ATPnovel Chapter 69 The End
Chapter 69 The End
West of the city, Wilde Street.
The Dutch defenders built a relatively strong second line of defense here, using a stone church and the surrounding two-story brick buildings to set up crossfire, and even brought up two cannons. The Ming army's two charges were repelled, and dozens of corpses were left in the streets.
"Such a direct assault would result in too many losses." One of the Ming army company commanders in charge of the attack on this street frowned and said to his colleague, "We need to take a detour, avoid the Dutch fire, and attack from their flank and rear."
"But we haven't heard from any of the teams that took the detour..." Another company commander said with a grim expression.
"Send someone back to port and request that the 12-pounder cannons be brought over," the company commander, who spoke first, gritted his teeth and said. "Use the 12-pounder cannons to destroy the enemy's artillery first, otherwise we won't be able to advance even if we all die on the way!"
The other company commander was about to respond when suddenly shouts of battle erupted from behind the Dutch positions, instantly drawing the attention of both men.
"Kill the red-haired dog—!"
A series of roars, filled with endless hatred and rage, resounded like thunder behind the church.
Dozens or even hundreds of young Chinese men poured out like a flood from the alleyways, from nearby shops, and even from behind the low wall that originally belonged to the church warehouse.
The weapons they carried were a motley collection: rusty machetes, sharpened bamboo poles, heavy door bolts, dripping kitchen knives, and even swords and matchlock guns stolen from the corpses of Dutch soldiers... Each person's face was a mixture of anger and a desperate madness!
The middle-aged man leading the group, his face covered in blood, brandished a captured Western-style military sword and roared hoarsely, "Fellow villagers! The royal army is just ahead! Block the red-haired dogs' retreat! Don't let a single one escape!"
"Kill them—!"
The Chinese insurgents roared and plunged in from a direction the Dutch defenders never expected—their rear and flanks!
The Dutch defenders on the Wilde Street defensive line were instantly stunned.
All their attention was focused on the Ming army at the street corner directly ahead. Musketeers were leaning against the barricades or windows, nervously loading their weapons, gunners were busy cleaning the cannons and carrying the next shell, and officers were urging each other on, discussing how to deal with the next wave of Ming attacks.
When the deafening battle cries came from behind, many Dutch soldiers turned around in a daze, their faces drained of color.
"My God! It's the Chinese! The Chinese have rebelled!"
"They're coming up from behind!"
Panic swept through the entire defense line like a plague.
At the back door of the church, a Dutch lieutenant was directing his soldiers to move ammunition when he heard shouts of battle behind him. He turned around and saw a large group of menacing Chinese soldiers emerging from across the street.
In a panic, he drew his pistol, firing wildly into the crowd without even aiming. He then turned to run, but the Chinese laborers, accustomed to hard labor, were faster. They pounced on him in a few strides, knocking the lieutenant to the ground, while another man slammed a door bolt down on the back of his head...
The Dutch soldiers who were carrying ammunition also hurriedly dropped what they were holding and shouted as they tried to grab weapons to resist, but the Chinese militia quickly rushed over and knocked them to the ground.
The two sides clashed, without orderly ranks or strict command; it was a primitive and bloody battle.
An elderly Chinese man swung a shovel and smashed the head of a young Dutch musketeer; a boy was stabbed in the abdomen by a Dutch soldier's bayonet, but he held on tightly to his opponent, allowing his companion to slash the Dutch soldier's neck with a machete; several insurgents worked together to push over a cart full of sandbags, pinning two musketeers who were shooting from behind it to the ground.
Chaos quickly spread throughout the entire defensive line.
The Ming army officers on the front immediately noticed the huge commotion and chaos behind the Dutch lines.
"What's going on? There's chaos behind the Red Barbarians!" The company commander stood on tiptoe to look, then his face lit up with wild joy. "It's...it's our people! It's our compatriots from the city! They're cutting off the Red Barbarians' retreat!"
"Heaven is on our side!" Another officer slammed his fist on the wall in excitement, then drew his sword and shouted to the equally jubilant soldiers behind him, "All troops, listen to my command! Charge with me! Coordinate with our brothers, attack from both sides, and rout the enemy in front of us in one fell swoop!"
"The Ming army is victorious! Kill—!"
Without needing further encouragement, the Ming soldiers who had been suppressed at the street corner roared and charged at the Wilde Street defense line again like tigers released from their cages.
Ahead were Ming soldiers charging forward with bayonets raised and cheering, while behind them were Chinese rebels pouring out in droves. The Dutch, attacked from both sides, were completely defeated.
"Retreat! Retreat towards the Governor's Palace!" A Dutch captain, his face covered in blood, screamed desperately, trying to rally his troops.
But his voice was drowned out by the noise of the battlefield, and a Ming soldier also spotted him, raised his gun and pulled the trigger.
A gunshot rang out, and a bullet hole immediately appeared in the chest of the Dutch captain. He was jolted, looked down at his chest in resentment, opened his mouth as if to say something, but before he could speak, the Chinese militiamen who rushed in from behind slashed his neck with a knife.
The Dutch army completely lost its order. Soldiers were either killed in the chaos or dropped their weapons and instinctively fled towards the inner city, which they thought was safe. Many people panicked and ran into the alleys on both sides, only to run into even more Chinese insurgents.
The barricades were easily abandoned, the cannons were left unused, and the flags fell to the ground and were trampled underfoot.
The Wilde Street defenses crumbled in an instant, and similar scenes played out in many other parts of Batavia.
The full-scale uprising that broke out in the Chinese community was like igniting a huge powder keg behind the Dutch garrison. The Dutch had built up their defenses for many years and thought they were impregnable, but under the attack from both inside and outside, they became riddled with holes.
The insurgents were familiar with every alley and courtyard in the city.
They threw bricks and tiles from the rooftops, waged guerrilla warfare in the streets and alleys, set traps on the routes that Dutch reinforcements would inevitably take, and burned Dutch supply warehouses...
Although the insurgents lacked training and sophisticated weaponry, and soon suffered heavy casualties under the Dutch counterattack, their relentless attacks and ubiquitous harassment greatly dispersed, tied down, and even depleted the Dutch forces and morale.
Chen Ang soon received urgent reports of victory from the front lines, as well as statements from Chinese righteous people who had taken the initiative to cooperate with the royal army in resisting the Dutch.
This greatly pleased him, and he immediately ordered: "Order all units to advance at full speed! Cooperate closely with the righteous people, pursue relentlessly, and give the red-haired barbarians no chance to breathe!"
After the order was given, the Ming army's offensive intensified suddenly. With the guidance of the insurgent Chinese and the support of their flanks, the Ming army was like a tiger with wings, and quickly advanced into the heart of the city.
The retreating Dutch defenders attempted to reorganize their resistance in places like the town square and the banking street, but often before their lines were firmly established, the shouts of Chinese righteous people and the drumbeats of the Ming army's attack could be heard from all sides, forcing them to abandon their posts and flee once again.
However, the Dutch troops held their ground in the sturdy stone building of the Amsterdam Bank of Exchange in Drumbatavia on Bank Street, breaking windows and firing from the inside out.
This bank held tens of thousands of taels of silver and gold reserves, and was the lifeline of wealth for the entire Batavia and even the Dutch East Indies in the Far East. It could not be easily captured by the Ming army.
The Ming army was initially unaware of the building's importance and launched a fierce attack on the Dutch troops hiding inside. However, after contacting the local righteous people and learning that there were large reserves of gold and silver inside, their target changed. They directly deployed a squad of 12-pound cannons to bombard the stone building of the bank.
The sturdy stone walls, narrow windows, and heavy iron-clad doors certainly gave the Dutch defenders the confidence to put up a stubborn resistance.
They fired bullets from behind the broken windows, trying to halt the Ming army's advance; occasionally, officers could be heard shouting encouragement in Dutch, laced with the promise of money—
"Hold on! For the company's benefit! Hold this position, and everyone will be rewarded with one hundred silver coins!"
However, when the four 12-pounder cannons were pushed to the front of Bank Street, emitting a deep roar, and slammed the first salvo of solid shot into the bank building, all the clamor and resistance instantly seemed pale and ridiculous.
Boom boom boom—
The heavy solid shot slammed into the stone wall, the deafening roar causing eardrums to ache. The first volley of shells did not directly destroy the thick stone wall, but the enormous impact caused the entire bank building to tremble violently.
Spiderweb-like cracks appeared on the walls, and dust, gravel, and plaster rained down from the ceiling and walls, hitting the Dutch soldiers below and eliciting gasps and curses.
The wall below a window was hit directly, and in an instant, rubble flew inward like cannonball fragments. The two musketeers who were firing from behind were smashed to pieces before they could even scream.
"They have cannons!"
"God! We can't stay here any longer, we'll be buried alive!"
"Get out of here! Get out of here!"
Desperate cries began to echo inside the bank, mingling with the officers' furious shouts and threats. In the end, the greed for wealth could not overcome the desire to live—a mere hundred silver coins, what was the point of risking one's life!
boom!
Another shell hit the hinge of the bank's iron-clad oak door. The huge impact not only dented and deformed the door, but also completely tore and shattered one of the hinges.
The door let out a twisted groan, tilting to one side and revealing the panicked crowd inside the lobby.
"Switch to grapeshot and fire at the main gate!"
Seeing the gate blasted open, the artillery officers quickly issued new orders, and the gunners swiftly began loading, pouring countless grape-shaped bullets made of lead and iron into the still-warm muzzle.
"Loading complete!"
"Aim at the gate and fire!"
The four 12-pound cannons roared once more, spewing out hundreds and thousands of lead bullets and iron balls of varying sizes from their muzzles, like the black scythe of death, sweeping in a fan shape toward the bank's open doors and the gaps in the nearby wall.
Puff puff puff puff—
The sounds of bullets hitting people, penetrating wooden boards, shattering glass, and embedding themselves in stone walls were so dense they were almost continuous, interspersed with screams so shrill they were inhuman.
The Dutch soldiers and bank employees who had rushed to the entrance to check the situation after the gate was breached, or who had simply tried to take the opportunity to escape from the bank, were the first to be hit and instantly riddled with bullets.
Blood splattered like ink on the broken door frame, walls, and floor, while severed limbs mixed with tattered clothing and documents flew everywhere.
This single volley of grapeshot cleared the area around the gate completely. Those who were lucky enough to survive were terrified and scrambled to escape into the depths of the building, leaving behind only a mess and a rapidly spreading, thick stench of blood.
Before the echoes of the cannon fire had faded, the Ming army's line infantry, who had been poised for battle, roared and launched their charge.
"Charge in! Take control of the lobby! Eliminate the remaining enemies!"
The soldiers, shouting and brandishing their bayonets, surged through the gate and engaged the routed Dutch in a fierce battle—or rather, a one-sided massacre.
Faced with the fierce Ming army, the Dutch had no courage to resist and collapsed at the first contact, quickly kneeling down and surrendering to the Ming army.
While the Batavia Bank was being captured by the Ming army, on the other hand, the Ming army and Chinese righteous people had already formed a siege around the governor's mansion.
In order to resist the Ming army, Governor Spilman mobilized almost all the troops stationed in the eastern city wall to reinforce the city, and also issued orders for the garrison of the plantations and strongholds outside the city to return to the aid.
However, these troops were either ambushed and killed by Chinese righteous people on the way, or they were afraid to advance after encountering defeated soldiers.
Even the troops that reached the front lines were quickly defeated by the combined attack of the Ming army and the Chinese righteous people, abandoning their armor and weapons and surrendering the barricades one after another.
Inside the governor's mansion, Spilman refused the officer's suggestion to retreat to Batavia Castle. He stood pale-faced behind the window of the council chamber, watching the smoke rising from all parts of the city and listening to the approaching gunfire and shouts of battle. He felt a chill and despair in his heart.
He withdrew his gaze and looked around the council chamber, where the few remaining officials and officers also had eyes filled with despair.
"I will not leave here." The governor's voice was dry and hoarse. "I will take full responsibility for how things have come to this. I will defend the governor's mansion to the death, and stay here with my dignity and honor."
Governor Spilman's words were like the final nail driven into this doomed resistance. The council chamber fell into a deathly silence, with only the increasingly clear sounds of gunfire and shouts of battle approaching from afar, pounding on everyone's nerves, which were already stretched to their limit.
The officers exchanged glances, their last glimmer of hope extinguished. The governor's implication was crystal clear—he had lost all will to fight; defending the governor's mansion was merely a way to die a dignified death.
"Your Excellency the Governor..." A young clerk's lips trembled as he tried to say something.
Spilman, however, waved wearily, interrupting him: "Execute the order. Organize all available soldiers, sailors, staff... anyone willing to take up arms, and use the Governor's Mansion for a final defense."
"As for the inner fortress..." He paused, his gaze sweeping over the people present, and said with a wry smile, "That is the company's last stronghold. Perhaps it can hold out for a few more days, waiting for... a slim chance of a turnaround. If you want to survive, retreat there and wait for the opportunity to surrender."
After saying that, he stopped looking at anyone, turned around and slowly walked towards his private study on the second floor. His figure, illuminated by the dim red light shining through the broken window, appeared exceptionally desolate and lonely.
The officers and officials remaining in the council chamber remained silent for a moment. Some gritted their teeth, nodded slightly to their colleagues, and then hurried away to convey the almost suicidal defensive order.
Some people's expressions changed, and they eventually lowered their heads and silently followed the crowd out of the council hall, heading towards the side gate leading to the inner fortress.