Siem Reap is located in Angkor Province, which was once the most powerful core ruling area of the Angkor dynasty in the history of Chenla. Inscriptions, stone walls, majestic Buddhist temples and irrigation systems throughout the region were the hallmarks of the Angkor Dynasty.

The ruins scattered across the jungle clearly show Order what a glorious civilization it once was. In the last century, King Anzan I, who revived Chenla, built Siem Reap City and rebuilt the ruins of Angkor Wat in order to reunite the people of the country after defeating the invading Siamese army.

The Four-Nation Alliance has surrounded Siem Reap, and the command of the front line is in charge of Holren, so there is no need to worry too much about order.

Shou Zhi led his three guards platoons and a squadron of light cavalry to the Angkor monuments. Angkor Thom is a majestic ancient ruin. Throughout East Asia, classical architecture is dominated by wooden structures, and there are few cities like Angkor, which are made of stone.

Stone has been around longer than wood. Although Angkor Thom has been abandoned, in the midst of the ruins, Shou Xian can still feel that it was once a prosperous city.

The outer moat of Angkor Thom is several kilometers in circumference, with two walls inside and outside. There are 3 tall towers at the main gate, and in front of the gate is a wide avenue paved with huge stones, and the road is flanked by ponds and Buddha statues, some of which have collapsed. Each pagoda has a four-sided Buddha statue facing in all directions, and everyone who enters the city is examined with a compassionate eye.

Shou Orderly stepped on the stone bridge on the outer moat, on both sides of the bridge there are dozens of kneeling stone busts lined up, one side symbolizes the gods, the other symbolizes the demons, the two sides engaged in fierce wrestling, most of the stone statues have collapsed. The reaction is about Hindu mythology.

Walk along the Angkor Thom's former Victory Gate and enter this great monument in order. An Indochinese tiger suddenly leaped up from the shadow of the stone wall and pounced on one of the Shinla slaves in the ranks, instantly locking its throat. The horses were startled by the smell of tigers and rose up one after another. The infantry of the Guards opened fire in a hurry, and the tiger roared at the crowd and disappeared into the ruins after a few jumps. The soldiers didn't hit anything, and Tiqi ordered the soldiers to cease fire, and after examining the tiger's bitten people, he shook his head at Shou Order. Locked by a tiger, there is no help.

The Indochinese tiger is very closely related to the South China tiger, because of the high overlap with the human living area, and is tied with the South China tiger as the most cannibalistic tiger subspecies. Chasing a tiger in the labyrinthine ruins was a bit more difficult, and the order temporarily put a stop to the guards' plans to fight the tiger, and he didn't come to Angkor Wat for the tiger.

The most important part of the Angkor ruins is the Angkor Temple, also known as Angkor Wat. In the southern part of Angkor Thom, the most striking feature of the temple is the stone pagoda, which is a majestic structure with a high platform.

The platform is three stories high and has five minarets. The central tower is 65 meters high, and four corner towers defend the central tower. These pagodas symbolize the house of the gods in Hindu mythology, and during the most powerful period of the Angkor Dynasty, every king built such a temple as a mausoleum after death.

The orderly stride on the high platform, on the three-story pedestal, each floor is decorated with reliefs around the perimeter. Various myths and reliefs remembering the victory fill the entire ruins, and the Guardian feels that all the stones of Angkor Temple have been carved.

The cloister on the first floor of the high platform has a roof, and the reliefs here are the most intact. Mostly lifelike characters from Hindu mythology, the Khmer carved all the stories of Vishnu fighting the demons in stone.

The southern wall of the cloister records the war between the Khmers and the Cham people, two centuries-old enemies. Standing in front of the relief, the Khmers use a mythological narrative style to depict the Cham people traveling up the Mekong River in river warships and invading their homeland.

On the picture scroll showing the battlefield, the ground is piled with the corpses of Khmer people, and Khmer soldiers step on the bodies of their comrades and march bravely. Water battles took place on the shores of Lake Tonle Sap, with armies on both sides fighting back and forth on the lake in many paddle boats. A wounded soldier hung on the side of the boat, and a huge crocodile sprang out of the lake, biting the soldier's head with a bloody mouth. The corpses of soldiers float on the surface of the water and become food for crocodiles, large turtles, and other strange fish.

On land, the Khmer kings, riding war elephants, charged the Cham army, whose corpses overlapped with the invaders, and the soldiers fought the Cham with bows, arrows, spears, and spears. The Khmer carved vivid pictures with delicate brushwork, and when war came, the peasants laid down their sickles and hoes, picked up spears and fought fearlessly against a formidable enemy. It shows the war in which our ancestors fought bravely to repel the invaders and defend the country.

Shou Xian smiled to himself, thinking that there should be many Zhenla people like the predecessors in the mural, rushing to the military camps in the provinces to resist him, the invader.

Green rattan climbed up the stone walls, and the walls were mottled with time, and the original color was no longer visible. Shou Xiang reached out and touched the stone wall, which is a sandstone that is easy to carve. With the current level of technology of the Chenla people, it is hard to imagine how much manpower they invested in building Angkor Thom hundreds of years ago.

Shou ordered Tiqi, "Pick out some beautiful sculptures and Buddha statues, and let those Zhenla people take them down." ”

The restoration of the temple of Angkor Wat by King Anzan I under the sack of the Siamese army has brought the original ruins back to life. If there is no order, in the tug-of-war between Siam and Chenla in the future, Angkor Wat will completely disappear into the jungle for a period of time, and disappear into history. It is unacceptable that many beautiful sculptures and buildings will be destroyed at the hands of Siamese soldiers, and it is necessary to salvage the treasures of human civilization and bring the best of them back to Jincheng.

Titch agreed, dispersed the guards, and began a small demolition with the slaves. The Angkor ruins are so large that only a few can be selectively intercepted. The tiger did not reappear, presumably frightened away by the sound of gunfire.

……

By the time Shou Sei returned from Angkor Wat to Siem Reap, the city had already changed hands. The Zhenla army had some artillery, but it was all light artillery and obsolete goods such as Franc machines and wrought iron cannons, and they had no power to fight back in front of the cannons in Jincheng. The battle soon ended with solid shells demolishing the women's walls, Jinla prisoners of war filling the trenches, arquebuses and light mortar guns suppressing the fire at the city head, and Siamese elephants slamming open the city gates.

Siem Reap was the first target worth mentioning, and the coalition forces decided to temporarily halt their advance and wait for the Laotians here.

There are probably more than 2 million people in Chenla, most of whom are concentrated in the Tonle Sap area. During the garrison in Siem Reap, all other troops were sent out, except for the field brigade of Jincheng, the Dutch and the core of Prince Sutanma. The cavalry and some light infantry of the coalition army set up a cordon in the direction of the stronghold of the Madwan Chenla army, and the rest of the men began to sweep through the countryside. Collect food, capture prisoners of war, and plunder property. Ten days later, when the Lao army led by Zhendala arrived in Siem Reap, there were more than 30,000 prisoners of war and more than 1,200 cattle captured on the border and in Angkor province around Siem Reap.

In addition to rice, gold and silver, Chenla mainly produces precious stones, deerskins, buffalo, freshwater fish, lacquerware, and low-quality brown sugar. The Lao army had little to do with the existing booty, and the three coalition forces divided the spoils after consultation. The Dutch only had deerskins, which were one of the main commodities they traded to Japan in exchange for silver. They were given a small amount of deerskins, so they had to promise to exchange arms and silver for their allies. Population and livestock, Siam and Shou were originally divided into six and four accounts, but Prince Sutama valued precious metals and precious stones more. Shou was also dazzled by the bright rubies and sapphires, and finally reluctantly gave all the gems to the prince, and collected more people and livestock.

After the arrival of the Lao army, the strength of the coalition forces became more abundant. Prince Sutama detached 1,600 troops from Prachinbhu and escorted prisoners of war back to China in advance. The orderly expeditionary fleet is still docked in Siam, and will return home with the hired Siamese ships to load the prisoners that Golden City has received.

After the Four-Nation Coalition Army joined forces, the main force of more than 20,000 people packed up and continued to advance. Before leaving, the Siamese army set fire to the city of Siem Reap, burning the city to the ground.

Continuing from Siem Reap, there are more than a dozen large and small rivers that flow into the Tonle Sap Lake, and the water level is not high in the dry season. As usual, the Jinla people placed their main forces on the south bank of the Tonle Sap Lake, so the allied army's advance in Hubei did not meet with noteworthy resistance. The speed of the coalition forces was not fast, capturing prisoners of war all the way to build a pontoon bridge, and it took 20 days to advance to the support point of Kampong Dong in the northeast of the capital city of Zhenla.

Prince Sutanma had never seen such a battle, and in his concept, the art of war said that soldiers should be noble and fast. Suspicious of him, Shou Ling just shrugged his shoulders, "Your Highness, I think fighting the war is just part of our job, in fact, we are mainly here to help the Zhenla people move." ”

The prince was speechless.

Holren erected heavy artillery to bombard the female wall of the same city, and the scene of Siem Reap was staged again. After a few days of rest, the coalition forces again captured more than 20,000 prisoners of war.

Watching the invaders tie up and capture them with all kinds of hemp rope and rattan, the young heart of the prince of Chenla, Padang Raja, was deeply hurt. The Prince of Siam, the Prime Minister of Laos, and Shou Xuan all ignored the prince's protests.

The towns and cities that the Four-Nation Coalition Army had captured along the way were not guarded, and according to the results of reconnaissance, the Chenla Army stationed in Madwan had cut off the way for the Coalition forces to return home. Shou Xuan didn't care about this at all, and the captured rice was enough to feed the army for four months, and since there was no fierce resistance, there was more than enough ammunition. The coalition forces did not need reinforcements from the rear, but they could no longer transport the prisoners home, so they could only take them with them.

It was only then that the Chenla people realized how serious the situation was, and King Anzan sent an envoy to the coalition army, expressing his willingness to pay tribute to Siam and offer all the silver and 100,000 stone of grain in exchange for the withdrawal of the coalition army.

Prince Sutama is like the classic villain in the book, after laughing all the time, he refuses King Chenla's request for peace.

The messenger of Chenla said angrily: "Our country has cleared the walls of the whole country, and all the cities have armed the people, and you will definitely regret it." ”

The Dutch commander Harus cut his nails carelessly, "Before the Goths captured the city of Rome, they said to the Roman messengers, 'The denser the grass grows, the less effort it will be cut.'" You can repeat this to your kings. ”

Seeing that the two great villains of the invading army had made a full tone, Shou Xuan said to the messenger, "Please go back and tell your king that we will give him time to gather his forces in the city of Wudong, and like a great king, fight us in the capital." ”

More than 150 kilometers from Kampong Thom to Udong, the army set off and rolled south with 20,000 prisoners of war, arriving at the other side of the Tonle Sap Lake in Udong City at the end of January 1644.

The commanders rode up the embankment of the river, and there was not a single boat on the east bank. On the west bank, the Zhenla people are burning the small boats they have collected, and black smoke billows into the sky.

Wudong City is more than ten miles away from the river and cannot be seen in the telescope, but on the opposite bank, the Zhenla army has built several large camps.

Harus said to the guard, "Drag your cannons up, and we will build artillery positions and force the crossing of the Tonle Sap River." ”

"It seems that we have to build a raft and a boat to cross the river," said Zhendala. ”

Orderly asked Westheim to bring the map and said to the other three coalition commanders, "Ladies and gentlemen, the Chenla are used to the slow pace of our advance, and if we make some changes, they may not be able to get used to it." ”

Prince Sutama asked Shou Order, "How has it changed?" ”

"Pick the elite and rush to Phnom Penh."

Harus: "Don't fight Udon yet?" ”

Shou Xuan shook his head and said: "Don't fight first, the capital of Zhenla must be the most heavily guarded city by them." Ladies and gentlemen, we are here to make money. The richest city in Chenla is definitely the four forks. Prince Sutama, you lead the war elephants and heavy artillery to camp here, do not cross the river, and maintain the pressure on the city of Udong. I led the army to cross the river from the four forks, captured Phnom Penh, and blocked the retreat of the Zhenla people fleeing south. ”

Prince Sutanma thought for a moment and said, "If you don't bring heavy artillery, how can you force the crossing?" ”

Shou Xuan nodded and said: "Zhenla doesn't have a water master, let's try, even if it doesn't work, it's not a big deal." ”

The prince and the prime minister consulted with the Dutch for a while and agreed to the plan of keeping order.

At present, the main force of the coalition army camped on the east bank of the Tonle Sap River, and the prisoners of war were separated to cut wood and make equipment for crossing the river. The orderly heavy artillery battalion also built artillery positions on the banks of the river, and from time to time fired harassing fire at the Chenla barracks.

In the evening, Shou Ling, with 300 cavalry, a Jincheng Army regiment and two volunteer battalions, 2000 Siamese Army, 2000 Lao Army, and all the Dutch, a total of more than 6000 people, advanced south under the cover of the main force of the coalition army.

The Order brought only howitzers, light mortars, and a few four-pounder guns. The artillery and Siamese troops marched in the rear, and the orderly led the others to march lightly.

There are more than 20 kilometers from Wudong to Sichakou, and the Jincheng Army and the Dutch are no strangers to forced marches. What makes the order respectful is that these mountain people in Laos are also very hard, and they can easily keep up with the brigade. The Lao soldiers were poorly armed, most of them had only a rattan badge and an iron knife or spear, and had few firearms, relying on bows and arrows for long-range fire.

It only took one night for the cavalry at the front of the coalition army to reach the four forks and sweep away the nearby Zhenla people. What Shou Xuan did not reveal to the Coalition Commander-in-Chief was that he had a leading party in Phnom Penh.

Like other commercial hubs in Southeast Asia, Phnom Penh is a city with a large Chinese population. The Chinese have been colonizing Chenla for hundreds of years, and after the fall of the Southern Song Dynasty, a wave of remnants of the Song Dynasty settled in Chenla and Siam.

Phnom Penh was the economic center of Chenla's rise after the maritime age, and river boats transported Quanchenla's products to Phnom Penh via the Tonle Sap River and the Mekong River, and from there they were loaded onto sea ships to be shipped abroad. Prior to their arrival, according to the information gathered, the Portuguese missionaries described Phnom Penh as having 20,000 houses and more than 100,000 merchants, freemen and slaves.

Because of the war brought by the invading army, more refugees poured into the city. Like most people, the Chenla people subconsciously flee to the city during the war, and Phnom Penh's tall four walls can bring a lot of security.

As an economic centre, Phnom Penh is now home to 3,000 Chinese, a larger population under their control, and even an army in Chenla. Of course, it was impossible for Shou Xiang to rebel against all the Chinese in Phnom Penh, and before the expedition, through the Chinese merchants in Nanyang, Shou Xiang got in touch with the Chinese leaders in Phnom Penh. At the time, they did not give a definitive answer. But now, Zhenla is almost doomed, many Chinese merchants have fled the danger, and among the remaining people are adventurers who want to fight.

On the night they arrived at the bank of the Sichakou River, 13 small flat-bottomed boats with black painted sails rowed upstream on the opposite bank.

Tiqi brought the messenger to the Order and handed him the name post.

The envoy took off his hood and looked at him in order, "Mr. Song is here in person?" ”

The envoy took a deep look, "Zu Tai is too late, please forgive me." ”

Shou Xuan smiled, "It's not too late, it's just right." ”

Song Zutai was a little sorry, "The Zhenla people have controlled my big ship, and it can't move when it stops in the harbor." All I have is these 13 sampans hidden upstream. ”

Shou Order: "How many ships are there in the harbor now?" ”

"Of the 5 ships, I have 2 of them, and the remaining 3 are from Quang Nam."

"How many defenders are there?"

"800 people."

Shou Xuan stood up, "Mr. Song, please come with me." ”

Calling Westheim and the staff team, they stepped up to the embankment in an orderly manner. A breeze blew, and the moon appeared from behind the dark clouds, and under the bright moonlight, the military camp of the Zhenla people in the port was clearly visible.

"How many soldiers can Mr. Song control?" Shou Xuan asked, turning his head.

"There are 100 families in the house."

Song Zutai sent all his family away, and he didn't do Lei Feng to fight this one.

Shou Xuan nodded and said: "I control Phnom Penh, and the conditions I promised will not change." Mr. Song can obtain the hereditary title of our country and enter the Senate. In Houjiang Mansion at the mouth of the Mekong River, Mr. can get a entrusted guardianship within a radius of 100 miles. ”

Song Zutai was overjoyed, "Thank you for the success of the country." ”

Coming down from the embankment, Shou Xiang found Hu Min, the battalion commander of the Chinese Volunteer Battalion, "Captain Hu, I heard that your soldiers are skilled in land and water warfare?" ”

Hu Min clenched his fists with both hands, but his expression was a little proud, "In Daming, I haven't lost a fight." ”

Shou Xuan nodded, "Captain Hu, I'll give you a boost artillery." You come to be the vanguard of our army, and after capturing Phnom Penh, you and your subordinates can obtain fiefs and colonization rights in Houjiang Province. ”

The Senate of Jincheng is currently studying the establishment of a title system, because the land area is not large, the duke and marquis will not be sealed, which makes people laugh. At present, it is planned to set up four ranks: Earl, Viscount, Baron and Knight. There are only two counts, Shou and Marmont, the viscount and baron are mostly officers among the old brothers, and the knights are the backbone soldiers of the old pirates.

At the rank of knight, there will be a knight's Southern Cross, which is different from the first, second and second class Southern Cross worn on the left chest, and the knight's medal is hung around the neck. The Order of Knighthood is open to all soldiers, and anyone has a chance to receive it if they fight bravely.