Red Mansion: I am Jia Lian

Chapter 729 Setting fire is still the easiest way.
If the US military were to defend the city, the effectiveness of grenades would be greatly reduced, and even high-explosive shells would be difficult to produce significant damage.

But the US military chose to take the initiative and confront the enemy head-on, which led to an apocalyptic disaster.

Each shell could sweep away swathes of American soldiers with thousands of steel balls. Those soldiers carrying smoothbore guns dropped their rifles amidst the explosions, clutching their wounds and falling to the ground, howling in pain.

This is just the damage from the grapeshot; the high rate of fire of the mortar is also proving its power at this moment.

The shells landed in the neat square formation; this was not a war, but a one-sided massacre.

If Jia Lian were to witness this scene, he would surely be reminded of the Baliqiao Bridge from the TV series.

So, does the US military possess an iron will?
What is the weapon that kills the most people in war?
Some say atomic bombs, some say cannons, but the answer is machine guns.

Coincidentally, the heavy machine gun positions positioned on the flank opened fire at a distance of 500 meters, targeting a group of soldiers clustered together in a square formation.

For example, in the Battle of the Somme, the German army used heavy machine guns to kill 60,000 British soldiers in a single day.

This shows the West's sluggishness in military matters. In fact, the British set a record in Africa by killing thousands of Zulus in a single day with just a few heavy machine guns.

As expected, if the knife doesn't land on you, you definitely won't feel any pain.

Jia Zhi's troops were not equipped with a large number of heavy machine guns, only four per regiment. Even so, firing at line formations was a one-sided massacre.

Not to mention the Americans, even the Donghua soldiers who had no chance to fire their rifles were terrified.

They watched helplessly as the American vanguard retreated in disarray, and the officers even forgot to give the order to charge. They were completely dumbfounded.

I knew these weapons were powerful, but I didn't know they could achieve this effect on the battlefield.

Jia Zhi looked at the army that was not moving forward with disdain, then turned his head and ordered: "It seems that our officers have not yet adapted. Sound the horn, counterattack!"

The battle situation in sight was only a small part, but one could guess what the overall situation was. Jia Zhi merely expressed his dissatisfaction with the slow response of the division commanders, without criticizing them.

In fact, Jia Zhi was also a bit dumbfounded. How could the battle have turned out like this! Our side was still on high alert, and the enemy army was already routed.

Jia Shi, thousands of miles away, would certainly not approve of Jia Zhi's boasting. "You're got a cannon and a heavy machine gun? I haven't even got those yet; my troops are still using single-shot rifles."

In the great battle that took place outside the city of Eau Claire, as artillery fire extended, our army launched a full-scale counterattack, and the American front line collapsed.

No matter how the officers tried to restrain them, the soldiers refused to continue fighting. Amidst the explosions, they dropped their weapons and ran away.

Commander-in-Chief Lieutenant General Mack watched the routing American troops, remaining completely still and indifferent.

In the end, the lieutenants dragged Mike away and ran backwards!

Thanks to Mike leaving a reserve force in Auclair, the Donghua Army was forced to slow down its pursuit.

The American troops who retreated into the small town faced a new problem: they were surrounded, and the food they carried could only last for ten days at most.

Although there are still more than 70,000 to 80,000 people in the city, they have no fighting spirit whatsoever, and even if they hold out, it will be difficult to last.

Mike decided to retreat overnight while there was still a gap in the south; they couldn't wait any longer, or their entire army would be wiped out.

Jia Zhi had no intention of a full-scale siege. Keeping the enemy inside the city would waste too much time. From a military perspective, the only opportunity to expand the gains would be when the enemy retreated.

The gap on the south side was deliberately left by Jia Zhi's orders, leaving one side open when the city was surrounded. After all, the enemy still had tens of thousands of troops, and although the city was not large, it might not be able to be captured even in a month if they really held out.

Another troublesome aspect is that the US military still has 20,000 cavalrymen loitering nearby, waiting for an opportunity.

While it's true that the American cavalry suffered heavy losses in the daytime battles, that was based on their positional defenses. In actual open field combat, the power of cavalry should not be underestimated.

At midnight, Jia Zhi and others received the day's battlefield statistics. After a day of fighting, they had killed more than 38,000 enemy soldiers, of whom about 13,000 were captured, including 8,000 wounded.

After the chief of staff finished his report, he specifically asked for instructions on how to handle the prisoners and wounded.

The advice was to bandage it up and leave it to fend for itself. But Jia Zhi decided on the spur of the moment to try her best to save it.

What Jia Zhi didn't know was the special nature of American prisoners of war. In a war in the Far East, an American soldier captured by our army fell ill, and the American soldier, who was also a prisoner, was simply moved outside the house.

If the prisoner-of-war camp administrators hadn't discovered it in time, the sick American prisoner would have frozen to death.

Seriously injured patients are generally not treated, while those with minor injuries are treated if possible. However, whether you want medical staff to be more attentive is up to the individual.

With so many wounded, even mobilizing all available medical personnel couldn't keep up. It wasn't until dawn that the wounded American soldiers were finally given basic treatment, and the rest was up to fate.

To address this, Jia Zhi specifically requested a regiment of soldiers to assist; otherwise, they simply wouldn't have been able to handle the situation. There were just too many wounded.

In Jia Zhi's view, the only value of the large number of weapons captured was to be recycled.

The chief of staff suggested that they could ask the slave traders if they wanted to.

Speaking of slave traders, there were far too many in this era. Ships arrived in Kaiyuan City almost every month. However, the slave traders had learned their lesson and no longer sent black slaves or men.

In Donghua, where there are many single men, buying a white wife is the top choice for lower-class Japanese and Korean men. Comparatively, Korean and Japanese women are actually more expensive.

The American troops who retreated overnight were quickly discovered, but Jazhi did not order a pursuit, instead deciding to chase them after dawn.

Now is not the time to rush to expand our gains; what we need is a solid, decisive victory.

A large number of prisoners of war were escorted back to São Paulo. Jacques ordered that food be used to hire people in São Paulo to care for the wounded, saving as many as possible. This was an act to show the locals.

Jazhi saw the strategic importance of São Paulo and was somewhat envious. If he could secure a permanent foothold, he could threaten the Great Lakes region at any time.

The elderly, women, and children abandoned by their own people found an opportunity to earn food and naturally didn't want to miss it. Jia Zhi also ordered the hiring of people from the city to work and maintain sanitation and order.

Therefore, the once lax military discipline was reinstated, and the Japanese and Native American soldiers received stern verbal warnings forbidding any further misbehavior. And you know what? These Japanese soldiers, though small in stature, were incredibly dedicated in battle. Their only problem was discipline; they were prone to losing control.

After capturing Eau Clair, the East China Army continued its pursuit without rushing, but its actions were more efficient than those of the chaotic fleeing American troops.

On the third day of the pursuit, thousands of prisoners had been captured along the way. The military had no time to deal with them; they were simply told to drop their weapons and find a place to stay.

When the routed American troops arrived at Madison, only a little over 40,000 men remained, half of whom were unarmed and had abandoned all their artillery.

The wealthy Americans around Madison had already heard the news and fled beforehand. What else could they do but run? Hundreds of thousands of men had been defeated in a single day; how could these defeated soldiers possibly hold the city?

Large numbers of people began to flee, but those who couldn't escape were mostly the poor, who had nowhere to go. After displaying some discipline, the routed American troops continued their escape after looting Madison.

General MacKenzie, the commander of the U.S. Army, was unable to control his soldiers and could only drift along with the tide, continuing his southward escape.

The first thing the East China Army did after entering Madison was put out a fire. That's right, the fire was started by routed soldiers.

The locals who hadn't fled trembled as they watched the Donghua Army enter the city, begin putting out fires, and set up large pots to cook porridge, offering everyone a bowl. They finally remembered the last time the Donghua Army attacked, when they had indeed managed to avoid harming ordinary people.

Nevertheless, the locals, who only thanked God, remained indifferent to everything that was happening before their eyes, until the main force of the Donghua Army left and continued its southward pursuit.

Jia Zhi specifically left a Chinese group behind, as he dared not leave the indigenous people and Japanese people behind; he was far too uneasy about both groups. The former harbored deep-seated hatred, while the latter were inherently bestial.

Perhaps due to the sensational effect of a large-scale field victory, the Donghua Army, which continued its pursuit, encountered little resistance along the way, with sporadic resistance being negligible.

People of Italian and Irish descent, for example, have little sense of belonging to the United States, at least not now.

They were originally from the bottom of society, mostly involved in gangs. By the time the Donghua Army arrived in Chicago, all the wealthy people there had fled.

Large numbers of American soldiers abandoned their weapons, hid in the city, and pretended to be ordinary people, so nothing happened.

The US troops continued to flee, showing no intention of holding their ground. The Donghua Army was exhausted from the pursuit and rested in Chicago for three days before continuing their march towards Detroit.

Having missed Detroit last time, Jacques is going to sweep through the Great Lakes region this time, leaving no industry, not even a blacksmith shop, for the Americans.

Why bother with industry? Americans should just stick to farming. Isn't it better to be a farmer and sell grain?

The Great Lakes region of the United States is currently experiencing a vibrant period of growth and development, with its extensive water network making it ideal for industrial development.

This time, the Donghua Army was not in such a hurry to leave. They destroyed all the machinery they found, blew up the docks, and set fire to the shipyards.

The Donghua Army didn't care what the American capitalists thought; they were simply faithfully carrying out their mission.

After the towns along the way were thoroughly cleaned up, not many massacres occurred. Occasionally, a few people who were dissatisfied were killed, and then no one caused any more trouble.

Chicago's gangs were notorious, but they were just gangs, insignificant compared to the regular army. The local gangs quickly noticed a trend: among gangsters, squid was particularly disliked by the Donghua soldiers. The Donghua soldiers who stayed behind to guard the rear were generally fair in their dealings; many gangsters even engaged in trade, buying and selling meat to the Donghua soldiers, who actually paid them fairly.

However, they would ask beforehand if it was squid. If it was squid, they wouldn't do business with them and would just kick them out; if they said anything, they would be hit with a rifle butt. But Italian and Irish people wouldn't be treated this way; the Tung Wah Army soldiers were usually more amiable towards them, as long as they didn't say they were squid.

Some of the bolder gang members even asked the soldiers why they didn't like squid.

The soldiers told the truth: squid were unpopular in their home country; they weren't even allowed to do business with them or cross customs. The reason was simple: squid were mostly opium traffickers.

Opium traffickers, let alone in the Central Empire, would be shot if caught even in the Eastern China.

You know what, during the war, because of the bias of the East China Garrison, the Chicago squid gang was dealt a heavy blow by the Italian and Irish Americans and was driven out.

When the East China Army arrived in Detroit, the US military finally stopped running and began to organize a defense.

The reason is simple: it's not that the US military became bolder, but that they couldn't run away. First, reinforcements had arrived, and second, if they ran away any longer, they would lose all their industrial assets.

The United States is so big, but its steel production is mainly concentrated in this area. If it loses this area, what progress can we make in industrialization?

Jia Zhi ordered his troops to first establish a firm foothold, and then slowly send out cavalry to sweep through the surrounding area and maintain the supply lines.

Upon reaching the vicinity of Detroit, the logistical pressure actually lessened. After passing Chicago, the scorched-earth policy was largely abandoned, and there was no shortage of food in the granaries along the way.

The military has ample ammunition, so there's no rush. Jia Zhi's purpose is to cause sabotage, so now that they're here, there's no need to rush.

The scenario of hundreds of thousands of American troops surrounding the East China Army would never happen.

How many regular troops does the U.S. Army actually have? In a battle outside E. Clair, it wiped out one of the oldest units in the U.S. Army, the 1st Cavalry Division.

The city is now mainly populated by militiamen. A large number of capitalists have already fled with their gold, silver and valuables, leaving only those who cannot escape.

Jazhi stopped because he didn't have enough high-explosive shells and was waiting for five more to be delivered before he could launch an attack.

The US military did consider harassing the Donghua Army, but the effect was not obvious. The regular army initially formed in the northern province was mainly engaged in fighting bandits and had always been dealing with roving soldiers and scattered troops.

The experienced Donghua cavalry were adept at dealing with harassment from the American forces. But no matter how you look at it, it was still exhausting.

After three days of preparation outside the city, the Donghua Army launched its artillery barrage to clear out the strongholds outside the city. Guided by hot air balloons, the Donghua Army's artillery fire was quite effective.

In just one day, they destroyed all the outposts outside the city. They also seized the docks and shipyards outside the city and then set them on fire.

After three days of intermittent artillery bombardment, seeing that the city was too large, Jia Zhi, based on the advice of the staff, decided not to fight head-on, but to try to persuade the city to surrender first. If they did not surrender, then they should set the city on fire.

Why arson? Of course, it's because there were too many wooden buildings; one fire would surely burn down half the city.

Jia Zhi sent a prisoner to deliver a message, demanding that the other side surrender.

(End of this chapter)