For the Ming Dynasty, the Battle of Bengkulu was only a battle of deterrence.

But for the Bengkulu tribe, it was a catastrophe.

Having grown the Bengkulu tribe from a few small villages to a large tribe covering thousands of miles, Wanmao has always been the most respected person of the Bengkulu tribe.

But in recent times, this former overlord has become the sinner of the entire tribe.

When Rahat was captured by stabbing a Ming soldier to death, two of his subordinates rushed back to the tribe overnight to report the news.

Wan Mao didn't take it to heart at first, because past experience had taught him that the daimyo wouldn't make a big deal about it.

Once, they killed 170 soldiers in Majapahit, and in the end the king of the West spent 60,000 taels of gold to settle the matter.

In the following ten years, although the Ming Dynasty developed its own power in this land, it has always lived in peace with all ethnic groups and has never bullied others.

He had also met the envoy of the Ming Dynasty a few times, and he was a very kind person. In the countries of the South Seas, he has always been dedicated to maintaining peace among various nationalities, and is a friend worthy of trust.

But the news came the next day that he couldn't believe that for the sake of a soldier, Da Ming actually executed his son, the heir of this tribe.

What's even more excessive is that Da Ming even asked him to cross the sea to make amends in person, which is simply whimsical.

In front of the envoys of Majapahit, he strongly stated that the Bengkulu tribe would never give up, and would never regard the Ming Dynasty as the suzerainty in the future.

But within a few days, the development of events made him lose his bearings, and Da Ming actually sent troops.

Before the Ming fleet arrived, the villages in the northeast of the tribe were attacked by the Japanese people, three villages were slaughtered, more than 1,000 people were killed, and few escaped.

Before they could think of a countermeasure, Daming's fleet arrived at the seashore.

Although they set up several lines of defense on the seashore, they were all in vain.

These brave soldiers of their tribe once made Majapahit helpless and could only make peace with them.

But now in the face of the Ming musket, the faster you rush, the more miserable you die.

There were only 110,000 people in the entire Bengkulu tribe, and there were only 20,000 or 30,000 men in their prime, and in just one and a half days, two or three thousand people died.

And in the northeastern part of the tribe, more than three thousand people died there, and more than a thousand men in the prime of life.

Now it seems that there are enemies on all sides, the whole tribe is in chaos, and everyone doesn't seem to trust him as the patriarch very much.

Because rumors are spreading, Da Ming only wants to punish the first evil this time, that is, the person who handed over their family.

Although Wan Mao had been warning his people that these were just conspiracy of the Ming people, he could now feel that the people no longer believed in him and regarded him as a sinner of the tribe.

Especially when the Ming people attacked with muskets, the sound of the muskets was seen as Allah's roar, and the white smoke coming out was seen as Allah's wrath.

These ignorant clansmen made Wan Mao feel powerless and even more sad.

Now he had to guard against being betrayed by these incompetent people, and in just a few days, he experienced what it was like to go from heaven to hell.

Willing to provide him with refuge, Majapahit sailed to Majapahit from the northern tribe of Ketawin. Now, Wan Mao has the idea of abandoning these people.

But before he could make a decision, most of the people had already chosen to abandon him.

More and more clansmen chose to surrender to the Ming Dynasty, or simply parted ways with him, preparing to hide in the mountains, wait for the Ming people to leave, and then go out of the mountains.

Seeing this scene in front of him, Wan Mao also made up his mind and prepared to abscond to the Ketawen tribe, and from there waited for an opportunity to flee to Majapahit.

"Report, the Bengkulu army stepped up its speed and retreated to the northwest mountainous area, among which the Wanmao family fled to the northeast, and most of the people fled to the northwest."

Zhang Fengshan, who was in the shade of the tree, was in high spirits and said loudly: "Bring the map." ”

The guards quickly pulled out a rolled-up map of Sumatra and unfolded it on the grass in front of him.

Zhang Fengshan carefully looked at the map of the mountains and rivers in the north of the Bengkulu tribe, and ordered: "Send ten people to the capital of Mingkulu, and ask the navy to set up a blocking line along the coastline to the north, forcing Wanmao to march away from the coast." Inform Zhuang Jing's Japanese battalion to withdraw to the Rass River, set up a sniper point on the other side of the river, and try to stop most of Wanmao's men. Even if you can't stop them, you have to delay their trip. The various departments of Yulin Health School should closely listen to the latest information, and inform Zhuang Jing of the route of Wan Mao and others as soon as possible. ”

One of the guards whispered: "Mountain chief, the Japanese camp has been fighting fiercely for days, and there is no time to rest, and now there is not enough food. ”

Zhang Fengshan hesitated for a moment, stood up, and ordered: "Go and call Brother Zhang Wu and Zhang Wei." ”

The temporary command post of Yulin Weixue is located in the northeast of the capital city of Mingkulu, forming an isosceles triangle with the capital city, the important town of Zhurupu in the north.

The location is right on the edge of the forests of the plains and mountains. Because of the sunny weather after the rain, the climate here is hot, and the soldiers of Yulin Weixue do not dare to enter the forest rashly.

Although they carry anti-miasma drugs, there are many types of miasma, and no one can guarantee that the drugs will be effective.

And in addition to miasma, the biggest problem is the endless emergence of poisonous insects and poisonous snakes, and even the ten-meter-long python, they have seen a lot.

If it weren't for the young army of ten, taking care of each other, it would be a big problem to survive in this harsh tropical rainforest.

It had been ten days since they came out of the old port, and the consumption of various supplies they carried was only seven days. It was still the Japanese camp that robbed several villages at the beginning, and they replenished some supplies to hold on until this time.

Now that they are in the enemy camp, in order to stop most of Bengkuru and monitor their escape, it is impossible to go to the fleet to get supplies, so they can only get them from the enemy.

In an instant, the two brothers Zhang Wu and Zhang Wei came together, one of them was twenty this year and the other was eighteen, both of whom were strong and strong guys.

Although neither of the two brothers was shrewd or gifted in leading battles, they were upright and more trustworthy than the others when it came to carrying out orders.

Looking at the two brothers, Zhang Fengshan pondered for a long time before he spoke: "The following order can be refused by the two of you, I will not record it in the war record, but I personally hope that you can accept it." ”

These two brothers are the cousins of His Royal Highness the Taisun, although Zhang Fengshan thinks that they are the most suitable candidates, but this kind of order cannot be forced, because after the autumn reckoning, he will definitely not be able to resist the counterattack of the Zhang family.

If you are intimate, Your Highness will attach importance to him again, and you can keep him for a while, but you can't protect him for a lifetime.

He also knew that the two brothers were simple-minded and didn't have too many fancy intestines, so he deliberately used the method of agitation to let them take the initiative to take over this task.

When Zhang Wu was young, he still remembered that his family was just a small role in Yongcheng, and it was only because his aunt became the crown princess that the Zhang family soared from then on.

His grandfather, father, and aunt all taught him from an early age to be a man. As a relative, not to mention that he can contribute to the Ming Dynasty, at least he can't discredit the royal family.

As the son of Peng Chengbofu, he is only half a year older than the eldest cousin in the palace, and after the age of six or seven, he often enters the palace to accompany this cousin.

Although he is a cousin, this cousin is like his elder brother, who has been playing with him since he was a child.

He also has a lot of respect for this cousin.

He knew that he was just a middle-aged person, and he didn't have much talent, and he couldn't do anything. After entering Yulin Weixue, he trained hard in order not to embarrass his cousin and Peng Chengbofu.

After listening to Zhang Fengshan's words, he replied solemnly: "Please give an order from the mountain chief." His Royal Highness has always taught his subordinates that it is their duty to obey orders. ”

Zhang Fengshan was naturally happy when he heard such an answer, but he still pretended to hesitate and asked, "You have also seen what the Japanese camp has done." If I want you to be like them, go burn and loot, and give my army enough food for five days......"

Zhang Wu was stunned, he didn't expect it to be such an order. He knew the importance of food, and since the Bengkulu tribe began to flee north, they no longer had time to grab it.

In fact, the first grain was also stolen by the pirates, but they enjoyed it as a matter of course.

Zhang Wei looked at his eldest brother, touched him, and nodded slightly. Zhang Wu clenched his fists and asked, "Mountain Chief, can we not kill people, but only grab grain?" ”

Zhang Fengshan said with a smile: "As long as you can grab the food and don't let those natives expose our traces, you can do whatever you want." We only have more than 200 people here, and we can't resist the enemy's counterattack. ”

Although Zhang Wu is not smart, he is not a newcomer to the battlefield. He knew very well that although the task of his people was not to kill the enemy, it was more important than killing the enemy.

Without them, the Japanese battalion would not have been able to move an inch, and would not have been able to escape repeatedly in the enemy's encirclement.

Moreover, one-third of them are the sons and daughters of various noble families, and the death of one will cause an uproar and waves. That's why they've been just wandering around the battlefield, avoiding the enemy's main forces.

If other people who were harmed by his actions were surrounded, or even lost their lives, then he would definitely not be able to escape military justice.

He hesitated for a moment, but seeing his younger brother Zhang Wei's excited look, he said ruthlessly: "My subordinates are willing to take orders." ”

Zhang Fengshan laughed and said, "Okay, in addition to the brigade under your command, I will allocate another pawn for you to make up enough for one hundred and fifty people." Your mission is to go to the village of Kepaxing, where you will loot at least 100 stone of grain, and then load it on a ship and transport it to the lower reaches of the Ras River.

After that, you lead these people to the lower reaches of the Ras River, find a hidden area, and bury the pot to fry rice. Can we turn all this food into dry food and supply it to the Japanese camp and our other comrades? ”

Zhang Wu responded loudly: "It can be done!" ”

"That's good. Come, let me tell you the detailed information, in Kepaxing Village, there are currently more than 3,000 people, they are guarding the village, there are more than ten river boats......"

Ke Ph Sing is a village in the upper reaches of the Ras River, the main river in Bengkulu, located at the foot of the Kaba volcano, and the land is fertile.

A village of 3,000 people is already a large village in Bengkulu.

Because it is surrounded by water on three sides, it is easy to defend and difficult to attack, although the villagers here know that the Japanese are rampant. But knowing that the other party is not numerous, he can't bear to give up his family business, and defends his homeland according to the danger.

But now, instead of the Japanese with broadswords and spears, they were faced with the soldiers of Habayashi Weixue, who were equipped with a new double-barreled flintlock pistol.

In the past battles, Yulin Weixue, as a seed, has been serving as a support mission, and this is the first time they have faced a tough battle.

For this battle, they also made full preparations and found out the situation of the village clearly.

Although there were more than 3,000 people in this village, there were only 1,000 men in the prime of life, and although there were only 150 of them, they all had muskets, and they were not afraid of the strength of the other side.

What's more, they are mainly just for food this time, as long as the other party does not resolutely resist and they rob the food, they will not make more killings.

Early in the morning, at midnight, the 150 cadet soldiers began to check their equipment, and they took away all kinds of surveying and mapping equipment, and handed them over to other comrades to carry, carrying with them only a meal of dry food, as well as various medicines, gunpowder, bullets, and short knives.

After examining their muskets, they set out from their makeshift camp and traveled through the mountains to the only land-facing side of the village of Kepaxing, from where they prepared to attack the village directly.

The village was easy to defend and difficult to attack, but it was only for those who had the same weapons as them.

When faced with the musket array, the village did not even have a city wall, and there was no facility to stop the musket attack.

At noon, everyone arrived safely at their intended location. Except for one unlucky guy who was bitten by a snake, everyone else was fine.

Although he was bitten by a poisonous snake, he was already prepared, and within a minute, the other team members helped him cut open the wound, squeeze out the poisonous blood, and then apply medicine to bandage it.

This injury, without the invasion of toxicity, did not even affect his normal journey.

Everyone ate a little dry food, rested for half an hour, and then began to form a group, a group of ten people, and began to march towards the village.

They are going to attack when the other party has just eaten lunch, and when people have just finished eating, they will have a short period of difficulty because of the insufficient blood supply to the brain.

At this time, almost everyone in the village was at home.

When the heavily armed soldiers of Yulin Weixue appeared at the entrance of the village, the personnel on duty in the village spotted them and sounded a gong at the entrance of the village.

However, this time it was not the Toei samurai who appeared in front of them, but the soldiers they had never seen before, dressed in a kind of colorful clothes.

This is actually the camouflage clothing of later generations, although the fabric is different, but the thick cloth woven from cotton and linen mixed spinning also has a certain degree of wear resistance.

The swarming villagers blocked the main road into the village, carrying broadswords, sickles, hoes, and shovels in their hands, and looked at the approaching Ming soldiers with hatred.

Zhang Wu's heart was also apprehensive at the moment, although he believed in his own strength very much, but it was still a little difficult for him to make decisions in the face of different situations on the battlefield for the first time.

He walked to the front and shouted, "Does anyone understand the Da Ming language?" ”

A native man dressed in a Ming costume walked up to him and said loudly, "Ming people, you are not welcome here. The officials of the capital have offended you, but our villagers here have not offended anyone. ”

Although his accent is a little biased towards Cantonese, there is a local language teaching in Yulin Weixue, and simple communication is difficult for Zhang Wu.

Zhang Wu also felt a little unreasonable, and his tone was a little insufficient. "Now that my Ming and Bengkulu are hostile, we can use our strength to destroy all opposing forces. But Heaven has the virtue of a good life, and if you agree to our conditions, we can let you go. ”

The native whispered a few words to a few chieftain-looking men, and said loudly: "Tell me your conditions. ”

"We need a hundred stone of rice, and we need three big boats to carry this grain away. If our conditions are agreed, we will not attack. ”

The native man said directly: "A hundred stone of grain is fine, but the boat is not, the boat is the tool for our villagers to survive." ”

Kepaxing is located south of the equator, and the rice here is harvested three times a year, and the grain is not uncommon for the locals. A hundred stones of grain is just a year's harvest of a dozen acres of land, and they don't look at it.

But boats are different, they are in contact with the outside world, mainly relying on boats, and each ship is a family's most valuable asset.

Zhang Wu thought for a while, took out three gold coins from his arms and said, "I can buy them with gold coins, this is the last condition." ”

The other party bowed their heads and discussed a few words, and the native who knew Da Ming said: "Okay, we can agree to your conditions, but you can't enter the village, wait downstream, we will row the boat downstream soon." ”

Zhang Wu looked at the sun and said, "We will give you half an hour, only half an hour." ”

The fact that they could get food and ships without fighting made the spirit of a group of cadet soldiers relaxed, and they did not expect that this mission would be completed so easily.

But Zhang Wu didn't dare to be sloppy, and turned around and said: "Arrange three teams to supervise the movements in the village, and if you see someone going out of the village to report the news, you will attack immediately." ”

Thankfully, their fears did not materialize.

It may be that the appearance of the Japanese people made these natives frightened, and they did not have the determination to resist to the end. Now that peace can be exchanged for a small price, they are even more reluctant to fight to the death with the Ming soldiers who now seem to be mild.

In less than three moments, three simple boats were rowed down by a dozen villagers, and the cabins were filled with husked rice.

Zhang Wu happily gave the other party the only three gold coins he had, and then asked people to check whether there was any action on the ship. Several soldiers jumped out of the river, inspected the hull of the boat, and nodded.

Zhang Wu then beckoned everyone to get on the boat. "When the battle is over, you can go downstream and look for the boat, we won't row your boat away."

One hundred and fifty people, each ship loaded an average of 4,000 catties of rice, and then fifty people boarded, pressing the ship's side almost close to the water.

But now they were going downstream, and there were many of them, and they soon rowed out of sight of the villagers.

A villager said suspiciously: "Didn't you say that when the Ming people came, they would kill people?" Why are they giving us back the gold now? ”

The native man wearing the clothes of the Ming Dynasty said: "The Ming Dynasty is a state of etiquette, and today these are the soldiers of the Ming Dynasty, and those who kill people are Japanese people, they are not as good as animals." ”

And Zhang Fengshan, who was at the stronghold, got the news that Zhang Wu and the others had transported back the grain, and learned that there was no fight at all, but it only cost three gold coins to complete this matter.

He suddenly realized that the identity of Da Ming was not unrecognized here.

Traveling down the river, they finally found the person who answered them as the river turned east-west toward the sea.

On the edge of the river, the soldiers who had come to the site had dug several shallow wells in the ground and set up three cauldrons.

These three big iron pots are already the largest household goods they can carry, although compared to 2,500 people, these three pots are far from enough, but at least they can boil water, boil soup, and solve the food problem for everyone.

They worked together to put grass in the well and poured rice into it.

The rice is soaked for two hours, and by this time it is already dark. However, these soldiers could not rest, and some of them were responsible for expanding the defensive line, while the rest began to fish out the rice and pour it directly on the grassy ground to dry.

After that, they set the cauldron on light, ran the oil in the cauldron with the pig's rind they carried, poured the dried rice into the pot, added a little salt and sugar, used the felled wood as a spatula, and began to fry the rice.

There are only three pots, and one pot can fry about fifty catties of rice at a time, and only one hundred and fifty catties at a time.

And 100 stone of rice is almost 12,000 catties, and each pot needs to fry 80 pots of rice. It takes about two quarters of an hour to fry a pot of rice, and it takes them more than three days to fry it all day and night.

But no one is tired or tired, compared to those who have to face the battle of life and death, compared to the soldiers of the young army who have to chase and fight with the enemy, they are happy enough.

Bengkulu's capital has almost become an empty city, but it will take Liu An and the others two days to set up an effective operation system here.

Fighting a war is never just a battlefield fight, but more a test of a general's ability to coordinate and command. Each soldier's food, clothing, shelter, and transportation, fever and diarrhea, rain and wind in the war zone, and road and bridge construction can all be composed of these things, which can form the most important foundation for victory in addition to weapons.

However, although the army has not yet been dispatched, two forward units and several harassment units have been dispatched.

The number of pirates is so small that there are now only about 1,600 left, but tens of thousands have fled north.

They are not like the Ming soldiers, and they still have weapons such as muskets, and they can only rely on swords to defend against the enemy. So, if you don't want to see all the people in this team killed or wounded, you have to rescue.

As for the five hundred people of Yulin Weixue, no matter who they are, they are not counted. These people are the seeds of the development of the army, and it is enough to make people feel distressed to die on this kind of battlefield.

Even for them, Liu An didn't dare to slack off, and directly sent a pure musket battalion to help.

Pang Ying waited here for a few days, and finally rushed back with reinforcements, no matter who these people were mainly going to rescue, as long as they were willing to go, it was enough.

The war has entered the stage of a real decisive battle under the situation of you chasing me and you running and blocking me.