fort Zeelandia were built according to European castle standards, but Chihkan Tower is smaller in scale.

With the clear topographic map sent by the scouts, some of Fort Zeelandia's defenses were right under their noses. The volunteers also knew how tough Fort Zeelandia was, so they decided early on to capture the weaker Chikan Tower first to avoid being attacked from both sides if they could not capture Fort Zeelandia for a long time.

So the two sides divided their troops into two groups, one group was responsible for landing directly and attacking Chikan Tower, while the other group led the team to block the Dutch fleet's outlet to the sea, leaving them completely trapped on the island.

You like to run wild on Grandpa's land, right? Then why don't you leave?

Yes, although our family’s sphere of influence has not even conquered Nanzhili, but in the hearts of every soldier of the Volunteer Army, they are already the masters of the world. This vast and beautiful country belongs to us!

"Commander! Red-haired reinforcements are here, and it looks like there are only a few hundred of them!" In fact, at this moment, the battle in Chikan Tower was nearing its end, and Otreus was about to kill his way through.

"A few hundred people dare to come to support us? Do you think you are looking down on us?"

The company commander in charge of this operation, Song Pengyi, said coldly: "Go ahead and kill all those ignorant red-haired devils!"

He wanted to make the red-haired devil pay the price for his carelessness and underestimation of the enemy, and that price could only be death!

The Dutch army advanced bravely with twelve men in a row and fired three rows of guns when they approached the Ming army.

The Volunteer Army relied on large mechas as cover and kept shooting at the enemy. With only 500 reinforcements, the pressure was not great. In this battle, these new recruits needed to see blood!

The soldiers of the East India Company were basically mercenaries. Those who dared to come to Asia for adventure and gold panning were basically those who risked their lives. Not only were they not afraid of death, they also had rich combat experience. They were not at all afraid when facing the volunteers with their peculiar formations.

But when they got closer, they saw the huge Eutelsus holding a person in the square and shaking his head quickly in the air, with blood splattering everywhere.

"Oh my god, what kind of monster is that!"

"Oh my god, I'm shot!"

There were all kinds of shouts and curses in the Dutch army, and the volunteers were just as noisy.

"Pay attention to concealment!!"

"Bring them closer!! Remember, aim for their chests!"

The distance between the two sides kept closing, and finally, the distance reached a critical point: "Everyone, bayonet, follow me!!!"

Volume 386: Chapter Chapter : Siege and Negotiation

The Dutch infantry still preferred the Spanish phalanx system in tactics. The team was neat and orderly, lined up and fired forward, then turned to the next row and moved forward in a cycle. However, their opponents used cover shooting, which turned the Spanish phalanx into a Spanish line-up shooting.

The metal shelters of Iron Blood and Military Dolls are extremely useful. If you hit a tree, the tree will not fight back. But it will be different if you hit Iron Blood and Military Dolls. They will fight back, and their hits will be very heavy.

The effect of their fight back is like a 200-kilogram, 1.9-meter-tall strong man participating in a slapping competition in a kindergarten. One slap will smack your brains evenly.

While the Dutch soldiers were losing millions of soldiers, the belief that the Ming soldiers, who had been supporting the Dutch, would definitely escape was gradually collapsing. Finally, the moment the other side rushed out with bayonets in hand, this idea completely dissipated.

The commander of the Dutch army leading the battle was Captain Beder. He widened his eyes, wondering why the Ming people did not flee directly as expected?

Especially when they were in the middle of a fight, they would rush forward with guns in hand, regardless of their lives. They were very ferocious and bold, as if they had another body stored at home. Don't these people want to die?

The volunteers continued to shoot during the charge, and many of them were shot and fell to the ground, but more of them rushed to the front of the Dutch, and the bayonets under their muskets stabbed fiercely into the chests of these red-haired devils.

When had the Dutch ever seen such a situation? Finally, they could not hold on any longer. If the Dutch were brave and fearless warriors before the battle, now their courage was like that of a bull demon. They were silent and completely replaced by fear.

Many soldiers dropped their guns before they even opened fire on the volunteers. They fled in panic, with their heads in their hands. As for the captain and compatriots, I just arrived in the past two days and I'm not familiar with them!

After seeing the blood, the volunteers became more ferocious. They pursued the victory and defeated the Dutch army, causing more than 300 casualties. Captain Bedel also died in the melee. Another captain, Aldorp, led the remaining soldiers and staggered back to Fort Zeelandia.

Fort Zeelandia was only separated from Chikan Tower by a bay. When the Ming army attacked Chikan Tower, Paul was watching the battle there with a telescope on the tower. When he saw that the reinforcements he had just sent out were defeated so quickly, he immediately felt his blood pressure soar. I gave you 500 people and you finished building them in such a short time? Even Xuansha Tangju couldn't be that fast! He loudly questioned Aldopp, "Captain, what's going on? How did you lose so quickly!?"

Aldop panted and said, "Governor, we underestimated the enemy. Those Ming people were too abnormal. We didn't expect to encounter such strong resistance..."

"Not only did they have advanced firearms, but they were also like crazy people, hacking at anyone they saw without mercy, until Beder and his 348 men were all killed in the battle!"

Paul said with a dark face: "Beddel died in the battle, then how did you run back!"

Aldopp said with some dissatisfaction: "Of course I ran back. Your Excellency the Governor, it is difficult to transport horses to a place like Dongfan, and I think you should be more tolerant..."

Paul: “…”

While the volunteers were having their first coming-of-age ceremony, the military and the Iron Blood Dolls had already cleared out the Dutch soldiers in front of Chikan Tower and began to attack Chikan Tower.

Chikan Tower is also called Hongmao Tower by local people. It is roughly square in shape and covers an area equivalent to half the size of a football field. The castle is nearly twelve meters high and is divided into three floors. There are four gun towers on the city wall, each with five cannons.

If it is a normal attack, it will be quite difficult to defeat them. However, are these humanoids normal people?

After a communication, a red Goliath flew out from the team and came to the outer wall of Chikan Building at a constant speed. Its two claws penetrated deeply into the wall. After a beeping sound, the earth shook in an instant. With a loud bang, a very violent explosion occurred in Chikan Building. Huge smoke and dust rose into the sky. The strong shock wave knocked some volunteer soldiers who had no time to prepare to the ground. They were desperately pulled back by their comrades behind the military's human-shaped shelter. The comradeship that grew up in iron and fire was harder than iron and stronger than steel.

Rubble flew and dust rose. When the smoke and dust gradually dissipated, the Chikan Building in people's eyes could no longer be seen as it was as solid as a rock just a few minutes ago. Although it has not collapsed completely, it is not far from it. The explosion directly collapsed most of the Chikan Building, which was made of earth, wood, brick and stone, leaving only a part of the structure still crumbling.

The Dutch soldiers defending Chikan Tower suffered an even worse fate. Hundreds of them died in the instant of the explosion. Even the commander of Chikan Tower was blown unconscious with a bloody head. He was carried inside for rescue, but his life or death is still unknown.

The entire Chikan Tower was filled with thick smoke and leaping flames everywhere. Dutch soldiers and indigenous soldiers were running around the city screaming and crying like those who had lost their parents.

Even though these Dutch soldiers were in a miserable state, the Iron Bloods and military humanoids did not care about that. They only cared about themselves. The humanoids raised their guns, and a second wave of firepower coverage was already brewing.

At this time, they saw a small white flag being held up by a long spear on the top of the city wall, swaying slowly in the air, showing the good diplomatic relations between them and France.

The second commander, Fan Wenshan, smiled and said, "If I'm not mistaken, they should surrender." He waved his hand, and the military interpreter immediately went up to make a call. Since a large number of Western products in this era used English drawings and instructions, many educated people would choose to learn the language of the red-haired foreigners in order to understand them, and the Volunteer Army also offered high salaries to hire these people.

Unexpectedly, the person who emerged from under the French flag was a black man. He said something unreasonable but reasonable. He said that there were many Wufan soldiers in Chikan Tower who could no longer bear the bullying of the red-haired people and were willing to surrender and join the Ming army.

"Accept their surrender!"

Although Fan Wenshan was surprised that there could be someone who was so dark, he readily accepted the message from the interpreter. The war here cannot be delayed. The sooner they capture Chikan Tower, the more they can take control of the war situation. Next, they will have to face the counterattack from the Zheng family and the Dutch. The most important thing in a raid is efficiency.

Moreover, these dark soldiers are very suitable for charging into battle, so there is no need to send our own people to serve as cannon fodder, which would be a waste.

With the support of the Wufan soldiers, the Ming army quickly captured Chikan City. More than 300 of the 400 Dutch soldiers defending the city were killed in the battle, and more than half of the 200 native soldiers were also killed. The rest all surrendered.

As for those who did not surrender, the volunteer soldiers gave them a quick kill. After the discomfort of the first killing, they would be much more skilled the second time. And these volunteers did not have many opportunities to take action. The Iron-Blooded Humanoids were complete killing machines on this kind of battlefield. They were precise and efficient. If they said they would make a hole in your head, they would never make a hole in your chest.

Chikan Tower didn't even hold out for a day. The outcome of the battle was far beyond Paul's expectations. He really didn't expect that the army of this small rebel leader could have such powerful firearms in their hands. They almost razed Chikan Tower to the ground. Shouldn't they be using swords and muskets?

You have the ability to unify the Ming Dynasty, don't you? Why do you have to make things difficult for him?

Paul couldn't help but regret it greatly. He had held on to a glimmer of hope before, thinking that reinforcements were coming and there was a strong city to defend. This so-called enemy army was simply a dish to be delivered. But now the situation was not right, and it seemed that he was the dish.

At the same time, he felt that he was unlucky. He had saved a lot of gold during his term as governor, and now he was about to return to enjoy his life after his term in Dongfan ended. Now, he was afraid that the gold would be picked up by these Ming people...

Paul's only hope now was that Batavia would send reinforcements to the East. However, even he knew that it would take at least three days for Batavia to learn about the attack here. Could he hold on for three days? Looking at the fate of Chikan Building next door, Paul was unsure.

The sun rose slowly, and a thin layer of mist on the sea gradually dissipated.

The volunteers did not choose to continue the charge, but slowly waited until the army in Chikanlou had completely taken over and regrouped before they began to reorganize the offensive, having fully learned from their teacher's strategy of being cautious, no, being steady.

Here, after the personnel and ships were redistributed, a large number of ships slowly approached the shore in the bay, with flagpoles standing in rows, and the sense of oppression was overwhelming.

On the Fort Zeelandia, the Dutch soldiers were all pale and many of them were shaking uncontrollably, obviously frightened by the overwhelming and absolute advantage of the volunteers.

Paul felt something was wrong at this time, and quickly sent people to negotiate with the volunteers, saying that everything could be discussed, why don’t everyone have a cup of tea and chat slowly?

The Dutch captain who came to negotiate was Aldorp, and a missionary was in charge of translation.

After the two sides exchanged greetings, Aldop said, "Dear General, our two countries signed a treaty of friendship in 1642 and have mutually beneficial trade. We have been living in peace for the past few years. Why does your country want to provoke a war?"

European countries began using the AD calendar, also known as the Christian era, in 1582, which starts with the year Jesus was born.

Also in this year, October 1582 had only twenty days. After October 10th, it was not October 10th, but jumped directly to October 4th. If you are interested, you can check it out, it's very interesting.

The commander of the Third Brigade, Pang Xingsheng, could not help but laugh: "First of all, Dongfan has been Chinese territory since ancient times. We only borrowed it from your country temporarily to facilitate trade! Secondly, it was the Ming Dynasty that signed the agreement with you. It has nothing to do with us. Finally, it is you who are stirring up trouble, right?"

"If you have any memory at all, you should not have forgotten that your Governor-General came directly to our Master to issue a declaration of war!"

"Our action this time was only for self-defense. Your Excellency will understand, right?"

Aldop defended himself, "The inappropriate actions in foreign trade were decided by the East Indian Council of Elders in Batavia. They have nothing to do with our Fort Zeelandia. If your country wants to hold someone accountable, you should send someone to Batavia. Why are you making things difficult for us?"

Pang Xingsheng laughed and said, "Aren't you from the Dutch East India Company? Besides, this land originally belonged to us. What's wrong with us coming here?"

Aldop was speechless for a moment, and then said: "We will definitely convey your country's request to the Governor's Office in Batavia. I believe that the Governor will properly resolve it. I hope that your country can temporarily suspend military operations during this period and wait for Batavia's decision."

Pang Xingsheng said calmly: "It's none of my business! Whatever Batavia wants to do is your business. We only follow the orders of our master."

Aldop talked so much, but he had no intention of expecting the other party to withdraw their troops after hearing a few words from him. He just wanted to test the determination of the Chinese general.

"Please put it down. We will not let you wait in vain. Our company will compensate your army with 200,000 taels of silver."

Aldopu leaned close to Pang Xingsheng's ear and said, "In addition, there are 10,000 taels of silver and 1,000 taels of pearls, which we give to you, General..."

Pang Xingsheng couldn't hold it in. You bastards always buy goods from us for hundreds of thousands of taels, and now you want to get rid of me with just ten thousand taels?

Moreover, as a volunteer soldier, he received military school education and participated in many thought reform meetings in the army. Now he has already realized the truth in Longchang and got rid of vulgar tastes. What's more, how wise is the teacher now? When can't we make money? To achieve that goal, to make everyone have enough food to eat and to make China stand at the top of the world's nations, is their most desired vision!

Pang Xingsheng said meaningfully: "If you want our Ming Dynasty to stop fighting, you only have two choices!"

Aldop quickly asked, "What are the two options?"

Pang Xingsheng said sternly: "First, you surrender and get out. Second, we will kill you all and carry you out."

Aldopu's face flushed red. He glared and said, "Is this how you handle diplomatic relations? This is too bullying!"

Pang Xingsheng said firmly: "It's right to bully others. When your people were arrogant in front of us, didn't you think that this day would come? Those who bully others will always be bullied!"

Altup's face turned ugly. He cursed his stupid boss in his heart. Why did you bother him when you had nothing to do? Isn't it good for him to make hundreds of thousands of taels of silver a year? He was also very angry at Pang Xingsheng who was stubborn. He wanted to say something harsh, but the guards who were watching him calmed him down.

Aldope was silent for a long time, and finally said, "I'm sorry, sir, I can't decide on surrender. I have to go back and discuss it with the Governor-General first."

Pang Xingsheng waved his hand casually and said, "Then please go back. We can give you a day to discuss. Tomorrow morning, if you don't have a reply, we will launch an attack on Fort Zeelandia on time. I hope you are ready to fight."

As soon as he returned to Fort Zeelandia, Aldorp recounted the content of the negotiations, and the Dutch were silent.

With the example of Chikan Tower, no one had the confidence to defend Fort Zeelandia to the death with this strange Ming army. It was not because they were afraid of death, but there was no value in dying here. Let's just call it cherishing life.

Surrender could at least save one's life. As a purely commercial country, Dutch soldiers mainly fought for gold and freedom. The belief of sacrificing purely for military honor did not exist. Or, those who had such an idea would now be considered to have done good deeds in the underworld.

After some wrangling, several leaders of Fort Zeelandia finally made a decision. Before the next day, Aldop once again brought the missionary and hurried into the Ming army camp.

Although it sounds urgent, it is really urgent. The opponent is already preparing for battle, so if they attack slowly, you don't have to worry.

As soon as he entered the main tent, Aldopu said straight to the point: "We agree to withdraw from Fort Zeelandia and leave Dongfan, but please guarantee our safety!"