Please

Fifty-nine, our friends all over the world (Part 1)

Fifty-nine, our friends all over the world (Part 1)

The "Clock" currently on Feli is a large ocean-going warship with a displacement of 11oo tons. The keel and mast are made of elm, while the boards are mainly the strongest oak. They are also wrapped in copper plates that are preventing seaworms and salt water from eroding the oak.

The three main masts of the "Clock" warship can be hung up to 36 sails, with a maximum sailing degree of about 12 knots. However, the Yangtze River was insufficient at this time and was moving westward against the current, so it could only be used to slowly walk around 6 knots at most.

Because we are not familiar with the Yangtze River channel deep into the inner 6, the fleet must often reduce sails, put down the boats, and let sailors take ropes to measure the depth of the channel. We must also anchor and moor every night to avoid stranding and hitting the reefs.

So, during this slow and boring voyage, Feili felt that she was about to be bored.

However, according to the old sailors on the boat chatting, this raid that went up the river and advanced to Nanjing was already the most relaxed and pleasant battle they felt - the wind was always calm and the kitchen would not be able to make a fire due to the bumpy wind, and you could eat hot meals every meal; what was flowing under your feet was not sea water but fresh water, and you could take a shower every day; the enemy had almost no decent resistance, it was better to say it was an armed parade, or a visit from outside...

On paper, since the Xianglong Empire moved south to Jinling to establish its capital, it attaches great importance to river defense and coastal defense for the safety of the capital. In Chongming Island at the mouth of the Yangtze River, Nantong on the north bank, Jiangyin on the south bank, Zhenjiang on the south bank, and Mufu Mountain on the south bank, and Mufu Mountain on the capital, all built fortresses. Theoretically, once an enemy fleet invaded, it could be blocked layer by layer, and eventually the opponent would retreat in panic.

However, this kind of thing on paper is always far from the facts, especially for a decaying dynasty that has reached its extreme. During the attack by Feili, the above-mentioned series of river defense fortresses have not yet been effectively resisted.

First, the Chongming Island Fortress on the front line has been delayed due to lack of funds and embezzlement. It is still an unfinished national defense project. Apart from a rammed earth foundation, there is no artillery, so naturally there is no blocking resistance.

The next Nantong Fort was completed and the equipment was quite complete. Unfortunately, not long ago, tens of thousands of mobs of the Demon Cult rose up and swept across various prefectures and counties in Nantong. The imperial guards scattered, and Kong Zhang, the eunuch of the Salt Field Guard, died in battle. The prefect and the Green Camp guards abandoned their posts and fled. The Jiangfang Fort in Nantong naturally became a pile of ruins in the melee... As a result, they were disarmed by themselves. Not to mention resistance, there was no one who wanted to ask the court for their emergency.

Behind it is Jiangyin Fortress. Looking from the foggy river, the fortress looks majestic and tall, with a very majestic appearance. But strangely, when the small boat was sent to reconnaissance, there were no people on the fortress, and there were groups of crows and wild dogs gathering, as if they had been abandoned. There were no traces of the army on the shore, only a few sloppy idle people standing on the river embankment, pointing at the fleet on the water with interest. When Western sailors were rowing a small sampan, they waved to them with a smile.

Although he was very puzzled by the strange attitude of Jiangyin Fortress's "peaceful and friendly" and "opening the door to welcome visitors from all countries", General Feili Taylor was not willing to be troubled, and he refused to pay the already nervous yao, so he passed safely.

——It was not until a long time later that Feili Taylor learned from a certain channel that during the construction of the Jiangyin Fort, the relevant departments were desperately deducting funds and the efforts of officials of all sizes, they were tortured into a completely degraded tofu project. There were unethical design structures that cut corners and despise human lives, such as replacing rammed earth with city bricks, and using rotten wood as beams and pillars. However, in order to pursue style, the local officials in charge of this matter built the fort itself very tall, which resulted in the foundation of the fort being unstable and soon became a dangerous house.

Therefore, as early as the plum rain season in early July this year, the Jiangyin Fortress destroyed the wall foundation due to heavy rain, which caused the arsenal, granary, commander's station and barracks where soldiers lived to have large-scale collapse accidents, crushing more than 300 people to death on the spot, and then deducting 700% of the quotas used by the guards to earn empty wages. In fact, the defenders of the Jiangyin Fortress were almost reimbursed.

Faced with such a big basket that was enough to remove a black hat, local military and political officials did not dare to report it at all, so they had to find ways to hide it for a while before talking about it, and were worried every day. Fortunately, within a few days, there were demon sects in the capital, and the entire Jiangnan was in a big state. The court fell into a semi-paralyzed state and there was no need to check the collapse of the Jiangyin Fort. Finally, the Jiangyin County Magistrate and the general officers of the garrison fort were survived by this period.

But this time bomb was not lifted after all. As the saying goes, the fire cannot be kept, which made several adults feel very worried. When they heard someone's return, the Western fleet rushed up the river, and the officials were celebrating for a moment - now there is an excuse to deal with it!

So, after a summary, the Jiangyin County Magistrate and the Jiangyin General immediately reported together: dozens of Western warships suddenly appeared on the river surface, with sails covering the sky and the sun. The Jiangfang Fort fired and intercepted the fire, and most of the artillery were destroyed. The enemy did not stop after breaking through the Jiangfang Defense, and now it has gone up the river and is directly on the imperial capital Nanjing. I hereby cry for blood and war! Several other people who have fought and made meritorious requests for commendation, and several those who have died in the battlefield requested pensions...

At the next stop of the Yangzhou Fort, Feili's Naserel Far East Fleet was unexpectedly warmly welcomed. It turned out that the fort here had been captured by the eunuch general under the sect of the Yayian master and the former commander of the Jingjun, Eunuch Guo Boguo, and was also considered to have joined the revolutionary camp.

Since the Office of Internal Affairs was brutally wiped out, this Eunuch Guo has been wandering around the capital of the capital in recent years, and his eunuch party has many remnants. Last month, he just started a large number of believers in the Demon Cult in Zhenjiang, but was defeated by the foreign gun team leader Anerle and had to cross the river to flee north. However, he turned around and relied on the party members to cooperate with each other and seized the Yangzhou Fort in Jiangbei, and used this as a base to build Jiangbei, which scared the officials and soldiers in Yangzhou City to be frightened and kept their doors away.

The eunuch party leader Ya Yian was led by the Far East Fleet to fight together because he was proficient in the geography of the Gyeonggi. As a result, when the two sides met, they really met fellow villagers, and their eyes were filled with tears. Not only did Guo Bo and Guo let the fort salutes be released smoothly, he also gathered hundreds of elite party members and personally led the Naserel fleet to act together, attempting to return to Jiangnan and make a comeback.

The Grand Duke of Yayi'an himself disembarked the ship and sat in the Yangzhou Fortress, which was to guard the rear of the invading fleet and to raise his flag more conveniently, so as to further gather more eunuchs and create greater momentum.

So, the Naserel Far East Fleet, which invaded the Yangtze River channel, walked peacefully to September 22nd without any trouble, and finally arrived at the last gateway to the eastern defense line of the Empire's capital, Zhenjiang Fortress.

Because the march was extremely smooth, the morale of the entire fleet was high. Now, Feili has 730 guns of various types, more than 50 field guns of the 6th Army, 500 warriors from the Japanese Islands, 60 Elf female warriors, 800 werewolves slave soldiers sponsored by Consul Sel, more than 200 technical troops such as artillery, cavalry, scouts, etc., and the former commander of the Jing army, Eunuch Guo Bo, brought more than 400 outlaws. It may be a bit insufficient to attack the imperial capital Jinling, but if you land on the 6th and attack a small and medium-sized city like Zhenjiang, it would be more than enough.

Moreover, according to the words of Guo Bo and Guo, although he was defeated and fled to the north the last time, there were still many party members ambushing in Zhenjiang. As long as he raised his arms and shouted, thousands of troops would be gathered immediately. Wen Desi's Democratic Alliance Party, assassination Group, Blood Flower Society and other small revolutionary party groups also sent representatives to Feili's fleet, intending to join forces to start the matter. At that time, everyone will work together inside and outside, and they will definitely be able to destroy all resistances of the imperial garrison.

——It is obvious that the army alone entered the hinterland of the enemy's capital, but not only did not encounter any fierce resistance, but could quickly attract so many "enthusiastic leaders who bring their own dry food" in the outskirts of the enemy... This is really "our friends all over the world"!

Therefore, for the ambitious Admiral Fili Taylor, the only problem at the moment is... where is this Zhenjiang Fortress?

After approaching the Zhenjiang waters, he had already taken the "Defense Map of the Lower Reaches of the Yangtze River" that Eunuch Guo found from the Yangzhou Fort, and carefully looked back and forth more than ten times, but he was always unable to match the scenery in front of him with the logo in the map!

To give the simplest example, according to the map, the place where the main fortress of Zhenjiang Fortress should have been built, he used a telescope to see only a bare hill. Apart from the weeds and low shrubs, there were not even a few decent trees. Only a deserted and dilapidated temple stood on it and another equally dilapidated pagoda, which made Feili confused.

Well, could the engineering troops of the Xianglong Empire be so perverted that they hollowed out the entire mountain and installed fortress cannons inside? Do they really have this kind of technical ability? Or did they use some illusion?

Thinking of this, he chanted the spell in a low voice, casting a spell of "real vision" on himself, and then looked at the mountain again, but there was still only a deserted desolation in his eyes... For a moment, Feili felt that his mind was almost about to be in trouble and was completely confused.

What exactly is going on?!!

Could it be that the enemy really has the legendary "battlefield magician" who can move mountains and fill the seas and hide the fortress invisibly?!

Such an unreasonable and strange situation made Feili, who was cautious, wondered. So he ordered the reduction of sails and ordered people to summon the old man Guo Bo and Guo who were on a cargo ship behind, wanting him, a local snake, to give Mijin guidance.

————————————————————————————————————————————————————

A moment later, Guo Bo, who was summoned by the commander, changed to a hand-rowed boat and came to Feili's flagship. However, he did not come alone, but brought a bunch of ships loaded with various cargoes, as well as a number of smart hawkers with flattering smiles.

"...We're selling watermelons! Sweet and crispy big watermelons! A few military officials, do you want to try it? It's absolutely not worth it if you don't have sweetness!"

"...Selling water chestnuts! It's so fresh! It only costs four cents per pound!"

"... Come and buy it! The fragrant twists and flowers! There are freshly fried candy chestnuts and peanuts! Three flavors of crispy crumbs!"

"...The best Shaoxing rice wine! Aged for five years! Only three taels of silver per jar!"

"...The five-spice roasted ji just out! It's hot! Oil dripping on it! There are also sweet and sour pork ribs, salted water braised duck..."

"...Mr. Master, look, we have radishes, lettuce and cabbage that have just been dug out of the field, and all of them have morning dewdrops hanging! What? Do you still want fresh oranges and tomatoes? This is easy to deal with. We have planted them in our backyard. We will send them to you immediately afterwards..."

Accompanied by the enthusiastic shouts of the vendors, the originally murderous armed fleet suddenly turned into a bustling water market. Between each ship of the Naserel Far East Fleet, there were small sampans shuttled back and forth, and there were hanging baskets and d flying in the air to allow sailors or translators to bargain, and then pulled various fresh foods onto the deck...

Standing on the side of the towering ship and looking at the strange scene of "military and civilians" below, Feili didn't know what was going on, but always felt very entangled in her heart: I had always thought I was a hated invader!

In fact, given that our troops were too weak and had to go deep into the hinterland of the enemy country, in order to avoid arousing the locals' self-resistance, General Fili Taylor tried his best to emphasize discipline and strictly prohibit private plundering, which led to public anger.

In order to calm the morale of the army and inspire morale, he even reluctantly opened his small treasury and paid all the officers and soldiers a full salary of three months, so as not to become greedy wolves due to poverty... but it also made Feili's private savings very little.

In this way, in the recent days of advancing along the river, the discipline of the Naserel Far East Fleet has been maintained well. Occasionally, under the leadership of the revolutionary party's insider, they all landed onshore to collect supplies, and they purchased at a modest price, never infringing on the people... Because the fleet seamen had just received a raise, they were generous, and they were all shining and exquisite gold and silver coins, they were definitely not comparable to the inferior minted coins of copper, two leads and eight under the rule of Emperor Kant, and many impurities of black silver, they became extremely popular customers in the local market for a time. When the Naserel Fleet advanced upstream, a group of business vendors emerged from behind, and followed closely in various ships of all sizes and sizes!

These pioneering vendors were loaded with various fruit and fruit food and wine that interest the seamen the most, and were ready to sell them to these generous Western sailors at any time. Along the way, villagers on the riverside rowed their own boats, carrying various fruits, vegetables and homemade local wines, and were extremely enthusiastic about selling local specialties from their hometowns. In order to compete for business with the first-come, they even often had conflicts.

What is even more speechless is that in addition to these brave hawkers, Feili often has some beautifully decorated yacht pleasure boats behind the fleet and even next to them. There are many rich 1D children who are leisurely and leisurely all day long. After hearing that these foreigners were not fierce and tyrannical, they would feel at ease and boldly hired ships to follow behind. While hugging the brothel prostitutes who came from their bags to eat and drink, they admired this rare diorama: Such a magnificent fleet is difficult to see in 6 places...

In short, from rice, flour, fruits, vegetables, poultry, livestock, candy, pastries, and even oil, salt, sauce, vinegar and wine, the fleet officers and soldiers can buy them at any time on the ship, just like taking a vacation in a port. In the kitchens on each warship, sometimes without having to make a fire, you can buy cooked hot dishes with different flavors from the "water market" and enjoy them with the same warm rice wine. The price is not very expensive. With the income level of the officers and soldiers of the Naserel fleet, even the lowest-level sailors can afford it.

When the fleet was slowly sailing into the Yangzhou waters, even the prostitute ship appeared in the "water market" behind. As it was estimated that it was impossible for those sailors with strong expectations to control their lower bodies, Feili had to urgently place a large number of condoms to all the officers and soldiers to prevent the spread of the disease. When fighting in the Xinda 6 colony, the Elf Army had learned a very painful lesson in this regard.

But within half a day, he realized that he seemed to be overly worried - because in that "water market", several more traveling doctors with banners "specialized in treating flower and willow diseases and impotence" appeared, shouting and selling their special effects cream everywhere...

At the beginning, Feili was worried that the imperial navy would mix into these civilian ships and carry out raids using fireboats, thunderbolts or water devilish ships. Therefore, hawkers were not allowed to approach the fleet, and only let sailors row small boats over to go. But later, representatives of revolutionary party from all over the country came to contact the hawkers, claiming that these hawkers were their relatives and were absolutely safe and reliable, so they gradually became unprepared - and nothing happened since then.

A self-deep adventure operation would actually turn into such an exaggerated scene of a military-civilian party... General Fili Taylor, who was stunned for this, could no longer figure out whether he was an invader or a tour group.

Well, this is really "our friends all over the world"!

————————————————————————————————————————————————————

ps: Guess where the fortress went?
Chapter completed!