Fu Shanhe

Chapter 463 The Battle of Sumatra
"The situation for you two is not good. According to the information we have gathered, the Marquis of Hanshui is much stronger than we expected."

In addition to his own fiefdom, he also served as the Governor-General of Guangdong and Guangxi.

It rules over a million square kilometers of land, has a population of over 20 million, and possesses an army of 300,000 and a navy of tens of thousands.

I bet he's the most powerful warlord in the entire world!

Spanish envoy Antonio couldn't help but complain.

The Eastern world is truly terrifying; even encountering a regional lord is like encountering a European hegemon.

Both its territory and population exceed those of the mainland countries of Spain, Portugal, and the Netherlands.

It's not that having a large population and a large land area is all that matters.

Among the colonies they conquered were many vast and densely populated regions.

The key lies in the fact that Li Mu's troops were equipped with firearms on a large scale, which was far superior to those primitive indigenous regimes.

"Antonio, we're not blind."

Just from what we saw along the way, we could tell just how wealthy the Marquis of Hanshui's territory was.

It should be noted that for this campaign in Southeast Asia, they mobilized a total of 50,000 army troops and 10,000 navy troops.

As you can see, the warships are docked in the port.

Just by looking at the number of artillery pieces, you know they're not to be trifled with.

What's worse is that these battleships and cannons were all built by this Marquis of Hanshui on his own territory.

Their shipbuilding technology and firearms standards, even if not at the world's advanced level, are not far off.

Putting pressure on this powerful marquis now is a terrible task!

Dutch envoy Denberg added his own comment.

The more you know, the more you will feel awe.

In his eyes, the Great Yu Empire was a more terrifying existence than the Ottoman Empire.

Once they become enemies, only a united European world can deal with them.

Without a doubt, this is impossible.

Not every country in the European world participated in overseas colonization.

Besides these three countries, the main colonial empires today also include the Kingdom of Great Britain.

The French had just begun their colonial journey and had little interest in the Eastern world, so it was impossible for them to follow them on this arduous expedition.

Even if they could unite, no one could resolve the internal conflicts.

The grudges and feuds between colonial empires constitute half of the history of Europe.

Britain and France have been bitter enemies for centuries; it would be good if they didn't destroy each other.

In the struggle for maritime supremacy, Spain recently fought a war with Britain and suffered a crushing defeat.

Back home, they're still plotting revenge.

Portugal and the Netherlands were nominally members of the Spanish empire, but in reality, these two underlings were always restless.

They rebelled against Spanish rule for decades.

This is merely a contradiction within colonial empires; the European continent is also quite lively at this moment.

The Thirty Years' War was raging, with the two major camps busy fighting each other.

Britain was also plagued by internal strife, with a bourgeois revolution underway.

Naturally, it's impossible for a revolutionary region like France to be peaceful.

He was simultaneously leading his allies in war against the Habsburg dynasty and suppressing domestic rebellions.

Louis XIV, who had just ascended the throne, was much like the Emperor of Dayu; both were ignorant and child emperors.

"Antonio, doesn't your country have a plan to conquer the Great Yu Empire?"

"You should seize this opportunity to push things along and let the Yu Dynasty witness the might of the British Empire!"

Portuguese envoy Andrés couldn't help but make a joke.

If Spain is willing to send troops to conquer Da Yu, their opportunity will come.

Li Mu's growing power only threatened the interests of his overseas colonies.

If Spain becomes powerful, it could annex the whole of Portugal.

"Andres is right, Antonio, you should definitely consider it."

If we can conquer the Great Yu Empire, we won't have to spend a lot of money to buy silk, tea, and porcelain from them.

Most of the gold and silver we mine from all over the world each year flowed into the hands of the Yu Dynasty people through trade.

If we can conquer the Great Yu, the gains will far exceed any previous colonial operation.

Having accomplished this great feat, you will be a hero of Spain, and glory will shine upon the entire British Empire!

Denberge echoed this sentiment.

Once the Strait of Malacca falls under the control of the Marquis of Hanshui, all future trade between the East and the West will depend on the other side's whims.

Colonial activities in Southeast Asia had to be put on hold.

If we could get Spain and the Marquis of Hanshui to fight each other, that would be perfect.

If the Spanish lose, their strength will be greatly diminished, and they will be unable to suppress the independence movement on their home soil.

Even if we win, we will still make a great enemy in the East.

Given the power of the Marquis of Hanshui, he certainly wouldn't admit defeat after just one loss. We can just watch the two sides fight it out from now on.

"Judging from the actions of the Marquis of Hanshui, it is clear that he is beginning to head towards the sea."

If possible, eliminating this competitor in advance would benefit the whole of Europe.

However, this kind of thing requires domestic decision-making.

For now, we can only combine the strength of all three parties to curb the other side's ambitions.

Otherwise, before China could send troops, the enemy would seize the Strait of Malacca.

In this process, we must also maintain a proper balance to avoid involving the entire Great Yu Empire.

Antonio responded calmly.

Even though he knew the two were trying to fool him, he still chose to cooperate.

Whether or not to send troops is a question for the bigwigs in the country to consider; it's not up to a nobody like him to decide.

To curb the expansionist ambitions of the Marquis of Hanshui, the combined efforts of the three parties are needed.

Let's deal with it for now. Who's using whom will depend on their respective abilities.

"Of course!"

"We only need to dissuade the Marquis of Hanshui from going south; it's not like we're going to start a war with the Great Yu Empire."

After all, the people of the Yu Dynasty were not interested in the ocean; this Marquis of Hanshui was the only exception.

Andres and Denberg immediately stated their positions.

Based on the intelligence gathered, the military strength of the Marquis of Hanshui appears to be like that of the Eastern version of France.

They might be able to clash at sea, but if they fought on land, they wouldn't stand a chance.

With current transportation capabilities, no country can deploy hundreds of thousands of troops in the Eastern world.

Even with colonies as a foothold, at most tens of thousands of troops would be deployed.

……

Old Port Pacification Office.

"Westerners sent missions to jointly pressure the imperial court."

The Marquis ordered us to quickly eliminate all forces on the island and take control of Sumatra.

The troops stationed in Siam will also launch an offensive on the Malay Peninsula in the near future.

Our mission in the Third Division is to take over South Sumatra within six months and eliminate all opposition forces there.

Li Sanqi said with a solemn expression.

The biggest challenge in expanding into Southeast Asia was not the strength of the enemy, but the complex tropical rainforest climate.

The frequent heavy rains caused great inconvenience to the army.

"General, we are a righteous army."

Many of the island's indigenous regimes were vassal states established by the imperial court.

What crime should be used to destroy them?

General Zhou, who was standing to the side, asked.

It's clear that this army is indeed a benevolent force, knowing the importance of legitimacy. However, this benevolence is limited to fabricating a suitable charge.

"It has been verified that their ancestors were not subservient to the emperor and participated in illegal activities to subvert the Old Port Pacification Commissioner's Office."

They arbitrarily sold our land in Dayu to Westerners for use.

……

You can come up with similar charges as you see fit.

Remember to find a few scholars to polish it up; they're professionals at labeling people.

We cannot leave any potential problems for the Marquis. If someone were to impeach him in court, we must have a reasonable explanation.

When dealing with these remnants of the rebel party, we must be ruthless.

"Better to kill a thousand innocent people than let one guilty person go free!"

Li Sanqi said with a serious expression.

The task of destroying a country and overthrowing someone's regime must be done cleanly and efficiently.

Only when the victims are gone can history be written at their discretion.

Although these indigenous princes did not have strong control over the local area.

However, if someone escapes and falls into the hands of hostile forces, raising the banner of restoring the country, it would be a considerable problem.

"As ordered!"

The generals answered in unison.

The Annam Protectorate was able to expand without leaving any hidden dangers, mainly because it thoroughly purged local forces.

The vested interest groups were all wiped out, leaving behind ordinary people who were mostly illiterate.

Even if they receive further education, they will learn the Dayu script.

The historical traces of the previous dynasty were quietly erased by the authorities.

The local indigenous language is directly defined as a dialect.

After the establishment of local government offices, their biggest task was to promote the official language.

Coupled with the "restructuring and upgrading" policy and the continuous influx of immigrants, all traditional forces in the area are being destroyed.

As soon as Yu Jun exerted his strength, the local indigenous princes and nobles instantly felt the pressure.

One tribal alliance after another sprang up, and after much effort, they mustered the courage to assemble their armies, ready to fight the Yu army. However, they were defeated and routed as soon as they entered the battlefield.

It has nothing to do with individual bravery; traditional wooden guns and shields, when faced with modern firearms, are nothing short of a massacre.

Often, a few hundred Yu soldiers could easily defeat a coalition of tens of thousands of native soldiers.

Aceh Sultanate.

"Mr. Brooks, when will your reinforcements arrive?"

The elderly Sultan asked with a look of anxiety.

The battle reports from the front lines were all devastating; the Aceh Sultanate was on the verge of extinction.

Even now, after being beaten, he still can't figure out where he offended the Emperor of Da Yu and brought disaster upon the country.

"Your Majesty, please remain calm."

Our reinforcements are on their way, so let's hold out for a while longer.

In two days, another batch of weapons will arrive.

With our help, you will soon have a powerful army.

Even when facing the main force of the Shangyu army, they would not yield.

Brooks lied without batting an eye.

When reinforcements will arrive, only God knows.

Judging from the timeline, the news should reach China in another month or two.

Once those noble lords make their decision, whether the Aceh Sultanate will even exist remains to be seen.

His decision to risk staying in the Aceh Sultanate to help was not for internationalism.

As arms dealers, they are present wherever there is war.

The more dangerous the situation, the more excess profits can be made.

By selling weapons and providing military training, he made a huge profit of hundreds of thousands of taels of silver in just one month.

If this situation continues, once the war ends, he will return home to be one of the wealthiest men in the country.

At such a time, one should naturally appease the Sultan before them first.

If there's no hope and the other side surrenders directly to Yu Jun, how can we do business?

"That's good!"

"That's good!"

The Sultan said excitedly.

The power of Dayu has long been deeply ingrained in the hearts of people in Southeast Asia.

As vassal states, they had to send envoys to pay tribute every few years.

The change of royal power required the investiture of the Great Yu Emperor.

This practice continued for over a century until recent decades, when they discovered that Dayu seemed to have no interest in Southeast Asia, and they gradually became bolder.

To everyone's surprise, just as their carefree days began, Yu's army launched an attack.

One of the reasons Yu Jun attacked the Aceh Sultanate was that he had declared himself king without being officially recognized by the Emperor of Yu.

Under the tributary system, the succession of a monarchy without being officially recognized by the suzerain state lacked legitimacy.

As soon as the announcement was released, some people in China couldn't contain themselves and rushed to contact Yu Chao.

If we hadn't discovered it quickly, we would have been betrayed by our subordinates.

……

As time went by, bad news from the front lines continued to pour in.

Either this place falls, or there is a major defeat.

With the Yu army about to reach the capital, the Aceh Sultanate, with the help of arms dealers, finally trained a "new type of army".

Looking at the troops before him, Sudan's heart was bleeding.

In order to resist the invasion of Yu's army, he had no choice but to accept Brooks' exorbitantly priced weapons.

A single musket costs over a hundred taels of silver, while cannons start at a thousand taels.

It took half of our family's wealth to create the current 5,000-strong new army.

It wasn't that he was stingy with talent and didn't continue purchasing; rather, Brooks's weapons reserves were limited.

Although the arms trade is extremely profitable, the market is not very large these days.

Brooks' main clients were the colony groups in the various colonies, which were usually not very large.

Under normal circumstances, colonists would not sell advanced weapons to indigenous forces.

If you break the rules, you will face the iron fist of the colonial government.

Yu Jun's actions in Southeast Asia made several major colonial empires feel threatened, which is why they decided to support local indigenous forces.

Even with the lifting of restrictions on arms exports, weapons still can't be shipped from the country in the short term.

To assemble the equipment for these 5,000 men, Brooks also purchased a batch of second-hand equipment from the colonial government.

"Soldiers, the Yu army has invaded our land and killed our people."

We must avenge this blood feud!

The enemy is now less than thirty miles from the capital, and a decisive battle concerning the life and death of the kingdom is about to break out.

The fate of the kingdom is in your hands.

For the great Kingdom, for the glory of God…

"Kill one Yu soldier, and you will be rewarded with fifty taels of silver and promoted one rank!"

As it turns out, no matter how hard you give a speech, it's not as effective as a reward of real money.

The Sultan was putting on a great show, but the people below seemed to be listening to gibberish.

It wasn't until the reward was announced that everyone's morale was boosted.

……

(End of this chapter)