Gou was a member of the imperial family in the late Ming Dynasty
Chapter 1071: Surrender or Fight
Chapter 1071: Surrender or Fight
After appeasing the surrendered Dutch people in Fort Anthony, Shi Daxuan personally met with Jacob, the chief executive of Fort Anthony, and promised full treatment and security guarantees for the surrendered Dutch people, which finally put Jacob's uneasy heart at ease.
At the same time, Shi Daxuan hoped that Jacob could see the facts clearly and declare that Xiaoliuqiu originally belonged to the territory of the Ming Dynasty. The Dutch, as outsiders, occupied Xiaoliuqiu and built cities and implemented rule on the island without the permission of the Ming court. This was an invasion of the Ming Dynasty, which was beyond doubt.
Now the Ming court has decided to recover Xiaoliuqiu. Let alone the few Dutch on the island, even if the Dutch sent reinforcements from Batavia, they would not be a match for the Ming. Moreover, the army led by Shi Daxuan was only the Fujian Navy of the Ming Dynasty. The Ming Dynasty had a million troops. If the Dutch did not want to expand the war, or even anger the Ming Dynasty and go to war with the Netherlands, and send a fleet south to start a full-scale war with the East India Company in Batavia, then they should face the facts and make the wisest choice.
Moreover, the Ming Dynasty now has enough advantages. Even if Batavia gets the news and sends reinforcements to Xiaoliuqiu, it will take at least a month. With the fall of Fort Anthony, Fort Zeelandia is alone. Does the Dutch think that they can defend Fort Zeelandia with only a thousand garrisons? It's a joke.
Next, Shi Daxuan will focus all his efforts on attacking Fort Zeelandia. It is not difficult to take Fort Zeelandia with the strength of the Ming army. But war will eventually lead to death. God has the virtue of loving life. Shi Daxuan led his troops not to retaliate and massacre the Dutch in Xiaoliuqiu, nor did he intend to keep them all in Xiaoliuqiu. The purpose of the Ming Dynasty was only to recover this place and expel the Dutch on the island. Therefore, Shi Daxuan hoped that Jacob could come forward to persuade the defenders of Fort Zeelandia to surrender, and persuade the defenders to lay down their weapons and surrender. The Ming Dynasty could ensure the safety of their lives and property and allow them to leave Xiaoliuqiu and return to Batavia.
After listening to Shi Daxuan's words, Jacob immediately said that he would personally persuade the garrison of Zeelandia to surrender, especially Caron, the highest administrative officer. After experiencing the brutal war in Fort Antoni, Jacob knew very well that the Dutch could not stop the attack of the Ming army with their strength, and everything they did was just in vain.
Moreover, Westerners think differently from Easterners. Westerners do not have the Easterners' belief in fighting to the death. In their view, even war can be negotiated. When the strength is inferior and the outcome of the war is doomed, meaningless sacrifice and courage are not worth mentioning at all. Why throw away your life in vain to pursue an illusory possibility?
Therefore, in Western wars, one side often chooses to surrender when it judges that it will lose and has no way out. In the eyes of Westerners, surrender is not shameful and does not damage honor. It is a normal operation, which is completely different from Easterners.
So Jacob did not refuse to surrender to the Ming Dynasty. Moreover, as the chief executive of Fort Anthony, he had already surrendered to the Ming Dynasty, and the Ming generals also kept their promises and ensured the safety of his and his men's lives and property. In this case, why continue to resist when you know you will fail? What's the point?
Under such circumstances, Jacob agreed to Shi Daxuan's suggestion and was willing to go to Fort Zeelandia in person to persuade them to surrender. After Shi Daxuan left a part of his troops to garrison Fort Anthony, he led the main force to Fort Zeelandia. After arriving at Fort Zeelandia, he did not order an immediate attack, but sent Jacob into Fort Zeelandia, hoping that the defenders of Fort Zeelandia would assess the situation, recognize the facts, and surrender.
"Did the other party really say that?" In the central castle of Fort Zeelandia, Karon asked hurriedly after listening to Jacob's story.
"Sir, the other party has already given the conditions, and the Ming army has kept its previous promises after the surrender of Fort Anthony. Doesn't the fact that I can come to see you prove this?" Jacob said to Caron sincerely.
Caron was immediately tempted. He was not a courageous man. If it weren't for Major Hermann's assistance, he would have surrendered long ago. These days, he was hiding in Fort Zeelandia, living in fear, fearing that Fort Zeelandia would be breached by the Ming army, and those vicious Ming soldiers would rush into the city and chop off his head with knives.
Kalon was a nobleman, not an ordinary person. As a nobleman, he did not want to die in such a tragic way. He had an incomparable love for life and was even more nostalgic for this beautiful world. Moreover, he came to the Far East to gain wealth and higher status, not to lose his life in vain.
Although he was the highest administrative officer here, the responsibility for the loss of Xiaoliuqiu would cause him to be criticized by Batavia, and he might even lose some of his possessions and return to the Netherlands in disgrace, but so what?
Even so, as a nobleman, he still had privileges. At most, he would lose his position in the East India Company. After returning to the Netherlands, with the wealth he had made in Xiaoliuqiu over the years, he could still live a luxurious aristocratic life. Compared with what he had lost, life was the most important thing.
If it weren't for Major Herman's insistence, I'm afraid Caron would have surrendered long ago. And now Fort Anthony has been lost, even his subordinate, Jacob, the administrator of Fort Anthony, has surrendered. What reason does he have to insist?
Thinking of this, Kalon had already thought about surrendering, but he was still worried about the Ming army's promise. He wanted to know if the Ming army could really let him go? Not only his life, but also let him leave Xiaoliuqiu with his wealth? If so, surrendering is not a bad idea!
"Sir! We are not at the end of our rope yet. Fort Zeelandia's defense is much stronger than Fort Antoni, and there is no shortage of weapons and food in the city. In addition to our Dutch garrison, there are more than 3,000 residents. We can mobilize them to garrison. As long as we resist until the reinforcements from Batavia arrive, we still have a chance to win!" Just as Caron was about to blurt out his surrender, Major Herman spoke righteously. His eyes were like swords, sweeping sharply at Jacob who came to serve as a lobbyist, and directly scolded him for being a coward! Obviously Fort Antoni still had the power to resist, but because of him, it surrendered to the Ming army, which led to the current situation. "Fight? How to continue fighting? Tell me how to fight?" Facing Major Herman's accusation, Jacob did not retreat at all, and asked loudly: "The entire garrison of Fort Antoni is only 1,300 people, even if the residents in the castle are included, there are only 3,000 people, and these people have no combat effectiveness if used as troops."
"The number of Ming troops attacking Fort Anthony is more than ten times that of Fort Anthony. They also have powerful firearms including artillery. These days, the Ming army attacks Fort Anthony fiercely every day. Shells and bullets fall from the sky like raindrops. People are dying in Fort Anthony every day! People are dying every day!"
"Those who died were God's people, the warriors of the Kingdom of the Netherlands! Were their lives sacrificed in vain just because of your words? As a commander, you know the current situation better than anyone else, and you know even more about the possibility of holding Fort Antoni or Fort Zeelandia!"
"Yes, you mentioned reinforcements, I cannot deny that. But have you ever thought about how long it would take for Batavia to send reinforcements from there to arrive here? After such a long time, will the Ming army outside just sit there and wait for our reinforcements to arrive without attacking? How is that possible!"
"We are all sensible people. We should know that it will take at least a month for reinforcements to arrive. But with the defense of Fort Zeelandia and the soldiers in the city, do you think they can hold out for that long? Even if they can hold out until the arrival of reinforcements, can you guarantee that the Ming army is unprepared? This time, the Ming Empire has dispatched 25,000 troops and hundreds of warships. How much effect can the reinforcements sent by Batavia have with such a powerful military force? Major, please answer this question for me!"
"I am against surrender!" Major Herman said coldly, "This is about the honor of soldiers and the dignity of the Kingdom of the Netherlands!"
"Honor? Dignity? I'm afraid it's your own honor and dignity?" Jacob sneered, "Ignoring everyone for your own personal ideas, refusing the other party's persuasion to surrender when you can retreat unscathed, is this what a qualified commander should do?"
"It's precisely because I am a qualified commander that I insist on doing this!" Hermann seemed to be touched on a sore spot and retorted with a flushed face.
As soon as these words were spoken, Jacob burst into laughter, looking at Hermann with disdain and pity in his eyes. He felt that this guy was simply insane. No wonder Hermann, as a major, was sent here to serve. You know, with his military rank of major, he could have had much better options.
It turned out that this was a stubborn guy. Although Jacob promised that Hermann had good ability as a soldier, his stubbornness would kill everyone. Now the situation was clear. It was meaningless to continue to resist. The Ming army also made a promise. In this case, surrender was the best option.
If they refused the Ming army's persuasion to surrender and continued to resist, they would inevitably anger the Ming army. By then, the Ming army would not be as polite as it is now. When they attacked Fort Zeelandia with heavy troops, no matter how capable Hermann was, how could he really defend it with the troops he had? Once the city was broken, everything would be over. The Ming would definitely not treat the Dutch with the same favorable conditions as before. The furious Ming army commander might retaliate with severe means. He did not want to be drawn into this vortex because of Hermann and say goodbye to this beautiful world.
Just as the two were arguing fiercely, Caron's face became more and more ugly. Finally, he couldn't help but slammed the table and shouted "Enough!", which stopped the quarrel between the two sides.
Then, Caron asked Hermann to go down first, citing the importance of city defense, but left Jacob behind. Hearing this arrangement, Hermann was stunned and wanted to object, but before he could say anything, Caron waved his hand without getting tired of it.
Facing Jacob, Hermann could still argue with reason, but facing the highest executive officer who was also a nobleman, Caron, he could only obey orders. In desperation, he glared at Jacob fiercely and finally retreated.
(End of this chapter)
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