Moreover, this southern tribe in the mountains is still the most unruly and hostile tribal alliance to outsiders.

A considerable number of the tribal warriors who attacked Sin'an two years ago came from the southern tribes of the mountains, and this tribal alliance also incorporated the tribes of the eastern tribal alliance that did not obey the Portuguese, while fighting and pulling at the western tribal groups.

At present, the Portuguese have largely controlled the Eastern Tribal Confederation, where there are about 100,000 people, while the western tribal groups with a population of less than 40,000 have largely survived under the wing of the Dutch, resisting the encroachment of powerful and ferocious southern mountain tribes.

It's just that the western tribes are a little hesitant today, because the Dutch have nothing to do but ask them to move to the western areas of Kupang Bay, which are controlled by the Dutch, but these tribal leaders and tribal priests are not fools, they know very well in their hearts that the only consequence of losing the jungle is the disappearance of the tribe and its traditions.

These chiefs and priests knew very well that if there was no way out of the jungle, without a certain way of life, then the tribe would not be a tribe---- of course, those ordinary aborigines could work for the Dutch in the Dutch-controlled areas, or go out of the jungle to the Australian-ruled areas to earn a living, and even do business, just like the Loka tribesmen---- not only do small business, part-time work, but also serve as soldiers and engaged in farming.

Beyond that, however, the chiefs and priests seemed to have no way out.

Obviously, this is just a lifestyle change for ordinary people, women and children in the tribe, and this change is not necessarily bad.

However, for the tribal leaders and priests, it means losing the noble status passed down from generation to generation, although the Australians allow these tribal elites to enter the council, but not many people in the tribal upper echelons know what kind of institution this council is, what benefits it is for themselves, and whether it is worth exchanging the noble status that has been passed down for thousands of years.

Soon there was a great schism among the western tribal groups, with more than 100 tribes, and in the end only about 20 tribal leaders offered to attend the meeting in Kupang – meaning that they would either accept Dutch rule or Australian rule.

As a result, most of the tribal leaders subconsciously chose not to participate, either by waiting and seeing, or by turning back and forming an alliance with the southern tribe of the mountain.

Therefore, as the promoter of the conference, Xiao Pingguo, he is now facing an embarrassing situation - the delegates of this "Tribal Peace and Trade Conference" are simply not enough to represent the main forces in the entire buffer zone, because the participants are a small and weak, so even if this conference is successful, in terms of practical results, the only areas that have obtained "peace" are a narrow area along the northern coast, the area from the Xin'an River basin to the main peak of Tatamai and the south of Okushi City, and all these places add up - Xiao Pingguo called these areas "green zones".

However, a closer look at the map shows that the total area of this "green zone" is less than 20 percent of the entire buffer zone, so after this time-consuming and laborious meeting, 80 percent of the buffer zone may still be a "red zone" where security cannot be guaranteed.

Xiao Pingguo's annoyance quickly turned into action, after getting the exact news, he found Wei Hong and Fang Linyou as soon as possible, so the three of them secretly plotted in the governor's palace all night, and in the early morning of the next day, Xiao's handsome man's harem was allowed to enter the bedroom to "sleep", but the governor was obviously a little preoccupied, so the effect of the interaction was not ideal.

Because, Xiao Pingguo and Wei Fang had just discussed an adventurous military operation last night, and of course this matter had to be reported to the Red Chamber for approval, after all, as far as the operation itself was concerned, it was indeed a bit risky.

This military operation had a code name - "ball lightning".

The operation was based on information from a messenger from the Loka tribe: the Belu tribe, the core of the Shannan tribe alliance, was based at the mouth of the Belu River along the southwest coast of Timor Island.

According to the information provided by Father Luoka, Xiao Pingguo knew that this tribe alliance was formed by more than 120 tribes, and these tribal leaders jointly elected the leader of the Beilu tribe as the leader of the entire tribal alliance, whose status was equivalent to that of the king of the tribes.

The leader of the Belu tribe was elected king because the Belu tribe was the most numerous, the most powerful, and the most wealthy - it is said that the area around the mouth of the Belu River is rich in sand gold, and the Belu tribe has long used sand gold to trade with the Dutch and the Portuguese, and the tribe is very strong.

It is said that the tribe had recently acquired advanced Dutch flintlock pistols and other weapons, and that the tribal leader had been discussing with the Dutch the purchase of bronze cannons a few days earlier, but the Treaty of Oecussi had blocked the arms business.

However, there is still no guarantee that the outlaws of the Dutch merchants will take the risk of selling this weapon to the Belu tribe for the sake of profit.

So although the Dutch flintlock pistol had no advantage over the Type 57 rifle, it was obvious that the weapons of the Belu tribe were still enough to threaten the Australian soldiers, not to mention that if the other side had a bronze cannon, this threat would be very obvious.

To this end, Xiao Pingguo's plan was to send an army, take a detour to the southwest coast of Timor Island, land at the mouth of the Belu River by surprise, and then wipe out the Belu tribe with lightning speed, destroy its armed forces, kill the tribal leader and his subordinates, and collect the tribe's weapons, so as to strike at and break up this tribal alliance.

The minimum requirement for this operation was to smash and wipe out the Belu tribe and inflict heavy losses.

Of course, the best outcome is to completely wipe out the living forces of the Belu tribe through this campaign, and deprive the Shannan Chieftain Alliance of its strong leader, thus causing the internal disintegration of the tribal alliance.

There may be another side possibility: with this campaign, we have eliminated our most stubborn and hostile tribes, and then we should be able to establish a trading and military base along the mouth of the Belu River.

In this case, the area southwest of Sinseong and Oku is in the north, and the stronghold of the mouth of the Beru River is in the south, and the two sides will penetrate inland at the same time with the secondary support point as the support point, so as to finally achieve the strategic goal of controlling the entire buffer zone.

Obviously, this course of action is risky, and the main risks are: first, this is a military operation with no rear expedition, a sea detour, and the conquest of unfamiliar areas may have all kinds of accidents.

Second, how can we ensure that when we appear unexpectedly in the core station of the Beru tribe, we can hit the other side, if the enemy is smart, lead the tribe to retreat into the jungle without a fight, and play a game of hide and seek, for the garrison, it will be a nightmare.

So when that happens, the only sane course of action is to retreat to the shore and get on the boat and leave, so that this labor expedition is likely to end in vain, and it is not difficult for them to imagine that scene - at that time, the greatest result may only be to burn a few thatched huts of the Belu tribe.

Confidentiality is also an important prerequisite.

Obviously, with so much uncertainty, it is still unknown whether this "ball lightning" plan will be approved by Sun Lao, let alone those Senate members who always pick their noses and eyes.