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Volume 3: The Wind Rises in the South Chapter 17 Chapter 17: Battle of Babu Village 1

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    Under the officer's order, the soldiers of the Shun Army returned to their posts.  Zhang Qi waved his hand to summon a smart messenger, and dictated the situation here. After letting him remember it clearly, he ordered him to return to Xingai and report the general's situation to Batu.  The messenger had just finished reciting the story when Zhang Qi suddenly heard someone behind him saying hurriedly: "Holding the flag, someone ran out of the city gate and ran towards us." Zhang Qi quickly turned around and grabbed the flag from his waist.  He pulled out his telescope and looked in the direction of his finger. Sure enough, there was a group of people running towards him from the city gate. There were men and women inside. From the appearance, they looked more like fleeing civilians than attacking defenders.  "Sir, do you want to fire?" There was a sound of pulling the bolt and loading bullets in Zhang Qi's ears. The position they occupied was a small mound with a good view. According to the speed at which those people were running, in two minutes  , entering the range of the outpost rifle.  "No!" Zhang Qi put down the telescope: "From the telescope, it seems that these people are not carrying weapons, and there are women and children inside. They should be people fleeing. You can take a few people to capture them alive and bring them here, just in time to inquire about Mandalay."  The situation in the city. " "Yes!" The sentry leader stood up straight, gave a military salute, then turned around and led six or seven soldiers down. Zhang Qi ordered the gunners behind him to aim at the city gate and load the cannons, ready to fire at any time.  The reinforcements appeared and then used binoculars to carefully observe the group of refugees.  After a while, the whistleblower came to Zhang Qi with three panting people. Zhang Qi was surprised to find that although these people had darker skin and were dressed similar to Burmese people, judging from their faces and behavior, they should be  Dashun people.  Before he could ask a question, the sentry leader said with anger on his face: "Hold the flag, these are my Dashun people. The Burmese barbarians burned, killed, and looted in the city, specifically attacking and killing us Chinese. They also said that their king had already destroyed the city."  All the Chinese and their property were rewarded to their soldiers. They were decorated as Burmese barbarians and took advantage of the chaos in the city to escape. " Zhang Qi frowned slightly and began to ask the three who were already kneeling.  For the refugees on the ground, he soon determined from their accents and answers that they were indeed from Sichuan and were doing grocery business in Myanmar.  Zhang Qi knew that there were many Sichuan businessmen doing various businesses in Myanmar, and some even married and had children in Myanmar and settled there for several generations. Although he also knew that when the two countries were at war, what happened to the people living in other countries caught in the middle?  Such a fate is indeed extremely ordinary, but looking at these people's scarred bodies and frightened expressions, I still feel a bit pity in my heart.  He asked some more about the situation in the city, then ordered them to go down and rest. Then he summoned the messenger and whispered: "You have just seen the situation here. You should return to Xingai as soon as possible and report the situation here."  Report to the commander, do you know?¡±  These built two multifaceted forts on the high ground outside the market town, dug trenches around the multifaceted forts, and built breastworks for infantry. Outside the market town, they used earthen walls to reinforce shrubbery and bamboo fences.  Batu planned to deploy its only eight 75mm mountain guns in the market town, and use multi-faceted fortresses as observation posts, and use semaphore to direct the artillery fire. In this way, although the shooting effect is not good, it can avoid being defeated by the enemy's numerically superior artillery.  Overwhelmed, and take advantage of our own training and quality advantages.  Although Batu knew that the artillery in the Burmese army was very backward, he did not know whether the British had provided any advanced artillery during this period, but he firmly believed that the Shun army's artillery was superior to the Burmese army in terms of quality.  sexual advantage.  The main infantry is on standby, which is very necessary after a long journey.  But what made Batu and Chen Zaixing very disappointed was that although they took up the banner of the sons of the late king, no one from the neighboring Myanmar powerful came to vote. It seems that the puppet king has made full use of these few months to control Myanmar.  Around Dele.  Farmers from nearby villages fled one after another, and the Shun army received very limited manpower and material resources. If they had not obtained a large amount of food in the warehouse when they captured Xingai, I am afraid that the Shun army would have run out of food.  But this is not an option. After all, as time goes by, the power of the false king will continue to increase. Batu and Chen Zaixing agreed that they must launch an attack on Mandalay as soon as possible after getting the necessary rest.  "What you mean is that the puppet king summoned a large number of peasants and gave them weapons. He also massacred our merchants in the city and distributed their property to the soldiers to boost morale!" Batu frowned and looked at the messenger,  Chen Zaixing sat aside, his eyes bright.  "Yes, sir! Although those Burmese barbarians are large in number, they are nothing special. We fired seven or eight rounds of artillery shells, killing and wounding hundreds of them, and scared away several times the number of enemies.  The city gates were all open, and no one dared to close them. They would have been left open unless the flags were raised.He's already gone in!  "The messenger replied excitedly. "Yeah!  You go down first to receive the reward!  "Batu made a gesture. At this time, he and Chen Zaixing were the only two people left in the room. He thought for a moment and asked in a low voice: "It seems that the false king was also caught off guard. I'm afraid he has been thrown into chaos!  " "Exactly!  "Chen Zaixing agreed: "He attacked and killed Chinese merchants and disrupted order. I'm afraid that the people, monks and monasteries in the city who have a little wealth will secretly feel chilly: Today, I can kill Chinese merchants to get a lot of murder, but how do I know it won't be my turn tomorrow?  them?  Things in the world are prone to chaos, and it is difficult to achieve peace. That guy was not in the right position, and if he still acts like this, he is really bringing his own destruction.  In my opinion, selecting a few capable people from the fleeing merchants and guides, and sending them back to the city with the promise of heavy rewards, to discuss with the monks and knowledgeable people in the city, and to create a wedge between them, will have a miraculous effect.  "    "good!  Batu nodded and said: "However, those people probably only know how to deal with both sides. At most, they will start to react after we gain an advantage on the battlefield."  " "Brother Ba, have you ever hunted an eagle?  Chen Zaixing said with a smile: "The false king thought that rewarding the sergeants with businessmen's wealth would motivate them to fight to the death. Don't you know that after the falcons are full, they will be too lazy to pounce and cannot be driven. Therefore, falconers never let falcons fly."  When you are full, feed it at most one or two mouthfuls, otherwise it will not be used.  After those Burmese soldiers were plundered, they must think about their own wealth and self-protection when they go into battle. What is the use of millions of people?  Not to mention this kind of robbery, if some people take more and some take less, the unevenness will inevitably create resentment in the army, which is harmful but useless.  Our army is advancing with no way to retreat. The soldiers can only fight to the death. How can we compare the two sides to be invincible?  "Hearing this, Batu had made up his mind. He immediately sent an order to the baggage team to prepare dry food, pack up and prepare to set off to attack Mandalay. "The next morning, when the first ray of sunshine appeared in the sky, the troops of the Shun Army  The vanguard troops left Xingai, followed by the Chinese army, with artillery and camels transporting baggage at the rear. In order to protect themselves from the light rain, the soldiers generally wore wide-brimmed bamboo hats commonly used by locals and walked in the narrow streets.  On the road, there was no one in the vast paddy fields on both sides. Only the sharp chirping of tropical birds could be heard from the distant woods from time to time. Everything seemed so quiet, as if the peace had never been broken. The speed of the Shunjun march was not fast.  At noon, after walking only about seven kilometers, Batu ordered to rest and have meals in a nearby village. This was partly because the road conditions were very bad, and more importantly, because Batu did not want his soldiers to spend too much time on the march.  After all, the enemy may appear at any time. ¡°The roads here are terrible. There are no basic drainage ditches and hardened roads. I can¡¯t believe that this is only a dozen kilometers away from Mandalay!  "Batu complained while drinking fish soup. His trouser legs were all covered with yellow soil. "Indeed, but this is not a bad thing!  After all, this also prevented the British from invading, otherwise the enemy we are facing now would probably be hordes of 'red-robed soldiers.'" Chen Zaixing showed a nonchalant look, he spread his two long legs,  Let the fire dry his pants. He put the bowl of fish soup aside with a smile and asked: "Bazhang Brigade, I guess the puppet king has almost got the news of our attack, and the fight will start tomorrow.  , how are you going to fight?  Batu nonchalantly handed the bowl of fish soup to the orderly on the side, and replied: "Occupy a favorable position, let those Burmese barbarians smash into pieces, and then fight back to capture or kill the puppet king."  " "Do you think the other party will act according to your imagination?  The false king is not your puppet!  " "Chen Zanhua, the number of troops that the Puppet King can really restrain and command is very limited. Most of the remaining troops are mobs and temporarily recruited farmers. The reason why I am so eager to attack Mandalay is to  Not giving him enough time to train them into an army with minimum discipline.  These rabble-rousers are simply unable to make basic tactical cooperation. You must know that their emotions are always switching between reckless bravery and sudden fear. The only thing the Puppet King can do is to bring these guys as orderly as possible.  On the battlefield, point at the enemy and let them charge forward, and then pray to the gods to drown us with their numerical superiority.  " Chen Zaixing nodded: "Okay, I admit that what you said makes sense. You should have thought about the specific location, right?  "    "of course!  Batu smiled and took another sip of fish soup, stretched out his hand and tapped on his head: "I am not just hanging around in the Burmese Colonel's Mansion. The terrain near Mandalay is here."  Five kilometers further ahead there is a village called Babu. It is really a great position, located on a saddle-shaped highland, with a small pond on the left to provide the village with drinking water.  Once the village is captured, we can control the road below. I placed the infantry on both sides of the village and the artillery in the recessed area in the middle.  If the enemy wants to attack us, he must cross that?The rice fields must be muddy now. We can beat them to death in the mud like ducks.  Most of the artillery of the Burmese army are smoothbore artillery. Their solid bullets will sink into the mud and have no effect on our infantry behind the parapet. If necessary, we can also blow up ponds and flood the Burmese people with water.  " Hearing this, Chen Zaixing showed a satisfied smile on his face: "Very good, it seems that my choice this time is not wrong. I promise that if I win this battle, I will make a case for you in front of the teacher and let you  After returning, he led a battalion and became a general.  " "Seriously?  "Hearing Chen Zaixing's promise, Batu couldn't help but tremble all over. The hot fish soup splashed into his hand without realizing it. It's no wonder he was so rude. It turns out that according to the Dashun military system, there are hundreds of people in a team, and the officer is called the flag bearer; the team leader  If there is a brigade, the leader of the brigade is the commander; if there is a mark on the brigade, the leader of the mark is the commander; if there is a battalion, the commander is the general. The battalion is the largest organization. If there is more than one battalion, it can be used.  The generals such as the pacifying envoy, the recruiting envoy, the general protector, and the commander-in-chief of all roads are under unified command, but these are temporary official positions set up during wartime.  An important step. Although Batu's official rank was only a brigade when he was guarding the Burmese captain's mansion, he commanded two pacesetters when he sent out troops this time. This was already an exceptional appointment. If he was promoted to a general and commanded a battalion of soldiers, his promotion speed would be automatic.  In the more than two hundred years since the founding of the People's Republic of China, no one has been able to match it, except for the famous generals at the time of the founding of the People's Republic of China.  The imperial court wanted to follow the old practices of Anxi and Shuofang and garrison troops to open the mansion.  It turns out that most of the people in the government who were familiar with the situation in Myanmar died in that disaster. The Yunnan-Guizhou Jiedu Envoy is my mentor, so he will naturally speak for me. With his guarantee, who else can replace you and me?  Location.  " Hearing this, Ba Dudu was overjoyed. He rubbed his palms and said, "Brother Chen, please watch me break the thief.  " Mandalay. There is already a sea of ??people outside the city. After receiving the news that the Chinese were attacking Mandalay, the palace finally issued an order to send troops to attack. At the front were countless farmers, their weapons were bamboo  Guns, farm tools, bows, arrows, and blowguns; in order to ensure basic order, on both sides of the queue were village leaders riding elephants. They waved long whips and swung them vigorously above their heads, making sharp sounds.  The sound was made to intimidate the villagers and prevent them from escaping. There were flags made of various materials above the heads of the crowd, including cotton, linen, silk, and even a straw mat. This number.  The astonishing mob slowly moved southward. Behind the farmers were the Burmese regular troops. Their number was between 11,000 and 12,000 people. Their equipment and order were better than before.  The rabble was much better. The soldiers were generally equipped with muskets. The soldiers wore black-painted bamboo hats in place of military caps and marched along the road in a line of six people. Duncan rode an Indian horse.  Horse, he joined the battle as the commander of the new army. He looked back at the elephants not far behind him. The Burmese used elephants and buffaloes instead of horses to pull these old antiques. Those were the kings of Burma who overpowered the domestic power.  The trump card - the artillery team. In Meng Ji's plan, the artillery team will play an extremely important role in the war against the Chinese. At this time, Gillings's harsh comments flashed through Duncan's mind: "We are here.  The great king was such a generous collector that he established a living artillery museum, where you can find all the artillery that appeared in human history from the 1870s to the mid-19th century, from Lafayette to  Especially when it comes to Napoleon III, maybe the collection in the British Museum is not as rich as his, but it's just a bit disrespectful to let them go to the battlefield now!  " "You are such a mean guy, Mr. Arkansas!  "Duncan said to himself. His eyes turned to the front. A very ornately decorated white elephant stood out among the black bamboo hats. It was the mount of King Meng Ji. Surrounded by the white elephant were people wearing  Monks in yellow and red cassocks, these monks will recite scriptures while marching and fighting, which is said to curse the enemy and bring victory to the king. Duncan turned around and made a gesture. A man with brown hair.  The green-eyed British officer ran over, and Duncan whispered: "Tell the children, no one is allowed to fire a shot or move without my order, do you understand?  "
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