Chapter 675: My Question to You: Do You Surrender?

The gunner adjusts the angle and loads a shell.

"Fire!"

Six mortar shells fly out simultaneously, tracing six arcs in the sky and landing precisely near that window. Two hit, silencing the machine gun.

"Charge!"

Soldiers of the Sakura Nation leap from behind cover and rush toward the Governor's Office.

This time, no one fires to stop them.

They ram open the main doors and surge into the hall. The hall is empty, with only a few shattered statues and some scattered documents.

Footsteps echo up the stairs—someone is going upstairs.

Yamada Ichiro leads his soldiers up to the second floor.

At the end of the second‑floor corridor, a heavy wooden door stands shut. Above it hangs a sign—Governor'sOffice.

Yamada Ichiro walks over and pushes the door open.

Inside the office, Sir Shen Dun·Tuomas sits behind the desk, a revolver in his hand. He does not fire, merely watching the Sakura Nation soldiers rush in, and watching the colonel at the front with bandages wrapped around his shoulders.

"Sir Shen Dun·Tuomas?" Yamada Ichiro asks in stiff English.

Sir Tuomas nods.

"Do you surrender?"

Sir Tuomas remains silent for three seconds.

Then he sets the revolver down, rises slowly, smooths his collar, and puts on his hat.

"I request a meeting with your army's supreme commander."

Yamada Ichiro looks at him and suddenly gives a faint, sincere smile.

"Come with me."

Below, Fukuta Yataro has already arrived on horseback.

He rides a tall, deep‑red horse, looking down at the white old man escorted by soldiers. The old man wears a white governor's uniform, a hat with a feather, and walks with a steady gait.

"Sir Shen Dun·Tuomas?" Fukuta Yataro asks in Japanese, and the nearby translator immediately renders it into English.

"It is I."

"Do you surrender?"

Sir Tuomas lifts his head, looking at the Sakura Nation general on the horse. The man's face is expressionless, but his eyes shine—eyes only a killer who has seen blood possesses.

"I, representing Singapore's Yingguo civil officials and government personnel, request that your army guarantee our safety."

Fukuta Yataro shakes his head.

"My question is: do you surrender?"

Sir Tuomas remains silent.

Around him, Sakura Nation soldiers form a circle, their muzzles aimed at him. In the distance, the Yingguo flag atop the Governor's Office is being taken down, while a rising sun flag is hoisted.

He closes his eyes and takes a deep breath.

Then he opens his eyes and lowers his head.

"Yes. I surrender."

Fukuta Yataro nods.

"Game!! Take him down. Keep him with the other prisoners."

As Sir Tuomas is led away, he looks back one last time at the rising sun flag fluttering atop the Governor's Office.

The flag is especially glaring in the sunset.

Eight o'clock in the evening, Singapore City Hall.

Yamamoto Kazuo sits behind the desk that once belonged to Sir Tuomas, a map of Malaya spread before him. A kerosene lamp sits on the table, its flame casting his elongated shadow on the wall.

Chief of Staff Tohihara Kenda pushes the door open, holding a stack of documents.

"General, the preliminary figures are in."

"Read."

"Yingguo side: 3,123 killed, including 107 officers. 2,041 captured, among them Sir Tuomas and seventeen senior officials. Over 2,000 rifles seized, 42 machine guns, 16 cannons, countless munitions."

Yamamoto Kazuo nods.

"What about us?"

Tohihara Kenda remains silent for three seconds.

"1,847 killed, 2,039 wounded. The Fifth Division suffered the heaviest losses, with over 800 killed."

Yamamoto Kazuo's hand pauses on the map.

"1,847 people."

He recalls the soldiers mowed down by machine gun fire on the beach, those who fell in street fights, and those shot dead at the Governor's Office entrance.

They are dead.

They can never return home.

"General?" Tohihara Kenda calls softly.

Yamamoto Kazuo lifts his head.

"Send a telegram to Tokyo: Singapore has been secured. 1,847 killed. Request… additional compensation."

Tohihara Kenda freezes for a moment, then stands at attention: "Yes!"

He turns to leave, and Yamamoto Kazuo calls out to him.

"Also, send a telegram to General Zhou Zhen guo of Lanfang: thanks for the ship‑cannon support. Tomorrow, continue northward."

At the same time, on the bridge of the Zhenyuan, Zhou Zhen guo receives Yamamoto Kazuo's telegram.

"Singapore has been secured. Tomorrow we continue north."

He read it twice and set the telegram aside.

Lin Huaiyuan walked over and asked softly, "Commander, how many casualties does the Sakura Nation have?"

"The telegram didn't say."

"Then… it shouldn't be light."

Zhou Zhen guo nodded.

He recalled the Sakura Nation soldiers who had charged the beachhead during the day, the corpses lying motionless on the sand, and the sea water stained red with blood.

"Send them a reply telegram," he said, "congratulations. If artillery support is needed, call at any time."

Lin Huaiyuan went to deliver the order.

Zhou Zhen guo walked to the window and stared at the pitch‑black night outside. In the distance, the sky toward Singapore still glowed faintly red—the burning firelight, a scar left by the war.

"One thousand eight hundred forty‑seven," he murmured, "the Sakura Nation, this time they really gave their all."

Dubai time, ten p. m., Presidential Office.

Chen Feng sat at his desk, with two telegrams before him. One, sent by Zhou Zhen guo, reported the Singapore battle; the other, forwarded by the Sakura Nation ambassador in Lanfang, was Shanben Yifu's official battle report.

After reading them, he handed the telegram to Wang Wenwu.

Wang Wenwu took it, read it once, and remained silent for a long time.

"One thousand eight hundred forty‑seven killed… the Sakura Nation has really bet the farm this time."

Chen Feng nodded.

"Reply to Zhou Zhen guo: continue cooperating with the Sakura Nation's advance. Reply to the Sakura Nation ambassador: Lanfang thanks the Sakura Nation soldiers for their bravery. For the additional compensation, Lanfang will cover half."

Wang Wenwu was startled for a moment.

"President, this…"

"Cannon fodder are still cannon fodder, but we must give them a taste of sweetness; later we can recoup the cost elsewhere." Chen Feng stood up and walked to the window. "Tell Shanben Yifu that after capturing Kuala Lumpur, Lanfang will provide them with supplies, medicine, and honors. Let them know that fighting alongside Lanfang is not a loss."

Wang Wenwu stood straight and said, "Yes!"

Singapore time, 3 a. m., Shanben Yifu sat in his office, still looking at the map.

Tu Fei Yuan Xian Da pushed the door open, carrying a cup of hot tea.

"General, you haven't slept all night. Rest for a while."

Shanben Yifu took the tea but did not drink, merely holding it to warm his palm.

"Can't sleep."

He stared at the red line on the map—running north from Singapore through Johor, Malacca, Furong, all the way to Kuala Lumpur.

"Tu Fei Yuan, where do you think the Yingguo will intercept us?"

Tu Fei Yuan Xian Da walked to the map and thought for a moment.

"Ben Dar Mountain." He pointed to a label about eighty kilometers south of Kuala Lumpur. "This is the throat of the Malay Peninsula; the highway and railway both pass through the mountains here. If I were the Yingguo, I would build fortifications here."