Back to Ming Dynasty with Industrial Revolution System

Chapter 1126 The War with the Javanese Natives
Hoi An Port, originally the territory of the Ruan family in the Annan Kingdom, became an important commercial port in the East Cochin Province after the end of the Nanyang All-out War, and even replaced the status of Fuchun City, and gradually climbed to become the most prosperous city in the East Cochin Province.

Every year when the monsoon blows on the vast Pacific Ocean, merchant ships from all over the world will take advantage of the wind to come to this place for trade.The ships of Chinese merchants, Japanese merchants, Dutch merchants, and Nanyang merchants are moored here, and they are available in various dialects. It has become a transit point for Chinese commodities.

In addition to Hoi An Port, the other most prosperous city is Batavia on the northwest coast of Java Island.Hoi An Port is the transit point for Chinese goods in the Nanyang region, and Batavia is the spice wholesale center in the Nanyang region.

Hoi An Port is also the fleet base of the Nanyang Fleet, where two sailing battleships and several gunboats are usually moored here.

The battleships and gunboats staying in Hoi An Port will go out to sea exercises from time to time or assist the local security forces to counter the rebellion to maintain the combat effectiveness of the fleet.

A frigate equipped with more than 30 artillery pieces sailed into the naval base in Hoi An Port, and a dozen sailors carried several seriously injured naval soldiers down.Most of the wounded naval soldiers were injured by cold weapons and bows and arrows, and some were wounded by lead bullets from matchlock guns. The pain made them grin their teeth.

"You seem to have encountered some troubles during this expedition." The soldiers and military doctors in charge of supplies at the Hoi An Port Naval Base came out to meet the returning ship as usual.

Chen Bangyan, the captain of the navy and the captain of the frigate, got off the ship and said helplessly: "When we went ashore to attack a stronghold in Mata Lansutan, we were surrounded by thousands of natives. The arquebus bought from the merchant has caused us a lot of trouble."

"The country of Mata Lansutan is really distressing. I don't know when and when they will be able to completely defeat them." Said the logistics staff of the Ministry of the Navy.

"Our Nanyang Fleet needs to control too many areas, and there are only a dozen battleships plus gunboats. We are powerless to use more than a dozen warships to control a huge sea area." Chen Bangyan said.

"Isn't it? Our important strongholds in Southeast Asia include Hoi An Port, Malacca, Batavia, Manila, Bangkok, Brunei, etc. On average, we only have two warships to deal with each important port. The only thing to be thankful for It is that these important ports do not need to send troops at the same time, otherwise we would not have so many troops to mobilize to deal with Mata Laem Sultan." The soldiers at the naval base were all worried about their lack of troops.

After the Nanyang All-out War, the Kyushu Army seized several important strongholds occupied by European colonists, including Malacca, Manila, and Batavia, and at the same time destroyed several powerful kingdoms in Southeast Asia, Annan, Siam, Chenla, Toungoo , Zhancheng.

However, this does not mean that the Kyushu Army can achieve complete control over the Nanyang Islands.The terrain of Southeast Asia is complex, especially the Spice Islands, where there are many barren lands, as well as dangerous swamps and mires, forming sporadic states and sultanates.Mata Lansutan is the most powerful kingdom in the central and eastern part of Java Island, occupying a wide range of land in the central and eastern part of Java Island except Batavia.

With the gradual expansion of territory, Mata Lansutan, which has the centralized rule of the Eastern monarchy, has expanded its ambitions. A few years ago, tens of thousands of people were launched twice to attack Batavia, which is still controlled by the Dutch East India Company. .However, Mata Lansutan's two plans to attack Batavia were jointly defeated by Governor Cohen, Dongying Ronin and businessmen from various countries surrounded in Batavia.

After the Kyushu Army replaced the Dutch to control Batavia, Batavia became the seat of the Nanyang Province and the gathering place for the spice trade. The Kyushu Army had more influence on Java Island than the Netherlands East India Company , also sent a fleet to attack the coastal trading ports of Mata Lansutan in order to achieve a complete monopoly on the spice trade.

The king of Mata Lansutan was angered by this, and at the same time, he was afraid of the Chinese who would replace the Dutch, so he summoned strong men and wooden sailboats from the territory directly under the jurisdiction of Java Island to launch the third large-scale attack on Batavia attack.The two sides fought in Batavia and other ports on the coastal edge of Java Island, which caused headaches for officials in the Nanyang Province.The Nanyang Fleet also sent its main fleet to participate in the Batavia War.

The sailing technology of Mata Lansutan is still the hard sail passed down from the southeast coast of the Ming Dynasty, and it is a fishing boat and merchant ship used by the people, which is equivalent to using small fishing boats and merchant ships in the Nanyang Fleet armed with dozens of naval guns. Battleship confrontation, there is no suspense at all in naval battles.

However, Mata Lansutan has an advantage on land. They are good at jungles and swampy terrain, and they have a large number of people.

"At the beginning, the Dutch built Batavia as a fortress, and we spent a lot of manpower on this basis to expand the scope of the city and build a fortress. It is certainly impossible for them to conquer Batavia. But they continued to harass our trade, causing us a lot of trouble. We also want to establish plantations in the local area, but once we enter the deeper jungle, we will be ambushed by their natives." Chen Bang Yan took a spoonful of clean fresh water, but still complained.

"In places like Nanyang, there are many tribes, dialects, and beliefs, and the terrain is complex. It is not enough to rule here. It is better to occupy important ports and open up a few plantations." The military officer in charge of logistics at the base echoed.

Every time there is a conflict with a native indigenous kingdom like Mata Lansutan, the Nanyang Fleet will lose part of its troops.The death rate of soldiers seriously injured in this era is very high, and the soldiers of the Nanyang Fleet are all elites of the empire, and every loss of one person is a big loss.

"Now the goal of Nanyang Province is to monopolize the ocean. As for the hinterland of the island, it will slowly infiltrate." Chen Bangyan said.

When the few of them were chatting during the break, a lieutenant from the headquarters of the Nanyang Fleet came to find Chen Bangyan: "After the commander knows that you have returned, I will notify you to go to the headquarters."

"I'll go right away. Do you know what the commander wants from me?" Chen Bangyan was surprised when he was summoned by the commander of the Nanyang Fleet, Deng Qianlong, just after returning from the battle on Java Island.

"The telegram from the capital directly to the Guangzhou government, and then the Guangzhou government sent someone to inform us, it should be a relatively urgent matter." The naval officer who came to notify replied.

"It's about coming from the capital, so I have to go see the commander quickly." Chen Bangyan murmured in his heart.

(End of this chapter)