BSI Chapter 36 The Voices of the People and the Army
Chapter 36 The Voices of the People and the Army
Aoki Nobuyuki, that old Japanese devil, kept babbling on and on, his words full of probing, which made Chen Feng feel nauseous.
After quickly eating two pieces of steak, he put down his knife and fork, stood up and said goodbye: "Mr. Aoki, please make yourself at home. I have other things to do."
Before he finished speaking, he strode to the hotel entrance.
Aoki Nobuyuki wiped his mouth with a napkin, a sinister glint in his eyes: "I have a feeling this person is not simple. Go and follow him today, and see what he's up to."
"Hi!"
The tall, thin Japanese man straightened up, answered in a low voice, and quickly chased after the hotel entrance.
"etc!"
Aoki Nobuyuki added with concern, "You said this person has a calm demeanor and is highly skilled in martial arts, so don't follow him too closely to avoid being exposed."
"clear!"
The tall, thin Japanese man stopped and bowed in response. Only after Aoki Nobuyuki nodded did he quietly walk towards the gate.
Outside the hotel, the morning mist had not completely dissipated, and there were few pedestrians.
Chen Feng walked unhurriedly toward the city wall, his gaze casually sweeping over the street scene.
The defenses of Malolos were far weaker than imagined. The walls, less than six meters high, were mottled and cracked in some places. Skilled warriors could climb them with just a running start, and ordinary soldiers could easily reach the top with a ladder.
There were few cannons on the city walls; the real firepower was in the Spanish camp not far away.
Chen Feng stood on the street corner diagonally opposite the military camp, pretending to chat with a Chinese vendor, but his eyes kept glancing at the gate of the military camp.
Two 120mm howitzers were steadily mounted inside the camp gate, their muzzles pointing directly out of the city.
Following behind were four 75mm mountain guns, their barrels gleaming, clearly their main combat equipment.
Further on, more than ten 37mm rapid-fire cannons were scattered around, aimed at various key entrances and exits, creating a formidable firepower network.
"Boss, those foreign devils in this military camp have been making quite a stir lately, haven't they?" Chen Feng asked casually.
The vendor lowered his voice: "That's right. I heard that the indigenous independence army is going to attack the city. They're training until midnight every day. I just don't know if they can hold it."
Chen Feng chatted idly while secretly pondering.
The 120mm howitzer has an effective range of 8 kilometers. Although it is powerful, it has poor mobility and certainly not many ammunition.
The 75mm mountain guns had a high rate of fire and were the mainstay of city defense; the 37mm rapid-fire guns were flexible and deadly, especially against infantry charges.
If I were to lead the troops to attack the city myself, I could only launch a night raid to keep the Spanish army from figuring out the location of the main force, in order to reduce casualties.
Even with a surprise attack, when the main force approached the city wall, it was ultimately impossible to hide it from the sentries on the wall.
Given the Spanish army's training level, they could complete artillery loading and formation deployment in a maximum of five minutes.
In such a short time, breaching the city walls would be as difficult as climbing to heaven.
Once the time limit is exceeded, fierce artillery fire will pour down, and with reinforcements from the defending forces, the attacking troops will suffer heavy losses.
Unless... there is an inside agent in the city who can launch a surprise attack during the raid, disrupting the Spanish army's deployment and trapping them in their camp, unable to move.
never mind!
Let the Independent Army worry about this!
They didn't have the strength to conquer the city of Malolos.
Chen Feng shook his head and was about to leave when he suddenly felt a faint sense of surveillance.
He remained calm and looked around.
There were only a few vendors on the street and about a dozen Spanish soldiers who came out to buy cigarettes during their break; nothing seemed out of the ordinary.
Could it be that my feeling is wrong?
impossible!
This body has practiced martial arts for many years and has an almost instinctive sensitivity to danger.
To be able to conduct such covert surveillance, the other party must be a master who has practiced martial arts for many years.
Of all the people he had encountered since his transmigration, only the skinny top possessed a calm demeanor, remarkable skills, and sufficient motivation to follow him.
Chen Feng had a guess in his mind, so he stopped looking for it and turned to walk towards the direction of the vegetable market he had inquired about earlier. His steps were still calm, as if he was completely unaware of what was going on.
On another street corner a hundred meters away, a tall, thin Japanese man hid behind a wall, holding his breath and waiting for a full two minutes before peeking out.
At this moment, Chen Feng was nowhere to be seen on the street.
The tall, thin Japanese man realized he had been discovered, so he stopped following and immediately returned to the hotel.
Nobuyuki Aoki remained seated in the restaurant, his eyes slightly narrowed, as if he were dozing off.
The tall, thin Japanese man strode forward and whispered, "Boss, this man is even more formidable than I anticipated. I only followed him for half an hour before he noticed me."
"Where did he go? Who did he meet?" Aoki Nobujun asked, his eyes still closed, his tone calm and unwavering.
"He first walked around the city wall, then stayed outside the Spanish camp for fifteen minutes. Apart from chatting with a Chinese merchant for a few minutes, he didn't contact anyone else," Skinny Top reported in detail.
"Understood! Let's proceed as planned today."
Aoki Nobuyuki got up and left the restaurant, leading the tall, thin Japanese man out of the hotel.
When Chen Feng arrived at the vegetable market in the east of the city, it was already bustling with people.
Unlike the deserted streets, this place was bustling with people, and the sounds of vendors hawking their wares and bargaining filled the air.
He took a stroll around and his eyes were opened: monkeys in cages were jumping up and down, venomous snakes in bamboo baskets were flicking their tongues, birds were flapping their wings, and there were freshly caught sea fish and strange birds with fox-like heads and eagle-like bodies...
Almost every species that can be found on Luzon Island can be found here.
As Chen Feng wandered deeper into the market, he finally spotted the Chinese vendors huddled in a corner.
The dozen or so stalls were arranged in a compact manner, and all the customers were Chinese. Although the location was remote, business was quite good.
Chen Feng strolled over, pretending to look at the groceries on the stall while listening to the chatter of the crowd.
"Have you heard? A Chinese Free Army has emerged in the mountains west of the city."
"It seems so. I heard the military pay is shockingly high, $2.5 a month."
"My God! That's equivalent to eight silver pesos a month. I heard that's how many regular soldiers the Spanish have."
"Impossible! Where would the Free Army get so much money? Apart from the main force, most of the Independent Army doesn't receive pay and survives entirely by robbing supplies from foreigners."
"It's absolutely true. My brother-in-law went to join them the day before yesterday, and they immediately gave him his military pay and resettlement allowance. Yesterday afternoon, they sent the money home."
"Who are these Free Army soldiers? Are they here to fight the Spanish?"
"I haven't heard of them fighting the Spanish, but I heard they fought a battle with the natives, not only wiping out the Balangai tribe but also seizing their village as a camp."
"Barangai? Wasn't this tribe just relocated from the mountains by the Spanish last year? How did they offend the Free Army?"
"You live in the city, so you don't know. This Balangai tribe is no different from bandits. Since they came to our area, they've killed countless of our fellow villagers. My neighbor's son was beaten to death by them last month."
"That Balangai tribe deserves to die!"
"The Free Army has done a good thing."
"My brother-in-law has been stealing chickens and dogs all day long since he lost his job. He doesn't do anything worthwhile. We might as well send him over to earn some military pay."
......
Chen Feng, pleased to hear this, chimed in, "Brother, aren't you afraid your brother-in-law will die on the battlefield?"
"When have we Chinese ever had a peaceful day in Luzon? Now that the workshops have all shut down, we can't earn any money, and we'll starve to death sooner or later."
Chen Feng then asked the crowd, "Do you know what the Chinese Free Army's aims are? Does it have any slogans?"
Upon hearing this, the noisy stall area instantly fell silent.
Everyone looked at each other, their faces filled with confusion.
Chen Feng's heart sank slightly. He thought to himself: The publicity work is still inadequate. Tian Gang and the others were only focused on the benefits and forgot to clarify the team's goals. We must make changes when we get back.
Just as he was leaving in disappointment, a childish voice suddenly called out from behind him.
"I know!"