Governor's Palace on the island of Mozambique

An important guest from the East Indies, Sir Sheng Yeyun of Bacheng "Kapitan", was sent by the Dutch East Indies Governor's Office at the request of the Portuguese Governor Bernardo Fernandez, who brought a number of spices from the East Indies and several Dutch officers, which showed full of sincerity.

Unfortunately, they came too late, or the Portuguese lost too quickly, the vast area of Mozambique has changed hands, and the remaining 30,000 or so Portuguese are crowded on the island of Mozambique, which covers an area of less than 1.5 square kilometers.

The island of Mozambique can be roughly divided into two parts, the higher mountain terraces are full of fortress-type castles, churches and residential areas, the buildings here are all made of large blocks of stone, so it is called the city of stones, the architecture is rich in Renaissance Portuguese characteristics, it is the center of the entire Mozambique region and the economic and military town, the governor's palace is located here.

The Portuguese magnates and lords, as well as the wealthy "Barazo" manor owners, mostly lived in the Stone City, where they enjoyed the extravagant aristocratic life, where fine food and wine and silk clothes were indispensable, and the theme of the reception was always around cursing the Queensland invaders, day after day, without getting tired.

In the low-lying area under the summit platform, there is a large residential area with cluttered and crowded buildings, and it is called the "Straw City" because of the low-lying terrain where the stone castle was originally built.

It was inhabited by a large number of native white Portuguese people who had fled blindly with the ranchers, who were left with little possessions and nowhere to go, so they could only temporarily live in crowded shacks, struggling to survive on their fingers.

Over time

The island's supplies are becoming more and more poor, especially in the city of straw, there is not enough food, salt, fruit and meat, and even enough clean drinking water, and the crowds have made the sanitation situation extremely poor, epidemics are epidemic, dozens of people die every day from falciparum tropical malaria and various schistosomiasis, and people can only flock to the church to pray sincerely for a way out of this nightmarish life.

Sheng Yeyun came to Mozambique to see this situation, and at the same time he felt a deep sense of powerlessness and added a fear of the Queenslanders, who knew that these Portuguese were finished and could not hold out for long.

"Welcome...... Sir Sheng, my friend from afar, you must have seen that everything on the island is terrible. Governor Bernardo Fernández said with a hint of exhaustion on his face, barely with a smile on his face.

"Thank you, Your Excellency Governor, for bringing me the friendship of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, and I hope this will give some comfort to our Portuguese partners in distress, that you are not fighting alone, and that the Governor of the Dutch East Indies will always be your reliable partner, for we have a common enemy, the aggressive Queenslanders." Sheng Yeyun said high-sounding words on his lips, and he looked down on the Portuguese in his heart.

Nothing else...... With this kind of defeated rooster-like attitude, it is impossible to turn defeat into victory.

Comparatively

The Dutch colonists were even tougher, although they were defeated, after all, they fought tenaciously and composed an impassioned war song with bloody sacrifices, although they were defeated, they were still glorious!

After all, the total number of Dutch whites in the East Indies is only about 200,000, which is at a great disadvantage compared with Queensland (Australia alone), which has a population of more than 5 million.

The Portuguese lost much more ugly, losing Mozambique with only a few hundred dead and wounded, and nearly 400 years of colonial rule collapsed.

"Come on my friend, there are some fine wines made in Portugal, and this is the best gift we can give to our friends from afar, damn it! The Queenslanders have blocked trade between the mainland and the island, and now the island lacks everything, and even filling its stomach is a luxury, but we have a reserve of weapons that can fight for 100 years, and the enemy is not ready to attack, which is a bitter irony......"

Governor Bernardo Fernández lost his former grace and became nagging like a resentful woman abandoned by her husband, and it is conceivable that he was not doing well during this time, and he was under great pressure, both from Lisbon and Queensland, and from the endless troubles from within, and perhaps this was the most troublesome thing.

General Silva looked at the Governor-General's chattering complaints, and quickly took over the conversation and said; "Welcome, please sit down and have a drink, I heard that Sir Sheng is the most authoritative expert on Queensland, we do have a lot of doubts, we want to ask you?"

"Hehehe...... You're right, General, any doubts about Queensland can be asked to me, and I am confident that I will give an authoritative answer. ”

Sir Sheng Yeyun knows that Westerners are not good at twisting and turning, and there is no habit of humility.

In the face of these Europeans, Sheng Yeyun has a sense of superiority that is crushed by culture.

Once the guests were seated, a maid dressed in Portuguese national costume served wine and a large plate of roasted mashed bananas, thinly sliced cheese, beef jerky, and some marinated fish.

This is probably the most sumptuous hospitality the island has ever been able to offer, and supplies are indeed difficult.

"Uh...... Sir Sheng, I want to know, what is going on with these Orientals from Queensland and the ancient civilization of the Far East, the Qing Dynasty? Why are they so aggressive? It is completely different from the humble and humble Oriental people in our impression. General Silva asked impatiently.

"That's a good question, it's very profound." Sheng Yeyun nodded reservedly, looked around at everyone present, and said with a serious expression;

This is a very big proposition, and in order to answer this question clearly, we must first discuss the origin of Queenslanders, racial composition, national character, historical origins and other aspects.

This is inseparable from a crucial big man, the Earl of Queensland's aggressive and tough personality, which is what makes the Queensland community unique.

Famous generals in ancient and modern times will deeply engrave their command style in the army, from the Hun King Attila to the French Emperor Napoleon, all of them, cherishing honor and eager for victory, this character can be reproduced in the Queensland army, and the Earl of Queensland is inseparable.

The Earl of Kunshan Lan surnamed Li, is said to have originated from the descendants of the Tang Dynasty thousands of years ago, which was a powerful dynasty in the ancient East, extremely advocating force, destroying hundreds of countries in its heyday, and the empire's territory was as far as the green mountains of Central Asia and penetrating into the Russian sphere of influence.

Of course, there was no Tsarist Empire at that time.

The character of this Oriental Earl surnamed Li contains a strong expansiveness, which may come from the ancestral bloodline, as can be seen from his initiative to start the East Indies War, bombard Nagasaki, and invade Somalia and Mozambique in Africa.

Since the first time he set foot on Australian soil in 1876, the Earl of Queensland has planned to introduce a large number of Chinese immigrants, creating a predominantly Chinese society in Queensland, Australia, and starting the process of industrialization, with a total number of nearly 6 million, becoming a powerful force to be reckoned with.

Although these Chinese immigrants came from the ancient Oriental countries, they were required to cut off their braids when they arrived in Queensland, which was a strong signal of separation from the Qing State.

meanwhile

These Orientals who moved to Queensland were influenced by Western education, they encouraged risk-taking, admired military honor, and their education was full of aggression, mixed with the brainwashing education of some loyal lords, and reshaped the character of the Oriental ethnic group, becoming as aggressive as the Tang Empire thousands of years ago.

In the Great Qing Kingdom of China, the edges and corners of the people there have been smoothed out, the character is deferential and humble, everything is peaceful, and they regard themselves as the superior kingdom of the Celestial Empire.

Compared to Queenslanders, there are two obvious extremes. ”

Speaking of which

Sheng Yeyun paused deliberately, the luxurious dome hall was silent, everyone was listening carefully to his words, nodding frequently in agreement, which made Sheng Yeyun feel extremely satisfied, so he smiled and continued; "I wonder if my answer will satisfy General Silva?"

There was silence in the dome hall for 10 seconds, and then there was loud applause.

"Your analysis is very incisive, to the heart of the matter, and it really makes me feel like I have broken through the fog, but unfortunately...... It was too late for us to hear such valuable advice. General Silva replied with some bitterness.

"Queenslanders are not terrible, they can be wounded, they can die and they will lose, and we must show a strong desire to fight to the death, and defend the unique values of the Portuguese nation at the cost of our lives and great costs, only then will they really take it seriously." Sheng Yeyun looked around confidently and said in a demagogic tone; "Break through the hard outer shell, and you can see the soft inner belly of Queensland, which is nothing more than some ridiculous bluff. I have great confidence in the fact that the Kingdom of Portugal, with its glorious past as the Kingdom of the Netherlands, will be able to triumph over this evil dragon of the East, and on behalf of the Viceroyalty of the Dutch East Indies, I convey my sincere friendship and readiness to provide all necessary assistance to defeat our common enemy......"

Sheng Yeyun talked eloquently, he really hated Queensland to the bone.

The scene of his mission to Australia in late March became a shame that he will never forget.

At first, the Queensland side deliberately delayed time, put aside the Dutch delegation and did not respond positively, and revealed that everything was negotiable, and even gave Sheng Yeyun a hint of fantasy, if the two sides could really marry, it would be a big profit.

After the bombardment of Nagasaki, the Queensland side quickly took a hard turn, mocking the toad with disdain for wanting to eat swan meat, and threatening to start a second East Indies war and expel the Dutch from the area completely......

Under tremendous pressure, the head of the delegation, Wenbeck, could not hold on, and not only unconditionally agreed to withdraw from Borneo, but also quietly accepted the harsh trade conditions of the Queensland side, allowing Queensland goods to enter Java and Sumatra unhindered, and giving preferential tariffs.

On the contrary, the Dutch-occupied area did not take any advantage in the trade with Australia, and even did not mention the conditions of the marriage, and Sheng Yeyun's relevant trade request was directly ignored, which made him deeply humiliated.

The Queenslanders went too far and didn't even bother to throw out a dog bone.

Sheng Yeyun volunteered to come to Africa this time, as long as he could block Queensland, he was willing to run more errands.

It's a pity that the Portuguese are not angry!

In this day and age, it is extremely inconvenient to transfer information.

When Sheng Yeyun and his entourage boarded the ship and headed for Mozambique, they were still thinking about various plans to make trouble for the African expeditionary force, and even the guerrilla warfare that the Dutch were good at was ready to be taught.

What about the stubborn resistance of the Portuguese, who had been driven from mainland Mozambique for nearly 400 years, to gather on this small island of less than 1.5 square kilometres?

After all, you Portugal is the former maritime hegemon, and the glory of the past is still there, can you fight a few battles solidly?

It's just a gentle push and it collapses, can you still get a face?

"To tell you the truth, if the Queenslanders don't attack again, we will collapse ourselves." Governor Bernardo Fernández said discouraged words with a wry smile, he is not afraid to break morale, there is no morale at all in Mozambique now, eh...... There is also no room for decline.

MMP!

Hey, as the backbone and leader of the resistance forces on the island of Mozambique, Your Excellency the Governor, are you really okay with that?

Sheng Yeyun puffed up his strength for a long time, and it was not enough for the Governor to be discouraged by this, looking at the deeply approving expressions of everyone sitting in the dome hall, he felt a serious sense of frustration.

He desperately encouraged the Portuguese and Queenslanders to fight to the death, and they were not afraid of beating their heads into dogs, and the more they died, the better, but the Portuguese didn't coax them first, what is this special style of painting?

"Your Excellency the Governor, I believe that all difficulties can be overcome, and as long as the Portuguese return to mainland Mozambique one day, all the perseverance and sacrifice will be worth it."

"That being said, we're afraid we won't see that day." Governor Bernardo Fernández, as a standard pessimist, is not as strong as the average two-way out, and once opened, the chatterbox will be full of complaints, which is even more resentful than a resentful woman.

"God testifies...... My dear friend, every day here is like a hell.

The blockade of the coast by Queenslander gunboats and warships, the passing freighters were seriously warned not to allow deliveries to the island of Mozambique, and even openly intercepted these cargo ships, which was like a noose around our necks.

The brave Portuguese were not afraid of battle, but they were discouraged by these vile tricks, and a riot broke out in the city of straw the other day, where people killed each other over food, killing and wounding hundreds.

If this situation does not change, this place will soon become a dead island, which is what worries me the most.

Dear friend, is there anything you can do? ”

"Your Excellency the Governor, you need a fleet." Sir Sheng Yeyun said firmly.