Burying the Great Qing
Chapter 465 Open Fire! The Ming Emperor's Schemes Were Interconnected and Overt
The Ming Emperor's schemes were always a series of interconnected, overt traps.
For example, the naval exercise jointly held by the Ming Emperor and the Ottoman Empire – the Emperor's true objective was to lead the Ottoman navy in ambushing the British fleet supporting the British East India Company. As for intimidating Mahmud II and the Ottoman navy, that was merely incidental, like swatting a fly while picking up grass.
Furthermore, the Ming Emperor was not worried that Mahmud II and Alexander would escape the trap.
Whether it was Mahmud II, Alexander, George III, or Francis II, they all understood clearly that the alliance between the Ottoman Empire and Russia, Britain, and the Habsburg family was based solely on interests. It was loose, could not be publicized, and was filled with suspicion and calculation. As long as there were sufficient benefits or threats, their so-called allies could betray them at any moment; they were unreliable.
Once the Ottoman navy followed the Ming Emperor's flagship fleet to ambush the British fleet, no matter how Mahmud II explained it, George III would no longer believe anything Mahmud II said. Alexander and Francis II would similarly lose trust.
This was because the loss of the British fleet was a tangible reality, and George III had to find a sufficient reason for the loss. Alexander and Francis II were driven by pure suspicion.
After carefully calculating the trap, the Ming Emperor suddenly gave another order: "Send someone to relay a message to the South China Sea Fleet, ordering them to detach a fleet to Malé for an ambush. Once the British fleet supporting the East India Company arrives in Sri Lanka, immediately cut off their retreat."
Hearing this, Zhu Jianying felt somewhat bewildered.
According to the Ming Emperor's original plan, when the flagship fleet, along with the Ottoman navy, ambushed the British fleet, they should have "accidentally" let one British warship escape, so that news of the joint military exercise between the Ming and Ottoman Empires could be sent back to Europe.
If nothing went wrong, the remaining British fleet should have been annihilated in the waters near Cape Agulhas.
Therefore, why was the Ming Emperor now saying that a British fleet supporting the East India Company would be able to reach Sri Lanka?
After thinking about it, Zhu Jianying directly asked, "From what you're saying, it seems you intend to let the British fleet go and support the East India Company in Sri Lanka?"
The Ming Emperor smiled and nodded, then asked in return, "Then why don't you try to guess why I would do this?"
Zhu Jianying shook his head slightly and said, "I can't guess your thoughts. It can't be that you just want to watch the fun between the British fleet and the East India Company, can it?"
The Ming Emperor chuckled and said, "As the saying goes, to kill someone, you must first strike at their heart. Britain's maritime military strength is not insignificant. Although those barbarians from the East India Company fear our Great Ming, they may not be without a sliver of hope in their hearts."
"Therefore, my plan is to first cripple the British fleet supporting the East India Company, and then, when they are close to Sri Lanka and the barbarians of the East India Company can see the British fleet, we will annihilate them completely. Just when those barbarians believe they can escape, we will utterly extinguish their hope." "This way, even if there are any remnants of the East India Company entrenched in Sri Lanka, they will not have the will to resist, and they will naturally be at our mercy."
...
While the Ming Emperor was calculating how to use the Ottoman navy to sow discord between the Ottoman Empire and countries like Russia, and how to use the British fleet to achieve his plan of killing the East India Company's spirit, Howard, Little Huilai, and Marshall, who were far away in Sri Lanka, had already fallen into despair.
Yes, they had not yet waited for the Ming Emperor's plan to be fully implemented, nor had they witnessed the British fleet being crippled, but Howard and the others had already despaired.
As the Ming Emperor had analyzed, those short and ugly Japanese were too crazy. As long as someone shouted, "For His Majesty the Ming Emperor, Banzai!", those short and ugly Japanese would charge forward without regard for their own lives.
While the slightly deranged short and ugly Japanese did not care about their own lives, the soldiers of the East India Company who fought for money did care about their lives.
As the saying goes, the fierce fear the stubborn, and the stubborn fear those who are fearless. Those who are fearless could naturally crush the cowardly East India Company soldiers into the ground.
In just over ten days, the East India Company had lost most of its defensive lines. Even though Howard distributed firearms to the miners and promised them handsome rewards, it was of no use.
It was not that Howard and the others truly expected the Indian miners to defeat the short and ugly Japanese. For Howard and the others, as long as those Indian miners could hold back those short and ugly Japanese, it would be a great achievement.
After all, tens of thousands of miners were not tens of thousands of pigs. Even if they were allowed to be captured by those short and ugly Japanese, it would still take some time, right?
However, Howard and the others did not expect how utterly useless those miners were. Most of the miners recruited by the East India Company to Sri Lanka were from India. And Indians had always favored non-violent non-cooperation.
When the East India Company distributed weapons to those Indian miners, their first choice was not to fight to the death against the short and ugly Japanese, but to directly flee during battle, or to simply lay down their weapons and start a sit-in, allowing those short and ugly Japanese to divide, surround, and capture them.
In other words, the East India Company had poured a large amount of military hardware onto those Indian miners, but in the end, it all benefited the short and ugly Japanese.
What happened next made Howard and Little Hualai so angry that they spat blood.
Facing the timid Indian miners who were docile to the Japanese, when they were incorporated by the Japanese and turned around to fight the East India Company, they became very brave. Although they couldn't be said to be courageous and willing to fight, at least they didn't engage in sit-ins anymore.
Faced with such a bizarre situation, Howard was almost driven mad: "Can someone tell me what's going on with those damned diaper-heads? When they fight the short and ugly Japanese, they run or surrender at the slightest provocation. Why do they charge forward when fighting us?"
Howard's question was met with an eerie silence in the temporary conference room.
Let alone Howard, Little Huilai and Marshall also couldn't understand why such a bizarre situation had occurred.
Little Huilai said with a dark expression, "What benefits could those short and ugly Japanese promise them? Freedom? Or money? We had already promised them these things before, and the bounties we offered were very high."
Marshall also chimed in, "We even promised them that once we defeated those short and ugly Japanese, they would be allowed to join England and become a part of the civilized world. But even so, their performance remained poor. On the contrary, under the hands of those short and ugly Japanese, they performed quite... well, bravely."
To describe the miners' performance as brave was very reluctant, but Marshall could no longer think of suitable words at this moment.
With a slight sigh, Marshall continued, "Mr. Howard, now is not the time to study those Indian miners. I must remind you that we have already lost too many positions. If reinforcements cannot reach Sri Lanka within half a month, I fear we will completely lose our last positions. By then, we will have no choice but to surrender to those short and ugly Japanese, or disperse and find ways to escape individually."
Howard's expression immediately turned grim.
As Marshall said, the East India Company had already lost too many positions and only had a few limited positions left.
More importantly, no one knew how long the remaining positions could hold. Although Marshall implied that they could hold on for about half a month, Howard and Little Huilai both understood in their hearts that the so-called half a month was complete nonsense.
If the remaining positions could hold on for half a month, then the East India Company would not have been defeated repeatedly when they first encountered the short and ugly Japanese.
After a long silence, Howard finally spoke, "Don't worry, we sent the message back to England early on. Reinforcements will definitely arrive within half a month."
However, Little Huilai snorted dismissively and said, "Then what about within this half a month? We have tried many methods, including seeking help from the Ming military base, including organizing miners, but the result has been repeated defeats. Now, who can guarantee that we can hold on for another half a month?"
As Little Huilai finished speaking, Howard's face changed drastically, and he questioned, "Little Huilai, what exactly are you saying? What are you trying to express?"
Little Huilai sneered, "What can I say? What can I express? In fact, the three of us know very well that with the troops we have, we cannot hold on for another half a month, and the British fleet cannot reach Sri Lanka within half a month."
Howard snorted coldly, "And then? Little Huilai, are you questioning the strength of the British navy!"
Little Huilai curled his lips disdainfully and said, "Do I need to question it? After King George III inexplicably decided to attack France, how many losses did the British navy suffer?"
Saying this, Little Huilai quickly added, "We all know that the reason those short and ugly Japanese went mad all of a sudden was instigated by the Ming people behind the scenes! So, even if Britain sent a reinforcement fleet, what good would it do? Wouldn't the Ming people prepare in advance? Could the British fleet defeat the Ming fleet?"
Howard and Marshall were silenced by his retort. After a long while, Howard asked in a deep voice, "Then what are your thoughts?"
Little Huilai took a deep breath and said, "My thought is to abandon Sri Lanka! We still have a few warships, enough for us to take the remaining soldiers and leave Sri Lanka. Whether we choose to return to Europe, or simply find a place without the Ming navy to become pirates, it would be much better than staying in Sri Lanka and waiting to die!"
Howard quietly observed Little Huilai and Marshall, only to see that Little Huilai and Marshall's faces were filled with dejection, yet their eyes were full of hope as they looked at him.
Howard understood very well that Little Huilai and Marshall had been frightened by those crazy short and ugly Japanese, and they did not want to stay in Sri Lanka any longer to face those crazy short and ugly Japanese.
Howard himself also did not want to stay in Sri Lanka and wait to die.
However, to the disappointment of Little Huilai and Marshall, Howard did not agree to Little Huilai's proposal. He merely sighed and said, "Although we still have warships, what about supplies? Those short and ugly Japanese will not give us a chance to withdraw. Also, in this world, where is there a place without Ming military bases?"
Little Huilai immediately became excited and exclaimed, "Then we can't stay here and wait to die! If all else fails, we can surrender to the Ming military base in Chennai! Surrender, do you understand? As long as we raise our hands, we will be safe!"
Seeing Little Huilai gradually descending into madness, Howard's heart sank. He then looked towards Marshall.
To Howard's despair, Marshall actually nodded!
Marshall said in a low voice, "We are surrendering to preserve the lineage of the East India Company. This is not shameful, especially since the British navy has suffered heavy losses, and they cannot send much reinforcement to support us."
Howard looked at Marshall, then at Little Huilai, and then at his own severed arm. Howard finally despaired to find that he himself also wanted to surrender!
With a loud laugh, Howard shook his head slightly and said to Little Huilai and Marshall, "From now on, I resign as the General Manager of the East India Company. You two discuss who will take over."
Marshall was stunned and asked, "Mr. Howard?"
Howard raised his severed arm and laughed self-mockingly, "I also want to surrender, but the pride of a knight tells me that I should not surrender to the Ming people."
Little Huilai snorted and said, "So, Mr. Howard intends to stay in Sri Lanka and continue to fight to the death against those short and ugly Japanese? Or do you intend to leave Sri Lanka and find a place without Ming military bases to become a pirate?"
Howard naturally heard the sarcasm in Little Huilai's words. After all, Howard had already refused the proposal to withdraw from Sri Lanka and become a pirate. If he were to suggest running away to be a pirate now, wouldn't that be slapping himself in the face?
With a slight shake of his head, Howard's expression became very calm. "I intend to end my life to preserve my dignity. Please rest assured, I am not mocking you. This is just my final act of defiance against fate as a failure."
Howard did not die peacefully.
And as Howard ended his life, Mahmud II had already met up with the Ming Emperor with the Ottoman navy and the Imperial Guard.
To everyone's surprise, the Ottoman Imperial Guard had infiltrated the Ottoman navy and chose to open fire just as the two fleets were about to make contact!
82.
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