Chapter 1032

Liu Xinhong seemingly unintentionally glanced at the window of the Governor’s Office, seeing Eric looking at him at this moment.

There was vaguely another person in his room, who must be Stephen, who had just arrived not long ago.

Stretching out his hand to say hello, Liu Xinhong completed his normal patrol as usual before entering the command room of Zeelandia.

“Lao Fang, this situation is so uncomfortable. It’s better to just go ahead and wipe them all out. Alas, I’ve long said that these Westerners are unreliable. What do you think? It’s been proven right now,” Liu Xinhong said casually, sitting down in front of Fang Hongming.

Since Ryukyu was developed, the Empire formally garrisoned troops in Ryukyu, including Zeelandia. After the military reform, a division of the Southeast Military Region formally replaced the defense here.

However, Zeelandia was too small. Most of the division’s troops were stationed on Ryukyu Island, and there were only two regiments in Zeelandia.

He was the commander of one of the regiments, and Fang Hongming was the commander of the other.

“I wish I could, but who would dare to act rashly without receiving an order? Otherwise, if a charge is pressed, we will all be in trouble. After all, the Empire and the Dutch have a lot of business going on now,” Fang Hongming said calmly.

Liu Xinhong said angrily, “This makes me even angrier. These Dutchmen are such cowards. They’re making money from us and yet they want to oppose us.”

Just as he was speaking, a soldier walked in, saluted the two, and said, “Reporting, Regimental Commander, Governor Eric has sent someone to invite the Regimental Commander and Regimental Commander Fang to the Governor’s Office for dinner.”

“Dinner?” Liu Xinhong and Fang Hongming looked at each other. Liu Xinhong said, “Lao Fang, do you dare to go? I’m afraid it’s a banquet at Hongmen.”

Fang Hongming nodded slightly. If it were before, they would naturally not hesitate. Life on the island was boring, and having some drinks was not a big deal.

But now that they had learned the content of the letter, they were naturally suspicious.

“But if we don’t go, Eric will be sure that we have learned of the change in their political situation,” Fang Hongming said. “If that happens, both sides will probably have to resort to military action.”

Liu Xinhong shuddered and exclaimed, “Lao Fang, do you still want to go? If we two are taken out, the soldiers will be in chaos.”

“Nonsense! I’m not going. I don’t care if he’s suspicious or not. We will just be prepared for everything,” Fang Hongming said.

Liu Xinhong laughed. “I will go and tell the soldiers to be on high alert. Haven’t we been guarding against these Dutchmen all these years we’ve been on the island?”

With that, he left the command room.

The news of Liu Xinhong and Fang Hongming’s polite refusal soon reached Eric and Stephen. At this time, Stephen said, “See? They are already guarding against us. It seems the content of that letter was correct.”

The reason Eric had been hesitant was that he still held a glimmer of hope. Now that hope was completely shattered. “It seems we have no choice but to act tonight. Based on the speed of the Chinese Empire’s telegraph, they will probably receive a formal order tomorrow. By then, we will be in a passive position.”

Thinking of this, he continued, “Before we act, we need to board the ships so we can escape. Our soldiers are definitely no match for them.”

Stephen was still very concerned about his own life. He said, “When it gets dark, we will secretly board the warships in small boats. Eric, a bright future awaits you.”

Eric gave a wry smile. What other choice did he have now?

The last rays of the sunset gradually vanished, and Zeelandia was soon plunged into darkness. Only the occasional light from the windows proved that this small island was a human dwelling.

When the time reached midnight, everything was silent. With a “boom,” an artillery shot, the entire Zeelandia became noisy.

“Hit them hard!”

Liu Xinhong patted the dust off his body. The damned Dutchmen used an explosive shell for the first shot. This was the shell the Empire sold to them, which made Liu Xinhong quite angry.

Fang Hongming also rushed over at this time. He immediately organized the artillery to counterattack. Fortunately, they were prepared in advance this time.

The moment the Dutch opened fire, they began to counterattack. Bullets whistled towards the Dutch soldiers’ defense line.

In the dark, the soldiers on both sides could only see the flames spewing from the muzzles of the guns and cannons and fired at each other.

“Flare!”

Just as both sides were fighting fiercely, Fang Hongming suddenly said.

Upon receiving the order, a soldier took out something that looked like fireworks. This thing was an auxiliary tool that the military factory had just equipped the army with not long ago.

The principle was basically similar to fireworks, except that the military factory replaced the explosive pellets in the fireworks with an illuminating device.

This illuminating device contained magnesium powder and aluminum powder, which were bonded together with rosin and oil to delay the burning speed. Once it was launched, it would light up a large area like a small burning sun. This area could be illuminated for about twenty seconds.

It was too dark now, and Fang Hongming needed to observe the enemy’s deployment. So he shouted, “Fire!”

With the order given, the soldiers lit the short, stick-like firework object they were holding. With a “poof,” a white light shot up into the sky. The bright light fell, illuminating the area where the Dutch were as if it were daytime.

It was only then that Fang Hongming and Liu Xinhong discovered that only a small portion of the Dutch were fighting them. This time, the Dutch had actually sent several small teams to sneak towards them with bayonet-fixed rifles.

Liu Xinhong was startled by this scene. He realized that these Dutch soldiers were mainly advancing towards where the machine gunners were. He immediately understood the Dutchmen’s intention.

“Get rid of them all,” Liu Xinhong said, pointing at the sneaking Dutch soldiers.

Taking advantage of the time the battlefield was illuminated by the flare, the imperial machine gunners quickly locked onto the constantly moving Dutch army.

“Dah dah dah…”

Six machine guns immediately spewed out fierce flames. The Dutch soldiers, who had nowhere to hide, fell one after another. When the first flare fell, Fang Hongming ordered the second one to be launched.

With the help of the light, the Dutch soldiers’ infiltration completely failed. The imperial soldiers quickly gained an advantage on the battlefield with their fierce firepower, after all, the Dutch were still using the old-style Conqueror rifles.

On the ships on the island, Eric painfully closed his eyes. The light that occasionally lit up the sky seemed to be a sign of his defeat. In the completely exposed light, it was impossible for his soldiers to get close to the machine gunners.

“Set sail, Eric. We still have a chance. At least we have learned about the Han-style rifle and the machine gun. I believe that with our European wisdom, we will definitely be able to replicate them,” Stephen consoled.

Eric nodded. The imperial warships anchored in the bay were probably going to catch up. After all, the distance between where they were anchored and where the imperial warships were was only ten li.