Chapter 1040

Chen Wei’s advance was stalled after encountering a sustained volley of fire. Faced with the sudden and fierce firepower, the soldiers had to find cover to protect themselves.

He took out his binoculars to observe the stone wall in front, which was taller than a person, and discovered the reason for the sudden increase in Dutch firepower.

Having seemingly discovered the disadvantage of loading front-loading guns, some of the Dutch soldiers were now exclusively responsible for loading, while others were responsible for firing. This greatly increased their attack efficiency.

They were not unfamiliar with this firing method, because they had also used this method to fight the barbarians when they were using front-loading guns.

“How did these Dutchmen become so smart? This is troublesome. If our soldiers charge head-on, the casualties will be high,” a squad leader said to Chen Wei.

Nodding, he said, “Quickly have the machine gunners come over to suppress them with firepower, and you all will attack them with grenades under the cover of the firepower.”

“Yes.”

With a response, the squad leader immediately ran back, hunched over. A moment later, the machine gun team arrived at his position.

Seeing this, Chen Wei immediately ordered the machine guns to sweep the Dutch soldiers behind the stone wall.

Their current geographical position was very passive, because from the river in front to here was a flat riverbank, and the Dutch had a very clear view.

“Dah dah dah…”

The machine guns spewed flames. Bullets flew towards the temporary stone wall built by the Dutch, and the fierce firepower immediately suppressed the Dutch soldiers, who could not raise their heads at all.

At the same time, more machine gun teams arrived, and they lined up in a straight line and fired frantically.

Seeing the Dutch soldiers’ counterattack weaken, Chen Wei waved his hand, and led his company to charge towards the stone wall.

At this time, the soldiers mustered all their strength and rushed forward quickly in an “S” shape.

Behind the stone wall, Eric was in a difficult position. His tactics only worked well for a short period of time, but after the machine guns appeared, they were completely at a disadvantage again. The continuously flying bullets made it impossible for the Dutch soldiers to even raise their heads.

At this very moment, he suddenly saw a team of imperial soldiers charging towards them. He immediately ordered a concentrated fire on this team that was attempting to encircle them.

But the next scene left him a little dumbfounded. The route these soldiers took when advancing was very strange. Just when his soldiers aimed and fired, these soldiers would suddenly change their position, which greatly reduced their chances of being hit.

Eric’s feelings were suddenly very complex. He knew that there was still much to learn from the Chinese Empire, but unfortunately, he no longer had this opportunity.

Looking at the imperial soldiers who were getting closer and closer, he then looked back at the armed merchant ships that were about to depart. After finding that most of the soldiers had boarded the ships, he immediately gave the order to retreat.

The eight hundred Dutch soldiers who were responsible for blocking the attack desperately ran towards the ships. When everyone was on board, the armed merchant ships headed towards the middle of the river and sailed downstream.

Chen Wei was too late when he reached the riverbank. The river outside Manila City was very wide, a full three li (approximately 1.5 km). The merchant ships in the middle of the river were too far away from them.

Moreover, the river’s current was very swift, and the merchant ships were sailing very quickly. In just a short while, the merchant ships had become a distant shadow.

“Quickly notify the fleet to pursue them!” Chen Wei was very unwilling. The juicy meat was gone just like that.

A soldier responded and left.

After glancing at the Dutch merchant ships that had gone far, Chen Wei looked at Manila City behind him. Now was the time to officially take over this city.

At the same time, Yue Yun had already landed on the beach and was looking at Manila City in front of him with Liu Chen.

In fact, before this, Manila belonged to Spain, but the Dutch took the opportunity to occupy it when they attacked Bohol Island.

The Dutch and the Spanish both had their own colonies in the Philippines, and because of this, there were constant conflicts between them.

A piece of land not far from Manila was the Dutch territory. And while attacking the Spanish, the Dutch took the initiative to undertake the mission of attacking Manila. After the war ended, the Dutch naturally occupied this place, and Simon was also sent here at that time.

“This place should have been the Empire’s territory long ago,” Yue Yun’s eyes were deep.

Liu Chen said, “That’s right. The Dutch have been occupying it for too long. But even so, they are still greedy and chose to side with their Western companions.”

“His Majesty said that the Western powers often attack each other because there are no invincible opponents in the world. They are just fighting each other over colonial interests like dogs. Now that the Empire has suddenly become a strong opponent that threatens their interests, it will instead promote their unity, which is not a good sign,” Yue Yun said, walking towards Manila City with Liu Chen, while analyzing the current situation.

Liu Chen proudly looked at the fleet of ironclads behind him. He said, “So what? With the ironclads, the maritime hegemony is ours. What can their unity do?”

“You can’t say that.” Yue Yun said, pointing to the injured soldiers being carried on stretchers. “A united Europe is not in the Empire’s interest. A fighting Europe is in the Empire’s interest. At least this way, we can sacrifice fewer soldiers and gain a little more interest.”

Liu Chen nodded lightly. “You’re right about that. Compared to the wars in Goryeo and Japan, the number of soldiers sacrificed in Southeast Asia has increased a lot.”

“That’s it.” Yue Yun smiled. “War ultimately serves economic interests. When the common people are well-fed and well-clothed, no one will have the thought of rebellion. Only then can the country be prosperous. If the people cannot live their lives, no matter how vast the territory you conquer, you will not be able to protect it, and you might even end up working for others.”

Liu Chen heard a hint of something off in Yue Yun’s words. He could not help but ask, “Is His Majesty not planning to continue advancing west after taking Southeast Asia?”

Hearing this, Yue Yun suddenly laughed. He said, “That’s right. You’ve become smarter. His Majesty plans to temporarily halt the fighting after opening up the sea route to the Ottoman Empire. After all, we have occupied too much land now and need to stabilize it. The task of the major military regions might be to help the dispatched officials establish a governing body, but our navy and marines cannot stop. In addition to annihilating the Western fleets, we also have to undertake the task of global escort.”

Liu Chen let out a slight sigh of relief. “That puts my mind at ease. It’s truly miserable to be idle all day.”

While they were talking, they had already entered Manila City. After the Dutch’s urgent evacuation, the city was in a mess. The natives who originally lived in Manila City plundered everything they could, leaving behind only messy streets and buildings.

Looking at all this, Liu Chen said, “It’s time to slow down and send officials to rebuild these colonial cities, otherwise, the places we have painstakingly conquered will be completely ruined by these natives.”