The British had 53 Buffalo and Hurricane fighters and Chinese-backed Skylark fighters left, which the RAF command had to keep to repel the impending attack - so when the Asia Express crossed the Channel on 5 June, was bombed and sunk, there were no planes to escort it. "Singapore is burning, it is shattering," one witness said, "and it was like an abandoned city, with thousands of unmotivated British soldiers gathered on the open waterfront, the Raphers Reclamation and other open areas." They died in droves under the strafing and bombing of Japanese aircraft machine guns. ”

The final act of the British tragedy in Malaya was played out on the evening of 7 June, when Yamashita sent the Guards Division across the strait to occupy the small island at the entrance to the Janggi Naval Base, which was now bombed to ruins. It was a feint to get rid of the defenders' defenses, and at that moment, the Japanese artillery began to fire fiercely, and the sound of cannon fire resounded through the sky like rolling thunder. By dawn, a smoke screen hung over the burning oil depot, which was destroyed to prevent the burning oil from flowing into the strait. As the day wore on, the firing was methodically directed to the west, knocking down the machine-gun bunkers and fortifications around the channel's causeway.

Yamashita took advantage of the darkness of night to force their way across the strait, each carrying 40 men and propelled by outboard accelerators, and at 10:30 p.m. 300 of these plywood strike boats began to force their way not to the strongly fortified open coastal positions east of the strait's causeway, but to the swamps of tropical vegetation to the west, where the defence was weak and the defenders were exhausted Australian troops.

General Bennett's men lost the opportunity to shoot before the attacking Japanese troops had landed, because the British artillery units had not received orders, and by the time they had begun firing or turning on the searchlights, it was already too late, and the searchlights could illuminate the approaching Japanese landing force. In just a few hours, more than 5,000 Japanese troops landed and penetrated through the gap between the tropical vegetation in the swamps and the line of the Australian 22nd Brigade. At dawn, tanks and artillery were sent on rafts to the opposite bank, and by this time almost half of Yamashita's entire force of 30,000 men had successfully landed in Singapore. Shortly after dawn, groups of Japanese soldiers charging with bayonets in their hands were overwhelmed, and the Australian army's defensive lines began to waver, and the soldiers guarding these lines fled in all directions. "They panicked and fled in small steps," said one of the British officers, "and it was pouring rain, and most of the soldiers' feet were scratched. They waded through rivers, through swamps overgrown with tropical plants, through bushes and onto roads. They threw away all burdens. They threw away rifles and bullets......"

The Japanese routed part of the Australian troops. Other units, such as the 26th Brigade, which guarded the middle of this line around the top of the channel causeway, held out all day, and then, when the enemy rushed over their crumbling flank, they were in danger of being cut off, and they also retreated. Yamashita was so confident of victory that in the evening he walked down the Green Palace, braved the dense artillery fire with his staff, reached the opposite shore by ferry, and personally commanded the final assault on the strait causeway. They took advantage of the darkness to get ashore and found themselves actually walking on corpses.

In the first hours of 9 June, the Japanese were furious, stabbing and slashing along the way until the Australian army resisted a small isolated position, and finally slaughtered all the prisoners.

At dawn, the Japanese swarmed through a one-mile-wide gap in the front line towards the so-called Jurong Line, the second line of defense that the British had established along the western bulge on the island. Now, Percival had to pay the price for concentrating most of his forces on the forward line. With insufficient reserves and no strong rear positions in front of the city, his anxious staff had a premonition in the evening that it was only a matter of time before the Japanese army could run through the island. …,

A few days before the fall of Singapore, General Wavell arrived on the island by seaplane from Java on June 10 in an attempt to avert the catastrophe that lay ahead. One morning, at a meeting at Fort Canning, Wavell and Percival confronted each other, and both sides were furious and verbal. Wavell took out an emotional order he had received from Prime Minister Churchill: "The battle must be fought to the end." Field commanders and senior officers should die with soldiers. The honor of the British Empire was in this place. The Americans are still fighting bloodily and holding on to Luzon, so the honor of our country is here. ”

In Gordon? At Bennett's Forward Command, Wavell urged a counterattack against the attacking Japanese. From time to time, they interrupted their conversations and hid under their desks to avoid bombing raids, and judging by the number of interruptions in conversation, it was clear that the counterattack would not succeed. Nevertheless, Percival published what appeared to be an apologetic passage in Churchill's order, and then ordered a hasty counterattack. At dusk, the counterattack gradually subsided, and the British army suffered a crushing defeat.

By the time the sun rose on June 11, the Japanese had already taken control of half of the island. On the outskirts of the city, the Japanese vanguard engaged the British across an abandoned runway. However, the battle had become a crucial stage for the Japanese army. Realizing that his 30,000-strong force was numerically inferior, Yamashita Bongbun urgently needed to bluff Singapore into a quick surrender: "I was always worried that the British would find out that we were under-armed and undersupplied, forcing me to engage in disastrous street fighting. He slowed down the attack, brought in bombers, and had no idea how quickly the British would be able to resist.

The civil and military officials of the British colonial authorities sat in the bars of the Lavers Hotel, maintaining their dignity; Outside, the streets were crowded with drunken deserters who scribbled on one wall: "Britain is British." Australia is Australian, and Malaya only wants it if it's a son of a bitch. "The damp monsoon was filled with the stench of dead bodies and the smell of wine emanating from the gutter. The Governor, anticipating that the city would be occupied, ordered the destruction of all the sake brewery. 13 June was indeed an unfortunate day for Singapore - even more so for those who were evacuated on the last boat. During that week, almost all but a few of the 50 boats carrying men, women and children were sunk by Japanese bombers and warships blockading the island, and few survivors were rescued by the Japanese.

On this darkest day of the British Empire, Wavell first telegraphed to Churchill that he said, "I fear that the resistance will not last." Then he tried to cheer Percival up: "Your heroic resistance is of great significance, and you should hold out to the end." "The next morning the Japanese cut off the city's water supply. General Bennett, alone deciding not to let the Australian soldiers die in vain, ordered them to save fewer and fewer bullets and shoot only while defending their own ring of defense. This allowed the Japanese to penetrate the weakened lines, sack the Alexandria Military Hospital, brutally stab the wounded with bayonets, and even push the surgeon aside to mutilate the surviving British soldiers who were undergoing emergency surgery.

The next morning, Yamashita's troops made every effort to reinforce their positions on the outskirts of the city, and Yamashita concluded that the time had come to "scare" Singapore into surrendering. "In the spirit of knighthood, we advise you to surrender." He said this at the beginning of his letter to Percival. The letter, rolled in a cardboard cylinder with red, white and blue streamers, was dropped over British positions by 9 a.m. The letter said that Singapore was "completely isolated and was fighting with all its might and valiantly to raise the prestige of Great Britain", and just as the staff officers were poring over the letter at Fort Canning, Wavell sent a telegram giving Percival "the power to decide to cease resistance" as soon as the battle became "pointless". General Percival, who had been inferior in command, weapons, and tactics, was now outwitted in resourcefulness. He had no way of knowing how little ammunition and supplies the enemy had. He was more concerned about the lack of drinking water and the threat of epidemics that killed civilians en masse. A delegation of officers traveled to the Japanese front line in a wrecked car, with a rice flag floating outside one window and a white cloth floating in the other. Yamashita was worried that he was playing a trick to delay the army, and insisted on negotiating only with the commander-in-chief himself...,

On June 14, on the orders of the Japanese, Percival, together with his senior officers, at 6 p.m., braved the unabated heat to drive to the Ford Motor Factory in Bukit Chimah, behind the enemy line. Yamashita was waiting there, his stout body and crisp khaki army uniform, surrounded by his staff officers. A large group of Japanese journalists and news photographers awaited them, ready to record the pre-arranged surrender ceremony.

Percival, with a haggard face, arrived, his bloodshot eyes showing his deep sense of defeat. The British were covered in dirt on their uniforms, and they looked pitiful as they sat down in a row on the other side of an unclothed table. When they learned through an interpreter that this was not a negotiation to discuss the terms of surrender, and thus became even more uneasy, the round-headed Japanese general Huo Ran pointed to the surrender document spread out in front of them on the table and asked rudely: "To sign or not to sign?" Percival, though he was already depressed, was not ready to accept this final humiliation, and was about to get up and leave. However, after consulting with his officers, he was determined to save his soldiers and the citizens of Singapore. At 8:10, in front of the movie camera that shot the camera, he signed the instrument of surrender in humiliation.

In this battle, the Japanese suffered about 15,000 casualties and the British suffered about 27,000 casualties. Japan not only conquered the proud "Lion City", but also smashed the foundations of British power in the Far East. More suffering and death are yet to come! Although Yamashita promised to spare the lives of civilians that night, in an operation that later became customary, many European women and children were arrested and imprisoned in Zhangyi Prison, and large numbers of Chinese were executed without mercy.

Prime Minister's Residence, Tokyo, Japan.

"Yamashita Bongbun, bastard! Doesn't he know what kind of reaction he will provoke from the people of China by doing so? ”

Japanese Prime Minister Ishihara angrily threw the report on the table and roared loudly.

"It was a mistake to let Yamashita Fumi attack Singapore." Nagata Tieshan sighed and said, "The Emperor's ** team avoided attacking Hong Kong and tolerated China's covert support for the Philippines in order to avoid a premature war with China, and now, all these efforts have been in vain." ”

Ishihara came to the window indignantly and looked out, and the streets outside were filled with people cheering and celebrating the victory.

After the Japanese captured Singapore, the Tokyo newspaper proudly proclaimed as the whole country celebrated Japan's greatest military victory: "The overall situation of the Pacific War has been decided." "The Japanese government ordered that each family be given two bottles of beer or rice wine, and that the child be given a bag of candy to celebrate the great victory of the emperor's samurai.

"Japan is still far from a real victory." Ishihara looked at the crowd cheering wildly, sighed and shook his head.

"Calls for war against Japan have been high in China, and the unfortunate events in Singapore are bound to spark anger among its citizens. I estimate that in another month at most, China will go to war against Japan. "Therefore, Japan must not only be prepared militarily, but also be prepared to deal with sudden incidents. ”

"That secret treaty with the government of China was only extended for less than a year." Ishihara took a breath, his face turned red with excitement, "Now the Soviet Union has not yet made a move against China, and once a war with China starts, Japan will have to fight against the three major powers at the same time......"

Nagata Tetsuyama understood Ishihara's worries, and he also knew why he wanted to compare China, which had been looked down upon by the Japanese people before, with Britain and the United States, two great powers.

Today, China's rapid industrialization has become a model for Asian countries. In the 20 years since the end of World War I, China has caught up with and surpassed the industrial powers of the West. From a micro point of view, the development efficiency of China's industry is much higher than that of Japan, and from a macro point of view, China's industrialization can also be said to be advancing by leaps and bounds. After more than 20 years of development, China has successfully established a strong industrial system in the aircraft, automobiles, tractors, steel, chemical and defense industries, and has become the world's second largest industrial power after the United States. It should be emphasized that the short time and scale of China's industrial rise are unprecedented in the history of the world economy, and this is an astonishing leap achieved under the condition of relying entirely on domestic resources and in the external environment of the world economic depression. At present, China's annual production of aircraft is as high as 5,000, and according to the estimates of Japanese experts, China should be able to reach a staggering annual production of 30,000 aircraft during the war. This is the growing industrial strength that even the strong manufacturing capacity of German industry, which was the strongest among the Axis powers, could not resist! In terms of military production capacity, China is actually close to the strength of the United States. …,

Japan is already quite difficult to confront the United States alone, and with China's words, it can almost be said that there is no chance of victory.

"The war between Japan and China was inevitable. However, China was under the control of the Soviet Union and could not fight Japan with all its might, so there was no need to worry too much. "The most important thing for Japan now is how to maintain its existing military superiority and wait for the Soviet Union to enter the war." As long as the Soviet Union entered the war, the situation could be completely reversed. ”

"Both the Army and Navy submitted their 'preemptive' counter-operations plans yesterday." "The Army plans to land on the Shandong Peninsula and quickly capture Beijing, and the Navy's plan is to raid the Chinese naval base in Truk," Ishihara said. ”

"In other words, the Army is replicating Germany's 'blitzkrieg,' and the Navy is trying to replicate a Pearl Harbor-style victory." Nagata Tetsuyama thought for a moment and said.

"That's right." "It's actually a bigger gamble. ”

"Japan has actually been gambling, and there is no way to do it." Nagata Tetsuyama also came to the window, looked at the crowd of people parading and celebrated outside the window, and said, "It's just that this time the bet is too big." ”

"Japan's geographical location is too unfavorable." Ishihara sighed and said, "I really envy the people of China, they can make careful choices and wait, but Japan can't." ”

"Now the people of China have no choice." Nagata Tetsuyama said.

As Tetsuyama Nagata said, the Chinese government in Beijing has really no choice.

Now Beijing is completely surrounded by the sound of popular protests.

"Declare war on Japan!"

"Destroy the Japanese bandits!"

"Down with Japanese imperialism!"

"Hang the executioner Yamashita Bongbun!"

"Avenge the thousands of compatriots in Nanyang who died innocently!"

"Blood debt and blood payment!"

"Declare war! Declare war! ”

"Declare war! Declare war! ”

Yang Yuhan tried to move her feet through the crowd, but she could only swell forward with the flow of people, and at this time, on all sides of her, there were angry crowds everywhere, people from all directions gathered in front of the Free Independence Square, where the Capitol is located, shouting angry slogans.

In front of the Capitol, teams of police officers with shields lined up on a wall, blocking the door of the Capitol. The angry crowd was like a surging ocean wave, Yang Yuhan stood on tiptoe, just in time to see several angry young students striding forward, punching and kicking the shield in the hands of the policeman in front of him, the policeman couldn't resist it, and almost fell to the ground.