The smoke gradually cleared, revealing a blood-red remnant of the sun.

Zheng Guohong stood at the head of Dinghai Xicheng City, looking at the British and French troops retreating like a tide, and suddenly breathed a sigh of relief.

At the last moment, the sudden retreat of the British and French forces was not accidental, but Zheng Guohong had been prepared for a long time, and he secretly hid an artillery company in Xiaoluoshan before the battle, which played a role at the critical moment.

Just as the French army was about to break the city, the artillery company on Xiaoluo Mountain moved.

Four Type 59 infantry guns suddenly attacked the rear arsenal of the British and French forces, causing a large explosion, destroying thousands of tons of ammunition temporarily stored in the ammunition depot in one fell swoop, and causing heavy casualties in the Allied camp, and the entire barracks was quickly engulfed in the fire and smoke generated by the explosion.

These thousands of tons of ammunition were transported from the transport ships to the land by the British and French forces for more than ten days, and were used to support the 100,000 British and French troops to launch a decisive battle against Dinghai County.

You must know that the ammunition consumed by the 100,000 British and French troops in minutes is very huge, and without ammunition, the guns and cannons in the hands of the 100,000 British and French troops are burning sticks, which not only cannot hit Dinghai County, but will be in danger of being completely annihilated by the Shanghai army.

Therefore, when Erjin and Glo learned that the ammunition depot had been destroyed, they saw that the county town of Dinghai had not yet been breached, so they immediately issued an order to withdraw their troops.

Although the French army had successfully captured the city on the west side of Dinghai, Bronce still carried out the military order to the letter and ordered the French army to retreat. Otherwise, if Bronce sticks to his position and continues to attack, I am afraid that the French army will soon take Dinghai West City, and then flank the Shanghai army in Dinghai East City before and after, and realize the combat intention of capturing Dinghai.

"Brigade commander, the foreign devils have withdrawn, should we take advantage of the victory to pursue and expand the results?"

Hear the advice of your subordinates. Zheng Guohong shook his head with a wry smile, and said: "We won this battle by luck, if it wasn't for the fact that I hid a strange army in Xiaoluo Mountain before, I'm afraid that Dinghai County has been attacked by foreigners now." ”

"The brigade commander is mighty!"

"Brigadier Commander, what should we do next?"

"Pass the order, let the people in the city quickly move from to Putuo Mountain, there are people in the city, we can't let go of our hands and feet to fight with the foreigners!"

Zheng Guohong knew very well what he was doing, the British and French troops were only temporarily retreating because the ammunition depot was bombed, if they waited for them to resupply the ammunition. Will make a comeback again. At that time, Zheng Guohong only relied on the remaining wounded and sick people in his hands, and he could not stop the enemy's crazy attack. He was not afraid of dying in battle, but he was afraid of the angry Anglo-French army slaughtering the city, so he immediately organized the evacuation of the people while the enemy was now retreating.

It's just that what Zheng Guohong didn't expect was that the British and French forces withdrew completely this time, directly abandoning the beachhead camp and retreating to the warship.

Originally. After counting the statistics of the British and French officers such as Ergin and Gro, they found that a small county town of Dinghai had killed 37,000 British and French soldiers, wounded nearly 30,000 to varying degrees, and consumed one-third of the ammunition reserves of the coalition army.

Erjin and Ge Luo did not know how many Shanghai troops were still in Dinghai County. How many weapons and ammunition, so he didn't dare to spend it in Dinghai anymore, whether it was time or troops, the British and French forces couldn't afford to spend it.

So. After discussion between Erjin and Ge Luo and others, the decision to withdraw troops from Dinghai County had to be made.

Although they were very unwilling, they had to withdraw. Because their real task was not to capture a small Dinghai, but to capture Shanghai and Beijing and force the Qing government to sign more unequal treaties.

In the combat hall of the Shanghai Army Headquarters, Li Weiguo and his staff members were anxiously waiting for the latest battle report from the Dinghai side.

"Report! Dinghai Battle Report! ”

As soon as they heard the four words of the Dinghai Battle Report, everyone became nervous.

"Tell me, how's it going?" Li Weiguo asked anxiously.

Chen Jingnan reported with excitement: "Congratulations to the Lord, the victory in Dinghai, the British and French forces have withdrawn from Dinghai!" ”

Li Weiguo breathed a sigh of relief, according to his plan, the battle of Dinghai was just a test of the combat effectiveness of the British and French forces, and he was already mentally prepared to lose Dinghai. At this moment, after hearing the news of the victory in Dinghai and the withdrawal of the British and French forces from Dinghai, his spirits were immediately lifted.

In the same way, the others were also excited to hear the news, and their faces were full of excitement and joy.

"Is there any explanation of the specific results and losses?"

"Yes, in addition to the victory, the telegram also included a briefing from Zheng Guohong, the commander of the 29th Brigade."

Chen Jingnan calmed down his excitement and continued to reply: "The briefing said that more than 5,000 officers and soldiers of the 29th Brigade held on to Dinghai County for a month, repelled 95 attacks by the British and French forces, and fought a decisive battle with 100,000 British and French troops seven days ago. ”

Li Weiguo said with a smile: "This Zheng Guohong is a real person!" ”

"Yes, Zheng Guohong is too real, so he hasn't been promoted for so many years." Chen Jingnan smiled and agreed.

"I only look at ability here, he has made a great contribution this time, and the military command department will reward him for his meritorious deeds!" Li Weiguo said, "How about the loss of the 29th Brigade? ”

Chen Jingnan then recited: "The 29th Brigade lost more than 3,000 people, and the preliminary estimate is to kill 30,000 enemies!" ”

More than half of the casualties showed that the 29th Brigade had lost its combat effectiveness and had to rest. As for killing 30,000 enemies, it made everyone feel mixed feelings.

Fortunately, in the first battle of Jingdinghai, the British and French forces lost at least 30,000 people, and there were still 170,000 left, and the strength of the army weakened a lot. The Shanghai army fought with the British and French forces in a dignified manner and won a great victory, which was enough to boost morale and inspire people.

However, everyone estimated that the battle loss ratio should be about 1:40 before, but now the battle loss ratio in defense has only reached 1:10, which makes everyone, including Li Weiguo, a little embarrassed, because the difference from expectations is too great.

"The battle loss ratio is 1 to 10, this result is not bad, after all, this is the first head-to-head battle between us and the British and French forces, our officers and soldiers were still nervous before, after this battle, they will no longer be afraid of foreigners, and they will be more brave in battle!"

Li Weiguo explained this, in fact, he was also telling everyone in disguise not to be afraid of foreigners anymore.

Wu Yong, Chen Jingnan and others were so smart that they immediately heard what Li Weiguo meant, which was to warn them not to say anything like the foreigners being powerful and invincible in the future, because the Shanghai army was stronger than the British and French forces.

"Since the British and French troops have withdrawn from Dinghai. The next target is probably Shanghai or Beijing! ”

"If I were the commander of the Anglo-French forces, after the Battle of Dinghai, I am afraid that I would not choose to attack Shanghai!"

"Also, even Dinghai County, which is guarded by 5,000 people, can't be captured, and more than 30,000 people have been lost, let alone attack Shanghai, which is guarded by more than 100,000 Shanghai troops."

Hearing everyone's words, Li Weiguo suddenly had a spirit, this is not good, if the British and French forces do not attack Shanghai but go north to attack Beijing, then it will be bad.

In history, there were only more than 20,000 British and French troops who fought hundreds of thousands of Qing troops without the power to fight back. Now there are still 170,000 British and French troops, and they have definitely destroyed the Qing army dozens of times in minutes. The ransacking of the Old Summer Palace by 20,000 British and French troops may be satisfied, but the hundreds of thousands of British and French troops are definitely not satisfied with one Old Summer Palace, and they are afraid that they will sack the whole of Beijing in retaliation.

This was not the result Li Weiguo wanted, he suddenly felt that the horror after changing history had exceeded his expectations.

"We only have the fourth town near Beijing, and I am afraid it will be difficult to stop the 170,000 British and French troops, and we must contain the main force of the British and French forces near Shanghai and eliminate them as much as possible."

Wu Yong, Chen Jingnan and others were all stunned. They did not understand why Li Weiguo was so persistent, and it was undoubtedly a great thing that the main force of the Anglo-French alliance gave up the attack on Shanghai, and the main force of the Anglo-French alliance turned to attack Beijing, just to overthrow the Manchu rule with their hands. This is a godsend for any counselor.

"My lord, Shanghai is our foundation, and it would be best not to start a war in Shanghai!"

"yes. 170,000 Anglo-French troops are enough to break through Beijing, and when the Manchu Qing Dynasty falls, it is a great time for the Lord to win the world! ”

Wu Yong and Chen Jingnan served as the chief strategists. It is a major matter related to the struggle for hegemony in the world, and they should be the first to stand up and persuade them.

Li Weiguo knew that there were some things that he could not explain to them, and he could not tell them that the British and French forces were going to seize the Old Summer Palace, which was a knot in the hearts of more than a billion Chinese in later generations, and history would never be allowed to repeat itself.

"There are some things that we must bear, for example, this time the British and French forces suffered a big loss in Dinghai, once they go north to attack Beijing, after 170,000 foreign devils land, the imperial court's army will definitely not be able to stop it, Beijing will fall, and the 20,000 comrades in the Central Plains will have to be ravaged by foreign devils. I can tell you very clearly that I want to sit on the dragon chair in the Jinluan Hall of the Forbidden City, but I don't want to do it in this way, and I don't want my children and grandchildren to point to my backbone in the future and say that I deliberately let hundreds of thousands of foreign devils enter Beijing and ravage the common people in order to become emperor. ”

Li Weiguo could only explain it like this, but it was very righteous and awe-inspiring, which made Wu Yong, Chen Jingnan and others show shame.

"The adult has a great mind, Wu Yong is ashamed, and he spends the belly of a gentleman with the heart of a villain!"

"The Lord has a benevolent heart, which is the blessing of all people, please accept Chen Jingnan's worship!"

"Please wait for me!"

Wu Yong and Chen Jingnan took the lead, and the staff got up one after another and bowed down to Li Weiguo.

Li Weiguo smiled bitterly in his heart, he was just looking for a casual reason to perfunctory, but unexpectedly, he hit it right, but because of the righteousness he said, it made the staff more respectful.

"Everyone, please get up!"

"Now it's uncertain whether the Anglo-French alliance will go north, so let me know if you have any good plans."

As soon as the matter was mentioned, everyone became upright, deducing the movements of the British and French forces based on the available information, and at the same time giving Li Weiguo ideas.

"It's easy not to let the Anglo-French troops go north, just provoke them and lure them to Shanghai."

"It's better not to start a war in Shanghai, this is our base camp, whether it's industry or agriculture, it's not worth it to be destroyed."

"The Anglo-French forces can be led to a decisive battle in Chuansha, where the terrain is open and there is no heavy industry."

Hearing this, Li Weiguo suddenly nodded and said: "That's right, I haven't let people develop Chuansha because it faces the sea and can't be defended by a flat river." ”

Wu Yong then said: "But the British and French troops may not land from Chuansha!" ”

"That's easy!" Chen Jingnan said with a smile: "As long as the Lord writes a decisive battle letter to Ergin, the commander of the Anglo-French coalition army, it is the kind of duel that is popular in Europe, with sharper words, it is best to let hundreds of thousands of British and French troops know, I believe that as long as the soldiers are bloody, let's take the initiative to challenge, even if Ergin is cunning and should not fight, hundreds of thousands of British and French troops will force him to fight." ”

Wu Yong immediately agreed: "This is a good idea, adults can give it a try." ”

"That's totally fine!" Li Weiguo nodded and agreed to the plan, but he continued: "This is just one situation, and they should not fight in another situation, what should we do?" ”

At this time, Lin Jiyun, commander of the East China Sea Fleet of the Navy, said with a smile: "My lord, if the British and French forces should not fight, then they must take the fleet to the north, and if we want to intercept them, we can only let the East China Sea Fleet fight!" ”

"You think beautifully! The East China Sea Fleet will stay honest with me, and there will be a day when you will play a role! ”

Li Weiguo suddenly scolded with a smile, cutting off Lin Jiyun's only bit of hope.

Lin Jiyun spread his hands helplessly and was silent again.

At this time, Li Hongzao, who had not spoken, spoke, and he said: "Then let's go north too!" ”

"Going north?" Chen Jingnan frowned and said: "The imperial court will definitely not allow the Hu army to leave the Liangjiang territory, because the emperor is now beginning to suspect our lord again, so the emperor decided not to agree when he heard that the Shanghai army was going north." ”

Li Hongzao said with a smile: "It's okay, we can play the banner of entering the king of Jingqin, so that everyone in the world knows that the British and French forces are attacking Beijing, and our Shanghai army takes the initiative to enter the king of Beijing, not only can we block the emperor's mouth, but the mouth of the whole world will not say a word." ”

Wu Yong agreed: "Yes, playing the banner of King Qin, this is justified, and the teacher is famous." ”

Chen Jingnan said: "The name of King Qin is good, but even if the emperor orders all over the country to enter King Qin, I am afraid that he will not let the lord enter King Qin, and the emperor will choose to let Zeng Guofan lead the Hunan army or let Li Hongzhang lead the Huai army to King Qin." After all, there is still a Taiping Heavenly Kingdom next to it, and as long as the emperor orders the lord to continue to defend against the invasion of the Taiping army, then the lord will not have a chance to enter King Qin. ”

Li Weiguo thought for a while, and suddenly said: "Since I have already sent the Fourth Town to secretly infiltrate Gyeonggi, once the war with the foreigners starts at that time, the Fourth Town will definitely be exposed." Therefore, there is no need to look at the emperor's face when this name is justified, and when the time comes, we will immediately raise troops, without scruples. ”

Wu Yong said with a smile: "The adults are so imposing, but you must start first, whether the emperor wants to or not, the adults must play the banner of King Qin, because the people are still willing to see the name and the teacher famous, anyway, as long as the adults insist that they are ordered to enter the king of Beijing Qin, as for whether the court admits it or not, let the people guess for themselves, anyway, we don't recognize it." ”

Chen Jingnan suddenly laughed and said, "Is this a scoundrel!" ”

Wu Yong's old god smiled and said: "That's right, don't adults often say that politics is a scoundrel!" Only those who do bad things and don't admit it can be politicians! ”

Li Weiguo rolled his eyes and glared at Wu Yong, Ya's memory is not bad, but he understands it in his heart, why say it.

"Okay, there are plans for both possibilities, so let's start making plans now!" (To be continued......)