Red Mansion: I am Jia Lian

Chapter 686 Arrogance
An even more terrifying scene unfolded: Macartney noticed that two of the three warships opposite him suddenly accelerated and flanked them from both sides.

In other words, the opponent wants to surround six warships with three warships. That's incredibly arrogant.

The reality was that the warship that remained on the front circled around and then turned back, its port-side guns roaring once again.

The intense firepower focused on the "pirate's" flagship, and with a loud bang, the ammunition exploded again. The warship, equipped with ninety-six cannons, broke in two amidst the explosion.

Macartney fell from the warship into the icy sea and was forever plunged into darkness.

The two "pirate" warships fled, only to be pursued by two other brave cruisers!

Ignoring the battleship whose mast had been hit, Jia Quan concentrated his firepower on one of the remaining two pioneering warships.

Although it was a recoilless gun, the breech-loading metal-charged shells fired rapidly and aggressively. Within a minute, a warship was hit by more than ten shells, triggering a secondary explosion.

The pirate warships fought back fiercely, but all their efforts were in vain due to the great distance, leaving only plumes of water on the sea.

Taking advantage of its range, Jia Quan witnessed the new naval gun's combination of "metal-cased fixed propellant + high-explosive warhead" easily tearing apart a wooden warship.

He silently instructed his adjutant, "Lin Xing, take notes. The naval gun layout design is extremely wasteful. Remind the shipyard to make modifications. Key point one: reduce the number of naval guns. Key point two: increase the caliber of the naval guns. Key point three: the gun turrets should be fixed structures that can rotate 180 degrees."

Jia Quan was indeed a naval talent; he quickly discovered the flaws in this batch of experimental cruisers. In this era of sailing, wooden-hulled warships, the immense inertia of conventional thinking led to the current outcome.

It is truly remarkable that Jia Quan was able to break free from his old constraints.

"I wonder what my father will think when he sees this?" This thought unexpectedly popped into my mind. There's no way around it; anyone with Jia Lian as their father would find it hard to escape his shadow.

"Boom!" A violent explosion rang out as another warship's ammunition detonated, leaving only one warship spinning in place, its mast broken and powerless. Debris and fallen soldiers littered the sea. Meanwhile, the Fenyong, relying on its speed, caught up with a "pirate ship," and its fierce gunfire tore the opponent apart within three minutes. The Yangwei quickly reported that the enemy ship had been sunk and was being salvaged.

On the last "pirate ship" on the sea, a white flag appeared, and all the pirates went up to the deck, raised their hands, and announced their surrender.

The Yu Lie ceased firing, lowered its small boats, and began rescuing those who had fallen into the water. By the time the Yang Wei and Fen Yong returned, the main fleet led by Pete had also appeared on the sea.

The battlefield that Talleran saw was not the original one; things don't last long on the high seas. Nevertheless, he saw a large amount of floating debris, and Pete sent someone to report the results of the battle.

"Three warships surrounded and sank five third-tier battleships, and captured one." If it weren't for the knowledge of the new cruiser's cannons, even killing Talleyrand wouldn't have made it believable.

“The Zhou people have no need for France, so they have no reason to boast,” Talleyrand muttered to himself.

After the captured warships had their masts repaired, they were used as prisoner-of-war ships. When the fleet arrived in Yangon, the captured warships were handed over to the Burmese king in Yangon as a gift.

Not wanting to escalate the conflict with the British, the prisoners of war were sent to Australia to work in the coal mines, as if nothing had happened. Whether they would be pardoned depended on the Australian governor's decision.

The fleet continued its journey, resupplying at a port in western India belonging to a local ruler before continuing its westward voyage around the world.

After the railway connecting Kaiyuan City and Xinjinshan in Donghua Kingdom was completed, Jia Zhi traveled south by carriage and arrived in Pingyuan City three days later, where he met the nominal King of Donghua.

Pingyuan City, Li Heng's stronghold, is also the capital of the King of Donghua.

At the train station, Jia Zhi was greeted by Li Heng's personal attendant and several officials.

Knowing he couldn't fully control the other two forces, Li Heng realistically gave up and focused on building his base, namely Luo Province, centered around Pingyuan City. It was named Luo Province because he had once been the King of Luo. Xue Fang of Xin Jinshan ultimately decided on the name Jinshan Province. Jia Zhi, on the other hand, designated Kaiyuan City in the north as the provincial capital, naming the province Northern Province.

These three provinces formed the Donghua Kingdom, which was confirmed by the Zhou Empire's emperor. Due to the Zhou Empire's limited reach, a high degree of autonomy was granted. Under Li Heng, Jinshan and the Northern Provinces were also granted autonomy.

This phenomenon is determined by strength, not by Li Heng's magnanimity.

Jia Zhi went to the capital to pay his respects to Li Heng. Looking at Jia Zhi, who bore a striking resemblance to Jia Lian, Li Heng sighed, "I regret my past actions!"

The reasons weren't explained in detail, and Jia Zhi had no way of asking. He simply went through the motions and received an official document issued by Li Heng, confirming that the Northern Province was Jia Zhi's territory.

Xue Fang also received a territory document personally stamped by the King of Donghua, but he received it on behalf of Xue Pan. The three parties also reached an agreement on the distribution of profits from the gold mine.

To put it bluntly, because the imperial court didn't invest much, Li Heng basically came to reap the benefits.

On their journey north after staying for three days, Jia Zhi and Xue Fang had a long conversation in the same carriage.

The future development direction and sphere of influence of the two provinces were determined, as well as how to deal with Li Heng's attitude.

In terms of future development, Jaggi undoubtedly has more resources, but the foundation of the Golden Mountain Province is the best.

The negotiation process was relatively amicable, with both sides agreeing to a strategy of supporting each other and expanding eastward.

However, development in the Anglo-Royal Province has been hampered by the desert, leading to a demand for higher-quality railway resources. This means that the rails supplied by Australia will not be provided to the Northern Province for the time being. The Northern Province will only be considered once the railway reaches the Salt Lake. The biggest obstacle to development on the west coast of North America is iron ore, which is quite un-North American.

From this perspective, the Great Lakes region, occupied by the United States, had a huge advantage in developing industry.

In contrast, the west coast is heavily reliant on iron and steel ingots shipped from Australia.

Jia Zhi was also helpless. Although they were from the same family, it was actually a partnership between the Jia and Xue families. This wasn't China, and Jia Zhi didn't have the authority to command Xue Fang's complete obedience.

Xue Ke, on the other hand, was quite interesting. He declined Xue Fang's invitation and was willing to stay in Kaiyuan City to continue working for the Jia family.

This isn't entirely unreasonable, considering Jia Zhi's status as the son of Jia Lian and Baochai—that carries a heavy weight.

In the early winter of the third year since Jia Zhi arrived in North America, a fleet of ships arrived at Kaiyuan Port from China, bringing with them a batch of new cannons and more than a hundred instructors.

The number of artillery pieces was considerable, including 24 75mm caliber cannons and 48 82mm caliber mortars, each with a ten-unit ammunition load.

The two new artillery pieces gave the Kaiyuan Army a strong boost, making them virtually invincible in North America as long as they engaged in direct combat.

When Jia Zhi received the new cannons, Jia Shi, who was far away in Anxi, also saw the new mortars and the five-person instructor team.

Over the past year and a half, the 1st Infantry Regiment and the cavalry Regiment of the Royal Independent Mixed Brigade have reached the ambiguous border area and established a preliminary foothold. For safety reasons, the headquarters of the Mixed Brigade was placed in Bishkek, leaving the 2nd Regiment to defend.

The Mixed Brigade selected a location for its garrison on the border, effectively blocking the vital passage between the north and south. After the spring, Russian Cossack cavalry were repeatedly spotted operating in the vicinity.

Jia Shi, who had been promoted to captain, looked at the two cannons that had been delivered and asked Instructor Jia Lin curiously, "Instructor, these cannons are a bit strange."

"Uncle Shi, there's no need for you to be so polite. The Jia family has taken us in; otherwise, we would have frozen to death on the streets long ago." Jia Lin's words made the relationship clear: we are all here to assist you.

At least all five instructors in this group came from the orphanage run by Jia Lian, and some of the children even took Jia's surname.

The Jia family opened orphanages in both the capital and Guangzhou. The orphanage in the capital was managed by Jia Rong, while the one in Guangzhou was managed by Xue Pan.

Therefore, Jia Shi, the eldest son of the East Mansion, is truly an innate dependent on these orphans who were raised and educated.

You Shan came in to report, interrupting the conversation between the two sides: "Sir, there are Cossacks provoking us outside the camp. The men below are asking whether we should take them out."

Jia Shi looked at the running gear in front of him and asked Jia Lin, "Instructor Jia, is it any good?"

"You're too kind, Master Shi. Why not?" Jia Lin agreed readily, much to Jia Shi's delight.

These Cossacks weren't inexperienced; they were brave. Even after being taught a lesson by the cavalry with rifles and revolvers for the first time, losing over ten riders, they weren't intimidated. Instead, they changed their strategy, focusing on harassment. Taking advantage of the Don horses' superior strength, the Cossacks provoked from a distance, and if the cavalry pursued them, they would run.

In other words, the cavalry commanders were to be cautious and not pursue the enemy, otherwise they would indeed be ambushed.

Even so, the situation did not improve much. When the cavalry went to scout, they were ambushed several times because they were unfamiliar with the terrain, resulting in some casualties.

Although the Cossacks also suffered casualties, they were far outnumbered and harassed the area relentlessly.

The location of the First Battalion of the First Regiment, at the very front, became the place most frequently visited by the Cossacks.

Jia Shi had considered ambushing them, but these Cossacks were truly born warriors; they were highly vigilant, and the results of their numerous ambushes were few and far between, less than double digits.

The Cossacks were helpless against the infantry in the camp, but Jia Shi's troops were also helpless against the cavalry five hundred meters away.

The group arrived at the wall and looked at the Cossacks shouting wildly 500 meters away. It had been happening so frequently lately that Jia Shi had become somewhat numb to it and was no longer angry.

Jia Lin, accompanied by four instructors, quickly deployed the two cannons and, after aiming, announced: "One test shot!"

A muffled thud, a whoosh, and a deafening explosion.

The Cossacks in the distance were suddenly attacked; at least three were hit, several riders were startled and ran away, and the remaining dozen or so, in their panic, tried to control the situation.

After a quick calibration, Jia Lin put down his binoculars: "Six rapid shots, try to keep them all!"

The continuous barrage from the two mortars, with a rate of fire that left Jia Shi speechless, made him mutter to himself, "Wow, this thing is really good!"

Amidst the continuous explosions, Cossacks were constantly being hit and fell, and warhorses were knocked down, neighing loudly.

In the end, they couldn't keep all the Cossacks; only a large portion remained, while the remaining three or four riders disappeared without a trace, showing no intention of turning back.

The cavalrymen in the garrison were alerted and quickly came out to see what was going on. The cavalry battalion commander also exclaimed, "Great! Quick, send out a platoon of cavalry to check it out."

The advancing cavalry quickly brought back three wounded Cossack prisoners. After a thorough interrogation, they learned that they were from the 1st Guards Cavalry Corps, which had been transferred from the Caucasus region and numbered 20,000.

The vanguard has arrived so far; the main force is behind.

The purpose of the arrival of the 1st Guards Cavalry Corps of Tsarist Russia is unknown, but it was certainly not with good intentions.

Upon hearing the news, Jia Shi was greatly alarmed and personally went to the nearby camp to report the incident.

The commander was also surprised when he heard the news. Twenty thousand men! They really think highly of us.

Keep in mind that this force consists of only one battalion of cavalry, totaling over 1,500 men, and three battalions of infantry, totaling over 2,200 men.

Now there are six additional mortars with standard firepower, and the second standard is located 100 kilometers to the south, accompanying the auxiliary standard as a backup.

What's most infuriating is the deployment of the Xining army. North of Bishkek, there isn't a single soldier; it's all local tribes moving around freely.

Otherwise, the second contingent wouldn't have fallen behind by a hundred kilometers; it was entirely due to concerns about their supply lines being cut off. If supplies ran out, they couldn't very well raid local tribes, could they? That would only escalate the conflict.

Maybe that old codger, the Prince of Xining, is plotting this.

The First Battalion quickly made three decisions. First, it ordered all cavalry units to be deployed, operating in squads, to thoroughly understand the enemy's situation and not to blindly trust the prisoners' testimonies. Second, it sent messengers to inform the Second Battalion, ordering them to bring all supplies and come to reinforce along with the Artillery Battalion. Finally, it urged them to prioritize official business, as the disparity in troop strength was too great, and holding their ground in a strategic location was the best tactic.

Upon receiving the report, the commander of the Second Battalion was greatly alarmed. He immediately sent someone back to Bishkek to report the situation, while he himself mobilized all available vehicles and horses, along with all the food he could carry, and together with the Artillery Battalion, rushed north to provide reinforcements.

They dared not be negligent in the slightest. Several battalion commanders knew that the commander of the Third Battalion of the First Battalion was the eldest son of the Ningguo Mansion.

If anything goes wrong, the officials won't be able to go home; they'll be stuck in this godforsaken place raising sheep for the rest of their lives.

The cavalry regiment was really going all out, with the entire force mobilized, and the regimental commander personally leading the expedition. The mortar unit that had just arrived and was assigned to the cavalry regiment was also brought along.

Don't say Jia Lian is stingy for not providing more mortars. These things aren't difficult to make; the problem is the shells. Transporting them from so far away is less efficient than bringing more shells.

The cavalry launched their attack, while the infantry remained in place, focusing on reinforcing their camps. The three battalions formed an inverted triangular shape, with the opening facing north.

After leaving behind unnecessary guard posts, some people went to cut down trees, some to dig trenches, and some to build barricades.

(End of this chapter)