Add Bookmark | Recommend this book | Back to the book page | My bookshelf | Mobile Reading

Free Web Novel,Novel online - All in oicq.net -> Historic -> Taiping blood

Volume 1: Fierce Battle in Changsha Chapter 656: Laughing at a Speech

Previous page        Return to Catalog        Next page

    Xiao Yungui's worry did not last long. Late at night, military reports from the rear came again. The Qing army had been repulsed. An infantry regiment stationed in Hexiwu Town sent two battalions to return reinforcements and arrived at Tongzhou University in the afternoon.  Battalion, and then the cavalry troops originally holding the Tongzhou Camp were freed up to go to support.  ~

    To be honest, officers at all levels in the staff department were sweating. The news came that tens of thousands of Qing troops were attacking Nanyuan Camp. Can the more than a thousand infantrymen left behind in Nanyuan Camp resist it?  Although Xiao Yungui was calm on the surface, he was still upset inside. It was not until the news came late at night that everyone put their hearts in their stomachs.

    After reading the battle report, Xiao Yungui burst into laughter. He was really worrying too much. The energy of the Qing army at this moment had been completely destroyed by the British and French allied forces. Li Hongzhang and Seng Gelinqin's elite warriors were killed and injured, and the remaining Qing army  Except for the army in Shanxi and the green camp in the capital, there are also the so-called Eight Banners in the capital. These Qiu Ba, who are lying on their bare bodies, cannot become majestic in the hands of any famous general, not to mention that the Taiping Army has transformed into a modern elite army. Although it faces more than ten times the number of  The enemy, but as long as there is sufficient ammunition and strong fortifications, defense should not be a problem.

    Reminiscent of the Boxer Rebellion in later history, tens of thousands of elite Qing troops in the capital, armed with advanced weapons, besieged the embassy area of ????the capital. About 3,000 people were besieged in the embassy area, of which 2,000 were Chinese seeking protection and 400 foreign men.  , 147 women and 76 children.  The embassy was protected by 409 foreign sailors and marines, equipped with three machine guns and four small artillery pieces. There were sufficient wells and food in the embassy.  It is in this case.  The siege that began in June of that year lasted until September when the Eight-Power Allied Forces came to the city. The Qing army did not capture the foreign embassy district in the capital.  Although the Qing army may have various offensive concerns.  But their numbers were large, and their weapons were many times more advanced than they are now.  However, they still failed to break through the foreign embassy area, which shows that the Qing army's ability to attack difficult problems has never been strong.

    Under the command of Xiao Yungui, the Taiping Army in Nanyuan Camp built complete fortifications and more advanced weapons. The morale of the Qing army was low. Both the Shanxi soldiers and the soldiers in the capital had been out of battle for a long time, and  Weapons were a full century behind, so it was understandable that they could not conquer the camp defended by more than a thousand people.  Think through this section.  Xiao Yungui secretly laughed at himself for being too worried.

    ¡°Then I thought about it, what if the Qing army went out in full force and launched the human wave tactic at all costs?  Xiao Yungui immediately put an end to this idea. Can the Qing army use the human sea tactic?  Obviously not. I heard that the Shanxi soldiers in the capital had been in arrears with pay for several months. After arriving in the capital, the wealthy households in the capital donated money and paid them three months' worth of food.  The Eight Banners in the capital only guaranteed half of the food and salary. The Qing army had always asked where the food and salary were, regardless of other matters when fighting.  If you have food and pay, you can go to war; if you don't have food and pay, your troops can't stay in their nests.  Therefore, the Qing government could mobilize troops to bravely defend the city, but it could not mobilize large-scale troops to attack the city. If there was no money, who would work for you?  !

    This situation was common among the Qing army.  This was true even for Zeng Guofan's Hunan Army. Historically, Zeng Guofan of the Hunan Army was amazed that the Taiping Army did not need to be mobilized for food and salary.  The Hunan army must prepare money and food to encourage the soldiers, otherwise it will never be able to mobilize a single soldier.  Why?

    In fact, Xiao Yungui missed one thing, and that was the Queen Mother of the Qing Dynasty.  Because she reluctantly agreed to attack the Taiping Army camp, it was precisely because of her that the Qing army did not attack the Taiping Army camp more firmly, so Li Hongzhang and Seng Gelinqin just retreated their troops hastily.

    After resolving the crisis of being stabbed in the back by the Qing army, Xiao Yungui once again summoned the two ministers Elgin and Ge Luo early the next morning.  Xiao Yungui unabashedly informed the two of them about the battle situation at Nanyuan Camp. Tens of thousands of Qing troops were beaten back. Perhaps the British and French forces should clearly understand the current situation.

    After listening to the Taiping Army officer's arrogant introduction to the battle situation, Elgin and Geluo looked at each other. In fact, they never thought at first that the Manchu and Qing troops could attack Hexiwu or Tianjin to relieve the coalition forces. At least they should be able to  Mobilizing more Taiping troops to return reinforcements would reduce the pressure on the coalition forces from being surrounded. As long as the siege becomes weaker after the Taiping troops are mobilized, the coalition forces may be able to break through the encirclement.  But I didn't expect that the Qing army was so incompetent. It basically didn't let the main force of the Taiping Army move into its nest, and it wasn't even a threat.

    Elgin and Geluo didn't speak. They lowered their heads and thought. Finally, Elgin broke the silence: "Your Excellency, the King of the West, the two sides have been fighting for several days. If there is a truce for a while, both sides should calmly consider it."

    Xiao Yungui laughed dumbly and said: "Sir Elgin, you have to wait until your troops lay down their weapons before you consider it." Finally, Xiao Yungui solemnly told them: "You only have one day to consider whether to surrender unconditionally, otherwise we will start attacking in a day."  , continue the attack until all Huogezhuang's coalition forces are wiped out."

    Elgin and Geluo were dejected. Unconditional surrender had always been their message to the colonial resisters who had been enslaved by them.?Ultimatum, when had the British and French armies been so humiliated?  Their faces were pale, and until now they felt as if they were in a dream.

    After being silent for a long time, Sir Elgin said painfully: "Please let us go back and discuss with the generals of the coalition forces before giving an answer." Xiao Yungui readily agreed and sent a team of Taiping cavalry to escort them back.

    Returning to the area controlled by the Huogezhuang coalition, Elgin and Gelu held a meeting dejectedly. At the meeting, Elgin told the news that the Manchus had failed to leave the city to attack the Taiping Army camp, and asked the Taiping Army to surrender unconditionally to the coalition forces.  The ultimatum was also given. Most officers and generals chose to remain silent, while a few generals clamored that they would rather die in battle than surrender in humiliation.

    Grant and Montauban were undoubtedly in pain. As the decision-makers of the headquarters, the two men had to discuss a decision. This decision may cause more people to die or may allow more people to survive, but they will lose soldiers.  dignity.

    Where should we go from here?  No one could give them the answer, and finally the two ordered the officers and generals to withdraw, leaving only Elgin and Geluo to discuss.  The four people sat around in the inner hall of this Chinese-style ancestral hall. The atmosphere in the room was very depressed. After a moment of silence, Elgin finally raised a question: "Two generals, do we still have hope of breaking out?"

    Grant shook his head and said: "There is no hope. Except for those who are very lucky to escape, most people will be killed or captured." Elgin closed his mouth. His luck has been bad these days.

    Sir Grotto said in frustration: "Is surrender the only way we can?"

    Finally, Montauban opened his eyes and said bitterly: "Gentlemen, surrender. Rather than being a prisoner who will be humiliated by the enemy after running out of ammunition and food in a few days, it is better to surrender with dignity now, but the surrender cannot be unconditional. The Taiping Army must  To ensure the honor of our soldiers, we must protect everyone¡¯s life and send each of us home safely after the war.¡±

    Elgin nodded and said: "We can negotiate on this point, but when will the war started by the Taiping Army end?"

    Montauban smiled bitterly and said: "If the news of our failure spreads back to the country, I don't know how the country will react. There are also the safety of several treaty ports and concession areas in Jiangnan, and the safety of Hong Kong. How will the country ensure it?"  ? Or the treaty ports, concession areas and Hong Kong will all fall before the country can mobilize troops to organize another expedition."

    Grant said slowly: "Relying on the navy, the port, the concession area and Hong Kong may be able to defend. This depends on the command of the two generals Massimo Gly and Rigo de Genouiri. We still have control of the sea, maybe  The best way to force the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom to return to the negotiating table is for the navy to break into the Yangtze River and threaten Tianjing, the capital of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom!"

    Grant was right. The coalition's maritime power could not be threatened by the weak Taiping navy. If the coalition's navy went south to protect several ports and concession areas, successfully defended Hong Kong, and then sent forces to break into the Yangtze River to threaten the Taiping capital,  The situation of the war may change.  The Yangtze River waterway from the Yangtze River Estuary to Tianjing can navigate large ships of thousands of tons. Many medium and large ships in the coalition navy can navigate and can create enough pressure.

    Sir Elgin tidied his clothes and finally stood up and said: "Okay gentlemen, Sir Gro and I will go to see His Excellency the King of the West again to discuss the surrender. As for the navy, they can only rely on themselves. I hope  General Napier was able to withdraw to the sea in time, and Major General Michael, who broke through to the Sea of ??Tranquility, I also wish him good luck."

    So, at noon that day, Elgin and Gro, the ministers plenipotentiary of the British and French coalition forces, returned to the Taiping Army camp to discuss the surrender of the coalition forces.  The Taiping Army sent a mission represented by Qian Jiang to negotiate. After half a day of discussion, the two sides finally decided that all coalition forces in Huogezhuang would surrender in two days. The Taiping Army guaranteed the life safety of every surrendered coalition soldier. At the same time,  He also promised to release them and return to their country after the war is over

    Two days later, 5,781 soldiers and generals of the British and French forces in Huogezhuang surrendered as promised.  Xiao Yungui himself stayed in Huogezhuang to preside over the surrender. At the same time, he ordered Li Xiucheng to lead a force to go south quickly to surround and annihilate Major General Michel's detachment that was still wandering around Jinghai. At the same time, he ordered the Tianjin troops to start besieging Dagukou Fortress.

    Major General Michel was resisted one by one by small groups of the Taiping Army in Tianjin, and the progress was very slow. Then they were surrounded by the Taiping Army in Jinghai. Soon the news of the surrender of Grant and Montauban's main force came, and Major General Michel also wisely  chose to surrender.

    After receiving the news, General Napier of Dagukou quickly retreated, leaving less than two thousand coalition soldiers who boarded naval ships and barely escaped.  So far, more than 25,000 troops of the British-French Allied Expeditionary Force who landed were almost completely wiped out. More than 8,000 people were killed in battle, and more than 9,000 people were injured and captured.More than five thousand people surrendered, but only General Napier and his men escaped.  At this point, the Battle of Beijing and Tianjin ended, and the Taiping Army completed its strategic purpose, at the cost of starting a complete war with Britain and France (To be continued, please search Piaotian Literature, the novel is better and updated faster!
Didn't finish reading? Add this book to your favoritesI'm a member and bookmarked this chapterCopy the address of this book and recommend it to your friends for pointsChapter error? Click here to report