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Volume 1: Fierce Battle in Changsha Chapter 603: The Unrivaled Road

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    The proclamation was quickly spread all over the world. It is not clear how much effect the proclamation played, but one effect is clear, that is, it gave the Anglo-French allied forces' aggressive actions a legal cloak, while the common people had little to be motivated.  They will still suffer the ravages of war.

    Lieutenant Colonel Wu Shili was surprised to find that after learning the content of the proclamation, the citizens of Tianjin City did not rejoice and participate in the war to defend the royal family with great enthusiasm. On the contrary, they became more pessimistic and timid.  Wu Shili heard this from an elder, "Is Prince Gong a traitor? He doesn't seem to have made any mistakes, but after you came, our lives were a mess" Wu Shili admired the elder's frankness.  A few days later, when he went to visit the elder again, he saw no one. He heard that he was shot to death by several drunk Indian Sikh soldiers on the street

    Therefore, Lieutenant Colonel Wu Shili came to the conclusion that the people of this country were indifferent to imperial majesty and power. They only feared the imperial power without any respect. It seemed impossible for them to devote themselves to fighting for the throne and imperial power.  .

    But no matter what, it still inspired a group of people, that is, all the generals and soldiers below Mianyu who stood up to oppose the Queen Mother. They had objects and goals of loyalty, and also had a legitimate name for justice, so they could continue the war.  .

    The coalition forces rested in Tianjin for several days. Subsequent intelligence showed that the defeated Qing army regrouped in Tongzhou. Seng Gelinqin raised a banner on a bridge leading to the capital to hold back the defeated troops. Finally, he assembled a group of troops.  A force of more than 30,000 people.  Therefore, the Mongolian prince still lingered on the road to the capital of the coalition forces.  So persistent.

    Although the coalition forces of more than 20,000 British and French troops plus more than 40,000 Mianyu and Ronglu Qing allies had an advantage in strength for the first time, everyone recognized it.  Advancing into Beijing is full of dangers.  The ordeal in the Tanggu area made everyone in the coalition believe that this march might be prolonged again, and the journey would be difficult and dangerous.

    On this day, bad news came again, according to the navy¡¯s reconnaissance information.  Because the water is not deep enough, coalition ships cannot sail in the upper reaches of the Baihe River in Tianjin.  There were originally enough inland river ships in Tianjin but Senggelinqin used them to fill the rivers. The coalition forces failed to find ships suitable for inland river navigation in this area, so their plan to transport military supplies through rivers failed.

    The French army lacked transportation tools. They lacked horses, mules, oxcarts, etc.  Wu Shili suspected that mules, horses, cattle and other items were eaten by the French army as military rations when they were in Tanggu.  Therefore, the coalition military supplies transportation and supply problems are serious.

    This is just the beginning of a series of difficulties, the beginning of a real war.  For the two commanders leading this joint expeditionary force, the really serious problem is that they must rush resolutely into a completely unfamiliar territory.  What kind of places will the coalition forces enter?  Will the troops and equipment and artillery be hampered by unexpected difficulties and obstacles?  The navy is unable to go up the river due to insufficient water depth, so where will the coalition camp and material supplies come from?  The difficulties and dangers that may arise in supplying troops are more terrifying than fighting.

    Fortunately, their Qing allies gave them the confidence to overcome the difficulties. After planning by Prince Hui Mianyu and Ronglu, the Qing team sent 10,000 cavalry and infantry as the vanguard.  Grant and Montauban believed that their allies knew the local conditions and could do a better job than the Union forces.  The British and French forces followed behind.  They planned to attack slowly and steadily, establish a solid logistics support line, and gradually advance northward section by section over 6 to 7 days, until they reached Tongzhou, which was the last gateway to Beijing, the capital of the Qing Dynasty, not far from Beijing.

    On the tenth day after the capture of Tianjin, the leading troops of the Qing allied forces were in front. The coalition forces were divided into three columns and set off one day apart.  The first column set off on April 15, including 800 British infantry and 600 cavalry and 2 Armstrong artillery batteries, followed by Elgin on horseback.  The French column then set off in good order.  It consists of 3,000 troops and 2 artillery batteries under General Ran Man.

    The scene of the departure of the French army and the French mission was very spectacular. The French mission accompanied the army and occupied a prominent position.  Two North African cavalry led the way, followed closely by Baron Gro's sedan, carried on the shoulders of strong Nanyang coolies.  Next came General Montauban and members of his staff.  The large team behind them marched happily on Chinese soil, feeling proud to have crossed the limit where the pioneers had stopped.

    It is said that Grotto wanted to stay in Tianjin and wait for the development of the situation.  He felt that this "is more appropriate, more consistent with his status and more convenient for envoys than taking the risk of war."  However, the excited British envoy Elgin refused to listen to his advice and was unwilling to take a step away from the British commander!  Ge Luo then had to follow the army.

    In a letter to the Foreign Secretary, he wrote: "In such a special diplomatic battle, no matter how difficult and harsh it is for me, I will not hesitate to join in it; we reached an agreement with our Qing allies in Tianjin  After we agreed, I moved forward with the French army  "

    To this end, Grotto brought a considerable diplomatic mission and motorcade, a group of dignitaries and entourage, 25 carriages, 4 sedans and about 40 Nanyang coolies.  Among the accompanying members were the secretaries Basta and Venouye, the interpreters Meriden and the Father de la Mare, the naval colonel Trico, the aide-de-camp of General Chanet, the captain Yores, and the young officer Bubulon, the liaison officer of the mission and the army.  There are also 5 European servants, 3 Chinese scholars and 8 sailors.  The envoys accompanying the army led by Grotto enjoyed the same provisions as soldiers, and the military commissary provided quotas of biscuits, cooked meats, and liquor.

    The second column consisted of about 2,000 British follow-up troops, led by General Michel, and then set off, followed by 4,000 French troops, followed by an army of Qing allies led by Mian Yu and Ronglu.

    On the third night after the first column set out on the road, the camp was suddenly hit by a heavy rain.  A large number of strong men escorting the supplies (mostly composed of Tianjin locals and recruited by Governor Hengfu) took the opportunity to desert and took the horses and mules with them.  Is this caused by Seng Gelinqin's intervention?  In short, the coalition had such suspicions.  In Tianjin, whether by accident or hostility, a fire broke out in the allied stables, and some horses were burned to death. Fortunately, most of the horses and saddle ropes were rescued.

    In short, along the way, the coalition forces always suffered inexplicable accidents. The coalition forces seemed to have suffered more hostility and hostility, and the situation was worrying.

    Every day of the march, a new column takes turns opening the way.  Each trip is fairly short.  The weather gradually started to get hotter, and we were crossing a sandy plain. There were sorghum fields on both sides of the road. The sorghum was taller than the people on the horses. After the heavy rain, the road was muddy, so it was very difficult to travel.  The muddy roads on rainy days brought difficulties to the coalition forces. The Qing coalition forces also came to help, but manpower could never compete with nature. The coalition troops were once again in a bad situation, and they did not know when they could continue to move forward.  General Montauban was extremely frustrated. His troops were paralyzed by lack of supplies. There were few villages where food could be found along the way, or they were empty.

    What is even more depressing is the flight of people. Basically all the strong men in Tianjin have escaped. When they fled, they also incited many Nanyang coolies away.  The Nanyang coolies had made a fortune in previous robberies, and it was said that many of them were willing to return to their homeland rather than do this kind of service.  Even the bearers of Envoy Grotto's sedan chair also ran away, and they even took away several valuable ornaments on the sedan chair. Envoy Grotto was even more desperate

    Fortunately, as Captain Shanouan said, "There is no perfect road." When Artillery Colonel Benzman and Bridge Corps Captain Blewell were walking around the campsite, they discovered towering masts in the distance.  If there are masts, there must be ships; if there are ships, there must be channels.  Sure enough, the river was only separated by sorghum fields and was within easy reach of the coalition camp. There were countless sailing ships heading south from Tongzhou.

    After inquiring, the shipowners replied that this river is a food transportation channel for Beijing.  It turns out that the navy made a mistake and confused the 150-meter-wide river with a small, unnavigable canal

    The reconnaissance was obviously wrong. At the same time, the Allied Navy's self-conceited professional reconnaissance methods misled the Allied Forces High Command, and the Allied Forces were also very arrogant and forgot to ask their Qing allies about the depth of the river. So the Allied Forces' scientific naval investigators insisted  The upper reaches of the Baihe River are no longer navigable 3 kilometers past Tianjin, not even for small canoes with pointed ends.  Captain Beziah severely criticized this mistake made by the Navy, while Grant and Montauban took this incident more seriously. They paid the price for the self-righteous and arrogant attitude of their men.

    When there was another meeting, when Wu Shili explained to the Chinese allies that they would use the new channel to transport supplies, Mianyu and Ronglu looked surprised. It turned out that they ignored the coalition's waterway problem and thought that the coalition already knew the situation of this channel, so  The two sides made a big mistake, which was as funny as the last time they attacked Junliang City, when the coalition forces forgot the siege ladder in Beitang Village.

    As a result, about 60 Chinese merchant ships were requisitioned, with a daily rent of 2 piastres.  The bridge builders gathered the ships and detained the crews, thus forming two fleets.  One team transported the sick back to Tianjin and loaded grain and ammunition on the return trip; the other team was responsible for transporting the things originally carried by horse-drawn carriages. After the coolies escaped, the horse-drawn carriages were useless.  The above actions were carried out quickly.  Colonel Dupin paid tribute to the bridge-builders, especially Blywell, whom he nicknamed "Board Captain", and praised them for "saving the expedition to China."  This "expedition" was once again lucky.  Thanks to this temporarily formed "navy", the coalition forces were able to obtain sufficient supplies from Tianjin.

    Ronglu was also confused about the allied forces' requisition of Chinese ships. According to Senggelinqin's temper, it was impossible for these ships to pass through Tongzhou and go south. Then he interrogated the shipowners and received the news that Senggelinqin's tribe had also run out of food, and he had lost  After receiving the military supplies from Tianjin, Tongzhou was short of clothing and food. These ships were originally sent south by him to transport a batch of food to Beicang for emergency relief. He also stored a batch of military food in Beicang, but it only took one trip.  intercepted by coalition forcesIt¡¯s over.

    Ronglu laughed. Seng Gelinqin seemed to have lost his position. He failed to grab much food but exposed Beicang, a military supply point, and at the same time allowed the coalition to obtain valuable ships (To be continued)
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