The sound the mortar made when it streaked across the sky was very special, a bit dull, like a bass humming in the air. The next moment, a huge plume of smoke suddenly exploded on the grassland.
The 9-kilogram heavy grenade launched by the 100mm mortar is very powerful. It has always been the favorite weapon of the infantry. The reason is that each infantry battalion has 4 guns. For the attacking infantry, this is
They have the most direct and powerful support weapons available on the battlefield.
Compared to Uruguay, the fierce battles on the Mato Grosso Plateau in the north seem a bit unworthy of mention, because there are sparsely populated areas, the Brazilian army has limited strength, and most of their battles are battalion-scale battles.
But even so, the battle was not easy. After all, in many cases they did not have much artillery cover. At this time, mortars became the only fire support.
"Class 1, left wing leap forward!"
The platoon leader's shouts echoed on the battlefield at the moment of the explosion. Hook, who was originally lying on the grass, immediately crouched and jumped forward with his rifle in hand. A dozen figures on the grassland were like cheetahs, constantly moving.
They were approaching the front, and suddenly there was a burst of gunfire from the front, and the Brazilians discovered them.
Just as the Brazilian army was shooting wildly with the British-made No. 1 rifle, suddenly, a burst of rapid gunfire rang out directly in front of them.
It’s a five-year-old Gatling gun!
Although this electric three-barreled Gatling gun is a bit heavy, it is still the mainstay of the Ming Dynasty's army. Each infantry battalion is equipped with three heavy machine guns. The Brazilians can hardly lift their heads under the heavy machine gun fire. Originally,
The suppressed troops attacked again. When they were still more than ten meters away from the Brazilian trenches, Hook directly threw a heavy grenade.
Two or three seconds later, with an earth-shaking loud noise, the Brazilians in the trench were either blown into the sky or were stunned by the shock. Before they could recover, the soldiers jumped into the trench.
. stabbed the enemy closest to them with bayonets, and for a while the trenches were filled with shouts of killing. Facing such a tiger-like Ming army, the Brazilians all fled one after another. As for the conscripted Paraguayans, they simply
Soon, they surrendered directly. For these Paraguayans, none of them were willing to sacrifice their lives for Brazil, but Mato Grosso Province was occupied by Brazil and they were forcibly recruited.
"I surrender, I surrender, I am Paraguayan..."
Amid bursts of Spanish shouts, nearly a hundred prisoners surrendered. Most of them were Uruguayans, but of course there were also some Brazilians. Many of those Brazilians were black - there have always been some in the Brazilian army.
A large number of black slave soldiers only needed to serve for ten years before they could be freed.
"are you sure?"
Si Dongli took a look at the prisoners in front of him. There were more than a hundred of them. They were all "freemen" in shabby clothes, also known as "free men". They were all black slaves recruited by the army from the plantations.
These people are not good at fighting, but they are good at robbing and killing.
"Sir, you're right, they were the ones who killed the most people when they invaded Paraguay!"
When looking at these prisoners, Hook's gray eyes were full of hatred.
Hook's brother died at the hands of these people. In the Battle of Caraguatai, his brother died, as did his grandfather, and before that, his father also died.
He has always longed for revenge.
Now it's finally time for revenge, how could he miss it?
"Sir, they all deserve to die!"
Hook's words drew a burst of approval from the surroundings. The 39th Regiment was adapted from the Paraguayan Civil Defense Corps. Most of them lived in Paraguay. Many of their wives were Paraguayans. Of course, Aiwu and Wuxia had no good impressions of these people.
Facing the suggestions of his comrades, Si Dongli thought of his wife Isabella's hatred for the Brazilians for many years. He thought for a while, then looked at Hook and said.
"I'll leave it to you, take them to the nearby trenches."
"Yes, sir!"
Those "freemen" didn't know what was waiting for them at all. They just looked around blankly. Whenever they saw Ming Dynasty soldiers, their dark faces always showed a flattering look, but their white eyes were cunning.
gaze.
"Sir, sir, we are not Brazilians!"
"Yes, sir, we can help you with a lot of work..."
When these "freemen" were taken to a nearby trench, they were always trying to please these people. They either used Portuguese, blunt Spanish, or even Chinese to please these people.
But soon, they felt hostility in the eyes of these white gentleman-looking Ming soldiers.
"Where are they taking us?"
They all looked at the people escorting them in horror. It seemed that they had experienced this scene before.
No, they have never experienced this before. They just gather the prisoners together and then kill them.
"They want to kill us..."
Finally, when he came to the edge of a trench, Hook lit a cigarette, then walked up to the "freemen" with the cigarette and spoke in blunt Portuguese.
"I am not a cruel person, but you must be responsible for the crimes you committed in Paraguay, in the name of God!"
After taking a strong puff, Hook threw the cigarette butt to the ground and stamped it out.
"Get ready! Raise your gun!"
"Forgive me, sir, I can do a lot of work..."
Faced with their prayers, these people did not hesitate. Following Hook's command, they pulled the trigger.
"Aim—release!"
Along with Hooker's shout, gunfire rang out, and piles of corpses fell in the trench.
Holding the rifle in his hand, Hooker walked up to several corpses that had not yet rolled into the trench and kicked the corpses into the trench.
The trenches that were once used for fighting became the graves of these people. After the soldiers buried the bodies with shovels, Hook just sat there quietly, smoking silently, while the platoon leader Zhao Niandong looked at him.
, then walked over and asked.
"How about it? Relieve your hatred?"
"Relieve hatred?"
Hook shook his head and said.
"I don't know. 10 years ago, when my father died in the war, I was only 8 years old. 7 years ago, when my brother and grandfather were killed by Brazilians, I was only 11 years old. If my mother hadn't hidden me,
Get up, maybe I will die there too..."
Smoking a cigarette and holding the rifle in his arms, Hook looked into the distance and said.
"I hate Brazilians, I really hate them, they killed too many people... Even I joined the army for this reason, I hope to one day be able to invade Brazil with the army and avenge my guys,
I am really happy to kill them..."
Next, Hook couldn't continue talking. He couldn't continue because he didn't know what to say. He knew that he was very happy, but he was not as happy as he imagined.
Looking at the confused young man, Zhao Niandong patted his shoulder and said.
"Don't think so much, this is just war."
Yes, this is just war. There is no big deal. There is no so-called hatred, it is just war...