North America 1849, from Gold Rush to Warlord

Chapter 283 Where is my Italian cannon?

No matter how hard Ye Mingchen and other high-ranking officials found it, the fact remains that the two forts, one on the east and one on the west, were breached almost simultaneously in less than an hour!

Upon receiving news of the capture of the fort, Regiment Commander Xu Lin showed little joy. Instead, he stared at the battle map and said, "Although we have captured the fort, I estimate that the Qing troops stationed at the East and West Training Grounds will soon launch a counterattack."

"Many ants can kill an elephant! Although the Qing army was poorly equipped and had low combat effectiveness, its numbers were simply too great."

After a moment's thought, Xu Lin ordered, "Order the two battalion commanders of the First and Second Battalions to personally guard the East and West artillery positions respectively!"

"Yes, Commander!" the messenger immediately replied with a salute.

"Tell the two battalion commanders that if the fort is captured and then lost again, I will personally enforce battlefield discipline!"

"Yes, leader!"

The messengers quickly split up to relay the regimental commander's orders.

……

But after only a moment, the cannons from the two forts stopped firing; instead, an unusually dense barrage of gunfire erupted from the outer city.

Xu Lin, who was discussing the battle situation with his staff, looked up upon hearing this and frowned slightly, saying, "It seems that the Qing army in the inner city has launched a counterattack first!"

With that, Xu Lin grabbed the helmet from the table and put it on his head: "Let's go, let's go take a look ahead...!"

Xu Lin, accompanied by several staff officers and a squad of soldiers, ascended a drum tower a quarter of an hour later.

In addition to its function of striking the morning bell and evening drum to tell the time, this drum tower also served as a lookout point for fires, making it one of the few high points in the outer city.

Before Xu Lin ascended the Drum Tower, soldiers from the 127th Regiment had already set up two machine guns and a mortar there.

With the range of machine guns and mortars, mounted on the Drum Tower, they controlled almost half of the outer city.

"who……?"

Upon hearing the footsteps ascending the stairs, the soldiers on guard immediately became alert.

"It's me, Xu Lin...!"

When their commander came into view of the soldiers on the rooftop, the dozen or so soldiers immediately stood at attention and saluted.

"Commander...!"

Xu Lin waved his hand slightly: "Keep on guard, don't worry about me...!"

"Yes……!"

Xu Lin, accompanied by several staff officers, stood on the Drum Tower and used binoculars to observe the distant battle situation.

This drum tower is in an excellent location, directly facing the South Gate on the central axis of the inner city.

Through the telescope, three or four thousand Eight Banners troops were pouring out of the three main inner city gates—Guide Gate, Da Nan Gate, and Xiao Nan Gate—and charging menacingly toward the outer city.

Most of these Eight Banner soldiers carried muskets and waist knives, and many others carried ancestral bows, arrows, and spears.

Not only were the equipment varied, but because the incident happened so suddenly, there wasn't even time to change out of their uniforms. Most of the Eight Banner soldiers were rushed to the battlefield still wearing their mismatched everyday clothes.

General Mutten of Guangzhou, riding a tall, chestnut-colored horse, charged ahead, brandishing his saber.

"Charge! Brothers, kill them! Slaughter all these scumbags and take back the outer city!"

"Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill!!"

Mutern personally led two thousand Eight Banners troops out of the South Gate. Although their military appearance was disheveled and their equipment was a motley collection, their sheer numbers and imposing presence made them a formidable force.

Especially Mutern, who was charging ahead, led the charge and was protected by more than a hundred of his personal guard cavalry.

At some point, Ye Mingchen personally led a group of civil officials to the gate tower of the South Gate to overlook the battle below.

Seeing General Mutten, a near-first-rank official from Guangzhou, leading the charge, Ye Mingchen put down his long monocular binoculars and couldn't help but praise, "General Mutten is exceptionally brave and courageous... Who says the Eight Banners army is no match for us? In my opinion, General Mutten will soon be able to retake the outer city...!"

"Your Excellency's insight is truly remarkable!!"

The civil officials quickly offered their flattery, vying to be the first to do so.

“Da da da da da…!”

Unexpectedly, before the group of civil officials could finish speaking, a burst of gunfire, as dense as a storm, suddenly rang out.

At the intersection directly opposite the South Gate, the officers and soldiers of the Second Army had already set up machine gun and mortar positions.

Before all the Eight Banner soldiers could rush out of the city gate, several HM51 water-cooled machine guns almost simultaneously unleashed an incredibly dense hail of bullets.

"Da da da, da da da da...!"

"Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh...!"

As the machine guns fired, the mortars also began to roar.

A dozen or so mortar shells, with a piercing whistle, slammed into the dense ranks of the Eight Banners army with near-vertical trajectories.

"Boom, boom, boom...!"

Mortar shells rained down on the densely packed Eight Banners army, instantly sending countless severed limbs and soldiers flying high into the air.

“Puff, puff, puff…!”

The dense hail of bullets raged wildly among the Eight Banners army, easily reaping countless lives!
"Ah... my leg...!"

"Ah...help...my hand...!"

"Ah... my intestines, don't step on my intestines...!"

"Ahhh...my eyes...!"

……

The moment the battle began, the Eight Banners troops at the forefront fell in droves, like wheat being harvested, into pools of blood.

Blood instantly stained the bluestone pavement red.

The machine gun fire was like several flying fire dragons. Wherever it went, whether the Eight Banners soldiers were wearing armor or not, they were all riddled with bullets and even ripped in two!

Especially Mutten, who was charging at the very front, and his personal guard of horses—the faster they charged, the faster they died!
"Hiss... hiss...!"

One by one, the warhorses had their legs broken, their necks broken, their chests pierced... neighing and screaming, they fell unwillingly into pools of blood.

No one, including General Mutten of Guangzhou, could escape the hail of bullets.

"Puff puff……!"

Several guards in front of him were pierced through the body by machine gun bullets, but the momentum did not diminish, and they continued to pierce through Mutten's exquisitely decorated royal breastplate.

"what……!"

With several bullets piercing his torso, Mutten screamed and fell from his horse.

"General...General...!"

"Protect the general! Retreat! Retreat!!"

Several guards were shocked to see Mutten injured and fall from his horse.

A renowned and exceptionally brave guard, hiding in a stirrup, scooped up the injured and fallen Mutten.

Then he laid the wounded Guangzhou general across his body, turned his head without looking back, and rode his horse to flee towards the inner city!
The rest of the personal guard cavalry did the same, surrounding the wounded general and then charging towards the inner city.

At this time, the Eight Banners soldiers inside the inner city, unaware of what was happening, continued to rush outwards.

They rushed out while simultaneously retreating wildly.

The cavalry, consisting of dozens of riders, disregarded everything and broke through the Eight Banners soldiers who were still rushing outwards. They trampled over the corpses and wounded soldiers scattered on the ground, as well as the unlucky ones who couldn't get out of the way, and charged wildly with their heads down.

"The dog-like cavalry... Ah... Don't step on my leg!"

"Snapped……!"

Before the unfortunate men could finish speaking, their heads were crushed by a galloping horse's hoof!
"Retreat! Retreat! The enemy's firepower is too strong, we can't hold them off! We can't hold them off!!"

The Eight Banners soldiers, who were already poorly trained, used to raising birds in cages, and bullying ordinary people, could be described as a rabble.

When charging forward, one can still rely on momentary courage.

But once the retreat began, the scene... was utterly chaotic and a terrible sight!
"Da da da da...!"

“Swish, swish, swish, swish…!”

"Boom, boom, boom...!"

The hail of bullets fired by machine guns and mortars seemed to never stop, relentlessly chasing after the retreating Manchu soldiers and continuing to reap lives!

Not only outside the South Gate, but also at the Guide Gate and the Small South Gate, the same scene was playing out.

In less than a quarter of an hour, the area outside the three city gates was littered with corpses and wounded soldiers, as well as severed limbs and blood flowing freely!

"How...how could this happen...!"

Standing atop the Chenlou gate at the South Gate, Ye Mingchen, who was personally overseeing the battle, felt his legs tremble and could hardly believe what he was seeing.

In just a short while, the seemingly intimidating Eight Banners army collapsed and retreated, without even touching the enemy's skin, and suffered a complete defeat!
"How...how can the enemy's firepower be so strong?"

Ye Mingchen's voice trembled: "Even... even the Western soldiers... didn't have such powerful firepower!"

"This...this...this...!"

Just as Ye Mingchen was at a loss, several Manchu guards carried a bloodied and mangled figure and hurriedly climbed up the city gate tower.

"Your Excellency, my general, he...he...!"

"General Mutern, what happened to him...?" Ye Mingchen looked closely and saw that the bloody and mangled figure in front of him was none other than General Mutern of Guangzhou, who had been so spirited and murderous just moments before!
"How could it have come to this? How could it have come to this...!"

Ye Mingchen was furious and anxious when he saw Mutten, who was beaten so badly that his intestines were ripped out and he was about to die. He couldn't help but stomp his feet!

"Your Excellency, my general is still breathing! Please find a way to save him!" "I...I...!"

Ye Mingchen wanted to say something, but he couldn't utter a single word.

"Cough cough...!" Jiang Guolin, the Guangdong Provincial Governor, managed to maintain his composure and said, "Quickly send General Mutten to the foreign hospital; they are experts in treating gunshot wounds...!"

"Yes, yes, yes...!" The guards suddenly realized, "Quickly go to the foreigners' Boji Hospital, the general might still be saved!"

As he spoke, several guards quickly carried the critically injured Mutten to Boji Hospital.

Boji Hospital was founded by Parker Parker.

Although Peter Parker has returned to California and is now the general manager of medical and pharmaceutical services, Booz & Company Hospital continues to operate normally under the auspices of the church, and its scale is steadily expanding.

Originally just an ophthalmology hospital, it has now been expanded into a comprehensive hospital.

Sometimes, history is just that amazing.

Boji Hospital, which has close ties to California, has now become the only hope for the Guangzhou general who was wounded by the California army!

……

Putting aside the question of Mutern's life or death for the moment, Ye Mingchen watched helplessly as the Eight Banners army, like a tidal wave, retreated in utter panic. Overwhelmed with fear, he was completely at a loss and stood frozen on the spot!

"Governor-General...Governor-General...?"

Guangdong Governor Bai Gui called out to Ye Mingchen several times before he finally snapped out of his daze.

"Uh... Governor Bai...!" Ye Mingchen wiped the cold sweat from his forehead with his sleeve: "Issue my order to immediately close all the gates of the inner city. Without my order, no soldier or civilian is allowed to enter or leave!"

"Understood...!"

"The Eight Banners, the city defense battalion, the Green Standard Army... all soldiers and officers, guard the city gates and all parts of the city walls. We must not allow the rebel army to breach the inner city... or else we will be subject to military law!"

"Understood...!"

Immediately, officers from the command post went down to relay the order.

"Squeak...!"

The heavy city gate of the South Gate was quickly closed, and even the corpses and wounded soldiers of the Eight Banners outside the city were completely ignored.

……

A kilometer away, Xu Lin, who was also closely observing the battle, slowly lowered his binoculars and coldly sneered, "The commander was right after all! What Eight Banners soldiers? They're all just chickens and dogs, utterly vulnerable..."

As he spoke, Xu Lin pointed to the South Gate tower, which was about two miles away, and said to the mortar squad leader behind him, "Do you see that gate tower?"

"Most of the high-ranking officials in Guangzhou are on that platform!"

"Give me a shot! If you can kill a few high-ranking officials, I'll give you a second-class merit!"

Upon hearing this, the artillery platoon leader's eyes lit up immediately: "Regimental Commander, are you serious?"

The military merit system of the California Army basically copied the system of the later Red Army.

Third-class merit, second-class merit, first-class merit, special-class merit, and above that, there is the special-class combat hero.

In the current California military, anyone who earns a second-class merit or higher can be promoted to officer and recommended for military academy.

Even if you don't graduate from military academy or are not suitable to become an officer, you can still get priority promotion at the sergeant level.

Even after leaving the military, soldiers who have earned merit can be placed in very good positions within the Huamei Company system.

So, the platoon leader immediately perked up when he heard there was a chance to earn merit.

Xu Lin glared at him: "Nonsense, there's no joking on the battlefield!"

"Hehe...Ptooey, ptooey!" The artillery squad leader immediately grinned, then spat twice on his hands, raised his fingers, and measured the wind direction.

Then, he raised his thumb and gestured towards the distant city gate tower for a long time.

"Get out of the way, I'll do it myself...!"

The platoon leader kicked the gunner aside and began to operate the 81mm mortar himself.

The range of an 81mm mortar can reach up to about 6,000 yards.

However, it is still very difficult to accurately hit the city gate tower a kilometer away with a single shot.

Generally, one or two shots are needed for calibration before basic accuracy can be guaranteed.

But if the first shot misses, the high-ranking officials in the city gate tower will have already fled, leaving no chance for the cannon to be calibrated.

The squad leader personally adjusted the cannon, aimed for a long time, and finally gave a cautious signal to the gunner to put in a shell.

"Boom...!"

The 81mm mortar jerked backward, and with a "whoosh!" the shell, accompanied by a piercing whistle, crashed into the city gate tower two miles away.

"call out……!"

The military officer accompanying Governor-General Ye Mingchen of Guangdong and Guangxi suddenly heard a whistling sound overhead, something was wrong.

They were elite soldiers in the Qing army, seasoned in battle. Upon hearing the whistling sound, which seemed unusual, they shouted without hesitation, "Down...!"

At the same time, the officer sprang forward and pounced, knocking the bewildered Ye Mingchen to the ground.

"Boom...!"

Just a few meters away from Ye Mingchen, the mortar shell exploded with a bang!
"Whoosh whoosh whoosh...!"

The powerful shockwave, along with flying shrapnel, instantly swept across an area of ​​about ten meters around.

"Ah...ah...ah...!"

Many high-ranking officials and their entourage on the city gate tower erupted in extremely shrill screams.

Fortunately, Ye Mingchen was tackled in advance and narrowly escaped death.

Even so, Ye Mingchen felt a ringing in his ears and dizziness, and for a moment he couldn't understand what had happened.

The officers and soldiers surrounding him, who had been on the battlefield, reacted faster. Without saying a word, they grabbed the dizzy Ye Mingchen and ran down the city wall.

Behind Ye Mingchen, the officials and their entourage who were fortunate enough to escape unharmed quickly lifted the hems of their official robes and fled hastily down the city gate tower.

The injured officials were carried away by their entourage and hurriedly fled.

In the blink of an eye, only a dozen or so mangled corpses remained on the city gate tower.

For a time, it was impossible to tell how many officials had died under this blast.

The officials who had narrowly escaped with their lives hadn't even reached the city walls when another deafening explosion, "Whoosh... Boom!", rang out right where they had just been standing.

"That was close, that was close...!"

These officials didn't even bother to sit in their sedan chairs, nor did they care about their official dignity. They ran as fast as they could, trying to get as far away from this dangerous place as possible.

……

On the other side of the drum tower, the artillery platoon leader, gazing at the aftermath of the shelling, couldn't help but stomp his foot angrily: "Damn it... only a few losers were killed...!"

"Haha...!" Xu Lin patted his shoulder heavily: "Well done, what's your name?"

"Reporting to the regimental commander, my name is Liu Mancang, sergeant, artillery squad leader, 2nd Company, 1st Battalion...!"

"Very good, Liu Mancang, the second-class merit is yours!"

"Really?" Liu Mancang was overjoyed, never expecting to get the credit so easily.

Xu Lin turned to his staff officer behind him and said, "Write down his name and apply for a record with the division headquarters later!"

"Yes, sir!!"

"Thank you, Commander!"

Liu Mancang was overjoyed and stood at attention to salute Xu Lin.

"Work hard, and I'll recommend you for artillery school later!"

"Thank you for the promotion, Commander!!"

"Hmm...!" Xu Lin, along with his staff and soldiers, left the Drum Tower without looking back.

……

A little over fifteen minutes later, Ye Mingchen, who had returned to the Guangdong Governor's Office, and a group of officials finally gathered together again.

However, these officials were all disheveled and extremely embarrassed at this moment.

Many people were covered in blood, and it was unclear whether it was their own or someone else's.

The officials, still shaken, took their seats and gulped down several mouthfuls of tea to try and calm their nerves.

Only then did Ye Mingchen realize that something was wrong behind him.

He reached back and touched it, and surprisingly pulled out a piece of meat the size of a walnut from his braid!
"This...this...thud!"

Ye Mingchen quickly threw the piece of meat, whose owner he didn't know, far away, feeling a surge of nausea and vomiting in his chest.

The officers quickly stepped forward to wipe the blood off the governor's body and hands.

For a moment, the hall fell silent, and everyone looked at each other, not knowing what to do.

After a long while, Ye Mingchen finally came to his senses and scrutinized the officials in the hall with his eyes. Looking left and right, he suddenly realized that one crucial person was missing.

"Where is Governor Bai Gui...?!?"

(End of this chapter)