Chapter 1249 From General to Prisoner of War
After besieging the enemy in the swamps southwest of Star Island, the military pressure faced by Haihan was greatly reduced. Unwilling to be lonely, Mu Xiabai even ordered his troops and led the fleet to the other side of the strait, looking for Roger had discovered the enemy gathering place during his last reconnaissance, trying to further attack the surface armed forces. However, his journey was in vain. The other party probably expected that Haihan would track down the source and come to kill him, so he had already moved all the ships docked in the river bend. Although the temporary facilities on the shore are still there, there is no trace of human activity. It is obvious that the camp has been abandoned.
The British sailing ship that Mu Xiabai hoped to confront also evacuated the area and hid somewhere unknown. This made him sigh on the deck at his opponent's determination, and it seemed that he no longer wanted to try to rescue his accomplices who had fallen on Star Island. As everyone knows, although the armed sailing ships sent here by the East India Company are indeed armed, they are just merchant ships equipped with a few deck guns. Their combat effectiveness is completely different from that of professional warships like Haihan, which deploy twenty or thirty guns on one ship. The same cannot be said.
After seeing the Haihan fleet lineup in the Johor Strait two days ago, the British gave up their futile struggle and left the Johor Strait to hide further away. It's not that they don't want to save anything, but they know that they can't defeat the Haihan Fleet, and they can also expect that their opponents will definitely clear out the coalition ships in the north of the strait if they free up their hands. They can only choose to avoid its edge first, and then slowly try to deal with it. Rescue companions who were trapped on Star Island.
However, the British who stayed in Johor still misjudged one thing. They believed that Haihan's purpose of cutting off the strait channel was mainly to interrupt their own supply transportation, temporarily trap the coalition forces heading to Star Island, and transport them to Star Island in advance. Calculating the island's supplies, the coalition forces can survive for a few days. But they didn't expect that the coalition forces would be defeated on the second day after landing on the island. They are now hiding on the island to escape the pursuit of the Haihan Army. Most of the supplies shipped to the island have been lost, and they cannot survive at all. It's been so long.
After two days of siege in the swamp area, more and more coalition soldiers have chosen to surrender. There is really nothing they can do about it. They have no source of supplies at all in the swamp. If they are hungry for another day or two, they may not even have the strength to come out and surrender.
According to the information given by these prisoners, the coalition generals Hogg and Bapen are still trapped here, but it seems that they can no longer think of any effective way to escape. Many people choose to surrender when they see no hope of escape.
"Two more days of hard work and tighter pockets. They may struggle for their lives again in the end." Roger knew that Mu Xiabai's desire to fight was not fully satisfied in this battle, and there might not be anything after that. It was a large-scale battle, but the current encirclement and suppression had reached its most critical moment. He was also afraid that Mu Xiabai would lose his energy, so he could only try his best to encourage the opponent.
"Don't worry, everyone is here. Of course, I have to do everything beautifully before going back." Mu Xiabai also understood what Roger was worried about, and immediately patted his chest and promised. Except for the brief battle when he first arrived here, it has been relatively easy these past few days. The enemies on the island have been trapped and died in the swamp, and the enemies across the strait have avoided fighting. It is indeed a little bit troublesome for him. of disappointment. Now that the overall situation has been decided, it is unlikely that the opponent will have another chance to stand up. It is inevitable that everyone in the army will be a little slack. However, as a general who has led troops for many years, he also knows that the final success or failure of this mission will largely depend on it. It still depends on whether the enemy general can be captured. The last step is now, and we must not miss the mark.
Starting from the third day of the siege of the swamp, the Haihan Army gradually narrowed the encirclement inward, further reducing the scope of activities of the coalition forces that still refused to surrender. There were several brief exchanges of fire during this period, but because the coalition forces stayed in the swamp for several days, part of the matchlock ammunition used had become damp or even soaked in water, and the firepower was also greatly weakened. At most two or three of the ten guns were used. The support can start. On the other hand, the opponent's firepower has not been significantly affected. Under the ebb and flow, the resistance that the coalition forces can make is even more limited, and they can only retreat continuously.
By the morning of the fourth day, the remaining coalition forces had been compressed into a forest with an area of only about ten acres, and there were probably less than 500 people left. The Haihan Army outside the forest held a few selected prisoners of war, and asked them to read loudly the content of persuading them to surrender in Johor dialect and English with tin trumpets, and conducted a final psychological battle against the remaining coalition personnel.
Roger had no patience to wait any longer, so he gave the coalition forces in the woods an ultimatum. If they didn't surrender when the sun hit their heads at noon, they would no longer have the opportunity for the coalition forces to surrender and save their lives. If the coalition generals want to end this battle with dignity, it is best to surrender before then. Otherwise, it is likely that after death, the body will be used to show the results of the battle to the local people.
After about two hours of confrontation, the coalition forces in the forest finally chose to surrender. Hogg and Bapone led their respective armies out of the woods, handing over all weapons under the supervision of Haihan soldiers. Except for a very small number of senior officers, ordinary coalition soldiers were controlled by ropes and shackles after disarming themselves, and then were immediately escorted on the road in batches. This was also done to prevent prisoners of war from gathering together and causing unnecessary trouble.
It was only then that Hogg and Bapen finally saw their opponents, two dark-skinned and sturdy Haihan officers. What surprised Hogg was that the younger officer among them could speak fluent English. This was something he had never seen since coming to the Far East. Except for a few maritime merchants engaged in cross-border trade, he had never seen a military or political figure from a certain country who knew English. Moreover, this man commanded a Haihan army. It is conceivable that his status must be not low.
Hogg filtered the information in his mind and roughly guessed the identity of the other party. He also asked in English: "You must be Mr. Roger, the local colonial administrator, right?"
Roger smiled and said: "You are well informed, but you have even asked about my name, why don't you ask about the strength of our Haihan Army? Which European country that came to the Far East to make a fortune has not been taught a lesson by our Haihan Army? You dare to take the initiative to get involved, how brave you are!”
Of course, Hogg couldn't refute the opponent's ridicule. The defeated general showed no courage. No matter how good the original battle plan was, it was useless. The result had already proved who was the final winner. He wanted to defeat Haihan to prove the strength of the British colonial armed forces, but in the end, it added another shining mark to Haihan's record. Now that he has become a prisoner of his opponent, if he tries to show off his rhetoric at this time, it will only make him a laughing stock.
Then Roger continued to say: "But you don't have to worry. Since we said we will disarm and not kill, we must keep our word. We just want to wrong you for a while. Stay with us first and wait for your East India Company to agree." Only if you meet our conditions can we let you go.”
Hogg is worthy of being a veteran of the army for many years. Although he lost the battle, his emotions did not break out of control. He immediately responded: "I hope my soldiers can also be treated well. They are just performing the tasks set by me." Roger was noncommittal about his request. Haihan had no intention of raising a group of idle prisoners of war. These people would definitely have to undergo a certain amount of physical labor during their detention, and even generals like Hogg would not be an exception. As for good treatment, it would be good if the prisoners of war could have a bite to eat, but don't expect anything else.
After the last batch of surrendered coalition forces were taken into custody, there were probably only a few escaped coalition personnel left on the island. However, the trouble these people could cause was limited, and Roger did not plan to organize any more large-scale dragnet-style raids. Then he ordered all the troops to set off and return to the camp. However, Mu Xiabot's special trip came to nothing, and he had no interest in taking a detour to the star port in the south for the celebration ceremony. He immediately said goodbye to Roger and left from the Johor Strait with his troops.
Of course, the victory this time must be shared equally between the two sides. If Mu Xiabai hadn't led his army south to support him, Roger would have been able to defend against the enemy's offensive with the garrison on the island. He just wanted to get this kind of victory. It is difficult to achieve the effect of catching them all in one go. Mu Xiabai's fleet appeared in the Strait of Johor in time to cut off the enemy's retreat, which played a decisive role in the direction of the entire war. This is also due to the fact that Haihan has a colony like Xingdao in the South China Sea. Otherwise, if the reinforcements came from Cam Ranh Port, it would probably be too late to catch up with this wave.
Thanks to their special status, Hogg and Bapone were not tied up or shackled like ordinary prisoners of war. Roger did not deliberately humiliate them, but gave them due respect and provided them with Get food and water. Of course, there would be no more mounts, and they could only march on foot to the Haihan stronghold in the south of the island like other prisoners of war. And in order to prevent the two people from discussing countermeasures on the way, Roger was very careful to escort them separately and not allow them to have direct contact with any accomplices.
Hogg actually didn't have much intention to resist. After he surrendered, he carefully observed the situation of the Haihan Army. The individual equipment of the Haihan soldiers was obviously better than that of his mercenaries, and even compared to the professional army in the UK. Not to mention more concessions. Judging from the fighting situation in the past few days, the combat level of the Haihan Army is also quite powerful, with orderly attack and defense, and extremely rich tactics in field battles. The coalition forces retreated steadily in the battle and were restrained everywhere, largely because they couldn't stand Haihan's fighting method. And this information was all intelligence that was not available before the war.
If he could get another chance to make a choice, Hogg would definitely seriously consider whether to launch an offensive against Haihan. It's a pity that this information was known too late, and now it's too late to regret.
After a day's trek, the large army finally returned to the Haihan stronghold on the south coast of Star Island. Most of the defenses outside the village have been dismantled, but a large new camp has been built in an open space outside the village - a hard labor camp for prisoners of war to temporarily stay.
Due to the hasty construction time, there are no decent buildings in this camp. There are only large bamboo sheds used to block the sun, which are separated into several separate small camps with barbed wire. The prisoners of war captured from all over the island in the past few days are temporarily detained here.
Senior officers like Hogg were more fortunate. They could enjoy slightly better treatment and live in temporary cells with walls, doors and windows. Because there were too few cells, Haihan did not have the conditions to hold him alone, so here he finally reunited with his surviving British companions. Some people came in two or three days earlier than him, so they could give him a rough idea of the living conditions here.
There is no hope for food and accommodation. Although they can live in houses and do not need to be kept in the wild like animals like ordinary prisoners of war, this only means that they do not need to be exposed to wind and sun at night. They can get two meals a day, but they are basically whole grains and pickles without any oil or water. There is no restriction on drinking water, because they have to engage in physical labor arranged by the Haihan people every day and need to replenish water at any time.
Compared with the prisoners of war held outside, the labor intensity required by the officers is not too great. Their task is to use the hammers issued to them to knock out large stones starting from breakfast every day. Then we pounded the pebbles into the right size until the sun went down and we had dinner. Everyone will be assigned a workload, and if they fail to complete the task, their meals will be deducted. And if they try to resist the labor arrangements, they will be directly changed to the place of detention and thrown into the hard labor camp in the wilderness to engage in more difficult physical labor with ordinary prisoners of war.
Hogg didn't quite understand the significance of the Haihan people arranging this kind of stone-breaking task, but a good man doesn't suffer the immediate consequences. Since he can live well, there is really no need to fight for dignity with the other party on such details. Try to find The opportunity to escape is the most important thing.
But the chance to escape came faster than Hogg imagined. Not long after he was put in the cell, someone came to take him out. It turned out that it was Roger who wanted to see him. Hogg thought that this was probably the Haihan people planning to interrogate him, and he decided to be tough and never say anything he asked. Information about the East India Company cannot be easily leaked from your mouth.
But Roger didn't seem to follow the routine at all. The first words he said made Hogg unable to remain calm: "General Hogg, it must be very uncomfortable to be a prisoner, right? To be honest, I can't even keep you here." How useful it is, I plan to let you go back, what do you think of this idea?”
(End of chapter)