The Rise of Australasia

Chapter 834: Chapter 623: Undercurrents Stir

The Dutch were determined to crush the rebellion with all their might, a decision Arthur was unaware of, but regardless of the Dutch resistance, the loss of the Dutch East Indies had become a reality.

In this incident, the Dutch, the indigenous people, and the Australasians were not at fault; the only blame could be placed on the Netherlands, a medium-sized European country that possessed such a vast colony as the Dutch East Indies, which was inconveniently located so close to Australasia, a power.

Arthur’s actions merely hastened the Dutch’s inevitable relinquishment, for given the situation in the Netherlands, the Dutch East Indies could not have held out much longer and were destined to be freed from Dutch rule.

After learning that Bob was backed by Australasia, Nurul Bhradi Hakala treated him as an honored guest, frequently consulting him even on military matters.

Of course, this did not mean that Nurul Bhradi Hakala fully aligned himself with Australasia.

Compared to his own strategists, who were less adept, it was occasionally more beneficial for Nurul Bhradi Hakala’s plans to rely on the help of Australasians, provided they shared the same goals.

The aid Australasia provided these indigenous groups was simple, consisting of a small quantity of weapons and some long-stored grain.

Yet, such support proved to be crucial under the current circumstances, enabling the indigenous forces to rapidly expand their armies while maintaining basic sustenance, thereby overwhelming the military presence of the Dutch East Indies.

The indigenous population had little of everything, but were abundant in numbers. Tens of millions of indigenous people could easily arm an army of a million without issue, and even expand the army to around five million if necessary.

Of course, such an exaggerated size of an army was not needed for this war. The entire Dutch military amounted to only about 200,000, and even if the indigenous forces were poorly trained, an army of 500,000 to 600,000 would be enough to overpower the Dutch Army.

After all, this was not the Dutch homeland. Transporting weapons and equipment to the colonies would not only take over a month but would also incur costs beyond what the Dutch government could afford.

With guidance from Bob, the indigenous army controlled by Nurul Bhradi Hakala quickly occupied the Southern Region of Sumatra Island, establishing a monument and officially announcing the restoration of the Sultanate of Palembang with the monument as its capital city.

The Sultanate of Palembang had only been dissolved for twenty years, still garnering significant support among the local indigenous population.

As expected, once the Sultanate of Palembang was officially restored, a large number of smaller indigenous powers began to ally themselves with it. This newly reestablished nation rapidly surpassed a population of one million, and Nurul Bhradi Hakala’s forces expanded to 20,000 soldiers accordingly.

The success of Nurul Bhradi Hakala made other indigenous groups green with envy. In just over one week, more than ten indigenous nations—including the Sultanates of Palembang, Shak, Delhi, Aceh, Kutai, Bruneian, Sambas, Yogyakarta, and others—sprung up across the three islands of the Dutch East Indies. These were either past indigenous sultanates that had been reinstated or existing indigenous states that had announced their independence from the Dutch East Indies. In short, the Dutch East Indies were truly in chaos.

After gaining independence or being reinstated, these sultanates turned their attention to lands controlled by the Dutch East Indies.

These lands were either part of their former territories or belonged to other fallen indigenous sultanates, in any case, taken from them by the Dutch.

Now was the best opportunity to defeat the Dutch, and naturally, the indigenous groups would not let it go to waste, deciding to directly dismantle the Dutch rule over the Dutch East Indies.

After reestablishing the Sultanate of Palembang, Nurul Bhradi Hakala set his sights on the nearby port of Jambi, not far south of Palembang.

The name Jambi might be unfamiliar to some, but it once had a different name—Palembang.

There once was a behemoth on the Island of Sumatra called the Sultanate of Palembang, which, over a hundred years ago, was forcibly dissolved and annexed by the Dutch.

And the capital of the former Sultanate of Palembang, Palembang, is also one of the largest cities on Sumatra Island, serving as the central city of the Southern Region.

Bob’s strategic plan for Nurul Bhradi Hakala was to first seize Palembang, then consecutively annex Palembang, Nanbang Port, and Bengkulu to establish a large sultanate in the Southern Region of Sumatra Island.

The most crucial point was that the Southern Region of Sumatra Island was very close to Java Island, separated only by the Sunda Strait.

As the indigenous state nearest to Batavia, if Nurul Bhradi Hakala could complete his strategic plan swiftly, he might even have a chance to directly seize Batavia and establish a vast sultanate spanning both Sumatra and Java Islands.

After all, compared to Sumatra Island’s mere millions in population, Java Island, with its population of over 20 million, was the true center of the indigenous people of the East Indies.

Understanding that Java Island was the focal point of Dutch East Indies’ rule, once he realized the Dutch had no intentions of seeking peace, Arthur directed the Royal Security Intelligence Agency to focus their work on Java Island.

Aside from the two sultanates on Java Island, the Dutch presence itself was far from unified.

First, in Batavia, there are quite a number of mixed-bloods of Dutch and Indigenous heritage. These individuals naturally cannot all be loyal to Dutch rule, and many mixed-bloods still uphold Indigenous ideas.

Moreover, a significant part of the colonial military force is composed of Indigenous or mixed-blood soldiers, which also means that the current situation in Batavia is not as calm as it appears on the surface.

On September 11th, 1925, Batavia, the capital of the Dutch East Indies.

"General Muhammad, there is someone claiming to be your friend looking for you.” In a villa in Batavia, a servant opened the door to the master’s office and spoke in a very respectful and hushed tone.

"Friend?” General Muhammad was somewhat puzzled, but he still let the servant bring the person in.

"General Muhammad, long time no see.” The visitor pushed open the door, greeted General Muhammad with a hearty smile, who was sitting in the office with a furrowed brow.

"Eric, how could it be you?” General Muhammad was greatly surprised, hastened forward to confirm he wasn’t seeing things, then had the servant bring in two cups of tea, pulled the guest into a seat with a smile, and sat down beside him.

"What, you don’t welcome me anymore after becoming a general?” The man named Eric said with a smile.

"Don’t mention it, Eric. Don’t you know? This general’s rank is just to placate the mixed-bloods, and I truly have no real power within the military. Most of the military is controlled by General Monk, and my rank as a general carries no weight anywhere else but with my troops,” Muhammad laughed and shook his head, then sighed faintly.

"The Dutch East Indies is already facing such a serious crisis, how can they still be so wary of you, Muhammad?” Eric asked with a smile.

"Let’s not talk about it. The full-scale rebellion has already troubled the Colonial Government enough; they are worried that I might join the rebellion and completely overthrow the rule over the East Indies,” Muhammad said with a cold laugh.Upd@te by n0vgo.c0

Despite being loyal to the Kingdom Government, his mixed-blood identity caused him to be distrusted by the Colonial Government, and he was marginalized in the military. This exclusion made Muhammad quite unhappy, even somewhat born of genuine dislike.

"Honestly, Muhammad, don’t you want to change the current situation?” Eric nodded with a smile and looked meaningfully at his good friend.

"How to change it? As long as the fact that I am of mixed heritage isn’t changed, the Colonial Government will never rely on me. Not to mention, I am someone who has returned from studying in Australasia, they surely won’t trust me in times like these,” Muhammad shook his head, clearly having lost hope in the idea of altering the status quo.

"What a pity. Once praised as the most talented student from the East Indies at the Royal Military Academy, how come you’re not valued after returning to the East Indies?” Eric first sighed deeply, aligning himself with Muhammad to close the gap between them, before continuing: “But what I’m saying is not about changing your status within the Kingdom of the Netherlands, Muhammad.”

"Eric, you’re talking about Australasia, aren’t you?” Muhammad wasn’t surprised by his old friend’s intentions, given that both Eric and he were alumni of the Australasia Royal Military Academy.

Although neither of them managed to stay in Australasia, Eric most likely remained loyal to Australasia.

"That’s right, Muhammad. As an old friend, I won’t hide it from you. My current role is as an intelligence officer for the Australasia Royal Security Intelligence Agency, specifically responsible for recruiting forces opposing the Dutch and subverting their rule over the East Indies.

Muhammad, your talents are wasted in the small Dutch East Indies. Why not try to join Australasia? As you know, His Majesty the King’s stance on recruiting foreign talents. So long as you’re willing to switch allegiance to Australasia, you’d still hold your rank as a general,” Eric nodded and, without any concealment, shared his intention candidly, eagerly persuading his old friend with a hopeful expression.

"I understand what you’re saying, Eric. But don’t forget, I am after all a mix of Dutch and Indigenous blood, and whomever I am will not be welcomed anywhere.

Besides, I am either Dutch or Indigenous, where does it make any sense for me to join Australasia?” Muhammad shook his head, refusing his old friend’s goodwill.

Eric had anticipated Muhammad’s refusal, knowing that persuading such an ambitious talent to switch allegiance to Australasia wouldn’t be easy.

Yet, Muhammad’s response pleased Eric to some extent, as he wasn’t too resistant to the proposition, showing that Muhammad’s loyalty to the Kingdom of the Netherlands had lessened, suggesting that he might need just an excuse to rebel against the Dutch.

"If you don’t mind, I can introduce you to any Indigenous force. The rule of the Dutch in the East Indies could collapse at any moment. Why not join an Indigenous force, given that you have Indigenous blood? His Majesty also has a plan to support an Indigenous country. If you’re amenable, I could recommend you as the Minister of Defence for this Indigenous country,” Eric said, smiling as he delivered his second proposal, which was the real reason for his visit.

The initial suggestion for Muhammad to align with Australasia was but a precursor to the second, more substantial offer.

After all, Muhammad was in essence mixed Dutch-Indigenous, and as he had pointed out, even if he allied with Australasia, gaining trust from Arthur wouldn’t be easy.

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