I

   Chapter 704 701 [Eight-Nation Allied Forces]

  Siam, Ayutthaya.

  King Palasai Dong is old and lifeless. He is willing to serve the emperor of China. Apart from traditional political inertia, another reason is that he is 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!"

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

  Narai retorted: "Our country's goods are not only sold to the Dutch. Even if the Dutch are expelled, some Chinese will buy them. How can this be said to be detrimental to their 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!"

  Palasse 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, Narai took the next best thing: "Father, please appoint me as the general of the army, and lead 500 soldiers to help China attack Malacca!"

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

   "Thank you, father!" Narai 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. 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 wanted to release Dongyu 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 the 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 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.

  A good friend is a Greek named Constance Walcom.

  Narai said with a smile: "Mr. Yang had a clever plan. My father did not agree to expel the Dutch, but he allowed 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 Valkan said: "Damn the Dutch, they have been occupying Malacca. This time they annoyed China, and they will definitely suffer a lot!"

   "Two gentlemen, come with me." Nalai said.

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

  Valcon is a Greek adventurer. This guy drew his sword: "It's been a long time since I've fought a war. I'll 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, his elder brother was killed and usurped by his uncle as soon as he succeeded to the throne, and 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 a mission 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.

  The Netherlands was terrified at the time, feeling that its trade status 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.

  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.

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

  Among the coalition forces, there were 3,000 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.

  Johor has a large number of soldiers, 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).

  Here 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.

  Twenty-one years ago, 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 cannons of the Datong Navy?

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

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

  After seeing 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.

   Coincidentally, the prince of Pahang is 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.

  Aceh is a country, what should I say?

   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, and the Aceh Kingdom 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 this 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, John Neuhoff, the author of "The Dutch Envoy's First Visit to China", lived in Malacca at this moment.

  He is a travel writer who likes to take adventures all over 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 that he brought a "Chinese style" in the circle of European aristocrats.

  Even if the European writers in the past wrote hype, there was no picture or 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.

  Neuhoff's books and paintings spread, European nobles like to use silk to imitate Chinese clothing, and gentlemen and ladies wear Chinese clothing to hold parties and have fun.

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

   “The city (Melaka) is large 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. Nearly one hundred people ruled by Portugal Over the past thirty years, the fortress has been continuously expanded, and the surrounding walls have also extended to the foot of Mount St. Paul...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...wealthy Chinese and Nyonya, as well as those Kling businessmen , with extremely high neighborhood 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 bombarding the castle of Malacca..."

   "The city was noisy and chaotic, and shells fell into the neighborhood from time to time, smashing down the 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..."

  "The residents of all ethnic groups in the urban area have been evacuated by the enemy..."

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

  (end of this chapter)