Nanyang Storm 1864

Chapter 278 A Small Challenge
at dusk
The sailing fleet, speeding all the way, finally caught up with the huge fleet of the Singapore Expeditionary Force that set out in the early morning, so it slowed down and merged into it.

This large Singapore Expeditionary Force fleet included a sailing cruiser fleet totaling 10 sailing warships for escort missions, 1.66 sailing troop transports carrying a total of 31 troops and a large number of mules, horses and livestock, and 38 fully loaded cargo ships. The entire mixed fleet consisted of a total of 79 sailing ships.

With the addition of the sailing fleet led by King Zheng Guohui of Chu, which included 5 sailing battleships and 12 sailing cruisers, the entire task force quickly expanded to a size of 96 ships. It was truly a forest of sails, so vast that there was no end in sight.

At this point, except for the five heavy ironclad ships that were far behind, most of the Chu Navy's warships gathered here and headed towards Singapore with great momentum.

A few days later

9 a.m.

About 30 kilometers away from Singapore, a single-masted cargo ship was wandering on the sea. Its main sail was reefed, and it was only sailing at a low speed on the sea with its side sails and gussets, as if waiting for something?
Next to the weather-beaten captain stood a man of medium height, over thirty years old, with a tough and capable look. He was holding a copper monocular telescope in his hand, carefully searching the nearby sea.

This person is Lieutenant Colonel Han Wenqin, Director of the Fifth Department of the Ministry of the Interior. The strong man standing on the other side of the ship, carefully observing the sea with a telescope is Major Pan Changfu.

Each of them was responsible for one side, and they looked serious and focused.

There were more than a dozen young and alert men on the boat, all with bulges around their waists, obviously hiding weapons. They were all members of the Fifth Division's action team.

The Fifth Department of the Interior, namely the Southeast Asian Investigation Department.

This single-masted cargo ship arrived at the nearby waters before dawn yesterday, and they were carrying out an important mission.

We waited for a whole day and only returned to Singapore Port late last night.

The purpose of returning is to collect new enemy movements to prevent missing major changes during the voyage, which would be a serious mistake in intelligence work.

We set sail again before dawn this morning, and our mission was to pick up our family.

Telegraph communications had been completely interrupted two days ago. What did this mean? Lieutenant Colonel Han Wenqin and Major Pan Changfu knew it very well.

It was our own people who cut off the long-distance submarine telegraph lines, but they belonged to several other action teams. Their purpose was to prevent the British and French powers from using long-distance telegraphs to transmit information.

I don't use it, and you don't need it either.

The Chu State laid its own submarine cables, so of course it knew the secret landing point. It only needed to pull up the nearby submarine cables and cut them off.

Since the British and French powers declared war on the State of Chu, they took unified action starting from September 9th, sending military and police to forcibly take over the Royal Nanyang Telegraph Office, which had just established local telegraph rooms. This included telegraph rooms in Hong Kong, Macau, Haiphong, Hue, Saigon and other places, but not the Bangkok telegraph room.

Although the Bangkok Telegraph Office has not yet been sealed, it is only symbolic.

Recently
Inspections of Chinese merchants and Chinese ships operating on Southeast Asian routes also became stricter. British white officers often came with red-headed Indians to search the streets and alleys of the city.

Some Chinese businessmen were arrested and imprisoned without any explanation, which led to an extremely tense atmosphere in the city, soaring prices, and making life difficult for Chinese expatriates.

"Here I come, boss, come and look over here..." Major Pan Changfu excitedly put down the telescope in his hand, pointed his finger at the sea in the distance and shouted loudly, his voice full of uncontrollable excitement.

Lieutenant Colonel Han Wenqin was delighted and quickly walked to the other side of the ship. He raised the telescope in his hand and began to investigate carefully.

Major Pan Changfu, who was standing beside him, helped guide him in the direction and said excitedly, "Sir, look, right over there, wasn't that the colorful flag flying on the ship at that time?"

"Yes, I saw it. It's the seven-colored flag. Hurry! Raise the signal flag." Lieutenant Colonel Han Wenqin quickly ordered.

The guys on the ship were already prepared. When they heard the order, they quickly raised a black skull flag with crossed sharp knives under it. There were a few drops of blood on the blades, making it look quite realistic.

The enemy's large two-masted sailing ship had obviously seen the lonely cruising sloop a long time ago. After discovering the signal flag, it adjusted its direction and headed straight for it.

The two ships came alongside each other, and after the secret commands were connected correctly, Lieutenant Colonel Han Wenqin and Major Pan Changfu climbed onto the other ship.

Wait a moment

We saw sailing frigates coming in a V-shaped formation from behind, and when they met the sea and sky in the distance, dense white sails soon appeared, covering the vast sea surface. The scene was extremely spectacular.

The contact person responsible for leading the way arrived and the news was quickly reported via flag signals.

King Zheng Guohui of Chu, who was personally in charge of the fleet, was sitting in the luxurious cabin of the "Guangming" sailing ship in military uniform, drinking tea and waiting. After hearing the news, he immediately stood up and walked out.

"Propagate my king's order; the fleet will be divided into two groups according to the plan, carrying out the blockade and landing missions respectively."

"Your Highness, I will obey your command."

The massive fleet was split into three parts. One, consisting primarily of five battleships and six cruisers, charged aggressively towards Singapore Harbor to blockade it. The other, comprised primarily of cargo ships, protected by four cruisers and two frigates, furled their mainsails and began patrolling the nearby waters at low speed.

Another landing fleet, mainly consisting of 10 sailing frigates and 31 sailing troop transports, followed a guide ship that came specially to greet them, made a big circle, and headed towards the Gentle Strait.

As the core port of the British Straits Settlements and the seat of the Governor's Office, Singapore's colonial construction was carried out in accordance with British domestic specifications and implemented with high standards.

Because Singapore controls the vital Strait of Malacca, it is an integral and important part of Britain's global hegemony strategy, and its status is only slightly inferior to the Strait of Gibraltar which controls the Mediterranean.

Although the British are proud, they are not stupid. Over the past few decades, they have invested tens of millions of pounds to build Singapore into an impregnable giant maritime fortress with a formidable defense capability.

How scary is it exactly?
Let me put it this way, the Singapore Fortress is one of the top fortresses in the world today. If you attack from the front, the fortress artillery batteries that echo each other will open fire at full power, and basically no matter how many come, they will die.

It’s just so awesome and so domineering.

This was also the reason why the Governor-General of British India was confident in preparing expedition materials and personnel, and continuously dispatching transport fleets to deliver large quantities of military supplies to Singapore.

Singapore will serve as a forward springboard for attacking the State of Chu, shortening the sea supply distance of the British and French expeditionary forces and providing solid and reliable support for the conquest of Chu.

So why not choose Hong Kong?
Hong Kong is only 1100 kilometers away from the northern port of Chu State and kilometers away from Manila. Isn’t it more convenient?
The main reason is that Hong Kong has not built a reliable fortress defense system and can be easily breached from the New Territories or Lantau Island. The British military is concerned about its low security.

It is close to the State of Chu, and conversely, the State of Chu is also close to Hong Kong.

Don't forget that Chu possessed cross-sea offensive capabilities, and its strength should not be underestimated. When conquering the Spaniards, Chu organized a powerful task force from the Tongzhou Islands (formerly Mindanao) in the south to march north to Manila.

If that is the case, it would be like making wedding clothes for the State of Chu.

As an old colonial empire in the world, Britain has extremely rich experience in foreign wars, and its military plans are meticulous and highly reliable. It is impossible for it to make such a low-level mistake.

However, the arrogant British could never have imagined that the Chu army would be so bold as to attack Singapore. This was completely beyond their imagination.

When the alarm bells rang throughout Singapore, Governor Ord in the Governor's Palace was also alarmed. He took some senior officials with him and hurried to the mountaintop fortress in a carriage.

When they arrived at the mountaintop fortress, Major General Ciarán Slicker, Commander of the British Army under the Governor-General's Office of the Channel, came to greet them with several officers, looking very calm.

"How could the city-wide alarm be triggered? Who is it... I really can't imagine that there are still military forces in the entire Nanyang region that dare to attack Singapore. Today is not April Fools' Day." Governor Ord raised his precious cane gracefully, returned the greeting and said,

Major General Ciarán Slicker, the commander of the Army Fortress, put down his hands and replied with a slightly regretful look on his face;
“It’s just a small surprise, Your Excellency the Governor. Please come this way and allow me to accompany you on a tour.

The invading force was the Chu naval fleet. Their arrival brought extra joy to the garrison officers and soldiers of the Singapore Fortress, who had always felt lonely and bored.

Please pay attention to the steps, Your Excellency the Governor.

Maybe it was ignorance, maybe it was stupidity, but this little surprise from the Eastern Fleet might have earned me a medal and given me a better appointment after returning to the War Department.

Although I am reluctant to admit, I must admit that this young Oriental king has extraordinary courage, and I admire him for that."

Under the guidance of Major General Ciarán Slicker, Governor Ord and a group of senior white officials from the Governor's Office climbed to the top of the fortress, from where they could overlook the entire bay.

Governor Ode was shocked by the scene before him.

On the blue sea in the distance, white sails are scattered everywhere, and one majestic sailing warship after another is patrolling, almost covering the entire sea surface within sight.

An invisible and huge sense of oppression, accompanied by a strong atmosphere of war, hits me in the face.

Governor Ord frowned and said, "General, I appreciate your optimism, but is this what you call a minor challenge? I don't think the situation is optimistic."

"Your Excellency, Governor, please rest assured. The Singapore Fortress is one of the world's most powerful maritime fortresses. Its defense system is divided into three layers: long, medium and short range. Its fierce firepower can cover the bay without gaps, leaving any invading enemy fleet in despair."

"Then why don't you fire?"

"The distance is too great, Your Excellency the Governor. The invading Oriental fleet seems to be unaware of the strength of the Singapore fortress and is cautiously testing the bottom line. This may take a long time."

"Are you sure... this won't have a serious impact on port security?"

"Your Excellency, the Governor-General, I and the 3722 officers and men of the Singapore Fortress can assure you that this is merely a meaningless artillery display. With the all-encompassing coastal artillery fire, all invading warships will be ripped to shreds. That seemingly powerful fleet on the sea will pose no threat to the safety of our port."

Major General Ciaran Slicker's earnest assurance finally put Governor Said's mind at ease. A rare smile appeared on his face, and his whole expression became relaxed.

(End of this chapter)