Luo Bei nodded, as if he had made up his mind, and spoke.
"Commander Raymond, can you go to the Ming army camp outside the city on my behalf and discuss the surrender terms of Batavia City with the Ming people?"
Raymond ignored the wine bottle that fell on the ground and Luo Bei's body smelling of alcohol, bowed and said.
"Honored!"
Because after he was released by the Ming Dynasty, Raymond knew that the city of Batavia would never be defended.
Surrender may be the best choice!
Luo Bei opened his mouth again and proposed the corresponding surrender conditions he envisioned.
"First, the Ming Dynasty must ensure the life safety and legitimate rights and interests of all Dutch people in Batavia!"
"Second, we must ensure the Dutch East India Company's trade routes in the East. We can give up the colonies, but not trade."
"Third, try your best to protect Malacca!"
Although Luo Bei also felt that Daming might not be able to agree to all his requests, especially the last one.
After all, that was Malacca, the most important route connecting east-west trade, which can be called a golden waterway.
Whoever controls Malacca will control the trade between the East and the West. Who is willing to give up?
But he still wants to give it a try!
Raymond nodded in agreement and then left Luo Bei's study.
After waiting for the others to leave, Luo Beizhi felt the alcohol coming to him and lay down on the sofa and fell into a deep sleep.
…
Outside the city of Batavia, the rebels accelerated their march after learning the news of the Ming Dynasty's army landing.
However, they had only reached the halfway point when the Ming Dynasty captured the fort at Batavia Port, and news came again that the main force had landed.
Everyone felt a great surprise!
"Haha, great, really great!"
"My Ming Dynasty Master is so powerful!"
"To conquer six forts in half a day, only I, the Royal Master of the Celestial Dynasty, can do it!"
"..."
The leaders of the rebel army gathered together and discussed the performance of the Ming army.
Li Weida also tied his beard on his chest and said.
"The Ming Dynasty is about to regain Batavia. It is really a great blessing for the people of the Ming Dynasty like us!"
"The next battle should be about conquering Batavia City!"
Everyone also nodded.
As the Ming Dynasty's army removed the Dutch forts in the port, they landed at Batavia Port.
Together with these rebels, they captured all the Dutch cities and towns in Batavia.
Now that the Dutch are in Batavia, there is only one Batavia city.
"Quick, everyone speed up the march, so that we can go together to see His Highness the Supervisor later!"
“I’d like to take credit for everyone!”
Li Weida said hello.
A request to see His Royal Highness Jian Guo made the rebel army feel as if they were all pumped up, and their marching speed suddenly accelerated.
…
The next day, the sky brightened!
The Ming army continued to land all night long. The vanguard troops built camps for the army and buried pots to make rice.
It wasn't until dawn that the Ming army's large forces had almost completed their landing!
Zhu Hongyu and Zheng Chenggong also set foot on Batavia for the first time.
Surrounded by a group of personal guards, Zhu Hongyu stood at the port and looked at the Batavia Castle in the distance.
As well as the densely packed shops, streets, urban buildings, etc. outside the bastion.
He opened his mouth and said.
"The Dutch East India Company did a pretty good job in developing Batavia!"
"Our Ming Dynasty's occupation of this land is equivalent to directly taking over a mature land. We can directly set up a place under the jurisdiction of the state capital and collect taxes."
“Save the process of expansion and development!”
Zheng Chenggong also mentioned Malacca on the sidelines.
"The Dutch East India Company blocked the transportation artery of Malacca. It conducted East-West trade every year and made more than tens of millions of profits."
"When the Ming Dynasty captures Malacca, we will be able to generate tens of millions more in annual income. There is hope for revival!"
Zhu Hongyu also nodded.
"Malacca must be in the hands of my Ming Dynasty!"
The Dutch's monopoly on East-West trade relied on their control of the Strait of Malacca.
When it comes to trade between the East and the West, Malacca is a point that cannot be avoided no matter what!
But for the Ming Dynasty, what was more important was that as long as Malacca could be controlled, it would be equivalent to turning Nanyang into the Ming Dynasty's back garden.
The foreign trade of the Nanyang countries will be monopolized by the Ming Dynasty!
Apart from these, there are gains in population!
In the years between the Ming and Qing Dynasties, a large number of people went to Southeast Asia to escape the war.
Either go to Annan, Siam and other vassal states, or go to Batavia or Manila and other places.
It is conservatively estimated that the entire Nanyang has a population of one to two million Han people!
As long as Nanyang can be controlled, it can almost double the number of Han people controlled by the Ming Dynasty!
As we all know, during a war, the population is approximately equal to the war potential!
For Zhu Hongyu, the more people under his control, the better.
Zhu Hongyu said to Zheng Chenggong beside him.
"Old Taishan, how about coming with me to the Dutch fort?"
Zheng Chenggong nodded and said.
"Listen to His Highness!"
After saying this, the two of them headed for the fort built by the Dutch in Batavia Harbor, one after the other.
Zhu Hongyu personally boarded the fort, inspected the fort's defense, and stood on the fort to look around.
Zhu Hongyu touched the forty-eight-pound cannon next to him, with a barrel thicker than his waist, and said with a sigh.
"If the Dutch forts were not open-air, my Ming Dynasty would have won this battle, but it would not be that simple!"
The Dutch chose the location of the fort very well and built the fortifications quite solidly.
The main body of the building is made of rammed earth-coated bricks, and there are sandbags in front of the gun emplacement as a bunker. The emplacements of the fort can form cross fire with each other.
If the Dutch's fort was an open-air fort, it would have almost no defensive effect against explosive shells.
It was not an easy task for the Ming army to conquer the fort and complete the landing this time.
I'm afraid I have to pay a heavy price to do it!
Zhu Hongyu patted the cannon beside him and said.
"The Dutch chose the position of the fort very well, with a wide line of sight, and the artillery's firing range can almost cover the entire port area."
"It would be a shame if all these forts were abandoned!"
"Invite the Fifth Army Commander-in-Chief to come up with a corresponding fort reconstruction plan!"
Wang Ruxian on the side quickly agreed, took out a small notebook, and recorded Zhu Hongyu's order.
Zhu Hongyu continued.
"The quality of the Dutch artillery is quite good, but it happens to be used directly on the modified fort!"
"The Ming Dynasty needs to recast cannons for this fort!"
Zhu Hongyu, who came down from the fort, led a team to inspect the military camp and express condolences to the soldiers.
The morale of the Ming army, which had been low due to the cross-sea expedition and being far away from their homeland, quickly recovered.
The Ming army has regained its high morale!
While Zhu Hongyu arranged for the Ming army to continue to camp, he also arranged for scouts to investigate the specific city defense situation of Batavia City and let the staff formulate a combat plan.
Then someone came to report to Zhu Hongyu.
"Your Highness, the leader of the Chinese rebel army in Batavia wants to see you!"
Zhu Hongyu pondered for a while, and then spoke.
"Take people to the big tent, Gu Gu will be there soon."
…
Li Weida, Liu Chuan and others were invited into the big tent, and soldiers served them tea.
They drank tea and waited patiently for Zhu Hongyu to be received.
Without letting them wait long, Zhu Hongyu opened the curtain from the outside and strode into the big tent.