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Volume 1: Fierce Battle in Changsha Chapter 596: Changes in the situation

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    On March 16, the weather was fine. Lord Elgin came to Junliang City from Xinhezhuang to visit Generals Montauban and Grant and introduce to the Allies the note he had recently received from the Governor of Zhili.  At the same time, General Grant also informed Sir Elgin of part of the document found on the Qing Dynasty official who committed suicide outside Junliang City.  Among them was an encyclical with the emperor's royal seal, which ordered all subjects, both Manchu and Han, to "annihilate the barbarians" by various means, just like killing wild beasts.

    The encyclical pointed out that to capture the thief first, capture the king. Elgin was regarded as the "culprit" and a bounty of 1,500 piastres was placed on his head (approximately. Piastre is a currency unit. Folks say that France is on the ocean. It is a currency that circulates at home and abroad.  Silver coins); the heads of the two Union commanders, Montauban and Grant, were each worth 1,000 piastres (approximately 8,000 francs).

    Elgin was very confused about the significance of this approach. Has the war between countries turned into a personal grudge?  But Ronglu explained that this was a common practice in China, and he pointed out that this encyclical showed the determination of Empress Dowager Cixi and Prince Gong to resist to the end.  Elgin agreed, arguing that leaders like Empress Dowager Cixi and Prince Gong who had "extremely xenophobic attitudes" were not worthy of allegiance.  At the same time, Elgin became even more enthusiastic about helping Ronglu and other Manchu and Mongolian nobles bring order to things. Indeed, it was not a pleasant thing to have a bounty on your head.

    "The note from Hengfu, the governor of Zhili, is still a clich¨¦. He has always warned the coalition forces that further expansion of the war will mean that the Qing army will fight bloody battles to the end.  But this time there was an extra person's name at the end of the note, Peng Yulin!

    The coalition forces are not familiar with this Peng Yulin.  But Ronglu knew his name, and he warned the coalition generals that he was a dangerous person.  He has rich combat experience, especially the combat experience of the Taiping Army whose weapons, tactics and coalition forces are very similar.

    Montauban and Grant were not very interested in this. They believed that the coalition forces had already deployed and had sufficient supplies. The Qing army's equipment and combat methods were backward, and one Peng Yulin could not accomplish anything in a short period of time.  But soon, they suffered.

    March 18th.  The British and French forces, especially the French army, are preparing to actively build a pontoon bridge on the upper reaches of the Baihe River 5 kilometers away from Tanggu Fortress.  In fact.  General Montauban was determined to launch military operations on the right bank of the river. He hoped to control the White River and force the Qing army to engage in a decisive battle as soon as possible.

    He sent Colonel Levi to lead an engineer company there to conduct reconnaissance, with the task of occupying a village across the New River.  To control both sides of the White River.  They encountered a Qing army.  The battle raged, and the Qing army took advantage of the terrain to launch a counterattack, and soon the French reconnaissance team requested support.  , as soon as the cannon sounded, the Qing soldiers in front of them took the initiative to retreat.  General Ran Man personally led a powerful force and camped on the right bank of the Baihe River.

    That night, the French army on the right bank of the Baihe River was attacked by thousands of Qing troops at night without fear of death. The French army did not set up many obstacles outside the military camp.  There were very few landmines, and the Qing army used more than a hundred cattle to clear the way.  Behind them, a large number of cavalry and infantry attacked the French camp.  After a night of melee, General Ran Man had to lead the remaining people to retreat to the left bank. The troops who crossed the Baihe River lost more than 500 people.

    General Montauban, who came to inquire, was very angry, and General Ranman was very ashamed. They did not expect that the Qing army would launch a large-scale night attack, using the darkness to offset the advantage of the coalition's firearms, and Peng Yulin was waiting for this  The Qing generals who fought against the Taiping Army in the south of the Yangtze River were accustomed to this strategy, but for the Taiping Army, this tactic was of little use later on, because wherever the Taiping Army went later, they must first set up strongholds, and the Qing Army's night attacks were basically offensive.  Not going in, but the British and French forces were not prepared for this, or they were dazzled by a series of victories.

    General Montauban¡¯s actions were criticized. The Tanggu Fortress was not captured, and forcibly setting up a support point on the other side of the Baihe River was of no avail.  Wu Shili believed that it was a wrong idea to occupy the right bank of the Baihe River, although this statement would displease the French.

    On March 19th and 20th, the two coaches of the coalition met. Important generals from both sides jointly agreed on the next steps. Ronglu also attended as a special adviser.  Due to the appearance of Peng Yulin, Seng Gelinqin did not send a large number of troops to recapture Junliang City. On the contrary, they continued to strengthen Tanggu Fortress, and the coalition forces needed to capture Tanggu Fortress before they could capture Dagu Fortress.  The overall situation of this meeting is crucial, because the longer the coalition forces are delayed here, the more time the Qing army will have to adjust and concentrate its forces. Unfortunately, Montauban and Grant failed to agree on the march route, and the joint campaign faced risks.  .

    Montauban always advocated that with the support of gunboats, the main fort of Dagu on the right bank of the White River should be captured first.  Dunn and other British people who love to speak ill of others falsely claimed that General Meng was striving for great merit and personal merit.  In Montauban's view, once the main fort fell, the other forts on the left bank would be destroyed without attack.  Therefore, in addition to the military significance of attacking the main fort, there is also a psychological factor: twice in a row, the British and French troops were defeated in front of the Daku main fort.  Now we need to show the Chinese people that the time for revenge has come.?

    Grant was categorically opposed to the French plan, thinking it was too risky.  He pointed out that in order to reach those forts, one must first cross the river, which would bring many difficulties, and crossing the river would have the disadvantage of extending the Beitang communication line.  Secondly, they had to risk passing through a flooded area, exposing the right wing of the army to enemy cavalry attacks.  Furthermore, he also explained that even if the main fort in Dagu was lost, the strength of other forts and the defense force of Tanggu Town would still be there.

    Grant tried to persuade his French colleagues to change the direction of the battle according to Ronglu's suggestion. He first removed the Qing army camp outside the Military Liang City, and then made a large-scale detour behind the Tanggu and Dagu forts to cut off the Qing army's supply line.  Waiting for the Qing army to collapse without taking advantage.  From Grant's point of view, things were simple and his own plan easy to implement.  However, this plan takes time, and now the coalition's time is very tight

    General Colino also agreed to carry out military deployment according to the opinions of the British commander-in-chief, but Commander Montauban still insisted on his personal position.  He even emphasized that the coalition forces could not completely cut off the Qing army's supply lines, and that Grant and Ronglu's plan was completely useless in his opinion.  However, Montauban said that if Grant decided to implement his plan, he would fight side by side with him, but he felt that he had to file a written protest!

    Sure enough, the next day Grant received a long letter from Montauban stating his personal reasons.  Montauban explained in the letter that the battle plan proposed by the British was inconsistent with his views on how to act; but in order to express his desire to participate in joint operations, he would still send French troops to "act in coordination with friendly forces."  At the end of the letter, Montauban added that his views were intended to absolve his government of military responsibility!  This attitude was looked down upon by British soldiers, and some British historians also disagreed.

    Grant responded on the same day, questioning Montauban¡¯s arguments one by one.  Geshi only emphasized that his only concern was how to capture the Dagu Fort in a short period of time while minimizing the number of casualties among the troops.

    Is there really a good thing that has the best of both worlds?  Just as the British and French commanders were arguing, an incident affected the coalition's final decision.

    On this day, Ronglu rushed into Grant's military tent very excitedly. This was very rude, but Grant soon forgave him because Ronglu brought good news. A Qing soldier from the Taipei Fort of Daku Artillery  The general is preparing to defect to Ronglu!

    This Qing general was a local general in Tianjin and a member of the Hengfu faction. Since Senggelinqin arrived, he had been ostracized. Later, because many of Senggelinqin's generals were killed in battle, he was able to take up the important position of guarding the North Fort.  .  After Heng Fu defected to Ronglu, the people in his faction naturally also slowly switched sides under Heng Fu's persuasion.

    The two sides have agreed on a time for surrender. Since the North Fort can be easily taken, Grant came up with a more bold plan. Taking advantage of the North Fort's fall, the coalition fleet cooperated, and the coalition forces stormed the Daku Main Fort. As long as the Daku Main Fort  If you take it down, the rest of the forts will be destroyed without attack. After taking down the fort group, Tanggu Town will be a dead place!

    This British commander really made a big bet!  He was not unaware that if he suffered another defeat in front of the Dagu Fortress, his military career would be over, and it would also sound the death knell of the Anglo-French alliance.  What's more, it could lead to the collapse of the London government.  He knew as well as Elgin that this war against China was actually very unpopular in Britain.

    On the night of the 20th, Colino's column, together with the 102nd Infantry Assault Regiment, camped under the North Fort in order to start operations in the early morning of the next day. As expected, the Qing troops at the North Fort stood still and no Qing reconnaissance team came out to conduct reconnaissance. The coalition forces arrived smoothly.  Under the fort.

    The British engineers spent the whole night building bridges or building walkways on the river channels that crisscrossed the plain, preparing to pave the way for subsequent storming of other forts.  With the help of the fire from the Chinese side of the North Fort, the bridge erecting soldiers and tunnel soldiers accelerated the construction progress. General Napier, who had served as an engineer officer, was responsible for supervising the completion of the bridge erecting project.

    At about 4 o'clock in the morning, with the artillery in front, the large troops left Xinhe.  Due to the terrain conditions, it was not suitable to deploy large forces. The British army mobilized 2,500 officers and soldiers, and the French army dispatched more than a thousand people and 2 artillery batteries.  Elgin, accompanied by "Times" reporter Bobai, climbed to the roof of a temple to watch the battle nearby.

    The weather was dull and there was silence. Elgin looked at the main fort of Dagu from a distance, but he was still very nervous.  Senggelinqin recently reinforced the main fort, which is surrounded by three trenches filled with water and connected to each other by fortifications full of obstacles. There are various traps and several rows of cross wooden piles buried deep in the ground.  The binding net composed of etc.

    The fort wall is 5 meters high, and multiple cannons are mounted in the windows of each battlement.  There is an inner fort built in the center of the fort, which serves to expand the shooting range of Wanghe. The six heavy cannons placed above usually shoot into the river, but at this time they have been pointed at the land.  The artillery shells of the forts on the right bank can reach the vicinity of the forts on the opposite bank, and can provide fire support to them during the battle. The advantage gained by the coalition forces is only the support of the forts on the north bank.

    ?Can the coalition's strong attack capture the nightmare Daku Fortress?  Elgin was sweating in his hands, but he still remained calm in front of reporters. "Times" reporter Bobai wrote in his description of Sir: During this military operation, Sir Elgin has always stood there.  , like a statue, firm and unyielding (To be continued, please search Piaotian Literature, the novel is better and updated faster!
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