The wind blows from the South Sea

Chapter 112 The Governor's Mansion goes all out

After entering mid-September, citizens in important towns such as Batavia and Bandung clearly felt that the urban atmosphere had become tense, and the number of soldiers also increased.

By late September, tensions were running high.

Rumors about East Java and Central Java being occupied by Nanyang rebels spread a lot in the market, and everything was said, which caused even more inexplicable panic.

The Governor-General of the Dutch East Indies quickly took measures to expand the army. The first was to increase the number of indigenous servants. The main island of Java planned to expand from 1.2 to 3.

At the same time, recruitment of white volunteers into the army began.

Strive to expand the size of the white army in Java from 2200 to 6500 in a short period of time through various measures.

This confirms from another aspect
There were rumors that the Nanyang rebels had occupied nearly half of Java Island. As a result, prices soared and people's livelihood became difficult, which further caused social unrest.

Batavia Governor's Palace

At this time, Governor Charles had long lost his original calm attitude in dealing with things. He looked much more haggard, his eyes were faintly bloodshot, and he had not had a good rest in the past few days.

A large number of rebels are active in the Semarang area, and the original foundation of local colonial rule has been completely destroyed. This situation has spread to the cities of Salatiga, Keladeng and Solo in the central hinterland. Chaos has caused the situation to get out of control.

Specifically
It was the Governor-General's special envoy Mr. Strode and the commander of the Royal Navy Squadron Captain Slut-Meier who exerted extreme pressure. As a result, the Nanyang rebels did not follow this trick at all and directly raised the bar.

Their troops are all led by long-haired remnants, most of whom are ruthless characters who have been in battle for a long time. Their methods are cruel and they have committed numerous crimes..."

These Orientals were like a rapidly spreading plague that swept through the east and central parts of the country in a short period of time, causing countless heavy losses.

There are various signs that
The damage caused by the rebel areas has exceeded our estimates. The number of rebels is approximately 1.2 to 1.5, and they are equipped with a large number of flintlock muskets and a small number of field artillery, posing a substantial threat.

The result is clear to everyone.

The two main sailing battleships of the Royal Navy escorting the mission were attacked by fortresses and coastal artillery in the Surabaya Strait. The damage was extremely heavy and they even became prisoners.

When he heard this number, Governor Charles' face couldn't help but twitch, and he let out a helpless wail in his heart...

With the introduction by the Governor's Secretary Gossens, the situation became increasingly unoptimistic.

God, let these hateful orientals fall into hell forever.

The leader of the Nanyang Army is a rebel named Feng Guohui, a long-haired remnant from the mainland who has fled to the Nanyang region. This man is fierce and ruthless, unscrupulous in doing things, has considerable military combat experience, and is a difficult character to deal with.

"...

It is now certain that the rebel fleet is huddled in the harbor of Jepara Fortress, and the entire Jepara Fortress and town have fallen into enemy hands. The situation is dire.

As the events gradually became clearer, the general situation of the Battle of Surabaya also became clear.

Rear Admiral Süle, commander of the Royal Navy's East Indies Task Force, had just returned to Batavia with his fleet, and the news he brought was even more worrying.

Governor Charles hasn't slept well in the past few days. Now he has a headache and is full of depression.

Secretary to the Governor-General Gossens introduced the situation of the Nanyang rebels at the meeting. The senior officials of the Governor-General's Mansion, who had always been proud and proud, all looked solemn. Most of them did not expect the situation to be so bad.

After confrontations and tests with the Nanyang rebels on the sea, it has been determined that the two sailing warships "Levin Saugus" and "Olinburg" have fallen into the hands of the enemy. The number of enemy warships has increased to more than four, and their strength cannot be underestimated. watch for.

The plan to remit taxes to the Kingdom this fiscal year is expected to suffer heavy losses, with revenue reduced by more than 1/3..."

Such news is hard for everyone to believe, but it is the truth.

"...

The Nanyang Army simply did not stop and used the abominable trick of pretending to be a squadron of the Royal Netherlands Navy. They successively attacked and occupied Jepara and Semarang, and expanded their sphere of influence to areas such as Solo City and Saladiga. …

The Central Java region fell and the situation became out of control.

After knowing all this
Governor Charles was so angry that he greeted all the relatives of the Schroeder family with swear words. The lid that he originally wanted to cover was completely lifted, and his plan to leave this mess to the next governor to wipe his ass was naturally in vain.

In order to maintain the inviolable majesty of the Government House, a powerful and tough response is necessary.

So after Governor Charles personally approved it, he withheld part of the taxes paid to the Kingdom of the Netherlands, and temporarily levied special war taxes in West Java and Batavia, and began to recruit soldiers and prepare war materials.

Governor Charles himself submitted a handwritten letter to His Majesty the King of the Kingdom of the Netherlands and the Cabinet, detailing the development of the matter and the affected areas in Spring and Autumn style.

Of course, the letter only mentioned that the rebellion broke out in the Surabaya area and ended with the capture of two royal sailing ships. It did not mention the fact that several important towns in Central Java fell successively.

Big things are reduced to small things, small things are reduced to small things.

Poor special envoy Schroeder became the scapegoat. He and Colonel Sluter-Meier acted without authorization to ignite the war.

The governor's personal letter will be sent to the European mainland as soon as possible along with the diplomatic mail, and is expected to arrive in about one and a half months.

And when Europe sends reinforcements or even a sailing fleet, it will have to be five or six months at the earliest, that is, after May 1860.

If it is a little slower, it will be in the second half of the year.

What the Governor-General can do at present is to rapidly expand its military strength, try its best to form a crusade army, exterminate the Nanyang Army as a rebellious armed force as soon as possible, and restore the old colonial order of the Kingdom of the Netherlands.

The indigenous servant army can be recruited on the spot, and this work has already begun with great enthusiasm.

Compared with the slow and protracted administrative efficiency of the Governor's Mansion, this time under the personal intervention of Governor Charles, the progress was much faster.

According to the practice of the Governor-General of the East Indies
The reliable and more powerful white army should account for 1/3~1/4 of the entire army to maintain absolute control over the colonial army.

In the current situation, it is especially important. There are three sources for the white army. The first is to mobilize young male Dutch descendants in the colonies to join the army. It is estimated that there will be three to four thousand people. This work is already being done.

Before the end of September
917 young white men have been recruited, and the next step will be to increase efforts and strive to complete the recruitment task within the next two months.

The second is mercenaries. It plans to hire about 2,000 to 2,500 white mercenaries. The relevant information has been released and is planned to be completed before the end of the year.

How many people will come in the end is still unknown.

Nowadays, European white mercenaries are quite popular. In mainland China, there are more than ten medium and large white musketeer teams active, cooperating with the Qing Dynasty's long-term war to encircle and suppress the long-haired bandits.

The famous Hunan Army generals Zeng Guofan, Zuo Zongtang, Huai Army Li Hongzhang and other generals under their command, many of them had foreign musketeers to cooperate with them. These were white mercenaries, many of whom were British.

According to the consistent policy of the Governor-General of the Netherlands East Indies, soldiers from non-German-speaking countries such as Britain, France, Spain, Italy or the United States will not be hired.

They are accustomed to using mercenaries from the countries of the North German Federation, Switzerland, Prussia or the Austrian Empire, and being selective makes the range of choices even narrower.

The third option is the Kingdom of the Netherlands. In his personal letter, Governor Charles hopes to send no less than five sailing warships and 3 soldiers for reinforcements.

Even if there is no delay at all, it will be after May or June next year.

"...

The situation of the local rebels is roughly the same. It is obvious that they are more ferocious, more organized and more threatening than the indigenous rebellion on Java Island.

The Government House hopes that the Royal Army can take swift action and deploy troops in forward towns in the hinterland of West Java to curb the rapid spread of rebel forces.

Next... I would like to ask Lieutenant General Koch of the Royal Army to explain the military plan. "

Gossens, secretary to the governor, kept talking for more than an hour. His mouth was really dry when he talked. He turned around and picked up the wine bottle and poured himself a glass. He took a big gulp and felt better.

to be frank

The high-ranking officials in the Governor's Mansion were a little confused when they accepted the sudden arrival of the Oriental rebels, like a whirlwind rising from the ground.

Naturally, I can’t talk about being in a good mood, but I’m almost as depressed as to be depressed.

Most of the senior officials in the Governor's Office were exiled officials sent by the Netherlands. They came to the East Indies colonies to brush up their gilded resumes, or after the expiration of their terms of two to three years or four to five years, they returned with bulging luggage. Native.

As long as you spend a certain amount of money, you won't have to worry about finding a better position.

The current situation is hard to say. If the rebellion can be quickly extinguished in a short period of time, a slight blemish on the resume will be acceptable.

If the decision is delayed for a long time, the war will waste people and money, and what awaits the high-ranking officials in the Governor's Office may be the accountability of the Kingdom's cabinet, which will be very bad.

Lieutenant General Koch stood up, performed an elegant knightly salute to Governor Charles and other senior officials who were sitting at the top, and then said unhurriedly;

“Your Excellency the Governor, gentlemen;

The Royal Army plans to deploy troops in Pulegado and Bellik north to Pekalongan, near Central Java, to curb the enemy's rapid spread.

Completion plan based on current soldier recruitment

It is expected that the first batch of approximately 10 troops will be deployed to the above-mentioned areas by the end of October to defend key towns and roads and protect West Java behind a safe front.

The line between Pulegado, Belik and Pekalongan will also be the starting point for the kingdom's army to encircle and suppress the Eastern bandits in the future, and it has very important military significance.

After completing the preliminary deployment

Two months will be concentrated on transporting military supplies to the front to prepare for the upcoming clearing operation.

It is expected to be between January and February next year
Send a second batch of troops of no less than 2 people to the front, and directly launch a clearing operation to deal a fatal blow to the enemy.

Well, gentlemen, tropical storms come and go quickly.

After receiving sufficient war funding and military equipment, the Royal Army will defeat the Eastern rebels with absolute superiority and hang them all on the gallows.

about this point

I and the Royal Army I represent have full confidence that this will be a very interesting hunting game, that's all.

However, considering that it may not be able to recruit enough manpower, it will inevitably have an impact on the course of the war.

Therefore, the Royal Army hopes to receive sufficient military equipment and funding, which is most important for quickly suppressing and eradicating the remnants of banditry.

Although there will be twists and turns, I am confident of winning the final victory. "

General Koch's speech won a round of applause, and also made all the senior officials of the Governor's Mansion heave a long sigh of relief, and most of their depression dissipated.

No one will question the general's words. The Royal Army has a glorious and glorious history of conquest. It is an indisputable fact that an army of a few hundred people can drive away thousands of indigenous rebels.

In order to deal with these Oriental rebels, the white army was unprecedentedly expanded to 16000 people, plus more than 2000 white mercenaries. It can be said that it was a cannon to swat mosquitoes, and full preparations were made.

The number of white troops that can be used in the counter-insurgency war on Java Island exceeds 13000, which is not a small number.

In their eyes, Easterners are just cowardly and despicable thieves.

While the tigers were napping, they stole large tracts of land in Central and Central Java.

When the Royal Army becomes serious, there will no longer be any suspense about victory or defeat, and victory will only come sooner or later.

(End of this chapter)