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Although the small copper cannons were outdated and still used solid bullets, they could not withstand the large number of them. Heipi and his men drove tens of thousands of local natives to attack the city overnight to cover the small copper cannons as they advanced within the range.
Rejoice's men and some of Zheng Zhilong's men defended the city all night. Although the losses were not great, everyone was a little tired. In addition, a large amount of grass and wood was piled under the city. After being set on fire, the wind carried the Dutch Governor's Mansion into thick smoke. After dawn, the Dutch standing in the thick smoke still could not see the situation under the city.
Leioz was afraid that the Ming army would take the opportunity to attack the city, so he ordered his men to defend the city walls. However, they were bombarded by more than 200 small copper cannons. Not only did hundreds of Dutch die, but hundreds of Zheng Zhilong's men were also killed. However, these men were not the elite of the Zheng family. Those elite men were led by Zheng Zhilong to the sea to search for Heipi's fleet.
The city wall built by the Dutch was neither high nor thick, and a small gap was blasted open by those small copper cannons. Although it was not big, the Japanese auxiliary troops that followed occupied a small section of the city wall through this gap. The muzzle-loading matchlock rifles in the hands of these Japanese auxiliary troops were the same as the muskets in the hands of the Dutch, but their numbers far exceeded the Dutch in the city. Reggie organized several counterattacks, but ultimately failed to drive the Japanese auxiliary troops off the city wall.
Then came thousands of soldiers with breech-loading rifles. After these soldiers joined, the battle became one-sided. The breech-loading rifles had more than twice the range of the Dutch muskets, and were almost irresistible weapons in this era. Seeing that the situation was hopeless, Reyoz had to retreat with his remaining men.
Zheng Zhilong and the remaining Dutch fleet fought a fierce battle with Tang Tong's navy in the Strait of Marrakech, but with the help of the Spaniards, Zheng Zhilong and the Dutch did not gain the upper hand. In this situation, the Dutch and Zheng Zhilong had to temporarily stop fighting and retreat to Manila, wanting to cut off the contact between Hei Pi and the Ming Dynasty. However, the sea was vast, and it was impossible to block the sea with the maritime power of that era. Moreover, while the Strait of Marrakech was jointly blocked by Spain and Hei Pi, the Spaniards invited Hei Pi and his men to set foot in India together to seize the colonial rights of India from the Dutch.
Zheng Zhilong originally wanted to help the Dutch occupy Taiwan, but Tang Tong sent several envoys to tell Zheng Zhilong that if he continued to associate with the Dutch, he, General Tang, would not mind destroying the Zheng family's base in Anhai. At this time, Zheng Zhilong's strength was greatly damaged, and the Dutch had less than a thousand troops left in the South China Sea. Although Tang Tong's ships also suffered heavy losses, the personnel losses were basically only the Japanese auxiliary troops, which did not cause any damage to Tang Tong.
Zheng Zhilong knew that if he really fought to the death with this incumbent General Tang, the Zheng family would probably be finished, so after Tang Tong proposed peace talks, Zheng Zhilong agreed. The conditions were: first, the Zheng family and Tang Tong would divide Taiwan equally; second, the Zheng family's ships would be allowed to go to Japan and Korea to do business, and Tang Tong would not collect taxes from the Zheng family; third, the Zheng family's merchant ships would be allowed to pass through the Strait of Majia.
The only condition Tang Tong proposed was that both sides work together to wipe out the Dutch in Southeast Asia, but Zheng Zhilong refused because he understood the principle of "lips and teeth are cold". Once the Dutch were gone, his Zheng family would lose a helper and would sooner or later be destroyed by this General Tang. Although Tang Tong was very angry, he still signed the peace treaty.
The situation on the South China Sea and the China Sea was temporarily calm. The Spanish had no intention of settling accounts with the remaining Dutch in the South China Sea. They only wanted to seize the colonial rights of India. Moreover, because of the Thirty Years' War in Europe, the Spanish and the Dutch began to negotiate for their own interests. One was to deal with the increasingly powerful Britain, and the other was to deal with the land power France. Although the independence of the Netherlands was helped by the French, the rapid rise of the Netherlands led to conflicts between the Dutch and the French over interests. Therefore, according to the original history, allies would become enemies, and enemies would become allies in the future.
But at this time, Tang Tong didn't care about so many things. His eyes fell on the north of Ming Dynasty. It was already August, and the Battle of Daling River in history had not changed because of Tang Tong's arrival.
In the fourth year of Chongzhen (1632), Zu Dashou built the Dalingh River City. In August, Huang Taiji mobilized the entire country's troops to attack. Sun Chengzong sent Song Wei and Wu Xiang (father of Wu Sangui) to lead 40,000 soldiers to rescue. Tang Tong, who was appointed as the general of Dongjiang, was also asked to send troops to rescue. Song Wei and Wu Xiang were at odds. Not only did he fail to rescue Chengzu Dashou, but he was defeated by the Jiannu. At this time, Tang Tong brought 2,000 soldiers and 4,000 Japanese accomplices, and 2,000 Korean laborers to the mouth of the Dalingh River.
Tang Tong had some impression of the Battle of Dalingh River in history. One reason was that Zu Dashou surrendered to the Jiannu, and the other, bigger reason was because of He Kegang. He Kegang left a deep impression on Tang Tong. When the food in Dalingh River was exhausted, Zu Dashou wanted to surrender to the Jiannu, but He Kegang refused. So Zu Dashou arrested He Kegang. In order to please the Jiannu, Zu Dashou killed He Kegang in front of those Jiannu. Before He Kegang died, his face was normal, and he did not speak a word. He just died with a smile. However, after his death, his body was eaten by the people of Dalingh River, leaving no bones. It seems that this man was so loyal and brave, but ended up with such a miserable end. After reading it, Tang Tong sighed for He Kegang.
Song Wei and Wu Xiang were defeated, causing Jinzhou to be in danger. Tang Tong was unaware of this news. However, Tang Tong knew that the Battle of Dalinghe in history ended with a disastrous defeat for the Ming Dynasty, and Sun Chengzong was thrown into prison for this.
At this time, Tang Tong no longer had many warships at sea. Most of them were just requisitioned merchant ships. These merchant ships were not suitable for sailing on the sea, but they were very suitable for sailing in rivers. This time, Tang Tong's main task was to deliver food to Dalinghhe City. Historically, the main reason why Zu Dashou and his men surrendered was that they had no food.
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