"How many of you have here?" Liu Mingchuan didn't know that there was such a place as zài around him.

"Four hundred, if you count all the personnel. Among them are more than thirty civilians, more than sixty miscellaneous servants, and the rest are marines of our insurance corps, three hundred. ”

"What do you mean by stationing troops here, is the court allowed it?"

Yan Feng smiled slightly and said, "Don't get me wrong, this is not a military facility, it's just that the defense is relatively strict." It's not been a peaceful year, and I hope you understand. ”

Yan Feng didn't say anything about whether the imperial court allowed it, obviously avoiding answering, but giving Liu Mingchuan more of a feeling of disdain to answer. When will the imperial court dare to take care of the affairs of the Northeast?

"Then ...... you come to Taiwan?"

"Do business!"

When the two of them were talking, they had already walked into the three-story western-style building. After three or two turns, the two entered a strange room.

"My lord, this is the newspaper room." Saying that, Yan Feng led Liu Ming to the window, and said, "My lord, the news can be sent out from here, and external signals can also be received. ”

Liu Mingchuan had already believed Yan Feng's words at this time, and after looking at these devices, the two of them left the room and entered a conference room next to them, where there was a combat map, which looked intuitive and eye-catching. Several staff officers were discussing some things, and they were a little surprised by Liu Mingchuan's sudden appearance. However, it seemed that he was familiar with Yan Feng, and one of them smiled and said, "Shopkeeper Yan, why are you here?" ”

Yan Feng glared, and hurriedly introduced: "Why don't you come over to greet you, this is the governor of Fujian, Liu Mingchuan, Lord Liu." ”

"I've seen adults." Several people gave the military salute of the insurance team.

"Lord Liu, forgive me, they are a few staff officers on our side." Yan Feng turned his face at this time and said to one of the staff officers, "Lu Tian, go and invite your Captain Fu." ”

The young staff officer called Lu Tian ran out, and after a while, a big man with dark skin and a very tall and burly look walked in.

When the big man saw Yan Feng, he greeted him first, and then said to Liu Mingchuan: "Below is Fu Qing, the captain of the Northeast Autonomous Region Insurance Corps in Taiwan, who has seen my lord." ”

As soon as Liu Mingchuan saw Fu Qing's temperament, he knew that he was a very professional soldier, and he was a soldier who had killed people on the battlefield and had undergone training, and he secretly said in his heart: "What a tiger general!" ”

After the newspapers, everyone took their seats, and they began to discuss the matter of dealing with the French attack.

"The matter at sea, our Commander Yan Fu will solve it. Of course, in order to be able to annihilate the French fleet as much as possible, Commander Yan Fu hoped that when France launched an attack on Keelung, they would launch an attack, so that they could have a greater grasp. ”

Because Keelung's fort has been destroyed by the French, the French warships will become fixed batteries when they attack Keelung. If Yan Fu's fleet had attacked at this time, the French would have been very passive, and the marines had already landed by then. If the French fleet retreated, the marines would be surrounded. If there is no retreat, then the fate will be even more tragic.

After Liu Mingchuan listened to Fu Qing's introduction, a smile finally appeared on his gloomy face. Of course, the French don't necessarily have to attack Keelung, they have a lot of options, but the result is actually similar to Keelung.

"If your Excellency allows, our Northeast Autonomous Region Marine Corps is also willing to provide necessary assistance to your Excellency when the French army attacks."

Although I don't know the combat power of the insurance team, I think I am not familiar with the combat power of being able to beat the Russians scattered and fleeing in the northeast. But if you help yourself so obviously, if the court knows about it...... Liu Mingchuan had to think about the consequences.

Obviously, Fu Qing also knew Liu Mingchuan's concerns, but he was a soldier, anyway, in his understanding, Liu Mingchuan's worries were completely unnecessary. As long as the Northeast Autonomous Region exerts pressure, the Qing court will pretend to be a grandson and dare not resist at all.

Yan Feng smiled at this time: "Don't worry, my lord, we won't trouble you." We can attack as long as you need it, and we will take care of every problem. ”

Liu Mingchuan understood what Yan Feng meant, that is, when the war was fighting, everything about the insurance team was made by them, and he could put any responsibility on the insurance team, so that the Qing court had no way to take him Liu Mingchuan. Regarding this decision, Liu Mingchuan did not deny or affirm it. And as for the understanding that not denying it is affirming, Fu Qing directly thought that Liu Mingchuan had agreed to their request to participate in the war, so he immediately began to come up with a battle plan.

When the discussion was completed, in order to give Liu Mingchuan confidence, Fu Qing invited Liu Mingchuan to appreciate the standard weapons of the Dashang Insurance Team. Although he was already prepared in his heart, Lao Liu was still shocked.

On the way back to Taipei, Liu Mingchuan was still thinking, how could there be such a big gap between his official army and the insurance team?

The people of North Korea are now excited, especially after the news of the successive defeats of the Qing Dynasty reached Korea, and the Kaihua Party became more and more active.

It was slightly dark, and Jin Yujun was standing on the edge of a small pier at this time, looking out, as if waiting for someone. A passenger ship finally slowly sailed into the small harbor while he waited anxiously. The ship was strange, though, without any signs or flags. After a while, more than 30 people walked down from the boat, all dressed as ordinary people, but each of them carried two rattan boxes.

At this time, a short man who walked in front saw Jin Yujun, and immediately stepped forward very enthusiastically, and said with a smile: "Berwyn, I haven't seen you for a year, it's always good?" This man spoke Japanese.

Jin Yujun also replied in Japanese: "Yiqiē is fine, thank you Mr. Pinggang for your concern." It is not advisable to stay here for long, so let's leave first, and when we are in a safe place, it is not too late to talk. ”

"Yiqiē obey Brother Jin's arrangement."

Under Kim Ok-kyun's arrangement, the men left together and ended up in a village, typical of North Korean architecture, with low houses and thick bellflower roofs. His own subordinates arranged for Kotaro Hiraoka's men to rest. Now there are three people in the house, in addition to Kim Ok-gyun and Pinggang, there is also a cadre of the Enlightenment Party, Park Yong-hyo, I didn't expect him to come over. The three of them are old acquaintances and have met in Japan. The Genyosha Society, headed by Kotaro Hiraoka, preached the theory of Greater Asia to the outside world. Although it may sound a little unreliable, the two sides have been in close contact because they can provide the necessary support for North Korea, and more directly, for their Kaihua Party.

"After the Binggeng foreign disturbance and the Xinwei foreign disturbance, although they all ended with the withdrawal of foreigners and did not cause losses to our country, this is not like the victory brought by the closure of the country as those led by the Dayuan Jun. Originally, Concubine Min still supported opening up, but with the Qing Dynasty meddling in our country's affairs after the Renwu Military Rebellion, Concubine Min and others gradually began to rely on the Qing Dynasty, and in the long run, it would be harmful to our country. ”

Hiraoka Kotaro put down the teacup in his hand, nodded, and said, "What Brother Berwyn said is reasonable!" The Qing Dynasty is now too busy to take care of itself, and they are fighting against France in the south, losing more than they won, and looking like an old dragon and a bell, it is really not enough to ensure the safety of your country. ”

At this time, Park Yongxiao helped Hiragang Kotaro fill another cup of tea, and then he was worried and said: "Having said that, with the strength of our country alone, it is still difficult to get rid of the shackles of the Qing State and become an independent country. ”

"Don't worry, if your party is willing to make trouble, our Great Japanese Empire will naturally not stand idly by, and at the same time, our Genyosha will definitely go to the soup and fight the fire!"

Kim Ok-gyun and Park Yong-hyo were happy at the same time, and said, "Then I really want to thank Mr. Pinggang." ”

"I brought some weapons this time, which can be regarded as our support for your party from the Xuanyang Society, and we will continue to support it in the future, Brother Jin and Brother Park can rest assured."

What Kotaro Hiraoka gave to the Kaihua Party was a Japanese-made Murata rifle, also known as a 13-year rifle, a total of 30 rifles, plus a batch of ammunition.

The Murata rifle was designed by Lieutenant Colonel Murata Suoyoshi, a famous marksman who belonged to the Satsuma clan in the past and was highly accomplished in firearms. The design of the sample gun began in 1874, in 1875 Murata went to Europe to investigate, after returning to China after 5 years of development, in 1880 (Meiji 13) successfully developed an 11mm single-shot rifle, named "Great Japanese Imperial Murata Gun", referred to as Murata gun or thirteen-year rifle, and set as the Japanese standard rifle. The gun is almost identical in appearance, size, and internal structure to the French Chaspoo rifle, and is also said to be a reference to the Dutch Beamon rifle.

The gun was produced by the Koishikawa Rifle Factory in Tokyo, Japan, and under the comprehensive guidance of the French officer Captain Giorgio Lupin, and the machining and cartridge case manufacturing technology was guided by more than 10 technicians from Belgium and Germany.

The caliber of the 13-year rifle is 11mm, firing the 1871 Mauser round-headed bullet, the muzzle velocity is 435m/s, the gauge range is 1300m, the total gun length is 1275mm, the barrel length is 817mm, the total gun mass is 4.06kg, and the thirteen-year bayonet is used, the knife length is 710mm, and the mass is 0.79kg. The size of the gun was suitable for the shape of the Japanese, but the performance of mass production was inferior.

Seeing so much equipment, Kim Ok-kyun and Park Yong-hyo were overjoyed, and they also had a little more confidence in their hearts for the success of their future moves.

Since Pan Dingxin and Cen Yuying got the imperial court's strategy for dealing with France, both of them could only shake their heads and smile bitterly. Because it is completely impossible for the eastern and western fronts to cooperate in attacking, because they are still separated by a well-defended Xuanguang City.

Cen Yuying said that after all, he was also the governor of Yunnan and Guizhou, and he had deep influence in the southwest region. But Pan Dingxin was unlucky, because of his own troubled performance, now Cixi Lafayette does not treat him at all. And the ministers of the DPRK and China were all down, and when they saw Pan Dingxin fall out of favor, the senior officials in various places almost cut off the logistics supply on the front line. And the saddest thing for Apan is that before he came to Guangxi, he was the governor of Hunan. But now Hunan's own old territory has been cut off like other provinces, and it's really his grandmother's people who go to tea!

If that's all, forget it, those guys who don't like the Huai Department have brought out Zuo Zongtang's old subordinates, Wang Debang, who is also a veteran of the Hunan Army and a veteran of the Chu Army, who replaced Huang Guilan, who committed suicide, as the new governor of Guangxi. Originally, Li Hongzhang and Zuo Zongtang didn't deal with each other above, but now they are getting moths below. However, there was a different opinion in China at that time, and the fiasco of North Vietnam before was counted on Li Hongzhang's head, so there were voices of dissatisfaction with the Huai army in China. And Zuo Zongtang's Hunan army was an expedition to Xinjiang and made many military exploits. Therefore, there are many people who want the Hunan army to solve the French, so Wang Debang was born!

But he was also uncomfortable, his airborne commander, whether it was the Gui army under Feng Zicai before, or the Yue army left by Huang Guilan, no one would give him face. Later, he also wanted to open, don't you want to see me, then let's play the drum again and open another one. He himself got ten battalions of the "Dingbian Army". Having said that, he himself is comfortable, but Pan Dingxin is in trouble again when he commands. What's more, his old king is not an ordinary person, he is a veteran of the Hunan army, and he is also Zuo Zongtang's old subordinate, both the Hunan and Chu families can eat openly, and they don't take Pan Dingxin in their eyes at all.

The only thing that makes Pan Dingxin feel balanced is that Wang Debang will also suffer from the hardships he endures. Wang Debang, who was about to become a deep resentful woman, finally had to complain to his old superior, Lord Zuo.

"Eavesdropping on the provincial capital of Guangxi to the capital of Liuzhou, seven stations by taxi, and the mountain road is rugged. Nine roads of the beach river, dozens of bridges in the mountains, many of them are decayed, and the spring rain is many, the mountains and rivers often rise, single horses, all are difficult to travel, every transition, only have to be broken ferry, back and forth, lag very. On the 10th day of the first month of the month, the brave men of the front and left battalions of the Beijun army crossed the river at the place of barricade horses belonging to Yongfu County, and crossed to the center of the river, but they were sunk, lost several foreign guns and equipment, and drowned several brave men...... Jixi Province traveled to Nanning 17 stations, the danger was abnormal, and Thomas carried military uniforms, and many people died. Visiting the traders, it is said that this road is deep and dense, and it is necessary to flee from the abyss, and because of the rebellious ravage, followed by the local customers fighting each other, so that the people and animals in the four townships are ruined, because the land is barren, thieves and thieves enter and exit in the meantime, and often block the way to intercept and rob. Our company has experienced this time and learned that in the future, salaries and uniforms cannot be relieved by land...... It is not as long as the water, and there are many turns. Check from Yongzhou to Guangxi, you have to cross the steep river, the water potential is uncertain, and the travel period cannot be deducted. From the western province to Wuzhou to Nanning and Longzhou, it is necessary to go upstream, without wind and rain, and can be reached in forty or fifty days; If there is a delay of several days for heavy and heavy items of munitions, Ewing will change ships three times before he can arrive in Longzhou. In the early winter of last year, the division sent a commission to transport the troops by water, and so far in the past two months, the division has now arrived in Nanning, and there is no future of the arms to pass, so it can be seen that there is no way to do it. Only the commissioner was sent to "listen along the way and urge to come." "It seems that the land and water are all difficult, and now the Beibei army is in a different city, long-distance transfer, and the salary is a qiē, and it is often worried, and it is very anxious. I hope that my Xiantai will be sympathetic to the lower feelings, and I will be grateful to Hongci immeasurably. ”

Wang Debang's letter finally arrived in Zuo Zongtang's hands a month after it was written, but Lao Zuo was helpless! This backward logistics is so bad that Cheng Dù is incomparably bad, but he Zuo Zongtang is not a god, and he blows a way out in the mountains and dense forests?

However, it can also be seen that the strategy that Zhang Zhidong gave to the court at the beginning was unreliable, and it is estimated that in the minds of the generals of North Vietnam, it has reached the level of Cheng dù of his father's eighteenth generation ancestor.

"Lord Liu, it is obviously unrealistic to rely on North Vietnam to contain the French forces." Fu Qing saw Liu Mingchuan again three days later, and in order to increase his confidence in Lao Liu, he continued: "In the last Keelung incident, although the French bit back and beat us back, saying that we were provoking first, they quietly reduced the amount of compensation from 250 million francs to 80 million francs. It seems that they are not as confident as they say. ”

Liu Mingchuan nodded, but did not speak. The question in front of him now is whether to believe what Fu Qing said in front of him, and whether he should believe that there is really such a so-called big merchant reinforcement fleet. But thinking about it, it seems that according to what Fu Qing said, it is not unreasonable.

The huge losses in the Keelung artillery battle have made Liu Mingchuan clearly realize the huge gap in strength between China and France, which is no longer a fact that can be changed simply by relying on the right people at the right time. If you fight hard with the French army, it is tantamount to hitting a stone with an egg, so after attracting the French army to land according to the great merchant and getting it out of the support range of superior naval artillery fire, and then setting up an ambush in guò, a guerrilla tactic that the French have not yet dealt with, will be taken by surprise!

But the problem also arises, the French have the advantage of maneuvering at sea and can choose the place where they land at will. However, Liu Mingchuan's own troops on hand are really limited, and there is no railway for the troops to do internal maneuvering.

From the first moment he set foot on the land of Taiwan, Liu Mingchuan began to think about a problem: since Keelung and Tamsui (at that time it was still called Huwei) were guarded at both ends, they would inevitably be lost at both ends. Then concentrate the limited forces on the point where life is at stake, and give up the other point that is relatively secondary, so as not to lose sight of the beginning. Then compared with Tamsui City and Keelung City, the former has a unique advantage relatively speaking, especially for the defensive side. Tamsui's terrain is more favorable to defenders than attackers to Keelung! It is like a pair of huge crab claws, enclosing a body of water, forming a good harbor. There is Datun Mountain in the north of the mouth, and there is Guanyin Mountain in the south of the mouth. Its terrain is low in the west and high in the east, which is conducive to the observation and firepower of the defenders.

The firepower of the Tamsui Fort was far superior to that of the Keelung Fort, the old fort was equipped with five Krupp fortress guns, and the new fort was equipped with three Armstrong 8-inch fort guns that Li Hongzhang promised to support Liu Mingchuan who had not long purchased from the British. In addition, in order to strengthen the defense of the port, the Tamsui defenders stuffed bamboo rafts in the narrow part of the port. There are bamboo nets outside the net, and more than 10 mines are buried outside the net. In order to protect the mines, the defenders sank boats laden with stones in the sandbars of the river, forming a dike, which in turn was filled with mines. As a result, the French Far East Fleet could not come and go as freely as it did in the Keelung Sea.

And more importantly: Tamsui is still an open treaty port, with commercial interests from all over the world, and Tamsui, whose population is seven times that of Keelung City, is also a place where foreigners live. Especially the super powerful British at sea, the French can't afford to provoke, which invisibly increases the difficulty of the French army's action in Tamsui!

"In order to help the adults defend Taiwan, we Dashang decided to donate a batch of guns and ammunition to the adults." Yan Feng said with a smile at this time.

"Oh?" This is in line with Liu Mingchuan's mind, he lacks everything at hand, and the most lacking is guns and ammunition. "Thank you so much!"

Of course, Dashang would not donate his standard rifles, and all the guns and ammunition that were given to Lao Liu were seized by the insurance team from all over the country. Although the brands are very mixed, they can't take care of so much now.

With this gift, Liu Mingchuan was obviously a lot happier, and his originally sunken face finally had a smile, and then he said: "Two, I don't know if you think the French will attack Keelung or Tamsui?" ”

"I think it's going to be attacked!" Fu Qing thought about it and gave his thoughts. Yan Feng is not a soldier, just a liaison, so he did not express his opinion.

Fu Qing's judgment is consistent with Liu Mingchuan's own opinion.

"Do you think I'm guarding Keelung or keeping freshwater?"

"Although Keelung is mountainous and densely forested, it relies on the ability of the soldiers under the adult. Even if you have the advantage of geographical advantage, it is difficult to achieve many results. "What Fu Qing said is that during the last Keelung artillery battle, the French Lisby led the marines to attack Keelung, even if they were ambushed by Liu Mingchuan with a strategy, they were still able to retreat calmly." So in comparison, Tamsui is still easier to defend. If you choose a landing site between the two, Keelung seems to be a better choice because it is easy to attack, after all, the battery over there has been completely destroyed. Therefore, the next view is that although the French army will send troops to attack Tamsui, the focus will probably be on Keelung's side. ”

Fu Qing's analysis is in line with Liu Mingchuan's thoughts. Of course, it also coincided with the thoughts of the commander-in-chief of the French expeditionary fleet. However, compared with Guba, Liu Mingchuan seems to have a new trouble...... Zuo Zongtang was sent to Fujian, and they can be regarded as long-cherished grudges.

The reason why Zuo Zongtang came back to Fujian is, of course, to be loyal to the country, but more importantly, his brother is now a lot older. Since entering the military plane, I have nothing to say how I am in the northwest. Of course, this is a common problem of the elderly, who cannot see the future, but can only talk about the past. But the gang of military aircraft, such as Sun Yuwen and Xu Yongyi, who has nothing to do and likes to listen to your old man nagging there, so ...... I can't mess with you, I don't see you. So Zuo Zongtang, who was seriously ill, came to Fujian and became Liu Mingchuan's nominal boss.

On October 1, 1884, Wang Yi was in the office, and Chu Yuan walked in at this time, looking anxious and said: "Captain, the French army has launched an attack on Keelung!" ”

Wang Yi stood up from his seat, thought for a while, and then said, "Does Yan Fu know the news over there?" ”

"Already know! Commander Yan and his fleet were on their way to Taiwan, but the airship carrier slowed down the entire fleet, so it was later than expected. ”

Wang Yi sat down again at this time and said to Chu Yuan: "I know, I have something to inform me." After saying that, he didn't raise his head and continued to work, as if he didn't pay attention to the whole battle at all.

The commander of the French expeditionary fleet, Gu Ba, led the fleet and marines to launch a fierce attack on Keelung, and after a fierce battle, the French army successfully landed on the hill and captured the heights of Xiandong Mountain, and then dragged the cannon to the top of the mountain, ready to provide artillery support for the infantry who continued to advance. And the next thing was not so smooth, the Keelung defenders resisted stubbornly, and the French marines were limited in number, and there was no strength to advance again for the time being. Gu Ba ordered the attack to be stopped, preparing to further gather troops, preparing to storm Keelung City and Lion Ball Ridge again, in his opinion, Keelung could no longer withstand his next blow.

Also on this day, three cruisers and four hundred marines led by Lisby also reached Tamsui, but did not immediately attack. He showed graceful chivalry and sent a note to foreigners in Tamsui without any scruples.

"We will attack Tamsui in twenty-four hours, and the aliens will be evacuated immediately."

Lisby obviously didn't take the Taiwanese defenders seriously, and thought in his heart that when the time came, he would blow up the Tamsui Fort, and all of them would be alive.

Tamsui garrison Li Tongen thought about it, go to your grandma's! The first strike is strong, and the second strike suffers. At six o'clock in the morning of October 2, taking advantage of the special opportunity when the French fleet was facing the sun and the gunners could not open their eyes, he ordered the battery to launch an artillery bombardment on the French troops.

The French gunboats didn't understand what was going on, and the mast was discounted, and a large hole was blown out of the hull afterwards. And the Lisby fleet, which reacted, began to counterattack, but the shelling was clearly inaccurate, and a bunch of shells all fell in inconsequential places. Only then did he understand that the Chinese were very cunning, and he had nothing to pretend to be a big-tailed wolf, and yesterday he honestly fired the cannon and it was over. After a day of tossing and turning, Lisby finally realized that there was no way to get fresh water by himself. In desperation, he had no choice but to ask for more troops.

Liu Mingchuan was fighting against Guba's attack in Keelung at this time, and at this time, a herald came: "Report to Liu Shuai, Tamsui garrison Li Tongen sent a letter asking for help, I hope you will lead the army to help quickly!" ”

Liu Mingchuan, who was worried that he had no excuse to withdraw from Keelung, nodded when he heard it.

At the same time, another herald ran in and said, "Marshal, Fu Qing, the captain of the Northeast Autonomous Region Marine Corps, led people to Shiqiu Ridge to block the French army over there. ”

Liu Mingchuan knew in his heart that this was a matter agreed upon by the two families in advance, so he said loudly: "At present, the freshwater-shaped shì is critical, and if the code is broken, the Taipei-shaped shì is critical." Pass my general order and summon Cao Zhizhong and Zhang Gaoyuan to immediately lead troops with me to support Tamsui overnight, there must be no mistake! ”

In the early morning of October 3, 1884, Liu Mingchuan led his troops to Tamsui, and Keelung was left with only Fu Qing to lead his troops to fight against the French at Lion Ball Ridge.

Gu Ba entered Keelung City and said happily: "Soldiers, victory is just around the corner!" "He kept boosting the morale of his men.

However, at this time, his subordinates came and said: "Commander, the Keelung coal mine was blown up, and I later asked the local people to learn that it was originally done by Liu Mingchuan and others." ”

After listening to this, Guba was troubled, it was like eating a fly.

"What about the coal?"

"It's all burned out!"

Gu Ba was so angry that he slapped the table, and at this time, the adjutant received a report from the frontline battle: "Commander, our forward army has been attacked by unknown in the Shiqiu Ridge area, and it is currently suffering heavy losses, please ask for support!" ”

Fu Qingzheng led the battle with the French army, and he did not have many men, about 300 people. In addition to the two 75mm mountain guns, there are only six Bao-1 mortars, which can be regarded as long-range firepower. There are quite a few Bao 1 general-purpose machine guns, ten of which are in heavy machine gun mode, and the remaining dozen are in light machine gun mode. The regular team members are all Bao 1 card guns, and the snipers are all Bao 1 sniper rifles.

As soon as the battle was sudden, the French suffered heavy losses, which should be said to be very heavy. The team of more than 500 people only clashed, that is, they lay down and went to a third, and such ferocious fire did not scare the French to death.

"You all take it easy, don't scare the French away!" On the battlefield, Fu Qing conveyed the order loudly. When the migrant worker in charge of helping to transport the ammunition heard this, he said, well, this is still not using all his strength.

When Liu Mingchuan arrived at Tamsui, he found that Guba had not sent troops to attack Tamsui, and with Dashang Radio following him, he already knew the news at this time. Guba is now leading people towards Lion Ball Ridge, and the two sides are fighting fiercely. Seeing this situation, Lao Liu immediately changed his decision and let the elite of the two battalions of the Huai Army of Zhang Gaoyuan's department stay in Tamsui, while the six battalions of the Hunan Army in Cao Zhizhong returned to the front line of Keelung and deployed defenses on the front line of Shuihuijiao. The reinforcements that Zeng Guoquan newly sent from the mainland, Liu Chaohu's two battalions of Huai Army stayed in Tamsui, plus the three battalions of Sun Kaihua's original defense force in Tamsui and the first battalion of Tuyong recruited by Zhang Licheng of "Liyuan Zhang Ahuo", a total of nearly 4,000 people in eight battalions. This made Liu Mingchuan have a team worthy of fighting with Lisby for the first time in Tamsui!

After the news of Liu Mingchuan's abandonment of Keelung was transmitted back to Taipei, the entire Taipei Prefecture fell into a crowd of excitement, and Liu Mingchuan immediately became the target of public criticism, similar to Yuan Chonghuan back then.

Thinking about it, you Liu Ming passed on an Anhui gangster, ran to Taiwan's treasure island, lost the city, and bombed the coal mine, in case the war is unfavorable, your grandmother's can run to the mainland with oil on the soles of your feet. What should we do with WW? Even if you don't want to escape back to the mainland, and you blow up a coal mine, one of Taiwan's lifelines, what will happen to our large group of unemployed people?

If it is excusable for the masses of the people to make a fuss, then some people's motives are very unscrupulous.

The first place to pop up is the old Qing Ji Company - a cronie of Wang Yixuan of Qingjun, Taiwan's alternate Dao Zhu Shoumo! Because he was punished by Liu Mingchuan, he has always held a grudge, so after conspiring with Liu Xuan, a military commander in Taiwan, he wrote a report to frame Liu Mingchuan for embezzling public funds. Liu Xuan is because he is competing with Liu Mingchuan for Taiwan's military power, and Liu Mingchuan looks down on him, so he is also black-hearted. Immediately afterwards, Liu Xuan himself followed closely and went on the excerpt of impeaching Liu Mingchuan. In the end, Zuo Zongtang, who was sitting in Xiamen, also made an impeachment break to the imperial court, and in the name of Liu Mingchuan's boss, he demanded that Liu Shengsan, who had lost the city and lost his land, be reinstated. Asking him to be exiled for 3,000 miles and sent to the northwest to open up wasteland, this is also a personal vendetta!

After knowing that there was chaos in the rear, Liu Mingchuan immediately came forward to appease the masses in person, asking everyone to believe him, there will be bread, there will be coal mines, and there will be land on the railway! As for Zhu Shoumo and Liu Xuan, Liu Xingsan turned a blind eye and listened to it, how do you like to make trouble, anyway, there are people above me.

Just after Zhu and Liu sent out the official document, Yan Fu, who had been tossing all the way, finally came to the sea off Taiwan, and it was already two o'clock in the afternoon of October 3.

"Report to the commander, Tianyan 1 has sent back news that the French fleet has been spotted off the coast of Keelung."

Of the four airships on the two aircraft carrier platforms, two of them had taken off at this time, and the other two were ready. This thing has a limited amount of power to stay in the air, probably just over three hours. There are three members, one is a driver, one observer, and one communicator. The length reached forty-five meters long, which looked only slightly smaller than the frigate. Therefore, when landing, it is very troublesome, and once the weather is bad, it is impossible to even take off. So although Shang Yi also asked to equip this airship aircraft carrier, he was scolded back by Wang Yi. You don't go to the ocean, you can have air force support in the nearby waters, why do you build such a bulky and low-practical thing? Shang Yi was not happy with the boss for this, and Wang Yi didn't bother to pay attention to him.

A French sailor was the first to spot the airship in the sky and immediately shouted. He had participated in the last expedition to Yingkou, but he had only made nightmarish memories in Nagasaki, so now he saw an airship flying in the sky. The only feeling is that the demons are here again.

"Alert, airship. Alert, the airship of the big merchants! ”

Yan Fu has a total of Taiping all-steel ships under his command. Three 10,000-ton cruisers, namely Tianshu, Tianxuan, and Tianji. Five thousand-ton frigates, armed with three twin 120mm rapid-fire guns, plus a bunch of anti-aircraft machine guns, were named after the toponyms of the Northeast region. This is the Great Merchant's own ship, which is used to protect the shipping route against torpedo boats. In addition to this, there are four torpedo boats, two airship carriers, as well as three transport supply ships with a thousand marines on board.

Guba was leading his troops to attack Lion Ball Ridge, and the French had attacked more than ten times in succession, and more than 400 people were put down. Lion Ball Ridge seems to have become a chasm, victory is just around the corner, but there is no strength in the heart.

Fu Qing himself was not comfortable, the French artillery fire was fierce, and his two mountain guns had become a pile of scrap iron, six mortars, and three were still encouraged. The losses of their own personnel were even heavier, and more than 100 people were wounded and left the battlefield. Now even migrant workers have joined in and fired guns along with them, but this is much less efficient. The reason why there are so many casualties is mainly related to the lack of time to calmly arrange positions, otherwise the current situation will definitely not occur.

Just when both the French and the insurance team were a little helpless, the sea off Keelung suddenly heard the rumbling sound of cannons!

At this time, Guba is a surprise! A chill stretched from the soles of the feet to the top of the brain.

"Let's go see what's going on?"

The adjutant left immediately, but not long. The officer who stayed in Keelung City ran over and said, "Report to the commander, it's not good!" Our side was suddenly attacked by the expeditionary fleet of the Northeast Autonomous Region of the Great Qing Dynasty......"

"What's going on now?" As soon as these words came out, Gu Bai's heart was half cold. Even if you are here, what can you do with your fleet, most of them are in the harbor!

"All our ships in the open sea were sunk...... The other side called the flag and demanded that we all surrender! ”

While a few people were talking, a mortar shell suddenly fell. Although Lone Ba was knocked down by the soldiers next to him, he was still seriously injured.

Seeing this, the French soldiers, who had been flaunting their might a day earlier, understood that everything was over.

The naval battle near Keelung ended quickly, as the French were completely defenseless, and the Great Shang had a suppressive advantage in firepower. Thus, within forty minutes, the entire French makeshift defense began to completely collapse.

And when the marines of the Great Shang landed, the French once again gave up their glory after Sedan, and the vast majority of them chose to surrender.

Liu Mingchuan had just finished inspecting the defense of Tamsui, and the signal soldier sent by the big merchant said at this time: "Liu Shuai, telegraph!" ”

"Read!"

"Our fleet has successfully eliminated the Keelung French fleet, and is currently moving to Tamsui, and I hope Liu Shuai will insist."

When Liu Ming heard it, he couldn't believe it at first, but then he was overjoyed! However, for the sake of safety, he still sent a scout horse to Keelung. After tossing for a long time, the probe returned that the commander-in-chief of the French fleet, Lone Ba, had become a prisoner, and the French battleship was either sunk or captured.

Not long after, the defenders of the Tamsui Fort also came to report, saying: "Commander! The French fleet off the coast is engaged in a fierce artillery battle with an unidentified fleet! ”

"Oh, lead the way!" Liu Mingchuan is now completely relieved, with a mentality of forcing the widow to jump into the well, to see the final fate of the French.

It's a little harder to deal with than a completely defenseless fleet, but it's only a little bit. In Lisby's fleet, there is not a single guy with more than five thousand tons. This is not France's home Atlantic Fleet, nor is it the Mediterranean Fleet stationed in Toulon. This is only a small part of the French Far East Fleet, and it is okay to bully the shipyard fleet that bullied the Qing Dynasty, and it is also sloppy to fight the North and South Oceans, which are unwilling to take the initiative to attack. But in front of Yan Fu, in front of Dashang, he is just a flea.

After the first round of test firing and ranging, the Taiping and the cruisers began their own salvos, and the two Sky Eyes kept reciprocating with various counts, and the torpedo boats launched a final attack. The four French cruisers, plus a gunboat, were now sunken, and the great merchants had no interest in taking prisoners. As for the French crew who fell into the water, the insurance team members did not see it. Some of the soldiers of the Nanyang Naval Division began to attack the French sailors who had fallen into the water with guns, but were later stopped by the officers of the insurance team. The reason is simple, the lives of the French are not worth a bullet money.

Later, after the British warships in the port of Tamsui sailed, they politely asked the opinion of the large merchant fleet before helping to take prisoners.

For this naval battle, which was not a fierce battle, the strength of the large merchant fleet seemed to stimulate the British not small, and the attack system coordinated by the large merchant air ships shocked the British. And the 13,000-ton Taiping is like a huge giant in the open sea of freshwater. However, compared to the airship aircraft carrier, it is still a little smaller.

Joseph, a British naval officer, said in a telegram to his homeland: They were like elephants on the African savannah, easily crushing the French plague chickens in front of them with thunderous momentum. Their technology is very advanced. Although I don't know the technology they use, their airships seem to be able to help the fleet correct their shooting, which I heard from a large merchant officer inadvertently......

The Sino-French Battle of Taiwan ended with the annihilation of the French fleet, and the whole process was simple and crude, but it was full of technology that shocked the world. When Li Hongzhang and Zeng Guoquan got the news, they were speechless because of shock, while the French negotiator Badeno felt that the end of the world had come.

That's right, after the Battle of Nagasaki, although there was no direct conflict between the Great Shang and France, the two sides never declared an armistice, so the war continued......