Anti-Qing: Starting from the Jintian Uprising

Chapter 449: Battle of Malacca! (6K)

Soon, the Tang army began to clean up the battlefield.

Snapped! Bang bang!

Scattered gunfire rang out.

Some rebels who were still alive were searched out from the pile of corpses and then executed one by one.

Of course, not all the rebels were killed.

In order to facilitate the cleaning of the battlefield and the disposal of corpses, the Tang army deliberately left behind hundreds of apparently honest prisoners and forced them with bayonets to dig pits around the battlefield.

After the pit was dug, bodies were thrown into it one by one.

Then, pour in gasoline and throw in a torch.

With a bang, flames rose instantly, a column of black smoke rushed straight into the sky, and the crackling sound of burning oil continued to be heard.

There was a strange stench in the air.

Many people couldn't help but cover their noses, and several recruits even vomited on the spot.

Snapped! Bang bang!

Gunshots rang out, and all the prisoners who had dug the pits were executed. Their bodies were thrown into the burning crematorium and burned clean.

Chen Yucheng looked at the scene in front of him expressionlessly.

He was a soldier and had no objection to the scene before him.

Moreover, in his opinion, the rebels were not killed unjustly.

Ever since the Tang Dynasty conquered Guangnan and established a province, the rebellion in Guangnan has never stopped.

At the beginning, the Tang Dynasty still wanted to be gentle. When there was a rebellion, it would appease the people and only execute the main culprits, while the rest would be spared if possible.

After all, the Tang Dynasty is currently short of labor to mine.
What a waste to kill them all!

However, the Tang Dynasty now discovered that it was useless to be gentle with the monkeys.

If you don't kill them, they will surrender and then rebel again to disgust you.

Only when they feel the pain of killing and are afraid of it, will they dare not try the tactic of surrendering and then rebelling again.

Turning his gaze away from the battlefield, Chen Yucheng spoke.

"Clean up the battlefield as soon as possible."

"It is now midsummer. If we don't clean up the battlefield quickly, the corpses will rot and there may be an epidemic!"

The climate in Guangnan is really too hot.

If the corpse is not handled properly, it will easily rot and then breed plague.

Therefore, this is why the Tang army chose to burn corpses during battle instead of simply digging a pit and burying the bodies.

After successfully relieving Hanoi, the Tang army began to push back the rebels throughout Guangnan.

Faced with the well-prepared Tang army, the rebels were defeated step by step and retreated all the way to Anpei, the birthplace of the rebellion...

……

At the same time the Tang army was suppressing the Guangnan rebellion.

The Tang Dynasty's South China Sea Fleet was also marching towards Malacca in a mighty manner.

On the sea, a huge fleet is advancing slowly.

Leading the way was a battleship as huge as a mountain.

It was the first battleship of the Tang Dynasty and even the world, the Zhaowu-class Zhenyuan.

Ever since Li Yi made up his mind to launch an attack on Malacca, the Zhenyuan ship was sent to Guangzhou in advance and incorporated into the South China Sea Fleet.

We plan to use this actual combat to collect actual combat data of the new battleship to facilitate subsequent improvements.

After the declaration of war was issued, the main force of the South China Sea Fleet, with the Zhenyuan as its flagship, immediately set out for Malacca.

Fang Haiyang stood on the deck of the Zhenyuan ship, laughing heartily.

"Hahaha, the steel battleships of our Tang Dynasty are indeed mighty!"

"With this warship in hand, why worry about not being able to defeat the British and avenge the Opium War?"

"Pass the order, the fleet advances at full speed, reaches Malacca as soon as possible, and seizes control of Malacca!"

"..."

As Fang Haiyang's military order was issued, the sound of whistles rang out.

Thick smoke came out of the chimney of the Zhenyuan ship!

In the boiler room, the steam turbine is spinning faster and faster.

Behind the Zhenyuan, thick smoke was also rising from the warships and supply ships.

The entire fleet's forward speed has obviously increased!

Nowadays, most of the warships of the Tang army have completed steam transformation.

Although not all of them use steam power, almost all of them are equipped with steam turbines for auxiliary power.

The fleet's flexibility, maneuverability and combat effectiveness have been greatly improved.

……

Malacca, Straits Settlements Governor's House!
The British Governor of the Channel, Charles, summoned officials from all over the colony to discuss how to deal with the invasion of the Tang army.

"Guys, the latest news is that the Tang Army fleet has departed from Guangzhou. Just yesterday, it just completed replenishment in Pontianak and is heading towards Malacca."

"According to estimates, the Tang army will arrive at the Straits Settlements in three or four days at most!"

"Everyone, tell me, how should we deal with the invasion of the Tang army?"

Upon hearing this, Winston, the governor of the Straits Settlements garrison, stood up and spoke.

"Your Excellency the Governor, at present, Britain has only three regiments stationed in the Straits Settlements, and two of them are colonial regiments with limited combat effectiveness."

"Once the Tang army attacks, it will be difficult for us to resist!"

Winston's words were a little discouraging, but they were also true.

Britain does not have any extra troops in the Straits Settlements at the moment.

And the limited troops are not elite!
Because the real elite of the British Army were transferred to Crimea to participate in the war as early as the beginning of the Crimean War.

Charles frowned slightly and looked at the fleet commander beside him.

"Carter, what about you?"

Carter hesitated for a moment, then spoke.

"In reply to the Governor, my country currently has less than 20 warships in its fleet in the Straits Settlements."

"Among them, there are only two steam ironclad ships, five third-class sailing battleships, and three fourth-class sailing battleships."

"The rest are all armed merchant ships with limited combat capabilities."

"Even if we recruit all the merchant ships currently in the Straits Settlements to join the fleet for joint operations, it will still be difficult to resist the Tang army's offensive."

Well, in this battle, the British army not only had no advantage on land.

The same goes for at sea!
In fact, they were suppressed even more severely at sea.

It can only be said that the Tang Dynasty chose a good time to declare war on Britain.

Not only did he defeat them one by one before formally declaring war on Britain, but he also eliminated the Spanish in Manila and the Dutch in Batavia, both of whom might stand on the side of Britain and help Britain fight against the threat from the Tang Dynasty.

It was also chosen at a time when Britain was caught in the double dilemma of Crimea and the Indian uprising, and its military strength was at its most depleted.

If the Tang army cannot win under such circumstances, then there is no need to think about heading towards the deep blue. Just prepare to defend the homeland and deal with the Third Opium War launched by the Western Barbarians!
Charles rubbed his face and said with a painful expression.

"Can I fight?"

Carter and Winston were silent together.

The atmosphere in the air was very stagnant.

After a moment, Carter spoke.

"Your Excellency the Governor, I do not recommend fighting the Tang army in the Straits Settlements."

"Because this will be a war with no hope of victory."

"I want to withdraw from Malacca and avoid the sharp edge for the time being. After the British Empire withdraws from Crimea and quells the Indian rebellion, I will send troops to retake Malacca. This will be our best option at the moment."

Winston also agreed.

"Yes, Your Excellency the Governor, the current situation in India to suppress the rebellion is at a time when there is a lack of manpower."

"The British have limited military forces in the Far East. In this case, we should deploy our limited military forces to where they are most needed, rather than wasting them in a war where there is no hope of victory."

Charles heard this but said expressionlessly.

"no!"

"Although the territory of my British Empire is vast, not an inch of it is superfluous."

"If we flee without a fight in the Straits Settlements, we will be court-martialed when we return to the mainland."

"The people of Great Britain will not let us sinners go!"

"Winston, Carter, stop thinking about these discouraging things and get ready for battle!"

"I think God will definitely bless the British Empire!"

Upon hearing this, Winston and Carter looked at each other and saw the helplessness in each other's eyes.

It’s not that they don’t want to fight, but they really can’t fight!

It's not even just that we can't beat them.

Still isolated and helpless!
Never mind that Britain was now unable to reinforce the Straits Settlements.

Even if there were extra troops to reinforce, priority would definitely be given to the more important Indian battlefield rather than the Straits Settlements.

To put it bluntly, Britain's Straits Settlements were considered lost the moment the Tang Dynasty declared war on Britain.

Now, it is just temporarily kept in the hands of the British!

Just at this moment, footsteps were heard outside.

An attendant from the Governor's Palace walked in from outside.

"Your Excellency the Governor, good news!"

Charles couldn't help but look strange when he heard this.

"good news?"

He didn't believe it.

Is there any good news for the Straits Settlements today?

Seeing this, the servant leaned over and spoke into Charles' ear.

"Your Excellency the Governor, this is good news from the mainland of Tang."

"The Tang Kingdom not only declared war on Great Britain, but also on Tsarist Russia."

"It is said that the Tang army stationed on the Mongolian Plateau is preparing to go north to Siberia and capture Lake Baikal."

"Tsarist Russia is also having a hard time now!"

Upon hearing this, Charles couldn't help but smile with a look of gloating.

Well, he had to admit, this was indeed good news.

Britain would certainly feel bad if it lost the Straits Settlements, but it would simply mean that it would be unable to infiltrate the Far East in the future.

Anyway, Britain doesn’t have much influence in the Far East at the moment!
Even if it was lost, it would not cause any fundamental harm to Britain, a country with a huge fortune and colonies all over the world.

But what about Tsarist Russia?

Once Lake Baikal is lost, both Eastern Siberia and Central Siberia will be lost.

This is the final result of Tsarist Russia's hundreds of years of eastward expansion!
Once Eastern Siberia and Central Siberia were lost, the entire country of Tsarist Russia would probably be devastated.

With public sentiment surging, it is not impossible for large-scale civil unrest to break out.

By then, Britain will most likely be able to regain the interests it lost in the Far East in the Near East.

How can this not be good news for the UK?
After the attendant finished his report, the originally solemn atmosphere in the meeting room became noticeably more relaxed.

……

time flies.

Soon, a few days passed.

The Tang army fleet finally appeared off the coast of Malacca.

A massive fleet appeared on the sea, preparing to launch an attack on Malacca.

Seeing the Tang army fleet appear, the British fleet also sailed out of the Singapore port, ready to fight!
On the sea, two fleets were heading towards each other.

Carter, commander of the British fleet, stood on the deck of his flagship, the George, and looked at the mighty Tang fleet approaching in the distance.

After seeing the leading Zhenyuan ship, Carter felt for a moment as if his heart was being tightly grasped by someone.

At this moment, he almost couldn't breathe!
"This... this battleship is simply a miracle!"

"Oh my God, this ship is so beautiful!" What appeared in front of him was a steel warship.

The entire hull is constructed of special marine steel and painted with light grey anti-rust marine paint.

The huge chimney was emitting billowing black smoke!

The barrels of the naval guns on the deck are thicker and longer.

The entire battleship is filled with the charm of heavy industry, which makes people unable to take their eyes away.

"God bless!"

Carter silently made the sign of the cross on his chest and prayed for God's blessing.

But at this moment, there was a loud roar.

Before Carter could react, a shell mercilessly hit the sea not far from his flagship.

Amid the loud bang, the calmness of the sea was broken by the roar of artillery.

A huge column of water rose up instantly!

The air is filled with mist!

Immediately afterwards, with loud bangs, shells came one after another.

Columns of water rose around Carter's flagship.

Among them, one shell successfully landed on the side of Carter's flagship.

Amid the explosion, a large hole was torn in the side armor of the steam ironclad ship George, exposing the wooden hull covered and protected by the side armor.

Broken wood chips flew everywhere in an instant.

The air was filled with yellow smoke and a pungent smell lingered over the entire sea.

Compared with traditional solid shells, the high-explosive shells used by the Tang army today have a more obvious killing effect on steam ironclad ships.

As long as a hit is achieved, it can cause extremely obvious damage to the steam ironclad ship.

The violent explosion caused the George's hull to shake violently.

Even Carter, the veteran captain, was almost knocked down.

boom! Boom boom!

The deafening bombardment continued.

Carter shouted at his men at the top of his lungs.

"Quick, send a message to the helmsman and order them to immediately maneuver at sea to avoid the bombardment."

"Damn it, how can these Tang people's artillery fire so far? And so accurately?"

Carter knew that the Tang army's breech-loading rifled cannons could definitely fire farther than his muzzle-loading cannons, but he didn't expect that they could fire so far!

And it’s far and accurate!

The distance between the two fleets was still far from the effective range of the British warships' guns. As a result, the Tang army had already started firing and achieved effective hits.

This result is really amazing!

As Carter's military order was issued, the flags in the British fleet shook, and soon the British fleet began to maneuver to avoid artillery fire according to their previous combat experience.

While avoiding the artillery fire, they approached the Tang army, attempting to get within the effective range of their own naval guns.

"Pass on my order, order our fleet to retreat and keep a distance from the British fleet."

"Keep firing, deliver firepower!"

Fang Haiyang also quickly gave orders, ordering the Tang army fleet to make corresponding maneuvers.

It is obvious that although the firepower of the Tang fleet is stronger than that of the British fleet, Fang Haiyang is still not prepared to engage in close combat with the British fleet.

Because Fang Haiyang understood one thing, that is, if you can defeat your opponent by long-range consumption, then you should never engage in close combat.

Because, in close combat, no matter how great the advantage is, there will definitely be losses.

Anyway, the Tang army can now attack the British army, but the British army cannot attack the Tang army, so the Tang army will slowly consume them.

Why take the risk of getting too close?
not worth it!

The situation on the battlefield continued to change.

boom! Boom boom!

The shelling continued.

As time passed, the British fleet was constantly bombarded by long-range fire.

Shells came one after another, and armed merchant ships were sunk one after another.

Even the steam ironclad ship HMS George was badly damaged, with several large holes blown out in the side armor and the deck.

Not only the hull, but also the power system of the ship in the cabin was damaged. The steam boiler exploded, and the ship lay sideways on the sea, drifting with the ocean current.

I have completely lost the ability to resist!
Carter was also protected and fled back to the cabin, fearing that he would be killed by the shells falling from the sky.

But at this moment, several white marks suddenly appeared on the sea.

Several torpedoes broke through the waves beneath the sea and shot towards the British fleet's flagship, the George, which was lying across the sea.

Among them, most of them missed the target, but two of them hit the target.

Bang! The torpedo hit the underwater ship.

The next moment, the torpedo firing pin was triggered and the charge was instantly ignited.

Amid the loud explosion, flames shot up into the sky.

The hull of the George suddenly deformed upwards, and the sound of the ship's wood breaking could be heard with a crackling sound.

In the blink of an eye, the second torpedo exploded.

With a loud explosion, the already deformed hull of the George broke completely.

The bow and stern of the ship plunged into the sea at the same time!
Carter lost his balance and fell directly onto the deck.

After rolling around a few times, the sky and the earth shook before my eyes, and then I fell into the sea with a splash.

At the same time, the crew members on the George fell into the water one after another.

The sound of falling into the water continued to be heard!
Carter struggled in the sea for several times before he finally managed to stabilize his body.

Bah! Bah! Bah!

After spitting out several mouthfuls of sea water, Carter felt unwell.

"Oh, God!"

"Come and save me!"

Carter struggled for several times and finally grabbed a piece of wood floating on the sea, and then he felt a little safe.

boom! Boom boom!

On the battlefield, the shelling continued.

Amid the rumbling of artillery fire, the British fleet, which had lost its flagship command, was in chaos, and some even began to raise white flags and surrender to the Tang army.

"Help! I surrender!"

"Oh my God, why did the George sink suddenly just now?"

"Oh God, have you stopped caring about the British Empire?!"

"..."

……

In Malacca city!
Governor Charles kept pacing in his office, his face full of anxiety.

Anxiously waiting for the result of the naval battle!
"Why no news yet?"

"What's going on with Carter?"

Beside him, Winston was also looking at a map in front of him with a heavy expression.

There was a complex light flashing in his eyes, as if he was thinking about how to fight the next battle if his side was defeated in the naval battle!
However, at this moment, accompanied by a burst of chaotic footsteps, a blond and blue-eyed attendant of the Governor's Mansion walked in from outside and said with a grim expression.

"Your Excellency the Governor, Your Excellency the Major General..."

"We lost the naval battle!"

"Commander Carter's flagship, the George, was sunk. After our fleet lost command, they surrendered to the Tang army one after another."

"The Tang Army fleet is advancing towards Singapore..."

The British Straits Settlements mainly consisted of three parts.

They are the three port cities of Singapore, Malacca, and Penang.

The order from east to west is Singapore, Malacca, and then Penang.

The three British Army regiments stationed in the Straits Settlements were stationed in these three port cities.

Therefore, if the Tang army wants to attack Malacca, the first step is to take Singapore first!

Charles was a little overwhelmed when he heard this.

He subconsciously turned his gaze to Winston.

"Winston, can Singapore withstand the attack of the Tang army?"

Winston said with a grim expression when he heard this.

"I don't know, Your Excellency the Governor."

"But it should be possible to delay for a while, buying us more time to set up defenses."

Charles heard this and said with obvious disappointment.

"All right!"

"I understand!"

……

Outside Singapore Port!
The Tang army fleet came in full force.

The black muzzle of the gun was aimed at the artillery position in the Singapore harbor.

The atmosphere in the air became increasingly stagnant!

Fang Haiyang put down the telescope in his hand and said expressionlessly.

"Send someone to persuade them to surrender!"

"If the British in Singapore are willing to surrender, it will save some ammunition for the Tang Dynasty!"

The adjutant beside him heard this and immediately responded, then turned around to convey the order.

Soon, an hour later, the adjutant returned.

"Commander, the British have rejected the Tang Dynasty's call for surrender!"

Upon hearing this, Fang Haiyang took a deep breath and waved his hand.

"Order the entire army to launch an attack!"

"Hit me hard!"

Soon, the rumbling sound of artillery fire resounded throughout the waters off Singapore.

Shell after shell was fired at the port batteries with impunity.

The shells landed on the artillery platform, exploding into balls of fireworks, and the air was filled with the thick smell of gunpowder.

Boom! Boom!
Shells poured down one after another, knocking the British soldiers on the artillery position to the ground.

"Fire! Fire!"

"Fight back, fight back!"

The British artillery commander, Rumet, shouted at the top of his voice.

boom! Boom boom!

The fort opened fire, but it was very obvious that although the artillery on the fort was firing loudly, it was just firing loudly.

The shells were obviously still some distance away from the Tang army fleet on the sea. Most of the shells ran out of kinetic energy halfway through their flight and fell into the sea, posing no threat to the Tang army fleet at all.

"Commander, our guns can't reach the Tang people's ships!"

A gunner came to Rumit with a sad face to report.

Lumit took a deep breath, his heart full of helplessness, and he felt a suffocating feeling lingering in his heart.

"Can't reach?"

"Even if you can't reach him, you have to hit him! Hit him hard!"

But before he could say half of his words, a 270mm large-caliber naval gun shell landed on the gun platform.

The shell exploded and the shock wave spread quickly, destroying half of the turret. In the blink of an eye, Rumit and several gunners around him were engulfed in the smoke and flames brought by the air wave.

He didn't even have time to scream before he was torn to pieces by the shock wave generated by the explosion of the shell, leaving no place to be buried!

(End of this chapter)