The arrogance started from Chinatown

Chapter 586 Terrible War Talent
The Columbia Command, although not resting yet, was completely relaxed.

They thought the US warships were leaving the port in preparation for evacuation.

However, late at night, a thunderous sound of artillery fire suddenly rang out in the distance, followed by artillery shells falling from overhead with a whistle.

Boom boom boom!
Huge balls of fire lit up the city.

The earth was shaking and the whole city was awakened in an instant.

The Colombian officer in the command center immediately rushed to the window and looked outside.

I saw a group of buildings not far away, which were almost in ruins. The original adobe and wooden houses had all turned into rubble.

In the small area where the shells fell, everything was torn to pieces.

"what happens?"

"Is it a cannonball? How can it be so powerful?"

"Those executioners, don't they care about the civilians in this city at all?" The Colombian officer in the command center felt as if a basin of cold water was poured over him from head to toe.

Only then did they realize that the fleets were not sailing out of the port to leave, but to keep a distance and shoot.

The power of the explosive bomb was beyond their imagination.

"Go wake everyone up and tell them to take shelter!"

"We can't stay here anymore! We have to leave!"

Just now, several shells fell not far from the command center. The shock and aftermath of the explosion caused cracks to appear on the walls of the small building of the command center.

Just when a group of people were in a panic, there was another burst of thunder-like cannon fire in the distance.

The shells fell again with a sharp whistle.

boom!
When the explosion was over, the command center was completely gone.

All that remained were the shattered remains of the building and human bodies mixed in it.

……

Nelson Myers stood on the roof and could see balls of fire constantly lighting up in the distance and the roaring sounds of explosions.

A large number of soldiers were resting against the wall, fully armed, near the building where he was.

He believed that the attack would cause heavy casualties to the other side.

It would be even better if we could blow up the enemy's headquarters.

A large number of civilians were awakened from their sleep and trembled under the sound of artillery fire.

Countless people ran into the streets and fled everywhere. Ordinary people subconsciously stayed away from the shelled areas, and many of them subconsciously followed the retreating Colombian army and fled to a distant place.

The Colombian soldiers were still asleep when the shells fell on their heads.

Subsequently, the command center was bombed to the ground, and these people were leaderless and could only escape the city under the leadership of grassroots officers.

Near a road out of Cartagena, a group of heavily armed Army soldiers had taken over rooftops and alleys.

"Keep your eyes open, cheer up, and kill any enemy who dares to escape from here!" The commander here was constantly encouraging the soldiers.

However, the sound of artillery fire in the distance meant that his words did not get far before they were drowned out by the explosion.

After waiting for more than an hour, they suddenly heard footsteps coming from the front in the interval between the gunfire.

Then, one by one, Colombian soldiers, covered in dust and even bleeding, appeared under the moonlight, intending to flee the city.

Cartagena was like hell at this time.

"Here they come! Get ready..." When they saw the person coming, all the soldiers readied their guns.

"Fire!"

Following the command, a burst of intensive gunfire suddenly broke out in the darkness of the streets and alleys in the area.

The Colombian soldiers who had managed to escape the shelling area and were only trying to save their lives were shot and fell to the ground before they could even react.

The Colombians' fleeing group became even more chaotic, with some fighting back on the spot and others looking for other ways.

……

It was not until the sky began to turn bluish white that the artillery fire in the distance finally stopped.

This time the US Navy almost used up all its ammunition.

Nelson Miles finally gave the order: "Attack!"

The army soldiers had been awakened long ago and after eating some canned food to fill their stomachs, they received orders.

"attack!"

Except for some people who remained in the defense line, the others attacked the Hertzmani district with guns. When they arrived here, the area that was originally full of low adobe houses and narrow alleys was reduced to ruins.

Some Colombians wailed for help in the ruins, or cried and searched for their loved ones.

Some people were wandering in the streets in a daze, with no color in their eyes, and they didn't know how to hide even when they saw the army soldiers.

The army soldiers watched this in silence, then quickly passed through the area.

It didn't take long to discover a large number of Colombian civilians fleeing for their lives, and then they captured a large number of Colombian army soldiers who were fleeing but were blocked on the road.

When those people saw the American army chasing them, they immediately dropped their guns and surrendered.

They had no officers, no orders, no idea where to go, and were even frightened by the shelling the night before.

By noon, the situation in Cartagena was completely under control.

After capturing a large number of Colombian soldiers, Nelson Miles immediately ordered his men to escort these soldiers to find the Colombian headquarters.

However, all they found was a ruin.

Someone will notify Nelson Myers immediately.

"Your Excellency Brigadier General, their headquarters has been destroyed." The soldier who came to notify saluted.

"It should be the first two waves of artillery fire that blew up their headquarters. Then the Colombians couldn't receive orders from the headquarters and began to flee indiscriminately. Then they were blocked when leaving the city..."

"Our people are now searching to see if they can find any survivors or valuables."

Nelson Miles was moved when he heard this, and pointed at the map and asked, "Where is their headquarters?"

After the soldier identified them, he pointed to one of the circles and said, "It's right here."

Nelson Miles looked at the circle, which was exactly the target Chen Zhengwei requested to bombard yesterday...

He guessed right again...the other party's headquarters was indeed here.

There are also people deployed in advance to intercept their escape route.

He guessed it all.

From the solid defense line the night before yesterday to the shelling and interception last night, Chen Zhengwei did not make any mistakes.

And made a highly targeted battle plan.

Nelson Miles waved his hand to signal the soldiers that they could leave. He looked at the map in silence.

After a long while he sighed:

"What a terrifying ability!"

"If you hadn't seen it with your own eyes, you would never believe it..." "A war genius!" a staff officer next to him suddenly said.

"Yes, a war genius with terrible war talent." Nelson Miles agreed.

And he thought more. With Chen Zhengwei's age and his body as strong as a brown bear, if nothing unexpected happened, he could still live for another 40 years.

Forty years.

Plus his aggressive, overbearing and trouble-making character.

Many countries and many people would tremble at his terrifying talent for war.

After a while, Nelson Myers shook his head slightly.

pity.

It’s a pity that Chen Zhengwei has yellow skin.

If he were white, there would be no one better suited to be the Commander-in-Chief of the United States Army.

Although he suffered a lot under Chen Zhengwei, as a soldier, he admired Chen Zhengwei's combat vision and command ability.

……

The news of the U.S. Navy's bombardment of Cartagena had spread before noon.

Telegrams from Cartagena reached all parts of the world and caused a sensation.

The British Foreign Office, in particular, held a press conference immediately to strongly condemn the US invasion of Colombian territory and the massacre.

France originally wanted to condemn it, after all, the mining rights of the Panama Canal are now in their hands.

But when they knew that the British had condemned it, they immediately fell silent and remained neutral.

Other countries are also talking about it.

At noon, Chen Zhengwei's fleet finally returned to the port.

Chen Zhengwei got off the boat with a red and blue parrot on his shoulder.

Chen Zhengwei threw a Brazil nut to Huapao. Smelling the gunpowder in the air, Chen Zhengwei stood there with some fascination and took a deep breath.

"I like this taste!" Chen Zhengwei said with a smile.

In the distance of the city, columns of smoke continued to rise.

"I guess I can have a good sleep in the next two days!" Chen Zhengwei asked someone to call a carriage, and then took the carriage to the hotel.

Along the way, we often saw army soldiers escorting prisoners walking on the streets.

After seeing the Chinese driver on the carriage, the army soldiers immediately drove the prisoners aside and then stood on the side of the road to let the carriage pass.

Back at the hotel, Chen Zhengwei felt that there seemed to be more guests here.

Many guests gathered in the lobby and cafe for this war.

When they saw Chen Zhengwei come in, the guests' voices suddenly became much quieter.

Chen Zhengwei was followed by more than twenty people, including a cook, who immediately went to the kitchen with two of his men to prepare lunch.

Seeing Chen Zhengwei coming over, two brown-haired men approached immediately. After being stopped, they shouted:
"Mr. Chen, I'm a reporter from The Times. Can I interview you? Can you tell me about your views on this war?"

Chen Zhengwei thought for a moment and looked around: "Are there any other reporters from other newspapers?"

"I'm a reporter from Le Figaro!" a Frenchman came over and said.

"Bring them here!" Chen Zhengwei walked to the sofa on the side.

A moment later, two reporters from the newspaper were brought before Chen Zhengwei.

"Mr. Chen, as you know... a massacre took place here between last night and this morning..." the Times reporter said straight to the point.

"I don't know!" Chen Zhengwei directly interrupted the other party.

"Actually, my ship left yesterday! I just learned about what happened here."

"Mr. Chen, why did your ship leave? Before launching the bombardment!" The reporter from the Times was very brave and kept asking.

Su Ya punched him directly in the face, grabbed his hair, and jumped up to knee him.

The reporter from the Times groaned. He felt his nose was broken and blood was gushing out.

"You should know who is in front of you! Watch your attitude when you ask!" Su Ya said coldly.

"There's no need to be so impulsive! Reporters are all like this! Especially British reporters." Chen Zhengwei said slowly, giving Su Ya an approving look.

"Mr. Chen, you are right, the British country bumpkins have always been very rude! They have never been civilized." The French reporter gloated when he saw his British colleague being beaten.

Chen Zhengwei then said to the reporter apologetically:

"My men were a bit rough... but you're still alive and kicking, so you look fine."

"Take this reporter to get cleaned up!"

Chen Zhengwei took out a cigar, lit it, and smoked for a while before the reporter was brought back.

When the reporter came back, he seemed much more polite.

"Make a note of his ID first. If he confuses right and wrong in the newspaper, then go find him directly." Chen Zhengwei said slowly.

Then he continued the previous topic, "Why did my ship leave? It's very simple. It's too noisy here! You should have heard the gunshots the night before last? I want to have a good sleep on the sea!"

"Mr. Chen, your fleet did not participate in the operation last night?" asked the French reporter.

"Of course not! In fact, I didn't know about it before. They are the US Navy, and I am not." Chen Zhengwei spread his hands.

"So what do you think of last night's action? Last night's shelling took place in a civilian area. Many civilians were killed in their sleep. The situation at the scene was very tragic." The reporter from the British Times became active again. This was the question he wanted to know most.

As we all know, Chen Zhengwei's relationship with the United States is not very good.

Although they have been acting together recently... he really hopes to hear Chen Zhengwei criticize the US atrocities.

"I am from San Francisco, and I am disgusted by the Colombians' brutality in San Francisco. Many people are saying that this is an invasion, but I don't think so. This is just a necessary measure to get the Colombian government to step in and resolve the situation."

"I support all reasonable actions taken by the United States based on this." Chen Zhengwei did not get what he wished.

After all, these reports will be transmitted back to the United States. There is no need for him to alienate himself from the American people, let alone stab the United States in the back at this time.

Although most Americans do not pay attention to this matter, he is a Chinese American leader, and if he does that, it will divide the Chinese American community.

As to whether the US's actions this time are reasonable, that is a matter of opinion.

"Besides, I just heard about what happened last night. No matter what, ordinary Colombian civilians are innocent."

"When I first came here, I was wondering what I could do."

"I plan to build an orphanage in Cartagena so that orphans who have lost their families due to war or other reasons will not go hungry."

"And I will make some investments locally, recruit local workers, and help Cartagena recover quickly after the war and have better development."

These are what Chen Zhengwei wanted to say.

That's why he accepted the interview with the reporter.

"I hope my words will not be distorted in the newspapers!" Chen Zhengwei finally said to the two reporters with a smile.

(End of this chapter)