Chapter 3012

On the last day of December 1656, Padang Port on the west coast of Sumatra Island.

According to the Han calendar, it is already the twelfth lunar month of winter, and it is time to wrap up in thick winter clothes. However, Badang Port is located in the tropics, the temperature is still more than 20 degrees, and the vegetation is lush and green, not at all like the depth of winter.

sign.

Badong Port is located on a seaside plain where many rivers flow into the Indian Ocean. It has abundant water resources and is very suitable for cultivating crops.

The indigenous people who settled here are called Minangkabau people. Although this race has a matrilineal clan structure, it is not closed. As early as a hundred years ago, they built a trading port here to sell various products produced locally.

Grow agricultural products and wild spices to sell to outside traders.

After Aceh conquered this place in the last century, it further expanded the original port and sent people here to guide the indigenous people to grow various spices in an attempt to build it into a spice industry base.

Wherever there are valuable spices, there will be Western colonists who have heard about it, and Badong Port is no exception. Soon the Portuguese, Dutch, and British came in droves, purchasing spices from the local area, and also constantly testing

The possibility of colonizing Badong or even occupying it.

The Minangkabau people, who were gradually getting richer, began to feel dissatisfied with the exploitation and suppression from the Aceh royal family, and tried to gain independent status by forming an armed force.

Some Western countries noticed this momentum, and with the purpose of causing trouble for Aceh, they also began to sell weapons to the Minangkabau people to help them fight against the rule of Aceh. Of course, such assistance was not free, and the Western colonists

It is hoped that in this way, it can enhance its influence in the region and also obtain huge profits from arms transactions.

When everyone was trying to get in here, Haihan wasted no time in joining in the fun.

However, Haihan's participation was not proactive like that of Westerners, but came by invitation. To be precise, it was specially invited by Aceh at a huge expense.

The foreign mercenary regiment affiliated with Xingdao stationed in Badong Port a year ago, with a full battalion of troops and multiple armed warships equipped with artillery.

Regarding the stationing of the mercenary group, Aceh's official statement is to protect Haihan's business interests and personnel safety in Badang Port. But the actual situation is that before the mercenary group came here, Haihan did not have any industry in Badang Port.

, this statement is obviously trying to deceive people.

The mercenary group soon showed the locals their true purpose of coming to Badang Port. They raided multiple nearby tribal armed forces, ruthlessly destroyed these tribal locations, and transported a large number of captives away by sea.

As for where these prisoners were sent, basically no one locally knows the truth. There are only some unconfirmed rumors, and it seems that they were all taken to some remote island to mine.

Although the mercenary group's initial operations went smoothly, it did not completely destroy the confidence of the Minangkabau people. Here they have dealt with the Malacca Dynasty, Tammu Kingdom, Aceh Kingdom, and all kinds of Western colonists.

The mercenary group is just another invader trying to dominate this place.

The Minangkabau people wisely gave up confrontation on the frontal battlefield, but attacks against mercenary groups and Aceh government agencies continued.

This forced the mercenary group to abandon the many strongholds originally established near Badang Port and shrink all garrison troops to Badang Port in order to protect Aceh's government agencies.

The protracted security war has forced Aceh to continue to pay mercenary groups to maintain their garrison at Badang Port.

However, a telegram sent from Sing Tao to Badang Port recently seems to be changing the situation here.

"The Star Island Command requires us to adjust our deployment and set off to the northern waters of the Malacca Strait as soon as possible to perform new tasks. Everyone, our vacation in Badang Port is coming to an end."

Shao Tianhu, commander of the 1st Battalion of the Mercenary Regiment, showed the telegram in his hand to the officers present, and everyone could not help but let out a sigh of reluctance.

Although Shao Tianhu has a Chinese name, his appearance has obvious Western characteristics. This is because he is only a quarter of Han Chinese. His father is a mixture of Han and Persian, and his mother is a European from Sardinia in the Mediterranean.

people.

The place where Shao Tianhu was born is not the territory of the Han people, but Goa on the west coast of the Indian peninsula. If we look at his place of origin alone, he can be regarded as a descendant of Portuguese colonization.

However, when Shao Tianhu was young, he crossed the ocean with his parents and lived in the city of Malacca. Later, he moved to Xingdao under the rule of Haihan to settle.

In order to be able to join the Haihan nationality, Shao Tianhu chose the shortcut of joining the army. And he did have talent in this area. In his first two years in the army, he was continuously promoted for his repeated military exploits.

At this time, Roger also noticed this budding young man and gave him two options. One was to continue to serve in the Haihan Army. However, due to his background, it was difficult for him to get the opportunity to go to a military academy for further studies.

Opportunities and room for further advancement in the military are limited.

The second way is to retire and join the mercenary group. Not only can he have a higher position and authority, but he can also get opportunities for training and further study. In the future, he can also be transferred back from the mercenary group to serve in the Haihan Army. At that time, he will be in the mercenary group.

Regimental service experience can be reported to the Ministry of National Defense as a special contribution, and promotion will no longer be restricted.

Shao Tianhu chose the second path without hesitation. As for whether Roger's arrangement was to test his loyalty or to take this opportunity to hone his abilities, he actually didn't care. Because someone of non-Chinese origin like him,

Without the protection of family inheritance, it is indeed difficult to hold important positions in the military. Only by finding other ways can you have a chance.

So he got the opportunity to further his dream and went to the Army Academy in Sanya for half a year of training, then retired and transferred to a mercenary group.

As one of the few officers who had received Haihan's orthodox military training, Shao Tianhu was appointed as the commander of the first battalion in the mercenary regiment in just two years.

In the history of the Xingdao Foreign Mercenary Corps, Shao Tianhu is definitely one of the youngest senior officers, and the first major task he received when he took office was to lead his troops to Badong Port to quell the chaos.

The 1st Battalion only carried out relatively intensive combat missions in the early stage of entering Badang Port, defeating several major local rebels. After that, it was relatively easy. It only needed to protect the urban areas and government agencies near Badang Port. Unless the Aceh side

If required and provided with corresponding supplies and combat military expenses, mercenary groups will generally not take the initiative to attack again.

After the combat missions were significantly reduced, Shao Tianhu said that being stationed here was like a vacation, which was not an exaggeration. Of course, the reason why the officers sighed was not just that this relatively easy overseas mission had come to an end.
Chapter completed!