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"But Your Majesty, the Dutch have threatened us with war! What if they have to fight us? We can't keep backing down, can we? Chief of the General Staff Niu Meng said. In view of the current situation, it is indeed unsuitable for the Xinhua Army to provoke the Netherlands before defeating Spain. It's just that now it is the Dutch who are threatening war with Xinhuaguo, not that Xinhua will not fight if they want to!

"Humph! The Dutch are nothing more than a bluff! Are they not fools either, fight with us first, and then create opportunities for the Spaniards? Long Yufei said disdainfully. If there was no enemy of Spain, there would be no need for Xinhua to make peace with the Dutch, and it would have started fighting directly! In the same way, the Dutch will definitely not fight Xinhua before the winner and the Spaniard are separated. After all, this is a fight for the Spaniards. And the relationship between the Netherlands and Spain is not good. More than a hundred years young, Spain once colonized the Netherlands for a long time. The Dutch also paid a huge price to win their independence.

"That's right! The Dutch are at war with us at this time, unless there is something wrong with their brains! As long as we stay tough, they will back down! Logistics Minister Zhao Yi also said. Foreigners are more realistic, bullying the soft and fearing the hard, which is their essence. The current Xinhua Kingdom is not weak, unless the Dutch have their heads caught in the door, they will never do anything that harms others and is not beneficial to themselves!

"Well, so be it! Order the First Fleet to rush to the Celebes Sea and reinforce the Second Fleet! If the Dutch dare to attack on their own initiative. Then it hurts them! So that they will not dare to provoke us again! In addition, put the 4th brigade to shrink the defensive line. If we fight the Spaniards, we won't have any extra troops to reinforce them! Long Yufei said. In the case of a big attack by the Spaniards. The main force of the Xinhua army had to deal with the attack of the Spaniards. For East Borneo, there is no reinforcement for the time being, everything has to rely on the 4th Brigade. Therefore, the 4th Brigade had to stop expanding before that in order to build a strong defense against the Dutch.

"Yes. Your Majesty! However, after the First Fleet was transferred to the Celebes Sea, what about the defense of the South China Sea? Niu Meng said with some concern.

"The Third Fleet is about to be formed! When the time comes. The defense of the South China Sea will be handed over to the Third Fleet first! Just wait until the First and Second Fleets have pushed back the Dutch and then return to the defense! Long Yufei said. Most of the warships of the Third Fleet have already been built, and only a very small number of warships are still installing artillery, etc. The officers and men of the fleet have already completed their training and can board the ship at any time! It will not take long for the Third Fleet to form combat effectiveness! After the formation of the three major fleets. The Xinhua Navy will become the most powerful navy in the South Seas!

"Your Majesty! In addition to the three major fleets, the minister suggested. Then form the Fourth Fleet! Of the three major fleets, there are only 36 'Shark-class' cruisers in total, although they are already considered the strongest in the South China Seas. But our enemy is the Western powers, and if they attack in a big way, our naval strength will still be slightly insufficient! Logistics Minister Zhao Yi said.

Long Yufei nodded, in terms of military spending, there is no shortage of new Chinese troops now. The Spanish shipyard in Manila was also completely captured by the Xinhua army. After being expanded. It is already possible to build a 'shark-class' cruiser.

"The logistics department has made plans and started to build the warships needed by the Fourth Fleet!" Long Yufei said. One more fleet. For the current Xinhuaguo, there is not much pressure. The wealth plundered from the Spaniards, combined with the funds obtained from the auction of the Spanish property, was enough to support the rapid development of the new country!

"Yes, Your Majesty!"

"Your Majesty! The army's existing 6 infantry brigades are also on the small side! If we want to forcibly occupy the Indonesian archipelago, this is not enough! Chen suggested that the army should expand by four more infantry brigades, eventually reaching about ten infantry brigades! Niu Meng also hurriedly said.

"Do we have enough troops?" Long Yufei frowned and said, if 4 more infantry brigades are formed, it will take almost 25,000 youths. This is too much pressure for Xinhuaguo, which has a population of only a few hundred thousand!

"Your Majesty, don't worry about Bingyuan at all! At present, tens of thousands of displaced people go to Xinhua from China every month, and many of them are strong young men, and they are also very interested in joining the Xinhua Army. If you want to expand the army, there is no problem at all! Niu Meng was afraid that Long Yufei would not agree, so he hurriedly patted his chest and promised!

"Prime Minister, what is your opinion?" Long Yufei looked at the officials on the government side.

"Your Majesty! Now that the kingdom is facing a great crisis, it is necessary to maintain a strong military strength! The addition of four new infantry brigades is not a problem for the Kingdom's finances! Premier Li Decheng said.

"That's good, the General Staff Department has made a good plan, added four infantry brigades, and made the troops form combat effectiveness as soon as possible!" Long Yufei clapped directly!

After receiving Long Yufei's order, 12 'Shark-class' cruisers of the First Fleet of the Xinhua Navy set off from Manila and rushed to the Celebes Sea to reinforce the Second Fleet. At the same time, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Xinhua also sent an order to the consulate in Batavia, asking the consul Fang Minghong to sternly refuse the Dutch Indonesian Governor Jacques Brown. Dominica's shameless demand, and asked the Dutch Indonesian Governor's Office to explain their troubles to the Xinhua merchants, compensate the Xinhua merchants for their losses, and ensure that similar things will not happen again in the future! Otherwise, Xinhuaguo will take further measures!

On February 25, 1838, when Fang Minghong, the future consul of Xinhua in the Eighth Congress, walked into the Dutch Indonesian Governor's Mansion with his head held high, on behalf of Xinhuaguo, he officially submitted a letter to the Dutch Indonesian Governor Jacques. After Dominica protested and made a request from the new country, Jacques Brown. The Governor of Dominica suddenly burst into a rage. He never thought that Xinhua would dare to be as bold as ever, and dare to provoke the Netherlands when it was in a state of hostility with the Spaniards, which was completely unwanted!

"Damn! Do you want to provoke a war between Xinhua and the Netherlands? "Jacques. The Governor of Dominica was like a beast, staring at Fang Minghong, the consul of Xinhua in Batavia, as if he was going to eat people!

"Your Excellency the Governor! If the Netherlands were to impose war on us! We, Xinhuaguo, are definitely not afraid! Fang Minghong said with his head held high, after getting the order from Manila, he also became very tough.

"Your Excellency, I have conveyed to you the attitude of the Kingdom! If nothing happens, then I'll take my leave! After Fang Minghong finished speaking, he left Jacques without looking back. Office of the Governor of Dominica. At this moment, he suddenly had a feeling of raising his eyebrows!

"Bastard! Damn it! Those abominable yellow-skinned monkeys, I'm going to kill them all! "After Fang Minghong left, Jacques. The Governor of Dominica roared angrily, and all the precious porcelain in the office was smashed to pieces!

For a while, Jacques. The Governor of Dominica had just finished venting his anger. Immediately after that, he gave the order. Vice Admiral Johannes, commander of the East India Fleet of the Dutch Navy, was asked to lead the main force of the fleet through the Makassar Strait and into the Celebes Sea, showing off the Dutch force and forcing Xinhua to compromise. Of course, Jacques. The Governor of Dominica did not want to start a war with the Xinhua Navy at this time, so as not to cheapen the Spaniards. If the navy of the new country takes the initiative to provoke a war, it will be a different matter. Jacques. The Governor of Dominica believes that at this time, Xinhua does not dare to be an enemy of the Netherlands, they are just bluffing! As long as the Netherlands is tough enough, Xinhua will back down. After all, now the Spaniards are the biggest enemy of Xinhua.

In addition, Jacques. The Governor of Dominica also gave orders to the Army Commander, Lieutenant General de Boer, to draw strong forces and march towards East Borneo. However, you can't take the initiative to attack the Xinhua army, you have to wait for the opportunity, and wait until the Spanish and Xinhua fight each other, and then the Dutch army will take the opportunity to take advantage of the fire to loot and seize the territory of Xinhua in East Borneo!

Long before Xinhua made a clear statement, the main forces of the Dutch Navy's East India Fleet gathered in the port of Surabaya. Including two third-class battleships and six fourth-class battleships, all gathered there! On February 28, after the order of Governor Jacques Dominica was transmitted to the port of Surabaya, Vice Admiral Johannes, commander of the East India Fleet of the Dutch Navy, boarded the flagship battleship 'East India' and led the main force of the Dutch Navy's East India Fleet from the port of Surabaya, through the Java Sea, through the Strait of Makassar, and into the Celebes Sea!

At this moment, the First Fleet and the Second Fleet of the Xinhua Navy were also assembled in the northern part of the Makassar Strait to prevent the Dutch fleet from entering the range of Xinhua Force.

In fact, at this time, neither Xinhua nor Dutch Indonesia is willing to go to war with each other! It's just that both sides don't admit defeat, and both think that the other side is bluffing, and as long as they show toughness, they can force the other side back. As a direct result, the main naval forces of both sides are concentrated in the northern part of the Makassar Strait.

At 9 a.m. on March 5, the Dutch Navy's East India Fleet passed through the Makassar Strait and entered the Celebes Sea. However, as soon as they crossed the strait, they found that the Xinhua Navy was already blocked outside! The northern part of the Makassar Strait is less than a hundred kilometers wide and is not suitable for naval warfare. When the Dutch Navy's East India Fleet entered the Celebes Sea, it encountered the main force of the Xinhua Navy. The two sides have launched a confrontation in this sea area! The Dutch Navy wanted to pass through the blockade of the Xinhua Navy in order to take advantage of the current unfavorable position, but the Xinhua Navy would not give an inch! (To be continued......)