Nanyang Storm 1864

Chapter 276 Malayan Expeditionary Force
After receiving the order, Major General He Ruolin immediately led his officers to withdraw. The group hurriedly left Ganquan Palace and got into the carriage that had been waiting outside the palace gate. They quickly left under the protection of the guards of the Second Division.

Right now
The sailing cruiser fleet guarding the Second Division's transport fleet had already taken the lead.

The expedition fleet set sail in the early morning and has been heading towards Singapore in a mighty manner. It is at least dozens of kilometers away from Manila.

Major General He Ruolin led his officers to the Manila port in a hurry. There, a small steamer "Dudu" was emitting black smoke and was ready to set sail.

This convenient little steamer was produced at the Jinsha Shipyard. As the shipbuilding technology matured, its construction had begun on six slipways.

On average, 7 to 8 small steamers can be built every quarter, and the current production is still growing rapidly to cope with the large number of orders from all sides.

As an archipelago country, there is a great demand for this kind of maneuverable and flexible small steamer.

When Major General He Ruolin and a group of senior officers boarded the steamer one after another, the sailors on the steamer immediately untied the ropes, and the black smoke coming out of the chimney became thicker.

The small steamer quickly left the dock and headed towards the northwest entrance of Manila Bay.

not long after
There was no trace of the steamer anymore. It disappeared between the sea and the sky in the distance, chasing the troop transport fleet.

The Singapore Expeditionary Force, mainly composed of the 1.66nd Expeditionary Division, had a total strength of 8500 people, including three newly formed infantry regiments with more than 300 people. They carried a large amount of supplies, including barrels of cement and more than tons of barbed wire.

If the attack is successful, the Singapore Expeditionary Force will recruit laborers in the area and Penang to the north to carry out large-scale construction, including bunkers, outposts and reinforced concrete defense facilities, with the intention of long-term defense.

According to the pre-arranged military deployment

The Singapore Expeditionary Force implemented the combat strategy of "building cities and fortifications, recruiting soldiers locally, focusing on defense, supplemented by timely counterattacks, and striving to inflict maximum damage on the enemy" in order to achieve the goal of long-term stalemate.

To be honest
This Singapore expeditionary force will face repeated attacks from the British and French forces, and will most likely face a maritime blockade and other suppressive measures, fighting almost alone.

Can you hold on?
There was a big question mark over everything. What would the outcome be? Even the Ministry of Military Affairs was unsure and could only take things one step at a time.

When you have no other choice, you can only take drastic measures.

King Zheng Guohui of Chu was really ruthless. He could afford to lose these 1.66 people, but he had to at least destroy the same number of troops as the British and French forces, or even more.

Shortly thereafter
Major General Huang Shan, commander of the 3rd Expeditionary Division, also received the order to attack. He hurried to the Manila dock with a group of officers accompanying him, boarded a small steamer and left quickly.

Major General Huang Shan's corps is now fully equipped at Zamboanga Port in the Tongzhou Islands. The port is filled with ships and sails, and all they need to do is give the order to set off.

He was now speeding south on a small steamer and was due to arrive at the port of Zamboanga sometime tomorrow afternoon to join the army that was ready to go.

An advance telegram has been sent back, informing the Malayan Corps gathered at the port of Zamboanga that they will start boarding the ship from tomorrow morning, which will take most of the day.

Once General Huangshan arrives, we can set out on the expedition.

The Malayan Expeditionary Force, led by Major General Huang Shan, with the Third Division as its main force, was equipped with two newly formed infantry regiments, totaling 6000 troops. The entire army had more than 1.35 people. Its target was the British Malaya region on the island of Kalimantan, referred to as "East Malaysia".

East Malaysia is very close to Zamboanga Port. With just one night’s sailing, you can reach the core city of Brunei Darussalam early the next morning…that is, Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei.

After occupying the city, according to the pre-arranged military deployment;
The entire Malayan Army will continue to set sail, heading west along the coastline, successively occupying the core cities of Sarawak and Sabah, and fully controlling the "East Malaysia region".

There are three existing forces on the world's third largest island, Kalimantan. They are the Eastern Malaya region under the jurisdiction of the British Straits Settlements in the north of the island, which includes the states of Sabah and Sarawak, and the Kingdom of Brunei. The Chinese call it the "Three States", which belongs to the British sphere of influence.

The Malayan Expeditionary Force's target was the British-controlled area in the northern part of the island, which belongs to the Eastern Malaya region, referred to as "East Malaysia".

In the northwest corner of Kalimantan Island, there is now the Lan Fang Empire, which is dominated by Chinese forces and occupies an area of ​​about one state.

The rest of Borneo was under the control of the Governor-General of the Dutch East Indies, covering about four-fifths of the island's total area.

This includes the Dutch provinces of East Kalimantan, South Kalimantan, Central Kalimantan, and West Kalimantan on the islands, as well as several powerful indigenous tribes.

The Malayan Expeditionary Force is now ready to go in the Tongzhou Islands. Its two newly formed infantry regiments are also recruited and trained in the Tongzhou Islands, and are assigned to the Second Expeditionary Division to attack the "East Malaysia region."

King Zheng Guohui of Chu assigned not only 2 to troops to the Malayan Expeditionary Force, but also nearly soldiers who are currently undergoing concentrated training in the Tongzhou Islands.

Its purpose is to swallow up the entire East Malaysian region in one gulp, take the opportunity to completely destroy the Kingdom of Brunei, implement a comprehensive military occupation of it, and implement a "empty cage and replace bird" policy.

simply put

The mission of the Malayan Expeditionary Force was not just to hold out for half a year, but to completely annex the British East Malaysia region and use it as the first stepping stone for the Chu State's expansion to the south.

What is a “crisis”?
King Zheng Guohui of Chu interpreted it as both danger and opportunity. Since they had fallen out and were clearly determined to fight a fierce battle, they could not sit back and had to tear off a large piece of fat meat.

The Malayan Expeditionary Force took on such a heavy responsibility. Its task of conquering the East Malaysian region was not difficult, and it could even be said to be easy.

The British Straits Settlements had only 722 troops in the entire East Malaysia region, and they were scattered across several cities. The management was quite loose, and they mainly relied on scaring people by wearing the British Empire's skin.

If 1.35 troops were sent up at once and each of them spitted, they would be able to overwhelm all the British soldiers.

It is easy to occupy, but not easy to hold on to.

The Malayan Expeditionary Force was responsible for the military mission of occupying the East Malaysian region, and the key was the subsequent task of defending it, which was the top priority.

After achieving the complete occupation of "East Malaysia", the mission of the Malayan Expeditionary Force had just begun.

According to the pre-deployment
They had to immediately build a large number of military facilities, fortify major cities such as Sabah, Sarawak, and Bandar Seri Begawan in Brunei, and construct a large number of bunkers and other defensive facilities on major transportation routes to prepare for the fierce counterattack of the British and French troops.

Subsequently, the second batch of more than 2 militiamen entering the East Malaysia region, as well as a large number of Chinese immigrants in the following months, will fully enter the "East Malaysia" region, and then be distributed to various towns and villages to carry out substantial occupation.

In summary

The missions of the Singapore Expeditionary Force and the Malayan Expeditionary Force were different in nature, but their ultimate goal was the same, which was to bring the war to the enemy's territory and make things bigger.

King Zheng Guohui of Chu did not do anything extreme and left some necessary backup plans.

In the September immigration plan, 9 people will be allocated to Donggang City, which is the month with the largest number of immigrants allocated to the region, and will bring the overall population of Donggang area to 12.

The majority of the immigrants planned for October, November, and December would be settled in East Malaysia, with a smaller number going to the Tongzhou and Cebu Islands. This was because the Hainan Islands to the north might face a blockade by the British Royal Navy. During these months, the Chinese immigrant fleet avoided this enemy's presence and instead settled in the southern islands.

The Batangas Immigration Resettlement Center will also be temporarily closed until it is reopened after the war.

Why are people concentrating their migration to Donggang?
Among these 12 Chinese immigrants, 4 will undergo full-time professional military training, which will begin with immigration resettlement in September and end at the end of December.

By then, the Chu State will have a mobile force of more than 4 troops, like a sharp blade hanging over Australia's head, ready to chop down at any time.

If this army landed in Australia, it would greatly change the fundamental appearance of the British Australian colonies.

This was the backup plan prepared by King Zheng Guohui of Chu. If the war with Britain and France became prolonged and intense, then in order to make the war burn more fiercely, it would not be a bad idea to send another Australian expeditionary force.

As long as the central city of Sydney was captured, the Australian Expeditionary Force could recruit Chinese gold diggers who were oppressed by white people, creating a snowball effect and rapidly expanding the expeditionary force.

As for whether the local Chinese gold diggers are willing to accept recruitment and join the Australian Expeditionary Force?
There is no need to consider this. After decades of civil war in China, the tactic of "forced conscription" has become very smooth and is a magic weapon for rapidly expanding military strength.

Ganquan Palace

After the highest military and political meeting ended, the government and military officials present left one after another and, in accordance with the will of His Majesty the King of Chu, devoted themselves to the increasingly intense pre-war preparations.

When most people had left, King Zheng Guohui of Chu, dressed in military uniform, walked down the stairs side by side with Prime Minister Li Hezhang, talking as they walked.

Behind them were Lieutenant General Pan Haisheng, Deputy Minister of Military Affairs, Rear Admiral Robert, and officers of the Royal Guards, all dressed in neat military uniforms.

"Your Majesty, do you really want to take this risk yourself? This battle is extremely dangerous and truly worrying."

"Prime Minister, there's no need to say more. This battle is of vital importance. If we can first eliminate the Anglo-French coalition's followers, it will greatly boost the morale of the entire army and inspire the people to fight bravely against the enemy!"

"In that case, I will not nag you any more."

"Prime Minister, please stay home and help me keep an eye on these belongings. Relevant military information will be delivered directly by telegram. Be sure to keep the secret book I give you. All the mysteries are contained within it."

"Your Majesty, I can't help but mention it. Apart from you and me, no one else in the world knows about this."

"That's great, then let's wait for good news."

"Your Majesty, I respectfully wish you victory in this battle. From now on, our Chu State will have a bright future, will be famous throughout the world, and will proudly stand at the top of the South Seas."

"Well, thanks for your good wishes. I hope everything goes well." King Zheng Guohui of Chu did not hesitate. He waved his hand to the generals behind him and said, "Let's go, get in the carriage."

After saying that, he got straight into the imperial carriage that had been parked here for a long time. The other generals followed him and got into different carriages one after another.

The Royal Guards Cavalry immediately galloped forward, clearing the way.

The following Royal Cavalry protected the carriage team and galloped towards the Manila Port. This was the third carriage team today.

The convoy quickly arrived at the dock. King Zheng Guohui of Chu and a group of generals got off the carriages and boarded the ships docked nearby with serious expressions. Then the horns of departure sounded.

"Woooooooo..."

The shrill sound of the horn echoed over the bay, and the warships stationed in the anchorage began to work together to turn the capstan and collect the huge anchor thrown into the sea.

The rigging hand nimbly climbed up the tall mast and untied the tightly bound ropes. The huge sail dropped down with a "crash" and spread out into the wind.

With the help of sails, five ironclad warships slowly left the dock, lined up in a long line in the bay, and sailed away into the distance first.

Following behind the sailing battleship "Guangming" were the four sailing battleships "Zhenhai", "Zhenhu", "Zhenjiang" and "Zhenhe", which sailed towards the entrance of Manila Bay one after another.

There were also 12 sailing frigates acting together, forming two squadrons of four in front and eight in the back, which also sailed towards the entrance of Manila Bay one after another.

This time, the elite navy of Chu State came out in full force, with the first target being Singapore and the second being French Saigon. They were ready to eliminate the French Indochina Fleet in one battle, cut off the followers of the British Grand Fleet, and gain a favorable situation for future wars.

The key to King Zheng Guohui of Chu's courage to go all in was information support.

Confidential long-distance telegrams received yesterday and today indicate that the British expeditionary fleet assembled in British Calcutta remains in the harbor, with no signs of a large-scale attack, and is in the stage of preparing personnel and supplies.

The port of Kolkata is 2800 kilometers away from Singapore, and it would take at least a week for a large fleet to sail there.

This means
Even if the British expeditionary fleet weighed anchor and set sail after the telegram was sent, it would still take 4 to 5 days to reach Singapore.

Singapore is 1200 kilometers away from Saigon, and the voyage from the port of Calcutta is more than 4000 kilometers. Even if the British expeditionary fleet traveled non-stop, it would take about ten days.

It will only take more time, not less.

This left ample time for the Chu navy to launch a surprise attack.

We cannot blame the British Expeditionary Force for being too slow. A large-scale expedition to a regional power thousands of kilometers away required hundreds of types of supplies, which were an astonishing quantity.

Even if the Governor-General's Office of British India started preparations immediately, it would be impossible to prepare all the supplies needed for the tens of thousands of troops to fight and mobilize enough cargo ships for shipment in a short period of time.

All this takes time.

The Governor-General's Office of British India suddenly received an expedition order from the British mainland. Everything had to be requisitioned temporarily, and the British Indian Army had to be equipped with personnel and weapons and equipment. It was really a complicated matter.

They were not like the State of Chu, which had been preparing for months and was ready to go.

The so-called Anglo-Indian Army was an army composed mainly of British white officers and recruited local Indian soldiers. It was also the main military force for Britain to maintain its colonization of the Indian subcontinent.

Under the jurisdiction of the Governor-General of British India, there were only more than 7 people in total, scattered across the vast Indian subcontinent, maintaining law and order in this vast colony.

It is not an easy task to withdraw 15000 troops from it.

(End of this chapter)