Nanyang Storm 1864

Chapter 288 A Gentleman's Agreement

After such a brilliant victory, King Zheng Guohui of Chu held up a telescope and observed carefully, his mouth wide open with joy. The excitement and pleasure in his heart were so great that it was bubbling out!
In the era of sailing warships, how difficult was it to sink an enemy warship?
There is no possibility of annihilating the entire enemy fleet in one fell swoop unless the enemy fleet is blocked in the port.

As excited as King Zheng Guohui of Chu was, the French people on the dock who watched the complete destruction of the French Far East Fleet were as shocked and terrified as if the end of the world had come.

The white people who had hurried to the dock had already gathered in a large crowd, vying to witness the scene of the French army displaying its might.

In addition to the well-dressed French aristocrats, gentlemen and wealthy businessmen, there were also many French ladies in gorgeous attire, holding exquisite lace parasols in their hands and served by maids, as if they were attending a grand event.

When the thick smoke covering the battlefield gradually dissipated, what appeared before their eyes was a hellish scene.

At this moment, screaming, crying, collapse and mad roars were all present, and the dock was in chaos.

These white French colonists who were watching the battle could not accept what they saw at all, and even began to question their own eyes.

The white gentleman who reacted first hurriedly got into the carriage with the screaming and crying woman in panic and drove away at an extremely fast speed.

The battle on the Saigon River lasted about two and a half hours from beginning to end.

Around 1:30 p.m.
Except for the three French warships that were sunk, including the five stranded French warships, the remaining eight French warships were all captured by the Chu Navy officers and soldiers. Some French armed merchant ships that participated in the war also became trophies for the fleet to show off its merits.

At this time, in the wide river
Warships were lying everywhere, and the strong and pungent smell of gunpowder mixed with the smell of blood blew in with the breeze, testing the endurance of everyone in the area around Saigon Port.

The river was strewn with corpses, the shimmering water now stained red with blood. Broken planks, charred swathes of canvas, barrels, and scattered objects floated on the surface, creating a gruesome, post-war scene.

Several ironclad warships acted as steamships, using the power of their own steam engines to drag the captured French warships with thick ropes, clearing the river forks and river channels.

After more than two hours of hard work, the blocked river was finally cleared.

The sailing cruiser fleet, sailing escort fleet and sailing troop transport fleet in the rear entered the port one after another, unloaded thousands of soldiers, and quickly took control of the port area.

After assembling, the fully armed soldiers and field artillery immediately marched towards Saigon City.

They had not gone far when the commander of the Fourth Division, Major General Zhou Laonian, gave the order in a serious tone to stop advancing, deploy the troops, and prepare to meet the enemy.

At this time, you can see a large group of French troops pouring out of Saigon City. They carry rifles on their shoulders and, under the command of mounted officers, they march along the two main streets of Saigon City.

The French Army prides itself on being the strongest army in the world and is never afraid of fighting any enemy in the field. The former French Emperor Napoleon led the French Army to defeat its invincible opponents in Europe, and today's French Royal Army still inherits this pride.

Even when facing strong opponents like the British Army and the Tsarist Russian Army, the French Royal Army bravely faced the enemy head-on and never retreated.

It is mid-September

The golden rice ears in the rice fields are full. It is approaching the late rice harvest season. The vast rice fields outside Saigon are endless and always as high as waist.

As the French troops poured out of the city one after another, they changed from columns to horizontal formations at the command of their superiors, and the horses dragged the field artillery quickly to both sides and began to establish artillery positions.

Large areas of rice that were about to mature were trampled, and dog-eaten gaps appeared in the golden rice fields, which made the Jiaozhi farmers wearing conical hats feel heartbroken.

The two armies were about 3 to 3.2 kilometers apart and each deployed its own battle formation.

The Chu State used the 2nd, th and th Regiments under the th Expeditionary Division as the core front-line positions, the newly formed th Regiment was on the left, and the newly formed th Regiment was on the right, opening up an attack front as wide as kilometers.

Each array has three rows of infantry, with a total of two rows in front and back.

Behind the core front position, the Chu State also had the 1st, 3rd and 4th Regiments of the Expeditionary 4th Division as a reserve force, as well as officers and soldiers of the Mule and Horse Supply Regiment.

The sailors of the Chu Navy task force were busy taking over the captured French warships, guarding the prisoners, cleaning the battlefield and towing the warships, and were temporarily unable to withdraw extra troops to support the battle on the city battlefield.

The Saigon Expeditionary Force deployed an infantry formation of more than 9,000 people in the front. From a distance, it appeared to be six clear horizontal rows with an extremely rigorous formation.

Three rows were arrayed in the front, with more than 1500 fully armed soldiers in each row, and a total of more than 4500 soldiers in the three rows.

There were three rows of troops more than 4500 meters in the middle, with more than soldiers forming a line infantry formation for the second wave of attack by the Chu State.

The Chu soldiers were all equipped with brand new Manila rifles, iron helmets, and a full set of individual equipment.

The officers and soldiers of the 4th Expeditionary Division, who are in the middle position, are wearing red iron helmets with tassels, which are as red as fire, representing the pride of the main force of the army.

The officers and soldiers of the newly formed infantry regiment on the left and right sides wore white iron hats and helmets with tassels on their heads, which clearly distinguished them from the main force and made them very easy to identify.

Behind these two rows of formations are the reserve forces led by Zhou Laonian, commander of the 4th Expeditionary Division, organized into three rectangular horizontal rows.

They are the 4000st, rd and th Regiments, with a total of less than troops.

The Chu State's Xigong Expeditionary Force formed a standard field battle formation, divided into three parts: left, center, and right.

There is a central main formation, a left wing formation, and a right wing formation. When attacking, whether it is flanking the two wings, breaking through the center, or pushing forward in a straight line, you can switch freely and cope with tactics with ease.

If there is any danger of being broken through by the French army, there are sufficient reserves to fill the gap.

There is nothing special about this formation. It is mediocre, but it is stable and will not cause any major mistakes.

After the infantry formation took its position, the Chu field artillery squadron drove its horses and trotted, dragging dozens of field artillery pieces to a few hundred meters in front of the infantry formation and began to set up artillery positions.

More horse-drawn carriages arrived from the rear, loaded with round cannonballs and barrels of gunpowder. They began to unload when they arrived at the artillery position.

See this scene
The infantry commander ordered the infantry column to march in unison, and they continued forward for about 400 meters before stopping.

As a result, the distance between the enemy and our infantry columns was shortened to about 2,600 to 2,700 meters, and the tense atmosphere before the battle instantly became much more intense.

Some artillerymen of the Chu State were digging the artillery retaining wall quickly with shovels in their hands. The infantry unit next to them also sent some officers and soldiers to help the artillery build the position.

The artillery retaining wall is about waist-high and is mainly used to prevent the shells fired by the enemy artillery from hitting the front of the artillery position and causing rolling and inertial damage. It is used to protect the artillery and artillery.

As for the exposed upper body, don’t worry about it. Being hit is just bad luck. Both sides are equal anyway, and there is no question of who has the upper hand.

Sure enough, in the French army opposite

The number of field artillery pieces that have been towed to the artillery positions has now reached hundreds. The French artillery and infantry are also busy digging artillery retaining walls to prepare for the war.

The French army was divided into two, and the total strength gathered gradually was about 8000 people, forming two horizontal rows of infantry formations on the left and right to meet the enemy head-on.

The left formation occupied two-thirds, and was composed of indigenous troops equipped mainly with rifles and a few flintlock rifles, with a total of nearly 5,000 people, five rows in front and back, and more than a thousand people in each row.

The formation on the right was mainly composed of French white colonial troops, occupying one-third, arranged in three rows, with more than 500 people in each row.

Behind the right side of the formation
There were also a large number of white armed civilians and some white soldiers wearing French naval uniforms, numbering less than a thousand, and they should be reserve forces.

From the perspective of formation
The French commander was also an extremely experienced officer. He intended to use the indigenous vassal army with weaker combat effectiveness to attract most of the firepower of the Chu State, thereby covering the core combat force of the right wing, mainly composed of white colonial troops, to break through first.

As long as the indigenous vassal army can withstand casualties and hold on.

Then we can break through from the right wing, gain a local advantage, break the deadlock and defeat the enemy.

Behind the Saigon Expeditionary Force's positions

"Your Majesty, I respectfully welcome you. Please forgive me for my presumptuous words. Your Majesty's life is worth a million gold..."

After the Fourth Division Commander, Major General Zhou Laonian, saluted, he had just said this when he saw King Chu Zheng Guohui slightly raise his right hand, so he swallowed the rest of his words back into his stomach.

One should know when to stop giving advice, which is the way of a good minister.

The command post chosen by Major General Zhou Laonian was a slightly raised small earthen slope with more than ten crooked willow trees of varying thicknesses, showing its wild charm.

But it happened to provide a rare sparse shade in this afternoon when the sun was high in the sky.

This small earthen slope was only about ten meters high. When King Zheng Guohui of Chu and his entourage of dozens of riders arrived, he was the first to ride up the slope, raising the copper monocular telescope in his hand to observe carefully.

Five or six minutes later, King Zheng Guohui of Chu put down the telescope in his hand, looked across thoughtfully, and asked;
"In your opinion, how are the French battle formations and morale?"

Major General Zhou Laonian immediately raised his hand and saluted and replied.

"Report to Your Majesty
In my humble opinion, the French army's battle formations are uneven, but their morale is high. Especially the white troops and armed civilians, who have advanced weapons, seem capable of fighting."

"Where are the Native Corps?"

"They are all chickens and dogs, and they are not worth a single blow."

"The French army is equipped with quite a lot of artillery, about 140 to 150 pieces, which is more than double the number of our field artillery. They are not easy to deal with."

"Your Majesty, I have carefully observed that the French field artillery is mostly old bronze 9-pound and 12-pound Napoleon cannons, with a few 20-pounder guns. While powerful, they are not very accurate."

"Well, keep talking."

"I command two field artillery squadrons, gathering 24 guns, to concentrate their fire to first destroy the enemy's twenty-pounder gun positions. The other field artillery squadrons will target the twelve-pounders, and then the nine-pounders. Use artillery accuracy to defeat strength, achieving a reversal of strength with weakness."

"Well, that's an idea, and it's indeed feasible." King Zheng Guohui of Chu nodded in agreement.

King Zheng Guohui of Chu saw through the French commander's plan at a glance, but he was not prepared to remind him. Nor would he question the deployment of the frontline commanders, as that would only weaken the prestige of Major General Zhou Laonian and would not help.

The army needs to grow in blood and fire, and be tempered on battlefields covered with thorns. It must not be afraid of casualties, and must be brave in overcoming difficulties and defeating all tough challenges.

Facing a powerful enemy like the French army, a head-on confrontation would be beneficial and harmless.

Judging from the artillery strength of both sides, each has its own advantages and disadvantages.

The French army was equipped with a large number of artillery pieces of various calibers and with very strong firepower, but the technical level of their field artillery was not high.

Although the number of artillery pieces equipped by the Chu State's Saigon Expeditionary Force was small, they had uniform caliber, high shooting accuracy, long range, and the artillerymen were well-trained. The artillery strength of both sides was comparable.

The Chu State's Saigon Expeditionary Force was equipped with a total of 5 field artillery squadrons, with a total of 60 ten-pound Parrot rifled field guns. This was the standard equipment of the Chu State Army, known for its high accuracy and long range.

The Chu Army was originally equipped with a large number of American-made 12-pound M1857 smoothbore guns, which were bronze smoothbore guns modeled after the 12-pound Napoleon gun.

This is the same main artillery currently equipped by the French army. The American artillery has been slightly improved, and the technical parameters of the artillery are at the same level.

The French 12-pound Napoleon gun was an outstanding artillery piece that accompanied French Emperor Napoleon in his conquest of Europe. It defeated countless European powers, gained a great reputation on the battlefield, and was widely adopted by the armies of major powers around the world. It was the most widely equipped type of artillery piece.

Another type is the 9-pound Napoleon field gun, which was used to accompany French cavalry assaults. The entire gun could be disassembled into three large parts and carried by war horses for rapid maneuvering. It was a powerful weapon for French cavalry artillery cover.

More than sixty years have passed since the birth of the Napoleonic field gun, and it is still the mainstream artillery in the armies of the world's major powers, with more than 13000 pieces equipped.

During the American Civil War alone, both armies were equipped with more than 7200 pieces of this type of field artillery, including 9-pound and 12-pound guns.

The ten-pound Parrott rifled field gun is an excellent rifled field gun developed by the Northern United States during the Civil War.

It uses a rifled steel barrel and pointed conical shells, and has the obvious advantages of low production cost, long range and high accuracy.

After the Manila Arsenal successfully imitated it, it began to be equipped in large quantities to elite field troops.

Most of the old twelve-pound Napoleon cannons were eliminated and handed over to fortress garrisons and local garrisons, and some were stored in warehouses as war reserves.

Because they had been equipped with this type of artillery, the Chu generals were very familiar with the performance of the 12-pound Napoleon cannon.

The 12-pound Napoleon cannon can hit the barn door at a distance of 2 kilometers with 3 to 4 rounds of calibration fire.

If the distance is extended to 2500 meters, it can only barely hit the barn, and the accuracy drops sharply.

A ten-pounder Parrot rifled field gun could hit the window in the barn door with a single test shot.

If the distance is extended to 2500 meters, the barn door can be hit accurately.

This is the difference between the two, especially after exceeding two thousand meters, the accuracy of artillery fire is no longer on the same level.

Therefore, the artillery positions set up by the Saigon Expeditionary Force were about 2800 to meters away from the enemy positions, close to the maximum range of meters of the ten-pound Parrot rifled field gun.

And 2500 meters is the maximum range of the 12-pound Napoleon cannon.

The opposing French commander was also very experienced. After discovering this serious problem, he immediately rode his horse to the front of the artillery position and loudly scolded his artillery officers.

He ordered the artillery position to move forward quickly, and looked very angry.

King Zheng Guohui of Chu saw this scene through the telescope and his expression darkened slightly. Is it too late to change now?

It was almost 4 o'clock in the afternoon. The sun high in the sky was already setting, and the trees under the scorching sun cast long shadows.

There was little wind on the sweltering Mekong Plain; the leaves were only swaying gently, looking as if they were wilted by the sun.

King Zheng Guohui of Chu raised his hand and pointed forward gently, signaling that he was ready to let the Fourth Division initiate a line infantry attack and there was no need to delay any further.

By defeating the enemy in front of them, Saigon would be opening its doors to the Chu expeditionary force and allowing them to take whatever they wanted.

Suddenly, he narrowed his eyes slightly, waved his hand and said; "Wait..."

The French commander on the opposite side, riding a white horse, came riding with an officer, just like Guan Yu who went to a meeting alone, and it seemed that he wanted to have a chat.

in this era

During wars between European countries, nobles leading troops would sometimes perform such chivalrous actions, which they considered to be extremely cool, face-saving, and gentlemanly.

Major General Zhou Laoyan immediately walked to the side, took the reins, jumped on the horse, and also went to meet them with an officer.

As the front-line commander, he could not let His Majesty the King of Chu take the risk himself.

Two mounted officers from each side came to the open space in the middle of the position.

The French officer opposite saluted and said very gentlemanly, "I am Lieutenant General Lefort, Commander of the French Army in Saigon. I regret to meet you on this occasion. I believe you are invaders from the State of Chu. Believe me, this is not a good choice."

"I am Major General Zhou Laonian, commander-in-chief of the Saigon Expeditionary Force. I have been ordered to attack you. Once the heavenly soldiers arrive, both you and me will be destroyed. Why don't you dismount and surrender immediately?" Major General Zhou Laonian replied coldly.

Lieutenant General Lefort's face was clearly filled with surprise. He smiled contemptuously and said proudly, "The great and glorious French Royal Army can only advance under enemy fire and face death with honor. There will be no cowardly escape, and even less ridiculous surrender."

"Then what else is there to say? Let's see what happens." Major General Zhou Laonian was no longer interested in arguing with the other party, so he turned his horse around and prepared to return.

Lieutenant General Lefort held out his hand and shouted, "Please wait, sir. I hope we can make a gentleman's agreement. My army will need another 20 minutes to be ready."

At this time, Major General Zhou Laonian turned his head and looked back, and saw that King Zheng Guohui of Chu, who was riding a horse on the small hill, turned his horse's head and led the crowd away.

He was moved in his heart, and replied calmly:
"As a gentleman, I can agree to launch the attack in three minutes. I hope you will be prepared to face the wrath of the Celestial Empire."

After saying this, without waiting for the other party to answer, he kicked the horse's belly with his feet and quickly rode back to his own position.

three minutes?
Damn it, these ungentlemanly Orientals, damn it!

Lieutenant General Lefort cursed inwardly after realizing what was happening, then hurriedly turned his horse's head and galloped back, shouting as he ran: "Artillery, don't move, prepare for battle."

It took him two or three minutes to ride back to his position in such a hurry. The ungraceful Eastern commander did not agree with his proposal at all, but instead launched an attack immediately.

At this moment

Most of the artillerymen on the French positions mounted their guns on horses and pulled them forward to move their positions. Some artillerymen loaded the shells on the ground onto the carriages in preparation for moving their positions.

Sometimes they were told to move their positions, and sometimes they were told to stop, which immediately caused chaos in the French artillery positions.

(End of this chapter)