Fu Shanhe

Chapter 464 The Turmoil in Southeast Asia

"attack!"

With a command from the commander, the thunderous roar of cannons erupted, and the defense of the capital of the Sultan of Aceh officially began.

Solid shot flew over and slammed heavily onto the city wall.

The city wall shook violently, making the soldiers guarding the city lose their footing.

Occasionally, a few large iron balls would fly up to the city wall, and the unlucky soldiers who were hit would be instantly turned into mincemeat.

Solid shot may not cause much direct damage, but it can create a huge amount of panic.

"Artillery, counterattack immediately!"

The general defending the city hurriedly issued orders.

Efforts are destined to be in vain; the difference in firearm performance is not so easily overcome.

No arms dealer is honest or fair.

Especially in one-off transactions, they'll try to swindle as much money as possible.

The cannons the Dutch sold them were mostly discarded from their colonies.

Most of the cannons are products of the last century, and some of the older cannons can even be traced back to the 15th century.

"Has Mr. Brooks been found?"

The Sultan, watching the battle from the inner city, asked in a panic.

The new army looks promising, but the training time is ultimately too short, and its actual combat effectiveness remains to be seen.

The usual training only taught the soldiers how to operate firearms.

When it came to actual combat, they were completely clueless about how to apply tactics.

"Your Majesty, we have searched the entire city, but we have not found any trace of Brooks."

According to the soldiers guarding the city, a group of Dutch merchants left the city overnight yesterday evening.

Brooks most likely infiltrated the caravan and slipped away!

The Minister of the Guard's reply infuriated the Sultan.

He spent a lot of money to hire the Dutch to train their troops, and both sides agreed that he would help them win the war.

I never expected it to turn out like this.

Fortunately, he was cautious enough not to follow Brooks's advice and lead his troops outside the city to engage the enemy head-on with volley fire tactics.

Judging from the power of the enemy's artillery, in a real field battle, the rigid and dense infantry formations would be sitting ducks for the enemy's artillery.

Gunfights are a game played in continental Europe; they don't apply to the Eastern world.

While still employing volley fire tactics, Yu Jun made changes to this approach, developing artillery and infantry coordination tactics.

Apart from the siege artillery, which was large in size, the field artillery equipped by the Yu army was mostly light artillery.

Their ability to attack fortified positions is somewhat lacking, but they still have an absolute advantage against a group of greenhorns who only know how to fire their guns.

"Damn Dutchmen!"

"I knew it! These bastards are up to no good!"

……

"Rumble..."

With a loud bang, a section of the outer city wall, unable to withstand the weight, collapsed, and the ground trembled.

The shaking of the earth pulled the Sultan, who had been cursing Brooks' ancestors for eighteen generations, back to reality from his anger.

By the time they came to their senses, Yu Jun had already launched a full-scale attack at the breach.

The two sides engaged in a fierce struggle over the gap.

Unfortunately, no matter how hard the defending troops tried, they could not salvage the defeat on the battlefield.

Countless Yu soldiers stormed into the city through the breach, and the painstakingly constructed defenses of the capital city crumbled in an instant.

The new army, on which high hopes were placed, was no match for Yu's army.

Traditional generals' thinking on the use of firearms is still stuck a century ago, and they are long behind the times.

The Dutch instructors we hired only taught us a tiny bit of skill.

Without volley fire tactics, everyone was at a loss as to how to fight, and things were in complete chaos.

The sudden and dramatic changes left the top officials of the Aceh Sultanate bewildered.

"Your Majesty, send someone to negotiate with the Yu army!"

"As a superior nation, the Great Yu Dynasty placed great importance on its reputation."

As long as we readily admit our mistakes, the punishment shouldn't be too severe.

We'll send someone with a large sum of money to bribe officials in the Great Yu Kingdom. With their help, we might be able to speak on our behalf in court. Perhaps in a few years, we can restore our kingdom."

The prime minister, who was standing nearby, hurriedly offered some advice.

The power of the Great Yu Empire has long been deeply ingrained in people's minds.

Even before the outbreak of the war, voices advocating for peace had emerged within the Aceh Sultanate.

After all, Yu Jun's pretext was to recapture the Old Port Pacification Commission.

Although they once owned that land, they were not the ones who seized the Old Port Pacification Commission in the first place, and that land is no longer in their hands.

Even if Yu Jun were to carry out a political purge, they would only be minor figures caught in the crossfire, not the primary targets.

However, most officials believe that doing so is too cowardly.

Their failure to contest the Strait of Malacca in previous years was a huge embarrassment for them and severely damaged national morale.

If we admit defeat without even fighting a battle, we will lose all our dignity.

The situation changed as soon as war broke out.

Yu Jun was much stronger than expected, and the countries on the island were powerless to resist.

The main reason they have been able to hold out until now is the heavy rainfall on the island, which has slowed down the advance of Yu's army.

With the defeat of its modern army, the Aceh Sultanate had no resources left to continue its struggles and had no choice but to surrender.

"Ok!"

"Prime Minister, immediately arrange for someone to negotiate with Yu Jun."

Tell them that we have already sent a delegation to the capital of Da Yu to apologize.

"It is imperative to make Yu's army immediately cease its military operations."

The Sultan, barely suppressing his anger, gave the order.

In the Eastern world, no country could rival the Great Yu.

At the beginning of the war, he arranged for people to seek help from all directions.

Unfortunately, the great nation with which we placed our hopes is thousands of miles away, and distant water cannot quench our immediate thirst.

Several nearby colonial empires claimed to support them, but their actual actions amounted to nothing more than selling them a batch of exorbitantly priced arms.

The Dutch had just seized the Strait of Malacca from the Portuguese a few years ago, and they were unlikely to give it up easily.

Now we can only hope that Yu Jun and the Dutch colonists will both suffer heavy losses on the battlefield.

However, such hope is too slim.

The Dutch mobilized over 1,500 men to seize the Strait of Malacca, along with several thousand troops from the Johor Sultanate.

Constrained by its military strength, even after achieving victory, it could only control the strait region.

Compared to Dayu, it's like heaven and earth.

Tens of thousands of Yu's elite troops simultaneously attacked the island.

All the major and minor factions on the island were targets of Yu's army, clearly seeking revenge for the fall of the Old Port Pacification Commission.

……

As it turns out, the power to negotiate is never in the hands of the weak.

War is not something that can be ended simply by wanting to end it.

The envoy was shot dead by Yu soldiers as soon as he showed his face.

Even emphasizing their identities did not hinder Yu Jun's offensive.

The order above is very clear: purge all unstable elements from the island and solve the problem once and for all.

In a secular country, if royalty and nobles surrendered, they might be able to save their lives.

The Sultanate of Aceh is not acceptable.

The monster of theocracy is a threat in itself.

Even though they lost political power, these people were still able to control the people below through religion.

It was labeled as "high-risk" from the beginning, and even though Sudan surrendered before the war broke out, the Aceh Sultanate was still to be purged.

Based on the successful experience of dealing with Siam, the local people will also be dispersed and relocated to other areas to completely eliminate potential risks.

Time ticked by, and after the outer city fell, the inner city also fell into the hands of the Yu army. The supervisory team, who was supposed to execute deserters, had long since disappeared.

The panicked native soldiers dropped their weapons and fled in all directions.

No matter what orders the general gave, nothing could stop everyone from fleeing for their lives.

With their envoys being killed one after another, and realizing that the enemy was preparing to wipe them out, the high-ranking officials of the Aceh Sultanate could no longer maintain their composure.

Taking advantage of the fact that the Yu army had not yet besieged the city, everyone hurriedly brought their families and servants and joined the escape team.

Even the Sultan, as the leader, was no exception.

It doesn't matter how many lowly people die outside.

These noble lords still have plenty of time to enjoy their wealth and luxury; they can't die so soon.

By evening, Yu Jun had successfully taken control of the Sultan's palace.

Unfortunately, the scene was nothing but a mess and a raging fire.

It's purely a matter of revenge; if you can't have it yourself, you can't let the enemy have it either.

However, this time, they miscalculated; Yu Jun showed no intention of putting out the fire.

It would be best to burn them all down; these iconic buildings from the previous dynasty are precisely the kind of structures that need to be cleansed.

Although this will result in fewer spoils, it is worth paying a small price for long-term stability.

The temperature at which buildings burn has limited destructive power on gold and silver; it primarily destroys cultural relics and handicrafts.

The value of cultural relics and handicrafts is never determined by the relics themselves, but by the civilization that inspired them.

When civilization is gone, the historical and cultural value it embodies will naturally disappear as well.

……

Governor's Office of Malacca.

"Your Excellency, we have just received news."

Five days ago, Yu Jun launched an attack on the capital of the Sultan of Aceh and captured it in just one day.

The high-ranking officials of the Aceh Sultanate have fled to the island and their whereabouts are currently unknown.

Our plan in the Aceh Sultanate failed; those natives are utterly hopeless!

Garrison Commander Nathanil complained with a frustrated expression.

It was his idea to support the indigenous regime, deplete the Yu army's forces, and prolong the war as much as possible.

Unexpectedly, the plan progressed very smoothly in its early stages, but when it came to actual combat, the Aceh Sultanate proved to be quite incompetent.

A place like the capital should be held for at least a while.

"To fall in a single day, what kind of talk is this?"

If all the indigenous regimes are like this, it won't be long before Yu's army unifies the entire island.

Not taking action against them for the time being does not mean that we will never take action against them.

Every husband is not guilty, and he is guilty of his crime.

Its own weakness coupled with its occupation of the Strait of Malacca is its greatest original sin.

"After conscripting overseas Chinese, how many troops were assembled in total?"

Rodriguez asked with concern.

He knew better than anyone how rotten the indigenous regimes were.

If these guys weren't so weak, they wouldn't have come to colonize us.

If Yu Jun hadn't attacked, they would have gradually eroded and weakened the island by instigating infighting among the natives, and in a few decades they would have colonized the entire island.

He greatly despised Yu Jun's approach of overwhelming the enemy with sheer strength from the start, without any skill involved.

However, while he outwardly expressed disdain, he was secretly quite envious.

If Yu Jun had the resources, he wouldn't bother playing politics with these indigenous forces; wiping them out completely would be the right approach.

"Your Excellency, please rest assured, we have already conscripted two thousand overseas Chinese into the army, and together with the garrison troops, there are more than three thousand people."

In addition, the garrison command also recruited 10,000 young men from the local indigenous population.

However, we had limited weapons. Arming our overseas Chinese was no problem, but we could only use hastily made rifles to make up these indigenous cannon fodder.

"If we had known the Aceh Sultanate was so useless, we shouldn't have sold them weapons. That way, we could have armed an additional five thousand men."

Nathan Neil said indignantly.

Their reputation as "seafaring merchants" cannot change the reality of their small country and sparse population.

The Netherlands was a major colonial power, but not a colonial superpower.

The main reason is that the national population is less than two million.

With such a small population, the number of immigrants that could be provided to the colonies was naturally not very large.

The Strait of Malacca is strategically important, which is why it is guarded by more than a thousand troops, plus nearly ten thousand immigrants.

Being able to muster more than three thousand soldiers is already quite impressive.

"There's no point in discussing these things now."

Moreover, quite a few of these natives are hostile to us, and giving them weapons would be a considerable problem.

Your next task is to strengthen military training and guard against an invasion by the Yu army.

The governor is sending men to persuade the Spanish, Portuguese, and British to intervene in this war.

Rodriguez thought for a moment and then said.

Yu Jun's expansion posed a significant threat to a number of European colonial empires.

However, compared to other colonial empires, the Netherlands was the first to feel the pressure.

He considered sending troops to intervene several times, but ultimately refrained.

There was no other way; with such a small force in the colony, going to point fingers at the Yu army would be suicide.

The disparity in military strength allowed him to remain rational.

……

Luzon Island.

After the diplomatic intervention failed, a huge argument broke out at the Spanish Governor's Office in Luzon over whether to send troops to intervene in the Sumatra war.

Both supporters and opponents had their reasons, leaving Governor Rolf feeling overwhelmed.

Reason told him that whatever choice he made would leave hidden dangers.

"Gentlemen, please remain rational."

We are now facing not uncivilized natives, but an ancient civilization with a history spanning thousands of years.

The Yellow Peril, which once threatened the whole of Europe, was brought to an end by the rise of the Great Yu Empire.

We must be vigilant when facing such competitors.

The choices everyone makes next will determine the kingdom's strategic layout in the Eastern world.

Rolf said with a solemn expression.

Compared to previous governors of Luzon, he could more directly feel the power of the Great Yu.

With the rise of the Annam Protectorate, the presence of the Dayu Navy in the Southeast Asian region has become commonplace.

If it were on the European continent, given the strength of the Spanish fleet, they would naturally not be afraid of the Yu army's navy.

But this is in the East, right on someone else's doorstep, tens of thousands of miles away from mainland Spain.

If the two countries go to war, the domestic resources will be insufficient to meet their immediate needs, and they will have to rely on themselves for the time being.

"Your Excellency, the Yu army's mission to Sumatra this time is under the banner of reclaiming lost territory."

As far as I know, the Da Yu Luzon Governor's Office was also established on Luzon Island more than two hundred years ago.

Today they can send troops to support the Old Port Pacification Commission, and tomorrow they can use the same pretext to attack us.

Taking advantage of the current opportunity, we should unite with a group of European colonial empires and teach the Great Yu a lesson.

Otherwise, once the Dutch are defeated and the Portuguese are driven out, we'll be fighting alone!

Senator Kingston immediately issued a warning.

He had originally intended to mention the British, but then he considered that revenge was being plotted domestically.

In addition, the British had little interest in Southeast Asia at the time, and there was a revolution going on at home, so it was unlikely that they would follow them. Therefore, they chose to give up.

"Kingston, you overestimate the strength of the Yu Dynasty."

If they were really that powerful, they wouldn't have been bullied by the barbarians in the north.

The Dutch and the Portuguese, those two traitors, deserved to die.

"If they hadn't been holding us back, our invincible Armada wouldn't have lost to the British in the naval battle."

……

(End of this chapter)