Chapter 965

“Bang, bang, bang…”

Dense gunfire echoed through Singapore City, as the peaceful night was enveloped in blood and fire.

Felion, who had thought victory was assured, soon received devastating news: they had lost half of their troops in three hours of intense fighting. The soldiers equipped with Thornton firearms had only achieved good results at the beginning before being put on the defensive.

“What the hell is going on? Why was the counterattack smooth at first, but now we’re retreating at every turn?” Felion questioned his subordinate, Lieutenant Grut.

“I’m sorry, Governor, I… I can’t explain it either. These Great Yu soldiers don’t engage in volley fire with us. Instead, they are using skirmish lines to deal with us. Their firearms seem to be able to fire from any position, and the soldiers don’t load them from the front like we do. It seems they are loading the bullets from the breech of the gun,” Grut was stunned, still dazed.

Felion was furious. “Are you making excuses for your incompetence? No army would use such a foolish tactic, and no firearm can be loaded from the breech. It’s like eating with your mouth, not with your butt.”

“But… but it’s true!” Grut’s voice grew softer.

Felion became even angrier. He pushed Grut aside. “I’ll go and meet these Great Yu soldiers myself and see if they are as formidable as you say.”

Taking a team of soldiers with him, Felion quickly arrived at the battle scene. Under the fierce attack of the Great Yu soldiers, the Redcoats were constantly retreating and were now not far from the Governor-General’s Office.

“Governor, the soldiers can’t hold on much longer. The enemy’s firepower is too fierce, and their firearms are more advanced than ours. Our tactics are completely useless against them. They also have a weapon that explodes when thrown, which has caused us to lose many soldiers,” an officer reported upon seeing Felion.

Felion’s expression turned serious as he looked towards the firelight. Due to the fighting, firelight was everywhere in Singapore City. In his view, the Great Yu soldiers were nimbly moving through the light. The way these soldiers fired was indeed different. They seemed to be able to shoot from any position, and the bullets were indeed loaded from the breech of the gun.

“Governor, do you believe what we said now?” Grut, noticing Felion’s shock, proved that he was not mistaken.

A bead of sweat appeared on Felion’s forehead. He admitted that he had underestimated the combat power of the Great Yu soldiers this time. Although his soldiers were brave, it was a fact that they were at a disadvantage in this battle.

“Order the entire army to retreat!” Felion said through gritted teeth. If they continued, they would be completely annihilated.

Upon receiving the order, the Redcoat officers immediately had their soldiers retreat from the South Gate to the harbor, where they had five warships anchored, which would be enough for them to escape to India.

The Redcoats’ withdrawal was quickly discovered by Liu Chen, as the enemy’s firepower was noticeably weakening. Thinking of this, he immediately ordered the Marines to continue to press their advantage. “Yu Yongliang, take your men and pursue them. These Redcoats must be trying to escape by sea, don’t let them have their way,” Liu Chen shouted.

Yu Yongliang nodded and called his men to charge towards the South City. At the same time, Liu Chen had the bugler blow the charge bugle. The soldiers charged fiercely towards the South City amidst the clear sound of the bugle. In just one hour, they completely took control of Singapore City.

At this point, Yue Yun sent a command for the warships in the Johor Strait to cooperate with the Marines in a pincer attack on the remaining Redcoats, while he was responsible for encircling and suppressing the mercenaries trained by the British in the city. They had already seen the Spanish mercenaries on Bohol Island.

In fact, when occupying colonies, European nations often lacked the troops to fight local natives for long periods, as their colonies were spread across the world, forcing them to disperse their limited military forces. As a result, training local mercenaries became a method for them. When they attacked the Spanish Royal City, they captured over eight thousand mercenaries, all of whom were local natives. Similarly, in order to control India, the British also trained a large number of mercenaries, and it was the presence of these mercenaries that allowed them to successfully defeat the Indian princely states.

There were many Indian mercenaries hired by the British in Singapore City. These people had dark skin and wore khaki uniforms, but their equipment was very simple. Compared to the strict discipline of the British soldiers, these mercenaries were much more disorganized. When the mercenaries realized that the British had fled, they quickly chose to surrender under the attack of the Naval Marines. About two thousand mercenaries threw down their smoothbore guns and chose to become prisoners.

As the city was pacified, Liu Chen had already reached the battery. Before him, the soldiers led by Yu Yongliang had successfully captured the battery. The British, desperate to escape, did not care about the loss of the battery, but their negligence caused a fatal mistake. The Great Yu soldiers who had occupied the battery skillfully operated the cannons and fired at the British warships in the sea. Two warships that had not had time to leave the harbor were sunk by the cannon fire.

The three remaining warships fled desperately towards the open sea.

“We won, we won…” The soldiers cheered loudly. At this time, the sky was already turning a pale grey, and dawn had arrived.

Liu Chen’s tense face finally broke into a smile. The Naval Marines’ mission was complete. In one night, they had finally conquered Singapore City, including capturing the battery and the harbor. The warm sea breeze blew in. Immersed in joy, Liu Chen looked down at the strait before him. Across the harbor were more islands, which acted as a barrier blocking the shipping lanes through Malacca. It must be said that the British had a very precise vision. The wide strait opposite Singapore was indeed the only passage for merchant and warships. Just by charging a mooring fee to passing merchant ships, they could make a fortune.

While he was contemplating, Yu Yongliang walked over and said, “Three ships escaped. What do we do?”

“Our warships are not just for show.” As soon as he finished speaking, ten hybrid-powered warships sailed out from the south side of the strait. The three British warships were right on their course.

“Boom, boom, boom…”

The prepared Great Yu warships were the first to act. Using their steam power, the ten warships quickly turned their broadsides to face the escaping British warships. In the roar of the cannon fire, the three British warships successively became burning fireballs on the sea. The British soldiers on board jumped into the sea one after another, and the blue water was filled with them. “Heh, this is what you get. If it weren’t for you people supporting the Merchants’ Council, we wouldn’t have sacrificed so many soldiers,” Liu Chen said bitterly. Although they had won this time, he knew that the price they paid was not light.