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Volume 1: Fierce Battle in Changsha Chapter 624: Overt and Covert War

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    At noon the next day, Li Xiucheng, the advisory group and the staff jointly put the prepared combat plan on Xiao Yungui's desk, and then the messenger sent back to Shanhaiguan also set off. Liu Xin served as the messenger to Zuo Zongtang, who was in charge of Jiangnan.  The others brought detailed instructions from the King of the West.  ¨J

    In addition to tactics and tactics, victory or defeat also depends on striking the right target at the right time. The Manchu Qing defense of the capital seemed weak, but its threat was far less than that of the British and French forces, while the Taiping Army  Sooner or later, there will be a battle with the British and French forces. The fundamental reason is that the Taiping Army and the British and French forces started the game early for dominance in the Far East.

    War is a continuation of politics, and economy is the basis of war. Although the Taiping Army and the British and French Allied Forces still have a lot of economic cooperation in Jiangnan, political differences between the two sides are inevitable.  In the face of the increasingly powerful Taiping Rebellion and its tough foreign policy, in order to continue to expand their influence in the Far East and ensure the long-term interests of the Far East, it became the primary political purpose of Britain and France to restrict and hinder the development and growth of the Taiping Rebellion.

    In history, the British and French coalition forces completely confirmed their dominance in the Far East through the Second Opium War. However, the so-called Opium War was just a meaningless naming by later historians. What Britain and France wanted was not just the opium trade.  The First Opium War only knocked on the door of the country at that time, but it was the Second Opium War that completely destroyed the spirit of the Manchu and Qing Dynasty for more than two hundred years!  Then Britain and France began to intervene in China's civil war, and eventually joined forces with the Manchu Qing Dynasty to suppress the Taiping Rebellion.

    "What was exactly the same was that in this time and space, Britain and France also launched the Second Opium War, and Xiao Yungui was keenly aware of it.  As Britain and France change their policies towards China, they will no longer remain neutral.  Just like when Britain and France intervened in the American War of Independence, imperialism like Britain and France will be present wherever there is interest.  From the moment the British and French Expeditionary Forces arrived in the Far East.  The seeds of the break between the two sides have been planted, and it is only a matter of time before the war breaks out.

    The Taiping Army's adventurous march north cannot be said to be a mistake in the Western King's decision-making. On the contrary, it was precisely because the Taiping Army appeared in the capital like a surprise force from heaven, which completely disrupted the deployment of Britain and France. The complicated situation made Britain, France, the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, and the Manchus  They are all caught in a strange situation, but the truth that the enemy of the enemy is a friend seems to have failed here. All three parties have a selective proposition of who to attack first. The party that chooses the right thing to strike first will undoubtedly occupy a very large position.  Advantage.

    Xiao Yungui once again visited the front line in person, since the battles of Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Shanghai.  He had not been to the front line in person for a long time. The first item in Li Xiucheng's battle plan was to suggest that the King of the West and the messenger return to Shanhaiguan together, and then take a boat from Shanhaiguan back to the south.  But Xiao Yungui refused. The war that was about to break out with Britain and France in the Gyeonggi region would completely affect the future national destiny of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom for a hundred years. It would also be a war that would determine the future destiny of the Chinese people. Xiao Yungui was not willing to miss this war on which the national destiny was at stake, nor would he  Willing to leave any regrets.  So he rejected Li Xiucheng's suggestion and instead sat in Nanyuan Camp, where he would witness the victory of the Taiping Army!

    Since the day the Taiping Army was established, war has never stopped.  Years of war make people grow up very quickly, and the series of military reforms of the Taiping Rebellion also transformed the Taiping Army from a feudal peasant uprising army into a modern hot-weapons army. The most obvious thing is the formulation of detailed combat plans.

    Li Xiucheng¡¯s battle plan is very detailed.  This is a concentrated expression of collective wisdom. At the same time, the detailed topography and landforms of the Gyeonggi area are the result of years of reconnaissance by intelligence agencies such as Baizetang and the Intelligence Department.  then.  The Taiping Army had a more detailed military map than the British and French forces, and would not make the mistake of getting lost during the march of the British and French forces.

    That afternoon.  The King of the West approved the battle plan, but except for the senior generals above the division level, the rest of the soldiers did not know the battle plan. The slogan was still to actively attack Qing Yao's demon lair. In order to confuse the British and French and gain time,  The King of the West once again sent negotiation envoys to the British and French forces.

    As a negotiator, Qian Jiang led his men to the British and French Allied Forces Camp in Tongzhou. At first, Qian Jiang received instructions to delay the British and French forces as much as possible and make them relax their guard. However, when Qian Jiang arrived at the Allied Forces Camp, he unexpectedly encountered  Another group of people.

    Qian Jiang met Prince Yi? of the Manchu Qing Dynasty and his party at the British and French Allied Forces Headquarters in Tongzhou. It turned out that they were also here to negotiate with Britain and France.

    The appearance of Qianjiang and other Taiping Army envoys in front of the Manchu and Qing envoys seemed to be deliberately arranged by the British and French. After the two sides met, the atmosphere suddenly became tense, and it seemed that the Manchu and British and French were not having a very pleasant conversation.  Under the watchful eyes of everyone in the Taiping Army, they led the Manchus and Qing people out of the arena without any communication between the two sides.

    Sir Elgin was very happy today. As he expected, the situation changed again. The previously tough Manchu and Taiping troops suddenly came together in unison.They sent envoys to negotiate, which showed that Britain and France had taken the initiative in the decisive battle between the two parties. As the decisive force, Britain and France were very good, whether they joined the Taiping Army to attack the capital or united with the Manchu Qing to attack the Taiping Army front and back.  s Choice.  Sir Elgin was very proud at this time. After the last negotiation with the Taiping Army collapsed, he did not impulsively declare war with the Taiping Army. Continuing to maintain that pseudo-neutrality once again benefited the coalition forces. Both sides could not wait to come and fight.  Anglo-French negotiations.

    As for why the Taiping Army suddenly changed its attitude, Sir Elgin was a little confused. Could it be that the Taiping Army saw that the Qing capital was tightly defended and was afraid that it would be attacked from behind by the allied forces if it could not hold off for a long time?  Or did the intimidation of the coalition forces work and the stubborn Western King figured it out?  But no matter what, as long as the Taiping Army was still willing to negotiate, Sir Elgin met with Qian Jiang and his party after concluding negotiations with the Manchu Qing Dynasty.

    Qian Jiang, who is also an old fox, has been wondering what they came to talk to the foreigners about since he saw Prince Gong and his entourage from the Manchu Qing Dynasty.  Talk about joining forces with foreigners to attack the Taiping Army from both front and rear?  If that were the case, the Taiping Army would be in danger.

    Qianjiang spent the entire negotiation process thinking and guessing about what the Manchus had negotiated with Britain and France, so he was a little absent-minded. Therefore, the first negotiation between the Taiping Army and Britain and France did not make much progress.  Qianjiang only conveyed the negotiation requirements of the Western King. The Taiping Army made certain concessions and agreed to hand over the Manchu royal family to the British and French coalition forces after conquering the capital. However, in exchange, the British and French had to hand over the occupied Tongzhou and Jintang areas.

    Sir Elgin naturally denied it. He did not agree to hand over the Jintang area. He argued that it was a city and territory seized from the Manchus by the British and French forces. If they wanted to hand it back, they could only return it to the Manchus. The Taiping Army would then take it from the Manchus.  Take it in your hands.

    The negotiations between the two sides seemed to have reached a deadlock. Qian Jiang did not get too entangled because he did not find out what the Manchus had discussed with Britain and France. When the two sides could not continue talking, Qian Jiang took the initiative to suggest adjourning the meeting for half a day and resume the meeting the next day.  negotiation.  That night, both the Manchu and Taiping envoys lived in Tongzhou, but they were far apart. The British and French allied forces were worried about any problems on both sides, so they specially sent additional soldiers to guard them.

    That night, Qian Jiang obtained some information about the negotiations between the Qing Dynasty and Britain and France from a Chinese interpreter of the British and French allied forces through a heavy bribe.  It turned out that since the negotiation with the Taiping Army failed, the British and French forces took the initiative to contact the Manchu Qing Dynasty and intended to negotiate with the Manchu Qing Dynasty. Britain and France gave a big bait to support weapons and ammunition, so the Manchu Qing Dynasty sent Yi? to personally come to contact them.

    Although Yi? came to the camp of the British and French coalition forces, the negotiation conditions given to him by the Queen Mother were also very tough. The British and French coalition forces could provide weapons and ammunition, but they had to hand over Mian Yu, Ronglu and other rebel leaders first, and their soldiers must  It was commanded by generals appointed by the Manchu people.

    Naturally, Elgin could not agree to this request. His reason was very simple. The rebels numbered tens of thousands and were not under the control of the British and French coalition forces. It was impossible to return the army to the Manchus, let alone the rebel leaders.  To Manchu.  Although the rebels led by Mian Yu, Ronglu and others are playing a very small role at this stage, Elgin is still unwilling to give up on them. They are also a card in Elgin's hand and can still be used when necessary.  A dozen.  As a result, the two sides did not have a very pleasant conversation at the beginning. Later, when Yi? saw the Taiping Army envoy arriving, he was naturally even more unhappy and left angrily.

    Qian Jiang was relieved after receiving the news. It seemed that the Manchus and the British and the French had a lot of grievances in the previous Battle of Jintang. It was unlikely that the two sides would lose face and make peace as soon as they came up, and then join forces to attack the Taiping Army from front to back.  The appearance of the Taiping Army envoy also put pressure on the Manchus. Yi? Naturally, like himself, he would speculate on the purpose of the Taiping Army's negotiation. If this was the case, Qian Jiang felt that he was sure to disrupt the negotiations between the two parties.  , by the way, delaying time.

    So, starting from the next day, Qian Jiang started his plan to disrupt the situation. While he continued to negotiate with Britain and France, from time to time he asked his subordinates to pretend to be careless or bribed, exaggerating or misinterpreting some news about the negotiations.  Give it to Yi? I know.

    On the Manchu and Qing side, Yi? After meeting Qian Jiang and others, they really felt that it was very difficult. They were also worried that the Taiping Army would shamelessly join forces with Britain and France to attack Beijing, so Yi? also used various means to inquire about the Taiping Army's negotiations.  Purpose.

    In the next ten days or so, the Manchu and Taiping Army envoys staged scenes of overt and covert battles in the small city of Tongzhou.  The negotiators on both sides each came up with ingenious strategies, and used various means of spying, bribery, and eavesdropping. At the negotiation table, both sides continued to change the content of the negotiations based on the information they obtained about the other party's negotiations.

    Sir Elgin's original intention was to negotiate with both parties to achieve the best results for the British and French forces. However, the ever-changing content of the negotiations between the two sides troubled the British and French missions. Fortunately, both sides were constantly negotiating.  Lowering the tough stance, in short, things are developing in a direction beneficial to Britain and France, so Sir ElginSo happy too.

    As a result, time was lost in repeated quarrels and secret battles. Elgin, Gro and other members of the British and French envoys were blinded by the great situation in front of them, and did not realize that the Taiping Army had been in the area since the next day.  The troops were mobilized under the day-night march mode (To be continued, please search Piaotian Literature, the novel is better and updated faster!
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