The Han culture is spreading strongly in Southeast Asia

Chapter 524: Storm in Fort William

Although Qin San was reluctant to leave, he still had to go because this was called an overseas assignment but in fact the vacation period had expired.

Yes, this village does not belong to him yet, but is a reward from Chen Lian to appease the soldiers who have been fighting outside for three years.

Chen Lian set up more than 200 towns and villages like this that could both destroy the foundation of British rule in India and allow soldiers to relax.

Seeing that Qin San was about to leave, several young village girls who served him actually had tears in their eyes.

It's not that they are mean, but Qin San thinks he treats them very roughly, but in the eyes of these village girls, it's not rough at all, and can even be called very gentle in some places.

In their opinion, although Qin San was vulgar, he had basic respect for them. Compared with the men in the village, he was like heaven and earth.

The reason why such a strange feeling arises is that in India, the status of women is basically the lowest in the world, much lower than that of many backward African countries.

The reason is that Indians are oppressed too deeply. There are very few ordinary Indians in the world who are in a society that is under all-round and even mentally oppressed.

According to many people's imagination, in such a society full of bitterness and hatred, people must unite and help each other to overcome difficulties together.

If you think too much, the oppression among the lower classes will only become deeper!
In a society where men's status is not respected at all, women with lower physical conditions and social division of labor are definitely not as good as a working ox. They are just livestock that can reproduce but have a lower function than an ox.

As for why the emphasis is on plowing oxen, it is because the status of the sacred ox with a tumor on its neck is not only obviously higher than that of women, but also higher than that of the lowest-level Indian men.

The most important reason why there are so many rape cases in India in later generations is that the sexuality of the lower-class men is extremely suppressed.

Even in the Hindu subculture with its strong fertility worship, using force to make women submit in gender relations is a symbol of a man's power.

Even for these lower-class men, it is the only symbol of power.

In Indian society, if a man cannot even use violence to make a woman submit, then he is not worthy of being a man and is a coward. He will not be able to hold his head up at all in the lower class of society.

In the primitive mechanism, the most direct manifestation of men making women submit is sexual power.

This is also the case in many rape cases in India where, after a woman reports the crime, the man who raped her rushes to her house and burns her alive. This is something that Chinese people cannot understand at all.

Because a woman who dares to resist after being forced will be considered by the man who rapes her as not submitting and resisting male power.

This act of burning someone alive is a result of anger and shame after being offended.

Therefore, if we really compare horizontally, compared with cultures like Hinduism and Europe, the United States and Japan, where women still have to change their husband's surname after marriage, the status of women in Chinese society has not been particularly low from ancient times to the present.

To the extent that Qin San has imitated the old men in his hometown and put on airs, he still received extremely high praise.

In addition to these women, other people in the village also wrote information about their fathers, husbands, brothers and sons to Qin San.

This is also an important reason why Qin San and others can sleep peacefully in the village. In the villages where they live, a large number of men have been conscripted to the front line of Fort William.

Firstly, the departure of a large number of men can ensure the safety of the soldiers going on "vacation". It is impossible for people to be highly alert while sleeping.

Secondly, if the people in this village want their relatives to come back from the front line of Fort William where the mortality rate is 12%, they must take good care of these soldiers.

Just like Qin San, if he feels that he has been served well, after returning to the front line of Fort William, he can select five cannon fodder Asan and let them return to the village. This is the authority given to them by Chen Lian.

The woman who was Qin San's favorite and the one who did the most work put a note with her name on it into Qin San's hand. With tears in her eyes, she said in broken Chinese, "Abani, I, brother, come back, come back."

Qin San understood, kept the note as a treasure, and nodded solemnly, "Don't worry, I will definitely get him back."

May 1782, 5. The second day of the fourth month in the seventh year of the Guangzhong era in the Chinese calendar.

Just when Li Xianwen was about to capture Yanchang Fort and end the Battle of Lanzhou, Chen Lian finally dug a trench under the old Fort William at the cost of 34,087 Indian deaths.

There are a total of five S-shaped trenches. After about 500 meters from the castle, a zigzag surrounding trench will be dug horizontally, and the excavated soil will be piled up to form a breastwork.

The cannons were placed behind these breastworks. Under the cover of the breastworks, they fired upwards at the top of the city walls with cannons, or fired indirect fire with large-caliber mortars.

If the artillery on the city wall still cannot be completely removed, they will have to risk moving forward to about 300 meters, digging another surrounding zigzag trench and then building a breastwork.

Three hundred meters is a very dangerous distance for both sides.

Since the besieging army is definitely at an advantage in terms of resources and numbers, the bastion will be captured in no time.

When the Indian Expeditionary Force attacked the Old William Redoubt, they dug two circular serrated trenches, reaching a distance of 300 meters, and achieved good results.

The amount of work is terrifying to think about. If it weren't for the almost inexhaustible Bengali manpower, Chen Lian's more than 30,000 soldiers would never have been able to dig such a trench even if they were exhausted to death.

But there is a problem now. Chen Lian wiped the cold sweat from his head. In May of the Gregorian calendar, high temperatures have begun to fall in the lower reaches of the Ganges.

The temperature is basically above 40 degrees during the day and around 32 or 33 degrees at night.

To wage a siege under such circumstances would be to gamble with one's life.

"Your Excellency, Commander Stibbert of the British Army has not responded to our calls for surrender. Do we need to send more troops in?"

Lieutenant General Sufran is good at fighting, but he is not so good at manipulating people's hearts and engaging in politics.

Chen Lian heard his question and slowly shook his head. "If we try to persuade him to surrender again, it will only make our urgency more exposed. Leave him alone."

Lieutenant General Suffren heard this and a serious look appeared on his face. He said to Chen Lian, "Your Excellency the Duke, we cannot give up now. We must at least capture Old Fort William.

Otherwise, not only will the efforts of the past six months be wasted, but next time we come, our soldiers will be more fearful and the British troops in the bastion will be more determined.

My advice is that, although it is the hottest time of the year and we will face greater challenges, we must persevere and at least capture Old Fort William before retreating to the high mountains of South India to cool down.

"I understand!" Chen Lian nodded seriously this time, because what Lieutenant General Sufran said was correct. "Pass on my military order and convene a mobilization meeting for the entire army. Have all officers above the rank of captain and sergeant major come to me."

Chen Lian learned the trick of holding mobilization meetings from Mo Zibu. When the emperor first started his career, he was very good at using mobilization meetings to confer titles on the officers below, make promises, present facts, and reason with them.

. . . .

Qin San returned to the barracks and easily found the seventeen-year-old boy named Abani. Qin San even gave him a bag of scones and two low-quality silver coins, then watched the boy, who had survived the ordeal, leave with many thanks.

Afterwards, Qin San met Huang Renyong, Luo Asheng, Hu Quan and other members of his original team.

Among them, Huang Renyong was promoted to the Shendian Guards based on his military merit of defeating the main force of the British army, and was also made the captain of ten people.

Hu Quan went to the Archery Battalion of the Left Regiment of the Imperial Guards. He didn't take charge of anyone, but his rank was promoted to captain.

Luo Asheng was selected into the personal guard of coach Chen Lian. Although he has not achieved any great military achievements yet, his future is bright.

The rest of them also basically turned their fortunes around. Even someone like Qin San, who was a bit silly, became a backbone and elite soldier of the Jingying Zhenwu Army.

Therefore, they were all qualified to attend Chen Lian's mobilization meeting and could enjoy a banquet in front of the army where they could drink strong liquor.

Under the influence of alcohol, several people had a lively discussion, and they exaggerated the top treatment they enjoyed in the countryside.

By the time Chen Lian came out to speak, these guys were already in high spirits and extremely satisfied with the treatment they received.

Therefore, when Chen Lian asked everyone to overcome difficulties and take Old Fort William before withdrawing, no one objected, and everyone cheered loudly, expressing their strong desire to fight.

This is a good era. Even in armies like the Shendian Guards and the Yulin Guards, most people were miserable when there was no Emperor Mo.

To put it bluntly, without the emperor, most of them would have been forced to work as peddlers or dig for food in the dirt.

It is a bit of an exaggeration to say that everything they have now was given by the emperor, but not too much.

After these days of vacation in various villages and towns, they realized more clearly that the benefits of taking Fort William to the emperor and the court were not that great, at least not at the moment.

But for them, it means so much.

After taking over Old Fort William, no matter what the future holds, they will be qualified to be the masters of their own little piece of land in Ballater, and the British will have to recognize it.

If they fail to defeat it, they will be losers and will never have the chance to come to Bharat to enjoy such a superior life.

This... Let alone the 40-degree heat, even if it rains knives from the sky, Old Fort William will be taken down.

"General, don't worry, we understand everything. As long as you give the order, we are willing to brave the sword and the sea of fire!"

"Yes, General, we are the soldiers of the upper kingdom. We cannot let the Mysore people look down on us. If we don't take Fort William, we will all die here!"

. . . .

In the Old William Fort, the entire bastion is smaller than the New William Fort. There is more food inside the fort, and all of it is made into pancakes and refrigerated in the cellar ice storage. There is no need to light a fire, just spread a little butter and sauce and you can eat it.

For drinking water, one can go directly to the Hooghly River to get it. Even if it is inconvenient because of the firearms, there is still a well in the fortress where one can get water.

So the real danger was that there were less than ten cannons left, and more than a hundred artillerymen were killed. Not only were there not enough gunners, but the remaining ones were all cowardly and had no sense of responsibility.

Because those who were courageous and responsible have been beaten to death.

Therefore, it was the high temperature that supported Lieutenant Giles Stibbert to continue to grit his teeth and risk being executed after the bastion was breached.

He was gambling that the Chinese army would retreat because of concerns about the high temperature.

To put it bluntly, this is a competition of perseverance.

Then, Lieutenant General Giles Stibbert lost the bet when he was worried and prayed to God for an extreme high temperature of 50 degrees.

The high temperature didn't come, but the hot shells did.

After Chen Lian's mobilization meeting, the entire army was excited. Except for the hottest period from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., they would launch artillery attacks at other times, even at night when the moon was bright.

After spending six days and seven nights in terror, Lieutenant General Giles Stibbert could no longer bear it.

Not only was his willpower unable to bear it, but his physical level was also unable to bear it.

If he continued to resist, the officers and soldiers, who were terrified of being massacred after the city was captured, would physically overwhelm him.

"Raise the white flag and inform Governor Hastings and Sir Eyre Coote that we will surrender to the Chinese and wish them good luck."

Seeing the white flag hoisted on Fort William, Warren Hastings said to those around him with a sullen face, "We cannot ask for more from Lieutenant General Stibbert and his comrades at Fort William. They have done well enough.

It will be up to us next, but there will be a period of rest. I think the army of the Chinese Empire will not be able to continue attacking. They will retreat temporarily and choose to come back around October.

That will be the real test and we must hold on so that everything you have in India can be preserved.

Gentlemen, the Kingdom of England, His Majesty King George III, requires the faithful service of each of us."

After saying this, Governor Hastings deliberately smiled and said, "I also have good news to tell you. The messengers heading to London for help set out five months ago. They should have arrived at St. James's Palace and Buckingham House by now.

At this time when North America is extremely unstable, neither the Kingdom nor His Majesty the King can abandon India.

Furthermore, our naval superiority is so great that if even a squadron could come over, the Chinese would have to retreat.”

Governor Hastings's analysis made sense, and everyone nodded in agreement. After he finished speaking, Army Commander Sir Al Kutt said solemnly:
"Gentlemen, if you do not want to lose everything, if you do not want to be locked up in a kennel by the Mysore people or put in a cage by the Chinese and sent to their capital for exhibition, if you do not want to become paupers in the future, then you had better make up your mind to persevere to the end."

May 5th in the Gregorian calendar, the ninth day of the fourth lunar month.

At a time when they knew they could hold out for no more than a month before the attack was certain to break through, Lieutenant General Giles Stibbert, commander of the British army at Old William Fort, led 1,300 European and Indian officers and soldiers of Old William Fort to surrender to the Chinese Expeditionary Force in India.

At this point, the only strongholds left for the Kingdom of England on the Indian mainland were New Fort William and the Delhi area.

　The heavy rain in Chongqing has finally come to an end, but it is said that the heavy rain will move north to eastern Henan and southwestern Shandong. Book lovers in these two places should pay attention.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)