Wind Rises in North America 1625

Chapter 518 The Flames of War (Part Six)

"That's about enough, let's prepare to enter the city."

After the artillery in Guadalajara fell silent, the Xinhua Army began to raise the angle of its guns and extend its fire into the depths of the city.

Solid iron projectiles pierced the sky with a dull whistling sound, accurately striking the city square, main streets, and areas suspected of being where the garrison was assembled. Each shell that landed kicked up a cloud of dust and debris.

Not long after, perhaps feeling that the bombardment effect of solid shot was poor and the lethality was weak, the artillerymen switched to special shells - exploding shells.

With a series of distinctive, sharper, and more piercing whistles, the exploding bullets traced arcs, flew over the city walls, and crashed into the streets and squares of Guadalajara.

Immediately following was a series of deafening explosions, accompanied by flames.

The shell exploded with a deafening roar the moment it hit the ground, sending fragments and shockwaves flying wildly in all directions like the Grim Reaper's scythe.

The defending troops and civilians, who were already in a state of panic due to the continuous shelling by the Xinhua Army, were instantly plunged into a true hell.

The militia, who had gathered behind the barricades to prepare for resistance, were blown up by a single exploding shell, with limbs and debris scattered everywhere.

The explosion ignited wooden houses and warehouses, sending thick smoke billowing into the air. The fire spread rapidly in the dry weather, turning the sky an ominous dark red.

The city's previously relatively orderly defense system completely collapsed. Cries, screams, and explosions mingled together, and panic engulfed every corner like a plague.

Commander-in-Chief Lu Pingqiu turned to Li Cheng, commander of the First Mixed Battalion of the Army, and ordered: "The First Battalion will be the vanguard. After entering the city, it is imperative to avoid casualties among officers and soldiers. We must advance steadily and step by step. Even if we are a little slow, it is fine."

"Yes, sir!" Li Cheng saluted, then turned and left.

As the artillery fire gradually subsided and the smoke slowly dissipated, the devastation on the western wall of Guadalajara was revealed.

The city wall, made of a mixture of rammed earth and timber, collapsed on a large scale, creating a gap nearly fifteen meters wide. Broken bricks and twisted timbers scattered outwards, forming a natural ramp for attack.

The air was thick with the pungent smell of smoke and dust, mixed with the acrid odor of saltpeter and blood.

"First Battalion! Forward!"

Battalion Commander Li Cheng drew his command sword, the blade flashing coldly in the sunlight.

The soldiers, who had been waiting in battle formation, immediately deployed into combat formation and steadily advanced toward the breach, stepping on the still-warm gravel.

The soldiers stood solemnly, their flintlock rifles with bayonets fixed held horizontally in front of their chests, their fingers lightly resting on the trigger guards, maintaining a high level of vigilance.

As soon as the skirmishers at the forefront crossed the breach, sporadic gunfire erupted from inside the city.

Several bullets struck the broken wall, sending up a string of sparks.

"Roof on the left! Musketeer!" the skirmisher roared, clutching his head and rolling to the side to hide behind a section of broken wall.

The soldiers who followed immediately raised their guns, and a dense volley of gunfire immediately covered the roof that was emitting white smoke.

After several screams, two soldiers wearing brown coats fell from the roof, their muskets flying far away.

Although these resistances were tenacious, they were ultimately sporadic and chaotic, and could not stop the Xinhua Army's advance.

Many of the Spanish defenders had completely lost their will to fight. Through the billowing dust, one could see the streets filled with fleeing figures—militiamen who had dropped their spears, panicked civilians, and even some people in officer uniforms mixed in with the crowd, running wildly backward.

"Do not pursue the fleeing soldiers! Control the main streets! Seize government offices and warehouses!" Battalion Commander Li Cheng's calm voice could be clearly heard in the noisy battlefield.

He stood on a huge ruin at the breach, calmly observing the situation in the city while adjusting the attack direction of each company through the buglers and messengers around him.

Company Commander Tang Xiaohusong led his soldiers forward along the main street. They did not rush into a rash advance, but instead advanced house by house and street by squad and platoon, taking turns to provide cover.

Occasionally, Spanish militiamen, blinded by fanaticism, would suddenly open fire from alleyways or windows, but they were often suppressed or annihilated by well-trained New China soldiers with denser and faster firepower after firing the first shot.

"Grenadiers!" A squad leader saw gunfire coming from the second-floor window of a stone house ahead, blocking their path. Two grenadiers beside him, under the cover of a sniper rifle, rushed forward with their satchels, reaching a blind spot in the stone house. They pulled a dark metal can from their satchels, lit the fuse, counted a few seconds silently, and then threw it through the window. They immediately ducked to the side, covering their heads.

With a muffled thud, accompanied by screams and the sound of wood shattering, the hidden firing position fell completely silent.

The further into the city you go, the more chaotic the scene becomes.

The streets were littered with various discarded items, including broken suitcases, overturned carriages, and even money bags filled with silver coins.

Clearly, many residents began to flee in panic as soon as the shelling began, leaving the desperate city through the east gate, which the Xinhua Army had not blocked.

Some houses were burning, the fire was spreading rapidly, and cries of pain came from all directions.

The anticipated fierce street fighting did not erupt. After the Xinhua Army painstakingly pushed several cannons into the city and successively bombarded several sturdy barricades, the Spanish resistance completely collapsed.

To avoid casualties, the Chinese soldiers were too lazy to even engage in close-quarters gunfights with the Spanish. Instead, they brutally bombarded the enemy with artillery or hunted down targets one by one with long-range sniper rifles.

As night fell, the Spanish colonial officials, under the cover of the remaining garrison, escaped from Guadalajara under cover of darkness.
This important Spanish stronghold in the New World finally fell after a day of artillery fire and less than an afternoon of street fighting.

The red five-star flag of the new Chinese army slowly rose to the top of the clock tower in the afterglow of the setting sun.
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While street fighting continued in Guadalajara, four transport sailboats flying the Xinhua flag were slowly sailing into the calm bay of the Banderas River Valley.

These ships, which had traveled a long distance from Yongning Bay (now San Francisco Bay), were quite deep in the water and were fully loaded with supplies and reinforcements urgently needed by the expeditionary force.

The deck was crowded with people. Six hundred militiamen with dark complexions and wearing gray military uniforms held onto the gunwale, looking at this unfamiliar land with curiosity and trepidation.

They were recruited last year from Shandong, Hebei, and even the coastal areas of Korea and Japan, which had been suffering from famine for years. After spending their first winter in Yongning Bay, the sallow complexion on their faces had been tanned into a healthy bronze by the sea breeze and long-term training, but their eyes still carried the unease of arriving on the new continent for the first time.

These immigrants were not immediately assigned to various settlements to cultivate the land like their companions; instead, they were selected and sent directly to the newly established military training camps.

During months of rigorous training, instructors from the Army taught them step by step how to load the Type 38-A flintlock musket, how to maintain volley fire, how to charge with bayonets, and how to conduct long marches.

Day after day of training on the training ground has enabled these hands, which were originally used to holding hoes, to now skillfully operate muskets.

Everyone clearly remembered the government's promise that as long as they served in the army for two years, they would immediately be granted the right to 60 acres of land and enjoy interest-free agricultural loans provided by the government.

For immigrants who have left their home countries, this promise is more attractive than any "sweet talk".

Because this means they can settle down and build a career in this new continent in the shortest possible time, becoming the "property owners" they've always dreamed of.

The ship slowly approached the shore, and the new recruits disembarked one by one from the gangplank and lined up on the bank.

Meanwhile, the sailors began to unload cargo in a flurry: boxes of ammunition, barrels of gunpowder, various medicines, pickled foods, canned goods, and uniforms were unloaded from the ship one by one.

The officer in charge quickly completed the handover with Mo Tianhai, the commander-in-chief of the expeditionary force.

Mo Tianhai stood on the makeshift dock, surveying the new recruits, and nodded in satisfaction: "Incorporate all these militiamen into the replenishment battalion for three days of acclimatization training. Afterwards, they will be assigned to their respective combat units."

The transport ships, of course, did not return empty-handed. On the other side of the dock, groups of captured Spanish residents were silently boarding the ships under the watchful eyes of soldiers.

Men, women, and children, carrying simple luggage, left the land where they had once lived with dejected expressions.

Along with them, a large number of livestock, including cattle, sheep, and horses, were also loaded onto the ship. These would become much-needed agricultural resources and animal power for the Yongning Bay colonization area.

On May 4, Mo Tianhai, the commander-in-chief of the expeditionary force, personally led 5 officers and soldiers out of the Banderas Valley logistics base and headed east.

Mo Tianhai's mission was to further consolidate and strengthen the task force's strength and lay a decisive foundation for larger-scale military operations in the future.
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(End of this chapter)