Nanyang Storm 1864

Chapter 372 Lan Fang's sudden change
September 21th, 2025

Lan Fangguo

坤甸
Everyone attending the meeting in the conference hall received bad news. The remnants of the Dagang Company, more than 1854 people who had fled to Sarawak after the defeat in , regrouped and returned to the Montoradu area from Sarawak under the rule of the Chu State. They joined forces with the local San Tiaogou Company and their momentum soared for a while.

Chinese villages and towns in the surrounding areas responded and gathered under the Dagang Company.

This bad news was like a bolt from the blue, shocking everyone in the conference room, and their faces immediately became solemn.

When the bad news came, the great ruler Liu Ansheng, who was sitting at the top, fell silent. He no longer had the calm expression he had before, and his face was as black as the bottom of a pot.

Speaking of the Dagang Company, its history is even earlier than that of the Lan Fang Kingdom.

In 1760, it was one of the companies formed by the early Chinese who went to Southeast Asia. Later, the Heshun Company headquarters was established, and the Dagang Company was also one of its strong pillars.

As for the origins of the two, the Lan Fang Company and the Dagang Company had been fighting for more than a hundred years, and basically lost more than won, and rarely defeated the Dagang Company in a head-on battle.

The two sides disliked each other. Both sides had a group of Chinese forces gathered around them, but neither side was able to completely eliminate the other side, which was the biggest hidden danger in Lan Fang.

Around 1850, the Dutch Indonesian government concentrated its forces and sent Major General Andersson to lead more than 3700 white soldiers to invade in the name of eliminating "Chinese colonists."

The Chinese republics in Borneo joined forces to fight a bloody battle with the invading Dutch, with the Dagang Company being the leader. The war lasted for four years, and the Chinese countries were defeated and destroyed one after another.

In 1854, the Grand Port Company was defeated and about people voluntarily withdrew from the Montraldo area. These were all core members and their families.

When Liu Shoushan of the Lan Fang Company led his troops to block the attack, a fierce battle broke out between the two sides. The remnants of the Dagang Company broke through the blockade and arrived at Sibu, where they joined forces with the San Tiaogou Company and finally entered the Sarawak Kingdom to avoid disaster.

That year

As many as more than 100,000 Chinese entered the Sarawak Kingdom, most of whom were dissatisfied with the Lan Fang Kingdom's recognition of the enemy as their own.

At that time

The Lan Fang Company stood on the side of the Dutch Indies government, so the Dutch Indies government agreed to preserve the independence of the Lan Fang Republic until the death of its leader Liu Asheng. The two sides had a written agreement on this issue.

Actually,
As early as 1822, the Lan Fang Kingdom had lost its independence when confusion arose over succession following the death of the fifth Grand Commander.

With the military help of the Dutch East India Company, Liu Taier succeeded as the sixth Grand Commander of the Lan Fang Kingdom and accepted the title of "Grand Commander of the Lan Fang Company conferred by the Dutch Emperor".

Other leaders were granted the title of Kapitan, and the Lan Fang Republic began to be governed by the Dutch Indochina government. It lost its independent status and became a vassal republic.

Counting on my fingers, it has been 49 years.

During this period
The Lan Fang Kingdom has been paying head tax and opium tax to the Dutch Indies Governor-General's Office without interruption.

In 1852, the Brooke family, who occupied the Kingdom of Sarawak, attempted to invade the Kingdom of Lan Fang. At that time, it was the Governor-General of the Dutch East Indies who intervened and paid 5 Dutch guilders to make the Brooke family give up the idea.

The Brooke family is the descendant of Captain Brooke, a British captain of the Sarawak Kingdom that was destroyed by the Chu State. They have now long since disappeared and only exist in a few fragments of history.

"It must be those Chu people who are behind this. These villains are still determined to destroy us. Now they have come back again and they deserve to be killed. In my opinion, there may be an insider behind this." Seeing the depressing atmosphere, Liu Liangguan immediately shouted out.

Liu Asheng, who was sitting at the top, had a slightly changed expression, but did not say anything. Instead, he looked at the others inquiringly, with a look that contained deep meaning.

No one can say which of those present has colluded with the State of Chu, but this possibility is very high.

The system of the Lan Fang Kingdom is more like a dictatorial company than a nation-state. The Liu family now holds power and has formed a trend of passing it down from generation to generation.

Liu Asheng's crackdown on dissidents in the company and promotion of close family members inevitably caused a lot of dissatisfaction, but he just endured it.

Chief Liu Wubo was just a puppet, and the real military and political power was in the hands of Liu Asheng. His eyes passed over Liu Wubo and looked at Deputy Chief Lu Liang, Advisor Huang Bingqing, Luo Guanghui, He Jian, Liu Peilao and others. He felt suspicious about everyone he looked at.

Liu Asheng did not have a good reputation in China and was called a "traitor" by his opponents. He was also the commander-in-chief who accepted the title of "Jia Da" and had close relations with the Dutch.

Seeing that no one else spoke and looked heavy-hearted, Liu Peilao cursed inwardly and had to cough twice before speaking:
"Grand Commander, everyone, with the enemy at our doorstep and the domestic situation precarious, we should not panic. We should consider the correct course of action. Should we contact the Dutch?"

Luo Guanghui quickly responded, "That makes sense. The only ones who can help us now are the Red Indians."

"We are in a hurry now. The Red Devils only have a few hundred soldiers on the island of Kalimantan. If we transfer troops from Batavia, it will take at least ten days. By then, the opportunity will be gone. We must first come up with a strategy to resist the enemy." Deputy Chief Lu Liang said.

He Jian frowned and said in a muffled voice, "Then we have to mobilize the militia, as well as the able-bodied men from various companies and mines. Together, we can make up 3000 to men. Add to that the -plus regular warriors, and we should be able to hold out for a week or two."

The three thousand brave men he mentioned are now equivalent to the Liu family's private soldiers, with a total number of about three thousand five hundred people, and are also the greatest force to deter all parties.

On weekdays

These brave men were supported by the company's public funds and were well-equipped. All of them were equipped with flintlock muskets and had a battery of fifteen cannons.

This armed force is sufficient to deal with separatist and dissident forces in the country.

If faced with an indigenous rebellion or a conflict of interest among Chinese mine owners, they can also recruit brave private soldiers from other companies and the mine protection teams to jointly suppress the rebellion. This is what they have done in the past.

What He Jian said was originally good, but when Liu Asheng heard that he would have to use his old capital of 3,000 strong men, his face turned unfriendly. He looked at He Jian with a gloomy look, snorted coldly, and said:
"Let's beat the drums to gather the troops first. Summon all the companies and mines immediately. Our Lan Fang Nation is facing this great disaster. All the major families should contribute money and manpower to overcome this difficult time together.

As long as we maintain the national dignity and repel the invading enemy.

We still have the final say on this land. As Liu sits in the position of commander-in-chief, he will certainly not treat us unfairly.

In the future, when it comes to the ownership of mining rights and tax reductions, priority should be given to those who have contributed the most manpower and effort, and no one should be treated unfairly."

Speaking of here
Liu Asheng turned around and instructed his son, Liu Liangguan, "Liangguan, immediately board a steamer and head to Batavia to urgently request assistance from the Governor-General. Remember, reinforcements are like putting out a fire; you must return within a week."

"Yes, father." Liu Liangguan raised his hand and saluted, then stared fiercely at He Jian again, then stood up and strode out.

Being suspected by Liu's father and son one after another, He Jian felt like he had eaten a fly, and he felt extremely uncomfortable.

He wanted to hook up with the Chu State, but unfortunately, they didn't even bother to pay any attention to him.

The He family is considered a powerful family in the Southern Kingdom. They own six mines, more than 440 private soldiers, and employ several thousand miners to work day and night. They also have large plantations and fields.

He could show off his power in Lan Fang's country, but in the eyes of the powerful Chu people, he was nothing and not worth winning over.

The Chu army showed a strong fighting capacity that was not inferior to the Dutch army. If they dispatched a regiment of soldiers, they would probably be able to push the Lan Fang Kingdom from beginning to end.
The 3500 elite soldiers under Liu Asheng's command usually only do housekeeping work, help the Liu family guard the mines, or set up checkpoints on the edge of towns to extort people and bully the weak.

They don't have physical training for a month, and there are countless people who smoke opium. Their fighting ability is really poor.

After a while of discussion, with He Jian's experience as a precedent, the others were hesitant to speak up and didn't offer any specific suggestions. Finally, they followed Liu Asheng's instructions and "beat the drums to gather the troops," which was a tradition of the Lan Fang Company.
Before a powerful enemy approaches, they beat drums to gather the strong men from various companies and mines to fight against the powerful enemy together.

Now it plays more of a formal role. After the "beating of the drum to gather the troops", several people quickly rode away on horses with letters stamped with the seal of the Grand Commander, and went one by one to notify the surrounding Chinese big families, mines, and manors to convey the order to "gather the troops".

Two consecutive days

Pontianak and nearby Dongwanlu were in turmoil, and the recruited brave men arrived one after another. Some were armed with swords and guns, some with earthen muskets, and only a small number were equipped with flintlock muskets.

Some even came with hoes, without even a spear.

These people are obviously just filling in the numbers. They are probably Chinese workers working in the mines who were driven here to fill in the numbers.

In this way, nearly 4,000 people were hastily gathered, plus more than a thousand elite soldiers carrying flintlock muskets, and Liu Asheng personally led them to the northeast to fight against the rebels of the Dagang Company who were expanding rapidly.

Lan Fang was rich in gold, with 47 gold mines of various sizes. As early as 1823, the value of gold exported from West Borneo was US$667.67, and the Chinese gold mines produced more than one million ounces of gold annually.

Today
Most of the surface gold mines have been exhausted, but deep gold deposits continue to be discovered, and these rich gold veins often cause conflicts and fights among Chinese mine owners.

Because of this, every gold mine has more or less thugs, or so-called brave men.

The large Chinese families in Lan Fang all have several gold mines, and coupled with intermarriages and clan relationships, they can easily connect with more than a dozen gold mine owners. The combined military force should not be underestimated.

When fighting for the mines, hundreds or even thousands of people would gather to fight, and many of them would use knives and guns. They were considered one of the country's standing armed forces.

After gathering 5,000 troops, Liu Asheng led them in a mighty march towards the northeast.

With so many people, the daily food and necessities for people and horses are not a small expense. There must be silver rewards for setting off, and even more silver must be spent to boost morale before the battle.

Now money was pouring out, and Liu Asheng felt heartbroken seeing it. He thought that he would plunder money after the war to make up for the huge expenses.

So after gathering just 5,000 troops and before they were even integrated, he couldn't wait to lead the army north.

The sooner we defeat the rebels of the Dagang Company, the less money we spend.

The army marched north for three days but did not travel more than 27 kilometers in total. They stopped in a town called Luban, which was only kilometers away from Sankouyang ahead.

But the Lanfang army received the latest battle report that Sankouyang had chosen to give up and surrender after a brief resistance.

Today, Sankouyang is home to the main force of the Dagang rebels, with a total number far exceeding 3,000 people. This is because some nearby mine owners and plantation owners have led their men to join in, making the force even more powerful.

How many rebels are there exactly?
Reports said there were more than 15,000 people, some said 7,000 to 8,000, and some said there were only more than 4,000 people. There was no consensus on the number.

Liu Asheng's scalp tingled when he heard this. Even if he used the minimum number of more than 4,000 people to deal with it, it was far more than he estimated, not to mention 7,000 or 8,000 people.

It was originally thought that the Dagang Company was heading south in many directions, and the main force would have at most 2,000 people, or maybe even less.

Now the number has doubled, which has put Liu Asheng in a dilemma.

After careful consideration, they settled down in Luban and sent a messenger back to Pontianak to quickly mobilize reinforcements. There were 1500 elite troops from their headquarters and 1500 militiamen, for a total of 3000 reinforcements.

With 8,000 troops at his disposal, Liu Asheng estimated that he could at least give them a head-on fight to test the strength of these remaining bandits in Dagang.

It would be great if we could defeat the invading enemy with twice the strength, or inflict severe damage on them.

The Lan Fang army set up camp in a mess, and the Dagang army in Sankouyang had already received the news.

Huang Guisan, the commander-in-chief of the Dagang Army, was a puppet. The actual commanders were two plainclothes aides around him, one was the distinguished Colonel Zheng Guoliang, Duke of Mindoro, and the other was Colonel Hu Jinqi.

After discussing it, the two men immediately decided to give the officers and soldiers a good meal, and then launch an attack at night to catch the Lan Fang army by surprise.

At this time, there was a regiment of more than 1400 officers and soldiers in plain clothes in Sankouyang City, more than 200 retired officers and soldiers, and more than 2600 Kuching militiamen. These more than people were the main force.

There were nearly 2,000 remaining Chinese warriors who had gathered together, but Colonel Hu Jinqi had no intention of leading them into battle, as too many people would only cause more trouble.

Without rigorous military training, carrying out such a difficult military operation of long-distance raid at night would be a fantasy.

By tomorrow morning, I estimate that only 1/10 of the brave Chinese people from these two days will be left.

It will take half a day to gather these people together.

If he had the spare time, he would have probably already dealt with the Lan Fang Kingdom's ragtag army. Quality is more important than quantity.

Give an order

The army's kitchen immediately started to light a fire and cook. They collected several injured mules and horses, skinned and gutted them, cleaned them, chopped them up, and put the large pieces of meat directly into the pot to cook.

The women over there were mobilized to start steaming cakes and buns. After they were done, they were piled on the table, steaming like mountains of buns.

Soldiers who knew they had to carry out missions at night would take the time to close their eyes and rest for a while. This was an experienced move to avoid falling asleep.

After the large piece of meat is cooked, tear it into pieces with your hands immediately, throw it back into the pot and cook with the potatoes. Cook for more than 20 minutes, sprinkle with salt and pepper and it is ready to be served.

It was around five in the afternoon at this time. The soldiers were kicked up and lined up to get their meals. Those who were sleepy were veterans, their eyes rolling around, and those who were not asleep were militiamen or new recruits.

Each person got a large bowl of meat and soup, which was placed in the iron shell of a military kettle. This iron shell, which was the same shape as a military kettle, was usually used as a cooking bowl.

After making the meat soup, go get some steamed buns or cakes. Veterans usually take a few extra and put them in their arms to eat when they are hungry at night. This is all based on experience.

After eating, I wiped my mouth and refilled my water bottle. I quickly went to the bathroom and re-tightened my leg bandages to prevent them from getting swollen from running all night.

After completing the preparations, we set off on time at 6:30 in the evening.

The distance from Sankouyang to Luban is 27 kilometers. If you march at a normal pace of 4 kilometers per hour, it will take about 7 hours to arrive.

You must know that the roads in Lan Fang are not easy to walk on. They are full of potholes caused by passing carriages. At night, it is even more difficult to walk with one foot higher than the other. If you walk too fast, you may not only sprain your ankle but also fall easily.

Marching 4 kilometers per hour is already a relatively fast speed.

There are at least two breaks in between, each lasting 40 minutes to an hour. In addition, after arriving at the target area, they need to rest and organize themselves for battle, so the time is quite tight.

If all goes well, a deadly and fierce attack can be launched when dawn breaks.

(End of this chapter)