Since Ding Guofeng went to Pazaarai, the shipping route from Bacheng to Malacca through Malacca has also become busy.
First, the Thunderbolt made two trips between the local government and Bacheng, bringing a large amount of food, medicine, cloth, weapons and ammunition, and even a large number of Dutch guilder copper coins and horse sword silver coins. More than half of the supplies were used to support the Mysore army.
The problem is that although the Thunderbolt has a large carrying capacity, its biggest weakness is its fuel supply, which means it cannot make many trips. Although Beihai Town has built piers and refueling points in Citrus Ao and Bacheng, they are simply unable to support a behemoth like the Thunderbolt.
At present, Zhang Bo has sent 200 people to the oil-producing area in southern Sumatra Island to do preliminary site selection. A large number of people will have to wait until spring to go south. Because it is located deep in the tropical rainforest and has inconvenient transportation, as well as many problems such as accommodation, medical security, and safety, it is not expected to be put into production until the middle of 1794.
In order to solve the problem of tight maritime transportation capacity, the Bacheng Military Control Commission offered a lot of rent and rented more than 50 large and medium-sized ships in Hoi An, Sam Phat, Pontianak, and Malacca City, ranging from 500 dan to 2,000 dan. All are available. After these merchant ships arrive at Bacheng Port, the Military Control Commission will first sign an agreement with the ship owner or bow and pay half of the rent. Once all the ships are loaded with cargo, they will be escorted by Zheng Wenxian's fleet through the Strait of Malacca and headed for local management.
From this moment on, more and more Chinese businessmen extended their tentacles to the Strait of Malacca, and at the same time expanded sea trade routes to the Indian Ocean and beyond.
Compared with Ding Guofeng's step-by-step and cautious approach in India, He Xiwen's actions in Borneo were much smoother and more unscrupulous.
On November 2, three battalions of servants with a total of about 900 people set off from Bacheng by boat and arrived at Xinbu, Nambawa and Sanfa respectively. The local Sultan was very worried when he learned that hundreds of Beihai soldiers had entered his territory, and hurriedly sent his men to inquire.
However, people from both the Lanfang Company and the Dagang Company told the Sudanese officials that they could rest assured that these people were here to help the Chinese apply for identity cards. It was easy to get things done when there were many people, and they would leave as soon as they were done. After that, the officials were led to the place where the identity cards were issued, and they were convinced.
After receiving reports from their subordinates, the sultans lowered their guard. After all, their cooperation with the Chinese was not a day or two. But what they don't know is that Lanfang Company and Dagang Company have completely defected to Beihai Town.
At four o'clock in the morning on November 7, the servant armies from the three places acted in a unified manner. They entered the Sultan's Palace with loaded guns and ammunition, disarmed the guards, and arrested all royal members, clergy, and government officials. Anyone who tried to resist during the operation was shot dead on the spot without any explanation.
The panicked prisoners and family members were brought to the square in front of the palace to gather. Then the officers of the servant army took the order signed in advance by Zhao Xin, announcing that their thrones were permanently deposed and local affairs were taken over by Beihai Town. At 7 o'clock in the morning, the prisoners were escorted onto the ship one after another. When they were full, they left and were sent to the Bei Navy's base in Ganlongao.
The largest family among them is the family of Sultan Al Qadri of Pontianak. This 62-year-old Sultan has many wives and concubines, and has more than 60 children. This speed of creating villains would put Kangxi to shame even when he was still alive.
In fact, Citrus Ao is not their final destination. According to the plan previously drawn up by Zhao Xin and He Xiwen, all royal family members and clergy will eventually be sent to Southern Kyushu and placed under the supervision of the Sendai Domain. Based on the relationship between Date Muranchang and Beihai Town, the tragic fate of these people in the future can be imagined.
The rapid demise of the three sultanates caused an uproar among the local Dayak community. However, now the main residents along the coast of West Borneo are Chinese or the second generation of Chinese ancestry. In addition, Luo Fangbai and others have been conquering the country in the name of the Sultan of Pontianak for these years, and their prestige has long been established; especially It was Jiang Wu, and the Dayaks were all scared to death by him. Furthermore, the people in Lanhe Camp are not just living on dry food. Although there are a lot fewer crocodiles in Kajiang now, it is still easy to make a few people with opinions disappear.
After cleaning up the three Sudanese regimes in the west, He Xiwen swaggered onto the "Nanhua No. 1" and headed for the new port. He stayed for a few days and held a meeting with Luo Fangbai and others before continuing northward. His companions also There are Luo Fangbai's capable men Jiang Wu and Wu Bailan and Ying Zhuangyong.
When he came to Singkawang, more than two thousand servant troops from Bacheng also arrived one after another. According to the plan, the Northern Navy will build a large military station here to serve as a bridgehead for attacking the Sarawak region. This is the territory of Dagang Company, and they also provided the 300 acres of land used to build the military depot and thousands of Chinese workers.
The Beihai Navy treats Chinese workers very well. They never make any deductions and do not allow the eldest brother Yan of Dagang Company to pluck their hair. In addition to paying the bills in cash every week, they also take care of three meals a day and distribute clothes and shoes. That's why they came to work. People flock to it like ducks.
He Xiwen's next goal is to clean up the Ibandayak pirates entrenched on the coast of Sarawak and set up fortresses and supply points in Kuching and other coastal areas. His purpose in fighting pirates was not entirely for coastal security, but to use it as an excuse to attack the Sultanate of Brunei. In fact, it was the nobles of the Sultanate of Brunei who provided shelter to these pirates, and the Iban pirates were able to flourish to this day. .
Borneo's northern coast, adjacent to the busy South China Sea route, has been synonymous with pirates, slave owners and headhunters since the 17th century. There are many rivers and wetlands here, forming many estuaries and deltas, and there are many channels leading to the sea, which is very suitable for pirate fleets to hide and facilitate their retreat. For more than a hundred years, the Ibans drove their prahus to sail on the sea, just like the Arabs rode their horses in the desert and roamed on the beaches.
Speaking of which, this is all an evil man-made by the Dutch. Due to the VOC's mercantilism and trade monopoly policies, they tried their best to prevent any form of hostile ships from conducting maritime trade in Southeast Asia, so they were not reconciled to the Iban and Malays who were just fishermen. The only way to obtain greater economic gains is through piracy.
There is an old Malay proverb that goes like this, the first pulahu is built for fishing, the second one is built for robbing the first one.
"Prahu" is a 27-meter-long single-masted, two-legged sailboat with two floors, driven by 60 to 80 oars, and can carry 80 to 100 people. There is a large musket or swivel gun on the bow; on the sides of each ship there are twenty to thirty muskets.
The entire hull is covered with a shed made of bamboo sheets with layers of mats on top. This is to protect the ammunition and supplies below from rain, and at the same time, it can also serve as a combat platform during boarding battles, and can be quickly climbed from the deck for gang-hopping battles.
He Xiwen heard Luo Fangbai say that both the Dutch and the British had suffered heavy losses at the hands of Iban pirates earlier.
They don't mess with large fleets and usually make a living by robbing and destroying small merchant ships. Generally, the target is lured into the reef area or shallow water area, and when the ship runs aground on the rocks, they will swarm up. It is said that many ants kill elephants, and the weapons of the Iban people are smeared with the juice of curare wood. As long as they are scratched and bloody, the game will be over in minutes, and there is not even an antidote.
Even if the crew does not resist, the outcome will not be much better; in addition to burning the ship, the Iban people also have the tradition of headhunting. The crew members who are lucky enough to survive will be sold into slavery, regardless of whether they are white or yellow. Never let go.
In order to lure the snake out of its hole, He Xiwen sent two Frut sailing ships captured from the Dutch and modified into the waters of northern Sarawak. This is a small cargo ship specially used for rapid transportation, with an average length of just over 24 meters. VOC was once manufactured in large quantities for transoceanic transportation. Because the ship has fewer people and more cargo, it can only carry 12 to 15 6-pound cannons at most, making it an easy target for pirates.
In order not to arouse the suspicion of the pirates, the sailors and soldiers of the Marine Battalion on the deck all wore blond wigs and dressed up as Dutch. There were also several Chinese translators who knew Malay. The names of the two ships have not been changed. One is called "Lady Agatha", which was launched six years ago, with a displacement of 900 tons; the other is called "Three Mountains", which was launched 40 years ago, with a displacement of 850 tons.
Oulang Kaya Beti, this person is a great chief in the Iban tribe, commanding forty longhouses. Yes, the strength of a Dayak chief depends on how many longhouses he manages; the short one is tens of meters, and the long one is more than a hundred meters. Basically, a big family lives in a longhouse. Betty is in charge of forty families, which is considered a very large force among the Iban pirates, so he has forty Prahu clippers under his command.
In addition, the dark tattoos all over Chief Beti's body also highlight his "illustrious military exploits." To put it simply, when the Iban people reach adulthood, they first have their shoulders tattooed; after successfully participating in the first headhunting, they will tattoo the back of their hands until they are completely black; after that, every time they hunt one, they will tattoo one finger again.
The Dutch were driven away by the Northern Navy, and British merchants did not dare to come. As a result, there have been many fewer merchant ships heading to Bandar Seri Begawan via Sarawak recently, which made Betty very unhappy. You can't get money or behead people. This kind of life is really boring. So when he learned that two small Dutch cargo ships were coming, he immediately became excited.
Fellow warriors, let’s go out with all the raiders and headhunters to grab things!
Thousands of Iban people raised their spears, bows and arrows, howling like orangutans in the rainforest, excited about the upcoming headhunting feast.
More than an hour later, the two "Dutch boats" were lured into a shallow water area by a few Iban people in a small boat in the name of doing business and looking for women, and then they hit the bottom and ran aground. If you want to exit, you have to wait until the sea tide rises at night.
They used this trick many times in the past. This area of Sarawak is rich in bird's nests, pepper, and eucommia gum. Dayak women can choose men at will before marriage without any moral constraints, but not after marriage.
Betty, who was standing on the bow of the boat, learned that the target had fallen into a trap, so he raised his knife to signal. Including his own boat, forty pulahus filed out from two river mouths, and the distance between the two sides was only five hundred meters. Domi, you can put it on in a blink of an eye.
However, what he didn't expect was that these two "Dutch ships" contained no cargo, only people and weapons and ammunition. Two companies of soldiers from the Northern Marine Battalion were waiting for his arrival.
As soon as the pirates came out, the soldiers of the Marine Battalion took their weapons and hid behind the sandbag walls inside the ship's sides on both sides. Several sailors dressed as Dutchmen were running around on the deck waving their hands and shouting in panic.
When forty pirate ships formed a circle and got within fifty meters of the two ships, the Iban pirates suddenly heard a sharp and piercing whistle sound from the two ships, and then saw dense gun muzzles. Emerged from behind the side of the ship.
"Oops! I was fooled!"
Betty was stunned at first, but he decided to give it a try. The tribute paid to the Sarawak Raja in the past six months has been somewhat low, and the other party has expressed dissatisfaction. Based on his knowledge of the Dutch's weapons, his men would be able to rush onto the deck and kill the opponent after at most one round of fighting. However, when a hail of bullets sprayed out at the Iban pirates, Betty realized that she was completely wrong.
Several Chinese translators and Dayaks recruited from Singkawang were originally frightened to death by the large group of pirates, thinking that they might die today. But what happened next was something they would never forget. They finally understood why the Dutch could not defeat the Northern Navy.
As soon as the Marine Battalion opened fire, the Iban pirates at the forefront suffered heavy casualties. Those who gathered on the roof of the upper deck and were ready to jump gangs all fell into a pool of blood. The bright red blood fell along the cracks in the ship's planks and into the lower cabin, causing the sailors who were rowing to scream loudly.
Because Betty's boat was farther back, he was lucky enough to avoid the bullet. However, he soon noticed that several guys stood up on the "Dutch Merchant Ship", all carrying a thick wooden stick with a small arm facing the sea; what surprised him was that the head of the "wooden stick" was Like a spindle.
"What's this?"
Before Betty could think more, she saw a stream of white smoke mixed with firelight suddenly shot out from the tail of the "wooden stick" on the opponent's shoulder. With a roar like thunder, the spindle-like thing also turned into a bright red The light and shadow whizzed away towards the ships behind him. Then there was a huge explosion on the sea, and the two pulahu were immediately blown to pieces.
Betty was stunned and immediately gave an order to retreat. However, at this time, the sea was like a boiling pot, with gunshots, explosions, and screams mixed together. The thick smoke caused by the explosion also disrupted people's vision.
More than an hour later, Betty, who had fled back to the inland river, counted the number of his men and started crying. There are still more than a dozen boats, but there are only more than 400 men left alive, many of whom were shot and wounded. He really couldn't understand why the "Dutch people" on these two ships were so powerful. It was obviously not like this before!
Stop talking and retreat to your home base quickly.
However, what Betty didn't know was that this matter was not over yet! At dawn the next day, a dozen assault boats carrying soldiers from the Land Combat Battalion headed straight for Beti's lair under the guidance of the accompanying Dayaks.
Brooke, the later Englishman, famously said that the only people who can deal with the Dayaks are the Dayaks. Therefore, the Beihai Navy followed the winding river and found Betty's lair in only half a day. After some reconnaissance by drones, they immediately launched an attack.
The wall made of heavy logs and stones could not stop the attack of the Northern Navy. After several successive explosions, the huge wooden door crashed to the ground, signaling the end of the Iban pirates.
Most of the adult men were beaten to death. Seeing that the situation was over, Betty had no choice but to kneel down and surrender with the women and children and became prisoners. When the men of the Marine Battalion subsequently searched, they were shocked to find that the beams on the second floor of the longhouse were covered with dried heads of various sizes. They were disgusted. In order to completely clear out this pirate nest, they burned all forty longhouses during their retreat. The fire burned for a day and a night before it was extinguished.
After interrogation, Beti quickly admitted that he had a cooperative relationship with the Sarawak Raja appointed by the Sultan of Brunei. The other party not only helped him sell the stolen goods and share the profits, but also provided weapons.
That’s it! This is what He Xiwen was waiting for. In fact, it doesn't matter whether Betty is captured or not. The key is that there are pirate prisoners.
After receiving the telegram from the front, he immediately ordered the two thousand servants in Singkawang to board the ship and set off. He himself boarded the flagship "Nanhua No. 1", led more than 20 converted merchant ships captured from the Dutch, and rushed to the kingdom's capital in Bandar Seri Begawan to investigate.
Fluyt means "flute" in Dutch, so it is also called a flute boat.
(End of chapter)
