The Han culture is spreading strongly in Southeast Asia

Chapter 360: The brave one wins when we meet on a narrow road
Fuliangjiangbei, Jingbei Prefecture, Cishan County.

Mo Gong, the captain of the Longmen Regiment, was advancing rapidly with his soldiers. On another road not far from him, Ye Xianchun's Hakka Second Regiment was marching side by side with them.

However, their two regiments were not reorganized regiments. More than 3,000 line infantrymen were withdrawn from the Longmen Regiment and the Hakka Second Regiment, and were replaced by about three companies of hunting soldiers, a company of artillery and several hundred hand-to-hand combat soldiers from Jiaxidao (West Borneo).

Because what they were going to do now was not to line up and fight the Qing Dynasty in an open battle, but to stop Fu Kang'an's troops coming from Liangjiang Prefecture at the Ba Wang Temple in the southwest of Cishan County.

The reason for this arrangement was that it was not yet the era when steam engines could drive sailboats, so the navy could only allow warships like the Lucky, which weighed more than 400 tons, to enter Furano River.

If it were any bigger, even with trackers, it would not be possible to navigate the Furano River.

The Lucky only had twenty-six eight-pound cannons and six six-pound cannons, and was completely at a disadvantage against the Qing Dynasty's thirty-pound Weiyuan General cannons, not to mention the Qing Dynasty's other types of artillery.

In this situation, if the Lucky entered the Fuliang River to cut off the Qing army's retreat, they would certainly not dare to use trackers to move the boat under the threat of Qing army's artillery.

Once the mobility is reduced, it will certainly not be able to withstand the double attack of the Qing army's cannon bombardment on the shore and fireboats from upstream.

Therefore, while the navy cut off the Fuliang River, Mo Zibu had to lead the main force to fight against the main force of the Qing army in Tokyo City to prevent them from attacking the navy in the Fuliang River.

On the other side, Fu Kang'an's army in Liangjiang Prefecture also needed someone to stop them, at least to prevent Fu Kang'an from easily setting up cannons on the high ground by the river to bombard the navy warships in the river.

Alas, before the horsepower of steam engines reached a level sufficient to drive large ships, warships powered purely by wind and manpower were in such an awkward position.

Therefore, as the foremost military commander of King Mo's family and the benchmark of the Hakka people, Mo Gong and Ye Xianchun grabbed the task of having the image of Lingyan Pavilion painted on their heads if they survived.

They will use a mixed group of 3,500 people to block Fu Kangan's 15,000 Qing troops until the battle of Tokyo is decided.

The Eight Kings Temple in Cishan County was later called the Li Ba Di Temple. It is dedicated to the eight kings of the Li Dynasty of Vietnam and the famous Vietnamese eunuch general Li Changjie and others.

This temple is located on almost the only hill in Cishan County, about two or three hundred meters high, with a radius of only a little over one mile. It is close to several main roads and rivers, making it a very good ambush location.

If Fukangan can't take the Bawang Temple, he can forget about going to the Fuliang River to bombard the Xingtang Navy.

"Oh, you guys are really young masters, tsk tsk..."

A sour tone sounded, and Wu Wenhui knew why without even looking.

He is the eldest son of Wu Rang, the Duke of Songcheng. Ever since Wu Rang placed his bet on the king as if blessed by Mazu ten years ago, the Wu family has become rich.

The Wu family's Songcheng now has six garrisons (counties) under its jurisdiction, with 90,000 Han people and 270,000 indigenous people. It also has an exclusive bird's nest business. It is extremely wealthy, which naturally attracts the jealousy of many people.

Especially those who have recently gone to Southeast Asia, when they saw that the Wu family had obtained such immense wealth and status just because they placed their bets early, they couldn't help but feel jealous.

This resulted in the First Regiment of the Republic, which was mainly composed of sons of nobles, becoming the target of ridicule by the entire Xing Tang army, who all teased them as young master soldiers.

Wu Wenhui did not refute it. He really couldn't refute it because their family was indeed rich and prosperous.

Wu Wenhui felt that he was trying his best to keep a low profile, but in front of a group of immigrants from poor Korean backgrounds, he was still too rich and too rich.

"Have a sip?" Wu Wenhui shook the tin pot in his hand. "This is sorghum liquor from my hometown, Dongping Town. It's made with premium icing sugar and mint leaves. It's spicy, sweet, and strong!"

This is Wu Wenhui’s magic weapon. Didn’t you say I was a young master? So I will use the status of a young master to lower myself two levels to get along with you, so that you won’t feel embarrassed to continue to be jealous.

Sure enough, the soldier who made fun of him was stunned with embarrassment. At that time, tin tableware was still very precious. Twenty years later, Napoleon no longer used silver tableware but tin tableware. It was not more expensive than gold, but it was definitely more expensive than silver.

"Come on, grown man, why are you being so fussy?" Wu Wenhui shook the wine jug again, then looked around suspiciously.

"You can drink a lot, don't drink too much and get drunk. If your superiors find out, you'll be punished."

"Don't worry, I, Chen Tianbao, can drink a thousand cups without getting drunk!" The soldier took the tin pot, took out his wooden bowl, poured most of it into it, and then drank it all in one gulp, with an intoxicated look on his face.

"Good wine, good wine! If I could drink this fine wine every day, my life would be worthwhile!"

Chen Tianbao reluctantly returned the wine pot to Wu Wenhui and said, "My name is Chen Tianbao, from Hepu, Lianzhou. With this bowl of wine, I will definitely keep you safe."

"Your surname is Chen!" Wu Wenhui stood up immediately. The surname is Chen, and he comes from the three prefectures of Gao, Lei and Lian. This is the standard for the children of the Chen family in Xingtang. Even a prince of the earl like Wu Wenhui has to be treated with courtesy.

Chen Tianbao blushed, but he quickly nodded, "We are of the same clan. My ancestors also fought against the Qing with Prince Xu Zhongzhen, but we didn't go south with them. I'm ashamed, ashamed."

King Xu Zhongzhen was Chen Shangchuan. Mo Zibu posthumously awarded him the title of King Xu and the posthumous name of Zhongzhen.

However, Chen Tianbao, the historical naval admiral of the Xishan Army, was not from the same branch as Chen Shangchuan. He was of Tanka people origin and had no surname. Because there were many people with the surname Chen in the Hepu area of Lianzhou, he specifically pretended to be one.

Of course, now everyone with the surname Chen in Gao, Lei, Lian and the other three prefectures claims that their ancestors followed Chen Shangchuan to fight against the Qing Dynasty. It is like everyone is carrying the sedan chair, and everyone recognizes each other. No one comes to correct the origin. What Chen Tianbao said is also tenable.

"Chen Tianbao, hurry up and dig the trench!" Before the two of them could say a few more words, Chen Tianbao's general manager came running over.

"Captain Wu, General Mo Qian orders all officers above the rank of captain of the Republican Regiment's hunting squadron to proceed to the regimental headquarters for a meeting!"

Wu Wenhui quickly stood up, saluted, and ran towards the regiment headquarters.

Since most of the soldiers in the First Regiment of the Republic were wealthy, they could practice without wasting bullets on daily basis, so their marksmanship was very good.

Because they were rich, most of them bought rifled rifles with their own money in addition to the smoothbore rifles issued to them, and many of them could be used as hunters.

Fukang'an almost ran all the way from Liangjiang Prefecture, and then he was stunned.

Overnight, the red flag with a golden sun and moon was flying over the Bawang Temple, and his way to Fuliang River was cut off.

"Sir, the enemy is advancing rapidly. They have already dug trenches and built parapets. I believe they must have been working day and night and must be extremely exhausted. I will lead the charge and attack from the front immediately."

The person who spoke was Wang Pu, the general of Henan and Hebei Towns of the Qing Dynasty.

Of course, this Hebei Town refers to the Weihui, Zhangde and other prefectures north of the Yellow River in Henan Province, not the Hebei Province in later generations. Hebei in later generations is now called Zhili.

In the history of the Qing Dynasty, in addition to the Han people of the Han Army Banner, there was another group of Han people who were very trusted, that is, the Zhili Han people, or specifically the Han people around Beijing.

Most of their ancestors were Han people who came here to become tenants after the Eight Banners seized land in Hebei and grew crops for the Eight Banners masters.

As the times slowly progressed, these people became slaves who had no right to be called slaves.

Wang Pu came from such a family. He was from Gu'an County, Zhili, which is Gu'an County, Langfang in later generations. His ancestors had always been farming for the Eight Banners farms and gradually made a fortune through their shrewdness.

By the time of Wang Pu's father's generation, his family was well-off and he began to train martial arts and join the army. When the Eight Banners stationed in Beijing went to war, they were often willing to take people like him with them.

Therefore, Wang Pu was promoted quickly. The first time he was appointed as an official, he was the captain of the outer committee guarding the Yongding River, which was considered to be an important area guarding the capital.

Fu Kangan nodded and said, "I will give you two hundred Barag people. You must use them well. You can also command your own troops and horses. I will also give you an artillery team to support you."

Fu Kang'an decided to let Wang Pu's cannon fodder, which was mainly composed of Han people from Northern Zhili, go first, while he would select 300 elite soldiers from the Jianrui Battalion to launch a surprise attack from behind.

"Bang!" A shell hit the newly built breastwork fiercely, and the breastwork was shattered and rubble flew everywhere, but it still withstood the blow, only being slightly tilted.

"Bang!" Another shell flew over and hit a not-so-thick rosewood tree not far from the breastwork. The tree broke with a sound and the shell bounced off the tree. Several soldiers quickly dodged and were almost hit.

Others were avoiding the artillery fire, but Chen Tianbao was not panicked at all. He took a shovel and even dared to climb out of the breastwork to carefully repair and reinforce it.

I don’t know why, but Chen Tianbao, who was always scolded by his parents and wife for fishing in his hometown and had far less catch than others, became a different person when he went to the battlefield.

He never panicked, and seemed to have no fear of death. The sight of blood did not weaken his legs but made him even more excited. Therefore, he was bold and careful in combat. In addition, he came from the three prefectures of Gao, Lei and Lian, and his surname was Chen. There were rumors that he would be promoted to the rank of captain, skipping his level.

"Don't be afraid. We're just testing the artillery now. A more intense bombardment will come soon."

After hearing Chen Tianbao's words, the soldiers around him were speechless. Are you trying to comfort people or scare them?

The captain of his company kicked him in the ass and said, "Shut up, Rem!

As soon as he finished speaking, Chen Tianbao pounced and pinned Bai Zong down in the trench behind the breastwork. Bai Zong did not struggle at all because he knew what was coming.

Sure enough, this time the deafening roar was heard, and at least dozens of shells were fired at the sky. The breastwork that had just been reinforced by Chen Tianbao was immediately smashed to pieces.

A shell passed through the middle of the parapet and hit a soldier's calf. He groaned and covered his mouth with his hands to prevent himself from crying out. Chen Tianbao and General Bai hurried over together. General Bai bandaged the soldier's heart side to stop the bleeding.

Chen Tianbao took out a pot of medical-grade strong liquor, then chopped it with a knife, directly cutting off the flesh that was still barely attached to the soldier's broken leg, then poured liquor on it and bandaged it up.

The soldier screamed, his eyes rolled back and he fainted.

"Come back some good people and send him away." Bai Zong shouted loudly.

Chen Tianbao reluctantly screwed the lid back on the pot, whispering, "It depends on your fate, brother. If you survive, you can at least get a small estate and buy two native women to serve you. If you can't hold on, your brother will get the money."

Chen Tianbao was often beaten by his brother when he was a child, so he doesn't like the word "brother" at all.

In about a quarter of an hour, the Qing army fired more than 150 artillery shells at the hill where the Eight Kings Temple was located, smashing the small hill into pieces. The breastwork that the soldiers had spent an entire night building was almost completely scrapped.

Then, the Qing army at the foot of the mountain rushed up shouting, wearing uniforms with the character "勇" on them.

Chen Tianbao didn't move at all because it was not their turn to take action yet.

Sure enough, the artillery of the Xingtang Army set up on the Eight Kings Temple opened fire. From their high position, they fired rapidly, making the Qing army cry for their parents. The casualties were much greater than those of Chen Tianbao and his men.
Wang Pu wiped his sweat with a guilty conscience. Damn, these southern bandits are really unusual. Their artillery is no less than his own. They are indeed a strong enemy.

Then, Wang Pu ordered the artillery to open fire, forcing the Xing Tang army soldiers to avoid the artillery on the mountain like hamsters.

Afterwards, the Qing army advanced one after another, and was hit by another round of artillery fire from the Xingtang army, and once again retreated, crawling and rolling.

The battlefield became a complete artillery stage.

. . . .

In the mountains and forests behind the Eight Kings Temple, the sound of artillery covered up most of the sounds. Su Li wrapped his shiny braid around his neck, lowered his body as much as possible, and groped forward.

When it comes to surprise attacks, quality is more important than quantity, and having fewer people makes it easier to conceal.

Fu Kang'an naturally knew this, so he only sent out eighty elite battalion masters to attack from behind in the first batch.

To the left of Su Li is a short and strong Barhu man named Dalhai, with colorful patterns painted on his face. It is said that they are blessed by shamans and can help him defeat all opponents.

On the right is their servant Changsheng, who rolled over from the pile of dead bodies in Myanmar and the Jinchuan Islands.

The three of them took turns exploring this small area.

The sunlight shone through the gaps between the leaves, and countless mosquitoes buzzed around the three of them. After a while, Su Li was bitten more than a dozen times.

Dalhai sniffed hard. As the best hunter in Selunsu Mountain (near Temple Street) in the lower reaches of the Heilongjiang River, he was very sensitive to any smell.

Su Li and Chang Sheng didn't smell anything unusual, but Dalhai smelled a very strong sweat odor, which did not belong to the three of them, but to someone else.

Seeing that Dalhai stopped, Su Li and Changsheng immediately became alert.

"Bang!" The gunshot rang out, accompanied by an angry curse, "Go to hell, you are such a good Tartar!"

Changsheng fell down without a sound. Su Li and Dalhai immediately hid in the bushes.

Seeing the bushes shaking, Su Li took out the ancestral bow from behind him, and shot an arrow at it, but he didn't hear the expected scream.

But at this moment, two people suddenly jumped out from another bush, and they rushed towards Su Li one from the front and one from the back.

Just now, a fat rabbit ran out from the bushes, which had obviously been released long ago.

Su Li shot the second arrow at a rapid speed. The man in front groaned miserably and his movements immediately slowed down. Dalhai pounced on the man behind him.

"Bang!" Another gunshot rang out, and Dalhai shuddered. A flower of blood bloomed on his back. It turned out that there was another person hiding behind the tree. There were also three of them.

Before Su Li could shoot the third arrow, he raised his foot and kicked the strong man who was rushing towards him away.

The burly man let out a cry, flipped over on the ground and continued to grab Su Li's right leg. Su Li had no time to draw the knife from his waist, so he could only wrestle with the burly man.

Li Cun Yi loaded the gun slowly. The disciple in front of him did not seem to be in any danger, so he finished loading the musket first.

But at this moment, Changsheng, who was knocked down first, pounced on him silently with a dagger in his hand like a poisonous snake.

"You dog Tartar, you are pretending to be dead!" Li Cun Yi cursed loudly, raised his arms, and with a ding sound, it turned out that he had a pair of sleeves made of fine steel hidden in his sleeves.

After blocking the attack, Li Cun Yi quickly moved sideways, then took a false step, disrupting Chang Sheng's pace. He made a gesture with his hands as if to hit, but in fact he kicked out three times in a row with his long legs.

Although Li Quan is a boxing style, its leg techniques are actually more ferocious, and it has a style called "empty hands and solid legs."

Li Cun Yi is the founder of the martial arts sect, and his martial arts skills have reached perfection. Even if Chang Sheng rolled out from a pile of dead bodies, he would not be Li Cun Yi's opponent in a one-on-one fight.

In an instant, Li Cunyi kicked him three times in the abdomen where he was hit by the musket. The pain was so severe that he felt like the world was spinning and he could no longer bear it.

With his last bit of strength, Changsheng let go and grabbed Li Cunyi's left leg.

"Master, this is a master!"

"Master, save me!"

Li Cunyi kicked Changsheng away.

The screaming apprentice was hacked to pieces and covered in blood, and he staggered into the bushes.

"Hoo!" Su Li leaped forward, abandoning his apprentice and going to find Li Cunyi.

He seemed to float over like teleporting, and his hands holding the long sword shook. Li Cun Yi's eyes were covered with white, and he could not see the direction of the sword at all.

Li Cun Yi shook his hands, and a pair of butterfly swords appeared in his hands, but he did not move forward. Instead, he jumped back several times like a rabbit.

Su Li did not allow the opponent to widen the distance, so he took two big steps to catch up and stabbed straight forward with the long knife in his hand.

Li Cunyi twisted his body miraculously to avoid the stab of the long knife, then pounced like a tiger, trying to crash into Su Li's chest.

Su Li sneered, lowered his body, and pulled his long sword back strangely, cutting directly from the side.

Li Cunyi yelled, ignoring his long sword, and rushed into Su Li's arms, stabbing fiercely with his double swords.

With a "Puff", Su Li's long knife cut hard, and blood spurted out from Li Cunyi's left rib.

But his chest and abdomen were covered with erosion, and the dark blue chyme that was about to turn into feces mixed with dark red blood gushed out.

"I am, Ai Ai Xin Jue..."

Su Li had never seen such a life-for-life exchange. This was completely different from the sparring he had experienced in Beijing. He muttered to himself and fell to the ground with a thud.

Aisin-Gioro Suli, the eighth-generation grandson of Daishan and the seventh-generation grandson of Man Dahai, was a illegitimate child and only his seventh-generation ancestor Man Dahai had served as Prince Li, but he was still a yellow-belt member of the royal family with a high status.

"Pah!" The blood-soaked disciple spat out a mouthful of blood foam, "He's a master, but it's a pity he's just a novice."

"Master!" The Barhu man Dalhai howled miserably. He was beating another disciple of Li Cunyi who was shot by Su Li's arrow and made him spit blood. When he turned around, he saw a scene that made him extremely terrified.

Li Cun Yi and his companions rushed forward and quickly killed the Barhu man who was shot first, then carried the unconscious apprentice back.

On the front, Fukang'an's cheek twitched. He didn't know that Su Li had died in the battle. He only knew that the two raids from the back mountain had been beaten back.

On the front, Wang Pu launched three attacks, but he didn't even see the enemy and was beaten back every time.

"Prepare 5,000 men, each wave of 1,000 men, to withstand the enemy's artillery fire. We must defeat the enemy troops here today."

There was no other good solution, so Fukangan could only launch a human wave tactic, hoping to capture the Bawang Temple as soon as possible and then break the blockade of the Xingtang Navy.

(End of this chapter)