In September 1861, Zhao Sanbao's Western Expeditionary Corps fell to Ningyuan Mansion in Sichuan, and in early October, he forcibly crossed the Dadu River, and the sword pointed directly at Chengdu.

The Sichuan Green Battalion soldiers were frightened and invincible, and the Western Expeditionary Corps shook a shot, and suddenly returned to the division to advance eastward, broke through Yucheng Mansion, and opened up the supply line to the west.

In Sichuan, the scattered green battalions and militia groups disturbed the people and killed people endlessly, and the governor Zeng Wangyan strictly forbade it more than once, and even the defeated green battalion soldiers were afraid that Zeng Wangyan would punish the crime, so they simply became mountain bandits, and the whole Sichuan became a pot of porridge.

At the same time, the Hubei battlefield Zeng Guofan in the Shenbao, Harwich two corps under the defeat and retreat, the six kings urgently transferred Xi'an banner soldiers into Jingbei to support, who knows that more than 10,000 banner soldiers marched to Shaanxi Xing'an Mansion, a deputy commander of the blue banner suddenly united with several officers to kidnap Xi'an General Wenxiang, occupied Xing'an Mansion announced that the whole army was returned to the Southern Dynasty, and appointed Shaanxi Governor, Governor and other officials.

Although in the end, Wen Xiang found a good opportunity to get out of trouble, led his troops to counterattack, and the rebel army was defeated and fled into Xichuan, but after this change, how could Wen Xiang's troops go to the aid of Zeng Guofan?

In the battlefield of northern Jiangsu, Zuo Zongtang's troops did not defend Huai'an, but adopted the strategy of resisting and consuming the strength of the Pingyuan Army to the greatest extent, and gradually retreated into the Lu realm in December.

The biggest variable appeared in northern Anhui, no one expected that the six kings would throw Seng Lingqin's horse steps into the battlefield in northern Anhui, even if Miao Peilin would never think of it.

The intention of the six kings is obvious, that is, to take the southern country by surprise in northern Anhui, eliminate the Zheng Zewu army of the Pingyuan army in northern Anhui, achieve a great victory, and hold the disadvantage of the defeat and retreat of all walks of life. As long as Zheng Zewu's troops are eliminated, the monk Wang Ma Bu can immediately turn to the east, and join forces with Zuo Zongtang's department to catch Su Hongniang off guard, and defeat the main force of the Pingyuan Army's Northern Expedition.

In January 1862, Seng Lingqin led 20,000 horses and suddenly appeared near Lu'an Prefecture, when Zheng Zewu scattered the remnants of the enemy in northern Anhui, an infantry battalion in Guangwu Town, Lu'an Prefecture bore the brunt of the siege of the Qing army.

Taqimu, a fierce general under Seng Lingqin, led 3,000 iron cavalry to Xinyi Town, dozens of miles away, and had already learned from Miao Peilin that it was where the military headquarters of Zheng Zewu of the Pingyuan Army was located, and its telegraph line had been erected in Xinyi Town, which was the best proof.

At this time, Zheng Zewu happened to be in Xinyi Town, and the guards of the military headquarters were only the military headquarters garrison battalion and a reinforced infantry battalion, with no more than 1,500 combatants.

After the defeat of Miao Peilin's foreign guns in Hefei, the remnants of Miao Peilin were scattered in various places in southern and northern Anhui, and Zheng Zewu ordered the regiments to disperse, reorganize the newly recruited soldiers, clear the stubborn enemy in the territory, and wait for the general attack order of the regent to attack Henan.

When Zheng Zewu was studying the battle map, the scouts quickly reported that the second battalion of the third regiment was besieged by the Qing army in Guangwu Town, and the Mongolian cavalry had been assembled, as if they were coming to Xinyi Town.

As a large mansion of the military department, the air immediately froze.

A staff officer hurriedly bypassed the wooden table to look at the map, and proposed: "Junmen, in the Hefei area, our army has thirteen infantry battalions, but it is difficult to quench the thirst of the near water, and now we can only temporarily avoid the enemy's situation and retreat into Jiajiawa in the southeast, so as to strengthen the battalion to lure the enemy and get rid of the pursuit of the enemy cavalry." Please also ask the military gate to retreat quickly, and we will send a report to all corps and battalions. ”

Several staff officers seconded the proposal, and at this time, an elegant military attache in his early thirties put down his teacup and said with a smile: "In the humble opinion of the villain, the military gate has already been decided. The treasure that was shipped earlier is still covered with canvas, and I don't know what it is. Besides, in the area of Lu'an Prefecture and Hefei, our army can mobilize more than 25 battalions, which seem to be scattered, but in fact they are horns of each other. ”

Zheng Zewu's eyes lit up, he looked him up and down a few times, and Zhao Puyu, the general staff officer on the side, said with a smile: "His name is Cheng Xueqi, the word Fang Zhong, he was originally a subordinate of Chen Yucheng, Chen Yucheng was defeated, was captured and surrendered, he is very smart, and he is brave in battle." ”

Cheng Xueqi had just been transferred to the staff room of the military department, and Zheng Zewu really didn't remember his name. At this time, he nodded slightly and said: "Yes, immediately call the headquarters of all infantry regiments, and order all infantry battalions and artillery battalions to run to Lu'an. He laughed.

…… On the loess road, a cavalry black dragon brought up billowing smoke and dust, and the power was incomparable.

This hussar has a fierce face on all faces, a rifle on his back, a saber hanging from his waist, a descendant of Genghis Khan, a barbarian wolf surnamed of blood and fire, and a steppe warrior who is not afraid of death.

The black outline of the village gradually appeared in front of him, and Taqimu whistled, drew his saber at his waist, swirled the sword flower on his head, and shouted: "Elata! ”

"Elata!" "Elata!" The full shouts of the beast surname rose and fell in the horse team, and the snow blades were like clouds, and the beast-like strange screams soared into the sky.

The formation of the cavalry suddenly changed, turning into a long line of countless horizontal columns, stepping on the snow in the field, and rushing towards the village, and the cavalry at the forefront drew their rifles one after another.

Beyond Rich, gray military hats could already be seen in the barbed wire trenches.

Taqimu smiled coldly, the trench was only a few hundred steps east, and there was a clearing on the east side, which could rush into the village.

The sound of hooves was like thunder, and Taqim's blood was surging, and he brandished his saber, hoping only to fill the hunger and thirst in his heart with the blood of his enemies, "Kill them all!" Taqimu screamed like a beast, and his eyes were already blood-red.

At this moment, after the simple fortifications of the sack stack on the east side, several small cannons with shiny metal wheels suddenly pushed out, which looked like cannons, but the barrels were extremely small, more than ten times thicker than rifles.

There was a loud and loud bang that was so violent and fast that the horses that were rushing to the front suddenly fell to the ground with a scream, and they were harvested like straws, and they fell down in a row suddenly.

Taqim was stunned, what is this?

"Bang bang" is like death beating a giant drum continuously, and the cavalry rushing in the front row fell down one by one, and the fierce horses screamed, straight like hell.

It wasn't until more than 100 warriors fell in a pool of blood that the cavalry brigade rushed to the range of the Pingyuan Army, "Bang Bang Bang", the guns rang out, and all kinds of grenades were thrown, at this time they were hundreds of paces away, and the grenades were not to kill or injure the cavalry, but to frighten their horses, and rockets whizzed out, falling in the cavalry and exploding, although at most the explosion made people's faces hurt, but the horses were terrified and neighed.

Taqimu was stunned for a long time, and at this time, the arrow was on the string, gritted his teeth, and threw the saber in his hand in the direction of the strange cannon, and the horn of a wolf howl sounded in his mouth.

Today, no matter how many people are killed or wounded, as long as they can cut down their monster cannons, the enemy will be killed to the ground.

"Coax", dozens of steps in front of the strange cannon, suddenly ignited a fire, like a fire dragon crisscrossing east and west, bursting abruptly.

The cavalry horses that were about to rush to the vicinity of the strange cannon were frightened, and they neighed in circles, where could the cavalry shout on the horse?

"Bang bang", the loud noise seemed to never stop, and the Mongolian warriors fell from their horses one by one.

At this time, Taqimu shouted a few times, returned to the horse and left, the Pingyuan army rained bullets, and the cavalry who ran back on the horse were planted under the horse in rows.

After galloping a few miles away, Taqimu gathered the horse team, counted the number of people, and his face was miserable.

Taqimu didn't have the heart to go around to the side to attack this village, and he had to report back to the prince as soon as possible.

In front of the village, the soldiers of the Pingyuan Army were curiously looking at these strange cannons.

Zheng Zewu sighed and patted the barrel gently, although this thick barrel was actually a big bucket, but to the touch, it was still extremely hot, Zheng Zewu was so hot that he inhaled and hurriedly retracted back, and his hand was already red and swollen.

The Guangzhou cannons, like the lightning cannons, were all test weapons, but these cannons were personally ordered by the regent to be transported to northern Anhui.

Several intelligence mistakes in the north, Ye Zhao severely criticized Rui Si, although the monk king was secretly transferred this time, even if the people in the army, they thought that they were entering the battlefield in northern Jiangsu, but the internal line of the internal affairs government placed in the northern military department still probed the intelligence out, and this series of cannons was naturally sent to northern Anhui to fight against the cavalry of the monk king.

For the development of weapons, Ye Zhao has long been not so enthusiastic, but he didn't expect the Ordnance Bureau to still drum out the cannons, I think also, with the early application of smokeless gunpowder in the war, coupled with the emergence of this kind of fast rifle made in Guangzhou, the emergence of trench warfare is inevitable, and then lightning cannons, Lianzhu artillery also naturally came into being, which is the need of the battlefield.

Even if the South didn't do it, the European countries would have invented it, and the Lianzhu cannon came in handy in the Civil War and won great results, and European military technicians would speed up their progress and develop corresponding weapons.

In the future, the war will become more and more cruel, and it will also be a great test for a country's industrial production capacity.

Zheng Zewu didn't know what the regent thought, he only knew that this series of cannons was really amazing!

At the end of January 1862, Zheng Zewu's troops and Seng Lingqin's troops confronted each other in the area of Lu'anzhou, and the two sides were staggered, and it was not known who surrounded whom.

…… In the study room of a small two-story western-style building in Dongjiaomin Lane, Beijing, Gui Liang, Minister of Military Aircraft, is meeting with a Russian in his forties with a grim face.

This is the Russian embassy in Yenching, and Gui Liang was spoken to Sergei, the Russian consul general in Yenching, or Viscount Brin.

Sergei was solely responsible for the Russians' cooperation with the North and military support for the North, even the Far Eastern Fleet.

Sergei was resolute and ruthless, he had just been in Yanjing for two years, and had already obtained a series of benefits for the Russians, and three months ago he signed an agreement with Yanjing Zhengaxe on the construction of the Port Arthur Military Port, and the Russians obtained the right to use the Port Arthur and the right to garrison the army, and at the same time, the arsenal prepared by the Russians in Arthur has also begun to be built.

Of course, this is also because the war between the north and the south is gradually unfavorable to the north, and the north has no choice but to do it.

Sergei put down the coffee cup, made a powerful gesture, and said loudly: "Please rest assured that the Chinese Emperor has completed the preparation of the Eastern Expeditionary Corps three months ago, with a total of 20,000 soldiers, and they will rush to the Far East to serve the Chinese Emperor." And I assure you that there will be no more egregious acts that would damage the reputation of His Majesty the Tsar. ”

After listening to the translation, Gui Liang sighed for a long time, the war in the northern country was unfavorable everywhere, and it was really worrying.

What is the cannon? I heard that in northern Anhui, the Qing soldiers were frightened.

Sergei groaned, and said: "If, I mean, if the situation of the Chinese Emperor is unfavorable in the future, can we consider retreating to Guanwai, our Eastern Expeditionary Corps will do our best to ensure the safety of Guanwai, and the follow-up corps will also be formed to assist the Emperor in recovering the lost territory." ”

Gui Liang changed color, fortunately he didn't tell the emperor, this is not a big deal, why did he talk about what happened after the defeat?

Seeing Gui Liang's ugly face, Sergei smiled and said, "My dear friend, I just said if." As you know, your opponent is cunning, and if he is unfortunate enough to defeat the Jingshi and the Great Emperor is captured, then we will lose this battle completely. But as long as the Great Emperor is safe, our country is confident that we will eventually help the Great Emperor turn the tide of the war, even if your opponent occupies Yanjing, but Mongolia, Xinjiang Province, Tibetan Province, Gansu, Qinghai Province will become a headache for the regent, coupled with the Great Emperor's appeal in China, as long as we are ready, immediately launch a counterattack, we will definitely win the final victory. ”

"This war has been fought so hard because it broke out so suddenly, and our country was completely unprepared, because according to the information you provided, this war should have broken out in two years. You know, because the Far Eastern Railway is still under construction, we are completely incapable of mobilizing too many troops at once to serve the Emperor. ”

When Sergei mentioned "regent" twice, Gui Liang had to remind Sergei to call Jingxiang a "pseudo-king" or call him by his first name, but Sergei ignored it, and Gui Liang stopped correcting his mistakes.

"Mr. Brynn, do you think we're going to lose this war? With your country's infantry regiments joining the battle, we will also lose the war? Gui Liang asked with a solemn face.

"No, no, no." Sergei shook his head again and again, and said: "We will win this war in the end, but your opponent will always invent strange weapons, which makes us misjudge again and again. Therefore, I am worried about losing Yanjing City in the next war. I hope that in the event of an unfavorable situation in the war, the Great Emperor will retreat to the outside of the Guan, and also buy us enough time to prepare for this war. ”

Gui Liang's face gradually brightened, what he was most worried about now was that the Russians would do nothing, so this battle, according to the current situation, really didn't need to fight.

To say that outside the Guan, since the emperor ascended the throne, the ban has long been lifted, and there is an endless stream of immigrants from the Central Plains.

Sergei said: "Lord Guiliang, as you know, our country is abolishing serfdom, carrying out a series of reforms, and building the Far Eastern Railway, and we are really short on financial resources, and I hope that your country can provide another interest-free loan of 10 million taels of silver." ”

Gui Liang is a stagnant, since three months ago, Britain and France and other countries have stopped lending silver to the north, and began to force the north to repay the silver, obviously worried that after the north lost the war, the previous loans were wasted, and now the north can only raise taxes heavily, and the people everywhere are boiling, how can there be silver to lend to the Russians?

"Well, I'd like to figure it out." Gui Liang sighed deeply in his heart.

Sergei smiled slightly: "It doesn't matter if you're really embarrassed, our two countries get along amicably, don't misunderstand what I mean." ”

Gui Liang nodded, no matter what, this Viscount Brin is still a reasonable person.

(To be continued)