African Nationhood

Chapter 130 Secret Sneak ()

Shi Jintang glanced at his non-commissioned officers and said with a smile: "Take a break, everyone has worked hard."

All the sergeants responded in unison: "It's not hard work, Mr. Shi is working hard!"

"Bring over the map and model."

Several guards came over holding a wooden shelf and set it up, and then hung a map on the shelf, showing the territory of the Kingdom of Matabeleland.

This map covers the entire vast area south of the Zambezi River and north of the Limpopo River.

The area far exceeds the 39 square kilometers of Zimbabwe in the original time and space.

The area between the two river valleys was allocated to Portuguese East Africa at the Berlin Conference in 1885.

It is still 1883, so it is naturally impossible for this land to be given to the Portuguese.

Then other guards came over carrying a clay model. This clay model was about 50 centimeters long and 30 centimeters wide. It was a scaled-down reproduction of the layout of Bulawayo City.

It's just that the production is very rough, and it can only roughly distinguish the major buildings in the city.

Shijintang very considerately placed small flags on these buildings for easy confirmation.

"Now let's take a look at this clay model first. It was made by people from the Guard Corps. Let's take a look at it first.

If there is anything you don't understand, ask him individually after the meeting. Now let Shi Ming explain the layout of the city. "

After speaking, Shi Jintang stepped aside. Shi Ming held a small wooden stick in his hand and walked to the clay model.

He did not speak directly, but first gave a military salute to the non-commissioned officers around him.

After everyone responded, he raised his stick, combined the map and clay model, and began to explain.

“The city of Bulawayo was built in a valley between three mountains. Due to the flat terrain of the valley, the entire city is rectangular, about 900 meters long and 700 meters wide, covering a total area of ​​about 630000 square meters.

The walls of this city are made of granite stones, and the walls are 4 meters high, making it difficult to climb.

There are gates in the east, west, south and north of this city. However, because of the corridor, the narrowest part of the gate is only more than one meter wide.

It is not suitable for a large army to enter quickly. My suggestion is to use our army's high-performance explosive packs to blow up gaps in the weak points of the city wall to invade, without sticking to the city gate. "

Shi Ming's words aroused the approval of many non-commissioned officers present, and everyone nodded in unison.

"The layout of the city is messy. The royal palace in the center of the city occupies a large area, and the surrounding areas are the residences of nobles.

Therefore, after our army invades the city, it can pass quickly without paying attention to the civilian areas around the city wall. It is better to let them escape.

Our real target is the royal palace and the residential areas of many nobles surrounding the palace.

This area occupies more than half of the city, and there are many private soldiers and king's guards in these residential areas, which is the biggest obstacle to our attack.

According to Tang Kui, the consul in the embassy area of ​​​​the city, there were 8000 kings' guards, plus more than 3000 noble private soldiers.

The total number of enemies to be dealt with was around 11000. "

After listening to Shi Ming's description of the total number of enemies, many sergeants were silent, and there was nothing unusual about it.

In their view, no matter how many native enemies there are, they are just cattle and sheep. The only difference in the number of people is the length of time required to kill them.

Seeing that his sergeants were all calm, Shi Jintang felt a little relieved.

These guys have grown up, and the past killings have made them tenacious and calm.

It's just that you need to be careful when facing the enemy, and it's even more important to underestimate the enemy.

He couldn't help but remind these sergeants.

"Ahem, let me tell you, this attack is very important. It is the first time our army has attacked a fortified city. You must not underestimate the enemy.

Let alone the unnecessary sacrifices of soldiers at the bottom because of your mistakes.

Company commanders whose battle losses are too high will be reviewed after the war, and if there are any faults, they must be held accountable. "

As soon as these words came out, the sergeants became alert.

Mr. Shi's words are imperial edict. Since he said so, a post-war review will definitely be carried out.

Now Nanhua Company is on the rise, and its future prospects are limitless.

If you are punished at this time, the impact on your personal future can be imagined.

Among the people, Tian Guang gritted his teeth and secretly determined to perform well in this battle. His wife was still waiting for him to be awarded the title of general.

Shi Ming pointed a small stick at the clay model and continued to explain: "The palace is very large, covering an area of ​​more than 30 square meters. It also has four city gates. The height of the palace wall is higher than that of the outer city wall, which is 5 meters.

Moreover, there are guards stationed on the palace city, and the bows, arrows and spears of these indigenous guards are very sharp. The king's guard is divided into three parts: the king's personal guard, the prince and princess guard, and the palace guard.

In addition, there are riflemen among the king's personal guard, estimated to be 2000 people, with an unknown number of bullets. "

This explanation was concise and concise, so that many non-commissioned officers understood it well.

"The palace is divided into two parts: the king's palace group and the prince and princess palace group. There are about 2000 slaves distributed in these two palace groups.

These people are not aggressive. If they don't resist, they can be let go and let the follow-up troops take care of them. "

After Shi Ming finished speaking, he took the initiative to step aside.

Shi Jintang continued, "In order to better achieve this attack, the military department specially brought the latest weapons to assist in the battle.

When you see this, remember to comfort the soldiers below, and don't leak military secrets at will. "

After listening to Mr. Shi's words, all the non-commissioned officers had smiles on their faces. This relationship is great and they have a secret weapon.

The previous grenades were very surprising, but the "Flying Dragon Cannon" introduced later was extremely lethal.

I don’t know what the big killer weapon will look like this time. I just hope it can kill more enemies and save the soldiers below more effort.

"Deputy Ding Daying of the Second Battalion will release the combat plan."

As soon as Shi Jintang finished speaking, Ding He strode to the clay model.

He first gave a military salute to Shi Jintang, and then solemnly said: "Issuing combat orders now."

Many non-commissioned officers immediately stood up silently and stood at attention, waiting silently.

“The attack time is scheduled to be launched at dawn the day after tomorrow, and all units must arrive at the attack position on time.

The attack signal is initiated by the main attacking force. After seeing the signal, all units will follow up the attack. There must be no delay, otherwise military law will be imposed! "

"Yes!"

"Since this is a siege battle, the primary target of this battle is the royal city in the city. If there is no resistance, the civilians in the city can be let go. The king's guard soldiers and those who dare to resist will be killed on the spot."

"Yes!"

“The total number of people participating in this battle is 1600, and four companies are evenly distributed among the four city gates.

The post militia from the post station will arrive as a reserve force. They will search for the fleeing civilians in the city of Bulawayo.

After the attack is launched, each unit must blast the city wall as quickly as possible to obtain an invasion gap.

After entering the city, soldiers from each department are not allowed to rob property, let alone fight over property. Violators of military law will be punished by the military commander and will be dismissed and investigated. "

This order was so severe that the non-commissioned officers of each company raised eyebrows.

There had been fights among the soldiers below over fighting for property. The solution at that time was that the soldiers involved were dismissed and the superior officers each took the punishment.

Now it has become so severe that he has been dismissed from his post and investigated!
  After Ding He finished speaking, he paused and continued to issue orders: "I will announce the attack troops and temporary commanders of each department. The attack troops at the east gate are: Third Battalion, First Company, Second Company, Third Company, and Fourth Company. Zheng Wangcai, the third battalion, is temporarily commanded. "

Several company sergeants who were called responded one after another, and the short and stocky Zheng Wang came out directly and shouted: "Yes."

"The attacking troops at the southern city gate: the second battalion, the third company, the fourth company, the fifth company, and the sixth company. Huo Zhen, the third company, is under temporary command."

Several more company-level sergeants responded, and Huo Zhen of the third company came out directly and stood together with Zheng Wangcai.

"The west gate is under my command. The attacking troops are: guard company, artillery company, second battalion, first company, and second company."

Several non-commissioned officers responded in turn.

"Northern city gate attack force: 2nd Battalion 7th Company, 8th Company, 1st Battalion 1st Company, 2nd Company, temporary command of 2nd Battalion Li Rong."

Several non-commissioned officers responded to the order one after another, and Li Rong went directly out of the queue and stood next to Huo Zhen and Zheng Wangcai.

After announcing the order, Ding He gave the order to the other non-commissioned officers: "You guys should disband and return to their respective stations, waiting for the temporary command to lead the troops to pass."

The sergeants who received the order obeyed the order and left, and the remaining three sergeants gathered around Ding He.

"This is your material and equipment point. Take the map later and move it away as soon as possible.

The arrangements must be in place before the battle begins. In addition, the artillery company will send a platoon of soldiers to your defense area to support you. You must protect them and the new weapons, do you understand? "

The three noncommissioned officers responded in unison: "Yes!"

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  (End of this chapter)