Malchen is located in the southern part of Borneo, bordered by the Java Sea to the south and the Kassar Strait to the east. Mazen also has some territory on the island of Sulawesi and has a decent relationship with Makassar. Machen was not a country that had been conquered by Mataram, and they sought Mataram's protection in order to maintain trade independence and not be controlled by the Dutch.

Chen Shouxu sailed southeast from Suqadana, and after entering the Java Sea, he turned left to the east, and the whole voyage was close to the coast, about 400 nautical miles. The first leg of the voyage was a little difficult under the prevailing southwesterly winds, and the only way to run a little more each day was to take advantage of the westerly winds, which would put the fleet into a state of scorching winds. After entering the Java Sea, the southwest wind turns into a sidetail wind, and the navigation is very comfortable. There were no storms, thunderstorms, and occasionally some fresh light rain, which washed the deck and brought clean fresh water by the way.

Chen Shouxu has been running to the stern tower a lot lately, and he rarely goes to the verandah, which always makes him feel that something is missing. Being with the officer on duty in the stern allowed him to concentrate on his work. The fleet did not sail fast, and it took nine days to reach the mouth of the Barito River, where the southwesterly wind blew the battleship's flag in the direction of the land to the north, and the Barito River flowed into the Java Sea from north to south.

The Barito River does not flow much, the channel into the sea is in the shape of a trumpet, and the officers use binoculars to observe the estuary.

Alemand looked at it for a long time before he could hold back an advantage, "Now the wind is in the opposite direction of the river, which is not bad." We can enter the estuary with a southwesterly wind, and if we want to come out, we just have to lower the sails and sail downstream. During the northeast monsoon period, Machen Port has to be paralyzed for more than half of it, and it can only leave the port but it is difficult to enter the port. ”

Chen Shouxu: "There are only 700,000 people in the entire Borneo, and although Machen is one of the larger countries, the whole country can only control a population of less than 100,000. Moreover, they also have oarboats for offshore trade. ”

Harris compared the map, "Admiral, the port of Machen is located 15 kilometers upstream of the estuary. Do we really want to go in? The waterways, the tidal ranges, the sandbars, the reefs, the direction of the wind, the waves, the speed of the current, all of which we are not sure. ”

Allemand came up with a sentence, "The rivers on both sides may also hide their oars, sailors and arsonists." ”

Chen Shouxu played with the telescope in his hand, "Let's not enter the river today, find an anchorage, and we will measure the hydrology first." ”

You can't be careless. In most cases, it is not a simple matter for a sea vessel to enter inland waterways. Stronger than the Portuguese, the development of the port of Goa within the estuary also paid a lot of blood.

After 3 days of continuous measurements, the fleet determined that the tidal range here was more than 3 meters. This means that the river that can be navigated at the first level can be a deadly trap at low tide. Even if the river is deep enough, there is a good chance that the seemingly calm surface of the river hides a turbulent undercurrent whirlpool, or a sudden rise of sandbars and reefs.

Inland rivers are even more unstable because the waterways change from year to year, and the sediment brought down from the upstream will create new sandbars in the channel, which requires the hydrological data to be updated in real time. For the invaders, it is almost impossible to update the hydrological data every year.

In addition to the problem of shipping lanes, ships entering inland rivers will also face changing wind and waves. Due to the influence of onshore offshore winds, wind turbulence is very evident in the estuary. Generally speaking, the direction of the wave will be more consistent with the direction of the wind, but the swell hitting the river bank is likely to cause a rebound, which will be quite different from the wind direction. Moreover, because the estuary is mostly trumpet-shaped, there is a certain aggregation effect, and after the waves enter the estuary, the wave height will also be disproportionate to the wind.

The control of a sail warship is controlled by the wind, and the changing wind direction, turbulence and slapping of the swell often cause the warship to yaw, which may not be a concern on the sea, but in inland waterways, due to the narrow channel, a small yaw can lead to serious accidents.

These problems are intertwined, making it difficult for sail ships to enter inland waterways. Unless it is an estuary with a large flow, stable velocity, deep channel, south-facing estuary, northeast and southwest prevailing winds, and sufficient hydrological data, it is more convenient for sea vessels to enter.

The Yangtze River is not good, and the Yangtze River has almost caught up with all the bad conditions that the inland estuary can catch up. Today's spire-bottom ships entering the Yangtze River will often be a nightmare, and they can only wait for good weather and stable wind and waves to sail into the Yangtze River. Even if you are lucky enough to enter the Yangtze River unscathed, the rest of the voyage is very limited. The trade over there basically relied on flat-bottomed sand boats.

Reconnaissance reports converged on the Nanhai's officers' conference room. Alemand said: "The Sultan of Machen has really chosen a good place for himself. The Barito River, which guaranteed the basic trade he needed, was narrow and the harbor was only 3 meters deep, leaving most invaders uninterested. ”

Chen Shouxu nodded, "Unless we bring galleys and flat-bottomed boats, let the army land at the mouth of the river, and then advance by land and water to fight a war to destroy the country." Otherwise, we can't do anything about this inland river. ”

Allemand, "With that kind of force, I think it's very likely to lose money." The seizures are not worth military spending. ”

Chen Shouxu: "What you are talking about is the way of survival of countries such as Ma Chen, Zhanbei, and Palembang. ”

Harris: "The Barito River is relatively small, and the wind and waves are not big. But, Admiral, I still don't recommend entering Mazen Harbor, it's too risky. ”

Allemand's eyes revealed a look of approval.

Chen Shouxu thought about it and persuaded them from a different angle, "Rene, Harris." As you should know, estuaries and cities near them are often centers of trade in Asia. ”

The two nodded.

Chen Shouxu: "The trade center is the object of our future relationship with us, so we will encounter a situation similar to today's. The Barito River is a little shallower if it continues to go deeper, but the other conditions are good. The estuary is wide, the sediment content is not high, and the water quality is relatively clear. Wind direction and wave height are not particularly complicated. ”

Alemand reacted: "You came to Machen just to train soldiers?" ”

Chen Shouxu: "Don't treat me as an immortal, at first I didn't expect that the water depth and channel of Machen Port were not suitable." But now that I've met it, it's not bad to be able to train soldiers. This enemy is not strong. In the future, we may encounter rivers much larger than the Barito River, and enemies far stronger than Mazen. ”

Allem was silent, and Harris asked, "How do you want to fight, Admiral?" ”

Chen Shouxu pointed to the map, "We can't approach Machen Port, but we can occupy this Hexin Continent. ”

The two looked over, and five miles from the mouth of the river, the Barito River was cut in half by a small sandbar.

Harris looked up, "The width of the river there is also more than 1 mile wide. ”

Allemand: "It's only five miles, let's go in with the wind, be careful, we should be able to do it." It's easy to occupy a sandbank, but what is our goal? ”

Chen Shouxu said with a smile: "Let's do our old business." It's the navigation season of the Mazen, and we occupy the sandbar, block the river, and force the Mazen people to pay the ransom. ”

……

Since the state has been established, it cannot rush in and fight indiscriminately, as in the Americas. Countries need a reason to go to war. Under the pretext of anchoring at the mouth of the Barito River, Chen Shouxu was attacked by local pirates, and led a fleet to break into the mouth of the Barito River and ask the Sultan of Machen for an explanation.

The battleships were mixed in formation, with the Tempest as the lead of the whole fleet, the South Sea behind, and the Raphael and Melville in the center of the column. Wang Huizhi's junk ships sailed between the warships. The cross-sail ships used only mid-mast and up-mast sails, and the wind barely resisted the current, entering the river at a slow speed.

Chen Shouxu found that the junk boat, which he had always looked down on, performed better than his boat in the inland river. Both sides of the junk ship are equipped with draped plates, that is, waist rudders, which can better control the ship's side drift. This is the special equipment optimized for inland and offshore navigation of Chinese ships.

The marines disembarked to the longboat, spread their sails, and escorted the flanks of the fleet, all equipped with Fur engines, and on both sides hung shields captured at Sukkadana. Before setting out, each soldier was given a glass of coconut wine or rum, which was the best morale-boosting supply.

The fleet took advantage of the high tide in the morning to start its movements, always sending long boats to probe the channel ahead. The short 5-mile voyage took 6 hours and did not reach the destination until the tide was low. On the west side of the sandbar is the main channel of the Barito River, which is deeper. The three battleships were lined up, still 100 meters from the shore of the sandbar, and the Storm and the Junk were shallower in draft and moored inward.

At high tide, the sandbar is less than 500 meters long and less than 300 meters wide, in an irregular diamond shape. Immediately after the arrival of the fleet, the construction of artillery fortifications began. The sandbar is uninhabited, with only a few trees and weeds.

The sappers suggested going to the other side of the river to cut wood, but Chen Shouxu refused without even thinking about it. In an unfamiliar land, a logging team sent out may encounter danger.

There was no timber, so they could only rely on the bamboo baskets, grass blue, and sacks carried by the ship to tamp the soil and pile up some simple fortifications. Chen Shouxu sent 80 gunners to carry 14 cannons to the shore, and Wang Huizhi also sent 100 people.

Chen Shouxu blocked the channel and intercepted all the merchant ships on the Barito River. The old rules, irrelevant merchant ships were persuaded to return, and all the merchant ships of Ma Dalan and Ma Chen were seized. As with other Borneo countries, the Chinese were heavily involved in the local trade of the Malaysian region. For the Chinese merchant ships, Chen Shouxu also released the matter, in the Nanyang Chinese circle, it is now more important to leave a good reputation than to loot the low-value consumables loaded on the ship.

Sultan Ma Chen learned of Chen Shouxu's origin and sent a Chinese to negotiate with the fleet. Chen Shouxu opened his mouth and put forward conditions that were difficult for Sultan Ma Chen to meet. Seeing off the Chinese generals, Chen Shouxu summoned all the officers and said only one sentence, "Prepare for war." ”

The Borneo natives didn't have much of a trick to fight the war, and three days later, 15 deckless galleys, 10 catamarans, and uncountable dinghys came upstream.

Seeing that the enemy had finally arrived, everyone breathed a sigh of relief. They don't come, and the fleet is always in a state of intense readiness.

Allemand put down his binoculars: "There are some strange boats of the natives, and these are the first time I have seen those catamarans. ”

Harris: "I bet those who rushed to the front must have taken drugs again." ”

Chen Shouxu: "The effect of taking drugs for a short time is still relatively obvious, so let the soldiers not be careless." ”

The Nanhai and Raphael guarded both ends of the ship like two walls. Because it was difficult to anchor to the side of the river, ships could now only use their bows against the enemy. Soldiers stood by with arquebuses in their hands, and sailors who were not armed with muskets also picked up grenades. When the messy enemy ships rushed to 200 meters, the battleship began to shoot.

The heaviest battle took place on the Raphael at the front, and the two guns and gun emplacements in the bow could hardly hold down the numerous boats in the face of the eight guns in this direction.

The natives who came into range fired weapons indiscriminately at the Raphael, sending out clouds of gunpowder smoke with little effect. The broadside was successful, and the native soldiers threw various grappling ropes and ladders at the Raphael and climbed up.

The artillery forts could not provide direct support, and they could have damaged the Raphael with solid shells, and they could not reach them with shotguns, so they had to shoot at the enemy's follow-up ships.

The Raphael was left on its own. All the artillery within reach was replaced with shotguns, and the two sides fired almost nose-to-nose. Double shotgun, triple shotgun, desperately smashed down, piles of people were beaten to minced meat. The natives who were on the bow of the ship roared wildly and climbed onto the deck of the Raphael.

Medina, the acting captain of the Raphael, was a newcomer, and Chen Shouxuan was a little worried that he would not be able to hold on, and seeing that there were not many enemy ships in other directions, he ordered Harris, "Let the Marines and the Army go to support the Raphael and keep an eye on the enemy's attacking ships." ”

Because of the smoke of gunpowder, Chen Shouxu could not see the specific battle situation on the Raphael. Medina played well, and anticipating that the bow would be boarded, he built a breast wall between the foredeck and the aft deck with wooden barrels and canvas iron frames, and placed four one-pounder boom guns in the back.

Now this breastwork has made a significant difference. The soldiers withstood the natives' charge with their spears and muskets, and the boomern guns fired shotguns at the natives, the boomern guns were fast before the guns were finished, and the bow of the ship was a piece of minced flesh after the six shotguns were fired. The natives who tried to board the ship from both sides and stern were looking for death, and the broadside guns and sailors' grenades smashed them all into the sea.

The natives are the strongest in the first wave of drugs, and the first wave of covering the fire attack ship is their trump card. The Marine Corps, the Army, and Wang Huizhi's men came in long boats to reinforce them. The four teak-reinforced landing craft were not maneuverable, so they were escorted on both sides of the Raphael. Other longboats burst into the natives' dinghy, and a few old pirates performed their gang jumping tricks, two or three men jumping over with tomahawk scimitars and quickly cutting down a boatload of natives. Sometimes, when the enemy's ship is too large, they will throw a few grenades and blow them up before jumping into the gang. The combat effectiveness of Chinese pirates in this kind of small boat melee is vividly reflected, which is what they are best at.

The natives who had been reduced to the ghosts of the knife were invincible, and the jumbled corpses floated down the Barito River to the sea. Six attack ships approached the Raphael, but were held up by the landing craft with poles and could not get close, and six large torches were burned next to the Rafael.

Medina commanded the sailors to sweep the deck, and all the uninjured natives were captured and imprisoned, and the wounded and dead were thrown into the sea. When the smoke cleared, the barely damaged hull of the Raphael appeared in view, and Chen Shouxu knew that the battle was over. In the telescope, the natives fled back upstream, and the Nanhai raised the signal flag and recalled the longboat that had attacked.