The Dutch's five warships withdrew from Hong Kong and immediately joined the army of counterattacking the Malay Peninsula, and the Dutch, who originally wanted to take advantage of the emptiness of the Australian defenses to make a sneak attack, never thought that they would end up in such a fate.

The Spaniards were obviously well prepared, and originally wanted to carry out an artillery bombardment when they passed through Manila, but the shore defense artillery in Manila opened up before they could get close.

If it weren't for the good control technology, the shell would have hit the ship, then the Netherlands would definitely have lost another battleship, and in desperation, the five warships could only return and go to the Malay Peninsula to fight, after all, there were still five warships there, which could overwhelm the other side in terms of numbers.

If you want to use numbers to win, this time I am afraid that it will be much more difficult for the Dutch, after all, the Spanish weapons have been updated, and if it is very likely to achieve a phased victory in the past, or even crush the Spaniards.

Brown also knew that in order to win, he had to upgrade his weapons, otherwise it would be difficult to make any big changes, and most importantly, there was another reason why he had to buy the latest weapons from the Australians.

Because the relationship between the two sides has entered a freezing point, the relationship between Australia and the Netherlands is not as good as before, and this can be seen from the arms exports, not to mention the obvious reduction, and the reduction of exports to the Netherlands under the pretext of various reasons.

This made Brown deeply aware of the deliberate actions of the Australians, but no matter what he thought, the Australians still had to buy new weapons, and the negotiators sent into Australia to negotiate arms exports.

In fact, for the upgraded version of the 26-pounder gun, Australia has a special study of export, and the Spaniards are currently relying on this weapon to win, once the Dutch have also mastered it. Then the balance of the battle may be unbalanced, the biggest possibility is that the Spanish will lose again, and it is even possible that Manila will be attacked, but it all depends on whether Australia exports or not.

If Australia slows down its exports to the Netherlands, it will give Spain more opportunities to gain a foothold, as long as they do so. It will be difficult for the Dutch to regain it.

There are four main forces in the whole Malay Peninsula, and the English chose to watch the battle in silence this time, which is likely to have a lot to do with the Spanish export of steamships to them, after all, the Dutch are not so kind.

England also used enough steamships to be bought as warships for the country's navy, only the Dutch got the ships but used them as transport ships, which made the other two countries laugh at the Dutch for asking for money and not dying, and the benefits of steamships as warships are very many, and they can quickly improve the country's combat effectiveness, not to mention, they can also quickly rush to the sea where the naval battle takes place to participate in the war.

Sometimes differences in ideas determine the future development of a country to a certain extent. The Dutch were too focused on commercial interests and put their national interests aside, which eventually led to a fiasco, which was inevitable, and even a rising star like England knew the role of steam warships, which shows that the Dutch sometimes paid too much attention to commercial culture.

However, it is no wonder that the Netherlands is a commercial country, and it is impossible not to attach importance to the commercial culture, and the advantages of steamships in transporting goods have been clearly reflected. After all, as a battleship, it has to be used less time, which is a waste of resources.

The Netherlands, which was founded on capital, will not see this happen. They will come up with all sorts of ways to make rational use of resources.

It wasn't until the conflict with Spain that they realized how useful the steam warship was, and if it was a steam ship at this time, they would have joined the battle earlier in terms of time distance, and they could also get fighters faster.

The Spaniards had been in possession of the Malay territory for almost a week, and in that time they had completed the construction of various fortifications. and to keep the local Dutch in check.

It was a little late for the Dutch to send ships, but in order to regain their territory and secure their honor, they had to fight.

The battle had already begun, and the Dutch clearly had no superiority in firepower. Only tactics can be used to overwhelm the opponent, and if they cannot break through the defense line at sea, the Dutch soldiers who hold on to the Malay will be completely desperate.

The negotiators who went to Australia this time were not only as simple as buying weapons, but also had the meaning of using excuses, hoping to transport supplies and soldiers through the territory of the Australians, after all, the Spaniards did not dare to do anything to the Australians.

Moreover, Spain's weapons were bought from the Australians, and if the Australians had something to say, they would not dare not listen, and the most important thing was that if they succeeded, Spain would be caught off guard.

"Mr. Keynes, you should know that Australia is unwilling to get involved in the dispute between you and Spain, and if it is lent to you, what do you think the other side will think, does this mean that we also declare our entry into the war?"

Zhao Shijie patiently explained why Australia didn't borrow the road, borrowing the road to the Netherlands and Australia would definitely cause trouble, at least it would make the Spaniards unhappy, this is for sure, and the other party will definitely not compromise so easily.

At present, in terms of relations between the two sides, the Spaniards are more in the interests of Australia, and the Dutch are already clearly in conflict with the Australians.

The unfriendliness between the two sides was completely made by Brown, and this time they wanted Australian territory, and they dared to think about such a thing, how could Australia lend it to them.

The weakness of the Netherlands in this region is conducive to Australia's development, and Australia is currently implementing a plan to unite with the Spaniards to squeeze the Dutch and finally squeeze them out of Southeast Asia.

If this plan is successful, Australia will become the largest force in the region in the future, as for the Spaniards, their main force is still in Europe and South America, it is almost impossible to become a second Dutch, and Australia will suppress and encircle them.

Keynes's proposal was categorically rejected by Zhao Shijie, and as for the purchase of weapons, he agreed, after all, sooner or later it will be exported to Europe, but there is a certain delay in time, and it is impossible for Australia to sell weapons to the other party at this time.

In order to realize their plans, Australia must let the Spaniards continue to occupy the Malay Peninsula, and it is not up to them to see how the conflict between the Dutch and them will end in what form, but the current situation is good for Spain, and as long as it lasts for a while, Brown will be unlucky, and when the news reaches home, it is difficult to say whether the Dutch will appoint another governor. (To be continued.) )