The Australian Revolution of 1828

"Report..."

"Your Excellency, reinforcements of the red-haired devils have appeared from the rear, numbering approximately 5000. The station chief is currently in a standoff with them!"

The probing attack was proceeding in an orderly manner when more than 5000 reinforcements suddenly appeared from the flank and rear, forcing Wei Guochang to consider ending the battle and disengaging as soon as possible.

The 5000 reinforcements must have come from Lanfang.

While the Lanfang people were indeed not strong fighters, the fact that the probing troops were tied down by 5000 men meant that the "red-haired devils" would inevitably launch a counterattack. At that point, they would suffer a greater loss than gain.

Wei Guochang had to consider the overall situation, so he naturally dared not gamble his entire army on the fighting strength of the Lanfang people.

After careful consideration, it was decided to withdraw the troops. The order was given to the probing force: "Immediately disengage and move towards Station Chief Tang. After regrouping, retreat to the trading post."

The newly arrived red-haired devil reinforcements were still in a state of disarray and were unaware of the reasons for Wei Guochang's retreat. They did not dare to pursue him and remained on guard until all the probing troops had withdrawn.

After reuniting with Tang Boqian, Wei Guochang glanced at the Lanfang army facing off and flew into a rage, cursing, "Boqian, these Lanfang people are utterly stupid and beyond redemption."

The rescuer was none other than Liu Tai'er, the chief of staff of Lanfang.

Hearing Wei Guochang's unfriendly tone, he retorted, "Magistrate Wei, this is my Lanfang land. Please abide by Lanfang's rules."

"Otherwise, Lanfang will expel you all!"

After all, he was the lackey of the red-haired devil, so his actions were biased.

However, Wei Guochang did not take Liu Tai'er seriously. He said with a hint of warning, "General Liu, if you know what's good for you, then be a good general and don't interfere in the affairs of Xia and He."

"Otherwise, wiping you out would be as easy as crushing an ant!"

With 5000 troops at his back, Liu Tai'er was full of confidence and said, "Wei Guochang, your guns and cannons are indeed powerful, but don't forget where your army's food comes from."

"With just one order, I can cut off your food supply in a matter of minutes. You may have guns and cannons, but what can you do to me!"

To be honest, food supplies are indeed a weakness of trading posts, determining the outcome of a war. Given the current situation, Liu Tai'er certainly has the ability to cut off the food supply to the trading posts.

Although Chen Qi'en betrayed Liu Tai'er and intended to provide grain to the trading post, there was still a layer between them, and he was not directly controlled by the Xia Kingdom, so it was difficult to guarantee that the grain supply would not have any problems.

If Chen Qi'en chooses to wait and see, the Lanfang Trading Station will be in a stalemate.

They wanted to deal with Liu Tai'er as well and completely control the situation, but they were worried that they didn't have enough troops and would provoke hostility from the Lanfang chieftain, thus getting caught up in fighting on two fronts.

Taking into account the situation in Lanfang, Wei Guochang ultimately decided not to back down, saying, "Chief Liu, things may change, we'll see."

After retreating from the Red-haired Devil's camp at Laoputou to the Xinputou trading station, Wei Guochang reported the findings of the probe, saying, "Although this probe was not entirely successful, we still gained quite a bit."

"The newly arrived red-haired devil reinforcements have not yet fully delivered their artillery, and their firepower is obviously insufficient. A rough estimate is that they have 18 32-pound cannons and 32 24-pound cannons."

"While the enemy is still establishing themselves, we can launch a surprise attack and drive the red-haired devil out of the old shop."

If it weren't for Lanfang and Liu Tai'er's obstruction, this strategy would have been feasible. Unfortunately, some people were unwilling to see the "Red-haired Devil" disappear and insisted on supporting him, completely eliminating the possibility of Wei Guochang's surprise attack.

In response, Tang Boqian expressed his thoughts, saying, "The biggest problem now is that General Liu Tai'er of Lanfang has completely sided with the red devils, making us hesitant to act rashly."

"Once the red-haired devils are fully prepared, I'm afraid Liu Tai'er will cut off our food supply."

Cheng Wenzhuo, who was also involved in the discussion, was unwilling and said, "Liu Tai'er is a fool, it's not difficult to deal with him, the difficulty is that Liu Tai'er and the red-haired devil have joined forces."

"Our army is still too small to fight on two fronts and deal with the complex situation in Lanfang."

"If Hanyang could send a fresh force, and recruit Lanfang soldiers, it would be possible to contend with the combined forces of Liu Tai'er and the Red-haired Devil."

With the other Lanfang chieftains sitting back and watching the fight unfold, the reinforcements from Hanyang were crucial and determined the outcome.

Wei Guochang, who was in charge of the Lanfang campaign, naturally wanted reinforcements, but the troops stationed in various places already had their missions. He said, "Don't count on reinforcements. The Xunyang Garrison Commander is heading north to deter the Machen, Makassar and other areas, and is holding back the colonial troops in the south."

"Moreover, the navy also has an important mission: to try to cut off the communication between merchant ships in Java and Borneo. They are temporarily unable to come to Lanfang's aid, so we have to rely on ourselves."

"His Majesty has now granted me the power to make decisions on an ad hoc basis, hoping to use Lanfang's strength to reverse the current situation."

"I can ask Hanyang for weapons and equipment, but the troops must be replenished from Lanfang."

In response to the Lanfang crisis, the Xia Kingdom mobilized its troops in various directions, attempting to prevent Dutch reinforcements from reaching Lanfang from three directions.

Firstly, in the direction of Java, by providing military equipment to the Yogyakarta prince, the Dutch colonial army was tied down;

Secondly, in the directions of Machen and Makassar, the Xunyang Garrison Command made full preparations, threatening the two places and forcing the colonial army to postpone the rescue.

Thirdly, the navy deployed troops to the waters off Java and Borneo to strike merchant ships heading to Lanfang, preventing the continuous influx of Dutch munitions into Lanfang.

Wei Guochang received the report from Hanyang and naturally knew the details, so he informed the two men of the truth.

When Tang Boqian and Cheng Wenzhuo learned that there were no reinforcements and that Lanfang would have to do a great deal of work, they readily agreed, saying, "Your Excellency, Lanfang has many poor people, and recruiting soldiers has been very successful, but we lack weapons."

"If we have sufficient weapons, Generals Liu and Tai are no threat!"

Wei Guochang, who was in charge of the Lanfang campaign, had to find a way to solve the weapons problem. He said, "Zhaoyang County still has a batch of reserve weapons. I will order someone to transport them over right away."

"Weapons have landed; immediately begin training the new recruits."

"They only need to hold off Liu Tai'er. As for the newly reinforced red-haired devils, they can be dealt with by the Zhaoyang County garrison and the armed forces of the trading station."

Once the latest tactics were determined, the orders were quickly relayed down and implemented. Recruitment at the trading post progressed very smoothly before the weapons even arrived in Pontianak.

According to the military pay standards in Hanyang, a new recruit received 8 silver dollars. In the event of war, he would receive an additional 5 silver dollars per month as a war allowance.

Those wounded in the war would receive a one-time subsidy of 180 silver dollars to ensure their basic livelihood.

The Chinese in Lanfang already had a hard life, suffering double exploitation from both Lanfang and the Dutch. The fact that Xia Guo could offer them this treatment was something they simply couldn't even dream of.

Once the recruitment notice was issued, applicants flocked to respond.

In just two days, nearly 8000 people were recruited, which can be said to have exceeded the target.

The 8000-strong force comprised almost all the young and able-bodied men from various sectors of the Pontianak region. Wei Guochang didn't actually want these men to go to war; he simply wanted to use them to hinder Liu Tai'er's military campaign.

After the weapons from Zhaoyang County were transported here, the trading post organized relevant training to prepare for the upcoming war.