On February 24, the 39th year of Zhichang, this should have been an ordinary day.

The Germans in Scandinavia in Northern Europe were engaged with the Anglo-French Combined Expeditionary Force, but at the moment it seems to be at a stalemate. The expeditionary force had no plans to take the initiative for the time being, and the Germans behaved rather unusually - low-key and passive.

Maybe the Germans were gathering strength and preparing for a major offensive?

The expeditionary force was uneasy, for they had not taken advantage of the slightest advantage in the previous month's engagement.

In the far east, Singapore is also peaceful in the Straits of Malacca, arguably the most important fortress of the British Empire in the Far East.

On this island of more than 600,000 people, there are as many as 400,000 ethnic Chinese.

As the Ming became more and more aggressive, the British colonial authorities became more and more worried, and they temporarily introduced a control policy - requiring everyone to surrender guns for self-defense and hunting, and no pointed knives larger than eight inches in length.

This naturally caused a lot of dissatisfaction, and the people were full of resentment.

Of course, for the British officers and soldiers, these were just floating clouds.

Don't be unconvinced, the master of our British Empire is the master, except for eating and drinking all day long, there is nothing else!

In the afternoon, pilots of the 36th Torpedo Bomber Squadron of the Royal Air Force stationed at Seletar Air Base were watching a movie in a cinema.

Drinking a cold glass bottle of Coca-Cola and watching the newly released "A Yankee in Oxford", not to mention how nourishing this little day is.

What they are watching is actually a movie made by Fox in the United States, in which the free-spirited American actor is frustrated in the university town of Oxford, England, and contains a lot of mockery of conservative and traditional Britain.

"Prejudice, how funny, these Americans are actually more arrogant than we are."

"Yankees are so confident......"

Just as the pilots were complaining about the plot, the projector suddenly turned off, and the wide projection cloth suddenly darkened.

Then, the sound of a battle siren ringing bell also came from outside the hallway.

Everyone was stunned for a moment, feeling inexplicable - they had never met anyone who suddenly sounded the battle alarm during their vacation.

After hurrying to the airbase's briefing room, the commander, Major Arnold, waved his hand and motioned for the pilots to come forward and pick up the classified document bag on the table.

Everyone stepped forward one after another to take it out, then tore open the seal and took out the documents inside.

Major Arnold put his hands behind his back and said solemnly: "Lads, I have the unfortunate news that the Chinese have delivered an ultimatum to us. Needless to say, the British Empire will not back down, and His Excellency the Prime Minister has unequivocally refused. You haven't forgotten your flying and attacking skills, have you? ”

He habitually came up with a British humor, but everyone present had complicated faces and no one responded.

Although the document was not a battle order, it merely informed the pilots to prepare for battle, informed the intelligence services of the estimated size of the incoming enemy force, and had them fly to the Kuantan base to help transport the aerial torpedoes.

However, it's an ICN that is almost all out, and it's scary to think about.

"I don't think there's anything to be afraid of, we have 100,000 troops here (in the Malay Peninsula) and five battleships in the Z fleet." A big-hearted pilot said casually.

"As the defensive side, we have the upper hand." Major Arnold said calmly: "Take it easy, they are not invincible. ”

Excluding some overconfident, empty-minded people and overly worried and timid people, the Western powers' perception of the Ming Dynasty tended to be stable and unified after the twenties.

In the mainstream view, this is a populous country with a strong army and a strong navy, a well-established and well-developed bureaucracy – and of course a decent mobilization capacity.

Even if, according to the politicians who are full of trains, the average combat power of the Ming army is only half that of the Western powers, then it is only easy for them to drive out the Western forces and dominate the Far East when they are fighting at home.

In this perception, Europeans have always been worried about when the Ming Dynasty will suddenly rise up and sweep the Southeast Asian colonies, but it has dragged on to this day.

Seriously, there is a strange feeling - finally waiting for this day, as if it is relief.

Similarly, the Ming people often examine and compare the differences between their own country and the Western powers, and there are many arguments in this regard, worrying that their own technology is far inferior to that of the West, and then worrying that it is difficult to develop abroad.

In the final analysis, everything is based on the fists.

The long-standing situation of hemp stalks fighting wolves is finally coming to an end.

Just about two hours earlier, Gao Qingkui had instructed the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to send a telegram to the Legation in London, and the Ming Minister to Britain had immediately delivered an ultimatum to the British Imperial Foreign Office.

The British forces were required to withdraw from the Malay and Brunei kingdoms, and the Malay states and the Brunei kingdoms should be completely independent and become vassals of China.

Thirty years ago, Britain signed the Treaty of Siam with Siam, gaining suzerainty and jurisdiction over the four states of the Malay Peninsula.

About 50 years ago, the British forced Brunei to sign the Treaty of Brunei, which left Brunei's succession to the throne and diplomatic rights determined by the British, which was equivalent to becoming a vassal.

Shortly after, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Viscount Halifax, and Frederick received the Minister with an ugly face and refused.

"Sir, it is impossible for us to accept such an unreasonable demand, and I think that your Imperial Majesty should seriously consider the consequences of committing force to the British Empire."

The latter replied calmly, "Thank you for your reminder, Your Majesty has always made careful decisions, and her decision with the imperial court has been very clear. ”

"That's a shame." Frederick said helplessly.

"If you change your mind, you can let us know at any time, and it's a good thing to avoid 'fighting each other'."

Around the same time, the same thing happened in Amsterdam.

The Ming envoy to the Netherlands sent an ultimatum to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, demanding that it renounce the colonial rule of the Dutch East Indies and instead make it independent and become a vassal of China.

The Dutch likewise refused.

How could the once prosperous sea coachman be reluctant to give up such a resource-rich colony now that he was left with only such a resource-rich colony?

Queen Wilhelmina is already anxious these days, because the fragile peace between the German Society and Britain and France has been shattered, don't look at the fact that now the Germans are only wrestling with Britain and France in Northern Europe, God knows when they will launch an offensive on the Western Front.

Wave after wave of unevenness, and now, Mingren is also going to do it.

It's too hard for the Netherlands to survive in the cracks.

The Ming court was already convinced that the British and Dutch would not give in, so they had already prepared documents declaring war and diplomatic memoranda during the war.

At 16:00 on 24 February, the ministers in London and Amsterdam officially handed over the two documents, and from now on they were in a state of war.

Obviously, the plans of the old men of Zhengmi Ziqi are completely bankrupt.

The Z fleet sent to the Far East did not play a deterrent value, and the cabinet originally estimated that it would be able to shock the Ming Dynasty for at least a few months, but it did not expect that it would have no effect.

"Then let the war test their (Z Fleet's) worth! Singapore will never fall. At this time, Winston, who was still in a state of leisure, let out such a bold statement.

A little later, the Ming Legation in the United States also submitted a memorandum.

It details the demands of the war at hand and possible actions, advance notice to avoid misunderstandings and frictions, and procedures for what to do in the event of an accident.

At the same time, on the turquoise sea in the south of Annam......

The pilots on the routine patrol mission were filled with emotion, and saw a huge fleet of countless ships from beginning to end on the glittering ocean heading southwest.

Countless tracks are connected together, like a snow-white silk scarf that is too long to see, and the ship has become a pattern that embellishes this long silk scarf.

Now, the entire fleet is only about a hundred nautical miles from its destination, and the landing operation is expected to begin in the early hours of the next morning.

The Ming army will land in two places, the first is Pattani, the southernmost part of Thai territory, which is the safest and can be carried out ashore more calmly; The second is Kota Bharu, the northernmost port city of the Malay states.

The Anglo-Indian army had a relatively adequate defensive line at Kota Bharu, but lacked sufficient troops. Once the port city was captured, the Ming army would then be able to ensure logistical worries.

The troops that landed in Pattani would then move westwards and then south along the flat terrain of the peninsula's west coast; The troops that landed in Kota Bharu would attack directly south along the east coast.

The Eastern Front troops include: the 1st Marine Brigade, the 38th Division, the 2nd Motorized Infantry Brigade, the 1st Independent Assault Vehicle Battalion, and the 4th Engineering Brigade.

Zhou Changfeng knew that this would be a sleepless night for the vast majority of people, but he didn't feel nervous at all, just a little anticipation and excitement.

However, it was enough to make it difficult to toss and turn, so he asked the military doctor for a sleeping pill to ensure that he could cope with the rest of the war with the best energy.

The next day, at 6:07 a.m. Jingshi Tianfu time, the Ming fleet approached the sea off Kota Bharu.

The 1st Marine Brigade, which landed as the first echelon, undertook the most important task, and the whole brigade felt that their hearts were beating faster and faster, and they unconsciously held the weapons in their hands tightly.

On the battleship Zhenguan, Qiu Peisheng asked Zhou Changfeng to give a speech before the battle to boost morale.

"Can fleet communications be limited to broadcasting only to my brigade?"

"Of course, to all the officers and men of the fleet."

The chief officer is still there, but he goes over him to preach to everyone?

Zhou Changfeng was a little hesitant, "This... Not quite right? ”

Qiu Peisheng, who was smiling, said indifferently: "What's wrong? Let the contemptible hear what you have to say. ”

They were all at the door, and the radio silence was lifted.

Zhou Changfeng, who was in a complicated mood, took over the microphone, and at this moment, there were hundreds of thousands of soldiers who were about to be on the battlefield waiting.

"I am the head of the 1st Marine Brigade, and I am now addressing all the officers and men participating in the war."

"I think everyone has understood the goal of this war, but many people only know the superficial meaning of this war, which is to take rich resources and let our country benefit North Korea."

"But I'm going to tell you a deeper meaning now. In the past, we have fallen behind the world for various reasons, but we managed to catch up after a brief period of consternation. ”

"During that time, although we did not lose our backbone and break our backbone, we lost the pride of the Heavenly Empire."

"Now, we need to regain our self-confidence, which is not a lie, but a detachment and arrogance that is buried deep in our hearts and can be manifested without words."

"As for the question of history, it is up to historians to study it. And we are soldiers, and now we are facing an enemy with a mantis arm as a car, and what we have to do is very simple, that is, - crush them! ”

In the bridge of the battleship Zhenguan, there was silence, and all the officers were silent.

Nearly ten seconds later, Qiu Peisheng's several clapping hands broke the silence.

He exhaled lightly and said meaningfully, "The Emperor and His Majesty today really can't be wrong. ”

At this time, more than a hundred planes from Annam, Gia Dinh (Saigon), flew over the fleet.

Several formations of fighters, light bombers, and dive bombers swooped down like flocks of eagles towards Kota Bharu, which was only a dozen kilometers away.

The roar of the engines came from the sky one after another, drowning out the hula of the cleaving waves as the fleet sailed.

Later, the bombs were as dense as hail and smashed on the beachhead and deep positions arranged by the British and Indian troops.

From the telescope, it can be seen that a series of explosion points have sprung up on the shoreline, one after another, as if the red firecrackers of the earth have been magnified thousands of times.

102 Type 36 light bombers dropped 816 100kg anti-personnel blast bombs, and 35 Type 37 dive bombers dropped 70 250kg armor-piercing blasting bombs.

The Anglo-Indian defensive line, which had been identified by reconnaissance aircraft and intelligence agents, had almost broken down at the outset and was in flames.

At 6:40 a.m., the sky dawned, and the sun rose over the eastern horizon, shining brightly.

Several advance detachments of the reconnaissance battalion of the 1st Marine Brigade boarded the No. 1 reconnaissance boat, and under the impetus of 350 horsepower diesel engines, the aluminum alloy speedboats sailed to the coast.

Slightly slower than the advance detachment were three minesweepers, who were to clear the waters near the landing site under the cover of their own naval firepower.

The defense of Kota Bharu was the 8th Brigade of the Anglo-Indian 9th Infantry Division, which had suffered nearly 200 casualties from previous air strikes, and had not yet recovered from the fierce shelling.

"Boom! Rumble! Rumble! Rumble! ”

The 12-inch, 384mm anti-explosive bombs fired from the Zhenguan and Yonghui smashed into the position of the 8th Infantry Brigade like Thor's falling hammer, and the explosion of huge kinetic energy and dozens of kilograms of explosives was indestructible.

The I-beams, steel plates, cement blocks, and logs that had been used to construct the semi-permanent fortifications were blown into flying fragments by the huge shock wave, and then scattered like heavenly maidens.

Seeing the blue signal flare fired by the advance detachment of the reconnaissance battalion on the beachhead, Zhou Changfeng stared intently with a telescope, and then ordered: "Landing force action, first echelon, go." ”

It was at this moment that a sharp air defense siren suddenly sounded.

"Enemy planes have been spotted coming! 125 direction, height 2,000, more than 10 single-engine and seven double-engine. ”

(End of chapter)