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Chapter 1122 The troops are approaching the city
The day passed quietly in the busyness. When the sun rose again from the east, its warm rays spread across the earth. However, a huge cloud of dust rose in the north of Suez, sweeping towards the south at a speed visible to the naked eye.

Sandstorms are common in the vast Sinai Peninsula, but the soldiers and civilians in Suez knew that it was not just rolling yellow sand coming from the north, but also tens of thousands of troops. It was their horses' hooves and camels' trampling that raised the large clouds of dust.

The hearts that had been somewhat reassured by the artillery on the city wall were now raised again. Artillery was powerful, but it also depended on the number of the enemy. It was unknown whether such a large-scale army could be resisted with a few rounds of artillery fire.

In fact, the soldiers and civilians in Suez were still inexperienced. Those who arrived from the north of the city were only the Sipahi cavalry who served as the vanguard, numbering no more than 5000. The main force led by the Grand Vizier was still dozens of miles away and would not arrive until noon.

"They are all cavalry, numbering more than 3000. If we can bring a hot air balloon, it will be most suitable for the terrain here. It doesn't need to be too high. If it rises to 70 meters, we can see dozens of miles away."

There were two different atmospheres on the city wall. The Mamluk private soldiers looked at the scene outside the city and were all wilted, their eyes full of fear. If it weren't for the cannons and the mercenaries guarding the cannons, I'm afraid some of them would have dropped their weapons and fled.

The leader of the mercenaries was standing side by side with Pianjiabuliu at this time, looking towards the north of the city with a telescope in his hand, sighing as he looked, as if what was coming was not the deadly elite of the Ottoman Empire, but a military parade.

"Are you sure?" Wang Datou was not in the mood to daydream. He looked at the smoke and dust that was getting closer and closer with a serious expression.

"One hundred percent. If the enemy were all cavalry, then this city could really be defended. If they were replaced with breech-loading cannons, at least half of these more than 10,000 people would have to be abandoned. What a pity!"

The mercenary leader is relatively young and not as thoughtful. He cannot understand other people's emotional fluctuations and is still comparing the pros and cons of weapons.

"That's good. Find a suitable opportunity to give them a hard time. The more exciting your fight is, the safer I will be." Wang Datou did not correct the other party's thinking and delegated the right to open fire.

"That's a must. Wait a little longer, get within 500 meters. Don't be fooled by the muzzle-loading smoothbore cannon, but we use Type 25B armor-piercing fragmentation shells. This thing is good for hitting merchant ships and people. It will shatter anything it hits... Mr. Pianjia, what do you mean by the safer you are?"

Fortunately, this young Marine Guard officer was not stubborn. As he spoke, he finally figured out what was wrong and began to ask for details with a frown.

"Of course we have to negotiate. We need to dampen the enemy's momentum first, letting them know that they have run into a tough guy. If they fight head-on, they may suffer heavy losses. Only then will they agree to negotiate and will not easily go against me."

"Negotiation... then it would be a waste!" After hearing this answer, the officer finally understood and looked incredulous.

Negotiations have never been a custom in the Imperial Navy and Army, and using words to resolve wars is not encouraged. Whenever the army takes the field, it means there is no room for negotiation, so the rule of not killing envoys when two armies are fighting does not apply. There are only two ways out: fight to the death or surrender.

"Yes, it may be a gift for nothing, but we should still try for the sake of the empire's interests. You are soldiers, and you cannot retreat in the face of gunfire and hail of bullets. I am another kind of person, and I cannot retreat in the face of many impossibilities. Different paths lead to the same destination, there is no difference.

But remember the previous order, assemble the troops immediately after I leave the city, and be ready to abandon all the baggage and gather at the dock at any time. Don't pay attention to anyone, whoever stops you is the enemy. And the list, try to bring them all with you, if I don't reach an agreement, sail back to Colombo immediately. "The rule of no negotiation between two armies was created by His Majesty the Emperor, and it must be implemented regardless of whether there are objections or not. Fortunately, this custom is not universal, and Wang Datou is not 100% free.

"...Senior, can you please leave your name?" Seeing his superior taking it calmly even though he knew he would most likely die, the young officer was a little moved and cautiously made an extraordinary request.

Although dying in battle and dying heroically are both death, they are two different states. The former is uncontrollable and one can only follow others, which is considered as following the crowd. The latter requires very strong self-control and actively throws oneself into the arms of death.

"No, this is my duty. Live well. When you reach my age, you will see a more powerful empire and live a more prosperous life. None of this was in vain. It's the sacrifices of my generation, and your generation will have to continue."

Obeying the rules is deeply engraved in the bones of every Haihu Division graduate. Even when there is the most reason to act recklessly, the first thing that pops into their mind is still the word "rules". In order not to continue this topic, Wang Datou chose to avoid it and went down to the city gate in advance to prepare.

To be honest, whether it is the Imperial Navy or the Imperial Army, their combat scenes seriously lack artistic sense, and they can't even be labeled as cold, cruel, and bloody. It doesn't matter whether you watch it or not.

In less than 20 minutes, a sharp copper whistle suddenly sounded on the city wall, followed by a series of muffled sounds, shaking the rammed earth wall so that smoke was everywhere, and the bombardment began.

I don't know if it was because they underestimated the enemy, but the Sipahi cavalry who came from afar did not choose a suitable place to set up camp, nor did they block the northwest and southwest city gates. Instead, they approached the northern city wall carelessly and shouted in unison, probably trying to persuade the enemy to surrender.

According to common sense, there was nothing wrong with what they did. To put it bluntly, the private army that rebelled in the city was just a group of slaves raised by the nobles, and could not be considered an army at all.

When things are going smoothly for such rebels, their morale will be very high, their fighting power will be extremely high, and they will dare to do anything if someone leads them. But once they encounter difficulties, they will immediately be beaten back to their original form.

Now that the regular army has arrived, the people in the city must be in a panic, and a little deterrence may make the rebels disperse. At least scaring off some of them, or causing divisions among the rebels, will be of great help in the next siege.

Killing people is not a good way to quell a rebellion. First, you have to undermine the enemy's morale, then enter the city without bloodshed, and then you can raise your butcher knife against the rebel leader to serve as a warning to the rest.

Unfortunately, they did not know that the nature of this rebellion in Suez was very different from all previous rebellions. In addition to the supply of more advanced weapons, there were also hundreds of professional soldiers who were as regular as could be among the rebels.

With these soldiers supporting them, plus thousands of muskets and nearly a hundred cannons in their hands, the rebels' willpower will be much stronger, and at least they will not flee at the first sign of danger.

(End of this chapter)