Chapter 586: The aftermath
Dutch originated from ancient Low German. In terms of language classification, it belongs to the west branch of the Germanic language family of the Indo-European language family, between German and English. However, as sea coachmen, most of the Dutch who sailed around the world mastered at least two languages in order to conduct trade smoothly. Seeing that Mu Xiabai and Wang Tom had no reaction, the man said a few more words in English. Mu Xiabai understood half of it now, but he still followed Tom Wang's instructions and pretended not to understand.
Seeing that he couldn't communicate in English, the man switched to Spanish and French one after another. Later, he even said "Thunder Monkey" and even Cantonese. This guy can speak five or six languages in one breath, which is considered a talent.
Mu Xiabai made a gesture, and immediately the arranged Annan militiamen came forward and spoke to the Dutchman in Cantonese with an Annan accent. The Dutchman was indeed very capable, and he could actually understand a lot of things. He immediately started communicating with the militiamen through gestures and gestures.
As the Haihan militia saw, the Dutch, who were huddled in their stronghold, chose to surrender and save their lives after seeing the strength of their opponents. However, the negotiator demanded that the victors save the lives of all Dutch people and let them leave the island. In exchange, the Dutch in the stronghold were willing to give up their personal property in exchange for freedom.
After hearing this, Mu Xiabai shook his head and rejected his proposal: "We do not accept any form of exchange of conditions. We believe in winner-take-all. Immediately order the people inside to surrender. We can save all your lives, but All other conditions are negotiable.”
The Dutchman was still waiting to speak, but Mu Xiabai impatiently gave him an ultimatum: "I now order people to light a stick of incense and make your decision before the incense burns out, otherwise we will use artillery shells to replace it." You make the decision!”
Haihan has no intention of letting the people on the island leave freely, and of course he will not agree to the other party's terms of exchange. As for using personal property to redeem one's life, this is even more of a joke in Mu Xiabai's eyes - you can't even save your life, but you still want to keep your property?
The Dutch did not waste much time and made their choice. In fact, surrender was their only choice. Almost all the young Dutchmen on the island died in the gunfire at the port dock. Now the Dutch in the stronghold regard women and children as Most of them were young and old, and there was no way they could resist the armed intruders outside. If they didn't surrender, they would be dead.
Soon the Dutch lined up and walked out of the stronghold gate. They would be sent to several warehouses that had just been vacated on the dock for detention. After the militia groups completely control the situation here, these Dutch people will be loaded on ships and sent to the north. According to the militia's count, a total of 167 Dutch were captured, as well as 174 indigenous residents dependent on the Dutch, most of whom were Malays. People with real Han ancestry do not seem to have the trust of the Dutch, and they basically live in areas outside the stronghold.
However, even if they are of Han descent, it is difficult to gain the trust of the Haihan militia. In the next few days, the militia will still need to screen these local people, and then move them in batches to different places in the north for resettlement. As for this island, in addition to stationing the infantry battalion transferred from Annan, some immigrants from Annan and Ming Dynasty will slowly be sent to settle here after the situation stabilizes.
Although there is no natural harbor here, the climate is very suitable for growing tropical cash crops. The Ministry of Agriculture has already made a planting list and is waiting to organize the construction of collective farms on the island. As for the funds that need to be invested, there is no need to worry. The Ministry of Agriculture held a project promotion meeting at the end of last year and specifically described this place suitable for growing spice crops to the shareholders of "Qiong Development". Investors from the Ming Dynasty have already tasted the sweetness of Haihan-style agricultural development in Yazhou’s collective farm investment. Although only a few of them have been to the Natuna Islands, this does not hinder the investors’ investment at all. enthusiasm.
As early as January this year, the Natuna Island agricultural project investment fund registered by "Qiong Development" had exceeded 50,000 Haihan yuan. According to the consistent operating model of "Qiong Lianfa", the Haihan Ministry of Commerce will also use the same amount to obtain absolute control of the project based on the amount of capital invested by the shareholders. In other words, before the militia took action on Natuna Island, Sanya had already prepared more than 100,000 yuan to develop it. Although the military value of this place is relatively limited, it does not prevent it from becoming a popular place in the eyes of investors.
However, before developing the area, the Haihan Militia still had to ensure that this place would not be easily taken back by the Dutch colonists. The Dutch's defensive measures are obviously undesirable. After Haihan occupied this place, he could not repeat the same mistakes. Therefore, it was imperative to build some more defensive shore defense facilities.
The Haihan Military and the Ministry of Construction also made corresponding preparations in advance. They removed a batch of the first batch of coastal defense guns that had been equipped in Victory Port in 1628 and transported them here for deployment. The Port of Victory also happened to free up space to install the new coastal defense guns that started trial production at the end of last year. In addition to the coastal defense forts, the more than ten artillery pieces brought by the army this time will also all stay here as heavy weapons configuration for the local garrison.
According to the military's point of view, if the Dutch want to launch an attack from the sea to take back this place, they will definitely suffer heavy losses from the attack of coastal defense artillery. Coupled with the assistance of these dozen mobile artillery pieces, it would be difficult for the Dutch to defeat the garrison here unless they sent three to five thousand men. And this is even if there is no local naval assistance. After the basic military facilities are built in Cam Ranh Port in the second half of the year, an armed fleet will be stationed there. If the situation requires, it can go south in time to attack Natuna Island. Carry out rescue operations. In comparison, the Dutch's voyage from their base camp in Batavia in the south to here is at least more than 100 nautical miles farther south than Cam Ranh Bay. If the Dutch want to spend a lot of money to fight the Haihan people here, they will ultimately suffer a loss. It will definitely not be Haihan's side.
After dealing with the affairs of the Dutch stronghold, Li Dagui and another colleague Du Rong, who had been waiting nearby for a long time and disguised his identity as a barefoot doctor, were finally received.
"I will truthfully report your contribution this time to the Executive Committee and your superiors after I return to Sanya. There will definitely be rewards when the time comes." Wang Tom praised the two of them for their military exploits as soon as they came up. And took the initiative to ask for credit for them.
The intelligence information obtained by the militia before attacking Natuna Island was basically produced by these two people. It was because of their long-term lurking here, collecting information, and providing very detailed information to the military as a reference for formulating combat plans that the militia was able to successfully capture this port town in less than three hours. When discussing their merits after the war, the two detectives from the Ministry of Security will definitely be recorded.
The two of them quickly bowed and thanked them. After all, they themselves would write a report afterwards to ask for credit, and they would definitely not be able to compare with a high-ranking official like Tom Wang who could ask for credit on his behalf.
Wang Tom added: "You two divide the work. One person will go to the dock to identify the Dutch we caught and see if there are any big fish or dangerous elements that have slipped through the net. The other person will follow the militia to conduct an inventory. The local people classified and registered skilled craftsmen, literati who could read and write, and veterans with military experience, so that they could arrange where to go when the immigrants were shipped back." The two agreed. With a sound, they all took orders and went to work.
There are still more than 3,000 unidentified people on the island. Registering them by category is not a task that can be completed in a short time. Although Wang Tom is the commander of the navy, due to the long voyage to Natuna Island, the fleet is not enough to carry troops and supplies, so it is not equipped with civil affairs officials, and now it can only be temporarily managed by the military. Civil affairs on the island.
Mu Xiabai led his people to turn over the Dutch stronghold first, collected all the valuable things in the stronghold, and ordered people to pack them on the ship - these things were trophies that had to be transported back to the base camp. As for the rewards for the troops participating in the war, the military will issue them separately in the form of circulation coupons.
This Dutch stronghold has a vague flavor of a bastion. It is surrounded by a stone wall, which is about four feet thick but only a little over two meters high. This stone wall has four protrusions on the front. It was originally equipped with four small-caliber Franco machine guns. In addition to attacking the enemy, it can also use the angle to shoot at the enemy who attacks the gate of the stronghold. There are also relatively simple musket shooting holes and observation holes on the top of the wall, but there are no protective facilities such as moats or trenches outside the wall. After a corner of it was destroyed by the artillery of the Haihan Militia, this wall was equivalent to being opened for the first time. The second gate came out, and it was completely uncovered. Therefore, the Dutch in the stronghold decisively gave up resistance and chose to surrender to Haihan.
Although this stronghold of the Dutch is relatively simple and not even qualified to be called a castle, but considering that the local population is only about 3,000 and there is no special production, it is already quite big for the Dutch to build such a stronghold. invested. But starting from today, the ownership of this stronghold is controlled by Haihan. After seeing the buildings at the port, Mu Xiabai decided to convert it into a local official residence and barracks.
Of course, it is difficult to carry out a relatively large reconstruction project at this stage, that is, let the soldiers clean up this noisy place first and move things such as livestock sheds out of the stronghold, so as not to prevent the entire stronghold from being filled with chaos all the time. It's a stinking smell. The residences vacated after the Dutch were driven away were used to house militia soldiers.
Mu Xiabai first moved the battalion headquarters here from the port, laid solar cells on the highest roof in the stronghold, and then connected the wires to the radio station to send the news of occupying Natuna Island to the base camp. It was already around six o'clock in the afternoon. The militia group set out in the morning and took only one day to capture the only port and town on the island.
Although it was easy to conquer this place, the various preparations Haihan had made beforehand and the work required to transform it afterwards would take at least a whole year. The military spent more than 40,000 yuan on this operation, and this money will be replenished by the economic benefits created after the development of Natuna Island.
Five days later, the registration work for local people finally came to an end. In addition to the Dutch who have been imprisoned, the current population is 3,471, and there are about less than 300 people scattered throughout the island. It will take time to slowly count.
Among the current population, the vast majority are Han Chinese or people with Han ancestry, and less than 20% are Southeast Asian natives. What makes Wang Tom happy is that local folk Chinese and Chinese characters are still relatively popular means of communication, so the temporary headquarters can use the method of posting notices to appease local residents.
Of course, the Announcement of Anmin did not use the banner of Haihan, but claimed to be of overseas Han origin and came here to rescue the Han people who were ruled by the red-haired ghosts. In order to appease people's hearts, the Haihan Vigilante Group also distributed small amounts of salt and rice to local people on a family basis. And this has achieved relatively good results, and the hostility of the people has been significantly reduced. In the eyes of these people, it is certainly better to be ruled by the Han than to be ruled by the red-haired ghosts. At least they are of the same origin and the same race, and are not as scary as the red-haired ghosts.
At the same time, the port reconstruction project was also carried out. The militia group temporarily recruited more than 300 local civilians to build coastal defense artillery batteries near the port. During this expedition, the Haihan Militia specially shipped more than ten tons of cement for the purpose of building a fort here. The sooner the fort is built, the sooner the security of Natuna Island can be guaranteed.
On April 24, the command issued the second peace notice, announcing that Natuna Island would be changed to its name before the Dutch occupation, namely Amborna Island. This resolution was unanimously supported by the locals. After the Dutch occupied the island in the early 17th century, they changed the name of the island to Ambona Island, and later to Natuna Island, gradually severing the relationship between the island and the Ming Dynasty. . But now that things have changed, it is natural to change the name of the island.
Of course, this change will not return Ambona Island to the rule of the Ming Dynasty. It is only based on the personal opinions of several senior executives of the Executive Committee and the military.
On April 27, a Dutch cargo ship from Batavia sailed into the port in a daze. This cargo ship destined for Taiwan Island originally just wanted to replenish food and fresh water at this port, but it never expected that the owner had changed here.
The Haihan Militia took control of the ship without any effort. In order to temporarily keep the secret of the island, all the personnel on the ship were temporarily detained, and the ship naturally became another trophy of the Haihan Militia's trip. .
(End of chapter)