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The Datong Navy did not pursue immediately, but first escorted the army ashore, and unloaded the food and grass brought by the way.

city ​​direction.

The governor left two or 300 people to defend the castle, and the army commander led the Dutch soldiers and quickly rushed towards the Han Chinese neighborhood.

"Why don't the servants set fire to the house?" Clapp was furious.

It was the Javanese soldiers who were reluctant to burn down the house, burning a large area so that they could not rob.

While urging the soldiers to burn down the house, Clapp led his troops up the city wall, trying to kill the Han people directly along the city wall.

"Run, the red-haired ghost is coming!"

The Han people standing guard on the city wall were so frightened that they ran back and shouted.

The gates of the city were quickly opened, and thousands of Han Chinese rushed out, fleeing towards the countryside on the outskirts.

Javanese residents and Javanese soldiers took the opportunity to break through the barricades, and chased and killed the Han people.After chasing and chasing, they stopped chasing. Instead, they rushed into the houses of the Han people and snatched everything they thought was valuable.

There were only a dozen or so Dutch cavalry who ran out of the city along the city wall, and soon caught up with the Han people.

The heroic and fearless Han people in street fighting turned into a mess outside the city.Thousands of people with various weapons were chased by more than a dozen Dutch cavalry, and they were hacked to death by the Dutch cavalry when they ran slowly.

"Dang Dang Dang Dang!"

The bell rang in the castle, which meant that the Datong army was about to land, and the governor of the Netherlands ordered the army to be called up.

The Indians and Arabs in the city were confused and at a loss.

The goal of the Dutch has been achieved. It is not necessary to kill all the Han Chinese, but to drive the Han Chinese out of the city.A castle, plus a city, first defend for a period of time, looking for an opportunity to go out of the city to fight a decisive battle.

This is the usual tactic used by the Netherlands to defend Batavia. First defend the city, the navy will attack the port grain depot, and then kill the enemy when they run out of food and grass.

Chapter 821 [Hot Air Balloon and Siege]

The urban area of ​​Batavia is divided into two by the Tiger Canal, forming two rectangular halves in the east and west.

The canal was also built by the Han people. At that time, it was undertaken by two Han merchants.The moat can connect to the canal, and the river flows around the city and extends all the way to protect the castle.

The castle is separated from the urban area, and it is built in the north of the eastern half of the city, with moats on all sides.There are several vegetable fields to the south of the castle, and further south is the north wall of the East City.

The four corners of the castle are four bastions connected by four straight walls.

It is impossible for the Datong Army to land on the front, and it is easy to be blocked if it lands on the west.Going around three or four miles to the east, then lowered the boat, landed on a beach, and then stepped on the farmland to head southwest.

Instead of attacking the castle directly, go and capture the city first.

Two hot air balloons took off one after another, and the situation of the city defense was unobstructed.

One of the lookouts came down from the hot air balloon along the rope, and handed over the quickly drawn city defense map: "General, please take a look!"

Tie Hong took it over and took a look. The drawing was crooked, but the basic information was clearly marked.

The situation in the eastern half of the city is as follows: the east wall has three gates and three enemy towers, and at the southeast corner is a sharp-edged enemy tower similar to a bastion.On the south wall, there is a city gate and two enemy towers, and at the southwest corner there is also a sharp-edged enemy tower similar to a bastion.

The situation in the west half of the city is as follows: the west city wall has two gates and one enemy tower. There are sharp-edged enemy towers similar to bastions at the southwest and northwest corners.The south city wall has no gates and enemy towers, and a bridge connects the east half of the city across the canal.

The situation of the castle outside the city is as follows: four bastions, three towers in the middle, and moats on all sides.There is a bridge to the south that can lead to the eastern half of the city.On the north side there was a gap, next to the bastion, which gave access to the coast.

The drawing also draws a few circles, marking that there is a fort in a certain place, and marking the approximate number of defenders in a certain place.

When the Datong Army was using a hot air balloon to observe, Governor Rainiers stood on the castle and was also observing with a telescope. He had a headache and said, "What kind of device is this? It can rise to high altitudes. The deployment of our troops has been controlled by China. People have figured it out completely.”

The army commander, Clapp, led his troops to defend the city.Through the binoculars, he could clearly see that there were Chinese people on the hot air balloon watching.

Clapp immediately mobilized troops to test, and then he soon discovered that the Chinese watchman on the hot air balloon kept playing semaphore to show this mobilization situation.

And the Javanese servants standing on the city wall, facing the two mysterious hot air balloons, shouted and knelt down one after another.

Clapp said to the herald: "Go and tell those Javanese soldiers that there are no gods in the sky, but some kind of Chinese machine. Fire and shoot those two balls down!"

"Boom boom boom!"

Cannons were fired from the east wall, but the balloon was too high and the distance was too far.At best, the cannonball can hit luck and break the rope pulling the balloon, and even if it breaks, it doesn't matter, the balloon will just float with the wind until it runs out of fuel and lands.

Those Javanese soldiers, seeing that the artillery could not shoot down the hot air balloon, became even more convinced that the Chinese army had the help of gods.

The Dutch soldiers walked along the city wall, waving their whips constantly: "Stand up, stand up, don't kneel anymore, that's not a Chinese god!"

A civil servant, running from the castle, came to the city through the moat.

He climbed up the city wall out of breath, and came to Clapp and said: "Your Excellency the Governor has an order to conscript all civilians to fight. After the victory of the war, the property left by the Chinese will be rewarded to the soldiers according to their military achievements. Those Chinese farms outside the city , and let the soldiers plunder, and those who have made great achievements can still get the land!"

Squad after squad of Dutch soldiers, armed with arms, recruited soldiers in the city and punished those who were still stealing their goods.

Even Indians and Arabs were forced to defend the city walls.

Sanjay Gutap took his clansman and buddies and was responsible for defending a small section of the city wall.After the Dutch soldiers left, the wealthy Indian businessman quietly went to the next door: "Gauer, don't try too hard. The Chinese are not bandits in Banten or Matalam. Malacca was occupied by the Chinese, and the Indian businessmen there did not We were robbed. If we resist too fiercely, we will be killed instead."

The Indian businessman named Gore said: "I know, I will not stick to it. As long as the Chinese soldiers attack from here, I will immediately give up the city wall."

That's the dividend that comes with a good name.

In the past Batavia offensive and defensive battles, whether it was facing the Banten army or the Matalan army, all races in the city would unite as one and resist to the death.

Because Wan Dan and Ma Dalan's army broke through the city, they would surely plunder.

If the castle is breached and Batavia is completely occupied, the Banten and Matalan troops will not kill people indiscriminately.The Sudans of the two countries also want "long-term development". They will charge a high poll tax, which is several times that of the Dutch tax.

In order not to be plundered, in order not to pay high poll taxes, Indians and Arabs always actively help the Netherlands defend the city.

Now, they have no enthusiasm for defending the city.

Who doesn't know what happened in Malacca?The Chinese army will not loot randomly, and the poll tax is lower than that of the Netherlands.

If it weren't for the fear of dying in battle, Indians would even want to help the Chinese army fight for a lower poll tax.

On another section of the city wall, several wealthy Arab businessmen were also passing messages to each other.Once the Chinese army attacks the city, don't resist, flee back to your own community immediately, and then wait and see the development of the situation.

The battle has not yet begun, and the defenders of the city have lost their morale.

Javanese soldiers and Javanese civilians were kneeling on the city wall to worship the hot air balloon, and they were whipped by the Dutch soldiers and got up tremblingly.But the Indians and Arabs, pretending to be defending the city walls, are ready to slip away at any time.

Clapp felt that the atmosphere was not right, and said to the herald: "Go to the governor's mansion and ask the governor to issue weapons to the slaves, and let all the slaves come to defend the city wall."

In order to prevent slaves from escaping back to their hometowns, Batavia's slaves were all brought in from outside.

The number of black slaves is very small, and most of them are natives of small islands like Bali.

In fact, there is nothing special in Bali. The Dutch carried out massacres there, purely to capture slaves.Men can be captured as slaves, used for themselves or sold.The women were captured and sold to the Han people as wives. After the Han people settled down, they would not think about leaving Batavia.

Historically, it has been more than 200 years since the Netherlands conquered Bali on a large scale.The aborigines in Bali were very stubborn. They first fought against them, and then committed suicide collectively when they couldn't win. Even members of the royal family committed suicide collectively in front of the Dutch army.Because they have been bullied by the Netherlands for nearly 300 years, knowing that they will end up miserable after being captured, they would rather commit suicide than be prisoners.

One after another, slaves were assigned simple weapons and brought to the city wall for defense.

Some slaves looked around, ready to surrender or flee at any time.But there are also many slaves with high fighting spirit, because the master promised many benefits, such as finding wives for them.

The Chinese army outside the city did not attack the city immediately, but set up camp in the farmland.

About half a day later, Sun Jie and Su Dingguo came with an army of Han landlords, and they also gathered many urban Han people who had fled to the countryside.

"This is the commander of this battle, General Tie Hong." Sun Jie introduced.

Su Dingguo looked at Tie Hong in a daze, why was the coach of the Celestial Army turned out to be a tall black man?

Sun Jie said in a low voice: "This is Conglong Gonggong. Before His Majesty raised his troops, he followed His Majesty to rob the Chaoguan. If it wasn't born too dark, I'm afraid he has already been named a Marquis."

Su Dingguo didn't dare to be negligent, and hurriedly cupped his hands: "Caomin pay respects to General Tie!"

"There is no need to be too polite," Tie Hong said to Zhang Xianzhong and Sun Kewang, "These Han volunteers will be handed over to the two of you to command."

"Good talk!"

Zhang Xianzhong was overjoyed, but he was worried about his lack of soldiers.

Zhang Huangyan is the governor of Luzon, and Kuang Hong is the governor of Palembang. They are not allowed to leave their jurisdiction without imperial orders. Therefore, the army is completely under the command of Tiehong.

兵力安排如下：铁宏亲领2400大同军，张献忠统领400浪人、1000汉人义军，孙可望统领400浪人、600多汉人义军，柔佛王子统领1500柔佛兵。

The envoy Liu Hanyi and the deputy envoy Sun Jie did not intervene in the military when they arrived on the battlefield, but only coordinated and arranged logistics work, and were responsible for appeasing the Han people who came one after another.

Many of the small cannons on the naval ships were dismantled and pulled outside the city for tentative shelling.

On the second day after the landing, the bombardment of the city walls began.

Johor soldiers and Han civilians, as well as Javanese serfs brought by the Han landlords, were sent out to cut down trees and dig soil.

Siege equipment needs to be built, and the moat must be filled with negative soil.

This stalemate lasted for more than half a month, the moat was still being filled, and the food in the Dutch castle was sufficient, but the food in Batavia was getting less and less.

The food needed in the urban area comes from the Han landlords and is transported to the city through the Tiger Canal every month.

The Han landlords also kept a lot of food in the countryside, and they would not sell too much to the city at one time, in case the Dutch and Javanese suddenly turned against each other.

Su Dingguo said: "The food stored in the city can last for another month or two at most. We don't rush to attack, and we don't need to rush to fill the moat. Try to avoid too many casualties. After one or two months, the food in the city should be eaten." It's over. At that time, it depends on whether the Dutch are willing to take out the grain in the castle. If the grain is adjusted from the castle, it will consume the grain stored in the castle. If the grain is not adjusted from the castle, the Javanese, Indians, The Persians (Arabs) would go hungry."

Tie Hong smiled and said, "Then take your time, and we will besiege the city for two months first."

Batavia has not yet fought, and fighting has already broken out between Burangan (Bandung) and Palembang.

The aristocratic landowners of Matalan in Burianan heard that Batavia was besieged, and immediately staged an uprising.They first killed the Dutch missionaries, robbed the missionary's plantations, set fire to hospitals and schools (both missionary sites), and then surrounded the city of Brianan, which had only 30 Dutch soldiers (and a large number of servants).

This wave of uprising quickly spread to Cirebon by the sea, and then burned to Semarang further west.

There was an uprising of the Han people in Semarang, and the surrounding nobles and landowners in Mataram responded one after another.

The Matalan puppet sultan originally gathered [-] troops to rescue Batavia.When I heard that the uprising broke out in Semarang, I was so frightened that I immediately returned to the capital halfway, and then I was blocked outside the city and could not enter, but it was the leaders of the Green Church in the city and the nobles who rebelled.

The Sultan of Mata Lan was frightened out of his wits and led his troops to withdraw to the east city.As a result, the aristocratic landlords in the east also rebelled, and various rebels began to encircle and suppress the Sudanese army.

20 years ago, Mataram was able to pull up an army of [-], but now it has declined to this appearance.

Ma Talan's puppet sultan was not dead, but three sultans appeared in the rebel army.The three rebel sultans were all from the aristocratic and landlord class, and they all said that they belonged to the orthodox royal family of Mataram.It is estimated that after they wipe out the puppet sultan, they will continue to fight a few more games until someone wins the final victory.

In addition, the Han rebel army in Semarang actually produced a sultan, who seemed to want to establish a city-state in Semarang.Of course, it is only called Sudan internally, and the Governor of China externally.

On the other side of Palembang, the Dutch fleet has returned, and the Indian Ocean fleet is also there, with more than [-] large and small warships, trying to attack the port of the Han people.

Chapter 822 [Zhang Xianzhong's strategy]

The castle in Palembang is very simple, built with rammed earth, and is still being strengthened.

The Netherlands has gathered more than 600 troops and more than 3000 Indian soldiers on the east coast of India.So they joined the Nanyang and Indian Ocean fleets and came over mightily, trying to capture Palembang by surprise.

However, they passed through the Strait of Malacca on the way. How could the Chinese army have not received the news?

"Boom boom boom!"

The ship-mounted artillery kept bombarding the rammed-earth castle, and even fired at the pier, but the pier was dead silent, and there was no panic and escape at all.

Naval Commander Balthazar Burt immediately realized that something was wrong and ordered: "Evacuate immediately, the Chinese are ready!"

More than 30 Dutch ships, carrying reinforcements, headed north, but did not leave the Strait of Malacca.They bypassed Bangka Island, went to the southwest coast of Kalimantan Island, and landed in their own country Sukardana, forcing the Sudan to send food and fresh water supplies immediately.

Only six hours after the Dutch fleet left Palembang, the Chinese fleet came to attack, but it was completely empty.

The Chinese fleet immediately pursued them all the way to Sukadana.In the end, it was still in vain. The Dutch fleet had already left, only knowing that it was heading southeast.

Balthazar Burt originally planned to dock at Semarang, so that the reinforcements brought from India would join the Matalan reinforcements, and then go to support Batavia together.Unexpectedly, when they arrived in Semarang, they were greeted by shelling.

The Datong Raising Dragon Flag is planted on the top of the city, and there is also a temporary green flag.

The city of Semarang is very magical. There is Zheng He Temple in the city, which is completely Chinese Taoist style. In addition to worshiping Zheng He, it also worships Mazu.At the same time, there are mosques and Catholic churches, but because of the uprising during this period, the Catholic church has been burned down.On the mountain outside the city, there is also the Buddhist Borobudur Tower, and there are even Hindu temples in the farther mountains.

The Han people have completely occupied the city, and the three major families of Zheng, Wang, and Ma have jointly ruled Semarang temporarily.

Many Han people have changed their surnames. The Zheng surname claims to be a descendant of Zheng He, the Wang surname claims to be a descendant of Wang Jinghong (Zheng He’s deputy eunuch), and the Ma surname does not need to explain anything.

The city was in a mess, a large number of blocks were burned down, not a single European was left, and even a few Arabs were killed by mistake.

Zheng Yongshou was wearing a leather armor he got from nowhere, standing on the top of the city with his hand on the handle of the knife, and roared: "Close the city gate quickly, people outside the city, go around the city and hide in the countryside to the south!"

Balthazar Burt's face was depressed, and he scolded Mata Lan Sultan countless times in his heart.

This puppet sultan really cannot support the wall with mud.The Netherlands has already helped to suppress the rebellion, and in just two years, the rebel army has grown bigger again.

If the Sultan's army in Mataram wants to support Batavia, it must pass through Semarang.If Semarang is not captured, there will be no reinforcements in Matalam. The Dutch’s intention to gather troops is tantamount to bankruptcy—Balthazar Burt doesn’t know that Matalam has already had rebels everywhere.

"Go east!"

At the order of Balthazar Burt, the Dutch fleet did not sail directly to Batavia, but went in the opposite direction.

About two hours after the Dutch fleet left, the Chinese fleet came after them.