My Italian: Chapter 104 Batavia under the muzzle middle
A night of drunkenness gave Governor Luton a headache, so he planned to rest for a while.
But some people don't want him to rest at all.
"Lord Governor, wake up, Lord Governor, wake up."
The awakened Governor Luton suppressed his awakened anger, raised his head and asked the servant who woke him up.
"Why are you so panicked, haven't I handed you over?"
He couldn't wait for the servant's answer, and saw the city defense commander, Major General Jay appear in front of him. It's just that the general is not much better than the servant, and his face also has a horrified expression.
"Your Excellency the Governor, I asked them to wake you up."
"what happened?"
The confused Governor Luton was shocked by their expressions. Come to think of it, today isn't April Fool's Day either.
"I can't tell you this, why don't I take you to see it."
The two went all the way to the highest point in Batavia, which is located at St. Louis Church in Tanjung Priok. Standing at the height of the church, Governor Luton also looked terrified.
"What's going on with these Italians, what do they want?"
The scene that appeared in front of him was that there were only three Italian warships left in the port, all 10,000-ton ironclads, and they had already started. Other warships were already wandering off the coast of Batavia, intercepting any ships that tried to leave, and more importantly, these Italian warships had their gun jackets removed, and their guns were all aimed at various points in Batavia, especially the two. The turret on the side is the focus of attention.
How could Governor Luton not be frightened by such a situation? He knew that Batavia's fort was a decoration, and the cannons on it might be about his age.
"Now hurry up and get in touch with Italy. What's going on here?"
Faced with this situation now, as the governor, Luton first needs to understand why this is. As for resisting the threat of Italy, don't be ridiculous. Pulling up all the navies in the Netherlands is not enough for this fleet to fight. Others Not to mention, the three 10,000-ton ironclads are the ones they can't beat at all.
Before the Dutch sent ships to inquire about the intentions of the Italian fleet, the sharp-eyed Major General Jay pointed to the sea and said. "Governor, look, Italy has sent a transport boat here."
"Quick, send someone to respond, remember not to shoot."
At this time, Governor Luton most wanted to know why, because it was very important. At the same time, in the second half of his words, it can be seen that he has no confidence in his heart now and does not dare to confront Italy at all.
In fact, without his opening, the Dutch army did not dare to take action against the Italians who were about to go ashore, because it was all about courting death. As a soldier, you could see at a glance the gap between the two, and if you did it, you would feel sorry for your own life.
So after a while, a young and vigorous Italian officer was brought before Governor Luton.
"This major, why is this, is there any misunderstanding?"
Although he was facing a major, Governor Luton still seemed to have a low attitude, and his words might be a misunderstanding.
"I'm sorry, Your Excellency, Governor, this is not a misunderstanding at all."
The Italian officer's words immediately shattered Governor Luton's expectations, and he then explained the reason. "Your army's killing of two missionaries in our country on the upper reaches of the Kun River must be justified, otherwise our two countries will be in a state of war."
"what?"
Luton was surprised by the reason given by Italy, because it was so speechless.
Although the reasons given by Italy are somewhat inconceivable, Governor Luton did not want to accept it as such, he still wanted to fight for it. "To be able to tell what this is about, because we don't know it at all."
At the repeated request of Governor Luton, the Italian officer informed the specific situation.
It turned out that in a place called Bixi in the upper reaches of the Kunjiang River, there were two Italian priests who traveled thousands of miles. They came here to spread the grace of God. However, due to the war between the Netherlands and Lanfang, this small village was attacked by the Dutch army. Looting, two missionaries fell under the guns of the Dutch in order to protect the holy church.
The news was spread everywhere by the people who fled the village. An Italian reporter happened to come to Kunjiang to report the war between Lanfang and the Netherlands, and then the reporter sent the incident back to China. The domestic anger at the killing of two Italian missionaries by the Dutch army demanded an immediate explanation from the Dutch authorities. At the same time, the Italian fleet arriving in Batavia naturally needed to respond.
After listening to the Italian officer's experience of this incident, Luton felt that this incident revealed something strange. Just as the Italian fleet arrived, the news broke out. What a coincidence?
Such a coincidence made him think of various reasons for the Dutch to go to war against the natives.
However, although he feels something strange, there is a saying that the situation is better than others. Is it really inappropriate to discuss this matter with the Italians in this situation, and we can only continue to listen to Italian conditions.
"I wonder what your country's requirements for this are?"
"We demand two things, the first one, to hand over the murderers of the two priests, to be tried by us in Italy, and to compensate for the cost of destroying the church."
Hearing Italy's request, Governor Luton breathed a sigh of relief. It's simple, this kind of scum who can't see the situation clearly. If the Italians don't deal with it, he will deal with it. Keeping it will only hurt himself. They dare to kill even the priests from Europe, they are simply sinners of God.
As for what to do if you can't find it, this simple thing must be done by indigenous people. Only such uncivilized people will have no fear of God. At that time, it can be handed over to hundreds of people in Italy, whatever they do with it.
But this is only the first condition, so what about the second?
I saw the Italian speak slowly. "Second, in order to prevent such a thing from happening in the future, we ask the Dutch army to withdraw from Lanfang."
"This is impossible."
In the face of the Italian officer's words, Governor Luton blurted out without hesitation. Now he fully understands that the Italians are just trying to make excuses, and their goal is Lanfang.
However, Governor Luton's words did not stop the officer. After seeing him sneer, he took out a map and continued to speak. "In order for your country to have a clear understanding of the Lanfang border, and to avoid unnecessary conflicts caused by misunderstandings about the map, I brought Lanfang's map. Your Excellency Governor, please take a look."
Governor Luton subconsciously took over the map~www.mtlnovel.com~ and when he saw that, his eyes were about to bulge out. This map is simply incredible, quite the meaning of ancient times. In this map, Lanfang occupies the Barito River all the way to the vast area seen only by Sarawak (roughly the Indonesian provinces of West Kalimantan and South Kalimantan). Heaven and earth conscience, when did this Lanfang cross the Kunjiang River Basin? This is completely diplomatic blackmail. And these **** Italians have included the best parts of Dutch Borneo. This is totally unacceptable.
Thinking of this, Governor Luton said angrily. "This major, such conditions are simply unacceptable, we simply cannot accept such conditions."
Facing the words of Governor Luton, the major suddenly realized. "Is that so? It's better. Some people are also dissatisfied with this condition. They think this condition cannot reflect the meaning of punishment. They even think that Sumatra should be added, and maybe other islands or something."
Although the major seems to be joking, Governor Luton's heart is getting colder and colder. He can't bet on whether Italy dares to do this. "Your Excellency Major, please wait a moment. We can't make up your mind about your request. We must report it to the mainland, whether we can send a ship to Singapore."
It is pitiful to say that the Batavia Telegram has not yet been connected to Singapore. It is all because of the short-sightedness of the predecessors. As the cost of submarine cables is too expensive, they are not willing to spend this injustice. At this time, Governor Luton naturally picked himself out.
"This is fine, but our patience is limited. I hope you can hurry up."
So, accompanied by the Italian warship, the Dutch officials rushed to Singapore and immediately sent a telegram to the country.
And this telegram immediately caused a sensation in Amsterdam.