RPAGF Chapter 54 The Rightful Owners of the South Pacific Islands
Chapter 54 The Rightful Owners of the South Pacific Islands
Chapter 54 The Rightful Owners of the South Pacific Islands
Borneo, located above the equator, is generally hot and rainy all year round.
However, if you observe carefully, you will find that the frequency of rainfall varies from month to month throughout the year.
At its sparsest, it can rain for thirteen days a month; at its most intensive, it can rain for as many as twenty-seven days a month.
According to the seasons in the Han Dynasty, autumn and early winter are the most concentrated, while the period from deep winter to early spring is the sparsest.
Therefore, the Han Dynasty's main military operations against Borneo did not begin in full force until after the winter of the first year of the Han Chang era.
However, the initial preparations and publicity began in the summer.
Since this summer, a sense of impending doom has permeated the entire Borneo region, and indeed most of Southeast Asia, including various factions of Chinese immigrants, indigenous chiefdoms, and Westerners.
The Great Han Naval Command arranged for a large fleet to sail south in the summer, separately contacting the Chinese and vassal states in Borneo.
The local tribes and western barbarian groups sent them edicts or notices issued by the Han Dynasty.
The Han Dynasty has officially established a military headquarters in Borneo and will formally move south to take over Borneo when the winter rainy season subsides.
They demanded that all peoples of Borneo surrender as a whole, accept the jurisdiction and reorganization of the Han Dynasty's Borneo military, or withdraw from Borneo before the arrival of the Han army.
If anyone remains in Borneo when the army arrives, but refuses to submit to the rule of the Han, they shall all be exterminated.
For all Chinese immigrants, if any still retain Manchu hairstyles, they should be removed immediately upon receiving the notification.
Otherwise, once the Great Han army arrives, all those who harbor rebellious thoughts will be regarded as remnants of the Manchu Qing dynasty and exterminated.
The general content of these notices was drafted by the Military Advisory Office under the personal instruction of Liu Yulong.
Liu Yulong understood better than traditional literati how to deal with barbarians, and that he should be as straightforward, concise, and assertive as possible.
The Great Han's operation against Borneo this time is completely different in tactics from last year's Luzon campaign, because the situation in Borneo is also completely different from that in Luzon.
Most of the population of the Luzon Islands is concentrated on the main island of Luzon, and the only core of the main island of Luzon is Manila.
Most of the archipelago was under Spanish control.
If the Han dynasty conquers Manila, the core city, and eliminates all the Spanish, it will be able to basically control the entire Luzon Islands.
However, the situation in Borneo is almost the opposite.
Borneo is located in the center of Southeast Asia on the map, but it is on the periphery in terms of politics and economy.
In addition, the island itself is quite large and has a very hot and humid rainforest climate, so no single power has been able to basically control the entire island.
In the northern part of the island, there are two relatively developed indigenous countries, Brunei and Sulu, which were also traditional vassal states of the central dynasty.
Along the coastal areas of other parts of the island, there were scattered Dutch colonial outposts.
The island's interior is home to numerous small chieftain states and indigenous tribes living in primitive societies.
There are various semi-independent Chinese groups on the west side of the island.
The relationships between the various forces on the island are complex and intertwined, lacking a clearly defined core.
For the Han army, there were too many small and medium-sized targets here, making a surprise attack unsuitable.
After discussing with the military advisor, Liu Yulong concluded that they could not conquer the enemy one by one.
We should first adopt the posture of the Celestial Empire's overlord to persuade them to surrender, and then categorize these forces based on their attitude towards the Han Dynasty.
First, gather and reorganize the forces that have voluntarily submitted, then launch a strong attack on the most stubborn forces, and finally force the wavering forces to submit.
The first to receive the notification from the Great Han Dynasty were the high-ranking officials of Brunei and Sulu, two traditional tributary states of the Great Han Dynasty, but they were all somewhat bewildered after receiving the notification.
Sultan Omar Ali Saifuddin II of Brunei summoned his uncle and Prime Minister Pengiran Muda Hashim to discuss the edict delivered by the envoy from the Great Han.
"My uncle, didn't we already submit to the Han Dynasty? What does it mean that the Han Dynasty wants us to obey now?"
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Prime Minister Muda solemnly told the Sultan's nephew, "They may be coming to annex this land, wanting to directly govern it from now on, and no longer allow us to simply pay tribute, but to become servants of the Han emperor."
Ali had also considered this possibility: "So what should we do? What can we do?"
Muda, however, said quite frankly, "What we can do is very simple: gather all our troops and wait for the Han Dynasty's army to arrive."
"If the army sent by the Han Dynasty is strong enough, then we will obey their demands."
"If you are not strong enough, you will not obey their demands."
Ali felt that what his uncle, the Prime Minister, said was too simplistic and crude, but after careful consideration, he realized that this was indeed the only way to do it.
Other superfluous thoughts, whether worries or plots, are of no practical significance.
The Han Dynasty was too large; even if a conspiracy could be used to evade it for a while, it could not be evaded forever.
We can only figure out the Han's actual requirements and then decide the outcome based on our strength.
After figuring this out, Ali relaxed a little.
The leaders of other small princely states in Borneo seemed more bewildered compared to the more established Brunei and Sulu.
But as the saying goes, ignorance is bliss, and they didn't care about these things.
Only when the Han army arrives, creating a truly overwhelming force, can they be truly conquered.
As for the Dutch settlements on the island, after receiving the Great Han's notification, they quickly evacuated Borneo and fled back to Batavia.
The number of Dutch people in the East was far too small to confront the main force of the Han Dynasty head-on, and they were also worried that they would be mass-executed by the Han Dynasty, just like the Spaniards in Manila.
After receiving reports from these people who had escaped, Jean Chrétien Bode, the Governor-General of the Dutch East Indies in Batavia, took the initiative to send people to Borneo to inform other hesitant Dutchmen to evacuate immediately.
They were reminded to abandon everything and return to Batavia as soon as possible to avoid the attack of the Great Han.
Meanwhile, immigrants and soldiers were gathered in Batavia to strengthen defenses as much as possible against an attack from the Han.
In addition, arrange for someone to return to Europe as soon as possible to convey the Han's notification and threat.
After making these arrangements, Bode hesitated and felt uneasy for several days before finally taking a ship to Singapore.
Visit George Bonham, the acting governor of the Straits Settlements, and discuss with him how to deal with the upcoming situation.
As the passenger ship carrying Bode approached Singapore, he carefully observed the situation in the waters and port of Singapore.
Bode felt that the situation here hadn't changed much compared to a few months ago.
After meeting Burnham, Bode gave him a brief greeting and then immediately asked, "Haven't you received reports that the Great Han's greed for Borneo has become a tangible reality?"
"The Emperor of the Great Han Dynasty has officially declared ownership of Borneo!"
"Why has Your Excellency not further strengthened Singapore's defenses until now?"
Burnham, who was in a state of serene dejection, sighed deeply upon hearing the question: "After receiving news of the Han's capture of Manila last year, I tried to report to London as soon as possible while also strengthening the defenses of the Straits Settlements."
Bode immediately pressed on urgently: "That was last year's, from Manila. What about this year's? What about the Borneo incident?"
"Aren't you British worried that after the Han dynasty occupies Borneo, they will go on to seize Singapore?"
Burnham remained composed: "I did receive reports that the Great Han had officially declared its dominion over Borneo."
"So I issued another order to increase security."
Bode looked astonished: "Just a notification? No actual arrangements?"
Burnham rolled his eyes at Bode: "So what arrangements do you think I should make?"
"The fact that the Han Dynasty's influence has officially penetrated into the East Indies was entirely within our expectations."
"We have already done what we could do."
"Over the past six months, I've gradually come to understand something."
"If the Great Han were to launch a full-scale attack on an island and peninsula in the South Seas, no European power could withstand it."
"Our precautions and vigilance are actually aimed at reassuring the civilians under our rule."
Bode felt things weren't that simple and immediately suggested, "We can recruit more native soldiers to strengthen restrictions on the Chinese on the island, or even proactively eliminate some of the most threatening ones—"
Burnham was startled and quickly reminded Bode, "If the Han Chinese didn't come to the East Indies, it would be fine if you dared to do this."
"The Great Han has already arrived in the East Indies. If you still dare to do this, you're probably courting death!"
"If we do as you say, we will only provide the Han with more pretexts for war."
"The Great Han is not currently prepared to attack Singapore or Batavia."
"If we do what you said, the Great Han might attack us immediately."
"I'm asking you not to do that, it might implicate us."
"The emperor of the Han Dynasty would not necessarily distinguish between the Dutch and the British."
Bode asked, somewhat puzzled, "But even if we don't do it, won't the Great Han attack Singapore and Batavia?"
Burnham immediately said, "At least for now, there shouldn't be an immediate attack. We'll just have to live as long as our rule lasts."
Bode retorted angrily, "Are we just supposed to watch helplessly as the Han slowly devour the entire East Indies?"
"And then attack our most valuable colonies?"
Burnham took a leisurely sip of tea: "The Celestial Empire in the north is the rightful master of the East India."
"They were simply not interested before, which allowed Europeans to slowly encroach upon and control this area."
"Once they have an idea, no one can stop them from taking control of this sphere of influence."
"Take you and me, for example, how many troops can your Batavia gather?"
Bode replied rather seriously: "We now have nearly ten thousand European soldiers, and more than ten thousand native servants—"
Burnham scoffed upon hearing this: "This is merely the size of the militia in one county of the Han Dynasty, while the Han Dynasty seems to have more than two thousand counties."
"If you resist, the Han only needs to send militia from three or five counties, and your soldiers will be easily defeated."
"Then they will take Batavia and kill all the Dutch there, at the graves of their warriors' militia."
Bode clenched his fists, widened his eyes, and shouted, "More than two thousand counties, more than twenty million militiamen, this is certainly a terrifying Leviathan."
"But are we really destined to obey like this?"