A week later, Penang.

Ho Bo, deputy commander of the Chinese Expeditionary Force, as the vanguard officer, led a vanguard force consisting of more than 30 warships and 50 troop carriers to arrive outside the Penang harbor.

At this time, it was already night, and the lighthouse outside the port of Penang made the soldiers of the expeditionary force feel a little warm.

"Come in and rest for the night. Except for the logistical supplies, the rest of the soldiers are not allowed to get off the ship, just in case, they will set off as soon as it dawns tomorrow! He Bo ordered. After leaving Calcutta, Ho began to be cautious. He knew that starting from Penang, whether it was Malacca or Singapore, although it was still in the hands of the British Empire, the three places in the strait were mostly Chinese, and there was no shortage of spies of the Chinese Empire. In this harbor, where Chinese workers are the majority, who knows what to expect, it is better to be careful.

As the vanguard of the expeditionary force, Hober wanted to open up the road by surprise, and behind him, the main force of the expeditionary force, led by the commander of the navy, Michael Seymour, and the commander of the army, Roth, followed closely behind, separated by more than a day's journey, and could immediately respond to the aid if there was something.

Everything is very normal.

Because the Governor of the Straits Settlements of the British Empire had moved to Singapore, and the expeditionary force had not been notified of the expedition, he was very understanding that there was no one in Penang to greet him, and he did not like the formalistic welcome ceremony, but it was still difficult to supply the fleet, so he had no choice but to send his own garrison ashore to the Penang City Hall to negotiate with the local British Colony government officials, and they would organize fresh vegetables and fresh water for supplyAs for coal and other fuels, there are more of them not long after the departure from Calcutta, at least, it is not too late to make up for them in Singapore, where the British garrison and coal are much more abundant.

Soon after, he returned to report that he had already met with the representatives of the British East India Company in Penang, and that they had arranged for personnel to bring fresh water and fresh fruits and vegetables to the warships and troop carriers calling at the port.

He Bo casually ordered the garrison to send a special person to keep an eye on it, and all the fresh water and vegetables were carried onto the ship by the soldiers of the expeditionary force themselves, and the men of the Penang East India Company were strictly forbidden to get on the ship, so as not to mix with the Chinese spies, and then went to sleep.

He Bo finally put his mind at ease, and just when he thought he would sleep beautifully, he was suddenly woken up by his assistant when he fell asleep and was drowsy: "Oh no, General, the East India Company was mixed with spies and used the opportunity of Song Tamsui and vegetables to set fire to the warship, but fortunately it was discovered in time by the patrolling soldiers, although it did not cause major losses, there was still a gunboat and two troop transports that caught fire and burned, and more than 20 sailors were injured because of the stampede during the escape." ”

"Bastard! Didn't you say not to let the East India Company's men on board? He Bo was woken up from his sleep, he was already on fire in his belly, and when he heard that the warship had been set on fire by the spies, he was even more furious, he didn't want to be set on fire in the cabin by the spies in his sleep!

"General, those Chinese laborers in Penang were too enthusiastic to deliver the vegetables to the ship with their own hands, and I couldn't bear to refuse for a while, so I let those spies take advantage of the loopholes. Fortunately, the loss is not big! ”

"Just arrived in Penang and lost a gunboat and 2 troop carriers, and the loss is not big? When we arrive at the Chinese Empire in the east and officially start the war, how many ports will we have to pass through, and won't the expeditionary fleet lose most of it? He Bo roared angrily: "You have a great responsibility for this incident! Don't be my assistant anymore, go to the front line capital ship as a gunner, I won't send you to a court-martial! ”

The assistant retreated with a sad face.

After being woken up, he did not feel sleepy, and he immediately ordered a battalion of the Marine Corps and two battalions of the Army in the troop carriers, with a total of 1,000 soldiers, to land and arrest the Chinese spies in Penang.

Penang is actually only the easternmost port of Penang Island, and the core is the East India Company's George Castle, which was built by the East India Company, where Captain Wright landed in Penang Port 80 years ago. Outside the castle, there is a port and a commercial area. George Castle was always guarded by East India Company soldiers stationed in Penang, but he had no worries, as he sent troops to surround the port and the commercial district with a Chinese colony of hard laborers.

At this time, before dawn, the fierce soldiers rushed into the business district with torches and began to arrest the Chinese spies.

At this moment, the British Empire rice flag above George Castle suddenly lowered, and then raised a red and yellow five-star flag, He Bo, who had been watching, was taken aback, and quickly sent 2,000 additional infantry from the troop transport ship to George Castle.

At the same time, gunfire erupted in the castle and business districts, breaking the silence of Penang dawn with fierce gunfire. This is still not the point, the point is that on George Castle, several artillery pieces rumbled, aiming at the unarmored troop carrier parked in the harbor.

"Not good! I'm afraid that Penang has long been controlled by the spies of the Chinese Empire! Even the representatives of the East India Company in Penang were coerced by Chinese spies to help them act! "Uncle He also has a little scalp tingling, this Oriental is too cunning and insidious. If the expeditionary force had not been vigilant enough to discover their plot to burn the ships, or if they had not been in a hurry to burn the ships, fearing that the fresh water and vegetables they had been sent would have been poisonous, I shuddered to think about it.

The artillery roared and blasted into the ships of the expeditionary force docked in the harbor, casting a bright light in the night.

"Quick, let go of the cable and set sail, avoid the gunfire!" He Bo shouted: "What about the infantry, why don't you hurry up and pounce on it, take George Castle for me immediately, and wipe out all those spies!" ”

For the combat strength of the soldiers of the British Empire, He Bo is still very confident. Although there are not many troops of the British Empire in Penang, there are hundreds of people stationed in Penang, and it can quietly disintegrate the power of the British Empire in Penang, and obviously there will not be too many troops, otherwise, the movement will definitely be very large, and it is impossible that the Straits Settlements of the British Empire will not know, so to speak, it can only be controlled by a dozen or even dozens of generals who are stationed in the garrison.

As long as they were to push through and kill the spies occupying a few of the shooting holes at George Castle, the whole of Penang would be able to return to the control of the British Empire. Thinking of this, He Bo ordered a quick attack, and he was even a little angry!

In fact, it's really what he thinks. There were not many spies in the commercial district, and after a burst of gunfire, it stopped abruptly, and after a few rounds of cannon fire on George Castle, it quickly went out.

After a while, a soldier came to report that more than 60 Chinese spies in the Penang business district and George Castle had resisted and all of them had been killed! However, because the harbor is not far below George Castle, the battery on George Castle opened fire and injured many expeditionary ships, 2 warships were completely destroyed, 4 troop carriers were sunk, 3 warships and 5 troop carriers were damaged, and more than 20 officers and men of the expeditionary force were killed and wounded.

He Bo was so angry that his lungs exploded, and he immediately ordered all the Chinese in Penang to be arrested, interrogated one by one, and all those related to the spies were executed!

The soldiers quickly carried out the order. At dawn, the results of the search came that in addition to hundreds of Malay aborigines, more than 100 Indian laborers, and hundreds of Chinese laborers, the original tens of thousands of Chinese coolies and helpers had all disappeared, and the whole Penang was almost an empty city. It should be that the Chinese spies were prepared for a long time, knowing that the British would retaliate, and arranged in advance to evacuate all the Chinese laborers in Penang.

He Bo angrily ordered: "Shoot all the more than 100 Chinese and hundreds of Malay natives who have been arrested, they are all spies, and all the Indian laborers will be escorted to the ship to serve as war men, so as to relieve the hatred in their hearts!" Hearing a dense burst of gunfire, He Bocai felt a little more comfortable.

He's really! However, the shooting of all the remaining Chinese and Malays in Penang was not only because of anger, but also because they did not want the news of the British Empire's expeditionary force to leak out. Moreover, he was also ready to blame the killing of these laborers on the heads of those Chinese spies, saying that the other side had hundreds of troops ambushed in Georgetown and launched a sudden attack in the middle of the night, so that he could explain it to the above.

He did not continue to stay in Penang, and although the whole city was already empty and there would be little danger, he still gave the order to go out. However, before setting out, he left behind a 100-strong infantry team to guard Penang for the arrival of the main force of the expeditionary force.

This was the first port city in the three places of the Strait, and the British Expeditionary Force suffered a lot of losses, no matter what happened later, he had to be careful and careful, and he could not be damaged before he touched the army of the Chinese Empire.

In the evening of the next day, when He Bo led the expeditionary force through the Klang estuary, a guide reported that above the estuary, there was a new Chinese city called "Jilongpo", where tens of thousands of Chinese miners and their families lived.

He Bo waved his hand and refused, he didn't want to cause more trouble. At present, the first priority is to find the main force of the naval fleet of the Chinese Empire and wait for an opportunity to fight against it, and the second is to occupy Hong Kong Island and set it up as a base for expeditions to the East.

However, the events in Penang made him a little wary, and he suspected that both Malacca and Singapore were controlled by the Chinese. These two ports, along with Penang, were the three most important supply ports in the Strait of Malacca, especially Singapore, which was not only strategically important, but also an important port for British trade with the East Indies and the Far East, which had to be controlled by the British Empire.

Therefore, Ho Bo ordered: "Ignore the rest of the world, the whole fleet is ready to capture Malacca and Singapore!" ”