Chapter 424: Settlement of Accounts

In the eyes of the Dutch-Indonesian authorities, the British Empire already had enough colonies and they were vast enough, so there was no need to compete with them for Borneo Island.

However, the British Empire did not think so. The gentry, aristocrats and capitalists in London would not dislike having too many colonies.

On the way to the Governor's Palace in Batavia, Wen Xian carefully observed this core city of the Dutch in the East Indies, which could also be said to be the ruling center.

The Dutch-Indonesian soldiers guarding the city were in low spirits, the sparse pedestrians on the streets were full of sorrow, and there were not enough goods for sale on the shelves of the shops, and some shops even closed directly.

The Dutch have always valued business, and it is unimaginable that such a scene would appear in the core city of the Dutch colony.

The entire city of Batavia made Wen Xian feel very depressed. You know, when the city of Pontianak was surrounded by 4,000 Dutch-Indonesian troops, he could still drink tea and chat with Liang Yao easily.

After seeing the situation in the city of Batavia, Wen Xian already had the answer in his mind as to who would be the final winner in the Dutch-Indonesian War and gain control of Borneo Island.

"Sir Bonham, how are you?" Tevez came to the door of the Governor's Mansion to greet Bonham.

"How are you, Lord Bonham." Bonham squinted his eyes and said, "I heard that your recent situation is not very good. On my way to Batavia, I saw a lot of pirate ships."

Tevez said expressionlessly: "Your Excellency came all the way from Hong Kong to Batavia. You didn't come all the way to see me laugh, did you?"

"Of course not, this time I am visiting Batavia as a messenger." As he said that, Bonham took out Liang Yao's letter and handed it to Tevez.

Tevez opened the letter, read it hastily, put it away and said with a sneer.

"Liang Yao is so generous that he can let you be a messenger."

"If you are willing to negotiate, I am willing to act as a mediator to mediate." Faced with Tevez's sarcasm, Bonham didn't take it too seriously.

The British are the kind of people who will not get up early without benefits. Letting the British come forward to mediate will cost a price.

Of course, this is one of the reasons why Tevez is unwilling to negotiate peace with Liang Yao now.

Another reason why Tevez is unwilling to negotiate peace is that he cannot accept the peace terms offered by Liang Yao: the Dutch-Indonesian authorities withdraw from West Borneo Island, pay a real compensation of 8 million US dollars, open the East Indies market and conduct free trade with Umbrella Company, the tariff is negotiated by the representatives of both parties, and a piece of land with an area of ​​not less than 3 acres is set aside in the Batavia city for Umbrella Company to set up an office in Batavia

Any of these peace terms is enough to nail Tevez to the pillar of shame.

Unless it is the end of the road and there is no other choice.

Otherwise, Tevez will not accept such harsh peace terms.

"Please go back and tell Liang Yao that I will accompany you to the end." Tevez straightened his back and said with full energy.

"Then I'm afraid you will lose even more." Wen Xian shook his head and said, "Excuse me, you not only don't understand Liang Yao, but also underestimate Liang Yao."

Since the main force of the Dutch-Indonesian authorities on Borneo Island was wiped out and the senior Dutch-Indonesian general Andersson was captured, the Dutch-Chinese War entered garbage time.

During this period, except for sporadic conflicts between the two sides at sea, the war on land came to a temporary end.

After Elvis easily captured the empty Kendawangan, the Dutch-Indonesian army lurking in the South Borneo region was in a panic and even dared not to leave the stronghold.

Considering the cost of ruling and the problem of manpower, Liang Yao's focus at this stage has shifted to consolidating the existing occupied areas. Rather than using core armed forces to continue to expand the occupied areas.

Liang Yao only has the core force of the Western Brigade. If the occupied area continues to expand, he will also face the problem of shortage of core forces and inability to effectively control the new occupied areas.

Moreover, too much dispersion of forces can easily leave opportunities for the Dutch-Indonesian authorities.

However, although the main force of the Western Brigade no longer expanded outward.

However, the resistance forces of the Chinese Resistance Company still advanced to South Borneo after re-arming and short-term training, exerting pressure on the Dutch-Indonesian remnants and the pro-Dutch Sultan Emirate in South Borneo.

By mid-May 1854, armed merchant ships recruited from California arrived in Pontianak one after another. Along with these armed merchant ships, there was also a newly built Bold-class steamship and three Loach-class steamships.

With the addition of these new forces, Liang Yao's confidence increased, and he was not afraid of the East Indies Fleet of the Dutch-Indonesian authorities at sea.

Along with the armed merchant ships, there were also port workers and investors from California who arrived in Pontianak.

These port workers are very experienced, and many of them have participated in the construction of Pearl Harbor, Los Angeles Port, and Jinshan Port.

Now, these port workers will be responsible for the construction and operation of Pontianak Port.

Since the establishment of California, California has always been the only state to introduce industrial workers from outside, and there is little precedent for exporting industrial workers.

The last time Liang Yao exported industrial workers was when Pearl Harbor was being built.

And that was three years ago.

Investors in California also keenly realized that Liang Yao wanted to focus on the development of Pontianak, otherwise he would not have spared no expense.

Therefore, although the war has not yet ended, many investors still came to Pontianak with the mentality of seeking wealth and fame in danger, ready to take a gamble.

The successful experience of their peers told them that as long as they followed Liang Yao's footsteps, even if they could not eat meat, they could at least have a mouthful of soup.

At this time, Pontianak was very lively, and public trials were held almost every day.

As the public trials progressed, Liang Yao's reputation among the Chinese in West Borneo also rose.

The purpose of the public trial was mainly to settle accounts with those who committed numerous crimes against the Chinese during the Dutch-Chinese War.

Some of these people were the management of the Lan Fang Company, some were traitors who resisted the company, some were local chiefdom natives who acted as accomplices of the Dutch-Indonesian authorities, and even senior Dutch officers in the Dutch-Indonesian Army.

During the public trial, the Chinese in the entire West Borneo region were excited.

After the trial of five majors, two lieutenant colonels, and one colonel of the Dutch-Indonesian Army, there was a voice for the public trial of Andersen.

However, based on practical considerations, Liang Yao did not plan to publicly try Andersen for the time being.

Andersen was one of the highest-ranking generals in the Dutch-Indonesian Army, and he also had the title of Viscount. Andersen could play a much greater role as a bargaining chip than as a subject of public trial.

These voices did not scare Andersen, who was desperate and wished to die, but they frightened the Sultan of Sanfa and the Sultan of Pontianak. According to this public trial law, they would be the next to be tried and hanged.

Sultan Akhamuddin of Sanfa and Sultan Alkadri of Pontianak came to Liang Yao in tears, constantly admitting their mistakes and expressing their loyalty, which made Liang Yao feel amused.

Liang Yao said to them with a smile that if they wanted to show their loyalty, they should send troops to assist the Umbrella Company mercenary group to attack the Sultanate of Brunei and the Sintang Sultanate deep in the interior.

Liang Yao was just joking with them, but he didn't expect that these two fools would really set off with the broken guns they had just seized from the Dutch-Indian Army after returning.

But Liang Yao didn't stop them. It would be good for the Sultanate of Sanfa and the Sultanate of Pontianak to deal with other nearby Sultanate chiefdoms.

At this time, the chiefdoms that are not pro-China and have no vision should also be spanked to let them know the pain.