Nanyang Storm 1864

Chapter 383: Have another child while you are still young.

The British have two faces in front of the strong and the weak, and Vice Admiral Frankie van der Het has deeply tasted the bitter taste of this.

The two fleets confronted each other on the sea for two full days. In the afternoon of the second day, Major General George Hurst of the British Far East Fleet actually led three British ships away under the pretext of replenishing supplies.

This instantly angered Frankie van der Het and his naval admirals, who broke down and started cursing the British for being untrustworthy, calling them a bunch of scum who were disloyal and utter bastards.

No matter how much you curse, the current deadlock still needs to be resolved.

When the Chu armored fleet refused to give in, the Dutch task force had no choice but to retreat and returned to the port of Batavia in disgrace, becoming a laughing stock for a while.

Encouraged by this incident, more than a dozen local Chinese armed forces in Kalimantan launched a concentrated siege on cities inhabited by Dutch whites, such as Samarinda, Balikpapan and Banjarmasin, like a shot of chicken blood.

For a while, there was heavy gunfire on the island and the situation became critical.

On March 1872, 3, several strong fortresses of the white colonists in Balikpapan were breached. The Chinese armed forces, celebrating their victory, dragged the bodies of the white colonists and celebrated their victory on the streets.

Stimulated by this incident, the remaining descendants of white colonists left Kalimantan by boat.

In just over two weeks, more than 5,000 white colonists and their families were lost again. Most of the huge Dutch Kalimantan colony had been occupied by local Chinese armed forces, who began to implement Chinese autonomy.

Countless white plantations were divided up, and towns and villages were filled with proud Chinese armed forces. Many newly emerging Chinese armed forces started fighting again in order to compete for interests.

January 4st

The municipal council building located in the core of Banjarmasin was breached, and most of the 271 white policemen, soldiers and armed militiamen entrenched inside were killed in the battle, with only more than 30 people injured and captured.

At this point, Samarinda was the only city left in Kalimantan still struggling to hold on, and its final fall was not far away.

On the night of April 4, more than a thousand fully armed white soldiers suddenly disembarked from the British cargo ship that arrived at the port in the evening two weeks before and after, and launched a counterattack against the Chinese armed forces that besieged Samarinda.

Suddenly, there was a burst of gunfire. The Chinese armed forces were caught off guard and attacked from both sides. After leaving behind hundreds of corpses, they had to retreat in a hurry.

The Dutch military stronghold, which had been besieged for a month and a half, was completely broken. More than 1,100 white women and children quickly left the encirclement and boarded several British ships to retreat.

These more than a thousand white soldiers carried a large amount of weapons, ammunition and food, entered the Samarinda Fortress and held their ground, vowing never to give up.

This change
This made Governor Zheng Guoguang, who had been quietly pushing for changes in the regional situation behind the scenes, furious. He immediately mobilized some armed militia and arrived in Samarinda by boat overnight, determined to capture this last Dutch fortress as soon as possible.

At that time, the Chu government was under tremendous pressure from Britain, France and other powers. The British attitude was: "Enough, stop this damn thing!"

The French side's attitude was: "France does not want the situation in the South China Sea to slide into a dangerous war. The situation in the South China Sea is almost out of control, and the Chu State bears an unshirkable responsibility for this."

The US's attitude is: "America is watching with concern as the situation develops in a bad direction. The Chu State allows the Chinese to spread. This is not good news for anyone."

The attitude of Tsarist Russia is: "We are closely watching the development of the South China Sea. There is no doubt that we will witness a change in history."

Germany's attitude is: "The rising Chu State in Southeast Asia is working hard to defend the legitimate interests of its overseas Chinese. This is a new development in the regional situation and we will continue to pay attention."

The attitude of the Northern Divine Land was: "The overseas remnants refuse to submit to the king's rule. For a tiny nation to indulge in war and aggression is not the way of benevolence and virtue."

The Japanese had no say in the development of such a major regional event, but this did not stop a group of ambitious Imperial Way elite officials from paying close attention in the fifth year of the Meiji era, revealing uncontrollable envy, jealousy, and resentment.

In a letter to Lieutenant General Kuroda Kiyotaka, Okubo Toshimichi, who promoted the "Restoration of Imperial Rule", said:

"Fusang's future path should be to 'leave Asia and join Europe', introduce Western culture and advanced technology to improve national politics, strengthen its foundation, and embark on the path of foreign colonization to strengthen the country.

Just like the example of the Chu State in Southeast Asia today, it reaped rich rewards through continuous efforts of external expansion and colonization from its initial territory of more than 30 square kilometers.

In just a few years, it has developed to an area of ​​more than 180 million square kilometers, almost six times the size of Fuso (note: excluding the Ryukyu Islands), and is now a major power in the South China Sea.

Almost all of the fertile land in Indochina and Southeast Asia was acquired by European powers or the Han people.

Whenever I think about this, I often feel that I am unlucky and far behind others, and a sense of urgency arises spontaneously.

Our Yamato people are trapped in a corner of the Fuso Islands. Our land is small and poor, making it difficult for us to become a great power. External expansion and colonization are the only way to become a strong and prosperous country.

Unfortunately, if you take one step slower, every step will be slower..."

The overseas Chinese turmoil that occurred in Kalimantan did not affect the relatively open and increasingly prosperous business trade in the Nanyang region, and on the surface it seemed to have little impact.

essentially

It has already attracted widespread attention from European powers and people in neighboring countries, and their vigilance and precautions against Chu have been raised to a new level, which is also expected.

Today, the State of Chu can be ranked among the powerful countries in Southeast Asia in terms of size, population, economy and military strength, and it is one of the top ones.

The value of trade with Europe alone is more than 200 million silver dollars each year, and it is mainly based on a large trade surplus, making it a regional trading power.

It makes people jealous and envious, but helpless.

The war between Britain and France four years ago demonstrated the prestige of Chu State and its international status as a third-rate power. No one dared to underestimate Chu State anymore.

Otherwise, the lucrative crude oil trade alone would be enough to prompt the great powers such as Britain, France, Germany and Russia to take action.

The Chu State was not easy to defeat 4 years ago, and 4 years later, its strength had more than doubled, making it even harder to defeat.

A 16-ton "Huashan" class ironclad fleet of ships has been formed. Coupled with the Chu State's well-developed coastal defense fortress and artillery facilities, and its thriving external expansion momentum, it has been upgraded from a vicious wolf to a ferocious tiger.

It was precisely because of its hard power that the British and French powers were wary of it and did not publicly challenge or send troops to punish it on the issue of Kalimantan.

But the same
The Chu State's small moves could not be hidden from those who were interested. It was always testing the edge of the high-voltage line of the British and French powers, and strong international pressure always existed.

The Kingdom of the Netherlands was different from the Kingdom of Spain in that it had no support. Queen Isabella II of the Kingdom of Spain was so licentious that she even ruined her own throne and fled to France to save her life.

Moreover, the Spaniards are incompatible with the religious beliefs, language and culture of Western European countries such as Britain and France. Since the Middle Ages, they have been at war frequently and attacked each other. They are not the same kind of people at all.

King William III of the Netherlands was a European royal of the same era as Queen Victoria of England. Not only were they familiar with each other, but the courts of the two countries also had a very deep marriage relationship and a very close relationship.

The Dutch royal family did not watch the East Indian colonies get out of control, but actively traveled between London and Paris, using the influence of the Dutch royal family to call for the formation of a European coalition to intervene.

This should never have happened. Germany and France, the two major European powers, are in a standoff. The strategic environment is extremely severe and there is no room for distraction.

After the defeat, France was patriotic and the whole country was mobilized to repay the war reparations to Germany. They were determined to win a comeback and ignored the words of the Dutch.

Facing a powerful enemy, the French people's eyes were bloodshot. At the beginning of last year, German Emperor Wilhelm I was crowned on the throne at the Elysee Palace. That was a stab in the heart of the proud French rooster, and the wound has not healed yet.

Nowadays, the French are obsessed with Germans, Germans, Germans...

Everything else is just empty talk. At this time the Dutch said: We have been bullied by the Orientals in Southeast Asia. Everyone, let’s help fight back and get our place back. We are all white people!
The French glared at me and said, "Fuck you! What did I get kicked in the face by the Germans? I didn't even hear you fart. Get out of here!"

Although the Germans won the Franco-Prussian War, they did not expect the French to be so angry. They were like sharpening their knives at home every day, and their mood was at their throats.

After the victory of the war, instead of disarmament, the army was expanded.

German Chancellor Bismarck ordered his special envoys to go to St. Petersburg of Tsarist Russia and Vienna of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, trying to win over the people and make promises, determined to find two good helpers for himself.

This time

Secret envoys from Germany, Russia and Austria-Hungary are traveling back and forth, holding close consultations on the preparations for the "Triple Alliance" in an effort to reach a consensus and form a continental power that dominates Europe.

The British were watching the developments in Europe with great nervousness. Waves of diplomatic envoys departed from London and were all circling around major European cities. Beneath the calm situation, there were undercurrents.

If you have nothing to do, it's okay to help the Dutch bully some weaklings.

What time is it now?
Just as the power of the European continent was gradually taking shape, the isolated London government was complaining bitterly. It had released the uncontrollable monster of Germany with its own hands and was now trying desperately to find a way to contain it.

I heard that the situation in Nanyang was getting worse, and the London government, which was now busy with its mouth, had no time to care about it. Its immediate reaction was: I am so bored, why would I mess with that poor and arrogant guy?

The United Kingdom has a title called "Arbitrator of World Affairs" or "European Troublemaker", which more or less reflects the reality of the European political ecology in the 19th century.

That is

There is almost no European affair in which the British do not intervene. No matter how big or small, there will always be a British presence.

At this critical juncture when power on the European continent is being reshaped, the British cannot be absent in any way. Not only can they not be absent, but they must be deeply involved and lead or push the European situation in the direction that the British would like to see.

Based on this fundamental need

The power of the British mainland army and the Royal Navy cannot be dispersed at all, which means that the British Empire’s voice is no joke.

The Dutch hoped that British military forces would intervene. The British Army had more than 1 soldiers, and the Royal Navy's Home Fleet had more than 3 large ironclad warships. If one-third of them could be withdrawn, it would be enough to settle the South China Sea incident.

But the problem is
Once the UK uses its domestic military forces or mobilizes the Royal Navy, a power vacuum will inevitably appear in Europe, and its strategic deterrent will be greatly reduced.

Going to the Far East is not a fun thing. It takes at least half a year. If the war is intense, it will be a long time before you can return to your homeland.

Not to mention leaving for half a year, even if you leave for a month, the situation in Europe will undergo new changes.

After all
The threshold for war in today's era is too low. The fuse of the Franco-Prussian War was the leak of a secret telegram from German Chancellor Bismarck, which aroused the anger of French Emperor Napoleon III and led to the outbreak of war.

With the current situation where they are sharpening their knives against each other, who knows when the fight will break out again?

As a neighbor of Germany and France across the Channel, if Britain came over wearing heavy armor and holding a long sword to mediate, every word it said would definitely carry weight.

If he was wearing a silk robe, and instead of holding the sword in his hand, he was holding a feather duster, could he persuade the two strong men who were glaring at each other?
Precisely because of the reasons mentioned above, when Chinese expatriates in the South China Sea, thousands of miles away, staged a rights protection riot, the Governor-General of the Dutch East Indies strangely calmed down after the confrontation and took no further action.

The sudden action on April 4th also used British merchant ships to evacuate white women and children, and at the same time sent some troops to hold on and maintain the last military presence.

Invisibly, this was the greatest effort the Governor-General of the Dutch East Indies could take.

This is because
The Chu ironclad fleet has blocked the Makassar Strait on the pretext of "preventing escalation of conflict", and the Dutch fleet and supply ships can no longer enter.

Why did the Chu State's ironclad fleet blockade the Makassar Strait so brutally?

The reasons are very sufficient. The Sulawesi Islands on the east side of the Makassar Strait belong to the Chu State. In order to maintain regional security and prevent the situation from escalating, is it wrong to take necessary military measures?

The subtext is: being weak is the original sin, and we will bully you without any negotiation.

Even the British accepted this kind of bandit logic, giving a few fake warnings and then nothing else.

obviously

The British Channel Governor's Office did not want to get deeply involved in the muddy waters of Mandan affairs at home. After all, it was the powerful strength of the Chu State that was at work.

Dutch: Uh-huh... The Chu people are too arrogant. They stole my eldest daughter, Shangri-La Island, and then occupied my second daughter, Sulawesi Island. Now they have their eyes on my most beautiful daughter, Kalimantan Island, and they want to take even this daughter away...

British: This is too much. They keep taking advantage of others. When will it stop?
Dutch: Please help me, British uncle!

Englishman: Ahem, that poor, arrogant guy from Chu State, why bother messing with him? I've already warned him not to covet your old home, Java Island, or that son-in-law's island of Sumatra.

Dutch: What about this girl from Kalimantan?

British: To be honest, you are also responsible for this matter. It’s okay, why did you provoke the State of Chu? Now you are in trouble, right?

Dutch: Sir, you can’t just stand by and watch someone die.

British: Sir, I really can’t spare the time, so why don’t I have another child while I’m still young?

(End of this chapter)