Chapter 1088

“Commander Lei, the British have surrendered!” On the ironclad, Liu Chen pointed at the British soldiers coming out of the trenches. These s

“Commander Lei, the British have surrendered!”

On the ironclad, Liu Chen pointed at the British soldiers coming out of the trenches. These soldiers all had their hands raised above their heads, and a white flag was held aloft.

Lei Ming also saw this scene, and a smile gradually bloomed on his face. Although fighting was a soldier’s duty, no one wanted to see their soldiers die on the battlefield.

“Thanks to His Majesty. If it weren’t for this half-year blockade, we would not have been able to take India with such minor casualties.” Lei Ming’s expression was excited.

Patting Liu Chen’s arm heavily, he then said, “Let’s go, get on shore. We are going to accept the surrender of the European allied forces.”

With that, he laughed loudly.

There was also a smile in Liu Chen’s eyes. India was the most difficult British stronghold in Southeast Asia to conquer. Now that this stronghold had been occupied, it meant that all of Southeast Asia had been incorporated into the Empire. From now on, Southeast Asia would be the Empire’s back garden.

He signaled to the first mate, and the warship sailed towards the port of Calcutta with the sound of a whistle.

In the allied forces’ trench position, Chang Yuzhu was vigilantly watching the British soldiers who were coming up from the trenches one by one.

The British’s surrender was somewhat unexpected to him. He had thought that they would not be able to take the trenches without a bloody battle. But it was clear that he had overestimated the British’s will to resist in a desperate situation.

Faced with a war that they could not possibly win, the Europeans chose to surrender.

Cautiously monitoring the surrendering British, Chang Yuzhu ordered the soldiers to separate and guard these surrendered captives, and at the same time, guard the officers separately.

The purpose of this was to prevent the enemy’s officers from uniting the soldiers and to avoid unnecessary chaos.

While they were busy, Lei Ming and Liu Chen, who had just come ashore at the pier, quickly arrived at the front line. At this time, Chang Yuzhu walked over, saluted, and said, “Commander, all the allied forces’ soldiers have surrendered. Excluding the dead soldiers, a total of forty-one thousand people have surrendered.”

Lei Ming returned the salute. He said, “You have performed very well. I will ask for a reward for you from His Majesty. Where is the supreme commander of the allied forces now?”

“They have been held separately. I will bring them over now.” Chang Yuzhu replied. He then instructed the soldiers beside him to go and get them.

A moment later, the officers of the five nations, including Butler, were all brought in front of Lei Ming.

“Commander, this is Butler, the commander of the allied forces. The others are the highest commanding officers of their respective countries.” Chang Yuzhu said, pointing at the dejected Butler.

Lei Ming’s eyebrows raised. There was a time when they were helpless in the face of British provocation, but now, these British could only humbly bow their heads in front of them.

“Commander Butler, you should now understand how foolish it is to fight the Empire. If you had handed over Calcutta earlier, we wouldn’t have had to go through such an unpleasant incident,” Lei Ming said in a calm voice.

After his words fell, the interpreter translated this passage to Butler.

“Those politicians are indeed foolish, but I will not admit that this is a defeat for us soldiers. If we had your weapons, no one knows who would have won or lost,” Butler said. He was very unwilling to surrender this time, because even if he could return to Europe, this defeat would be an indelible stain on his life.

Lei Ming laughed loudly when he heard this. He said, “You still don’t understand one thing: technological strength is a country’s combat capability. Were you holding fire-hardened sticks when you conquered America? All you are lamenting is that the roles have now been reversed.”

Butler fell silent. After a long time, he sighed and said, “I hope you can keep your promise and let us return to Europe.”

“That is natural. Our imperial soldiers have always kept their word. But this will have to wait until the second round of negotiations is over.” Lei Ming said.

With so many European soldiers captured in the Battle of India, and at the same time, with all of their interests in Southeast Asia gone, the Europeans would surely return to the negotiating table. At that time, it would be time to redraw the global spheres of influence.

Butler’s heart was filled with shame. He naturally understood that after a war, the exchange of interests was inevitable.

After having the soldiers take the officers away, Lei Ming looked at the city of Calcutta in the distance. This city on the land of India had a European style.

But from now on, this city would formally belong to the Empire. After Butler announced the surrender, the British soldiers in Calcutta also chose to surrender.

After inspecting the battlefield, Lei Ming and Liu Chen entered Calcutta. At this point, the British soldiers here had already been replaced by imperial soldiers.

Because the British chose to surrender, this place did not suffer any major damage. It was as if this place had never been a battlefield.

Especially the white tower in the center of Calcutta, which was not damaged at all. This white tower was the British’s Governor’s Office.

The white tower was completely white, with a dome in the center and a hexagonal white city wall around it. There was a spire on each corner of the city wall. It was said that the British built the white tower after they had established a firm foothold in India, so the white tower was first used as a bastion.

“The British’s many years of hard work have now all fallen into the Empire’s hands. Their Queen must be going mad with anger.” Lei Ming’s mood was very good as he walked on the road paved with green stone slabs.

“That’s for sure. This Indian subcontinent has a population of over a hundred million and can be said to be a huge market. Most importantly, this place has fertile land for thousands of li, and the grain output is rich. After losing this place, Britain’s vitality will surely be greatly damaged. And for the Empire, we have not only gained a market to sell our goods but also a source of grain. This is enough to raise the standard of living of the Empire’s people to a new level.” Liu Chen was ecstatic. His original purpose for joining the army was very simple: to live a good life.

He still thought so now, but for the Empire to become as rich as the current European countries, they not only had to produce their own food but also needed the colonies to provide them with resources.

Only when resources were abundant could they completely shake off their former poverty.

As the two of them were talking, they walked into the Governor’s Office.

At this point, the place had already been cleaned up by the soldiers. Nicholas, the Governor of Calcutta, had also become their prisoner. This place was now their temporary public office. Sitting in the former governor’s office, Lei Ming’s face was filled with a triumphant smile.

However, his smile soon froze, as he remembered the intelligence provided by the secret guards. He then said to Chang Yuzhu, who was with him, “Cao Kun fled to Burma, but there might still be some remaining traitors in Calcutta. Send soldiers to arrest them. It’s time to deal with these traitors.”

“Yes, Commander.” Chang Yuzhu responded and immediately had the soldiers search the entire city. They were to arrest and interrogate any remnants of the Merchant Parliament.