The wind blows from the South Sea

Chapter 122 Guqian Fortress Defense System
a few days later

At the beginning of January 1860
Feng Guohui came to Landa Mountain Fortress again and conducted a detailed inspection and inspection of the completed fortress facilities here. Overall, he was quite satisfied.

Landa Mountain Fortress is divided into two layers: inner and outer structures. The outer layer is the Valley Front Fortress, which accounts for more than 80% of the total construction of the entire fortress.

From afar
Like a solid crouching dragon cutting off the road, the tall and solid reddish-brown rocks are made of cement and built layer upon layer. They are thick and difficult to shake.

Behind the rock wall is an 80-centimeter concrete wall cast with a steel cage. The 4.6-meter-wide main wall is made of rammed earth and is reinforced with inclined concrete walls.

This is a solid and solid fortress system that combines the advantages of Western and Chinese city and fortress architecture.

On the main city wall on the right bank

There are two obvious prominent European-style bastions. Under the tall spire-style watchtower, there are various gun ports and shooting ports, which can form a composite firepower strike system with the main body of the city wall.

A rushing river poured down from the valley. Because it was the rainy season, the river surface, which was more than 80 meters wide, became more and more violent. The river water swirled and rushed down, making a rumbling sound of rapid water.

The main body of the right bank fortress is about four meters deep into the river bed, with a semicircular concrete base on the edge, and a thick steel cage that is narrow at the top and wide at the bottom that continues to extend for more than 5 meters toward the river. The surface is densely covered with thorns and iron thorns.

All industrial products from Tieshan Town were imported to Guqian Town for transit, so dozens of large warehouses were built in Guqian Town, as well as hundreds of trading firms operating in different categories.

Sugar cane, wheat, and rice during the harvest season, as well as coal, wood, and coke that are transported in large quantities on weekdays, are all transported in by trains of horse-drawn heavy-duty rail cars.

Those who can drive horse-drawn heavy-haul trains are disabled soldiers. When exporting products from Tieshan Town and importing coal and wood raw materials inward, horse-drawn heavy-haul trains generally adopt the method of "replacing people without changing cars."

Normally open are the two auxiliary city gates on the left and right. Each auxiliary city gate has a railway track through which horse-drawn heavy-duty rail cars transporting coal and steel products can pass.

Two large mules can pull six heavy-duty rail cars, and four large mules can pull ten heavy-duty rail cars. Each rail car carries a load of about two tons.

When a horse-drawn heavy-haul train enters "Guqian Town" from the outside world and enters the warehouse area, the grooms can leave in sequence and rest and wait in the designated area.

The masonry, steel products, clothing, cane sugar, flour, polished rice, oil, daily necessities and food produced in Tieshan Town are also continuously transported to Surabaya City through horse-drawn heavy-duty rail cars.

Guqian Town is the only place to go from Surabaya City to Tieshan Town. It prospered due to the lively transit trade and gradually became a prosperous commercial town.

The slope protection along the coast is built into a steep rock slope of more than 80 degrees, about three meters above the river. Even if the enemy invades from the river, it will be difficult to climb the steep rock slope.

The main fortress on the right bank and the auxiliary fortress on the left bank, together with the narrow trails in the mountains, formed the first solid valley front fortress.

When the horse-drawn heavy-duty rail cars pass through the warehouse area, they will branch off into several branch lines and drive into their respective warehouses, which greatly simplifies the shipping process.

And this transfer point is in Guqian Town.

This is to prevent the enemy from breaking through the weak points of the river when attacking.

It is strictly prohibited to export any military, civil and factory information. This is a paradise that is completely independent from the outside world. It is also the industrial core town of the Nanyang Army and is kept secret from the outside world.

For coal, including coke alone, there are dozens of trading houses and warehouses operating.
The main city gate of Guqian Fortress consists of one main gate and two auxiliary gates. Under normal circumstances, the main city gate is not opened, unless the general is in person and there is a large-scale mobilization of the army and festival celebrations, it is closed on weekdays.

This small town is named after the Guqian Fortress, so it is called "Guqian Town".

Due to the need for military control, residents of Tieshan Town are not allowed to take a step outside the fortress at the entrance of the Landa Valley on weekdays without special permission and a special pass.

Therefore, there is also a shooting platform at the top for soldiers to shoot at enemy forces that have slipped through the river and make up for any loopholes in the defense system.

Generally speaking

A large number of brick and stone buildings were built behind the fortress for garrison and commercial purposes. The wide valley between the two fortresses has now formed a lively and prosperous town with a permanent population of more than 3700 people.

can be seen
The two auxiliary city gates allow one to enter and the other to exit. This applies to both goods and people. The horse-drawn heavy-duty rail cars running on the rails do not interfere with each other and input massive amounts of goods into the warehouse area.

For the rest of the transportation journey, the horsemen dispatched from Tieshan Town drove the mules and horses to transport the goods to the interior of the fortress, and vice versa.

Under the strict control of the army, both parties inside and outside the warehouse area are not allowed to talk or have contact. It is a luxury to even meet, let alone pass news.

Precisely because of the strict confidentiality system, the Dutch colonial governor-general knew nothing about the production capacity of an industrial town like Tieshan Town.

Feng Guohui walked on the valley front fortress with his hands behind his back. In front of the fortress was a wide and flat square. The soil in the square was pounded and covered with a layer of lime, fly ash and gravel. There was not a single blade of grass or a tree.

The Fortress Square is a good place for large-scale military parades and mass demonstrations, with an unobstructed view and no obstructions.

look back
Deep in the mountains, there is the second line of defense like iron gate bolts, the "Taniguchi Fortress".

Standing on the tall city wall, you can have a panoramic view of the rows of buildings in Guqian Town.

on a busy street
The shops and warehouses are densely covered with banners and plaques. There are dozens of various hotels, mule and horse shops, teahouses, restaurants, casinos, prostitutes and various shops, and there are constant pedestrians coming and going. The aroma emanating from the fried dough sticks and fried fruit stalls on the roadside gives this small town in front of the valley a special smell of fireworks.

Among the people walking on the street, officers and soldiers in military uniforms accounted for a large proportion.

Guqian Town does not have an acre of farmland, and all grains and vegetables need to be imported from the outside world. However, the bustling commercial trade has made the place particularly prosperous, and the population has grown rapidly.

Standing high on the city wall, Feng Guohui could clearly overlook the entire Guqian Town. From the dense residential area and commercial area, he could see the warehouse district faintly in front of him.

The warehouse area is separated from the residential area by a road about 40 meters wide. The warehouse area has tall walls, as well as railings and sentries in and out of the two track lines.

under normal circumstances
Ordinary residents and businessmen are not allowed to approach the warehouse area. Picking up and picking up goods depends on documents. They can be handled at offices outside the warehouse area, as long as part of the freight handling fee is paid.

Continuing from the warehouse area is the "quarantine area", the so-called "quarantine area";
In order to ensure the full use of the defense function of Taniguchi Fortress, no buildings are allowed to be built in the isolation area, and no trees are allowed to grow, only dense weeds.

Non-military personnel are not allowed to enter the quarantine area. Anyone who enters without authorization can be shot.

Feng Guohui spent most of the day inspecting all aspects of the Guqian Fortress and expressed great satisfaction with the fortress that had just been put into use.

Due to the reference to the Chinese method of building city walls, the Guqian Fortress is extremely tall and strong, and the city walls are thick. There are a large number of military garrison caves and storage facilities under the city walls, making it cool and pleasant to live inside.

"To be honest with you, commander-in-chief, I am relying on the Lando Mountain Fortress. I am confident that I can use the main force of the Surabaya Division and the militiamen of the two towns to withstand the frontal attack of the Dutch ghost army of 4 to 5 people, and hold on for at least more than a year without falling. The battle One soldier at a time," said Surabaya Division Commander Wu Siwen, who accompanied the inspection, with confidence.

His confidence comes not only from the solid fortress defense and the combat effectiveness of the Surabaya Division, but also from the population and industrial production capacity of Guqian Town and Tieshan Town.
Let’s not talk about Guqian Town. Such an important trading town can play very little role when the war comes.

The key is Tieshan Town. The population of Tieshan Town has now grown to more than 1.9 people. There are hundreds of various factories and enterprises, and the required population is still growing rapidly.

Industrialization brought a large number of employed people, all of which were absorbed by Chinese immigrants.

Today, the number of Chinese immigrants entering the Port of Surabaya every month exceeds 6000, and about one-third end up in Tieshan Town, because it can provide reliable jobs and stable living conditions.

These many workers, plus thousands of indigenous hard laborers in the iron mines, constitute a potentially huge military mobilization force. This is the confidence that Major General Wu Siwen boasted about Haikou.

The gunpowder factory and weapons factory in Tieshan Town have also been put into production one after another, which has enabled the Nanyang Army to initially possess its own weapons capabilities, which is of particularly great significance.

If you need steel, you need steel, you need ammunition, you need ammunition, you need people, you need people, you need guns, you need guns, how could you not be able to defend it?

Feng Guohui looked back at him and said with emphasis;

"This is the home base of my Nanyang Army. Over the past few years, my family's fortune has been lost in it, and millions of real money have been invested.

Without this place, the Nanyang Army would become a rootless tree and a sourceless water, and its complete destruction would not be far away.

The defense here must be based on the mentality of walking on thin ice, striving for perfection, eliminating any oversights and loopholes, and not giving the enemy any opportunities to take advantage of it.

This is our Shanhaiguan, so don’t make any mistakes. "

"I understand my humble duty and will always abide by the commander's instructions without slacking off." Although the commander didn't say much, his tone was serious, and Wu Siwen's expression became serious.

Feng Guohui said as he walked that he had just sounded the alarm, which also reduced the pressure on Major General Wu Siwen.

He said;
"There is no need to be overly nervous. After two years of preparation, our army has now formed a relatively complete defense posture.

In the Surabaya Strait

With a naval fleet and a complete firepower strike system for shore artillery and fortresses, it is difficult for the Dutch army to overcome the threat.

Even if it is defeated by the enemy, it will still have to pay a huge price.

The second line of defense of our army is the city of Surabaya. At that time, all the soldiers of the army will devote themselves to fighting for the station house by house, house by house and street by street, striving to greatly consume the enemy's main force.

Let me ask

How many of the ghost army can finally reach Guqian Fortress?
Even doubling the Dutch East Indies' entire military strength would not be enough.

Our military's defense is based on the worst-case scenario.
That is to say, the Netherlands will join forces with Britain, France and other world powers to carry out a comprehensive strangulation of our Nanyang Army. This will be an unprecedented and brutal decisive battle and must not be rushed. "

"Commander, is this impossible?" Wu Siwen's heart was shaken when he heard this, and he couldn't help but blurt out.

Feng Guohui looked into the distance and said solemnly: "Don't use any chance to evaluate the opponent, but make military preparations for the worst-case scenario and work hard in the best direction. This is what a true commander should do. thing."

"I have learned a lesson from my humble position."

(End of this chapter)