In the early hours of the morning, a faint layer of fog rose on the surface of the Tonle Sap River, and everything was silent. Hu Min and his more than 200 elites rode the 13 large sampans brought by Song Zutai, put away the sails, and rowed down the river to the port on the other side.

Two light mortars, knives, numerous arquebuses, and two grenades for each of the strongest soldiers, the men were armed to the teeth. The forces of the Zhenla people were unable to monitor all the nearby river banks, so Hu Min chose a gentle stretch of beach and abandoned the boat to land. Hu Min raised his right hand and led 200 soldiers to march in ranks, while the rest followed behind with mortars.

As they approached the port, they were spotted by the Chenla people, and chaos erupted in the barracks. Hu Min observed for a while, and a sneering expression appeared on his face. Regardless of the numerical inferiority, Hu Min dispersed the gunmen and fired his guns at the Zhenla military camp from all sides. Most of these Zhenla soldiers were serfs who had just put down their hoes, and they were able to make do with the camp or stay in a flank during the day, and their reaction was very clumsy in the face of night raids. Hu Min took out more than 30 people, handed them over to his most trusted officers, and rushed to the dock to seize the ship. Five junk boats and several river boats were parked there, and the Phnom Penh guards of Chenla had interests in these maritime merchants and did not dare to burn the Chinese and Quang Nam sea ships like Udong.

The moonlight shone on the sword, reflecting a bright and cold light. These former Ming soldiers and pirates, who were skilled in sea jumping, quickly dispersed dozens of Zhenla guards and took control of the docks.

Hu Min asked Song Zutai, who landed together, "Boss Song, when will your people move?" ”

"Brother Hu, don't worry", Song Zutai beckoned his subordinates to come over, and 3 fireworks rose into the sky.

In a large warehouse next to the wharf, more than 100 members of the Song family came out with steel knives.

Hu Min nodded, "Boss Song, let your people drive these five boats to the other side." ”

Song Zutai: "Besieging the Zhenla military camp, doesn't Brother Hu need my help?" ”

Hu Min's eyes moved with the two light mortar cannons, "Boss Song, you better hurry up and drive the boat." ”

Seeing this, Song Zutai did not force it, and commanded his men to go to the dock to untie the cable and raise the sails.

Hu Min personally commanded two teams of gunners to escort the mortar to the area 130 meters away from the Zhenla Walled City. The artillerymen stuffed two grenades into the chamber and lit the fuse. After two muffled sounds, the grenade whirled towards the Jinla camp, the fuses on the shells flashing in the air. An explosion was heard, and a fire erupted in the enemy camp. Hu Min breathed a sigh of relief and blew one. Grenades are very unreliable, and luck with blowing one up is not bad. The artillerymen reloaded, and the rate of fire was not fast, so they brought 30 shells and fired slowly.

Some of the bravest soldiers managed to get in front of the enemy camp and throw grenades into it, which would have made the enemy even more stunned if they couldn't get in.

The Zhenla people were blinded by the surprise attacks of the former Ming army and pirates, and the muzzle flames lit up everywhere made it impossible to figure out how many enemies had come. They had been holding the camp all night, and there were not many firearms in the counterattack, and the weak projection force caused almost no casualties to Hu Min's men.

When it was dark, Hu Min dropped the mortar that had been depleted of shells, withdrew the soldiers from all over the place, and relied on Song Zutai's warehouse to establish a support point. The Chenla army launched several counterattacks, all of which were repulsed by the platoon. Hu Min didn't go out to pursue, and stayed firmly in the bridgehead.

It was almost noon, and the Zhenla army of Phnom Penh City went out of the city to reinforce, but they had been fighting for too long and came late. Army regiments on the east bank have docked on transport ships.

When Shou Xuan saw Hu Min, he said to him, "5 knights, Captain Hu can apply for his own list." ”

The knighthood can be hereditary, and in addition to these five knightly titles, Hu Min can also get a large area of entrusted custody at the mouth of the Mekong River, which is enough to house his brother.

Commander of the 1st Army Regiment Karl. Langemann led the 1st Battalion to the west and blocked the west gate of Phnom Penh, and led the 2nd Battalion to block the south gate. When the follow-up Lao and Siamese soldiers arrived, they surrounded the city from both sides. There were 4 4-pounder cannons and 2 howitzers, 3 for each of the two groups. The Zhenla army in the city counterattacked several times, but they were powerless, leaving only a few dozen corpses and fleeing backwards.

Like most cities, Phnom Penh's main residential areas are outside the city. In the face of the impending catastrophe, the Zhenla people also had different choices, some fled to Wudong through the open north gate, some fled into the city, and most still hid at home. When the cavalry had landed, the Commander scattered them all to the north, establishing a search front to the north and blocking the main road of escape. Shou Xiang sent three small boats, hung up their sails, and rode the southwest wind to the north, and informed the brigade remaining in the north to go south and cross the river at the four forks.

The coalition forces dug trenches outside the city and built camp fortifications, but the order did not immediately attack the city.

When Prince Sutama arrived with a heavy baggage, the cavalry search curtain north of Phnom Penh retreated all the way to the city, and the Chenla army in Udong also gathered south and appeared in the northwest of Phnom Penh. Probably for King Anzan, Phnom Penh was the city he had to rescue.

As in classical times, King Anzan sent a letter of war to Prince Sutama, and both sides agreed to fight.

The battlefield was in the wilderness northwest of Phnom Penh.

The Dutch and allied forces, totaling 5,000 men, equipped with 4 cannons, light mortars and howitzers, built an inner front of Phnom Penh City. Another 2,000 people were assigned to stay in the camp to guard more than 20,000 prisoners of war.

The frontal battlefield concentrated 14,000 allied troops, with the orderly Jincheng Army Regiment as the core of the whole army, 3,000 Siamese soldiers and 2,000 followers to establish the right flank, and the weakly equipped Laotians on the left flank.

In mid-February, the weather was clear with almost no clouds.

The number of Jinla soldiers in the telescope is almost three times that of the coalition army. Because the coalition forces were advancing too slowly, it seemed that King Anzan had time to mobilize his entire army to the south of Lake Tonle Sap.

Both the right flank of the coalition and the left flank of the Chenla army relied on a small lake north of Phnom Penh as a natural obstacle, while the other flank extended as far southwest as possible, as the left flank of the coalition forces was slightly bent inward due to the small number of troops.

Prince Sutama, as the titular commander, was on the central front along with Shou Order. Harus is also here.

The prince's attendants set up tents that were open on all sides, spread carpets, and set up tables, chairs, and fruits. Harus also offered a barrel of red wine as a drink to quench the thirst of the commanders.

The enemy army was poorly equipped and disheveled. Only some of the men under the banner of King Anzan on the central front had metal armor and muskets, and some of the soldiers on both flanks even carried hoes.

Both sides coincidentally placed the war elephants in the center of the battle line.

Harus put down his binoculars, sat back down, and said to Order, "There are many enemy troops, but most of them are peasants. ”

Shou Zhi nodded, "And they don't have cavalry. ”

Shou Xuan said to Gunner Lindenberg, "Let's get started." ”

Lindenberg saluted and strode away.

An ensemble of siege artillery and heavy field artillery sounded, and after a few rounds of test firing, the shells of the heavy artillery smashed into the military formation of the Zhenla people. In the dry season, the ground is dry and prone to ricochet. Every hit shell brought out a bloody alley.

King Anzan couldn't wait any longer, and the Zhenla army, led by more than 20 war elephants, launched a charge.

The chaotic crowd rushed over as if to engulf the coalition forces in one gulp, and in order to embolden themselves, they let out strange cries as they rushed.

Behind the battle line, the defenders of Phnom Penh also organized troops to break out and try to flank the front and rear. The sound of artillery in the rear also quickly sounded.

Harus plucked out his ears and said to Order, "What a nasty noise. ”

Prince Sutama held back for a while, but he couldn't help but ask, "Commander Harus, there won't be any problems in the future." ”

Harus was a little dismissive of his allies' worries, "Your Royal Highness, even without artillery and fortifications, my 240 soldiers can hold off 1,000 Jinla charges with platoon guns. ”

Shou Xuan glanced at the two of them and did not speak.

The prince took with him several maids-in-waiting, fair-skinned, lightly dressed women who roamed around them, offering fruit and pouring red wine into the silver glasses that the prince had brought.

The siege artillery was located behind the line, and they had plenty of range to worry about accidentally damaging friendly troops. As the enemy approached, the 4-pounder field guns also came into range, and the artillerymen fired faster rates of fire than arquebuses.

The cannon roared, the smoke filled the air, and Prince Sutama turned his head to look at his ally.

Shou Xuan picked up the silver glass full of red wine, a smile on his face, and the bright red wine oozed from his mouth.

The sound of volleys of guns resounded in the sky, and the war elephants of the coalition army passed through the array to meet the elephants of the Zhenla people. War Elephants are exceptionally noble troops, and they can be as powerful as meat tanks on the right battlefield.

The war elephants on both sides became entangled. The light infantry of Siamese and Chenla fought back and forth between the elephant's legs, and once trampled by the elephant, it was the end of a mess of meat. Shou Xuan stood up, he watched with interest the duel of war elephants, artillery battles, infantry battles, cavalry battles, this is the first time that war elephants fight each other.

The Zhenla people had more war elephants, but 4 of them were knocked down by the cannons on the way to the charge, and 2 of them were killed by their own elephants when they lost control. The Asian elephant is actually no smaller than the African elephant, and there are many myths about the African elephant in later generations. The battle between the largest land creatures is still visually stunning.

There were no elephants on the battle line, and the Zhenla army actually rushed to the position where the soldiers were close to each other. Harus was a little moved, and the soldiers who defended their homeland sometimes burst out with admirable courage.

But there is a saying in war that courage can come at any time, but equipment and supplies will not. Artillery is the god of war, after the human war entered the era of hot weapons, the battlefield was quickly ruled by all kinds of artillery, and the shells caused more than half of the casualties in the war.

Under the intensive fire of field artillery, the Zhenla people paved the way for the charge with corpses, and the enemy troops fell like bees in front of the coalition forces. The spear formation at the forefront was not tested too much, and the platoon of guns made more and more corpses in front.

This is the end of the achievements of the Zhenla, and their attack momentum is exhausted.

"Colonel Walter." Shou ordered to call out to his friend.

The cavalry chief, dressed in half-armor, stood up.

"It's your turn to strike, catch Anzan, dead or alive."

Walter clenched his right fist, made a Roman salute to the order, and stepped out of the tent and stepped onto his warhorse.

More than 600 cavalry were assembled in Jincheng and Siam, and Walter led them on foot to the left flank.

The armored cavalry was in the first row, the hussars were in the second, and the Siamese cavalry was on both flanks.

Walter drew his straight sword, "Behind me." ”

The cavalry of Jincheng lined up in spaced horizontal formations and swept from the left flank to the center. The sunlight shone on the plate armor, reflecting a dazzling silver light.

Cuirassiers, with straight swords, and light cavalry with sabers, swept the ranks of the Chenla. The military music of "Victory Belongs to Us" sounded, and Holren threw himself into the reserves, easily breaking through the line of the Zhenla army.

Shou Xuan put down his glass and said to his allies, "Your Royal Highness, gentlemen, the battle is over. ”

Like an avalanche, the army lost its organization and fled backwards. From fighting desperately to turning around and running away, less than 1 hour passed. Blood and courage are a necessary quality of the army, but it is always the artillery that plays a decisive role, and if it cannot be decided, it can only mean that the number of cannons is not enough.

King Anzan's elephant did not enter the battle, and he was shocked by the sudden change in the battle situation before him. Abandoning the war elephants, he mounted his horse and ran away with a group of Malay mercenaries, and on the way back to Wudong City, the king encountered a group of Buddhist soldiers organized by the monastery.

King Anzan was shocked, "Great Teacher, what are you going to do?" ”

Dressed in a yellow monk's robe and with his right arm exposed, the master of the Wudong Monastery folded his hands and pointed at the mercenaries beside the king, "Your Majesty, you have attracted the devil and caused this great calamity to our country. We, the disciples of Buddhism, have the responsibility to exterminate these demons. ”

“allahakbar！” Strange language sounded.

After the heavy gunfire, the mercenaries, whom the king regarded as his helpers, went to see the 72 virgins.

Several Buddhist soldiers stepped over the corpse, pulled the king off his horse, and looked at the monastery master.

The Grand Master sighed, shook his head, and left. The Buddhist soldier understood, crossed the knife in his hand, and pulled it over the king's neck.

On the battlefield, the coalition forces carried out a relentless pursuit, all the way to the foot of the city of Udong.

A riot is taking place in the city, and the rebels are looting inside the city. The monks of the Theravada monastery opened the gates and knelt on the side of the road. Coalition forces rushed into the city from their side.

After several desperate assaults, the defenders of Phnom Penh opened the eastern gate and fled downstream of the Mekong River with a few boats. Those who could not escape could only surrender to the coalition forces.

Since the fall of Lowe in 1594, the two capitals of Udong and Phnom Penh, which have been accumulated by more than 2 million Chenla people in half a century, have fallen into the hands of the invading army.

The inhabitants are crying, and the intruders are laughing.

The looting Siamese and Lao armies showed no respect for the Buddha's monasteries, razing the pagodas, burning scriptures and texts, and loading elaborate statues onto ox carts.

When the lord of the Wudong Monastery protested to Shou Order, Shou Ling could only sigh, "Great Teacher, I can only let the soldiers protect your monastery, and I am powerless to stop the robbery of the Allied forces in other places. ”

The temple was the largest landowner in Chenla, and the largest temple in Angkor Thom, the Bayan Temple, once had tens of thousands of village communities and hundreds of thousands of serfs. Today, although the temple cannot be compared with the heyday of Angkor, all the officers and soldiers of the coalition army know that in addition to the royal palace, robbing the temple is the fastest way to make a fortune.

The temple has numerous bronze Buddha statues and large bells, which are the raw material for arms for Jincheng. Except for the Wudong Temple, which is directly protected by the order, the other temples have suffered great disasters.