Chapter 48: Surrender
"Colonel, do you want to challenge the whole United Kingdom? I tell you, its wrath is not something you can bear, and it will burn you all up, leaving not one behind. Being mocked by a Chinese made Tsumzi angry, but there were no consequences.
"Colonel, I advise you to put away your white superiority set, so that we can communicate better. As for your homeland, it is a tiger in the eyes of others, but in our eyes it is just a paper tiger. As for its wrath, we have not feared, we are, and we will never be. Ma Angelica said righteously, and at the same time added a sentence in his heart: I can extinguish it by soaking in urine.
"Ignorance! Arrogant! Ramsay roared, and the contempt of a barbarian in the United Kingdom made him unacceptable.
"Colonel, the ignorant and arrogant one is precisely you." Shen Xing also joined the ranks of "humiliating" British colonels. "If you can't clearly understand your situation, and you dare to ask for a price here, aren't you ignorant? Obviously defeated in the war, you still have such a tough attitude, trying to hit the stone with an egg, what are you not arrogant? Your ignorance and arrogance will only lead you and your troops to a desperate situation. As you said, let more of you mothers in England lose their sons, women lose their husbands, and children lose their fathers. β
"I don't believe you won't have casualties!" Lieutenant colonels also joined the warband. These "murderers" who killed nearly 200 Britons dared to speak out, which made Harrington angry.
"Unfortunately for you, so far, there have been no casualties in our army caused by you." Shen Xing's tone was very proud, but his heart was very depressed. There is only one person injured in the Liberation Army, and that is themselves, or caused by their own people, which is really unlucky!
The two British officers and the two guards behind them all showed a "you blow water" expression. Ramsey said disdainfully: "This colonel, honesty is the minimum morality of a soldier!" β
"Although it is difficult to convince people of this era, it is a fact. The Colonel in front of you, the speedboat squad that sank your warship, was personally participated in and commanded. In this attack we dispatched four speedboats, and in the end not only completed the mission, but also did not damage a single one, the only consumption was a few rockets. Living examples are in front of you, but you don't know them. A group of miscellaneous troops defeated the regular army of the "Empire on which the sun never sets", and Shen Xingshi was excited when he thought of the results of this battle, and he unconsciously "leaked" when he spoke.
"Ahem, ahem." Ma Angelica coughed twice and stopped Shen Xing's teasing, Shen Xing immediately woke up and quickly turned the topic back on track. "Now is not the time to discuss the number of casualties on our side, but to help you British people to recognize the current facts, not to have unrealistic illusions, to put yourself in the right position, and to strengthen the study of policy......"
"Ahemβahemβ" Angelica coughed even louder.
"Oh, this paragraph doesn't need to be translated." Shen Xing stopped doing political and ideological work. Ma Angelica was afraid that he would go off topic again, so he took over the right to speak. "Do you still expect someone to save you? I'm afraid there are only more than 100 British troops in the city of Guangzhou, right? If they dare to come, we will only take more than a hundred more prisoners. Stretching out his hand, Ramsay, who wanted to interject, was calm for a while, "You want to say that you still have more than 10,000 troops in the north?" They are still having fun with the Qing government's troops in Tianjin! There is no time to care about you, and even if they hear from you and send reinforcements, it will be a month away. Do you think you still have that much time? β
"We British soldiers will not give in, and you will have to pay the price if you want to defeat us completely." Colonel Ramsay said hatefully.
"Really? I don't think so. Ma Angelica touched his chin, "We don't need to attack your position, we just need to trap you here." I'm sure you don't have much fresh water with you, and when your people die of dehydration, we'll just come and collect the bodies. Of course, I don't think that the British soldiers will hold out until that time, and they will take the initiative to surrender to us, and you can't stop you if you want to.
Ramsey had nothing to say, his hole cards were seen by others, and he had no qualifications to bargain at all. Now the only way out is to surrender, otherwise when the fresh water is drunk, you will lose control of the troops. So his tone softened, "This matter is very big, and I still have to discuss it with others." β
"Okay, I'll give you two hours, and I hope you will reply by six o'clock, and if there is no response after the time, we will not contact you again." After saying that, Ma Angelica led the people back.
At 5:20 a.m., Lieutenant Colonel Ralph Hall again came to the position of the Liberation Army and conveyed Colonel Ramsay's reply: the Colonel agreed to surrender to the Liberation Army, but demanded that the Liberation Army make a guarantee that the prisoners would not be killed, that they would be treated humanely, and that the wounded prisoners should be treated. After all, the survivors are civilized people in the 21st century, and respect for human rights is the minimum morality, so Ma Angelica agreed to the request of the British. When Shen Xing, he also lost no time in publicizing the consistent policy of our army: the Liberation Army will give preferential treatment to prisoners and will effectively ensure the safety of their lives and private property.
It was almost dusk, and even if the British surrendered immediately, they would not be able to return to the base before dark. Moreover, the prisoner camp at the base is being coordinated, and some empty barracks are to be vacated to accommodate these British prisoners, and these tasks cannot be completed in a short time, so Ma Angelica asked the British to camp in the desert tonight and carry out the surrender ceremony early tomorrow morning. In order to appease the British, Ma Angelica ordered the British to be sent fresh water that they desperately needed.
At nightfall, piles of bonfires were lit on the beach, and some of the troops were set up on the beach on both sides of the British camp so that they could keep an eye on the British. However, the latter now has no way to go to heaven and no way to enter the ground, and the Guangfu Army is not afraid of what tricks they will play.
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As soon as the sun came out the next day, the British began to pack their belongings and prepare to move to the prisoner camp. Lieutenant Colonel Hall once again acted as a facilitator, arranging the process of the surrender ceremony with Lee Sang-long.
After eight o'clock, after both sides had breakfast, the surrender ceremony officially began. Led by Colonel Ramsay, British officers marched out of the camp in a procession, followed by musicians and standard-bearers, and marched towards the Liberation Army in unison to the melodious melody of the "March of the Grenadiers".
The Liberation Army also formed a phalanx, quietly waiting for the arrival of the British. Unlike the dejected expressions of the British, the survivors were all beaming with triumphant joy. Looking at the Briton who was slowly approaching, the corners of Ma Angelica's mouth, which had always shown himself as a cool brother, were also slightly upturned.
Ramsey walked in front of Ma Angelica, first saluted a military salute, Ma Angelica then returned a military salute, and then Ramsey took off his saber, held it in both hands and handed it to Ma Angelica. "On behalf of the Canton Squadron of the Far East Fleet of the Royal Navy and the 3rd Battalion of the King's Royal Rifles, I formally surrender to the Chinese Liberation Army."
Ma Angelica grabbed the command knife, "Our department officially accepts the surrender of your department." As soon as the words fell, the surrounding Guangfu troops let out a tsunami-like cheer, and the survivors waved their hats and weapons excitedly, and the sound of "long live" was endless. Amid the cheers, the British officers handed over their command knives one after another, and the flag bearers lowered their flags flat, a process that was recorded by Xie Sen and Dulary with cameras and DVDs. The British officers bowed their heads in shame when they saw the Chinese taking pictures with a camera they had never seen before.
The crowd watching the ceremony from a distance was mixed with some local aborigines, wearing helmet hats and short-sleeved shirts, Fang Cong was particularly conspicuous. Seeing the British officer handing over the command knife to Ma Angelica, he asked Ma Jin beside him curiously, "What kind of custom is this?" β
"Surrender means surrender." Ma Jin often mingled with him during this time, got along well, and often explained to him the behavior habits of the survivors.
"Oh!" Fang Cong suddenly realized. At this time, the cheers rang out, and he also joined in the cheers, and he didn't feel that there was anything rebellious in shouting "Long live the Liberation Army". He is now following the Liberation Army with all his heart, and he originally thought that the Liberation Army and the foreigners were in a group, but he didn't expect to meet each other instead. At that time, he was frightened when he heard the news, and thinking that the Qing Dynasty, which had a million-strong army, was defeated by more than 10,000 British, Master Fang had the idea of slipping away. It was Ma Jin who told him that the Liberation Army would win, which dispelled his thoughts. Unexpectedly, the Guangfu Army's force was so good, and nearly 1,000 Yingyi were defeated in two days, which made him feel happy to know that he had leaned on a towering tree.
Today he is leading the people to work. Yesterday evening, the news that the British were preparing to surrender was transmitted back to the base, and the management committee immediately arranged for the recruitment of civilian husbands, and the specific handling was handed over to Fang Congze. The Guangfu Army's hired labor was always well paid, and the people of Xin'an enthusiastically applied for recruitment, and finally recruited 200 people and more than a dozen mules and donkeys to help carry the booty.
After a brief surrender ceremony, groups of British troops left the camp. When he applied for the trip, he worked with Lieutenant Colonel Hall to count the number of people and make a register. Prisoners were required to carry only their own belongings and clothing, and were not allowed to possess weapons. The collected rifles, gunpowder, and baggage were piled up like a hill. The sailors on the Palm Tree also disembarked, and the two warships became the biggest trophies of the Liberation Army, and the Navy had taken over the Palm Tree, preparing to tow it back to the Navy dock with the Xiangmihu. As for the Cool, we have to wait until the war with the British is over and then find a way to salvage it.
The bodies of the British soldiers who had fallen in battle were collected, then identified by the British soldiers, identified, wrapped in white cloth, and finally buried by the people in a large pit near the position of the Liberation Army, and a wooden sign was planted in front of the tomb that read "Tomb of the British Fallen in Battle".
The captives marched in a line of four, and they were to their original destination, the main base of the Liberation Army, but as prisoners. Everyone from colonels to privates could only walk, and only the seriously wounded could enjoy the treatment of being carried along, and the soldiers of the Liberation Army walked on both sides with rifles with bayonets open, and their expressions were relaxed as if they were on an outing.
Suddenly a whistle sounded a tune, the melody was cheerful and rhythmic, clearly a Western-style march, and the steps of the captives unconsciously slowly closed to the beat. Ma Angelica looked at the subwoofer carried by a soldier not far in front of him, and said with a smile: "This song is very fast with the scene in front of you!" Who came up with the idea? β
The horse that followed behind made a gesture of merit. "It's me!"
Shen Xingshi also smiled and said: "I hope that this Colonel Ramsay is also as obedient as Colonel Nicholson, so that we can add a few hundred free strong laborers." β
"This should be the tradition of the British army, when you are a prisoner, you have the consciousness of being a prisoner." Li Shanglong continued. Thinking that the "feat" of the Japanese was completed by their own side ahead of schedule, the three of them looked at each other and smiled.
At the back of the procession, the men followed closely behind with their shoulders and backs, and the mules and donkeys carried bundles of foreign guns on their backs, all beaming with joy. Looking at the old man who was high in the past walking in front with his head down, a sense of pride arose, and he was honored to participate in this operation.