Nanyang Storm 1864

Chapter 179: Burn Together (Please support with monthly tickets and recommendation tickets, thank you!)

Major General Huangshan waited until the Visayas Fortress was successfully captured before ordering the catapults to be dismantled and transported to the city by horse-drawn carriages for reassembly, preparing to attack the Morata Fortress.

Having such a nail stuck in the core of the occupied area always makes him unable to sleep.

Today, Major General Huang Shan has been appointed as the commander of the 3rd Division and will be the garrison commander of the entire Visayas Islands in the future. This is a new position clearly defined by the Marshal, and he will naturally pay more attention to the region's "empty cage and replace bird" immigration policy.

The Marshal has always taught the officers and soldiers of the Chu State and government officials that they must clearly understand the "difference between Chinese and barbarians", "promote the splendid civilization of our great China for thousands of years, inherit ancient rituals, and educate the barbarians", and "use thunder-like means and a bodhisattva's heart to create a new chapter in the inheritance of the Chinese nation in Southeast Asia" and so on.

All foreign races are not barbarians of the same kind as us.

Major General Huangshan is an ardent supporter of the Marshal and strongly agrees with what Mr. Li Hezhang said. Li Hezhang once wrote an article entitled "Strategies for Suppressing and Appeasing the Barbarians in Southeast Asia", which is now a model for training officials in the Chu government.

The "Strategies for Suppressing and Appeasing the Barbarians in Southeast Asia" says:

"...

The Franks were unpredictable and extremely cunning. They set an example for early European colonists since the Age of Exploration and traveled all over the world.

He plans to make friends with distant countries and attack nearby ones. He changes his alliances every morning and has been cunning and deceitful since the beginning of the disaster. He is definitely not an easy person to deal with.

I, the Great Chu, have led the army southwards. Although we have repeatedly defeated the enemy, we have not yet completely destroyed them and inflicted severe punishment on them, so they may not be completely convinced.

We have also heard that the rebels are colluding with European powers to resist, and their talk of peaceful coexistence is actually a delaying tactic.

He secretly plotted to increase European troops, leveraging the power of Britain and France to suppress the Chu State. His intentions were extremely malicious.

Who would be willing to share a country and live in the same house with such barbarians?

If you are soft-hearted and follow Mr. Dongguo's example, you will cause endless harm!

If the rebels take advantage of this opportunity to collude with each other, the situation will become increasingly unpredictable. We must use drastic measures to eliminate their followers and root out their roots, and this will be a permanent solution..."

Major General Huangshan agreed very much with what the gentleman said. He ordered the catapults to be dismantled and installed immediately inside the city, and to launch an attack at dawn tomorrow.

We must strive to resolve this serious hidden danger in one fell swoop.

Accompanied by a group of officers, he boarded the Visayas fortress and watched the soldiers busy clearing the enemy corpses that were filled with a strong smell of smoke, as if he had not seen them.

Climb up the fort and overlook the Cebu Bay at night. Under the bright moonlight, the sea in the distance is sparkling.

The sea breeze blows, and the coconut trees make a rustling sound, which has its own quiet beauty, just like in the picture.

Major General Huang Shan patted the hard granite with his hands, feeling very happy, and said to the commander of the fifth battalion, Chen Changli;
"Brother Changli, Nanyang is truly a wonderful place, like a paradise on earth!

The fruits and vegetables are abundant, and it is like spring all year round. The common people do not know hunger, hardship or cold. The barbarians and natives have simply ruined this beautiful place.

Today, the royal army is marching north to expand the territory of the Chinese people by tens of millions of miles and completely occupy this land. This should be remembered by our descendants for generations to come.

The Marshal is right, this is a legacy that will be passed down through the generations."

Chen Changli, who was also a scholar and a former Tongzhou militia veteran, smiled and responded:

"Master, recalling the days when the Han cavalry conquered the Wolf's Lair and established an unprecedented feat, I think that's how you and I feel right now."

"Standing at the very moment of making history, I inexplicably feel a strong sense of responsibility and am willing to fight for it my whole life?"

"I, a humble person, feel the same way."

Major General Huang Shan turned and looked at the Fifth Battalion Commander, Chen Changli. He saw sincerity and straightforwardness in his eyes, and he immediately felt a liking for him. He nodded and said, "Brother Changli, I have high hopes for you."

"Thank you for your high expectations, Master. I am truly honored and humbled."

"Ok!"

Major General Huang Shan responded and said nothing more. He simply walked around the fortress, took a quick look, and gave some instructions such as "close the gates at night, strengthen vigilance, and don't slack off", then led the other officers away.

Under the escort of the division headquarters guards, a group of dozens of people hurried to the Cathedral of Santa Maria.

Half an hour later
More than twenty carpenters are assembling three catapults. The bottom frame has been built. It seems that they are working very quickly and it won't take long to complete.

Nearby, there was a pile of rotten wood, dead branches and leaves half a person's height, as well as green vines, twigs and green leaves delivered by horse-drawn carriage, which were prepared to be used to make poisonous smoke balls.

For this purpose, we specially allocated fifty or sixty people, all of whom are young and strong local Chinese. Each of them only needs to make two, which doesn't take too long.

If the quantity is not enough, we will have time to make temporary ones after launching the attack tomorrow morning.

The firing speed of this catapult is not fast. Under the operation of more than 10 people, it can normally fire a poison smoke bomb every two or three minutes. Don't expect too much.

The evening battle gave Major General Huangshan full confidence. After inspecting the area, he went into the church to rest.

Today, the Cathedral of Santa Maria is an important military base, with thousands of soldiers from the "Xin" Regiment stationed here. The chairs and the floor of the chapel are filled with soldiers, and the sound of their deep sleep and snoring can be heard one after another.

The small chapel next to it, the prayer room and the rooms behind the church were all filled with officers and soldiers.

As the commander-in-chief, Major General Huangshan enjoyed an independent and clean room with a cross hanging on the wall, a comfortable European-style bed, a desk and other furniture.

"Master Commander, I have prepared a small gift for you. You will definitely like it." After bringing in some hot water, snacks and tea, the captain of the personal guards, Huang Mengtang, winked and left with a mysterious smile.

"This kid..." Major General Huang Shan smiled. The captain of the personal guard, Huang Mengtang, was his nephew, and they didn't have so many rules in private.

He reached out and unbuckled the belt around his waist, on which hung a saber, a revolver holster, and a cowhide magazine. He placed these heavy items on the table and walked towards the comfortable European-style bed.

This Spanish European-style bed is surrounded by pleated bed curtains, the headboard is in a spire shape and splits into two sides, and the bed frame is hung with curtains with Mediterranean-style patterns.

Major General Huangshan reached out and lifted the hanging bed curtain, only to see a shivering blonde white girl lying on the inside of the bed, revealing a hint of her snow-white shoulders.

It seems that he is not wearing any clothes.

This was a small gift from the captain of the personal guards, Huang Mengtang. Major General Huang Shan curled his lips indifferently. He was not very interested in these foreign women, but he did not resist them either.

He was not yet thirty years old at the time, and was in the prime of his youth and strength. In addition, he had been fighting for two whole days and had seen many bloody and cruel scenes, and he felt a surge of anger in his heart that he wanted to vent.

So he walked back to the table, picked up the tea and took a few sips, unbuttoned his military uniform, walked back to the bed and sat down, and took off his military uniform.

from start to finish
Major General Huangshan did not seek the opinion of the white girl, nor did he have any intention of communicating with the girl. He simply treated her as a plaything.

"My dear sir, could you please treat me like a gentleman? I'm really scared." The white girl said pitifully in English.

Major General Huang Shan had learned some English and was able to understand the general meaning.

He frowned and turned around to look, then suddenly pulled back the thin blanket, revealing the girl's tired, white body.

The white girl was obviously not expecting this. She was frightened by his action and screamed. She couldn't help but tremble with fear and murmured, "No, no."

Perhaps she had forgotten that saying "no, no" to a man was a strong signal. Major General Huang Shan was suddenly filled with inexplicable anger. He didn't even bother to put out the kerosene lamp. With a low growl, he lunged at her, and soon the bed began to shake violently...

The next morning, a glimmer of dawn appeared on the horizon.

A refreshed Major General Huang Shan appeared at the main entrance of the church. He looked at the three tall catapults in the distance, nodded affirmatively, and said, "Let's get started. Let's try to remove this nail in one fell swoop."

"As you command, General."

“Hu”, “Hu”, “Hu”…

Three burning poisonous smoke balls were very conspicuous in the gloomy sky. Sparks flew all the way, drawing clear arc-shaped traces in the air, and slammed heavily on the Morata Fortress.

One missed, one hit the fortress's watchtower, and another crashed into the fortress, causing loud screams, followed by violent coughing, tearing through the tranquil morning light.

The Spanish garrison in the Morata Fortress was not completely unprepared. The fortress was well-manned and had people watching the surrounding area for any abnormal situations 24 hours a day.

Since last night

The construction of the catapult was noticed and corresponding preparations were made.

Because of the poor visibility at night, the production of the poisonous smoke balls was not seen. After consulting with other officers, the city defense commander, Lieutenant Colonel Lenormand, unanimously agreed that stones should be thrown in an attempt to break down the fortress walls.

So, the preparation is also based on this.

The women and children in the fortress were placed in the houses for shelter, and more than 120 people were assigned to strengthen the fortress's defense. Each person was equipped with two smoothbore muskets loaded with bullets, which could deal a fatal blow to the attacking Oriental army.

By moving a 24-pound fortress gun to this direction, there will be two powerful fortress guns in this direction, ready to launch bombardment at any time.

Below the fortress, there are more than 200 people who can be rotated.

Lieutenant Colonel Lenormand still had a reserve force of nearly 300 people, with sufficient ammunition and food. He was confident that he could hold out for more than three months.

Let these damn Oriental armies suffer heavy losses and bitter despair.

When he saw three balls of poisonous smoke flying towards him, he knew his estimate was wrong and shouted hurriedly, "Quick! Throw that damn thing out! We need wet sheets and blankets, and we need someone to deal with them."

"Artillery, artillery, aim at the enemy's trebuchets and prepare to fire!"

"Oh my God! We can't let this damn thing get thrown in here. It'll definitely kill us."

After all, there is strength in numbers. With more than 600 people gathered in the Morata Fortress, there are almost no blind spots and the response is also very fast.

Soon, a soldier wrapped the poisonous smoke ball in a wet blanket, stumbled up with it, and threw it down from the sturdy high wall.

At this moment

Everyone in the fortress, regardless of gender, was coughing and crying, and this soldier had inhaled too much poisonous smoke and could no longer cough.

He collapsed to the ground with smoke coming out of his body, only breathing out but not breathing in. A foul smell of feces and urine came out, and he even became incontinent.

Seeing this horrible scene

Lieutenant Colonel Lenormand's face turned pale instantly, and his hands began to tremble with fear. He knew clearly;

This vicious ball of smoke could kill everyone in the fortress.

Although the poisonous smoke balls were dealt with in time, the faint poisonous smoke lingering in the fortress still caused many people to cough violently and sit limply on the ground.

Lieutenant Colonel Lenormand raised his telescope with trembling hands and saw the trebuchet in the distance reloading and preparing to throw the poisonous smoke ball. He immediately shouted shrilly:

"This is poisonous smoke from hell. Everyone, wet strips of cloth with water and cover your mouth and nose."

"Prepare plenty of wet blankets and sheets. Every time a poisonous smoke ball is thrown into the fortress, someone must step forward to wrap it up and throw it out, otherwise everyone will die."

"Fire, fire, damn it! Fire as fast as you can and destroy those catapults."

"Boom, boom..."

Two 24-pound fortress cannons opened fire, and the huge noise shook the surrounding roofs and caused dust to fall.

A shell missed its target and flew over the heads of the officers and soldiers, smashing more than a dozen paving stones, rolling into a house and causing the wall to collapse.

The other shell was fired accurately, hitting the target just a few meters away from the catapult.

The round stone bullet bounced back and knocked over the two sword and shield fighters in front and behind. They fell to the ground with broken bones and tendons, and blood spurted out. It was obvious that they were dead.

This caused a cry of alarm from the dozens of men operating the catapults. The supervising officer drew his sharp sword and shouted, "Fire! No one is allowed to leave their position without permission, or they will be killed immediately."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa..."

Three more poisonous smoke balls were thrown out. This time, two of them were thrown into the fortress, but were picked up and thrown out in less than a minute.

This made Major General Huang Shan look a little ugly, he knew it was not going to work.

Sure enough, during the battle between the two sides.

The third round of fortress artillery fire directly destroyed a catapult, causing several casualties.

The remaining two catapults continued to throw poisonous smoke balls, a total of more than twenty poisonous smoke balls were thrown, most of which hit the target and were thrown out one by one.

As expected, the two catapults were destroyed by the fortress cannons one after another, resulting in more than ten soldiers being killed or injured.

Morata was also a loss. From a distance, one could hear hundreds of people coughing violently, one after another, which was a strange sight.

Many people coughed up blood from their lungs. More than a dozen poisonous smoke bombs were thrown in, and a lot of residual poisonous smoke accumulated.

Even though they were thrown outside the fortress, these twenty or thirty poisonous smoke balls were still burning, emitting large amounts of poisonous smoke that were blown in by the wind.

The high wall on that side was so high that no one could stand there. Even covering their mouths and noses was useless. The smoke made them cry and sneeze, and more than a dozen white soldiers fell down.

Major General Huang Shan thought for a moment and ordered, "Immediately find the materials and build me at least ten catapults. Throw catapults from several directions simultaneously. I want to see the results before nightfall."

"As you command, General."

"Also, arrange for more people to make poisonous smoke balls. This time, make 500. I want to see how many the foreigners can throw out."

"As you command, General."

"Send an interpreter to persuade them to surrender. Tell them directly that our intention is to surrender by 5 pm at the latest. If they don't surrender, we will perish together!"

"As you command, General."

(End of this chapter)