1890 King of Southeast Asia

In the temporary command center, Zheng Lei pulled Wang Xu.

"You are very talented in command. The commander gave you such an important task because he believed in your command ability. The commander was right. At least when I was still wavering, you knew how to complete the task better."

"But you hesitated too much. I know you can't bear it, and I know that the commander taught the soldiers not to do so, but you are not just a soldier or an officer."

"If you are just an officer, of course you can act according to the military code and the orders of your superiors, but you are now the highest commander of the tiger's mouth. You have to consider not only the things that soldiers consider, but also the things that a leader should consider."

"Once you make a decision, don't hesitate. If you hesitate, what decision will you make? Did you make a mistake? No! This mission is very important. You didn't hesitate when you shot those two people, and you didn't hesitate when you arrested people. You hesitated at the end?"

"Why, you can't do it when you look at them? Do you think they are good people?"

"Think about it, have the Javanese ever let our women and children go? This hatred is higher than the mountains and deeper than the sea! Think about it carefully. If you can't figure it out, I will report to Surabaya and request a change of commander!"

Zheng Lei said a lot and went out to organize soldiers to bury the bodies.

Wang Xu chased out:

"Political Commissar, I figured it out!"

"Really?"

"Just wait and see!" Wang Xu said easily.

…………

On the 17th, Sishui, the ship that was scheduled to return on the afternoon of the 17th did not return. In the command center, the staff were a little anxious, but Liu Yiming sat on the chair calmly.

Liu Yiming was also a little anxious, but it was normal to have an accident at such a long distance, and according to the reaction of the Dutch, he should not be discovered, so he could still sit.

On the evening of the 17th, Liu Yiming asked everyone to go home after get off work, because there would not be much time left in the future.

At five o'clock, Liu Yiming took the lead in leaving get off work, turned around, ran to the dock, and saw many officers and many staff guarding the dock. Liu Yiming went home quietly.

For some reason, Liu Yiming did not go back to his room to organize materials or sleep, nor did he go to Liu Wanhua's room to discuss things.

He sneaked into Zhang You's room. Zhang You was reading a book and didn't notice Liu Yiming sneaking in. Liu Yiming signaled to the maid to tell her not to talk.

Gently, Liu Yiming walked behind Zhang You and took a look at the book she was reading. Well, it was a vernacular novel with illustrations. It should have been passed down from the Qing Dynasty. During this period, the literary works of the Qing Dynasty flourished. The reason was that there were more concessions. The Qing Dynasty could not control the concessions, and the writers wrote books in the concessions.

Covered Zhang You's eyes.

"Guess who I am?" Liu Yiming deliberately said in a vulgar voice.

"Hahahahahahaha!" Zhang You laughed non-stop.

"Brother Yiming, you talk like this, hahahaha, so interesting, so funny!"

This is something Liu Yiming can't do...

Zhang You laughed for a long time before stopping, wiping her tears and saying.

"Brother Yiming, you are always so serious and solemn. It's really funny to be like this all of a sudden!"

"Hmph! Look at you, what a disgrace." Liu Yiming imitated the old scholar's words again.

"Hahahaha, I can't do it anymore..." Zhang You laughed again.

The two of them played for a while. Although Liu Yiming was happy, he was still noticed by frowning and looking outside the door from time to time.

"Is Brother Yiming worried about something?" Zhang You asked.

"Ah! It's okay. I'm waiting for a message." Liu Yiming said.

"What message?"

"Sorry, Youzi, I can't tell you. This is a military secret!" Liu Yiming didn't know how to explain.

"What's the excuse? Military secrets are secrets. I'm not from the military. Does my dad know?" Zhang You asked.

"I don't know. Only Uncle Chen, the chairman of the board of directors, knows about the government. No one else, including my dad and your dad, knows."

Only the army knows about the special detachment, or rather, the military personnel know. The staff and the chief officers at all levels are involved in the blockade of the troops. This news is strictly prohibited from being spread.

"Okay, then Brother Yiming, I will wait with you! I will avoid it when I wait." Zhang You said.

There is a swing outside Zhang You's room. It was built by Liu Yiming for her. She sat on the swing, and Liu Yiming lay on the recliner, reading her the old-fashioned love story of a poor scholar and a rich girl. Time passed quietly.

…………

Liu Yiming waited all night and fell asleep in the early morning. He didn't wait for the news of the ship coming to the port. He prepared for the worst and gently put Zhang You, who was sleeping on him, on the bed.

As they talked last night, they looked at the moon on the recliner. As they looked, Zhang You couldn't resist the sleepiness and fell asleep at midnight.

Liu Yiming washed his face and tidied up his military uniform, which was modified according to our military uniforms in the future.

He came to the headquarters, sat upright, and arranged for the messenger to call the chief officers at all levels to a meeting.

In just ten minutes, everyone was there. It can be seen that everyone did not sleep well.

"It has exceeded the expected arrival time of the return ship by fifteen hours. Now, we have to make the worst plan."

"All departments are on standby 24 hours a day and ready to go at any time! Dismissed!"

After the brief meeting, Liu Yiming went to the telegraph office, which was the headquarters of the Intelligence Department. During special periods, people also sent telegrams to the outside world at the telegraph office.

"Nars, is there any news from Batavia?" Liu Yiming asked.

"Boss, everything is normal. There is no other news except normal communication." Nars replied.

Liu Yiming could not deny it and looked at the dozen telegraph operators and intelligence officers on the other side. Seeing them nod, Liu Yiming continued.

"Pay attention at any time. If there is anything different, contact me."

"Okay, boss, you pay, you have the final say." Nars has been living a comfortable life these days. In addition to the daily salary, a month has come and the bonus has been received. In addition, there are benefits for taking apprentices and giving lectures. A month is more than ten pounds. Although it is not much for Nars now, a mosquito is meat no matter how small it is!

Liu Yiming did not tell him anything and turned around and left.

In the afternoon, when the entire South China Army was busy and nervous, a transport ship was heading towards Surabaya at full speed outside Surabaya.

The South China Navy warship rushed up and tried to stop it.

When he got closer, he found that it was his own fleet's ship. Thinking that a bunch of people in the port were waiting for this ship, he quickly gave way.

The ship entered the port. As soon as it entered the port, the port guards immediately called the headquarters.

"Hello, this is the port headquarters, connecting to the general headquarters, Staff Officer Wang? The fleet's ship is back! It is docking. Yes, I will ask about the specific situation immediately, but there is no sign of damage to the ship, please don't worry! Yes!"

After the ship docked, the messenger on the ship got off the ship before the port guards boarded the ship.

He hurried to the port headquarters and called the general headquarters again.

"Report, we encountered a cloud group last night. We were not sure about the direction and the channel, so we could only stop the ship and drop anchor. This morning, it turned into fog again. The captain groped for a long time before running out of the fog group and found that he had deviated, so he came back now."

"It's good to be back. How is the situation at Dahukou?"

"Report, the mission was successfully completed. Dahukou has been captured and no one has been let go!" said the signalman.

At this time, there was a cheer in the headquarters. The staff shouted loudly, venting their pent-up emotions. Liu Yiming also relaxed. It was tiring to keep calm despite the collapse of Mount Tai.

"Okay, notify the chief officers at all levels that the first phase of the mission is completed and continue to act according to the original plan!" Liu Yiming said happily.

"Yes!"

The news was passed to various military departments, and the chief officers were all smiling. The soldiers found that the chief suddenly changed from a stormy expression to a sunny day.

Just when everyone was happy, Nars came to Liu Yiming's office.

"Boss, I don't know if you still remember what I told you before, Batavia asked the Sishui defenders to stop inciting the natives to riot?" Nars said, scratching his head.

"Well, I remember you said that they have a big man coming at the end of October, and my plan will also be implemented at the end of October!"

"Boss, there was news from Batavia just now. The new governor will be in Batavia soon. After the governor replacement ceremony, Governor Pinak will bring the new governor to Surabaya to observe this matter and estimate the income." Nars said cautiously. First, Liu Yiming just said that there might be news from Batavia, and it came. Second, the new governor's welcome ceremony turned out to be a riot by the natives, but now, the natives in Surabaya have basically become hired workers or labor camp prisoners of the Chinese.

"Hmm? New governor? When will he come to Surabaya?" Liu Yiming was very surprised and angry. He used the lives of the Chinese to stage a welcome ceremony for you? Very good, I remember it!

"The news from Batavia is that they will arrive in Surabaya around October 25th, on a 4,000-ton cruise ship, the Batavia. Major officials from Batavia will come, so let's prepare for the reception. They will be accompanied by eight 1,500-ton shallow-water heavy gunboats and two 2,100-ton frigates."

"What!" Liu Yiming jumped up in shock, staring at Nars. Wouldn't this kid betray the revolution?

"Boss, I'm here to discuss this with you. These ships are very old. The youngest has been launched for ten years. The shallow-water heavy gunboats are from the American Civil War."

"Do you mean we can fight?"

"I think we should put them in the port." Nars hadn't finished speaking.

"Put them in, bear certain losses, and then close the door to beat the dog?" Liu Yiming added.

"Yes, yes, yes! Boss, I can't go back now. Believe me, I want you to win more than anyone else!" Nars said.

Liu Yiming stood up and looked out the window. The streets were full of women and children. Strong women replaced many positions that originally required men.

Watching them trying to live.

"I need to plan, do you have the parameters of those warships?"

"No, I'm not good at this, but I know their artillery, they are all old-fashioned artillery, and the frigates don't even have a gun room."

"Well! I'll plan it, you go back, I'll send someone to send you the reward later, one thousand pounds this time, if you can get the data of these ships, I'll pay according to the data!" Liu Yiming said.

"Okay boss, I'll try my best!" Nars rubbed his hands and left.

"Wait, when will they arrive?" Liu Yiming stopped Nars who was about to leave.

"Around October 25th." Nars said.

"I remember that the combined army and navy of Batavia only had 8,000 people?" Liu Yiming asked.

"Yes, the entire Dutch East Indies Colony should have more than 20,000 colonial troops. Batavia has 8,000 defenders, half of whom are navy and marines." Nars said honestly.

"How many people are needed for a warship?"

"About one or two hundred people?" Nars was not sure.

Liu Yiming calculated silently and asked Nars to leave.

"One or two hundred people? One or two hundred people!" Liu Yiming kept muttering silently.

"Staff Officer Wang, notify Zhao Jiaxing of the port command to come to the meeting!"

"Yes!"

…………

"This is the situation. We don't have much intelligence. I want to ask, what is the combat effectiveness of the coastal artillery?" In the command center, Liu Yiming and Zhao Jiaxing explained the situation and asked about the combat effectiveness of the coastal artillery.

"Report, when fighting with warships, we can guarantee a higher hit rate than warships, and as long as there is no large-caliber gun above 300 mm, it is impossible to penetrate our fortress." Although the army is newly formed, Zhao Jiaxing is still very confident.

"But putting the ship into the port is still too risky. Once the Dutch are desperate and fire at the port or even the city..."

"After all, we have never fought a warship. We can only say that we dare to fight and have confidence in winning, but we don't know when it will end." Zhao Jiaxing said embarrassedly.

"It's okay to be able to fight. Don't worry so much about the jars and cans. People are still there and can be saved. If you win, you will have everything. If you lose, you will lose your life. Why do you care about this?" Liu Yiming said calmly while looking at the map.

"Dinner will be at the headquarters. Let's discuss the possible problems."

The two chatted while eating. Liu Yiming did not plan to use the army for this matter. Even if he took a step back, the navy alone could not occupy a city with defense.

Late at night, Liu Yiming looked at the various information he had summarized.

The wind blew, and the wind blew open Liu Yiming's little notebook, which said the comparison of enemy and our strength.

Enemy:

Except Batavia, other places record 2,000 navy and army, with backward equipment and poor training.

Batavia records 8,000 people, half of which are navy and half are army. The equipment is good and the training is relatively complete.

The total number of artillery is unknown. There are more than 30 naval warships.

Me:

A total of more than 7,000 people.

More than 1,000 people are lurking in Dahukou, the main attack force is more than 4,500 people, and the remaining police, militia, and coastal defense forces are more than 1,500 people. (Too many coastal defense forces were withdrawn, and most of the remaining recruits are new soldiers.)

More than 300 mobile artillery of various types (including more than 200 mortars, not counting rocket launchers)

More than 60 coastal artillery guns, including 12 new artillery guns, and the rest are old muzzle-loading guns.

Three naval warships, six new 150-caliber guns, and twelve 37-caliber rapid-fire guns.

"We can fight!" Liu Yiming whispered softly.