New Shun 1730

As the order was issued, the artillerymen who had been waiting impatiently immediately released the heavy shells.

On the viewing platform, the envoys of these small countries listened to the roar of the cannons and looked at Fort Santiago that seemed to be shaking on the ground. They were doubtful about what Liu Yu just said.

Although on the surface, with so many people watching, it was difficult for anyone to place a bet. After all, the scriptures did not allow them to gamble. Although I still play in secret, it is not good in front of outsiders.

If there were no restrictions from the scriptures, in fact, they would not want to gamble with Liu Yu.

If they don't bet, it's not because they think Liu Yu will definitely win, but because they think Liu Yu will definitely lose. If they think Liu Yu will definitely win, they will bet instead - spend a little money and buy a happy one. Is it possible that they have nothing to do and fight? The Chinese general who ran away from the Netherlands was angry and completely lost his face?

They do not have the vision of some middle- and high-ranking officers in Dashun, and they simply cannot understand that "effective explosive shells have made the bastion system withdraw from the stage of history, the era of attrition wars, looting of food and grass to defend forts and forcing troops to retreat is over, and the era of field battles determines victory or defeat." It has arrived."

Even they don't have the vision of the bastion era.

The ancient castle from the Zhengde period in front of them is still difficult to conquer for the noble envoys from these small countries.

At that time, the Portuguese also relied on this kind of fortress breaking, and achieved a record of 500 to 30,000 in Southeast Asia and India. Of course, the premise is to have sea control.

Over the years, various countries have fought several wars with the Dutch and Portuguese one after another. Even if they were not fighting for the motherland and the liberation of the nation, they certainly had the experience of internal struggle when someone led Dutch soldiers into the capital.

The Dutch did not build too many serious bastions, and serious bastions were very expensive.

Many forts are built from the Portuguese era. The handover between Portugal and the Netherlands in Southeast Asia was probably during the Chongzhen and Tianqi years, when the new fortress system had not yet been fully formed.

Relying on these completely outdated fortresses, the Dutch completed their control of Southeast Asia.

According to the knowledge of these nobles from a small country, if they wanted to knock down such a fortress, it would take ten days, let alone one day. If there were 100 troops stationed inside, wouldn't seven hundred, eight hundred or even thousands of their bodies have to be dumped?

It's not like they haven't seen cannons before. Of course there are cannons in their own small country. This idea was made based on the existence of cannons.

These late-medieval-style fortresses left by the Portuguese are similar to the bunkers built in later generations when Japan invaded China to counter the resistance of the Chinese military and civilians. That shit, any so-called Italian artillery that has the level of the late Franco-Prussian War, is all rubbish. But it didn't, which seemed indestructible.

The Italian artillery that was put into production in 1897 could defeat the bunker tactics used by the Japanese invaders in 1940. At this time, the artillery tactics used at the level of the Franco-Dutch War 50 years ago could also defeat the fortresses built by the Portuguese during the Zhengde period.

It is impossible for envoys from these small countries to realize these truths on their own. This is a standard way of thinking of carving a boat and seeking a sword. I feel that Liu Yu's statement about conquering this fort in one day and killing no more than ten people is really a fantasy.

But their imagination was soon ruthlessly shattered by reality.

Two o'clock in the afternoon.

Fort Santiago was already vulnerable to bombardment.

The mortars here in Dashun fire explosive shells. Because the chamber pressure of the mortars is low, they are not prone to danger.

Heavy artillery continued to use solid projectiles.

This is exactly the same as the tactics of heavy artillery, and those who use sledgehammers to demolish houses. You can't just smash the walls casually, you need to use some knowledge of mechanics.

Continuously bombard with solid bullets to form a T-shape, and finally add a few shots at the junction of the T-shape to destroy the mechanical structure of the wall most perfectly. These formulas of structural mechanics were not derived by Dashun themselves, but came from the artillery courses of the French Military Academy. Dashun just copied them, but they drew them perfectly.

At two o'clock the walls of Fort Santiago collapsed.

The heavy mortars also ejected a large number of gunpowder packets after the wall collapsed.

In fact, at this time, there were almost no living people in the fortress.

When the fortress fell, not all Dutch soldiers died.

However, the violent explosion caused by the mortar's large-scale projectile gunpowder package killed many Dutch soldiers.

His orifices were bleeding and his internal organs were seriously injured.

Many Dutch soldiers smiled at their comrades after the shelling, feeling as if nothing happened. But maybe a minute or two later, massive internal bleeding will cause them to roll on the ground in pain.

In case of internal organ injury, severe pain will not be felt immediately, but the pain will be unbearable only after about a minute or two.

However, when you feel the severe pain in your internal organs, it is actually too late. With the medical conditions at this time, when you feel the severe pain in your internal organs, it is impossible to survive.

After the collapse of Fort Santiago, the mortars and wooden howitzers continued to bombard for another hour. At three o'clock in the afternoon, the combat engineers and grenadiers who had been resting nearby were finally assembled.

They were different from when they attacked in the past. They neither dug holes nor carried grenades in one hand and grenadiers' short-barreled rifles in the other. Instead, they lined up neatly like a military parade, holding high the Dashun flag. , making war drums and military music, walking towards the collapsed Fort Santiago in ruins.

The Dutch defenders in Malacca in the distance were helpless.

After a day of artillery battle, the Dashun side had successfully countered the few artillery on the six towers of Malacca. Using shrapnel shells to counter the artillery of this era was as simple as an adult beating a baby.

The artillery was countered, and they could only watch the Dashun army, which was lined up like a military parade, walk towards the ruined Fort Santiago.

At 3:30, the flag of Dashun was planted on the ruins of Fort Santiago.

A large number of Dutch corpses were dragged out by the soldiers and sent to the rear for "exhibition".

Many Dutch soldiers had no visible wounds.

The dead soldiers of this era generally died miserably.

Whether they were hit by lead bullets that melted at high temperatures and looked like phlegm, or by a large iron ball weighing 20 to 30 kilograms and traveling at a speed of more than 500 meters, there is no need to describe it, and you can imagine how horrible the death was.

Not to mention the large iron ball weighing 20 to 30 kilograms, even if it was a 12-kilogram iron ball of the military division-level field artillery, hitting a person at a speed of 40 to 50 meters per second, the tragic scene can be imagined.

But these Dutch soldiers who were dragged out for "exhibition" were mainly killed by the explosive packs fired by heavy mortars after the lower level of the fort collapsed due to the T-shaped bombardment method and then ran to the upper level. They died in a relatively decent way, and they did not lose any arms or legs.

When the flag of Dashun was raised at Fort Santiago, Liu Yu took out the luxury pocket watch given to him by Louis XV, looked at the time, and said to the shocked envoys of small countries: "Although you don't bet, but I said that this fort will be captured at four o'clock, and it will be captured at four o'clock. As for the loss, only three people were lost, and it was caused by the artillery's own mistakes."

"I am not humiliating you. If you come to attack, I estimate that you will need to attack Fort Santiago for ten days."

"I am just stating a fact. The military level between you and the Celestial Empire and the Westerners is too different."

Smilingly, he closed the pocket watch, put it in his pocket, and waved his hand to ask people to carry away the bodies of the Dutch who were carried over.

The envoys from small countries who were watching the battle looked at the Dutch corpses being carried away, and they all looked terrified. Liu Yu was right. When the gap in strength was too big, Liu Yu's words were not humiliating, but just stating the facts.

If they were to attack such a fortress during the Zhengde period, they would never achieve such a result. Of course, they could not imagine that when Marshal Vauban attacked the Dutch bastion system, he often achieved such an exchange ratio by relying on earthwork and the first slightly systematic artillery in Europe.

Today, Dashun's siege method is learned from France; the artillery system is even better than France. Attacking such a fortress and defensive tactics that are two hundred years behind the times, such an exchange ratio is really normal.

"The Celestial Empire's soldiers are mighty and invincible. It is really a blessing for small countries like us!"

Someone took the lead in praising, and the subsequent praises were endless.

Among them, the country with the "closest" relationship with China is the Sulu Kingdom. The envoys of this country even talked directly about the historical origins with the Celestial Empire.

"Please forgive me, our small countries have been under the rule of the Celestial Empire for hundreds of years. However, when the ships came from the West, the Celestial Empire did not send the navy to the South Seas, so that all countries fell under the control of Western countries."

"During the Yongle period of the previous dynasty, the royal family of our country went to the Celestial Empire to pay tribute. He died of illness in Dezhou, Shandong, and was posthumously named "Gongding" by the Celestial Empire. The eldest son returned to the country to govern, and the second son followed the customs of the Celestial Empire and guarded the tomb in Dezhou. It has been three hundred years now."

"Since Yongle, Westerners have entered the South Seas, and Sulu is a small country. It has asked for help several times. However, it was during the chaos in China, and the news was cut off. We are looking forward to it day and night. Now we finally look forward to the return of the king of the Celestial Empire. This is really good news for our small countries..."

The envoy of the Sulu Kingdom obviously did his homework, but Liu Yu just smiled at this set of rhetoric, thinking it was pure nonsense in his heart.

This Sulu Kingdom lived a pretty good life after the Westerners invaded the West.

Sulu is even known as the "Algiers of Southeast Asia".

Algiers, at this time, is most famous for two things.

Slaves.

Barbary pirates.

Sulu, a country in Southeast Asia that is not the Indochina Peninsula and is closest to China, is not called the "Algiers of Southeast Asia" for nothing.

In fact, before the Dashun went to Southeast Asia, the Sulu Kingdom had sent envoys to the capital to try to pay tribute. And the memorial was written without a deep cultural foundation, it really couldn't be written.

The tribute said: I have been living in a wild place, far away from the divine capital, fortunately in the prosperous period, I have no chance to come to the court.

There have been no strong winds and rains in the sky, and no waves in the sea. I know that there must be a saint in China... The ancestor of the Yi Kingdom, the King of the East, came to the court with his family in the 15th year of Yongle in the former Ming Dynasty, was conferred the title and returned to the country. He died on the way back and was buried in Dezhou, Shandong...

Taking this opportunity, they also hoped to merge the household registration and population of the Sulu Kingdom into the Chinese area, in order to ask China to be a protectorate.

However, if we put aside the sense of superiority of the tribute from all nations, it is actually because the Sulu Kingdom, the "Algiers of Southeast Asia", hijacks ships all day long, which makes the countries that trade with it hate it.

Sulu also hopes to rely on a big brother. If it can get the status of a tributary state of the Celestial Empire, like Korea, it can deter those who try to encircle and suppress pirates.

Sulu is quite familiar with the tribute system of the Celestial Empire.

If Liu Yu believes half of what the Sulu envoy said, "We have been looking forward to it day and night, and now we finally look forward to the return of the king of the Celestial Empire", then his mind is really no different from those ministers of the Li Government who fantasize about "the tribute from all nations".