Chapter 244: City of Heroes (Second update, please subscribe)

Two days later, the special train departed from Nanhua, crossed mountains and passed the famous "Devil's Nose", passed through the Yunling Tunnel Group, passed through the Andes Mountains, crossed the Central Valley and entered Linhai City. When the special train entered Linhai City, the rumbling sound of salutes rang out from the Linhai Fortress...

The salute was very loud!

That was the roar of a ten-inch cannon. That sound had echoed in Zhu Xianhai's dreams countless times. It was the sound of cannons from the Linhai Fortress!

…

In February 1877, just after the Chinese New Year, bombardment from the sea once again broke the tranquility of the coast.

Seaside Fortress!

The Chilean army's attack on the coastal fortress has been going on for a year.

For more than 370 days and nights, the 27,000 soldiers and civilians guarding Linhai Bay never surrendered despite repeated persuasion.

There was a deafening explosion, the walls of the fortress trembled, bricks and stones collapsed, the blast overturned a nearby teahouse, and threw several corpses aside. In an instant, everything was obscured by the choking smell of gunpowder, and the air filled with sulfur was suffocating.

"First Company, First Company, follow me! Follow me to the front line."

Standing up, Lu Anxue shouted that before the war he was an engineer in a shipyard and his dream was to build warships, but now he was just an ordinary soldier.

"Listen carefully to the sound in the air. You can tell from the sound that the shells are..."

While running, Lu Anxue spoke to the dozens of soldiers following behind him. They were of different ages, both men and women. They might have been factory workers, or students, or just vendors, or even housewives, but now they were all soldiers guarding this city.

After a year of siege, there were no men or women, no old people or children left in the city, only the defenders of the city.

Under his leadership, dozens of soldiers ran out of the city along the streets full of broken buildings. Artillery shells whistled in the air and explosions sounded one after another.

Suddenly, Lu Anxue shouted loudly.

"Lie down..."

The moment he lay down, accompanied by a sharp whistle, there was another loud bang beside him, bricks and stones from nearby buildings fell one after another, and another explosion sounded, one after another, a continuous explosion sounded, the rumbling sound of the explosion was like the fireworks during the New Year in previous years...

No one could remember how long the shelling lasted. In Linhai, time had no meaning anymore.

When the surroundings began to quiet down, among the ruins of the fortress, the soldiers once again stood up from the piles of bricks and trenches. They saw the Chileans once again shouting unscrupulously and began to attack the fortress.

The gunshots rang out again.

After the attack was thwarted, the shelling began again.

During the bombardment, they lay down at the foot of the wall again. The earth was groaning, bricks and rubble were falling, and the seemingly solid fortress became shaky under the continuous bombardment. The dust, smoke and the burnt smell of gunpowder were suffocating.

The soldiers who were avoiding the artillery fire had already exhausted their strength. Some of them had almost lost consciousness, and only their bodies were still enduring the vibration and impact of the explosion without any pain.

400 days and nights!

Facing repeated sieges by the Chilean army and navy, the small coastal town of Linhai held out for a full four hundred days and nights.

What did they get in return for their perseverance?

It was the repeated defeat of the Chilean attacks and the tens of thousands of bodies! In addition, in the defense of the fortress, the officers and soldiers of the South China Army showed a high level of spirit and combat quality, winning honor for South China.

"This is the greatest battle in human history! The defenders of the fortress shocked the whole world with their unparalleled courage!"

In London, New York, and Paris, almost every newspaper praised the "brave defenders of Linhai" with words of praise. Regardless of their stance, their tenacious fight won honor for Nanhua.

But for those who are involved, every one of them knows very well that the price of all this is death!

“Alive…”

Lu Anxue thought vaguely, his eardrums were shattered, and even in the most violent bombardment, the world was silent to him.

"I'm alive."

But he did not want to move, not even at all. He felt the pressure of the bricks on his back was very heavy. He had a splitting headache and his whole body felt like it was falling apart. Every bone was aching, and his mouth was dry and swollen, as if it was on fire, and his throat and eyes were aching.

It would be nice if I could drink some water.

He touched the kettle, but it was empty, without a drop of water.

"Chilean..."

A sudden shout came from a distance, as if pulling him back from the silent world. However, he understood what the words meant. He tried to stand up, but he had no strength in his body. In the smoke, he saw a group of shadows rushing over.

Is Chilean.

Looking at the Chileans getting closer and closer, Lu Anxue, whose consciousness had not yet fully recovered, saw a table of grenades in front of him.

When they saw the box of grenades, a smile appeared on those tired, smoke-covered faces. They seemed happy, but there seemed to be some helplessness in their happiness.

Tears streamed down his face as he pulled the trigger on the grenade.

With a loud bang, the Chileans nearby were engulfed by billowing smoke in the violent explosion.

No one knows how long this battle in Linhai will last.

For four hundred days and nights, the defenders here have been fighting. In 1877, the world is watching this seaside town on the Pacific coast.

But Linhai is only a small part of this protracted war. From the Pacific Ocean to the Atlantic Ocean, the war has never stopped.

…

Tears have already flowed from Zhu Xianhai's eyes. There are too many similar scenes in the simulator. He has seen "with his own eyes" how those best sons and daughters sacrificed themselves on the battlefield. He has seen too many sacrifices and too many heroes.

After witnessing so many sacrifices, the desire for revenge has never faded from his heart.

For more than a thousand years, he has been longing for the day of revenge, longing for that day to come!

And today!

When he came to Linhai again, listening to the rumbling sound of the salute, when the sound of the salute overlapped with the roar of the cannons in the simulator, Zhu Xianhai knew that the time for revenge had come!

Looking out the window at the platform, at the people who came to greet him, there were not only government officials, but also soldiers and ordinary citizens, including Chinese, Europeans and Mapuche. Everyone stood there jubilantly, and the military band played military music.

Listening to the cheerful music through the glass window, Zhu Xianhai's heart could not calm down for a moment. The moment the car door opened, when he stepped onto the platform, amid the cheers of the people, he couldn't help but speak.

"Today, I am honored to come to this heroic city again!"

(End of this chapter)