"A fleet of more than 300 plywood ships, are you telling the truth?"

The living room of the Doge's Palace.

Chen Jintang looked at Alonso Fernandez in front of him, and asked with a solemn face, if this information is true, then Xinloulan City is indeed dangerous, because there are only two steam warships stationed here for a long time, and the number is very thin, once it is besieged by hundreds of plywood ships, even if the firepower is strong and runs fast, it may not be able to win, after all, more wolves can kill tigers, and more ants can bite elephants.

"It's true! The combined fleet will arrive in a few days, if you don't hurry up and prepare, I'm afraid you won't be able to resist, lose this city, this city will develop, once it falls, most of the Ming people will be killed, the property will be robbed, and the construction achievements of the past few years will be all in vain. ”

Alonso seems to be more afraid of the war than Chen Jintang.

Two and a half years.

Akito is indeed a master of construction, and in less than three years, this city, which has not undergone much change in the past few decades, has been turned upside down.

The population has grown from more than 5,000 to as many as 150,000.

The surrounding land, forests, and mineral resources have been well utilized.

The number of workshops and factories has increased to hundreds.

Using a few emperors' decrees + giving some gifts and benefits to the chief, the surrounding indigenous kingdoms and tribes were leveled, and even good business cooperation was established.

In terms of economic development, the city's gross domestic product has increased from only tens of thousands of silver dollars in the past and requires a large number of external blood transfusions to millions of silver dollars, which can basically achieve self-sufficiency and collect a lot of taxes.

Including Alonso Fernandez personally, in the past two years in the process of managing the merchant station, he has earned more than 100,000 silver dollars, achieved financial freedom, and finally experienced the taste of becoming a rich man, soothed his inner regret and dissatisfaction, and has to admit that what the "Oriental Times" said is right: only the Ming people can bring wealth and prosperity, and the Westerners will only plunder and destroy, and do not know how to build.

"Then I'll have to report this information to headquarters immediately and ask for backup, but it's ......"

Chen Jintang looked at Alonso suspiciously, and asked him: "Alonso, you are Portuguese and a member of the West, why don't you stand on the side of Westerners, but come to my side to inform...... What do you think and why do you do it? ”

Is there some conspiracy in there?

"Governor Chen, you should know that my motherland Portugal has been annexed by Spain for decades, and has become a poor person who has lost the country, but most of the Portuguese, there is no one who does not want to return to the country, this time may be a good opportunity, once the Spanish fleet is severely damaged, our certainty of recovery will be much greater, so our Duke of Bragança specially sent a clipper ship to send the news in advance, so that you can prepare quickly and improve the chances of winning the war.

In addition, after the establishment of the new Loulan City, the trade here has prospered rapidly, and we Portuguese have also earned hundreds of thousands of silver dollars from it, and we have made more and more profits, so we naturally do not want the city to fall, from this point of view, our interests and yours are completely identical, and we should be friends who trust each other, but Your Excellency, your suspicion makes me feel sad, we Portuguese are really different from them. ”

Alonso said with an aggrieved look.

"I'm sorry, it's my fault, I trust you now."

Chen Jintang nodded, he was persuaded, the two reasons given by Alonso are indeed very convincing, and it is true that he must think about the problem from the perspective of interests, and he can't subconsciously doubt it because he is a Westerner, he remembers that the owner of the village said that there are many small countries in the West, the people are not aligned, and there are many contradictions between them, and it is impossible to unite together, and this is a weakness that can be exploited.

Subsequently!

Chen Jintang hurriedly found the telegraph station and sent the intelligence information provided by Alonso to the headquarters of Xujiazhuang at a level of 100,000 urgent importance, and simultaneously sent it to the nearby port cities of New Luzon City (formerly Manila), Jinfengcheng (formerly Batavia), Cam Ranh Port (i.e. Cam Ranh Bay), Sabah Port (in Borneo), Samya Port and other port cities, requesting these ports to send steam warships to support, the sooner the better!

……

Xujiazhuang, Harbour City.

Received an urgent telegram from Xinlou Lancheng that the Western Combined Fleet was about to attack!

The Military Intelligence Department immediately attached great importance to it, and quickly reported it to the owner Xu Yuan, and activated the three-level combat readiness, requiring the Navy to make relevant war preparations.

Xu Yuan was in White Fort recently, and after seeing the emergency military situation, he immediately held a military staff meeting, and the main senior generals and staff personnel were all in place to discuss countermeasures.

Inside the Staff Chamber.

The crowd gathered around a large sand table.

Xu Yuan briefly introduced the situation, more than 300 Western warships were attacking, in a vain attempt to infringe on the interests of Xujiazhuang, and asked the generals and staff officers, how to deal with it?

"Fight, of course, it's a hard beating, and wipe out all of them without leaving any of them!"

Army General Zhao Yang, who has the title of one of the four great King Kongs in the Xu family's army, immediately clenched his fists and said fiercely: "They have been traveling thousands of miles for months, and they will not die if they offend our interests, and only by eliminating them cleanly and completely is the greatest respect for them." ”

Shi Yong nodded and agreed: "General Zhao is right, these Westerners are thieves, they are obviously defeated, and they are going to make a comeback, we are so peace-loving, and we are bent on development, we have never sent warships to their hometown to provoke them, nor have we sent warships to India, which is very close to the South Seas, to sweep their colonies, let alone take action to get involved in the so-called New World, which they have colonized for hundreds of years and slaughtered countless natives, we have endured and endured, and we are always developing and dormant. But they just don't want us to live in peace, in that case, let's start an all-out war, this time we will not only destroy this combined fleet, but also rescue the Indian continent, fight back their lair, rob their new continent, and let them see the consequences of angering us! ”

"That's right, you have to break into their lair and take everything from them."

Another army general said: "We are too kind, obviously have the world's first strength, but we have not fought a war for several years, we have been developing, developing, recuperating, I think our soldiers should move their muscles, not only the naval force must be dispatched, the army also has to participate in some actual battles, defend our interests, raise soldiers for a thousand days, can not be reduced to guarding the family for a thousand days, but use soldiers for a thousand days, only in this way, can we be worthy of the salary and food we take." ”

"Yes, the 30,000 soldiers of the army, all of them have the heart of serving the owner and giving back to the people, every time they get so much monthly salary and eat such good food, everyone has a sense of guilt in their hearts, because we have not made any contributions, we have not brought much benefit, our existence is somewhat redundant, we urgently need to get some opportunities to prove ourselves, Lord Zhuang, this time our army also has to help, no matter where to fight, no matter how far the expedition is, as long as you give an order, even if it is to hit the nest of WesternersLet's go now! ”

These words immediately resonated with many army officers, who pleaded with them to give them a chance to prove their worth, wherever they went.

"Enough!"

Xu Yuan said with a straight face: "This war, you have nothing to do, just continue to do your own work, there will definitely be opportunities to fight in the future, but not now, don't complain in front of me." ”

"Yes, owner!"

Zhao Yang, Shi Yong and other army officers all saluted and obediently closed their mouths.

And how to deal with the current wave of challenges.

After some discussions with Xu Huoqing, Li Jinghai, and staff officers Zhang Xianglong, Lu Qinghe, and others, Xu Yuan made the following arrangements, which were immediately converted into military action orders and immediately took action.

First, among the 24 steam ironclad warships currently owned by Xujiazhuang, except for the two stationed in Bagang and the two stationed in Pingdo Port, the remaining 20 steam warships were all dispatched to the Strait of Malacca as quickly as possible, striving to be in place within five to seven days to counter the Western Combined Fleet.

Second, no less than 30 steam cargo ships were dispatched to send a large number of supplies to Xinloulan City, and no less than 5,000 troops of a marine brigade were carried to support Xinloulan City, increase the city's defense capability, and avoid its fall.

Third, the citizens of Xinloulancheng, as well as more than a dozen other ports in Nanyang, have all entered a state of national mobilization, issued a large number of weapons, all organized, and prepared for a bloody battle, and there must be no luck, the end of surrender is death, and Xujiazhuang will not let go of any cowards and soft bones.

Fourth, quickly contact Fujian Zheng's Group and ask it to provide some support and cooperation, even if their limited strength can't help much, but they can also improve their preparedness, avoid being caught off guard, and at critical moments, they may also be able to delay time and increase the chances of victory.

The above decisions were immediately arranged and deployed.

Xu Yuan and the officers also discovered two problems that must be paid attention to and improved immediately.

First of all, the production capacity of warships was seriously insufficient.

Although the current production capacity of Xujiazhuang steam ironclad warships has increased to four every six months and eight ships launched a year, it is not enough, it is still far from enough, and the shipbuilding speed is still too slow, even if the combat effectiveness is not weak, but the number makes people feel unsafe and is likely to be stretched.

It must be increased to more than 20 ships launched per year.

Therefore, it is necessary to build a new shipyard for military purposes in the south of Harbour City, and excavate no less than ten large docks, each of which can accommodate two 3,000-ton warships, or one 10,000-ton warship...... This large military shipyard must be set up quickly.

Secondly, the ability to counterattack is obviously insufficient, and it appears to be quite passive.

This time, the combined fleet of the West can be unexpectedly formed, spanning tens of thousands of miles, heading straight for the South Seas, and if there is a first such operation, then there may be a second, third, and nth time, and although the total population of the West is not large, it controls not a lot of resources, and the shipbuilding capacity has reached several hundred ships per year, as long as they do not hesitate to do so, it is entirely possible to organize an expedition every two or three years.

In order to completely eradicate such attacks, in addition to sweeping away the Western colonial strongholds in India, it is also necessary to break into the West's nest and destroy their war potential, or find a way to make it difficult for them to launch expeditions again.

Staff officer Zhang Xianglong then proposed: "Why don't we cultivate an agent in the West and lay a solid nail, which can not only act as our eyes and ears, but also allow it to compete fiercely with the Netherlands, Spain and other countries, and drag them from wanting to send strength to the east. Otherwise, there will be another danger of losing the country. ”

This idea lit up many people's eyes.

"It's a wonderful solution, whether it's geography or national strength, Portugal is very suitable to be our eyes and ears."

"Good idea, we got the news in advance this time, and we really have to thank the Portuguese."

"In the seventh year of Chongzhen, we swept across the South Seas, our legs ran fast, and it was the Portuguese who reported to the Dutch and Spaniards, which made us quite passive, but this advantage of the Portuguese, if it is used to help us, it is still very good."

"In this case, Portugal's little brother, let's reluctantly accept it, and when it comes to counterattacking the West, help them restore the country, and then show a favor or two, they should become one of our loyal dogs."

Xu Yuan nodded, and also felt that this idea was very good, feasible, and the characteristics of the Portuguese's fast legs were really good, so he adopted the suggestion of staff officer Zhang Xianglong.

……

The Military Staff Meeting ended.

Xujiazhuang's military system soon entered a state of efficient operation.

On 12 June, six steam warships arrived in the new Loulan City, bringing the number of steam warships in Loulan Port to eight.

On 14 June, as many as 20 steam cargo ships brought in a large number of supplies, weapons and ammunition, and 5,000 reinforcements from the 1st Marine Brigade also arrived smoothly.

On 15 June, eight more steam warships arrived, bringing the number of steam warships available to meet the challenge of the Western Combined Fleet to sixteen, and four more were on their way to help, but because of a storm in the central part of the South China Sea, the voyage was slow, and it would take at least three days to arrive.

And the Western Combined Fleet, having entered the Strait of Malacca, will be able to attack immediately.

That is, the naval battle that is about to break out is very likely to be more than 300 Western plywood gunboats vs 16 steam ironclad warships.

The difference in quantity is 20 times, and the difference is more than an order of magnitude.

Although the steam ironclad warship has a technological lead and can block ten, sometimes quantity is quality, as long as the quantity advantage can be brought into play, the quality advantage may not be able to gain the upper hand and win.

Four-six-open.

Zuo Xianfu, the commander of the Xu family's fleet, only has about 60 percent chance of winning, but if he stays in the port to fight a defensive battle, with the support of fixed batteries on the shore, the chance of victory can be increased to more than 80 percent.

However, wait until June 16.

The Western Combined Fleet, which was supposed to arrive a long time ago, still has not seen a trace, let alone launched a sneak attack.

In the afternoon of the same day, the battleship "Corpse Mountain" sent back a surprising news by telegram: The Western Combined Fleet was resting in a bay near Aceh, and they seemed to have encountered a relatively serious storm at sea, at least 100 ships were lost in the storm, and most of the remaining 200 or so ships had damaged sails and had to rest.

That is, before the naval battle began, the Western Combined Fleet lost one-third, which can be described as a disadvantage.

"They also had a storm and lost so much?"

Zuo Xianfu was suddenly ecstatic, and said: "God help me and wait, this is simply God is helping us, take the initiative, our fleet can take the initiative!" First engage in a night attack, and then a dignified decisive battle, and victory will definitely belong to us! ”

"Yes!"

"Fleet Attack!"

The other 15 captains all agreed, and asked the General Staff Headquarters for instructions, which was also approved.

In the afternoon of the same day, all the steam ironclad battleships were dispatched and headed straight for the sea area where the 'Dutch, Western and British Combined Fleet' was located, and it was expected to arrive at four o'clock in the morning.