Calcutta, Fort William.

Governor Canning paced back and forth, anxious. There has been no news from Madras for more than half a month, and the supply from Madras in Kolkata has been cut off for more than a month.

"Something's wrong, there's definitely been an accident!" The corners of Canning's mouth were already blistering, but he couldn't do anything.

There was no news, no movement, just a surprisingly calm. It was precisely because he was so calm that he felt extremely wrong.

But the hateful Bengali rebels besieging Calcutta remained the same as usual. Canning sent a number of spies to investigate, but nothing was found, and the Bengalis outside the city did not seem to notice anything at all.

Canning only wished he was overhearted. But the supply was cut off for more than a month, and reason told him that this was absolutely not normal. Unfortunately, Calcutta's telegraph cable to the seaport of Diamond beyond the mouth of the river had been cut by the hated Bengalis, and the nearest telegraph office to Madras was Gobalpur, but Canning could not tell whether it had been occupied by the grassy Indian maharajas.

He had no choice but to bribe a Bengali rebel officer and send someone to Gobalpur, hoping to contact Madras and find out what was going on.

With a bang, the door was slammed open, and the commander of the British Army in India, Admiral Colin Campbell, and the chief of the General Staff of the British Army in India, Major General Robert Napier, hurriedly broke in.

Canning immediately stopped, and was about to speak slowly, but was interrupted by Admiral Colin Campbell: "Mr. Governor, no! Something is wrong! ”

"How?" Canning's heart tightened, and he didn't have time to blame Campbell, so he asked directly: "Is there something wrong with Madras?" ”

Colin Campbell said: "It's not just Madras, but the mouth of the Ganges River in the Bay of Bengal, something big is happening!" ”

"The news that we have just heard, the news that Mr. Governor warned us two months ago has come true! As early as the day after the Emperor of the Chinese Empire in the East officially declared war on our British Empire, he dispatched the South Ocean Fleet and the newly formed Indian Ocean Fleet, divided into two groups, one of which crossed the Bay of Bengal in the Indian Ocean and attacked the island of Ceylon. And another fleet, with numerous warships, came directly towards the mouth of the Ganges in Calcutta, our country. Colin Campbell didn't finish his words, he gasped for a few breaths.

Canning was anxious in his heart, and hurriedly asked: "So, more than a month ago, the South Ocean Fleet and the Indian Ocean Fleet of the Chinese Empire have already come to attack us. But why haven't they been heard from until today, and besides, they haven't been seen outside the port of Kolkata? ”

Colin Campbell gasped a little more evenly, and then said with a bitter face: "Mr. Governor, we are all fooled. The Oriental Chinese were cunning as foxes, and although they sent a powerful fleet, they besieged it but did not attack it, but blocked the mouth of the Ganges River at the mouth of Calcutta. Because Calcutta was nearly thirty miles away, and surrounded by Bengali rebels, we had no news at all. The Chinese Empire obviously wants to completely cut off our supply lines in Calcutta, so that the city of Calcutta will be empty, and when we can't support it, we can only fight hard with the Bengali rebels outside the city and break out of Calcutta. ”

"I see!" After listening to Colin Campbell's explanation, Canning also deeply felt the treachery of the Chinese in the East, but it was better than directly coming to attack on a large scale, so Canning said: "Now we can only fight the enemy!" See who can drag it out for a long time, they are a huge fleet, and the consumption must be very huge, and it is impossible to hover at the mouth of the Ganges all the time. How long can we keep up with supplies in the city of Kolkata? ”

"Mr. Governor, the food in the city of Calcutta should last more than half a year, but it seems that the cannonballs and gunpowder have begun to run out, and if there is a fierce battle, it can only last two or three months at most, and if it is still like this, it can last half a year." Colin Campbell said: "The main thing is that Kolkata was breached, the original two arsenals were swept away, and the Dam Arsenal near Kolkata was also closed down by the Bengali rebels, and it has not been replenished since. Mainly by repatriation from Ceylon and Madras. Now that it is blocked, it will be difficult to make up for the consumption. ”

Canning breathed a sigh of relief, and according to what Campbell said, he could hold on for at least three months, and said: "Defend Calcutta first, and then look for an opportunity to attack and capture the Bengali rebels, searching for supplies such as gunpowder bullets." ”

Even by this time, Canning was reluctant to give up the city of Calcutta. He knew in his heart that this was the location of the British Empire's colonial governorship in India, and he was the governor-general, although he was about to be dismissed, if the British Empire's army could not even hold Calcutta, the whole of India would be finished! He's even more finished!

Now, he only hopes to withstand four or five months or even half a year. According to the information he had received two months earlier, since London had adopted a policy unfavorable to the Chinese Empire and forced the Chinese Empire to declare war, it should not have stood idly by. Moreover, now that the British Empire has put down the rebellion at home and reached a temporary rapprochement with the Irish rebels, although this is a shame, after all, it can draw troops to India!

But because of this, he had to defend the Indian colonies for the British Empire. Think about it, the queen and the prime minister and the cabinet members and parliamentarians, for the sake of India, in order to draw troops to quell the rebellion in India, abandon their dignity to reconcile with the Irish rebels, and reach an agreement, although it is only said that Ireland will be self-governing and Ireland will still be the territory of the British Empire, but in fact it is equivalent to admitting defeat in Ireland and temporarily abandoning Ireland.

Canning felt that the burden on him had increased, not only on him, not only in India, but also in Ireland. If he fails to hold Calcutta, not only India, but also Ireland, will be blamed on himself.

Campbell replied, "I'm going to schedule a couple of attacks. Those damn Bengali rebels outside the city, we trained them at the beginning, but now we turned their guns on us. ”

With that, Campbell was about to leave with the Chief of the General Staff, Major General Robert Napier, when two Governor's House guards led a raged Bengali man into his house: "Mr. Governor, Mr. Governor." ”

"Mr. Governor, there's shocking bad news!" One of the guards said in despair: "The major ports of Ceylon and Madras, even Madras, have been captured by the expeditionary forces of the Chinese Empire!" ”

Canning was stunned! He only felt that his scalp exploded, his blood surged, his eyes turned black for a while, and then his body began to shake.

He had just recognized the ragged Bengali as the officer of the Bengali rebels he had bribed not long ago, and had sent someone to Gobarpur to inquire about the news. Now this appearance, I can't imagine that it is to report such bad news!

The sudden bad news made his blood pressure rise and he almost fell to the ground, but fortunately Major General Robert Napier next to him helped him to stand firmly.

Fixed-minded, Canning stared anxiously at Bengal and asked, "What the hell is going on?" What expeditionary force of the Chinese Empire? ”

"Mr. Governor, it's a fleet of warships! They crossed the Bay of Bengal and arrived in Ceylon directly from Penang through the Tenth Degree Strait. First, they captured the port of Colombo, the capital of the British garrison in Ceylon, and then sent an army to occupy the entire island of Ceylon.

The Chinese Imperial fleet then marched north, capturing the major ports along the coastline of the Madras Prefecture in southern India, such as Jaffna, Garrigal, and Puducherry, and finally landed north of Madras, attacking with warships and land artillery, killing countless defenders in Madras Harbor and Fort St. George, and the remaining defenders surrendered under the leadership of General Walsley, Acting Governor of Madras and Commander of the Army. ”

The Bengali had a lot of information, but the more detailed it was, the more painful it was for Canning!

Madras is over, the whole Madras district is over! As the Viceroy of India, Canning knew that the forces in the Madras Prefecture had almost been drained by himself, and almost all of the remaining troops were concentrated in Madras. Therefore, as soon as Madras fell, he knew that the entire Madras Territory was equivalent to no longer having the strength of the British Empire, that is, the entire British Empire's control area in India, except for a few towns in the interior of the Madras Territory, except for a few hundred and 1,000 scattered troops left in the interior of the Madras Prefecture, except for a few hundred and 1,000 scattered troops in the interior of the Madras Prefecture, almost only Calcutta remained.

Therefore, it can also be directly said that in the whole of India today, only Calcutta remains. In any case, I have to hold on and hold on to the reinforcements sent by Europe. Canning knew that Great Britain should be ready or even send reinforcements, and the key was how to fend off the Imperial Chinese fleet and the Bengali rebels who came this time.