Nanyang Storm 1864

Chapter 90: The Confrontation between Indigenous Peoples and Civilization
A cannon shot in the camp

In a blink of an eye, dozens or even hundreds of lanterns were lit, illuminating a large area outside the wooden fence, completely revealing the tragic scene that was originally shrouded in darkness.

can be seen
In and outside the deep trench about 20 meters away, there were indigenous warriors lying everywhere struggling and screaming. The shocking blood dyed the area red, and countless people were killed and injured.

What is particularly frightening is
The corpses impaled on sharp wooden stakes one after another were all in bizarre postures. The miserable deaths were so terrifying that one would inevitably have nightmares if one saw them too much.

Zheng Guohui, fully armored, appeared on the camp patrol road. He looked around with a stern expression and gave orders, "Third Battalion, attack; Fifth Battalion, stand guard. Completely eliminate all enemies within sight. Kill without mercy!"

"As you command, General."

As the gate opened, the soldiers of the third and fifth battalions slowly deployed in two groups and quickly formed a battle formation.

Both battalions were composed of 100 foreign riflemen and more than 300 sword and shield soldiers, all of whom were Chinese immigrants.

The fifth battalion faced the dark forest, with sword and shield soldiers on guard in the outermost circle, and musketeers in the inner circle, providing firepower strikes and ensuring an airtight defense.

This is to prevent the indigenous warriors from launching a counterattack and not give the enemy any opportunity to take advantage.

The soldiers of the third battalion began to fire more guns and knives, then dragged out the corpses one by one, piling them into piles, and completely cleared the battlefield.

Their actions were very efficient. In just a little more than an incense stick of time, they had cleared the battlefield, and dozens of piles of corpses appeared in the surrounding open space.

"Reporting to the general, in this battle our army killed 6 enemies, with no casualties. We also suffered wounded, including one soldier who was shot in the face by a bone arrow, injuring an eye."

"Very good! Our soldiers worked together and won a decisive victory over the barbarians. This general will reward everyone. Each soldier who participated in the battle will receive 5 taels of silver, the wounded will receive 10 taels of silver, and officers will receive double that."

"Thank you, General, for your generous reward."

After hearing this, the soldiers in the entire camp burst into cheers again and again, and their morale was extremely high.

Zheng Guohui then issued an order: "The third and fifth battalions must return immediately, close the camp gates tightly, and all soldiers must sleep with their clothes on. Under no circumstances are they allowed to leave the camp to fight."

After clearing the battlefield, the soldiers of the third and fifth battalions retreated cautiously under the cover of sword and shield soldiers.

He was attacked by several bone arrows on the way, but did not fight back.

With a "bang" the gate closed tightly, and the lanterns on the camp fence went out one after another, and the light became dim again.

The blazing bonfire was located in a pile of firewood dozens of meters away from the camp, but it still illuminated the open area of ​​more than a hundred meters.

These dozen or so piles of firewood are not made up of firewood alone. The bottom is made up of large pieces of split dry wood. Once ignited, they can continue to burn for more than an hour.

On top of the dry wood are wood chips that are more flammable. They are a thick layer of wood chips that were chopped off with knives and axes when building camps and houses.

On top is the collected hay, and a lot of black powder is sprinkled in it. When the rocket is fired, it can explode quickly.

This battle, which took place late at night, lasted for about an hour.

All the soldiers retreated into the camp, the tall gate was closed tightly, and the dark shadow of the huge camp seemed like a monster that devoured lives.

This made the indigenous warriors who were still hiding in the jungle and refused to leave have red eyes and were furious, but they were helpless.

They couldn't leave and wouldn't leave.

Among the dozens of corpses piled in the open area, there were tribal chiefs, respected elders, fathers, brothers and relatives who had been with them day and night. Now they were all devoured by the devil and turned into cold corpses.

in the jungle

Uncontrollable sobs and low growls filled the air. Too many indigenous warriors were trembling with fear, their eyes dull as they muttered to themselves, "They are not human, they are demons..."

This feeling of powerlessness was a huge blow to these brave mountain natives and destroyed all their beliefs.

They were reluctant to leave, just wanting to wait until the bonfire went out and darkness enveloped the forest again, so that they could have a chance to secretly take the bodies away and return to the tribe for burial.

According to tribal totem beliefs

Born in the mountains, buried in the mountains. We cannot let the souls of our people be lonely and helpless.

There were less than a thousand indigenous warriors who managed to survive, and most of the tribal chiefs and backbones were killed. Most of them were killed because they were the first to charge. There was not even a leader left.

Finally, a dozen or so older natives stood up and after discussing together, they decided;
Although the demonic enemy is terrifying, no matter how dangerous it is, they still have to steal the bodies of the chief, elders and some relatives and let their souls return to their ancestral land under the protection of the totem.

In the camp at this moment
Dong Sanzhu, the captain of the Night Guards who had already retreated, was sitting on the patrol road, his legs dangling in the air, a loaded foreign rifle in his arms, and chatting with Zheng Gui, the deputy captain of the personal guards.

"Captain Zheng, do you think these barbarians will come and steal the bodies?"

"Nine out of ten."

"So sure?"

"Sanzhuzi, you can't make subjective judgments on everything. You must analyze it and make your judgments based on reason and evidence to convince others!"

"Sir Zheng, isn't speaking in such a flowery manner quite suitable for you?"

"Hmph, to be honest with you, this is the principle I learned from the General. Sanzhuzi, don't look at me like that. Can't I, Zheng Gui, make progress?"

"No, don't worry, you know that's not what I meant. We're from the same village, we've known each other since childhood. Officer Zheng was able to help me when he got promoted. How could I be so ignorant?"

"Okay, you know what's going on."

"I'm getting off track again, Commander Chen. How can you be so sure those barbarians would come and steal the body?"

"Isn't it obvious?" Zheng Gui curled his lips, took out the bamboo kettle calmly, uncorked it, took a sip of water, and then continued complacently;

"You have to analyze. If you don't use your brain, it will be a mess. If you don't use your brain, you will be stupid.

Look

These barbarians refused to obey the king, knew no etiquette, no sense of propriety, and were known for their aggressiveness and bravery, acting on instinct. However, they also had something to fear: reverence for totems, mountain spirits, and river gods, and the status of tribal priests was particularly high.

You saw it last night. We killed at least 20 or 30 tribal priests, as well as so many chiefs and tribal leaders.

If we let these people die outside without even bringing their bodies back, do you think the people left behind in the indigenous tribes will tear them apart?"

"Well, it's hard to explain, but the natives don't seem to be so particular, right?"

"As your elder brother, let me teach you. If you have nothing to do, use your brain more and figure out what's going on. You'll improve over time."

"Is there such a good thing?"

"Hmph, take advantage of this opportunity to take a nap, the night will not be quiet."

As Zheng Gui spoke, he tightened his clothes, leaned against the wooden fence and closed his eyes, not wanting to chat anymore.

They were all sitting on the patrol trail now, and at a glance, they could see dozens of musketeers sitting on this side of the wooden fence.

Most of them were holding guns in their hands, leaning against the wooden fence with their eyes closed and dozing off. Some of them had already started snoring.

The so-called "patrol trail" is a horizontal path built on the inside of the wooden fence of the camp, about 1.4 meters away from the sharpened top of the fence, and is paved with more than ten wooden sticks as thick as ankles.

Below it are the horizontal and diagonal braces of the wooden fence, forming a stable structure.

On weekdays, soldiers can guard and stand guard along the patrol trails, and in wartime they can climb onto the patrol trails to fight, which can effectively defend against foreign enemies.

The height of 1.4 meters is just right to the chest of an average person.

Soldiers can shoot arrows with bows inside the camp, or they can fire volleys with their guns. They can use any kind of guns or homemade cannons. Generally, they form two lines of defense together with friendly forces defending in deep trenches to support each other.

But that was a method used by large troop groups in domestic wars, and it was not applicable in the battles to eliminate the indigenous peoples during the overseas expeditions to the south.

Therefore, the deep trench dug outside was simply used as an obstacle, with no soldiers guarding it.

The General has said this many times;

The lives of 100 indigenous people are not as valuable as the lives of a single Chinese soldier.

The soldiers were deeply moved when they heard this. The general not only said this, but also did it.

In the middle of the night
The general did not order his soldiers to pursue the victory. The jungle is dangerous and complicated, and if they are not careful, they will suffer heavy losses.

To be cautious, he decided to quit while he was ahead, closed the gate tightly, and waited for the opportunity to attack the fallen dog.

These indigenous warriors hiding deep in the jungle watched as time passed and the light of the campfires in the open areas grew dimmer and dimmer, until they went out one after another.

The embers of the large pile of firewood drifted away in the evening breeze, flashing large amounts of dazzling sparks, like a group of fireflies dancing, which quickly disappeared in an instant.

This made the indigenous warriors eager to take action. They waited until all the fires were extinguished and then started stealing the bodies under the cover of night.

Who knew that at this moment
Suddenly, more than ten rockets were fired from the camp, some of which hit the ground and some hit the pile of firewood.

There was a loud bang of flames, and one, two, three, four new piles of firewood were ignited and immediately burned fiercely.

The sudden brightness of the flames startled everyone and brought the mood of the natives hiding in the dense forest to the freezing point.

They forgot about it.

There were more than twenty piles of firewood outside the camp. More than a dozen of them were lit when the battle started, and there were still a few piles left that had not been lit, which were ignored intentionally or unintentionally.

The rekindling of the fire at this time almost shattered the natives' wishful thinking.

The new pile of firewood was lit again and it took more than an hour to burn. If it was delayed for another hour, it would be dawn.

By then, once the demon army attacks, it’s chilling to think about it.

If it really doesn't work, then we have no choice but to rob it by force.

These natives were really forced into a desperate situation and quickly took action.

One or two hundred people rushed out from all directions of the dense forest. They came to the open area illuminated by the campfire and were immediately discovered by the sentries in the camp.

These natives rushed towards the pile of corpses regardless of anything, picked up one and started to retreat, just like vicious dogs snatching food.

"Beep, beep, beep..." A quick copper whistle sounded.

At the rear of the camp, a row of musketeers stood up and followed the commander's orders, "Raise your guns, aim... and fire!"

“Pah pah pah… pah pah pah pah…”

The crisp sound of volleys of gunfire rang out again, and the hot bullets whizzed out, shooting towards the indigenous warriors who had no way to hide dozens of meters away. It was especially clear to see from above.

The ruthless bullets dug holes in the bodies of the natives one after another, blood splattered out, and they fell down like wheat being cut.

The soldiers standing on the patrol trail quickly changed their guns and, at the commander's command, aimed and fired a volley, easily shooting down the natives as if they were shooting at close range.

The soldiers standing below quickly reloaded the empty rifles and handed them up again.

After just a few rounds of shooting, another one hundred and thirty or forty corpses fell around the camp. It took only a few minutes. It was an efficient killing.

At this moment

The natives hiding in the dense forest could no longer suppress their extreme grief and fear, and began to howl and cry loudly, and strange tones of prayer were heard.

In this deep night, it looks so strange and desolate, and contains a deep sense of powerlessness.

The confrontation between the indigenous people and civilization was a complete defeat!
(End of this chapter)