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Volume 1: Fierce Battle in Changsha Chapter 190: The Pride of the Red Shirt

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    The heavy cannons affected the marching speed of the soldiers and horses in the West Palace. The numerous river bends, harbor branches, and ponds in the south of the Yangtze River, coupled with the poor road conditions, kept Xiao Yungui's men busy transporting their cannons.

    After setting off from the main camp, the Xidian army passed through three small rivers. Fortunately, there were craftsmen and soldiers specializing in building pontoons in the Xidian camp, so dozens of mules and artillery were able to pass through these small rivers. Otherwise, the rivers would be muddy.  The swamps and reed beds will trap artillerymen in them and make them unable to extricate themselves.

    When we came to the Zhaojiabang coastal area, we saw high mountains of earth piled up on both sides of the coast. Gu Qingpu Rebel Army guide said that along the Zhaojiabang coastal area south of Xujiahui, after the opening of Shanghai, the government dredged the river, and mud piled up on both sides.  The bay is named Tushan Bay.

    Xiao Yungui was a little worried when he saw the terrain. There were high mounds on both sides of the bank. Climbing to the top of the mounds, there was the Zhaojiabang River below. Tushan Bay was only ferried by ferry. It was okay for the men and horses to wade across, but the artillery  It was a bit difficult to cross the river. The terrain was not suitable for building a pontoon bridge, and if the Qing army had set up a camp on the mountain on the other side, it would be difficult to pass through here.  

    Fortunately, the spies sent out reported that there was no trace of the Qing army on the other side. Xiao Yungui breathed a sigh of relief and ordered the artillery team to cross the river from a relatively flat place three miles east. He also ordered the artillery team to leave three 800-gun guns at Tushan Bay.  He prepared to set up a battery of artillery pieces and set up a camp here, responsible for receiving and protecting the flanks.

    After Xiao Yungui dismounted, he climbed up the mountain with a whip and looked into the distance. He saw that the Catholic Church to the east was more detailed than what he saw yesterday.  The architectural style of this church belongs to the Baroque style of the Renaissance. Classic Baroque architecture pursues dynamics and likes to use magnificent decorations, sculptures and strong colors, with twists and turns.  However, this Catholic church displays a slightly unexpected simple decorative style. I wonder if there is a reason behind it.

    Xiao Yungui, who had good eyesight, even noticed someone on the church bell tower peering over here, and Xiao Yungui smiled secretly.  He said to himself: "It must be the foreign Japanese soldiers in the church who are watching. My three thousand troops are crossing the river. They are probably so scared that they wet their pants, haha."

    It must be said that Xiao Yungui's eyesight is very good. There are indeed people on the bell tower of the Catholic Church watching the Taiping Army crossing the river.

    "My God, they are afraid of thousands of people. Corporal Barritt, hurry up and tell Lieutenant Harold to come up and take a look at this. I don't believe that one hundred and twenty-six of us can withstand such a situation."  What a barbarian attack. What is ridiculous is that among the 126 people, there are 25 Sikh soldiers, 55 Frenchmen, and 13 Americans. Among our people, there are four wounded and five  A man with diarrhea, maybe they can just send out a reconnaissance force to kill us. God, please have mercy." A pale British sergeant stood on the bell tower.  Use the telescope to look at the West Palace Taiping Army crossing the river from a distance, and murmur in his mouth: "They also have more than ten cannons. Damn yellow-skinned monkeys. Didn't that smiling Qing official tell us that the rebels are all carrying people on their backs?"  Aborigines with swords and spears? How come they have so many artillery?"

    Next to him, a British soldier in his thirties, Corporal Barritt, also saw these shocking scenes. Beads of sweat rolled down his twitching cheeks. He pursed his lips and said, "Sergeant Lister, Lieutenant Harold is still here."  Attending a church service"

    Liszt shouted almost loudly: "Go and call him up! The enemy's guns are about to be aimed at the church. Forget about the damn liturgy, unless their liturgy can ask God to personally guard this church."  church!"

    Barritt quickly descended from the clock tower.  After passing through the lobby where the worship service was taking place, Barritt did not forget to take a look at the vault of the lobby. This church's vault is not a dome, and is supplemented by a green and green caisson pattern to form the ceiling.  Very much like the country church in Barritt's hometown.

    When he was stunned for a moment, Barritt had already stepped onto the stairs of the choir building. The choir building is a mezzanine above the entrance. It faces the altar in the distance. If you look sideways, you can clearly see the high walls of the hall.  exquisite relief.  As a concrete embodiment of the combination of Chinese and Western elements, these reliefs show very Chinese contents such as lotuses, cranes, gourds, swords, and two coins.  Barritt didn't understand why the reliefs in this church had these things. Although they looked beautiful, he didn't understand the meaning at all.

    In the choir, Bartlett immediately made a report to the British Lieutenant Harold who was praying. Harold put down the Bible in his hand. He had brown-red hair and was a typical descendant of the Celts.  His hair is fair, his nose is straight on his long and slender face, and his eyes are light blue under the deep eye sockets.  He spoke softly and whispered: "Corporal Barritt, please pay attention to your proper manners and demeanor. This is a church, not a battlefield."

    Barritt said anxiously: "But sir, the Yellow-skinned Monkey rebels have already crossed Tushan Bay. Sergeant Lister and I are both worried that they will advance towards the church."??.  "

    Harold stood up, adjusted the traditional red twill army uniform jacket of the British Army, and said calmly: "Corporal, please remember the purpose of our garrison in the church. We do not necessarily have to go to war with those rebels, unless of course they  To take the initiative to attack the church, we only need to guard the church and the church school behind it. Besides, Father Meadows and the others have already gone to negotiate with the rebels and warned them not to enter the church area."

    Barritt's expression became calmer, but he was still a little worried: "Sir, do we need to make any preparations?"

    At this moment, the floor-standing chiming clock on the choir building rang a melodious bell. It was already twelve o'clock. Lieutenant Harold held the sword inlaid with gems at his waist and said slowly: "It is already twelve o'clock. Go tell France  People, Americans and Sikhs, the service is over and it¡¯s time to eat.¡±

    Barritt was stunned. Harold turned around and smiled slightly and said, "Don't worry, corporal, the reputation of our red shirts will make those indigenous rebels afraid." After that, he turned around and went out to enjoy his lunch.

    Barrit didn¡¯t know what to say. When he returned to the bell tower, Liszt was still watching.  After listening to Barritt's story, Lister was extremely angry: "This damn Celtic descendant, letting him join the Red Shirt Army is Lord Wenham's biggest failure. What can a smuggler's son do? Let a trainee lieutenant  Coming to lead this team is pure murder! He should stay in Hong Kong and do his local garrison duty, instead of coming here to send us to death!"

    After the invention of the musket, the bulky armor completely lost its effect. The European army appeared in a new light-armor style, but it did not forget the gorgeous decoration of ancient warriors. The most representative of them was the British army, which used red as its military uniform.  Main color.  In the 18th century, the British Army had red military uniforms, three-cornered hats, and flint muskets with bayonets as its main features. During combat, the infantry formed a square formation under the cover of artillery, and to the exciting military music "the British Grenadiers"  ¡·The march of the British grenadiers marched slowly, fighting bravely for the interests of the British Empire around the world, and became world-famous.  The British army during this period was also called the "redcoatarmy" because of its representative red uniforms.

    The military uniforms of the British army have always been mainly red, with a white shirt underneath, a red tuxedo-style jacket on the outside, a white ribbon and a dome hat, and shiny high leather boots.  That red color has always been the pride of the British army.

    Barritt said with some confusion: "Liszt, maybe what the lieutenant said makes sense, those rebels will not attack us."

    Liszt turned back coldly and said: "Young man, have you participated in the war in Afghanistan ten years ago? When I was eighteen years old, I first saw the butcher knife of the rebels there! That year, an uprising broke out in Kabul, and we  There were a total of more than 16,000 troops and family members in Kabul. Only one military doctor returned in the end. Then I participated in the counterattack. Although we recaptured Kabul and carried out crazy revenge there, we were losing men every day after that. You  Can you believe what weapons those indigenous rebels are holding? Don¡¯t you know? The rebels in the city we captured a few days ago were all killed by yellow-skinned monkeys. These rebels outside the city are here to avenge them!  Just wait until they rush in and tear us apart one by one!"

    Barritt couldn't help but shuddered when he heard Liszt's cold words. He whispered: "Sergeant, maybe you are too worried. Those rebels should deal with those with pigtails."  The Qing people, not us, have no reason to attack the church."

    Liszt sneered and said: "This church is located in the south of Shanghai. The rebels are going to attack Shanghai. We are like a fishbone stuck in their necks. If you are the leader of the rebels, you will be happy to let a church with armed personnel  Will it become a stronghold that threatens my own rear? I know that I am a madman who does not like my superiors, so I am still only a sergeant after ten years. But despite this, I still have to say that what we encountered this time  It could be someone even more vicious than the Afghans, but I hope I'm wrong."

    Barritt was speechless. In the blink of an eye, he saw five war horses breaking away from the rebel team and heading straight for the church. Barritt immediately stood up straight, put his hands on the arbor and looked around and said: "Sergeant, it looks like the rebels."  Someone is coming this way."

    Liszt immediately opened the monocular and looked at it, and murmured: "Five people, only sabers, no other weapons. It seems that they are here to negotiate. Damn it, don't they know that sending people over to negotiate will raise a white flag?"  ?" He then turned back to Barritt and said loudly: "Corporal, go down quickly and inform the lieutenant. These five people should be here to negotiate. Let the French, Americans, and Sikhs stay calm and don't cause any trouble.  Come on, this may be an opportunity for us to avoid fighting, don¡¯t let this opportunity be ruined by other people¡¯s stupidity, I don¡¯t want to die in this church that doesn¡¯t even have nuns!¡±

    baritmaRunning up and down the bell tower to inform Lieutenant Harold, Lister continued to look at the five people. Gradually, the faces of the five people appeared in his telescope. The first one was a big man with a ferocious face and a thick beard.  Liszt even saw clearly the hideous scar on his face.  (To be continued.)
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