Nanyang Storm 1864

Chapter 382: The Situation Is Corrupted

During the Chinese New Year, local Chinese in populous towns such as Bulungan, Samarinda, Balikpapan, Banjarmasin, and Kapuas on Dutch Kalimantan held celebrations such as dragon and lion dances and land boat races to celebrate this traditional Chinese festival.

This undoubtedly touched the sensitive nerves of the Dutch, who immediately issued a decree prohibiting gatherings of more than 15 people and sent a large number of governors and white armed militias to expel and arrest people.

This naturally aroused strong resistance from the Chinese people, and dozens of conflicts of varying sizes broke out in southern Dutch Kalimantan, resulting in more than 170 casualties on both sides.

Nearly a thousand Chinese people were arrested and imprisoned as a result, which undoubtedly aroused great anger among the Chinese diaspora and led to continuous conflicts in many places.

This Spring Festival incident had a wide range of impact and caused serious casualties and property losses. The brutal suppression by the Dutch white colonists further intensified the conflict with the Chinese.

In just one month

In Dutch South Kalimantan, more than a dozen Chinese armed rebel forces emerged. Some of them carried the banner of the "Chinese Samarinda Clan Association", some carried the banner of the "Heaven and Earth Society Balikpapan Branch", and there were also miscellaneous resistance forces such as the "League for Freedom and Democracy", "Blood Flag Gang", "Chaoshan Association", "Zhejiang and Fujian Association", and "Four Seas Gang", which emerged like mushrooms after a rain.

Many Chinese organizations were confused, even Colonel Han Wenqin of the Fifth Department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, who led the incident, but he didn't care and was doing a large-scale arms reselling business.

The American-made muskets in the Chu State's reserve were sold through various Chinese channels at a price of 26 to 30 silver dollars each. In a short period of time, more than 7200 muskets were sold, making a huge profit.

This money was used to subsidize secret operations, making them even more powerful.

Today, Dutch Kalimantan is full of war. Chinese armed forces from all over the country are attacking white plantations, police stations and patrols with muskets, and the situation is rapidly deteriorating.

In just two weeks
572 white patrolmen, colonial officials and plantation owners were attacked, killed or injured, many areas were paralyzed, and a large number of white colonists fled.

The sound of gunfire everywhere caused great panic among the local white descendants. In just one and a half months, more than 8,000 white people left Kalimantan with their families to avoid this sudden storm.

This resulted in the number of white colonists in Dutch Kalimantan being reduced by half, and a large number of important coastal towns were lost. The colonial presence was only maintained in a few large towns such as Samarinda, Banjarmasin, and Balikpapan, and was already shaky.

Overseas, the Chinese community has always presented an image of being hardworking, docile and easy to control, especially since the Second Opium War, when the imperial court's control over local areas was much weaker than before.

With the intentional or unintentional promotion of the powers of various countries, Chinese workers have been migrating on a large scale around the world. The number of Chinese workers and the breadth of their territory are the largest in history.

From the Indochina Peninsula to the Southeast Asian countries, from North America to Central America, and extending to Peru, Bolivia, Chile, Paraguay, Brazil and other places in South America, there are Chinese immigrant groups of varying numbers engaged in hard and tiring work.

However, are the Chinese really so docile?
Haven’t you seen that the northern Shenzhou continent is full of wars and bandits? In the past two or three decades, tens of millions of people have died in wars.

The explosive deterioration of the situation in Dutch Kalimantan is due to the covert promotion and supply of weapons by those with ulterior motives, as well as their covert encouragement and encouragement. How could there not be chaos?

It’s not that the Chinese won’t resist, but once they start resisting, they can’t stop.

Especially in most important coastal towns, there are a large number of Chinese expatriates who can respond to a call. There are both action team members hiding in secret, Chinese gang members who take advantage of the situation to rob, and Chinese people at the bottom of society who are unwilling to be lonely.

Give it a try, maybe you will become rich from now on.

Within the borders of the nearby Chu State

There are countless stories about getting rich overnight through adventure and foreign colonization. They are widely circulated in society and naturally affect the neighboring Chinese communities, making people feel uneasy.

Others can do it, why can't I?

What's wrong?
It was under the influence of this speculative mentality that a large number of Chinese dock workers and lower-class coolies in coastal towns gathered together through various means and joined the ranks of resisting the white colonists.

Like a prairie fire, it spread rapidly from point to point and could not be stopped.

In response to this critical situation, the Governor-General of the Dutch East Indies in Batavia urgently negotiated with the British side in an attempt to gain support.

On the other hand, thousands of troops were assembled from Batavia, forming a mixed team of about 50 sailing ships, which marched towards Samarinda in a mighty force.

The British Far East Fleet also sent three sailing warships to participate, but they were stopped by an armored formation consisting of seven ironclad warships of the Chu State in the Wangjiaxi Strait.

The two sides are on the verge of a tense situation.

The Chu fleet took a very tough stance. Out of consideration for protecting the interests of overseas Chinese and based on the public commitment of the Governor-General of the Dutch East Indies not to resolve the conflict in Kalimantan through military suppression, it prevented the deployment of troops to the above-mentioned areas.

The British and Dutch fleet had a massive task force of more than 50 large sailing ships, but there were only 11 sailing warships in total, including three from the British Far East Fleet, and the rest were all sailing transport ships.

The Chu State's armored fleet had a total of 7 warships, all of which were 2300-ton ironclad steam warships. The huge black hulls were intimidating, and their combat effectiveness was self-evident.

On the Chu State flagship "Hengshan"

The military chiefs of Chu, Britain and the Netherlands held emergency consultations, and Major General George Hurst, Commander-in-Chief of the British Far East Fleet, served as a mediator and presided over the emergency consultations.

Vice Admiral Frankie van der Het, commander of the Dutch East Indies Fleet, looked very angry, waving his hands and shouting:

"Your country's unfriendly and hostile actions have substantially violated the territorial sovereignty of the Kingdom of the Netherlands and grossly interfered in the colonial affairs of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. This is no longer a simple diplomatic incident, but is pushing the situation towards war. You must bear all serious consequences."

Major General Nie Tongsheng, commander of the Chu armored formation, smiled slightly and said calmly:
"The actions of our fleet are merely to uphold the consensus reached between the two countries. You promised not to resolve colonial disputes through military suppression, but you are now openly violating that consensus.

If I remember correctly
This was a guarantee made by the British Governor-General Ted, and the Dutch side also made a public commitment.

But what is your fleet transporting?
Thousands of fully armed soldiers and a large amount of weapons and equipment, including no less than a hundred field artillery pieces, what are they trying to do?"

Vice Admiral Frankie van der Het of the Netherlands was stunned for a moment, then became even more angry and shouted:

"Nonsense, it's really hell.

The agreement between the two parties was based only on a consensus in peacetime, but what was happening in the colony now was a rebellion, and the Dutch Governor-General had the right to take any necessary military action to suppress it. This was a sacred right of the white colonists.

Your malicious actions are a gross offense to the Anglo-Dutch fleet and are unforgivable. Do you intend to provoke a war?"

Using the tiger's skin as a banner is what Dutch Vice Admiral Frankie van der Het is doing now.

As a veteran naval commander, he naturally knew that the so-called Anglo-Dutch task force was simply no match for the enemy's armored formation.

If war breaks out

No matter how fierce the waves seem to be, crashing against the rocks, the final result will inevitably be crushing to pieces. There can be no other outcome.

The only solution now was to cling to the British Royal Navy, using the British to intimidate these Orientals and force them to retreat. Dutch Vice Admiral Frankie van der Het used the Royal Fleet as a shield, constantly referring to the "Anglo-Dutch Combined Fleet" and constantly glancing at the British at the negotiating table.

Rear Admiral George Hurst, Commander-in-Chief of the British Far East Fleet, sat there like a clay sculpture or wooden statue, with a cold expression. He did not make any expression and seemed willing to be used by the Dutch.

Major General George Hearst was more cunning than Major General Harry Clark, who resigned in disgrace. He just sat there supporting the Dutch, neither speaking nor expressing anything, so naturally he would not make any mistakes.

As for what the Dutch general said, others can interpret it however they want.

Seeing that the other party was using the tiger's skin as a banner, Major General Nie Tongsheng couldn't help but smile contemptuously. He ignored the angry Dutchman and turned to Major General George Hearst and said:
"General Hurst, if I remember correctly, we fought each other in the Battle of Palawan four years ago."

This sentence

Major General George Hearst was immediately brought back to the war-torn years, and his expression when looking at Major General Nie Tongsheng became solemn, which was a respect for his heavyweight opponent.

In the Battle of Palawan, Major General George Hurst, commander of the 4th Battle Squadron, was escorting the British and French forces transiting East Malaya northward, but was attacked by the Chu Navy in Palawan.

The naval battle was extremely brutal, with blood dyeing the surrounding seas red. A large number of troop transport ships were destroyed in the sea, resulting in countless casualties. It has become an indelible nightmare for many British Royal Navy officers and soldiers.

The instigator was the sharp-looking Chinese general in front of him.

Invisibly

A feeling of timidity rose in Major General George Hearst's heart, but he quickly concealed it well.

Faced with such a ruthless man who killed the Anglo-French coalition forces as easily as cutting melons and vegetables, how could we threaten them with the Anglo-Dutch joint fleet? Wouldn't that be like dancing with a sword in front of Lu Ban's door?

A sense of enlightenment arose in his heart, and Major General George Hearst no longer pretended to be a clay Buddha like he had just been. He said with some emotion:
"So it's General Nie, with whom I once fought on the battlefield. I deeply admire the brave fighting spirit displayed by your navy. The British Royal Navy respects any powerful opponent, and this has never changed."

"I feel the same way. I have deep respect for the British Royal Navy, which has a long and glorious history, and I will not offend you in any way." Major General Nie Tongsheng said calmly.

He glanced at the Dutchman with disdain, then turned back and said seriously:

"Respected General Hurst, the Chu army's determination to execute orders is unshakable. Even if it means poking a hole in the sky, they will carry out orders from their superiors without hesitation.

This move is aimed at safeguarding the interests of overseas Chinese. The Chu State is as firm as a rock and will not make any concessions.

I believe General Hurst will not forget that the unprecedentedly brutal war four years ago was also caused by the same reason. Unfortunately, a war broke out.

Today, I hope that we won’t start another wrong war because of the wrong actions.”

After saying this, he stared at Major General George Hearst with sharp eyes, as aggressive as a knife blade.

Under such strong pressure, Major General George Hearst unsurprisingly retreated.

The British were just taking sides instead of standing up to help the Dutch take the blame. There is a fundamental difference between the two.

Originally, Governor Ord of the British Channel Governorate was quite annoyed with the Dutch. It was nothing, but they just made trouble.

Let the Chinese celebrate their festival, why do you have to suppress them?

In Singapore and Penang, Chinese people also celebrate the Lunar New Year with great enthusiasm. So what the hell?

From this point of view, shouldn't white people be allowed to celebrate Christmas?
This is simply absurd.

Knowing that the situation in Kalimantan is extremely tense, they still escalate the situation so brutally. Isn't that just looking for trouble?
If they had encountered a weak opponent, the British would have definitely changed their approach.

Unfortunately, the State of Chu was a difficult thorn to deal with and was particularly sensitive to the issue of overseas Chinese. This forced old colonizers such as Britain and France to take action to promote improvements and enhance the treatment of Chinese citizens in the colonies and give them corresponding respect.

This way, everyone can be happy.

The Dutch colonists did the opposite. Not only did they have many unequal bans before, but they also introduced the "Three Evil Laws" later, which further provoked the Chu people.

Therefore, before this trip, the British Governor of Ord repeatedly stressed that the confrontation must not be escalated.

If you can scare them, scare them. If you can't scare them, retreat. Don't rush to the front to take the blame for the Dutch.

Having done this, the British have done their utmost.

This is like a challenge between the two sides. The Dutch and the British grew up together, so there is no problem for them to help out and cheer.

But the kid from Chu State directly drew his knife. He really dared to go forward.

under these circumstances
The wisest thing to do is to give a few stern warnings, and then run away if the situation becomes bad. Do you really want to rush forward and get stabbed?

The reason why it was the British Far East Fleet that came forward this time was not the Third Battleship Fleet under the British Governor-General's Office of India.

This is because the Governor-General of British India has long been fed up with these trivial matters. His jurisdiction originally included the Indian Ocean, the Arabian Sea and the Red Sea, and did not include the South China Sea area.

The British Indian Governor-General's Office was unwilling to get involved in such a thankless task.

The only fleet under the jurisdiction of the British Channel Governor's Office was the Far East Fleet stationed in Hong Kong. Unfortunately, this was a small fleet with a total of only 8 sailing warships, and the only ones it could use were three larger sailing cruisers.

The other five ships are all single-masted sailing frigates. They are good for guarding the port, but forget about those long-distance sea battles to avoid embarrassment.

Thinking of this
Rear Admiral George Hurst, Commander-in-Chief of the British Far East Fleet, put on a fair look on his face, glanced at the Dutch and the Chu people, and said solemnly:

"The UK's original intention to maintain peace and stability in the South China Sea region will not change. Regardless of who is right or wrong on either side, you must not escalate the situation.

As a regional peace and stability advocate, the UK hopes to mediate the conflict between the two sides. Any irrational actions will not be supported."

Vice Admiral Frankie van der Het rolled his eyes after hearing this, and cursed all the female relatives of General Hurst in his heart.

When the fleet set out, the 2 pounds was wasted.

(End of this chapter)