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Volume 1: Fierce Battle in Changsha Chapter 169: The Red Ship Arrives

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    In the afternoon of the next day, the spies sent by Tong Qiangsheng had returned. After listening to the spies' reports, Tong Qiangsheng stepped into the cabin with a sullen face.

    In the cabin, Liu Lichuan and others were fully clothed, sitting or leaning on each other after a long sleep. At this moment, they all woke up. When they saw Tong Qiangsheng walking in with a sullen expression, everyone was shocked. It couldn't be bad news.

    After Tong Qiangsheng bowed his fists to everyone, he said in a deep voice: "Everyone, our spies in the city risked their lives this morning to report that Qingyao has been searching for members of various gangs in Shanghai since last night. As of this morning, Shanghai North  Tens of thousands of people have been beheaded in public."

    Liu Lichuan's face was filled with shock and anger. He stood up with a roar and shouted: "What did you say? The government killed tens of thousands of us? Impossible! We all have spies in the Yamen! The government wants to mobilize troops, and we can't confiscate any information.  arrive!"

    Tong Qiangsheng's expression was a little sad, and he sighed softly and said: "We have found out clearly that this time Qingyao sent spies from the Da Nei Shang Yu's backup office south. These Da Nei hawks and dogs found out that you have spies in the Yamen, so they bypassed it.  Wu Jianzhang directly borrowed troops from the foreigners to assist in the suppression. Last night, they first attacked the yamen and removed the spies of the Xiaodao Hui and Tiandi Hui in the yamen. Then they mobilized the Qing troops and foreign troops in the city to search for the members of each gang, and arrested every one they found.  , those who were caught gathered at the North Gate and beheaded in public display, and Shanghai was already bleeding like a river at this moment."

    Xiao Daohui and others were speechless. Liu Lichuan suddenly slumped down on the chair. After a while, his face was as cold as frost, he looked at Tong Qiangsheng and said, "I want to go back to save my brothers."

    Tong Qiangsheng shook his head and said: "Director Liu, I'm afraid I can't go back now. Thousands of demons and foreign soldiers are searching everywhere. The shadows and figures of your leaders are everywhere. You will be arrested as soon as you show up.  "

    Pan Qiliang's eyes widened and he said angrily: "Are you just going to watch your brothers being hunted and killed by Qing demons and foreign devils?"

    Tong Qiangsheng stood up slowly and said: "Now you all can only follow me to Zhenjiang first. The King of the West is attacking Suhang and Hangzhou. After capturing Suhang and Hangzhou, the King of the West will definitely send his troops to attack Shanghai. It will not be too late to take revenge by then.  "

    Zhou Lichun sighed and said: "That's all, but we still have brothers from more than ten villages in Tangwan scattered around. Old man, I'd better go back to Tangwan and other places to contact Ding Yong from each village to gather together, and wait for the Xiwang soldiers to arrive.  I will coordinate the troops of the Western King to invade Shanghai and avenge those brothers who died!"

    Tong Qiangsheng nodded and said, "What Old Hero Zhou said is right. The King of the West's troops will arrive in a while, and we need Old Hero Zhou to provide more support."

    Xu Yao, the leader of the Luohan Gang, slapped the table and said: "We, the Luohan Gang, have decided to follow Brother Tong to Zhenjiang, and in the future we will fight to Shanghai, and then we will settle accounts with Gou Qingyao and the foreign devils!"

    Tong Qiangsheng gave a happy hum and said, "With Gang Leader Xu joining us, our Taiping Heavenly Kingdom will become even more powerful."

    Liu Lichuan suddenly shook his head, stood up and said: "Brother Tong, we in the Little Knife Guild have decided to go back to Shanghai first. I still don't believe that our huge Guangdong gang was uprooted overnight! I can't thank you enough for your kindness. Last night's  Brothers of the Little Knife Club will definitely remember the life-saving grace!"

    Tong Qiangsheng saw that Liu Lichuan still seemed a little confused. He knew what he said, but he still didn't believe himself. Thinking about it, the Guangdong Gang was quite powerful in Shanghai. It was said that they were wiped out by the Qing government overnight.  No one would believe it, so he frowned slightly angrily and said, "Director Liu, I have kindly reminded you that since you still don't believe me, you can leave on your own. You are so kind as to be a donkey's liver and lungs!"

    Everyone in the Little Knife Club was about to get angry when they heard this. Liu Lichuan stood up and shouted back the gang. He turned around and said in a deep voice: "Brother Tong, please don't misunderstand me. We must return to Shanghai. Even if Shanghai is a mountain of swords and a sea of ??fire, I still have to make a breakthrough. At worst, I will accompany you."  Going to die together with the brothers in the city is not a waste of getting to know the brothers."

    Pan Qiliang said: "Yes, if you die, your eggs will fall into the sky. At worst, you will be a good man again in eighteen years!"

    Tong Qiangsheng said no more, and everyone in Xiaodaohui stood up to say goodbye. They walked to the shore and watched dozens of Xiaodaohui people wait away.

    Zhou Xiuying asked with tears in her eyes: "Brother Tong, is there no way to help Mr. Liu and the others?"

    Tong Qiangsheng frowned and said, "I have already sent someone to deliver a message to the Western King's army that is besieging Suzhou. I just hope that the Western King can send reinforcements quickly." Then he turned around and cupped his fists at Zhou Lichun and said, "Old hero Zhou, please bother Tangwan."  The brothers of the Tiandihui will return to Tangwan first, and I, Gang Leader Xu, and others will return to Zhenjiang first. Later, there will be news that the King of the West is marching, so I will send someone to inform the old hero Zhou and agree to join the army together."

    After the group of heroes praised each other and said goodbye, Zhou Lichun and Zhou Xiuying left with the Tangwan people and others, while Tong Qiangsheng took Xu Yao and others to board the ship and headed for Zhenjiang.  In Tong Qiangsheng's eyes, the Shanghai Swordsman Association is worthy of sympathy and he wants to help him, but he also found out about another person in Shanghai.The news required him to return to Zhenjiang in person, because he found out that the Qing government mobilized the navy from Guangdong to go north, and now it had arrived in Xiamen. The Taiping Navy in Zhenjiang needed to prepare early.

    ¡­¡­

    To the west of Suzhou City, within the Taiping Army camp.

    The Western King of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom was carefully reading the letter sent by Tong Qiangsheng in the big tent. Although the cannons were rumbling outside and the 20,000 Taiping troops were storming Suzhou City, the Western King did not seem to be worried about the war outside at all. On the contrary, he was concentrating on his work.  He looked at the letter, his brows furrowing more deeply as he looked at it.

    Zuo Zongtang walked a few steps in the tent and said slowly: "King Xi, the Guangdong Navy of the Qing Dynasty has arrived in Xiamen. There may be disadvantages in the naval battle."

    Xiao Yungui slowly put down the letter, touched his chin and said: "The two demon leaders Wu Quanmei and Chen Guotai commanded the navy with more than a thousand soldiers and horses, more than 90 foreign cannons, more than 400 other small cannons, and a red single ship.  More than thirty ships are coming from the north. If they reach the Yangtze River, they will definitely attack the Guazhou and Zhenjiang lines. Zhenjiang is backed by the south bank, and our artillery, medicine, and soldiers can support it in time. The forts on the Zhenjiang bank and the navy ships will provide support.  Even if Guazhou hangs alone in the north of the Yangtze River, and there is the Yangzhou Jiangbei camp watching covetously behind it, I am afraid of being attacked from both sides, so what if I give up Guazhou?"

    It turns out that after Tong Qiangsheng arrived in Shanghai, he first inquired about Wu Chongyao, the Qing court candidate, writing to foreigners to hire steamships.  Wu Chongyao, also known as Wu Shaorong, whose original name was Yuanwei and whose courtesy name was Ziyuan, was from Nanhai, Guangdong.  His grandfather Wu Guoying founded Yihe Bank, one of the thirteen banks in Guangzhou, in the 49th year of Qianlong's reign.  His father, Wu Bingjian, registered his business name as Dunyuan, and his business was greatly improved, and he ranked first in the Thirteenth Industry.  At that time, the Wu family's wealth was said to be the best in East Asia, and it was deeply admired by foreigners. Because of his name, Yahao, foreigners called him Haoguan.  According to the convention at that time for businessmen to take their father's name, Wu Chongyao was still called Wu Haoguan to the outside world.

    The Qing Dynasty was defeated due to the Yangtze River water war. Emperor Xianfeng was furious and issued an order to Ye Mingchen, the governor of Guangdong and Guangxi, asking him to mobilize the Guangdong Navy to go north to help the suppression, and he must open up water transportation channels.  Ye Mingchen was playing Tai Chi with the foreigners, but it was not easy to hire a foreign ship. He remembered Wu Chongyao, a donated official who had a good relationship with the foreigners, and kicked the ball to Wu Chongyao. He severely ordered Wu Chongyao, a sick candidate, to hire a foreign ship to help in the battle.

    Wu Chongyao was ill in bed at the time. After receiving the notice, he immediately sent his cronies to negotiate with the British Acting Consul General Parkes, British Minister Wenhan, American Minister Marsali, Deputy Minister Bo Jia and others to hire foreign warships.  Because Wen Han was already in Tianjing and had a non-infringement agreement with the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, and the other countries also received domestic neutrality orders, there was no result.

    Tong Qiangsheng was shocked when he heard the news. Although the foreigners did not borrow foreign ships to help in the suppression, thinking that the Qing government would not give up, Tong Qiangsheng and others stepped up their efforts to find out more information.  Later investigation revealed that Ye Mingchen also ordered Ma Yingjie, the magistrate of Shunde County, to go to Chencun to hire 8 large red single ships and 12 medium-sized ships, equipped with enough soldiers, artillery, gunpowder, and lead shot.  The captain, Chen Guotai, took charge and set off on May 21st, bound for Jiangnan.

    Later, Guangdong hired 6 large and 8 medium-sized red single ships. In addition to the original ship's sailors, each ship was equipped with beacons from each battalion of the navy to help drive, a total of 394 people.  There are also 94 large iron cannons in western style, ranging from a thousand and a few hundred kilograms to six to seven hundred kilograms.  The local government in Guangdong allocated 50,000 kilograms of gunpowder, and Guangdong Navy guerrilla commander Wu Quanmei set off for Jiangnan.

    Before and after Guangdong sent a total of 34 red single ships, more than a thousand naval personnel, 94 foreign artillery pieces, and hundreds of other small artillery pieces to go north together. If this Qing navy entered the inner river of the Yangtze River, it would be a threat to the Taiping Navy and the Zhenjiang and  Guazhou and other places will be a huge threat.

    This red single ship was originally a large cargo ship used by private shipping in Guangdong. Guangdong merchants who built ships were required to report to the customs and be given a red slip for inspection, so the ship was named "red single ship".  This kind of ship has a large and solid hull and can travel quickly. Each ship can be equipped with twenty to thirty guns, which is not comparable to the current ships in the Taiping Army.  Moreover, red single boats all sail out of Chencun, Shunde County and other places. Most of these red single boat owners are engaged in oil trafficking and travel between Luzon and Siam. Since they have to guard against pirates all year round, these boat owners can skillfully sail the boats.  , capable of rapid fire of artillery, the speed of ships, the sharpness of artillery fire, and the proficiency of firing, which are not far behind the regular navy of the Qing army.  The helmsman and sailors on the ship were all father-son brothers. When encountering an enemy, they all worked together to move forward, and there was no risk of collapse. Therefore, the Qing army spent a lot of money to hire them.

    After Tong Qiangsheng heard the news, he immediately sent a secret message to Xiao Yungui. Xiao Yungui naturally knew the power of this red single ship. In history, the navy of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom suffered a lot from this kind of red single ship, so he had  The thought of withdrawing troops from Guazhou, which is isolated in the north of the Yangtze River.

    But Zuo Zongtang slowly shook his head and said: "King of the West, we cannot retreat from Guazhou. The King of Heaven and the King of the East have arrived in Nanjing and are discussing the strategy of going north to attack Yangzhou. We in the West Palace cannot give up here rashly. Red Single Ship  It is indeed difficult to deal with the large number of fast artillery, but we can purchase more foreign artillery in Shanghai and arrange forts on both sides of Guazhou and Zhenjiang, supplemented byIt must not be difficult for naval warships to defend two places.  "

    Xiao Yungui pondered for a moment and said: "I want Tong Qiangsheng to win over the Xiaodao Society and some local gangs in Shanghai. In addition to being helpful to us in attacking Shanghai, these people are especially helpful to the Xiaodao Society. They are all Cantonese and believe that they will be useful to ships coming from Guangdong."  The team is more familiar with it, maybe they will have other ways."

    As soon as he finished speaking, another spy arrived outside the tent. Xiao Yungui hurriedly opened it and looked at it. After just a few glances, he exclaimed: "It's serious. Qing Yao has found out the movements of the Little Sword Society and started to attack the Shanghai Little Sword Society."  !¡±
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