Anti-Qing: Starting from the Jintian Uprising

Chapter 459: Battle of Yangon (6K)

After saying this, Yan Yuanzhou turned around and spoke to his comrades around him.

"Brothers, prepare to fire the artillery!"

"Aim at the British artillery positions on top of Yangon City and shoot them hard!"

"Let the brothers in the Burmese army know that we are not here to eat for free!"

Upon hearing this, everyone around responded in unison.

Every face was filled with passion.

Although they were sent to Burma to teach the Burmese artillerymen how to operate artillery, these Tang army artillerymen had no objection to this.

The reason is also very simple!
Because they receive high travel allowances when they travel on business.

In addition to paying the military salaries from the Tang Dynasty, Myanmar also has to give them a subsidy.

Well, this was already stipulated in the contract when the Tang Dynasty and Myanmar signed the military trade contract.

After all, the Tang Dynasty’s gunners can’t teach you for nothing, right?
In addition, they enjoy special treatment in the Myanmar Army.

Take eating as an example. Every time the army has a meal, they eat first.

After they have finished enjoying their meal and are full, the remaining leftovers will be given to the Burmese soldiers.

Even Burmese soldiers have two meals a day at most, one dry and one liquid, which is normal.

But they have meat for three meals a day, and occasionally have a midnight snack.

This kind of differential treatment and the psychological satisfaction brought by the experience of being superior to others made it difficult for them to refuse.

As soon as he finished speaking, several Tang army gunners began to skillfully command their Burmese apprentices to set up artillery positions.

"Add another layer of sandbags! This can save your life at a critical moment!"

"A slope should be dug behind the gun carriage so that the gun can automatically reset after firing, reducing the difficulty of reset."

"When setting up positions, pay attention to the firing range and don't let the sandbags block the artillery's firing range..."

Soon, the artillery positions of the Burmese army were set up.

Three 150mm howitzers and five 120mm howitzers were aimed at the top of Yangon city.

Yan Yuanzhou calculated the bombardment parameters quickly.

Then he ordered his gunners to start testing the artillery.

"Elevation 27 degrees, 11 o'clock position, full charge, fire!"

With an order, the cannon's fuse was pulled.

A roar suddenly sounded!
A thick cloud of gunpowder spewed out of the muzzle, and the shell broke through the air and fell towards the wall of Yangon.

The next moment, the shells landed a few dozen meters in front of the Yangon city wall.

There was an explosion!
The shock wave swept and spread, knocking down the British soldiers on the top of the city wall of Yangon.

Seeing this, Yan Yuanzhou put down the telescope in his hand and said without changing his expression.

"Increase the artillery elevation by one degree!"

"Cum again!"

Soon, with his order, the second round of test firing began.

There was a loud explosion, and this time the shell landed accurately on the wall of Yangon.

In an instant, the British troops on a small section of the city wall were cleared out.

"Firing calibration completed, ready to launch artillery fire!"

Yan Yuanzhou made arrangements quickly.

Several gunners began to respond, directing the Burmese gunners to load and calibrate.

……

In Yangon city!

The Governor-General of British Burma, Dalhousie, was pacing anxiously in his Governor-General's Palace.

Next to him was Brigadier General Pierre, commander of the British forces in Rangoon.

"Your Excellency the Governor, you don't have to be so anxious."

"The Burmese army is not the Tang army. They pose little threat to the city of Yangon."

"We are sure we can hold on to Yangon!"

Pierre began to persuade.

As he said this, his face was full of sincerity.

Dalhousie frowned.

"But there are also breech-loading guns among the Burmese army."

Dalhousie was not anxious at first, but when he heard the roar of the Burmese army's breech-loading artillery, he became a little panicked.

Pierre said without changing his expression.

"Your Excellency the Governor-General, do not be too anxious. The Burmese army has few breech-loading guns, even though breech-loading guns have some advantages over the muzzle-loading guns used by our army."

"But if the number is too small, this advantage will not be enough to affect the battle situation..."

"We just need to disperse our forces a little bit..."

To put it bluntly, anything can only pose a sufficient threat if it reaches a certain scale.

Dalhousie heard this and nodded.

"If that's the case, then let's make the arrangements according to your wishes, Brigadier General."

"I believe you can lead Britain to the final victory."

Upon hearing this, Pierre just nodded vigorously.

……

On the battlefield, the situation continued to evolve.

boom! Boom boom!

The Burmese army's artillery continued to fire.

Yan Yuanzhou commanded the artillery group to clear the British artillery on the top of Yangon city wall bit by bit.

After clearing the British artillery positions, the Burmese soldiers launched an attack on the defense line of Yangon.

Shouts of killing echoed throughout the battlefield!
At the same time, the Burmese army's artillery began to extend its firing range.

Yan Yuanzhou prepared to continue suppressing the British troops in Yangon to prevent them from successfully reinforcing the city.

However, at this moment, Tun Min Tun sent a messenger to deliver the message.

"Commander Yan, the general said that since we have successfully cleared the British artillery positions on the top of Yangon City, the shelling can be temporarily stopped."

Yan Yuanzhou couldn't help but frown when he heard this.

"It is possible that the British troops in the city are now reinforcing the city walls."

"Are you sure we don't need to extend the artillery range further to block British reinforcements and cover the infantry siege?"

Yan Yuanzhou is a typical academic artilleryman.

According to the education he received, the main role of artillery is to cooperate with infantry in combat and cover infantry attacks.

Therefore, he couldn't understand why Tun Min Tun stopped the shelling at this time!
Seeing this, the messenger who came to deliver the message nodded vigorously.

"Yes, Commander Yan, this is an order from General Tun Min Tun!"

Seeing this, Yan Yuanzhou had no choice but to nod.

"All right!"

"Since it is the general's order, we will suspend the shelling here!"

As he spoke, he waved his hand and asked everyone to stop the shelling.

Although he did not understand Tun Min Tun's decision, he expressed respect for it.

When the messenger saw this, he immediately turned around and reported to Tun Min Tun.

After receiving the report from the messenger, Tun Min Tun nodded slightly to show his satisfaction.

The reason why he ordered the shelling to stop was not because he did not understand the role that shelling could play in covering the infantry attack.

On the contrary, Tun Min Tun actually understood the effects of shelling.

The reason why they understood the situation was that they stopped the shelling.

This is mainly because Myanmar is poor. If the artillery fire continues like this, Myanmar’s finances will not be able to hold on.

The reason why the Tang army could carry out artillery bombardment recklessly on the battlefield was that they did not care about the consumption of artillery shells at all.

One reason is that the Tang Dynasty has money!
The second reason is that the Tang army's weapons were all self-produced. Although the army's procurement price was higher than the cost price, it was not much higher.

At most, the cost of labor and transportation will be added.

Therefore, the cost of shelling was basically controllable, and the Tang army dared to carry out large-scale shelling on the battlefield.

But Myanmar does not have this condition!
Myanmar does not have the ability to produce artillery shells on its own. The artillery shells currently used by the Myanmar army are all purchased from the Tang Dynasty.

The military trade of the Tang Dynasty was notoriously cruel, and the price of artillery shells was calculated by the piece.

Therefore, Tun Min Tun was reluctant to part with the shells!

In his opinion, instead of wasting artillery shells to provide fire cover, it would be better to fill it with human lives.

Well, artillery shells are much more valuable than the lives of Burmese soldiers.

……

At Tun Min Tun's order, the shelling stopped.

But the Burmese soldiers continued to attack Yangon.

They carried long ladders and prepared to attack the city in the most primitive way.

However, just as the Burmese soldiers rushed to the city wall, a row of black gun muzzles appeared from the top of the city wall in Yangon.

Snapped! Bang bang!

The British troops defending the city fired a volley of shots.

The Burmese soldiers gathered under the city fell to the ground in unison.

The screams never cease!
In response, the Burmese soldiers under the city also pulled the trigger and fired a round of volleys. Many British soldiers on the top of the city were shot and fell from the wall.

It is worth mentioning that at that time there were many soldiers in the Burmese army using breech-loading rifles.

On the contrary, the British troops defending the city were all equipped with muzzle-loading rifles.

There was a huge difference in firepower density between the two sides, and the British army was actually at a disadvantage in the exchange of fire.

The main reason for this is that all of Britain's breech-loading weapons are supplied to Crimea and India first.

To put it bluntly, the people in Myanmar were raised by a stepmother.

They don’t get the good stuff!
However, the British army had the support of the city walls, so although they were suppressed, they were not completely powerless to fight back.

The two sides fired fiercely at each other across a city wall.

The gunshots continued!

People were shot and fell to the ground on the city walls.

The casualty figures are rising.

A long ladder was placed on the top of the city wall, and the Burmese soldiers began to climb up the ladder like nimble monkeys.

Trying to use this to climb the city!

However, the British soldiers on the city wall are not vegetarians.

Whenever someone climbed the ladder, they would soon be met with concentrated fire from the British troops on the top of the city walls.

One by one, the brave Burmese soldiers screamed and fell down the ladder.

He would often fall and his brain would burst, and his bones would be broken.

The fighting in Yangon was extremely brutal, with both sides continuously deploying troops to fight each other.

Yan Yuanzhou observed the battlefield with a telescope. Looking at the brutal battle, he was somewhat unable to understand.

Why did Tun Min Tun call for a stop to the shelling?
If he hadn't stopped the shelling, the Burmese army would have already climbed onto the city wall under the cover of artillery, right?
If there was a general in the Tang army who sacrificed human lives to build fortifications in order to save ammunition, he would at least be punished with a serious offense.

He might even be dismissed from the military!
In the Tang Dynasty, human life always comes first.

It’s a pity that this is Myanmar, and the Burmese people’s way of thinking is completely different from that of the Tang Dynasty.

What’s even more regrettable is that Yan Yuanzhou is just an outsider and has no position to persuade Tun Min Tun to use artillery fire to reduce casualties.

Yan Yuanzhou slowly exhaled and put down the telescope in his hand to avoid the fatigue of looking.

Although he didn't care about the lives of the Burmese people, Yan Yuanzhou felt very uncomfortable seeing so many lives disappear in the blink of an eye.

But Tun Min Tun didn't care about this. Looking at the huge casualties on the front line, he still gave orders with an expressionless face.

"Pass the order down and continue to send reinforcements to the front line!"

"Let the supervisory team advance!"

"We must take Yangon at all costs!"

Upon hearing this, the messenger clasped his fists and turned to deliver the message to the front line.

The military order was issued and the Burmese Army's supervision team began to advance.

Amid shouts and cries of killing, the Burmese army once again launched an offensive towards the city of Yangon.

The offensive became more urgent, but it was never successful.

After facing the Burmese army, the British lobster soldiers finally showed their due combat effectiveness.

The British were very good at musketry.

Even if some Burmese soldiers managed to escape the musket fire and climbed to the top of the city wall of Yangon.

They would also be stabbed down by the British army's bayonets!

"kill!"

"Kill!"

"Hurry up and climb the city!"

"Hold on! Don't let these damn natives rush in..."

The two sides fought fiercely, and casualties continued to rise.

The city walls and outside the city were filled with corpses of various causes of death.

The air was filled with the pungent smell of gunpowder. The battle lasted for a whole day, and the Burmese army charged several times but failed to make a breakthrough.

Apart from leaving a pile of corpses under the city wall, they gained nothing else.

In the Burmese army camp, Tun Min Tun clenched his fists tightly, and his expression was visibly ferocious.

"Damn, what a bunch of trash!"

"Why can't I rush up?"

After a while of gritting his teeth, Tun Min Tun asked the deputy general beside him.

"Mangcai, how do you think our army should attack the city next?"

Mangchai heard this and spoke.

"How about letting the bombardment continue?"

“If our infantry had been able to receive artillery support during the attack, perhaps the casualties would not have been so great, and we would have been able to successfully enter Yangon.”

Upon hearing this, Tun Min Tun rolled his eyes speechlessly.

He also knew what Mangchai said.

But, don’t shells cost money?
The artillery shells they used were all purchased from the Tang Dynasty, and each of them was exchanged for real gold and silver.

But human life is worthless.

Nowadays, as long as you have some food, you don’t have to worry about not being able to recruit soldiers.

Compared with consuming artillery shells to attack the city, it is more cost-effective to fill it with lives.

"Besides this, is there any other way?"

Tun Min Tun continued to ask.

Mangcai opened his mouth and then spoke.

"If we rely solely on our soldiers to attack the city, there will inevitably be heavy casualties."

"Why not recruit some civilians from around Yangon and let them fill the city."

"Anyway, there are many villages and towns around Yangon that are pro-British and are lackeys of the British."

"Now, it's time for them to pay a price to prove their loyalty to the King!"

It was a bad idea, but it was definitely useful.

Upon hearing this, Tun Min Tun rolled his eyes and then made a decision.

"Okay, I'll leave this matter to you!"

Upon hearing this, Mangchai immediately clasped his fists and accepted the order, looking very excited.

Well, the reason is very simple. There is money to be made in conscripting civilians.

For example, during the conscription process, there is a lot to say about who to conscript and who not to conscript.

If you give me money, I won’t charge you.

But if you don't give us the money, we'll have to trouble you to be cannon fodder on the battlefield and contribute to Myanmar's national independence.

……

As night fell, the Burmese army, which had been attacking fiercely for a day, finally withdrew its troops and returned to the camp.

In Yangon city!

Governor Dalhousie is conferring with Brigadier-General Pierre.

"We've been fighting all day today. I don't think the Burmese army is that powerful."

"Our combat effectiveness is just average. Our army will definitely win this battle!"

Brigadier General Pierre patted his chest and said with great certainty.

Dalhousie asked with a worried look on his face.

"Sure?"

Brigadier General Pierre nodded vigorously.

"Of course!"

"I swear in the name of God that what I said is true."

Seeing this, Dalhousie nodded slightly, but still spoke.

"But what I am worried about now is whether the Tang army will join forces with the Burmese army and attack Yangon together?"

"If it's just the Burmese army, the threat to us is indeed limited, but what if the Tang army also enters the battlefield?"

"Once the two merge, the threat will be more than just one plus one!"

Dalhousie's original idea was to defend the city against the attack of the Burmese army.

However, now that the situation has changed, different ideas have arisen in his mind.

Since the Burmese army is so incompetent, can they take the initiative to attack in order to win back the situation?

Pierre asked with a look of doubt upon hearing this.

"What does the Governor mean?"

Dalhousie took a deep breath and said with a serious expression.

"Our army will take the initiative to attack and defeat the Burmese army outside the city, and then we can fully prepare to fight against the Tang army."

Pierre heard this and took a deep breath.

"Mr. Governor, isn't this too risky?"

"If our army fails to achieve results after leaving the city, or even loses the battle, Yangon will be in danger."

Dalhousie heard this and said with a firm look in his eyes.

“I think we can give it a try!”

"The Tang army may attack at any time. We must eliminate the threat of the Burmese army before the Tang army arrives in Yangon."

Upon hearing this, Pierre had no choice but to nod.

"Okay, Your Excellency the Governor, I'll go down and prepare right away!"

Dalhousie nodded in satisfaction.

……

In the Burmese army camp.

Yan Yuanzhou and a few others were gathering together for a midnight snack.

On the table in front of them was a plate of roast chicken, a plate of bacon, and a plate of Burmese-style tea salad.

After everyone sat down, Yan Yuanzhou took out something from his arms and said with a proud look on his face.

"Hey, everyone, look what this is?"

Everyone looked closely and saw Yan Yuanzhou taking out a glass wine bottle from his arms.

In the bottle, the crystal clear wine reflected the luster under the candlelight.

Even though the cork was not opened, everyone could smell a faint aroma of wine.

"Hey, Fenjiu from Shanxi?"

"What a nice wine! Where did you get it, Boss?"

"..."

Several people couldn't help but ask.

Yan Yuanzhou chuckled and said.

"It was sent by General Tun Min Tun. As for where he came from, I don't know."

Several people nodded, and then rushed to speak.

"Boss, open the bottle!"

"Yeah, boss, pour it over, let's try it."

"..."

Yan Yuanzhou took out a bottle opener, pulled out the cork, and then spoke.

"It's still wartime, don't drink too much."

"One cup per person, just try it!"

As he spoke, he began to pour wine for everyone.

As the clear wine was poured into the glass, the air was filled with a strong aroma of wine.

The Tang army had strict military discipline and drinking was strictly prohibited in the army.

However, this is the Burmese army, and the Tang army's military discipline does not apply here, and the Burmese army's military discipline will not apply to Yan Yuanzhou and other Tang soldiers.

So, they had fun!

During wartime, I dared to satisfy my cravings, but of course, it was just to satisfy my cravings and I didn't really drink too much.

They are all veterans, so they still have some sense of propriety.

A Tang army gunner laughed after hearing Yan Yuanzhou's words.

"Boss, you worry too much."

"This bottle of wine is only one pound. There are six or seven of us, and each person can only drink less than two ounces at most."

"It's just a little talk, how could you get drunk?"

Upon hearing this, Yan Yuanzhou just smiled and said nothing more.

After pouring wine for everyone, everyone raised their glasses and took a sip.

Feeling the spiciness and fragrance of the wine, everyone couldn't help but reveal expressions of enjoyment on their faces.

"Good wine!"

“This good wine tastes so good.”

"It's much better than Myanmar wine. I used to drink Myanmar wine and it tasted like a bird in my mouth!"

"..."

As the wine went down their throats, the group of people began to chat while drinking and eating.

The atmosphere at the banquet was very lively!

But at this moment, a burst of gunfire was heard outside the tent.

The sound of gunfire broke the silence of the night!

"grass!"

"What the hell is going on? Where did the gunshots come from?!"

Yan Yuanzhou couldn't help but let out a cry of surprise.

Everyone couldn't help but look at each other.

But soon, there was a noisy shouting, as well as faint shouting and screaming, from outside.

"Damn it, is there anyone attacking the camp?"

A man couldn't help but said with a worried look on his face.

Yan Yuanzhou made the decision immediately.

"Grab your weapons and go out and take a look!"

As they were talking, a group of people picked up rifles from the gun rack nearby and strode out.

When they arrived outside the camp, they saw a fire burning at the edge of the camp in the distance.

There was chaos everywhere and the fire was spreading rapidly.

"Damn it, someone really attacked at night!"

"Brothers, grab your weapons and prepare for battle!"

Although Yan Yuanzhou and others have been having some fun recently, they are elite veterans in the army after all. Even if they are a little panicked at the beginning, they will be fine once they calm down.

But just as they were preparing to fight.

A Burmese soldier ran over and said.

"Commander Yan, gentlemen, please follow me!"

"The foreign devils sneaked out of the city and attacked our camp at night. Our army was defeated. The general ordered me to bring you all to meet up with the general, so that we can retreat together..."

The Burmese army's training was really poor. When faced with a surprise attack, they had no defense at all, let alone preparing a plan to defend against the enemy in advance.

In addition, the Burmese army had just fought a whole day of hard fighting outside the city of Yangon today, with heavy casualties. Therefore, the morale of the army is now at a low point.

At this time, the Burmese army was attacked by the British army at night and immediately lost their composure.

Now, the situation has completely deteriorated and cannot be reversed.

In order to protect himself, Tun Min Tun had no choice but to order a retreat.

The reason why they took Yan Yuanzhou and others with them during the retreat was mainly because they were worried that they would not be able to explain to the Tang Dynasty in the future and were afraid of getting into international disputes.

Yan Yuanzhou was shocked when he heard this.

"The foreign devils attacked at night?"

"No, why are you retreating? Aren't you going to try to gather your troops and fight back?"

In the Tang army, if the army was attacked at night, the commander would flee without fighting.

That would lead to being brought to a military court and being shot, and being held responsible for the defeat.

Therefore, Yan Yuanzhou was a little shocked. What was going on with this Tun Min Tun? Why did he run away without trying to fight back?

The Burmese soldier who came to deliver the message heard this and said anxiously.

"My Lords, now is not the time to dwell on this."

"The foreign devils are almost reaching our center. We are in chaos. If we don't run away now, we will be stuck!"

Yan Yuanzhou felt a little disappointed, but after all, these were the Burmese army, not the Tang army.

Since the other party has made up his mind to retreat, there is nothing he can do!
After all, it's impossible for him, a Tang army soldier, to lead the British army to fight to the death for the Burmese army if the Burmese army ran away, right?

This is really too abstract!
……

PS: I have one thousand monthly tickets, and I currently owe three more chapters...

(End of this chapter)