Ming Zhengzhi, I am Zheng Kezang

"Finally caught these Sulu people." The Xia-Russian War in the north came to an end again because of the coming of severe cold, but in Luzon in the south, a decisive battle about the fate of the Sulu Kingdom was just beginning. "My lord, do you want to order Iligan's [-]st Batavian Regiment to hurry over here?"

"Not only must the [-]st Batavian Regiment be notified to come over, but the [-]st German Regiment in Malaban must also find a way to notify them to come." Looking at the densely packed Sulu tents on the shore of Lake Malawi in the distance, the person in charge Gongsun Ke, who was fighting in Mindanao, had a bad feeling. "There are too many people in Sulu, and it might capsize."

As the Battle of Sulu shifted from operations on outlying islands to operations on the main island, the internal and external vassals who originally participated in the suppression were also replaced by mercenaries from the former Dutch United East India Company.It stands to reason that the more than 6000 Xia army's suppression troops composed of Javanese soldiers and German mercenaries could not compete with the weak Sulu people. However, more than a year of hard mining has greatly damaged the bodies of the mercenaries. The harsh environment of Mindanao led to the rampant tropical diseases such as malaria and jaundice. Therefore, in fact, only half of the troops that the Xia army can really devote to the front line have been maintained for a long time.

To some extent, the 200 Shence Army equipped with rifles and light artillery is not something that only a few Sulu people who bought old-fashioned matchlock guns from the Spaniards and mainly equipped with snake-shaped swords can resist, but the bad guys The bad thing is that in order to wipe out the Sulu resistance forces active on the whole island, the forces of the Shence Army participating in the battle are actually in a state of division, so that the four regiments of Gongsun Kebu who captured the main force of the Sulu people on the shore of Lake Malawi only had There are [-] people, while his opponent has a total of [-] Sulu soldiers.

For Xia Jun, what made it even worse was that because of language communication problems, Xia Jun could not conduct command as effectively as using Japanese soldiers. He could only rely on the original non-commissioned officer system of mercenaries. Well, even a simple order would be delayed, making Xia Jun's chances of winning even more slim.

Maybe he recognized Xia Jun's external strength and middling ability, or simply thought that he was sure of victory. After the Sulu people took the lead and entered the offensive state, the only two options for Gongsunke at this time were to retreat and defend on the spot. gone.However, defending on the spot means facing the impact of several times the enemy, but if you take the initiative to retreat, I am afraid that it will be difficult to preserve the luggage and artillery, and you will lose the opportunity to seize the main force of the Sulu people.

"Order to prepare for defense." The slightly greedy Gongsun Ke was reluctant to discard the luggage and artillery, and thought he could drag the First Batavian Regiment fifteen (summer) miles away to arrive, so he made an on-the-spot defense plan Decide. "Interpreter, tell these barbarians that after winning this battle, those who want to go back to their hometown can go back to their hometown, and those who want to stay can get a share of land."

As soon as the native Han recruited from Java announced Gongsun Ke's promise to the former mercenaries, the Sulu soldiers overwhelmingly overwhelmed them.Seeing these Sulu soldiers who chanted "Allah is greatest" trotted into the shooting field, Xia Jun's artillery fired.

The Shence Army, which is composed of Japanese soldiers, Annan soldiers, and Vietnamese soldiers, is rarely equipped with artillery. This is because it is not easy to train a gunner. It is not necessary to spend a lot of money to form a Shence Army with cheap soldiers. However, this batch of mercenaries left by the Dutch is different. Many of them are qualified gunners. In addition, they captured a large number of artillery that did not meet the specifications of the Xia Army during the war against the Netherlands. Therefore, these ten Each regiment in the regiment's new Shence Army is equipped with at least three small-caliber artillery. [

For the Xia army or the contemporary European army, these artillery were easily suppressed by the opponent's large-caliber artillery, but the Sulu people who were still in the cold weapon era did not have any large-caliber artillery, so they could only withstand the Shence Army The rain faced heavy casualties with amazing courage and sacrifice.

When the Sulu people who broke through the artillery blockade of the Xia army appeared in front of the Shence army through the smoke, the former mercenaries began to shoot habitually.The three rows of reciprocating shooting also caused heavy casualties to the Sulu people.Soon, the first wave of Sulu people who attacked were dispersed only a few steps away from the array of Shence Army.It's just that the Sulu people did not give up, the second wave quickly pressed up, and the third wave followed in Gongsunke's sight.

The Shence Army could only continue to shoot mechanically, but misfortunes never come singly, the sky was suddenly covered by dark clouds floating in the distance, and a tropical short rainstorm that is common in the local area then poured down, which immediately caused the rate of misfire of the Shence Army. rise.Although the rifles in the hands of the Shence Army can still maintain an efficiency of more than 200%, and the artillery can maintain a shooting level of more than [-]%, the Sulu people are encouraged --- when the muddy Sulu people finally go forward His sacrifice spirit tore through the loopholes in the Shence Army's fire net and dragged the battle into a more bloody hand-to-hand combat stage. The balance of victory and defeat was irretrievably tilted towards the Sulu people. Only a few of the more than [-] Shence Army, including officials, managed to escape from the battlefield by taking advantage of the rain, and the rest can be described as annihilated.

The First Batavia Regiment, which was rushing to the battlefield, received the bad news halfway. The shocked commander of the Xia Army immediately turned around and fled back to the seaside town of Iligan, where he stood firm.As for the [-]st German Regiment rushing to the battlefield from the direction of Malaban, they did not receive the news of the defeat, and broke into the theater ignorantly. The dead in the wild are telling what happened not long ago.

"We won, Allah above, we won." Not to mention Xia Jun's reaction after receiving the news of the defeat, Su Lu was elated after receiving the report that his own soldiers drowned Xia Jun with flesh and blood. "Sulu once again defeated the invaders, no matter whether they are Spaniards or Chinese."

"After winning, it's time to think about how to end it." The victory is naturally gratifying, but the number of casualties that is no less than that of the Shence Army has also frustrated some insightful people. For this reason, someone suggested to Shuan Duan to withdraw the army. "Your Majesty, we have already lost too many adult men. If we don't make peace with the Huaxia people, I'm afraid Sulu will have no future."

The hardliners who have been splashed with cold water on their heads are naturally unwilling to lose undefeated: "God is above, you can't endure humiliation just because you are worried about the dead, not to mention that only a sufficient price can dispel the Chinese Empire's ambitions for Sulu."

"Let the Huaxia people pay enough price?" the Lord Peace Faction retorted. "One mercenary caused Sulu to suffer a great loss, or what is the real main force to defeat the Chinese people."

The main battle faction was also furious, but before they could speak, some neutral factions put forward their own views: "We just defeated the Chinese army and caused great casualties to the other party. At this time, they will accept our Sue for peace? Huaxia is a big country, and they will never accept such an insult."

"Precisely because Huaxia is a big country, it is possible to accept our peace proposal under the current circumstances." The main peace faction replied confidently. "What we defeated was not the main force of the Xia army, but a European mercenary army, which did not embarrass the Huaxia army. Considering the cost and casualties of continuing to fight, the Huaxia people will make the decision we want .” Seeing the pensive look of the neutral, the main peace faction threw another bombshell. "Huaxia people have a good face. We can send ministers to the capital of Huaxia to apologize in person, and even send princes there if necessary." This is not only imitating the old wisdom of the Sulu royal family hundreds of years ago, but also accepting the lessons of neighboring countries. "That's what Brunei did a few years ago."

Suan Duan was moved and said: "If you can guarantee that Sulu's original territory will not be lost, you can give it a try."

A Sulu prince who was present asked: "Then shall we go directly to the Huaxia people to negotiate?"

"No, direct negotiations can only give up the advantages we have gained." The peacemakers have obviously considered it long ago. "We should ask Bruneians for help." The relationship between Brunei and Sulu is not friendly, but there is still room for communication between the two countries who are both Muslims, not to mention the sorrow of the rabbit and the fox. I believe that Brunei people will not want to see Sulu. The Lu people were driven out and killed. "Please ask them to write a letter to the Chinese court on their behalf, so that the Chinese people in Manila will not conceal the news of the failure."

"But the Bruneian people have already withdrawn their troops back." Due to Su Duan's obvious inclination, even General Sulu, who was in charge of the battle, could only question but not expressly oppose it. "The Chinese have blocked the entire sea again. How can we contact the Brunei people?"

"It's not difficult." Seeing that the main combat faction has also softened, a minister of the main peace said triumphantly. "My family has a resident in the capital of Brunei. I have taken care of it in advance. As long as they hear the news of the Xia army's defeat, they will find a way to directly ask the Brunei high-level officials. At that time, they will definitely be able to convince the Brunei people to satisfy us. wishes.” [

Although there was some overreach, Suan Duan did not blame the minister, but asked curiously: "We are not in harmony with the Bruneians. Are you sure the Bruneians will help?"

"Your servant is sure." The minister vowed. In fact, there is no special mystery. At a time when China is continuously encroaching on Brunei's territory, the conflict between Sulu and Brunei in the past has been replaced by the conflict between Brunei and China. Instead, it is also the political norm for two old rivals to come back together. "The Brunei people may not be willing to help directly, but as long as they are willing to arrange for our envoys to go to China secretly."

Another prince asked worriedly: "Can an unofficial diplomatic connection succeed? What if the Chinese in Manila deliberately cover up this failure? I'm afraid the envoy will be turned away."

In this regard, there is a certain amount of calculation: "This problem is easy to solve. As long as we take advantage of the victory and send troops to the outer islands, Manila will not be able to hide it even if we want to."