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A violent storm mixed with rain fell on the rough sea. Four dilapidated wooden sailboats fled in all directions on the sea like panicked flies.
"Kaka", the fast-moving pirate ship made a sharp collision, followed by a violent shaking of the ship. Before the seven or eight pirates had time to react, they were thrown into the sea by the huge inertia caused by the shaking of the ship. .
The South China Sea is densely covered with rocks and the climate is changeable. When encountering severe weather such as storms, once you fall into the sea, there is almost no possibility of survival.
A wooden pirate ship ran aground and was damaged. Nearly one-third of the pirates on the ship were thrown into the sea by the storm and the shaking of the ship's hull. The remaining dozen pirates stayed cautiously on the severely damaged ship, not daring to risk their lives. Danger continues to run away.
The bad stormy weather hindered the pirates' escape and also caused a lot of trouble to the pursuing Chinese fleet.
There are a total of seven ships responsible for chasing pirates. Three of the wooden steamships were temporarily transferred out of the combat area due to their weak hull protection and unsuitability for fighting in stormy weather. The remaining four gunboats with a displacement of 760 tons were scattered. From the east and west directions, they continued to attack the pirate ships with the momentum of a pincer attack.
"Boom boom", two shells were fired from the violently shaking gunboat. However, due to the poor stability of the gunboat, it lost its aim and landed on a reef on the water, causing a burst of water and gravel.
"Captain, the sea is too windy and rough, brothers, it's difficult to aim and shoot!"
A gunner shouted loudly to the gunboat captain who was directing the operation.
"The pirate ship is less than fifty meters away from us. Two more rounds of volley fire will send them all to the bottom of the sea today!"
The black and white military uniform was completely soaked by the rain. A young captain ignored his own situation, stared into the distance with concentration, and shouted orders.
"yes!"
The gunner replied, grabbed the hat off his head, and quickly returned to the gun position to prepare for loading the shells.
The intense but not intense sea chase lasted for more than ten minutes. As the last wooden pirate ship was sunk by the patrol ship sent by Zhong Shao, there was only one stranded pirate ship left on the sea.
A gunboat was sent to capture the stranded pirate ship, and the other three gunboats slowly withdrew from the battle waters, and then merged with the escort fleet commanded by Zhong Shao.
"Brother Cao, who are these pirates?"
In the steam gunboat command room, Zhong Shao asked a dark-skinned young officer.
"They are a group of pirates under Wang Luoba."
The young officer said, "Nanyang Mining Company has a phosphate mining site on Taiping Island. This group of pirates borrowed the courage from nowhere. They gathered two to three hundred people and wanted to occupy Taiping Island. As a result, they attacked Taiping Island. At that time, we lost more than two-thirds of our men, and the remaining pirates took a few ships and fled south, and then fled to the Golden Shield Sands, where they happened to run into you."
"How is the situation of the phosphate mining field on Taiping Island? Has it been damaged by pirates?"
Taiping Island is only 1,289 meters long from east to west and only 366 meters wide from north to south, with a total area of 0.43 square kilometers. During a sea battle, the small Taiping Island is easily threatened and damaged by pirate gunfire.
"The phosphate mining site has suffered some losses. The mining company's technical workers are repairing the damaged areas of the mine. It is expected that it will take two weeks to adjust before normal mining production can be restored."
The Taiping Island phosphate mining site was attacked by pirates, and the young officer was inevitably responsible for the unfavorable defense, so he was in a bad mood. He said angrily, "The National Defense Forces and Nanyang pirates have always kept a close eye on each other. When they robbed foreign merchants, I turned a blind eye."
Let them pass with one eye.
But in the past month, these hard-working people have gained foreign wealth without knowing it. They have exchanged their guns for cannons one by one. Artillery is installed on the dilapidated sailing ships. They have become more and more courageous. They even dare to attack the territory of the National Defense Force. I think they
I’ve had enough of the leisurely life, and now I’m looking for death!”
The young officer was furious, and You Zi said in confusion, "Master Zhong, you are familiar with Master Mei and Master Wang. Can you report to these two adults to concentrate the naval power of the Nanyang National Defense Force to destroy Wang Luoba and his gang of pirates?"
"
"I will report the situation of the Nanyang pirates to the two adults, but Brother Cao shouldn't have too high hopes.
There are tens of thousands of large and small islands in the Southeast Asia. The British and Dutch have only occupied some important islands and areas. Many islands are still under the jurisdiction of local indigenous people and pirates. It will not be easy in the short term to uproot the Wang Luoba pirates who attacked Taiping Island.
possible."
The Nanyang region has a hot climate and complex geographical environment. The British appointed indigenous chiefs of the Malay Peninsula as administrators to manage local affairs and had limited control over the colonies. The Dutch and the British signed an agreement in 1871 to re-divide the areas between the two parties.
As a power in the Southeast Asia region, Britain gained colonial rights in North Borneo and control of the Strait of Malacca, while the Netherlands gained British recognition and the right to move freely in Sumatra.
There are many indigenous countries scattered on Sumatra. Among them, the religious country such as the Sultanate of Aceh has fertile land and a large number of citizens, making it very difficult to conquer.
In order to prevent other countries from intervening in Sumatra, the Dutch signed a treaty with the British two years later. In March 1873, they sent warships to invade Sumatra and occupied Palembang, Riau, Bengkulu and other sultanates at the end of the year.
At the beginning of the next year, the Dutch army occupied the capital of the Aceh Sultanate and captured the Aceh Sultan. Then the Netherlands announced that the entire Sumatra Island would be included in the scope of colonial rule. However, the occupation of Aceh and the capture of the Aceh Sultan did not mean the end of the war. In the Netherlands
On the second day after people entered Aceh, the Aceh soldiers and religious figures who were defeated in other areas supported the surviving Aceh royal family to inherit the sultanate and continued to fight against the Dutch.
The battle between the Sumatra rebel forces and the Dutch colonists continued until 1878 and still showed no signs of ending.
During the Aceh War, the Dutch were worried that Java, Borneo, Sulawesi and other islands would cooperate with the reactionary uprising of the indigenous forces in Sumatra, so they slowed down the pace of their invasion of Lanfang, Banana, Bali and other areas, allowing them to retain their internal independence.
power and military power, and at the same time implement a policy of co-opting pirate forces such as Chinese, Malays, Sulu, and Javanese who are mixed in the Southeast Asia region, and use the weapons owned by pirates
Efforts were made to blockade and suppress the resistance forces scattered on various islands.
The 6th Army of the National Defense Force is located in northern Annam, Songkhla, and Natuna Islands, and its strength is insufficient.
The precious maritime power is responsible for the safety of the immigrant fleet and cannot be concentrated to encircle and suppress pirates. Moreover, there are so many pirates in the Southeast Asia region. If the piracy problem cannot be solved at once, the escaped pirates are likely to attack the immigrant fleet in various sea areas, which will make the escort
The fleet was difficult to cope with.
Therefore, due to various factors, the Nanyang Force of the National Defense Force and pirates often maintain a cooperative or non-hostile relationship and do not interfere with each other's activities.
The Han Dynasty was busy preparing for war, and the Nanyang troops did not want to cause trouble, but some forces happened to target them with challenges at this time.