The wind blows from the South Sea

Chapter 87 Conflict of Interest in the Governor's Mansion

The Governor's question made all the senior officials present look at each other, and no one could answer his question.

The meeting fell into brief silence

Many people turned their attention to Mr. Lucius, the resident officer of the Internal Affairs Administration. Mr. Lucius just shrugged helplessly and said;

“Gentlemen, am I as confused as you are?

Regarding the terrible things that happened in Surabaya City more than two months ago, we did get some incomplete information from different channels, some of which were contradictory and some of which were very different.

Given that there are currently no credible channels to confirm, we still need more time to clear away the fog and find the final truth.

I remember that in April, Surabaya City paid the deed tax in the area through the tax collector Qiao's family, and there was no delay or delay in payment.

In view of this

This makes people even more confused about the situation at that time. If this force called Nanyang Company has taken control of the overall situation, why did it still pay a huge amount of deed tax?

Is it stalling for time or conveying some willingness to compromise?

We currently lack reliable information channels to confirm. We are currently getting relevant information from Mr. Kapitan, which will take some time. "

Mr. Lucius's answer did not seem to satisfy Governor Charles and the senior officials present, and they all raised questions.

"Now we have to be clear, is the whole of East Java out of control?"

It is absolutely impossible to adjust the forward military deployment in Sumatra because it is related to the long-term colonial strategy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands to fully colonize Sumatra since the time of Governor Pos.

We need to form a mobile corps of at least 1 people, with no less than 3000 white soldiers directly under the command, and this will completely drain the defense power of Batavia and Bandung.

"I heard that a tragic massacre occurred there. The main target was white people, and this was a serious and unforgivable crime committed by the Nanyang Company. Is the news true?"

"Sadly, it is."

Lieutenant General Koch knew that such a bad thing would inevitably happen to him, so he just sighed lightly and replied;

"There is indeed some news that confirms this, but we can't confirm it yet. There are many theories now, and rumors are spreading..."

"Major General Sule, the situation in the Governor's Mansion is far from as optimistic as it seems. We are seriously short of troops, and there is no financial allocation to support large-scale military operations, at least not this year."

"I heard that the British recently traded a large amount of weapons to the Nanyang Company, amounting to thousands of muskets and even field artillery. Is this true?"

For this reason, during the period of Governor Pos, he launched two colonial wars to invade Aceh and Palembang, which led to the intervention of British forces, and finally formed the 1851 bilateral agreement.

"Then you should do something instead of acting like nothing happened..."

"It is still being confirmed and cannot be confirmed at the moment."

"All this is so shocking. Resolute measures must be taken immediately to mobilize the army to suppress it. Damn the British guys, how dare they do this?"

Expand the military and adjust military deployment from the Sumatra front?

If the current military deployment is maintained, the military can only deploy no more than 3000 mobile armed forces, mainly indigenous soldiers.

Such power can hardly change anything.

The senior officials had different opinions. Governor Charles turned to Lieutenant General Koch of the Royal Army and revealed his intention to consult.

This move is extremely dangerous and could cause a chain reaction throughout West Java, and I do not recommend it.

"God, this is so bad."

The best way is to expand the army and adjust military deployment from the front of Sumatra, so as to free up the army to gather a large army and deliver a fatal blow to the rebel forces in Surabaya City. "

Major General Süle's words made Governor Charles Ferdinand Count Charles Ferdinand Bahou's expression slightly change. This is a typical clam that doesn't bite, but responds with its diaphragm.

“Your noble Lord Governor;

That is to say, each takes a step back. The Dutch colonists no longer pursue the comprehensive colonization of Sumatra. The Sudan of Aceh and the Sudan of West Akko sacrifice some of their sovereignty interests and recognize and respect the military presence of the Dutch.

The current situation in Sumatra is very complicated. The Dutch colonists used military power to support the Sultan of West Akko and cultivated him into a puppet of white interests.

The Dutch attempted to establish the power of Siak, that is, to establish their own power, but no kingdom was willing to surrender.

The Sultan of Aceh, Asahan, did not recognize Siak's right to rule. The kingdoms of eastern Sumatra were obviously more inclined to Aceh, although they were not willing to become Aceh's subjects.

Therefore, withdrawing troops from Sumatra means that the previous more than ten years of colonial efforts have been in vain, and the long-term strategic plan to colonize Sumatra has completely gone bankrupt.

Governor Charles cannot afford such serious consequences.

It seems that the only way to go is to expand the army.

The high-level meeting at the Governor's Mansion went on for a day and finally decided to use three months to expand the existing white army from more than 8000 to more than 1.2. The indigenous servant army also expanded accordingly. Its purpose is to form a mobile military force of about 1.8 to 2.3 people to suppress the rebel forces in the Surabaya area.

Such a move

Military expenditures will increase by millions of silver coins, but in the face of the current seriously deteriorating situation, this important resolution was still passed.

Because it is thousands of miles away from the Kingdom of the Netherlands, the Governor-General of the Netherlands East Indies has the right to act first and then report it, but it has to be questioned by the Kingdom's Parliament afterwards.

Before this

The Governor's Office will send a team of envoys to the Surabaya area that is out of control to directly contact the person in charge of the Nanyang Company to obtain first-hand reliable information.

After the high-level meeting, the Governor-General, Count Charles Ferdinand Bahu, returned to his office with a heavy heart and sat on his chair speechless for a long time.

He was in a very conflicted mood now, and was pondering over appropriate countermeasures in his mind.

From the perspective of self-interest

The best policy is to remain on hold and focus on deterrence and delay. As long as the final governor's term is delayed, this mess can be left to the next governor.

The Kingdom of the Netherlands pays great attention to the East Indies, the largest overseas colony, and is extremely concerned about it. It has formulated a proper policy of checks and balances. Each governor has a six-year term and cannot be re-elected.

Its purpose is to prevent the overly powerful overseas governors from becoming too powerful and backfire on the kingdom's highest authority.

Judging from the terms of office of previous governors, very few have fully fulfilled the six-year governor's term, most of them are between 6 and 3 years, and the few are only one year or about half a year.

Most of the governors with extremely short terms were due to changes in the ruling party, political conflicts within the kingdom, or sudden death due to illness while on their way to office. We will not talk about special circumstances like that.

The previous term of Governor Albertus was from 1851 to 1856, and Governor Charles had been in office from 1856 to the present, which was exactly three and a half years until the end of June 1859.

Previously, Governor Charles had already made arrangements for his appointment after returning to the country. He ordered people to pay a ceremonial visit to several powerful nobles in the Kingdom of the Netherlands, and presented a large sum of money to His Majesty the King through the royal attendants.

The purpose is to get a good job.

For example, the Minister of Home Affairs of the Kingdom, the Minister of the Admiralty or the Secretary of the Colonies, etc. are all good jobs that have both power and status.

Over the past three years

Due to the reduction in the pace of external expansion of colonial wars, the money that the East Indies turned over to the kingdom's treasury could reach 1700 to 1800 million silver coins per year, which was far better than the military expansion period when Governor Perth was unable to make ends meet.

This made Governor Charles widely praised within the kingdom, gained a lot of points in the political arena, and had a good impression on His Majesty the King, which laid a solid foundation for him to seek better jobs after returning to the country.

For the sake of one's own political future, delaying and waiting for change is the best way.

You can't have your cake and eat it too.

Regardless of whether it is expanding its military or launching a resolute and large-scale military suppression operation, it is a bottomless gold-eating beast.

During the term of Governor Pos, he launched two colonial wars against Sumatra, and the military expenditures borne by the Governor's Office increased.

Although it achieved significant military achievements in Sumatra, it intervened to form the current east-west confrontation and expanded the colony to the eastern part of Sumatra.

But the price was serious financial overruns for 6 to 7 consecutive years. Colonial tax collections handed over to the Kingdom of the Netherlands were diverted to military expenditures, which aroused unanimous dissatisfaction in the Kingdom.

After Governor Pos left office, Albertus spent several years reducing the number of troops and cleaning up the legacy of the war, and finally reversed the situation.

Thought of here

Governor Charles's eyes became clear and firm, and it was not a big deal for him to delay for a year and a half.

After all, the rebellion in East Java is a disease of mustard moss. The total population only accounts for one-tenth of the entire Java island, so its importance is really not high.

It is not worth it to risk your own political future by going to war for this, even if there is only a slight possibility.

As long as the garrison in Central Java and Semarang is strengthened, we can effectively prevent the spread of rebel areas and establish an effective isolation zone.

The fiscal budget of the Governor's Office has been fixed. It is already the end of June, and the fiscal expenditures for the third quarter have all been spent. What money will be used to expand the army?

Let’s wait, it’s best to wait until next year.

Important positions in the Governor-General of the Netherlands East Indies are directly dispatched by the Kingdom of the Netherlands, and usually rotate after four to five years.

This move strengthened the Kingdom of the Netherlands' overall control over this important colony in the East Indies, and also created a clear gap between European dispatched officials and local white officials.

The interests of both sides are different and it is difficult to urinate into the same pot.

The kingdom sent high-ranking officials to hope that the colonies would pay more taxes and work hard to collect wealth. These were their real political achievements and they would rise steadily from now on.

The local white officials are different. They prefer to moderately hand over the kingdom's finances, and the remaining money will be used for colonial expansion, building and leveling roads, expanding docks, and developing industry, commerce, and transportation...

(End of this chapter)