Persian Empire 1845

Chapter 215 Request
The next day at dawn, the people of Dongwanlu and Pontianak clearly sensed something was wrong. The entire city was under the control of the bearded man, and posters issued by Luo Yuanhan, the Grand Commander of Lanfang, were plastered throughout the streets and alleys, calling on all Chinese and Borneo people to rise up and drive the Dutch out.

Lanfang changed overnight, catching everyone off guard. Lanfang then announced the formation of an army and began launching attacks in various locations.

The Dutch stationed in southern Kalimantan were bewildered. What was going on? They had been under Dutch control for years, so how did a new government suddenly appear?
However, the Dutch garrison in Kalimantan was small, and their rule over the region was essentially British rule over the Indian maharajas. As long as Dutch suzerainty was acknowledged, the rights of these chieftains and sultans were preserved.

It wasn't until five days after the events that Governor Bahu of Batavia received news of the Lanfang uprising. Meanwhile, the Dutch hadn't made any changes to their deployment in Kalimantan; the situation was too sudden, and no one wanted to die without a commander-in-chief.

"What exactly happened? Why did such a big thing happen so soon after our people left?"

Bahu berated his subordinates, but how could they possibly know that it was best to send troops immediately?

“Governor, we should still send troops north now. If they succeed, Chinese people everywhere will rise up in rebellion, which will be very disadvantageous for us.”

“I know that we need to have Parker lead the army to take Pontianak directly and report to His Majesty the King. We may encounter some difficulties and hope that he can provide us with support.”

Bahu made the quickest decision: he planned to suppress the Lanfang uprising by force and, incidentally, bring the area under direct control under the guise of rebellion.

During his time in West Borneo, Lanfang actively contacted Chinese forces unwilling to submit to the Dutch, including the remnants of the Dagang and San Tiao Gou companies. They agreed to join Lanfang, first to drive out the Dutch, and then discuss other matters.

Then, the Lanfang army, armed with "old muskets" found in a warehouse, pushing cannons salvaged from the water, and eating canned food found in the manor, began to advance south to create a buffer zone. They confiscated the property of Liu Asheng and others—good heavens, a million taels of silver alone, not to mention other valuables.

And since it was a company, it had shares. Luo Yuanhan mortgaged 52% of the shares of Lanfang Gold Company and obtained £100 million, which was equivalent to 400 million taels of silver. This money was used to purchase weapons and hire mercenaries.

The Dutch navy in the East Indies began to operate, bombarding Chinese merchant ships leaving Kalimantan in an attempt to cut off their trade.

But this approach quickly ran into trouble when they "accidentally" shelled a merchant ship flying the Iranian flag. This turned into a diplomatic incident.

Although the Iranian navy is not particularly strong, it still has some resources. Its newly formed Far East Fleet includes the 1750-ton Darius warship, five 1350-ton warships, and other auxiliary vessels. While the Netherlands might not seem like a major threat, what if they were to fight back? And what if they were a powerful nation?

As expected, the Iranian-controlled Saigon government declared this a declaration of war against Iran, and Iranian representatives had already spoken vehemently with the Governor-General in Batavia.

“Your Excellency, this is an insult to the Shah and the entire Iranian nation. Your navy’s shelling of our merchant ships in the open sea must be explained reasonably, otherwise our two countries will be at war.”

This was a huge mess, but Governor Bahoo wasn't willing to accept it so easily; he wanted to try. "Our country regrets this situation. Rest assured, I will launch an investigation. What are your government's demands?" "We have two demands. First, hand over the perpetrators who shelled the merchant ships for trial in Iran, and compensate the merchants for their losses."

Upon hearing Iran's request, the governor breathed a sigh of relief. This was simple, as long as it didn't involve matters concerning the colonies.

The second demand is more difficult: "In order to prevent such a situation from happening again, our country demands that the Dutch government navy withdraw from the waters off Kalimantan and cease shelling."

“This is impossible,” the governor blurted out. “Please understand, there is a small group of Chinese in Kalimantan who are plotting a rebellion. In order to quell them, our country has no choice but to take this measure. If there are any losses, Batavia will negotiate compensation.”

"Rebellion? Is the governor referring to Lanfang?"

Upon hearing this, Bahu nodded naturally in agreement. Then he watched as the representative magically produced a document.

"Then this matter is probably not so simple. This is the document that the newly appointed President of Lanfang, Luo Yuanhan, has joined our country. From now on, Lanfang is a part of our country."

Bahu snatched it away, staring at the words on it in disbelief. He understood; it all made sense now. The Iranians were just looking for an excuse; their target was Lanfang.

“Your Excellency, you are not mistaken. Lanfang is now a territory of our country. I have brought a map with me so that you can see it clearly.”

As he spoke, the representative opened a map of Kalimantan, and the governor nearly fainted from anger. What is this?
He remembered that Lanfang's territory only extended to the northern part of Kunjiang. How could it also include the southern part? He acknowledged that there used to be a Chinese regime there, but they had all been wiped out. How could these places be included?

Governor Bahu suppressed his anger and pointed to the gate, saying, "Please leave. Our country will not recognize such a situation."

The representative wasn't angry. "Let the battlefield decide," he said.

After he left, the governor smashed everything in the mansion. At the same time, he began to appeal to the king for help, sending urgent letters.

At this point, however, the Netherlands was losing public opinion. Iranian newspapers were filled with reports of the Dutch sinking Iranian merchant ships, and the entire nation was outraged, demanding war on the Netherlands. Meanwhile, Iranians in Europe were also spreading the story, claiming that the Dutch had done it intentionally to seize their colonies.

The propaganda in Britain was even more powerful, with a conspiracy theory emerging: the Netherlands was doing this to seize the Iranian colonies. After taking over Iran, they would turn their attention to the British Straits Settlements and Burma, eventually conquering all of India. This sounded too far-fetched, and government officials were skeptical, but the public believed it nonetheless. Their patriotism was ignited, demanding that Parliament decide to defend their Straits Settlements. Most of these people didn't have voting rights, but they still influenced Parliament; after all, losing a seat by a single vote would be a significant loss.

(End of this chapter)