Dragon Sea Empire

Thanks to the barrier of the Malacca Fort, the Chinese Army successfully repelled multiple attacks from different directions.

In order to capture Malacca, the Aceh people poured out their country, and with the help of the Johor and Patani people, they besieged the city of Malacca for 5 months. For this reason, the Malay rebellion in Sumatra was quickly terminated, and the Palembang Sultanate Because there was no support from Aceh, it was defeated by the Chinese pioneer group and the Marine Corps of the Nanyang Fleet in March, and had to surrender to the Chinese army.

During this period, the residents of Malacca were trapped in the city. The biggest problem was the lack of food supplies. More than 6000 civilians and more than [-] armed personnel had to eat wild cats and mice, and even had to dig wild vegetables beside the Sanbaoshan Chinese Cemetery.

In fact, as the chief executive of the Nanyang March, as the taxation center of Sumatra, Malacca commercial districts and various farms, and the Belitung tin mining area, Malacca originally had sufficient food reserves. The company's huge sea transportation capacity transported all the grain produced in the Nanyang region to the north as much as possible. As a result, after Malacca was besieged at the end of February in the second year of Tianqi, the lack of food in the city became a big problem. As for the ammunition, there was no problem here. The small arsenal left by the Portuguese was later expanded by the Chinese company. It can manufacture granular gunpowder and matchlock guns, and repair flintlock muskets. Most of them were used up during the siege.

By the end of July, 4000 people had died in Malacca due to hunger, disease, and various combat injuries, of which only nearly a thousand were casualties.

Zhao Xuanming’s experience of guarding Penghu Island and Jakarta has become a legend in the area ruled by the Chinese army. In the defense of Malacca, he once again perfectly organized a defense battle. Good fortifications, at the minimum cost, can inflict maximum damage on those native soldiers who use hot and cold weapons.

However, as the surrounding Chinese strongholds fell one after another, Zhao Xuanming had to send troops out to rescue the Chinese everywhere, trying his best to save them back to the city. In the fields and mangroves where the power of firearms was exerted, Chinese soldiers held bayonets, militiamen brandished machetes, and spears fought hand-to-hand with Malays. It happened when they went out of the city to fight, and there were 6000 to [-] Chinese people rescued in the city one after another. Most of them escaped from death with nothing, which undoubtedly increased the food crisis in the city.

In May, the main force of the Java Squadron of the Nanyang Fleet, which received information about the help, was still suppressing Javanese rebels everywhere. They only sent a few schooners back to aid Malacca, but faced hundreds of Malay sailing ships, they failed to break through. In the end, they could only join the battleship Flying Eagle and rely on Temasek Island to block the southeast exit of the strait to prevent the Aceh fleet from encircling the east of Malacca from the sea. In the east of Malacca, the Johor Army and the Malay Peninsula besieged the city. The other assorted Malay rebels were completely disorganized, busy attacking various Chinese farms like bandits, and their combat effectiveness was much worse than that of the Qi army. Therefore, the Malacca defenders only deployed a few Chinese militiamen to defend in this direction.

After receiving Zhao Xuanming's request for help, the troops of the Sixth Division in Borneo gathered the troops who were suppressing the rebellion in various places, joined the Chinese pioneering group that put down the local rebellion, and assembled nearly 6000 troops and [-] cannons at the port of Xinyazhou However, it was the windless season in the sea of ​​Borneo at this time, and the weather conditions prevented the troops from setting off in time to come to the rescue. Only one flying clipper ship - the communication ship sailed out of the port of Xin Yazhou, and took a hundred elite soldiers to Malacca , Bringing little help to the people who defend the city.

However, they successfully brought three lightning-strike honeycomb guns to the defenders of Malacca City---the manual 36-barrel rapid-fire guns that played a major role in the Liaodong battlefield brought sharp weapons to the city defense battle. At this time, the rapid-fire bursts The guns have not been deployed in the Chinese army other than the Liaodong campaign. The Malacca defenders originally only had a 100-tube rainstorm gun at the main entrance of the castle, and the Sixth Division had just received these rapid-fire repeating guns from the Taiwan arsenal.

In addition, the Nanyang Fleet Detachment on Hainan Island has a battleship Feizi with 70 cannons, and more than a dozen other warships of various types. However, it was still due to the weather: an early typhoon hit the entire territory of Hainan Island, and all fleet ships moored at Qiongzhou Port were damaged.

The Chinese Army Headquarters in Taiwan, which received the urgent letter, disregarded the lack of troops on the island and dispatched the ships of the Second Fleet - the Taiwan Fleet to go south for support. As a result, it also encountered this typhoon halfway. Deputy Chief Mai Dahai finally had to bring the headquarters ships to Qiongzhou Port to receive emergency repairs together with the Nanyang Fleet ships.

At this time, Yin Feng was worried about the rebellion of the new army in the south of the Yangtze River. After learning about Mai Dahai's pigeon report, he had to sigh: In the era of sailing warships, no matter which country's fleet is played by nature, it is helpless. His jurisdiction is really too large, spanning thousands of miles of sea territory from south to north, and the fastest communication ship travels from Liaodong to Java. Normally, it takes a month. The Taiwan Fleet Detachment assembled in Liaodong is now heading south. I just arrived in Ryukyu in April.

Now, we can only hope that the city of Malacca can hold on for a while longer. At the same time, Yin Feng issued an order to the Luzon tutelary mansion to make the munitions factory there work overtime to prepare for the next major counterattack against Nanyang.

In July, Zheng Zhilong returned from Ceylon and led the Nanyang Fleet in the Indian Ocean and the Hainan and Java squadrons to the Strait of Malacca. The Taiwan Fleet and the Sixth Division support troops also arrived at the mouth of the Temasek River.

On the battlefield of Malacca, the Aceh people suffered heavy casualties when they attacked the city. After April of the second year of Tianqi, they adopted the siege tactics. The Malay coalition forces could not do joint operations at all. Unable to cooperate in combat, the Aceh people launched attacks on the west and south sides, but the Allied forces on both sides showed no signs of cooperating in combat.

The Sultan of Aceh, Alatan, came to the battlefield in person and invited the Sultan of Johor and the Queen of Pattani to come to discuss. As a result, only the leading generals of each family came to the meeting, and no one had the right to make a decision. The Sultan decided to go it alone. He arranged for troops to burn and plunder the Chinese strongholds in various places. At the same time, under the advice of several European advisers, he dug long rivers on the land side of Malacca, and set up bamboo watchtowers every [-] steps. Light a torch on the watchtower and stretch for more than ten miles along the Changhao.

This work was constantly attacked and destroyed by the defenders in the city. As a result, the Aceh people were unbearably disturbed. The watchtower was often attacked and lit into a big torch in the night. almost there.

In July, Yin Feng enacted the "Local Council Law", "Commercial Law" and "Overseas Land Exploration Law", and sent communication ships to various places. , basically calmed down the Chinese army on Java Island and the Chinese pioneering group landed on the east coast of Sumatra Island, and joined the Palembang Chinese armed forces to attack the hinterland of the Aceh Kingdom. Apart from the Sudanese Guards, most of the Aceh Army also had multiple local feudal lords. The troops formed by private soldiers, when their home base was threatened, they were attacked by enemies, and there was no hope of attacking the city. On the first day when the Chinese army launched a counterattack, tens of thousands of private soldiers of Aceh's feudal small state lords collapsed first. The Aceh people in the team seized their boats and crossed the strait one after another, trying to escape back to Sumatra Island. The warships of the Nanyang Fleet blocked the strait with all their firepower and fired mercilessly. The southeastern section of the Malacca Strait was illuminated by fire all night.

In the morning of the next day, the Taiwan Squadron appeared on the Johor coastline. In addition to blasting the Johor port to the ground with cannons, Mai Dahai also sent 1000 sailors and marines to go straight to the Johor Sultan's lair.

On the morning of the second day when the Chinese began to counterattack, the main force of the marines of the Nanyang Fleet led by Zheng Zhilong, a battalion of the Malacca garrison regiment and some Chinese militia also landed on the west coast of Malacca City and directly attacked the camp of the Sultan of Aceh, which is the surrounding area of ​​Malacca City. The only Aceh army that still maintains basic discipline.

At the same time, the main force of the Sixth Division also landed on Sumatra Island and began to advance to the deep hinterland of Aceh, aiming at the capital Aceh. At the same time, the warships of the Nanyang Fleet basically controlled the southeastern section of the strait. On the third day of the Chinese counterattack, it basically collapsed completely.

Queen Pattani's army has been camping in the north of Malacca City. Although the Malay coalition has the most weapons and the best weapons, it is also the least active in combat. In fact, they are facing the side of the Malacca Castle. The terrain is relatively dangerous and easy to defend. It is difficult to attack. During the nearly five-month siege period, Pattani's army only launched two sieges at the beginning. Each time, hundreds of people were killed and injured by intensive gunfire. The casualties of the Chinese army were negligible. At this moment, they were The first regiment of the Sixth Division and the Malacca garrison regiment focused on the main attack.

The bell tower of St. Paul's Church is considered the highest point on St. Paul's Hill. Zheng Zhilong, who had just entered the city from the west gate, deputy guard Zhang Wei, Zhao Xuanming and others crowded in the bell tower and looked north with binoculars.

The entire surrounding area of ​​Malacca is now full of gunfire, shouts of killing, and gunpowder smoke everywhere. The densely packed Malay coalition forces have dispersed into countless small groups and fled in all directions.

The young Zheng Zhilong rose rapidly, but after all, Colonel Zhao Xuanming was an old man in the early establishment of the Chinese Army, and he was well-known in the Chinese Army. Therefore, although Zheng Zhilong was a lieutenant colonel, he was still the chief of the Nanyang March in charge of all troops in the Malacca area. However, Zhao Xuanming did not dare to assert his identity, and maintained a respectful attitude as a disciple. Of course, what the popular man in front of the ship owner really thought was another matter.

At this moment, Zheng Zhilong's sturdy body was waiting behind Zhao Xuanming, standing upright in a standard military posture. Zhao Xuanming looked at it for a while with a binoculars, nodded and said, "That's right, your Ceylon militiamen have cut off the Beidaian people." It’s the way back, here’s the way back to Pattani, and there’s the border of Johor behind, Brother Mai probably led people to occupy the Johor Sultan’s Palace... It seems that Queen Pattani can’t go back.” He turned his head and saw Zheng Zhilong Standing behind him all the time, he smiled and said: "Okay, Colonel Zheng, I have to go south to Sumatra, and I will leave the situation here to you. This is your territory. I want to take those cellular lightning guns away." , it can be used when fighting Aceh, it’s no problem, right?”

Zheng Zhilong smiled and said: "Mr. Zhao was joking. These guns were originally supported by your Sixth Division. The situation in Malacca is stable. The remaining soldiers and crabs will not need to worry about it. At most, they will be with Siam, the boss of Pattani. There is still a little trouble...you can go at ease, I will take care of the food, grass, gunpowder and so on,"

"It's a pity that the Sultan of Aceh was let go,...you are sure he has escaped across the sea," Zhao Xuanming began to pack up the guys at hand, and prepared to set off.

Zheng Zhilong still stood at attention, nodded and said: "That's right, the Nanyang Marine Corps captured the Prime Minister of Aceh. It was he who confessed that Sultan Alatan escaped across the sea last night with only a dozen attendants. Therefore, when the battle started today, his personal guards The army has also completely disintegrated, and we have seized a large amount of treasure left by the Sudan, "

Zhao Xuanming walked towards the stairs, suddenly remembered something, turned his head and said to Zheng Zhilong: "The captain of the ship has no instructions about Siam, right?"

Zheng Zhilong shook his head: "I didn't receive a direct order,"

"Okay, you are guarding Malacca, you can handle things here according to your discretion, try not to cause trouble to the king of the ship owner, Siam is a big country after all," Zhao Xuanming finished speaking, raised his hands in salute, turned and went downstairs.

Zheng Zhilong didn't take back his salute until Zhao Xuanming's figure disappeared at the stairs, turned around and picked up the binoculars to look north, Zhang Wei followed and said with a smile: "What's the matter, Boss Zheng, I feel uncomfortable because someone took the credit ,"

Zheng Zhilong sneered: "Whoever deserves the credit, we are late, so there is nothing to say,"

He looked at it for a while and put down the binoculars: "Order the pioneering regiments to gather in the north of the city tomorrow, and our garrison regiment will also concentrate all our troops there, preparing to go north to fight,"

Zhang Wei nodded and said, "I'll give the order immediately...but, do we really want to go to war with Siam?"

"Paktani is a vassal state of Siam. In the siege of Malacca, Pattani's participation in the war means that Siam has intervened in Malacca. It is logical for us to go north to punish Siam." Zheng Zhilong pointed to the north with a smile: "We are here Ceylon Island in the Indian Ocean has laid down a huge piece of land, and the land of Pattani is waiting for us."

Suddenly, his face darkened: "However, when we go north, we have to clean up the scourge along the way,"