Red Mansion: I am Jia Lian

Chapter 516: The Impact is Imminent
As an old man from the Shenjiying, he rose from a small soldier to the commander of a battalion. He followed Jia Lian to Yunyang, Jining, and went to Kouwai. He was an absolute close friend of Jia Lian.

It was with the help of these people that Jia Lian was able to firmly grasp the first regiment of the Nanyang New Army.

Of course, in terms of military capabilities, these people are the top talents who have emerged from the crowd.

Hearing the sound of gunfire, it was not difficult to judge that the main force of the First Town was holding back the attack. Although he said goodbye and went back to sleep with peace of mind, he took a look at the fortifications before leaving. He thought there was no problem and said goodbye. As for the little girl who followed him, Cui Lu firmly refused. This disappointed Boss Chen. Although he was the leader of the local overseas Chinese, it did not mean that no one wanted to replace him. Unfortunately, Captain Cui looked down on his niece's granddaughter.

The attack launched by the first batch was, to be more precise, a feint. The tactics adopted were also very simple, with the main force deployed in the back, and a dozen precision shooters spread out in the front, finding a good defense and then shooting accurately.

This is the power of rifled guns, especially the guns equipped by precision shooters, which are specially made with longer range and higher accuracy. They are composed of four people, two shooters and two assistants.

After finding a suitable cover, the snipers, with the help of their assistants, began to dig holes, put the excavated soil into straw bags, and piled them in front of them.

The Spaniards built fortifications outside the fortress area. After discovering the actions of the first target, they immediately sounded the alarm and quickly took their personnel into position and prepared for battle.

The outer areas were not protected by the firepower of the artillery, and the construction of fortifications began after the breakdown of the negotiations. In the eyes of the Spaniards, the fortifications were very complete, and there was no need to deploy professional soldiers. Only local colonial militia were needed, and they could rely on fortifications to resist more than three times the number of enemies.

The Spaniards in the city retreated to the fortress area, and the men were organized to guard various positions. The outer defense position opposite the first standard was defended by 500 Spanish militiamen.

The normal tactic is naturally to bombard first, rather than rushing forward directly.

The tactics of the first battalion looked a bit weird, with hundreds of people gathering 500 meters away from the front-line positions. The line after deployment was somewhat scattered, and did not look like an elite force at all.

The forward precision shooters were even more scattered. In the 500-meter wide front, there was a group of four people every fifty meters, and they started looking for cover beyond a hundred meters.

The Spaniards didn't open fire, they just watched them hide and didn't believe that you wouldn't come out. How could they attack if they didn't come out?

This phenomenon can only be said to be a huge difference in the understanding of tactics. The Spanish tactics naturally had no pressure in fighting the natives. After all, they were equipped with a large number of rapid-fire cannons. After entering a distance of 50 meters, how could the flesh and blood body withstand the dense rain of bullets from the rapid-fire cannons, not to mention that the natives were just a group of rabble.

The Spanish militiamen on the battlefield were curious and stood up to watch the excitement. Even when they saw the main force slowly advancing, they were not in a hurry at all. Some people kept making mockery.

"Hey, do these Orientals really know how to fight?"

"They even brought the cannons here, and are they going to attack the fort like this? What is the Governor afraid of?"

"I think after our volleys of gunfire, they will turn into a group of panicked pigs and sheep running around everywhere."

"Uncle Flamenco, isn't it said that the Zhou Empire is one of the most powerful countries in the world? Why do their armies seem to be not very good at fighting? They don't even have cannons, yet they dare to launch an attack?"

Jose, 18 years old, had already had three years of colonial experience. He came to Manila with his parents to open a farm. From the bottom of society, he became a superior person in the eyes of the local natives. His hands were stained with the blood of the natives, otherwise this family would not have a farm. Unfortunately, all this was stopped by the army of the Eastern Empire.

All those clear eyes had nothing to do with him. Hexi did not ask to join the war, but was forced to join the war. Not to mention him, everyone over 13 years old had to join the militia. His father, who had a disabled leg, also had to help with logistics.

Flamengo, with a beard, shook his head: "Who knows? I don't understand it either." The old guy was also a little confused. This was different from what they had agreed before.

He had seen a lot of how Europeans fought. They lined up in battle formations, and before moving forward with rifles, they would definitely fire a round of cannon fire.

Just when the two were confused, gunshots rang out. Before Jose could react, he felt a few drops of rain on his face, but it wasn't raining.

"Ah!" A scream rang in his ears. He turned his head and saw a militiaman covering his neck and screaming in pain. He subconsciously raised his hand to wipe his face, and when he looked down, his hand was red.

Puff, puff, the continuous sound of bullets hitting flesh was like the sound of wind from the devil's sickle. The militiamen who stood up to watch the excitement were hit one after another.

Some people fell backwards and became silent, but for more people, after they fell down, their painful groans could be heard repeatedly behind the position.

The smiling scene just now suddenly turned into everyone hiding behind the fortifications. Jose was so scared that he held his head, threw his flintlock aside, and screamed.

He was terrified. He had been the one who shot and killed the natives in the past, and at that time he had felt like he was hunting, but now they had become someone else's prey.

"Everyone, get up, shoot, and kill them." An officer appeared and punched and kicked the hiding militiamen to start shooting.

Hexi was slapped hard on the face, and blood was oozing from the corner of his mouth. The officer standing in front of him shouted fiercely: "Damn it, you are a man now, pick up the gun, kill those Orientals, and protect your family. I remember you, you have a very beautiful sister. If you don't want your sister to be suppressed by the Orientals, then stand up and fight."

Although still very scared, Jose stood up, raised his rifle, and without caring whether it was accurate or not, he pulled the trigger in a certain direction.

The continuous gunfire from his own side gave Jose courage, and he was finally able to reload the bullets tremblingly. The unlucky guy next to him had already died, and Jose tried hard not to look at his body.

Uncle Flamingo on the other side was very calm. After firing the gun, he skillfully loaded, aimed, and fired again.

The shooting was very bad, and nothing was achieved except the dust stirred up by hitting the ground and sandbags.

"Damn those Eastern pagans, they're so cunning." Flamingo cursed in a low voice.

Jose moved closer to him, as if he could borrow some courage from him, but the next moment, a bullet penetrated Flamingo's eye, and after a muffled groan, Flamingo fell backwards.

Jose rushed over to check. This uncle next door took good care of him. Although he was still breathing, his face was smashed and his life was doomed to end.

"Stop shooting, hide well, and wait until they get closer before opening fire." The officer appeared again, running and shouting with his back bent. He was lucky that he was not shot dead, but his tricorn hat was gone, his steps looked a little untidy, and there was a bit more fear on his face.

The casualties of the militia were not actually high in proportion, but the deterrent effect was astonishing.

The targets that the precision shooters mainly hit are valuable targets reported by their assistants after observing with telescopes. The top priority is the gunners near the rapid-fire guns, and then the targets that dare to show up.

Half an hour (two quarters) later, the main force was still pretending to be strong four hundred meters away, but the precision shooters had already suppressed the militia behind the fortifications so much that they could not raise their heads.

The morale of the Spanish militia suffered a severe blow in a short period of time.

If the officers had not kept shouting, these militiamen would have fled in a panic.

As a commander, Zhang San was not allowed to go to the front line in principle, but this distance was still safe, so he brought his guards to the front line to observe the reaction of the Spaniards.

"Without the bombardment of artillery, it is not enough to destroy the enemy's morale. Send a team to bypass and guard the road to the northern colony. Whenever there are Spaniards who come to reinforce the natives, they will be given a slap and a toll." Zhang San keenly discovered that the distance between the fortress area and the colony area was only two or three miles. The Spanish used the colony area to separate the colonists from the natives. This was obviously a deliberate arrangement.

Liu Zhenshan, the commander of the first battalion, put down his telescope and sneered, "They are not of our race. They are using the overseas Chinese as targets for the local barbarians. Three hundred years ago, the eunuch Sanbao was not cruel enough in killing them!"

Zhang San scoffed at this view: "Nonsense, the barbarians are like the weeds in the grasslands outside the pass. No matter how much they burn this year, they will be full of vitality again after the spring rain next year. What did Bai Juyi say? Wildfires cannot burn them all, they will grow again with the spring breeze. I asked you to study more, but you just refused. You can only become a flag commander because of General Jia's nostalgia. I tell you, the students of the Royal Infantry School will start graduating this year, you'd better hurry up and get a deputy general, otherwise it will be difficult to get promoted to general in the future."

Liu Zhenshan couldn't help but frown slightly: "Sir, did you hear any rumors?"

Zhang San shook his head: "Do I need to listen? The generals in the past were all from military families, such as Lord Jia. Your Majesty set up the Royal Military Academy to replace the sons of generals. The graduates of the Royal Military Academy are all disciples of the emperor. How can a rough man like you who came from the bottom compare? Cui Lu, the commander of the first battalion, is said to have ancestors from the Qinghe Cui family. He can also read and write. I am more optimistic about him." "Sir, you can't be partial. We are all the foundation for the Jia family to be family generals."

"You call me sir now? You used to call me Zhang Laosan."

While the two were bickering, they did not delay in sending a team (company) of soldiers to take a detour along the path and come to the main road in the north. They began to build fortifications from a distance and monitor the Spaniards in the fortress area.

"Boom, boom, boom!" After a burst of artillery fire, cheers came from the Spanish position. The heavy projectiles fell in front of the forward shooter's bunker, bounced a few times, and stirred up a cloud of dust.

Zhang San saw it clearly and said quickly: "Order to retreat, the Spanish have brought the naval guns here."

Beep, beep, beep! A sharp whistle sounded. After hearing it, the shooter in front decisively came out of the bunker and retreated quickly. The sound of the Spanish militia's gunfire was like a farewell.

After retreating to a safe area, a battalion that had launched a feint attack also began to retreat, and if they were to re-form their battle formation, they would become targets for the artillery.

"Sir, isn't it difficult to attack this fortress area? If we fight head-on there will be many casualties." Liu Zhenshan suggested quickly, fearing that Zhang San would get too excited.

"Do I need you to remind me? Damn, when I led you to charge at Yunyang, you were in the last row."

"Zhang Laosan, don't talk nonsense. I was in the first row too."

The people below were used to the scene of the two quarreling. They were all from the Jia family's family. After transferring to the Shenjiying, they became middle-level officers. After following Jia Lian to Guangzhou, they became important commanders of the first town of the new army. It was not that Jia Lian deliberately suppressed their positions, but as a newly formed army, the officers of the first town, except Zhang San, were only at the garrison level.

The pier at the landing point finally came into play. The transport ship docked on the pier, and the officers and soldiers on the ship began to pass through the pier, unload the cannons, and slowly transport them to the shore.

Li Yuan also came out of his confused state, looked around, and after finding Jia Lian, he slowly approached him.

Li Yuan found Jia Lian watching the staff making a sand table, and he stood aside and watched without saying anything.

"This sand table is not perfect, right? Go and ask quickly if the hot air balloon is ready, and send someone to take a look." Jia Lian gave instructions, and Fan Ping quickly recorded it in a small notebook and then passed it to the staff officer next to him.

"Master Jia, why is it not perfect?" Li Yuan couldn't help asking. When Jia Lian looked up at him, a smile appeared on his face. "Although the location of the artillery is marked, it is not comprehensive. The Spanish navy is hiding in the port and can move the naval guns ashore. Vice Admiral Zhang sent someone back to report that large-caliber artillery was firing outside the fortress area. It should be the naval guns. We need to find them and destroy them."

Li Yuan nodded to show that he understood, and then asked, "What is a hot air balloon?"

Jia Lian smiled and said, "It will be ready in the afternoon. Your Highness will know then."

As he spoke, Jia Lian left the command post and smoked in the open space outside. Li Yuan followed him and said, "I already have the answer to your question. There are many villains and few gentlemen in the court."

Jia Lian smiled again. Li Yuan's brain was really useful. He could figure out the problem so quickly. "How did you figure it out, Your Highness?"

Li Yuan sighed and said, "There are gentlemen and villains in the court. However, gentlemen are open-minded while villains are always worried. Gentlemen are willing to use villains to accomplish things when they are in power, but they will not use gentlemen when villains are in power. Gentlemen are harmonious but different, while villains are the same but not harmonious. Gentlemen are cautious when alone, while villains form cliques. Over time, gentlemen will have no place to stand in the court. When I was young in school, the teacher taught me the principles of sages and the way of gentlemen. However, the principles in books are only in books. I am thinking, the Six Classics annotate me, and I annotate the Six Classics. If the sages were still here, what would they think? No wonder later generations all praise the rule of the Three Dynasties."

I thought this guy had figured it out, but I didn't expect him to say "three generations of rule" at the end, which made Jia Lian laugh.

"Pfft!" He laughed out loud in a very impolite manner.

Li Yuan was suddenly embarrassed; the sarcasm in this laughter was too obvious.

Fortunately, Li Yuan was a broad-minded person and immediately folded his hands: "Please point out my mistakes, sir."

When Jia Lian heard the title of "Mr.", he once again decisively refused to accept it: "I dare not call you Mr., this is just my humble opinion."

"I will take your advice!" Li Yuan's attitude was really open-minded and he could not find fault with it. This person's problems were caused by his living environment and his inability to adapt.

"During the Spring and Autumn Period, hundreds of schools of thought contended with each other. Confucius and Mencius emphasized the importance of results in their teachings of benevolence and righteousness. Think carefully about the story of Zigong redeeming people. Is this the truth?"

Jia Lian paused and looked at Li Yuan. After seeing him think for a moment, he nodded seriously before continuing.

"The Qin Dynasty rose because of the Legalists, and fell because of the Legalists. The early Han Dynasty ruled the country with Huang-Lao, and Emperor Wu of Han abolished all schools of thought and respected Confucianism alone? What happened after Confucianism became the only dominant school? Why was there a dispute between the ancient and modern times in the Eastern Han Dynasty? Neo-Confucianism emphasizes form over results, telling readers what to do and not to deviate from the classics. Wang Yangming carved bamboo and created a school of mind, which talks about the unity of knowledge and action and conscience. So, Your Highness, is the result important? Or is the form important? Or is conscience important? Or is the teaching of the sages imperfect?"

A series of questions made Li Yuan's brain freeze again. Many scholars, even if they can recite the contents of books by heart, still run into obstacles in reality.

Li Yuan is a bit like this. Especially because of his background, he has hardly encountered any setbacks. Many of the mistakes he made were not mistakes in his eyes. This is very interesting.

The same is true in real life. Many people think this way: I am not wrong, and if there is anything wrong, it is someone else's fault, it is society's fault.

Every scholar knows the saying "reflect on yourself three times a day", but how many people will review after an event? And find out their shortcomings and make corrections?

Seeing that Li Yuanyou was lost in thought, Jia Lian walked away with a smile, just to find him some questions to think about.

The truth is not complicated, just explain materialism to Li Yuan. But this thing is too shocking, Jia Lian dare not explain it openly, and can only guide him step by step.

If Li Yuan can really accept and understand Jia Lian's theory, it might not be a bad thing to persuade Li Yuan to open up a kingdom abroad in the future.

The landing point continued to be in full swing, with six piers constantly transporting supplies ashore. The thatched hut covered by the sea dragon was enough to serve as a warehouse, so the soldiers had to sleep in tents for the time being.

In their view, the supplies transported from thousands of miles away are much more valuable than people.

Outside the settlement, more and more natives gathered together, and through the telescopes, countless eyes were filled with greed. They dared not do anything to the Spaniards, but they dared to show their fangs to the Chinese.

Cui Lu woke up after a short nap. After observing around, he came to a conclusion that as the temperature gradually dropped in the afternoon, the natives were about to launch an attack, and it would be an all-out attack from all directions.

The overseas Chinese settlement is at a disadvantage in terms of terrain. Apart from a breast wall built in the core area a long time ago and a shallow trench only one meter deep and two meters wide, the rest of the terrain is flat.

The original gathering place of the expatriates was not like this. It was the result of a forced arrangement by the Spaniards later, which was to make the expatriates' gathering place undefended and ready for sacrifice at any time.

Fortunately, the overseas Chinese are hardworking and the buildings in the core area are relatively solid. Some of the buildings are built with stone slabs, so they can withstand not only bullets but also artillery shells.

The vast majority of buildings are made of red bricks, which brings many advantages to defense.

After Cui Lu discussed with Hai Longtou and Chen Lao Da, they decided to keep the defense on all four sides unchanged. One battalion had four teams as reserve teams in four directions, ready to take over immediately if there were any problems with the defense.

"The natives are coming!" A roar came from the watchtower, and the three of them immediately dispersed and returned to their positions, preparing to deal with the impending attack.

(End of this chapter)