1850 American Gold Tycoon.

In February 1854, the assembled fleet and selected armed forces set off from San Francisco, and went directly to Xiangshan Port, Guangdong after replenishing coal in Hawaii.

It is obvious that the 500 mercenary armies of Umbrella Company alone cannot complete this military operation alone.

Therefore, most of the armed forces of the Western Brigade went out with the fleet to participate in this military operation.

The regular military force on land participating in this so-called Fulcrum Expedition included all the California Infantry, all the Arizona Infantry, two battalions of the Oregon Infantry, one Engineer Battalion, two Artillery Companies, and one Cavalry Company, totaling 3800 men.

In addition to the land force, there are civilian armed forces recruited by the upper echelon of California, a total of 1300 people. These civilian armed forces were organized into a militia group to assist in combat operations, and Fremont was in charge of commanding it.

Since the troops were dispatched in the name of the Umbrella Company this time, the regular troops dispatched to the expedition were prohibited from carrying the military flag of the headquarters.

Therefore, each unit is equipped with Umbrella's umbrella logo flag, but different symbols are painted on the flag to distinguish them.

For example, the California Infantry flag has a dragon, the Arizona Infantry flag has a cactus, and the Oregon Infantry flag has a beaver.

In terms of sea power, 4 refitted warships were mobilized, 8 loach-class ships from the Anti-Smuggling Bureau were requisitioned, and 16 clipper ships were refitted from civil requisition. The displacement of these clipper ships ranged from 700 tons to 1200 tons. .

These clipper ships were fitted with 22 to 30 6-pounder Sacramento guns as support ships depending on the situation.

The Global Shipping Company also deployed 7 steam paddle steamers as transport ships to support the logistical transportation of the troops.

The number of crew members participating in this military operation reached 3400, of which 2800 were combat personnel.

This was the largest armed force Liang Yao had ever mobilized.

In order to take Borneo Island, Liang Yao basically took out all the belongings he could.

Liang Yao hoped to end the war on Borneo in a short period of time, instead of falling into the quagmire of war, so he mobilized 9000 people to participate in this military operation without spending any money.

"Burning money, what a fucking waste of money, before the battle started, last month the wages alone cost $25, and the ammunition for the test firing also cost a full $12."

On board the Boldness, Liang Yao stared at the list of expenses since the crew was assembled last month and exclaimed.

Counting the purchase of supplies to be transported to Xiangshan, the modification cost of the clipper ship, the fuel money for the steam ship, the money for buying Southeast Asian pirates and Hong Mingxiang, Liang Yao has already spent 86 US dollars to go out before the battle started.

I really don't know how much it will cost after I start playing.

As soon as the cannon is fired, ten thousand taels of gold, the ancients did not deceive me.

"Distressed?" Fremont teased.

"This is 86 US dollars!" Liang Yao said while covering his heart, "I hope this money is not wasted, and you can't even hear it when you throw it out."

Fremont stared at the operation called Operation Fulcrum on the table and said: "As long as we can land on Borneo Island, the battle plan will be half successful, and the money will be well spent. Land operations are our strength."

"After landing, the troops also need a steady stream of logistical supplies. Only with sufficient ammunition can our troops display their combat effectiveness." Liang Yao stood up and drew two lines on the map. …

"The Dutch supply line from Batavia (Jakarta) to West Borneo is only over 700 kilometers long, while our straight line distance from Xiangshan to West Borneo is more than 2500 kilometers.

If you want to defeat the Dutch and Indian authorities, even if you don't annihilate their sea power, you have to hurt their main sea power! "

When fighting on islands, whoever has the best supply ability is the father. If they don’t gain control of the sea, the officers and soldiers who land on the island will not be in a better situation than the soldiers of the Chinese resistance organization on the island.

If you want to win, especially win quickly, you must win the command of the sea, at least a part of the command of the sea.

Maritime power needs to be accumulated over a long period of time, and the gap in this respect cannot be caught up in a year or a half.

The two bold-class ships being built by the San Francisco shipyard will not be launched until July at the earliest. Before these two bold-class ships are launched, Liang Yao only has four serious warships available.

Although the Netherlands was seriously injured after the Anglo-Dutch War and has never recovered from it, its maritime power has been accumulated for more than two hundred years, and it should not be underestimated.

In the land battle, Liang Yao had full confidence in defeating the colonial army of the Dutch and Indian authorities, but in the naval battle, Liang Yao had no idea whether he could defeat the Dutch and Indian authorities' sea power and gain some control over the sea.

On February 1854, 2, Colonel Elvis of the Arizona Infantry Regiment sailed into the Capuas River and entered the port of Pontianak in a merchant ship flying the British flag with a nervous mood.

Although this merchant ship is a merchant ship chartered by the American Group from the British Steamship Company in Hong Kong, the crew on it are all English, Scottish and Irish crew members of the Global Shipping Company.

The areas controlled by the Dagang Company and other Chinese resistance companies have been squeezed out of the coast, unable to provide Liang Yao with a port for berthing ships.Liang Yao could only take down one port by himself.

The number of Liang Yao's battle this time was as high as 9000 people. To satisfy the food and drink of 9000 people, he had to win a port, a port that could moor large ships.

In West Borneo, there are two ports that are suitable for landing.

One is Sarawak in the north and the other is Pontianak in the west.

From a purely geographical perspective, Sarawak in the north seems to be a more ideal landing place.

Compared with Pontianak, Sarawak is farther away from Batavia, and the ships of the Dutch and Indian authorities patrol the waters near Sarawak less frequently.

But from a political point of view, the landing site in Sarawak is not so suitable.

In 1842, the British James Brooke announced that Sarawak had separated from Brunei to become an independent kingdom - the Brooke Dynasty. After that, the British authorities immediately declared the Brooke Dynasty as its protectorate, and Sarawak was actually a British protectorate.

The United States also recognized the legitimacy of the Sarawak Brooke Dynasty. Liang Yao was not stupid enough to offend the British and set up another strong enemy for himself.

Therefore, after comprehensive consideration, there was only one option for Liang Yao to choose, Pontianak.

At this time, although Pontianak barely maintained its independence in name, it was controlled by Sultan Alkadri of the Pontianak Sultanate.

But in fact, the Pontianak area is already the back garden of the Dutch and Indian authorities.Al-Kadri Sultan is nothing more than a puppet supported by the Dutch and Indian authorities.

The Dutch and Indian authorities also attached great importance to Pontianak. Colonel Anderson, the general of the Dutch Royal East India Army who was responsible for destroying the Dagang Company and other Chinese resistance companies, was stationed in Pontianak.

The composition of the garrison guarding Pontianak is very complicated. There are not only the Royal Dutch East India Army, but also the troops of the Pontianak Chieftain and the troops of the Lanfang Company wearing the uniforms of the Green Camp of the Qing Dynasty.

However, due to the fact that the combat effectiveness of the chieftain's troops has always been worrying, the core garrison force of Pontianak is actually a regiment of the colonial army of the Royal Dutch East India Army, and an armed force of the Lanfang Company is responsible for the defense.

A second lieutenant of the Royal Dutch East India Army on duty at the Pontianak pier saw a foreign ship sailing into Pontianak and ordered Elvis to stop the ship for inspection.