Reborn as King of South America

Chapter 22

It was not only the Chinese troops who couldn't sleep tonight. The commander of the garrison of Arequipa, Iquidoc, was also awakened by his adjutant.

"Damn it, you're disturbing my rest so late."

"Commander, something bad has happened. A large group of unidentified troops have arrived and have surrounded Arequipa."

"What the hell is Anderson doing? He doesn't even know he's surrounded by others." Ikidok cursed.

"What are you doing here? Bring me my gun." Ikidok cursed, not yet satisfied, and kicked the adjutant.

Ikidok was very angry, so the adjutant didn't dare to provoke him and retreated timidly.

Getting angry cannot solve the problem. After getting angry, Ikidok had to face the problem at hand.

The army besieging the city must be the rebellious Chinese workers. Although their exact number is unknown, they must have at least 40,000 to 50,000 people to have dared to besiege Arequipa.

"Damn President Pedro, I reported to him two days ago that the rebels might attack Arequipa, but he didn't believe it, and now I'm surrounded by the rebels." Iquidoque cursed inwardly as he looked at the map on the wall.

As can be seen from the map, all the saltpeter producing areas in southern Peru were occupied by Chinese troops, and the city of Arequipa was on the front line bordering the Chinese troops.

Iquitoque was able to become the highest military commander of an important city in Peru, and he was not completely ignorant of military affairs.

While asking for help from the Peruvian caretaker president, he also mobilized the city's laborers to build city defense fortifications. However, the Chinese army acted much faster than he had imagined, and before the city defense fortifications were completed, the Chinese army had already attacked.

Ikidok has been keeping an eye on the movements of the Chinese army. Yesterday, he heard a report from his subordinates that the Chinese rebel mopping-up forces had withdrawn and were preparing to retreat, but they suddenly surrounded the city tonight. There must be something fishy going on.

Ikidok thought hard and suddenly remembered that Duraya fell because of the Chinese in the city.

"Could it be that there are Chinese inside the city who are behind this?"

Arequipa is Peru's industrial base. The city is inhabited by local Peruvians. After Chinese workers come into the city to work, they are moved out of the city at night. Therefore, Iquidoque ruled out the possibility of the workers in the city colluding with the Chinese rebels.

"Since it couldn't be a local Chinese worker, then it must be a spy from the Chinese rebels who sneaked into the city and got information about the troops stationed in the city."

The more Iquidoc thought about it, the more he felt that this was a possibility. He took his eyes off the map and shouted, "Check if there are any suspicious people entering the city recently. Immediately telegraph Commander Thomas to report the situation in Arequipa, and ask for help from Moyendo, Puno, and Cusco." Iquidoc issued three orders in a row.

"Yes," the guard replied, then quickly ran away.

Realizing that there might be rebel spies infiltrated the city, Ikidok left 500 soldiers in the city to maintain order and led 1,500 men to reinforce the city gate.

When Ikidok led his troops marching through the city, Sun Qishen and others hiding in the corner were looking for an opportunity to take action.

"Platoon Leader Wang, are you sure you can kill the officer on horseback in front of us?" Sun Qisheng pointed at Ikidok.

"It's too far." Wang Chenglin shook his head.

Because they had Cai Jiu and others as guides, Suo Qisheng and the soldiers of the special brigade ambushed on the road leading to the city gate, ready to kill Iquidoc and take advantage of the chaos of the Arequipa defenders to create an opportunity for the army outside the city to attack the city.

However, they did not expect that Ikidok was heavily guarded, and Sun Qisheng and others could not get close to him at all.

"Let him live a few more days, we will withdraw first." When the special brigade was established, Li Mingyuan gave them a few days of lectures, telling them that the core of special operations is to flexibly change strategies to achieve goals.

Therefore, since Ikidok could not be killed this time, Sun Qishen decisively retreated and prepared for the next ambush plan.

Ikidok was riding on his horse, not knowing at all that he was almost killed by someone.

Just now the soldier reported to him that a group of Indians bought the injured laborers who were building the city fortifications. After hearing the soldier's report and combining it with previous speculation, Iquidoc has determined that the injured laborers were bought by rebel spies who sneaked into the city. The spies obtained some intelligence about the Arequipa defenders from the laborers and then passed it to the rebels outside the city.

After figuring this out, Iquidok assigned two hundred soldiers, led by a battalion commander, to search for the whereabouts of the Chinese spies.

"Captain, the city is under martial law. There are hundreds of Peruvian soldiers on the streets arresting Chinese people. Some Indians who look like Chinese have been captured by them." Wang Chenglin said to Sun Qisheng in a dilapidated house.

"Captain Sun, Iquidoque must have discovered our tracks." Cai Jiu, who had lived in Arequipa for several years, was the first to react.

"Haha, Arequipa's city garrison commander is quite alert, but if he wants to find us out like this, he is underestimating us." Sun Qisheng sneered and continued, "Brothers, Iquidok took away most of the reserve troops, so the guards at his home must be relatively empty. Let's sneak into his home first and capture him in one fell swoop when he comes back."

The security forces protecting Iquidok's safety will stay by his side at all times. When Iquidok goes to the city gate for support, his troops will not stay at home, so now is the time when Iquidok's home is the most defenseless.

The most dangerous place is often the safest place. When the Peruvian army was searching the city for Chinese spies, they would never have thought that the spies were hiding in the home of the city commander.

Countless torches were lit outside the four city gates. Because it was midnight, the defenders on the city wall could not see the number of troops outside the city. They did not dare to attack rashly and hid on the city wall to guard against attacks from the Chinese army.

"Anderson, I told you to keep a close eye on the movements of the Chinese rebels, but you didn't know about it until the enemy surrounded Arequipa. How do you think I should punish you?" Iquidoc cursed, pointing at the general guarding the city gate.

"Commander, it's not that I'm neglecting my duties. I have sent out five reconnaissance teams, but none of them came back. When I was about to send someone to check for news again, I found that the rebels appeared in front of the city gate. As soon as I discovered the enemy situation, I immediately reported it to you." Anderson explained.

After hearing his words, Ikidok's expression softened a little and asked, "Have you sent troops to investigate their strength?"

"It was hard to tell the number of rebels at night, so I didn't rush to send troops."

"The Arequipa garrison only has 7,000 soldiers in total. Sending troops before knowing the enemy's strength will only lead to unnecessary losses. You were right not to send troops this time."

"Commander, I'm worried that the enemy will use heavy artillery to attack the city. Even if we have 7,000 people, we won't be able to defend the city." Anderson said.

The Chinese army had captured heavy artillery, and the Arequipa defenders knew it, so Anderson was worried that the city could not be defended.

"This rebel army will not have enough time to carry heavy siege artillery if they march overnight. Arequipa is safe for now, but their reinforcements will arrive almost tomorrow. That's when the real hard times will come. So we must hold on to Arequipa for three days until the reinforcements arrive."

"Please rest assured, Commander. I will not let any rebel soldier go," Anderson promised.

"This battle is the biggest crisis Arequipa has ever encountered, so I will defend the city with you." Iquidoque didn't want to suffer on the city wall, but if the city was broken, he would not survive, so he took the initiative to defend the city to boost morale.

"Commander, I'll be at the gate, you should go back and rest."

"I have already decided, you don't need to say anything more."

Ikidok waved his hand.

(End of this chapter)