Red Mansion: Seizing Jiangdong, starting with pirates

Chapter 328, Capturing the King

Prepare to meet the enemy!

Zhang Yuan attached great importance to the Siamese troops.

The other party saw through his plan to lure the tiger away from the mountain.

It seems the opposing general is a capable person!
Despite this, the Huaiyin Army was not afraid of any battle.

If the plan succeeds, great; if it fails, then defeat it by force.

Although we do not know what preparations the enemy has made, as long as we break through the enemy's formation with absolute force, we will be able to crush all their schemes.

Zhang Yuan drew his sword and shouted:

"We are filled with righteous indignation, and we will annihilate these foreign barbarians to avenge our national humiliation!"

The soldiers all responded loudly.

"kill!"

At that time, the Siamese general was leisurely dressing with the help of his maids, waiting for news from his subordinates' investigation.

Suddenly, a commotion arose outside.

The Siamese general was very dissatisfied.

These lowly, inferior soldiers are so chaotic even when they're assembled...

Outside, Zhang Yuan led his soldiers into Luca's garrison. The garrison's outer perimeter was hit by a volley of flintlock bullets and fell to the ground, serving almost no defensive purpose.

The Huaiyin army charged in bravely, like tigers among sheep, slashing and killing the unprepared Siamese soldiers with sharp swords.

Arrows streaked with flames were fired, setting the buildings at Luca's encampment ablaze.

Only then did the warning of an enemy attack finally sound.

"General, this... they seem completely unprepared?"

One of Zhang Yuan's trusted subordinates said somewhat hesitantly.

Looking at the chaotic scene before him, Zhang Yuan was also very puzzled...

But no matter what, killing is the right thing to do!
Since most of the soldiers did not speak Siamese, they could not understand the Siamese soldiers' pleas for mercy, so they killed anyone who did not drop their weapons and kneel on the ground.

Flames filled the sky, shining brightly in the darkness.

The cries and screams of the Siamese soldiers echoed through the night. A young Siamese soldier, who looked only fourteen or fifteen years old, scrambled to his feet in a panic before being kicked to the ground by a Huaiyin soldier.

The boy was terrified; tears and snot streamed down his face as he cried and begged for mercy.

Although the Huaiyin soldiers could not understand the boy's words of pleas for mercy, judging from his age, the boy was probably about the same age as their son.

Therefore, he hesitated for a second.

Then, in the next second, he swung his sword and beheaded the boy.

"Non-my family, its heart must be different!"

There's no point in empathizing, just kill!

The Siamese general had no idea what was happening. When he saw the chaos outside, he was so frightened that he clenched his legs together and could hardly breathe.

Someone is rushing towards him!

The Siamese general was terrified.

He pushed out his maids and concubines, stripped them naked, and ordered them to block the enemy outside.

It wrapped its body in a brown, trailing veil, fleeing into the night like a maggot.

The maid who blocked the way was killed by the indifferent Huaiyin soldiers with a single blow, but the Siamese general still managed to escape under the cover of night.

The Huaiyin army quickly occupied the garrison.

Zhang Yuan did not plan to stay here for long. He intended to take a short rest and then quickly head to the Grand Palace of Siam.

However, before that, there was one more thing to deal with: the thousands of prisoners who had knelt down and surrendered during this battle...

Zhang Yuan pondered for a moment, his eyes quickly filled with decisiveness.

"Drive them to the banks of the Chao Phraya River; only those who swim to the other side will survive!"

The soldiers accepted the order.

The Chao Phraya River wasn't far from here, only a few miles away, and it happened to be on their route to the Grand Palace, so it wouldn't waste much time. Soon, the group arrived at their destination.

Zhang Yuan had his Siamese-speaking subordinates relay the order to the captured Siamese soldiers.

Swim across and you'll survive; otherwise, you'll die.

After Zhang Yuan gave the order, the Huaiyin army opened fire from behind.

Upon seeing this, the captured Siamese soldiers desperately jumped into the river and swam to the other side.

Due to the constant firing of muskets from behind, the Siamese soldiers had to desperately fight for positions at the front.

Some people, in order to gain an extra body length, reach out and pull their fellow countrymen down so they can swim ahead.

"I'm sorry, but I have a reason to live!"

A strong Siamese soldier ruthlessly pulled his compatriot swimming in front of him to the back. He thought of his family at home, and his determination to live grew stronger.

People were constantly being shot to death by muskets and arrows, or they would exhaust themselves in the crowd, be pulled down by their teammates, and sink to the bottom of the water.

Wailing and shouting.

The passing of life.

The Huaiyin soldiers on the shore silently watched this human tragedy, drawing their bows and raising their muskets again and again to reap the next life.

"I swam across! I survived!"

The strong Siamese soldiers shouted.

"Whoosh!"

An arrow pierced through him.

Swimming across is the same as dying.

From beginning to end, Zhang Yuan never intended for any Siamese to survive.

The so-called survival game was merely a means to make them obediently exhaust themselves in the water, making it easier for the Huaiyin army to kill them.

As the last Siamese man fell, Zhang Yuan coldly gazed at the calm water and commanded:
"Marching forward, target: the Grand Palace!"

At the end of the Yin hour, it was still dark.

In the palace of the capital, Daiyu nestled gently in Fang Yong's arms. She seemed to have encountered something good in her sleep, and the corners of her mouth turned up slightly as she held Fang Yong's small hand tightly.

Fang Yong sensed something, opened his eyes slightly, saw that it was still early outside, pinched Daiyu's soft bottom, and then fell asleep again.

Perhaps it was a preordained connection, but in Siam, far away in Southeast Asia, King Rama III of Siam also awoke at the same moment in his palace.

However, Rama III did not wake up like Fang Yong, but was awakened by the sound of gunfire.

The servant rushed in in a panic.

"Your Majesty, hurry, run! The Chinese are attacking!"

what!
King Rama III stood up in alarm.

"what happened?"

The servant said, "Your Majesty, I don't know either. Countless Chinese suddenly rushed in. The palace guards couldn't resist at all and were scattered. Now their main force is attacking the Jade Buddha Temple. There aren't many people attacking the palace, but I estimate they will be here soon. Let's run!"

Shock continued to appear on Rama III's face.

"Damn it, what are those garrison troops outside doing? Quick, grab the treasures from the storeroom, we're heading to the big city!"

"Your Majesty, forget about the treasure, let's run!"

"You bastard! The ancestral crown and scepter are inside, along with a sacred artifact blessed by Buddha. How can you not take them? Take these with you; they won't be needed for long!"

This time, it was the ancestors of Siam who helped Zhang Yuan.

Otherwise, Rama III might have actually escaped.

This was Zhang Yuan's first time setting foot on Siamese soil, and the map provided by the intelligence was rather vague. As a result, he made a fatal mistake: he mistook the location.

The largest temple in Siam, Wat Phra Kaew (Temple of the Emerald Buddha), is located not far from the Grand Palace. Since the whole of Siam is Buddhist, the architectural styles of the two places are not very different at first glance. However, Wat Phra Kaew, as a temple, is actually more magnificent than the royal palace where the monarch resides.

Zhang Yuan thus mistook the location and led the main force to attack the Jade Buddha Temple.

(End of this chapter)