Nanyang Storm 1864

Chapter 178 This plan is very vicious
at dusk
Marshal Zheng Guohui and a group of senior officers boarded the ship and led the Northern Expedition fleet to set sail, heading towards Manila, with the vast sails stretching out in sight.

When he left this time, the Marshal took away the four sailing cruisers named "Fen" and "Weiwu Qianjin" that were originally assigned to the Huangshan Expeditionary Task Force, and returned to the sailing cruiser fleet to march north to Manila Bay together.

Zheng Guohui personally served as the commander-in-chief of the army. His main fleet consisted of 5 sailing battleships and the cruiser fleet consisted of 10 sailing cruisers, both of which were the main forces in naval battles.

The Vanguard Fleet consisted of four schooners, with a tonnage similar to that of the newly captured pirate ship. Two of them were left in Cebu Harbor to perform patrol missions in the sea area.

The remaining two ships followed the large fleet on the Northern Expedition. Utilizing their speed and flexibility, they performed outpost reconnaissance and surveillance, and searched for the main enemy ships. They were an indispensable part of the Northern Expedition fleet.

The sea was covered with sails that blocked out the sun. Following the sail battleship fleet, they left the bay one after another and formed two columns, heading northward in a mighty manner. The scene was quite spectacular.

After watching the Northern Expedition fleet depart, Major General Huang Shan, standing on the dock, calmed down his turbulent emotions. He then turned around and looked at the towering fortress at the other end of the dock and asked in a cold voice:
"Previously, we arranged for an interpreter to go to the Ghost Fortress to persuade them to surrender. What are the specific details?"

"Reporting to the general, the foreign officers and soldiers in the fortress were stubborn and refused to surrender. When we tried to persuade them to surrender, they raised their muskets and fired back, resulting in two deaths and one injury on our side," replied Chen Changxiu, commander of the fifth battalion.

"Humph, you won't cry until you see the coffin." Major General Huang Shan snorted coldly when he heard this, a fierce look flashed across his brows, and he asked again;

"In that case, there's no need to be polite. Are the commandos ready to storm the fortress?"

"General, I will personally lead the Fifth Battalion Commando, which consists of over 30 men. They are primarily junior officers and veterans, all of whom are highly capable."

"Where are the weapons and equipment?"

"General, I have collected revolvers from all the officers of the Fifth Battalion, and each of the thirty-odd commandos has one, loaded. I have also provided a sharp blade and fifteen sets of grappling ropes. All the commandos are prepared to bravely fight to the death."

"Very good, rest and stand by."

"As you command, General."

Major General Huangshan soon arrived at a place about a thousand meters away from the Visayas Fortress. Here, all the officers and soldiers of the Fifth Battalion of the "Y" Regiment, totaling 352 people, were ready to go, with neat formations and high morale.

After 2 days of hard fighting

The officers and soldiers of the Fifth Battalion suffered some losses, and there were less than 300 sword and shield soldiers assigned to the battle. These 650 troops were the main force to attack the Visayas fortress.

Most of the remaining troops were engaged in clearing out and searching for remaining enemies in Cebu City, as well as surrounding Fort Morata, imposing strict martial law and curfew, patrolling and guarding the entire city.

In addition, more than 2700 local young and strong Chinese were temporarily recruited to cooperate with the Chu occupation army to escort indigenous captives, block external roads and bridges, and block mountain passes to minimize the impact of the war.

This is done to prevent information from leaking, to prevent the panic and escape of the indigenous tribes in the towns and villages, and to prepare for the next round of net-style clearing operations.

We have done what we should do, and as for the specific results, we can only do our best and leave the rest to fate.

According to past experience
There are about 300,000 indigenous people living on the large island of Cebu, and there are more than 100,000 on several surrounding major islands.

The rest are some relatively remote islands, some with thousands, some with hundreds, scattered among dozens of inhabited islands in the Visayas.

It will take at least half a year to clean it up step by step, so we can't rush it.

urgent matter

The first step was to completely control Cebu City and remove the two hard thorns in the throat, namely Fort Visayas and Fort Morata, and completely eradicate the ruling foundation of the Spanish colonists.

Two tall catapults have been assembled. They mainly consist of a 12-meter-long slingshot, ropes, a fixed wooden frame, and stone counterweights loaded in wicker frames.

Behind the catapult, there were hundreds of smoke balls filled with dry branches, sprinkled with black powder and sulfur powder, and added with some dried chili peppers, dry dung balls and other good things.

The outer layer of the smoke ball is wrapped with layers of soft shrub twigs, and then tied up with straw ropes in a cross shape, forming a poisonous smoke ball as thick as a hug, each weighing about 20 to 30 kilograms.

There is a fuse attached to the outside of the smoke ball for ignition.

Major General Huangshan reviewed the assault team that was about to go on the expedition. It was led by the commander of the fifth battalion, Chen Changli. All the personnel were tied up neatly, with pistols on their waists and big knives on their backs. Some of them also carried ropes and flying claws on their shoulders. Everything was ready.

Deputy Battalion Commander Pan Mengzi led the remaining troops. After the commando team achieved success, they would then rush into the fortress, eliminate the enemy and completely occupy it.

"Very good, now that we're all prepared, it's time to teach these foreigners a lesson." Major General Huang Shan nodded in satisfaction, then waved his hand and ordered, "Let's begin."

"As you command, General."

The officer standing next to the catapult received the order and immediately directed the soldiers to light torches, take out two smoke balls, and place them in the catapult's hood.

Then the torch was lowered and the fuse was lit.

The fuse started burning with a hissing sound. The artillery team had plenty of these things, all in bundles, and they could be cut into any length you wanted.

When the fuse burned into the inside of the poisonous smoke ball, a "whoosh" sound was heard, and flames shot out from the gaps between the branches of the poisonous smoke ball. This was the black powder and sulfur being ignited and exploding rapidly.

The two large smoke balls burned very quickly, with flames gushing out from inside the eyeballs, and at the same time, a large amount of gray-brown smoke was produced, which quickly spread on both sides of the catapult.

The speed was beyond everyone's expectations.

The twenty or so officers and soldiers operating the catapults were choked by the poisonous smoke and immediately began coughing violently, covering their mouths. There was simply no escape. "Quick... fire!" the officer ordered hurriedly.

He covered his mouth and nose with one hand and waved the other hand desperately in front of his eyes, as if he could drive away the thick smoke.

The big man beside the catapult endured the harassment of the smoke, swung the hammer and hit it hard.

The pin was knocked open, and the rope that was holding the casting rod loosened immediately. The counterweight at the other end, which was raised high, fell down rapidly under the action of gravity.

The rope and the poisonous smoke ball at one end of the pitching rod were thrown out suddenly. With a whoosh, they flew high into the sky, drew a clear semi-arc, and slammed heavily into the stone wall of the Visayas Fortress.

The impact sent sparks flying all over the sky, and a ball of smoke fell down, sliding across the steep slope, bumping into things along the way and rolling down the rocky hill.

On flat ground, it rolled more than 20 meters before coming to a stop, still billowing with smoke.

A large cloud of fog formed under the cool sea breeze.

Another smoke ball hit the fort as expected, but was quickly thrown out by the Spanish soldiers in the fort. They were coughing violently and crying, looking extremely embarrassed.

No one could have imagined
The cunning Orientals actually used such a vicious method instead of attacking the fortress in an upright manner. It is so shameless and despicable!

The Spanish officer in the fort jumped up and down and started cursing. Before he could finish his curse, he started coughing violently, so coughing that it was almost heart-wrenching.

Pier side

Major General Huang Shan was very satisfied with the trebuchet's half-hit rate. He waved his hand and ordered, "Go ahead, use up all these smoke balls. If they're not enough, continue tomorrow. I want to see how long these ghosts can hold out."

So

The two catapults started running at full speed, and with a creaking sound, they threw one smoke ball after another into the sky, which fell into the fortress one after another.

At the beginning, the Spanish officers in the fort were commanding the soldiers to throw smoke balls into the fort one after another.

But as more and more smoke balls appeared and burned violently, the straw ropes that bound them were burned and scattered into a pile, and then thick smoke continued to billow out.

No matter whether you pour water on it, throw it into a reservoir, or cover it with a quilt, it will be of no use.

The thick poisonous smoke was pervasive. Even if you covered it with a wet quilt, it would still burst out from the cracks all around and could not be suppressed at all.

Only half an hour's work
The entire Visayas fortress had turned into a huge chimney emitting smoke everywhere. Thick poisonous smoke filled the air, mixed with chili powder and feces, making the white soldiers defending the fortress almost suffocate to death.

Several white soldiers jumped down from the high stone wall one after another, and with a "bang" their bones and tendons were broken, ending their painful suffering.

Later, more than ten Spaniards could not bear it anymore, stumbled to the edge of the fortress, jumped down with all their might, and landed on the rocks below like rotten tomatoes.

Such a tragic death silenced the officers and soldiers who were used to seeing life and death.

Chen Changli, the commander of the fifth battalion who had been eager to try, remained silent. He was brave in battle and fearless of death, but looking at the rolling poisonous smoke, he felt his scalp tingling and felt he couldn't bear it.

Isn’t this just bacon?
Another half hour passed
It was already getting dark, and as the thick smoke on the fortress gradually faded away, General Huangshan waved his hand and ordered the assault team to attack!

The fifth battalion commander Chen Changli led his men to rush forward, going up the S-shaped curve step by step, and rushed to the left of the fortress's gate.

Then the flying ropes and iron claws were thrown up one by one and hooked onto the stone wall. The commandos climbed up by pulling the ropes like nimble monkeys and soon climbed over the wall of the fortress.

Immediately, sporadic gunshots, noises and violent coughing were heard from the fortress.

Not long after

The gate of the fortress creaked open slowly, and then more than 20 commandos rushed out in a panic, vomiting and coughing all the way, breathing in the fresh air outside in big gulps, tears and snot all flowing out.

This miserable look is really laughable.

The few behind were even more miserable. They supported each other and carried each other to escape. They fell to the ground as soon as they rushed out of the fortress gate, their throats hoarse from coughing.

Deputy Battalion Commander Pan Mengzi arrived with a large group of troops, but was stopped by Fifth Battalion Commander Chen Changli.

His eyes were red, his voice was hoarse and he couldn't speak. He took the canteen handed by the officer and drank it violently. Then he coughed violently several times. After calming down for a minute or two, he said, "Don't go in. There's no one in there... cough cough cough cough... There's no one in there. They're all dead. Cough cough cough..."

The poisonous smoke is so powerful that it really sends chills down one's spine.

When the poisonous smoke cleared and the soldiers of the Fifth Battalion entered, they were overwhelmed by the horrific scene they saw. It left a psychological scar on many people, and many of them never ate smoked meat again.

Fortunately, no one was hurt and the Visayas Fortress was captured intact. This was another great achievement, and the officers and soldiers of the Fifth Battalion were naturally very happy.

That night, they camped in the fort. The Visayas Fort was much larger than the Morata Fort in the city. It had complete housing facilities, even animal sheds and hay sheds, and it had ample space for more than 650 people.

(End of this chapter)