Chinese martial arts! Grandmaster

Chapter 251 Three Thousand Cannons, Set Off!

Waldersee saw that Jack Bonaparte didn't say anything for a long time.

Suddenly,

He felt that his tone seemed a little too harsh.

After all, in terms of identity and status, the young man in front of him is the heir to the 'Bonaparte' family of the French Empire.

Don’t look at the monk’s face but look at the Buddha’s face!
No matter what, you have to give the other party some face.

He smiled and said:
"Major General Jack Bonaparte, there is nothing wrong with being cautious, but you must be adventurous!"

"Nothing can be absolutely certain!"

"Well, since the French coalition forces were under the command of the Hunter coalition forces, they suffered heavy losses."

"You will leave all the soldiers of the French coalition on Dinghai Island. I will personally lead the coalition forces to land and attack the eastern Zhejiang of the Daqian Dynasty."

Jack Bonaparte took a deep breath and nodded.

After all, he was the deputy commander of the Western Allied Forces appointed by the European "Parliamentary Group", so he naturally could not retreat in the face of battle.

At this time, if a conflict arises with Waldersee, it will be disadvantageous to the entire Western Alliance.

Therefore,
He stopped trying to persuade Waldersee and said seriously:

"Okay! Your Excellency, Duke Waldersee, I will arrange it now!"

finished,

He saluted Waldersee, turned and walked down the watchtower, leaving the battleship Queen Elizabeth.

When it comes to marching and fighting, Waldersee is definitely an excellent general.

He has been through many battles and has a lot of experience.

in addition,

He is a traditional European soldier, a typical "pirate-style" commander who believes in resolving all disputes by force.

He has always believed in one principle:
——Truth comes from guns!

In neighboring India, he always used guns and cannons to suppress the natives!

A group of indigenous people with backward industrial civilization, weak and vulnerable.

If you want to make these natives kneel down, you don't need too much thinking, just use guns and cannons to knock them down completely.

Then,

These natives will kneel down and will never resist again, as docile as little lambs.

Therefore,
He had the same idea about the Daqian Empire, believing that the Daqian Dynasty would be easy to conquer.

This ancient Eastern civilization was isolated from the outside world for more than two hundred years and was extremely ignorant.

When the European Parliamentary Group decided to make conquering the Eastern Daqian Dynasty its goal, Waldersee became the executor of this plan.

After setting out from India, he was appointed commander-in-chief of the Western Allied Forces.

He always believed that he would be able to complete the task of conquering the Daqian Dynasty.

He will surely go down in history and become a legend!
There is another more important reason, according to the rules of the Western Parliamentary Group.

Whoever conquers the land will become the 'king' of this land!
Waldersee is ambitious and wants to become the first post-colonial "king" of the Daqian Dynasty!
He must eat this piece of fat meat at all costs.

In order to inspire the fighting spirit of all soldiers.

Waldersee promised other commanders of the Western coalition that as long as they conquered the Daqian Dynasty, they would turn it into a colony.

Then,

All soldiers will be given a large amount of wealth and will be allowed to plunder all the wealth for themselves.

Under his instigation, the fighting spirit of almost all the soldiers soared.

-

East Zhejiang, Ningbo!
On a rocky mountain on the coastline, Chen Jie used a military telescope to watch the troop transport ships of the Western fleet in the distance, constantly landing soldiers.

and,

After many soldiers came ashore, they began to dig sand with shovels.

They filled bags with sand, stacked them together, and built fortifications!

Waldersee is indeed an excellent commander with extremely rich combat experience.

The British Empire’s reputation as a maritime hegemon is not undeserved.

After Waldersee became the commander-in-chief of the entire Western coalition, the quality of the army was much stronger than during the Seymour period.

In particular, the military experience accumulated by the commander-in-chief of the British Empire over the years is definitely the most valuable asset for the Western Allied Forces.

On the coastline, where the Western Allied Forces landed, there were circles of sandbags surrounding it.

Don't underestimate these sandbags, they can block artillery attacks.

If an artillery attack is launched at the landing site, as long as the shells fall within the circle surrounded by sandbags, the sandbags will block the shock waves and shrapnel!
Therefore,
Although there is no guarantee that sandbags can completely eliminate the threat of bombs.

but,

In a place like this covered with sandbags, the power of the artillery shells is weakened by at least 80%.

It seems that there are no rules for these sandbags.

However, all the Western soldiers who landed from the troop transports walked through the gaps between the sandbags formed in circles, just enough to avoid the continuous bombardment of the artillery.

"Krupp infantry guns" and "Maxim heavy machine guns" were deployed at several important strongholds built with sandbags!
Impregnable!

After landing, the Western soldiers began to set up camp and seemed to be resting.

Although the temporary position has not been built yet.

but,

At this time, it can be clearly felt that the military quality of the Western coalition forces is very high.

Especially the 30,000 elite troops of the British Empire directly under Waldersee, who had excellent cooperation and had experienced the baptism of bloody battles.

Chen Jie used a telescope to observe the landing of the Western Allied Forces.

He looked at the map in his hand.

Reef Mountain is about six kilometers away from the landing site of the Western Allied Forces.

Through the military telescope, you can see everything on the opposite side very clearly.

Because of his current position, it is very hidden.

If you don't observe him specially, even if the other party uses a monocular telescope, they won't be able to find his trace.

"Using sandbags to build fortifications, these guys' combat ideas are very advanced!"

When Chen Jie saw the Western coalition forces building fortifications, he couldn't help but sigh.

Liu Qi, who was standing next to him, said in surprise:
"Brother, why do Westerners also know this? This is the content of our Ximentang training materials!"

This time when he came to eastern Zhejiang, Chen Jie specially brought Liu Qi with him.

Shrapnel from bullets and artillery shells can easily penetrate steel plates, but it is difficult to penetrate sandbags.

The sand can weaken the bullet's kinetic energy and cause the bullet to get stuck in the sandbag.

This is commonly known as "using softness to overcome hardness", using the friction of fluid substances to weaken the speed of the bullet.

Chen Jie’s training materials include a video specifically about using sandbags to build fortifications.

"This method of using sandbags to build fortifications was originally invented by Europeans."

"We all learned from them. They know this method to build fortifications. Isn't it normal?"

Liu Qi was startled when he heard this, and muttered to himself:
"So it was a Westerner who came up with this idea? I thought it was you, brother, who came up with this idea!"

"Fuck - these foreign devils, they look like they have some skills."

Chen Jie smiled calmly and said:

"Even if they are capable, so what? They have come from afar and set foot on our Daqian land. What awaits them is destruction!"

"Let's go! Let's go back to the camp and discuss how to fight!"

in fact,

The Waldersee coalition moved the attack location and stationed on the shore at Dinghai in eastern Zhejiang, which was not a bad thing for Ximen Tang.

At least Ximen Tang could gain a lot of benefits from the court.

Six days ago.

Chen Jie met with the Sixth Prince Li Lie at the Governor's Mansion in Qingzhou, Shandong.

The Sixth Prince Li Lie and the Emperor Li Zheng were born to the same mother, so they have always been in the same camp.

He came to find Chen Jie, but the person behind him was Emperor Li Zheng, and he also represented the "war faction"!
The purpose was simple, which was to let Chen Jie send troops to resist the invasion of eastern Zhejiang by the Western coalition forces.

At this time, Chen Jie was naturally unwilling to send troops.

The Waldersee coalition had hundreds of warships, not to mention a force of 130,000.

Among them, there were more than 30 ships with a displacement of more than 5,000 tons, including troop transports. Once a strong attack was launched, eastern Zhejiang would be in imminent danger.

Ximen Tang had just expanded its army to 100,000, with many new recruits.

The maximum number of troops that can be mobilized is only 30,000.

How easy would it be to repel Waldersee's coalition with such a small number of people?

The most important thing is that eastern Zhejiang is separated from Shandong by more than a thousand kilometers, making the journey tiring.

No one wants to do this thankless job.

So Li Lie brought the conditions from the court.

——Songjiang Mansion!

As long as Ximen Tang sends troops, he will defeat the Western coalition forces.

Then, Songjiang Prefecture in southern Jiangsu will be governed by Ximen Hall and stationed there!

Songjiang Prefecture, also known as Shanghai, is the eastern gateway of southern Jiangsu Province!
It is located at the junction of southern Jiangsu and eastern Zhejiang, at the mouth of the Yangtze River. It is also the largest cotton spinning center and the largest maritime trade base of the Daqian Dynasty.

This place had originally been occupied by the Western Allied Forces and designated as a concession.

Therefore,
If Ximen Tang wants to bring Songjiang Prefecture under its jurisdiction, it must repel the Western coalition forces.

After seeing Li Lie off, Chen Jie quickly gathered his men and prepared to go to eastern Zhejiang to fight against Waldersee's coalition forces.

The conditions offered by the court are too generous, and it would be unreasonable not to fight.

It’s better to fight early than late!

This battle with the Western coalition forces will have to be fought sooner or later.

What's more, Chen Jie also wanted to take advantage of this battle to lift the maritime blockade in the east and south.

Although Ximen Tang’s artillery is very powerful, Chen Jie does not dare to be careless.

Therefore,
The newly-expanded army recruits were all left in Shandong to guard the city.

Those who went to eastern Zhejiang were the elite backbone of Ximen Hall, a total of 30,000 people were dispatched.

Among them, there are 3,000 mortars, two special operations battalions, and 27,000 elite troops drawn from three departments!

The British Empire is the world's number one military power. If you want to repel them head-on, you must have sufficient firepower.

Simultaneously,

Chen Jie also ordered Deng Yonghe's Simon Hall Fleet to dispatch twelve "Storm" fast attack ships to dock in the waters near Dinghai, ready to fight against the Waldersee coalition forces together with the army at any time.

Since the Western Allied Forces had already landed in Dinghai, they set up camp to rest.

The entire Sea Continent area is filled with numerous islands and reefs.

The only sea route for the Waldersee coalition forces to enter and exit the Sea Continent region is through the Dinghai Island port.

That is,

The Western coalition forces’ attack target can only be Ningbo Prefecture or Shaoxing Prefecture!

Therefore,
After confirming the location from the map, Chen Jie took the elite troops of Ximen Hall and arrived in eastern Zhejiang after six days.

Ximen Tang's 30,000-strong army was stationed in the military camp in Cixi.

He ordered Yan Kuangtu's "war department" to keep a close eye on the coastline of Shaoxing Prefecture, to form a front and rear coordination with Ningbo Prefecture, and to be on standby at all times.

really,

After the Western Allied Forces landed and stationed on Dinghai Island, they soon began to bombard Ningbo Prefecture.

Then,

Waldersee's coalition forces landed on the coastline of Ningbo Prefecture.

Chen Jie, along with Liu Qi and other members of the vanguard camp, observed the landing of the Waldersee coalition forces from a distance.

At this time,

A troop transport came ashore near the sandbag fortifications on the shoreline.

Surrounded by his personal guards, Waldersee finally set foot on the land of eastern Zhejiang.

Because the battleship "Elizabeth" had too deep a draft, it could only be docked in deep waters and could not dock at the coastline.

Therefore,
If you want to land, you can only use a troop transport ship.

Duke Waldersee came ashore and looked up at the temporary settlement that had just been built around him.

He nodded slightly, satisfied with it all.

At this time, several commanders of the Western Allied Forces came to Waldersee.

Next,
Waldersee led everyone into a large tent.

I saw that the tent was fixed with ropes around it, and there was a large wooden table in the middle with a map on it.

After Waldersee entered the big tent, he looked at the map on the big wooden table.

Inside the tent, two Daqian men stood by, humbly.

After a moment of silence, Waldersee asked one of the Daqian people:
"Where are we now in the Daqian Dynasty?"

Among these two Daqian people, one is the elder of Taiping, named Wang Jixin.

The other one was from the Green Gang, his name was Wu De.

They all cooperated with Westerners in the "opium" business and were familiar with the people of the Western Allied Forces.

This time, the reason why the Waldersee coalition landed on Dinghai Island in eastern Zhejiang was largely due to the suggestions of these two people.

In order to gain greater benefits from Westerners.

The two elders of the Taiping and the Qing Gang were both willing to serve as intelligence agents and translators for the Western Allied Forces.

no way,
The 'opium' business is so profitable!

Two elders of a Jianghu gang, they often dealt with Westerners, sold "opium", and were familiar with English.

After hearing Waldersee's greeting, Wang Jixin took a step forward, came in front of Waldersee, and said in a flattering manner:

"Your Excellency the Duke, this is where we are now!"

As he spoke, he pointed to [Ningbo] on the map and continued:

"The Zhejiang Province of the Daqian Dynasty, Ningbo Prefecture. The other location where the fleet is docked is here, Haizhongzhou!"

There was no expression on Waldersee's face.

He looked at the map.

Unfortunately, the map is very simple, only marking an approximate location without any detailed place names.

"Where did you land? What cities are nearby?"

Wu De of the Green Gang quickly replied in a flattering manner:

"Twenty kilometers away from the landing site is Cixi, where the Daqian Dynasty's military camp is located!"

"Further north is Shaoxing Prefecture, and further up is the capital of eastern Zhejiang - Hangzhou!"

Waldersee nodded, seeming very satisfied with the performance of the two Daqian people.

He laughed and said:
"Very good, since the Daqian Dynasty's troops are stationed in Cixi, we will destroy them all now!"

"This place is our first landing base, which saves us a lot of trouble."

A commander of the Western Allied Forces stepped forward and said:

"Your Excellency the Duke, I am willing to lead my troops to capture Cixi and make it our stronghold!"

Waldersee was very satisfied with the commander.

He is worthy of being the most outstanding general under his command, and his fighting spirit has always been so strong.

He nodded and said:

"Very good! Lieutenant General William, you have never let me down!"

"I will give you 10,000 elite soldiers. Launch an attack on Cixi immediately and try to capture this city before tomorrow morning!"

"I want this place to be our first stronghold in sweeping across the Daqian Dynasty!"

"As long as we take down Cixi, this city will be called William City from now on!"

“Haha—are you confident you can do it?”

The commander of the Western Allied Forces, named William, saluted Waldersee and said:

"No problem! Your Excellency the Duke, I promise to complete the task!"

"Wait for my good news--!"

An hour later.

Boom-boom-boom--!
The Western coalition's artillery fired fiercely at the military camp positions in Cixi.

The war officially begins at this moment!

(End of this chapter)