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Volume 1: Fierce Battle in Changsha Chapter 602: Lianyang Jingnan

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    The battles in the past few days have given Grant and Montauban a lot of headaches. No matter in any era of weapons, it is always very difficult to fight tough battles. Moreover, the Qing army on the opposite side refused to retreat and fought against the coalition forces despite huge casualties.

    For several days in a row, the coalition forces concentrated all kinds of artillery bombardment, including naval mortars and other heavy artillery. Smoke filled the sky over Tianjin, and the smell of sulfur in the air was so strong that it was suffocating. However, until April 2, no Qing troops were seen on the opposite side.  signs of looseness.

    After more than a thousand casualties on the first day of the attack, the coalition forces did not send out large forces to attack the fortress, and local short-term assaults were just for show. They were waiting for an opportunity. Ronglu happily told them that in a few days, the Qing army would have  Civil unrest.

    In the early morning of April 5, the coalition's forward position discovered the long-agreed signal. Several forts on the front unanimously flew a huge white flag. Along with the white flag, there was also a huge square yellow flag flying with several square characters embroidered on it.  Lieutenant Colonel Wu Shili was proficient in Chinese. After reading it, he read in half-familiar Chinese: "Jingguo is in trouble, clearing the emperor's side, punishing traitors, and returning power to the two palaces."

    Wu Shili didn¡¯t understand the thinking of the Chinese people. They were clearly opposed to the Empress Dowager Cixi, so why did they still use the banner of returning power to the two palaces?  Ronglu explained that it was a matter of royal dignity, and as long as the Empress Dowager Cixi's party members in the court and Prince Gong's party were cut off, she would have no real power.

    Wu Shili deeply agreed with Ronglu¡¯s explanation. Chinese people have a great sense of face, and this banner and slogan at least preserved everyone¡¯s face.

    Several forts stopped resisting, and the Qing troops from Chahar defected.  The entire Tianjin peripheral defense system completely collapsed in a short period of time.  Grant and Montauban breathed a sigh of relief, and all the soldiers in the coalition army breathed a sigh of relief. Even Ronglu breathed a sigh of relief.  Grant and Montauban stopped the attack because they listened to Ronglu.  Now that he finally got a satisfactory result, he breathed a sigh of relief, while Rong Lu was glad that his plan with Heng Fu and Mian Yu had not been noticed by Peng Yulin.

    Ever since Peng Yulin came to the Jintang area, Ronglu has felt a thorn in his back. It is always exciting to face off against famous historical generals and plot against each other, but Ronglu feels that he has always been at a disadvantage. This is because his growth experience is not enough.  He didn't have the experience of growing up from war like Xiao Yungui.  Xiao Yungui also lacked the help of capable advisers. Xiao Yungui had a large number of capable advisers such as Zuo Zongtang helping him, but Ronglu was alone.

    The fall of the peripheral forts exposed the city of Tianjin directly to artillery fire.  The Qing troops in the city began a chaotic retreat, but thousands of Qing troops still resisted desperately on the city wall. They bought half a day for the main force of the Qing army to retreat, and finally all died at the top of the city.  The highest officer among them is Su Kejin, a powerful general under Seng Gelinqin.  So far, Seng Gelinqin's four powerful generals Su Kejin, Shi Rongchun, He Jian'ao, and Leshan have all been killed in the battle.  It is gratifying that he died gloriously in the war to resist foreign aggression and did not die in the civil war against the Taiping Army.

    Senggelinqin's retreat was in a panic. It seemed that they were not aware of Hengfu and Mianyu's plan at all. Monk King lost a lot of baggage and weapons. Even when Sergeant David and his soldiers rushed into the city to occupy Monk King's command,  At that time, they also saw hot tea brewed by the monk king in the Tianjin Governor's Yamen.

    About eight thousand Qing infantrymen failed to withdraw from Tianjin in time.  They were surrounded by their compatriots, people from Ruijian Camp in Xishan, in the main camp in the city.  As a result, more than a dozen generals committed suicide, and these Qing troops chose to surrender under the persuasion of Prince Hui Mianyu.

    Tianjin, which had blocked the coalition forces for nearly ten days, was occupied in this way, with almost no effort by the coalition forces.  Later, the British and French troops were stationed outside the city and camped at two forts located in the middle of the salt warehouse. The British troops were on the left bank and the French troops were on the right bank.

    However, the French army coach was very dissatisfied. Parkes and Grant arrived in Tianjin via waterway at the first time, and carried out military procurement very conveniently. The British army contacted the main suppliers in the city in advance - they originally provided supplies to the squadron.  Provisions - finalized the contract and ensured the supply of food to the British army, which was highly praised by General Grant.  As a result, when the French army arrived, they could not find any food, and their supplies were very poor. Montauban was very angry about this.

    According to regulations, the two armies should share the food and supplies provided by various places on the way as brothers.  He threatened that in order to keep his men fed, he would have to go to people's homes to grab food.  The British army had to give in and apologize.  The two armies shared supplies. Fortunately, the military supplies hoarded by Chinese merchants and Senggelinqin were all there, and there was all kinds of food.

    Tianjin is a big city, an important industrial town (there are many handicraft workshops, and it is indeed an important industrial town compared to other cities under the rule of the Qing army), with a dense population and surrounded by city walls.  It is unclear whether there are 300,000 or 600,000 citizens. Maybe there was a war in the Jintang area and many people fled to Tianjin to escape the war.

    The first impression of Montauban is still the same. The city is "terribly dirty", compared to the clean ones under the Taiping Army.?As far as cities are concerned, cities under the Qing army are simply regions.  Tianjin is bordered by the Baihe River in the east and the Grand Canal connecting Tianjin and Beijing in the north. It is not only a good port, but also a material supply center for the capital, especially rice, sorghum, millet and other grains and other types of food.  This is also a warehouse city, especially selling mountains of salt, as well as furs and products imported from Russia. In large covered shops, the goods are complete and dazzling, so the coalition forces made their first windfall.

    Dr. Armand praised Tianjin¡¯s sufficient supply of supplies: ¡°Any soldier who has ever been on an expedition has probably never seen such abundant food.¡± There are agricultural and sideline products here that have won first prizes in the French Agricultural Promotion Association.  There are fresh vegetables picked by vegetable farmers - lettuce, onions, carrots, radishes, winter squash, etc.; there are chicken, duck, meat, eggs and game, as well as various aquatic products and seafood; there are also sugar, soju and condiments.  Moreover, there is a kind of white grape among the fruits, which is almost the same as that produced in the Fontainebleau region.  It can be said that everyone is as satisfied as Pantagruel in "The Legend of the Giant".

    Some residents of the city have fled for safety reasons and fear of being robbed. They all fled to the capital, but most people chose to believe that Senggelinqin could hold Tianjin and stayed. As a result, they became people in the occupied areas.  .  Tianjin Daotai once threatened: Westerners are murderous bandits, destroying and looting everywhere.  Therefore, the coalition soldiers received military orders to maintain strict discipline and they had no right to enter the city.  But officers were an exception, so they rushed to visit the city, study the terrain, learn about the products, and prepare to replenish military supplies.

    In the city, the British and French envoys and Grant lived in a spacious and comfortable house, while Montauban preferred to live in the "yamen" at the confluence of the White River and the Grand Canal.  The city of Tianjin was not damaged by shelling. Despite the fierce fighting on the outside, the coalition forces still controlled the coverage of the artillery fire, so now they have comfortable homes instead of rubble.

    At the place where they stayed, the British and French ministers, Grant and Ronglu met Hengfu and Mianyu. After expressing the misfortunes suffered by the royal families of the two countries to the Qing royal family, the conversation between the two sides turned to military and politics.

    Hengfu's words cleared up Ronglu's doubts. It turned out that during the third day of shelling, Peng Yulin came to the front line in person and was injured. A shell exploded not far away from him, causing him to fall off his horse.  He fell down with a broken leg and internal injuries. He stayed in bed for several days, so he was not aware of Hengfu and Mianyu's plans.

    Senggelinqin was deceived by Mianyu and Hengfu, and Chahar's Mongolian compatriot Qingjun also betrayed him. As a result, Senggelinqin had to choose to retreat hastily. A small group of guards escorted him first, and then personal guards carried Peng Yulin's  The stretchers left Tianjin, and thousands of infantry followed and fled Tianjin.  Fortunately, Senggelinqin's cavalry regiment was not in the city. They were stationed slightly outside the city, mainly to guard against the allied forces' detour and to cut off Tianjin's access to the capital, so they escaped.

    Governor Hengfu demanded to protect the lives of Zhili residents and promised to treat the coalition forces as distinguished guests.  Sir Elgin, however, boasted that he was the master of this place.  Therefore, he ordered the occupation of the nearest Tianjin city gate, which was actually just a symbolic occupation.  The citizens present watched the actions of the coalition soldiers curiously, but were not hostile.  Soon the ministers of the two countries invited Hengfu and Mianyu to participate in the flag-raising ceremony, and the English and French flags were flying on the east gate tower.  In front of the Chinese, the British army was so proud and proud that they were the only victors

    Mianyu and Hengfu were somewhat embarrassed, while Ronglu looked as usual. Lieutenant Colonel Wu Shili had discussed in private that this Qing aristocrat seemed to want to become a British citizen after the war. Wu Shili didn't know what to do with this bold idea.  answer.

    After showing the appropriate manners, the talks between the two parties entered a substantive stage. Mian Yu publicly displayed the edict of the Eastern Queen Mother of the Qing Dynasty in public, and hoped that the coalition forces could join him in issuing a joint statement.

    Sir Elgin understood the meaning of the declaration through explanation, and he was still willing to accept the terms of this joint declaration. French Minister Grotto agreed. They all hoped to put a more legal cloak on this military operation.  , Mianyu's suggestion was exactly what he wanted.

    At the same time, this declaration was exchanged for the promise of free supply of all materials in Tianjin, which made the French even more happy, while the British were a little annoyed because they had signed some supply agreements in advance, which meant that they still had to pay the Chinese vendors.  .  After hearing about the British embarrassment, Governor Hengfu magnanimously exempted the British from the agreement obligations on behalf of the Chinese traders in public, claiming that he would also provide free supplies to the British.  The British didn't know how the governor could represent Chinese traders, but since there were free things, they naturally accepted it.  Afterwards, Parkesli realized that it was incredible that under the Qing Dynasty, officials could represent the interests of all the people.

    The next day, the British and French ministers Sir Elgin and Sir GroudThey both signed and sealed the joint memorandum, which was eventually spread throughout the world, calling on all soldiers and civilians of the Qing Dynasty to rise up and crusade against the traitors in the court. Prince Gong was portrayed as the biggest traitor after the regent Dorgon!  Known in history as "Lian Yang Jing Nan"!  (To be continued, please search Piaotian Literature. The novels will be better and updated faster!
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