The wind blows from the South Sea

Chapter 140 Switching from offense to defense
Just a few days after the Governor returned to Batavia, news came that the front was defeated and the entire army was almost annihilated. This was like a blow to the head, and the entire top management of the Governor's Mansion in the Dutch East Indies was stunned.

The news of the defeat was reported quickly by Colonel Claudia, who had fled to Bellick, and the content was extremely detailed. However, it happened that he completely stopped thinking about it, and could no longer have any luck.

After this setback, the foundation of white colonial rule in the Kingdom of the Netherlands has been seriously shaken. From Batavia to Bandung, the situation is in turmoil, and society is inevitably in turmoil again.

Various rumors were flying all over the place, and many white colonists wanted to flee here in fear. A large number of plantations, tea gardens, manors and mines were sold on the market, and prices fell again and again.

The panic caused by the disastrous defeat of the Royal Navy has now become more and more popular.

Rumors said that the soldiers of the Nanyang Army were cruel and easy to kill, and everywhere they passed was covered in scorched earth. They raped, raped, and plundered, even women and children, as if they were an army of demons from hell.

these days
The Governor-General, Count Charles Ferdinand Bahu, was so overwhelmed that he had to order the colonial army attacking from the center to quickly return to defense, abandon the already occupied Salatiga, and return to Bellick to solidify the defense.

The Dutch colonial army in the middle route totaled about 1.78 people, including more than 2400 white troops. Later, more than 1600 white troops led by Colonel Claudia who fled south were added, and the total number of white troops reached more than 4000.

Coupled with the troops left behind in Bellick, the total strength is just over 2, and this is all the military power that the Dutch Governor's Palace can currently use.

The troops attacking Nanyang were far from insufficient, but they were more than capable of protecting themselves.

If we expect them to rush all the way to evict the city, forget it.

Now that we have suffered such a defeat, I think it is not appropriate to go into a big war again. It is better to supplement the existing strength appropriately and wait for help.

The war has reached this point and can no longer continue.

Now they are all destroyed in one day, which is equivalent to having their backbone broken.

Inside the Governor's Palace
An extremely depressing atmosphere lingered in the sky. Governor Charles' face was gloomy as if water was dripping from his eyes. He felt a heartbreaking pain in his heart and felt that life was bleak.

What he was saddened by was the loss of more than 6 white soldiers in the Gulf Battle. More than 6% of them were young white men of Dutch descent, accounting for one-tenth of the young white men in the entire Dutch East Indies colony.

The population of the Kingdom of the Netherlands is too small, and the population of the East Indies colonies is too small. They really cannot afford to die!

More than ten days have passed since the disastrous defeat in the Battle of the Gulf. The senior officials in the Governor's Mansion have more or less accepted the bad news and have calmed down a lot.

The governor-general, Count Charles Ferdinand Bahu, was quite self-aware. Among this 2-strong army, there were only 4000 white troops, and the rest were indigenous servants serving as cannon fodder.

Including the governor, it is estimated that many people will receive orders from the country to be relieved of their duties in the past few months and asked to return to the country to report on their duties. Maybe some of them will be imprisoned.

The magnitude of the loss is heartbreaking.

First of all, most of the large amounts of war materials raised by the Governor's Palace fell into the hands of the enemy.

for them
If there is no bad news now, that is the best good news.

The Royal Netherlands Navy's East Indies Fleet suffered a disastrous defeat, with 1366 casualties among the Royal Navy's officers and soldiers. Once the main force of the sailing fleet was lost, it has become a laughing stock of the European powers.

As the fighting continued, there were insufficient firearms, insufficient ammunition, shortages of mules, horses, tents, and other military supplies. Moreover, the troops at the front were demoralized and had a psychological shadow.

The latest news from the Nanyang Army revealed that a total of 2612 white officers and soldiers were captured, including 179 officers at the colonel and lieutenant levels, and the slightly injured Royal Army Commander Lieutenant General Koch was captured.

The entire army was wiped out in the Battle of the Gulf. In almost every white colonial family, a man was killed or injured. It can be said that every family mourned and every house was covered with white flags.

The Northern Army Corps led by Lieutenant General Koch was the main force of the Royal Army. It originally had more than 1.5 elite white soldiers, well-equipped weapons and equipment, and prioritized logistics supplies. It was also equipped with more elite indigenous servants.

Political Officer James Loudon looked decadent and said in a dry tone;
"My Lord Governor, in order to raise the cost of the army, all the first quarter tax revenue of the colony has been misappropriated, including the portion turned over to the kingdom. There is still a big gap.

Governor Charles looked around at the people in front of him and said with a gloomy expression, "Tell me, gentlemen, how should we clean up the current mess?"

You must know that the Kingdom of the Netherlands has colonized the East Indies for more than 160 years, and so far there are only 20 people of white Dutch descent. In the past six months, it has lost about one-fifth of its population, leaving only about people.

Expected to be around June to July

Reinforcement ships from the Kingdom will arrive soon, bringing us much-needed Royal Navy power and more than 5000 reinforcements, which is crucial to stabilizing the current situation in the East Indies colonies.

During this period, I think it is better to wait for help and not to attack rashly. "

His words attracted a chorus of echoes. Today, the forces of the Governor-General of the Netherlands East Indies are stretched thin and cannot move.

The Governor's Office still has more than 3,500 white troops stationed in the Sumatra Islands, stationed in Palembang, Asahan, Batu Bala, Jili, Baruchina, Nias and other places, and cannot easily evacuate.

It was a territory acquired by the former Governor of Perth after he launched two colonial wars. He faced off with tens of thousands of indigenous soldiers from the local Aceh Sultan to implement military deterrence.

Its purpose is to support the Kingdom of West Akh to resist the Sultan of Aceh and avoid being annexed by its powerful neighbor.

In 1858, the Sultan of West Akko handed over the Kingdom of West Akkom and its dependencies to the jurisdiction of the Dutch colonial government. The treaty stipulates that the so-called West Acres Territory refers to the area between the north of West Acre and the Dameon River.

As soon as the Dutch army withdraws, the Sultan of Aceh will inevitably lead tens of thousands of indigenous soldiers to come over like a tide, and the weak Sultan of West Akhil will be unable to compete.

The Dutch Governor-General still has a small number of garrisons in Batavia and Bandung, but the number is only one or two thousand, which is nothing.

Hearing other people agreeing, Governor Charles frowned, and after some consideration, he could only agree.

Now count on Bellick's 20,000-strong army to block the Nanyang Army's growing brilliance.

We will continue to mobilize some young and strong white men to join the army and regain some strength. There is a high probability that we will not be able to recruit many troops. There will be only a thousand men to support the sky.

The current Governor-General of the Netherlands East Indies has his hands and feet disabled, and can only wait until reinforcements from the Netherlands arrive.

Thinking of this, Governor Charles continued helplessly; "Gentlemen, we still have some good young men who have fallen into the hands of the enemy, and those Easterners want political status, territory, and large ransoms. I need a A brave and responsible gentleman goes to negotiate with them and bring our boys back. Who is willing to take on the important task?”

Everyone gasped after hearing this and hesitated to speak.

This is by no means a good job. If you don't do it well, you will be hung on the pillar of shame in history and be reviled by the people of the country.

Taking advantage of the opportunity of a great victory ahead, the terms proposed by the Nanyang Army were quite harsh, requiring the division of Central Java and Central Java, as well as large areas of land such as the Sulawesi Islands and the Kalimantan Islands.

As a result, almost 4/5 of the entire East Indies fell into the hands of the enemy. The Nanyang Army is obviously asking for a lot of money, and the asking price is so outrageous that it makes my heart tremble when I hear it.

In addition, a large ransom was required, totaling more than 460 million silver dollars.

Lieutenant General Koch alone required a ransom of 50 silver dollars.

Depending on their rank, school-level officers can have at least more than 10,000 silver dollars, as much as 70,000 to 80,000 silver dollars, and as many as over 100,000 silver dollars.

Is this a lot of money?

In fact, you can still get it out by gritting your teeth. Lieutenant General Koch's wife has come to the Governor's Mansion several times, demanding that the general be redeemed at any cost, but the Governor grunted and grunted.

The key is not these rich officers, but to bring back all the captured white officers and soldiers one by one.

The Nanyang Army's demands are not just money, but also political demands and territory. This is very difficult, so difficult that even the Governor-General's Office has no right to decide.

"Mr. Lucius, you are a resident officer who is familiar with the situation in the colony. You are loyal and responsible to the kingdom. Do you intend to serve as the governor's plenipotentiary chief negotiator?" Seeing that everyone was silent, Governor Charles directly began to name names.

These senior officials of the Governor's Office knew clearly that the so-called special negotiators were just stalling for time when they came to the Nanyang Army and had no right to decide anything?
But the families of the thousands of captured white officers and soldiers placed great trust in this, and the pressure they bear can be imagined.

Mr. Lucius stood up helplessly, bowed and replied, "Thanks to the Governor's favor and the important task, I am willing to do my best to mediate with the Orientals and bring back our good boys."

There is no other way. If you don't go when your name is called, what you will lose is your honor and family dignity. That would be worse than death.

After hearing the answer from the resident officer Lucius, Governor Charles nodded coldly and said;
"Thank you for your hard work. The Governor's Palace will prepare a batch of supplies and family letters for you to take with you during this trip. It also conveys the strong will of the Governor's Palace to never give up on any Dutch compatriot. The family is waiting for you. Waiting for them to return."

"I will, Lord Governor."

"After the meeting is over, Mr. Lucius will leave later. We still need to discuss the specific matters of the negotiation."

"As you wish, my dear Governor." Lucius's face showed no abnormality at all. After performing a chest caressing ceremony, he sat down again.

He was very complicated in his mind, thinking about how to carry out this mission.

It is impossible to satisfy all parties, because the positions are too far apart, and it is actually impossible for the Governor's Office to make any substantive commitments.

The fact that the Kingdom of the Netherlands is tens of thousands of miles away from its colonies determines that negotiations will be long and arduous and cannot be accomplished overnight.

How to grasp the sense of proportion?
How can the Nanyang Army release some white prisoners?

This has become the key to this trip. If it doesn't go well, it will require a lot of blood from the family, and the families of the captured white officers and soldiers will also have to come up with some money, otherwise it will be difficult to persuade the other party to release them.

The meeting ended quickly, leaving only a few people including Governor Charles, Political Officer James Loudon, Secretary to the Governor Gossens, etc., gathered in the Governor's office to discuss the bottom line of the negotiations.

"We can start political peace talks, but we have no right to give up a colony that has been in operation for more than a hundred years. This is a bottom line that no one can cross. As long as it does not involve official recognition, anything can be discussed." Governor Charles looked solemn. Confession said.

This is obviously just a hooligan. I can talk about anything, but I can’t promise you anything?
The only thing that the Governor's Office can negotiate is a ransom. For example, that bastard Lieutenant General Koch enriched his own pockets during the preparations for the war and made more than millions of silver dollars?
If the war had been won, everything would have been easy, but now that the entire army had been wiped out, he was the only one to bear the blame.

Not only must the dirty money earned be divulged, but the original family property must also be contributed to make up for the shortfall in preparing the ransom.

Being able to leave him a boat ticket back to the Netherlands was considered generous.

"I have only one request. Bring back at least half of the captured officers and soldiers, including Lieutenant General Koch. He is in the hands of those Easterners, leaving us in a very embarrassing situation."

"I can only say that I will do my best, Lord Governor." Lucius did not dare to speak too fully and replied cautiously.

Governor Charles was obviously not satisfied with this answer. He held up three fingers and said;

"As long as the ransom reaches 300 million, we can promise them to bring back the damn General Koch and his men. The families of these officers and soldiers have put a lot of pressure on us.

We can privately acknowledge the Nanyang Army's existing territory, but it is impossible to hand over Kalimantan and Sulawesi to them, and it is impossible to sign all the agreements on paper.

All you have to do is delay as much as possible. It's mid-March now and you should leave within a week at the latest.

It is expected that the reinforcement fleet from the Kingdom's mainland will arrive sometime in July. At that time, the negotiations will break down. "

"I understand, let as many captured officers and soldiers go home as possible before that."

"Yes, that's what I mean. You can give them a big pie, but when you return to the Governor's Mansion, you will encounter many different opinions and it will be difficult to implement." Governor Charles looked at Lucius with a cunning expression, conveying how long you can fool him. Just fool around for as long as you want.

Lucius replied without hesitation;
"Please rest assured, my dear Lord Governor.

As long as I can achieve the goals you require, I have no moral obsession and will unconditionally follow your will and do my best to complete the task.

Empty promises may not be enough to convince the other party of our sincerity in negotiations, and we need some substantive support. "

"That's no problem. The Governor's Office has formed an audit team and is about to conduct a financial audit on the serious corruption case of General Koch. I will ask them to move faster and dig out a sum of funds before you go on a mission. I believe it will satisfy you.”

"That's good, I'm fine."

Governor Charles was very satisfied with Lucius's attitude. This time he attacked Lieutenant General Koch with the intention of settling scores in the future.

For anyone who makes the Governor uncomfortable, the Governor has a hundred ways to make him regret his actions and regret that he has caused trouble to the Governor.

Governor Charles has given up any hope of returning to serve in the country. It would be a good thing if he could withstand the questioning of members of Congress and avoid prison.

Whenever I think of this
He has the urge to kill, especially Lieutenant General Koch, who ruined his good deeds. During the preparations for the war, he asked for money and people, and formed an army of unprecedented scale.

This is the result...

The entire army was wiped out by the Easterners three times. When Governor Charles heard the battle report, he spat out a mouthful of blood and felt full of resentment in his heart.

If that's the case, don't blame me for being evil.

(End of this chapter)