By the fourth day of the shelling, the gun emplacements in front of the castle had all been muted. Some of the guns are still intact, but there are no gunners left to manipulate them. Neither Nils nor their promises or threats with money, no one was willing to go to the gun position and open fire. In the eyes of the Dutch, operating artillery there is akin to sending them to their deaths.

Now Liu Pei's gunners had begun to bombard the front of the castle with all their might, trying to break down a section of the outer wall so that the infantry could attack. At this time, the front of the castle has long been unrecognizable, and the structure is somewhat loose. It's only a matter of time before this façade is broken! Maybe tonight, maybe tomorrow.

In the castle's reception room, more than a dozen people are gathering here. The room was filled with gloom and mist, and everyone had a look of dejection on their faces. The people in the room were silent, no one spoke. But every once in a while, you can hear the sound of cannons outside, and you can feel the vibration of the castle.

The people in the room gathered together at all levels according to the proposition. Cha Jiao gathered with a few people, and Niels had the largest number of people, seven or eight people. Only Clyde's side had the smallest number of men, but all but one of them were military.

It was evident that this was an enlarged meeting of the ruling class in the castle. The theme is whether to surrender or not. But on the face they don't look like they're in a meeting, it's more like a drinking party! With the exception of Clyde, everyone was holding glasses, or simply holding bottles, and drinking in large gulps, but no one was down to business.

In the end, Chuck couldn't stand it! As a businessman, he is intimidating when there is enough profit. But at the same time, there is no profit, only panic, and his timidity makes people laugh! So he is the main representative of the capitulation faction in this room.

At this time, Chuck was disheveled, and his eyes were bloodshot. It seems that he has been crushed by the fear of losing his life or losing his wealth! He drank his wine as he kept glancing at Nils and Clyde.

Eventually, Chuck couldn't stand the silence in the room, he tossed his glass aside, gasped and said, "I say it again, I don't want to die!" I think it's probably too late to surrender now? We obviously can't beat the heretics out there! Their numbers are becoming more and more numerous

Many! ”

Chuck was right. Now Liu Pei has gathered an army of nearly 2,000 people on the other side of the island. And since the frontal batteries have been completely destroyed, the fleet can be moored at will on the west side of the island, and personnel and supplies can be transported down from the ship in a steady stream. An absolute advantage has been formed over the castle!

Chuck looked up and said, "I don't agree to surrender outright!" But I think we should send another emissary to ask, and maybe we can get out of Formosa with dignity at a price. ”

Nils shook his head and said, "I'm willing to make this deal with him." But you don't know, the Viceroy's enemies once told me that the Red-Eyed Dragon King has great desires, and I'm afraid he wants more than Formosa! So he won't give us a chance to talk peace, what he needs is a hearty victory! ”

Chuck said irritably, "We'll give him whatever he wants!" Gold, silver, fur! Give it all to him! We can go back to Batavia and start over! ”

Nils looked at Clyde. Clyde had become the real man of the word in the castle by this time, as he had all the armies in his hands. Clyde was also drinking, but he was visibly restrained. He was always taking small sips. And the people in the whole room, only him and a few people behind him were still neatly dressed.

Clyde felt the gaze of Nils and Chuck. He calmly put down his glass and said, "I'm sorry, gentlemen. I refuse to surrender! ”

Chuck yelled in despair, "Why? ”

Clyde glanced at Chuck contemptuously and said, "You should know best how we treat the locals. Do you think they don't know? If we surrender, we are afraid that we will not be treated civilly. I estimate that the lightest will also serve hard labor in the hard labor camp until death! I'd rather die here than be tortured! ”

Clyde's words were supported by those behind him, who spoke in support of his claims. The Niels faction was silent. Chuck's faction, on the other hand, clamored for opposition. They will not be abused. Chuck said with red eyes: "If we don't surrender, we can only be killed!"

It's horrible! I don't want to die in this place! ”

Clyde said, "Not necessarily! It is possible for us to defeat these infidels. ”

Clyde's words silenced the room completely. Everyone stared at him for an answer. "Just last night," Clyde said, "I secretly mobilized the manpower and artillery of several gun emplacements and quietly placed them in those damaged gun emplacements. And prepared a large number of grape bombs. And our men have not been idle these days, and we have already laid out two sandbag lines on the perimeter of the castle. When they come to attack us, it's our turn to defend behind the sandbags. At that time, they will be the ones who will suffer heavy casualties. ”

Clyde said that he took a slow sip of the wine in his glass, and everyone's spirits were obviously much more uplifted. But everyone didn't speak, they were all waiting for him to continue.

Clyde continued: "As soon as we've done a lot of damage behind the first line of sandbag defense, we'll immediately retreat behind the second line of defense. By the time they attack the second line of sandbag defense, we'll be able to double whammy them with smoothbore guns and artillery! As long as they say that they are hurting, they can only surround us but not fight. When the time comes, we can hold the castle and wait for reinforcements from Batavia. ”

None of you are soldiers, but they have seen what war is all about. On the face of it, Clyde's plan is almost perfect! If successful, the top of the pit will cause a lot of casualties to the opponent. Forcing the opponent to resort to a siege strategy. Even if the opponent has heavy artillery, it will not be able to break through the two outer lines of defense if the castle is riddled with holes. So everyone acquiesced to Clyde's plan.

Clyde did put a lot of thought into this plan. In the past two days, he has been mobilizing his manpower to collect ammunition and food. A lot of work was done to mobilize the gun emplacements at night. Now it's up to the other side to start attacking?

However, it is estimated that the other side will at least have to dig holes in the outer wall of the castle before preparing for a formal attack. So everyone had to wait for the castle to break down amid the dull sound of shelling. The defenders actually hope that the city will be broken, which can be regarded as a big joke in the history of war! But some people even think they should dig a hole out.