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Siam, Ayutthaya.

King Palasai Dong was old and lifeless. He was willing to serve the emperor of China. Apart from traditional political inertia, another reason was that he was unwilling to make trouble.

"Father, the Chinese envoy sent someone to say that the governor of the Netherlands disrespected His Majesty the Emperor," said the little prince Nalai. "There is an idiom in the Han people, which is called the Lord Humiliates His Officials to Die, which means that when the monarch is insulted, a subject should die for the monarch. .Since China is my suzerain country, our country should take action. Please, father, expel the Dutch in Ayutthaya and Liukun immediately!"

Palasai Dong said: "You are too young to know how to govern the country. For China, it is enough to obey from afar. There is no need to harm your own interests for them."

Nalai retorted: "Our country's products are not only sold to the Dutch. Even if the Dutch are expelled, some of them will be bought by the Chinese. How can this be said to be detrimental to our own interests?"

The eldest prince Zhao Fa guessed, but he was a slippery guy. He smoothed things over with a smile: "The Chinese envoys just sent people over, asking us to help as much as possible. It is absolutely possible to send five hundred soldiers to Malacca at a leisurely pace. As for the Dutch in the country, Collect heavy taxes on the goods they buy, so that they can not only pay for China, but also take the opportunity to earn more gold and silver from the Dutch."

"This method is very good!" Palasay is very satisfied with the eldest son, thinking that he is very political.

"Father," Nalai said hastily, "we can't just look at our eyes. Toungoo (Myanmar) in the north is aggressive. If we try our best to help China this time, we will definitely gain the goodwill of the Chinese monarch and ministers, which means that China owes us a favor. In the future, if we Being invaded by Taungoo, our envoys request China's aid, and the Chinese emperor is definitely willing to send troops!"

Palasai Dong waved his hand and said, "I'll talk about the future, I'm going to rest, you guys step back."

Seeing that he couldn't persuade him, Nalai retreated and said: "Father, please appoint me as the general of the army, and take 500 soldiers to help China attack Malacca!"

Palasay Dong didn't care about it, and said: "You like to fight, then you go."

"Thank you father!" Nalai bowed and exited.

In the history of Thailand, there have been several "great emperors", and this little prince is the "King Narai" among them.

In another time and space, news of the fall of Yunnan and the escape of Emperor Yongli reached Siam, and King Nalai was preparing to welcome Emperor Yongli to take refuge.As a result, Emperor Yongli went to Siam's deadly enemy Toungoo, and King Narai was worried about his safety, so he personally led troops to the Thai-Myanmar border to act in camera.

King Nalai originally wanted Dongyu to release people to welcome Emperor Yongli to go south, but news of Emperor Yongli's death came.

In desperation, King Nalai led his troops back to the capital to offer sacrifices to Li Dingguo Temple, and held Buddhist ceremonies every year on the death days of Chongzhen and Yongli.

Later, the Manchu Qing forced Siam to surrender and ordered it to hand over the golden imperial edict bestowed by the Ming Dynasty and replace it with the golden imperial imperial edict bestowed by the Manchu Qing.King Nalai didn't dare to resist, and at the same time he didn't want to betray Daming, so he asked the craftsmen to hand over the imitation gold seal, and secretly hid the real one.

At this moment, Nalai, who was still the little prince, returned to his mansion and immediately summoned his two advisers and friends.

A good friend is a Han Chinese named Yang Dongkui.

One friend was a Greek named Constance Valcam.

Nalai said with a smile: "Mr. Yang has a clever plan. My father really does not agree to expel the Dutch, but allows me to lead troops to attack Malacca."

Yang Dongkui said: "To put it in a common saying, it is to ask for a lot of money and pay back the money when you land."

Constance Vulcan said: "Damn the Dutch, they have been occupying Malacca all the time. If they annoy China this time, they will definitely suffer a lot!"

"You two gentlemen, come with me." Nalai said.

Yang Dongkui cupped his hands and said: "It is of course my duty to help the mother country and the prince at this time."

Valkon is a Greek adventurer. He drew his sword and said, "It's been a long time since I've fought a war. I will use the Dutchman's skull as my adventure collection and bring it back to Europe!"

A few days later, Prince Narai took two advisers and led 500 soldiers to the south by boat.

Historically, his father would die of illness in a few years, and his elder brother was killed by his uncle to usurp power just after he took the throne. Prince Nalai led troops to kill his uncle and regain the throne.Within a year, Thailand had four kings.

During the reign of King Narai, Siam even sent missions to Europe for diplomatic visits, and was warmly received by King Louis XIV of France.

The two kings of the East and the West even became pen pals because of this, and the relationship between Thailand and France heated up rapidly.

At that time, the Netherlands was terrified and felt that its trade position in Siam was not guaranteed.Unexpectedly, the arrogant French took the initiative to send a big gift. The French fleet bombarded the port of Siam inexplicably, trying to do business with Siam as a conqueror, and the diplomatic achievements of the two kings were in vain.

King Narai's active and open trade policy also made many local businessmen and nobles dissatisfied.Taking advantage of King Narai's serious illness, his generals launched a rebellion and killed the Siamese royal family. Since then, Siam has closed its doors and quickly declined from its heyday.

The great emperor in the history of Thailand is inexplicably excited at this moment.

The father and elder brother told the army to move slowly, but Prince Narai urged the ship to speed up.When they arrived in Johor, the Sultan of Johor was still dawdling, saying that he was waiting for more coalition forces to join them.

"Soldiers are expensive, how can we wait any longer?" Prince Nalai was very unhappy.

After repeated urging, the Sultan of Johor finally ordered to set off.

Among the coalition forces, there were 3000 soldiers from Johor, 500 soldiers from Siam, 800 soldiers from Pahang, 400 soldiers from Da Ni, 450 soldiers from Dingjialu, and 280 soldiers from Suluoge.

There are many soldiers in Johor, the prince of Johor Iprasin is the commander in chief, and the generals of other countries are all deputy commanders.

Moreover, all Johor soldiers have arquebus guns, a total of three thousand arquebus soldiers!

On the other hand, on Prince Narai's side, there were only 150 arquebus soldiers, and the remaining 350 were armed with cold weapons.

……

The most northwestern tip of Sumatra Island, Kota Racha City (Banda Aceh).

This is the capital of the Aceh Sultanate. The navies of China and Banten are cruising back and forth in the Strait of Malacca, intercepting all Dutch merchant ships encountered in the attack.Their supply point is also close. If there is no fresh water, they will directly dock at the port of Johor, just like patrolling at the door of their house.

The coalition fleet broke into the capital port of Aceh, and the Aceh fleet fled in fright.

21 years ago, the Aceh State attacked Malacca and was completely annihilated by the Portuguese and Johor coalition forces.After recovering for so many years, I finally saved more than 30 offshore rowing boats. How dare I go head-to-head with the giant ships and cannons of the Datong Navy?

"Your Highness, please." Kuang Hong said with a smile.

Iskandar, the son of the Sultan of Pahang, landed at the pier as a special envoy and was invited all the way to the palace of Aceh.

After meeting the Sultan of Aceh, Iskandar actually said, "Uncle, I am here on behalf of China this time."

Dear uncle and nephew!

The Sultan of Aceh was the prince of Pahang.When the Aceh army attacked Johor, they also defeated Pahang and captured a prince of Pahang.

It just so happened that the prince of Pahang was the nephew of the Sultan of Aceh.After the death of the old sultan, he had no children, and the prince of Pahang became the king of Aceh from a prisoner inexplicably.

What about the country of Aceh?

Rich, warlike, making enemies everywhere, constantly expanding, and all surrounding countries are enemies, so they were forced to form an alliance with the Netherlands.

The Sultan of Aceh asked: "I didn't provoke China, why did the Chinese fleet come to the port of Aceh?"

Prince Pahang said: "Uncle, the Netherlands insulted the Chinese emperor, and you chose to form an alliance with the Netherlands. The Chinese envoy asked me to bring a message that Aceh must not interfere in this war. Once Aceh sends troops, it is tantamount to declaring war with China!" "

The Sultan of Aceh thought about it carefully, and said: "I will not send troops, Aceh remains neutral."

The Prince of Pahang also said: "It is not allowed to take the opportunity to invade Johor's territory in Sumatra, and not to take the opportunity to invade the country of Sumatra! Otherwise, Aceh will not only be attacked by China, but also by Johor, Pahang, Dani, and Siam. , Ding Jialu, Su Luoge, and the seven countries of Sumatra join forces to attack!"

The Sultan of Aceh couldn't help swallowing his saliva: "Everything will be discussed after China finishes fighting."

The coalition fleet went to Sumatra and picked up 300 soldiers from the country.Ever since, Kuang Hong, the envoy of the Honghe Temple, took the Seven-Nation Alliance Army to Malacca - counting the Chinese army, it should be the Eight-Nation Alliance Army.

Historically, Johann Neuhof, the author of "The Dutch Envoy's First Visit to China", was living in Malacca at this very moment.

He is a travel writer who likes to adventure around the world and write books about what he sees and hears.He was first employed by the Dutch West India Company to explore the tropical rainforest in Brazil, and later worked for the Dutch East India Company and was transferred to work in India. He was just transferred to Malacca not long ago.

Johann Neuhoff's greatest influence on Europe was to bring a "Chinese style" in the circle of European aristocrats.

European writers in the past, even if they wrote hype, they had no pictures and no truth.Neuhof, however, is still a painter. He drew Chinese architecture, clothing, and furniture, including the Dabaoen Temple in Nanjing. Europeans also learned its true colors through his sketches.

As Neuhof's books and paintings spread, European aristocrats liked to use silk to imitate Chinese clothing, and gentlemen and ladies wore Chinese costumes to hold parties and have fun.

At this moment, Neuhoff is recording everything in front of him:

"The city (Melaka) is huge and populated. Although the streets are wide and lined with trees, houses are densely built..."

"The center of the city is a hill with St. Paul's Church on the top, where the Dutch can worship. The churches and monasteries built by the Portuguese have collapsed. Most of the houses are built of bamboo, which can be preserved well in the dry season. Of course, there are also many stone houses. They are generally low, not very big, with only a few rooms..."

"The castle was built by the Portuguese. It is located at the foot of the mountain, facing the ocean, so that it can fight during the war. The castle is composed of a fortress and four walls facing the sea, and the mouth of the Malacca River in the south. During the nearly 130 years of Portuguese rule , the fortress is constantly being expanded, and the surrounding walls are also extended to the foot of St. Paul's Hill...it is being continuously expanded by the Dutch, and finally forms an irregular pentagonal bastion group..."

"There are people of different races living here, and the rulers are of course Dutch citizens. There are also Malays, Nyonya (mixed Chinese), Klings (Hindus) and Eurasians. Of course, Javanese, Guji Lats, Tamils, even people from places like Luzon and Brunei..."

"Every ethnic group has its own settlement, for example, the Dutch live in Helen Street and Jonker Street, the Chinese and Nyonya live in Goldmead Street, Earlsburg Street, and the Kling merchants live in Curry Street. , Javanese can only live in the outskirts of the city..."

"The division of residential areas is not determined by race, but by wealth and occupation. This is the most loosely managed of all the colonial cities in the Netherlands, none of them... rich Chinese and Nyonya, and those Klings Merchants, with extremely high block autonomy..."

"God! What did I see? A fleet is coming. It is composed of ships from many countries. They are holding the artillery of the castle and constantly shelling the castle of Malacca..."

"The city was noisy and chaotic, and shells fell into the neighborhood from time to time, destroying houses in the city..."

"The enemy landed with small boats. They entered the city and ordered all residents to evacuate to the port. Fortunately, I am an employee of the East India Company. I usually work and live in the castle..."

"Residents of all ethnic groups in the city have been evacuated by the enemy..."

"It's another day. I heard that the Chinese used grain and hired Malays in the suburbs as servants. These Malays are very cheap. A small bag of grain can send them to death. They are helping the enemy dig The trench... and our castle, defended by only 180 Dutch soldiers..."

Chapter 702 [Outrageous Johor Soldiers]

There are really only 180 Dutch defenders in Malacca, and this situation is normal.

It is outrageous that there are thousands of Dutch defenders in Taiwan.The reason is that there are often indigenous rebellions in Taiwan, and the local Han people in Taiwan are also very tough, which led to the Netherlands having to increase its garrison one after another.

Except for Batavia, in other colonial cities in the Netherlands, 80 people is the limit, and the remaining castles only have 50 people.

Think about how big the Netherlands is, with such a poor population, to colonize the world, there are still more than 1 merchant ships sailing, how many Dutch people are left?

The same is true for the UK, which has set up 28 offices in India, all of which have more than 90 employees...

"Chen Erxun, an overseas Han citizen, meet Angel!"

"Get up."

Chen Erxun is a Chinese leader in Malacca. He has been breeding here for 200 years. It is rare that he has not mixed blood yet.

Ordinary Chinese do not have this ability, at most one or two generations of mixed blood, and often marry Malay women as wives.This kind of mixed-race offspring, also known as Nyonya, is called Nyonya in full.

"Answer Nyonya".The mixed-race man is called Da Da (Baba), and the mixed-race woman is called Nyonya.

For Kuang Hong, an uninvited guest, Chen Erxun was actually very unwelcome.

Because the Han people in Malacca are mixed with Han people and have achieved a high degree of autonomy, they have not been discriminated against. Instead, they are the upper race here—second only to the Dutch.

This is what they fought for.

During the rule of the Malacca Sultanate, the Han people were oppressed.When the Portuguese came, the Han people not only provided the architectural drawings of the palace (castle), but also formed an army to help Portugal fight the war.

Later, Portugal also began to exploit the Han people, and the Han people in Malacca helped the Netherlands fight the war.

The Netherlands has ruled Malacca for less than ten years, and its strength is very weak. It has not had time to turn against the Han people. Instead, it has to rely on the Han people in all aspects.Therefore, the tax amount of the Han people here is very light, and the relationship with the Dutch colonists is very good.

For Chen Erxun, the Chinese leader in Malacca, the Chinese army is the real aggressor, breaking their beautiful and prosperous life!

Chen Erxun asked: "Master Angel wants to capture Malacca?"

Guang Kuanghong did not give the answer directly, but asked with a smile: "Otherwise, what should I bring the soldiers here for? Well, how many defenders are there?"

Chen Erxun secretly complained, but his arms couldn't twist his thighs, so he could only cooperate in order not to be implicated, and replied: "Less than two."

Kuang Hong's eyes lit up when he heard that, this guy was very young, and he was only thinking of making meritorious deeds, so he forced the Dutch governor to sign the contract, and after completing the mission of Emperor Zhao, he would still touch porcelain.He didn't intend to actually take Malacca, but if there are not many defenders, why not take it?

This is really a great achievement!

Moreover, due to the disastrous defeat of the Dutch fleet last year, although the number of warships has recovered, most of them are armed merchant ships temporarily recruited, and they dare not fight the Datong Navy at sea.

Such an opportunity must be seized!

Kuang Hong returned to the naval ship and discussed with the naval commander Hong Xu: "General Hong, I haven't fought much. There are less than 200 defenders in the castle. How can I defeat him?"

Hong Xu said: "I observed the castle with binoculars, and asked a few local people. There is no other way. The soldiers climbed around by boat, climbed up the city wall and killed them.

Malacca Castle is disgusting and was built by the Portuguese.

Built on the protruding part of the river's estuary, there are seas on the southeast, west and three sides, and a mountain on the north side.After more than 100 years of expansion by the Portuguese, the outer walls of the castle became longer and longer, directly connecting with the mountains.

If there are more than a thousand defenders inside, Hong Xu will definitely turn around and leave, and it is impossible for tens of thousands of troops to attack by force.

However, there are only more than 100 Dutch defenders, and they can't take care of the long outer city walls.

At least, the outer fortifications of the castle can be easily taken down.

"Then get ready to fight!" Kuang Hong said.

In the surrounding area of ​​Malacca, there is not much else, and the woods and bamboo forests are endless.The Dutch colonists even complained: Malacca’s land has nothing but jungles.

In fact, food was also grown here in the past. After the establishment of the Malacca Sultanate, marine trade was developed in an all-round way, regardless of the development of agriculture outside the city.Over time, agriculture has degraded, with fewer farmlands and more woods and swamps.

This situation became more apparent after the arrival of the Portuguese and Dutch colonists.

The Netherlands even only manages the urban area, handing over all the land outside the city to the landlords, and only collects a small symbolic agricultural tax every year.

Chen Erxun was a landlord (and businessman) who usually lived in the city and sent his slaves to the countryside to collect rent.He often laments that there are too few Han Chinese here, all of them are concentrated in the city, and the Malay natives don't know how to farm, so it would be a waste of land to be left unused.

Therefore, Malacca cannot produce its own food, and has to buy and ship it from other places every year.

The Malay natives gathered outside the city were sent by Kuang Hong to cut down trees at this moment, and the boundless forest was cut down casually.After the trees were cut back, the craftsmen in the city were asked to make siege equipment and a large number of disposable wooden boats.

Inside the castle.

Congressman Sanders muttered: "Will we have reinforcements?"

Army Commander Hendrick: "Even if there are reinforcements, I am afraid it will be difficult to defend until then."