The man raised his hand and wiped the sweat from his forehead. After a rush of running, the heartbeat beat violently beat on the eardrums, and the eyes were slightly black.

He reached into his arms and pulled out the roll of notes. Sweat stained, a line of ink has been dissipated, but it is still eye-catching.

No sooner had the delicate white silk robe been draped over the chief's right shoulder than the door of the dormitory was slammed open, and the maid let go of her hands in shock, and the robe fell to the ground with a thud.

She recognized the middle-aged man who had been driving in for a long time, the chief's bodyguard, who was usually peaceful and kind, and had no samurai spirit at all. However, at this time, she suddenly felt instinctive fear, and he was no longer the kind man she knew.

He glanced at her.

The maid shrank for a moment, and without even picking up the robe that had fallen to the ground, she hurriedly withdrew, her eyes always lowered, not daring to touch the middle-aged man again.

"Mesa Ode?" The chief looked at him with a brow of confusion, as he stooped down to pick up his robe and put it on.

Maisaod's lips were so dry that he couldn't make a sound, but silently took out a small object from his bosom and handed it over. It was a two-finger-wide scroll of paper, crumpled in a haphazard ball.

The scroll was almost halfway unfolded, and the chief suddenly closed his eyes tightly, as if burned by the words, and it was a long time before he could read it again.

There was a heavy silence in the bedroom. "Is this news true?" After a long moment, the chief finally asked. His voice was empty and scattered.

"This is the news brought in by the merchant ships that entered the port this afternoon, because of the weather, the British warships did not shell today. There was also no ban on merchant ships entering the port. ”

The chief lowered his eyes again to look at the note in his hand.

"The British army dispatched twenty-five thousand men. Alexandria could not be held. Olabi Pasha will not succeed......" the chief muttered, his voice growing hoarse and harsh. "Cairo will also be captured...... We shouldn't be involved......"

He suddenly launched a fierce attack, and with all his strength, he slammed the note in front of him.

It was not unaware of the chieftain's reaction, but he was still unable to respond, so he stepped forward and pressed the chief's somewhat thin shoulders tightly.

He's just a chief. He had only a thousand camel cavalry in his hands, but he could not dispatch them, and they were requisitioned by Olabi Pasha. Now it is the logistics task force of the Egyptian army.

The chief was silent, his eyes hooked up on the note he had just thrown.

The note was soft and weak, and as soon as it was taken off, it lost its strength, and it slowly floated in the air like a cicada's wings for half a quarter before falling to the ground silently. Those Huo Ran's outburst of anger and words seemed to be swallowed silently by this room, leaving no embers or echoes.

"What do you think, Mesade?" The chief asked his closest guard.

"We Bedouin, a free race, are not at the mercy of anyone." Mesade replied calmly. "All things are done according to the will of the true God Zera."

The Bedou Indians loved a free and unfettered life, and heroic behavior was the highest standard of morality for each person in the nomadic tribes. Brave, righteous, brave to charge for the interests of the clan, willing to sacrifice his life, perseverance, hard-working, enthusiastic, free, unrestrained. It is a personality trait of the Bedou Indians. In order to enjoy maximum freedom, the Bedou Indians preferred to live a harsh nomadic life rather than a settled city life.

The Bedou Indians do not recognize any law other than tribal traditions, do not obey any regime other than the chiefs of their own tribe, do not recognize any political system, have no concept of discipline and authority, and do not have the political organization that sedentary societies have. They followed the customs of their predecessors, were subject to the restraint of tribal conventions, and whatever was publicly approved was lawful. The society in which they lived was called a "society without government", and the clans related by blood were the basis of their society. By blood, they united their families into clans; Combine clans into tribes. In order to strengthen the need for power, the tribes were united to form a tribal alliance. During the mission of the Prophet Muhammad, the Bedouins converted to Islam. Fierce, courageous, and tenacious, they became the basic force for Muhammad's unification of the Arabian Peninsula and the subsequent expansion of the caliphate, and then spread throughout the vast desert regions of West Asia and North Africa. In modern times, the Bedouyin tribes had to submit to the state power of their nomadic lands, but still maintained their tribal characteristics: patriarchal system, patrilineal society, intra-clan marriage, and polygamous families.

Now in order to defend Alexandria, more than 1,000 Bedouins and more than 2,000 camels were forcibly conscripted into the Egyptian army by Olabi Pasha to transport supplies to Alexandria.

"You're right, Nara knows everything, and everything is done according to Chella's will." The Chief nodded meaningfully, "Cera will tell us how to do it." ”

Yesterday he had already seen the British fleet attack on the Egyptian coastal batteries in Alexandria, and watched as the fortified batteries were destroyed by the terrible fire of the British ships. He knew that no matter what, he would not be able to compete with such a force.

At this time, he had actually made a decision in his heart.

On the "Indomitable", the British sailors were distressed because they had nothing to do, and among them, there were also those non-commissioned officers and cadets who were interning.

Chen Wei walked along the side of the ship, looking at the enemy positions on the shore, his face gloomy, as if it were today's weather.

The gloomy sky and the mist of the sea separated the warring sides. This separation, in Chen Wei's view, is a boundary. Beyond it, is the real life of the battle.

"When will we fight again, is there any news?" Behind him, Wu Yingke asked the companions standing on the deck.

"Not at all!" Li Dingxin replied with some dejection.

"Really, shall we go to the infantry?" Kong Dache asked stupidly.

"Are you going to make a mess of people? Our training is for fighting at sea, on warships. Liu Chuanjin glared at him.

"I want the shelling to resume now, I want to go to the main battery and help the gunners reload." Kong Dache said again.

"Then you might as well join the Marine Corps. It's good to participate in the landing operation. There were several concealed batteries, which the artillery of our battleship could not hit. You go and take them down. Li Dingxin gave him a blank look.

"It's not like I haven't been ashore." Kong Dache patted his chest, "I'll tell the commander in a moment to join the landing force." Those Egyptians, I really didn't pay attention to them. ”

"If you go, I'll go too." Liu Chuanjin also said.

"Okay, count me in." Li Dingxin obviously had this plan for a long time, and the proposal just now was not a whim.

It was as if some kind of power had penetrated into his chest, and Chen Wei couldn't remember it now. The enthusiastic, whimsical proposals that everyone said one after another and were refuted. After a long and tiring debate, the result was a simplest decision.

"Why don't you go to the commander to find out the situation, is it that the troops for the landing operation have been arranged?" Liu Guanxiong asked.

A quarter of an hour later, Chen Wei walked into Fisher's captain's room with the Qianguo cadets.

"Sir," Chen Wei was the first to speak, "this year's Qianguo cadets are about to graduate. Internship...... They are all brave warriors. They want ......"

"We want to take part in the landing force, seize the enemy's hidden batteries and clear the way for the follow-up troops." Li Dingxin couldn't wait to interject.

"To be honest, I don't understand what you mean. What do you want me to do? Fisher asked slowly, looking at each of them in turn with his tired, reddened eyes.

The cadres eagerly began to explain their situation. Rushing to talk to each other. The puzzled look on Fisher's face gradually turned into a pleasant smile. He slapped the folder loudly on the table and stood up.

"That's great! You've come just in time! I was about to request the immediate organization of a landing force. What are your names? ”

"Li Dingxin."

"Liu Guanxiong."

"Du Jipeng."

"Kong Dache...... Liu Chuanjin...... Lan Jianshu...... Wu Yingke...... Mi Zhen Rong ......"

Fisher wrote down their names on a one-page calendar.

After the Qianguo students left. Fisher found that Chen Wei was still standing in front of him.

"You haven't written down my name yet, sir." Chen Wei stared at Fisher.

"Chen, you're going too?" Fisher asked.

"I am their instructor, chief, although they are Qianguo, they also know to serve the glorious Royal Navy, and as a member of the Royal Navy, I am also an instructor, of course I have to set an example for them." Chen Wei replied quietly.

"Tomorrow as soon as the weather improves, the shelling will resume and we will smash all the remaining batteries of the Egyptians, and maybe we will not need a landing force." Fisher said.

"No, the landing force is necessary." Chen Wei shook his head, "I don't think our artillery accuracy is high, and it is difficult to completely destroy the Egyptian fortress." The damage we have done to them only looks severe. ”

"What do you think?" Fisher was taken aback.

"Yes, sir." Chen Wei replied, "We did destroy some of the main batteries of the Egyptians, but there are also some batteries that were not devastated, and the Egyptians will definitely repair them today, and I think that it is necessary to send marines to land and seize these batteries under the cover of the fleet's artillery fire, so that they can really eliminate their threat." And I'm willing to take on that task. ”

"It's a very dangerous task." Looking at the heroic Chen Wei in front of him, Fisher sighed.

"No matter how dangerous the mission, the officers of the Royal Navy will not back down." Chen Wei said in a deep voice, "Since I became an officer in the Royal Navy, I have not forgotten my mission and responsibilities for a moment, and now is the time for me to fulfill them. ”

Fisher felt a surge of heat surging in his heart, and he nodded vigorously, "Okay! I promise you! Old! ”

Chen Wei solemnly gave a military salute to Fisher, turned around and left the captain's room.

Fisher watched Chen Wei's figure disappear in front of him, his heart full of pride in the Royal Navy.

"Now I know why those cadres are fighting for Britain." He looked at the long list on the table and said to himself.

At 8 a.m. on 13 September, when the weather finally cleared and the sea fog was blown away, Vice Admiral Seymour immediately gave the order to fight, and the British fleet again launched an artillery bombardment of Alexandria.

The mast on the flagship "Indomitable" once again raised a huge battle flag, leading the ships to the shore. Concentrated fire on the batteries of the Egyptians. Sure enough, it was as Chen Wei judged. In the battery that was destroyed the day before. Several of them resumed sporadic firing, and as the Indomitable was approaching, one Egyptian shell nearly hit the mast of the Indomitable.

The British fleet intensified its fire suppression, and 5 gunboats and 1 mine-strike ship that had been on guard also joined the shelling. Lord Berryford accurately judged the maximum depression angle of the Egyptian coastal guns, personally led the boat to the "Malabut" battery, and opened fire with all weapons, including rifles and Gatling guns, in the dead end of the Egyptian coastal guns.

The battle became more intense than ever. The Egyptian artillery fire was extremely fierce, the "Indomitable" as the flagship, soon became the main target of the Egyptians, a shell hit the main battery of the "Indomitable", but was blocked by the incomparably strong iron armor, the flying shrapnel caused the death of 2 sailors, 3 gunners were injured, but the morale of the sailors was not affected in the slightest, the wounded gunners were immediately replaced, and the cannon fire was not disturbed in the slightest.

The Indomitable first destroyed the last battery of the Cape Fortress with artillery fire. Then turn the muzzle of the gun and bombard the "Om Ekuber" battery with the "Chang Sheng". Due to the close distance, and the thick armor of the "Indomitable", it was not afraid of the Egyptian shells at all, and under the continuous bombardment of the 16-inch cannon of the "Indomitable", the "Omuekuber" battery finally could not support it, and a raging fire ignited, and soon it exploded, and the black smoke rising from the sky rose into the sky, and in the violent explosion, the British officers and men could even see the severed limbs of the Egyptians who were blown away.

After completely destroying the "Omuekuber" battery, the "Indomitable" turned to attack the "Mex" battery, but at this moment, a large number of shells suddenly shot out from a low hill on the coast, which landed around the "Indomitable" and "Changsheng" and exploded, stirring up a column of water.

Fisher instantly understood that this was the hidden fort of those Egyptians that Chen Wei had mentioned.

Fisher couldn't help but look for Chen Wei in the binoculars, at this time all the landing troops were ready, nervously waiting to transfer to the sampan to go ashore to fight, Fisher soon found Chen Wei and his students, those cadres under his leadership, even more calm than the British officers and soldiers.

Seeing that the "Indomitable" and "Chang Sheng" were in distress, the "Penelope", "Monarque" and "Temorare" rushed to support, and the five British ironclads concentrated their fire on the hill and quickly suppressed the Egyptian artillery fire, but because the angle of fire was too far and the hill was extremely strong, it was impossible to destroy the place despite the fierce fire of the British ships.

"It's time to send a landing force." Fisher said to Lieutenant General Seymour.

Lieutenant General Seymour was still hesitating, and as a veteran of the battlefield, he certainly knew that landing and capturing the fort would be an extremely difficult battle, and that he would have to suffer terrible casualties.

"Give the order! Sir! Fisher understood what Seymour was hesitating, "If we can't end the fight before our ships run out of ammunition, there will be even more casualties." ”

"Okay!" Lieutenant General Seymour sighed and nodded to one of the officers.

The officer then gave the signal "Landing Force Departing", and soon steam boats full of British marines sped off in the direction of the coast.

"May God bless you!" Fisher looked at the boats struggling to pass through the waves on the sea, and the corners of his eyes were a little wet.

In the midst of the roar of artillery fire, the steam sampans desperately sailed towards the coast, and behind them, the rousing war song was played, and when they reached a place about 10 meters away from the beach, the landing sailors sent by the "Indomitable" were the first to jump out of the steam boats, wade through waist-deep water, and rush onto Egyptian soil.

Wu Yingke held the rifle with a bayonet in his hand, and as soon as he rushed onto the beach, a dense gunfire rang out in the distance, and then countless bullets flew and swept past him.

The Egyptians were clearly prepared.

In the face of enemy fire, the British marines did not stop for a moment, they rushed forward with all their might, and at sea, two steam boats equipped with Gatling guns opened fire, covering their charge with a dense rain of bullets and fire.

The charging Marines soon approached the positions of the Egyptian infantry, which consisted of a number of improvised trenches to defend the batteries, but they were too far forward.

The Marines opened fire with rifles in their hands, and their shots were accurate and deadly, and the Egyptians suffered heavy casualties in an instant. Seeing the Marines approaching, the desperate Egyptians let out a roar, jumped out of their positions, and launched a counter-charge against the British, and the beach was immediately plunged into a full-scale melee.

The Egyptian officers and soldiers stationed here tried desperately to stop the British troops' movements, either rushing out of the trenches and facing each other with their blades, or retreating while engaging in melee combat with rifles and rockets, and in the positions destroyed by artillery fire, others holding on to their firing positions under the command of the officers for a final battle. On the British side, the landing force was making a full-scale combat advance, while the British gunboats began to try to cross the shallow water, enter the estuary, and make a direct attack on the battery. By the time the British landing force's barrage guns finally reached the shore after passing through the muddy beaches, it was all a foregone conclusion.

What is remarkable is that in this fierce battle, there is a British army that appears to be extremely heroic, braving the rain of bullets and bullets, fearless...... This is a cadre army of young soldiers trained and armed by the British! (To be continued.) )

PS: Ask for collection! Ask for recommendations! Ask for a subscription! Click! Ask for a commuter pass!