Chinese martial arts! Grandmaster

Boom! Boom! Boom!
As the Japanese army launched its charge, the war began instantly.

The sounds of cannons and gunfire erupted.

The ground shook violently, and the mortars at Ximentang began to fire fiercely.

This time, the Japanese troops stationed in Taipei City suffered an unprecedented artillery attack.

This was a true massacre!

Although the Japanese army was extremely tenacious and upheld the spirit of Bushido.

Even if it means death, they will never back down and are willing to fight to the death.

Compared to the Western allied forces that Ximen Tang had encountered, these Japanese troops stationed on Taiwan Island were extremely brave in battle.

Even the newly recruited Taiwanese ashigaru (foot soldiers) seemed like completely different people, eager to make a name for themselves in this war.

They led the charge, displaying the courage and sacrifice of cannon fodder.

Even more ferocious than the Japanese soldiers, these puppet troops of the island's natives were even more ruthless.

All they could think about was how to gain merit in front of the Japanese army and then obtain the greatest benefit.

but,

Faced with Ximentang's overwhelming firepower.

No amount of personal strength, bravery, willpower, or anything else will be of any use.

Despite the fierce and fearless advance of the Japanese army, they charged forward with great fanfare.

but,

Round after round, they fell one after another hundreds of meters away.

The more fiercely they charged, the faster they died.

The bravery of the cold weapon era is nothing but death in the face of the overwhelming firepower of firearms.

The mortars, heavy machine guns, sniper rifles, and other weapons of the Ximentang mortars formed a crossfire coverage that could tear apart any enemy charge.

The Japanese army was completely routed in less than twenty minutes of continuous charging.

The battlefield was littered with the corpses of puppet troops and Japanese soldiers.

Woohoo——!
As the sea breeze howled, the air was thick with the smell of gunpowder, mixed with a nauseating stench of blood.

Sakurai Chojiro and his generals were stunned by what they saw.

Just moments ago, they were mocking Ximentang's sparse, arc-shaped battle formation, believing it would be easily defeated.

but,

Now, everyone's face showed a hint of fear and panic.

If you hadn't seen it with your own eyes, no one would believe such an outcome.

The firepower is too strong!
A thousand cannons firing simultaneously—how could there be such intense firepower in the world?

Om-!
Almost everyone felt their minds go blank and buzz.

so horrible!

Faced with Ximentang's terrifying firepower, the Japanese army suffered countless casualties.

Let alone breaking through Ximentang's defenses, they couldn't even get within 300 meters.

Having experienced a crushing defeat last time, Hiroichi Yamamoto and Takashi Watanabe finally came to their senses.

The two of them approached Sakurai Chojiro and shouted:

"General, let's withdraw the troops and return to Taipei City to defend it. Only then will we have a chance of survival."

"If we continue playing like this, we have absolutely no chance of winning."

Sakurai Chojiro looked up into the distance and muttered to himself:

"Lost!? Did we really lose like this? We haven't even started the fight yet, and we've already lost!?"

He was completely stunned, and even now, he still can't accept it all.

Before launching an attack on Simondang, he had repeatedly imagined the outcome of the battle in his mind.

If I were to personally lead the army into battle, I would restore the glory of the Japanese samurai.

He wanted to use this battle to solidify his power to dominate the entire Taiwan island and establish his immortal legacy.

That's right,

Despite always following the orders of the Japanese military, Sakurai Chojiro is ambitious.

He wanted to expand the territory of the Eastern Empire, and after Taiwan and Taiwan were stabilized, he would lead his army south to bring the whole of Southeast Asia under his rule.

He even imagined that one day he would be on equal footing with Emperor Meiji.

but,

Ideals are beautiful, but reality is harsh.

He never imagined that the war would be so brutal.

The great battle personally commanded by Sakurai Chojiro was unexpectedly defeated so quickly.

Is this how we've lost?
It has to be said that he lost this battle inexplicably; he lost before it even began.

No, we can't lose, we absolutely can't admit defeat!

In an instant, the warlike, arrogant, domineering, and barbaric nature of the Japanese filled Sakurai Chojiro's mind.

He was unwilling to admit defeat so easily, unwilling to lose all his honor.

Clang——!
Sakurai Chojiro drew his sword and shouted:

"Soldiers of the Eastern Empire, we are the strongest soldiers! We cannot lose! The East will prevail! The East will prevail!"

Once the slogan is shouted, it gets really catchy!

Not everyone can remain rational at this moment.

not to mention,
These words were spoken by Sakurai Chojiro, the supreme commander of the Japanese garrison in Taipei.

For a moment, almost all the Japanese soldiers felt their blood boiling.

clang——clang——!
Next, all the Japanese commanders drew their samurai swords and shouted:

"The East will prevail! The East will prevail!"

Sakurai Chojiro, as expected of a general who graduated from the Oriental Army Academy, knew how to boost the morale of his subordinates.

With the shouts of slogans, the morale of the Japanese army surged.

The casualties during the initial charge were so high that the Japanese soldiers were starting to back down.

but,

As Sakurai Chojiro shouted his slogan, the Japanese soldiers roared in response.

Sakurai Chojiro pointed his katana at Ximentang's position and roared:

"May the Yamata no Okami bless us! We will surely win this war! The East will prevail! Charge! Kill them all!"

"The Japanese will prevail! Kill them all! The Japanese will prevail! Kill them all!"

The foot soldiers, infantry, and samurai of the Japanese army, as well as the cannon fodder puppet troops recruited in Taipei, shouted slogans.

this moment,
Almost all Japanese soldiers fell into a state of abnormal fanaticism.

Even the indigenous soldiers of Taiwan who served as cannon fodder were no exception.

They brandished their weapons, even pulling out kitchen knives, and charged towards Ximentang's arc-shaped battle formation.

Suicide charge!
That's right,

The charge of these cannon fodder soldiers shows that they were fearless and were charging forward in a completely suicidal manner.

There were no tactics, no systematic command, only brute force.

At the Ximentang defense line, all the soldiers seemed to sense that the morale of the Japanese army was a bit off.

Are these guys crazy?
Jack Bonaparte narrowed his eyes and said in a deep voice:

"Damn Japanese, they really love barbaric tactics. Our entire front is on the verge of collapse, and they still dare to launch a general offensive?"

"But this is good too, annihilating them in one fell swoop will save time!"

"Come on, you samurai of the East, let me show you what real cannons are like!"

In stark contrast to the reaction of the French fleet mercenaries, the soldiers of Simondon appeared remarkably calm.

They didn't care whether the Japanese army charged or not.

Fight the same way you always have to fight.

Ximentang has extensive practical training experience and will never let the enemy's attack disrupt his rhythm.

So when the Japanese army launched its charge, everyone acted as if they hadn't seen it.

They remained calm and composed, following the rhythm of their usual training, continuously reloading, firing, adjusting their direction, aiming, and continuing to fire.

The sounds of heavy machine guns and mortars never ceased. Three hundred meters away felt like the gates of hell.

The enormous explosion silenced all other sounds, and once all the Japanese soldiers entered the shelling zone, the noise abruptly ceased.

Although the Japanese army also had muskets and cannons.

but,

Compared to the Kwantung Army's most advanced "Oriental Field Artillery" and "Oriental Firearms," ​​the weapons of the Orient Army stationed on Taiwan Island were clearly a generation behind.

Their firing rate was slow and their range was short, posing no threat whatsoever to Ximentang's battle formation.

Therefore,
The Japanese musketeers, machine gunners, and artillerymen could only follow the island natives as cannon fodder, charging relentlessly towards the Ximentang position.

Despite the Japanese army's morale being ignited, they fought fiercely and launched a rapid offensive.

but,

The crossfire from heavy machine guns and artillery was like an insurmountable barrier, firmly blocking their advance.

The elite soldiers of Ximen Hall were naturally not intimidated by the situation before them.

The end result was that the more fiercely the Japanese army charged, the faster the corpses piled up.

In less than ten minutes, the corpses piled up like a mountain, and no one could get close to Ximentang's defenses.

Cannon fodder is still somewhat useful; at least it's quite good at blocking bullets.

The puppet troops, who were essentially cannon fodder for the natives of Taipei, charged forward with even greater fervor and madness.

but,

No matter how fast they are or how strong their individual fighting skills are.

How can flesh and blood possibly stop bullets and shells?
There was already a significant generational gap in weaponry between the two sides, and the Japanese troops stationed in Taipei resorted to the most foolish human wave tactic.

Aside from inciting soldiers to a state of frenzied excitement and fearlessness, it can be described as utterly foolish.

No matter how strong the fighting spirit, it cannot improve the combat effectiveness of the army.

Despite the fact that the Japanese army was about to break through the 200-meter defense line of Ximentang by using human wave tactics.

However, in the end, they were still repelled by Ximentang's overwhelming crossfire.

and,

This kind of "Eastern victory is inevitable" mentality and slogans cannot sustain fighting spirit in the long run.

The fierce attack lasted less than half an hour, as more and more Japanese fell.

The soldiers of the Japanese army, whose fighting spirit was once fearless, finally lost their will to fight.

in fact,

This kind of relentless, charging attack has also occurred on the battlefields of Europe.

therefore,

The French fleet mercenaries were not surprised to see this.

Perhaps because they had an absolute advantage, the French mercenaries actually stood at a distance and began to comment on the charging Japanese.

"Oh! Shit, are these Japanese really not afraid of death? Knowing there's a heavy machine gun in front of them, they actually dare to use their bodies to block the muzzle?"

"Those weren't Japanese, they were native soldiers from Taiwan, they were all cannon fodder!"

"Why are these native soldiers willing to serve as cannon fodder? They fight so bravely, why don't they resist the rule of the Japanese?"

"The Japanese are very good at brainwashing people. If nothing unexpected happens, they must have promised these cannon fodder benefits."

"What good is a strong spirit? These Japanese are too foolish. If they continue to charge like this, more and more people will die."

"If we had known these Japanese were so stupid, we could have driven them out of Taiwan completely with our French fleet."

"What do you all think? If we occupy Taiwan and then attack the Japanese mainland, will we succeed?"

"If this is all the fighting power the Japanese have, then Japan will surely be destroyed!"

"—"

in fact,

Those who were truly shocked were the Japanese who followed Jack Bonaparte.

The group from the Oriental Trading Company provided Jack Bonaparte with various intelligence and fought alongside him.

therefore,

Seeing what happened on the battlefield made me feel even more deeply.

At least they could see that Simon's defensive line consisted of only a little over 5,000 men and French mercenaries, with a total strength of less than 10,000.

The Ximentang fleet, however, had 30,000 troops, most of whom were stationed in other areas of Taipei and were not involved in this defensive battle.

That is,

Ximentang still had ample reserves, and less than a quarter of its troops were deployed.

Even so, they had already routed the Japanese troops stationed on Taiwan Island.

The powerful artillery and heavy machine guns created an overwhelming crossfire that nearly shattered Sakurai Chojiro's 150,000-strong army.

Although the 150,000 troops under Sakurai Chojiro's command were weak in combat, they certainly had that many men.

This time, Toyotomi Masao and his entourage went to war alongside Nishimondo.

In addition to providing intelligence, they also had another mission: to observe the true combat strength of the Ximen Hall.

Kaoru Umemiya wanted to find a powerful force to rely on, so she naturally dared not easily gamble her life and fortune.

but,

Judging from the current situation, Ximen Tang's fighting power is terrifying.

This was completely beyond Toyotomi Masao's comprehension.

If we consider Ximentang's current combat strength and the fact that he has an army of 300,000...

It was virtually impossible for the Kwantung Army of the Eastern Seas to take over the Great Qian Dynasty.

Not long after, Simondang may lead his army eastward and sweep across the entire Eastern Empire.

Just as Toyotomi Masao was lost in thought, another major change occurred on the battlefield.

The Japanese army's charge had clearly come to a halt.

The casualties were too great, and the cannon fodder who were responsible for leading the charge finally became afraid.

this moment,
Jack Bonaparte knew it was time to launch a counterattack.

Then he drew his command sword from his waist and roared:
"The artillery on the flanks, begin firing towards the city gate, blocking the retreat of the Japanese army and preventing them from returning to the city!"

"French mercenaries, launch a full-scale attack and destroy their artillery before it can fire."

Boom! Boom! Boom!
The cannons in the Ximen Hall quickly adjusted their distance and began bombarding the rear of the Japanese army.

The massive explosion overturned everything around it.

and,

The Ximentang detachment, which came to provide support from other places, began to spontaneously cut off the retreat of the Japanese army.

Attack from both front and back!

Prior to this, Ximen Tang had not launched an attack, aiming to lure Sakurai Chojiro's army to Taipei City.

How could we possibly let them go back now?
Therefore,
After a barrage of artillery fire, the rear of the Japanese Allied Forces was covered by shells.

Sakurai Chojiro was caught completely off guard and never expected that his rear would be bombed so suddenly.

For a while,
The army was thrown into chaos, with men and horses in disarray.

Sakurai Chojiro was wearing heavy armor and surrounded by his Japanese samurai guards. The cannonballs did not explode directly near him.

Although the shockwave from the shell overturned the surroundings, given his level of martial arts skill, the shockwave from the shell could not harm him.

Unfortunately,

He was riding a tall, magnificent horse.

Because his warhorse did not have its ears plugged, it had never experienced such an artillery attack before.

When the shells landed around them, the warhorses were frightened and kept jumping and neighing.

Puff-!
Next, Sakurai Chojiro was hit in the shoulder by a sniper bullet and fell to the ground from his horse.

The warhorse went berserk after being frightened, interfering with Sakurai Chojiro's sixth sense of danger.

Therefore,
When several sniper rifles were aimed at him in succession, creating a saturation kill.

Even though Sakurai Chojiro's martial arts skills had broken through to the 'Blood-Moving Pill Force' level, he still couldn't avoid the sniper rifle's shots.

Fortunately, he was wearing heavy armor; otherwise, that sniper shot would have killed him instantly.

Even so, he was seriously injured after falling from his horse! (End of Chapter)