Most of the people in the Tianping Army came from Guilin in western Guangdong, and many of them had been on ships.
But it was the first time for almost everyone to ride on this kind of tugboat, and the smoking tugboat in front didn’t look big.
Why can we drag such a long string of wooden boats upstream?
The sound of "Hang Chi Chi" came, and the water flow in this section seemed to be very fast.
The black smoke on the tugboat became even thicker, as black as the dark clouds on a rainy day.
The boiler is continuously pressurized to increase the tug's power output.
The Taiping soldiers sitting on the wooden boat behind clenched their hands and seemed to be cheering for the iron guy in front.
This journey on the river seemed to be the easiest the Taiping Army had taken since its transfer.
Since that day, Peng Yulin and Shi Dakai reached a handover agreement.
Shi Dakai led his men to leave Luang Prabang. The troop transport ship could not transport so many people at once and could only transport these people in batches.
According to the agreement, Peng Yulin handed over the first batch of equipment, a total of 20,000 rifled guns and one hundred 60mm field steel cannons.
Of course, these steel cannons are black powder-driven front-loading steel cannons. The cannons are mounted on two-wheeled artillery carts for easy transportation in the field.
Shi Dakai was interested in the gunboats of the Renaissance Army again. He requested that after the Taiping Army occupied the middle reaches of the Yarlung Zangbo River, the Renaissance Army would send people to help them build gunboats.
Peng Yulin can't make the decision on this matter, but he will inform the military.
After the Taiping Army moved into the Naga hilly area, the first step to occupy was the Assam region in northwest India.
Assam is another name for the Dai people. It was first recorded in the "Records of the Western Regions of the Tang Dynasty" compiled by China's Xuanzang. It was called the "Kamalubo Kingdom". Xuanzang once invited the local king Komoluo to give lectures in the country.
In the 13th century, the Dai people established the Ahom Kingdom here. The Ahom Kingdom was occupied by the British during the First Anglo-Burmese War.
There were still many yellow people living in this area until later generations, and their calls for independence in later generations never stopped.
Now it is part of the British Indian Colony, but it is located in a remote area and the British garrison there is very weak.
Moreover, this is a valley in the middle reaches of the Brahmaputra River. To the east and south are plateau and hilly areas with an altitude of two to three thousand meters. The Mengyang area to the east will soon become the territory of China.
Dong Shuheng assigned the Mengyang area to the newly established Tengchong Prefecture in Yunnan. Mountainous Yunnan will have the largest plain area.
Not to mention the north of Assam, where are the towering Himalayas, which are also the boundaries of China.
Why is it said that this is a paradise on earth? Whether it is natural resources, climate environment, or geographical conditions, this place is uniquely endowed by nature.
As long as Shi Dakai quickly invades here, then blocks the gap in the west, and defends the middle reaches of the Brahmaputra River, he can develop with peace of mind.
Here on the chessboard is a silver corner.
Although Shi Dakai is on the road, in the west, Dong Shuheng's newly planned Tengchong Mansion is still stubbornly resisting under the leadership of a group of careerists.
Myitkyina City is located on the Irrawaddy River, downstream of the confluence of the two branches of the Irrawaddy River, the East Branch Enmeikai River and the West Branch Malikai River.
This has always been an important hub on the Tea Horse Road, connecting the trade between the southwest region and India and Bangladesh.
So after thousands of years of development, Myitkyina has become a big city.
There is a road connection between here and Tengchong area.
The second division attacked Mengyang with Tengchong as its base camp.
Now, except for some of Chief Mengyang's men who hid in the mountains and forests, the main force was surrounded by Gu Keli in the city of Myitkyina.
In line with the principle of courtesy before fighting, Gu Keli first sent a Lisu official from Yunnan to persuade.
But these stubborn chieftains actually cut out the messenger's tongue. This made Gu Keli furious.
The Renaissance Army has never been treated with such cowardice since its inception.
In the city of Myitkyina, Chief Mengyang was currently entertaining a group of guests in his mansion.
There were several white faces among them, as well as a few Indians with big eyes and tall noses and slightly darker skin.
The leader was an Englishman named Smith, who came from Calcutta. He worked for the colonial authorities in Calcutta and was also an employee of the East India Company.
Although the Indian colonies have now been handed over to the British government, many officials active in the Indian colonies still have dual identities as colonial authorities and the East India Company.
The East India Company had not been having a good time these past two years.
Because the Renaissance Army secretly resisted the import of opium from the beginning, this cut off one of the East India Company's largest financial sources in China.
The opium plantations were basically in the hands of the East India Company, and all these losses were borne by the East India Company.
After China became a country, it completely cut off the import of opium. This was equivalent to cutting off the East India Company's financial path.
I don’t know since when, the East India Company began to plan revenge against China.
They first instigated natives in Nanyang to attack Chinese farms, but to no avail.
Not only did it negate the benefits of the natives, but the Chinese power also expanded a lot because of the battle with the natives.
Now they are instigating the forces in northern Burma to join the British and Indian colonies.
In this way, the Indian colonies will be bordering China. At that time, these people can encourage domestic East India Company investors to provoke a war against China.
Why can't you stir up trouble now?
Because some people in the UK want to maintain relations with China.
Most of these people are the emerging industrial bourgeoisie, including capitalists who invest in shipyards, steel plants, and machinery manufacturing plants. There are also investors who invest in ocean freight.
These people are all beneficiaries of the rising trade volume between China and Britain.
Dong Shuheng did not want to arouse the nerves of the British so early. He used the trade volume originally spent on opium to purchase strategic materials such as steel, copper, and machinery.
In this way, the apparent trade volume between China and the British increased instead of decreasing.
Why did it increase? Because opium is an expensive thing. How many ships can the East India Company sell every year? In fact, they are almost robbing money, and robbing cannot allow trade to prosper.
However, trading steel machinery is different. Pulling these things back and forth requires a lot of shipping power. This makes shipping on the surface much more developed.
In addition, the opium trade is a smuggling trade and is secretive, so much of the trade volume is not included in the total.
Therefore, the current trade figures between China and the UK are much better than before. However, the British Parliament and the media pay more attention to these clear figures.
People like the East India Company knew that if China did not threaten the core interests of the British Empire, then the domestic politicians would not agree to attack China.
So, they came up with two more plans. One was to provoke the Dutch and Spanish to attack the Chinese.
The other is to start from the northeastern part of India to see if it can provoke China to launch a war against British India. The Indian region is undoubtedly the core interest of the British Empire.
If he can convince Chief Mengyang to surrender to British India, then if the Chinese army continues to attack here, it will be equivalent to declaring war on the British Empire.
Mengyang Tusi Enban was also a smart man, and there were many businessmen traveling to and from India through Myitkyina. There was even a British expedition that had been to Myitkyina a long time ago.
Through contact with these people, Enban was not as backward-minded as other chieftains. He was an extremely knowledgeable person.
And his ambition is not limited to being a local toast.
Mengyang is considered a relatively large branch among the chieftains in northern Myanmar.
This time, after China negotiated with the Kingdom of Myanmar, they began to take over all the chieftains in northern Myanmar. Originally, this was an absolute disaster for Mengyang.
But the British took the initiative to come to the door, giving Enban hope.
Emban is well aware of the strength of the British. In the first Anglo-Burmese War, the Burmese army was beaten to a pulp by the British.
At that time, Meng Yang participated in the coalition forces of the Kingdom of Burma, and was deeply impressed by the British's combat prowess.
In that war, the Kingdom of Burma eventually ceded the northwest Assam region to the British and Indian colonial authorities.
Therefore, this time Smith found Enban and made Enban very interested.
Enban began to make plans in his mind. If he could get the support of the British, obtain their weapons, and even get the British to send troops from the west to help him.
Then Meng Yang might be able to rise in this war.
The warriors of Meng Yang were also brave and good at fighting. The reason why they could not defeat China and Burma before was because Meng Yang was too young and too poor to arm all these warriors.
Enban thought so, so he felt that with the weapons of the British, they would have the power to fight. In his eyes, the Chinese army was similar to the Qing army.
"Chief Enban, this time we brought a total of two thousand state-of-the-art flintlock rifles. With these, you will be able to hold on to Myitkyi for a while. When our reinforcements arrive, it will be the end of these Chinese people. Of course.
Well, you must first publicly declare to join British India, so that we can have reason to send troops to protect Mengyang."
"At that time, you will be part of the British Empire. Her Majesty the Queen will grant you a title, and you will still lead your people."
Smith was confused and said that in fact, what he sent was only flintlock guns produced in India and equipped for Indian soldiers. This kind of gun is basically no longer used by the British Army itself.
The money for the gun purchase was provided by the East India Company, and even the mission to Mengyang had nothing to do with the British government. It was entirely the East India Company's own plan.
The British themselves now use rifled rifles with a longer range.
However, based on Meng Yang's knowledge, he also felt that the flintlock gun brought by Smith was much stronger than their original homemade muskets.
"Mr. Smith, with the weapons you brought, our brave Mengyang soldiers will be able to push back these Chinese troops." Enban did not answer whether to surrender to the British.
He is not stupid, Smith's words are a lie. If he surrenders to the British, he will become a vassal like those Indian princes.
At that time, it will be up to the British to decide how much power they have.
He felt that if he could rely on this batch of weapons to defeat the Chinese army, then he would have the opportunity to negotiate with the British and Chinese parties. By then, both sides might not dare to touch him again.
And they, Mengyang, can rise in the gap between the two great powers. Then they can go south to attack the waning Burmese dynasty.
In order to fight this battle well, Meng Yang transferred most of his soldiers to the city of Myitkyina. He relied on the city wall of Myitkyina to hold back the Chinese.
Then a small group of elite troops was sent to attack the enemy's supply line between Myitkyina and Tengchong.
Although there is a road connecting Myitkyina and Tengchong, there are mostly dense forests on both sides of the road.
They believed that the Chinese people simply did not dare to go deep into the dense forest to fight Meng Yang's warriors.
At this time, trenches of the Renaissance Army were everywhere outside the city of Myitkyina.
It is an old habit of the Renaissance Army to dig trenches before fighting. Especially when fighting in these unfamiliar places, it is better to dig a few trenches to feel more at ease.
Gu Keli was extremely happy to be transferred to the second division of the main force.
During the Unification War, the Second Division fought from Jiangxi to Yunnan.
The main division is the main division. Not only are the equipment replaced first, but the proportion of veterans is also high. It is easy to use.
This time Peng Yulin sent him out to attack northern Myanmar, which actually gave him a chance to stand alone.
Therefore, Gu Keli cherished this opportunity very much.
He does not have a reorganized division on hand now, because there is an infantry regiment still stationed in Muman to the east.
But even with only these 6,000 men, he was absolutely sure to capture Myitkyina.
"Are the artillery ready?" Gu Keli asked.
"Division commander, we are all ready and waiting for the order for the general offensive." the staff officer reported.
There was basically no fighting in the past few days.
Meng Yang's army retreated to Myitkyina City on its own initiative. Therefore, the Second Division did not encounter any decent resistance on the way from Tengchong.
There were no decent cities along the way. There were just some villages for the caravans to rest. They surrendered without fighting.
Therefore, Gu Keli immediately surrounded Myitkyina.
Enban's intention was to lure the enemy deeper and lengthen the supply line of the Chinese army. This tactic was often used by the natives when they fought against the Central Dynasty.
There are many such battles in history. In the end, the natives took advantage of the terrain and natural environment to defeat the central dynasty's army.
However, Enban had a different idea this time. The reason why Gu Keli only besieged but not attacked in the past few days was because he was worried about harming the civilians in the city. So he wanted to report the news here and seek the opinions of his superiors.
At the same time, Gu Keli also wanted to dig out the enemies hidden around him through the siege.
Sure enough, through fake transport teams, the Second Division fished out several groups of enemies hidden in the jungle. There were hundreds of people in each wave, but it could be seen that these people were elites.
But no matter how elite the Mengyang warriors were, they were nothing more than a pile of meat under the intensive firepower of the Renaissance Army.
In the past few days, the small fish in the rear have been caught, and news from Peng Yulin has also spread.
After reading the military order, Gu Keli was very excited.
It feels so good to be able to fight with your hands free! No general likes to have his hands tied during a war.
"The cavalry regiment blocks the traffic artery behind and doesn't let the enemy escape. The artillery regiment bombards the east gate with all its strength, and we use artillery to directly blast open the city. The first regiment is responsible for the main attack, and the third regiment follows behind to provide support."
While Enban was planning the future development of Mengyang, Gu Keli was already preparing for a general attack.
Meng Yangjun did not make any preparations for street fighting. In their opinion, the city wall was still relatively solid.
In particular, the city wall of Myitkyina was built with the help of Han craftsmen. It is already considered tall and strong in this southwest region.
But in Gu Keli's eyes, this city is just like a small county town in the Central Plains.
"Boom, boom, boom..." Without any warning, the Renaissance Army artillery position outside the city began to roar.
In the first round of shooting, many shells missed, and some even entered the city.
The taller the house, the higher the probability of being hit.
The 75mm cannon shells are extremely powerful, especially when yellow explosives are used.
The bricks on the outer surface of the city wall were lifted, revealing the soil layer inside. With every shelling, clods of soil flew everywhere.
There are very few cannons on the city wall. This is just the territory of the chieftain. Even if Meng Yang is relatively wealthy, there are not many cannons.
"What's going on? What kind of artillery is this? Why is it so powerful?" Even as a British man, Smith was shocked by the power of the Baath Army's artillery.
When it comes to naval guns, Smith has seen them, no matter how powerful they are. But Smith has never seen field guns capable of bombarding them with such momentum.
"Lord Chieftain, hurry up and ask your soldiers to guard the city wall. No, it is best to set up barricades in the city. Your city wall cannot hold up to such a strong bombardment." Smith suggested. He had seen the British army use artillery.
Bombarding Tuwang's city walls, these backward city walls could not stop the continuous bombardment of artillery.
"Envoy, don't worry, we will hold on." Smith's words made Enban a little unhappy, and he led a group of generals to the city gate.
Enban was not a coward, but before he reached the city gate, a stray bullet exploded in the street, frightening his horse.
The war horse raised its front legs and threw him off the horse.
The enraged Enban drew out his scimitar and slashed the soldier who was holding the horse for him.
At this moment, there was a "bang" and a crisp sound came from the city gate in front.
I saw a cannonball just hit the teak city gate. The originally strong city gate fell down.