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Volume Three: The Wind Rises in the South Chapter 80 Investigation

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    Bagan, Shunjun camp.  "My lord Zao only asked you to bring a letter and nothing else?" Batu asked the messenger who had just returned from Mandalay in front of him, with a look of disappointment on his face.  "Yes, sir, I have nothing else to explain!" "Go down!" Batu waved his hands in disappointment, opened the envelope and looked at it carefully.  As he read, Batu's face became solemn. In the letter, Zao Guoquan told Batu straight to the point that for at least a month, he would not be able to get reinforcements from the country. The current Myanmar New Army  The combat effectiveness was not enough to participate in the battle against the British, so he gave Batu an instruction: first, to protect the traffic from Bagan to Mandalay and ensure the safety of the two thousand soldiers in Bagan; second,  If possible, ensure the safety of the camp and expand the Shun army's control over Bagan and even the entire Central Myanmar region as much as possible; third, send a small reconnaissance force to obtain detailed reports on the strength of the British army through confrontation and investigation; third,  Fourth, in the worst case, Batu is allowed to withdraw his army to Mandalay, but this can only be made under the worst circumstances and with no other choice!  " "It seems that the situation is much worse than what I saw!  "Batu sighed and stood up. In the past few days, the actions of the British army have become very frequent and aggressive. On the river, several British shallow-water gunboats appeared near the dock where the Shunjun camp is located.  On the water, they did not leave quickly until the six-inch cannon on the fort started firing. It was obvious that the British were testing the defense system and firepower intensity of the Shun army in preparation for future attacks; in terms of the army, the British troops also started firing from the beginning.  Huddled in the camp became a frequent presence around Bagan. More importantly, after protecting the estates of some Burmese nobles, the British army obtained enough manpower and animal power to establish a baggage force, as well as a fairly good army.  Guide, this greatly improved the range of activities and marching speed of the British army. You must know that in a subtropical country like Myanmar with abundant rainfall, vegetation grows extremely fast. If no one walks on it, a road will be destroyed in a few years.  It has become an impassable dense bush. Without local guides and porters and supplies from the local area, the British team with a rough map can only operate near the big rivers. If they go a little further, they will be lost.  The grassland in the dense forest became a live target for the guerrillas. In this way, Batu had to consider the possibility that the British troops would bypass the Shun army's camp through a road he did not know and follow the mainland.  It is not completely impossible to attack and defend the empty Mandalay. "My lord!  "An announcement came from outside the door, interrupting Batu's thoughts. He sighed and said: "Come in!  " An officer walked in quickly, gave Batu a military salute, and said loudly: "Your Majesty, there are British soldiers on the hill to the west of our camp. They should be here to survey and survey our artillery positions and  The officer on duty sent a detachment to fire at the fortifications. The British retreated after being attacked!  " "Have you caught anyone alive?  " "No, according to the soldier's report, there should be injuries. Blood stains were also found at the scene, but no one was caught alive!  " "Well, tell the officer on duty that I ordered mobile sentries and lurking sentries to be deployed outside the camp to capture the British top soldiers!  " "Yes, sir!"  "The officer paid a military salute to Batu again, turned around and exited the door. Batu stood up. The British action is most likely that the attack on the camp is getting closer. Of course, it may also be to cover up the attack on Mander.  However, Batu felt that the second possibility was unlikely. The reason was simple. If he were a British commander, he would attack here first to avenge the last failure here. This is what soldiers all over the world know.  A common idea. "The order is passed and all the Burmese hostages in the military camp will be transported to Mandalay. The steam gunboats on the dock will have their boilers burning 24 hours a day and be on standby at any time.  There must be two posts and two sentries on the fort to prevent sudden attacks by the British!  " "Yes, sir!"  "After a staff officer wrote down all Batu's orders, he bowed and left. Batu was left alone pacing back and forth in the room. "Should I retreat on my own initiative or stay to resist the British attack?  When there won't be any reinforcements within a month, it's militarily stupid to waste the precious mobile forces on hand at a location that has no strategic significance, but politically it's a different story.  , as long as this dock is still in the hands of the Shun army, it will give people the impression that Dashun still has an advantage in the fight with the British for Burma, and the Burmese nobles on both sides will still admit that the two children are theirs.  king.  And if he retreats without a fight, even if he can bring this army back to Mandalay intact, all kinds of rumors will quickly flood the ears of every Burmese noble.  ¡± Just like countless generals from ancient times to the present, Batu is at the right moment.?In the midst of a dilemma.  War is an activity in which two forces and two armies, under the leadership of their leaders, do everything possible to force the other party to obey their will. In order to achieve this goal, there is no price that cannot be paid, and no means that cannot be used.  , as long as you can win, everything you have paid before will be compensated a hundred times, and no matter what evil means you use, you will be forgiven afterwards.  Because of this, it becomes very difficult to judge the opponent's next move, because in war, the usual old rules no longer exist, and people are no longer human, but return to their original state.  of beast.  While Batu was caught in a dilemma, his enemy, Major Duncan, was listening carefully to his scouts reporting to him the situation in the enemy camp.  As an officer of civilian origin who has served in the Imperial Army for nearly twenty years, Major Duncan has a significant advantage over his aristocratic colleagues, that is, he knows more about the conditions of the soldiers under his command, and he also  To the vast majority of aristocratic officers in the British army at that time, the imperial army was just composed of a group of social dregs. It was the sergeant's job to manage the soldiers in peacetime. As a gentleman with status, he should  Caring more about your horses and hounds, and having too much contact with these vulgar low-class people is a sign of your status. As a gentleman, it is enough to be brave on the battlefield and elegant at the ball, let alone  Like Duncan, he listened carefully to the reports of several scouts covered in sweat and blood before the battle.  "Are you saying that the enemy's reaction was very fast? You just observed for a few minutes before the enemy discovered you, shot at you, and rushed towards you?" Duncan asked with a frown.  "Yes, Major!" A middle-aged man with flaxen hair replied loudly. He had a wound on his buttocks and his trousers were taken off. A military doctor was disinfecting him with strong alcohol. Severe pain hit his face.  His muscles were twitching, but he still replied nonchalantly: "You know, our military uniforms are red. They are very conspicuous here. They will be spotted a thousand yards away, and then the Chinese hunters will shoot at us."  , you know their marksmanship is very accurate!¡± ¡°Yes, Peter, I saw their marksmanship from your butt. Fortunately, the bullet passed through without damaging the bones, otherwise it would have been a big trouble!¡±  Old Tom, the military doctor, interjected. At this time, he had already cleaned the scout's wound with strong liquor and began to apply medicine on it.  "Thank you, Old Tom!" Pete replied with a smile: "But it would be better if you didn't waste those good wines on my ass, because the whiskey should go into the stomach." "Okay.  "Sergeant Pete, tell me what you saw. You will get your whiskey, but it depends on how much you see. The more you see, the more wine you will drink!" "Major, you are really an angel!"  "Pete said with a smile: "According to my observation, the Chinese defense line is divided into two sections. The southern section stretches from the river to a small mound, about 1,500 yards long, while the northern section stretches from the small mound.  The mound stretches to the river for about 700 yards. The two sections are at an angle of about 120 degrees at the small mound. The Chinese should have deployed mountain artillery on the mound. These two sections of defense line are filled with water.  Composed of water trenches, breastworks, and multi-faceted forts, their artillery had good shooting range and concealment, and ammunition depots and tunnels were dug on the sides and rear of the fort. Their core fort was about 2,500 yards away from the mound.  At this place, the Chinese cannons and field artillery can block the entire river bend and most of the river, and can also use artillery fire to bombard enemies attacking from the land. " "Very good!" Duncan listened to Peter's report.  Writing and drawing on a simple sand table in front of him, he suddenly raised his head and asked: "Didn't the Chinese fire at you with heavy firepower?" "Yes, Major!" Peter shook his head: "The guards are very  They were calm and did not expose their firepower. They just sent some hunters to drive us away. And I think they will increase the number of mobile sentries outside the trenches next. Our next batch of scouts will encounter more difficulties! " "You said!  Yes, I would do the same if it were you!" Duncan nodded solemnly. He stood up, pointed to the sand table in front of him and said to Sergeant Pitt: "Come here, come over and point out what you think the Chinese are most likely to do.  "A place with heavy firepower." "Yes, Major!" Sergeant Peter lifted up his pants, limped to the sand table, and pointed at a few places on the sand table with his fingers: "I think they will put Gatling on it."  The artillery is deployed here, the mountain artillery is deployed in these places, the field artillery and the cannons are deployed here, so that the best effect can be achieved! " "Yes, you are right, the best effect will be achieved here!  !" Duncan sighed: "It would be great if we didn't lose the cannon battery to the Chinese last time, so that the fort would not be such a big threat to our surface fleet. "   "Yes, Major." Sergeant Pitt shook his head and said with a smile: "But it's nothing, we still have bayonets!" When Duncan heard this, a smile appeared on his face: "You're right, old Pete!  In the final analysis, it depends on the bayonet! You can go down now!" "Yes, Major!" Peter stood up straight and gave a military salute to Duncan: "Long live England!" Duncan said.  Military salute, watching Peter limping back, he started looking down at the sand table again.
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