The next day at noon.

Shengjing's "China Imperial Daily", Guangzhou's "Nanfang Daily", and Batavia's "Nanyang Evening News", which has been renamed Coconut City, have published a bombshell news.

"Today, there is a Western European monarch who is the Kingdom of Great Britain (Britain), and it is his national policy to invade China and other countries and occupy the world's oceans. For decades, the Chinese people have fought against it despite their sacrifices, not only to defend the independent existence of the Chinese Empire, but also to open up land and space for the 40,000,000 Chinese people to live, but also to break the country's hegemonism and ambition to rule the world, and to safeguard world public law, justice, and the welfare and peace of all mankind.

The Chinese Empire is not for colonization and hegemony, but only for the purpose of opening up barbaric lands, developing the new world, and providing more goods and commodities for the people of all countries.

Since being defeated 20 years ago, they forcibly sold opium, ceded land and paid compensation, and countless Chinese compatriots were bullied in Nanyang, and now the Chinese Empire has been established, and the Xian people can not bear it. Today, we hereby formally declare war on Britain, announcing that all treaties, agreements, and contracts involving relations between China and Britain are to be abrogated.

Emperor Feng Yunshan of the Chinese Empire

October 19, 8th year of Taisheng (November 25, 1861). ”

Suddenly, in the vast territory of the Chinese Empire, countless government officials, students, businessmen, workers, and clerks rushed to buy newspapers, and witnessed the declaration of war by His Majesty the Emperor for the first time.

A deacon of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Shengjing stood at the entrance of Sanshan Street and said to the people: "Damn the British, it is not good for my Chinese empire. Your Majesty should declare war, Britain was originally a small country, and it invaded and occupied the territory everywhere, with colonies all over the world, in a vain attempt to maintain his world hegemony, and now it is even more unbearable to declare war! ”

A merchant in Guangzhou sighed to another trader: "Your Majesty is all for us merchants, so that our merchant ships can run all over the world in the future, for our goods to be sold all over the world, and for us not to be bullied by foreigners, this is the declaration of war against the most powerful country in the world." No, I can't join the army, I can donate some military expenses, so that His Majesty's warriors can eat a little more, dress warmly, have more bullets, and kill more enemies! ”

A Hakka plantation owner from Quanzhou, Fujian Province, said to his son and nephew: "We, the Hakka people who went to the South Seas, were originally laborers who had nothing to eat and could not even eat, and were bullied by foreigners and Javanese natives, but it was His Majesty who led the brave Chinese army of LinkedIn to drive away the foreigners, pacify the natives, conquer this Nanyang, and distribute the plantations to us, so that we have where we are today!" Now that Yingyi has provoked war again, and His Majesty is forced to declare war on him, it is time for our old Lin family to serve His Majesty the Emperor! You two are the men of the Lao Lin family, you should carry the musket and fight for Your Majesty! Sign up and join the army! ”

Throughout the Chinese Empire, 16.5 million square kilometers of land, many places are boiling. A declaration of war personally signed by His Majesty the Emperor pushed many people of the Chinese Empire to the climax of their concern and participation in the war, and the anti-British and patriotic consciousness was unprecedentedly high.

Many well-informed provinces and vassal states have sent telegrams or urgent reports requesting that troops be sent to participate in the war or that they should be provided with materials to prepare for war, and many Chinese trading houses and foreign firms have expressed their willingness to transform their merchant ships into armed warships, and asked the Chinese Imperial Government to issue certificates for temporary requisition as warships, implement the privateer ship system, attack British merchant ships, and rob British merchants of their goods.

At the same time, many transport ships in Guangzhou, Hanoi, Saigon, and other places also began to get busy, loading arms, food, and other war materials one after another, and heading for the South Seas.

...........

Kolkata, within Fort William.

Indian Governor General Canning looked at a note in front of him, his eyes almost black.

The message on the note was that several British military outposts outside Calcutta had received from a Chinese trader at the mouth of the distant Ganges River.

The city of Kolkata had been under siege for some time, and although it was open by water, the news was inconvenient, and Canning had not heard from London for a long time. Originally, he was worried about the governorship, but he was scolded by the queen in a letter and was not relieved. Outside the city of Calcutta, more than 100,000 Bengalis spontaneously formed a militia and 30,000 Burmese troops surrounded Calcutta, although because there were nearly 50,000 British soldiers and 30,000 Indian soldiers in the city of Calcutta, there was no need to worry about the enemy troops outside the city, but it still made Canning a little upset.

He had been waiting for reinforcements from the British mainland, but after a year of coming, he had never returned, and he knew that there was a rebellion in Ireland at home, and that the British Empire's armies had mainly gone to quell the rebellion in Europe. He also tried to give the order to go out of the city to attack the besieging Bengali army, although he was able to kill the besieging Bengali rebels and flee, but within a few days countless Bengalis were replenished, and his own losses were several hundred, so after killing the enemy several times, he did not attack out of the city.

He was convinced that the mighty British Empire could not be held back by a mob of rebellious men, and that sooner or later reinforcements would come to India's aid. As long as it persists, as long as it holds Kolkata, the core of India, India will sooner or later return to the hands of the British Empire.

But he never expected that the news on a thin note would knock all his fantasies and expectations into the abyss!

"The Emperor of the Chinese Empire declared war on the Kingdom of Great Britain more than twenty days ago! And the next day, directly sent troops, its two combined fleets, the navy and land in the tens of thousands, marched into the Indian Ocean from the sea, and the targets were likely to be the city of Kolkata and India! ”

These few lines made Canning almost faint!

"Oh my God, is God going to abandon Great Britain? My British empire on which the sun never sets can no longer live up to its name! Without India, even Great Britain can't be screamed! Why, why, is that Chinese named Feng Yunshan really my nemesis in Great Britain? Cunning muttered, and suddenly came to his senses, and hurriedly sent for Admiral Colin Campbell, Lieutenant General Henry, and Major General Robert Napier, who were also in Calcutta, to come to Fort William to discuss the urgent military situation.

Soon, the commander of the British Army in India, General Colin Campbell, the chief of the general staff of the British forces in India, Major General Robert Napier, and the commander of the British forces in the Bengal district, Lieutenant General Henry, rushed to Fort William.

After more than a year of tormented by war, besieged in the city of Kolkata, the three people who were originally high-spirited have lost their sharpness at this moment. They also don't know why the Bengalis, who had been low-voiced and submissive, insisted on capturing the city of Calcutta without stopping, even though they were defeated several times in the past year and lost tens of thousands of people. What's more, there are still 30,000 Burmese troops eyeing the suburbs.

It's not that they can't fight the Bengali rebels, it's that they have to hold on to the city of Calcutta. Except for the city of Kolkata, other places could not stay for long. Now they have lost the demeanor of soldiers of the British Empire!

And it's no wonder. He said that he was the commander of the army in India, but now that India is under the control of the Kingdom of Great Britain, how many are left? The northern, northeastern, and even central parts of the Bengal region, whether occupied by the rebels or given up by the British army, are no longer under the control of the British army, and only the city of Kolkata is left in the entire Bengal region. Only the Madras region in southern India, where there are few rebels, is still under the control of the British. But in reality, there were not many British troops there, and they were not as safe as Calcutta. Who wants to break out of Kolkata? Unless you leave India and go back to Europe!

"Three generals, a large number of enemy troops are coming, what should we do?" Canning asked.

There was no answer, and there was silence.

After half a ring, Admiral Campbell said in a low tone: "Those damned politicians in London chose to fall out with the overlord of the East at this time.

Mr. Governor, there is no other way but to call for urgent help from London in the first place! Our naval strength is insufficient, and if the South Sea Fleet of the Chinese Empire attacks, judging from the firepower and number of their warships, judging from the naval battle encountered in the East Indies last time, we are not an opponent at all with only a few small warships left. Therefore, there are two ways at the moment, one is for us to withdraw, and the soldiers left behind will leave Calcutta and move to the interior of India, and those Bengali rebels, although they are in some trouble, will not be able to stop our army at all. The second is to let the Indian Ocean Fleet take refuge in the river of the port of Calcutta and defend it with the help of the artillery on the shore of Calcutta. We hold on to the city of Kolkata until reinforcements are sent from Europe! ”

Lieutenant General Henry also nodded: "I am in favor of the second option, all the troops will retreat to Calcutta and wait for reinforcements!" ”

Major General Robert Napier said: "I am not in favor of defending the city. Our most fatal problem is the lack of naval strength. The naval fleet, which is unable to resist the enemy, will not be able to hold the sea supply lines of Calcutta, in which case Kolkata will sooner or later run out of logistical supplies, and by that time, no matter how strong the city is, no matter how many troops we have, we will still not be able to hold it. But if we don't defend the city, we will lose even more! ”

Canning sighed, "Is this the end of the British Empire's rule in India?" ”