New Shun 1730

On the road from Batavia to the volcanic area, twenty Dashun soldiers escorted a military attaché and were heading towards the volcanic area.

Also following were two people from the Dutch company, twelve Bugis mercenary cavalry, and four indigenous Burianan Indonesian nobles who went to negotiate. The iconic Indonesian sword can be clearly seen on the waist.

This military attache wore a blue-gray official uniform embroidered with bear embroidery, a three-beam crown on his head, and two brass Taixing 15th-year-style flintlock pistols on his waist belt. It was a hot day. There is also a rolled-up, blue-striped woolen cloak on the horse's back.

If you were in the capital, just by looking at this outfit, the musket on your waist, and the felt cloak on your horse, you would know that this person must have been from Jinghai Palace. Either a fifth- or sixth-grade staff officer who serves as a staff officer in the Privy Council, or a foreign attaché in the newly-established Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

This group of people, in name only, were Shi Shiyong. He said that the Celestial Empire still had some bad feelings in the hearts of these Chinese people. Now that Emperor Renyi wanted to guarantee the immigrants, it was these people who were asked to persuade them to surrender.

Of course, the Dutch side readily agreed: if it succeeds, it will be a good thing; if it does not succeed, it will be even better if the rebels kill Dashun officials.

After all, the emperor's special envoy characterized him as "killing fishermen and killing families, and forcing the people to rebel". If he really wanted to destroy him, he would at least have to be on the same page with Dashun to prevent Dashun from taking the opportunity to cause trouble.

The Dutch felt that the Chinese seemed to respect their emperor or court. At least from the perspective of Batavia, the Chinese in the city still had some trust in their court.

So two company employees were sent to follow. Dashun hired some Bugis cavalry at his own expense to follow them. Four local indigenous nobles also went to talk to the rebels about returning their property in Bogor.

But in fact, Shi Shiyong sent these people to deliver guns, war horses, "news" and exchanges with the rebels.

The official who led the team was from Jinghai Palace. He thought it was a pity along the way, "It would be outrageous to dismantle a few cannons from the ship and send them away to persuade them to surrender." He couldn't help but feel a little sad.

Forty horses and forty spears are better than nothing.

The person who took the lead here used a pseudonym. The official knew that he was probably his classmate, but he didn't know who this "Niu Er" was.

Along the way, he thought about what Shi Shiyong told him. He thought that Mr. Shi was indeed an undercover agent in Japan for many years. He was really professional in this kind of thing.

Naturally, it was impossible for Shi Shiyong to come in person. He had to convene the Chinese in Batavia, read out the court's policies, and stabilize people's hearts.

After all, for the court, the biggest use of the group of people who started the uprising was to pull away the most rebellious group of people, so as not to get mixed up with the slave laborers and cause further trouble in the migration to Ceylon. Shi Shiyong stood on the court's side and had to distinguish between priorities.

When the forty people were approaching the mountainous area, they saw some villages that had been captured by the rebels. The people in these village communities looked at this small group of troops, mostly Chinese, and were neither panicked nor afraid. Although they did not do anything like eating pots of pulp, the official knew what was going on.

No objection, at least it proves that the brothers who started the rebellion can stand firm here.

Not long after leaving the village, I saw someone in the woods opposite holding out a musket and shouting in Fujian Mandarin: "Across the way, what do you do? It seems to me that you are also from the Tang Dynasty?"

After announcing their names in an official tone, the officials here shouted: "We are all from the Celestial Dynasty. I have something to do and want to see your leader. You go and report it, and I will wait here. Only those sent by the imperial court people."

The person on the other side scolded directly: "Why, the recruitment came to Java? The Dutch are going to kill us and the court doesn't care. Damn it, I just pulled the lever to start trouble, and the court immediately sent people to recruit. What a bullshit court." ?”

The guarding soldiers didn't know what was going on, and were about to dismount. The official waved his hand to signal not to be impulsive, but just cursed: "You are only a few people, and you dare to talk about recruiting people? The imperial army has millions of soldiers, not hundreds of thousands, how can you be qualified to recruit people?" Don’t talk nonsense, just tell your leader that I have something important to discuss!”

After saying that, he asked the soldiers to be on alert quickly, retreated to an open space with not many woods, and set up a alert.

The two East India Company employees who followed saw that Dashun's soldiers were well-trained, and they secretly remembered it in their hearts so that they could go back and repeat it.

It took a long time before a team appeared in the distance. Most of them had Chinese faces and most of them spoke Fujian Mandarin.

After all, China still has some face, and of course it may be the simple friendship between compatriots.

If this were the Dutch, they wouldn't be talking so much nonsense, and they would have shot him a long time ago.

After waiting for Niu Er to show up, the military attache who came here to deliver the gun took a look and realized that he was indeed an acquaintance. It turned out to be you, but he used such a nickname.

But it was difficult to recognize each other at this time, so he got off his horse and pretended to say: "Are they Niu, Huang, Lian and other leaders on the other side?"

Niu Er also recognized his classmates, raised his hands and said, "That's Niu Er, this is Huang Ban, this is Lian Huai Guan, what do you want?"

"Listen, the emperor has heard about the remnants of the Celestial Empire in Bacheng, and has now agreed with the Dutch that His Majesty will pay the poll tax for you for three years from his own funds, in order to find a way to make a living within three years. The Imperial Envoy also said that you are just hunting for fishermen and forcing the people to rebel. If you lay down your weapons, they will not harm you at all. You will be sent to work in Ceylon and other places to make a living. "

The imperial court had no intention of recruiting this group of people, it was just a formality.

This group of people is obviously a group of stubborn people with "rebellion behind their heads". Are they allowed to go to Ceylon to work again, suffer twice, and suffer twice? How could I agree?

Sure enough, there was little reaction from the crowd to this news.

Some people even directly scolded: "Go to hell. Even if the court is a guarantee, going to Ceylon to work is a narrow escape. I only worked in the sugar factory for a year and almost died. Is it possible that life will be easier if I go to Ceylon?"

"That is, Zhu Yuanzhang was nothing more than a beggar and conquered the world with a broken bowl. He Li Zicheng could rebel and become emperor. Why can't we follow suit and do great things in Java? Why go to Ceylon to work for others and be exhausted? Tired work?"

"My mother, the red-haired ghost is not a good bird. How can the court give money to the red-haired ghost? When I almost starved to death in Zhangzhou Prefecture, I didn't see any relief from the court, so I had to go to Nanyang to work to pay off the debt. . The imperial court is here to appease the red-haired ghost, what the hell!”

When the uprising first broke out, Niu Er deliberately dragged away the most rebellious group of people. He was afraid that these people would stand up and take those who could still tolerate it and revolt together, thus damaging the court's order. Big plan.

Naturally, these people are also stubborn and lack enough respect for the imperial court. Compared with the attitude of Lian Fuguang and others in Batavia City, it is not the slightest bit worse.

Huang Ban and others felt that there was nothing wrong with what they said, and that was exactly what they thought.

Niu Er was frightened after hearing this.

Outside the system, he is extremely arrogant and thinks that he can swallow thousands of miles like a tiger. Give him a few years and he will be able to dominate Java.

But within the system, he is a piece of shit. A group of sixth- and seventh-grade petty officials in the Privy Council. If they randomly meet someone in the capital, they may have more official power and family background than them. If they say the wrong thing and lose their heads, they need a sharp-edged petty official.

Huang Ban and others are the Monkey King who is making trouble in the Heavenly Palace at this time. He is also Bima Wen with a tight curse.

How dare you say something like, "Li Zicheng can rebel and become emperor, why can't we do anything big?"

Fortunately, the classmate on the opposite side came to the rescue and said: "How dare you! How can you mention Taizu's name? Since you are outside the king's body, I won't pursue it for now. Are you determined to become thieves and bandits here?" I can tell you, there is no such store after passing this village.”

The rebels had experienced the collusion between corrupt officials and gentry in Fujian, they had also experienced the beatings of fellow sugar factory owners, and they had also experienced the brutal methods of the Dutch.

After going through everything, it is useless to speak only of the benevolence and righteousness of an emperor.

Niu Er was afraid that the situation would be out of control, and also wanted to know what the court meant, so he said: "This is not the place to talk. If you have the courage, take off your weapons temporarily and come with me. If you don't have the courage, please go back. ! For the sake of you and I both speaking Chinese, if not, we would have beaten him with one shot!"

The Privy Council thought, "Brother, I'm here to give you horses and muskets. What a wonderful way to answer your words."

"I'm full of courage. Not to mention that the black hole ahead is the lair of thieves like you, it's the dragon's pond and the tiger's den. I can go there myself. What's so scary about it?"

After that, he took off the two beautiful flint short guns from his waist, threw them aside, and walked straight towards Niu Er.

It was also the first time for these rebels to see such courage among court officials. Although it was unclear whether they were friends or foes, they admired them and shouted one after another: "What a good man! He has some guts!"

The remaining soldiers also obeyed the order, unloaded their guns, and handed over their muskets and powder bags to the insurrectionists.

The Bugis cavalry hired with money naturally obeyed their employers and dismounted, but the swords on their bodies were not taught.

Although the employees of the two Dutch companies were also afraid, they saw that the officials here in Dashun were not afraid. Perhaps these rebellious Chinese did not dare to harm them, so they followed them into the mountainous area.

Up the mountain, the Privy Council official had also learned the art of rebellion without knowing it.

Knowing that the current situation on the mountain is complicated and there are many factions, we must not have a separate meeting at this time. To avoid internal suspicion among the perpetrators.

Then he said: "I also heard about your name in Bacheng. The leaders might as well talk to me and let's talk openly. The Dutch also listened. They also understand some Chinese, and the imperial court is the guarantee. Let’s talk together.”

Niu Er did not agree directly, but went back to discuss with several leaders and asked their opinions to show respect.

Huang Ban said: "In that case, it doesn't hurt to listen. This man is somewhat courageous. Although he is from the government, he is also a man. Whether it can be done or not, let's talk about it after listening."

Seeing no one objected, he invited these people into the house.

He stretched out his hand to make a gesture of invitation. According to the rules of the Celestial Empire, the official divided the guests and guests and sat down. He said directly: "Several leaders, I might as well speak to you clearly. Now that the emperor is thinking of the hardship of the people here, he has paid for it. There is a poll tax. But there is a saying that it is better to help the poor than to help the poor. The imperial court still hopes that the people of Nanyang will have the means to make a living. "

"Nowadays, many people from Batavia, Tammu, Semarang and other places have decided to work in Ceylon."

It seems to be talking about the court's policies and benevolence.

In fact, he was telling Niu Er not to go north.

Most of the people from the north who were most likely to participate in the uprising were shipped to Ceylon.

The rest are either small traders or big wealthy businessmen, and their foothold there is no longer stable. There is no thing called "mass base" in the Weihai classroom - of course, during the lecture, they were talking about Emperor Dashunzu moving to Henan. , How to make wise and correct decisions.

Niu Er naturally understood. He turned around and looked at Huang Ban and the others without saying anything.

Huang Ban felt sad and sighed, thinking that these people in the imperial court had mistaken me for such a big deal for our brothers. Now it seems that it is no longer possible to go north?

The court's words allowed the insurgents who were divided among themselves to reunite and make up their minds to take root here instead of thinking about going north or even crossing the sea to Borneo.

The Privy Council official said again: "I heard in Bacheng that you all use British muskets? The British have a castle in Bengkulu across the strait in the west. But do you think that even if the British East India Company really They smuggled along the south coast and brought you guns and cannons..."

"Do you think you can fight a war just by having guns and cannons? Is it so easy to train and train troops?"

"Even though the Dutch are busy with immigration, statistics, and stability maintenance recently, they may not be able to attack within a year. But after a year, they will definitely mobilize heavy troops to come. How do you have any chance of winning?"

"You want to take advantage of the chaos to attack Cirebon and other places. The Dutch have troops stationed there. How can you capture the castle? As long as you don't pursue it, disperse everywhere and hold on to the fortress until the immigration is over. When the Dutch The people's army has been mobilized, do you have any chance of winning?"

The two Dutchmen who followed couldn't hear anything wrong in this. They just thought it was a good idea. They told the facts and made sense. They told them that stubborn resistance would lead to death, so it was better to surrender.

Niu Er was also overjoyed. What he lacked now was the information after the court came forward.

With these words, he clearly understood that this was telling him that the imperial court was now putting pressure on the Netherlands, forcing the Dutch to distract their energy from immigration and would not send troops to encircle and suppress them.

At the same time, his classmate brother also reminded him that at this time, he should take the initiative to attack Cirebon and just pretend to attack.

We are currently dealing with the immigration matter. The Dutch are extremely afraid of big troubles during the immigration wave. If they dare to "take advantage of the chaos to attack Cirebon" at this time, the Dutch will not dare to gather their troops in one place and can only compete with the Chinese everywhere. Many places are strictly guarded to maintain order.

By using advance as retreat and attack as defense, we can gain one year.

For a year, this was where Niu Er was reminded to train and train troops.

As for weapons and ammunition, let me not make it clearer: You just have to practice, and the guns and artillery will be bought from the East India Company through entrustment and delivered to you. The southern coastline is so long that once immigration begins, the Dutch will not have so much energy to patrol the south.

Outsiders didn't understand what was really being said and thought it was a threat.

Niu Er understood, so he responded: "Is there any chance of winning, hum...then you don't need to worry about it. I will fight a few more battles and get a thousand guns and three to five cannons. I won't let the Dutch Put it on the letter."

"Soldiers will block it, and water will cover it with earth. There is a lot of sulfur here. Although there is a lack of saltpeter, I have learned how to raise saltpeter. I have my own means for a long-term plan."

He was requesting support from the imperial court, hoping to support more than a thousand guns and several cannons. It would be best if there were barrels of gunpowder. If not, a batch of saltpeter would be fine.

The other side has made it clear that "there may be smuggling ships from the East India Company delivering arms" on the southern coast. It seems that arms will be delivered soon, and they will still be British goods.

The two sides didn't seem to be talking to each other, but they actually understood each other's situation.

The military attaché stood up, slapped the table and said, "Does that mean you are determined?"

"right!"

"Aren't you afraid of death?"

"Don't be afraid! Everyone is destined to die. What about the country of death?"

"I can tell you that once the Dutch attack in large numbers, there will be one or two thousand people. Do you think you can defeat them?"

"Even if you die, brothers will never do slave labor again."

The military attaché said angrily: "You are stubborn! You are seeking your own death! In that case, there is no point in saying anything. Since you are determined to go to the end, the court will not care about you in the future! Farewell!"

"Wait!"

Niu Er stood up, but did not see him off. He said in a cold voice: "Brother, I will keep these horses and guns for this trip. I will treat them as borrowed ones. When we succeed in the future, we will pay back double the amount! I will give them to you." Write an IOU!"

The military attaché pretended to be angry and said, "How dare you!"

After that, he rolled up his sleeves and was about to rush forward and put it right, but a group of people rushed in and held the military attache down. Someone put a gun on his head and shouted: "Don't move, I'll kill you if you move."

The two Dutch company employees who followed were trembling with fear. They thought that this group of people would have some respect for the Chinese court, but they turned out to be a group of complete rebels with no faith and no respect for the nobility or the emperor. !

Niu Er wrote an IOU, then looked at the two company employees, and hummed: "The two countries are at war, Bu Zhan is here to envoy! Get lost! Go back and tell your governor, unless you agree to the terms of our program Conditions, otherwise don’t think about recruiting. We will never surrender, get out!”

While talking, he pretended to hand the IOU to his classmate and friend, and took the opportunity to shake his hand with the courtesy of the military in Weihai.

Just shake it and release it, and everything will be done without saying a word.