Southern Ming Rebel Army

Chapter 634: Nanyang Finalization

Hearing Opdam's words, Ruhansuige seemed to lose some of his anger. He slumped down in his chair and after a long while, he asked, "Commander, how many troops are there in the inner castle now?"

Opdam glanced at the governor, then shook his head and said, "I don't know. I'll go and take inventory now."

After Opdam finished speaking, Ru Hansuige did not respond and continued to sit there slumped. Opdam sighed, then got up and left. Although the situation was very bad, he still had to find something to do, otherwise his wild thoughts would drive him crazy.

After Opdam left, Ruhansug sighed, he knew that he would be the last governor of Batavia.

When Opdam returned again, his eyes were somewhat dull. When questioned by Ruhansuige, Opdam said dejectedly: "Governor, there are only about 1,100 soldiers left in the inner fort. We have to say that the war has been lost. The food is all outside. Even if we hold on, we won't be able to hold on for long."

Among European countries, surrendering after losing a war was not a shame but a very normal thing.

Ru Hansuige and Opdam looked at each other and knew what the other meant. They had already failed. For the lives of the soldiers, the only thing they could do now was to negotiate with the Qian army.

However, Ru Hansui was worried that if the time dragged on for too long, the inner fortress would be breached and they would all become prisoners, and then they would no longer have the qualifications or conditions to negotiate with the other side.

Therefore, Ru Hansuige urgently sent people out of the fort to try to negotiate with Zheng Chenggong.

The messenger crossed the battlefield carefully, and when facing the Qian army scouts, he explained the reason. Then, under the escort of the scouts, the messenger came to the Qian army camp.

When Zheng Chenggong heard that the Dutch in the inner castle had sent an envoy, he laughed and then ordered someone to bring the envoy in.

Zheng Chenggong sat upright in the tent, casually looking at the Dutch envoy in front of him.

The envoy bowed slightly and said in not very fluent Chinese: "Dear General, I am an envoy sent by the Governor of Batavia. This war has lasted too long. For the sake of peace, we hope to negotiate with you."

Zheng Chenggong sneered and said, "You want to negotiate now? As long as I am willing, I can break through the Batavia Fort today. What qualifications do you have to negotiate with me?"

The messenger showed an embarrassed look on his face and said quickly: "General, calm down. The Governor is very eager to avoid more unnecessary bloodshed and sacrifice. For this, we are willing to pay the price."

Zheng Chenggong thought for a moment, then shook his head and said, "You guys can retreat to the inner fort, but the food is outside. Even if I surround it but don't attack, the fort will collapse on its own. I will not negotiate with you. You don't need to say any conditions or any price."

At this point, Zheng Chenggong stared at the envoy and said in a serious tone: "You only have one choice, everyone must lay down your weapons and surrender, then you still have a chance to survive!"

When the envoy heard this, his face turned very ugly: "General, this condition is too harsh. I'm afraid the governor will find it difficult to accept it."

Zheng Chenggong waved his hand and said, "If you want to surrender, then surrender. If you don't want to surrender, then surrender. This king will only give you two hours. If you surrender after this hour, you will die!"

Zheng Chenggong then signaled his men to drive the envoy out of the camp. After hearing what Zheng Chenggong said, the envoy felt a little frightened. He was also afraid that Zheng Chenggong's threat would become a reality.

So the envoy almost crawled back to the inner fort. As soon as he got back, he told the Governor Ru Han Sui Ge about his conversation with Zheng Chenggong in detail.

Ru Han Suige knew that the army had no will to fight, and the inner fort was running out of food and grass. Moreover, given the army's current condition, the ground forces could not break out. Even if they succeeded in breaking out, they could not escape without warships.

Ru Hansuige sighed: "Whether you agree or not, it can't change the outcome. For the lives of the soldiers, I am willing to give up my honor."

Therefore, Ru Hansuige sent another envoy to the Qian army camp to express his willingness to accept unconditional surrender.

When Zheng Chenggong learned about this, he laughed out loud. He thought that once Batavia was captured, it would be easy to capture Malacca using it as a base.

With Ru Hansui's surrender, Zheng Chenggong ordered the warship to take Ru Hansui to Malacca Port and ordered him to order the port defenders to surrender.

At this time in the port of Malacca, the Dutch force had become extremely weak, with only four old warships and several warships converted from merchant ships, and the army was even smaller, with only more than 400 people.

Even with more troops in Batavia Fort, they could not stop Qian's army. The small number of troops in Malacca Port was simply not enough to compete with Qian's army. Moreover, now with the governor's order, surrender became a natural thing.

At this point, the strategic goals proposed by Meng Jun were personally implemented by Zheng Chenggong. Although there were some twists and turns along the way, fortunately the final outcome was smooth.

Zheng Chenggong wrote an urgent letter to Meng Jun, saying that Malacca and Batavia had already returned to the hands of the court. At the same time, in the memorial, Zheng Chenggong said that Batavia was the name of the barbarians and was not in line with the system of the Central Plains. Therefore, he requested the emperor to change the name of Batavia.

However, although Zheng Chenggong uprooted the Dutch East India Company's influence in Southeast Asia, the only places that the Qian Dynasty could actually control in these two places were the ports and fortresses built by the barbarians.

As for the large amount of land in the periphery, it is still in the hands of many local tribes, and this will take time to gradually and imperceptibly change the situation. Of course, as long as the power of the Yi people disappears from Southeast Asia, sooner or later, these lands will be naturalized into the hands of the Qian Dynasty.

Meng Jun, who had just finished his southern tour, had not yet arrived in the capital when he received the news that Zheng Chenggong had captured Batavia and forced a landing at the port of Malacca. Meng Jun was very happy to hear the news.

Malacca is both the entrance to the Indian Ocean and the passage to the South Seas. Merchant ships from the East and the West pass through the Strait of Malacca in an endless stream. Although there are other places to detour, without exception, the distance to other ports will be greatly increased, and some places have reefs or cannot accommodate ships fully loaded with heavy cargo.

Meng Jun wanted to control Malacca for two purposes. One was to set up an early warning line for the periphery of the Qian Dynasty, and the other was to collect tolls in the strait.

Meng Jun believed that if the imperial court kept stationing troops in remote places and was unable to make ends meet year after year, this might not be a problem when the country was strong, but once the country weakened, someone would definitely propose to abandon such a place that was suffering serious losses.

Only this place can bring benefits to the court. No matter who is in power, they will not give up this place that is like a gold mountain.

The imperial court wanted to maintain its military strength in Malacca and at the same time gain more profits. Meng Jun believed that it was necessary to build Malacca Port into the largest port in Southeast Asia, provide services to passing merchant ships, and earn money.