The wind blows from the South Sea

Chapter 96 Bad feeling

The Surabaya Strait is not wide. Standing on the shore, you can clearly see the lush green mountains of Madura Island on the other side, spreading out into the distance.

The two Royal Netherlands Navy sailing warships anchored in the strait were less than two miles apart, almost blocking the entire strait channel, and their flying flags showed incomparable arrogance.

View from Surabaya Pier
The more than 1300-meter-long breakwater built by Nanyang Company has been completed. On the embankment, the vast and flat dock site has been built with gravel and paved with large green slabs.

It looks flat and majestic. The long dock road extends to about 220 meters into the sea. At the lower end, huge logs with a diameter of more than one foot are driven into the beach. They are connected to each other with palm-wide channel steel bars to form a stable trestle.

At the top of the trestle
The thick wooden planks are covered with a thick layer of cinders and gravel, and the top is neatly laid thick bluestone strips, which are flat and solid.

The water depth at the top of the trestle reaches 7.8 meters, allowing cargo ships under 5000 tons to dock directly at the dock, which is better than the Batavia Port.

At the other end of the breakwater, there are seven continuous hills of high and low heights. On the sea side is the original quarrying area, revealing a large area of ​​blue-gray steep mountain walls.

At the top of the mountain, there are solid fortresses built of bluestone one after another. Although they have different shapes, their strong defensive power is unquestionable.

This is the seven-star fortress carefully built by the Nanyang Army. From the perspective of enemy ships on the sea, the large storage area behind the hill cannot be seen.

Less than two hours after arriving here, the fleet commander, Colonel Slut-Meier, had observed it no less than ten times with his brass monocular telescope, still frowning.

Damn it, I've been to this damn place before, and there's never been any defensive fortress.

The fleet commander, Colonel Slut-Meier, was an old-school soldier with a rigid and rigorous personality. He did not pay attention to Schneider's relaxed tone, but pointed in the direction of the Seven-Star Fortress and said;

"what do you mean……"

The cool sea breeze blew in his face, blowing the blond hair on his head. Schneider tried his best to look calm and calm, as if he had a chance to win.

He rested his hands comfortably on the thick oak hull of the ship. The astonishing thickness gave him a very solid feeling.

"What's wrong? Dear Mr. Colonel, what are you worried about?" Mr. Schneider, the envoy's secretary, asked with a smile.

"The fortress buildings there give me a bad feeling. If these Easterners set up cannons there, they would be able to block the entire strait and we would become a living target.

"I'm not as optimistic as you, Mr. Envoy. I have dealt with different Easterners. Some are arrogant, some are tough and cunning, and no one is easy to deal with."

Just these fortresses have made the Royal Dutch Fleet feel terrified.

This is important information that the Royal Navy has never mastered before, and it will definitely seriously affect possible military operations in the future.

"Believe me, Mr. Colonel, my department manages all the indigenous people in the Dutch East Indies colony and more than 200 million Chinese. No one knows them better than me."

If that's the worst case scenario I expected, then it will be impossible for Royal Navy warships to easily enter the Surabaya Strait in the future. This is really bad. "

"Please don't worry, Mr. Colonel, I will exert maximum pressure on these Easterners, and if possible, I will order them to demolish these buildings." Mr. Schneider replied in the usual condescending tone of the white colonists.

I mean

"As long as their pretentious masks are torn off, they are as cowardly as a bunch of lambs. All it takes is a few threats, and these Orientals will wet their pants with fear."

"Hahaha... I like this metaphor. If it can be done, I will solemnly recommend Mr. Schneider to the Governor for a more important position. With your outstanding talents, you can fully meet the challenge."

"Thank you, distinguished sir, that is my honor." The smile appeared on Mr. Schneider's face and he couldn't stop it. Just like the British Royal Navy, the Royal Dutch Navy is also a place where aristocratic children gather together. Officers such as captain's mate or second mate, gunnery chief, and sail and cable chief are basically nobles or children of noble origins.

These aristocratic officers can naturally integrate into the highest level of the Batavia Governor's Mansion, attend top-notch noble cocktail parties, and chat and laugh with the governor's wife.

Mr. Schneider, who was born as a commoner, could not do it. He could only look up to that top circle and rarely had the chance to receive an invitation to participate.

Colonel Sluter-Meier once again raised the monocular in his hand to observe carefully. When he found some soldiers appearing on the fortress, his expression became more solemn.

Due to the limitations of its own conditions, naval guns have thick barrels, high power, and fierce firepower, but their range is quite impressive, with the distance being within 1 yards.

One chain is 180 yards, and the most effective firepower range of naval guns is 2 to 3 chains. In naval battles, sail battleships line up to fire at each other, and the distance is usually about one chain, or even less than one chain.

The sailing gunboat led by Colonel Sluter-Meier was equipped with two layers of artillery, a total of 32 22-pound guns and 24 9-pound guns, one of which was a bow gun.

It sounds powerful, but in fact it is at a complete disadvantage when facing the coastal fortress.

One's own family knows one's own affairs.

This seven-star fortress on the coast occupies a complete geographical advantage. The seven small peaks are more than 7 meters short and more than 60 meters high. The range of the artillery mount can more than double.

Not to mention how exciting it is to bombard the sea from a high position.

Coupled with the strong shore artillery positions, using land to control the sea has a huge inherent advantage, making it easier to aim and hit more accurately.

The naval gun is useless. It is in a rough strait. When the gun is fired, the entire hull will roll violently. If you want to attack distant places, the target difficulty is more than ten times higher than that of shore artillery.

The warship was too far away to hit its target.

As we got closer, the elevation angle of the artillery was not that great, and the shells fired could only hit the mountain below, making no sound at most.

On the other hand, the opponent can leisurely fire from top to bottom. If one shot is not accurate, he will fire 10 or 20 cannons, which can always damage these Dutch warships.

After arrogantly entering the Surabaya Strait, we did not consider such unexpected factors at all. Colonel Sluter-Meier's face turned green when he saw the fortress battery.

When I came here before, there was obviously no such thing...

Near 3 p.m.

From the direction of the old dock in the distance, several long lines of soldiers walked over, fully armed and carrying rifles, and soon filled the more than 1000-meter-long coastal breakwater.

Dense numbers of soldiers also appeared in the direction of the Seven Star Fortress, looking like they were facing a formidable enemy.

Looking at this formation, it obviously doesn't look like he is bowing his head to apologize.

This made Special Envoy Schneider and Colonel Slut-Meier look at each other, and an unpleasant feeling arose in their hearts. However, at this time, they were too embarrassed to sheath the sword.

The big words have already been spoken. I can't say anything, I can only take it one step at a time.

Colonel Sluter-Meier ordered several small boats to be put down, and dozens of sailors accompanied Special Envoy Schneider and his party to negotiate to see what these Easterners wanted.
I really don’t believe it. In this three-thirds of an acre of land in the Dutch colony, it can still make Eastern people turn upside down.

(End of this chapter)