Add Bookmark | Recommend this book | Back to the book page | My bookshelf | Mobile Reading

Free Web Novel,Novel online - All in oicq.net -> Historic -> Taiping blood

Volume 1: Fierce Battle in Changsha Chapter 371: The Beginning of the Northern Expedition

Previous page        Return to Catalog        Next page

    In early March of the Year Yi Mao, although the warmth of early spring has arrived, the bleak cold wind in the north is still cold. The cold wind, accompanied by the salty and wet smell of sea water, gently sweeps across Dalian Bay at the southernmost tip of the Liaodong Peninsula.

    At this time, Dalian Bay was just a bay. Due to the Manchu and Qing blockades, it was sparsely populated. It was just a small fishing village with a hundred households, not even a town. This deep-water bay in later generations is now so desolate.

    Half a month ago, a huge fleet arrived here. The local fishermen were very surprised. They had never seen so many large ships, and some of them were emitting billowing black smoke, like monsters.

    This fleet sent dozens of small boats to land, and those who landed were all yellow-skinned family members, which reassured the fishermen a lot, but they found that these people did not have braids.  Through conversation, the fishermen discovered that these people claimed to be the Taiping Holy Soldiers from the south and came north to fight Lao Maozi.  As a result, these fishermen were confused on the spot. Regarding the Taiping Rebellion, the Northeast received even less news. The three generals Shengjing, Ningguta, and Heilongjiang blocked the bad news. In addition, the Northeast was blocked from news. Therefore, these  The fishermen had no idea that there were rebels who established a capital in Qing Dynasty.

    Since the other party was a rebel, the fishermen were naturally very scared. After learning the identities of these people, they hid in their homes and did not dare to come out.  Many of these fishermen were Manchus, and they immediately sent news to Shengjing.

    These soldiers with no braids and strange clothes did not harass the villagers. Instead, they built camps, warehouses, and ports on the seaside of Dalian Bay, and moved supplies from the ships to stockpile them.

    It turned out that this fleet was the fleet of the British and French allied forces, and the soldiers who landed were the young guards of the Western King of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom.  After Britain and France decided to unite the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom to attack Russia northward, Xiao Yungui pointed out to the British-French coalition commander Grant that the coalition must find an anchorage in the north for the transfer of supplies. Otherwise, the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom's army would not be able to complete the battle plan without sufficient supplies.  of.

    Grant said he very much agreed with King Xi¡¯s point of view.  The last defeat of the British and French coalition forces was not only due to insufficient ground forces but also difficulties in replenishing supplies. In the end, the British and French coalition fleets even had to move away to North America to rest.  However, both Bao Ling and Grant were in a dilemma, because there was no trading port in northern China, which meant that the coalition forces would not be able to obtain a temporary anchorage unless they were forcibly occupied.  However, Britain and France are still nominally neutral and have not declared war with the Qing Dynasty, so forced occupation is not feasible.

    The King of the West quickly came up with a solution, which was for Taiping soldiers to land and occupy a good bay under the banner of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom.  There would be no problem. It was only natural for the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom to occupy the land of the Qing Dynasty. Moreover, the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom's navy had also sailed to Xiamen before, so it was reasonable for the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom's army to appear in the Northeast Sea.

    So the fleet in Dalian Bay all flew the flag of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, which made Tan Shaoguang, the commander of the Young Guards, feel lustful for a while.  These are all the navy of our heaven!

    Ten days later, General Shengjing heard that the Changmao Navy had landed in Dalian Bay.  A thousand infantry troops and a thousand cavalry troops were urgently dispatched to investigate and collect the goods.  As a result, he was severely beaten by the Taiping Army.  After suffering hundreds of casualties, the Qing army retreated.  General Shengjing was greatly panicked, quickly organized a defense, and flew to the capital for help.

    The coalition forces suffered almost no casualties from the time they landed to repelling the Qing army. The only casualty came from the breakage of the noose for lifting cargo during the landing.  Killed an unlucky Indian sailor, that's all.

    At first, the local fishermen were very afraid of these rebels. It seems that rebels have always burned, killed and looted.  Fortunately, none of these rebels came to harass them, and they repelled the Qing army.  The fishermen's fear gradually disappeared and their curiosity gradually increased. In the next few days, they came into contact with the Taiping Army.  When it was learned that the Taiping Army had no intention of attacking Shengjing from here, they were only docking to replenish water, and would later go north to fight Lao Maozi.

    These fishermen in the Northeast still hate Lao Maozi very much. Seeing that the Taiping Army has strict military discipline, they live in peace. Anyway, the government and the army cannot defeat these people. Do they, the common people, have to fight against them?

    Then they started trading with the Taiping Army. The Taiping Army brought rice from the south, and the fishermen exchanged fresh fruits, vegetables and catches. The Taiping Army¡¯s business was fair. People near Dalian Bay heard that  After this incident, he gradually became more courageous, and the people nearby came to exchange goods with the Taiping Army.  It has to be said that Tan Shaoguang is not mediocre in business. The fresh vegetables and fruits he exchanged in a few days are enough for the army.

    Grant, the commander-in-chief of the coalition forces, was very satisfied with the progress of this mercenary force. Within half a month, several temporary docks and warehouses were built in Dalian Bay. Positions and trenches were dug on several nearby hills. The Taiping Army even hired local mercenaries.  The people helped them build these fortifications.  coalition forcesFrench Colonel Boujeva of the Ministry of Defense once asked in confusion: "General, aren't these Taipings rebels in this country? Why do these people work for them?"

    Grant said to the Indian mercenaries behind him: "They, like Indians, have a very weak concept of country." Bougeva said with some disappointment: "It seems that Emperor Napoleon's words were not correct. China is just sleeping."  The lion, whoever awakens him will be in bad luck, but now I only see a group of shirtless slaves." Grant smiled and pointed to the young Guards officers and soldiers in the west hall and said: "Colonel, those  People are like lions that have begun to awaken. I always feel that there is a great risk in joining forces with them. Maybe we are doing something dangerous, but before they gain national power, I still regard them as sleeping lions.  .¡±

    On this day, bad news came. The Russians continued to send more troops to several ports in the Far East through the Heilongjiang route. Russian Governor of Siberia Muravyov even said that the Russian strongholds in the Far East were impregnable. There were even rumors that,  Muravyov organized a cavalry force of 12,000 men in Nerchinsk.

    Grant felt very embarrassed. Although the British and French fleets were very powerful and the Russian fleet in the Far East was not worth mentioning, if the situation on land could not be reversed, it would still be impossible for the navy to complete the occupation of the military port.  He immediately felt that the size of the regiment sent by King Xi was too small, and then asked Tan Shaoguang's opinion if he should ask King Xi to send more troops.  Tan Shaoguang's answer is simple.  They Young Guards never ask how many enemies there are, but only care where they are!

    Grant felt that the 16-year-old Taiping commander seemed too hasty, but their staff was still operating very well, so Grant didn't say anything anymore. Anyway, casualties were the Taiping's business, and he would not send British and French coalition forces.  The Marines ventured ashore.

    In the following days, Tan Shaoguang began to assemble his troops. The officers and soldiers who had rested on the shore for half a month had almost recovered, and the British and French fleets also began to prepare to go north.  Tan Shaoguang left a battalion of troops to guard Dalian Bay, and the British and French forces also assigned a small fleet to this remaining force.  It is believed that the Qing army's Heilongjiang cavalry would be impossible to break through the Taiping army's defensive positions.

    On March 25, the artillery and baggage of the Taiping Army were the first to board the ship. It took two days, the horses of the cavalry regiment took one day, and the soldiers took two days to board the ship.  The main reason is that the delivery capacity of the temporary terminal is too poor.  On March 31, the British and French fleets completed loading.  Dawn breaks between light mist.  The French fleet weighed anchor first and set off.

    The fleet was divided into three squadrons, forming three columns. The three fleets were commanded by Commodore Bage on the lead ship "Nemesis", Commodore Broad on the "Nemesis" and Colonel Brzeva on the "Taiko".  "No.", two chains (400 meters) separate the ships.  General Grant on board the Forban.  Admiral Sandnay is on the large ship "Information Goddess", while Baron Gero is on the "North Sera".

    Grant left his confidant, Captain Neto of the Navy, to lead a squadron to garrison Dalian Bay and assist the Taiping Army on the shore in protecting the temporary anchorage.  Watching the scorching morning sun gradually break through the fog, the beautiful coastline of Dalian Bay gradually disappears.  Grant took a long breath: "What a wonderful seaport. I really hope I can stay here for a long time and say goodbye to Dalian Bay."

    The French staff officer beside him, Colonel Juel, listened to Grant's hymn, gently stroked his thick beard, and said with some excitement: "When the majestic body of the battleship staggered towards the Russians in the north,  We are so excited; and it stings your heart gently, and you can't help but feel how easy and pleasant life was before. What fate awaits us? Will we win? Or will we be surrounded by a sea of ??people?  Are they all trampled to death by the large group of Cossack cavalry that suddenly appeared from that unfathomable place?"

    After listening to Jiuel's poem, the generals around Grant all laughed. The French's usual romantic atmosphere relieved a lot of the tension of the expedition.  But Grant found that Tan Shaoguang beside him remained calm at all. After listening to the interpreter's translation, the young man just muttered something in English. Grant heard this sentence: "It is our Taiping Army who came ashore to fight! Why are the French excited?  ?!¡±

    Ten days later, on the morning of April 10, the British and French fleets successfully met outside the Tatar Strait in the Sea of ??Okhotsk. The French fleet marveled at the sophistication of the British fleet. The number of their steam and sail dual-powered ships far exceeded  French fleet.  The British fleet can sail freely according to the speed of the ships, and it is more impressive and can move more freely than the French fleet.  The French fleet sailed slowly in formation; the fastest ships were forced to accompany the slowest steamboats, which in turn towed the sailboats and a number of Chinese boats sold from Dalian Bay.

    These small boats are full of ammunition and supplies. Tan Shaoguang is right. If you can bring more supplies to the north, take as much as you can.These days, there is still a lot left over for the round-trip shipping costs.  Tranter admired the young officer's economic acumen, but he was not surprised. Their Western King was a man who liked to calculate the gains and losses of interests.

    The French fleet anchored south of the British fleet. The British fleet formed two lines and the French fleet formed one line.  After sailing on the same route, the two fleets anchored together twenty nautical miles away from the Temple Street Fortress at the seaport of Heilongjiang, Russia.  More than a hundred ships were anchored in rows, and the scene was spectacular. There were many masts and masts, like church bell towers soaring into the sky. At this time, the British and French allied forces had replaced the flags of the Taiping Rebellion, and the colorful flags were flying high on the masts. It was a majestic scene.  .

    The Temple Street Fortress was silent, like a sleeping giant. The British and French Marines who had experienced the last failure were still frightened.  On the day of arrival, Grant, who became the commander-in-chief of the British and French forces, ordered a day's rest to prepare for the landing battle.  That night, each coalition soldier was given six days' rations, a portion of wine and liquor, a portion of dry-roasted coffee, a piece of cooked pork and some fresh fruit.  Since the Taipei soldiers were still not used to drinking coffee, Grant ordered tea to be prepared for them.  The Taiping cavalry also received three days of fodder for their horses. They should be able to find more fodder on land after landing.  (To be continued, please search Piaotian Literature. The novels will be better and updated faster!
Didn't finish reading? Add this book to your favoritesI'm a member and bookmarked this chapterCopy the address of this book and recommend it to your friends for pointsChapter error? Click here to report