Total War: Restoration of the Ming Dynasty in Luzon

Chapter 77: A Sketch of the Counterattack

Just as the atmosphere in the city reached its most oppressive point, and soldiers began to secretly throw away their weapons, change into civilian clothes, or look for hiding places, an interpreter, escorted by cavalry, arrived at the foot of the city wall carrying a white flag in front of the Ming army.

He looked up at the figures and flags swaying on the city walls and shouted in Dutch:

"Listen up, garrison troops inside the city! The General of the Ming Dynasty has personally led a large army here. Considering your predicament of being trapped in an isolated city with no outside support, and unwilling to commit further bloodshed, I am giving you one last chance!"

"You have one hour to surrender the city! Hand over all weapons, ships, and company property, and your lives will be spared! But if you remain obstinate and resist stubbornly, when the time comes, all cannons will fire simultaneously, and after the city falls, not a single soul will be spared! Your fate is yours to decide!"

The shouts echoed across the city walls, clearly reaching the ears of every Dutchman who pricked up his ears.

Almost all eyes turned to Capelen, who stood under the military flag. Soldiers whispered among themselves, while officers' faces changed. Their fear of the Ming army made it impossible for them to maintain order for the time being.

The pressure weighed heavily on Capelen's shoulders, making his throat dry and his heart pound. His adjutant and several officers looked at him with complex expressions—despair, pleading, and numbness.

"Commander..." the adjutant's voice was dry and hoarse, "We..."

He didn't finish his sentence, but Capelen could read the meaning behind his desperate eyes. The commander slowly closed his eyes, knowing that he had no other choice.

"Relay my orders..." He opened his eyes and sighed, "Lower the flags, raise the white flag, open the city gates, let everyone lay down their weapons, and let us surrender to the Chinese... May God forgive my decision."

Upon receiving the order, the East India Company flags on the city walls were immediately and hastily lowered by the soldiers, replaced by a huge white cloth that had been hastily found.

At the same time, the city gates were pushed open from the inside, and squads of Dutch soldiers and sailors, disarmed and defeated, left the stronghold dejectedly under the cold gaze of the Ming army, surrendering.

Chen Ang spurred his horse forward, and surrounded by soldiers, he walked up to the surrendered troops. Looking down at Capelen with the air of a conqueror, he said:

"Now that you have surrendered, you must obey the royal army's decrees. Your lives may be spared for now, but you must await your fate and must not disobey. All Dutch personnel, ships, weapons, supplies, and company property within Semarang shall be confiscated. Those who resist shall be killed without exception."

His words were translated into Dutch, and Capelen, his face ashen, could only bow his head and reply, "I understand."

Chen Ang stopped looking at him and instead ordered the officer beside him: "Send troops to take over the city defenses, warehouses, and port, inventory the spoils, and register the prisoners. Order the Madaram allied forces to garrison outside the city and not to enter the city to cause trouble. The necessary rewards will be disbursed later."

"Yes, sir!"

The Ming army acted swiftly, marching into Semarang and taking over the defenses of the stronghold. The Dutch prisoners were taken to temporary camps in batches, while officers such as Capelen were isolated separately.

The Nanyang Fleet outside the port did not directly enter the port. It was already a stretch for Dutch naval vessels to dock at Semarang, let alone larger fifth and sixth-class ships.

Therefore, after the Dutch forces in Semarang surrendered, Chen Ang sent someone to contact Lü Qianfan and ordered him to immediately turn west, replenish his freshwater supply in Batavia, and then directly attack the Dutch stronghold in Malacca, cutting off the Dutch's sea route back to Southeast Asia from Ceylon.

Once the Dutch captured Malacca, their only option for returning to Southeast Asia would be to detour through the Sunda Strait near Batavia, or sail along the southern coast of Java to the Lombok and Makassar Straits.

The former is impossible, while the latter's two straits route is much longer, and the southern coast is all territory of the Mataram Sultanate. If the Dutch were to try to detour, they would most likely be discovered by the Mataram people along the way.

Closer to home.

After taking over Semarang, the Ming army also took over the Dutch ships anchored in the port, a total of 58 ships of various sizes, mainly armed merchant ships and two-masted fast ships, with relatively few Dutch merchant ships as the main force.

In addition, more than 4,000 Dutch officers, sailors, company employees and their families were captured, and hundreds of cannons of various types, thousands of muskets, and a large amount of ammunition, food, spices, cloth and other supplies were seized.

The Ming army had completely severed the Dutch rule in Southeast Asia. Although there were still some remaining strongholds in places like Malacca and the Spice Islands, the main force of the fleet had been destroyed, and the remaining armed forces could not cause any trouble.

It is no exaggeration to say that after expelling the Spanish and Dutch forces, the entire South China Sea was practically the Ming army's backyard. The Portuguese were just a sideline; as long as they had any sense, they wouldn't bother the Ming army.

The direction in which the Ming army's military focus would shift next would depend on Zhu Jiheng's will.

……

Two weeks later, good news kept coming from the west, plunging the entire Luzon prefecture into joy and cheers.

First, Chen Ang forced Cappellens to surrender and captured the entire Dutch fleet, which was still relatively intact. Then, the Nanyang Fleet swiftly captured Malacca, forcing the Dutch garrison to surrender amidst a barrage of cannon fire.

"Malacca was captured by the Nanyang Navy, and Java also fell under our control. Looking across the South China Sea, there is no longer any force that can pose a threat to our dynasty."

Zhu Jiheng summoned several close ministers to his temporary palace and said in a passionate tone, "Now that our army has no worries about its rear, we can lead our troops north, return to the Central Plains, drive out the Tartars, restore China, and return to the old capital!"

Several close advisors were also very excited upon hearing this, but they remained rational. Lin Qingyuan said, "Your Highness, at present, our Great Ming Army has no more than 10,000 troops. If we rashly march north, even with the momentum of consecutive victories, we may not be able to shake the foundation of the Tartars in the north."

As he spoke, his tone carried a hint of worry: "The Tartars have occupied the Central Plains for a long time. They have a large army and many generals, and their cities are well-fortified. Although our army is well-trained, our forces are weak and our supply lines are long. If we venture deep into enemy territory alone, we may be in danger of being overthrown if we suffer a setback."

Upon hearing this, Zhu Jiheng's excited expression calmed down slightly, and he said, "How could I not understand this principle? Although the Tartars have occupied the Central Plains for a long time, Taiwan has just been pacified, and the people's hearts are restless. As long as our army returns to Taiwan, the local people will surely rise up in response and help our army recover Taiwan."

"After we recover Taiwan, we can use it as a base and gradually take control. The Tartars will surely gather a large army to attack again. When they cross the Taiwan Strait, our navy will strike them halfway and annihilate them, sending them to their deaths!"

Lin Qingyuan and the others were taken aback by Zhu Jiheng's words, but then they suddenly realized what he meant.

"Your Highness is wise!" Lin Qingyuan hurriedly said, "It was our oversight that led us to only think about attacking the Central Plains, but we overlooked Taiwan as a southeastern shield and the strength of our navy."

If we can recover Taiwan first, we can then advance to spy on Fujian and Guangdong, and retreat to ensure our safety in Southeast Asia. Moreover, Taiwan has a large Han population, and many of them are loyal to the Ming Dynasty, so they can certainly be relied upon for support. When the Tartar reinforcements cross the sea to attack, our navy, in a state of rest and readiness, can intercept them in the waves, thus playing to our strengths and avoiding our weaknesses, and achieving a great victory!

Other close advisors also agreed that taking Taiwan first was a more realistic goal than directly counterattacking the mainland, and it would also better leverage the advantages of the Ming army, especially the navy which had been expanded by receiving the Dutch fleet.

Once Taiwan is liberated, it will have enormous political significance. It will greatly boost the morale of the people resisting the Qing Dynasty, and at the same time provide a forward base and a source of manpower and resources close to the mainland.