The Han culture is spreading strongly in Southeast Asia

Chapter 126 If you want to fight, then fight

Mo Zibu picked up the flintlock rifle again, and the soldiers of the guard company around him squeezed him tightly in the middle.

Mo Zibu's guard company now has only more than 80 people, because some of them followed Wang Wuchu to sneak into the south of the city.

However, in addition to the Guards Flintlock Company, there is also the artillery company of Jean-Jacques Guards with more than 100 people, the number of which is not much different from the attacking Burmese cavalry.

"Move aside, move aside! Can these Burmese cavalry scare us? Let them come. What kind of cavalry are they without bows and arrows?"

Mo Zibu angrily pushed away the soldiers who were crowding around him. He knew the soldiers meant well, but everyone was already under great psychological pressure at the time. If he, the commander-in-chief, showed any fear, how could he fight the battle?
Moreover, what Mo Zibu said was correct. The cavalry in Nanyang, whether it was the Northern Zheng or the Burmese Army, were not the grassland cavalry or the Central Plains armored cavalry that later generations believed to be moving like the wind and galloping like thunder.

According to records from the Qing-Myanmar War, the Burmese infantry had no armor or bows and arrows, and mainly used firearms and darts (long spears).

The cavalry's war horses are short and slow, and they are not good at riding or shooting, but are driven by swords and spears.

In other words, these cavalrymen could not shoot from horseback, at least most of them could not shoot from horseback. Their only way of fighting was to kill on horseback, and their only role was to chase and drive away.

Seeing the Burmese cavalry galloping towards them, Jean Jacques, under the order of Mo Zibu, arranged all the artillery pieces in a circle to form a chariot formation to block the attack, with flintlock musketeers standing behind the artillery pieces.

The Burmese cavalry were spread out in a wide area, coming in overwhelming numbers, appearing to be very imposing.

Mo Zibu first ordered the artillery to open fire, but the effect was not great. More than a dozen shots only killed more than ten Burmese cavalrymen, almost one per shot.

Mo Zibu was so angry that his teeth were bared. This was the consequence of not having shotgun shells. If he had shotgun shells, these rubbish cavalrymen would not be enough to fight against.

However, it was not without gain, that is, the Burmese cavalry was dispersed further.

Being dispersed does help the cavalry reduce damage, but it also weakens the impact.

Seeing this, Mo Zibu immediately patted the shoulders of the soldiers in the circle, and patted every other soldier.

The soldiers who were tapped on the shoulder immediately stepped forward and defended themselves with bayonets, while those who were not tapped raised their flintlock rifles and prepared to shoot.

As they got closer, the Burmese cavalry began their final charge. Mo Zibu was relieved when he saw that they indeed did not carry bows and arrows.

Because the other side had no bows and arrows, he waited until the Burmese cavalry were forty meters away before ordering them to open fire.

The soldiers who did not open fire kept loading their guns, holding bayonets and waiting for the enemy cavalry to approach.

This clever way of firing actually improves accuracy.

After all, the distance was only about 40 meters, and the cavalry formation began to become dense, so even a smoothbore rifle would have a very good hit rate.

The Burmese cavalry charged twice and even rushed into the artillery formation at one point, but the artillery carts blocked their speed. The soldiers howled and drove them out with the bayonets on their flintlock rifles together with Mo Zibu.

This configuration of half bayonets and half musketeers is simply a perfect chariot formation combination. As long as the impact of the cavalry is limited, they will be complete targets.

The Burmese army launched two concentrated attacks, losing at least sixty or seventy people and was completely unable to continue the fight.

However, they were still elite, and the officers were still able to control the team. They were still trying to gather from a distance and try again.

As a result, this stupid cavalry officer was so bloodthirsty that he forgot that they were attacking the artillery position. They were still raising flags and rallying soldiers, but the French gunners on Mo Zibu's side had already started loading.

When they gathered at about a hundred meters, Mo Zibu suddenly ordered the nine field guns that had been aimed to open fire!
Wow, it was as if with divine help, the first shot hit the upright flagpole.

The flagpole broke with a sound, and the Burmese cavalry commander was hit by a shell from an eight-pound field gun, and both he and his horse were smashed into a pulp.

The other cavalrymen were not much better off. In just over ten seconds, thirty or forty of them were killed.

Together with the previous casualties, the total was close to 30%. The Burmese cavalry no longer dared to stay. They whipped their horses desperately and fled madly.

Cavalry that cannot ride and shoot are so weak. Not to mention whether they can win the battle, they don’t even have the ability to cause damage to the chariot formation. At most, they can threaten the marching infantry formation.

On the front battlefield, the 5,000 Burmese troops were repeatedly defeated and regrouped under the pressure of the supervising officers.

They demonstrated the combat effectiveness that a new dynasty's regular army should have. Even though more than 10% of them were killed and nearly 30% were wounded or injured, they still had not lost their organization and even had the courage to move forward.

But they soon faced a catastrophe. Mo Zibu personally commanded the Fifth Flintlock Guards Company to cover the artillery and move forward.

The artillery, with a power far exceeding that of rifles, quickly defeated the entire Burmese army twice in succession, causing more than 200 casualties in them again.

Now, the Burmese army no longer had the ability to launch an attack from above. Even the commanders on both wings were frightened and dared not force the Burmese army to advance.

But Mo Zibu's side was not in a good situation either. The artillery and the guards company were better off, but the main force on the front lost the cover of artillery for a while, and was beaten badly by the Burmese army's artillery followed by infantry charges.

The 7th Company of the Ha Tien Regiment, which was at the forefront, suffered heavy losses, with at least 30 soldiers killed and wounded, and was forced to retreat to the rear to reorganize.

The entire Ha Tien Regiment, the Yicong Regiment and Kun A Phayyebudi's musketeers lost at least 130 people, which was close to 10% of the entire army.

Fuck you! The capital is too small, and I can only afford to support 2,000 sailors. Mo Dalongtou's cheeks twitched with pain. You are playing hard to get, right?

Damn it, then no one should live anymore!
Mo Zibu also got a little excited and immediately ordered the infantry to retreat and then pointed the guns at the pontoon bridge.

If you fight hard, I will fight hard too. I will blow up the pontoon bridge and then move the warships across to block the T-shaped river mouth. I want to see when you can capture Ayutthaya!
. . . .

Tihapati saw it from the sentry tower of the southern camp and knew that there had been a fire.

Well, going too far doesn’t mean hitting too hard, but rather hitting too hard but not winning.

This is troublesome. The 5,000 people he brought are to contribute to the victory of Ayutthaya City. He cannot use his own direct troops to fight to the death with those Miaoxiang people.

Moreover, these 5,000 men will be used to suppress General Suki, because the White Elephant King only let Thihapodi serve as the acting commander-in-chief, but did not say that he could deal with a Burmese general like General Suki at will.

Furthermore, a Burmese general like General Suki often has a large family behind him. Even if the White Elephant King wanted to deal with him, he would have to be very skillful, let alone Thihapodi. "My lords, loyal servants of Xin Xin Pyu, it seems we must mobilize a large army and launch a decisive attack to drive the Mya Xiang people from the mountains and cover our army's crossing of the river."

After Tihapati finished speaking, he looked around, and his dark face was full of cunning.

He said this, of course not to continue fighting, but to let his subordinates come out to persuade them, so that he could take advantage of the situation to stop the attack and negotiate with the Miao Xiang people.

But after he finished speaking, no one responded immediately. Tihapodi slowly turned his body to the right and his eyes fell on General Suki.

"General Nan, you've been attacking the Miaoxiang people in the south of the city for months. Although you haven't been able to defeat them, you must have learned something. In your opinion, how should we respond?"

General Suki knew that the key point of the whole speech was on the two words "unable to overcome".

These two words mean the blame, and if he is not careful in handling the matter, it will be put on his head immediately.

“Although the Miaoxiang people in the south of the city are not part of the Siamese army, they are wealthy and powerful in Siam, and their resistance is far greater than that of ordinary Siamese.

Although the Southern Camp troops were unable to capture the city, they inflicted heavy casualties and effectively suppressed them. Even without any merit, they certainly contributed greatly."

Well, the key point of this sentence is that even if there is no merit, there must be hard work. If Tihapadi wants General Suki to take the blame and take the initiative to suggest peace talks with the Miaoxiang people, then there must be benefits.

Tihabodi nodded slightly. "Of course I know this. The Southern Camp troops can stay here and rest up the next day."

This was what Thihapati promised. Although the Southern Camp army could not enter the city first, it could guard Ayutthaya later.

This is equivalent to the fact that you cannot drink the first soup, but you can still keep it and squeeze it slowly.

"The Miao Xiang bandits from the north are approaching, and Xin Xinpiu is extremely worried. We can't waste too much time with the Siamese. What suggestions do you have?"

Tihapati revealed his trump card, he had indeed received the order from the White Elephant King.

Because the Burmese army now assembled in northern Myanmar, except for the 20,000 or so most elite guards personally commanded by the White Elephant King, the rest are surrendered soldiers from various chieftains, and the manpower is not sufficient.

As one of the country's main military forces, the 35,000 first-class elite soldiers who were drawn from the vassal states of the Konbaung Dynasty and are now besieging Ayutthaya cannot stay in Siam for a long time. They must also go to the northern front as soon as possible.

When General Suki heard what Tihapati said, he immediately understood.

The 25,000 soldiers from the East Camp and the North Camp are about to return, and he will lead his 10,000 men, thousands of serfs, and more than 10,000 surrendered Thai traitors to garrison Siam.

It is very likely that the White Elephant King's orders have already been issued.

After understanding this, most of the unhappiness I had just felt immediately dissipated.

As long as Thihapādi does not interfere and is allowed to guard Siam, the lost money and manpower can be slowly replenished.

Of course, he also knew that if he did not know what was good for him, there was no guarantee that Thehappy Emperor would use unconventional means to deal with him, the fish on the chopping board.

"In that case, for the sake of the overall situation, I suggest that we let these Miaoxiang people go. After all, they just want to escape with their loved ones, so it won't harm me."

Tihapodi looked at General Suki, who had become sensible again, and nodded with a smile.

Political struggles are like this; it is impossible to determine the winner right from the start, and it often takes many rounds of back-and-forth fighting and probing.

These two old thieves have already formed a grudge, but now, when it is beneficial for each of them, they will choose to compromise and cooperate.

. . . .

On the hillside, Mo Zibu had actually come to his senses, because he did not order the bombardment of the pontoon bridge. If he had, the pontoon bridge would have disappeared by now.

Mo Zibu looked back at the right bank of the Chao Phraya River. Among the shadows, he could hear faint human voices in the distance. He seemed to be able to feel the joy of escaping from death even from a distance.

That's all, that's all!
The reason I led the army here was to rescue these compatriots.

The Burmese army was powerful, and being able to temporarily repel these 5,000 people was already Mo Zibu's limit. If he really had to mobilize 10,000 people, he would suffer heavy casualties even if he could escape.

'Da-da-da!'

The sound of horse hooves was heard, and several Burmese cavalrymen came from a distance holding a Buddhist swastika flag.

In Thailand and Myanmar, where Buddhism is widely practiced, raising the Buddha's flag is a sign of ending the war and seeking peace.

"Chen Lian, go and see what conditions they have."

After a while, Chen Lian came back with a happy face, "Duke Rende, the Burmese are willing to hand over the 400 captured Chinese, as well as the bodies of Phraya Phetchaburi and Phraya Songkhalok."

Mo Zibu knew that this sincerity was enough, especially the bodies of the last two people.

Phraya Phetchaburi is Zheng Mincheng's father, a big shot among the Teochew people of Siam who is as famous as Zheng Xin.

Although Phraya Samkhalok is a Najin from his maternal lineage, he has always had a good relationship with the Teochew lineage and can speak fluent Teochew.

According to custom, after death in battle, the bodies of great nobles like them, at the level of Duke, would be mummified and taken back to Ava by the Burmese as trophies.

Being able to bring it back for burial now is definitely the greatest comfort to both the deceased and the living.

"What about Luanchadu?" Mo Zibu asked in a low voice.

Chen Lian slowly shook his head, "That depends on Li Guangcai."

(End of this chapter)