Volume 4: Hot! The whole world is a warring state Chapter 651 American Etiquette Teaching
"Hmph~"
“Crash~”
“Ah~”
In the chaotic camp, two armies, both wearing dark green uniforms but with different shades of dark green, collided fiercely with each other.
As Zhang Xianzhong has been active on the east coast of South America for many years, it is the most difficult for his troops to obtain supplies from the Ming Dynasty, so Zhang Xianzhong's troops have always been economical with bullets. Moreover, his troops are basically Indians from the grasslands. These guys will of course use hot weapons at long distances. But when entering hand-to-hand combat, these guys will tie their guns on their backs, and then take out the weapons they are most used to using, such as hatchets, daggers, sickles, etc., and greet the enemy.
This time, the opponents they faced were mainly mixed-race people, Indians and blacks who had lived in America for a long time. Therefore, when the two sides came into close combat, all kinds of weapons emerged. While making the battlefield more chaotic, it also highlighted the cruelty and bloodiness - after all, the wounds caused by axes, at least on the surface, looked much more shocking than those caused by bayonets.
"These bastards are just thieves! They are just thieves! I have told you many times to use bayonets. Bayonets kill people much faster than axes and daggers."
"Why did the teacher say that?"
"Hey, political commissar, you've never killed anyone, have you? This bayonet has a blood groove, and it can be inserted deep. Once it is inserted, no matter where in the torso it is, it will only appear as a one or two centimeter wound on the surface, but in fact, a large amount of bleeding will occur inside the human body, and this bleeding is not easy to stop. If someone is hit by a knife, it won't take long for him to die. But these axes and daggers, hey! Unless you behead or cut the throat directly, killing people is much slower than a bayonet. But no matter how weak your opponent is, he is still a living person. On the battlefield, where are there so many opportunities to behead and cut the throat?!"
"I see. I'll solve this problem after this battle is over."
"Then I'll have to trouble the political commissar." Zhang Xianzhong put down the telescope angrily and said to the messenger beside him, "Have you received any news from the first and second regiments that are escorting us?"
"Boss, we haven't received any news from the rear yet."
"Hmm..." Zhang Xianzhong murmured to himself, stroking his beard, "This shouldn't happen. Cromwell reacted very quickly. How could this happen... No! Could this old guy run away?"
…
Cromwell really ran away.
After waiting for the return of the vanguard that morning, Cromwell had - all European soldiers.
Then he led his troops into the rain forest.
However, in the dense rain forest, the endless traps caused his soldiers great trouble - but the traps were not a big deal. The key was that the Indian soldiers under Zhang Xianzhong ambushed and shot in the jungle, or suddenly jumped out of the bushes to kill people.
The battle lasted less than 20 minutes before Cromwell ordered the entire army to withdraw from the rain forest. On a wide grassland or plain, Cromwell was confident that he could easily defeat Zhang Xianzhong's 30,000 troops with his 10,000 men. But in the rain forest? This was a case of using one's own weakness to attack the enemy's strength.
We must withdraw. It looks like even if we defeat the enemy's blocking troops, our 10,000-plus elite troops will suffer heavy casualties. Then we may face the victorious main force of Zhang Xianzhong in the deeper part of the rainforest. Is there any need to ask what the outcome of the battle will be?
Of course, he could also stay in the camp and wait for Zhang Xianzhong to come out of the rain forest. But this was too risky. First, could the supplies carried by the army be enough to outsuple the enemy? Second, according to reports from the former troops who had returned, the enemy had deployed troops at various mountain passes in the Andes. What if these troops also rushed down from the mountains? Then he would be attacked from both sides.
Therefore, we must retreat, otherwise the entire army will be wiped out if we are not careful.
As for the rear troops that were supposed to be under siege at this moment? Well, it was a pity that the half-bloods were lost, but those Indians and black slaves? They died, so be it.
In the rainforest, there are no roads, but there are also roads everywhere. Moreover, this is the western edge of the Amazon rainforest, bordering both the Andes Mountains and the Pampas. Therefore, it is not difficult to retreat.
After a brief discussion with his officers, reaching a consensus and allocating the rearguard troops, Cromwell asked someone to find a guide, selected another direction, and re-entered the rainforest.
Before the dense canopy of the rainforest completely blocked his view, he turned around and murmured to the towering Andes Mountains: I finally understand that without sea control, all our efforts in America are in vain. Raimondo, I wonder if you have reached the city of Lima now? Well, it is estimated that you have not reached it by marching in such a narrow coastal plain? Anyway, I wish you good luck.
…
Although Zhang Xianzhong attacked his rear, Cromwell managed to keep his main force and retreated. On the northern front, Raimondo Montecuccoli's army was still advancing with difficulty along the narrow Pacific coastal plain.
It was really difficult . Since we set out from Quito last October, the Chinese fleet arrogantly bombarded our team along the coastline. However, our American fleet, which only had one ironclad ship and forty sailing warships, did not even dare to show its head.
Raimondo had no choice but to let his army march as close as possible to the border between the Andes Mountains and the coastal plains, which greatly limited their marching speed.
By December 1636, Raimondo's 50,000-man army finally reached a point less than 30 kilometers from Lima. The coastal plains here were much larger, and the enemy finally no longer had to endure harassment from the enemy's naval guns.
However, the enemy's naval guns were no longer useful, but here, the Chinese built many fortifications, and our side still could not advance smoothly.
He soon found out that the commander on the other side was his old rival Li Zicheng. He was very familiar with this guy: a very capable man, but limited by the combat effectiveness of his troops, Li Zicheng was no match for him.
There's nothing more to say then, just deploy your troops and attack slowly!
When the two sides really started fighting, Raimondo was pleasantly surprised to find that although the enemy was not at a disadvantage in terms of the number of artillery, the enemy's soldiers' skills and proficiency in using artillery were still insufficient. Therefore, although the progress was slow, the Spanish army was still able to advance a little bit closer to Lima every day.
Li Zicheng, who was in charge of defending the northern line, was also very helpless about this situation: he himself was only a graduate of the one-year crash course of the Royal Military Academy, and at that time he specialized in guerrilla warfare. If the two sides really set up their positions and faced each other head-on, he was indeed no match for Raimondo.
But there was no other way: Sun Chuanting's strategy was to go east first and then north. Before defeating Cromwell, Sun Chuanting was unable to give him more support, so he could only bear it. In short, by the end of January 1637, Raimondo was only ten kilometers away from the northern edge of Lima.
…
"Boom boom~" A shell exploded at a very close distance, causing the oil lamp hanging on the roof of a temporary shelter nearby to begin shaking violently and making a clattering sound.
A hand with fair skin but thick calluses on the middle finger and the front part of the ring finger reached out and held the shaking oil lamp steadily.
"Okay, let's continue. Chinese people are just like Indians in terms of names. When a child is born, parents will give him a name with a preferred meaning. When he reaches a certain age, just like you Indians will be given nicknames by your tribesmen instead of your nicknames, Chinese people will also receive courtesy names from teachers and leaders. From then on, others will generally use courtesy names when calling me. However, in addition to given names and courtesy names, Chinese people also have surnames. This surname usually comes from the father. With this, everyone's blood relationship is very clear."
"Political Commissar Yan."
"Speaking."
"Besides making everyone's blood relationship clear, what other function does this surname have?"
"That's a good question. Ladies and gentlemen, although China has undergone great changes over the years due to the reforms of our emperor, it is still essentially a society of etiquette and law. You can understand the so-called etiquette as systems and rules. We Chinese people follow etiquette, taking ourselves as the core and gradually extending it out. We should be filial to our parents, loyal to the king, respectful to our elders, and be kind to the people... Through the norms of etiquette, we can clearly know what we should do, how to do it, and to what extent when dealing with different people... In this way, everyone behaves and does things according to the rules of etiquette, and the order of the entire society will naturally be stable and peaceful.
Of course, etiquette is a very broad concept. It is specifically expressed through various "rituals". As we just said, everyone in China has a surname, which is a specific manifestation of "ritual". Conversely, because of the surname, etiquette has a basis for implementation. "
"Political Commissar Yan, can we have our own surnames?"
"Of course you can. You can choose a surname for yourself based on your life experiences, and then let your descendants pass it down for you from generation to generation. Or, if you have made great military achievements, you can also apply for our emperor to grant you a surname."
At this point, Yan Yingyuan looked at his watch and said, "It's almost time. In twenty minutes, we will go up and relieve the brothers who have been holding out for the whole day. Everyone go back to the camp and prepare. I hope we can prevent Raimondo from making any progress today!"
"Please rest assured, Political Commissar, we will do our best !"
The regimental political commissars and battalion instructors left one after another. Yan Yingyuan packed up his teaching materials and prepared to go to the front line. Chen Mingyu, his former deputy when he was the prefect of Jiangyin, who had followed him all the way to America from Jiangyin County, ran in excitedly: "Brother, news just came from the eastern front that Cromwell was defeated by Division Commander Zhang!"
