Southern Ming Rebel Army

Chapter 635: Changes in the Western Region

Meng Jun wanted to build infrastructure in Malacca, so the most important thing was manpower. If he just sent laborers from the country, the cost would be too high. Therefore, after thinking for a long time, Meng Jun decided to order the Ministry of Works to send a small number of craftsmen and some managers to go to Malacca Port by boat in advance.

Meng Jun decided to use the captured Western barbarians as coolies to expand the docks, as well as a series of infrastructure projects such as warehouses, ship repairs, and commercial streets. At the same time, in order to protect Malacca, Meng Jun also wanted to build a large number of artillery batteries along the coast of the strait.

After Ruhansuige and Opdam surrendered, they thought that Qian Chao would release them soon. Ruhansuige knew that he would no longer have room for advancement in politics, but thinking about returning to his hometown, the former Governor of Batavia was still happy.

But Ruhansuige and Opdam never imagined that one day they would have to pick up tools and be forced to become craftsmen.

The prisoners were moved to Malacca one after another. They had two meals a day, worked during the day, and learned Chinese at night. The prisoners' lives were very fulfilling.

However, for such a large-scale infrastructure project, it was far from enough to rely on just these few captives. Therefore, Meng Jun issued an edict, ordering the Brunei Sultan Bolkiah Mahan to recruit laborers in Brunei, and at the same time ordered Zheng Chenggong to recruit natives around Batavia to recruit more manpower.

As for Zheng Chenggong's request to change the name, Meng Jun thought about it and then changed the old name of Batavia to the new name Qiongjin.

Soon afterwards, a fleet of British merchant ships arrived in Malacca. This fleet of merchant ships was the fleet sent by Ralph, a shareholder of the British East India Company, to the Qian Dynasty to seek an audience with Meng Jun.

The leader of the fleet was a man named Wes. When Wes temporarily stopped in Malacca, he encountered the prisoners who were still building a base and was a little dazed.

He had always thought that the Dutch were still fighting the Qian army in Southeast Asia, but now the port of Malacca had been occupied by the Qian army, which showed that the Dutch had completely failed in Southeast Asia.

Weiss let the crew enter the port to purchase supplies and to gather information. The Dutch Governor in Batavia, Ruhansug, surrendered, Batavia was captured, and Malacca surrendered without a fight. It didn't take long for Weiss to know everything about such a big event.

Now, whenever these captives encounter a Western merchant ship, they will try every means to contact it, hoping that the merchant ship can pass the news of their capture back to the Netherlands, and praying that they can be redeemed as soon as possible.

The soldiers in charge of guarding did not try to stop the captives from talking to the merchant ships. As long as they did not escape or delayed too long, the guards would ignore them.

While Weiss listened to the captives' words, he nodded continuously and said that he would definitely pass the news back to the Netherlands. The captives cried as they spoke, telling about their miserable experiences.

While listening, Weiss was thinking about his mission in his heart. After the prisoners finished their talk and left with a hint of expectation, Weiss fell into deep thought.

He was ordered to come to the East this time, shouldering the important task of expanding trade for the British East India Company and lifting the ban on Fu Shou Cream. However, West did not expect that Batavia would be lost so quickly, and Malacca was also controlled by the Qian Dynasty.

Ralph originally wanted to use a joint attack on the Netherlands as a condition for the Qian Dynasty to lift the ban on Fushou Cream, but he did not expect that the Netherlands was so vulnerable that all its colonies in Southeast Asia were lost in such a short period of time.

This may seem like a loss of Dutch power, but for Britain, their interests in India may also be damaged. Weiss was a little worried, as he was already pessimistic about this mission.

After resting for a few days in Malacca, Weiss and his companions continued sailing along the coastline towards the mainland of the Qian Dynasty. However, what shocked Weiss was that starting from Annan and heading north, all the land and cities along the way were actually the territory of the Qian Dynasty.

He had always known from books and intelligence materials that the Qian Dynasty was a powerful country, but it was only when he saw it with his own eyes that he realized how huge this country was.

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The larger an empire is, the more affairs it has to deal with. Especially since the Qian Dynasty is a country with a continental civilization and has long borders in the north and northwest.

Even though Meng Jun had tried hard to expand the coastal defense to the farthest point of Qian Dynasty's power, in the eyes of more officials, the greatest threat to the court was still in the north and northwest. Only these places could threaten the safety of Qian Dynasty.

In the Western Regions, in the city of Shache in Yarkand, the Western Regions at this time were very different from those during the Han and Tang Dynasties. The oases and water sources had become less due to the influence of climate.

Outside the city of Shache, the wind was howling and yellow sand was filling the sky. In the rolling sand and dust, a rapid sound of horse hooves was heard, and a team of Yarkand soldiers with damaged armor and blood all over their bodies were seen galloping towards the east.

This team of Yarkand cavalry consisted of about three hundred riders. As their horses galloped, their bodies also rose and fell with the shaking of the horses.

The leader was a young man wearing chain mail. Under the protection of cavalry, they galloped for more than ten miles before pulling the reins. Amid the neighing of horses, he looked back at the city of Shache that was no longer visible in the dust.

He lamented: "Is my Yarkand Khanate going to be destroyed by the Dzungar Khanate?" After saying this, he couldn't help but shed tears.

This young man was none other than Babak Sultan, the son of Ismaili Khan, the last Khan of Yarkand.

Hearing the prince's lament, the leading guard said angrily: "If it weren't for the traitor Apak Khoja, how could the Dzungars have invaded Shache City?"

At the invitation of the Qing court, Sengge attacked Guanzhong. Although Sengge only stayed at the city of Xi'an for one day, the other three allied forces suffered heavy losses on the way of withdrawal. As a result, after the withdrawal, Sengge took the opportunity to annex the remaining three forces and established the Dzungar Khanate.

The remaining Khoshut and Torghut tribes, as well as some small tribes, under the leadership of Hesar, joined the Qian Dynasty in the east. Sengge also knew that the Qian Dynasty was powerful, and when his own strength was weak, he did not dare to provoke the eastern empire again.

But Dzungar needed to expand and could not go east, so Sengge could only turn his attention to the west. Finally, in the seventh year of Zhaowu, Sengge waited for the opportunity.

The Black Mountain faction in Yarkand revolted, overthrew the White Mountain faction's Yalebas Khan, and enthroned Ismail as Khan. Apak Khoja of the White Mountain faction fled to Dzungar and led Sengge to march into Yarkand.

Yarkand was suddenly hit by internal strife and encountered a powerful enemy. With the help of a traitor, Sengge attacked Shache, captured Ismaili Khan, and established Apak Khoja as a puppet king.

Babaksu was the son of Ismayel Khan. At this time, he fled from the city of Shache, which had become a hell on earth, with the remaining guards.