I'm playing whack-a-mole in Siberia

Chapter 244 With the support of my fifth brother and brother-in-law, I can go anywhere in the world

With Hagen falling ill, the Dutch offensive in Aceh came to a complete halt.

It doesn't work if it doesn't stop. The war can no longer go on.

Before attacking Aceh, Gavin fully learned from the experience of defeat and suggested that Hagen build strongholds along the coast of Aceh and use these strongholds as centers to advance into the interior of Aceh, eventually wiping out the Aceh rebels.

The plan is good, but it requires a huge force and takes a long time.

The biggest flaw of the Dutch East Indies government was that it simply did not have the strength to support a protracted war.

Moreover, the Dutch East Indies had limited strength and did not have enough troops to advance step by step.

So Hagen pinned his hopes on a decisive battle with the Aceh rebels once and for all.

The Acehnese rebels did not give Hagen a chance at all. Not only did they not fight head-on with the East Indian Army, they also frequently attacked the search teams sent by Hagen.

Only half a month into the war, the East Indian Army had already suffered more than 3000 losses due to attacks by the Aceh rebels.

This battle is impossible to fight.

The East Indian army now dares not leave Aceh at all. As long as it leaves Aceh, there is a possibility that the entire army will be annihilated.

Even Aceh is no longer safe.

Last night, the Gurkha mercenary camp was attacked. The Aceh rebels first attacked the Gurkha mercenary camp with artillery and then launched a ground attack.

The Gurkha mercenaries panicked and fought fiercely all night before discovering that the people fighting the Gurkha mercenaries were actually the East Indian servants who came to support them.

On this night alone, the losses of Gurkha mercenaries and East Indian servants exceeded 1000 people.

As time went by, the contents of the letter gradually spread.

The second letter from the Aceh people listed all the important officials of the Dutch Kingdom, including Hagen, as well as their families and home addresses.

Although the Acehnese have not said what they will do.

But it was enough to send Hagen over the edge.

Hagen was only following the orders of the Dutch government, how could he harm his family?

On February 2, the Acehnese wrote to Hagen again.

The Dutch attacks in Lansha and Aceh resulted in a total of 4.8 Acehnese deaths and 0.1 injuries.

The Acehnese demanded that the Dutch government compensate each dead and injured Acehnese 10,000 dong.

Otherwise, the Acehnese will launch continuous and brutal revenge on the Dutch mainland.

The amount of compensation can be discussed.

The ratio of deaths to injuries was so outrageous that it fully demonstrated how brutal the Dutch were in the East Indies.

Under normal circumstances, the number of injured should be more than the number of dead.

This can only prove that the Dutch carried out brutal massacres in East Indies, so the proportion of deaths and injuries was so abnormal.

There was an uproar in public opinion for a while.

In Europe, no one cared about the fate of the East Indies, and no one counted how many people the Dutch killed in the East Indies.

The Netherlands prides itself on being part of the civilized world.

But they carried out brutal massacres in East India.

Is this what a civilized country should do?

Russia's St. Petersburg Daily News was the most violent, saying that the Netherlands should be expelled from the ranks of civilized countries, change its name to a "country of barbarians," and cut off all ties with the Netherlands.

The French newspaper "Le Figaro" was equally fierce, saying that the Netherlands' actions in invading India had exceeded the bottom line of humanity, and gave Hagen and Gavin the nicknames "Satan" and "Beliale" respectively.

Belial is Satan's deputy.

Even the British "Times" made some weird remarks, asking the British government to reflect on why it supported the Dutch colonization of East Indies.

The British government is indeed reflecting.

But it is not a reflection on the relationship with the Netherlands.

Rather, it was assessing whether Britain could conquer Aceh.

In other words, how much price did Britain have to pay to conquer Aceh.

The sun never sets on the Empire. It is the most powerful country in the world. The Royal Navy spans the four seas and is invincible. There is no problem in conquering Aceh.

The question is whether the benefits of conquering Aceh can cover the costs.

Since Aceh can launch attacks in the Netherlands, it can naturally also launch attacks in the UK.

Don't ask why Aceh has this ability, asking is a divine punishment.

Aceh didn't have to attack London.

All it takes is an attack on the Straits Settlements, which is just around the corner, to make Britain miserable.

There was nothing in Aceh. Most of the plantations were burned down by the Dutch, almost all the people were killed, and all the few cities that existed were completely destroyed.

How valuable is Aceh to the UK?

colony?

Sorry, the last thing the British Empire lacked was colonies.

And what really worries the UK is that.

Aceh's pattern of resistance was different from all previous colonial wars.

What would Britain do if its colonies all over the world followed Aceh's example and demanded independence?

Therefore, the best option is to end the Aceh War as soon as possible and control the impact of the Aceh War to a minimum.

On March 3, Hendrik, the special envoy of King William III of the Netherlands, arrived in Aceh to replace Hagen, who was unable to work due to illness, and officially opened negotiations with Aceh.

The first witness Hendrick invited to the negotiations was George.

Speaking of which, George and William III are still relatives.

The mother of William III was the daughter of Paul I and the sister of Nicholas I.

Nicholas I was George's grandfather.

From here, William III is George's cousin.

George also wanted to help his cousin.

Unfortunately, Vladivostok is still frozen, so George cannot come.

So Hendrick invited George's fifth brother, Sergey.

and Prince Alfred, Duke of Edinburgh, from England. Prince Alfred's consort is Maria Alexandrovna, George's second sister.

Since Alexander II's eldest daughter Alexandra died of meningitis at the age of six, Alfred was George's only brother-in-law.

Since there were princes from Britain and the Grand Duke from the Russian Empire, Li Sha came to Aceh with peace of mind.

The negotiations were not going well.

The Sultanate of Lansa insisted that the Netherlands completely withdraw from Sumatra and pay compensation of 4.9 million Dutch guilders. Otherwise, the Sultanate of Lansa would continue to retaliate against the Netherlands until the Netherlands fully agreed to the conditions of the Sultanate of Lansa.

Hendrick agreed to the independence of the Sultanate of Lansha and agreed to give certain compensation to the Sultanate of Lansha on a humanitarian basis.

Due to the large gap between the conditions of the two parties, the negotiations broke down for a time.

Something else happened during this period.

On March 3, a riot broke out in Old Port, the largest port and trade center in southern Sumatra. Hundreds of thugs rushed into the city, rampaged and repelled the counterattack of the Old Port defenders. They took away senior officials appointed by the East Indian government and looted the entire city. , Yang Chang left until a week later.

On March 3, the Amsterdam Police Department discovered 25 kilograms of gunpowder on a carriage, and everyone was shocked into a cold sweat.

Fortunately, the gunpowder had not yet had time to detonate.

Otherwise the damage caused will be immeasurable.

On the 28th, a handbag filled with explosives was found in the hall of the Kingdom's Parliament. If these explosives were detonated, the entire building would be destroyed.

On the 29th, George finally arrived in Aceh.

"Is the icebreaker repaired?"

Sergey's first words when he saw George were teasing.

"Well, please allow me to introduce you, this is Princess Anne from Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen."

George took the initiative to introduce Anne to Sergey.

The icebreaker was not repaired, but the ice in Vladivostok's outer harbor melted automatically, so George took the initiative to send Anne home.

"Hello Annie, long time no see-"

Sergey and Anne actually knew each other.

This is not surprising, Sergei’s wife Ella (Elizabeth) is the princess of the Duchy of Hesse and the Rhine, and Anne also attended the wedding of Sergei and Ella.

When Sergei and Ella got married, George was still in Vladivostok, so George and Anne missed it.

Anne didn't say much, and stepped aside after saluting, while George continued to introduce the other princesses.

"George, if the ice in Vladivostok does not melt, are you prepared to never show up?"

Alfred was curious about George.

"Vladivostok is so poor and has only one icebreaker. What can I do?"

George was also helpless.

If Ekaterina doesn't speak, the icebreaker will not be repaired, so what else can George do?

"Honorable You——"

Li Sha's expression was extremely solemn.

"I'm fine, and you're fine, too!"

George is still very satisfied with Li Sha and Yangkov.

With the addition of George, the negotiations finally took a turn for the better.

The Ramsar Sultanate no longer demanded that the East Indian government withdraw completely from Sumatra.

But the East Indian government was asked to give up all the land north of Jambi.

The amount of compensation was also reduced from 4.9 million to 4900 million, making a substantial concession.

"George, let's be real, there's no way the Dutch would agree to such conditions."

Sergey hopes to make peace as soon as possible.

"It's impossible for London to agree -"

Alfred also had appeals.

London could accept the independence of Aceh, but if the East Indian government ceded most of Sumatra to Aceh, it would affect British control of the Strait of Malacca.

This is absolutely unacceptable in London.

"That's right, then you can exchange it for Kalimantan - oh, I almost forgot, Kalimantan doesn't belong to East India yet -"

George's aims were not limited to Malacca.

Four years ago, the Netherlands used France to invade Annam and invade Lanfang Republic. The war is still ongoing and the Lanfang people are still resisting.

"Super Duke Yurievsky, don't go too far!"

Hendrick was furious.

One Aceh is enough to make the Netherlands miserable.

If Lan Fang is added to the equation, the rule of the East Indian colonial government will completely collapse.

"What? Is this the way you talk to me?"

George could flip out faster than he could flip through a book.

"Don't you know what your situation is? As long as this battle can continue, you will not choose to negotiate! Since you are negotiating, you must have the consciousness to surrender. It doesn't matter if you don't want to admit defeat. You can continue to fight, so why bother! "

George's reprimand made Hendrick ashamed.

surrender--

Hendrik did not view negotiations as surrender, but just another way to end the war.

George's words made Hendrick want to pull out his gun and kill George on the spot.

But looking at Sergei and Alfred who were watching coldly, Hendrick really didn't dare.

(End of this chapter)