unclear

Chapter 935 Shalian Port 6
I won’t go into detail about the battle process, as there is nothing special about it. The Shalian city wall, which was built with bricks and stones on the outside and rammed earth on the inside, had no defense against the 66mm naval guns on the Qin-class battleships.

The Yingyang cannon, or the Portuguese cannon, on the city wall had a larger caliber than the naval guns, but its range was terrible and it could not reach the warships anchored in the river.

The Toungoo soldiers wearing rattan armor and carrying huge matchlock guns were even more embarrassed. If they rushed to the river, they would become live targets for the ship's guns; if they stayed in the city, they would still be live targets. No matter how much propellant they added, the bullets still could not hit the warships.

In fact, the two Qin-class warships of the first attack fleet did not open fire at full power. Instead, they went straight up the river, followed the Y-shaped east channel and went around to the north side of Shalian City, blocking the possibility of the defenders crossing the river and retreating to the north.

Then a communication ship was sent to the river mouth to deliver a message, calling on the main fleet to enter the waterway, while clearing out the so-called Toungoo naval ships and opening up a landing site for the land guards.

By the time the two Han-class warships twisted their huge bodies into the river mouth and anchored on the river surface just east of Shalian City, the defenders in the city should have known where the battle was going. The ping-pong sounds of gunfire became increasingly sparse, and the navy that boarded the galleys and tried to attack had all disappeared.

"Commander, Commander... Wait a minute! Since the enemy won't leave the city, there's no need to bombard it anymore. As long as the Marines use their field artillery to blow open the city gates, the battle will probably be over."

However, unexpected situations occurred during the battle. When Huang Nanping was about to order an artillery attack on Shalian City, Ji Buquan, the representative of Sun Moon Bank, suddenly stepped forward to stop him.

"Hiss... If we don't blow down the city wall, who knows how many soldiers are hiding behind it? I can't let the Marines risk their lives!"

Huang Nanping was very annoyed. In the past, the commander gave orders for operations, and even the staff would not intervene as long as there was no obvious violation of the combat plan. But now, anyone can come up and make suggestions, and they are not even soldiers.

"Hehehe... The commander is right. We must not let the Marines take risks. But we don't have a time limit. If we can send someone in to talk to the defenders before attacking the city and persuade them to surrender, wouldn't that be more cost-effective?
After all, cannonballs cost money, and the damage to the city walls requires more money to repair. As for these small boats, if they can be kept, they can be pulled back to Manila and Da Nang and sold for money, which is a considerable income.”

Facing Huang Nanping, who had a fierce face and murderous aura, Ji Buquan put on an apologetic smile but did not retreat a single step. He kept on talking about the reasons why he could not bombard him, and his central idea was only one: money!

He had already considered Shalian Port as part of the Sun and Moon Bank's bag. Every brick, every door, and every ship was income in the account book. He would save as much as possible, and if any of them were damaged, it would be a loss.

"...Damn it, we can't fight this battle, how about you take command!" Huang Nanping had never suffered such humiliation before, and he slammed the steering wheel and yelled on the spot.

His responsibility was to minimize casualties while achieving victory. As for how much something was worth and whether it should be kept, he had never calculated it, nor should he have. War is not business, how can you calculate it so clearly?

"Hey, hey, hey, Brother Huang, be patient, be patient... I'll take care of the landing, you go take a rest on the recliner. First mate, raise the Land Warfare Commander's flag and transfer command!"

Seeing that the enemy had not yet attacked but their own people were about to fall out, Li Rumei quickly stepped between the two men, pushed and shoved Huang Nanping into the recliner, and then loudly announced that she had taken over the command of the battle.

"Manager Ji, there's nothing wrong with sending someone to persuade them to surrender, but if we don't know how to do it here, who should we send?"

Although Li Rumei was also a frontline commander, he had much more experience in officialdom than Huang Nanping. He was a man who could be flexible and had a set of tricks to kill people without bloodshed. He also couldn't stand outsiders meddling in battles, but he didn't intend to confront Ji Buquan head-on. Instead, he tried to make trouble and force him to step aside with various problems.

"Brother Min is great. I will go into the city myself!" Unexpectedly, Ji Buquan did not accept the challenge and volunteered to step forward.

"This... this is not appropriate!" Not only Li Rumei was dumbfounded, even Huang Nanping, who was pretending to be angry, was at a loss as to what to do.

"There is nothing wrong with that. According to the loan contract, every piece of land and wood in Shalian Port belongs to the Empire, and the Sun Moon Bank is responsible for keeping accounts. As a bank manager, it is my duty to reduce losses when possible.

Commander Huang, please send a boat to take me ashore and pick up Ge Min as well. If Ji doesn't show up two hours after entering the city, there's no need to wait any longer. The Navy will take care of the rest. Sun Moon Bank has done its best. "

Facing the puzzled looks of the admirals on the first deck, Ji Buquan straightened his chest and loudly stated the reason for his actions. Then he walked to the side of the ship and waited for the boat to land.

"Send a signal to the armed cargo ship and ask them to send a dozen soldiers ashore to protect Manager Ji!" Seeing that Ji Buquan had made up his mind, Li Rumei could not persuade him any further. She had to order the navigator to use flag signals to notify the ship carrying the Marine Guards behind to cooperate.

"Forget it. Sending troops ashore will do nothing and will only lead to misunderstandings. Commander-in-chief, just prepare for landing. Regardless of whether Manager Ji can come back or not, we still have to go ashore in the end."

At this time, Wang Datou finally put down the notebook in his hand and spoke, but he did not persuade Ji Buquan to give up his plan to enter the city alone, but to stop the Lu Zhanwei soldiers from accompanying him. It made sense. If the other party did not want to surrender and did not want to let Ji Buquan come back, what was the use of having ten more soldiers?

It could be that the plan was incomplete but the rhetoric was eloquent, or it could be that the strong ships and powerful guns were enough of a deterrent. After about an hour, the city gates slowly opened, and the defenders left the city, laid down their arms and surrendered.

"Commander Li, please send a boat to take them to the other side, and then send troops into the city to stop the Meng people's killing and looting." Ji Buquan also came up with a plan. When Li Rumei and the first group of land guards stepped onto the river bank, he had a new request.

"The soldiers from the Kingdom of Toungoo can be let go, and we don't need to worry about the revenge killing for now. It would be better to enter the city when they have vented their anger."

Before Li Rumei could decide whether to agree to the surrender conditions, Wang Datou took over the conversation. Although his voice was not loud, his words alone could decide the life and death of hundreds or thousands of Burmese residents.

"But the residents in the city can also be useful if they stay here!" Ji Buquan did not agree with Wang Datou's approach and brought up the Sun Moon Bank again.

"Manager Ji, don't forget Prime Minister Ao's letter. I will be fully responsible for any problems!" Wang Datou pointed at Ji Buquan's shirt pocket and reminded him with a malicious smile, and then Ji Buquan stopped talking.

(End of this chapter)