The city of Pattani is very close to the coast, and when you stand on the boat, you can see that the houses are lined up and densely populated. The minarets of the Tenkado monastery can occasionally be seen in the low-lying marshy area and among the palm-leaf-roofed sub-houses. The Pattani River flows into the sea next to the city. It's a city that relies entirely on trade.

During this time, Chen Shouxu used the information he collected to gain a preliminary understanding of the trade in the South China Sea.

In the late Ming Dynasty, after the Europeans became deeply involved in the East Asian economic circle, China's foreign trade was roughly divided into four systems.

The core is silver, with Japanese silver accounting for the majority and American silver brought by Manila galleons accounting for less than half. At its peak, about 800,000 pesos and 1,200,000 taels of silver were imported into Asia a year. Japan is more, several times more than Manila.

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The first system was dominated by Hui merchants, Jin merchants, and Denglai merchants, and Suzhou and Hangzhou merchants also participated in the Sino-Korean trade between North China and Denglai - Bohai Strait - Lushun - Liaodong Island Chain - Phi Island. With the help of the Tsushima Domain, which was a vassal to Korea and Japan, this trade route extended all the way to Japan. It was also once a channel for China to obtain Japanese silver.

Mao Wenlong can feed hundreds of thousands of soldiers and civilians on several broken islands, and sea trade is his lifeline. Dongjiang Town in the Ming Dynasty was also one of the few northern soldiers of the Ming Dynasty with an international perspective. Of course, in the context of the border town trade that lasted for a hundred years in the Ming Dynasty, the international market of Phi Dao was also indispensable for goods from Jianzhou. Ten years ago, in 1631, Huang Taiji wrote to Liu Xingzhi, the younger brother of Liu Aita, the actual controller of Dongjiang Town after Mao Wenlong's death, "Its satin, gold and silver, no matter, but bow noodles, tea and other miscellaneous goods, this side is not out, so get, fortunately, do not hesitate to exchange it." Of course, Liu Xingzhi did not explicitly agree to Jianzhou's participation in the Phi Dao maritime trade, but in response, Liu Xingzhi gave Huang Taiji "200 bows, 100 catties of tea, 50 needles, 12 small mouths of stone blue, and 80 strands of gold thread" as a gift. After Yuan Chonghuan banned the sea, the influence of this northern route was greatly reduced. Yuan Chonghuan recovered to a certain extent after his death, and when Jianzhou conquered Korea, he was completely paralyzed.

The natural conditions of Phi Island are very poor, and every year from October to March, it is closed to sea for five months. However, in the 17th century Chinese maritime trade, the natural conditions of the port were not necessarily the first choice for forming a trading center. Historical inertia, maritime sentiment and familiarity with shipping routes are perhaps even more important. Similar to Phi Dao, there is also Zhangzhou Moon Port, which is not a good port, but it is the largest window of China's maritime trade. Mao Wenlong's vision is very powerful, he saw that because Chinese ships choose more offshore routes, then he controls the Lushun and Liaodong island chains, in fact, it is stuck in the only way to North China's sea trade, on this basis, he made something similar to commercial acceptance bills, and sent people to Shandong and Anhui to attract investment. Mao Wenlong's trade awareness and means are very admirable.

After Phi Dao, there is no maritime trade force in North China that is worth mentioning.

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The second is the Ryukyus. Or is it because the ship is not good, and the island chain is needed for sea navigation. Due to its excellent geographical location, the Ryukyus are well-positioned for triangular trade between China, Japan and the South Seas. After the establishment of the Tokugawa shogunate, Shimazu Iehisa, the lord of the Satsuma domain, wrote to Tokugawa Ieyasu several times to prove the importance of trade. After the unremitting efforts of the Shimazu family, Tokugawa Ieyasu allowed the Satsuma clan to send troops in 1609. The Ryukyus were powerless to defend themselves against Satsuma's army. Satsuma easily conquered the Ryukyus. From then on, the king of the Ryukyus became a de facto vassal of Satsuma. However, the Satsuma clan never banned the Ryukyu Kingdom, and he continued to claim vassal status to China under the Ryukyu vest and participate in maritime trade. Since Japan's seclusion, the status of the Ryukyus has become more and more important. Only the Netherlands and China were able to trade directly with Japan, and the Sino-Japanese route, in fact, was in the hands of Zheng Zhilong, Nikolai. In the hands of an official. Because of its unique political outlook and the position of de facto Japanese control, Ryukyu soon became a smuggling port, and the Satsuma Domain was very dependent on Ryukyu for its finances. The Ryukyus' position in the maritime trade of East Asia is comparable to that of Buenos Aires in the Atlantic.

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The third is the Oriental Route in South China.

At this time, although China's so-called Oriental Ocean also included Japan and Ryukyu, it more often referred to 11 countries and regions: Taiwan, Luzon, Sulu, Gaole, Maoliwu, Wangzhong Jiaodao, Shayao, Na Bi, Ban Pass, Merokhu, and Brunei. In addition to the city of Geranza in Taiwan, the Oriental Route has roughly six sub-routes, and the core of these six routes is Manila, Philippines.

Because the route of direct flights between China and the Philippines must first arrive in Taiwan, go south along the coastline of Taiwan, and then travel in the open sea, it was developed quite late.

It was not until the Spaniards arrived in Asia that there were direct flights between China and the Philippines. Prior to this, if you wanted to go to Luzon from Quanzhou in Fujian, you had to go west, from Guangdong, Guangxi, Vietnam, Siam, Pattani, Malacca, Borneo, Sulu, and the entire South China Sea to reach Luzon.

The exploration of direct flights between China and the Philippines is indispensable to the strength of the Spaniards.

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The fourth is the Western route to South China.

The Western route is also the most traditional, oldest and most mature sea route in China. The circulation system in the South China Sea is very pronounced in the west. The western boundary current of the South China Sea is not as ambiguous as the eastern boundary current, and it shows a very clear seasonal pattern. During the southwest monsoon, the ocean current goes south, and during the northeast monsoon, the ocean current goes north. Chinese sailing ships can not only sail all the way to shore, but also take advantage of this seasonal law to arrange the sailing schedule well. There is a record of Western shipping routes in the Book of Han, and there are many countries and ports on the routes, and there are likely to be Chinese ships.

During this period of the late Ming Dynasty, the Western route also started from Zhangzhou Yuegang, passing through Guangzhou, Guangdong, Macao, Guangzhou Bay, Beibu Gulf, Tokyo under the Zheng regime, Hoi An of Quang Nam Nguyen, Chenla, Siam Ayutthaya - Pattani, Malacca, Batavia. Because of the long voyage of the Western route, the Chinese ships that haunt the Western route are generally larger. The number of migrant ships going to Batavia was more than 10 zhang long, and the largest number of people on the United East India Company's record was more than 500 people.

Just because the Dutch did not have as much hard currency silver as the Spaniards, the hard currency that the Chinese were most interested in, and the number of merchant ships on the Western route was not as large as that on the Eastern route. When the Ming Dynasty still had control over maritime trade, it initially controlled the two oceanic ships to maintain the same number, each at 44 ships per year. Therefore, some merchants deceived the Ming Dynasty Yuegang Governor's Office into sailing to the Western Ocean as the destination, and turned around and sailed to Manila.

The countries on the Western route were also destinations for Japanese seals. After Japan closed off the country, Hoi An, Ayutthaya, and Pattani did not have Japanese maritime merchants wielding large sums of silver, and there was one less scenery. At present, under Japan's lockdown order, the Netherlands and Zheng Zhilong, who can go to Nagasaki for direct trade with Japan, are the biggest beneficiaries.

According to Dutch records, the three ports with the most merchant ships on the Western route for Chinese ships were Pattani, Banten and Batavia. In 1624, 15 Chinese ships arrived in Batavia, which of course was not comparable to the more than 50 that sailed to Manila.

As for Pattani, the Dutch recorded the most Chinese merchant ships in 1622, with 8. Later, the Dutch removed the Pattani Merchant House, and there is no exact record.

Before Pattani became independent, it was under the supervision of Siamese Nakhon Siamese Province. Lok Kun's Phaya is tasked with supervising the Malay countries, and at present, the Songkhla in the north of Pattani is also about to move, and Lok Kun is a little overwhelmed. Yamada Nagamasa was poisoned when he brought Japanese soldiers to reinforce Luo Kun to suppress the Celestial Cultists. In fact, the influence of the Celestial Cultists in the Siamese Navy is not small, and the current commander of the Siamese Navy is the Celestial Cultists. The king of Siam was very cautious about these pagan sailors.

Chen Shouxu's evaluation of Pattani is that this is a port that will not cause the consequences of flipping the table after being conquered.

Lin Tongwen revealed that there were originally 3,000 defenders in the city, and if you add the sailors who fled back, and then temporarily mobilize some strong men, it will not be difficult to gather 5,000 troops.

Chen Shouxu knew that the defenders in the city had an advantage in the number of ground troops. And the strength of his army is firepower and the quality of soldiers. So he let the landing proceed in a step-by-step manner, without rushing to attack the city.

The naval guns slowly advanced along the coastline, knocking out two batteries in a row. Soon after the shelling began, the defenders of the battery took off their clothes and ran backwards, and the 24-pound shells made them wish that their father and mother had lost two legs.

Then the first wave of marines landed and captured the battery. There were also 4 intact pieces of artillery on the battery, and the soldiers saw that there was a lot of gunpowder behind the battery, some scattered on the ground, some in boxes, covered with mats, in addition to a large number of shells, arquebuses, bows and arrows and other weapons. In the house, some hot dishes and hot meals were also seen, which were taken away in time when the enemy troops fled.

The Marines relied on the existing fortifications to set up defensive lines to cover the subsequent landing operations. The subsequent landing echelon was the rest of the Marine Corps, and a total of 600 sailors were drawn. Finally, the field artillery company went ashore and set up artillery positions outside the battery.

The defenders of Pattani watched the entire landing operation, and the naval guns made them have no intention of attacking and sabotaging. Before dark, the convoy and the briefing ship of the pursuing dhow, the Natuna pirates, also entered the Utanai Sea.

Chen Shouxu took out the Collingwood Changshan and Edward's Lima, which had completed the unloading task ahead of schedule, plus two notification ships, the Adventure and the Storm, to temporarily form a detachment, led by Collingwood, and sailed to Haikou to cover the entire landing operation.

The rest of the warships carried out landing operations all night, and now was not the time to skimp on supplies, all ships lit whale oil lamps, torches were also lit on the shore, and the landing beachhead was brightly lit.

Titch helped Chen Shouxu put on the breastplate.

Facing the mirror, Chen Shouxu sorted out his military uniform. After several years of turbulence at sea and a deliberately long beard, he couldn't tell that he was only in his 20s.

"How do I look?" Chen Shouxu asked Titch.

"Fit the image of a winning commander."

Chen Shouxu smiled, walked out of the officer's cabin, and said to the chief navigator, "Harris, the Changshui is now handed over to you." ”

After handing over the work of the battleship, Chen Shouxu transferred to the longboat with Lin Tongwen and Li Junchang. Before the longboat could come to a stop, he rolled up his trouser legs and jumped out of the boat. The moment he walked to the land, Chen Shouxu squatted down, grabbed a handful of soil, and rubbed it in the palm of his hand......

Continental Asia, I'm back.

After questioning the landing control officer of the Marine Corps, he asked Tiqi to take Lin Tongwen to the camping area reserved for the Pattani Chinese Army. Chen Shouxu walked into the fort that served as the headquarters.

The ground combat command of the fleet, Holren, Westheim, Walter and Maiden, were already within the battery. The lights are lit in the house, and the map hanging on the wall is clearly reflected.

The mercenary Lindenberg, the Natuna pirate Wang Huizhi, and the Sulu Alimoud are already in the headquarters.

Chen Shouxu entered the house and sat down on the main seat, and he first said to Maiden: "Ernst, 20,000 nautical miles, we have finally reached the last step of the plan. ”

Maiden smiled and nodded, "It's not easy." ”

Chen Shouxu: "Everyone, don't be careless now. We have already taken 99 of the 100 steps, and this last 1 step must not be careless. Tell the soldiers that the Queen's palace belongs to the fleet, and that the Chinese, Buddhists, and Christians are our friends, and that their homes cannot be touched after the Pata is conquered. The rest of the area, which can be celebrated for 3 days. ”

After all, the Chinese and Buddhists are in the minority, and even fewer Christians. In addition to the royal palace, there are still many noble residences in the city, and the harvest will certainly not be small.

"Mr. Hollane. This time I can only give you front-line command. "Unlike usual, Chen Shouxu intends to personally serve as the commander-in-chief of this landing.

"Yes, Commander." Holren's plans for the nation's founding had already been known from Maiden. As long as the founding of the country can be successful, these soldiers who have lost their motherland and drifted are equivalent to restoring their status as nobles, and they are no longer exiles who wander the world. The desire for fiefdom and the importance of family inheritance in the bones of these orthodox German soldiers are unimaginable to outsiders.

The leader of the highlanders in Mindanao is called Taipal, and Chen Shouxu promised him that after the defeat of Pattani, he could choose to settle here, and everyone would be given land. No need to go back to Sulu as a slave.

Seeing that Alimoud was about to speak and stopped, Chen Shouxu said, "Don't worry, I will pay." ”

Alimud felt no discomfort with plundering the cities of his fellow sectarians, and the dying Sultan told him before he left that he could do anything if he could grab the money.

Lindenberg suddenly spoke, "Captain Order." I have a request. ”

Chen Shouxu asked, "Captain, please speak." ”

"After the war, my soldiers and I also wanted to settle in Pattani."

"Herman is willing to give up the agreed employment price and do the same as us." ”

Chen Shouxu saw that they must have communicated before, and he had to give the face of the Marine Corps commander.

"All right, Mr. Lindenberg. As long as you're willing to follow our laws, it's not a problem. ”

Seeing that Wang Huizhi was sitting there and didn't speak, Chen Shouxu thought that he was simply satisfied. "Lord Wang. Do you have any special requirements? ”

Wang Huizhi smoked a cigarette and said slowly: "Captain Orderly." There are many old and weak women and children on my island, and many of the brothers Lin Feng left behind back then can't return home. Hopefully, Captain Orderly will accept them. Myself......" Wang Huizhi smiled, "I'm a person who can't stand restraints, and I won't stay in Peking University for long." If I want to go ashore, I will only go home and guard the ancestral grave. ”

Chen Shouxu: "No problem, after the Great Empire is laid, I will send a boat to pick up people from Wuqiyu with you." ”

After some mobilization, the next operational deployment was still arranged by Westheim, and Chen Shouxu, the specific commander of ground operations, did not interfere.

After the adjournment of the meeting. Chen Shouxu walked among the soldiers, and it was his habit to spend a while with them on the eve of the battle.

Over the next few days, Lin Tongwen brought over more than 600 troops, including Chinese, Siamese and Che Chi Tan. Along with Lin Tongwen were the 13 cannons he had purchased from all over the country. Chen Shouxu stroked it, and the British East India Company logo was clearly displayed on the gun. The British company, which is currently headquartered in Surat, India, and Banten in the Far East, will bring great variability to the situation in East Asia. But that's something to think about later.

If the forces are not superior, there is no need to use the method of besieging the city. Wait until the more than 20 heavy guns unloaded on the battleship come ashore, the movement is in place, and everything is ready.

Marine Corps and sailors 600;

Lindenberg mercenaries 200;

Sulu 100;

Mindanao Highlanders 500;

more than 500 Natuna pirates ashore;

Lin Tongwen's more than 600.

In this way, the total strength of the siege was more than 2,500 men, about half of the defenders. After many years, Holren's men finally had nearly a brigade of troops.

Marines and sailors were the core of the battle, followed by mercenaries and Sulus. Holren had at least seen them fight, and the rest of the troops had more of a supporting mission. Siege warfare, there is a lot of work of a civil engineering nature.

The siege artillery was under the unified command of Gardner, the fire controller of the deck of the Changshui gun. The 24-pounder and 18-pounder guns were the core of siege firepower. It's already hot. The artillery was shirtless, and various shells were piled up aside.

Chen Shouxu opened the binoculars and could clearly see the defenders on the city wall. There were 3 soldiers next to each battlement. The city concentrated most of its forces on this side.

Chen Shouxuan had no intention of using any tricks, he wanted to crush his opponent with a cannon.

The 24-pounder guns fired, the siege began, and various other models of artillery joined the chorus. The counter-attack firepower from the head of the city of Pattani was almost negligible.

After the first rounds of firing, in accordance with the deployment of fire, part of the artillery stopped firing. The continuous firing of the gun at this time was not very long, and it required a lot of cooldown. In order to keep the fire going, it was possible to fire only in turns.

The bricks were shattered, the battlements collapsed, and the soldiers scurried with their heads in their hands. Chen Shouxu looked at the effect of the shelling with satisfaction.

In order to avoid the scorching sun, the soldiers erected canvas pergolas. Supplies for food and drink were arranged, and the soldiers took turns to rest and go into battle. There was also a large residential area outside the city walls, and Chen Shouxu ordered that soldiers should not enter the residential area without permission to avoid being ambushed. Chen Shouxu is determined to move forward steadily little by little.

The shelling was carried out intermittently for a day, without throwing infantry. The next day, I saw that the battlements had been beaten. Holrenne was put into the Marine Corps. Light infantry went to the front, driving out small groups of the enemy with skirmishers. This was followed by spearmen in armor. They formed a dense formation in 4 rows, with the tips of their guns ahead of the way, and stepped onto the streets of residential areas. The rest of the arquebusiers provided cover on their flanks.

The Marines marched neatly into the residential area, always maintaining a formation and advancing under the guidance of Chinese guides who were familiar with the streets. The military music was accompanied by shouts, and they were extremely combative, and no one had mercy.

The phalanx swept through residential areas, killing efficiently and with great efficiency. The tight formation not only frightened the enemy, but also the friendly forces.

Clearing the residential areas outside the city walls, the field artillery company pushed the artillery under the city to provide close support to the Marines.

Seeing that the fire was almost over, in addition to the reserve of 200 people, Holren threw in Chinese, highlanders, and Sulu to attack the city walls. Bloody soldiers spurred on by the battle rushed under the walls and erected siege ladders. Arquebuses and field artillery provided fire support. Without the cover of battlements, the defenders simply could not stand out.

In the telescope, Che Zhi Dan is at the forefront with a Japanese knife in his hand. Upon learning that everyone had a large piece of land to their own, these Japanese exiled samurai were the most fanatical of the soldiers. They were the first to climb the walls.

Most of the defenders' attention was drawn to the soldiers attacking the walls. The arquebusiers pressed the sides of the gate, and a team of sappers, braving not dense side-fire, took the opportunity to move the gunpowder under the gate, and with a loud bang, the gate was blown down. It was a bulky and huge gate, covered with a layer of iron sheets, and many sandbags were piled up inside the gate. When the gunpowder exploded, the gate was shattered to pieces, swept up by a gust of wind, and fell far into the street, and the arch above the gate did not change the position of even a single brick. That's what professionalism is.

The soldiers rushed into the city with a shout of smoke and fire, dust, and flying fragments of the city gates. The marines, as spearheads, advanced directly to the royal palace.

The soldiers who occupied the walls swept along the walls to the flanks, while the rest of the soldiers slaughtered other points in the city.

The intensity of the attack seemed to defeat an enemy ten times their size, and of course there was no such resistance. The Chinese column was fired upon by the enemy in a noble residential area, losing a number of men, and a field gun that followed the infantry into the city immediately stopped, and after firing 10 shells at a rapid rate, Lin Tongwen's men swarmed up and slashed the enemy.

About evening, the two passers-by on the city wall met.

The last resistance came from the palace, where the remnants of the organized defenders lined up in the square in front of the palace, where there were a number of archers armed with arquebuses and bows.

The marines did not rush forward, the weather was very hot, the troops were sweating with every step, they had been fighting for the longest time, and they were already relatively tired. The enemy forces were outnumbered, and Walter commanded the marines to rest in place.

Two field guns were pushed up and shells were fired at the enemy. The stone floor of the square can easily form ricochet, which causes great damage. Although the number of rested marines was less than one-third of the enemy's number, the armor and tight formation made the enemy have no chance. Spears pierced the warriors into skewers, cowhide boots trampled the corpses, and the enemy army was forced into the palace step by step.

Compared to the life of a soldier, any art in the palace is worth mentioning. The grenadiers use grenades to clear the way and clear the enemy of resistance. The ornately carved gate was hit, porcelain from China fell to the ground, and no one went to pity it. The fine Persian carpets were restained with blood and mottled with the dirt from the soldiers' feet.

The looting began, flames were set in several noble residences, and the city wept for the first night of its fall.

End of Volume II