At 5:40 in the morning on July 5, 1793, the morning light showed slightly. As the sea water in the Strait of Malacca began to rise, the three gunboats Beihai No. 2, Beihai No. 3, and Guanghai No. 7 led by Guo Xuexian ascended from Pulau Udan Island. The sail was lifted and anchor was lifted, and two hours later we arrived at the ocean three kilometers southeast of Malacca City.
It was already broad daylight, and when the Dutch defenders on the castle discovered the situation, they hurriedly rang the alarm bell. After hearing the news, the city defense commander and governor Abraham Cupelus found that there were only three ships, and they were only two fourth-class ships and a Junk ship with hard sails. He was immediately relieved after being hung up all night. Come down. The enemy doesn't have many troops, so time is running out!
To be honest, the Beihai Navy Shipyard has been "not doing its job properly" in recent years. In addition to the construction of two clippers of different tonnage, most of the work was the modification of captured or purchased Siamese ships. For Deng Fei and Ding Guofeng, who are the heads of the naval department, they did not bother to build any large and unsuitable sailing ship from the beginning. No matter how thick the oak board is, it will be dregs in the face of high-explosive bombs.
Of course, first of all, this has a lot to do with the fact that there is no shipbuilding wood in the native wood in the outer Northeast; secondly, the two of them considered waiting for the industrial level to rise and directly start building ironclads. After all, Beihai Town is located in another time and space, and many ship design drawings from the early 20th century can be found. As long as the technical conditions such as steel smelting, propeller manufacturing, and welding processes are improved, building an ironclad ship will be easy.
However, eight years later, when the level of workers improved, the two people's ideas changed again. The 75mm cannon could no longer satisfy their ambition of giant ship cannons, so Zhao Liang's military-industrial complex was forced to start climbing the "electro-slag heavy" again. The technology trees of "melting" and "single-layer gun barrel hydraulic self-tightening technology" pose a higher challenge to Beihai Town's technical capabilities.
Whether it is electroslag remelting or hydraulic self-tightening, it involves a series of processes and heavy equipment such as refining, forging, heat treatment, cutting and drilling, self-tightening, barrel correction, stabilization heat treatment, finishing, etc. Especially the 1000~1500Mpa ultra-high pressure auto-tightening machine, which is not just cabbage on the roadside. If Zhao Xin wants to buy a complete set of production equipment and technology from "Da Mao", in addition to massive funds and the strength of skilled workers, the procurement process alone will take a year and a half.
In addition, after a type of artillery is produced, it must undergo a large number of tests, including reliability, supportability, maintenance, testing, safety, cost-effectiveness, and personnel. It's not just about making the barrel.
Zhao Liang had no choice but to use the "Rodman cannon casting method" of the mid-19th century to make a transition first. But this method can only create a front-loaded smoothbore wine bottle cannon. Not to mention Deng Fei and Ding Guofeng, even Zhao Xin can't stand it. And the most important thing is that this technology is not advanced. Once leaked, it can be easily mastered by Europeans.
Therefore, the naval department of Beihai Town had no choice but to cling to its laurels and continue to equip small-caliber 75mm guns. At the same time, it looked forward to the arrival of the era of ironclad ships and large-caliber naval guns in the future.
Although his mentality was relaxed, the governor of Malacca, Kuperus, who was a businessman, still sent an envoy to negotiate. Don't lift the table if you can negotiate. Fortunately, Chen Qihou and the others had planned to go to Pulau Udan Island this morning, so the boat was ready last night. About forty minutes later, a dhow carrying a white flag carrying the chairman of the local municipal committee Weir, Major Parega, Kapitan Chen Qihou, part-time translator Lei Zhenlan Chai Shizhang and others sailed along Malacca. The river exits the sea and sails out.
The group boarded the Beihai No. 2 and saw that the deck was extremely clean and tidy. The sailors and soldiers were all wearing uniform navy blue short-sleeved uniform trousers and black short boots. They also wore soft hats with the same color on their heads, with a brimmed soft hat in the middle. They were all surprised to see a beautifully crafted badge.
Whether it was the Dutch or the two Chinese, during their years in Malacca, they had seen countless warships and merchant ships going north and south, but no one had ever seen sailors from any country even being given uniforms.
In these years, the uniforms of European navies were beginning to become more standardized. Although officers were dressed elegantly and decently, sailors were just a bunch of animals. Who cares how they dress. Whether it is a merchant ship or a warship, sailors either wear casual clothes or are dressed in rags. If your clothes are torn, look for them in the cargo hold and wear whatever you have!
In fact, the uniforms of Beihai Town Navy went through several twists and turns before they became the style they are today. At first, it was an orange work uniform, and later it was changed to jungle camouflage like the army, and then it was changed to a white sailor uniform. Unexpectedly, this was resisted by many sailors, who unanimously believed that wearing "sleeves" was very unlucky. . Deng Fei had no choice but to change it again, and now he has the navy blue uniform.
As the captain, Guo Xuexian wears the same uniform as the sailors, but the two stars on his collar badge indicate his identity. When it was confirmed that the young man in front of him who was less than thirty years old was the fleet commander, several envoys from Malacca City couldn't help but be surprised.
Both sides saluted each other. Weir, the chairman of the municipal committee representing Cuperus, came up and talked about it. Afterwards, Cai Shizhang translated in Zhangzhou Mandarin. Guo Xuexian, a native of Panyu, rolled his eyes. Fortunately, one of the officers behind him was from Quanzhou, so he understood what the other party meant.
In an era when Mandarin was not promoted, the accents in different villages and towns were very different, let alone different language areas. A person from Cantonese who speaks Cantonese and a person from Zhangzhou who speaks Hokkien are like talking to each other. The mixed dialects caused great communication difficulties. This is why the Chinese were willing to hang out with fellow countrymen after going to Nanyang.
Closer to home, what the Dutch mean is that everything can be discussed, surrender is not impossible, and there is no need for fighting or killing. However, before surrendering to the city, it will take time to resolve the fate of the Dutch residents, how to deal with the local Portuguese descendants, and the treatment of each family's goods, real estate and plantations. Therefore, they hope that the North Navy can be generous and give them some time to sort out these matters before completing the handover procedures.
"Boss Cai, please tell Mr. Weir that I have made it clear before that the time given to them is only at 1:30 noon today. If the time comes and they don't leave the city to surrender, more than a hundred cannons on the three ships will fire. Let them decide for themselves!"
Chen Qihou and Cai Shizhang suddenly knelt down in front of Guo Xuexian and begged with mournful faces: "Sir, please save the villain's family! Last night the Dutch sent troops and took all the Chinese families in Jia City to the castle. If you fire, my family and I will The lives of the young, old and other people must be in danger!"
Guo Xuexian nodded slightly. He helped Chen and Cai up and asked Cai Shizhang to translate his words verbatim. The faces of the three Dutchmen became ugly after hearing these words.
Several people were about to tell the difference when Guo Xuexian raised his hand to stop and said to Cai Shizhang: "Tell them and tell the governor when you go back that the city of Malacca must surrender today. There is no need to discuss it! Surrender obediently and I can guarantee their lives and property." Everything is safe, otherwise I will put it here today. If they dare to use Chinese to block the shells for them, not a single Dutch man, woman, or child will survive after the city is broken. I will chop off their heads and serve them as sacrifices to the dead Chinese. .”
After hearing this, Chen Qihou and Cai Shizhang were stunned.
"Cai, what did Lieutenant Colonel Guo say?"
"He said, said."
Under Guo Xuexian's gaze, Cai Shizhang roughly translated with a grimace and stammered. After hearing this, Weir and others' expressions changed dramatically. They did not expect that this seemingly gentle commander could have such a cruel temperament.
Chen Qihou begged: "Master Guo, General Guo, why can't we sit down and talk about it? The Dutch are not unreasonable."
"I'm sorry, you two. I received an order that tells me to capture the city of Malacca today. No delay, otherwise I will be subject to military law."
Guo Xuexian pondered for a moment and decided to add fuel to the fire, completely cutting off the Dutch's thoughts, so he said again: "Don't worry, you two. In my opinion, the Dutch are just a bunch of cheap bones. If I show weakness, they will be even worse." There will be no fear. In two hours, I will demonstrate the firepower of the fort in the southeast corner of Malacca City. You go back and tell the governor to get away if you don't want to die."
Chen and Cai didn't understand what a "display of firepower" meant, but they understood from Guo Xuexian's tone that the other party was likely to fire on the castle. The two later tried to persuade them, but Guo Xuexian issued an eviction order. In desperation, they had no choice but to leave with the three Dutchmen and return by boat to deliver business. As the sloop went away, a gray-white drone rose up into the sky from Beihai 2 and headed towards Malacca City.
Several envoys returned to Malacca and immediately went to the "Red Room" where the Governor's official residence was located. Speaking of this red house, it turned out to be white. Unexpectedly, the local Indian workers always liked to spit the juice on the wall after chewing betel nut. The Dutch stopped them many times to no avail, and finally painted the outer walls in red.
After hearing the report from Weir and others, Governor Cupelus's face turned ugly. He did not expect that his little trick would be discovered by the other party, and that they "didn't care" about the lives of more than a thousand Chinese people. Instead, they threatened his own life and that of his compatriots. To put it bluntly, he is just a businessman. He came to Southeast Asia to make a fortune, not to fight with anyone. Furthermore, even if you don't think about others, you still have to think about your wife and children.
Time soon came when the Northern Navy was displaying its firepower, but the Dutch defenders on the castle found that the opponent's three gunboats were still in place, thinking that they should hit them with a hammer at such a distance! Many people, including the commander of the city defense, felt that the Northern Navy was talking big words.
Unexpectedly, the next second, a slight sound suddenly came from the empty and silent sea in the distance, like someone setting off a firecracker dozens of meters away. However, after a few seconds, a roar came from far to near. The sound caused the defenders on the castle to change their expressions. It was too late to run away at this time.
"Boom!" A shell landed in an open space more than 20 meters away from the southeast corner of Malacca City, and a gray-black smoke column rose five or six meters high. The soil flew up into the air along with the weeds, and then fell back down again. The Dutch defenders on the turrets on the city wall were a little panicked now. I bet the Northern Navy was not bragging!
Thinking of this, the dozens of defenders on the southeast corner fort did not wait for the city defense commander to speak and retreated one after another. Amidst the chaos and noise, there was a roar in the air, and black smoke pillars kept rising outside the city wall. This time the explosion point was closer, and a cannonball landed on the city wall. The shock wave of the explosion blew the wooden mount of an 18-pound cannon into pieces, and the heavy bronze cannon crashed to the ground. There was a dull sound.
Ten seconds later, more shells roared in, and the southeast corner of the Malacca Castle was immediately filled with smoke and debris flying everywhere. Three 18-pound cannons weighing several thousand kilograms even jumped up from the explosion, rolled to the ground, or fell off the city wall.
The Dutch defenders in the castle were shocked. They had all heard about the powerful artillery of the Northern Navy, but no one had seen it. They had just seen it today.
When the explosion finally stopped, Cupelus got up from the ground holding his head and shook the dirt off his head. Seeing that everyone around him, including the commander of the city defense and the municipal committee members, looked at each other, he lamented and said to himself It's really unlucky.
"Okay, for the safety of all our lives and property, I need someone to stand up and contact the Chinese. I agree to surrender. What do you think?"
After hearing this, everyone nodded silently, and then turned their attention to the three envoys who went to negotiate in the morning.
Under the threat of North Korean naval guns, Malacca, which knew it was difficult to resist, after more than three hours of difficult negotiations, Guo Xuexian agreed to write a clause that "will not harm the lives of the Dutch in the city and guarantee the legal property of everyone." After signing the instrument of surrender, Kuperus finally agreed to cede Malacca to Butterworth Town.
Zeng Youliang's short blunderbuss was still useless. Although he tried to mobilize some Chinese on the night he entered the castle, preparing to lead people to attack the "Red Room" when the Northern Navy attacked the city, there were very few responders. After Guo Xuexian led his troops to land, he took his servants to the city gate to set up an incense table and a pot of wine to welcome the king.
Seeing how capable this young man was, Guo Xuexian immediately appointed him as a consultant to the Military Control Commission to assist in handling affairs in the city. This made Chen Qihou and Cai Shizhang, who were a step behind, jumping around. It seems that the boss of Qingyunting will be replaced in the future.
After the army entered the city, they issued a notice to calm the people, confiscated the weapons of the defenders, sealed the armory, and sealed the official accounts. Kuperus and the officers in the city were imprisoned as prisoners of war that night. Guo Xuexian did not abuse them and allowed his family to visit, but said that he would not be repatriated until the end of the Java War.
In the next three days, the newly established Military Control Commission not only purchased a large amount of food through local Chinese, replenished fresh water on the ship, bought a large amount of quicklime from the market, but also hired workers to dig a large building near the beach outside the city. pit and dug a diversion ditch leading to the sea. His move confused many people, wondering if the North Navy was planning to build a salt farm?
The answer was soon revealed. Two days later, when the "Thunder" sailing from Bacheng arrived in Malacca City with 500 security team members, Guo Xuexian ordered that all opium in the local market be immediately searched and transported to the beach for destruction. The Dutch merchants, Portuguese merchants and Chinese merchants who sold opium finally woke up from their dreams.
After two days of inspection, the wolf-like security team members, led by people from the Bacheng Military Control Commission, confiscated more than 2,000 boxes of Indian opium from the market, totaling more than 150,000 kilograms. They had done this once before in Bacheng, and they were already familiar with it.
Many people came to Chen Qihou and Cai Shizhang to help plead for mercy, and even came to the "Red Room" to see Guo Xuexian. They said that even if the customs duty on opium was raised in the future, it would be fine, but once it was confiscated, not only the business would suffer heavy losses, but many people would go bankrupt. exist.
However, eradicating opium is the firm goal of Zhao Xin and even Beihai Town. It is useless for anyone to say anything. Moreover, the Bacheng Military Control Commission had dealt extremely strictly with cover-up behavior in the collection of opium. Once someone was found to have taken bribes and cover-up, the least serious person would be sent to a plantation for hard labor, and the most serious person would be shot directly.
From this moment on, businessmen from various countries traveling in Southeast Asia finally understood Beihai Town's attitude towards opium. However, Zhao Xin knew in his heart that the more opium was banned from flowing into East Asia, the more its price would rise. Moreover, although he controlled the Strait of Malacca, someone would definitely open a land channel, and it would be difficult to completely ban it.
Therefore, this time Beihai Town intervened in the local governance war not only to support the French and Mysore, but also to "remind" the British East India Company from the source and let them weigh the consequences of condoning opium.
(End of chapter)
