Chapter 1058: Westward Arrival

"Wesley, my old friend."

Amidst the waves of hateful clamoring from the soldiers, a group of high-ranking officers slowly walked down from the warship.

The officer walking at the very front caught sight of Wesley, opened his arms, and gave Wesley a bear hug.

"Hariman!" Wesley also gave the officer a heavy hug.

Bolt saw the newcomer and clapped his hands, laughing, "With two British Army Generals gathered in Tianzhu, this time we will surely win a great victory."

Hariman then released Wesley and shook hands with Bolt, "That is without a doubt, and hello, Governor Bolt."

After exchanging greetings, Hariman led the officers and stood to one side with Wesley, clearing the way for officers from other countries.

Watching the officers and soldiers walking down from the warship, he asked, "Wesley, where are the other British officers? Why are there only so few people?"

Wesley and Bolt exchanged a glance and told Hariman about the defeat at Malacca.

"So, we have just suffered a major defeat?" Hariman wore a look of shock.

Of the one hundred thousand Xitu Guo soldiers guarding Malacca, only a little over twenty thousand escaped back.

This level of loss was absolutely considered a disastrous defeat in all the previous wars in the Western Lands.

"That is indeed the case. I have already had people send the news back to Britain, awaiting punishment from the Parliament and the Queen." Wesley's expression was somber.

Hariman's face was gloomy.

This emergency convening of the Second West Lands Conference had caused the entire Western Lands to cast their gaze toward Dongtu.

They also had a clear understanding of the threat coming from Dongtu.

Therefore, this time, the various countries jointly assembled a more powerful reinforcement force, including five hundred and twenty warships and two hundred and fifty thousand Army troops.

However, because their supply points could not handle such a massive supply all at once.

In fact, this reinforcement force was to arrive in three batches, eventually all gathering in Tianzhu.

Originally, such a massive Expeditionary Army had filled him with confidence in certain victory.

He believed that he, commanding the first batch of arriving warships and soldiers,

and then gathering Wesley's forces, would be enough to completely defeat Dayan and make them submit at the feet of Britain.

But he had not expected the situation to be more serious than he had thought.

Now, for the sake of prudence, he decided to wait for all the reinforcements to arrive.

"This is not entirely your fault; it is that we wrongly underestimated the enemy. Fortunately, we have already corrected our mistake and begun to face this opponent squarely." Hariman patted Wesley on the shoulder.

In fact, the relationship between the two was not very good.

Because both were competing for the position of Field Marshal.

But when facing a common enemy, this estrangement vanished, and the two became reliable companions once again.

"I hope so." Wesley sighed, then suddenly remembered something and asked, "How is the imitation of the Dayan firelocks we sent back going? The Rifled Musket is too clumsy in the face of such firelocks, not to mention that Dayan has even more terrifying firelocks. If we continue to fight using Rifled Muskets, the outcome of the war will not change."

"The whole of Britain is now busy with this matter, and much effort has been invested in the research and manufacture of firelocks and Artillery." Hariman said, "Fortunately, before I set out, the arsenal already had good news. But regretfully, it is said that the airtightness problem is difficult to solve. The range of this firelock is not as good as the Front-loading Rifled Musket; the effective range seems to be only about three hundred meters."

"That is enough!" Wesley was overjoyed, "What is precious about this firelock is not its range, but its flexibility. Thank God, we are saved. So, have technicians come over? Let the arsenal in Tianzhu start manufacturing them immediately."

Hariman shook his head, "The structure of this firelock is clearly more complex than the Rifled Musket. This is not a simple matter of changing the shape of the Bullet. With the foundation of Tianzhu's Steam Industry, it is impossible to manufacture this firelock at all. We must pray that the British arsenal can manufacture this firelock sooner."

"How disappointing." Before Wesley could speak, Bolt cried out, "I hope that by then the Dayan army has not occupied Tianzhu."

Wesley sighed, but he knew that everything required a process.

Although he and Bolt were anxious, they could only wait.

But after all, this was also a piece of good news.

If the British Army could be equipped with this flexible firelock, the future war against Dayan would not be as wretched as it was at Malacca.

"However, our Steamships are already in emergency production. We have also shared the shipbuilding technology with countries in the Western Lands that have shipbuilding capabilities to expand the scale of our Steamships. Regarding the Hand Grenades of the Dayan soldiers, we are also preparing to re-enable grenadiers to cope." Hariman added this to make Wesley feel a bit better.

Wesley's mood felt a little more comfortable.

Before Dayan, the countries of the Western Lands had never been so united.

Now, he believed that the Western Lands world, preparing for war with all its might, would burst forth with a power that would make this Yan Wang tremble.

"This time our Britain has truly suffered a great loss; the manufacturing technology for Steamships is a priceless treasure." Bolt felt a pang of heartache.

"Indeed, and that is not counting the huge expenses of the expedition. If we cannot take down Dayan this time, it will be very difficult for us to organize a third expedition. So, Wesley, cheer up, let us invade Dayan territory together." Hariman patted Wesley's shoulder again.

Wesley nodded heavily, "It doesn't matter. Once we win, we will make Dayan pay us huge war reparations to compensate for all our losses."

After a pause, he continued, "However, for the sake of final victory, we must be careful and cautious this time, and be fully prepared before launching the war. Next, we should try to defend first, and it would be best if we could wait for the arrival of the new-style firelocks."

The three talked for a while longer, then led the officers of various countries to the Governor's Mansion.

Just like last time, Bolt prepared a grand banquet to entertain Hariman and his officers.

When the Wine was half-finished, all three had flushed faces. Bolt said at this moment, "Hariman, do you know? That damned Dayan Yan Wang is about to ascend the throne and become the Emperor of Dayan."

Over the past month, the matter of the Abdication Ceremony in Dayan had been spreading like wildfire throughout Dayan. Ashuer had first obtained this intelligence and then sent people to deliver it to Calcutta.

This was naturally bad news for them.

Once the Yan Wang ascended the throne, he would henceforth be the Emperor of Dayan.

Legally, he would formally become the supreme ruler of Dayan.

They could not imagine what this Dayan Emperor would do after ascending the throne.

"Then we really should send him a generous gift. You should understand what kind of generous gift, right?" Hariman looked at Wesley and smiled drunkenly.

When they had fought side by side in the past, they had also prepared "gifts" for their enemies.

Wesley sneered and said, "Of course, I certainly understand. So I have already prepared a gift for this Yan Wang. On the day of their Enthronement Ceremony, he will receive it."

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