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Kuang Hong was worried, and so was Sanders.

"How many casualties did we have?" Sanders asked.

"Thirty-one people were lost," Hendrick said.

Sanderston frowned. There are only 180 defenders here, and a loss of 31 is one-sixth.

"Let civilians and families take up arms," ​​Sanders said.

Between the central castle and the outer city walls, there are some non-military buildings.It was the office of the Dutch East India Company and the residence of the company's staff and their families.As for the Dutch settlements in the urban area of ​​Malacca, they are all inhabited by Dutch businessmen and immigrants.

By the way, Dutch Army soldiers are basically single, and they cannot afford to have a family here.

In other words, the Dutch rule in Malacca has not reached the level of assigning women to the army.

For example, in Taiwan, after the Dutch colonists gained a firm foothold, they directly killed all the men on Xiaoliuqiu Island, and grabbed the women and assigned them to the soldiers to solve their physical problems.The remaining women and children were divided and either kept as slaves or sold as slaves.

The Dutch ruled Malacca not long ago. Under normal circumstances, it is estimated that they will do so in a few years, and they have to find an indigenous tribe that is easier to attack.

Johann Neuhoff, travel writer and painter, received an arquebus at this time.

"Sir, can you shoot?" asked the officer.

Neuhof looked at the musket in his hand, and said very depressed: "I do know how to use an arquebus, but what you gave me is a fire stick!"

The officer explained embarrassingly: "It was left by the dead Nordic mercenaries ten years ago, and it has been thrown in the warehouse without maintenance."

Ten years ago, when the Netherlands attacked Malacca, they sent only a few hundred troops. The real main force was more than 1000 mercenaries.

Those mercenaries, who fight for money, are willing to sacrifice their lives in siege battles?

Therefore, armed with native soldiers and Han Chinese, after taking down the outer city walls, European mercenaries began to paddle in various ways, unwilling to attack the central castle.In the end, more than half of the mercenaries suffered casualties, because many of these guys came from northern Europe and could not withstand the tropical climate of Malacca. The main casualties were all from tropical diseases.

The number of mercenaries who really died due to combat is actually only in the single digits... They all won by besieging the city and running out of food.

At this moment, the matchlock gun in Neuhoff's hand was a relic of a mercenary.The barrel of the gun is rusty, the wooden butt is moldy,

This thing is used to defend the city, and it can only be used as a stick to fight the enemy in close combat.

In the arsenal of the central castle, powder kegs were moved out one by one.

The moment he pried open the powder keg, Neuhoff couldn't help but touch his forehead.The gunpowder inside is not just as simple as being damp, it has all been hardened together.

After the Dutch captured this place, the defenders have not fought for almost ten years. Who is interested in maintaining the inventory in the warehouse?

Chapter 704 [Bitter Dutch Army]

Malacca Castle, its real name is Fort Santiago.

But there are too many Santiago Forts. Portugal and Spain have built a lot of Santiago Forts all over the world.The one in Macau is called Fort Santiago, the one in Manila is called Fort Santiago, and the one in Malacca is also called Fort Santiago.

The central castle is built on the mountain, and the tallest watchtower is more than 30 meters above the sea.The fortress wall is 3 meters thick, and the actual wall is about 5 meters high.

There are also city defense guns here, but the strange thing is that the cannons are placed semi-fixedly, and the muzzles are always facing the direction of the city, and they are not used to defend against enemies at sea.

Because when the Portuguese built the castle, they believed that the enemy would not come from the sea, but from the army of the Sultan of Malacca, as well as the Chinese and indigenous people who might rebel inside and outside the city.

Of the castle's other two turrets, one is relatively intact and the other has been destroyed.It was destroyed by the Dutch, and it has not been repaired until now. The Dutch are just busy repairing the outer wall, thinking that the central castle will not be attacked. In history, until the British captured Malacca,

The Dutch haven't even fixed the turret yet.

Even the central turret didn't bother to repair it. One can imagine how arrogant the Dutch defenders were, and they didn't think it would be attacked at all.

"How much gunpowder is there?" Saunders asked.

Hendrick replied embarrassingly: "The gunpowder in the arsenal, except for the outermost one, is often used and ventilated to dry, and the rest are all damp."

Sanders roared: "I'm asking you, how much gunpowder is available!"

Hendrick said: "I fought a few days ago and moved a lot of gunpowder to the outer city wall. I didn't have time to bring it back when I retreated. Now there are only six barrels of gunpowder left..."

Sanders almost cracked when he heard it, and asked, "How did you become an army commander?"

Hendrick asked: "Why is the salary of soldiers in the army only one-sixth of that in the navy? I am only allocated that little military expenditure every year, and I have to maintain law and order inside and outside the city. Soldiers are poor enough to work in the city. How can they have time to maintain it?" arsenal?"

Sanders said: "This is the decision of the company's council, and I am not the only one who has the final say!"

The two broke up unhappy, and both felt that they were justified.

The Dutch soldiers were even more angry. Because there has been no war in Malacca for a long time, the wages of the army here are lower than those in Taiwan.Moreover, they will be deducted by the commander, and the monthly salary of the soldiers is not even as good as the income of the Han Chinese shoemakers in the urban area.

The number of soldiers defending the city was still small, and the colonial authorities did not want to spend money to hire servants.Such a situation led to self-government of all ethnic groups in the city blocks, the complete free-range state of the aborigines outside the city, and the collection of agricultural taxes was purely paid by the landlords.The Dutch army in the castle, not to mention bullying the natives outside the city, did not even dare to search for the Han people in the city.

The military pay is low, and it is deducted by the chief, and there is no way to exploit the people. What do you want these Dutch soldiers in Malacca to do?

Now, working in the urban area has become their main job, and returning to the castle to serve as a soldier is actually a side job!

Sanders thought about it, and called Hendrick again: "I saw that the soldiers were depressed. You give them a month's military pay. Tell them that during the defense period, they will be paid double every month."

Hendrick said, "No money."

Sanders produced the warrant he had issued: "Go to the treasurer and get the money."

More than 100 Dutch soldiers received repaid wages, and their morale was slightly boosted.

They took out all the gunpowder barrels and took risks to smash the hardened gunpowder bit by bit, and then took them to the open space to dry.The air here is too humid, and drying in the sun has no effect, so simply light the flame and put it away to bake.

Exactly how many can be used, the devil only knows.

The writer Neuhof threw the rusty musket aside, took out a pen and paper and continued writing:

"I am a little scared. I don't know what the future will hold. Malacca may not be able to defend it. The army in Fort Santiago is as chaotic as ever. As long as there is no war for more than a year, these army soldiers will be slack. They will either have nothing to do, and when they are on duty to defend the city Basking in the sun, or going to work in the city to make money during the rotation..."

“It’s not what a professional soldier should look like, but unfortunately, that’s how it is in the Dutch Army. It’s true in Brazil, it’s true in India, it’s true in Malacca.”

"When I was working in Brazil, there were only two Dutch soldiers in that castle. There were few residents there, and there were almost no Dutch people. They were all mixed descendants of Portuguese and South American natives. Dutch soldiers went out of the city to blackmail these mixed blood in order to make a living. Once, four half-breed farmers,

With their slaves, they rebelled collectively and killed the Dutch soldiers.Since then, Dutch soldiers dare not leave the city...

"Have the shareholders and members of the East India Company understood the living conditions of soldiers in the army? Their salaries are so low that decent people can't serve in the army, but can only recruit drunks, gamblers, vagabonds and the like. Even these people are gradually unable to recruit, and they can only recruit poor Europeans overseas."

"No matter which country you come from, as long as you are willing to serve as a soldier, you can serve as the overseas army of the Netherlands. The combat effectiveness of the colonial army is getting worse day by day. And the views of the officers on the army are getting worse day by day, and they even cut their poor salaries. .”

"If things go on like this, it's no problem to deal with the barbaric natives, but when you encounter a big country like China, can you really rely on them to fight?"

"Cannons are ringing outside again, the Chinese have already started attacking, I don't know how long I can live...

The central castle of Malacca is built on the mountainside near the top of the mountain. It can be bombarded by guns at the foot of the mountain, and even warships can be fired.

But the hit rate will be very low.

Of the two central turrets, one was destroyed by the Dutch when they attacked, and now the Datong Army is concentrating on bombarding the second one.

As mentioned earlier, neither the Portuguese nor the Dutch thought about strengthening the artillery power of the central castle. They placed most of the city defense artillery on the outer city wall.

Today, the Datong Navy dismantled the ship-borne guns and moved down the mountain to bombard the turrets. The Dutch defenders were almost left to be bombed.

After four days of continuous bombardment, the only remaining central turret was destroyed, and only the fort positions aimed at the city could still be used.

Hendrick didn't even dare to let go of his hand to return fire. He had only six barrels of powder left.Once the gunpowder is used up, how can you use muskets to defend?

"boom!"

It was Hendrick who ordered the artillery to fire with dry powder.At the beginning, the two cannons rang. When the third cannon was fired, it was unknown whether it was filled with too much powder or there was a problem with the gunpowder. One cannon exploded by itself, killing and wounding several artillerymen by the way.

"Let the natives attack first, and tell them that as long as they can get closer to the castle twenty feet, the food they can receive today will be doubled! If you attack the castle, you will be rewarded with fifty catties of rice!"

Kuang Hong's order was issued, and the morale of the Malay natives was greatly boosted.

They had no formation at all, carrying bamboo or wooden ladders, climbing up the hillside.Anyway, if you get close, you will be rewarded with food. If you die, you will be unlucky. If you are lucky, you will survive. After all, there are not many defenders in the castle.

"Bang bang bang bang!"

Sporadic gunshots sounded from the castle, and all the Dutch defenders fired cautiously. After all, there was not much gunpowder to be used sparingly.

As a result, nearly two thousand Malay natives rushed about 15 meters outside the castle.It wasn't until then that the gunfire from the Dutch finally intensified, and the casualties of the natives increased rapidly.

Casualties increased, and the natives collapsed in an instant. They threw down their ladders and weapons and turned around to flee. If they escaped alive, they could receive food rewards.

The aborigines didn't feel cheated, but thought that Chinese officials were very generous.

If you rush a few more times, you won't have to worry about going hungry this month, which is really a very good deal.

As the commander of the navy, Hong Xu has already landed at this moment, and is observing the situation with binoculars throughout the process.After the natives charged several times, he said worriedly:

"This castle is not easy to attack. There are no loopholes to exploit. No matter which direction you attack the city, you will be served by firecrackers. Fortunately, there are not many enemy troops defending the city, otherwise we would not be able to defeat it."

Obviously, in addition to consuming the gunpowder of the defenders, the most important thing in the attack of these natives is to go to the physical body to reconnaissance firepower.

After paying more than 100 indigenous lives, Hong Xu and Kuang Hong can already confirm two points:

First, the number of defenders is seriously insufficient, and it is impossible to concentrate on defending in one direction.After a sudden increase in the offensive force somewhere, the Dutch defenders had to urgently transfer people to defend.

Second, the castle has no dead ends in 360 degrees, no matter where you attack from, you will be beaten.

The local Chinese leader Chen Erxun begged to see him: "My lords, there are too many casualties in the storm. It is better to send people into the city to negotiate. Maybe the city can be taken without bloodshed."

Kuang Hong asked: "Will the red-haired ghost surrender?"

Chen Erxun said with a smile: "The red-haired officials may not surrender easily. But the red-haired soldiers are all bitter haha. My family's workshop in the city,

There are often red-haired soldiers who come to do odd jobs to make money.Their military pay is very low, just enough to feed themselves.Once you marry a wife and have children, or you like to drink and gamble, you have to work to earn money to live. "

Kuang Hong understood instantly: "The negotiation is fake, but it is true to incite the defenders to surrender. Mr. Chen is a good plan!"

Chen Erxun was also helpless. His great-great-grandfather had advised the Portuguese to successfully drive away the Sultan of Malacca.He himself had advised the Dutch ten years ago to help them get rid of the Portuguese smoothly.

Now, it seems that Kuang Hong will not leave until he breaks the city, and he has to stand up and give Kuang Hong advice.

Anyway, no matter who comes or who has the upper hand, the Chen family will choose who to help, so that they can stand firm in Malacca.

"Who is going to negotiate?" Kuang Hong asked.

Chen Erxun cupped his hands and said, "Caomin recommends himself."

Kuang Hong smiled and said, "You are very courageous."

Chen Erxun said: "The red-haired ghosts bully the weak and fear the strong. When they don't gain the upper hand, they are still polite and polite. They will never kill the negotiating envoy. As for when they gain power, it is uncertain. Caomin has seen too many foreign countries. The barbarians are afraid of power and not virtuous. Once the barbarians gain power,

They completely disregarded etiquette, justice, integrity and shame, even the old and the weak, women and children, would kill as soon as they said it. "

Kuang Hong nodded: "Then please, sir, please go."

Chapter 705 [Surrender can wear silk]

"negotiation?"

"Yes, the other party wants to negotiate, and it is estimated that they want us to surrender."

"Let's talk about it. It's a day if it can be delayed."

No matter how clever Kuang Hong was, he would never have imagined that the gunpowder of the Dutch defenders was about to run out.The Dutch Army's coquettish operations caused the muskets to rust and the gunpowder to harden. This situation had occurred in Tainan, but it was encountered by the Han rebels, and the Datong Army had no knowledge of it.

At this moment, the Dutch defenders were still drying gunpowder.

"Bitch!"

Commander Hendrick was inspecting the gunpowder situation. When he arrived at the place, he couldn't help but swear and shouted a Dutch word klootzak.

He rushed over quickly, and kicked the soldiers over: "How many times have I told you that hardened gunpowder is not allowed to be knocked, and it must be slowly ground into powder!"

All these army soldiers belonged to the prenatal education industry, and they had never fought a war after becoming soldiers, let alone suffered from gunpowder explosions.

To be honest, the Dutch were lucky enough that a large amount of gunpowder in the arsenal was damp, and it was possible to release heat and explode on its own.They have been next to the "giant bomb" all these years, and it is their ancestors who have not all ascended to heaven.

Generally speaking, gunpowder that is compacted and damp has to be ground and then slowly dried.You have to use the sieve again to sieve out the fine powder and then configure it, so that it can be used normally.

But the air in Malacca is too humid, and there is no time to wait for it to dry, so it is risky to bake.

When baking, the temperature is slightly higher, and the gunpowder may be ignited.

Hendrick looked at several bonfires, gunpowder placed indiscriminately, and hammers for hammering, and suddenly had an urge to open the city and surrender.

"This second lieutenant, come here!" Hendrick pointed to a soldier.

The second lieutenant in the Netherlands is not a military rank at this time, but a grassroots cadre position, equivalent to the corps leader of the Datong Army, with a little bit of education.The late Governor of Batavia, Van Diemen, started out as an Ensign.

A second lieutenant ran over, his name was Rial, and he could barely read some words.

Hendrick instructed: "Whoever hits gunpowder again with a hammer will have his head twisted off and stuffed in shit!"

"Yes!" Rial held his head high.

Hendrik left immediately, and Rial instantly turned pale, lying there very lazily, and said to the other soldiers: "Grind slowly, don't knock. The enemy is not attacking today, everyone takes this opportunity to rest."