"Negotiations?"

"Yes, the other side is asking for negotiations, presumably because they want us to surrender."

"Let's talk about it, it's a day that can be delayed."

No matter how smart Kwong Hung was, he would never have imagined that the gunpowder of the Dutch defenders was running out. The Dutch Army's riotous operation caused the muskets to rust and the gunpowder to freeze, which had occurred in Tainan, but it was encountered by the Han rebels, and the Datong Army had no knowledge of it.

At this moment, the Dutch defenders were still drying gunpowder.

"Son of a bitch!"

Commander Hendrik inspected the gunpowder situation, and as soon as he arrived at the place, he couldn't help but burst into foul language, shouting out the Dutch word klootzak.

He rushed over quickly and kicked the soldier over: "How many times have I told you that the powdered gunpowder is not allowed to be struck, but must be slowly ground into powder!" ”

These army soldiers, all of whom belong to the prenatal education industry, have never fought a war since becoming soldiers, and have never suffered losses from gunpowder explosions.

To tell the truth, the Dutch were lucky enough that a large amount of gunpowder in the arsenal was damp, and it was possible to release heat and explode on its own. Over the years, they have been suffering from "giant bombs", and not all of them have ascended to heaven to count the virtues of their ancestors.

Generally speaking, powdered and damp gunpowder has to be ground and then slowly dried. It is necessary to re-use the sieve to sieve out the fine powder and then configure it, so that it can be used normally.

But the air in Malacca was too humid to wait to dry, so he took the risk of baking.

When baking, the temperature is slightly higher, and the gunpowder may ignite.

Hendrik looked at the several bonfires, at the gunpowder that was placed haphazardly, and at the hammers used for hammering, and suddenly felt the urge to open the city and surrender.

"This ensign, come here!" Hendrik pointed to a soldier.

The second lieutenant of the Netherlands, at this time, was not a military rank, but a grassroots cadre position, equivalent to the commander of the Datong Army, and he had received a little education. The late Governor of Batavia, Van Dimen, was originally a second lieutenant in the navy.

An ensign came running by, his name was Riar, and he barely recognized some words.

Hendrik instructed: "Whoever dares to knock gunpowder with a hammer again will screw off his head and stuff it into the!" ”

"Yes!" Rial held his head high.

Hendrik then departed, and Rial lay there lazily and lazily, and said to the other soldiers, "Grind slowly, don't knock." Today the enemy did not attack, and everyone took the opportunity to rest. “

As soon as these words came out, the gunpowder was no longer handled, and the Dutch soldiers sat down together and began to chat.

The Dutch Marine Corps will not be formed for more than 20 years. In the Dutch army at this time, the navy was the navy, the army was the army, the navy looked down on the army, and the army hated the navy.

Anyway, the army doesn't want to fight tough battles and only likes to bully the natives.

If it weren't for spreading the plague in Tainan, the Dutch Army would not even be able to win the battle against the Taiwanese natives, so how would they be willing to fight the Datong Army?

"I heard that there will be negotiations today, and it would be nice if it succeeded. With yesterday's back salary, I'm going to go to the city to drink and find another woman to sleep with.

"When I made enough money, I opened a brothel in the city and went to the suburbs to arrest Malay women as prostitutes. Those brothels run by Klin (Hindu) and Nyonya (mixed-race Chinese) are really profitable, and I am so red to see it! ”

"Haha, if you open a brothel, we'll help you catch women. How about a Malay woman, how about selling you 50 guilders? “

"50 guilders is too expensive, 20 guilders at most. The countryside is full of Malay natives, and it is easy to catch them with muskets. ”

"Joan, that fool, actually married a wife last year, and she is a Malay woman. Haha, after his wife became pregnant, he even quit drinking,

I have to go to the city to work. “

"I persuaded him, why don't you enjoy it if you have money? Is it bad to drink and go to a brothel? This fool wears himself out half to death every day. ”

"I'm afraid you're all envious in your hearts, aren't you? After Qiao Ann got married, she was able to wear clean clothes every day, and often washed her hair and bathed, looking clean like a nobleman. What about you? It's all like a bum. ”

"Even if I want to get married, I won't look for a Malay woman, I'll look for a Nyonya in the city!"

"Nyonya fancy you? They're all very rich. ”

"When the company sends more soldiers, we will gain a firm foothold in Malacca, and then we will levy heavy taxes on those Nyonya! I tell you, I was transferred from Batavia, where the Chinese have to pay heavy taxes. We, the Dutch soldiers, have the opportunity to blackmail the Chinese. It's like here, and you have to smile at them when you see Nyonya. “

At the negotiating table.

Dai Hui, the deputy envoy sent by Honglu Temple, sat on the main seat of the negotiation, next to Chen Erxun, who assisted him in the negotiation.

Dai Hui didn't come to negotiate at all, and as soon as he opened his mouth, he said in a commanding tone: "You have been surrounded, there are only more than a hundred of you, and you can't hold Malacca at all." Don't think there are reinforcements, Banten's army, is attacking Batavia. Batavia is too busy to spare his forces to save you. In order to avoid greater casualties on both sides, as long as you surrender immediately, you will not die! ”

When the passage was translated, Sanders was shocked and angry.

Less anger and more fright.

Batavia is on the offensive?

If that's the case, Malacca won't be able to wait for reinforcements. Even if the Indian stronghold sent troops to the rescue, it would definitely go around Batavia Sanders first and pretended to be calm and said: "Fort Santiago is extremely strong, and it is impossible for you to take it." In order to avoid unnecessary losses, I can call the shots and give you a sum of money, but it is absolutely impossible to surrender. ”

The chickens and ducks on both sides talked about each other, from the morning to the middle of the afternoon, there was no progress at all, and they could only break up unhappily.

As he was leaving, Sanders sent a few soldiers to hang them out of the castle hanging basket.

Chen Erxun, a local Chinese leader, said to the two Dutch soldiers next to him as he sat in the basket: "As long as you surrender, each of you will be rewarded with 5."

shield, and continue to hire you as soldiers, and the military salary will be directly doubled compared to before. Then you will be able to marry and have children, and your salary will be enough to support your family. I don't work in the city, and I have the money to drink every day. Tell these words to the other soldiers. If you serve as a soldier for the Chinese, you may even become a nobleman. “

The two Dutch soldiers looked at each other by Chen Erxun.

After surrendering, each person will be rewarded with 50 guilders, and the military salary will be directly doubled?

Sending off the "negotiating messenger", two soldiers whispered:

"Are the Chinese telling the truth?"

"I've heard that China is full of gold, and if you give them soldiers, maybe you can really double your salary. I'm 34 years old and I don't want to go to a brothel anymore, I want to get married and have a son. What about you? “

"But how do we two surrender?

"Tell the others, there must be those who are willing to surrender. The Chinese said that it is possible to become a nobleman by serving as a soldier in China. Even if you can't become a nobleman, you can make more money, and maybe you can wear silk. “

””

That night, the words spread throughout the castle.

Some people were moved, some were suspicious, but no one dared to act, and there was no leader, and the informant soldier appeared.

Sanders was frightened, fearing that the soldiers would mutiny en masse, so he called a lecture overnight: "Among us, there are some rumors. I tell you,

Those are all fake. The Chinese will not give you double wages, but will kill you. To us, they are infidels. To them, we are also infidels. The Chinese emperor caught the infidels and would burn them to death in the capital of China. Once the castle is breached, you will all die, and you must defend it to survive! Of course, you have worked very hard to defend the city, and now you will be rewarded with 1 guilder per person."

Even coaxing and frightened, the soldiers finally did not dare to surrender.

Although Sanders doesn't usually treat them as human beings, after all, they are all from the Netherlands, and emotions make him believe Sanders even more. For them, China is too foreign to believe what the Chinese say.

However, there are very few who still intend to take risks.

Gide's grandparents were originally from Portugal and the family had lived in Malacca for more than 100 years. Since my grandfather's generation, I began to mix blood, mainly with Malay blood.

After the Dutch seized Malacca, he was conscripted into the army as a half-European because of the sickness and death of too many soldiers.

Night.

Gid said to the soldiers who were guarding the same enemy line, "Jacques, I want to go out and try it." ”

Jacques was surprised: "You are not afraid of being killed by the Chinese?" “

Gide said: "What is the future of staying? You can't read, and I can't read, and unless you make a great contribution, you can't be promoted. And, can we really hold on here? I want to be like a merchant in the city, able to wear silk clothes! Do you want to? ”

"Yes!" Jacques gritted his teeth.

Since the number of defenders is too small, they have to be on duty at night, and there are only two of them here.

It was 5 meters above the ground, and they had no rope, so they couldn't find a way to get out and surrender.

The two took off their clothes and trousers, tore them into pieces of cloth one by one, tied them up and turned them into long ropes, and the arquebuses of their arquebuses were also entangled and reinforced.

The upper end was tied to the arrow battlements of the city wall, and it hung down more than two meters above the ground, enough to jump out of the castle along the rope.

They threw down their muskets and slipped away silently, unnoticed by the others.

The two guys, naked, ran all the way down the hill and were caught by the sentry halfway through.

"Is there an enemy army who has surrendered? Hahahaha! ”

Kwong Hong was very happy to hear this, and said: "Keep your promise and give them money!" ”

1 guilder, about 10 grams of silver, 50 guilders, is only more than ten taels of silver (one catty and sixteen taels).

Hearing that the two defectors had no clothes on, Kuang Hong asked Chen Erxun to bring silk and asked them to wear it and negotiate with them tomorrow.

Gide and Jacques, happily dressed in silk clothes, followed Dai Hui and Chen Erxun to set off.

The group slowly climbed up the hill and came to the outside of the castle.

It was explained that it was to negotiate, and the bamboo basket was quickly hung in the city.

Chen Erxun angrily reprimanded: "It's okay once, the second negotiation, why don't you let us go through the door?" Don't talk about it! “

The Dutch officers and soldiers in the city were baffled by these words.

Chen Erxun turned around and left, Gide and Jacques took off their hats and shouted towards the city, "Let's not talk about it!" “

After they had left, the defenders of the city whispered:

"Those two people knew each other so well."

"What a familiar face, it's Gid and Jacques, they must have run away last night!"

"They seem to be dressed in silk."

"Surrender to be able to wear silk? That's what only the aristocracy can wear. ”

“......”

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