Chapter 1070

December 24th.

After Lei Ming completely occupied the city of Bula, Yue Yun issued the order to advance towards Calcutta.

After two days of sailing, the majestic fleet arrived in the waters off Calcutta, and this news was immediately transmitted to the Governor’s Office in Calcutta.

“The Chinese Empire’s fleet did not pass through Malacca but instead went directly around the south side of Malaysia. This can only mean one thing: Jakarta has probably fallen.”

In the Governor’s Office, Butler explained with a pessimistic tone to the military commanders of the other four countries.

“Bang!”

As Butler’s voice fell, a golden-haired young man slammed his hand on the table.

“The Chinese Empire is going too far. We have been operating these colonies for a hundred years, and now they are encroaching on them little by little. If we cannot curb their greed, I am afraid all our colonies around the world will fall into their hands,” the young man said loudly.

“Klaus is absolutely right, and isn’t that why we are here? I truly hope this damn war ends soon,” Nicholas said in a rough voice, puffing on his pipe.

With the five-nation allied forces gathered here, his task as the Governor of Calcutta was arduous, because the coordination of just various aspects was already giving them a headache.

Most importantly, now that all of the Netherlands’ colonies were gone, the burden of food supplies fell entirely on Britain, which made him very unhappy.

Butler laughed. “The only way for the war to end is for us to beat the Chinese Empire so badly that they flee, or for them to beat us so badly that we flee.”

He then looked at the young man, whose name was Philine. The young officer was from the Netherlands, and his father was the Governor of Jakarta, Averall. It was for this reason that Philine was so angry after hearing his analysis.

“We will definitely beat them so badly that they flee.” Philine seemed a bit impatient. “The Chinese Empire’s fleet is now at the mouth of the Ganges River. Give me command of the fleet, and I will sink every last one of them.”

“Hahahaha… Do young people only know how to talk big now? An excellent naval general like Wilson lost to the Chinese Empire. Do you, a snot-nosed brat, think you can command the fleet?” A bearded officer sitting across the round table said mockingly.

Philine’s face flushed with anger. This bearded man was the Spanish naval admiral, Corbán, and he had quite a reputation in Europe.

The generals of Portugal and France also let out suppressed laughter at this time, all mocking Philine’s overconfidence.

Butler frowned. This five-nation alliance, which looked so imposing on the surface, had internal conflicts that even a fool could see.

Now, no one wanted to lose their own power to fight the Empire. It was precisely for this reason that no one was willing to give command of their fleet to Philine.

Sighing softly, he said, “Everyone, this is not the time for internal strife. The Empire has now occupied Jakarta, and there is no doubt that India will be their next target. If we cannot unite to blunt the Chinese Empire’s edge, we will face the loss of all our interests in Asia.”

“In that case, why not let the British and French fleets serve as the vanguard? Now, only you have interests in Asia, not us.”

Corbán said rudely again. These words made both Philine and the Portuguese officer nod slightly. They did not want to be used as a spear by Britain and France.

Nicholas’s face showed displeasure. “If you are so insincere, our cooperation will come to an end. After they occupy India, the Chinese Empire’s target will be Africa. If I am not mistaken, you also have many colonies in Africa, and the black slave trade has also made you a lot of money. And then there’s North and South America. The Chinese Empire’s greed is boundless. Are you so willing to just hand over the interests that we have painstakingly built for hundreds of years?”

The military officers of the other four countries all fell silent at this time.

Nicholas continued, “The Chinese Empire is an enemy to all of Europe. Now, Tsarist Russia has also sided with us. To deal with the rise of the Chinese Empire, a European alliance is not far away.”

“In that case, let’s select a person to lead the fleet,” Corbán said. “I will vote for myself. I am the only one here with experience in large-scale naval battles.”

As Corbán’s voice fell, the other three all raised their hands, and Philine, after a moment of hesitation, also raised his hand. He knew that he was, after all, not as good as Corbán.

“Good. Then Admiral Corbán will be the admiral of the combined fleet. Now, what is your suggestion?” Butler was a little excited.

Corbán pondered for a moment. He said, “According to the intelligence, all of the Chinese Empire’s warships are ironclads. The reason for the previous total failure of the combined fleet was that they were run over by the ironclads. Our shells could not even penetrate the enemy’s armor.”

“That’s right. The sailors who escaped said the same thing,” Nicholas said.

Corbán smiled grimly. He said, “It is clear that confronting this fleet head-on is courting death. If Jakarta has fallen, it means that fifty warships have all been sunk. So, with the newly arrived warships, we still have a hundred and fifty warships. We still have the advantage in numbers. Therefore, this time we should adopt a method of surprise attack, attacking under the cover of night. As long as we can turn the naval battle into a boarding battle, we will still have a chance of victory.”

“That’s a good idea.” Butler looked at Corbán with appreciation. “If we can achieve victory this way, we might even be able to capture all the ironclads.”

The others also showed looks of appreciation and nodded one after another.

After finalizing the plan to attack the Empire’s warships, Butler immediately announced the disbanding of the meeting, telling Corbán to prepare for a surprise attack tonight.

According to their plan, after nightfall, Corbán would lead the fleet down the Ganges River. During the daytime, they had already scouted the location and distance of the Empire’s warships with their observation posts, so they would also be able to find their specific location in the dark.

“Have the grappling hooks ready. Once we make contact, immediately throw the grappling hooks onto the Empire’s warships,” Corbán carefully instructed.

All the crew members in the dark nodded one after another. Although they could not see each other’s faces, they were very excited. If they could capture the ironclads, they would truly become rich.

But their fantasies were quickly shattered by a series of bright beams of light. Just as they were about to get close to the ironclads, a dazzling beam of light suddenly shone from the ironclads, exposing them completely.

Corbán tried hard to open his eyes. The beam of light illuminated their ships as if it were broad daylight. He immediately felt a chill all over his body, and the hair on his body stood on end.

“Boom boom boom…”

Before he could react, countless flashes of fire lit up in the dark. He then saw the warships he was leading turn into fireballs one by one in the explosions.