The sea breeze gently blew his turban, but Sultan Hasanuddin remained motionless like a god of war. Behind him were eight thousand warriors.
Recently, he was in a great mood. Not only did he retake Makassar and restore the Gowa Kingdom, he also conquered the Toala people in the west, pushing the territory to a new height. As a wise king, he naturally knew how to kill snakes.
The truth is that if you don't die, you will be bitten by a snake, so you only want to take advantage of the main expedition of Batavia to capture this great city. Unfortunately, his navy has been destroyed before, and it will take time to rebuild the navy.
This outstanding commander started shipbuilding in all the domestic shipyards, and at the same time wanted to ask the Ming Dynasty for some old ships. In his heart, the Ming Emperor was a generous monarch. At that time, he only wanted equipment for three thousand people, but he did not expect that the Ming Emperor
With a stroke of his pen, His Majesty actually gave seven thousand. It should be nothing to ask for some old ships.
Unexpectedly, the newly arrived Governor Fubo of the Ming Dynasty was extremely stingy. If he wanted a boat, there was no way. If he wanted to buy a boat, he could. Moreover, not only boats, but also all other materials were clearly marked with prices, and no one could deceive him. The experience of the Gowa country
Due to the war, the treasury was empty, and it was impossible to buy many ships. Such a delay delayed the attack on Batavia.
Things are changing. I thought I would lose this opportunity to attack Batavia. However, Ma Fubo changed his mind again and not only gave me 500 muskets for free, but also agreed to send the navy to help me transport troops across the sea.
Expedition to Sumba Island and conquered Ana and Kalang, vassals of the East India Company.
This battle plan was drawn up by him. A direct attack on Batavia would be too dangerous for the Gowa Kingdom, which lacks naval power. Once defeated, the entire army would be easily annihilated. It would be better to eliminate the pro-Dutch forces bit by bit and grow stronger at the same time.
His own strength. He called this tactic "tree-cutting", first cutting off the branches and then the trunk.
The clever Sultan deliberately chose to take action during the sacrifices of Ana and Kalang, catching the two tribes off guard.
"Your Highness, King Kalang is dead, and King Ana was captured alive by our army. He killed 500 enemy soldiers and captured 3,000 enemy soldiers and 30,000 civilians. How should we deal with these prisoners?" Pratogu, his beloved general, said respectfully.
Questions from the ground.
Hasanuddin's murderous intent flashed across his face. Among the Dutch army that destroyed Gowa, there were many mercenaries from these two countries. He wanted to massacre them to vent his anger, but then he thought about it. If he wanted to be the leader of the region, he had to have a broad space.
mind.
He said calmly: "Release the people of the two countries and send officials to govern them. As for the three thousand prisoners of war, they will be incorporated into our army and serve as human shields for the siege."
"Yes, Your Highness." When Palato Gu saw that the Sultan had not issued a military order for the massacre, he was even more respectful. Your Highness's mind is really as broad as the ocean!
"Send someone with my letter to Bali Island and tell King Denpasar to either join my army or be annihilated by me," Hasanuddin said loudly, with a look of arrogance on the world between his brows.
"Yes, Your Highness!"
The Denpasar Kingdom is a long-standing princely state on Bali Island and a vassal state of the East India Company. Although it shares the same cultural beliefs as the Gowa Kingdom, it is afraid of the East India Company's ships and artillery, and has been silently shouldering the responsibility of the vassal state.
The character never dares to resist.
After receiving Hasanuddin's letter, the King of Denpasar fell into fear and was in a dilemma. If you don't listen to the Gowa people, they will destroy you; if you listen to the Gowa people, the Dutch are not easy to mess with!
"How big is Gowa's army?" he asked his trusted minister.
"Originally, there were more than eight thousand. After the destruction of Ana and Kalang, the armies of the two countries were annexed. Now the number is about eleven thousand," the minister replied respectfully.
"Eleven thousand! How can we defeat this?"
The King of Denpasar sighed and said, "Tell Sultan Hasanuddin that I am willing to join his army."
Gowa's army entered Bali Island and was warmly welcomed by King Denpasar. Joined by two thousand Denpasar troops, his army reached thirteen thousand and approached Batavia.
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At dawn, the city gate of Gubang Fort opened. Businessmen, fishermen, and craftsmen waiting to enter the city lined up in a long line and entered slowly. The early bird gets to eat first, and the hard-working Papuans and Malays are here.
The castle brings vitality.
As the most important commercial port in West Timor, Kupang is full of vitality. Back then, when the East India Company took away the power of the king of Kupang, the people also rose up to resist, but for decades, they could only be obedient citizens.
.
On the city wall, a few Dutch soldiers were talking and laughing, pointing at the people entering the city, and whistling enthusiastically when they met a beautiful girl.
"No! Portuguese! Close the gate quickly," a veteran shouted in horror, and blue and white flags appeared outside the city wall.
With the support of the Ming Dynasty, although Orne led the Portuguese descendants to establish the Kingdom of Timor, he still used the blue and white flag of the Portuguese royal family. The crown and shield on the flag were particularly conspicuous.
"Boom~Boom~Boom~"
"Bah~bah~bah~"
With the arrival of the indigenous Portuguese troops, the battle for Kupang began.
After more than ten days of hard fighting, King Olney still failed to capture this strong city, so he changed the siege into a siege, divided his troops and went north, captured Semao Island on the other side of the city, and controlled the Lodi Strait.
The urgent document flew towards Batavia like snowflakes.
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Governor Matsolko was no longer in a good mood for tea. He knew in his heart that although he wanted to hold on to Batavia and wait for the main force to return victoriously from Manlakar, if the company's peripheral strongholds and vassal states were allowed to be
Defeat them one by one, Batavia will eventually be unable to hold.
At this moment, we can only place our hope in the bravery of our subordinates.
Admiral Spearman set out with nineteen battleships and two thousand soldiers. His mission was to defeat the Gowa army on Bali Island.
The governor himself once again hosted a banquet for the Ming Dynasty envoy Guo Lin. This time, the shrewd Matsolko made a concession: he recognized the Ming Dynasty's interests in Fubo Island and admitted that Ambon Island belonged to the Ming Dynasty, but on the tax rate issue
Still refusing to give in, the mercantile East India Company valued commercial profits more than territory.
After secretly lamenting the reality of the governor, Guo Lin secretly wrote a letter to Ma Jixiang, believing that Batavia's army still had considerable strength and it was not appropriate for the Ming Dynasty to directly confront them.
Sultan Hasanuddin was very depressed. After taking Bali Island, the Ming Dynasty's navy returned to Fubo Island in the name of replenishing supplies. He could only rely on his own navy to fight alone. Although after the restoration of the country, through various means
More than a hundred galleys were obtained, but most of them were small boats, far behind the Dutch navy.
Fortunately, the King of Denpasar provided more than 30 galleys, and also obtained more than 20 galleys from the Ana and Kalang countries, which can be regarded as strengthening one's own naval strength.
He was not stupid enough to confront Batavia at sea. Instead, while strengthening the defense of Bali Island, he wrote letters to the local kings controlled by Batavia in various places, hoping that they would respond to his military action.