Nanyang Storm 1864

Chapter 83 Three Armies Arrive Together
"Thank you for your hard work, everyone.

Your successful action marked the first step in China's colonial expansion into Southeast Asia. It has indelible historical significance and will surely be remembered by the Chinese nation and future generations.

Everyone should feel proud and honored to be born into this world. What a great honor it is.

Follow in the footsteps of this general and create immortal achievements!

By participating in this vigorous South Seas colonial movement, your names will surely be recorded in the monuments of history and become legends admired by future generations.

Those who have contributed loyalty and made outstanding achievements to the king's cause will be allowed to be enshrined in the Taimiao, receive incense and sacrifices from generation to generation, and be respected by their descendants.

This is the starting point of our colonization, but it will never be the end.

My soldiers who went south to explore the new land can now cheer...

Long live the Chinese nation! "

Zheng Guohui delivered a highly inflammatory impromptu speech in front of more than 10,000 soldiers and immigrants, pumping his fists and cheering.

A dozen soldiers with loud voices repeated his words verbatim, reaching everyone's ears.

The voice fell
There was a thunderous response from the Davao dock, with soldiers and immigrants kneeling on the ground and shouting in unison;
"Long live the Chinese nation, long live, long live!"

"Long live the General, long live the General, long live the General!"

At the Davao port

Zheng Guohui no longer concealed his ambition and even said such rebellious words as "being entitled to be worshipped in the Taimiao", which confirmed his rebellious intentions.

The Taimiao is the ancestral temple of emperors of all dynasties. "Being enshrined in the Taimiao" refers to the high honor that important officials of the court can receive in the emperor's ancestral temple after their death due to their meritorious deeds during their lifetime.

The honor of "being enshrined in the Taimiao" for meritorious officials has always been the highest courtesy bestowed by the imperial court on ministers. They enjoyed great power during their lifetime and were honored after their death. This honor refers to this honor.

This is an incredible temptation for anyone who aspires to achieve great things.

Everyone present burst into great enthusiasm. Nearly 2 people (more than 1600 immigrants from the large fleet, more than 2000 advance team members, more than 2300 people in the first wave of arrivals, and more than boatmen and sailors) witnessed this exciting moment and were all very excited.

If the name is not correct, the words will not be correct.

Even a thug or a gangster would have to "plant a flag and raise a stick". The general's words today ignited a strong desire to achieve success in everyone's heart.

Of all the people present

Most of them came from the former Taiping rebels, who were typical traitors. Now that they are here again, it feels natural to accept them.

The rest were mainly soldiers recruited from the Tongzhou militia and the surrounding prefectures and counties in northern Jiangsu. In this era when clan concepts were stronger than the imperial court, they naturally supported the general with all their strength.

After a brief speech, a large group of immigrants were organized to enter Davao City and settle down temporarily.

Of the 2000 elite soldiers Zheng Guohui brought with him on this trip, 200 remained in Sanbaoyan, and the rest were brought to Davao and placed in barracks.

Commander Zheng Shouxin had been prepared for this. In addition to vacating a large number of houses in the city, he also established two large resettlement camps on the outskirts of the city, each of which could accommodate more than 3,000 people.

Even so
The number of immigrants following the general south far exceeded expectations. As a last resort, they had to urgently activate the military's reserve tents and set up two tent camps.

Davao City
Zheng Guohui set up his headquarters in the city hall building on the side of St. Peter's Basilica. It was a two-story stone building with a strong Spanish style, a spacious backyard and more than ten bungalows in an "L" shape.

Zheng Guohui, Zheng Shouxin and their main staff all lived here, while military commanders Qian Jiang and Zheng Shun and others lived in the barracks, not far away.

That evening
Zheng Shouxin and others who arrived first held a welcome dinner for the general. All military and political leaders attended, and it was naturally a festive and lively occasion.

Next morning
Zheng Guohui convened a secret meeting of military and political leaders behind closed doors. No one else knew the content of the meeting.

But after the meeting, the military and political leaders' excited faces were all red, and they speculated

I guess the general has been fed a lot of chicken soup for the soul. It is certain that he will be given an official position and made a wish. There may also be hope that he will be awarded a title for his merits. This is what everyone desires.

As long as the general ascends the supreme throne, everyone will be his loyal subjects, their wives and children will be given titles, and they will become wealthy and powerful people in the kingdom, with their descendants inheriting the throne for generations.

Whose heart wouldn’t be beating fast when thinking about these things?

After three days of rest

Zheng Guohui led the entire army to attack in three directions and began to implement a plan to completely wipe out the local indigenous resistance forces. Simply put, it was a "empty cage and replace bird" policy.

Qian Jiang led a left army of about 4000 people, including 1000 soldiers, 30 cavalry, more than 100 immigrants armed with swords and guns, and more than mule and horse carts.

The left army set out from Davao City and divided into two groups to sweep across the entire Davao Oriental region. They killed all the local indigenous people in the villages they passed through and arrested them all. Those who disobeyed were immediately killed.

Every time they passed through a village, they would leave behind an immigration control group of fifty to sixty to eighty to ninety people, and an equal number of young indigenous women to form a new immigrant village.

All other indigenous people, regardless of gender, were escorted back to Davao City. After screening, the tribal chiefs and their children, village heads, elders and educated people were all executed. Their bodies were burned and thrown into the sea.

Zheng Shun led the right army of about 4400 people, including 1000 soldiers, 47 cavalrymen, more than 130 immigrants armed with swords and guns, and more than mule and horse carts.

The right army set out from Davao City and divided into three groups to sweep across the entire Davao Occidental region. They captured all the indigenous people wherever they passed and killed those who resisted. Their policy was the same as that of the left army.

Zheng Guohui personally led the central army of about 6200 people, including 1000 soldiers, 122 cavalry, and more than armed immigrants, to conduct a massive sweep from Davao City to the north.

During pre-war deployment
Zheng Guohui emphasized that the local indigenous villages and the tribal rebel forces have a "fish and water" relationship. As long as the indigenous villages exist, the tribal rebel forces can obtain food and other supplies and launch continuous attacks.

If one wants to completely cut off the source of the tribal resistance's armed forces, then completely eliminating the indigenous villages is necessary and the only feasible way.

All the generals present have experienced unprecedented cruel civil wars, witnessed much death and destruction, and none of them are merciful.

After the order
The three armies marched out in full force, leaving behind more than 8,000 people in Davao City. They were divided into groups and began to build labor camps, set up sites for brick kilns, charcoal kilns, and iron workshops, and replan the city, among other measures, waiting for the coolies to arrive and start work.

a few days later

"Pa pa pa pa pa pa pa……"

Waves of dense and crisp volleys of gunfire rang out. Zheng Guohui stood on the mound with a grim expression. In front of him was Tagum, the main gathering town of the Visayan tribe.

Tagum is located on the banks of the fertile Davao River. The vast river and the vast plains and hills have created fertile land here and it has a long history of farming.

Tagum, a town of three to four thousand people, is surrounded by densely populated villages, crisscrossed by canals, and dotted with mosques whose tall minarets stand out. Upon hearing news of the invading army's massacre, many indigenous resistance forces converged on the area, determined to fight to the death.

The indigenous resistance forces were forced into a corner by the extermination policy of "emptying the cage and replacing the bird". Although there were many fruit trees and birds and beasts in the tropical jungles of Mindanao,

But relying on these things to fill your stomach is nothing but a pipe dream.

The most important thing is the food aid to the indigenous villages. Now the indigenous villages have been completely emptied and replaced by Han immigrants armed with foreign guns, spears and swords, which have completely blocked their way to survival.

Not to mention food, there is not even a drop of water to drink.

According to the latest order from the General
Whether in the countryside, fields or cities, any indigenous population found out of unified control will be regarded as an indigenous rebel force and will be killed without mercy.

Now, in front of Zheng Guohui, the indigenous resistance forces built barricades with the help of the buildings in Tagum Town, hiding behind them and waiting for an opportunity to counterattack, occasionally taking out their homemade guns and firing a few shots, looking quite capable.

Such a command should not be given by the indigenous tribal chiefs. Maybe the Franks are behind it.

Otherwise, how did these indigenous tribal warriors know how to build barricades?

Unfortunately, all the efforts were in vain in the face of powerful forces, and they were all useless.

Zheng Guohui gave them more than a day to gather tribal warriors, build barricades, and make all preparations to fight to the end, with the goal of catching them all in one fell swoop.

More than 10,000 people gathered in Tagum town, mainly from several large Visayan tribes. Many elderly people, women and children retreated to the mountains to avoid being affected by the war.

This is good too, as it allows me to let go and do my best.

Zheng Guohui's army attacked from the east and south. In the front were sword and shield soldiers, and behind them were musketeers responsible for firepower output. They were deployed in two rows, front and back.

To the west of Tagum Town lies the mighty Davao River, leaving only one way out to the north.

there

Zheng Guohui ambushed 120 cavalrymen and 250 musketeers, hiding them behind several hills.

Once the indigenous tribes flee from this direction, they will be brutally strangled and the possibility of escaping is almost zero. There is no suspense.

The eastern and southern armies responsible for the attack slowly approached the town of Tagum. When they saw the gathering of indigenous tribal warriors, they stopped and attacked them with long-range firepower, shooting these indigenous warriors to the ground like cutting wheat.

These indigenous chiefs were constantly being suppressed and attacked, without hurting a single enemy, but suffering hundreds of casualties themselves. Finally, they could no longer bear it.

Only a shout was heard, followed by the native warriors rushing out shouting and yelling, waving swords and guns in their hands and rushing towards the army that was ready for battle.

The distance between the two sides was about 150 meters. Looking at the indigenous tribal warriors rushing up like a tide, it only took two or three minutes for them to reach the front.

They didn't know that this was the opportunity the colonial army had been waiting for.

"First row, attention! All soldiers, raise your guns, aim, and fire..."

“Pah pah pah pah pah…Pah pah pah pah pah pah…”

"Attention, second row! All soldiers, raise your guns, aim, and fire..."

“Pah pah pah pah pah…Pah pah pah pah pah pah…”

The rifle volleys at such a close distance penetrated into the crowd like locusts. In an instant, blood splattered everywhere, screams rang out continuously, and the tribal warriors rushing in the front fell down in groups, with heavy casualties.

With each volley of musketry, more than a hundred tribal warriors fell, becoming corpses on the way forward.

After two or three rounds of volleys, the tribal warriors rushing in front had fear in their eyes. They couldn't help but stop and wanted to turn around and run away in fear.

But the crowded crowd behind him pushed forward, and finally faced a new round of volleys of gunfire in extreme fear. The hot bullets opened several bloody holes in his body, and flesh and blood flew everywhere. Finally, he fell down on the road of charging with a look of unwillingness.

The tribal armed forces endured huge casualties and rushed over a distance of more than 100 meters, leaving behind hundreds of corpses along the way, still roaring and charging desperately.

right now
The originally neatly arranged queue suddenly split apart, and eight black gun barrels appeared from the back of the queue, lowering the gun bodies to face the charging tribal warriors.

"fire!"

“Boom boom boom… boom boom boom…”

The deafening roar of cannons rang out, and countless shotgun shells were fired in an instant. With the huge kinetic energy of the muzzle, a fan-shaped blood alley was created in one shot.

Eight 8-pound field infantry guns roared and instantly cleared out more than ten layers of charging tribal warriors. Those who were at the front were beaten to the point of having their bones broken and their stomachs ripped open, a horrific sight.

The charge road was covered in blood, with corpses piled up everywhere, just like a slaughterhouse.

Such a cruel scene was like a bucket of cold water poured over their heads, sobering up the tribal warriors who had managed to survive, but they were immediately shrouded in the huge fear of death.

They all shouted and turned around and fled for their lives.

Now that you're here, it's not easy to leave.
At this time, the musketeers had reloaded their bullets and fired neat volleys at the backs of the fleeing tribal warriors, causing them to fall one after another.

The counterattacks on the east and south sides of Tagum Town mobilized nearly three thousand tribal warriors at one time. Under the fierce attack of sharp guns and artillery, they were almost queuing up to die.

In less than 10 minutes of fighting, more than half of the tribal warriors were killed or wounded, and those who fled back were frightened and turned into anxious cowards.

Where has the courage and bravery of the past gone?

"Forward! Sword and shield soldiers are responsible for finishing off the enemy and preventing them from resisting stubbornly."

The colonial team was like a cold-blooded killing machine. The swordsmen and shieldmen, holding a shield in one hand and a knife in the other, found their old memories on this bloody and cruel battlefield.

They ruthlessly harvested the lives of injured enemies, skillfully using shields to cover them and sharp blades to finish them off, leaving almost no chance for the tribal warriors to resist.

20 minutes later
Along the more than 150-meter road where the tribal warriors charged, the corpses on the ground had been largely cleared and piled up layer by layer, forming dozens of piles of corpses.

Under the commander's command, the artillery pushed the field guns forward, with two rows of sword and shield soldiers in the front, two rows of musketeers in the back, and the artillery at the back.

They approached Tagum Town step by step, but the town was dead silent, and the brave resistance just now was gone.

Like a scoundrel with a broken spine, the army's bloody massacre of indigenous warriors has greatly frightened the tribal chiefs and other high-ranking officials. Now they are all in chaos and in a state of panic all day long.

(End of this chapter)