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Volume 3: The Wind Rises in the Southern Kingdom Chapter 36 Chapter 36: Fierce Battle

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    When Duncan arrived at the military camp, the place was already in chaos. The Burmese recruits who had not experienced the war were like a group of frightened goats, running from one end of the military camp to the other end, and then from the other end.  At this point, a handful of British officers had no way to regain control of these guys who were farmers more than a month ago in the dark night. The only thing they could do was to command the remaining company of Indian soldiers and those who had already trained more.  Four Burmese companies for a long time blocked several exits of the military camp to prevent these Burmese people from escaping in the chaos.  After Duncan saw all this, he ordered two hundred men to be captured from the military camp and added to the four Burmese companies. Then he led them to support the fort and at the same time sent the Indian company to protect the arsenal. Duncan knew very well.  , as long as the arsenal and forts can be secured, the attackers will not be able to control the dock. As long as there are weapons and food, even if more than two thousand people escape, the king can quickly supplement the manpower, and as long as the dock is in his hands  Here, Yangon has continuously sent weapons and soldiers here, and even controlled the entire Lower Burma.  When Duncan came to the fort, he had already received the news from the deserters that the attackers had occupied the fort.  Duncan immediately threw his troops into the battle. He did not use the wavy skirmish line that was common at the time. Instead, he had one company in a horizontal line at the front, and three companies in a column behind him.  The reason is simple. Although these soldiers have been trained for a longer period of time, Duncan still does not believe that they can line up on the battlefield, advance hundreds of yards in an orderly manner under enemy fire, rush into the fort, and destroy the enemy with bayonets.  The column is much simpler. The dense front, the narrow range, the fastest possible impact speed, and the huge impact momentum will overcome the timidity of the recruits in the first battle. Moreover, under the cover of night, enemy artillery and other threats will threaten the column.  Larger heavy firearms will also be much less powerful.  Behind the parapet, there was a mess, with the corpses of Indian soldiers wrapped in turbans and British officers wearing big-brimmed hats everywhere. On the higher fort, four British six-inch cannons were staggering around.  Shell boxes and fired metal casings were scattered everywhere.  The soldiers of the Shun Army, who had exhausted all their energy in the previous battle, were sitting on the ground behind the parapet, breathing lowly.  The unique red tassel on the Shunjun's leather helmet and the officer's white feathers trembled slightly with the master's breathing against the residual firelight, like ghosts.  An officer of the Shun Army was walking along the parapet with his waist hunched over, counting the remaining soldiers. The cowhide holster hanging on his waist tapped his butt gently as he advanced.  When he finished counting, he straightened up, and suddenly he let out a scream. Apparently he found the Burmese soldiers, and there was a rush behind the parapet.  Duncan also heard the screams. Without even a second's delay, he raised his pistol and fired into the air, shouting loudly at the same time.  Under the urging of the British officers in the team, the Burmese soldiers shouted wildly and began to rush towards the fort. Almost at the same time, intensive gunfire came from the fort.  On the parapet, the remaining soldiers of the Shu army relied on the parapet and opened fire at the Burmese soldiers who had appeared in the night. A moment later, the sound of Gatling cannons sounded behind them, and the formation of the Burmese soldiers in the front company was immediately confused.  Standing up, they had only received a short period of training and were unable to maintain their formation under the enemy's firepower. The originally neat horizontal formation was like a moving snake. It quickly twisted and then broke into several pieces.  Festival.  However, under the urging of the officers, the three companies of Burmese soldiers in the rear passed their companions in front and rushed towards the fort.  "Use zero-delay fuse! Quick!" The soldiers on the fort immediately made the same choice. Several soldiers hurriedly turned the two eight-pound cannons in the direction of the enemy's impact, then cut the fuses to the shortest length and aimed at them.  The column of Burmese soldiers, which had rushed to within fifty yards of the parapet, opened fire.  The grenade that exploded among the Burmese soldiers had a terrible effect. The scorching fragments flew and knocked down every upright person. The Huns soldiers behind the parapet could be clearly seen with the help of the firelight of the shell explosion. Dozens of people seemed to be  At the same time, he was struck by an invisible sword and fell to the ground. The screams of the dying man were mixed with the explosion, which was terrifying.  Duncan stood under a big tree and watched his attack being defeated. Two companies of Burmese soldiers were defeated by artillery fire. Only one company rushed into the parapet, but the defenders immediately blocked the breach with Gatling cannons and rushed in.  The Burmese soldiers drove out with bayonets.  Duncan waved his arms in frustration. Unfortunately, what he was holding now was a group of Southeast Asian monkeys who had not been carrying guns for three months. If there was even a company of good Scottish boys here, they would definitely be able to recapture the fort.  Now that everything was over, he turned around in frustration and ordered to the adjutant behind him: "Order Second Lieutenant Boluo, who is guarding the weapons warehouse, to take away all the weapons that can be taken away, and then set fire to the warehouse!" Zhang Qi watched in fear.  Looking at the fort on the hill, he had already sent out the last soldier who could be sent out. If the operation to capture the fort failed,?The only thing we can do is to drive these three boats upstream and give up the operation to occupy the dock.  As the sound of gunfire over there gradually faded away, his heart became more and more in his throat. Did the Shun army successfully occupy the fort or did the attack fail?  Zhang Qi walked back and forth on the deck impatiently, wondering whether he should order all three ships to heat up the boilers first. At this time, three balls of fire rose from the fort. Zhang Qi saw the predetermined signal and finally breathed a sigh of relief.  Early the next morning, there were more than 20 boats beside the trestle, and each boat was packed with soldiers carrying rifles. They jumped on the wooden trestle and looked around curiously: a building on the shore  Various makeshift houses; rows of captured Burmese soldiers squatting on the ground on the shore, wearing ill-fitting khaki military uniforms; and piles of mutilated Lee-Enfield rifles placed on the roadside.  "Sir, the entire dock has been occupied by our king's division!" Zhang Qizhi proudly reported loudly to Batu: "The Yingyi's three steam flat-bottomed gunboats are also in the hands of our army. In the warehouse at the dock, there are enough for our army to eat five  Months of rice and many other materials. The enemy set fire to the weapons warehouse as they retreated, but a light rain fell in the middle of the night and put out the fire. We recovered four hundred intact Lee-Enfields from the ruins.  There are about 1,700 rifles left that have been repaired and can be used, but most of the ammunition has been burned. " "Very good!" Badu patted Zhang Qi's shoulder happily and suddenly felt sorry for Chen Zaixing.  He was somewhat disapproving of the risk of direct conflict with the British to launch an attack on the puppet king. After all, those gunboats were an insurmountable difficulty. If they failed, the British would be involved, and they might be involved.  All the hard-won gains from previous adventures were lost in Myanmar.  But from now on, the Shun Army's adventure has achieved initial success, occupying this dock as a forward base for attacking Bagan, and being able to control the waterway in the lower reaches of the Irrawaddy River for a period of time, which is very important for the Shun Army to control the entire lower Myanmar.  It is of great significance to be prepared for future negotiations.  "Where are the captured British people? Are there any good people taking care of them?" Batu asked.  "According to the two adults' instructions in advance, we have put all the British prisoners under special custody and treated them well. The injured are also looked after by doctors and given medicine to treat their injuries. Please don't worry!" "Okay, you take me to have a look!  Batu nodded with satisfaction. According to the prior discussion between him and Chen Zaixing, all British prisoners will be well protected so as not to offend Britain and join the war. Moreover, these prisoners will also be good weights in future negotiations.  Bagan, located on the left bank of the middle reaches of the Irrawaddy River, is the center of the Burmese people. In 849 AD, King Piimbia of Burma established the Kingdom of Bagan and established its capital here. In the following hundreds of years, successive Burmese kings launched overseas expeditions.  The civil rule was promoted internally and gradually controlled most of Myanmar. Bagan gradually became the political, cultural and religious center of Myanmar.  In 1287 AD, Yuan soldiers attacked Myanmar from Yunnan and captured the city of Bagan. The Bagan Kingdom became a vassal of the Yuan Dynasty, and Myanmar was divided.  The Shan people in the north and the Mongols in the south took the opportunity to develop their power and established their capitals in Ava (ie Mandalay) and Malapan respectively, forming a confrontation between the northern and southern kingdoms.  The city of Bagan has gradually become deserted and lost its glorious status in the past. However, from the thousands of pagodas lined up in the city, you can still see the glory and prosperity of the "City of Ten Thousand Pagodas" in the past.  After Meng Ji escaped from Mandalay, he stayed here to train troops and collect food, preparing to counterattack Mandalay and regain the throne.  It was already eight o'clock in the morning, and the city gate was bustling with people. People were lining up in a long queue, patiently waiting for the guards to inspect and enter the city. Most of them were nearby farmers who came to the city to transport vegetables, firewood and various daily necessities.  After Meng Ji fled here, despite the violent expropriation throughout Lower Myanmar, many Burmese farmers who had lost their livelihoods fled into the city of Bagan in search of livelihoods. A large amount of people and materials suddenly entered the areas near Bagan, which invisibly brought consequences to the local area.  There came a freak boom.  Bagan is located in the subtropical zone. Although it has entered the cool season, the sunshine is still quite strong. The farmers near the city gate are very crowded. The reason is very simple. Everyone hopes to enter the city early so that they can put their goods  Buy earlier for a better price, and the weather in Myanmar is hot. If it is firewood or something, it will be fine. If it is vegetables, fruits, etc., it may rot in the sun for a few hours.  "Make way for the revered masters, make way for the revered masters!" The guards at the city gate shouted loudly, and almost at the same time, a burst of chanting Buddhist scriptures came from the city gate.  This sound seemed to have an invisible power. People who were originally very crowded retreated in awe, making way for a narrow passage.  A group of monks wearing cassocks walked out of the city gate. They all had serious faces, lowered their eyes, and chanted Buddhist scriptures. People on both sides knelt down devoutly, knelt down to the monks, and begged the Buddha and God for blessings.  Suddenly a burst of rapid horse hoofbeats broke the scene.In silence, several horses galloped along the road towards the city gate. When the knights saw the crowd at the city gate, not only did they not slow down their horses, but they stood up from their horses and shouted something loudly.  Seeing this scene, the crowded crowd dispersed in panic, but the monks who happened to be standing in the middle of the road were unable to dodge. One of them was hit by the horses at the front and fell away.  When people saw that the respected monk was killed and injured, they cursed angrily, but the knights didn't care at all and just rode into the city.  Several monks ignored the fact that they were covered in dust and hurriedly stepped forward to help the monk who was knocked down by the knight, shouting repeatedly: "Respected Master, respected Master!" The monk had a gray beard and was already quite old.  , opened his eyes when he heard the call, only to see his cheeks were pale gold, his lips were blue, and his eyes were red. He was already seriously injured. He opened his lips slightly and wanted to say something, but he couldn't catch a breath and tilted his head.  Then he passed out.  A middle-aged monk stretched out his hand to touch the old monk's nose, but he was no longer breathing and had died.  The middle-aged monk was filled with grief and anger. He picked up the old monk's body with both hands and shouted loudly to the onlookers: "Killing a monk on the street is something that has never happened in Myanmar since ancient times. Only the devil-like Yuan  Who would be so bold as to wield a sword against a disciple of the Buddha?"
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