During the Dutch colonial period, in order to show that their rule in Sri Lanka was impregnable, the Dutch built a 360,000 square meter castle in Galle. With the Dutch-style castle as the center and defense facilities, in addition to the castle, there were also defensive walls built along the coast to prevent attacks from the sea. The beach outside of Galle still had the ancient battery built by the Dutch.
The Liberation Army did not attack from the sea. The goal of the troops was to conquer the defense system centered around the castle. The outermost breakthrough did not encounter much resistance. When Second Lieutenant Qi Rui led the troops through the outer street, he saw some enemy corpses on the ground. Most of the corpses were South Asians wearing colonial clothes with their heads wrapped. There were only a few corpses of lobster soldiers. These people were basically shot in the head and chest. The barricade did not give them much protection.
Holding a rifle with a bayonet, his finger never left the trigger as he entered the empty streets of Galle. Other than the soldiers of the Liberation Army, he could not see the enemy, let alone civilians. Second Lieutenant Qi Rui felt a strange feeling. The architectural style of the city was different from China and South Asia. A few years later, Second Lieutenant Qi Rui traveled to Europe and learned that it was European-style architecture. Now, Second Lieutenant Qi Rui only felt the difference, but he did not even have the energy to distinguish it. There was no such time on the battlefield.
All the doors of the houses were closed, and the dark windows were one after another. Second Lieutenant Qi Rui only felt that these windows revealed an indescribable malice. The troops did not rely on infantry to fill in the gaps. Behind the pathfinders were machine guns and 40 cannons. Second Lieutenant Qi Rui's troops followed behind the 40 cannons. Every time they occupied a crossroad, the pathfinders began to occupy the high ground to prevent the enemy from attacking through the alleys. Therefore, the pathfinders were not always at the front. Each team was only responsible for a section of the street. Ten minutes later, it was the turn of Second Lieutenant Qi Rui's platoon.
Second Lieutenant Qi Rui swallowed a mouthful of saliva and waved his hand at the first squad. The first squad was divided into two teams. Squad Leader Gu led six people, while the vice-squad leader led three people. The two teams each occupied one side of the street. They stuck close to the wall, bent down, and started to jog. Behind the first squad, the other two squads lined up side by side in a firing formation. The tactic of firing did not completely disappear from the war. In many cases, this tactic was quite useful.
Neither team directly broke into the street. Squad Leader Gu and the deputy squad leader hid in the corner and looked at each other's direction of the street.
To make sure there was no enemy within a certain range, both took out small mirrors and attached them to the muzzle of the rifles. Then, they slowly poked the mirrors out of the street.
Squad leader Gu looked for a few seconds and suddenly put the rifles back. He made two hand signals, and the infantrymen behind him quickly sent back the corresponding hand signals. Second Lieutenant Qi Rui said to his subordinates, "There are enemies on the walls and corners of the street. Get ready to enter!"
The troops gripped their rifles tightly. At this moment, Squad Leader Gu and the Deputy Squad Leader of Squad One gave the order, and they threw a few grenades from the corner of the street. After a few loud bangs, gunshots and shouts immediately came from the end of the street. The Liberation Army was not stupid enough to rush out and exchange fire with the enemy. Every soldier carried five grenades, which were meant to be used in situations like this. Another round of grenades was thrown into the street where the enemy was. The grenades bounced on the ground before exploding, bouncing off into the distance.
This round of grenades had obviously disrupted the enemy's plans. Screams could be heard amidst the explosions. Second Lieutenant Qi Rui had already led the remaining two platoons to the edge of the street. Squad Leader Gu and the others suddenly moved, crouching as they charged across the street where the enemy was. With lightning speed, they crossed the intersection and arrived on the opposite side of the street.
Following closely behind Second Lieutenant Qi Rui were the Machine Gunners. The 1881 Heavy Machine Gun (Maxim) was mounted on a small gun carriage and was being pushed forward quickly. This machine gun, which relied on gunpowder gas to activate, was very popular in the army. The Gatling Gun also needed to be manually operated, while the 1881 Heavy Machine Gun only needed to pull the trigger to control the firing direction.
The two infantry squads quickly arrived at the end of the street. The number and density of grenades thrown was more than double that of the previous squad. After washing the ground with grenades, Second Lieutenant Qi Rui poked his head out to take a look. In less than a second, he could clearly see the entrance to the street controlled by the enemy. The British built a barricade. The grenades should have killed some people, but they couldn't destroy the barricade. The troops continued to harass with grenades unhurriedly. Someone quickly climbed up the long ladder to the roof and threw grenades into the British barricade from above. The British couldn't resist and left more than 60 colonial soldiers who were killed and wounded. They retreated with the dead and wounded British soldiers.
The battle went on for nearly half an hour, but Second Lieutenant Qi Rui only felt like it had gone on for a few minutes. The British barricade soon became the Chinese barricade. Second Lieutenant Qi Rui's troops defended here while the follow-up troops continued to advance. He looked at the corpses and wounded soldiers on the ground and listened to the colonial soldiers shouting in a completely incomprehensible voice. Second Lieutenant Qi Rui only felt that his mind was in chaos. He didn't realize that the first real battle in his life ended in less than half an hour.
The news of the attack on Kegale was immediately sent back to the military commission. Vézé didn't think about the victory, but his son's situation. Based on his son's usual performance, Vézé didn't think that his son could really have a problem. In such a low-intensity war, the casualty rate was actually very low. The enemy was still the colonial troops mainly made up of Tamil soldiers. They could bully the local Ceylon people, but they were far from being able to fight against the Liberation Army armed to the teeth.
Ever since he learned that his son was going to the front line, Qi Hongyi once mentioned that he hoped his son, Wei Rui, could walk the path of leadership. Vézé could hear that Qi Hongyi, who was considered smart, was also very guilty when he said this. Not only did his mother feel sorry for his son, but Vézé also felt sorry for him. So, using this opportunity, Vézé fiercely said, "You incited Wei Rui to join the army, and now you know that people will die in war? The people who followed me to conquer the world are still here. I think you may have asked them about the war. I can get to this position today not because I know how to command everyone to fight from the back, but because I can rush to the front and lead everyone to break through the enemy lines. Let me tell you first, we are not good people, so both of us should be very clear that if our son's identity is known to those middle and lower class b * stards, God knows what kind of tricks they will come up with! If you want to clear things up, then let our son come back. I can remove his military status with a single instruction, I am not afraid of losing face. Of course, if you think that our son is also a person who cares about face, then don't say anything. Let's take each step as it is! "
After this dispute, or to be more precise, Vézé's one-sided act, Qi Hongyi and Vézé did not speak for several months. This incident also taught Vézé a good lesson. When he was young, he used to think that as long as a husband and wife understood and tolerated each other, they would be able to spend a lifetime together. But now, Vézé was very clear that this was almost impossible. It was impossible for Vézé to only have Qi Hongyi in his heart, and it was the same for Qi Hongyi. Some things could not be solved with reason or kindness. Vézé could not control everything as he pleased, nor could he create the basic laws of the world.
It was impossible for the report to the military commission to have a list of casualties. When Vézé saw the normal figure of more than 50 dead and more than 100 injured, he only sighed slightly. This time, they wiped out more than 3,000 defenders and took control of Port Garrett. China had a foothold in Ceylon. With Calais as the rear, it was only a matter of a few days before Colombo was captured.
The military commission was discussing an action that China had not been involved in yet, the shelling of Mumbai and other Indian coastal cities.
Ruan Xihao was also a little puzzled about this. "If we shelled these Indian coastal cities, will the British fight us to the death?"
This was what the military commission was more worried about. If the British dared to shell the coastal cities of China, China would fight the British to the death. Putting themselves in their shoes, everyone thought that the British were unlikely to pinch their noses and accept it.
Vézé was not completely opposed to this view in his heart, but history had proved that powerful naval countries did this. Only by fully demonstrating the strength of the navy could the other party understand the consequences of resisting a powerful naval country. So even though he was not sure, Vézé still said, "We, China, have always been the hegemon of the Western Pacific. In this regard, we must learn from the British. The British have been the hegemon of the whole world. Since the British can reap great benefits from this action, there is no reason for us to do the opposite. Comrades, we must not only be satisfied with our position as the hegemon of the Western Pacific, but we must also become the hegemon of the world. If a boat sailing against the current does not advance, it will be retreating. If we retreat now, what about Sudan? What about Canada? Is there anyone who wants to retreat in those areas? "
At the mention of Sudan and Canada, no one in the military commission was willing to continue to object. The former Prime Minister Bi Qingshan had become the governor of Sudan, which was equivalent to the uncrowned king of the two to three million square kilometers of land in Africa.
Recently, there was a rumor that the Military Governor Vaize would probably agree to the expansion in Africa. However, Africa was a colony, and China could not let the black people become Chinese citizens. So, China's colonies in Africa might adopt a governor system, which was a disguised enfeoffment. Many people were tempted by this rumor.
"Do you think it is necessary to shell the coastal cities of India and attack the British rule in India?" Vézé asked.
No one objected to this idea. Now that the war with the British was like this, even an artillery attack would only add a ladle of water to the reservoir.
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