Many fishing boats and merchant ships that had been temporarily requisitioned, as well as old-fashioned red single boats that had been engaged in water transportation on inland rivers, appeared on the surface of the Pearl River one after another, and the ships were all soldiers of the begging army and local garrisons, busy salvaging the charred corpses, wreckage of warships, and the remnants of black oil in the river, and on both sides of the Pearl River, especially on the east bank of Huangpu Island, where the main force of the British expeditionary fleet docked, there were also tens of thousands of soldiers of the begging army busy up and down.

Tan Village on the east bank of the Pearl River. On the riverside.

Looking at the soldiers of the begging army who were busy cleaning up the battlefield, Feng Yunshan sighed to the ministers beside him: "Since ancient times, the soldiers have also been murder weapons!" Kill 1,000 enemies and injure yourself 800. If it is not necessary, I have always avoided going to war with the British. This time, in order to burn down the British expeditionary fleet, we retreated again and again, in order to introduce them into the Pearl River inland waters. Fortunately, all the soldiers worked hard and succeeded in one fell swoop, and God blessed China! ”

Wu Chongyao, the governor of Guangdong, said: "Thanks to His Majesty's personal command of the Pearl River, he strategized. ”

Feng Yunshan waved his hand, he knew that he had a few pounds and two, and said, "Wu Aiqing, don't hold me." Before the start of the war, I had always feared that the British army would attack Shanghai and Shengjing in defiance of common sense. They were also afraid that the South Ocean Fleet and the Pacific Fleet would not be able to lure the British over, and now it seems that it was not in vain. By the way, did the righteous man surnamed Tan who led the LinkedIn army into the blockade of the river escape? ”

Wu Chongyao didn't know, so he could only look at Zuo Zongtang and Fan Ruzeng for help.

Fan Ruzeng said: "Your Majesty, rest assured, Tan Yishi has quietly jumped into the river and swam to the shore when it was just dark, and has been picked up by our soldiers. ”

"Your Majesty is thoughtful, and the ministers can't do it!" Zuo Zongtang also interjected at the right time: "This time the Yingyi fleet is huge, if it weren't for the method of introducing the enemy fleet into the inland river and using this fire oil to defeat the enemy, I am afraid that not only Guangzhou would be dangerous, but even the four fleets of the empire would have to fight hard." ”

"By the way, Zuo Aiqing, now that the war has been decided, have the statistics of the battle situation on the front line come out?" Feng Yunshan was still a little sad when he remembered that several warships of the South Ocean Fleet and the Pacific Fleet had been sunk. At the same time, I remembered that in the original plan, many followers were arranged, just to capture some warships from the British fleet that came to attack this time to strengthen the strength of the Chinese Imperial Navy, and I don't know if it can succeed. I'm afraid that those warships will be burned clean by their own crude oil. I knew that it would burn so violently, so I asked them to prepare less crude oil and pour it into the river, and it is estimated that the rabbit cubs of the Petroleum and Fertilizer Division participated in such a big war for the first time, and they were too excited to give too much crude oil.

Zuo Zongtang said with some hesitation: "Please forgive your majesty!" The specific battle situation has not yet been fully counted. However, according to several battle reports from last night to this morning, the general situation has been counted by some staff officers of the General Staff. ”

Saying that, Zuo Zongtang was a little happy on his face, but because of the previous battle, there were many captives who died, and he didn't show it directly on his face, but it seemed that it must be a big victory.

"Your Majesty, the expeditionary combined fleet of Yingyi and several other Western countries, a total of more than 70 warships and dozens or even hundreds of troop transports entered the inland river, except for two shallow-water steam gunboats and a small frigate that acted as reconnaissance ships, which fled from the edge of the downstream blockade to the Guanzhou waterway, all the rest of the warships were completely destroyed. Most of them were burned, but fortunately, two capital warships and three small warships were captured at the blockade port downstream and at the Huangpu waterway crossing on the east coast. These warships must have been on the edge of the sea of fire and were not damaged much by the fire on the river, but when they escaped from the blockade area, they were damaged and stranded, and were captured by the South Ocean Fleet and the Pacific Fleet, which were hiding near the Cheung Chau shipyard. Among them, the two main warships were the battleship "Willisley" with a displacement of 4,700 tons, and the other was the cruiser "Volas" with a displacement of 2,500 tons. ”

In addition, there were about 20,000 foreign soldiers on the expeditionary combined fleet that entered the inland river, and all of them were wiped out. Except for the more than 200 people who were lucky enough to land on the east bank of Huangpu Island and other scattered river banks to survive, the rest were burned to death, drowned in the water, or smoked to death. The more than 200 people who escaped were all captured, mainly on the east coast of Huangpu Island, and one of them has been identified as He Bo, deputy commander of the Yingyi Expeditionary Force Fleet. ”

Zuo Zongtang's words, Feng Yunshan was not too surprised, he had expected this situation. But even so, a huge expeditionary fleet was burned clean because of his own fire, and an army of more than 20,000 people was also buried in the Pearl River, which couldn't help but make him sigh at the cruelty of the war, and what was even more terrifying was the fierceness of crude oil as a means of war!

The results of this battle will not be long before they reach Europe. I am afraid that when the time comes, not only the whole of Europe, but also the whole world will be shocked, and the world pattern will change from now on. And its own Chinese empire will also rise strongly in the east of the world. If they can defeat the powerful British expeditionary fleet, the European powers will re-examine the Chinese Empire, and the muffled development ideas they formulated at the beginning will also be affected.

But it is conceivable that except for the possibility of retaliation by Britain again, no other country will despise the Chinese Empire and be willing to offend itself! And even if Britain wants to retaliate, it must be cautious and think twice, and it will never send troops on an expedition as easily as before, but will carefully prepare for several years before it is possible.

"How many losses do our soldiers have?" Feng Yunshan asked with concern: "In addition, this British Expeditionary Force, not only this expeditionary fleet, but also several enemy forces, how will your General Staff arrange it in the future?" ”

Zuo Zongtang's expression softened slightly, and said: "Back to Your Majesty, our side has some losses in the early stage of the fort and naval battle, in order to lure the enemy into the Pearl River inland river, the loss in Humen is large, and there is also the provincial Hebei Road waterway, in order to delay the time, let the Yingyi fleet enter the blockade river at night, and do not hesitate to expose the hidden batteries and several warships to challenge and delay the enemy's advance. In addition, in order to deal with the plundering of the British army, the migration of tens of thousands of people on both sides of the Shiziyang River section also suffered losses. In the end, last night launched a fire attack, and the infantry of the captive army who were ambushed on the east bank of the Pearl River were killed by the poisonous smoke for a while. The specific situation has not yet been counted, and according to the overall estimate of the intelligence in hand, the number of soldiers lost by our side in the battle will probably reach three or four thousand, not including the battle losses of the 47th and 48th infantry divisions of the capture army, these two divisions will now confront the marines of the Yingyi Expeditionary Force who are still staying in Fanyu Hualong Town on the west bank of the Shiziyang, waiting for the other 52nd Infantry Division and the 11th Infantry Division, as well as the Pacific Fleet and the South Ocean Fleet Marines to rush to annihilate them together. ”

"As for the rest of the enemy, there are two most urgent ones. One is the remaining Yingyi warships in Shiziyang, outside the waters off Cheung Chau Island, and there are mainly two warships, the battleship "Duke Wellington" and the battleship "Captain Centenni", the former flagship of the enemy army with a displacement of more than 5,000 tons, and several hundred troops are stationed on the warships. In addition, it is estimated that the three small warships that escaped last night were also brought together. The other is the British Army near Fanyu Hualong Town on the west bank of the Shiziyang that Wei Chen mentioned just now, with Ross, the commander of the Yingyi Expeditionary Force, as the commander, there are about 5,000 people, and the deputy chief of the general staff, General Moltke, has already made arrangements for the war. Your Majesty, most of the rest are land soldiers, all of whom were arranged by General Moltke, so let him report to His Majesty and your lords. Zuo Zongtang directly pushed Moltke out. It was not that he was modest, but that he made every effort to arrange the fire attack in the waters of the blockade section of the Pearl River, and Moltke made specific arrangements for other enemy offensives, so he simply let him report it.

Mao Qi stepped forward, only bowed slightly to Feng Yunshan, and said, "Your Majesty, the two enemy forces mentioned by the Chief of General Staff Zuo are indeed the most urgent. The main strength of the enemy forces in Shiziyang was the two battleships of more than 5,000 tons, and Wei Chen, the chief of the general staff and several staff officers who were on the verge of battle, discussed together, preparing to try their best to win the capture of these two battleships for the Imperial Navy and replenish the damaged Imperial Navy. Therefore, long before the launch of last night's fire attack, the General Staff had secretly ordered the South Sea Fleet, which had been docked in advance outside the dock of the Guangzhou Shipping Bureau on Changzhou Island upstream, and the main force of the Pacific Fleet, which was hiding from the enemy in the Shawan waterway downstream, to kill all of them and blockade the entire Shiziyang. At the same time, Master Fan of the Special Service Department had already transferred a major officer from the captured British army overnight, carrying a personal letter from Rear Admiral Ho Bo, deputy commander of the expeditionary fleet, to persuade the two battleships, the Duke of Wellington and the Captain of the Hundred, to surrender. ”

"And the more than 5,000 infantry led by Ross, the commander of the expeditionary force who landed at Wenzhougang on the west bank of the central Lion Ocean, as well as dozens of troop carriers and defenders, because of the evacuation order ordered by His Majesty, it no longer mattered, Lieutenant General Ross was not reconciled, and led 5,000 infantry all the way north, and now goes deep into Hualong Town in Panyu. The chief of the General Staff of the Left had already dispatched the 47th and 48th Infantry Divisions to intercept them in a village two miles outside Hualong Town, waiting for the 52nd Infantry Division and the 11th Infantry Division and other armies to rush to Hualong Town and force it to surrender. Of course, if the opponent resists stubbornly, you can also concentrate your forces to annihilate it with the least losses! ”

"As for the rest of the scattered forces of the British army occupying the various batteries, Wechen has ordered the 11th Infantry Division, which is closest to the coast, to destroy them one by one. By the way, Your Majesty, there are still two slightly larger forces that can't be freed up for a while. The first is the 2,000 British infantry stationed on Hong Kong Island and several warships that were wounded at the Humen Fort and returned to Hong Kong Island for maintenance. The second is the Portuguese expeditionary fleet, which did not follow the British into the Pearl River at all, but took the opportunity to capture Macao Island and enter the Xijiang waterway in Xiangshan County to harass the towns along the way. However, as long as the Pacific Fleet and the Weiyuan Battery Group block the Humen Pass so that the news cannot be spread, they do not know that the British army has been defeated and will not escape, but they can also take it a little slowly, and after cleaning up the inland river war, they will use the South Ocean Fleet and the Pacific Fleet to jointly attack, and the thunderous force will block these two enemy forces, which will definitely force the other side to surrender. ”

Moltke's analysis is straightforward, and he concentrates his best forces on the enemy. Feng Yunshan couldn't help but look at him even more when he heard this. His tactics and troop arrangements may be more suitable for European tactics. That is, unlike the war in the east, it is not to fight to the death, but to crush the past with the absolute strength of the superiority of troops, so that the enemy knows that it is impossible to fight, and forces the other side to obediently admit defeat and surrender. Of course, this is the atmosphere in the West, where even if they surrender and become prisoners, half of the victors will not slaughter them.

Feng Yunshan felt that the war should be like this, killing these invaders on the battlefield to the death was admittedly evil, but there was no practical benefit, on the contrary, his own soldiers would also suffer a lot of losses, but it was better to capture them and use them as miners or in exchange for ransom, which was more cost-effective.

"Good! According to Mao Aiqing's war arrangement, these rich wolves who invaded our Chinese empire will be left behind! If you can force them down, you don't need to kill them on the battlefield! However, if they surrender not far away, or even resist in a corner, they will be directly annihilated! Feng Yunshan said half-instructed and half-warned.