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Volume 1: Fierce Battle in Changsha Chapter 599: The Dilemma of the Allied Forces

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    What does martial law mean in 49 cities?  Ronglu knew better than anyone else that this meant that the Empress Dowager Cixi, who controlled most of the military force in the capital, had taken action in advance. She had already begun to eliminate dissidents in the capital. There would be no suspense in this suppression, because Ronglu had envisaged citing the  The reinforced British and French forces were still stuck in the mud in Tanggu. They were delayed here for a full month and a half, and failed to advance towards the capital with overwhelming force.

    Without the assistance of strong external allies, the capital will not be in chaos. The stable capital will make the Manchu and Mongolian nobles who were hiding under Ronglu and Ci'an useless. No one dares to openly rebel at this time, and Ronglu's plan has been completely eliminated.  upset.

    Ronglu was restless all day and repeatedly suggested Grant and Montauban to attack Tianjin immediately, but Grant and Montauban insisted on waiting for news from the reconnaissance team.  Since Ronglu lost his internal intelligence source, he was not sure about Peng Yulin and Seng Gelinqin's plans. However, judging from his many years of combat experience, Peng Yulin is likely to continue to destroy the road to Tianjin and strengthen it at the same time.  Tianjin City Defense, all they have to do is delay <ÎÞ-error>.  Once the Manchu and Mongolian nobles hiding under Ronglu and Ci'an in the capital are wiped out, the rebellion by Ronglu and others will completely lose their reputation as a righteousness, which is very disadvantageous.

    In contrast to Ronglu¡¯s anxiety, the coalition forces were elated. The Qing army retreated in chaos and surrendered at several key points. The coalition forces captured more than 500 artillery pieces of various types and an astonishing amount of various military supplies.

    The British and French troops crossed the White River and garrisoned the forts on the right bank without any difficulty.  In the main fort, they found the wooden house that the Qing commander used as his headquarters, which was comfortably furnished.  There are military maps on the wall.  The navies and engineers of the two countries began to remove various obstacles blocking the estuary.  It took the coalition forces two days to remove obstacles such as iron chains, bamboo rafts, tree fences and jetties. Although it was difficult, they were all cleared.  On the third day, the coalition's shallow water fleet entered the White River.

    British and French generals happily assessed the new military situation.  Thanks to the victory in the first battle, the war against China seems to be on a smooth road.  Even if the Qing army's huge cavalry was intact and Senggelinqin's main force still existed, Grant and Montauban believed that Tianjin was within easy reach.

    This important town is about 55 kilometers away from Dagu and only about 100 kilometers away from Beijing.  To get to Tianjin, you can take the land route or the water route.  Both sides of the Baihe River are accessible, and if you go on both sides of the Baihe River, you can get cover from the fleet in the river. Xinhe and Dagu are both rear bases.  The White River became a transportation and supply artery.  In fact, despite the twists and turns of the river, the gunboats could reach Tianjin in one day.

    General Montauban sent his first adjutant Desian back to Paris, responsible for presenting the surrender of the Dagu Fortress to Napoleon III and the peace treaty.  And General Grant thought.  With the capture of the Taku Fort and the signing of the surrender document.  The Baihe waterway was opened, and the war against China was over, or basically over.  Wu Shili also wrote to inform his mother: "The Third China War has ended."

    However, Second Lieutenant Boissieur of the 2nd Light Infantry Battalion was deeply disappointed and wrote: "The war is over and all the forts have fallen into the hands of our army. We have just made a good start, but the expedition has been too little. This is not true  It's worth six months of rough seas." Another lieutenant in the same camp, Paul Delarange, wrote happily: "China's diplomacy is indeed more capable than the army, and it will soon give other rewards to our soldiers.  and results.¡±

    Count Mitresi emphasized.  This is the third time that Europeans have penetrated the White River, following Macartney in 1793 and Amherst in 1816.  He optimistically pointed out: "This time. In the lucky year of 1858, the latter two envoys will finally arrive in Beijing and sign a treaty in the capital of China. This treaty will strengthen the strength of the two allies in this distant land and  Establish new markets that are open to countries around the world in the long term.¡±

    Ronglu sneered at the optimism of the coalition forces. During this period, he was strengthening the reorganization and control of the army. The coalition generously handed over most of the 500 artillery pieces captured to Ronglu's army, while Ronglu was in Hengfu.  With the cooperation of local officials, a team of local men was quickly formed. Their size was comparable to that of the Nanyang coolies.

    The blind optimism of the coalition forces was finally awakened by the news brought back by the reconnaissance team. The retreating Qing troops wreaked havoc on the roads leading to Tianjin on both sides of the Baihe River. They were divided into several small teams, each with more than a hundred or hundreds of people.  All roads and bridges along the way were severely damaged.  The Qing army's sabotage squad dug densely packed small pits on the road. These small pits are only the size of a fist and have little effect on stopping people, but they can easily cause horses to injure their feet.  At the same time, they dug up the banks of the White River in different areas, allowing the river water to continue creating mud.

    The reconnaissance ship of the White River Fleet discovered that the Qing army had built a considerable number of grain transport ships in the upper reaches. These ships were originally used to transport grain to the capital. Now the water transport has been basically cut off. These ships are parked near Tianjin and are now being used.  Seng Gelinqin and Peng Yulin ordered it to be scuttled to block the course of the Baihe River.

    The news brought back by the reconnaissance team is discouraging. The coalition generalWe have to re-examine the war. In the words of General Grant, I really don¡¯t understand the thoughts of these Qing people, but their actions have caused a lot of trouble, which is a test for our engineers.

    So the coalition engineers started marching and clearing obstacles and restoring traffic amidst the sound of curses. At the same time, it was frustrating that many water sources were rendered unusable by the Qing army by pouring a large number of dead animal carcasses.  Therefore, the coalition's march could only rely on both sides of the Baihe River, and could not move too far away from the Baihe River.

    Montauban began to admire the Mongolian commander of the Qing army. He only used a little trick to lead the enemy to the march route he wanted.  Grant didn't like this feeling very much. The Qing army knew where the coalition troops were marching without reconnaissance. This feeling was very bad.  Ronglu sneered and said, "This was not Seng Gelinqin's idea, but Peng Yulin's."

    The slow action of the coalition forces gave the Qing people a lot of time to strengthen Tianjin's city defenses. Before that, Tianjin seemed to be guarded by two large forts with a batch of large-caliber heavy artillery. At this moment, Ronglu believed that Peng Yulin and Seng Gelinqin must add more  With more forts, forts and trenches, Tianjin would become a second fortress.

    The cleaning work of the river was even more difficult. The Navy sent personnel to dive into the water and tie ropes, and then the Nanyang coolies on the shore and the collected cattle and horses were pulled together to barely clear a channel.

    On the seventh day of the march to Tianjin, the Baihe River was cleared and a channel was opened. British naval commander Grant (the rear admiral who succeeded Uncle Ho after his injury) hastily led 3 troops without prior notice.  A gunboat was dispatched and went up the Baihe River straight to Tianjin, which shocked and angered the French.

    After Gallant waited for the obstacles in the White River to be cleared, he took advantage of the rising tide to boldly and boldly go deep into the river.  Undoubtedly, he wanted to avenge two consecutive naval defeats!  Or they were dissatisfied with the fact that the navy only played a minor role in the offensive battle on March 21!  Parkes and Henry Rowe also joined the operation, aboard the steam frigate "Coromandel".  What a reckless move!  Montauban called it a "rash move."

    As a result, the three gunboats were warmly welcomed by the Qing army's forts and artillery positions along the Tianjin coast.  Originally, Gallend believed that the Qing army had lost 500 artillery pieces of various types, and that there would not be many artillery threats in subsequent attacks. Unfortunately, he was wrong. He ignored that the country's vast land and resources were not just rumors.  A total of more than 30 artillery pieces of the Qing army participated in the bombardment of three shallow water gunboats. However, Galend's fleet only advanced a few hundred meters before being forced to withdraw. All three gunboats were seriously injured, but fortunately they did not sink.

    ¡°However, this accidental reconnaissance also made the coalition realize that the Qing army had not completely lost the capital and confidence to resist. To open up the river to Tianjin, they had to advance both by land and water.

    The day after Gallente¡¯s adventure failed, Hengfu sent Ronglu the latest intelligence, including the latest defense situation in Tianjin.  What is staggering is that Seng Gelinqin and Peng Yulin deployed tight defenses in Tianjin. Four outer trenches and deep ditches were connected to the moat. Two more forts were added to the bank of Baihe River in Tianjin, for a total of four forts. The Qing army had a total of three.  Ten thousand people guarded Tianjin, and there were a large number of Senggelinqin's elite cavalry cruising around the outside.

    Both Grant and Montauban felt the need to increase their troops. The British army in India could add 15,000 to 20,000 British troops and Indian servants, while it would take half a year for the French army to mobilize troops from North Africa or even the mainland.

    At the same time, the news brought by Hengfu pointed out somewhat sadly that because the guard of the first fort of Dagu Fort surrendered the order without a fight, Seng Gelinqin had doubts about his generals, and many key positions did not include his manpower.  , it is somewhat impossible to get the generals in key positions to surrender.

    Ronglu fell into deep thought after looking at the defense map, and the coalition generals had a fierce quarrel. No one had a better way. It seemed that they could only attack Tianjin forcefully.

    The coalition's military operations began violently on the second day after the large forces arrived five kilometers outside Tianjin. The army attacked on land and the fleet was covered in the river. The strong attack on the first day was effective. They broke through two trenches of the Qing army in succession.  However, they encountered a counterattack by the Qing army at night. Although the coalition forces strengthened their defense, they still suffered losses.

    The advance on the second day did not go smoothly. The Qing army seemed to have taken stimulants and refused to retreat, repelling one group after another. The next day was a bloody day. At least 3,000 Qing soldiers were killed and more than 3,000 people were injured.  More, while the coalition suffered more than a thousand casualties.

    At this time, Grant and Montauban were horrified to discover the intentions of the Qing people. They were fighting for the attrition of soldiers. Although four, five or even more Qing soldiers could be exchanged for the casualties of one coalition soldier, the Qing was fighting on their own territory, and they  You can recruit more troops at any time!  The coalition forces must adjust their strategies and tactics!

    Looking back at the map, the coalition generals all had a question in their minds: Is this the only way to Beijing?  Tonight's military meetingAt the meeting, Ronglu stood up and spoke: "There is more than just this road to Beijing. You can also land in Jinzhou outside the customs and enter Beijing from Shanhaiguan!" (To be continued)
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