Back to Ming Dynasty with Industrial Revolution System

Chapter 1406 Forest Enemy
A rubber plantation on the outskirts of Batavia, where Javanese rubber workers are hired to take care of the rubber trees, and Japanese warriors are hired to guard the forest to prevent the surrounding tribes from viciously destroying the rubber plantation.

These rubbers are the future of the local industry.The demand for natural rubber in the second industrial revolution is not insignificant. Tires, conveyor belts, gloves, meteorological sounding balloons, etc. all require a large amount of natural rubber as raw materials.

Although the investors of these rubber plantations may not know the purpose of the government’s large amount of encouragement to plant rubber trees and the acquisition of natural rubber, but as long as the plantation of rubber trees is profitable, they will flock to them.

The Dongying samurai who were fooled from the Dongying province somehow became the forest rangers of the Nanyang plantation. In the past two or three years, they have served as the protectors of the rubber plantation dutifully for commission, and have expelled several groups who tried to enter this area. A native of the rubber plantation.

After all, Dongying samurai are the forest rangers that the rubber plantation owners like to hire here. Compared with the natives of Nanyang, they are more professional, fierce and willing to use force. Some of them can barely know a few Chinese characters.

Miyamoto Musashi, who is in his early 50s, has been staying in the rubber plantation on the outskirts of Batavia since he came to Nanyang. He originally wanted to use his military exploits to become a standing musketeer of the empire, but the rubber plantation has been calm for the past two years.

The two most powerful indigenous kingdoms on Java Island, the Banten Kingdom in the west of Java Island, and the Mataram Kingdom in the central and eastern parts of Java Island, have succumbed to the coercion of the Nanyang Provincial Government and have not dared to take any action.

The provincial office of the Nanyang Province is located in Batavia, which consists of Batavia, Malacca, Medan, Brunei, and Manila. Except for some patrols to maintain law and order, There is also No.12 Corps responsible for defense.

Among them, Batavia was defended by an infantry battalion, and there were several forts built by the Dutch.

In such a calm environment, Miyamoto Musashi has never been able to find a chance to make meritorious deeds.

"Except for the irritating rainy season and the ubiquitous snakes, rats and ants, we can still survive here."

"Also, there is only a chance to drink here every other month. It is said that we are afraid of something wrong with drinking. We can't buy wine with our own money."

"When will I be able to save enough money to return to Osaka, I miss the cherry blossoms in my hometown."

A dozen Japanese warriors built a bonfire at night as usual, and gathered together to chat.

They have been in Nanyang for a long time, and their previous rebelliousness as warriors has been smoothed out a lot, and they have become thugs of Nanyang plantation owners.There is a big difference between a thug and a professional soldier.

Holding a musket in his arms, Miyamoto Musashi looked at the swaying bonfire, felt his eyelids a little heavy, and took a nap in a trance.

"Hey, Miyamoto, I heard that when you were young, you met swordsmen from various factions. You competed more than [-] times and never lost. Why don't you show us your swordsmanship!" A Japanese warrior suddenly changed the topic to young and famous of Miyamoto Musashi.

Miyamoto Musashi was awakened, and realized that he just dozed off, and smiled helplessly: "I am old and useless, and I don't know how many years I have to live."

"What was the process of the duel between you and Sasaki Kojiro back then? Some people said that Sasaki Kojiro was over sixty years old at that time, and you were in your thirties at that time, and you deliberately set the duel time at noon. I am late, I want to consume his physical strength." A Dongying warrior asked.

"That was more than 20 years ago..." Miyamoto Musashi seemed to be trying to recall the previous events.

"Hmm!" A Dongpu warrior screamed in pain, his chest was pierced by an arrow, and his eyes gradually lost their luster.

"Enemy attack!"

Miyamoto Musashi and several samurai who had been on the battlefield grabbed the weapons around them immediately, and dragged their companions who had been hit by arrows to hide in the fortress they set up in the rubber plantation.

During the two years when there was no war, these Dongying warriors liked to build fortresses for defense just like they did on Honshu Island. They built a fortress with earth and wood on the higher ground of the rubber plantation.

It's just that no one would have thought that at this time the fortress would work!
At this time, there were more than [-] Javanese residents in the fort taking care of the rubber trees. They were awakened by the movement of the warriors. When they knew that there were enemies in the dark jungle, all the Javanese residents were terrified.

"Matalan people, it must be Matalan people coming again!" Javanese residents shouted.

"Matalan people? Is that the rumored most powerful kingdom in central Java?" Miyamoto Musashi and other warriors spent time with these Javanese residents, and they could basically understand what they said.

"They besieged Batavia for two consecutive years ten years ago, trying to drive out the Dutch there. This time, maybe they made a comeback!" the Javanese resident said tremblingly, "They have a lot of people, carrying There is very little food, when there is not enough food, they will go to the nearby tribes to plunder, and go to the jungle to find food!"

Miyamoto Musashi and a group of warriors looked at each other, and they all saw each other's uneasiness. They only had a dozen Dongying warriors and a dozen or so Javanese residents here. Hold this fort?
"I don't know if the forest is their main force. We must find a way to inform Batavia!" Miyamoto Musashi looked into the forest through the gap in the fortress, and saw that the rubber forest was silent and there was no fire. .

Only the bonfire that the warriors had made before was still crackling and burning.

For the soldiers of the Mataram Kingdom living in the hinterland of the tropical rainforest, they seemed like silent hunters in the jungle, making it impossible for Miyamoto Musashi and others to distinguish the number of each other.

"It may not be the soldiers of the Matalan Kingdom, or they may be members of the nearby tribes... In any case, we need to send someone to Batavia on horseback for help!" Miyamoto Musashi said.

"There is no moonlight tonight, so it is impossible to ride on the road!"

"Then tomorrow before dawn, we will choose one person to ride a horse to break through to Batavia, and the rest will stay here. If their main force enters the rubber plantation, then so many of us can go out with only one horse. There is a dead end!"

More than a dozen warriors hurriedly finalized the plan.

Just as the people inside the fort blocked the gate with sandbags, a rain of arrows fell from the rubber forest, covering the fort.

"Fortunately, we are always on guard. Without this fortress, we would have been doomed tonight." Miyamoto Musashi and others hid in the fortress, and could hear the sound of bows and arrows being inserted into the soil outside the fortress.

The forts they built were mainly rammed earth and rocks, with additional wooden planks and sandbags in the inner layer.It is conceivable that if they did not have this fortress but lived in simple wooden shacks, they would definitely be harvested by hunters in the jungle.

(End of this chapter)