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Volume 3: The Wind Rises in the South Chapter 16 Chapter 16: The First Battle

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    "So fast!" Meng stood up from the throne, and then he felt that he had lost his composure. He sat back on the throne and asked in a calm voice: "How many people do they have? How many artillery pieces do they have? Do they have any cavalry? Are they still there?"  Yes, are my two dear grandnephews and grandnephews among them? " "Your Majesty, the Chinese have about two thousand to three thousand people, with a small number of artillery, but no cavalry. According to reports from the farmers who escaped,  These Chinese looked quite tired and had almost no vehicles. They must have traveled through the dense forest in the rainy season. The spies we sent also saw the royal flag raised on the roof of the Xingai Warehouse. Those two people must be there too!  Among them! "Diok is a very shrewd and capable official. He analyzed a large amount of contradictory information from the refugees who fled from Xingai and immediately came up with information that was quite close to the truth.  "Two thousand to three thousand people? A small amount of artillery? No cavalry? Very good!" Meng Ji showed a satisfied smile on his face. Although the arrival of the Shun army was much faster than he thought, judging from the number, it should be  It's just a vanguard of the army. Although the British transported very few weapons, there are many old troops near Mandalay. There are no less than 70,000 or 80,000 farmers building river embankments nearby. As long as they are recruited, they can be launched.  Give them weapons and you will immediately become an army.  More importantly, the two children of the former King of Myanmar are also among them. As long as they can be solved, future troubles can be solved.  Thinking of this, Meng Ji stood up and said loudly: "Give an order to distribute the weapons. Also, send an order to confiscate the property of all Chinese businessmen, declare them to be spies, and people who are not protected by gods and Buddhas, and issue an order to the farmers."  My decree is that every man in the village between the ages of fifteen and fifty will serve as a soldier. As long as the Chinese invasion is defeated, I will waive all taxes for the next three years! " "Yes!" "Soon!"  The sound of drums and horns echoed in the sky above Le, and the whole city was like a huge beehive, making a huge noise.  Drunk men roared excitedly on the street, waving their weapons, and some even fired muskets into the air. The merchants closed their shop doors and watched the parade on the street with worry.  Team.  In the open space outside the city gate, groups of farmers gathered in groups according to their villages, wolfing down the white rice that had just been distributed. The weapons in their hands were mainly spears and machetes, and more  People are simply newly made bamboo guns and farm tools.  The monks walked through the crowd, chanting scriptures whose meanings were unknown. Whenever the monks passed by, the nearby farmers quickly put down their weapons and food, and knelt on the ground in fear to worship them.  "Mr. Consul, it seems that the king is about to start a war with the Chinese!" Duncan carefully moved his body. The person sitting on the back of the elephant was not used to the huge animal under his body.  This ornately decorated Asian elephant was one of many gifts given to Gillings by the king of Burma.  On both sides and in front of the elephant were soldiers of the New Burmese Army carrying Lee-Enfield rifles with bayonets on their backs. When the Burmese people on the road saw this team, they gave way to it and knelt down on both sides of the road, letting out low shouts of awe.  "Duncan, when we are alone, just call me Arkansas." Gillings winked at Duncan affectionately, handed Duncan a glass of whiskey, and said with a smile: "In this terrible place, I think we can let go  Putting aside the little prejudice between the English and the Scots, how do you like this gift from the king? In fact, becoming a duke here is also a good choice for this cunning king, except for the bad weather.  "Yes, Consul - no, Mr. Arkansas!" Duncan was obviously a little unaccustomed to Gillings's intimacy. After all, the gap between a Scottish veteran and an Eton graduate was too huge. He drank.  A swig of whiskey made him feel better. Suddenly there was a burst of gunshots and shouts from the corner of the street ahead. Duncan quickly pulled out the Mauser pistol from his waist and reached out from the cage chair on the elephant's back.  Turning around, I saw a large group of thugs brandishing weapons at the corner of the street in front of me, shouting and cursing, and throwing torches and stones at the house they surrounded.  "What are you doing?" Duncan opened his mouth in surprise: "Is that king crazy? The war with the Chinese has not started yet, but the war has started in his own city? Have the Chinese already invaded?"  "Relax, dear Duncan, here, have some more whiskey, it will make you feel better!" Gillings refilled Duncan's glass and replied with a smile: "This is the king's reward for him.  "Reward the army?" Duncan was stunned and asked instinctively.  Gillings took a sip of wine and said with a smile: "Yes, Duncan, you have also seen the soldiers in this country. They are poor and dirty. They are simply beggars with weapons. Do you think such people can??Defeat the enemy on the battlefield?  So before going to the battlefield, the king would give them a large sum of money to satisfy them so that they would not break up or even turn against each other before going to the battlefield.  But our clever king was unwilling to empty his own purse, or simply did not have so much money, so he planned to use other people's purses to solve this trouble for himself.  Who better to meet this requirement than wealthy foreign businessmen in this country?  " "So that's what happened?  "Duncan understood and nodded. At this time, the thugs had already broken open the door of the house. Duncan could clearly see the thugs rushing into the house, taking away all kinds of goods, and smashing those that could not be taken away.  Or be burned down. From time to time, conflicts caused by uneven distribution of spoils were heard in the house. Duncan frowned and was about to say something, when a burst of cheers suddenly broke out from the mob, and a Burmese man with a black cloth on his head was seen.  The man climbed onto the roof and raised his bloody head above his head. The crowd cheered and then dropped it, "Thugs, complete thugs, this is not an army at all!  "Duncan turned his head away in disgust. As a veteran who has been in India for almost twenty years, he has long been accustomed to bloodshed and massacre, but as a soldier, he cannot stand such disorderly atrocities. He knows very well  , Such disorder is very harmful to the combat effectiveness of the army. "You are right, Duncan, this is why the king asked us to help him build a new army.  Gillings casually pulled the string on the side, and the bamboo curtain immediately dropped down, isolating the noise and blood. Just like the flood receding, the nonchalant look on Gillings's face disappeared, revealing the solemn truth below:  "Duncan, the Chinese are here, what should we do now?  " "Help the king defeat the Chinese invasion!  " "No, at least it's not just that!  Gillings shook his head. The British man, whose face was tanned by the scorching sunshine of Indochina, said in a deep voice: "You have to remember that any agreement, memorandum, or contract can only be made if you have the strength to force the other party."  It is only useful when it is performed.  This cunning king is only agreeing to us now because of the situation. If we remove the Chinese threat for him, he will come up with those cunning tricks again, which is not a pleasant thing.  " "Yes, Mr. Arkansas!  This king will definitely do this!  "Duncan nodded affirmatively, and two wrinkles appeared on his broad forehead: "Then what should I do!  " "Change to someone who is easier to manipulate.  "Gillings replied: "Just like the Chinese, just find a child under the age of fourteen, as long as he has the sacred blood in him.  Duncan, as far as I know, this king has a very large family, right?  " "Yes, as prolific as a guinea pig, Mr. Arkansas!  Duncan, who understood what Gillings meant, made a vulgar analogy and laughed: "I understand what you mean. Please rest assured that I will ensure that the interests of the British Empire are protected."  "    "very good!  Seeing that Duncan understood what he meant, Gillings nodded with satisfaction. He filled his wine glass with wine and raised his glass to Duncan with a smile: "Okay, old Duncan, I wish everything goes well!"  "    "all the best!  " At this moment, there was a loud noise outside the city gate. Gillins' arms, which had just clinked the glasses, couldn't help but tremble. The full liquid in the glass immediately spilled out, and a patch of blood immediately appeared on his straight black trousers.  There were wet marks. He frowned slightly, put the wine glass aside, opened the bamboo curtain and looked outside, and saw a plume of black smoke rising from the open space outside the city gate, and groups of farmers who were applying for the army were shouting in confusion.  The city was crowded and trampled at the narrow city gate. The dying screams and curses of the trampled people were clearly audible. At this time, the second shell hit a house in the city, causing shrapnel and splashing.  Building debris knocked down more than a dozen people. ¡°The Chinese are here, and they are using the one-half range method to test fire!  "As an old artilleryman, Duncan immediately made a judgment. The so-called one-half ranging method is an artillery adjustment method that continuously corrects the trajectory. That is, first fire a shell in front of the target, and then fire another round behind it.  , then take the middle position and fire another round. If the target is between the front and middle two impact points, then take another shot between the front and middle two impact points; if the target is between the back and middle two impact points, then take another round.  Hit the target between the two impact points at the back and middle; and by analogy, after hitting the target, start shooting continuously until the opponent is eliminated. As expected by Duncan's judgment, the third shell accurately landed near the city gate.  In the crowd, the air waves generated by the grenade explosion were mixed with shrapnel, tearing the fragile human body into pieces, and the area near the city gate suddenly became a Shura field. "They have corrected the target, and the next step is to shoot quickly!"  ¡± As if to confirm Duncan¡¯s words, several shells fell one after another.In the crowd, the continuous explosions destroyed everything. When the shelling stopped half a minute later, the city gate that was still lively not long ago had become extremely silent, and the ground was covered with burnt black corpses. This strong contrast made  Gillings couldn't help but feel a little pity.  "Consul, let's get out of here quickly. The Chinese should be using new nine-pound or twelve-pound cannons, and there are their artillery observation posts nearby. We are less than four hundred feet away from the city gate in a straight line. In theory, we  It's also within their shooting range, it's very unsafe here!" Duncan whispered. He looked at the ornate elephant he was riding on uneasily. This target was too conspicuous.  "You're right, old Duncan!" Gillings shuddered, woke up, and immediately realized his dangerous situation. He quickly climbed down from the elephant and whispered: "Captain Duncan, remember  What I just said is that in this whirlpool of power, we servants of the Queen must remember the true interests of the empire!" "Please rest assured, Mr. Consul, I will hold the new army tightly in my hands at the critical moment!  It's time to make a decisive move!" Duncan stood up straight.  "Stop shooting, stand by!" I carefully observed the south gate of Mandalay with a monocular telescope. I saw that there was no one outside the crowded city gate just now. There were corpses and fragments of weapons everywhere. The city gate was open and there was no one.  People take care of it.  Zhang Qi nodded. As a veteran who had joined the Imperial Army in 1865, he was very satisfied with the effect of Cai Cai's bombardment. He killed at least more than a hundred enemies, and the number of injured and escaped enemies was several times higher.  At this point, it is a pity that he only has a team of hundreds of men under his command, otherwise he could directly launch a bayonet attack and seize Mandalay City.  "Hand the flag, what are we going to do next, fight into the city?" the half-crouching soldier behind Zhang Qi asked excitedly.  This time the Shun Army set out. Due to the climate, water and soil, the two brigades were selected from the elite Yunnan-Guizhou border guards. Although these southern soldiers looked dark-skinned and short in stature, they were not as good as the northern soldiers from Youzhou, Anxi Protectorate and other places.  The soldiers are burly, but most of them are simple mountain people, hardworking, loyal and brave enough to fight.  Chen Zaixing also used his private money to give the army generous rewards and salaries, so although there were heavy non-combat casualties along the way, morale was not low.  Seeing that the opponent was defeated at the first touch and vulnerable, the morale became higher and higher.  "Fight in?" Zhang Qi stared at the telescope intently, but said with a smile: "There are at least 30,000 to 50,000 people in this city, plus the peasants and soldiers around, just with a hundred of us, we can't even spit a mouthful of saliva."  I'll kill you." The surrounding soldiers suddenly burst into deep laughter. The guy who just spoke was a veteran. He waved his hands carelessly and retorted: "What are you making fun of? There are many barbarians in Myanmar.  , but you also saw it just now, they are all servants with yellow mud on their legs (a curse word at that time, meaning farmers and country people), even if there are tens of thousands of people, two cannonballs, several rows of guns, one  He was knocked down with a bayonet. Look, even the roofs of the houses in the city are golden. If we attack them, everyone can become a rich man!" Hearing what this man said, everyone couldn't help but think, Burma!  The whole country believes in Buddhism, and Mandalay has been its ancient capital for many years. There are pagodas everywhere. The emperors of the Burmese people decorated the tops of pagodas with gilt, and the sun shines on them, like a fairyland.  In the eyes of the soldiers, it was as if there were countless invisible little hands scratching at his internal organs, which was very uncomfortable.  Zhang Qi put down the telescope and scolded sternly: "Shut up, those are just farmers temporarily recruited by the King of Burma. Don't underestimate them. We are only allowed to inquire and monitor, but we are not allowed to create any trouble. Get out of here."  Go back to your position, or else beware of ruthless military law!¡±
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