[Chinese New Year's Eve, I wish the brothers a happy New Year, the whole family is happy, and the snow drifts here to greet everyone, hehe]

"Xie Dashuai" Hu Jinke laughed dryly again, in fact, he wanted to laugh more naturally, but this argument, the risk is so big, I am afraid to think about it at this time, the muscles are because of tension, I have long frozen, seeing that a pro-soldier sent a stool, he also sat down in a big way, and said: "Dashuai, Nanyang Minister Qin sent a telegram from Tianjin Wei, and General Zhou asked me to tell your lordship."

Wu Changqing sighed, a trace of surprise flashed on his face, his side had long been cut off from the rear, but he didn't expect that this protector could still contact Nanyang Minister Qin Kai at any time, and the news came from Tianjin Wei, so to speak...... This Governor of Qin must have visited Master Zhang Shusheng, and hurriedly asked, "Hu Shuban, is there a message from Master Zhang Shusheng?" ”

"That's not true, but Lord Qin asked Wu Dashuai to fight back against the French army with the escort, in addition, it also brought good news, the Nanyang Naval Division inflicted heavy damage on the French Far East Navy in Saigon, damaged and sank 6 enemy ships, all of which were ironclad ships, and in the near future, they will fight with the Beiyang Naval Division and the French Navy to find an opportunity."

As soon as this news came out, Wu Changqing was naturally very surprised, Yuan Shikai and other generals looked even more strange, the strength of the Westerners' warships, the Huai Army was the most clear, when Japan only two ironclad ships hit Taiwan, the Qing army did not dare to cross the strait to transport military supplies during the day, and after the Ryukyus were occupied by the Japanese, Wu Changqing had to lead troops to attack.

However, at that time, I gave a few words to Lord Zhongtang to retreat, without ironclad ships and cannons, no matter how many infantry there were, it would be useless. Now it sounds like this qiē has undergone a fundamental change, and the variable in this is the minister of the South Seas, today's news obviously also gives them a stable way to retreat, and the sailors who have always dared to fight a decisive battle with the French Navy will naturally complete the simple task of escorting.

However, this qiē obviously requires the approval of the Nanyang minister, and the most surprising thing for Wu Changqing is naturally that the other party extended an olive branch at this moment, and he immediately smelled the strong political meaning, it is obvious that Zhang Shusheng, who is far away in Tianjin, should have some tacit understanding with this Nanyang minister Qin Kai.

At present, for Wu Changqing, the most important thing is naturally to protect this army and horses, as for whether the situation can be reversed, this is naturally a higher-level idea, and now, it is obvious that the other party has provided such an opportunity, and the premise is to launch a counterattack with this Lord Qin's protector...... Will this fight back be successful? Or moths to the fire

This question obviously also troubled the other Qingzi Army officers in the military tent, when Wu Changqing lowered his head and pondered, Yuan Shikai was also repeatedly considering the feasibility of this matter, but Wu Changqing's nephew Wu Dong had a bitter look on his face, and asked loudly: "We don't fight the French, but we have just withdrawn now, there are only a few dozen bullets per person, and the food is only enough to eat two meals, how can this start a war?"

This problem is obviously a key point, the Sanyuan Bridge is only more than 20 miles away from Hanoi, the French vanguard is now on the opposite bank, and did not take the initiative to attack, obviously the other side may be waiting for reinforcements or artillery, and the Qingzi Army and the Cantonese Army that have fled down, there is no possibility of supply at all

Zhou Ruidong had already explained this problem, Hu Jinke arched his hand, and said: "Marshal, don't worry at this time, General Zhou has already sent a ship to transport food and bullets, and it will be delivered within a day."

When Yuan Shikai on the side heard this, his eyes almost popped out, this food transporting more than 10,000 people and horses of the Qingzi Army and the Guangdong Army requires a lot of boats, but this boat said that there is one, and it is impossible to get seven or eight boats to cross the river...... This is purely to catch the duck on the shelf, but his brain is naturally very clear, the Qingzi Army really has to do it, and the duck is not on the shelf

This war in northern Vietnam can be described as a matter of life and death for the Qingzi army, at this time, the temptation given by the other party is completely Wu Changqing can not refuse, if defeated, it will not be worse than the time, if it can turn defeat into victory, this is a good thing that I can't think of Therefore, although the command of this northern Vietnam seems to be a little reversed now, both sides have selectively ignored this.

At this time, Wu Changqing finally made a decision, he beckoned Hu Jinke to the front, and asked in a low voice, "What arrangements does Governor Qin have?" ”

Wu Changqing naturally wouldn't ask Zhou Ruidong what arrangements he had, Zhou Ruidong was just a general, how could he command him, a first-class admiral, so he asked very strategically about the arrangements of the governor of Qin, Hu Jinke also smiled secretly in his heart, but naturally he would not show the slightest, he respectfully took out a letter from his arms and handed it over, "Marshal, stick to the Sanyuan Bridge, tomorrow, General Zhou will attack the Songdong River, threaten Beining, and lure the enemy into battle",

Wu Changqing thoughtfully took the envelope, after taking a look, he was immediately moved by the content of the letter, and after carefully studying it, he felt that although this was a risky move, but at present, it seems that if the protection ** has enough strength, this reversal of the situation is not without a chance, and circulated the letter to Yuan Shikai and others, after everyone read it, this look is very strange, after all, to start such a battle, it is not what a cannon fodder army should do

Wu Changqing thought about it for a while, and finally wrote a reply to Hu Jinke, and said resolutely: "Hu Shuban, you go back and bring a message to General Zhou, please send troops according to the general's words, and the Qingzi army will definitely defend the Sanyuan Bridge."

Hu Jinke saw that the matter had been negotiated, took the reply and was about to leave, when a scout suddenly came from outside, and he rushed straight to the tent before jumping off his horse and rushing in to report, "Boss, urgent information, 8 gunboats from the upper reaches of the Red River, and more than 10 ordinary troop carriers, go straight downstream."

Yuan Shikai was taken aback, and suddenly understood the intentions of the French, and led his troops to intercept the Sanyuan Bridge on the official road, according to the river, the French commander's brain is not bad at all, and he directly came to outflank the back road, the other party is a steam clipper, and the remnants of more than 10,000 soldiers here can't run away from the boat anyway on two legs

"Hu Shuban hurry up and ask General Zhou to send a boat over, this is being attacked from front to back, and the Sanyuan Bridge must not be defended" Yuan Shikai was the first to jump, and he didn't expect the first wave of the French offensive to be so sharp, and now the French have made a move, but it is the death hole of the Qingzi army...... There is no solution

Hu Jinke didn't expect the French to come to such a move, he only came to persuade Wu Changqing, he did find a way, but now this sudden * situation is somewhat beyond the scope of what he can handle, but he has an inexplicable belief in protecting **.

Seeing the uneasy expression of the battalion general, he suddenly spoke, and said unusually calmly: "Marshal, it's not the French who have gunboats, and the gunboats we protect can also cross the Red River." ”

Indeed, there are gunboats in the escort **...... Yuan Shikai immediately thought of it, he had witnessed the long inland river fleet of protecting **, and the generals of the Qingzi Army also sighed at the time, this Nanyang minister was really willing to spend money, and even the gunboats on the inland rivers were built, and now it seems that in this northern place, the role of gunboats and warships is as important as the horses on the grassland.

Wu Changqing naturally understands the crisis in front of him, but the ability to resolve the crisis is not under his control, thinking of this, now he has no choice anyway, he can only fight if he wants, he waved his hand and said: "Hu, we all act according to what General Zhou's letter says, if the French intercept the back road, please also ask the general to imagine finding a boat to help me cross the river."

Hu Jinke responded and said goodbye, Wu Changqing was also a little uneasy, and sent Yuan Shikai to cross the river with him, and repeatedly told him that when the time came, he would ask for the boat, and this Qingzi army was his life's work, and he could not be damaged in this Vietnam.

Yuan Shikai followed Hu Jinke out, only to see more than 10 soldiers standing outside the camp gate waiting, a person who looked like a sentry officer was shouting something, the dozen or so soldiers stood upright one by one, holding a Lin Mington rifle and were practicing, which surprised him very much, he didn't expect the soldiers to be so diligent in training, and even took the time to practice when they came out to perform tasks.

You must know that the Qingzi Army is also the most diligent unit in the Huai Army, a drill every three days, a big drill on ten days, this is already a diligent soldier and horse, at this time he saw that these personal guards ** soldiers practiced shooting movements very skillfully, to a little more thought, came up and asked, "Hu Shuban, these escorted soldiers are your General Zhou's personal soldiers?" It's majestic."

Hu Jinke also guessed the meaning of this Yuan Yingban, didn't he just want to inquire about the details of our protection **, and he was not rude, and said with a smile: "Lord Yuan, you have won the award, this is the soldiers and horses under the four battalions under General Zhou Fang Qian, and they are not elite" These soldiers and horses are naturally not the elite of the protection **, just some indigenous soldiers of the Vietnamese ethnic minorities, compared with other Chinese battalions, it is a lot worse, not to mention the protection of the ** battalion.

Yuan Shikai smiled and didn't speak, but in his heart he despised this Hu Jinke, which used the Lin Mington rear-loading fast gun used by the elite of the Huai Army, which is not elite, who is it But he naturally did not take the initiative to say it, just nodded and followed behind to observe carefully. ,

Leaving the camp of the Qingzi Army, as soon as he came out, he saw that there were scouts in the distance who were beating horses like burning their butts, Yuan Shikai asked his subordinates to stop the scouts to ask about the situation, and the scout horses that came galloping did not stop, and then roared, "There is a fight on the river ahead" The horse rode directly past everyone and rushed into the camp.

"It's a fight" Yuan Shikai was taken aback, at this time there was a faint roar of artillery in the distance, and he immediately led people to rush up a nearby hillside, but there are still more than ten miles away from the Red River, and he can't see a fart, but the movement of the artillery in the distance is indeed not, which makes him also suspicious, and the French must be fighting with the army, and I don't know how the battle is going......

Their team walked slowly on the official road, but the scouts in the large camp behind them swarmed out, and it was obvious that Wu Changqing urgently needed to know the battle situation on the river, which was an important matter on the line of life and death.

Out of more than a mile, there were scouts rushing over, this time Yuan Shikai personally ran to the road to intercept the people, seeing that it was the marshal's cronies Yuan Ying, the scouts did not dare to slack off, and hurriedly reported: "Lord Yuan, the French 18 ships in front of us are going to copy our back road, but they were attacked by a fleet with the yellow dragon flag on the fork in the road below, and there is a fierce exchange of fire at this time, the French have been sunk two, and one of the friendly gunboats has been injured and withdrawn."

On the Red River, Chen Dongzheng, the commander of the 1st Association and the 2nd Battalion, commanded the fleet to attack the cut off French fleet from both flanks, and this time the escort dispatched all 10 gunboats plus 20 warships to transport grain, but just after Qingwei County, he received news from the fast horse in front of him, saying that a French fleet of 18 ships had come down.

The river gunboats guarding the ** have two 120mm-150mm rapid-fire guns, more than 5 Maxim machine guns, and even the grain carrier is equipped with an 80mm breech gun and a Maxim machine gun produced by the Mawei Artillery Bureau, which still has strong firepower against the enemy, and he immediately ordered to set up an ambush at the river bay.

The French obviously did not expect to encounter a large-scale water battle on the Red River, in addition to the gunboats in front of the encounter after preparing for battle, the follow-up ships and even the sailors were resting in the cabin, and the impact of the escort fleet from the side really cut the French fleet into two sections in one fell swoop.

The French were all gunboats in front of them, and the lagging troop carriers were also temporarily equipped with 37mm machine guns from Habekais, and the machine gun fire of the 20-30 projectiles in this minute was also fierce, but against the 1mm rapid-fire guns on the ** grain carrier, this power and range suffered a lot.

And what's even worse is that the number of ships and the total artillery, machine guns suffered a big loss, the number of rapid-fire guns reached 40, and the Maxim machine guns were as many as 60, which can definitely build a steel storm at far and short range, while the French fleet only had 16 rapid-fire guns and 26 37mm machine guns.

In addition to the 120mm rapid-fire guns equipped on the two French gunboats "Exocet" and "Wolf", the 90mm rapid-fire guns on the other gunboats could not confront the escort gunboats with a range much greater than them.

However, the French were very familiar with the Red River, and immediately desperately turned the bow of the ship to concentrate the fleet, and fought for the cost of being bombed off two more troop carriers, gathered together, and rushed out of the encirclement, after all, the other grain carriers saw the gunboats rushing up, and they were also worried about the fire caused by the bullets, and their ships were loaded with flammable rice......

The two sides fired at each other on the wide river, and by the time Yuan Shikai arrived on the slope of the Red River, the war had entered the final stage, 3 of the 8 French gunboats were sunk, the other 2 were wounded and smoked, and half of the 10 French troop carriers were sunk, but the French fought and retreated under the pressure of the artillery.

The gunboats guarding ** were also desperate in the attack, but after trying several attacks, Chen Dong also found that a large number of ships on the river could not complete the deployment, so the artillery fire of the enemy was limited, and it was not enough to fully encircle and annihilate the French fleet.

There was also a gunboat and two grain ships injured by the guard, and at this time the smoke was also billowing from the ship, and the soldiers hurriedly approached the shore and began to extinguish the fire and repair the ship. Wu Changqing, who got the news, had already sent nearly 1,000 soldiers and horses to escort the grain, and after a large amount of grain was transported to the camp, the news that the reinforcements had a large number of ships could not help but leave.

This was naturally deliberately arranged by Wu Changqing, and this news was of great help to the Qingzi Army and the Guangdong Army, which were currently fluctuating in military morale, and soon the soldiers and horses here began to dig trenches and build fortifications near the Sanyuan Bridge. ,

When Guba saw the defeated French fleet returning from the Hanoi dock, he was also confused, when did the French powerful shallow water gunboat fleet on the Red River also begin to deflat, he immediately summoned the officer in command, and faced the news that the other party had at least 30 gunboats, which began to make him restless, such a gunboat, that is enough to change the tide of the war

He immediately ordered the gunboats from the rear to be mobilized from Ha Tranh to help in the battle, and the water potential of the Red River at the beginning of the year was very high, which allowed the offshore gunboats to also rush to help, and at the same time let the artillery battalion be stationed at the Hanoi wharf, using the batteries built by the Qing army before to defend the river.

Soon, the latest news of the Qing army sent by the scouts showed that the Qing army in the area north of Bac Ninh had basically collapsed, and there was still a Qing army stationed in Taiyuan City, as for the routed troops of Bac Ninh on the way back to Lang Son, they even bombed the Qing army stationed in several county towns behind, and a forward French army of 3 people even hit directly to the outskirts of Lang Son.

This news made Gu Ba excited for a while, and it was obvious that the road to the mainland of the Qing Dynasty had been opened...... Behind this, there was also the Qing army that had been defeated from Hanoi, and once again unexpectedly relied on the Sanyuan Bridge and did not leave, and a sober commander would not do such a stupid thing for an army that could not carry baggage and ammunition at the time of the rout

It must have been the Qing fleet that appeared yesterday that transported supplies, and Guba quickly determined the reason, but a group of French ** teams that crossed the Red River to the other side of the Songdong River to conduct reconnaissance were dealt a fatal blow, and a team of 20 people only came back 2, and what was even worse was that the two people who came back nagged that they saw other captured and killed French soldiers who were collectively beheaded by an army on the opposite side.

This news was obviously explosive, and Major General Bo Slip of the 4th Brigade and Major General Purgen of the 7th Brigade both came to ask for orders, demanding that they immediately cross the river and destroy the remaining Qing army on the opposite side.

That night, the French erected a pontoon bridge over a hidden tidal flat on the Songdong River, and it seemed to be smooth sailing......