In the second Opium War in history, the British and French forces attacked Dagukou three times, and the first and third times were completely victorious, but the second attack on Dagukou was defeated, and because of the appearance of Wu Chaoyue, the defeat of the British and French coalition forces was advanced to the first time. Pen ~ fun ~ pavilion www.biquge.info

In history, the Qing army was able to win in the second battle of Dagukou, the main reason was that it learned the lessons of the first battle, spent a lot of money to renovate and renovate the Dagukou fort that had been in disrepair for a long time, and added a large number of artillery, plus the Qing army at that time appeared Shi Rongchun and Long Ruyuan and other bloody men, who took the lead in inspiring morale, and did not leave the fort until they sacrificed, driving the Qing army soldiers to fight bravely, and the British and French allied forces fought to the end, and finally sank and injured ten warships of the British and French allied forces. Succeeded in forcing the Anglo-French forces to retreat, achieving the only victory of the Manchu army in the War of the Two Crows.

In this historical plane, because of the influence caused by Wu Chaoyue, before the outbreak of the Erya War, the Western fleet had already come to Dagukou twice, the first time forcing the Manchu court to sign the Dagu Treaty, and the second time was to simply cut off the Manchu court's sea transportation, and used cannons and muskets to tell the Manchu court the importance of the Dagukou fort in advance. As a result, the Manchu Qing court, which had learned a lesson, attached great importance to Dagukou in advance, and pulled out a huge amount of money early to renovate the Dagukou fort built during the Yiyan period, established a strong permanent fortification, and added a large number of advanced artillery, which was deployed in the heavy guard, and on this basis, it won the victory in the first Dagukou Battle in the Eryan War in advance.

In addition, the British and French forces were too light of the enemy and the bloody outbreak of the Qing army in Zhili was also an important reason for the historical change, the British and French troops who invaded the Manchu Qing Dynasty together were only more than 6,500 people, and after occupying Guangzhou, a certain army was deployed to stay behind, and the actual British and French troops who went north to attack Dagukou were only more than 4,000 people, and the strength was originally a little thin, and the defensive strength of the Dagukou Fort was far from enough, thinking that as before, as long as the battleships were lined up and bombarded at Dagukou, a few cannons could make the defenders hold their heads. still fought with the previous contempt, and as a result, he suffered a big loss.

On the side of the Qing army, Shi Rongchun, the governor of Zhili, personally led the army into battle, always sticking to the front line of the position, and Shengbao, who was pardoned and returned to Beijing, led reinforcements to garrison Gegu, ready to reinforce Dagukou at any time, and Seng Lingqin was also rushing to act as the third echelon with the Manchurian and Mongolian cavalry day and night. In addition, the capital is also under martial law in the whole city, and a large number of banner reserves were launched to guard the capital, although the combat effectiveness is not strong, but it can be regarded as united, and the momentum overwhelmed the Anglo-French alliance army that came alone, and also achieved the most absolute advantage in terms of military strength.

In the end, relying on the bloody battle of the Qing army under Shi Rongchun, after paying a very heavy price, the Dagukou Fort finally sank four ships of the British and French forces, wounded five, and miraculously seriously injured the commander of the British and French forces in the artillery battle, He Bo, the strength was too thin, and the British and French forces had no choice but to retreat and return to Guangzhou, and at the same time report to the country to ask for reinforcements.

As Wu Chaoyue expected, after the war, the Manchu court was really full of cheering voices, the main peace faction was disgraced, the main battle faction was arrogant, and some people even shouted the slogan of retaking Guangzhou and Hong Kong and driving all foreigners out of the Qing Dynasty. Emperor Xianfeng also completely forgot that the British and French forces still occupied Guangzhou City, the capital of Guangdong Province at this time, and forgot that Bai Gui, the governor of Guangdong, and Mukdenne, the general of Guangzhou, were still in Guangzhou City to manage Guangzhou for the foreigners, and collected taxes and money and grain to supply the coalition army.

There is also a good thing on the cake, when Wu Chaoyue successfully captured a Taiping army steam gunboat and sent the good news to the capital, the Xianfeng Emperor, who was already in an excellent mood, was of course even more happy, and said proudly in front of the courtiers: "In fact, Wu Aiqing's excerpts about the war don't need to be read at all, except for the good news, there is only good news, in terms of fighting, Wu Aiqing is the most reassuring to me!" ”

Having said that, in order to know the details of the battle, Emperor Xianfeng still picked up Wu Chaoyue's excerpt to take a closer look, but when he looked at it, Emperor Xianfeng's face began to be solemn, and he couldn't help but read in a low voice, "...... The ministers thought that foreigners could be imitated or used, but they could not be trusted, nor trusted, nor re-important! The battle of the Yangtze River is a clear proof, the thief general Hong Wei can self-destruct the warship, so that the micro-ministers waste military power, in vain, but Yangyi is greedy for life and afraid of death, first prevent the flood bandits from destroying the ship, and then bind the flood bandits to ask for merit with the micro-ministers, capricious, the first rat at both ends, shameless especially ....... ”

“…… Therefore, Weichen boldly asked His Majesty to promulgate a clear decree, ordering all treaty ports in the Qing Dynasty to strictly prohibit the appointment of foreigners to participate in the war, and only to entrust them with auxiliary duties such as military training, teaching, and teaching, so as not to repeat the mistakes of the long hair and cause the ......tragedy of the foreigners' rebellion. ”

When he read this, Emperor Xianfeng couldn't help but put down the fold, and subconsciously remembered the danger of the governors of the southeastern coastal provinces wantonly hiring foreign soldiers to resist the Taiping army, and he was vigilant, and couldn't help but nod his head and said: "Wu Aiqing's excerpt is very right, foreigners can be imitated or used, but it is not credible!" Untrustable! Nor heavy! Otherwise, Yangyi can sell Changmao when the situation is critical today, and he may betray my Daqing on the cusp of tomorrow! ”

Bai Ye and Mu Yin and other military ministers present pouted, and said in their hearts that the surname Wu is really better than singing, and when it comes to hooking up with foreigners, who can match you in the world? ! And Su Shun took the opportunity to slander and said respectfully: "What the master said is very true, it is indeed this truth, we can learn from the foreigners' ships and guns, but we must not let the foreigners drive the ships and fire the guns for us, it is unreliable!" Wu Chaoyue would rather waste time practicing and self-study, and never hire foreigners to drive the steamers in Hubei, but when it came to the actual battle, it proved that he did the right thing, and it also proved that Changmao relied on hiring foreigners to drive the steamships, and he could never be the opponent of the steamers driven by my Qing Dynasty soldiers! ”

Emperor Xianfeng nodded again and again, deeply agreed with Su Shun's words, and said with a smile: "I always thought that Wu Aiqing had a sum of water and milk, but now it seems that I have really wronged him, I can't imagine that he is still so wary of foreigners in his heart." ”

"Master, you can't be blamed for your poor look." Su Shun said with a smile: "It's Wu Chaoyue that kid does have too much contact with foreigners, and it is natural for the master to suspect him, but now it's okay, Wu Chaoyue has proved his innocence with practical actions, and his loyalty to the Qing Dynasty, the master can use him more confidently." ”

Emperor Xianfeng nodded again, and after a little calculation, Emperor Xianfeng finally relented and said: "In this way, didn't Wu Chaoyue ask for the interception of Hankou tariffs last time to buy three big steamers?" Promise him that he now has three small steamers, and with the addition of three new big steamers, it will be easy to annihilate the long-haired sailors. ”

Su Shun hurriedly thanked Wu Chaoyue, but Bai Ye, Mu Yin and others secretly hated in their hearts beside them, knowing that Su Shun's hardcore lackey Wu Chaoyue would definitely be more beautiful now. But before the matter was over, Emperor Xianfeng suddenly remembered a question again, and hurriedly asked: "By the way, what is the situation of Huashana Aiqing suppressing bandits in Hunan?" Didn't he often report his red flag some time ago, why hasn't there been any news these days? I am still waiting for him to clear the long hair of Hunan as soon as possible and send troops to reinforce Jiangxi. ”

"Back to the emperor, Lord Hua is sick." Peng Yunzhang, the honorary chief of the military aircraft, replied truthfully: "I received a letter from Lord Hua the day before yesterday, saying that he was forced to rest and recuperate in Qiyang because of illness, so he has not fought with Changmao recently. ”

"Hua Aiqing is sick?" Emperor Xianfeng was a little startled, and hurriedly asked, "Is it heavy?" ”

"I didn't say anything about it." Peng Yunzhang replied: "But Weichen estimates that the condition should not be light, otherwise, with the temper of Lord Hua, he will definitely not only care about his own body, but ignore the big matter of suppressing bandits." ”

Emperor Xianfeng's face began to be solemn, and he secretly said in his heart: "Hua Aiqing, don't let anything happen to you, if you make any mistakes, I will be forced to change the governor of Huguang again, and if Huguang doesn't do it well, there will be problems again." Wu surpassed that Han barbarian, but it was not something that ordinary people could suppress. ”

Emperor Xianfeng was worried in his heart, but his good servant Su Shun was secretly happy in his heart, and said secretly: "Good! It's best to be sick and forced to leave office, so that Lao Tzu can take the opportunity to help Wu Chaoyue that kid up! The old immortal old thing, just staring at the comfort pavilion to tie his hands and feet, he didn't think about the big thing of countering the rebellion and suppressing bandits, misleading the country and the people, and deserving to vomit and die! ”

Su Shun, who was a little unkind to Wu Chaoyue, also sent a letter that night, asking Wu Chaoyue to keep an eye on Hua Shana's condition, and once he found out that Hua Shana was seriously ill, he quickly found a way to do a few more things to make Emperor Xianfeng happy, so that he could push Wu Chaoyue to the top and replace Hua Shana as the governor of Huguang.

In fact, there is no need to be reminded by Su Shun, Wu Chaoyue has long been concerned about Hua Shana's condition. In fact, as early as when the Wu Army Sailor was still fighting fiercely with the Taiping Army's Sailor, Wu Chaoyue had already known the news of Hua Shana's illness in Hunan, and Wu Chaoyue didn't care much about it at first, thinking that Hua Shana, who was only fifty-three years old this year, would not have any big problems, but it was still under Zhao Liewen's reminder that Wu Chaoyue remembered an important issue - with Hua Shana's loyalty to the Manchu court, if it was just a minor illness, there was no possibility of suspending the war for his own recuperation! Therefore, Wu Chaoyue hurriedly sent someone to Hunan to understand the situation and visit Huashana for himself.

By the way, Wu Chaoyue cares so much about Huashana, it's really not that he wants to take the opportunity to replace Huashana, but Wu Chaoyue does have some respect and gratitude for Huashana, that's why he cares so much.

After leading the Wu army sailors back to the provincial capital to repair the main warship, after a period of time, Huang Zhisheng, who went to visit Huashana for Wu Chaoyue, returned to the provincial capital, and brought Wu Chaoyue a not very good news - Huashana was actually very ill, in addition to diarrhea and vomiting and other symptoms of water and soil adaptation, he was also hit by a heat miasma on the battlefield full of dead corpses, and he had symptoms of dizziness several times, and his condition was quite critical for a while.

In addition to reporting Hua Shana's specific illness, Huang Zhisheng, an old lackey who received it when he was in Jiangyin, also brought a handwritten letter from Hua Shana, in which Hua Shana clearly told Wu Chaoyue that he suddenly fell ill, in addition to not being satisfied with the water and soil, the more important thing was that he was tired, and he had to worry about the war, and he had to fight wits and courage with the Hunan civil and military officials headed by Wenge, settle all kinds of personnel disputes, fight corruption and appease the people, and he was really overwhelmed before he fell ill. In addition, Hua Shana told Wu Chaoyue that his condition had improved greatly after being recuperated by a famous doctor, and that Wu Chaoyue didn't have to worry about him, and his old bones could still hold on.

After reading Hua Shana's letter in turn, Zhao Liewen, Yan Jingming and Shao Yanhong and other accomplices and lackeys were all silent and thoughtful, but Huang Zhisheng chattered endlessly, and said: "Wu Futai, Hua Zhitai is really not lightly ill, and he is tired enough, although he talked and laughed on the surface when he summoned Xia Guan, but Xia Guan could see that he was strong, according to Xia Guan, you had better persuade Hua Zhitai and persuade him to return to Hubei Province to recuperate, otherwise, he may be in danger." ”

Wu Chaoyue, who had already received Su Shun's secret letter, was silent, and he wished that Hua Shana would really kick his legs and get out of the way, giving Su Shun the opportunity to push himself to the top, but he was somewhat unbearable. Over there, Zhao Liewen and the others were also in a complicated mood, and after a while, Zhao Liewen said in a hesitant voice: "Weiting, Lord Huang is right, whether you listen to the flower system or not, you have to persuade him." After all, his old man treats you better than his own children and nephews. ”

"Lord Futai, Hua Zhitai is a Mongolian, who grew up in the north since childhood, and it will indeed be uncomfortable in the south of Hunan, where the climate is humid and hot." Yan Jingming also said: "Wenge's gang of bastards are yang and yin, and Changmao also ran away as soon as he saw the Fu Biao you sent to the flower making platform, the situation in Hunan is not peaceful for a while, if you don't quickly persuade the flower making platform and let him continue to hold on in Hunan, the consequences are probably unpredictable." ”

Wu Chaoyue smiled bitterly, and said with a wry smile: "Huifu, Danchu, who do you think of me?" Do you think I'm looking forward to Hua Zhitai's serious illness and taking the opportunity to replace him? I'm thinking about it, if I really pull Hua Zhitaiqiang back to Hubei to recuperate, what should I do in Hunan? ”

Zhao Liewen, Yan Jingming and others were silent again, they all knew that with the hard work of Huashana, although the situation in southern Hunan had greatly improved, the Taiping army, which had been drawn by Feng Sanbao one after another, had also greatly reduced their arrogance, not only could not continue to expand, but had also been compressed to the junction of the two provinces of Hengyong. But at this time, if Huashana suddenly returns to Hubei, no one dares to guarantee whether the situation in Hunan will be repeated.

- Not to mention anything else, no one dares to guarantee whether the two major friendly armies Xiang Army and Chu Yong, who did not have Hua Shana to sit in Hunan and forced Wenge to pay money and food to supply the front line, and assisted the Wu army in quelling the rebellion, can still receive sufficient food and salary supplies!

After thinking for a while, Wu Chaoyue then ordered: "In this way, first write a letter to persuade Hua Zhitai to return to Hubei Province to recuperate, and then ask Hua Zhitai to join me to protect Feng Sanbao and teach Heng Yonggui Chendao, and continue to lead the army to cooperate with the Hunan army and Chu Yong to suppress bandits." ”

Although Wu Chaoyue's method is urgent, it may not be effective, but in the absence of other methods, Zhao Liewen and others still nodded in agreement. As a result, relying on the post station system in northern Hunan, which is still unimpeded, Wu Chaoyue quickly received a reply from Huashana, but unfortunately, Huashana rejected Wu Chaoyue's kindness.

Hua Shana clearly told Wu Chaoyue the reason for his categorical refusal in the letter, saying that it was to let Feng Sanbao serve as Heng Yonggui Chendao to continue to lead the army and suppress bandits, which seemed to be a good emergency solution on the surface, but unfortunately, Hua Shana thought that Feng Sanbao would never be able to fight against Wenge's gang, even if Heng Yonggui Chendao was actually given, he would definitely not be able to order these four state capitals as his fingers to get the military salaries, grain and grass needed for the Hunan army and Chu Yong to fight, and only by letting himself continue to sit in Hunan could he be able to suppress Wenge's gang of jackals, tigers and leopards. and wiped his ass clean for Luo Bingzhang, who had been ruthless.

In addition, Hua Shana also clearly told Wu Chaoyue that he had made up his mind to bring down the too incompetent and shameless Wenge, and strive to change the governor of Hunan again. Of course, as to whether the new governor of Hunan is worse than Wenge, no one can guarantee it.

The heart has been fulfilled, but Hua Shana refused to accept it, and the young and strong Wu Chaoyue continued to sit in Hubei to enjoy peace with peace of mind, so that Hua Shana, who was already over half a hundred years old, continued to worry about the front and charge into battle. As a result, to Wu Chaoyue's surprise, after another period of time, two urgent letters from Hua Shana were delivered to him on the same day.

The first urgent letter came from Su Shun, who clearly told Wu Chaoyue that because he knew that Hua Shana was very ill, Emperor Xianfeng had begun to consider the question of the successor of the governor of Huguang, and Bai Ye and others were also trying their best to encourage Emperor Xianfeng to take Hua Shana back to the capital to recuperate, and another Manchu and Mongolian governor would take over Huguang. Therefore, Su Shun asked Wu Chaoyue to hurry up and show a little, otherwise, if Hua Shana really suddenly had a problem, it would be too late for the time being!

The second urgent letter came from Feng Sanbao, Hua Shana's chief of staff Dai Wenjie secretly informed Feng Sanbao, saying that Hua Shana's condition was aggravating again, and Lang Zhong suggested that Hua Shana leave the south of Hunan where the climate was becoming more and more hot and humid as soon as possible to recuperate, but Hua Shana categorically refused, and Dai Wenjie's hard persuasion was useless, so he could only ask Wu Chaoyue to find a way to persuade Hua Shana to return to Hubei.

In addition, Feng Sanbao also told Wu Chaoyue that when he wrote the letter, he had not been able to see Hua Shana for three days, and at the same time, other people around Hua Shana had also received a gag order and refused to disclose a word about Hua Shana's condition.

After reading these two letters, Wu Chaoyue also knew that he couldn't sit and wait anymore, so he hurriedly found Zhao Liewen and Yan Jingming to study countermeasures, but Zhao Liewen and Yan Jingming were also very worried about this situation, and both reminded: "Weiting, be careful, if the governor of Huguang really changes people again, I'm afraid our life will not be as good as it is now." The flower system platform takes you seriously, but it doesn't make it difficult for you, and it also lets you do everything other than military power, so there is not much hope that the new governor of Huguang will still be like this. ”

"Wu Futai, find a way to fight." Yan Jingming suggested: "Su Zhongtang has already expressed his attitude to support you to take over as the governor of Huguang, he has not only won the favor of the emperor, but also has the help of the prince and the prince Duan, and the weight of his words is very heavy, you stand up to fight for the governor of Huguang, it may not be hopeless." ”

Hearing these suggestions, Wu Chaoyue, who had long wanted to be the governor of Huguang, was of course very tempted, but while thinking about it carefully, Wu Chaoyue felt that there was something that seemed to be wrong, so he asked Zhao Liewen and Yan Jingming: "Huifu, Danchu, do you think it's a little weird?" The other people around Hua Zhitai were all silenced, how could Dai Wenjie, his most trusted staff, leak his critical condition to Feng Sanbao? (To be continued.) )