Chapter 1256: The Defense of Suez

Jinghua has been shrouded by the dark clouds of war, and at this moment, there is another place facing the threat of war.

The Suez Canal.

The excavation of the Suez Canal had always been very smooth.

It was nearing its end.

With Ling Chen sitting in command here, Nashadier did not dare to act too presumptuously.

After all, the East India Company was now a renowned name across the globe.

Being able to turn the entirety of Central Asia upside down with the power of a single company.

In reality, the strength of the East India Company was already comparable to that of a nation.

Many of the former great powers of Europe could not compare to it.

After Liu Zheng left, the Suez region was still able to maintain relative stability, with the British Soldiers and Nashadier's army confronting each other across the Canal.

But the British army also had its own intelligence system.

They obtained a very important piece of intelligence, which was the internal and external troubles of Longyan.

The Plague, the Tsarist Russia in the Northwest, the Mongol invasion, and the rebellion in Youzhou...

Even Liu Zheng, who had always focused his energy on various parts of the world, had to return to his country to deal with them.

Liu Zheng was entangled in Longyan, and this was the opportunity for Britain!

Although the British army and navy had conflicts before, at this time, it was clearly national interest above all else, and the two branches of the military decided to cooperate sincerely.

A large number of British Soldiers transferred toward the Suez Canal, and now, Nashadier panicked.

The British army had two hundred thousand, while he only had fifty thousand; even though Jiang Xuan's troops had previously caused significant damage to the British army, too much time had passed, and the British army had already been fully replenished.

Moreover, France was also eyeing them covetously.

As the Suez was about to be completed, it seemed that the disputes and conflicts between Britain and France were also temporarily shelved.

Their eyes were all fixed on Suez.

"What should I do?"

"Who can tell me what to do!"

Nashadier paced back and forth in the military camp, unable to help but roar.

What a headache...

Some time ago, he had been secretly colluding with Britain and France. He had originally intended to be slick and play both sides.

But after Liu Zheng came for a visit, he was dragged into the water directly!

Now, he could only follow Longyan!

He had originally thought about using the solicitation of multiple great powers to strengthen himself, but who could have expected that Longyan would suddenly be unable to attend to him.

Facing the British army alone, he could not withstand such immense pressure.

Isn't this setting someone up!

Regret!

But he regretted it too late.

Now, he could only walk down this path to the end.

He could only pin all his hopes on Ling Chen and Jiang Xuan.

Regardless, this East India Company and Jiang Xuan were also people around Liu Zheng; before Liu Zheng left, he should have given instructions regarding the follow-up here.

In fact, Ling Chen and Jiang Xuan were also worried now.

It was not that they were afraid of battle, but their current troop strength was truly insufficient. Jiang Xuan only had one thousand of the Dark Night Legion in his hands, and Ling Chen had only brought ten thousand soldiers here—after all, the East India Company's biggest business currently was still the post-war construction and governance of Central Asia.

He could not abandon the entire Central Asia and the entire India just for Suez, could he?

In that case, the main force for this battle would be Nashadier's troops, an army that had been soundly beaten by the East India Company; their combat effectiveness should not be very high, and holding off an enemy four times their size would be difficult!

Ling Chen smiled bitterly: "The Young Master is truly a hands-off manager..."

"Letting us hold the line to the death with these troops?"

"How are we to defend?"

Jiang Xuan also shook his head.

Although there were complaints everywhere, since it was a mission assigned by the Young Master, they had to complete it even if it meant risking their lives! Ling Chen had actually already issued orders to temporarily shelve the development affairs in India, and no matter what, he had to get at least fifty thousand troops over to him.

It was just that this still required time.

Jiang Xuan also knew very well that with the rabble under Nashadier, they could not withstand the attack of the British army at all; all he could do was delay time as much as possible.

Delay until the war in Jinghua ended, and delay until Ling Chen's reinforcements from India could arrive sooner.

However, Jiang Xuan knew this logic, and the British army knew it just the same.

Now, the most important thing was time; if they really waited for Liu Zheng to finish dealing with domestic affairs before taking action, Suez would not be easy to take.

The British army was prepared and was about to attack.

This time, they split their forces into two routes: Hans's army would attack from the front, while Luojinsi's navy would besiege the Yinzhou ships from the flanks.

In the past, Luojinsi would not have dared to have any ideas about the Longyan Fleet in the Suez region; the firepower of the five Yinzhou ships was far beyond what his fleet could reach.

But now, Liu Zheng had taken away three, and only two were left in Suez.

Thus, they had the confidence to take these two Yinzhou ships!

At nightfall, following a cannon blast, the positions of Nashadier's subordinates instantly turned into a sea of fire!

The British army poured all their artillery fire onto the opposite bank of the Suez Canal!

This time, they did not care about any tactics or strategies; since they already had an absolute advantage, they would act like a fierce tiger descending from the mountain, using their powerful momentum to crush Nashadier's positions!

After the artillery bombardment, the two hundred thousand troops boarded ships and charged toward the opposite bank of the river.

However, the previous round of artillery bombardment did not destroy the defensive forces of Nashadier, because Jiang Xuan had already anticipated that the enemy would pull such a stunt, so he had long since dug air-raid shelters beneath the positions.

After the artillery fire ended, the soldiers re-entered their positions, with their firearms and crossbows all aimed at the crossing British army.

When the British army drew near, a general gave the order, and firearms and crossbows fired in unison; countless bullets and arrows blanketed the British army.

The British Soldiers charging at the very front went straight to meet God, but this did not slow their pace of attack, and there were still countless boats sailing toward the opposite bank of the river.

At this moment, General Hans was also surprised that after suffering such a fierce bombardment, they could actually still organize a powerful counterattack.

It seems this Sudanese Army is truly resilient.

Although surprised, Hans was not nervous; if one round of artillery fire didn't wipe them out, then he would just fire a second round, as currently, the thing his camp lacked the least was Cannonball.

After the British Artillery were ready, several more rounds of artillery fire were blasted toward the Sudanese Army positions.

The first time, with the cover of the air-raid shelters, the losses of the Sudanese Army were not large, but this time, they were on the positions, and now, they could not evade the artillery attacks.

The soldiers were exposed within the range of the artillery coverage, and suddenly, a large group of people were blown away by the artillery fire.

The soldiers were pinned down by the Cannonball and could not lift their heads, and the crossing British Soldiers therefore successfully landed!

At this time, the artillery fire had stopped, but the British Soldiers were surging onto the shore in an endless stream, engaging in hand-to-hand combat with the Sudanese Army on the positions.

The Sudanese Army were mostly Cavalry, and their strength in dismounted combat was a notch inferior; although there were fewer than twenty thousand British troops on the positions now, they had already completely suppressed them in terms of momentum.

Seeing this scene, Nashadier became anxious.

The offensive of the British army was too fast, which left him without even a chance to surrender!

"Little General, you must come up with an idea; if we cannot hold the riverbank, we will all die!" Nashadier urged.

This time, the person responsible for defending the battle was still Jiang Xuan.

"Quiet! Let me think!"

Jiang Xuan rebuked sternly; he had originally thought that by defending against the river, these fifty thousand men could hold out for at least ten days or half a month, but he had not expected that as soon as they engaged in battle, they would be beaten into a rout.

It was truly unimaginably weak.

Relying on others is not as good as relying on oneself; at this time, he could only count on the Dark Night Legion.

"Tell your soldiers to hold the riverbank positions to the death; I am going to intercept their reinforcements!" Jiang Xuan said, and then he set off with his one thousand men from the Dark Night Legion.

For one thousand men to try to hold off an attack by over one hundred thousand seemed like a pipe dream, but Jiang Xuan intended to give it a try! Pop-ups are severe recently, you can click to download to avoid pop-ups.