Kowloon wins

Chapter 1132 Outsmarting Malacca ([-])

Machine guns have always been the natural nemesis of mass charges, not to mention that the Britons are slowly pressing forward in a neat line at this moment. For the Qing army who had been prepared for a long time, they are simply a group of deadly targets. Fighting is really a little bit of pressure Nothing, under the cross-fire of 24 machine guns, the phalanx of the Britons was crippled, and the rows of soldiers fell to the ground like wheat that had been cut, and the howling sounded one after another. The ground rang together, and those who died died in vain, and those who did not die didn't care about military orders or not. They turned around and fled wildly back. Seeing this, the Qing army Naturally, they would not let go of such a great opportunity to beat the dogs in the water, and another sweeping sweep caused the people of Great Britain to be killed and injured. Of the 450 or so people before the battle, less than half of them really managed to escape.

"Withdraw, withdraw!"

Colonel John McKenzie didn't go into battle in person before, but hid behind. Seeing the fierce firepower of the Qing army, how could he have the slightest fighting spirit at all, and he didn't care that there were still many wounded soldiers on the street. Howling endlessly, he roared in panic, and took the lead and fled back towards the barracks.

"Stop shooting!"

Although the attack of the Britons was successfully repelled, Wang Kuan did not give the order to pursue him, but seeing him raise his hand, he stopped all his subordinates who were shooting happily, and let the remnants of the enemy back into the city Go, nothing else, the Marine Corps has only one mission, and that is to control the various forts and city gates. As for clearing up the remnants of the enemy, that is not what the Marine Corps officers and soldiers should do, and they have their own follow-up The army will complete this matter, Wang Kuan does not want to throw his elite group into brutal street fighting.

"Brigadier, look quickly, the support fleet has arrived!"

The Britons did not dare to attack again, and the Qing Marine Corps did not attack. The situation on the battlefield was unavoidably dull, but this dullness did not last long. With the exclamation of a sentinel, a large-scale army A small Qing army fleet has already appeared on the outskirts of the port.

At five o'clock, although the sun had not yet risen, the sky had already brightened. On the sea, amidst the mist, nearly forty warships of various types of the Qing army were coming, but not all of them approached the pier. Two nautical miles away from the pier , the main force of the fleet has slowed down, only a medium-sized warship escorting a large troop carrier and a supply ship are still galloping towards the port at an unabated speed. The ground lifted anchor and fled towards the other end of the port. Although the Qing fleet had seen it, it did not try to stop it, allowing merchant ships from various countries to flee towards Malacca in a panic.

"Zhong Dayuan, head of the First Brigade and First Regiment of the First Division of the Fifth Army, has been ordered to take over the defense. General Wang please express it!"

The three warships of the Qing army arrived at the port very quickly, and the landing operation began in an orderly manner with the sound of passwords. After a while, a colonel and several staff officers rushed to the top of the city and headed towards the king. Wide is a standard military salute, and he asked for instructions loudly.

"Colonel Zhong came at the right time. Although the enemy army in the city has been defeated by our marines, they have not fled far. It is estimated that there are more than [-] remnants of the enemy. In addition, there is still a company of enemy troops at the Johor Fort. You must not underestimate the enemy. Advancing."

The navy and the army have never been in the same system. The relationship is just like that, not to mention how close they are. Facing Zhong Dayuan's respectful request for instructions, Wang Kuan just explained it in a business-like manner.

"Yes, please rest assured, General Wang. Our department should act cautiously. In addition, Commander He has an order to ask General Wang to go to the flagship immediately to discuss matters."

Zhong Dayuan is a graduate of the first phase of the Central Military Academy, and participated in the Western Expedition, so he doesn't pay much attention to the remnant enemies in the city. He obviously doesn't care about Wang Kuan's warning. It can be regarded as respectful, but in fact it is just a superficial article. It is precisely because of this that Zhong Dayuan suffered a lot when he led his troops to attack the Johor Fort.

"report!"

Wang Kuan gathered the troops scattered everywhere, and after completing the handover with Zhong Dayuan's headquarters, he rushed to the flagship "Singing" in a small boat without any delay, and was led by an officer of the headquarters to the fleet war room At this moment, the inside was already full of generals at all levels. Seeing this, Wang Kuan didn't dare to be careless, and hurriedly raised his hand as a military salute.

"General Wang has worked hard, take your seat!"

He Lin is also from the bodyguard today, and he was originally a colleague of Wang Kuan, but He Lin was lucky. He was released a few years earlier than Wang Kuan, and directly joined the newly formed navy, and then he was promoted step by step. Up to now, he is the commander of the South China Sea Fleet, a dignified admiral-level senior official, and one of the top generals in the entire Qing army series. Putting on airs, he greeted Wang Kuan very kindly.

"Yes!"

The army is the place that pays the most attention to the difference between superiors and inferiors. Although they have excellent personal relationships, Wang Kuan never dared to behave like Meng Lang during such a military meeting, so he just respectfully agreed and walked quickly to the An empty chair on the left took a seat.

"Now that everyone is here, let's start, Colonel Sun, introduce the enemy!"

He Lin has always been a very straightforward person. Once Wang Kuan took his seat, he announced the start of the meeting directly without any opening greetings.

"Yes!"

Colonel Sun, whose real name is Sun Zhentao, is the colonel of the Special Operations Section of the Overseas Intelligence Bureau. He is solely responsible for the intelligence work of the Nanyang War. He stood up, responded respectfully, clapped his hands, and two officers from the intelligence bureau who accompanied him hung a map on the bulkhead.

"Everyone, please see that this is the Famosa Castle. It was first built in the late Ming Dynasty, and it was built in succession. In the last years of Kangxi, when the Dutch invaded Malacca, the Portuguese fought fiercely with the Dutch for a long time based on this castle. With the secret support of the predecessor of the Qing Dynasty Overseas Intelligence Bureau, the weak defeated the strong in one fell swoop, and the Dutch, who would commit crimes in the future, were severely defeated in the city. Expansion, and now a fortress castle with four blockhouses, two watchtowers and pentagonal walls has been built, covering an area of ​​about four miles. In addition, there is a blockhouse-shaped fortress on the top of St. Among them, the left turret has 38 heavy artillery pieces, ten of which are facing inland, and the remaining 28 are aimed at the strait. The right turret has 42 heavy artillery pieces, twelve of which are facing inland, and thirty are used to block the strait. The 230 heavy cannons in the city were enough to seal off the waterway at the mouth of the Malacca River. The total number of Portuguese garrisons in various places was about [-], of which there were more than [-] garrisons in the St. [-], and the remaining [-] are permanently stationed in the castle of Famosa."

As soon as the map was hung up, Sun Zhentao walked to the map at a brisk pace, pointing at the map with a thin stick, while introducing the enemy's situation in detail.

"This is the first introduction to the enemy's situation. Now that our army has captured Temasek, the news must have leaked out. The Portuguese must have prepared for it. If they think about a surprise attack, it may be impossible. However, in order to ensure that our army sweeps Nanyang No worries, it is imperative to take down the castle of Famosa, this battle can be won without losing, if you have any good suggestions, you can put them here."

He Lin did not comment on what Sun Zhentao said, nor did he rush to ask questions. Instead, he waved his hand to signal Sun Zhentao to step aside first, then looked around the generals solemnly, and gave an order in an unquestionable tone.

"My lord, the general thinks that the Portuguese's four positions are forming horns. If we attack from the front, even if our army can win, the damage will not be small. It is not good for the battle. We should use wisdom as the first priority. The general is willing to lead his troops as the vanguard. First take down the left and right forts of the enemy's St. Paul's Fortress, and cooperate with the main force to attack the Famosa Castle head-on!"

As soon as He Lin finished speaking, Wang Kuan stood up and made a loud suggestion.

"Well, Colonel Sun, does your Overseas Intelligence Agency have any arrangements for this?"

He Lin would not object to Wang Kuan's proposal, probably because this was one of the plans before the war, but the plan was the plan. When it came time to implement it, there were still countless changes that had to be taken into consideration. Therefore, He Lin was not in a hurry to express his opinion on Wang Kuan's proposal, but first threw the question to Sun Zhentao.

"Returning to the commander, our Overseas Intelligence Bureau has manpower on both the left and right fortresses. It should not be difficult to cooperate with General Wang. Only the Portuguese are in charge of the Sao Paulo fortress. Only when supplies are delivered, will servants enter. Now that the war is imminent, the St. Paul Fortress should be under martial law, and it may be difficult to send people into it."

Hearing He Lin's question, Sun Zhentao didn't dare to neglect, and hurriedly introduced the corresponding deployment of the Overseas Intelligence Bureau.

"What does Brigadier Wang think of this?"

He Lin frowned slightly and pondered for a while, but still didn't make a decision, but looked at Wang Kuan with an inquiring gaze, and asked a question cautiously.

"Please rest assured, Commander, the general will guarantee to take down the left and right fortresses. As for the attack on St. Paul's Fortress, I'm afraid it's not the commander of our Marine Corps, and the division commander must send his troops to cooperate with the attack!"

Although Wang Kuan wanted to fight with all his heart, he was by no means greedy for merit. After thinking about it for a while, he solemnly made the promise.

"Well, what does Master A think?"

He Lin has been in the navy for a long time, so he knows that although the Marine Corps is an elite division, in terms of equipment, it is only suitable for surprise attacks, not for launching strong attacks. He will not be very dissatisfied with Wang Kuan's answer. He threw the question to Asha, the commander of the First Division of the Fifth Army who had been sitting silently by the side.

"Don't worry, Commander He. In the end, I will send two regiments of the first brigade to attack, and cooperate with General Wang's troops to take down St. Paul's Fortress!"

Ah Siha is a veteran of the Qing Dynasty army, and he has been appointed as the brigade commander for a long time. Although he has never participated in the Western Expedition, he has made great achievements in suppressing the rebellion of the eight masters. Now he is officially appointed as the general , but as the deputy commander of the Fifth Army and the post of commander of the first division, in terms of status, he is not inferior to He Lin, but he did not have a strong desire to fight for command power because of this, but extremely He responded cooperatively.

"Well, let's make this decision first, pass on the general's order, and the main force of the fleet will immediately advance to Malacca!"

Now that the matter has been agreed upon, He Lin has no hesitation, and as soon as the case is settled, he makes the final decision...

(End of this chapter)