Chapter 273 The First Austro-Vietnamese War
When the Austrian Empire's letter of war and the so-called "Ten Hatreds" were delivered to his palace, Emperor Mingming knew the catastrophe his son had caused. He passed away in a moment of rage.
Of course, this was not included in Franz's calculations, and the life and death of the former emperor no longer mattered, because it did not matter to the Austrian Empire who the opponent was, or even to Vietnam.
At this time, Emperor Shao Zhi did not feel sad because of his father's death. Instead, he felt a trace of sadness in his heart. It's a pity that the destined emperor is afraid of yellow-haired ghosts!
Nguyen Phuc Chun's confidence was not unfounded. At this time, Vietnam had 150,000 elite soldiers, and those who participated in the invasion of Chenla were just some temporarily recruited bandits and landless farmers, not regular troops at all.
At the same time, the Vietnamese Navy had a total of 300 large and small warships. Although they were not comparable to the huge bird ships of the Qing Dynasty, they did have huge flying boats.
This large-scale fortune ship is more than 36 meters long, about 7 meters wide, has 24 cabins, and can carry 1,500 stones. Each ship is equipped with more than 30 sailors and boatmen and 80 sailors. It is equipped with double masts, double rudders and double anchors.
(It is a relic of shipbuilding technology of the Ming Dynasty, but it is actually not up to the level of the Ming Dynasty.)
His naval warfare rules were adapted from Shi Lang's Tianxing Formation. The force configuration of this formation is like the diagonal flight of wild geese. The key point is to give full play to the power of the shooting arms. If the firepower is dominant, it will naturally be unfavorable.
(A modified version of the Wild Goose Formation. The name seems to have been given by the old man Shi Quan. The information was obtained from martial arts novels. It is just to make you laugh.)
While Franz was building momentum in Europe, the war started in Asia. After all, he was not sure whether other powers would also get involved.
The Austrian Empire's expeditionary force did receive a lot of donations and volunteers. Because the momentum was too large, Friedrich had to take charge personally.
Of course, he himself really hopes to fight this war. After all, he has not fought with Asian countries yet, and he also wants to test the power of new weapons. The propellant propellant of rockets is denser and the shape is more aerodynamic.
After the war began, as soon as the 100,000 Vietnamese army arrived in Hue (from the north to the center) from Hanoi, its leading general received news that the Southern Navy had been defeated by Kampong Som, the South China Sea, and the North Sea.
Whether it was the shuttle boats that the Vietnamese had high hopes for before the war, or those rice boats (which are a bunch of sampan boats, basically driven by oars.), they were all vulnerable to the steam battleships of the Austrian fleet.
With only one third-level battleship and seven frigates, all these 14th-century antiques were sent to the bottom of the sea.
Immediately afterwards, the transport ship carrying the Skitarii composed of Chenla people landed at Haiphong (an important port in Vietnam) and approached the Vietnamese capital.
This move was beyond Emperor Shao Zhi's expectation. He originally thought that with 50,000 elite soldiers and local troops, there would be no problem in defending the capital.
But who would have thought that in the first battle outside Haiphong Port, more than 20,000 of his own troops would be defeated.
Although the actual number of casualties was only a few hundred, due to the huge firepower gap and the fact that the leading Vietnamese general was killed on the spot, the remaining terrified officers and soldiers fled as if they were infected by the plague.
The news reached Hue, and Emperor Shao Zhi sent a flying pigeon to deliver the message overnight, calling for reinforcements from the army. Li Shan, who was leading the expedition, had to lead his troops towards Hanoi, but before he could reach the battlefield, another battle broke out in the Jiulongjiang Plain in the south. The local defenders were attacked from the east and west and suffered heavy losses.
Emperor Shaozhi sent Li Shan on an expedition again. After receiving the order in a hurry, the latter wanted to supply supplies in Hue, but news came that the outskirts of Hue City had been captured by the enemy.
At this time, the general didn't care so much. He intended to fight to the death with the yellow-haired ghost and the accomplices of the tall barbarians here.
But this dream came to nothing again. When the Vietnamese army arrived in Hue City, the enemy had already disappeared.
What's worse is that the ordnance and supplies in the city's storage warehouses were either snatched away or distributed to local civilians. This move can be described as murderous and heart-breaking.
Just when the Vietnamese were trying to save the unfavorable war situation, the bad news that Hanoi and the Jiulongjiang Plain were in emergency at the same time came again.
At this time, Emperor Shao Zhi, who was in the Hue Palace, finally understood his father's good intentions.
Because when the Skitarii attacked the outer city, he had a certain understanding of the enemy's strength. Originally, the other party could easily capture the palace and end the war quickly, but they did not do so.
Obviously, the real purpose of Huang Mao who controls the Chenla area is not only to show off his force, but also to make his own army exhausted.
Soon after hearing the report of the loss of the Jiulongjiang Plain, Emperor Shaozhi decided to surrender. Representatives of both sides negotiated on an Austrian warship in the Gulf of Tonkin.
The agreement was drawn up by Franz early on, and the conditions were that Vietnam was required to cede the Jiulongjiang Plain area and pay an indemnity of three million taels of silver.
However, Emperor Shao Zhi refused, and he decided to use force to retake the Jiulongjiang Plain. Austria soon once again sent a land and sea attack to the city of Hue.
The Royal Forest Army guarding the Imperial City is already considered one of the most elite troops in Vietnam. But the soldiers carrying old-fashioned iron armor and muskets were no match for the Austrian Marine Corps.
What's more, this time Austria has doubled the number of warships equipped for this ocean-going battle, and the person in charge is Archduke Friedrich himself.
This arrogant genius boy did not care about the value of cultural relics. He directly ordered the Vietnamese capital to be rocket-cleansed.
Immediately afterwards, 20,000 rounds of new rodless spin rockets roared across the earth, directly burning the city of Hue, which was mainly made of wood, to the ground.
Even the palace in the city was affected, with nearly half of the ancillary buildings destroyed. Of course, as the foundation of the Nguyen Dynasty, the resistance here is quite fierce.
When the Austrian Marines entered the city of Hue, which was almost in ruins, there were still Vietnamese wearing poor armor and holding short daggers in their hands, shouting and rushing out, but this was of no avail.
But at this time, they were no longer the invincible army that swept through Shanxi (the name of the place in Vietnam) and intended to conquer the Central Plains.
The charge of these men became meaningless in the face of the three-part volley and fierce firepower superiority of the Austrian army. Even if our own side occasionally suffers casualties, they will be borne by the Skitarii in front.
Friedrich didn't know how the church and Franz tamed this group of servants, but since there was cannon fodder, there was no reason for him to risk his elite troops.
Soon, Friedrich and his men arrived at the Royal Palace in Hue, surrounded by soldiers.
Half of this majestic palace has been reduced to ruins, but its former glory can still be vaguely seen.
There were several Vietnamese standing at the palace gate with their heads raised and squinting. Their expressions seemed to accuse Friedrich of his treason, but it didn't take long for these proud heads to leave their master's body.
Friedrich didn't want to waste time. Since these people didn't want to talk, let's change the group.