Temasek, located at the southern entrance of the Straits of Malacca, across the narrow Straits of Johor and the Malaysian Peninsula, as early as the beginning of the third century has been inhabited on this small island by indigenous people, in the 14th century, there was the establishment of the Sultan of Malacca, and then burned down by the Portuguese in the early 17th century, decaying into a semi-deserted island, in the first year of Chengde, the British East India Company bought this place from the Portuguese for a symbolic price of 100 pounds in order to trade with the Qing Dynasty, with strong force as coercion. He forcibly conscripted tens of thousands of laborers in the Malay Peninsula to build a port and a castle fortress.

Over the years, not only the "Eight Banners" fleet from the Qing Dynasty must come to trade once a year, but also many cargo ships from the Qing Dynasty came to trade, and even the cargo ships of Western countries that stole the South Seas often replenished fresh water and other supplies here, in just a few years, Temasek has developed into the most important port city in the Strait of Malacca, with a permanent population of tens of thousands, in order to defend the sovereignty of this port, the Kingdom of Great Britain spared no effort to set up many forts throughout the port. A battalion of more than 500 troops was stationed in the port, and Viscount George Green was appointed as the first Governor of Temasek in the fifth year of Chengde.

The reason why Temasek can rise at a high speed is because of the large-scale trade with the "Eight Banners Firm", but for some reason, in the past two years, the fleet of the "Eight Banners Firm" has never come again, although there are many cargo ships from the Qing Dynasty who come to trade sporadically, but for the originally prosperous Temasek, it is just a drop in the bucket, and the original prosperity will inevitably decline a little. It is just barely maintaining the operation of the port by providing supplies for the merchant ships of various Western countries, and it is no longer the grand occasion of the gathering of such huge merchants as in previous years.

Temasek's economy is in a depression, but the importance of its strategic position is undiminished, and controlling this island will also hold the Strait of Malacca, the most important passage between the Pacific Ocean and the Indian Ocean. This made Temasek's defenses a little tighter than usual, and the tall lighthouse at the port was always on duty with a squad of soldiers to ensure that it would not be attacked by foreign enemies, and the two medium-sized cargo ships flying the Great Qing Dragon Flag had just emerged on the ocean ten nautical miles away, and the lookout posts on the lighthouses had already delivered the news to the Governor's Palace and the offices of the East India Company.

"Flag and let them stop the ship for inspection!"

On the foredeck, a tall and fat middle-aged man looked at the ship with satisfaction and greed for a while, and then waved his hand and shouted loudly in his voice, this person was none other than Temasek Port Inspector James Kent, a member of the East India Company.

"Stop the boat!"

Although the galloping British dhow cruiser was really shabby, and the total was only equipped with a dozen light guns, after all, it represented the British official, and the two medium-sized cargo ships of the Qing Dynasty that were driving one after the other did not dare to slack off.

"Yo, isn't this Mr. James, I haven't seen you for a year, and you're still so rich, it's really enviable."

Since the opening of the sea ban in the last years of Kangxi, Du Shunsheng began his career in the South Seas, but at that time he was just a fledgling half-grown boy, after nearly 20 years of experience, he is now the owner of two medium-sized cargo ships, and has learned many languages. Very politely, he raised his voice and greeted him in fluent English.

"Hmm."

In the face of Du Shunsheng's warm greeting, James Kent just nodded reservedly, said noncommittally, and followed the springboard hastily set up by the British sailors, led more than a dozen soldiers, and boarded the "Chengfeng" step by step.

"Mr. James, the old rule, these two small ships are bulk cargo, the shipper's list and the list of goods are here, there is no contraband, please take care of it."

As soon as James Kent boarded the "Riding the Wind", Du Shunsheng immediately greeted him with a smile on his face, and while saying flattering words, he stuffed a few pieces of paper and a small cloth bag that had been prepared in advance into James Kent's hand.

"Well, alright, you guys go check in the cabin to see if there's any contraband."

It was not the first time that James Kent had received bribes from merchants of the Qing Dynasty such as Du Shunsheng, and after weighing it, he knew that the silver in the small cloth bag was full of weight, and his mood was suddenly very good, but he did not show it, but quickly stuffed the small cloth bag into his trouser pocket, and waved his hand pretendically, so that the soldiers who followed the ship went to the cabin to go to the cabin.

"Yo, Mr. James, look at what you said, the small ones know the rules, how can they hide any contraband, I won't tell you, this cabin is full of silk, ceramics and other high-end goods, if there is any damage, the small ones are not easy to explain to the owners of the goods, or else, you see ......"

Seeing that the fierce British officers and soldiers were about to go to the cabin with their guns, Du Shunsheng couldn't help but be a little anxious, hurriedly grabbed James Kent, and quietly sent a heavy small cloth bag again.

"Oh, dear Du, don't make an example, go, go back to the boat!"

Since the "Eight Flags Firm" fleet did not come to Temasek, those scattered Qing merchant ships are the most requested guests of the East India Company, the top has already explained, not to offend at will, this is an iron law, as a member of the East India Company, how dare James Kent easily violate, the reason why he insisted on searching before, it was just a pretentious gesture, waiting for Du Shunsheng's bribe again, and now, it is a small bag of silver in hand, James Kent is still not satisfied, Just gave Du Shunsheng a face, and without even conducting a superficial search, he led a group of British soldiers back to the cruiser.

"Phew, damn the dog thing, if you eat the master's, sooner or later you will vomit out!"

Du Shunsheng had been accompanying the departure of the British cruiser with a smile, until the cruiser had gone away, then he scolded hatefully, and then waved his hand, signaling the sailors to continue sailing, and he himself walked into the cabin quickly, went directly to the second floor along the stairway, stopped in front of a very hidden hatch, stretched out his hand and knocked a few times.

A wooden door at the same height as the cabin silently slid open a small crack to the side, and a vigilant eye stared at Du Shunsheng at the small crack, and then pushed open the sliding door, revealing a lot of space inside, and there were more than a dozen big men armed with revolvers who were guarding a middle-aged man in his fifties in the middle, this person was Wang Kuan, the commander of the First Brigade of the Qing Marine Corps!

"Lao Du, what's the situation?"

Seeing that Du Shunsheng had arrived, Wang Kuan, who was originally sitting on the chair, immediately got up, but did not say anything to greet, but asked a straightforward question.

"General Wang rest assured, everything is normal, at least until tomorrow, there will be no special situation."

Du Shun stated that he was the owner of two cargo ships, but in fact, he was a cadre of the Overseas Intelligence Bureau, with the rank of lieutenant colonel, and in recent years, he was responsible for liaising with the local branch of the Overseas Intelligence Bureau in Temasek.

"Well, that's good, please let Lao Du notify me, let the boys outside cheer up, if anyone shows their feet, they will be engaged in military law!"

Although Du Shunsheng had already made a guarantee, Wang Kuan still did not dare to take it lightly, no side, most of the officers and soldiers of the two cargo ships from sailors to merchants were pretended to be marines, although they had practiced many times before the expedition, but Wang Kuan did not dare to guarantee that there would be no mistakes, so he cautiously ordered.

"Yes!"

Since Wang Kuan gave the order, Du Shunsheng didn't dare to be the slightest slack, and hurriedly and respectfully agreed to the promise, and went to arrange relevant matters without mentioning it.

"Send a report to General Ho immediately, saying that our unit has arrived in Temasek on time, and the planned battle plan remains unchanged, and I ask General Ho for instructions."

Wang Kuan ignored Du Shunsheng's departure, and after pondering silently for a moment, he raised his hand and gave the order with a resolute face.

"Report to the commander, Wang Kuan, commander of the 1st Marine Corps Brigade, calling."

At four o'clock in the morning, 80 nautical miles northwest of Temasek, a large fleet was slowly moving southeast, and under the tall mast of the flagship "Calm", the new commander of the South China Sea Fleet, Ho Lin, stood with a solemn face, his eyes staring at the ocean in the distance.

"Read!"

He Lin glanced at the communications officer, but he didn't say much, just spit out a word quietly.

"Yes, Commander Ho Jun Jian, our unit has successfully arrived in Temasek, and will act in accordance with the predetermined battle plan, please Commander Ho make it clear that this telegram, Wang Kuan, commander of the 1st Marine Brigade."

Hearing He Lin's order, the communications officer did not dare to slack off, and hurriedly answered the promise loudly, and hurriedly reported the telegram.

"Call back, agreed!"

As soon as he heard that Wang Kuan had successfully arrived at Temasek, He Lin's face was calm as usual, but there was inevitably a trace of excitement in his eyes......