Chapter 221 Love from across the ocean (Happy New Year)
The troops Hoven brought were not many. Including the navy and reinforcements from the Netherlands, there were only 14,000 people in total.
With the continuous losses and the garrison stationed in Lansha, the number of troops attacking Oak City was less than ten thousand.
Huo Wen was well prepared. The bombardment lasted for 3 hours before sending ground troops to attack.
The first batch of attacking troops were still servants.
The elite troops coming from the Netherlands will be deployed at the most critical moment.
200 meters away, the defenders did not fire.
150 meters away, there was still no movement at all from the garrison position.
After entering 100 meters, the servant army rushing at the front had already entered the trench, but the attacking troops still did not suffer any losses.
"To deal with these damn East Indians, artillery is indeed the most effective. The morale of the defenders has completely collapsed."
Foster is very happy, this is the combat mode he is familiar with.
Fighting the East Indian natives basically requires no tactics. The Dutch army only needs to form a formation, and the army of the East Indian kings will wave their swords and spears and take the initiative to attack the Dutch army. The Dutch want All they do is harvest.
Although the Russians have strong combat effectiveness, they are short of manpower and their arrival in East India was too short, which is not enough to change everything.
Huo Wen looked through the telescope and saw servant soldiers climbing over the wooden wall, and was greatly relieved.
"Berwyn, order your troops to attack and end the battle before dark. I don't want to live in the wild camping."
Hoven was very happy. So what about the Russians? In the waters of East India, even the British would give the Dutch three points.
The Netherlands was able to control the East Indies thanks to the cooperation of the French.
In 1795, France invaded the Netherlands and the Dutch Republic fell.
The Dutch Prince of Orange went into exile in London and united with Britain to fight against France. After Napoleon's failure, the Netherlands and Britain signed the Treaty of London, and Britain recognized the Netherlands' control of East Indies.
This is why the Netherlands dominates the waters of East Indies.
It’s not because the Netherlands is powerful.
It’s not because the Dutch are good at dancing.
But because of Britain’s damn continental balancing policy.
With the addition of reinforcements from the Dutch mainland, the battle quickly ended.
To Hoven's disappointment, no captured Dutch officers and soldiers were found in Oak City, and no Russians were found.
Before the city was broken, the Russians escaped along the path in the back hill of Oak City.
This is also understandable.
If it were Huo Wen, he wouldn't put his lair in a dead place with only one exit.
The only regret is that after the Russians retreated, they blew up the mountain road in the back mountain to prevent the Dutch army from pursuing it.
It was getting late at this time, and Huo Wen had no intention of pursuing him. He would wait until dawn tomorrow to discuss everything.
Naturally, Huo Wen would not live outside the city at night. Although the city wall built by the Russians was crude, it could still bring some psychological comfort to Huo Wen.
With the protection of the city wall, you will feel better when you sleep at night.
As the commander of the garrison in Aceh Province, Hovan maintains a strict schedule and rests on time at 10 p.m.
Not long after falling asleep, Huo Wen was suddenly awakened by intensive gunfire and violent explosions.
Wearing only pajamas, Huo Wen opened the window and saw that most of the sky had turned orange.
"General, we were attacked by the Russians and must retreat immediately."
Hoven's secretary David didn't even have time to put on his coat, only wearing a shirt.
"Where is Bergwijn? Order his troops to counterattack and destroy the Russians!"
Hoving still doesn't know how serious the situation has become.
"The house where General Bergwijn lived has been blown up——"
David's expression was extremely ugly. No matter how stupid he was at this time, he realized that Oak City was a trap.
“Where is Van Burden?”
Hoving’s first reaction was to hold Van Burden accountable.
“I don’t know, no one can be found now, everything is terrible, we must evacuate immediately——”
David hurriedly helped Huo Wen find clothes, and the sound of gunfire became more and more intense. As we got closer, we could already hear the pleading sounds of Dutch soldiers and sporadic hurrahs.
As a noble, even if you escape, you must escape with dignity.
As soon as Huo Wen put on one of his boots, the door to the room was suddenly kicked open, and several Russians carrying rifles rushed in.
“Wait a minute——”
David did his duty, and as soon as he stretched out his hands to meet him, he was knocked down by a gun butt.
“I am the Commander-in-Chief of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Aceh, and I demand treatment consistent with my status.”
Huo Wen took the initiative to identify himself.
"Commander-in-Chief, it sounds like it's worth some money."
Several Russians with obvious Slavic features happily gathered around and took away all the valuable things from Huo Wen.
Huo Wen closed his eyes and let the Russians do whatever they wanted.
In an era when information transmission was not timely enough, the results of the battle in Aceh reached St. Petersburg and the exposition had already opened. This was the first time that the Russian Empire held a similar exposition to the world, and the attention it aroused was astonishing.
The First Lady took out the latest oil mining equipment from the Russian Empire.
The various petroleum-based lighting equipment exhibited by Ural Machinery Plant were well received.
What attracts the most attention is definitely George’s lighting system and the car that has been reluctant to receive orders.
“Our generators are the most advanced in the world. Each generator can provide power for 1,500 light bulbs. All the light bulbs here and in the square only use one generator. Of course, for To ensure a continuous supply of electricity, we recommend that customers prepare a backup generator. Our lighting technology is also the most advanced in the world and unparalleled. ”
The receptionist from Siberian Electric Company talked a lot, introducing the power supply system of Siberian Electric Company to every visitor who was interested in electric lights.
Many people are interested in electric lights.
Not many people placed orders on the spot.
This is normal. Not just anyone, like George, is willing to use electric lights to provide public lighting for the entire city.
In Vladivostok, in addition to the Bright Dome, the Imperial Square and the port, as well as the Vladivostok Hospital and the Guest House, have already begun to use lighting systems.
Lighting systems also began to be installed in St. Petersburg, with George's Catherine Palace being the first to be tried, and later being joined by Gatchina Palace and the Winter Palace.
Edison, who had just been released, was also among the people visiting the lighting system.
Edison's expression was extremely ugly. This was supposed to be an occasion for the Edison Electric Company to shine, but the Siberian Electric Company stole all the limelight.
"Their electric lamp is so similar to mine that I am certain that the Siberian Electric Company has infringed on my patent."
Edison was unwilling to give in, but there was nothing he could do.
"It is meaningless to say this now. Mr. Bayard has reached an agreement with Super Duke Yurievsky. The patents of both companies are valid and your products can still be sold in Russia."
Thomas's most important task today is to control Edison. His private interests cannot affect the cooperation between the US government and the Vladivostok Automobile Factory.
"You have made the worst choice. Are cars that important?"
Edison could not accept that he paid a huge price for the light, but was so despised.
“The cooperation between Washington and Yurievsky Super Duke is not limited to automobiles. Next, Washington and Yurievsky Super Duke will continue to cooperate in more fields. So you are not facing competition from one company, but from Yurievsky Super Duke.”
Thomas didn't know how strong George was until he came to St. Petersburg.
As a businessman, Edison was indeed outstanding.
But George has gone beyond the category of a merchant. He is the lord of Amur and the king of Amur.
This is not competition at all, but a dimensionality reduction attack.
Just like the Edison Electric Company, it was powerless to resist its previous competitors.
"You will regret it, you will definitely regret it!"
Edison's tone was more like a curse.
It’s hard to say whether he will regret it in the future, but Bead certainly won’t regret it.
The Vladivostok Automobile Factory exhibited not only cars and RVs dedicated to the Tsar, but also affordable cars and trucks that Bayad valued.
Not everyone can afford a car worth 10,000 rubles. Those gleaming interiors and exquisitely crafted leather are all piled up with gold.
The decoration of the affordable car is crude compared to the Tsar's sedan. There is no gold leaf or crystal in the interior, the seats are not leather, the shock absorption performance is not good, and the roof is even canvas.
Although the grade has come down, the price has also come down.
The price of such a car is only 3,000 rubles.
Merely——
Although in the United States, not many people are willing to spend 3,000 rubles to buy a car.
However, George promised that with the increase in production, the price of cars will further drop, which gives Bayard a lot of room for imagination.
I can’t afford a car for 3,000 rubles.
What about 2000?
Even 1000!
Compared with cars, trucks have a wider range of functions and are more practical. They don’t need to eat forage or take careful care. They just need to be refueled and they can go.
In 1887, Russia's oil production ranked second in the world.
The first place is the United States.
Oil in the United States can currently only be used for lighting.
If oil could be used to power cars, it would be a huge boost to the oil industry.
So when Bayard came to see George again, he brought a new friend to George.
"Honorable Super Duke Yurievsky, please allow me to introduce to you, this is John Rockefeller from New York."
Rockefeller, who was born in 1839, is less than fifty years old this year.
He was looking at George with respect mixed with reserve, and smiled gently.
George took the initiative to extend his hand to Rockefeller: "Welcome to St. Petersburg."
"I rushed from New York to St. Petersburg just to thank you. You saved my company and the entire In the oil industry, I heard Mr. Bayard say that you want to take out a loan to invest in a car factory in the United States. If you don't mind it, I can provide you with the money without interest. Even if you need more, I will go all out. ”
Rockefeller's words made George feel a little dizzy. Are all you Americans so generous?
In 2024, I wish all brothers a happy new year, may all your wishes come true, make a lot of money, and everything goes well.
(End of this chapter)