Griffin Commander in the Late Ming Dynasty

The defenders in the city were already terrified and had lost their fighting consciousness. They all huddled behind the thick walls and trembled in fear.

Some of the Kuiu even bombarded the Half Moon Fort wildly. The powerful armor-piercing shells made the originally thick Half Moon Fort shake like a candle in the wind. The whole battlefield was shrouded in thick smoke. Paul hid behind the city wall and could no longer observe the development of the battlefield situation. He was more afraid of death than anyone else and seemed to have nowhere to go.

A soldier finally spotted the Governor, and he came running over, shouting in panic, "Governor, please send reinforcements! Half Moon Fort can't hold on any longer!"

Paul's eyebrows were twitching and he was completely panicked.

After a moment of hesitation, he suddenly asked, "Where are the troops of the Big Belly Kingdom? Did Aramy send anyone to support us?"

Paul had previously sent people to the Babra tribe to ask King Aram of the Big Belly Kingdom to come for support, and offered a large amount of property in exchange for the other party's support. He looked around with a telescope, and finally squatted in disappointment.

Obviously, the Big Belly Kingdom did not come to support him, and he didn't even see a hair. He knew that this group of people could not be trusted at all.

Under the unreasonable and indiscriminate bombardment by the military personnel, the entire wall of Half Moon Fort finally collapsed, revealing a huge gap. Many Dutch soldiers were stunned with shock. They had never expected that the impregnable Half Moon Fort could be blasted open by the enemy.

Before the volunteers had time to charge, they saw the Wufan soldiers who surrendered to the Ming army shouting loudly and rushing into the city with great excitement, rushing up to engage in hand-to-hand combat with the Dutch soldiers.

These black brothers were madly hacking and killing to avenge their former masters, without any ambiguity.

Before the thick smoke had cleared, the volunteers, under the cover of the Iron Blood and military units, rushed to the city wall, stepped on the rubble and rushed through the gap, and poured into Fort Zeelandia.

The Dutch soldiers had already been frightened by the bombing and had no intention of fighting. They were killed and forced to retreat step by step. The figures in the rear steadily fought their way into Fort Zeelandia through the gap and advanced step by step into the city.

The Dutch soldiers and the native soldiers could not resist and fled in all directions. However, Fort Zeelandia was a tiny place, where could they run to? No matter how fast you run, can you outrun those black uncles? These black uncles saw the white people as if they were the murderers of their fathers, and they killed them with great force and ferocity, and it was impossible to stop them.

"Surrender! I surrender!"

A dusty missionary elegantly held up a white flag and said in Chinese as he walked: "I surrender!"

The Dutch soldiers who were cornered also laid down their weapons, raised their hands high, and surrendered to the volunteers in stiff Chinese, apparently learning something on the spot.

Among them were some Japanese soldiers, indigenous soldiers and other traitors.

However, the humanoids could not understand the other party's surrender. They did not receive any orders to stop and continued with the cleanup work, sending away all the enemies in front of them.

After an hour and a half, the battle was basically over and the volunteers completely controlled Fort Zeelandia.

Except for the more than 600 Dutch soldiers who knelt down to surrender, the rest were either killed by artillery shells or hacked to death.

"Take your dirty hands off me! I'm a gentleman!"

Next to the razed government office, Paul was covered in dust and his face was black, with tears streaming down his face. It was unclear whether it was because of the smoke or if he was deliberately disguising himself.

Paul pushed away a Ming army soldier who was escorting him, and nervously straightened the wrinkles on his clothes. Although he was worried about his situation as a prisoner, he was like Yu Wenbo who was about to fight Vietnam. Although he could not win, he had to fill this cup.

"I am Paul, the Dutch Governor General in Dongfan, and I want to see your highest official!"

After taking a deep breath, Paul met the brigade commander Pang Xingsheng under the "protection" of two soldiers in front and behind.

In his opinion, the attitude of Oriental people towards them, Westerners, was not very friendly. Many Oriental pirates and local officers and soldiers ordered the execution of Dutch soldiers who laid down their arms.

Meyer was deeply touched by this matter. He had seen too many of his colleagues in Asia being captured alive and tortured by the local natives. He didn't know whether the Orientals could treat these prisoners of war well.

At this moment, Brigade Commander Pang Xingsheng was still counting the goods in the underground warehouse of Fort Zeelandia. The wealth plundered by these foreign devils here was simply staggering. In order to enjoy themselves, they even bought a few Japanese maids.

"Hello, Mr. Paul, it seems we meet again, please take a seat"

Pang Xingsheng's words made Paul breathe a sigh of relief. No matter what the reason, this could be considered a friendly meeting. However, he did not notice that Pang Xingsheng's hands were constantly clenching and unclenching as he looked at the account book.

"Thank you, sir." Gentleman Paul bowed and sat down under the guidance of the servant.

In order to protect his name, Paul began to try to get close to Pang Xingsheng. In his impression, no matter in the East or the West, they were all aristocrats, and aristocrats often had a resonance with each other: "Dear General, I am actually a gentleman, I am from the Netherlands..."

Paul is still very proud of his origins. His ancestors were once counts of the Habsburg dynasty, but their family fell into poverty more than a hundred years ago. The Habsburg dynasty was the most powerful royal family in Europe and had the largest ruling territories. It once ruled the Holy Roman Empire, the Kingdom of Spain, and the Archduchy of Austria.

Paul has always been proud of being a noble of this dynasty. Although he is a descendant of a declining noble family, every time he introduces his background to others, he has to mention it, and he knows it like the back of his hand.

When it comes to your status, you must max it out, no matter whether you are decadent or not, just tell me whether you are aristocratic or not!

Paul tried to use this method to get closer to the general in front of him, just like picking up a girl from his hometown. After successfully getting in touch with her, he could redeem his freedom by paying a ransom...

Pang Xingsheng just listened quietly. Seeing that the other party did not show any attitude, Paul gradually got into the role and spoke more enthusiastically.

"General, you should know about the Habsburg dynasty, right?"

Pang Xingsheng said slowly: "Are you done?"

Paul didn't understand the other party's intention, so he nodded subconsciously: "It's over."

Pang Xingsheng nodded slowly and said, "Okay, let's get going."

Paul was startled: "Where to?"

"Of course he's going to die!"

"what!"

Paul stood there in a daze. He really didn't understand what this man was up to. If you want to kill yourself, just say it. Why are you sitting there listening to me talk for so long?

Pang Xingsheng just smiled and said, "Don't get me wrong. We in the East have a custom of fulfilling the last wishes of the deceased. I just want to hear if you have any last wishes."

What the hell is this last wish!!! Why didn’t you tell me earlier!! You acted like a clown for a long time!

Paul is going to be numb!

"..."

Paul's mouth twitched as he insisted, "Besides me, there are more than 600 Dutch soldiers on the island. What are you going to do with us?"

Pang Xingsheng curled his lips and said, "Dongfan has been China's territory since ancient times. There are both aborigines and Han Chinese on this island, but there is no place for the Dutch. Do you understand what I mean, Mr. Governor?"

"You're going to kill us all?"

Paul was shaking all over and couldn't believe his ears. He shouted, "You can't do this! We have surrendered!"

Pang Xingsheng said coldly: "Yes, you surrendered, but we are talking about the post-war period. As a war criminal, the crimes you committed are enough to be executed hundreds of times."

Paul felt a chill on his back, and he began to regret infinitely. Why did he say such a big deal in the first place? Why did he provoke these Eastern devils?

He immediately knelt on the ground and offered his courtesy, "My respected master, I am willing to be your most loyal servant! Whatever you want to do, I will do it for you!"

Pang Xingsheng said disdainfully: "If you can continue to maintain your aristocratic demeanor, I can still look up to you. The sir has told us before that Westerners have no moral integrity, even worse than the two Tartars. They have no moral burdens and are like stink bugs, disturbing the whole world! For the sake of gold, they are like wild dogs, tenaciously surviving in corners all over the world! They are simply the cancer of the world."

"At first, I was young and ignorant, so I didn't quite believe it. But now, I see that every word you said is pearls of wisdom!"

Paul said anxiously: "General, putting aside the soldiers, I am valuable to you, please consider it again!"

At this time, Paul no longer cared about the lives of his subordinates and only wanted to save his own life.

Pang Xingsheng stared at him and said without question: "You are the number one war criminal. They are going to be tried. Can you still run away?"

After saying that, he stood up and left without looking at the other party again. He had seen those account books before, and they were simply shocking. The beastly degree of these damn red-haired ghosts made him want to skin and tear out the bones of these people! If he stayed any longer, he was afraid that he would not be able to control himself.

That night, more than 600 Dutch soldiers and traitors, including Paul, were collectively tried and executed by the volunteers on the beach. All the bodies were thrown into the sea, preventing them from sleeping on Chinese soil.

On the second day, the volunteers began to divide into several groups, clear out the scattered Dutch people in the area, and destroy all the local churches.

From today on, we will take back our homeland and our heritage!

Volume 389: Chapter Chapter : Cleaning up the Aboriginals

Reclaiming Dongfan is a necessary part of Jiang Han's plan, not only because it is a transit hub for trade between the East and the West and the key to breaking through the first island chain, but also because it is an obsession he has from his previous life.

In other words, it was the wish of countless of his compatriots in his previous life.

In the past, the "Fan" in the name of Dongfan mostly referred to foreign countries or foreign ethnic groups. From the name, we can see that Taiwan was not valued in the ancient dynasties. It was a place where there was no meat to eat, but it was delicious to throw away, and it was dispensable.

Many officials believed that it was unnecessary to establish a province for such a tiny island, so Dongfan was basically managed by Fujian Province.

Because our country has been a continental country since ancient times, it has hardly been threatened from the sea. Almost all of its enemies are bad northerners, and the awareness of coastal defense is not strong. Few people realize the important role of Dongfan in China's southeastern coastal defense.

There were actually quite a few talented people in the Ming Dynasty, and some people noticed the problem of the Dongfan. For example, He Kai, a Jinshi in the Chongzhen Dynasty, who served as a Jieshi Zhong, wrote a letter proposing a strategy for pacifying the sea in the eighth year of Chongzhen.

The memorial detailed the importance of Taiwan, and even gave a detailed account of the situation of pirates and the layout of the Red Indians on the island.

He advocated first using maritime bans to wear down the pirates and the Red Devils, causing them to cause internal chaos and plunder everywhere, and then the Ming Dynasty would take the opportunity to send troops to pacify Taiwan and eliminate the pirates.

Of course, those who understand the period of the eighth year of Chongzhen know it well. That year, Chongzhen's ancestral tomb was dug up, and Chongzhen was busy clearing out bandits. How could he care about overseas affairs? The matter eventually came to nothing.

Historically, it was not until after the Opium War, when the great powers opened China's door to the sea, that China began to develop a sense of coastal defense.

In the early days of Japan's Meiji Restoration, Taiwan was the first target of foreign aggression and expansion. The Japanese army's dispatch of troops to Langqiao sounded the alarm for the Qing government, and officials with insight proposed the establishment of Taiwan as a province.

What a mess the late Qing government was like. Those who understand will understand. Compared with them, the African region can be considered to be politically stable and harmonious. You can just make a suggestion to the officials below. If you adopt one, I lose.

In order to appease these officials who made suggestions, the Qing court asked the Governor of Fujian, who was in charge of Taiwan, to stay in Fujian for half a year and in Taiwan for half a year, as if to say, "I have already come this far, what else do you want from me?"

It was not until the Sino-French War ten years later (1884) that the French fleet blockaded the Taiwan Strait, resulting in Dongfan being cut off from the mainland for several months and almost falling.

After the end of the Sino-French War, in order to strengthen coastal defense, the Qing government officially established a province in Taiwan, which became China's 20th province, and Liu Mingchuan was appointed as the first governor of Taiwan Province.

What followed was an extremely heartbreaking experience.

The reason why European countries were able to usher in the Age of Discovery was not because they liked maritime expansion, but because their geographical location dictated that they had to expand by ocean.

Europe is such a small place with so few resources, but there are so many countries and forces that even they themselves cannot count them. Especially in the 16th century, the European continent entered into a brutal zero-sum game state.

In order to survive in the fierce competition and gain more resource advantages, every country is racking its brains to become a strong country. However, plundering through war requires a terrible price, and the more it fights, the poorer it becomes.

The poorer a country is, the more likely it is to seek change and go to the sea to expand its territory and grab resources.

For example, Portugal was the first country in European history to expand overseas. When they went to the sea, their population was only around one million, and they had only a few broken ships. They were one of the poorest and weakest countries in Europe.

Thanks to the Age of Discovery, Portugal established strongholds all over the world in less than twenty years and built the first world-wide maritime empire.

After discovering that piracy was profitable, many countries followed suit, and became bigger and stronger, achieving greater glory, such as Spain, the Netherlands, and Britain.

On the contrary, France, the most powerful country in Europe at the time, was basically still living on land. It was the last to join the great voyages of discovery, more than a hundred years later than its neighbors.

As for the Ming Dynasty, if Jiang Han had not vigorously developed ocean trade, it would have been impossible to embark on this path even after waiting another hundred years.

The current people have neither the concept nor the motivation. In their eyes, the farthest they can see in the world is only the Western Regions.

In history, Zheng Chenggong did have this idea. After conquering Taiwan, Koxinga discovered that Taiwan was not as good as he had imagined. Many places were underdeveloped areas and not as good as Luzon Island. So he began to plan to go south to conquer the Philippines occupied by the Spanish.

In the end, the idea came, but the person was gone. Zheng Chenggong died in the second year after he recovered Taiwan. (There are many theories about the cause of death, but most people think he was murdered.)

After Koxinga died, his son Zheng Jing twice prepared to send a fleet to attack Manila, but because of the Three Feudatories Rebellion, Zheng Jing led his troops west to Fujian to support Geng Jingzhong, and did not send troops to the Philippines.

Today, everything is different.

Although according to the plan, Jiang Han would prepare to retake Dongfan only after the recovery of the entire Ming Dynasty, however, plans cannot keep up with changes. He has already done that, and the other party still wants to do this, so he can only take it back in advance.

Thanks to the system, Jiang Han can be said to have made a fortune from this anniversary celebration event. Unfortunately, such an event only happens once a year.

Taiwan is not big, with mountains in the middle. The population is mainly concentrated in several places in the west. The area of ​​the entire island is equivalent to that of Fengyang Prefecture in Zhili (slightly smaller than Fengyang Prefecture). And Fort Zeelandia is not the only trading place. Tamsui City in Taipei Prefecture is also a natural harbor. Under the development of the Spaniards, it gradually developed from a fishing village into a street village and a trading port.

The orders received by the Third Brigade were to eliminate all enemies in Taiwan and re-govern Taiwan. However, they would not be stationed there for a long time, but would be on rotation.

They just need to survive the initial period and then recruit and train soldiers locally. I believe Taiwan Island will be able to take care of itself soon. However, it is too early to say this now. After all, they have just expelled the Dutch. There are also the Spaniards far away in Taipei and the Kingdom of Big Belly right in front of them on this island.

At the beginning, the volunteers did not take the so-called Big Belly Kingdom seriously. Instead, they sympathized with it for its past enslavement by the Dutch. They tried to negotiate and help the other party with production. However, this move aroused fierce resistance from the Big Belly Kingdom.

The so-called Big Du Kingdom, although seemingly very powerful, is actually smaller than the size of a county. It is located in Taichung Prefecture and is jointly formed by the Babura, Maowuli, Bazehai, Hongya, and Daokas tribes.

The largest ethnic group is the Bazehai, with a population of about 5,000 people. The remaining ethnic groups each have about 1,000 people. They regard themselves as indigenous masters, exclude Han people, refuse to submit, and are even more unwilling to accept transformation and land surveying.

While the volunteers were sending people to negotiate, dozens of Babura warriors shot at several soldiers with bows, injuring many soldiers. More indigenous people of the Big Dumb Kingdom launched a collective attack and armed conflicts broke out with some rescued Han people.

King Aramus, the Big-Bellied, refused to surrender and even sent troops to besiege several volunteer soldiers who were responsible for surrendering and brutally killed them.

In order to express goodwill and due to certain communication problems, the soldiers did not let the Iron-Blooded Dolls follow them, which led to this tragedy.

As the saying goes, poor mountains and bad waters produce unruly people. The level of ignorance of these uncivilized natives is simply shocking. In history, this group of natives were unyielding and resisted the Ming, the Dutch and the Qing dynasties. They resisted any outsiders and caused riots many times.

During the reign of Emperor Yongzheng, more than ten tribes from the Dadu Kingdom united together with about two thousand people to besiege the Changhua County seat in Taichung, burning houses for dozens of miles nearby, and the Han people fled in panic.

The Qing government was best at suppression. They directly recruited more than 6,000 officers and soldiers from Guangdong and other places, as well as money, food, and military equipment, and loaded more than 100 ships to Taiwan for the expedition. They almost wiped out the village, leaving only some aboriginal women behind.

After the incident, the Qing government renamed the Dajiaxi Society, which led the riot, as the "Dehua Society" and the Niumatou Society as the "Gratitude Society", thus destroying the Dadu Kingdom.

The volunteers at the moment didn't know this, they only knew that their comrades were brutally killed by these natives for helping others! This kind of thing is intolerable! What else can't be tolerated!

"Damn it, so many people in the Central Plains can't afford to eat, and our people brought food, but ended up raising a wolf cub? Kill it! I'll be responsible for anything that happens!" Brigade Commander Pang Xingsheng threw the helmet in his hand, his face twisted with pain, because these were all the soldiers under his command!

Needless to say, Pang Xingsheng was restrained. The volunteers were all furious and wanted to massacre the Dadu Kingdom on the spot. Since you are shameless, come on! Thousands of volunteers, with the Iron Blood and military humanoids, quickly launched an offensive against the Dadu Kingdom.

In Taichung, the primeval forest is eerie at night, filled with the sounds of various insects and frogs, as well as the strange cries of some wild animals.

In the center of this forest is Dadu Village, the royal city where Dadu King resides. It can be considered a village-level royal city.

In the jungle, a large number of yellow and green lights illuminated a bright path in the darkness. Countless volunteers marched quietly in the dark jungle and surrounded the royal city.

The savages of the Dadu Kingdom were immersed in sleep, and no one realized the coming crisis.

As the dark night sky gradually turned gray, a dazzling flare rose up with a "whoosh" sound and slowly exploded in the air. The fire was dazzling, and countless roosting birds flapped their wings and fled in all directions.