Chapter 138 Accidents and Miscalculations

After destroying the steam pipes, the gunboat "Marku" immediately lost most of its power, and the speed of the ship was rapidly reduced to the limit, and in the face of the doom of the impossible way to run out of the opponent's artillery, Captain Köllner had no choice but to force the landing on the river beach, and continuing to carry the gunboat that had lost power was an act of waiting for death

After the grounding, the soldiers of the 7th Company of the National Marine Corps on board jumped into the water and ran onto the riverbank, but this section of the river beach obviously became a life-and-death line, and after a round of artillery on the battery, dozens of corpses immediately floated on the river, and Captain Kollner was also seriously injured.

His hatching attack from land was a deadly joke from the start, facing the enemy's all-round artillery coverage and trying to attack from behind with infantry...... This is simply synonymous with sending to death.

The other two gunboats, although given a short respite from the artillery bombardment of the troops ashore, saw the tragic sight of the troops on the beach, and one of the gunboats tried to approach the beach for rescue, only to be careless and stranded in the water, which caused another tragedy altogether, a fixed target that escaped alive......

Ma Tao on the fort was also a little disgusted by the stupidity of the Chinese people, this kind of cheap is not to take that is a fool, and immediately 8mén poured three rounds of luàn shè on this fixed target, and as a result, the 3rd Company of Vietnamese indigenous infantry on this ship did not even find a chance to escape by jumping, and was engulfed in the thick flames caused by shells and explosions.

The last gunboat, finally seizing the time that the 3rd Company of the Native Native Company had sacrificed for them, did not hesitate to turn around and go down the river, escaping the shè of the battery in a matter of minutes.

As soon as the shelling stopped, the left battalion of the Black Flag Army, which swarmed out of the barracks outside, surrounded the river beach solidly, and the Chinese people who had no fighting spirit had already been bombed by artillery, and even the commander completely lost his command ability, and soon chose to surrender very wisely under the threat of dense gunfire and battery artillery

However, a scene on the river beach really shocked Ma Tao, who was born in Mawei, after counting all the captives of the countries and the indigenous people of Vietnam, Yang Zhusi's subordinates raised the butcher knife without hesitation, and all the captives were the same as the corpses on the ground, becoming the heads in the hands of the Black Flag Army......

The big man Luo who was helping to load the shells next to him saw Ma Tao's strange expression and explained, only to know that this matter is the usual practice of the Black Flag Army, Lord Liu Yongfu's thinking is very simple, only by letting the Chinese people who come here die, can we increase the fear of those who come later, and prevent them from continuing to come to the northern part of Vietnam to make trouble, and in fact, the Chinese people are also the same means to deal with the Black Flag Army.

The results here can be described as very brilliant, the Chinese were sunk two small gunboats, captured a gunboat, killed nearly 360 soldiers, that night, the news was transmitted to the general Chen Dong stationed in Fu'an, the first battalion and two outposts, the small gunboat of the Chinese was quickly towed away, and the Qing Qingzi battalion stationed in Beining Mansion, which was only more than 100 miles away from Shanxi, knew nothing about this important artillery battle.

And this time the battle example of the fort battle was also recorded in detail and sent to the table of Zhou Ruidong, who was stationed in the Zhiling Fortress, this was the first time that the guard ** used the fort to defend the battle, and achieved good results, which can be described as a battle of great reference significance.

However, some problems that came out of the storm during the battle were quickly put on the agenda, such as the barrel overheated after the continuous firing of the speed gun, and the battery did not have enough water to provide cooling, and the automatic cooling by the barrel obviously greatly affected the combat power.

On September 20, the 7th year of Guangxu, Jackson, an employee of the Danish Dabei Telegraph Company, who had been paid off by the Mawei Shipping Company with a lot of money, secretly sent it to the Fujian Mawei Shipyard, and the victory of the Shanxi artillery battle and the massacre of Haiphong City were immediately sent to Sun Fu by Xu Shoushan, who was left behind.

After Sun Fu carried out the run, he immediately sent it to Ding Richang, Lao Ding just smiled and said nothing about another victory won by Hu **, calculated it, and first suppressed the result of this victory, and asked Sun Fu to send a telegram to Li Zhongtang about the Haiphong Massacre first.

When the news reached Tianjin Wei, Lord Li Zhongtang immediately made an appointment with the Minister of the State to explain why the ** team invaded the port of Haiphong in Vietnam, a vassal state of the Qing Dynasty, at this time, and also massacred a large number of local indigenous people. ,

However, the Minister of the Republic of China, Delichu, had no intention of explaining the massacre at all, for the arrogant Europeans, other human races should be colonized, enslaved and exterminated, and the British and Germans sitting together were not doing the same business as themselves for the invasion of Haiphong, he immediately admitted it bluntly, but his information there was obviously different from Li Zhongtang's version, and the Chinese put forward several reasons, such as the fact that the Vietnamese mob attacked the national concession first, and the expedition of the Shenma country was interfered with by Vietnamese bandits

At the same time, he expressed his so-called great concern about the behavior of the Qing government in Vietnam, and if he insisted on supporting this ignorant and backward Vietnamese royal court, the state would be forced to go to war with the Qing army in Vietnam

He once again raised the negotiating ... The opinions, first, that the Qing government must recognize the country's right to protect Vietnam, second, withdraw the troops stationed in Vietnam, and third, compensate the state for its losses in the war in Vietnam and the South China Sea, and the initial amount soared again to 80 million taels.

This indemnity has exceeded the income of the Qing Dynasty for a year, and the negotiations between the two sides naturally broke up unhappily, and Li Zhongtang naturally realized the urgency of the situation in Vietnam, and the next day, he made an appointment with the British consul, and could not wait to announce the results of the battle between the Nanyang Navy Division and the national navy, and at the same time consult the British position in the battle between China.

Obviously, the British were somewhat skeptical of this news, and they were very clear about the situation of the Qing navy, except for a second-class ironclad ship in the Nanyang Naval Division, the other warships were very outdated, and in addition, the two latest British-made light cruisers ordered by Beiyang were rushing to China with the fleet newly incorporated into the British Far East Navy.

But on the whole, the officers of the British Far East Fleet had long made a judgment that on the sea, the Qing Dynasty's Nanyang Naval Division and Beiyang Naval Division were the result of complete defeat......

Although the stability of the Far East is obviously more conducive to the plundering of the British Empire's commercial system, but for the Chinese people to provoke a challenge to the huge Qing Empire, in any case it is a result that the British are happy to see, if the Qing Empire wins, it can also hit the Chinese people, if the Chinese people win, this is not a good signal for the Japanese Empire

Therefore, the British consul euphemistically stated that he would immediately ask Sir Toura to demonstrate that the British Empire would give its full support to the Qing Dynasty, and that Britain would maintain absolute neutrality in this war, while urging the two sides to negotiate peacefully to resolve the dispute.

The British made Li Zhongtang seem to have found some signs of settling the dispute, and he called his old friend Hurd, the Englishman of the Shanghai Customs and Excise Department, again and asked him to mediate on his behalf, and through the British minister to exert some pressure on the Chinese people, so that the Chinese people could negotiate with them.

Wu Changqing, who was stationed in Bac Ninh Province in Vietnam, also quickly received an urgent telegram from Tianjin Wei, strictly ordering him to start the war lightly, and only need to stick to Bac Ninh, Hanoi, and Shanxi to chong, but this so-called urgent telegram was also sent from Guangxi Province, and it was already 5 days after Li Zhongtang failed to negotiate with the Chinese people......

The results of the third naval conflict between China and China announced by Li Zhongtang immediately set off a heated discussion in the court in Beijing, and now the excerpts of the Qingliu party on increasing troops in Vietnam are almost submerged, and of course there are many people who oppose sending troops, but in the verbal and written criticism of the Qingliu celebrities, everyone is scolding and can't raise their heads

And Prince Gong Yi and Li Hongzao entered the palace early in the morning to meet the emperor, the 6-year-old little emperor sat on the throne of the Zhonghe Hall at this time, with a majestic demeanor, but this posture was maintained only a tea man was a little unbearable, and Yi and Li Hongzao, who were sitting half of the first, bowed their heads slightly at this time and were announcing this recent important event.

Of course, the listener to the throne was naturally not the six-year-old doll Guangxu, but the Empress Dowager Cixi in the curtain behind his throne.

Yi Xiantou said naturally the autumn grain harvest and other affairs reported by the provinces, this year's Qing Dynasty is also considered to be smooth, and there is no major disaster, but the autumn grain reported by the provinces, the poor harvest is forty into three, the tie is fifty into one, and the harvest is only more than half a point, but on the whole, the financial revenue of the Qing Dynasty still maintains a steady growth.

The tax revenue of the coastal ports is one of the largest sources of revenue for the Qing Dynasty, and in this regard, the Customs and Excise Department Hurd is indispensable, this Englishman was born in China, although the evaluation of this person in history textbooks has always been negative, but for the high court of the Qing Dynasty, this Englishman is indeed an indispensable and important figure. ,

40% of the Qing Dynasty's fiscal revenue was from customs revenues, and although Hurd received the high-ranking officials from the Qing government and enjoyed great influence in this large eastern country that was not his homeland, it had to be said that the customs and revenue department under the leadership of the British had the efficiency and incorruptibility of the entire Qing officialdom.

The little doll Emperor Guangxu naturally had no comment on this, and Cixi's unchanged tone came from behind the curtain: "Prince Gong has worked hard, what has been the progress of the recent affairs in Vietnam, has Li Zhongtang negotiated with the people of that country?" ”

"Queen Mother, Li Zhongtang called yesterday, the Chinese people are still generally arrogant, and the lion opened his mouth to ask me to compensate for the country's losses in Vietnam, and he is asking the British minister to mediate, hoping that the Chinese people can retreat in the face of difficulties."

"How can this be reasonable, the Chinese people are really unreasonable, didn't our Qing Dynasty hoard tens of thousands of soldiers in Vietnam? Can't you beat them? "I heard that the Qing Dynasty is going to pay compensation again, and the middle-aged fùnv Cixi is obviously a little menopausal now, and the tone at that time was a little angry Empress Dowager Ci'an hung up, she no longer has an opponent, and now she only cares about two things, silver and face, and now the people of the country do not give face, but also want silver, which is not possible in any case

Li Hongzao saw that the time had come, and hurriedly bowed and saluted, and said: "Tell the Queen Mother, Zhang Peilun, the governor of Fujian and Zhejiang, sent good news, when the Nanyang Naval Division was inspecting Vietnam, it fought with the national navy, sank a national cruiser, forced two landings, and captured more than 400 enemies, it can be seen that the combat power of the Chinese people may not be how powerful, and now we also have foreign guns and foreign cannons in the Qing Dynasty, but we don't have to be afraid of these Taixi people."

The report of this matter, Prince Gong and Li Hongzao have carefully discussed, and it is most appropriate to have Zhang Peilun, the governor of Fujian and Zhejiang, report it.

Hearing this good news, Cixi after the curtain was quiet, and seemed to be in a much better mood, and after a while, he said: "This Peilun is also able to write and martial arts, Li Hongzao, you recommended him, but it was not wrong, it seems that he did a good job in Fujian, this time I will give a yellow coat This person who has a war will be reported by the Military Aircraft Department."

For the division of labor between the governor and the governor, Cixi is not interested in keeping in mind them one by one, this is good, and the labor is hung on Zhang Peilun's head, but Prince Gong and Li Hongzao dare not hide it at will in this matter, there are too many interest groups involved, and whoever breaks this matter will not be able to eat and walk around.

Li Hongzao hurriedly got up and explained: "Queen Mother, this Nanyang Naval Division is stationed in Fuzhou, although Governor Zhang has a plan, but this direct jurisdiction is indeed Ding Richang, the governor of Fujian, and in addition, it is necessary to listen to the Nanyang Minister Liu Kunyi......"

"Oh...... Then reward the yellow vest together" Cixi is in a good mood at this moment, but she is also full of promise, anyway, this yellow vest is just a glory, and these three governors are not short of such vests, showing the grace of the court

Li Hongzao hurriedly said what he wanted to report, "The Queen Mother, Governor Zhang also handed over the recital, the war in Vietnam is imminent, but our Korean army is fighting separately in Vietnam, I am afraid it is not conducive to the war, please make a decision as soon as possible, and send a general who can fight to start a war with the people."

"This matter, didn't your military aircraft department already hand over the excerpt, didn't Zhang Zhidòng recommend Xu Yanxu, the prefect of Guangxi Taiping, Xu Zhifu can capture the leader of the Yellow Flag Army in one battle, he must be a calm old minister, I think he will be appointed as the political envoy of Guangxi, and the Gui army, the Guangdong army, and the Guizhou army will meet the enemy in Vietnam, and the Huai army will also have a large army, two brave generals, this can still be afraid of the Chinese people"

As soon as Cixi said this, the two military ministers naturally knew that this decision must have been made by this old man after consideration, and they chose Xu Yanxu instead of Qin Kai, and they didn't dare to raise any objections, bowed and saluted, got up and withdrew from the Zhonghe Hall Li Hongzao was also entrusted by Zhang Peilun this time, and was ready to say a few words for Qin Kai, and was thinking about finding an opportunity, but this change was rapid, and the Queen Mother had already made up her mind

The two of them came out of mén, looked at each other and smiled, this queen mother's mind is too difficult to catch, it seems that Xu Yanxu's age makes the queen mother decide to be safe, this old man who is almost 60 has made a fortune all of a sudden

After seeing the two nagging old men leaving, the Queen Mother was also ready to drive back to the palace, and the six-year-old Guangxu pondered that he could finally rest, at this time, a forty-year-old eunuch hurriedly walked outside the palace, and saw the two military ministers in front of the main hall, but also politely saluted from afar, and then hurriedly entered the Zhonghe Palace.

This is the big eunuch Li Lianying who is red and purple in front of the Queen Mother, but it is completely different from the rumors outside, although this is red and purple in front of Cixi, but what these ministers and palace NVs see is a middle-aged eunuch who is usually gentle and gentle, in this deep palace, Lafayette Cixi is the real heaven, and this big eunuch is one of the people in the palace who Cixi trusts. ,

Seeing Li Lianying coming in with a smile on her face, Cixi also stopped her steps, "Lianying, what good news are you bringing, smiling so happily"

"The Queen Mother is auspicious, I just inquired about some news from outside, and I thought that the Queen Mother must be concerned, so I hurried back," Li Lianying had already stepped forward quickly, kowtowed and saluted before personally sending the things in her hand to Cixi.

Cixi naturally didn't need to pick it up in person, pointed to the pile of things in Li Lianying's hand and asked, "Lianying, what is this, just tell me directly."

"Chirp" Li Lianying unfolded the things in her hand, but it was a copy of "Fujian New News......

With the latest edition of the "Fujian New Daily" delivered to the capital, in addition to bringing the news of the naval victory of the explosion xìng, it was also distributed with a large photo of the national prisoners, looking at these originally high-spirited Western soldiers, now turned into prisoners, for a while this news became a hot topic of discussion among the officials of the Beijing Division, and the children of the banners and idle people in the teahouse in the capital talked about the defeat of the people for a while, and the name Qin Kai attracted the attention of the old NV man in the palace for the first time, After all, it was the first time she had noticed the name a few days ago.

But this is only the first news, two days later, the military aircraft department received another excerpt from Ding Richang's report, and this time the name of the winning army made many people confused - Vietnam Protector. Even in the Military Aircraft Department, only Prince Gong knew about this matter, which was in the name of Beiyang Minister Li Zhongtang to report to the imperial court, training the soldiers of the vassal states to resist the attack of the countrymen

This was originally a plan that was not feasible, since Lord Zhongtang wanted to do it, and he didn't want the court to pay for it, how could there be no reason not to allow it, I didn't expect such a waste wood soldier to win a battle in Shanxi, Vietnam, and kill more than 300 troops, I heard that this head was also sent to the Qingzi camp in Guangning Prefecture, and the person in charge of the training of this army turned out to be the Fujian political envoy Qin Kai.

At this moment, the Qingliu people in the court seem to have found a treasure to defeat the enemy, plus Chen Baochen received a telegram from Zhang Peilun early, and pushed bō to help the Lan together, and for a while, Qin Kai's reputation for knowing soldiers and being good at fighting turned out to be popular, but the will of the imperial court has been determined, and the official documents appointing Xu Yanxu have been stamped and put into effect, and the Military Aircraft Department had to send these folds to the palace again.

There were disturbances in the imperial court, and Qin Kai, who had been adrift at sea for several days at this time, naturally did not know at all, all he knew was the continuously extending route on the chart in front of him, and at the beginning he was accompanied by the battleships "Chengqing" and "Chaowu" of Mawei Shipping, as well as as six cargo ships of Mawei Shipping Company.

Waiting out of Mawei Port, this time the route was Taiwan on the other side of the sea, outside Keelung Port, a large ship with a peculiar style joined the queue, for the origin of this battleship, only Qin Kai and Lu Han knew, and the strange people looked at the big ship strangely......

To be continued, please visit wèn::