1850 American Gold Tycoon

About 9 a.m. on December 25, 1857.

This will be the most memorable Christmas in Hong Kong Governor Bonham's life.

Only four hours had passed since the first cannon was fired, and the raid on Hong Kong Island's fleet had already sunk and captured all the warships anchored in the port.

The troops who landed at Tai Koo Estate established a foothold and quickly advanced to the eastern suburbs of Victoria City.

"Your Excellency, at least a thousand troops have been gathered in the east of Victoria City!"

The assistant to the Governor ran into the Governor's Office in the Government House, panting.

"It's the army that attacked our Hong Kong Island. Do you see clearly?" Wen Xian asked pretending to be calm.

"The ingredients are complex, including Yue Yong, Green Battalion soldiers (remnants of the Guangdong Navy), and mercenaries from Umbrella Company." The assistant wiped the sweat from his forehead and added.

"They're setting up artillery outside the city right now."

"The cannon was brought up so quickly?" Wen Xian was shocked.

"It seems that I still underestimated the strength of Umbrella Company's mercenaries. Yue Yong, Green Camp has nothing to be afraid of. Umbrella Company's mercenaries are the only ones who are difficult to deal with."

Wenxian didn't believe that Yue Yong and Green Camp could fight such a beautiful surprise battle. Of course, he was also looking for a way out. It would be embarrassing to lose to the Qing army, but not so embarrassing to lose to the mercenaries of the American Umbrella Company.

"Your Mightiness!"

Watson, a senior employee of the East India Company in charge of the defense of Victoria City, held the ultimatum sent by Liang Shaoqiong's envoy with an ugly expression on his face.

"Liang Shaoqiong, the right minister of the Qing Dynasty's Ministry of War, and Kang Enze, the commander-in-chief of the Guangdong Navy, issued an ultimatum to us, requiring us to surrender within 6 hours, otherwise Victoria City will be razed to the ground."

"What an arrogant tone! Do you think our soldiers in Victoria City are all puppets? Six hours?" Wen Xian was furious and asked immediately.

"No signature from Umbrella?"

Continental countries issue ultimatums to each other, usually within 48 hours, and 24-hour ultimatums are relatively rare.

The 6-hour ultimatum was a naked humiliation to him! How can there be a governor who cannot defend Hong Kong Island for 6 hours?

When the main force of Guangzhou City returns to support Hong Kong Island, everything will be fine.

At this time, Bonham still had great hopes of holding Hong Kong Island.

The opponent achieved the current results through a sneak attack without any sense of military ethics. If he confronts the British and French expeditionary forces openly and openly, he will definitely lose!

"No."

Watson carefully looked at the ultimatum written in Chinese and English again, and said with certainty.

"Liang Yao, this little fox, is so cunning." Wen Xian said through gritted teeth.

"Sir, how do you reply?" Watson asked.

"Ignore this piece of waste paper and defend Victoria City. Our main force will soon return to support Hong Kong Island." Wen Xian very stubbornly tore the ultimatum into pieces.

"Issuing weapons to all adult British male residents in the city and organizing them to help defend the city. I don't believe Victoria City can't be defended for 6 hours."

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"Wen Xian is quite tough."

Wenxian's refusal to accept the ultimatum was unexpected by Liang Shaoqiong. He knew that it would not be easy to win Hong Kong.

Liang Yao elegantly raised his hand and glanced at the time on his watch: "I hope he can still be so tough in three hours."

Liang Xi has already led the artillery regiment to climb Zhaqi Mountain. As long as he ascends the commanding heights of Zhaqi Mountain and deploys artillery, the entire Victoria City will be within the range of the artillery regiment.

At that time, the artillery regiment will be shooting targets in Victoria City.

"Why is your watch so small? Can you still wear it on your hand?" Liang Shaoqiong coveted Liang Yao's watch.

"I'll give it to my uncle to try after the battle."

"Liang Shuai, special envoy." As he was talking, the officer of the Yue Yong Shanzi Battalion came to report.

"Macau has been liberated! The 500 prisoners of the Portuguese army and more than 2,000 expatriates have been controlled by our army. The Portuguese governor of Macau is clamoring to see you."

"So fast? No resistance from the Portuguese army in Macau?"

Liang Shaoqiong was a little surprised that Macau surrendered without a fight. He had thought that the Portuguese defenders in Macau would symbolically hold on for a while before surrendering honorably.

There are also four to five hundred Portuguese troops and police stationed in Australia, and a little resistance can last for a while.

"No, he threatened us with a lot of cruel words before the war. But when he saw that we were serious, the white flag was immediately shown as soon as the cannon fired." The battalion officer laughed.

"Compared to the British and French armies, the Portuguese army is really in trouble. They are just paper tigers that can be broken with a poke."

"Portugal is not a big country, let alone a powerful country. They can only follow the British and French powers and pretend to be powerful." Liang Yao said.

In 1822, Pedro I declared Brazil's independence in Rio de Janeiro and became the first emperor of Brazil. Portugal lost its most important overseas territories and became an insignificant peripheral country in Europe.

By 1857, Portugal's remaining overseas colonies were only a few in Mozambique, Angola, East Timor, Sao Tome and Principe, Guinea-Bissau, Goa and Daman in India, and Macau in the Qing Dynasty.

Except for Goa and Macau, the location conditions and degree of development of other Portuguese colonies were not very good.

"It doesn't hurt to meet the Portuguese Governor." Liang Shaoqiong said.

"Bring on the military flag of our brave people from Guangdong, I want to raise the flag in Macau."

Liang Shaoqiong, Liang Yao's uncle and nephew came to Macau on a Bold-class frigate.

"play music!"

Shanziying military musicians beat military drums and played military music in a small square in Macao.

The flag bearer held the military flag and walked neatly to the flagpole.

“Lower the Portuguese flag!”

Liang Shaoqiong gave an order, and the flag bearer lowered the Vineyard flag under the gaze of everyone, threw it aside casually, and then replaced it with the military flag of Guangdong Yong to raise the flag.

At this time, the Qing Dynasty had not yet integrated with international standards and had no official national flag, so Liang Shaoqiong replaced the national flag with a military flag.

Looking at the flag of the Yue Yong slowly raised, the Portuguese Governor of Macau, Luis Amado Pereira do Saboa (Luis Amado Pereira do Souto Maior), looked pale. It was obviously a cool winter, but there was a rare problem on his forehead. Sweat beads the size of soybeans.

Saboa only became the governor-general of Portugal and Macau in 1855. Unexpectedly, during his tenure, Macau would easily change hands in this way.

"Shilang Liang, in the military conflict between your country and Britain and France, our country strictly adhered to a neutral position and never sent troops across the border. Your Excellency entered Macau without the proper diplomatic note and insulted our national flag. Your Excellency, this is a violation of our country, Portugal. Sovereignty violation and provocation!”

After the flag-raising was over, Saboa angrily protested to Liang Shaoqiong. He did not want to be the last Australian governor, and did not want to ruin his bright future. He also wanted to struggle to save it.

"There are many fallacies in your words." Liang Shaoqiong sneered.

"First, your country did not strictly adhere to a neutral position in this military conflict! It allowed the British and French forces to invade our territory of the Qing Dynasty through Macau. Is this also done by a neutral country?

Secondly, the Guangdong authorities only granted you Portuguese the right to settle and do business in Macau! Macau is still our territory of the Qing Dynasty, but you are openly building fortresses here, sending troops, appointing governors, and privately collecting customs duties. It is you, Portugal, who are infringing on the sovereignty of our Qing Dynasty! "

Britain's occupation of Hong Kong Island was based on a clear treaty, while Portugal's occupation of Macau was not based on a clear treaty.

During the pre-Ming Dynasty, there were still government offices in Macau, which were under the jurisdiction of Guangdong Province. It was not until the establishment of the Manchu Qing Dynasty that the government offices in Macau were removed, gradually losing control of Macau.

Portugal's right to reside and trade in Australia was granted by the local authorities in Guangdong, not by the central government of the Qing Dynasty.

Moreover, the two countries have never formally established diplomatic relations or concluded a treaty, and have never signed a valid treaty agreement on the issue of Macau's territorial ownership. Looking at the international law at this time, Portugal has no legal basis for occupying Macau.

Portugal was able to occupy Macau due to, first, historical inertia, second, inaction of the Guangdong authorities, and third, the central government in the Ming and Qing dynasties did not pay enough attention to this tiny place.

It was not until 1887, when the Qing and Portugal signed the "Draft Treaty of the Qing-Portugal Conference" and the 40-year "Qing-Portugal Treaty of Friendship and Commerce" that Portugal officially completed its occupation of Macau through complete diplomatic means and treaty basis.

"Your Excellency Saboeia, you are now illegally settled in the territory of the Qing Dynasty. The Qing government has the right to detain you." Liang Yao said with a smile.

"Not only does it have the right to detain you, but all your income in Macao is illegal. The Qing government also has the right to confiscate your illegally acquired property in Macao."

Upon hearing that his property was to be confiscated, Saboa issued a solemn protest. He did not want to continue communicating with Liang Shaoqiong and hoped to communicate with local officials in Guangdong.

"You need to negotiate with your local magistrate. You have no right to confiscate the property of Portuguese residents in Macao, let alone the property of the governor!"

"Since Portuguese residents have settled illegally in Macao, I dare not recognize you as the Governor of Portugal and Macao."

Liang Shaoqiong waved his hand and signaled for Saboaia to be detained as well, without giving Saboaea a chance to speak out.

After Saboaia was taken away, Liang Shaoqiong and Liang Yao immediately sent people to take over Macau and implemented effective administrative management of Macau. At the same time, an inventory of the properties of the Portuguese and Macao authorities and Portuguese businessmen in Macao was carried out.

"I wonder if the property stolen from these Portuguese businessmen will be enough to pay your mercenary commission." Liang Shaoqiong was already planning how to dispose of this property.

Macau is an important maritime trade hub at the Pearl River Estuary. Although it is small, the Portuguese have been operating here for hundreds of years. It has a complete taxation department, port administration department, complete infrastructure, and fortresses. It can be said that it is fully equipped.

"It's too early to consider these things now. If we can't defeat Britain and France, we will have to spit out all of this with profits." Liang Yao said.

Hong Kong Island, Cheqi Mountain, the out-of-breath Liang Xi ignored the rest and ordered the removal of vegetation on the top of the mountain, assembled the dismantled field artillery, and prepared to bombard Victoria City at the foot of the mountain.

Standing on Chaqi Mountain, which is more than 500 meters high, you can have a panoramic view of Victoria City.

Liang Xi was even able to clearly see the British Hong Kong soldiers patrolling the streets through the telescope.

"Okay, okay, all the British troops in the city are within our range!"

Liang Xi calculated the distance from the top of the mountain to the seaside, and it was only about 7 kilometers.

In other words, the entire Victoria city, and even the docks, are all within the range of their artillery regiment.

Unfortunately, the 12-pounder field gun was too heavy to be pulled up, which was not enjoyable enough.

"Your Excellency, Lieutenant Colonel! The artillery is already in position, where should we hit?"

Not long after, the 6-pound Sacramento field artillery was assembled and set up. The battalion commander asked Liang Xi about the bombardment target so that he could calibrate his shooting.

"Where is the Government House? Aim at the Government House and hit it hard!"

Liang Xi held up the telescope and looked around carefully. There were many mansions of wealthy British businessmen in Victoria City, and Union Jack flags were hoisted in many of the houses. He was not sure of the specific location of the Hong Kong Governor's Office.

"I'll ask a Hong Kong Islander who carries ammunition," the battalion commander replied.