In October 1856, the temperature in Guangzhou was still rising, so hot that people could not even breathe, but the subordinate battalion leaders of the sailors were still maintaining a certain intensity of training, according to Lin Haijiang's words, war will not choose the weather, war will only choose those who are prepared.

Suddenly, an urgent report sent Lin Haijiang to the Liangguang Governor's Mansion? Lin Haijiang, who rode a horse galloping on a hot day, soaked his clothes with sweat, looking at the streets without pedestrians and wilting leaves, Lin Haijiang felt an inexplicable anxiety in his heart?

In the main hall of the governor's yamen, Lin Haijiang saw Ye Mingchen and Bai Gui who looked anxious, and the ice basin in the room made him feel a little cold.

Ye Mingchen saw Lin Haijiang come in and even saved his greetings and said directly: "Today, the sailors on a British ship on the dock tried to rob a woman who bought fruit, and the patrol battalion went up to prevent five people from being shot and killed, and Hu Fang, the general manager of the Zhenwei battalion, ordered to return fire and killed a British, who was said to be an officer. ”

Lin Haijiang was slightly stunned, he actually wanted to capture his own sailor battalion, it seems that the British still take themselves seriously, the governor's patrol battalion killed the British devils, and the British devils want to take their Nanyang sailors out of anger? When are you soft persimmons?

However, Lin Haijiang was still very depressed, he had already sent a special intelligence detective team to get rid of the Yarrow and burned the ship, making it like a fire, in order not to give the British a chance to go crazy, but he didn't expect that the trajectory of history would be easily rewritten?

He pressed the gourd and lifted the scoop, but at the moment he was not afraid of the British with soldiers, guns and ships in his hands, the British and French still won the Crimean War, and they only needed an excuse now after losing money and consuming huge military spending.

Lin Haijiang took a deep breath and said, "What about the imperial court? ”

Ye Mingchen glanced at Bai Gui helplessly, and said hatefully: "Those military aircraft officers, haven't they been able to study a countermeasure result in a month?" ”

Bai Gui nodded and agreed: "We are local officials, and we have the responsibility not to lose our land, if we start a war, we have to bear the charge of starting a war without authorization, and we don't like it at both ends!" ”

Ye Mingchen took a deep breath and said, "You are the commander of the Nanyang Naval Division, the commander-in-chief of the Fujian and Guangdong Naval Divisions, so I ask you now, if you start a war, you may be victorious?" How sure are you? ”

Lin Haijiang sat firmly on Mount Tai and said: "If the ordnance and food are abundant, I am ten percent sure that the enemy will be annihilated, and the enemy will also reinforce and I can still defeat it, and the enemy will be reinforced three times, I can still contend with it, if the enemy is attacking with the strength of the country, I should fight to the last soldier, and the blood stains the battlefield to comfort the soul of my Chinese heroic soul in the sky!" ”

Ye Mingchen and Bai Gui were infected by Lin Haijiang's momentum and strong words, and they didn't pay attention to what Lin Haijiang said in the last sentence to comfort the soul of the Chinese heroic soul in the sky!

What they were worried about before was that they couldn't fight, but now they are very sure, why not fight? Who wants to be humiliated and humiliated?

"Why don't you take Wu Hook and collect Guanshan Fifty Prefectures!" Ye Mingchen slammed the table and said: "Lord Lin, this battle is related to the survival of my two Guang, and it will also kill the face of my officials and the court, no matter how you can't lose, you can fight with confidence, but if the court blames the old man, he will bear it." ”

Ye Mingchen glanced back at Bai Gui and said, "Lord Bai, can the silver from the domain treasury advance Commander Lin's military expenses first?" ”

Bai Gui smiled and said: "The governor is willing to wear a good product, what is the old man reluctant?" Could it be that the old man's future is still cherished by Lord Lin? ”

Out of the Governor's Palace, Lin Haijiang's heart was surging, history finally had a huge reversal, on October 23, 1856, because the main force was fighting along the Yangtze River with the Taiping Army, the Qing Dynasty political axe decided to compromise with the British army, ordered Ye Mingchen not to resist, Ye Mingchen had no soldiers in his hands to tears to the sky, the British army captured the city of Guangzhou, burned and plundered, opened the prelude to the Second Opium War.

And today, October 23, 1856, Ye Mingchen, Bai Gui, and Lin Haijiang secretly discussed the Governor's Palace, and decided to fight to the death with the invading enemy.

For the decaying Qing Dynasty, he couldn't arouse the slightest enthusiasm for him, but he understood more that the land under his feet did not belong to a certain dynasty, but to the entire nation, and he was not defending this court that should have rotted a long time ago, but for the sake of this suffering nation, so that the common people would suffer less disaster.

Lin Haijiang took a deep breath, the reason why he assisted the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom in selling arms in the past was to form an effective restraint mechanism, no matter which side could not easily launch an offensive without scruples, and it was in his interests at this stage to let the Qing army's initiative attack be frustrated.

In fact, no matter how fanciful and righteous the words are, in the end it is the common people who are unlucky, and the vast majority of those who die in the war are the children of ordinary people.

Lin Haijiang naturally would not be polite to these imperialist bastards who were eager to make the Chinese people pay for their war military expenses, and he really didn't pay attention to the more than 5,000 people gathered in Hong Kong by the British, in fact, what Lin Haijiang was really worried about was not the British in Guangdong, but the polar bear Russians who suffered a big loss in the Crimean War.

The Crimean War has just ended, Britain and France are already impatient, but Britain and France are far away, and the transfer of troops is not a momentary meeting, but the polar bear is different, this evil neighbor is the master who will eat the sick neighbor alive, Lin Haijiang had to hope that after he taught the British a hard lesson, the French and the Russians who were eyeing each other did not dare to set foot easily, and the Americans who muddied the waters Lin Haijiang did not treat them as a dish at all.

Among Lin Haijiang's plans, there is only a plan to use the international financial system to make money from the Americans, but unfortunately, this plan was not Lin Haijiang's own idea, but part of Cluna's planned investment.

"Come if you're brave enough! Let's see what Lao Tzu has to do with you! "Lin Haijiang is really ruthless this time, the British don't take him seriously, and he is not ready to use the ships in the old port and the Haijiang Marine Corps, because that is his trump card, once he uses his trump card, it means the beginning of the decisive battle! He had to hold the British ambitions at bay once or else nothing but defeat awaited him.

At the same time, in the Hong Kong Governor's Palace, Bao Ling, together with Elgin, Major General Reis and others, were still repeatedly discussing whether to launch an attack on Guangzhou City now.

Major General Reis was very confident in his two infantry regiments, totaling more than 5,000 people, but what made him dissatisfied was that Ergin had privately declared that he was going to attack the city of Guangzhou without going through the military? But today it seems that Ergin was clearly supported by Bao Ling, who in the Far East could be said to be the plenipotentiary of the British Empire.

It can be said that Ergin instigated Bao Ling, and Bao Ling is now a little flustered, because he is the only one in the Far East who knows that the empire has recently prepared to use troops against the Qing State to settle the military expenses lost in the Crimean War and the huge pensions.

The war of 1840 made the Niswickomdo family heroes of the British Empire, and Yilu became a duke. Bao Ling realized that there was definitely a good opportunity in front of him, since the Congress already had the intention to go to war, it was better to fight late than early, in case the Congress was sending someone over at that time, wouldn't he lose the opportunity to monopolize it?

Bao Ling took a deep breath, he knew too well about the Qing Dynasty, they were fighting the rebels to the death, and it was undoubtedly a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for him.

Bao Ling looked at Ergin and Major General Reis and said quietly: "For the honor of the empress, for the pride of the empire!" Gentlemen! Let's do it again! ”

"For Her Majesty! For the Empire! "Major General Reis and Ergin spoke almost in unison!

The British army, which had entered a state of war in advance, began to get busy, and the patrol battalion in Guangzhou was also busy evacuating the people in the city to avoid being innocently affected by the war, while Ye Mingchen's governor Biao Battalion cooperated with Bai Gui's Fubiao to transport the silver in the treasury.

This battle can be said to be completely undertaken by Lin Haijiang's Nanyang Naval Division, and to a certain extent, Ye Mingchen and Bai Gui are still somewhat worried.

Offensive! Ergin is wielding a command knife that he doesn't know where he got it? His performance was as ridiculous as a clown in the eyes of Major General Reis.

What made Major General Reis very uncomfortable was that he actually got involved with the son of a tomb robber?

The city of Guangzhou in the night is like a lurking beast, because Ye Mingchen, the governor of the two provinces of the Great Qing Dynasty, has been officially notified before, so there is no suspense about tonight's attack.

However, what made Major General Reis very annoyed were the two big idiots, Bao Ling and Ergin, that the military is the military, and the politics is the politics, and the military can serve the politics, and the politics can also serve the military, but the premise is that there can be no interference with each other.

Sudden and secret surnames in military operations have always been the key to the success or failure of a battle, and since the other side has been informed of when, where, and how many troops it will commit to attack, why not choose a daytime with a good line of sight? Instead of choosing it in the night?

Could it be that what I did was something that I couldn't see and couldn't get on the stage? Major General Reis was so annoyed by this that Ergin almost didn't submit his resume to the Qing people? It can be said that the big victory in 1840, which came too easily, gave them full confidence.

Ergin was babbling all the way to Major General Reis how stupid, how ignorant, and how weak the Qing people were, as if a cannon could bring them to their knees.

"That Lin Haijiang won't be my problem, will it?" Major General Reis still cautiously asked, Ergin was stunned for a moment, hesitated for a while before saying: "The Qing [***] people can't fight with us casually, otherwise even if they win, they will be held responsible, our purpose this time is very simple, although the Yarrow incident was skillfully quelled by them, but in any case, we need an excuse to provoke this war, and it is said that there are more than three million taels of silver in the treasury in Guangzhou City, and those will be our spoils, isn't it my general?" ”

"Three million taels of silver?" Major General Reis gasped! It was a huge temptation that he couldn't resist.

Colonel Werther stood beside Major General Reis, the only one of the officers in the group who had actually been on the battlefield, and now he still had the shells of the Russians in his body, and he was not as fanatical and impatient as Major General Reis and Ergin, because he was a professional soldier, and he was very cautious about combat.

The British Empire had already paid too much for arrogance in the Crimean War, and a land war was not a naval war!

For Major General Reis to land at the port of Guangzhou, and then go straight to the Guangdong battalion of the Nanyang Naval Division, and in one fell swoop to eliminate Lin Haijiang's main force stationed in Guangzhou, then the whole of Guangzhou will be at your fingertips.

Colonel Werther hesitated for a moment to remind Major General Reis, "Your Excellency, I think we seem to be drawing up a complete battle plan report, including the fire support of the naval guns, reinforcements and artillery, and the supply of provisions, etc. ”

Major General Reis and Ergin looked at Colonel Werther with very surprised eyes and said in unison: "Dear Werther? Don't you think that we have given them a lot of face by attacking the Guangzhou Navy with 5,000 men? They are sailors, and we are the Imperial Army, how many people did we mobilize in the last war? Do you want London to laugh at my incompetence or your cowardice? ”

Ergin also interjected on the side: "Mr. Witt, this is the East, the Qing State is not Russia, if their army has 10,000 people, then there are probably only a few hundred people who can fight with weapons, they are not an army in the sense, they are just some peasants who want not to starve to death." ”

Colonel Witt said helplessly: "But we are not a surprise attack operation either?" Can the other side be said to have a very clear understanding of our tactical moves? It's not a fight, it's a farce, it's a joke with the lives of soldiers. ”

The officers and men on the ship were immediately sideways, and after hearing Colonel Werther's dissatisfaction, Rear Admiral Reis smiled slightly: "The Chinese have a military book called Sun Wu's Art of War, and thousands of years ago taught their descendants to be false and real, and we told the Qing people to fight the Guangzhou Navy Division's camp, and they must not have thought that we would really fight." ”

"This is called strategy, so you have been a colonel for more than thirty years, and I am a major general!" Major General Reis's harsh words made Colonel Witt shut his mouth and argue with a major general who commanded him?

Alas! Colonel Witt sighed deeply and used what he learned from the Chinese against the Chinese? He had a very bad premonition in this battle!

At the Guangzhou wharf, two third-class battleships Sequoia and Jianfeng, as well as more than a dozen cruisers and a group of transport ships, showed their hideous faces little by little from the darkness, and the black muzzles made people shudder.

As the battleship slowly entered the line, the dead silence of the Guangzhou wharf, several search teams did not encounter resistance, and caught a few coolies who slept in a daze.

Major General Reis was overjoyed, and ordered the troops to quickly enter the British Concession, and was slightly relieved about Major General Reis's arrangement and deployment, Colonel Witt, Major General Reis still has a certain command ability, and entering the British Concession can not only take a shortcut to attack the Guangdong Navy Division's camp, but also retreat to the fortifications of the concession in case the other side is prepared, and resist with the fortifications.

Politically, it is even more advantageous, and it can create the fact that the Qing [***] team will attack the British concession, so as to win more support at home.

However, Colonel Werther felt a little wrong with those weeping coolies, but he couldn't tell what was wrong. No matter how you look at these people, they are a bit like the Crimean read-alike partisans.

Before leaving, Colonel Witt ordered Adjutant Captain John to take a few soldiers to keep an eye on the coolies, and when the troops had departed, take them to the back of the warehouse and deal with them with bayonets!

Relatively speaking, Ergin was like an idiot, he actually took the words of a few coolies at the dock as evidence, and sent a report to Bao Ling that the Qing [***] team had fled, and that our army would quickly complete the task after clearing the camp of the Guangdong Navy Division.

However, Major General Reis did not seem to have the slightest intention of stopping Elgin, and in the eyes of almost everyone, the city of Canton was still in their pockets, and the British Army officers and soldiers who participated in this punitive operation chatted lightly during the march as if they were participating in a camping outing.

But more of it is a topic such as where there are many rich people living in Guangzhou, where there are good things, where there are many beautiful women, and so on!

Lin Haijiang stood on the top of the tower hill outside the main camp, and the comings and goings of the heralds made the underground bunker very crowded, and the newly established staff system was challenged, which was a collision between theory and practice.

The young staff officers all wanted to show themselves in front of Lin Haijiang, although they were all wearing the official uniforms of General Qian, but the braids on the back of their heads were as fake as their identities, they were the first batch of rookies in the staff of the Marine Corps Branch of the Chinese Imperial Naval Academy in the old port!

Although there are only a few kittens from Huang Tao and Li Anmin, it is these kittens that give Lin Haijiang a beautiful vision.

Lin Haijiang's Guangdong Navy Battalion is actually different from the general Qing army camp, the Guangdong Navy Battalion was built by Feng Tianhua, the Naval Supervisor of the Ming Dynasty, during the Wanli period of the Ming Dynasty, and the shape is like the enclosed house that prevailed in Liangguang at that time, but this enclosed house is larger and can garrison at least 7,000 soldiers.

Originally, the north-south gate was blocked in the Jiajing year, so in fact, there is only one exit for the entire huge walled house, the admiral of the sailor is in the middle of the walled house, and there are four wells and many grain depots dug in the walled house, at that time, because the builder Feng Tianhua was a eunuch, the physiological defects made Feng Tianhua very unique and persistent in architecture, so this giant walled house-style building was built very strong, the bottom wall is built with bluestone, and the walls of the walled house are densely covered with cannon holes and perforations, which can be described as easy to defend and difficult to attack.

(To be continued)