The Han culture is spreading strongly in Southeast Asia

Chapter 470 Don’t forget to open your eyes and see the world
The brutal naval battle finally came to an end at Ceylon, 334 nautical miles ( kilometers) northeast of Trincomalee.

On the sea surface with a radius of more than ten kilometers, a large number of broken wooden boards and corpses of people and animals are floating.

The officers, soldiers and sailors from China, Britain and France who luckily survived were struggling slowly in the water. They needed to conserve their energy as much as possible and wait for the rescue ships that remained in place to pick them up.

Boom! A terrifying explosion sounded, and with the almost golden flash of light, a blue mushroom cloud flew into the air.

This was the explosion of the gunpowder depot of the paralyzed British Indian Fleet's third-class battleship HMS Thunder. It was seriously damaged by the Chinese Navy's Zhang Huangyan in the naval battle and completely lost power.

Originally, Chen Lian hoped to capture this third-class battleship, but before he got close, he saw that the Thunder was on fire that could not be extinguished.

At this time, there are no electric motors or anything like that. Even if a fire breaks out at sea, it will be difficult to extinguish the fire quickly due to the difficulty in drawing water.

Chen Lian had no choice but to give up the idea of capturing this third-class battleship. He didn't even dare to move the ship's guns for fear of a chain reaction.

Sure enough, Chen Lian’s decision was correct. Forty minutes later, the Thunder exploded, and the huge amount of gunpowder almost blew the Thunder into two pieces.

After the explosion, the fire became even bigger. An hour later, it finally broke into two pieces while burning and slowly sank.

Hundreds of people on the Thunder, including its captain, Vice Admiral Gene Burke, were killed. Only a small number of people were rescued by the Zhang Huangyan under the command of Chen Lian.

Of course we have to save people, because after they are rescued, they will become the most qualified cattle and horses.

You should know that the navy’s salary is very high, but it is naturally impossible to pay the captured foreign prisoners the same salary as the naval officers and soldiers.

Generally speaking, in China, there would be special military courts to try and sentence these prisoners.

If sentenced to three to five years, you can directly serve your sentence on board a ship. You can even get a reduced sentence if you behave well. After serving your sentence, you will be paid a labor fee of one-fifth of the normal naval salary.

This was invented by Mo Zibu. He is very creative in employing people.

After giving these conditions, the prisoners will not give up on themselves, and the small amount of labor fee can make them quite proactive. At least there is some hope.

However, only a few stayed behind to salvage the "trophies", and most of the warships were still chasing each other on the sea. The intermittent fighting did not end until the afternoon of the third day.

October 1780, 10, the fifth year of the Guangzhong reign of the Yu Dynasty, the forty-fifth year of the Qianlong reign of the Qing Dynasty, the sixth day of the ninth month of the Gengzi year in the lunar calendar.

The first appearance of the Chinese Navy in this battle, known in history as the Battle of Trincomalee, ended. In this battle, the Sino-French joint fleet won a great victory over the English fleet.

Of course, if we look at the casualties alone, this was not a great victory.

In this battle, a total of 31 warships from the Combined Fleet participated.

Among them, the flagship, the third-class battleship Prince of Yanping, was seriously damaged, with two lieutenant colonels and two majors killed in the battle. Among the remaining 117 officers and soldiers, 36 were seriously injured and more than 400 were slightly injured.

Basically, everyone was injured. Even the commander, Lieutenant General Sufran, was seriously injured. The entire ship lost its combat effectiveness.

The hull and combat capability of another third-class battleship, Zhang Huangyan, were not greatly affected, but 30 people were killed and more than 100 were injured.

Among the fifth-class sailing cruisers, the Wang Xing exploded and sank, but fortunately, among the 477 officers and soldiers on board, only more than 60 people died in battle or lost their strength and drowned in the sea water. The rest, including the captain, were rescued.

The Guo Zhiqi was seriously damaged and was towed back to Trincomalee. It could not be repaired in Trincomalee and could only be simply repaired before being towed back to the navy's newly built naval base in Johor Bahru for overhaul. It would be unable to return to the navy's combat sequence for at least six months.

At the same time, after the war, it was discovered that the captain of the Guo Zhiqi, Rear Admiral Mo Gongyan, a member of the royal family, had not only his scalp shaved off, but his skull was almost opened.

He nearly died at sea from heavy bleeding and needed at least six months to recover from his injuries. In addition, more than half of the 430 officers and soldiers on the Guo Zhiqi were killed or wounded.

In addition, the Gan Hui was also seriously injured. First, the captain, the fifth son of Xin Gaobo Zhuang Chunde, the nephew of Songchengbo Wu Rang's wife, Rear Admiral Zhuang Lixin and the colonel first mate died accidentally.

Afterwards, the Gan Hui, led by Second Mate Li Changgeng, penetrated into the British fleet formation and was surrounded and attacked by several British ships.

Of the 410 officers and soldiers on the ship, more than 130 were killed in the battle, more than 70 were seriously injured, and everyone on the ship was injured.

In the end, due to severe damage, even the Ganhui battleship could only transfer artillery and other supplies and allow it to sink.

In addition, some third and fourth-level battleships, fifth-level sailing cruisers and some armed merchant ships were slightly damaged.

According to overall statistics, one battleship was seriously damaged, two were slightly damaged, two cruisers sank, and one was seriously damaged.

507 officers and soldiers were killed in action, 221 were seriously wounded, and 3777 were slightly wounded. Among them, one brigadier general and colonels were killed in action.

As for the British fleet, twenty ships responded to the attack.

Among them, the third-class battleship HMS Thunder sank, and 510 people including the captain, Vice Admiral Gene Burke, and the first mate, Commodore Thomas Taylor, were killed in the battle, and 41 people were captured.

The third-class battleship Hero was seriously damaged, with more than 70 people killed in the battle and the total casualties exceeding 200.

Among the fifth-class sailing cruisers, the Bombay sank and more than 300 people on board were killed.

The Support sank, and the captain, Rear Admiral John Blackwood, son of the 2nd Baron Dufferin, and more than 200 others were killed in the battle.

Of course, the fifth-level sailing frigates of the British fleet are not in active service. These are old ships that are more than 20 years old. After being semi-retired, they were converted into armed merchant ships or smuggling ships and sold to the East India Company. Now, after facing the threat of the Chinese Navy, they are urgently converted into cruisers.

In addition to these warships, some armed merchant ships of the British Indian Fleet were also damaged to varying degrees.

So according to rough statistics after the war, the British Indian Fleet lost one third-level battleship, one seriously damaged, and two fifth-level sailing cruisers.

One lieutenant general, one major general, one brigadier general, and 1100 colonels were killed in the battle, and the total number of officers and soldiers killed was more than .

The casualties were much lower than those of the Combined Fleet, and including those captured, there were only about a thousand people.

This was because the British Indian Fleet was defeated too quickly in the vast ocean, leaving little chance to rescue the crew, resulting in a large number of injured officers and soldiers drowning after falling into the water.

So in comparison, the Chinese Navy sank two ships and seriously damaged three ships, while the British Indian Navy sank two ships and seriously damaged one ship.

The Chinese Navy suffered more than 4,000 casualties, while the British Indian Fleet suffered less than 3,000 casualties.

However, considering that the British sank a third-class battleship, with less than 3,000 casualties but 1,100 killed in action, the actual losses were slightly greater than those of the Chinese Navy, so overall it was a small victory for the Chinese Navy.

But from a strategic point of view, the Chinese Empire won a huge victory.

First of all, after this battle, the British Indian Fleet was basically destroyed, and Britain's most important overseas colony lost the protection of its navy.

You must know that the Kingdom of England is an island country that originated from the sea, not a land power like the Chinese Empire.

If the Chinese Navy was defeated, the worst that could happen would be that it would be harassed, and it could still rely on the army and fortress artillery to survive and continue to build ships.

But if the English navy was defeated, the enemy could land and attack directly.

Although this is in India and not in Europe, England needs to replenish its fleet immediately, otherwise it is only a matter of time before British India is lost.

But in the current situation, England is being isolated by everyone in Europe, and is directly fighting with the navies of France, Spain and the Netherlands in Europe and America. They simply cannot withdraw their fleet to India.

In terms of size, this was an even greater victory than in terms of strategy. England itself had a population of only about 13 million, and that was after including Ireland. Its economic data, with the exception of steel production, lagged behind China in every other respect.

After China completed the semi-integration of Southeast Asia, it had a population of over 300 million. Even before it was fully unified, Dayu, which occupied half of the country, had a population of 160 million, which was not something England could challenge.

Moreover, at this time, England had to face the siege of the whole of Europe. As long as China closed the Strait of Malacca, it would have its own world.

Not to mention casualties or a small victory, even if it's a one-for-one exchange or even a loss, it's all worth it.

On the eighth day of September, the pursuing fleets returned one after another. Except for an unlucky armed merchant ship, the pursuing team did not sink anything.

Because pursuit at sea is very difficult, in an emergency, the fleeing enemy ship can throw everything on board except food, such as artillery and wounded soldiers, into the sea.

You can't possibly throw these away on the pursuing warships. The load capacity of both sides is completely different, so it's difficult to catch up.

This is just like a battle on land. The enemy can escape without any weapons or armor, but the people you are chasing cannot also escape without any weapons or armor, so it is usually difficult to catch up with the fleeing party.

On the ninth day of the ninth month, the Double Ninth Festival, more than ten warships and armed merchant ships that had fallen behind and had not had time to participate in the Battle of Trincomalee also arrived in Trincomalee one after another.

Chen Lian held a military meeting, battle review and reward and punishment in the city. The commander who was forced to take the position realized that even though the Chinese Navy was basically commanded by experienced French officers, there was still a big gap between it and England.

In addition to the officers and soldiers' dedication, Lieutenant General Suffren's command ability and keen sense of smell were also extremely important for the victory of this battle.

This naval commander, who was praised even by Napoleon in history, fully demonstrated his talents in this battle.

If he had not fooled the British, making them travel on the sea for three months in vain and exhausting them, the battle would have been much more difficult.

Although the Chinese fleet had undergone sufficient repairs, nearly a quarter of its warships still failed to arrive in time for battle.

If it was the Chinese fleet that was being walked this time, the Battle of Trincomalee would have been a sure defeat.

Chen Lian wrote all this into a report and sent it to the emperor who was far away in Yingtian Prefecture. He wrote about the whole process in detail and admitted that the Chinese Navy was lagging behind in terms of the command ability of generals, the ability of officers, and the quality of soldiers.

Especially in terms of generals, Lieutenant General Su Fulang must be retained for at least five years to allow him to continue training generals for China and wait for the current first batch of new naval officers to grow up.

. . . .

On September 20th, in Trincomalee City, Huang Renyong was gathering his brothers for food, drink and fun.

Two roasted lambs were sizzling with oil, which was very rare for someone who had been drifting on the sea for many years. The wine was not the lowest quality rum, but the strong sorghum wine given by Chen Lian.

The only thing I am not very satisfied with is the white rice. This kind of long and thin Indian rice smells fragrant, but it is very dry. For Chinese people, among the four indicators of rice, softness, fragrance and sweetness, Indian rice only has the good indicator of fragrance.

But fortunately, the supply is unlimited, which is much better than eating the black bread brought by the French.

A burst of music started, and a dozen indigenous women began to dance to the beat of drums. They were a bit dark and not particularly pretty, but at least they were pretty enough.

Qin Da looked a little listless, his left arm still wrapped in gauze, and was obviously shorter. Huang Renyong saw Qin Da's expression and walked over with a bowl of wine.

It is hard to say whether his team was unlucky or lucky this time. They were assigned to the Guo Zhiqi. The entire ship was seriously damaged, and at the last moment, they even approached and engaged in a boarding battle with the British ship Bombay.

During the fierce battle, Huang Renyong's team, which was responsible for boarding battles, suffered heavy casualties. Four of the twelve people were killed, one was seriously injured, and the rest were injured.

The seriously injured one was Qin Da. His left wrist was cut off and he almost died in the Naval Hospital in Trincomalee.

But fortunately, this guy has a really strong vitality. He managed to survive the heavy bleeding and suppuration.

"Qin Da, don't go back to Guangxi. There's nothing good there, just mountains and mountains. We've done a great deed this time, and we'll give you thousands of acres of land on Nanji Island (Java)."

Huang Renyong tried his best to persuade him, but Qin Da was still not in a good mood. At this time, Hu Yihuang's great-uncle, Hu Quan, nicknamed "Sitting Steadily Across the Mountain", came over.

"Why go to Nanji Island? Who is the captain of our ship Guo Zhiqi? He is your Majesty's nephew, the son of Duke Cai, and a true member of the royal family.

Now that His Majesty's sons are all young, these nephews are the cornerstone of protecting the royal family. Just wait and see. Once Major General Mo recovers from his injury, he will definitely be promoted greatly.

If we follow people like this, why do we need to go to Nanji Island? I have heard that those who have made meritorious service and are injured and retired this time will all be arranged to go to Thai Binh Province (Siam), as long as they do not have to return to the mainland.

People like Qin Da had at least 800 acres of land, of which at least 200 acres were cultivated fields, and they also gave them to seven obedient Siamese slaves.

Damn, I just want to get injured and retire."

After hearing this, the team members finally smiled. Even Qin Da couldn't help laughing when he heard that he could go to Siam.

Nanji Island is completely incomparable to Thai Binh. At least the Siamese slaves are really good at farming and are docile. For them, the best option for retreating after being injured is to go to Gia Dinh, Ha Tien and Thai Binh Province.

Of course, everyone knew that Hu Quan was joking. This guy chopped off three heads by himself during a boarding battle and was still teaching himself French. He was simply aiming to become a high-ranking official.

"However, I seem to have heard that it is difficult to arrange for women." Luo Asheng said, touching his chin, and then he pointed to the group of Trincomalee women who were posing coquettishly.

“This is a good arrangement, but it’s not easy to arrange a fair-skinned Thai woman, let alone a Thai-Chinese woman.”

In Southeast Asia today, since most of the people who come here are men, finding wives is a big problem, especially for Thai women who are fair-skinned and can speak simple Chinese, as the supply is simply insufficient to meet the demand.

Unless you are willing to marry a dark-skinned native woman, or pick a less dark-skinned Thai slave to marry home.

But in this case, most farmers who have moved abroad are willing to do it, but people like Qin Da, who has lost his left hand, are not very willing to do it.

"You don't know that." Huang Renyong chuckled, "I've already inquired about it. There are white women in India, too. They're whiter and prettier than those in France and England. They're all white like us.

Qin Da, don't worry, I'm going to India soon, and I'll bring two back for you."

Qin Da was immediately delighted when he heard this. He picked up the wine bowl with his only remaining right hand and said, "Captain, please don't forget, I don't want to marry a black earth woman. I don't want my children and grandchildren to be black.

Although this Indian white woman cannot be considered a real white person, I can accept it."

Everyone finally burst into laughter, and Qin Da's view on choosing a spouse also reflected the changing concepts of the Chinese people at that time.

Even Qin Da, who was in the lower middle class and had little experience as an auxiliary soldier, gradually realized that Britain and France were still quite powerful, and in his heart he regarded Britain and France as powerful countries that could barely be compared with China.

Because they have already acknowledged that the British and French, like the Chinese, are civilized white people, not blond-haired, blue-eyed barbarians.

But at the same time, only the British, French and the Holy Roman Empire can be treated equally by the Chinese, while others are still not welcomed.

For example, in Russia, although the imperial court has ordered it to be translated as Rus, the people still call them Rakshasa ghosts.

Therefore, even the high-caste Aryan white women in India are much more beautiful than the white women in Britain and France, especially those in the UK, who have cold beef skin and freckles.

But if you let Qin Xuan choose, if he can't marry a Han woman from his own side, he will definitely prefer to marry a white woman from Britain, France, and the Holy Roman Empire.

This can be considered as opening your eyes to the world in many ways.

(End of this chapter)