Add Bookmark | Recommend this book | Back to the book page | My bookshelf | Mobile Reading

Free Web Novel,Novel online - All in oicq.net -> Historic -> Xinshun Steel Century

Volume 3: The Wind Rises in the South Chapter 4 Chapter 4: Night Attack

Previous page        Return to Catalog        Next page

    Mandalay, in the palace of the Burmese King, Meng Ji, wearing the robe and crown of the Burmese King, was arranging his appearance in front of the mirror held by two slaves.  After Meng took two steps, he suddenly asked a close acquaintance on the side: "Diok, do you think this robe or that one looks more regal?" "The beloved son of the Buddha, the incomparable Supreme,  Son of the sun and moon, your light covers the vast land from the Andaman Sea to the Tanggula Mountains. Your majesty is so outstanding that no matter what kind of robe you wear, it can only set off your majesty.  With your unparalleled appearance, your humble subjects can only look at your toes occasionally, otherwise their eyes will be hurt by your dazzling light" Diok knelt on the ground and recited a long paragraph of flattery.  .  Obviously Meng Ji felt good. He listened with great interest as the other party recited a long paragraph of the flattery he had previously said to the former King of Burma.  "Your Majesty!" A voice interrupted Diok's long flattery. Meng turned around and saw two white men walking in. The man in front had a pale face and a pair of dark blue eyes.  With a hooked nose and a false smile on his thin lips, he was dressed neatly in a tuxedo and a black top hat, playing with an ivory cane in his hand. It was Gillings, the Consul General of the British Empire in Yangon, followed by Duncan.  Gillings took off his hat, bowed gracefully to Meng Ji, smiled and said in proficient Burmese: "Your Majesty, I think you have more important things to do now than choosing robes and crowns.  Deal with it!" "Oh, my friends!" Meng Ji took off his crown and smiled at Gillins: "Meng Ji will never forget your generous help. Tell me, what do you want, gold?  A gem? A woman? Or a title? Don¡¯t worry, the king¡¯s generosity will always exceed your most arrogant requests!¡± ¡°Your Majesty, your humble servant would like to remind you that the help given to you by the British Empire is not for gain.  What gold, gems, women?" Gillings raised his head arrogantly and said loudly: "The only purpose of my colleague bringing weapons to help you train the army is to free Burma from the yoke of the old empire (referring to Dashun).  Free them to become equal members of the free world; sign an equal trade treaty with the British Empire; recognize each other's most favored nation status; and grant citizens of both sides the freedom to travel, live, do business, and preach in each other's territory. I think your Majesty,  You won¡¯t forget, right?¡± ¡°Oh! Look at what you said, how could I forget?¡± Meng Ji spread his hands with a smile and made a helpless gesture: ¡°But my friends, this is Myanmar.  , understand? In Myanmar, the big empire is very close to us, but you friends are too far away from us, so you have to take your time, understand? Just like my ancestors did, take your time!"  The vein on his forehead jumped. People familiar with his temper knew that this was a precursor to his rage.  He tried his best to suppress his emotions and asked: "Your Majesty, I can understand your concerns. This is a sign of wisdom. But how long will it take to take this slowly?" "When I can resist the north.  My friends!" Meng Ji smiled and replied: "To put it simply, I need 60 battalions, 60 standing troops trained in Western style, as long as I have these 60 battalions.  Immediately expel Dashun¡¯s Burmese Guard House from Mandalay and fulfill our previous agreement!¡± ¡°Your Majesty!¡± Even though Gillings has the excellent quality of patience, which is unique to the British Empire, he feels that he has already exploded.  On the edge, he lowered his voice and said: "Sixty infantry battalions, this number is too large, not to mention equipment, you don't even have a basic number of officers now. Even if the British Empire sends officers to you, we don't have that many now."  Officers, as well as ordnance depots and gunpowder factories, even the Almighty God can't do it! " "I know this is difficult, dear friends, but I don't intend to trouble your country's officers. Myanmar's army must be led by Myanmar's troops!  Officer command, as well as an ordnance station and gunpowder. I hope to open a military school here to train officers, as well as a national ordnance station, gunpowder factory, etc. I hope to use rice, wood, jade or other materials.  It would be better if the British Empire is willing to provide loans. Of course, I hope the annual interest rate will not be higher than five percent!" Meng Ji replied with a smile, as if he didn't notice Gillings at all!  Trembling body.  "This yellow monkey, this cross-eyed bitch, the son of a slave. He dares to play with me, the representative of the British Empire. I will hang this liar from the mast of the warship, after he has tasted the nine-tailed whip of course."  After that, I swear to God!" Almost as soon as he walked out of the palace gate, Gillings cursed angrily.  He had been thoroughly angered by the treachery of the new Burmese king.  This bastard ascended to the throne solely with the support of the British Empire, but abandoned his promise before his butt was even hot.  It seems that this liar will be like the previous one who was just overthrown.Like the King of Myanmar, he continued to play the dangerous game of sitting on the fence between Shun and the British Empire.  He asked like a gangster: Sixty Western-trained battalions, for God's sake!  If he really has such a large army, it will immediately break the fragile balance of the entire Indochina Peninsula and pose a huge threat to the existence of the entire civilized world in Southeast Asia. The resistance of the Afghans has proved that the British Empire faced an army  An enemy armed with firearms was vulnerable, and the Afghans had fewer than sixty battalions.  If he relayed this liar's request to London, I'm afraid the Foreign Secretary would immediately recall him and kick him to a mental hospital.  Gillings forced himself to calm down and began to think: "The British Empire must not gain anything after working hard for such a long time and paying such a high price, and Mandalay's geographical location makes it impossible for the British Empire to exert its full potential."  With strong naval strength and limited marines, launching an expedition in this season is destined to be futile. Damn mud and dysentery are enough to wipe out the good boys of England. This cunning guy must have considered these things.  How arrogant. Oh God! Are you going to let this liar escape punishment?" Gillings clenched his fists angrily, and Duncan looked at him sympathetically. He had never seen him before.  It is a disgrace to an Englishman to be so disgraceful on the part of an honorable gentleman, the superior.  Duncan patted Gillings' arm carefully and reminded in a low voice: "Mr. Ambassador, I got a message from my channel. That guy did not capture all the children of the former King of Burma, and two children escaped.  , According to Burmese customs, as long as there are direct blood relatives of the previous Burmese king alive, the war for the throne will not end! " "Oh, what a barbaric custom, just like the Turks, I suspect they usually have it at home!  Those who walk on four legs only stand upright when they meet civilized people like us!" Gillings cursed and asked casually: "Then where are these two children now?" "I heard that they were killed by a man named Maung Ok.  The guards escorted me to the Shunguo Lieutenant's Mansion? "Oh! God! Duncan, you are such an angel!" Gillins suddenly turned around and hugged him.  Duncan kissed the other party's cheeks excitedly: "Now I have a way to deal with this despicable liar, aha! The cunning fox has fallen into the trap, and the hunter will have a beautiful scarf soon!" Gillings hit a  Snap your fingers.  Duncan looked at his boss at a loss. He was confused by the sudden behavior of the other party just now.  Seeing Duncan's confusion, Gillings whispered a few words to him with a smile, and finally smiled at his men who suddenly realized: "Dear Duncan, divide and conquer has been the way for the empire to survive for hundreds of years!" Dashun Hu Burma School  Wei Mansion, the style of this mansion is completely different from the surrounding buildings. The long eaves corridor and the stone lion and red doors are completely Chinese style.  Zhao Youting stood on the corridor, looking quietly at the courtyard outside. The heavy rain was pouring on the open space outside the corridor, hitting the bluestone ground, making a gurgling sound.  "Sir, please go in and rest! It's already deep, and it's raining heavily outside. Take care of yourself!" Liu Zhixing, the judge of the Protectorate Palace, stood behind Zhao Youting and advised in a low voice.  "Let me stand here for a while. I don't know what's wrong these past two days. I've been upset and can't sleep!" Liu Zhixing smiled and said, "It just so happens that Xiaguan can't sleep either. Why don't you let Xiaguan stay here to watch with you?  Look at the rain at night!" Zhao Youting turned around and the two of them looked at each other and smiled. The relationship between the two was normal in the past. Liu Zhixing was quite disdainful of Zhao Youting's behavior of doing nothing on weekdays and only focusing on making money for retirement, but after experience  After this incident, Zhao Youting's decisiveness greatly changed the judge's perception of him. He felt that this person had a great talent, but he had not been able to realize it in the past and had no chance to display it.  Zhao Youting is also very shrewd, so he can naturally feel the change in the other person's attitude towards him. In addition, now that the two of them are in crisis, they feel that they share the same hatred. Invisibly, the relationship between the two has improved a lot.  "Okay, let's have a long talk with him tonight!" Zhao Youting said with a smile, stretched out his hand to hold the other person's left arm, sat down cross-legged on the corridor, and said with a smile: "You and I are now in a world of tigers and wolves.  How should we act without any troops? "Liu Zhixing smiled and said: "My lord, in my opinion, this is a great opportunity. If God protects me, it will be shameful for me to protect you."  He can also move his position as a historian and become an ambassador to protect Burma!  " Zhao Youting's eyes flashed with excitement, and then extinguished again. He cupped his hands in the direction of Hanjing in the northwest and said: "I hope that with the power of Emperor Hengzong, Batu will have a smooth journey and send the son of the Burmese king to  After returning to Dashun and marching south with the army, the "Xuan Cheng Shame" can be achieved, and this Burma-protecting school captain's mansion can be worthy of its name.  Zhao is already over fifty years old, but his personal honor and disgrace are not enough.Light or heavy.  ¡± It turns out that the mansion where Zhao Youting is located was built in the fifth year of Dashun Xuancheng (1744). It was the last year of the Toungoo Dynasty in Myanmar. Because its king launched a long-term conquest war against Siam (now Thailand), it consumed a lot of money.  The large number of people in the country aroused resistance from the people of all ethnic groups in the country. The then Emperor Dashun Hengzong took the opportunity to send his general Gao Chenggong to lead an army to invade and occupy the then capital of the Toungoo Dynasty in Myanmar, Ava (just outside Mandalay now).  , and established a puppet as the king of Burma, and set up a Burmese guard palace in Mandalay, preparing to incorporate the entire territory of Burma into the territory of Dashun. However, as the war continued, the situation gradually became unfavorable to Dashun.  The Mon uprising centered on Baigu that broke out in 1740 spread to an increasingly larger area. It continuously defeated the Toungoo dynasty's puppet army and Dashun's army, controlled most of Myanmar's territory, and surrounded it in 1752.  In Ava, the old capital of the Taungoo Dynasty, the Shun army, which had been away all year round, suffered from low morale and lost consecutive battles. Finally, they had to negotiate with the Burmese army with the Mon army as the core, and finally Myanmar recognized Dashun.  As a suzerain, the Shun army withdrew from Burma and recognized the Gonbang dynasty established by the rebel army as Zhengshuo of Myanmar, and the number of soldiers stationed in the Burmese commander's palace could not exceed 100. In fact,  It was nothing more than an envoy station and had lost its original significance as a military dispatching institution. This time Dashun sent out an army of 100,000 people. After the epidemic and several years of war, only a few thousand people were able to enter the border, and only their corpses were left there.  There were no less than 40,000 people killed on the way from the capital of Myanmar to the border of Shun, and countless weapons were lost. Emperor Hengzong was very angry about this, and he died in less than a year. This is the history of Dashun.  Calling it "the shame of Xuancheng", while the two were talking, there was a sound of voices outside, and it seemed that the veteran guarding the gate was yelling at someone. Zhao and Liu looked at each other, and they looked at each other.  Seeing the vigilance, they stood up one after another. Since King Xin Burma won the throne, order in Mandalay City was quickly restored. The few thugs who wanted to take advantage of the opportunity to rob were beheaded in accordance with local laws.  and limbs were hung in the square for public display. The Chinese merchants who had taken refuge in the Protectorate also returned to their residences. Excluding the elite soldiers that Batu had taken away to escort the Burmese prince, there were only about twenty people left in the Protectorate.  Very empty. "My lord, please rest assured. Judging from what King Xin Burma has done these days, he is not a reckless person and would not do such an unwise thing to attack the envoys of the foreign country!"  "Liu Zhixing whispered to Zhao Youting. Zhao Youting nodded. At this time, as if to refute Liu Zhixing's judgment, a shrill scream came from the other side of the gate, which was vaguely the voice of the gatekeeper. "Duncan pushed a corpse hard  Turned over, the Shunguo soldier's neck was twisted unnaturally, and it was obviously broken by someone. There was a corpse lying on the ground beside him. Blood was pouring out from the wound on his back, but he was immediately cut off.  The rain washed away "After rushing in, kill people first, then set fire, don't let any Shun country people go!"  Each of you can get one hundred pounds, and you can get another five hundred pounds for killing Shun Guo's protector. Do you understand?  "Duncan whispered to the group of people behind him with different skin colors and nationalities - in Southeast Asia, a paradise for adventurers, as long as you are willing to pay enough money, you can always find enough scum willing to betray them.  The lives and souls of everyone's eyes flashed with greed. Without Duncan saying a word, these desperadoes poured into the gate, waving various weapons in their hands, and soon there was a burst of noise in the Protectorate.  There were screams and shouts, but the heavy rain weakened most of the screams to the point where they could not be heard clearly from dozens of meters away. Duncan looked at the Protectorate that was already in the midst of a massacre with satisfaction. ¡°My lord, my lord!  A group of thieves broke into the house and started killing them. Many of them also had pistols and rifles. The brothers were caught off guard!  Heavy casualties!  Sir, please retreat quickly!  "The officer who stayed behind to guard the Duhu Mansion panted and reported to Zhao Youting and Liu Zhixing. The shouts of death, screams and gunshots came from twenty or thirty meters away. The gangsters attacked the guards of the Duhu Mansion.  Caught off guard, Zhao Youting stared blankly at the scene in front of him, as if he was stunned by what happened suddenly. Not far away, the gangsters began to throw dry bamboo tubes filled with gunpowder and grease at the house guarded by Shunguo soldiers, which soon became irritating.  The sexual smoke and flames began to spread, forcing the soldiers to retreat from the house. "My lord, the captain is right, let's go!"  "Liu Zhixing grabbed Zhao Youting's sleeve and ran backwards. Just after running two steps, he suddenly felt a heavy weight on his hand. When he looked back, he saw Zhao Youting kneeling down behind him, covering his chest. Liu Zhixing  He quickly helped him up, only to find that there was a bullet hole in the other person's back. He quickly reached out to cover Zhao Youting's wound, and shouted loudly: "Sir, grit your teeth again, and we will escape. As long as we get to the palace  , so that the Burmese king can cut these damn thieves into pieces and avenge the soldiers!  "    "useless!  "Zhao Youting's eyes were clear.?, smiled bitterly and said: "Run quickly, don't stay here to die." After Zhao Youting said this, he saw that Liu Zhixing was still hesitant, and he didn't know where to burst out the last bit of strength. He grabbed Liu Zhixing's right hand and said loudly:  "It was the Yingyi who took action. They are forcing the new Burmese king to break with Dashun! You run, you must live, and watch the Chinese army crush Mandalay for me, and the dead soldiers for me.  Let's take revenge!" At this point, a dying convulsion passed through Zhao Youting's body, and his head hung down weakly.  Liu Zhixing brushed Zhao Youting's face with his right hand, closed his wide eyes, laid the body flat on the muddy ground, stood up, and shouted to the remaining Shunguo soldiers around him: "Let's go, go quickly!"
Didn't finish reading? Add this book to your favoritesI'm a member and bookmarked this chapterCopy the address of this book and recommend it to your friends for pointsChapter error? Click here to report