Chapter 722 Batavia City
Although homing pigeons are a good tool for transmitting information, their reliability is still relatively low. They may not be able to fly to the intended destination due to various accidents, or the information tied to the pigeon's legs may fall off during the journey. . Moreover, this method has an insurmountable fatal flaw, which is that the additional weight and volume that homing pigeons can carry are very limited, which results in intelligence personnel having to use small words to write small slips of paper as a means of transmitting information, which greatly limits the effectiveness of intelligence. The level of detail is difficult to meet the actual needs of the military and intelligence agencies in many cases. Therefore, based on comprehensive considerations, the Ministry of Security did not try to use carrier pigeons, an unreliable communication tool, in Batavia's intelligence agencies.
After listening to Hao Wanqing's explanation, Bai Kesi did not continue to dwell on this issue. After all, he was not a professional in this area, and the Haihan system was very opposed to the practice of laymen leading experts, and the butt determines the head. Executive committee members can question certain tasks, but cannot easily interfere with decisions made in professional fields.
"Can the military send a reconnaissance ship to the waters near Batavia to observe the battle?"
Now that the Ministry of Security has stated that there is currently no reliable means of transmitting intelligence, the Executive Committee's attention can only return to the military from the Ministry of Security. Although the opinion of the Executive Committee is not to send troops to intervene in the war in Batavia, it is still necessary to grasp the intelligence of the war situation as soon as possible. After all, the outcome of this war may affect Haihan's future influence on South Asia. policies and attitudes, which is also the fundamental reason why the executive committee members gathered here for a meeting as soon as they received the news.
However, Yan Chujie's answer was also very helpless: "The Port of Ambuna is more than 600 nautical miles away from Batavia. It takes almost half a month to come and go. If a fast warship is sent to perform the mission, the endurance at sea will be very high." It is estimated that it will not be enough, and we will have to send a supply ship to follow. But if we send a fleet south, our whereabouts will be easily exposed. Probably no one on either side of the war will be happy to see us on the sea near Batavia. The fleet appears, which can easily cause unnecessary trouble for us.”
Yan Chujie means that the ship can be sent, but the military will not bear the consequences that may arise. We can't blame Yan Chujie for shirking his responsibility. There are not many naval ships stationed on Ampurna Island, and the planned operating radius is far from reaching Batavia. To force them to perform reconnaissance missions in the war zone, originally It's just a difficult thing to do. If Haihan was accidentally dragged into the war because his whereabouts were discovered, it would be completely contrary to Haihan's original intention of sitting on the sidelines.
Although Haihan has soft power that surpasses his contemporary competitors, he still can't come up with any effective solution to such an unexpected situation. In the end, after a long discussion, the Ministry of Security and the military organized a temporary working group to go south to Ambrosia Island, waiting for an opportunity to try to get in touch with the intelligence personnel lurking in Batavia. But everyone understands that this measure may not have any practical effect. Under the current circumstances, it is just better than nothing. The ones that can really make a difference are the intelligence personnel of the Ministry of Security who are still uncertain whether their life or death is in Batavia.
July 8, 1632, Batavia Harbor on the northwest coast of Java Island in the South China Sea.
The sea outside the harbor was densely covered with the Matalan fleet. Laden Langsang mobilized the maritime armed forces of Java, Borneo, and Sumatra for this offensive. Because the fleet is too large, there are still a large number of ships on the way to the Batavia Port. The total number of Mata blue warships that have arrived here exceeds a thousand, blocking the basin-shaped Batavia Harbor on the outside. The contiguous islands and reefs on the northwest sea outside the harbor have all been occupied by the Matalan army and used as temporary anchorages.
Due to the sudden incident, the Matalan army was not fully prepared when it set off. The vanguard had arrived at the Port of Batavia about ten days ago and also fought with the Dutch armed fleet stationed there. A small-scale confrontation. Although the Dutch had strong ships and powerful guns and were good at naval warfare, the Materan fleet, which had a numerical advantage, did not suffer too much. Moreover, their ships were also equipped with many small-caliber artillery provided by the British, which made the Dutch sailing ships I have to be a little more careful when fighting.
The British stronghold is also in the west of Java Island, located in the Banten area south of the Sunda Strait. The land distance from Batavia is only more than 100 kilometers. However, the British did not dare to take the initiative to provoke the Dutch, because they had suffered heavy losses at the hands of the Dutch in the early years.
After Cohen was appointed as the fourth governor of the Dutch East Indies in 1617, the British fleet also came one after another, trying to build a castle at the same location and expel the Dutch. This war lasted until 1619. The Dutch had lost their stronghold at the most critical moment, but Cohen did not give up. He recalled all Dutch ships and personnel in the entire Southeast Asia region and returned to Bada in May of that year. Via engaged in a decisive battle with the British.
The result of this decisive battle was that the Dutch not only recaptured their castle and drove away the British, but also pursued the British ships that fled to Sumatra and the Malay Peninsula, and severely damaged them in the waters near Pattani Port in the Malay Peninsula. the British fleet. After the two countries negotiated peace in London in 1620, Cohen remained unyielding and executed 30 British people who went to the Maluku Islands to do business, forcing the British to completely withdraw from the East Indies. In 1621, Cohen rebuilt the Dutch stronghold on the northern coast of West Java and named it Batavia, the Roman name for "Dutch", which was later known as Batavia.
In 1622, in order to monopolize the nutmeg trade, Cohen massacred the indigenous people in the Banda Islands who were trading with the British. More than 15,000 local indigenous people died in this massacre, and the remaining living people were all used as slave labor in Songdao and other Dutch colonies. Most of the Dutch castles in Penghu and Taiwan were built by these slave workers from Southeast Asia.
Cohen's series of measures suppressed the British, and in the end they had to give up their extravagant hope of occupying Batavia and instead established a stronghold in the nearby Banten area. The first two times when the Malta Blue State sent troops to attack Batavia City, the British were already eager to try. However, due to Cohen's great reputation, the British did not dare to openly participate in the war. They could only secretly sell a batch of arms to the Ma Dalan Country after the war, hoping that they could kill Batavia in the next war. 's old enemy.
On the third day after Cohen's death, the British and the Materan people received the news almost at the same time. The ruler of the Matalan Kingdom, Laden Langsang, declared war immediately without hesitation, and sent envoys to various places to convey orders to mobilize troops and assemble in Batavia. The British were not sure whether the news of Cohen's death was true or a hoax, so they did not choose to directly send troops to join the war. However, they still provided 40 artillery pieces and corresponding ammunition to the Matalan country, hoping that they could win this battle. The city of Batavia was captured.
Twenty days after Cohen's death, about 37,000 to 40,000 Matalan warriors had arrived off the coast of Batavia, and a small force of about 20 troops had arrived from the east and west sides of Batavia Port. They landed on the coast for many kilometers and destroyed the surrounding plantations, farms and all Dutch-owned industries.
However, the Dutch did not try to resist the invasion of the Matalan army in the open areas outside the city. They abandoned these areas outside the city early, and the immigrants had returned to the city. Therefore, the main losses during this period were concentrated on the economic aspect, and there were not many losses on personnel. As the Materan fleet arrived in batches, the gap in the number of ships participating in the war further widened, and the Dutch sailing ships in Batavia Port gradually fell into a disadvantage. Under the strong advice of Van Diemen and other military personnel, the Batavia Council had to order all ships to break out of the port and abandon their plan to engage in a decisive battle with their opponents at sea.
This is not the first time that this response method has been implemented in history. When the British attacked here, Cohen had used this method, and he personally led the fleet to break out and summoned the strength of various colonies before launching a counterattack. . When the Horses and Blues attacked Batavia a few years ago, Cohen also adhered to this approach, conserving his own strength and not fighting with his opponents. He used the method of holding on to the fortified city to exhaust the opponent's logistics supply and break through. The ships that go out can also harass the opponent's supply lines from the outside. At least judging from the results of the first two times, this method is quite effective.
The Dutch fleet finally broke out at the cost of more than 20 ships. Fortunately, the ships that were sunk and damaged were basically small boats, and the impact on the overall strength was not too great. But with the departure of the fleet, it means that the subsequent landing of the Matalan army at Batavia Port will be unimpeded. There is only one obstacle in front of them, and that is Batavia, which has experienced many wars. Davia City.
Although the atmosphere in Batavia was tense, the social order was not disrupted yet. After all, this is the third time in five years that the city has been attacked by foreign enemies. The locals, whether it is the Dutch, Chinese or the indigenous people who are dependent on them, are actually not too nervous anymore. After all, they also know that although the enemy has a large number of people, there is no good way to capture the strong city of Batavia. They can only besiege it for a month or two at most. When the opponent's supplies cannot sustain it, they will naturally have no choice but to withdraw their troops. .
Of course, there will still be extraordinary policies in emergency times. The council has issued an order a few days ago that all food supplies in the city must be uniformly allocated and arranged. Anyone who tries to hoard goods, raise prices, or force purchases during wartime Forced sellers were all treated as collaborators - simply put, they were hanged. A gallows had been erected in the small square in the center of the city, and several serious criminals were dragged from the prison and executed in public to serve as a warning.
As one of the food suppliers in Batavia City, the "Dacheng Rice Bank", which is only 100 meters away from the Governor's Mansion, was naturally temporarily included in the direct organization of the council. Early this morning, the council sent a team of people to start counting the grain in the granary.
The owner of "Dacheng Rice Shop" is named Cheng Dapeng. As you can tell from the name, this is a Han Chinese. Like many Han Chinese in Batavia who went to Southeast Asia, he is also from the Guangdong and Guangxi areas of the Ming Dynasty. This year is already the third year that Cheng Dapeng came to Batavia. Compared with other Han compatriots who had to start from the bottom of the labor force when they first arrived, Cheng Dapeng’s starting point was obviously much higher. He came with his own funds and projects. Batavia is engaged in grain trading, and showing up in Batavia City is the identity of the boss.
Cheng Dapeng's main business project is rice-based grains. He organizes supply from Annan and Champa and transports them by sea to Batavia for sale. Although this channel will cause its sales cost to be higher than that of locally grown food, due to the limited area of fields developed near Batavia and the frequent wars in recent years, locally produced food alone is not enough to supply the market. Therefore, Cheng Dapeng's rice business has always been steadily profitable.
Cheng Dapeng has always had a good reputation in the local business community and Chinese circles. In particular, he has close contacts with the Su family, which has always controlled the position of the Chinese Kapitan. This relationship has also made "Dacheng Rice Shop" exclusive to the Dutch Council. Food supplier.
Today, the council sent a team to count the food, and the team was led by Su Keyi from the Su family. Originally, there was no need for a person of his level to come forward for this kind of matter, but because the target was Cheng Dapeng, he took the job and made the trip himself.
"Brother Su Shi, why are you here in person?" Seeing Su Keyi appear, Cheng Dapeng was slightly surprised and quickly stood up from behind the counter to greet him.
"I am also worried that Boss Cheng will be dissatisfied with the council's decision, so I came here to explain it to Boss Cheng." Su Keyi responded with his hand.
Cheng Dapeng said: "Brother Su Shi is overly worried. Since the meeting has decided it, I will naturally obey the order. Besides, the soldiers outside the city are pressing down on the border. It is looking like a protracted war. I naturally have to accept the food in the rice row." It is the unified dispatch of the government. I still understand this simple truth. ”
"Boss Cheng is really a sensible person. It seems that I am indeed over-worrying." Su Keyi praised: "I was worried that Boss Cheng would not cooperate, so I specially asked the council to take this job and planned to come and persuade Boss Cheng. Come on.”
Cheng Dapeng said with a smile: "No need to persuade me, I will open a warehouse now and let the police come in and take inventory."
Naturally, they do not need to take care of specific matters. Each of them has his subordinates responsible for counting and handing over matters. Cheng Dapeng invited Su Keyi to sit in the study room in the backyard. Su Keyi also knew that the grain in the "Dacheng Rice Bank" granary was at least 200,000 to 300,000 kilograms. It would not be possible to count it all in a short time, and he was the responsible person. People could only wait here and wait for the result, so they readily agreed.
(End of chapter)