British Colonial Governor's House in Ceylon. The Governor-General, Charcos Robinson, was awakened by a sudden burst of heavy and dense artillery, but the artillery did not last long, and it did not take long before it stopped.

He hurriedly exchanged for the captain of the guard in the governor's palace and asked what was going on, the captain of the guard shook his head a little dazedly, and was about to go out to see what was going on, when several embarrassed British soldiers ran over, and shouted in a panic as they ran: "Mr. Governor, no, Mr. Governor." The enemy attacked, and captured all the warships of the Ceylon fleet in Colombo Harbor, and the shore defense battery behind Colombo Pier was also lost, and a large number of warships attacked, I am afraid that there were tens of thousands. ”

"What?" Xia Qiaoshi Robinson was taken aback, and then kicked over: "Bastard, dare to deceive me!" With a fleet of tens of thousands of people, what other country can do it except our British Empire? It's the bastard, tell me the truth, how many people are there, and where are the enemy troops from? ”

"Mr. Governor, Mr. Governor, it seems that the enemy from the East called the Chinese Empire, did not Mr. Governor recently order the Ceylon fleet to seize the merchant ships of the Chinese Empire and arrest all the crews, as if the flags drawn are exactly the same as those hung on those enemy ships?" A British soldier hurriedly reported.

"What? I conveyed the order from London only a few days ago, and the enemy army came to the door so soon? Xia Qiaoshi Robinson was taken aback, and then suddenly came back to his senses, "Ah, what are you talking about, is that the Chinese Empire?" Oh God, it's the Chinese Empire. They must have been dissatisfied with London's decision in retaliation. I see, definitely. This time the Queen and the Prime Minister are all wrong, and we're in big trouble! ”

After saying that, Xia Qiaoshi Robinson sat on the ground with a buttocks.

Unlike other British, he had only a vague understanding of the Chinese Empire, believing that it was a tribe formed by Eastern barbarians who suddenly made a fortune and bought a lot of weapons from Europe. Robinson has been an official of the Governor's Office in Hong Kong for several years, and he usually comes into contact with many Chinese, and has lived in Guangzhou for a period of time, so he is very familiar with this country and its people.

He knows that the heritage of this country with a history of 5,000 years is deeper than any other country in the world today, and the population base of 400 million, just like Napoleon the Great said, once this lion of the East wakes up, the power of the explosion will shock the whole world. And now, apparently, the male lion has woken up and is about to hunt for food.

A while ago, when an order came from London to expel the foreign affairs personnel of the Chinese Empire and impose trade sanctions specifically against the Chinese Empire, he expressed his puzzlement and immediately wrote a suggestion to send someone back to London, but he did not expect that the army of the Chinese Empire would attack the island of Ceylon so soon!

Thinking of the annihilation of the British Empire's expeditionary fleet in the East some time ago, causing a great loss in the strength of the Ceylon Fleet and the East India Fleet, and then thinking of the population of that country and the corresponding number of terrorist troops, Robinson's heart was cold. If there is anyone in the world other than Britain and France who can send tens of thousands of troops to fight across the ocean at one time, Robinson must say that it is the Chinese Empire. At this point, he had already believed that what the soldiers said was true, and that the Chinese Imperial Army was attacking Ceylon.

And at this time, the commander of the British army in Ceylon, Major General Beresford, led a group of guards to rush over, and when he saw Charles, Robinson hurriedly shouted: "Thank God, Mr. Governor, that you have been found at last. The big thing was not good, a large number of warships of the Chinese Empire attacked Ceylon, and their fire was fierce, and the Ceylon fleet in Colombo harbor was damaged before it could return fire, and the coastal defense batteries in Colombo were also defeated. Now their army units have begun to land, and they are coming to the Governor's Palace. ”

"I see! Did the Ceylon fleet surrender before they had time to fight back? Since the Colombo pier can't withstand the enemy's attack, and the army on our side of the Governor's Palace can't resist either, let's prepare to surrender! Robinson said disheartenedly to Major General Beresford.

"Mr. Governor! What did you say? Beresford really wondered if his ears had misheard, "Surrender?" God, I heard you right, right? We still have 3,000 heroic British soldiers in Colombo, and even if we are defeated and cannot hold Colombo, we can still retreat to the city of Kandy in the center of Ceylon! The enemy forces are mainly supported by the fire of the fleet's warships, and when they reach the interior, there are cities to defend on the Kandy side, which should be able to withstand them! Hold on for a month or two, and reinforcements will come to our rescue! ”

"Surrender! Like the Ceylon fleet, if you don't want to become a sparse fleet, surrender is the wisest choice! Robinson made up his mind: "I figured it out. Since the Chinese Empire dared to send a large-scale fleet to attack Ceylon, it must have been prepared for a long time, and Ceylon Island is only a small island for their numbers, and we can resist it? What's more, the city of Kandy is the former capital of the Kandy Dynasty, and those Kandy people hate us very much, and they are about to go to the city of Kandy, but they are afraid that the city will be surrendered in a few days. It's not our fault, it's London's fault, they shouldn't have done that wrong with an already powerful Eastern Empire, our surrender is the price London pays! ”

"No, no, Monsieur Robinson, though you are the Governor of Ceylon, and the Commander-in-Chief of the Army and the Navy, you have turned your back on the interests of Great Britain, and I have the right to refuse your orders! As a soldier of the British Empire, a general of the Queen, I cannot surrender without a fight, that is not worthy to be an Englishman! Beresford insisted.

"I admire you, Beresford, whatever you want! Leave all the soldiers under your command, if you want to kill them! Robinson shrugged his shoulders and dismissed: "You lead the soldiers and leave quickly." The Governor's Palace and I will stay at the Governor's Palace to surrender and buy some time for your retreat. ”

Beresford led the soldiers away.

.........

In front of the hall of the Ceylon Governor's Palace, Wei Jun looked at the high-nosed foreigner in front of him who was half-kneeling on the ground and holding the governor's round seal to himself, but instead of being happy, he was a little depressed.

He turned his head to look at Yang Zaifu, deputy commander of the Indian Ocean Fleet, Buchanan, chief of staff, and Lin Shifa, commander of the 7th Infantry Division of Liuye, and said with a smile: "Who would have thought that the Yang Lord, who was high in the past, would actually bow his knees and surrender in front of a dumpling like us?" It's a pity, Division Commander Lin, like you, I originally wanted to see how strong the ace infantry division of the newly established field corps was, and it was best to be able to fight a big battle and show prestige, but I didn't expect these foreign adults to surrender like this. It's really embarrassing. ”

Lin Shifa forced a smile and said, "Commander Wei, don't get cheap and sell well!" Wouldn't it be better to win without a fight? Isn't it your brother in the Indian Ocean Fleet who died in a big battle? Hurry up and surrender, don't let this foreign lord kneel for a long time! ”

Only Lin Shifa is an old man in Guangxi from the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, although he is very young, he has long been familiar with Wei Jun and can speak, and the rest of Yang Zaifu and Buchanan are a little unable to interject. Even, hearing what the two of them said about foreign adults and the like, even though he knew that he was not talking about himself, Buchanan was still a little embarrassed.

Wei Jun laughed and said, "What is Lord Yang, that was the name of the Manchu Qing Dynasty in the past, and now it is no longer popular, it should be called a foreign devil!" He was kneeling on one leg, just to make them kneel a little longer. After saying that, he remembered something, and said with a smile to Buchanan: "Chief of Staff, I don't mean you, you are now a member of our Chinese Empire, but a compatriot. ”

Buchanan could only smile awkwardly and persuade: "Okay, Commander, the business is important, hurry up and accept the surrender." I'm always a little strange, didn't I say that there were still three or four thousand British soldiers, how could they surrender without resistance, and still haven't seen it? ”

Wei Jun, who heard what Buchanan said, suddenly became interested, reached out and grabbed the governor's seal in the hands of the British governor named Robinson in front of him, and felt that there was nothing unusual, so he casually tied it on his trouser belt, and said to Buchanan: "Chief of Staff, ask this foreign devil governor surnamed Luo, where are those foreign devil soldiers hiding?" If they play yin for Lao Tzu, Lao Tzu will give them ruthlessness! ”

Hearing Wei Jun's bandit-like cruel words, Lin Shifa next to him seemed to have returned to the years in the mountains of Guiping, Guangxi, and couldn't help but show a smile, and Yang Zaifu next to him also remembered that when he was a big soldier in the army, he looked at Wei Jun, a white-faced scholar with thin skin and tender meat, as if he had another layer of understanding.

Buchanan hurriedly helped the governor of Ceylon, Robinson, to his feet, and was about to be questioned in English. Robinson smiled and said to Wei Jun: "This general of the Chinese Empire, I can understand Chinese. I forgot to tell you, I am the Governor of Ceylon, and I only surrender to your army on behalf of the Kingdom of Great Britain in the territory of Ceylon, and as for the Sinhalese and Tamils in the territory, as well as other European private armies, etc., I cannot influence them. This time the Chinese Empire did not declare war, and although I surrendered, I was very angry! And the general used Chinese to scold people behind his back, which inevitably lost his identity. ”

"Oh, it turned out to be a foreign devil who can speak Chinese! Does that mean that you have spent time in the land of China? Have you assaulted my Chinese compatriots? Wei Jun sneered on his face: "My Chinese Empire has not declared war, fart, our Emperor His Majesty personally issued an edict and wrote a declaration of war!" Moreover, it was you Britain who declared war first, and we were forced to fight!

The surname Luo, you surrendered on behalf of Britain, that's your business, I haven't promised to accept your surrender yet! Now I tell you, on behalf of the Commander of the Indian Ocean Fleet of the Chinese Empire and the Commander-in-Chief of the Indian Expeditionary Force, I do not accept your surrender! You can lead your soldiers to resist, and we'll see you on the battlefield! ”

After speaking, he ordered the guards behind him: "It's rare that this foreign devil knows Chinese, and he saves the translation." Bring this foreign devil leader down, interrogate him strictly, and be sure to ask about the whereabouts of the rest of the main forces of the British army. After speaking, he said to Robinson: "Now, you are my captive." I don't have the right to fight me! Is there anything else you would like to say? ”

"You! You hateful yellow-skinned monkey! Scoundrels, scoundrels, bastards......" Robinson didn't expect this Chinese leader to be so hateful, and he didn't act in accordance with the rules of war in Europe at all, so he couldn't help but panic, and kept scolding with the most vicious words he could think of.

Two powerful soldiers held him down, ready to drag him away.

Robinson tried his best to resist, but it was all in vain, and he couldn't help but regret it! Originally, I thought that even if I surrendered, I could be sent back to China with dignity. I didn't expect it to be like this! I knew that it was better to flee to the interior of Ceylon like Beresford, even if I couldn't resist the death in battle, it would be better than now.

On the other side, the soldiers in the Governor's Palace Guard had already taken the initiative to tell Buchanan about Beresford.

Wei Jun, who learned the news, wanted to lead the Indian Ocean Fleet Marines together with Lin Qifa and the 7th Infantry Division of Liuye to rush to Kandy City in the center, but Deputy Commander Yang Zaifu and Chief of Staff Buchanan both objected and persuaded Wei Jun to focus on the overall situation, and Kandy City and the entire territory of Ceylon Island were captured by Lin Shifa under the leadership of the 7th Infantry Division of Liuye. They were to lead the main force of the Indian Ocean Fleet to Madras in southeastern India and capture the last British colonial area in India.

Although Wei Jun seems willful, in fact, it is just his appearance. He attached great importance to this expedition to India, and he attached great importance to the opinion of Chief of Staff Buchanan. He knew that this was an opportunity and a test given to him by the emperor, and he must not fail it.

In addition to the rapid occupation of the island of Ceylon, the most important strategic purpose of this attack was to destroy the British maritime power in the Indian Ocean and control the entire eastern half of the Indian Ocean in the hands of the Chinese Empire. In this way, the British colonial base in India was cut off from the sea supply route to Calcutta, the British colonial base in India, and Kolkata, which was already besieged by Bengali rebels and Burmese troops, had no logistical supply by sea, so it had to break out.

The other half of the Indian Ocean Fleet, together with the two sub-fleets of the South Ocean Fleet, led by Tan Tiyuan, commander of the South Ocean Fleet, has already gone to the Bay of Bengal to blockade the mouth of the Ganges River, preparing to strangle all the British East India Fleet stationed in Calcutta.

Wei Jun and his half of the Indian Ocean Fleet must destroy the last gunboat of the Ceylon Fleet stationed in Jaffna, the northern port of Ceylon, as soon as possible, and then rush to Madras as soon as possible to destroy the branch fleet of the East India Fleet that may be stationed there. If the delay is too long, after the British army learns the news, their warships will probably hide if they know that they are invincible, and it will be much more difficult to find and annihilate them at that time.

Wei Jun's main task was to eliminate the British naval forces in the Indian Ocean, and he wanted to give the emperor a satisfactory explanation.

As for the decisive battle, as the commander of the fleet, he can only think about it in the future.

That night, the Indian Ocean Fleet left behind two cruisers and two gunboats, as well as five warships of the captured Ceylon Fleet, to guard the port of Colombo and cruise the waters west of the island. Wei Jun took up the main forces of the other fleets and headed north.