Red Mansion: I am Jia Lian

Chapter 518: Confrontation
The first reaction of human beings to unknown phenomena is fear, and the subsequent stage of reaction is myth.

There are many religious believers among the indigenous people of Borneo. The appearance of hot air balloons has dealt a heavy blow to the spiritual world of the indigenous people.

But after one night, the bishop discovered that many indigenous leaders had fled in the middle of the night without even saying goodbye.

When the bishop gathered the remaining indigenous leaders for a discussion, he found that it was not that the remaining people did not want to leave, but that they were a little slow to react.

When everyone mentions hot air balloons, they will use some exaggerated words to describe them, such as Satan's ship, hell's ship, etc.

The emphasis is on one point: unless God comes in person, he cannot win.

The bishop said that he would have people bring in naval guns to help, and the natives reluctantly agreed to stay and continue to surround the expatriate gathering place, preparing for the next attack.

They were worried that if the Spaniards were really destroyed, they would be retaliated against. These natives had no way out and stayed because they were fantasizing.

But they no longer have the ability and courage to continue fighting. If the Spanish are willing to fight, they will cheer and cheer without asking, and they can also get some benefits. If the Spanish are defeated, they can hide in the mountains. If they stay, they may make a fortune, which is not a loss in any way.

The bishop came to discuss with the governor that using the natives to contain the Great Zhou expeditionary force was part of their plan. When the bishop returned to the fortress area, he found that things were very bad.

Just because of the appearance of the hot air balloon, which flew for more than an hour, most of the ordinary Spanish colonists fell into panic.

All kinds of messy rumors are spreading in urban areas, which everyone has experienced on the Internet.

When the governor saw the bishop, he did not care about his opinion, but asked him to find a way to eliminate the Spaniards' fear, otherwise it might be difficult to continue the defensive battle.

What determines the outcome of a war is first of all people. If people are about to collapse, how can we fight the war?

"Let's not talk about the ordinary militia, there is a widespread panic among the official army. We must find a way to eliminate the panic. Otherwise, once the main force of the pagans attacks, we will all be doomed."

The Governor said this in a very serious tone, and the Bishop did not refute his point because it was true.

"Hold a mass and tell everyone that God is still blessing everyone. The pagans only look scary, but they cannot break in. As long as we hold on for two months, they will withdraw. At the same time, we need a victory. We must dispatch the garrison before the main force of the Zhou Empire expeditionary force launches an attack." The bishop agreed with the governor's suggestion and also put forward his own suggestions.

"That's all we can do. May God bless us!" The Governor of Borneo had no better solution now. The direction of the war had diverged beyond his understanding. He knew that the hot air balloon was not a miracle, but the people below would not believe his explanation. He could only rely on the bishop's deception.

The fleet commander, who had been silent the whole time, suddenly spoke up: "My Lord Bishop, how do you explain the things floating in the sky?"

"That is God's test for the lambs! I firmly believe that the thing is just used to scare people and will not cause any harm to anyone." The bishop seemed to have thought of a way to fool people.

The fleet commander was silent for a moment: "I hope so!"

A clipper brought the latest news that the Dutch fleet had not set out.

The source of the news was the white subordinates recruited by Lai San. The clipper ship that went for reconnaissance was also expelled by the Dutch fleet.

Li Yuan, who was standing next to Jia Lian, couldn't help but ask, "What is the Dutch Governor's intention? He can't take the expatriates as hostages, can he?"

Jia Lian did not answer immediately, but hesitated for a moment and said, "It is impossible to judge his intention for the time being, let's wait and see. With the current strength of the expeditionary force, it is impossible to attack two enemies at the same time."

Li Yuan asked again: "Sir, for the long-term, we can't just sit back and watch."

"Indeed, send a letter to the Dutch Governor,

Li Yuan immediately said: "I'll write this letter for you!"

Jia Lian nodded, thinking it would be a good idea to find him something to do.

In the core fortress area of ​​the city, the bishop dressed up and presided over a mass in the cathedral. As planned, he told the people that the big ball floating in the sky was just a test of God's people. This thing would not cause any harm. When the people below were half-believing and half-doubting, the hot air balloon appeared again, as usual, to investigate the situation in the city.

The parishioners fled in all directions, and the bishop and his priests watched helplessly as the hot air balloon flew over the city in a swaggering manner.

Despite being very scared, the bishop walked out of the church with the clergy and stood outside, looking at the hot air balloon. This action was seen by some of the parishioners who had escaped.

After almost two hours, the hot air balloon gradually flew away. The bishop, who won the bet, opened his arms and shouted: "Everyone can see that the ball in the sky can't cause any harm."

This action gave renewed courage to the militia and soldiers in the city.

The governor also spoke up, saying that there was enough food in the city and there was a river as a water source, so everyone should not worry. As long as they held on firmly, they would be able to force the pagans to retreat. Glory to God and victory would be ours.

The morale in the city was boosted again and confidence returned.

After the bishop finished the mass, he led 500 Spanish colonial regular troops and two cannons to the colony. When he came back, he could take a shortcut, but when he went there, he had to take the main road.

The First Battalion, which had been prepared in advance, deployed a team (company) of troops to monitor the movements of the troops in the city. After discovering this group of people, they responded immediately.

The new army did not have a rigid rule that it had to fight in lines. The biggest advantage of being equipped with rifled guns was that the accuracy of skirmish shooting was greatly improved, and the Minié bullet ensured the speed of loading.

Therefore, the Bishop and the vanguard of the group were ambushed. The vanguard of 50 people, after only two rounds of shooting, abandoned half of the people and fled back.

The bishop panicked when he learned that the expeditionary army was blocking the road. What did this mean? It meant that the main force of the pagans had surrounded them from all directions.

If we have to blame someone, we should blame the fact that when the governor was demarcating the area, he deliberately kept a certain distance, making the gathering place seem a bit lonely and vulnerable to attack from any direction.

Now this arrangement has become a boomerang. If you want to rush over with the cannon, you must take the main road. The distance is not too long, only three or four kilometers, but it is such a short distance. Now you can only charge hard and defeat the blocking expeditionary force first. The bishop gave the order, and the cannons were deployed to bombard the blocking positions.

The six-pound cannon that fired solid projectiles was quickly deployed under the skilled operation of the Spanish soldiers and bombarded the position about 500 meters ahead.

The solid bullets hitting the sandbags looked scary, but they had basically no effect on the Nanyang New Army hiding behind the trenches.

Well, if we have to talk about its function, it is to give you courage.

The Spanish colonial army, lined up in neat formations, began to advance to the beat of drums after the artillery bombardment.

The new army soldiers on the position fired freely after entering the firing range, and every shot hit the target. The target was too big, and it was much more difficult to miss it than to hit it.

(Regarding whether the line array should be volleyed or free-fired, Suvorov's view is that free-fire is better. As a famous general of that era, the author decided to believe him.)
The Spanish formation endured continuous casualties, leaving behind their dead and wounded companions. When they entered the range and started shooting, they found that the enemy had already fled. When they reached the position, they found that there was a special communication trench connected to another position at least 50 meters behind. The combat mission of this team of new soldiers was very clear. After encountering the enemy, they blocked the enemy layer by layer and waited for reinforcements. Therefore, they built multiple defensive fortifications along the road.

The 500 Spanish soldiers had lost nearly 100 casualties before they even saw the enemy. Looking at the position ahead, the remaining officers and soldiers had lost the courage to move forward.

The natives in this direction all ran away last night.

At the insistence of the bishop, the Spaniards launched an attack on the second line of defense, still using two cannons to bombard it first, and then continued to advance in line.

This attack was met with even more intensive firepower. Before they could get into range, the troops, unable to withstand the pressure of casualties, simply collapsed and fled freely.

The new army officers, who had fought easily, looked at the fleeing Spaniards and launched a counterattack.

No matter how loudly the bishop shouted, the Spanish soldiers who had lost their courage showed no reluctance and even dropped their weapons and ran towards their starting position.

Upon seeing this, the accompanying artillerymen simply dropped their cannons and ran away. Fortunately, they were still rational and remembered to take the bishop with them.

The bishop cursed all the way and was forced to flee back to the city by the crowd.

The new troops seized two cannons and a batch of flintlock rifles, stopped the pursuit and returned victoriously.

After Jia Lian learned about this, it was once again proved that even the Western colonial army, even with superior manpower, could not withstand the huge casualties and collapsed in the face of the new army's combination of rifled guns and Minié bullets.

There were armies that fought to the last man in the war, but they were definitely not the armies of Western countries.

Jia Lian ordered a commendation for the officers and soldiers of the team, and ordered the second battalion to move forward and then surround the fortress area.

The Spanish regular army had only 3,000 men, and the rest were militiamen and sailors. The Spanish governor had at least 20,000 men ready to fight. But most of them could fight behind fortifications, but it was another matter if they were to fight in the field. Not to mention, the infantry tactics of this era, which were lined up and shot, would increase casualties dramatically when facing rifled percussion cap guns and Minié bullets. The American Civil War was a powerful proof of this. In terms of war casualties, the Civil War was the one with the most casualties in American history.

The bishop returned to the city and found the governor again. He asked him to increase the military force and to open up the connection between the city and the outside world. He could not just sit there and be surrounded. He had to have a channel to fight back.

After asking the soldiers who had escaped, the governor rejected the bishop's suggestion and told him that it was unrealistic. The best way now was to defend the city, wait for the enemy's attack, and kill a large number of enemies through defense, so that they would retreat. Anyway, the city had enough food stored for half a year, so I didn't believe that the expeditionary army could besiege for half a year. Not to mention half a year, when the typhoon season came, the enemy outside the city might not be able to hold on.

The bishop requested again and again, but the governor still refused to agree. In desperation, the bishop could only go to the fleet commander and ask him to send people out to support the natives in the battle.

To this, the fleet commander replied: "Let my men go and die, they will kill me first."

That's right, most of the navy of this era was made up of unruly people, or a group of pirates. As for pirates, if the leader can make everyone rich, it doesn't matter if they obey him, but it's another matter if they go to die.

The Spanish regular army was beaten and fled in a panic. Everyone in the city knows about it. You want the sailors to attack?

The second battalion easily dispersed the natives who were besieging the expatriate community. In fact, after discovering that the bishop's men had been defeated, the natives had almost all fled.

When the vanguard of the second batch appeared, the natives scattered and fled.

Soon, thick smoke appeared in the area where the natives gathered.

After the commander of the second battalion discovered the situation, he immediately asked Jia Lian for instructions. The reply he received was that the situation was complicated and he should wait and see how it develops. He would send a small team to investigate tomorrow.

Through the information obtained, we quickly came to a basically correct conclusion. The local indigenous people are not just one mountain, but multiple mountain. In other words, there are multiple ethnic groups and tribes belonging to different families.

These families each had their own subordinates and spheres of influence, but because they were all religious, they united under the coordination of the bishop and launched a siege on the expatriate settlement.

In this situation, the smart leader would naturally run away first for fear of retaliation.

The night passed peacefully. The next day, the second reconnaissance team entered the indigenous area and quickly sent someone back. The results of the investigation verified yesterday's inference.

There are no organized indigenous people in the current indigenous residential areas. The only ones left are the elderly, the weak, the sick, the disabled, women and children. Not only do they have nowhere to escape, but even eating and drinking have become problems.

The most terrible thing is that the large-scale robbery that occurred in the indigenous gathering area yesterday caused huge casualties, and now there are many corpses in the area that have not been cleared.

In this weather, the corpses would stink after being left there for a day, so the new troops had no choice but to go in, maintain law and order, and clean up the scene.

The Spaniards retreated into a large urban area including the fortress area and the dock, and a temporary standoff broke out between the two sides.

Jia Lian was not in a hurry either. He ordered the follow-up troops to protect the supplies and take good care of them. The battle had just begun.

(End of this chapter)