Li Zhongtang knew better than anyone what the news sent by Ding Ruchang meant, but he did not immediately summon the French minister to Deligu, but very calmly asked Zhou Fu to telegraph to Ding Ruchang again to confirm, and at the same time to understand the entire battle situation information immediately.

In the early morning of the second day, Ding Ruchang's long telegram had been sent to Li Hongzhang's case, in which it was confirmed that the French fleet that raided Keelung had been completely wiped out, sinking a total of 7 warships and capturing 3, and the Nanyang Naval Division had set out to carry out further battle plans, which indicated that the war in the South China Sea was over, so they were also waiting for further orders in Fuzhou.

Just as Li Zhongtang was thinking about the next move of the Beiyang Naval Division, Pan Dingxin, the commander of the Dingzi Army, came in from outside, and after this Pan ran back to Tianjin Wei from North Vietnam, he had not been very well treated by Lord Zhongtang, which was naturally caused by his very embarrassing appearance in North Vietnam, and more because he lost 10 battalions of Huai Army

After returning to Tianjin, Pan Dingxin took out a lot of silver to make up and down, and then he got out of business, and Li Zhongtang arranged for him to train in the Tianjin barracks, and his lost soldiers and horses could not be made up, so Pan Dingxin also walked in the Governor's Palace, and he could also interfere in military affairs.

As soon as he entered the room, Pan Dingxin picked up a telegram, "My lord, something happened in North Korea."

Li Zhongtang is pondering the matter of the Beiyang Naval Division, the war in the north of Vietnam has not yet ended, and it is obviously inconvenient to withdraw immediately, not to mention that when he has just made such a big military achievement, it is just that his own naval division is not there to help Qin Kai support the scene, what about North Korea......

"Dingxin, what's wrong with North Korea?"

"Your Excellency, the consul stationed in Korea, Lord Yoo Guang, sent an urgent telegram saying that there was a riot in Seoul and that it seems to have something to do with Japan."

"Wa ...... Didn't the Japanese just sign a contract with our Qing Dynasty, so how dare they meddle in this Korean matter? ”

Pan Dingxin took the telegram and presented it, pointed to one of the paragraphs and said: "My lord, according to Liu Guang, at this time, it should be caused by the struggle between the two factions of the Korean State Dayuan Jun and Concubine Min, but the Japanese intervened in it, which is definitely ill-intentioned."

Li Zhongtang twisted his beard and thought about it carefully, this Japanese country now dares to make such a small move, obviously there is a reason, the Great Qing Kingdom is at war with France, and the situation is quite unfavorable, I think that the Japanese Kingdom has this dependence, so I dare to be bold and want to understand the key to this, he smiled slightly, this inadvertently gave himself an excuse.

He turned his head and said to Zhou Fu on the side: "Wushan, what do you have to do about this Korean country?" ”

Zhou Fu was naturally a little stunned, he didn't know much about Korean state affairs, but at this time, Lord Zhongtang asked, he couldn't say that he didn't know, he thought about it and said: "My lord, this is no wind and no waves, the infighting between the monarch of the Korean State and Concubine Min was originally just a trivial matter, but if the Wa Kingdom intervenes in it, I think that it must be dealt with by strong means, otherwise it will be a disaster for another Ryukyu country."

"My lord, the lower officials are willing to lead the soldiers and horses of the headquarters to sit in North Korea and share the worries of the adults" Pan Dingxin on the side saw that the opportunity was coming, and he was naturally not far behind, he was a mess in North Vietnam, it was the Tao of Qin Kai, but he still didn't know, and now he was looking for a chance to play, this Goryeo stick is an easy errand

Li Zhongtang closed his eyes slightly and nodded, "Wushan, you will go to Ding Ruchang and return to Tianjin immediately...... Leave a letter for Qin Kai, you can't miss the number of courtesies."

He turned his head and looked at Pan Dingxin, the only two old men and horses under his command now are Pan Dingxin's Dingzi army and the Qingzi army in northern Vietnam, this matter seems to have to let them do it to rest assured, "Dingxin, I expect that the Japanese people in Korea will only have a few hundred soldiers and horses at most, you transfer 3,000 new troops, and when Admiral Ding comes back, you can enter Korea to calm the situation, the Japanese naval division has just been destroyed, and it will definitely be unable to rush to the aid from the mainland, and this battle will be won"...,

"Obey the order," Pan Dingxin saw that the good things were in hand, so he was naturally satisfied, and immediately left the military camp to transfer troops.

And a letter was also sent from the Yamen of the Governor of Zhili overnight and sent to the military aircraft Yamen in Beijing, "The Korean monarchs and ministers are obsessed and want to take advantage of the problems between China and France and lead their neighbors to defend themselves, so that they can claim to be independent...... The Japanese soldiers are still stationed in the royal city, and they must stay in the camp to pacify them, so as to put an end to cunning and ...... The king of the country is weak, and its old and new party members tend to be uncertain, and they have seen the urgency of the law and disaster, and they know that it is difficult to balance the situation, and it is difficult to guarantee success or failure...... The Japanese people are inciting from the side, and the danger is very great!"

Li Zhongtang has actually been concerned about the affairs of North Korea for a long time, and the struggle between the North Korean Concubine Min family and Dayuan Jun has been a long time, and the Min Concubine family has always sought the support of other forces outside the Qing Dynasty and called themselves a new policy, which is undoubtedly a hidden danger.

For a time, there was a lot of discussion in the court about the possible changes in the vassal state of Korea over the past thousand years, and the Qingliu party even more generously demanded that a strong army be sent to Korea to ensure that Korea was loyal to the Celestial Empire and put an end to any idea that Korea might stand on its own.

Keelung Port, Taiwan, since those damn French came, it has been a mess here, after the vigorous artillery battle, Jian Zhonghao, the commander of the garrison stationed in Beiguan, led the men and horses of the headquarters to attack Keelung Port as agreed, and the French built improvised fortifications outside, but this time they were no longer greeted by French bullets, but a team of soldiers in Qing uniform.

Only then did they know that the French had been defeated and Keelung had been recovered, and soon the officers of the Intelligence Department who were in charge of contacting them rushed to meet Jian Zhonghao, and at the same time brought the meaning of the Minister of Nanyang, as long as the Taiwan garrison involved in the battle, the adults would be counted in the military merits, and they would ask the court for a reward, and the ordnance of the French army that surrendered this time was also handed over to the local garrison, which naturally made Jian Zhonghao very grateful.

I heard that this Nanyang minister, Lord Qin, has a lot of connections with the Hunan army, and now it seems that this is really the case, and he received the captured ordnance and transported it back happily.

On the same day, according to the agreement, there were a total of 5 Taiwan garrisons and indigenous township brave regiments that attacked Keelung Harbor together, in addition to Jian Zhonghao's attack according to the agreement, there were also two troops and horses The local indigenous villagers also rushed over in a hurry, of course, there was no chance to participate in the battle, but the spoils of war were obtained from the Nanyang Naval Division......

After this little news spread, those garrisons and townsmen who were originally waiting and watching were naturally not far behind, and immediately rushed to Keelung Port to share some benefits, but this kind of good thing is naturally not something that everyone can pick up.

I didn't have to fight this battle, I got so many benefits, I heard that Lord Qincha also promised military merits, what a good thing, one or two came to Jian Zhonghao's side to fight, hoping to get some benefits in the future.

"Old Jane, we used to be brothers who ate in a pot, you are developed this time, but you can't forget our old brothers of the Hunan army" A strong black man grabbed the saber in Jian Zhonghao's hand, meaning to take it and try it in the past, this Jian Zhonghao is so willing, a heavy slap knocked this guy's hand down.

"Cut...... Lao Wu, do you know this knife, it was brought by a French general, you were your kitchen knife at that time, what did you try to try the water master of the people, Lord Wang also seemed to have come to you, who told you not to leave on time, this is a good thing...... If you miss it, you will miss it, so let's hurry up early next time."

These Hunan troops stationed in Taiwan are more or less related, to be sent to Taiwan, that is the worst of those soldiers and horses, this Taipei compared to the other side of the strait Liangguang, Fujian and Zhejiang, that is an authentic rural place, it is rare to have a good opportunity to re-list the big tree, but missed it, this old Wu really regrets to die. …,

This benefit is naturally not Luo, but after stalking, Jian Zhonghao revealed something, pointing to the officers who were disposing of the captured officers next to a mighty warship in the port, which naturally meant that they should go to find someone, but under the bitter pleading of these people, he was regarded as giving face and bringing these local garrisons to meet the officer.

This officer is really Jiang Yi who is in charge of the Keelung reconnaissance mission, after the army defeated the French fleet, the large army was transferred in, leaving a Marine Corps and the personnel of the Intelligence Department here, responsible for dealing with the aftermath, Qin Kai specially summoned him and assigned the task, Taiwan is an overseas enclave, defeated Little Japan, and defeated the French, he naturally set his eyes on here.

This is a springboard for entering the South Seas in the future, and only relying on Fuzhou Mawei, coupled with the important geographical location of the Keelung coal mine, although he has no way to immediately include this place in the sphere of influence, but this is currently Ding Richang's territory, and because of his defeat of the French fleet, the incident of setting up a special governor in Taiwan to resist the French invasion did not occur in history, so he immediately began to plant forces here

The Hunan army that was sent here after a large number of layoffs is obviously a force that can be fought for, and in this regard, he has already planned to do so, and the Hunan military department has a lot of manpower in his own hands, so he should first win over the people's hearts, and send people to win them over, so as not to worry that these forces will not take refuge in themselves, and now is a good opportunity for a thousand gold and horses

These local officers and township leaders were politely placed in the big tent on the side, and from time to time the officers invited them out to chat, and Jian Zhonghao, the general manager of Qian, who had received great benefits, and several other local township warrior leaders all appeared to say, these people almost didn't need the officers of the Protector Army to speak, just pointed out that they wanted to follow Lord Qincha Qin.

When this wave of local soldiers left, the local civilian officials began to drill the camp again, but for these people, Qin Kai remained very cautious, Jiang Yi according to Qin Kai's requirements, all those who came to visit left a famous thorn, and then included in the investigation scope of the Intelligence Department, and Qin Kai personally circled the scope in the future, after all, there are two types of people in this matter, and he didn't plan to be reported by a sinister villain at that time.

Outside the port of Keelung, a notice stamped with the bright red seal of the minister of Nanyang was posted, anyone who worked for a day, gave fifty wen for money, and Tong Suo was not bullied The news spread out, and immediately the surrounding people flocked to it, in this matter, it was a big matter for Qin Kai to win people's hearts, Jiang Yi naturally handled it carefully, and Jian Zhonghao took the benefit, he was already a little uneasy, and he also organized soldiers to work.

For a time, Keelung Port was crowded, and the port that was originally destroyed by the French was quickly repaired, and the French warships sunk in the berths were also salvaged one by one and dragged to the small dock near the dock for temporary repairs.

Even Qing Ying and Hu Changchang, who had been busy with the manufacture of warships, rushed to the warship, which represented the industrial level of France, and had no chance to study it carefully in the past, and the two warships "Huashan" and "Hengshan" that had been captured before were re-engaged in battle after being armed because of the urgency of the war.

This time, Qin Kai agreed, all of them were towed back to the shipyard, and the overall dismantling was carefully studied, these are all warships worth hundreds of thousands or millions of taels, dragged back and dismantled, this kind of opportunity, Mawei Shipmaster has not encountered in the past ten years

Qingying and Hu Changchang ignored the dampness in the battleship that had just been salvaged, and immediately led the manpower into emergency repairs, which was a piece of cake for the Mawei senior skilled workers who had the ability to build large warships, not to mention that this would be their big toy in the future, and they were all excited...... The only thing that is a little troublesome is that the maintenance dock in Keelung Port is too small.

North Vietnam, Zhiling Fortress, Zhou Ruidong, Zhang Kui, Xue Chao, the three core generals of the Protector Army, are surrounding the map to discuss the recent battle, the three of them are not relaxed, according to the latest reconnaissance intelligence, the Protector Army has faced the French army from the initial three brigades, increased to four brigades, and at least 10 battalions of Vietnamese indigenous soldiers and the Yellow Flag Army participated in the defense and attack. …,

That is to say, in addition to the 11th Brigade of the French Army, which held Hanoi and monitored the Qingzi Army at Sanyuan Bridge, the French army that was now directly involved in the attack on the defensive position of Lu'erzhuang had increased to two and a half brigades, plus a servant army of nearly 5,000 people, with a number of nearly 18,000 people, while the 5th Association, 4th Association, and 2nd Association 2nd Battalion guarding Lu'erzhuang had only 6,000 soldiers.

In the past half a month, the battle between the two sides in this land of only three or four kilometers from north to south has entered a state of stalemate from the violent collision at the beginning, and now it has entered a state of stalemate, this situation is actually not what Zhou Ruidong needed when he first formulated the plan, the original plan was to use Luerzhuang to build a tight fortification, effectively contain and destroy the enemy.

In fact, this strategy was carried out effectively in the first week, and the French launched an attack on Luerzhuang from all directions, and no commander would allow such a place to be stored in the fortifications that the enemy had built under his nose, but ......

Liu Yongfu fought too hard, three days ago, the French dropped at least 2,000 corpses in a full-scale attack, and the wounded were not counted, which made the French fully appreciate the power of trenches and fortifications, and the Maxim machine gun, Liu Yongfu received an order to prohibit the use of non-essential circumstances.

In the next few days, the French carried out a full-scale artillery bombardment and skirmisher attack, but in the battle of individual weapons, the French were once again deflated, on the frontal battlefield, the artillery was extremely lethal to the soldiers hiding behind the trenches, and the arc-shaped trenches dug by the Protectors, even if there were shells directly smashed in, the nearest unlucky guy was a little mysterious, and the fragments were blocked by the trenches.

The gap between the two sides in individual weapons is even more obvious, the French M1878 rear loading needle gun theoretical rate of fire is 6-7 rounds a minute, but on the battlefield lying on the load, this rate of fire is difficult to exceed 2 or 3 rounds, otherwise it will be child's play to shoot, and M1878 in the range is only 700 meters, compared to the AK02 of the Protector Army's rate of fire of 5 rounds per minute during the battle, and the range of 1200 meters, there is obviously a gap.

What's even worse is that the only few hand-to-hand battles that hit the opponent's position were easily defused by the grenades and 80 submachine guns of the Protector Army, which made the French officers watching the battle behind them half angry, and they really couldn't understand that the Chinese army on the opposite side came out of there, and they had such strong firepower and will to fight.

After paying the price of nearly 4,000 casualties, Lieutenant General Gu Ba no longer launched a frontal attack, but chose to transport heavy artillery to carry out artillery strikes on Luerzhuang, but the effect of flowering shells on the trenches in this era is really unsatisfactory, and the realization of digging a good depth bunker, so that the French earth-shattering artillery bombardment has little effect, but in this regard, the French do not agree, they gradually advanced, and collapsed a lot of fortresses, in their opinion, although the speed is a little slower, but the effect is still good.

After discovering that the tactics of using fortifications to consume the strength of the French army did not achieve the expected results, Zhou Ruidong felt that it was too early to launch the next stage of the campaign, so he began to put a large number of recruits who had never been on the battlefield into this position, so that they could experience the baptism under the fire of the French.

And today's urgent consultation, that is because of the latest news sent from Haiphong, the three of them really can't understand the magnanimity of their instructor, and they actually took the initiative to lead the fleet to seek a decisive battle with the French, and easily harvested the main fleet of the French, and then, according to the habit of their instructor, the opportunity to beat the water dogs will not be missed......

Zhang Kui glanced at the map, "Ruidong, the French still have a brigade to Langshan?" ”

"Well, it should be, if you can defeat the French army in front of you, you can cut off the French waist and wrap their dumplings"

"Defeated? In front of this is nearly 15,000 French regular troops, it's not that easy, don't steal chickens and rice, I think you can follow the interspersed tactics that the instructor said...... It's just that this Yuebei is really a garbage place, and there are rivers everywhere" Zhang Kui scratched his head, muttered a few words, and didn't say anything.

Xue Chao smiled, "Zhang Kui, I don't have such a strong soldier at hand, I can take on this heavy task, or let your battalion go, I heard that Niu X coaxed all day long, known as the first battalion in the world!"

Seeing Xue Chao teasing him, Zhang Kui waved his hand to show that he disdained to discuss with him, and turned around to listen to Zhou Ruidong's opinion.

Zhou Ruidong, as the commander-in-chief of the Northern Vietnam Protector Army, to be honest, his pressure is not small, he has followed the instructor for more than three years, and he has grown from an excellent student in a school to a rigorous soldier, but he naturally firmly remembers the instructor's words - there is no natural general in this world

However, since he has chosen this blood-boiling road, he will naturally always move forward unremittingly, he fully believes in his talent, calm judgment, he has laid out this big battle situation, and always occupies the first opportunity, then spread out the hole cards, see the winner or loser of this land war

[Ask for votes, brothers~~] ......,