Chapter 1249
From General to Prisoner of War
Chapter 1249 From General to Prisoner of War
After besieging the enemy army in the swamp in the southwest of Xingdao, the military pressure Haihan faced was greatly reduced. Unwilling to be lonely, Mu Xiabo even gathered his troops and took the fleet to the other side of the strait to find Roger found the enemy assembly point during his last investigation, trying to strike further at its surface armed forces.However, his journey this time was in vain. The other party probably expected that Haihan would trace the source and kill him, and had already moved all the ships docked in the river bend.Although the temporary facilities on the shore are still there, no human activity can be seen, and it is obvious that this camp has been abandoned.
And the British sailboat that Mu Xiabo hoped to fight face to face also evacuated from this area, and it is unknown where they hid.This made him sigh on the deck for his opponent's determination, as if he didn't intend to try to rescue his accomplices trapped on Xingdao anymore.Little did they know that although the armed sailboats sent here by the East India Company were armed, they were only merchant ships equipped with a few deck guns, and their combat effectiveness was completely comparable to that of professional warships like Haihan equipped with [-] to [-] guns on a single ship. Not the same.
After seeing the lineup of the Haihan Fleet in the Johor Strait two days ago, the British had given up their futile struggle and left the Johor Strait to hide further away.It's not that they are unwilling to help, but they know that they can't fight the Haihan Fleet, and they can also predict that the opponent will definitely wipe out the coalition ships on the north side of the strait if they are free. Companions lost on Star Island carry out rescue.
But the British who stayed in Johor still misjudged one thing. They believed that the purpose of Haihan's cutting off the channel of the strait was mainly to interrupt their own supply transportation, temporarily trap the coalition forces going to Xingdao, and transport them to Xingdao in the early stage. Based on the island's supplies, it is no problem for the coalition forces to last for a few days.But they didn't expect that the coalition forces would be defeated on the second day after they landed on the island. Now they are hiding on the island to escape the pursuit of the Haihan army. Most of the supplies transported to the island have been lost, and they can't last as expected. for so long.
Two days after the siege of the swamp area, more and more coalition soldiers have chosen to come out and surrender.This is really helpless. They have no source of supplies in the swamp. If they starve for another day or two, they may not even have the strength to come out and surrender.
According to what these captives told them, the coalition generals Hogg and Bapon were still trapped here, but it seemed that they couldn't think of any effective way to escape.Many people chose to surrender because they could not see the hope of escape.
"Two days of hard work and tight pockets, they may end up struggling again." Roger knew that Mu Xiabo's desire for war was not fully satisfied in this battle, and there might be nothing after that. There was a large-scale battle, but the current encirclement and suppression had reached the most critical moment, he was also afraid that Mu Xiabo would not be able to cheer up, so he could only try his best to cheer up the other party.
"Don't worry, all of us are here, of course we have to make things look good before we go back." Mu Xiabo also understood what Roger was worried about, so he patted his chest and promised.Except for the short battle when he first arrived here, the past few days have been relatively easy. The enemies on the island have been trapped to death in the swamp, and the enemies on the other side of the strait have avoided fighting. disappointment.Seeing that the overall situation has been decided, it is unlikely that the opponent will have a chance to stand up again. It is inevitable that the troops will be a little slack. However, as a general who has led troops for many years, he also knows that the final success or failure of this mission depends to a large extent. It still depends on whether the enemy general can be captured.Right now, the last step is short, and we must not fall short.
From the third day of the siege of the swamp, the Haihan army gradually narrowed the encirclement inward, further reducing the range of activities that the coalition forces that still refused to surrender could do.There were also several brief firefights during the period, but because the coalition forces stayed in the swamp for several days, some of the matchlock ammunition used by the coalition forces had been dampened or even soaked in water, and the firepower was greatly weakened. At most, two or three out of ten guns The branch can be fired.On the other hand, the opponent's firepower has not been significantly affected. Under the ebb and flow, the resistance that the coalition forces can make is even more limited, and they can only continue to retreat.
By the morning of the fourth day, the remaining coalition forces had been compressed into a forest with an area of only about ten mu of land, and there were probably less than five hundred people left.The Haihan army outside the forest escorted a few selected prisoners of war, and asked them to read out loud the content of persuading them to surrender in Johor dialect and English with tin horns, and waged a final psychological battle against the remaining coalition personnel.
Roger had no patience to wait any longer, so he gave an ultimatum to the coalition forces in the forest. If they did not surrender when the sun was shining overhead at noon, then there would be no chance for the coalition forces to surrender to save their lives.If the coalition general wants to end the battle decently, it is best to surrender before then, otherwise it is very likely that after death, the corpse will be used to show the results of the battle to the local people.
After about two hours of confrontation, the coalition forces in the forest finally chose to surrender.Hogg and Bapon led their respective armies out of the woods and surrendered all the weapons under the supervision of Haihan's soldiers.Except for a very small number of senior officers, ordinary coalition soldiers were restrained by ropes and shackles after disarming, and then they were immediately escorted on the road in batches.This is also done to prevent prisoners of war from gathering together and causing unnecessary troubles.
It wasn't until this time that Hogg and Bapon finally saw their opponents, two dark-skinned and strong Haihan officers.What surprised Hogg was that the officer who looked younger could speak fluent English, which was something he had never seen since he came to the Far East.Except for a few maritime merchants engaged in cross-border trade, he has never seen a military or political leader of a certain country who understands English. What's more, this person commands a Haihan army. It is conceivable that his status must not be low.
After filtering the information in his mind, Hogg roughly guessed the identity of the other party, and asked the same question in English: "Your Excellency must be Mr. Roger, the local colonial chief, right?"
Roger smiled and said: "You are very well informed, but you even found out my name, why don't you inquire about our Haihan's strength? Which European countries that came to the Far East to make a fortune have not been taught by our Haihan Army? How dare you take the initiative to go up, how bold you are!"
Of course, Hogg couldn't refute the other party's taunts. The defeated general is silent, no matter how good-looking the original battle plan was, it was useless, and the result has already proved who is the ultimate victor.I wanted to defeat Haihan to prove the strength of the British colonial armed forces, but in the end it added another shining stroke to Haihan's record.Now that he has become the opponent's prisoner, trying to be brave with words at this time will only increase the laughing stock.
Then I heard Roger continue to say: "But you don't have to worry. Since we said that we will disarm and not kill, then we must keep what we say. I just want to wrong you for a while, stay with us first, and wait for your East India Company to agree. Only by meeting our conditions can we let you go."
Hogg is worthy of being a veteran who has been in the army for many years. Although he lost the battle, his emotions did not collapse and out of control. He immediately replied: "I hope my soldiers will be treated well. They are just performing the tasks set by me."
Roger was noncommittal about his request. Haihan had no intention of raising a group of idle prisoners of war. These people must arrange a certain intensity of physical labor during their detention, even for generals like Hogg.As for the kind treatment, it is considered good for the prisoners of war to have a bite to eat, and don't expect anything else.
After the last group of coalition troops who surrendered were taken into custody, there are probably only a few escaped coalition troops left on the island, but the trouble these people can cause is limited, and Roger does not plan to organize a large-scale dragnet-style sweep. Then he ordered all the ministries to set off and return to the camp.However, Mu Xiabai did not gain much from this special trip, and he was not interested in taking a detour to the star port in the south for the celebration ceremony, so he said goodbye to Luo Jie immediately, and left with his troops through the Johor Strait.
Of course, this battle must be shared equally by both sides. If Mu Xiabo hadn't led the army to the south to support, Roger would have been able to defend against the enemy's attack with the garrison on the island. It is difficult to catch all the effects.Mu Xiabo's fleet appeared in the Johor Strait in time to cut off the enemy's retreat, which played a decisive role in the direction of the entire battle.This is also due to the fact that Haihan has a colony like Xingdao in the South China Sea, otherwise if the reinforcements came from Cam Ranh Port, it would be too late to catch up with this wave.
Thanks to their special identities, Hogg and Bapon were not tied up or shackled like ordinary prisoners of war. Roger did not deliberately humiliate them, but gave them due respect and provided them with food and drinking water.Of course, it is impossible to have any more mounts, and they can only walk to the Haihan stronghold in the south of the island like other prisoners of war.Moreover, in order to prevent the two from discussing countermeasures on the way, Roger carefully escorted them separately, preventing him from having any direct contact with any accomplices.
In fact, Hogg didn't have much thought of resisting. After he surrendered, he carefully observed the situation of the Haihan army. The individual equipment of the Haihan soldiers was obviously better than his mercenaries, even compared to the professional army in the UK. Don't give up.Judging from the fighting situation in the past few days, the combat level of the Haihan Army is also quite powerful, with orderly offense and defense, and extremely rich tactics in field battles.The coalition forces retreated steadily during the battle and were restrained everywhere, largely because they just couldn't stand Haihan's fighting style.And this information was information that could not be grasped before the war.
If he could get another chance to make a choice, then Hogg would definitely consider carefully whether to launch an offensive against Haihan.It's a pity that I learned this information too late, and it's too late to regret it now.
After a day's trek, the large army finally returned to the Haihan stronghold on the south coast of Xingdao.Most of the defensive offensive outside the village has been dismantled, but a large camp has been built in an open space outside the village—a hard labor camp for prisoners of war to temporarily settle down.
Due to the rush of construction time, there are no decent buildings in this camp, only a large area of bamboo sheds used to block the sun, and several separate small camps are separated by barbed wire.The prisoners of war who were captured from various places on the island in the past few days were temporarily detained here.
Senior military officers like Hogg were lucky. They could enjoy slightly better treatment and live in temporary cells with walls, doors and windows.Because there are too few cells, Haihan has no conditions to detain him alone, so here he finally reunited with his surviving British companions.Some people came in two or three days earlier than him, but they can give him a general talk about the living conditions here.
There is no need to look forward to food and accommodation. Although they can live in a house instead of being kept in the wild like ordinary prisoners of war, this only means that they don't have to be exposed to the wind and sun at night.They can get two meals a day, but they are basically coarse grains and pickles without any oil or water.There is no restriction on drinking water, because they have to do the physical labor arranged by the Haihan people every day, and they need to replenish water at any time.
Compared with the prisoners of war held outside, the labor intensity required by the officers is not too great. Their task is to start after breakfast every day, using the hammers issued to them to knock the stones, and knock the large stones into the ground. Small pebbles of acceptable size and pounded until the sun goes down for dinner.Everyone will be given a prescribed workload, and food will be deducted if they fail to complete the task.And if they try to resist the labor arrangement, they will directly change the place of detention, and be thrown into the hard labor camp in the wilderness to engage in more arduous physical labor with ordinary prisoners of war.
Hogg doesn't quite understand the significance of the Haihan people's arrangement of this kind of stone-breaking task, but a hero does not suffer from immediate losses. Since he can live well, there is really no need to fight for dignity with the other party on such details, and try to find The chance to get out is the most important thing.
However, the opportunity to escape came sooner than Hogg had imagined. Not long after he was locked in the cell, someone came to lift him out. It turned out that Roger wanted to see him.Hogg thought that this was probably because the Haihan people planned to interrogate him, so he decided to be tough and never say anything when asked.Information about the East India Company cannot easily flow out of his mouth.
But Roger didn't seem to play his cards according to the routine at all. The first sentence made Hogg unable to calm down any longer: "General Hogg, it must be very uncomfortable to be a prisoner? To be honest, it doesn't matter if you are locked up here." How useful, I plan to let you go back, what do you think of this idea?"
(End of this chapter)
After besieging the enemy army in the swamp in the southwest of Xingdao, the military pressure Haihan faced was greatly reduced. Unwilling to be lonely, Mu Xiabo even gathered his troops and took the fleet to the other side of the strait to find Roger found the enemy assembly point during his last investigation, trying to strike further at its surface armed forces.However, his journey this time was in vain. The other party probably expected that Haihan would trace the source and kill him, and had already moved all the ships docked in the river bend.Although the temporary facilities on the shore are still there, no human activity can be seen, and it is obvious that this camp has been abandoned.
And the British sailboat that Mu Xiabo hoped to fight face to face also evacuated from this area, and it is unknown where they hid.This made him sigh on the deck for his opponent's determination, as if he didn't intend to try to rescue his accomplices trapped on Xingdao anymore.Little did they know that although the armed sailboats sent here by the East India Company were armed, they were only merchant ships equipped with a few deck guns, and their combat effectiveness was completely comparable to that of professional warships like Haihan equipped with [-] to [-] guns on a single ship. Not the same.
After seeing the lineup of the Haihan Fleet in the Johor Strait two days ago, the British had given up their futile struggle and left the Johor Strait to hide further away.It's not that they are unwilling to help, but they know that they can't fight the Haihan Fleet, and they can also predict that the opponent will definitely wipe out the coalition ships on the north side of the strait if they are free. Companions lost on Star Island carry out rescue.
But the British who stayed in Johor still misjudged one thing. They believed that the purpose of Haihan's cutting off the channel of the strait was mainly to interrupt their own supply transportation, temporarily trap the coalition forces going to Xingdao, and transport them to Xingdao in the early stage. Based on the island's supplies, it is no problem for the coalition forces to last for a few days.But they didn't expect that the coalition forces would be defeated on the second day after they landed on the island. Now they are hiding on the island to escape the pursuit of the Haihan army. Most of the supplies transported to the island have been lost, and they can't last as expected. for so long.
Two days after the siege of the swamp area, more and more coalition soldiers have chosen to come out and surrender.This is really helpless. They have no source of supplies in the swamp. If they starve for another day or two, they may not even have the strength to come out and surrender.
According to what these captives told them, the coalition generals Hogg and Bapon were still trapped here, but it seemed that they couldn't think of any effective way to escape.Many people chose to surrender because they could not see the hope of escape.
"Two days of hard work and tight pockets, they may end up struggling again." Roger knew that Mu Xiabo's desire for war was not fully satisfied in this battle, and there might be nothing after that. There was a large-scale battle, but the current encirclement and suppression had reached the most critical moment, he was also afraid that Mu Xiabo would not be able to cheer up, so he could only try his best to cheer up the other party.
"Don't worry, all of us are here, of course we have to make things look good before we go back." Mu Xiabo also understood what Roger was worried about, so he patted his chest and promised.Except for the short battle when he first arrived here, the past few days have been relatively easy. The enemies on the island have been trapped to death in the swamp, and the enemies on the other side of the strait have avoided fighting. disappointment.Seeing that the overall situation has been decided, it is unlikely that the opponent will have a chance to stand up again. It is inevitable that the troops will be a little slack. However, as a general who has led troops for many years, he also knows that the final success or failure of this mission depends to a large extent. It still depends on whether the enemy general can be captured.Right now, the last step is short, and we must not fall short.
From the third day of the siege of the swamp, the Haihan army gradually narrowed the encirclement inward, further reducing the range of activities that the coalition forces that still refused to surrender could do.There were also several brief firefights during the period, but because the coalition forces stayed in the swamp for several days, some of the matchlock ammunition used by the coalition forces had been dampened or even soaked in water, and the firepower was greatly weakened. At most, two or three out of ten guns The branch can be fired.On the other hand, the opponent's firepower has not been significantly affected. Under the ebb and flow, the resistance that the coalition forces can make is even more limited, and they can only continue to retreat.
By the morning of the fourth day, the remaining coalition forces had been compressed into a forest with an area of only about ten mu of land, and there were probably less than five hundred people left.The Haihan army outside the forest escorted a few selected prisoners of war, and asked them to read out loud the content of persuading them to surrender in Johor dialect and English with tin horns, and waged a final psychological battle against the remaining coalition personnel.
Roger had no patience to wait any longer, so he gave an ultimatum to the coalition forces in the forest. If they did not surrender when the sun was shining overhead at noon, then there would be no chance for the coalition forces to surrender to save their lives.If the coalition general wants to end the battle decently, it is best to surrender before then, otherwise it is very likely that after death, the corpse will be used to show the results of the battle to the local people.
After about two hours of confrontation, the coalition forces in the forest finally chose to surrender.Hogg and Bapon led their respective armies out of the woods and surrendered all the weapons under the supervision of Haihan's soldiers.Except for a very small number of senior officers, ordinary coalition soldiers were restrained by ropes and shackles after disarming, and then they were immediately escorted on the road in batches.This is also done to prevent prisoners of war from gathering together and causing unnecessary troubles.
It wasn't until this time that Hogg and Bapon finally saw their opponents, two dark-skinned and strong Haihan officers.What surprised Hogg was that the officer who looked younger could speak fluent English, which was something he had never seen since he came to the Far East.Except for a few maritime merchants engaged in cross-border trade, he has never seen a military or political leader of a certain country who understands English. What's more, this person commands a Haihan army. It is conceivable that his status must not be low.
After filtering the information in his mind, Hogg roughly guessed the identity of the other party, and asked the same question in English: "Your Excellency must be Mr. Roger, the local colonial chief, right?"
Roger smiled and said: "You are very well informed, but you even found out my name, why don't you inquire about our Haihan's strength? Which European countries that came to the Far East to make a fortune have not been taught by our Haihan Army? How dare you take the initiative to go up, how bold you are!"
Of course, Hogg couldn't refute the other party's taunts. The defeated general is silent, no matter how good-looking the original battle plan was, it was useless, and the result has already proved who is the ultimate victor.I wanted to defeat Haihan to prove the strength of the British colonial armed forces, but in the end it added another shining stroke to Haihan's record.Now that he has become the opponent's prisoner, trying to be brave with words at this time will only increase the laughing stock.
Then I heard Roger continue to say: "But you don't have to worry. Since we said that we will disarm and not kill, then we must keep what we say. I just want to wrong you for a while, stay with us first, and wait for your East India Company to agree. Only by meeting our conditions can we let you go."
Hogg is worthy of being a veteran who has been in the army for many years. Although he lost the battle, his emotions did not collapse and out of control. He immediately replied: "I hope my soldiers will be treated well. They are just performing the tasks set by me."
Roger was noncommittal about his request. Haihan had no intention of raising a group of idle prisoners of war. These people must arrange a certain intensity of physical labor during their detention, even for generals like Hogg.As for the kind treatment, it is considered good for the prisoners of war to have a bite to eat, and don't expect anything else.
After the last group of coalition troops who surrendered were taken into custody, there are probably only a few escaped coalition troops left on the island, but the trouble these people can cause is limited, and Roger does not plan to organize a large-scale dragnet-style sweep. Then he ordered all the ministries to set off and return to the camp.However, Mu Xiabai did not gain much from this special trip, and he was not interested in taking a detour to the star port in the south for the celebration ceremony, so he said goodbye to Luo Jie immediately, and left with his troops through the Johor Strait.
Of course, this battle must be shared equally by both sides. If Mu Xiabo hadn't led the army to the south to support, Roger would have been able to defend against the enemy's attack with the garrison on the island. It is difficult to catch all the effects.Mu Xiabo's fleet appeared in the Johor Strait in time to cut off the enemy's retreat, which played a decisive role in the direction of the entire battle.This is also due to the fact that Haihan has a colony like Xingdao in the South China Sea, otherwise if the reinforcements came from Cam Ranh Port, it would be too late to catch up with this wave.
Thanks to their special identities, Hogg and Bapon were not tied up or shackled like ordinary prisoners of war. Roger did not deliberately humiliate them, but gave them due respect and provided them with food and drinking water.Of course, it is impossible to have any more mounts, and they can only walk to the Haihan stronghold in the south of the island like other prisoners of war.Moreover, in order to prevent the two from discussing countermeasures on the way, Roger carefully escorted them separately, preventing him from having any direct contact with any accomplices.
In fact, Hogg didn't have much thought of resisting. After he surrendered, he carefully observed the situation of the Haihan army. The individual equipment of the Haihan soldiers was obviously better than his mercenaries, even compared to the professional army in the UK. Don't give up.Judging from the fighting situation in the past few days, the combat level of the Haihan Army is also quite powerful, with orderly offense and defense, and extremely rich tactics in field battles.The coalition forces retreated steadily during the battle and were restrained everywhere, largely because they just couldn't stand Haihan's fighting style.And this information was information that could not be grasped before the war.
If he could get another chance to make a choice, then Hogg would definitely consider carefully whether to launch an offensive against Haihan.It's a pity that I learned this information too late, and it's too late to regret it now.
After a day's trek, the large army finally returned to the Haihan stronghold on the south coast of Xingdao.Most of the defensive offensive outside the village has been dismantled, but a large camp has been built in an open space outside the village—a hard labor camp for prisoners of war to temporarily settle down.
Due to the rush of construction time, there are no decent buildings in this camp, only a large area of bamboo sheds used to block the sun, and several separate small camps are separated by barbed wire.The prisoners of war who were captured from various places on the island in the past few days were temporarily detained here.
Senior military officers like Hogg were lucky. They could enjoy slightly better treatment and live in temporary cells with walls, doors and windows.Because there are too few cells, Haihan has no conditions to detain him alone, so here he finally reunited with his surviving British companions.Some people came in two or three days earlier than him, but they can give him a general talk about the living conditions here.
There is no need to look forward to food and accommodation. Although they can live in a house instead of being kept in the wild like ordinary prisoners of war, this only means that they don't have to be exposed to the wind and sun at night.They can get two meals a day, but they are basically coarse grains and pickles without any oil or water.There is no restriction on drinking water, because they have to do the physical labor arranged by the Haihan people every day, and they need to replenish water at any time.
Compared with the prisoners of war held outside, the labor intensity required by the officers is not too great. Their task is to start after breakfast every day, using the hammers issued to them to knock the stones, and knock the large stones into the ground. Small pebbles of acceptable size and pounded until the sun goes down for dinner.Everyone will be given a prescribed workload, and food will be deducted if they fail to complete the task.And if they try to resist the labor arrangement, they will directly change the place of detention, and be thrown into the hard labor camp in the wilderness to engage in more arduous physical labor with ordinary prisoners of war.
Hogg doesn't quite understand the significance of the Haihan people's arrangement of this kind of stone-breaking task, but a hero does not suffer from immediate losses. Since he can live well, there is really no need to fight for dignity with the other party on such details, and try to find The chance to get out is the most important thing.
However, the opportunity to escape came sooner than Hogg had imagined. Not long after he was locked in the cell, someone came to lift him out. It turned out that Roger wanted to see him.Hogg thought that this was probably because the Haihan people planned to interrogate him, so he decided to be tough and never say anything when asked.Information about the East India Company cannot easily flow out of his mouth.
But Roger didn't seem to play his cards according to the routine at all. The first sentence made Hogg unable to calm down any longer: "General Hogg, it must be very uncomfortable to be a prisoner? To be honest, it doesn't matter if you are locked up here." How useful, I plan to let you go back, what do you think of this idea?"
(End of this chapter)