At around 7:10, at Xingzhou Pier, all the ships of the "American Evacuation Fleet" had completed berthing. The American 10,000-ton cruise ship and the 10,000-ton merchant ship from Xuebingjun were at the top of the queue. In front, on the outside of them, there were more than thirty ships of various types lined up. The sailors worked nervously to build bridges between the ships, and the escort fleet rested on the outermost side. Among them, the ship served as The command ship's heavy patrol was ranked last,
In the eyes of Colonel Grant, who was in charge of commanding this operation, everything had been normal so far. However, when he and a dozen Marines passed by the heavy patrol ship and passed a dozen large and small merchant ships, they had just stepped onto the dock. An accident happened,
At this time, on the Sin Chew Pier, the British stood three steps, one post, five steps and one sentry, as if they were facing a powerful enemy, because as early as an hour ago, the gunfire in the city kept ringing. Te thought the Japanese had already invaded the outskirts of the city and that the British were doing this to protect the evacuation of overseas Chinese, so he didn't feel anything strange.
Bai Sihua had already stationed the most elite regiment at Xingzhou Pier. In his opinion, having this elite royal regiment armed to the teeth and stationed at the pier was enough to intimidate those Chinese people from Guangzhou who had never seen the big world.
After Grant landed, he was eager to know what was going on with the gunfire in the city. When he saw a British major approaching with more than a dozen people, he quickly went up to him. After introducing himself, he asked directly : "Sir, where is Consul General Mitterrand? Why didn't I see him?"
Mitterrand was the consul general of the local U.S. consulate in Singapore and the general person in charge of the evacuation operation in Singapore. This was a simple question, but the major couldn't answer it. Of course, he might not have thought about it at all. To answer this question, Mitterrand had been stalling for time because of President Roosevelt's special care, hoping to join the Chinese in Singapore and Malaysia before taking action together. However, as the flames of war burned on the street where the U.S. Consulate was located, he and the Chinese who had already convened The American expatriates who got up have no chance to go out.
So far, the battle surrounding the U.S. consulate has been the most intense.
Whether it is the British Army's "Great Retreat from Singapore" or the Xubing Army's "Singapore-Malaysian Chinese Rescue", the key to its implementation lies with the Americans. The Xuebing Army has reached a tacit understanding with the US government, but the British are preparing to dominate. But now, no matter what the Americans have planned, in fact they have lost the right to decide.
"Colonel, Commander Bai Sihua asked me to give this to you. I'm sorry, your fleet has been requisitioned by us." The British Major answered the question and directly took out the "Requisition Order" that Bai Sihua had issued to him early.
Grant was shocked and shouted: "What? I refuse to accept it. I want to see Governor Thomas. Our government has reached an agreement with the Straits Settlements government on the evacuation of overseas Chinese. You can't do this."
Major: "Colonel, I am just executing the order. Whether you accept it or not is not within the scope of my job. Soldier, protect Colonel Grant."
Grant became angry and shouted: "Shameless British guys, do you know what you are doing?"
The major saluted him politely and said: "I'm sorry, I was just following the order from the top. Colonel, please rest assured, we will definitely ensure the safety of the citizens of your country."
Several British soldiers stepped forward, raised their guns at them expressionlessly, and then politely asked them to hand over their guns.
Grant gritted his teeth, protected his gun and said, "Major, you are blaspheming your dignity as a soldier."
The major shrugged and turned to face the ships. Suddenly, he was stunned, and then slowly raised his hand,
Grant and his men turned their backs to their own fleet and did not know what was going on. However, seeing the British soldiers facing them raising their guns above their heads, he turned around curiously and saw At some point, a group of hundreds of Marines appeared behind him. They held their guns steadily and pointed their guns at the major and other British officers and soldiers.
"What's going on?" Grant was confused. He clearly remembered that he only brought one platoon of Marines this time. So, where did this at least one company of Marines come from?
The answer was revealed immediately,,
"Colonel Grant, you are too careless." Zhang Liangfeng, escorted by several Jewish cadets, walked quickly through the large army and said to Grant from a distance,
Grant suddenly understood, and couldn't help but smile on his face. He walked up to the British major, reached out unfriendly and pulled out a chain from his neck, grabbed the breastplate at the end of the chain and looked at it. He said coldly: "Major Shi En, you will pay the price for your rude behavior today."
The major's face turned blue and white, and he licked his lips and said: "Colonel Grant, Britain and the United States are allies, and we need your help now."
Grant snorted coldly and rebuked: "We are indeed allies, and we are willing to help you, but there is a prerequisite for this, that is, you must first learn how to respect your allies. But what have you done? We American soldiers Are we your enemies? Are you worthy of pointing your guns at us? The requisition order is ridiculous. I wonder if General Bai Sihua had his head kicked by a donkey. He has the courage to point his guns at his allies. Why don't you go and fight with us? The Japanese fought bloody battles, they are really the scum of the military."
Grant was ordered to command the evacuation operation. Because he had to help the army of soldiers rescue the Chinese in Singapore and Malaysia, he was already under great psychological pressure. He was afraid that if he did not handle it properly, it would trigger a war between Japan and the United States and become a national sinner. He finally trembled with fear. I led the fleet to the Sin Chew Pier, and because I mistakenly believed that the Japanese had invaded the city, I was worried about the safety of the overseas Chinese. I was already in a bad mood. However, as soon as I landed, I was held at gunpoint. Who could bear it?
He scolded Shi En severely and vented some of his anger. He turned to look at Zhang Liangfeng and the Western-faced soldiers behind him. He was curious about their origins and said, "Mr. Zhang, thank you for helping me out. They are hired soldiers." Soldiers?"
"Colonel, you're welcome. It's our honor to do something for you. They are not mercenaries, they are Jewish trainees from Guangzhou."
Grant suddenly understood and chuckled: "I forgot that there are Jews in your army." Frowning, he handed the requisition order to Zhang Liangfeng and said, "Mr. Zhang, look at this, we His actions have been exposed."
Zhang Liangfeng took it and looked at it, frowning and then unclenching, and asked: "Colonel, what are you going to do?"
Grant thought for a while and said seriously: "I am an American soldier, and their British military orders are invalid for me. But now it seems that the British have blocked the dock, and the operation may be frustrated."
Zhang Liangfeng: "In any case, ensuring your country's evacuation operation is the top priority. Colonel, in order to prevent the British from continuing to cause trouble, we can only occupy the dock first."
"Occupy the dock, it should be, but I only brought one platoon of Marines."
"Leave this to us, but in order to reduce unnecessary casualties, it's best for you to come forward and tell them."
"No problem, I will inform the Straits Settlements government right away."