When the Castle of Geranje was first established, its purpose was to secure Daguang Island and radiate the east coast so that the Dutch East India Company could rule this area for a long time.
But now, this castle has become a place where enemy soldiers go to pay their respects. To be precise, it is a place for "paying tribute". It is not a toilet, but it is far better than a toilet!
Under the fierce bombardment of the enemy, the living environment of the defenders has undergone tremendous changes, and the situation has seriously deteriorated, which is much worse than the loss of Utrecht Fort.
Since the wind was blowing from the south, the enemy troops on the top of the mountain on the south side could not smell the stench at all, while the defenders at the foot of the mountain on the north side were living like a year.
After all, the bombardment was over in a few hours or even half a day, but the stench would not be completely dissipated as long as there was still a coconut left in the castle.
What's more, the enemy at the top of the mountain couldn't possibly capture just one coconut, and there were hundreds of them, which now made the defenders feel powerless to resist.
I didn't dare to go out to fight back during the day, but I couldn't go out at night for fear of stepping on it, otherwise it would be even more difficult to clean up. I could only stare and hope for rain soon.
Rainfall has become the biggest hope of everyone in the castle. Without a heavy rain, this stench cannot be cleaned up manually.
Like everyone else, Bolger had blocked his nose and could no longer smell much stench, but he also almost lost his sense of smell. If he didn't use red wine to appetizer, he wouldn't even have any appetite for eating.
The surface of the castle has been occupied by a large number of coconuts projected by the enemy, and the defenders have been suppressed into the basement and ruins. This is a situation they never expected.
In the past, after nightfall, they could still come out and use artillery to counterattack. If they do this again, even the mortars will be stained with stinking feces.
The defenders felt as if they were fighting in a huge toilet, with puddles of feces at their feet, lingering flies all around, and a strong stench filling the air.
This is much worse than the situation on the European battlefield. Before people can adapt to this unexpected situation, they will instinctively vomit when they smell the stench, unless they have lost their sense of smell.
The only people who can be on duty in the ruins are mercenaries who have vomited two or three times or even several times. They are all strong-willed guys. Otherwise, how can they be on guard at the sentry post if they are already unconscious?
The sneak attack launched by the defenders at night with mortars did not achieve the expected results. Instead, they received more violent retaliation the next day.
After the successful experience on the first day, Zheng Zhi'ao ordered mass production. As a result, on the next day, Hu Dawei's two artillery battalions fired more than 11,300 coconut bombs.
At least more than 8,000 of them fell into the inner and outer cities of the Castle of Relanja, so that when viewed through a telescope, the surface of the castle was filled with coconuts.
However, the defenders still insisted on not surrendering, which meant that they could still hold on, which also meant that the coconut shells fired were not enough, and the artillery regiment had to work harder.
Zheng Zhi'ao's plan was to have Hu Dawei's artillery regiment fire at least 10,000 coconut bombs every day for ten days in a row. He didn't believe that Hongyi could endure the 100,000 coconut bombs.
To be a general, one must use both soft and hard tactics, and combine hardness and softness, so that one can be victorious in every battle.
Nowadays, this "softness" and this "softness" are truly invincible weapons!
The manufacturing cost is very low, but it is very powerful, especially in such hot weather, it can really get twice the result with half the effort.
If the Hong Yi in the castle still choose to hold on, then you can imagine how many coconut bombs the army will give them, half a million in fifty days!
Even if it rains almost every day, you can still play after the rain, and the rain time is very short and the hot time is long. This kind of climate is simply tailor-made for coconut bombs.
In the past, soldiers were strictly ordered not to defecate anywhere to prevent an epidemic from occurring and causing the entire army to become ill. Now, coconut is a pure natural container. After it is packed, it can be given to Hong Yi as a gift. It can be said that it kills two birds with one stone.
This popular method was unanimously welcomed by the entire army. Everyone did not waste any by-products and packed them all up and gave them to the artillery regiment.
As long as they can disgust Hongyi to death, they will do anything. Since they can't get in for a while, they might as well bury them all with coconut bombs.
Hongyi is leeks, and coconut shells are manure. They complement each other perfectly. Relanja Castle is the vegetable garden at the feet of Zheng Jun. It needs to be "fertilized" properly.
"...There are plenty of coconuts here, and our situation may get worse in the future!"
Colonel Jansen was at a loss to deal with the current situation. He wanted to attack at night, but he did not have enough troops. If he wanted to counterattack, the outside was full of feces projected by the enemy.
If you choose to hide in the castle, you will have to keep asking about the stench that is everywhere. Although your nose will be blocked, this is not a good idea after all.
But for a while, Colonel Jansen couldn't think of any tactics that could counter Zheng Yiguan's pirate army. He could only use a mortar to knock back the un-cracked coconuts.
This trick is not very effective. Even a hundred shots cannot solve the actual problem. The opponent's position is located outdoors and is blown by the sea breeze. The smell will dissipate quickly, and the coconut bullets will not cause any harm to the enemy.
Moreover, Jansen also observed that in the evening, the enemy would choose to retreat actively and shrink the defense line to facilitate defense. In this way, his own artillery bombardment at night would not achieve any results.
"Then what should we do?"
Facing more and more dung bombs and flies, Bolger had no idea other than scolding Zheng Yiguan and cursing this guy to die a good death.
The enemy replaced the gunpowder bags with dung bombs. In such hot weather, this was more terrifying than any weapon, because the excrement could not be cleaned up, which meant that a plague could break out at any time.
These mercenaries were no longer willing to go out to clean up the feces. Anyway, the pirate army would come over in large numbers the next day, with as many as nearly 10,000 pieces.
No one would devote their limited energy to the infinite work of cleaning dung. If you have that time, you might as well hide in a nook and cranny to recharge your batteries and save your energy to break through.
As a result, the top of the mountain was occupied by pirates, and the surface of the castle was occupied by flies. All that was left for the defenders was the dark basement of the castle, where they lived worse than mice.
"Put out a sum of money to ask Zheng Yiguan to stop this inhumane behavior!"
Jansen felt that it was better to solve the problem through negotiation, as his side had lost the ability to use force to solve the problem.
If the exchange of fire is stopped during the negotiation, it can at least buy the defenders even half a day of breathing time to clean up the excrement. Jansen has not yet thought of the next plan, so he can do whatever he thinks of for the time being.
"How much do you need?"
Bolger was unwilling to pay, but the situation was already so bad that if he didn't pay, there would even be a strong stench on the silver coins.
If Zheng Yiguan can be bribed, even if he uses gunpowder packets in exchange for dung bombs to attack the Relanze Castle, it is acceptable. If this continues, the castle will really become a cesspool.
"At least one million silver coins!"
Zheng Yiguan is not short of money, so Yang Sen can only make a minimum estimate, which must be based on the other party's willingness to agree, otherwise it will be useless to spend 10 million silver coins.
"Uh...okay!"
It seemed that the amount was not too much. Bolger thought quickly and agreed to Jansen's suggestion. The people responsible for going to the negotiations were his assistant David Cillessen and translator He Bin. The two of them at least had some contact with the real person. The experience of negotiating with a pirate leader.
Both of them were very happy to be able to walk out of the castle. Regardless of the outcome, they could smell the fresh air. It was ten thousand times better than hiding in the basement of the castle without even seeing the sun.
After careful inspection by Zheng Jun's sentries, the two were taken to the camp in the south of the island to meet the army's commander-in-chief, Zhenhaibo Zheng Zhilong.
"Your Excellency, on behalf of Chief Berg, I hope that you can order to stop the dung bomb attack on the Castle of Geranze. We are willing to contribute 500,000 silver coins in exchange for your ceasefire!"
David Cillessen couldn't stand this kind of attack, and he agreed with his boss's request, but the initiative was still in the hands of the Earl of the Ming Empire. They all had to look at his mood.
"...five hundred thousand silver coins?"
Zheng Zhilong asked again. It seemed that Hongyi in the castle was really unbearable, otherwise he wouldn't have sent someone to discuss with him.
"Yes!"
For David Cillessen, it is certain that this money is undoubtedly a huge amount of money that he will never make in his life, unless he takes the money and runs away to Manila.
"Hmph, five million is still about the same! You go back and tell Bolger that if he can come up with ten million silver coins, our army can cease fire for ten days, otherwise everything will continue as before!"
Zheng Zhilong didn't look down on this small amount of money at all. Five hundred thousand silver coins was only equivalent to 350,000 taels of silver. It was not worth mentioning to Zheng Zhilong, who had a big family and a big business.
He sent his troops to get the gold mine on Hainan Island. The gold mine was worth 30 million taels of silver. For the labor costs of mining and the cost of sending troops, Zheng could still make a net profit of 20 million taels. Why? Not for?
As the injury on Zheng Shao's hand gradually improved, everyone in the Zheng family began to believe that the prince had mastered many good items in the immortal world, including the location of the entire empire's gold mines.
If the imperial court were to launch a large-scale mining operation in Shandong, then of course the gold mines on Hainan Island would exist. If the Crown Prince made a golden promise to the Zheng family, then the work would be considered a success.
If you kill the big boss, you will get a gold mine. In addition, there is the sugar business with the Japanese country, plus the recently obtained special medicine sale. After the three-pronged approach, Zheng Zhilong completely ignored the price offered by Bolger.
As long as he sells a box of palm-sized special effects medicine, he can earn fifty taels of silver. If he sells ten thousand boxes, he can make a fortune of five hundred thousand taels.
Moreover, after conquering the castle of Geranze, all the wealth inside belonged to him, and Burg's money also belonged to him. He still waited for the reinforcements from Batavia to rescue him in a whimsical way. It was really ridiculous.
This is just to delay time, but using only half a million silver coins to buy yourself off is a bit too shabby.
"If Your Excellency the Earl is not satisfied, we can also consider investing one million silver coins!"
David Cillessen was not surprised by Zheng Zhilong's lion's opening, but continued to raise the price, which was a way of counter-offering.
"Ten times the price, no counter-offering! Send the guest away!"
Zheng Zhilong now has the initiative to attack. No matter how angry Hong Yi is, it will be useless. He just wants to make Hong Yi uncomfortable. Otherwise, won't it mean that the soldiers who died in the battle will die in peace?
After saying that, he asked General Ya to invite the two guests out. If they don't want to go out, then drag them out. Fortunately, both Cilesen and He Bin are still shameless people. If they don't get the desired result, they will be embarrassed to wait. Not leaving.
He Bin knew Zheng Zhilong very well. He had caused thousands of casualties to his troops before. Of course, this matter could not be left alone. Zheng Zhilong would retaliate sooner or later. The dung bombs that were as dazzling as meteors were just the beginning.
The main blame is that Bolger was too stingy and didn't want to give up his senior officials, so he was besieged by the Zheng army. Now he couldn't escape, and the money in the castle might not be saved.
He Bin was not optimistic about his side holding on to the Castle of Geranze. If the Utrecht Castle on the top of the mountain was not lost, it would be okay. Otherwise, the situation would take a turn for the worse.
Now Zheng Zhilong asked his men to implement dung bomb attack tactics on the castle, which made the defenders even more passive. They had no choice but to send people over to negotiate. Zheng Zhilong offered a price that Berger simply couldn't accept.
This is not a negotiation, it is clearly an argument!
How can we talk about collapse, how can we talk about a ball? ? ?
He Bin had already begun to think about how to find a way out for himself. He must not sink the Bolger boat to the bottom of the sea to feed the fish.
As for how to change camps, he hasn't thought about it yet. He must at least find a meeting gift. He can't lick his old face with nothing and beg Zheng Zhilong to forgive him.
In order not to make Cilesen suspicious, he always followed the other party and never talked to the Zheng Army soldiers. This way he had a clear conscience.
Then, when Cilesen was not prepared, he secretly handed the tooth general a small note, and followed Cilesen back to the castle in a grand manner.
"Haha! This guy!"
Zheng Zhilong read the small note and handed it to Zheng Zhi'ao. Only the two of them knew about it so that it could be kept secret and the secret would not be leaked.
He Bin briefly explained the situation in the castle. The coconut bombs were as effective as expected and had already made the defenders unconscious.
In this case, the whole army must strike while the iron is hot. It is best to use coconut bombs to kill all the Dutch Red Barbarians, so that the castle can be taken without any blood.
As for He Bin, they met each other in the mountains and rivers. Zheng Zhilong felt that there was no need to embarrass this old friend. He provided him with the necessary information. It was a proactive gesture of goodwill and it was okay to let him live.
The defenders couldn't let it go easily. They already knew the structure of the explosive pack. Unless Batavia spent a huge sum of money, they would have to hand it over to the prince.
Without mortars to assist in the battle, even if the Zheng army occupied the top of the mountain and attacked the castle from a high position, they would not be able to win quickly. The large number of coconut shells produced by the mortars gave Zheng Zhilong hope of a quick victory.
The ultra-high rate of fire of the mortar is unmatched by any artillery. Even the Folan machine requires a long cooling time after a long period of rapid fire, otherwise the barrel will explode.
On the other hand, mortars, because of their large caliber and ultra-thin barrel, heat up very quickly. It is very easy to fire once every five minutes and fire twelve times an hour.
It is precisely because of hundreds of mortars that Zheng Jun is able to project tens of thousands of coconut bombs at the Relanja Castle every day, so that the red barbarians inside can have a good meal...
