Nanyang Storm 1864

Chapter 324 Sydney
On January 1, around 23: p.m.,
Sydney Harbour
It was a quiet afternoon like any other. Seagulls were circling in the sky over the bay pier, searching for food, and dozens of cargo ships were anchored in the bay.

Chinese workers on the dock were carrying heavy sacks and loading cargo onto the ship along the narrow gangway. White gentlemen and ladies on the street were strolling leisurely, enjoying the quiet and lazy afternoon in Australia.

In a cafe by the bay
Some very tasteful gentlemen and ladies sat at a small table enjoying afternoon tea. The topic they talked about was the current tense situation in Southeast Asia and the future direction of the war.

His words were full of mysterious confidence in the British Empire, and he did not forget to mock and ridicule those Chinese with braids, saying that they were all lowly and inferior people.

These light-hearted topics of conversation often trigger bursts of laughter, and the white female companions often look at the gentlemen who are in the spotlight, which makes the gentlemen even more excited.

"Get out of here, you yellow pigs from the East! Don't step on my street." A white gentleman standing at the door of the cafe shouted.

The targets of his rebuke were two Chinese men walking on a stone path near the cafe.

After being scolded
The two Chinese men, who did not want to cause trouble, obediently left the stone road, walked to the sandy road in the middle, lowered their heads and left quickly.

"Oh man, good job."

Whistles and chuckles rang out from the cafe, and the white gentleman standing at the door felt even more elated. He glanced around smugly, but his eyes suddenly froze...

Just at the end of the distant sea, a dense crowd of large sailing ships suddenly appeared, covering the sea like the sky and the sun, and sailing towards Sydney Bay.

"Orientals, it's Orientals... Orientals are coming to kill us."

Someone shouted, and as if there was an explosion, all the white people in the shops along the street ran out quickly, looking at the nearby sea in horror.

It’s over, he really is an Oriental.

Such a huge display is truly astonishing, even for local residents who have lived in Sydney Bay for more than 30 years and have never seen one.

More than a hundred large sailing ships covered the sea, carrying endless murderous intent and pressing forward, like a dark cloud covering the sky, making people feel cold at the back. How could they not be afraid?

Sydney Harbour

The wailing alarm sounded quickly, and on the streets near the coast, the originally lazy white gentlemen and ladies ran around in fear, screaming all the way.

Many local white police officers in Sydney rushed to the bay, and their faces turned pale when they saw such a huge enemy formation.

On the sailing ship "Guangming"
King Zheng Guohui of Chu looked at the chaotic Sydney Harbour with a conqueror's smile on his lips. Yes... that's what it feels like.

The rumbling sound of cannons was heard in the bay. The two sailing battleships, "Zhenhai" and "Zhenhe", sailed straight out of the fleet and carried out close-range artillery attacks on the two British sailing frigates that set sail in an emergency.

The other warships quickly dispersed, suppressing the cargo ships and colonial patrol ships that were trying to set sail, eliminating their ability to resist, and then bursts of crisp volleys of gunfire were heard.

The troop transport ships in the fleet forced their way onto the dock, and then a large number of soldiers poured out like a tide. After a simple formation at the dock, the entire battalion and company began to advance towards the city, and the sound of gunfire and artillery rang out continuously.

The troop transports were unloading very quickly, and after just over an hour, the number of soldiers landing reached over 10,000. Already over twenty troop transports had been emptied and immediately left the docks to anchor in the bay.

Subsequent troop transports and cargo ships docked one after another, transporting a large number of soldiers, artillery and other equipment ashore in an orderly manner.

The subsequent landing troops quickly joined the battle to capture the city of Sydney.

King Zheng Guohui of Chu sat leisurely on the stern deck, enjoying afternoon tea with several close ministers around him, looking relaxed and contented.

Even though it’s a little late, it tastes really good!
The feeling of admiring one's own army occupying Sydney, along with the joy of conquest, makes such a wonderful afternoon tea taste extraordinary.

Major General Zheng Fu, commander of the 5th Expeditionary Division and commander-in-chief of the 1st Detachment of the Australian Expeditionary Force, was a descendant of the Chu family in Tongzhou. He had served as the head of the imperial guard for many years and his loyalty was unquestionable.

Although his military ability is mediocre, he is obedient and easy to use, so he will certainly be promoted and reused.

King Zheng Guohui of Chu does not need those smart people with their own ideas to control the guns. What's wrong with having mediocre abilities?
With an absolute advantage of more than seven times the number of troops, they encircled and annihilated a group of white militiamen armed with rifles. They also had a large group of professional officers from the Manila Advanced Military Academy to assist in the battle and attacked separately.

If you still lose after this, you might as well find a piece of tofu and hit your head against it and die.

The main tactic in today's world is a line-up and shoot tactic. There is no such tactic as deep penetration, siege and attack on reinforcements. The main tactic is simple, crude and direct.

Military geniuses like French Emperor Napoleon often used strange tactics such as long-distance raids, which were rarely seen in Europe for hundreds of years, and were hailed as military geniuses.

In fact, these are all tactics that have been played out in China.

Far away

King Zheng Guohui of Chu saw that the local white armed militia in Sydney lined up and began to fight back, engaging in a volley of gunfire with the Chu army soldiers who had an absolute advantage.

The crisp sound of volleys of gunfire followed one after another, and the fighting was very lively.

King Zheng Guohui of Chu silently picked up the teacup and took a sip. He knew that he had to check in to the New South Wales capital at least a few hours in advance.

It was originally scheduled to be before midnight, but now it seems that is not necessary.

Before dusk falls

These straightforward Australian white rebels would be killed almost immediately, and the fight would be over early.

It's really good
A little after 6 o'clock in the evening, the gunfire in Sydney gradually subsided. Almost all of the 2 Chu army soldiers entered the city and cleared out and killed the remaining white rebels in the city.

Major General Zheng Fu, his face covered in dust, led several officers and hurried to the dock, respectfully inviting His Majesty to move to the provincial capital to rest for a while.

At his request, the fully armed Royal Guards arrived at the dock and escorted His Majesty the King of Chu to the state capital. The process is omitted here.

This is a seaside city with a very British style, with various large European-style buildings standing tall, including the Sydney Cricket Ground built in 1848, the University of Sydney built in 1850, the Sydney Grammar School built in 1854, the Sydney Museum built in 1857, and the Grand Theatre and Observatory built in 1858. It has a complete range of public buildings and facilities.

It gives people the illusion of being in Manchester in Europe. Compared with that city that has been polluted by industry, Sydney has a more beautiful environment and a bluer sky.

When King Zheng Guohui of Chu arrived at the capital of New South Wales by carriage, he saw several carriages piled with corpses just coming out of the capital's gate, and he couldn't help but frown slightly.

After thinking about it, he still didn't say much.

The Chu army officers and soldiers were always brutal and brutal in the conquered territories. Conquering the city of Sydney and killing 20,000 to 30,000 white men was like a piece of cake.

If they don't die, how can they seize other people's property?

This is a paradox. It is possible to avoid harming anyone, but that means you have to go to the wild to find food.

Because all the fields, mines, houses and shops were owned by others, the later conquerors had to go through a bloody elimination before they could be reborn.

Labor pains are painful, just bear with it.

The guards escorted the carriage past in a hurry. Major General Zheng Fu, the commander of the Fifth Division, who was riding a horse behind, raised his eyebrows when he saw this scene.

He whispered to the officers around him, "Tell the brothers that there's no need to tie your hands and feet anymore. Let go and do something big."

"Understood, sir."

The officer immediately turned his horse around, raised his whip and whipped it hard, then drove the horse away quickly.

This night was destined to be a bloody night, and also a night of labor pains. The sounds of gunfire and screams continued intermittently throughout the night...

Singapore Hill Fortress

The rumbling sound of gunfire lasted for five days. The originally solid mountain fortress was shattered into pieces by the repeated bombardment of 5-pound heavy artillery, and ruins were everywhere.

The valley was filled with a strong smell of blood and gunpowder, as well as a pungent and nauseating stench of corpses, which showed the cruelty of close combat.

In the rubble of the fortress
Corpses can be seen lying everywhere, and blood has dyed every piece of rubble here red. It seems like a killing field where both sides fought hard, showing an extremely cruel side.

The 4500st Regiment of the Singapore Expeditionary Force and the newly formed 3000th Regiment had a total of more than 7500 officers and soldiers, plus reinforcements, bringing the total strength to more than people.

The bloody battle at the mountain fortress lasted for five days and five nights, and the enemy refused to give an inch. The total casualties were nearly 5, and more than 5 enemy troops were killed or wounded, which demonstrated the bloodiness of the Singapore Expeditionary Force.

dusk
Lieutenant General Connor, Deputy Commander-in-Chief of the Anglo-French Allied Forces, and General Maignan watched with grim faces as another round of attacking troops retreated, their faces twitching violently.

From their command position, they could use telescopes to observe the rear of the mountain fortress and another fortress across the col.

According to the investigation
The Chu army built at least three fortresses of the same level in the nearby mountains, and behind them were layers of earthen wall fortresses built on the roads that must be passed through the mountains.

There are at least seven or eight of them, which is really scary.

If a fortress loses seven or eight thousand soldiers, then when more than 5 people reach the outskirts of Singapore, there will not be many left.

Why are these Chu troops so difficult to defeat?

It's so difficult to deal with, just like a hedgehog, it will prick your hand no matter how you try.

"General Connor, should we send the artillery to bombard the area? It looks like if we try hard, we can capture this fortress today."

"What good will it do if we take it? There are still many tougher obstacles ahead. Let's just raise the white flag and clean up the battlefield. We must take this damn fortress tomorrow."

"I am happy to follow your orders, General." General Maignan was very cooperative and turned around to tell his officers to carry out the orders.

General Maignan had only more than 1 French troops under his command. France was facing increasingly severe challenges from the Kingdom of Prussia, and the war atmosphere in Europe was extremely tense.

Regarding the issue of succession to the Spanish throne, Napoleon III was extremely dissatisfied with King William I of Prussia. The two sides were on the verge of a war and were both rushing to expand their armaments and plan for a war.

At this moment

The Far East, tens of thousands of miles away, became unimportant, and there was no extra manpower to deploy, so the main force could only be the British Indian Corps in the British colonies.

Even the proud French general, General Maignan, had to bow his head.

In fact, according to his tough command style, he should have launched a continuous fierce attack at all costs, and it would only take three days to wipe out this Chu army, and perhaps the losses would not be so great.

This slow and tedious fighting actually gave the Chu defenders a chance to catch their breath.

The problem is that his words are useless and he has to obey the command of British General Connor.

If it's so cool, why don't the French do it?

Just one sentence is enough to make General Maignan speechless and embarrassed, so why bother making things difficult for yourself?

(End of this chapter)