The Wind Rises in 1898: Becoming a Warlord Starting in Southeast Asia

Chapter 48 A Perilous Situation is Approaching

"What happened?"

Chen Feng put away the nearly empty cloth bag and walked towards the stone house.

Ren Dayong quickly caught up, his tone full of frustration: "Commander, we went to two Chinese villages in the northeast as you instructed. It was originally agreed that more than ten people would come, but most of them changed their minds at the last minute, and in the end we only brought two."

He paused, then added through gritted teeth, "I had to ask the villagers several times to find out the truth: the Independent Army was there yesterday! They spread rumors that our Free Army is a lackey of the American army, that there's no future in following them, and they even threatened to burn down anyone's house if they dared to join!"

Damn it!

Am I a lackey of the US military?

Without American support, your independence army would have been beaten to a pulp by the Spanish long ago!

How dare they turn the tables and accuse me!

Chen Feng cursed inwardly and quickly racked his brains for a solution.

There are only about seventy Chinese villages around Malolos, with a total population of less than 10,000, of which three to four thousand are young and middle-aged.

Most of those willing to join the army surrendered to Liu Hengfu. Even if they tried their best to recruit soldiers, they could only manage to get a thousand or so at most.

With the addition of today's recruits, the camp now has nearly 500 men. It's time to temporarily suspend conscription and focus on training.

Thinking of this, Chen Feng immediately ordered: "Don't run around anymore this month. Train the soldiers at hand first, and then deal with them."

"yes!"

Ren Dayong nodded slightly, then turned and left.

The next morning, just as dawn was breaking, a torrential downpour began.

As dawn broke, Chen Feng led six platoon leaders, braving the heavy rain, toward the San Antonio supply depot.

Chen Feng led six platoon leaders, each carrying a bushel of grain. They changed into raincoats and, under the cover of the rain, walked along a small path for more than half an hour before entering the low hill area.

The rain was so heavy that the fields were deserted, making it perfect for concealing one's movements.

After walking along the paddy field ridge for another hour, a muddy river about thirty meters wide came into view.

The group put down their loads and hid under a big tree, pretending to rest, but secretly taking in their surroundings.

"Brother Chen, this river is usually only five or six meters wide, and you can wade across it barefoot. But now the river is swollen, and we can only use the bridge next to the warehouse," Zhang Xiuwu said, pointing to the rushing river.

Kong Yunfei leaned closer, nonchalantly saying, "This little bit of water is nothing. I, Old Kong, can lead a group of people to float down from upstream and head straight for the back of the warehouse!"

Chen Feng stared at the river without saying a word, then turned his gaze to the buildings in the distance.

"That's the San Antonio supply depot!" Zhang Xiuwu gestured. "Three buildings, the largest is the warehouse, and the other two are barracks."

Chen Feng looked in the direction he pointed. The warehouse covered an area of ​​about one acre and was surrounded by a two-meter-high wall. The main gate was on the east side, and a machine gun was mounted on the gate tower.

In the center of the three buildings is a ten-meter-high watchtower, which is also equipped with machine guns. You can vaguely see that the defenders are holding Springfield 1863 rifles.

The entire supply depot was surrounded by a two-meter-high wall, with the main gate on the east side, and a machine gun mounted on the gate tower.

In the center of the three buildings, there is a watchtower about ten meters high, with two soldiers on it, each carrying a machine gun.

"It won't be easy to fight."

Chen Feng frowned. "These two machine guns are too much of a threat; we must remove them first."

Zhang Xiuwu pointed to the hilltop not far to the right and said, "Brother Chen, this is the high ground I was talking about. I asked Frank yesterday, and our Colt M1895 has an effective range of 1000 meters, which is perfect for setting up there to suppress the defenders' firepower."

Chen Feng looked at the fifty-meter-high mountain. The mountain was steep but not difficult to climb, but there was a watchtower on it.

"My idea is a night raid."

Zhang Xiuwu continued, "First, we'll send our elite troops to quietly take the high ground, and then the main force will sneak up. Once the enemy discovers us, the machine guns on the high ground will fire on the central watchtower first to suppress the fire. After that, we'll take the opportunity to scale the wall."

Kong Yunfei added, "I'll just have some men waiting upstream. Once the gun goes off, we'll take a sheepskin raft downstream and catch them off guard!"

"Then I'll lead the main force to attack from the front and draw their attention!" Tian Gang followed up.

Chen Feng didn't nod, but instead asked, "How did the Independent Army capture this warehouse?"

Zhang Xiuwu immediately replied, "There was only one platoon of Spanish colonial soldiers inside before, along with two platoons of indigenous and Chinese mercenaries. Those mercenaries had already been turned by the independence army; they mutinied right there in the warehouse and took it over after only a few shots!"

The independence army, on the other hand, had the upper hand in terms of popular support!

Chen Feng sighed inwardly, pondered for a moment, and then ordered: "As far as I know, the Independent Army will attack Marolos City no later than the day after tomorrow. We'll decide on our move after I go to the city to investigate this afternoon."

"clear!"

The crowd responded in hushed tones.

Chen Feng added, "Zhang Xiuwu, go back to the camp later and take thirty trustworthy soldiers with families to Marolos City. We'll meet outside the city in the evening, and Zheng Mingsong will find a way to get us in."

"Should we bring weapons?" Zhang Xiuwu asked.

"No need! Zheng Mingsong will take care of everything!"

Chen Feng waved his hand and continued to give orders: "Ren Dayong, your leg injury hasn't fully healed. Take the third platoon and stay behind to guard the camp."

"Understood!" Ren Dayong replied. Although he could walk due to his injuries, he was still unable to go to the battlefield.

"Tian Gang, the first platoon, follow me to seize the high ground."

"clear!"

"Ding Junkai, Wang Liang, your fourth and fifth platoons are the main force. Infiltrate from the north, and make sure to conceal your movements!"

"Understood!" The two stood up straight at the same time.

Chen Feng finally looked at Kong Yunfei: "Second Platoon, select the best swimmers and take tinder downstream. Once you reach the location, don't set it on fire immediately. First, check if the Fourth and Fifth Platoons have scaled the wall. If they haven't, set fire to the warehouse and then retreat; if they have, you attack from the rear and annihilate the defenders!"

"I guarantee I'll complete the mission!" Kong Yunfei patted his chest, his eyes wide open.

After giving his instructions, Chen Feng picked up his load and said, "Go back and continue training as usual. Wait for my news."

After saying that, he walked along the main road on the other side of the warehouse, braving the rain.

The group picked up their loads and took another route back.

The rain intensified, lashing at his face like whips. Chen Feng carried the load with ease, though his raincoat was soaked through, making him feel uncomfortable.

As they approached the intersection, two Independent Army sentries were huddled under the gate's awning, taking shelter from the rain. Their rifles were leaning against a pillar, their vigilance lax.

Chen Feng slowed his pace and, using the grain load as cover, openly looked around the military camp.

Patrol soldiers were walking back and forth under the wall, the machine gunner on the watchtower was yawning, and the faint sound of dice clashing could be heard from the barracks. It seemed that the garrison was not at all vigilant.

Chen Feng was secretly delighted and quietly noted down the weak points in the defense. Just as he was preparing to retreat, he heard a sentry shout in fluent Mandarin, "Kid, what did you pick?"