Tang and Britain have maintained close and friendly relations for decades, but the two sides are not allies.

In order to maintain its transcendent "mediator" status in the world, Britain adopted a policy of non-alignment from the mid-19th century to the end of the 19th century.

It maneuvered between the great powers of various countries and never formed an alliance with any country, so as not to affect its independent status.

The Tang Empire was different, forming gangs everywhere in the Americas, except for British Canada, it concluded various alliance treaties with countries in North and South America, and confirmed its status as the leader of the American alliance.

But outside the Americas

The Tang Empire was cautious that no country had concluded alliance treaties, including Fuso, Lanfang, the Ryukyu Kingdom and other Asian countries, and the two sides only had a suzerain-vassal relationship, no military alliance.

It's the new year in the blink of an eye

February 189-8

The new Xi'an of Paradise Province

The joy of the Lunar New Year has not completely dissipated, and the Royal Navy's Pacific Task Force Command is already in a tense and solemn atmosphere before the war, and the young naval officers in the headquarters are busy.

Upstairs in the hall

His Royal Highness Tang Li Xin, Prince of Pingxi, stood on the stage in a crisp white royal guard marshal's uniform, holding a unicorn texture of the noble marshal's scepter, and the white brimmed hat on his head was a golden royal badge in the center, and his aura was extremely powerful.

As the commander-in-chief of the Western Pacific Expeditionary Force, he commanded a total of 160,000 troops on the East Indies, and his deputies had three deputies.

One is the Deputy Commander-in-Chief and Commander of the Pacific Task Force, Vice Admiral Cheng Se-ok of the Royal Navy, and the flagship "Duke of Hawaii".

It has a powerful task force fleet of 32 warships, including 5 Duke-class main ironclad ships, cruisers and destroyers, 17 military auxiliary ships for coal transportation and freight, and 15,400 officers and sailors (note; including 6 naval stations and many naval depots and logistics support personnel).

One is Lieutenant General Liu Zhongguo, deputy commander-in-chief and commander-in-chief of the Second Corps of the Royal Praetorian Guard, leading the Second Corps of the Royal Praetorian Guard with a total of more than 89,000 people, including the 101st Great River Division and the 103rd Red River Valley Division of the ace Royal Praetorian Guard, which are the main land corps in this battle.

One is Lieutenant General Fan Pengfei, Deputy Chief of Staff of the Royal Army and Commander of the Expeditionary Corps, who led the Royal Army Expeditionary Corps with a total of more than 55,000 people, all of which were recruited and trained on the spot from Paradise Island.

Stand on the stage

His Royal Highness Tang Li Xin, Prince of Pingxi, looked around with confidence, and there was a gathering of middle and high-ranking generals below, and the stars were shining, and the empire had not gathered such a powerful expeditionary force for a long time.

He said loudly to the generals;

"Officers, gentlemen;

With the King's scepter, you will once again witness the great war of colonial conquest and leave a mark on history.

This time our opponents are the Dutch, a declining European country with a glorious colonial history.

Like the Spaniards we once defeated, these old European colonizers have been in decline for a long time, like old people sitting under the eaves and remembering the glory of the past, they can only live in memories.

All we have to do is teach them a lesson with the knives and guns in our hands...... Conquer them......

Let them know what it means to be in awe and what it means to be powerful. What is the cruelty of reality?

Gentlemen, times are different.

Those old Europeans who are still living in fantasy are still enjoying the grace of their ancestors, and it is time to change masters.

At the turn of the century

The Tang Empire will make the loudest voice in the Western Pacific, the self-righteous arrogance of the white European world is actually not worth mentioning, and everywhere the imperial army goes, everything is a chicken. ”

"Ten thousand victories for the empire, ten thousand victories, ten thousand victories!" The senior officers replied in unison, morale at an all-time high.

His Royal Highness Don-Li Xin, Prince of Pingxi, nodded, quite satisfied with the aggressiveness shown by the generals, and ordered with a wave of his hand;

"Tomorrow morning the whole army will pay tribute to heaven, and the king will personally lead the fleet to the battle, and the army will be ready, and the army will be sent to the East Indies in a week."

"Obey the order, the soldiers will launch the Indies, and kill ...... Kill...... Kill! The senior generals replied in unison.

For the Tang Empire

The Royal Navy Task Force has an overwhelming advantage, and the Royal Dutch Navy's East Indies Fleet is no longer in its former glory, and the main force is still the old naval force dominated by seven sail cruisers, as well as four ironclads of more than 2,300 tons and a large number of dhows.

In front of the powerful task force of the Royal Navy of the Tang Empire, it was like crushing a grasshopper to death.

However, no matter how weak the Royal Dutch Navy fleet was, it was necessary to eliminate the threat of its maritime power before it could advance a large-scale landing operation.

Early the next morning

On the wharf of the new Xi'an port, a grand commemoration ceremony was held, where tens of thousands of soldiers gathered, and hundreds of thousands of imperial citizens who came to see off the expedition.

After the solemn ceremony of worshipping the heavens, hundreds of thousands of people shouted like a tsunami, firecrackers rang out, gongs and drums roared, and the majestic Royal Navy task force sounded a long air whistle and marched out of the blue bay in turn.

The towering chimneys of the 10 warships spewed thick black smoke, forming two detachments, one in front and one in the rear, and swooped straight towards the southwest.

Their target is the port of Surabaya, an important port in Batavia (Jakarta) and the Java Sea, more than 2,300 kilometers away.

On the tall bridge of the flagship "Duke of Hawaii".

His Royal Highness Tang Li Xin, the king of Pingxi, who was dressed in the uniform of a white marshal, looked at the mighty and majestic fleet, and was really full of pride in his heart, and said with a reserved look on his face;

"Ladies and gentlemen, the war at sea against the Dutch can be said to be a crushing battle without any suspense.

This battle was not only to be won, but also to be fought beautifully, with majesty, and to win enough to leave a psychological shadow on the Dutch, and to destroy them in their will.

After all, this is a colony run by the Dutch for more than 300 years, and the other side is not completely defenseless, and war on land is much more difficult than war at sea.

If we fight well here, the pressure on the army will be less. ”

"Please rest assured, all the officers and men of the Royal Navy Task Force are now full of energy, ready to take the Dutch sacrifice sword, and have complete confidence to crush this old Dutch fleet to the bottom of the sea!" Vice Admiral Zheng Shiyu's face was bright, and he replied with great confidence.

With such a big advantage, he couldn't win completely, he could really find a piece of tofu and kill his head.

The Royal Navy officers on the bridge laughed easily when they heard this, most of them were from noble backgrounds, and they had trained to a high standard that surpassed the British Royal Navy for decades, and their strength was profound.

The Royal Navy has a very high standard of operating ships, requiring a "first shot hit".

In today's era when artillery observation and sighting equipment is extremely backward and relies more on eyesight and experience, it is simply difficult for a strong man.

The entire 12,200-ton "Duke of Hawaii" ironclad ship, with a total of 526 officers and men, is equipped with a total of 4 twin 305-mm main turrets in the front and 2 in the rear, and can fire 8 305-mm shells in one salvo.

Within a standard 4.2-kilometer training range, the first salvo of eight shells must hit at least one round to be considered qualified, which is a difficult requirement.

This is because the battleship is in dynamic combat at sea, the hull pitch, left and right shaking will affect the hit rate, and the naval artillery battle in today's era requires covered shooting, and the density rate of the landing point is calculated as good or bad.

The coverage design is to concentrate as many main guns as possible, some with 8, some with 10, and some with 12, to make as many rounds of shelling as possible per unit of time to cover a certain sea area.

The more guns, the higher the rate of fire, the greater the amount of ammunition delivered per unit of time, and the higher the probability of hitting.

The so-called "first shot hit" is equivalent to accurate artillery strike, which is equivalent to standing on a shaky seesaw to do a game of pitching, and if you want to hit the first shot, rigorous and efficient training, well-equipped personnel and strict organization are indispensable.

Leaving aside the fierce Royal Task Force fleet, on the island of Java, war clouds are already thick, and the Dutch colonists are on full alert.

The Tang Empire's huge military preparations could not be concealed, and the notice of declaration of war had already been officially served.

The grievances and disputes between the two countries, which began with the Lan Fang Guo issue, intensified over the years and eventually led to war.

Lan Fang was a Chinese regime established in the northwest of Kalimantan and a vassal state of the Tang Empire, which occupied almost the entire northwest corner of the island in its heyday.

The Dutch colonists regarded it as a thorn in the eye, a thorn in the flesh, and always wanted to destroy it quickly.

Its suppression, infiltration and invasion of the Lanfang Kingdom lasted for 10 years, eroding nearly half of the territory of the Lanfang Republic, and finally triggered the thunderous wrath of the Tang Empire, and this war of punishment broke out.

Batavia.

The specter of war hung over the Dutch-ruled core city, and the ports and cities were filled with elite soldiers in full armor, as well as large numbers of indigenous forces mobilized.

Due to the country's small size and weakness, the Royal Army of the Dutch East Indies was composed of white soldiers from the Netherlands, mercenaries and local indigenous servants.

Knowing that war was inevitable, the Governorate of the Dutch East Indies mobilized white plantation owners to form an armed militia to supplement the severely understaffed army.

By various means

The army under the Governor's Office of the Dutch East Indies once swelled to more than 300,000 people, of which the indigenous servant army accounted for as much as 60 percent, and they were poorly equipped and poorly trained, and were more used as cannon fodder.

European mercenaries were also an important part of the Dutch legion, and during the tense situation, mercenaries accounted for almost half of the troops reinforced from Europe, especially the Germans.

The small population was always the Achilles heel of the Dutch colonists.

In the face of the fierce attack of the Tang Empire army, the Dutch colonists had to fight in order to protect their own interests.

If the Indian subcontinent is the jewel in the crown of the Queen of England, then the East Indies is the jewel in the crown of Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands and one of the few remaining overseas colonies of the old colonial empire.

The colonial income from the East Indies, which accounted for more than 40% of the Dutch Kingdom's income for many years, was an indispensable and important financial pillar.

The loss of this overseas colony would have been an unimaginable blow to the Kingdom of the Netherlands.