The Forbidden City, the Palace of Nourishing the Heart.

The atmosphere in the Dongnuan Pavilion was solemn and depressing, and the empress dowager of the two palaces of the Great Qing Kingdom sat and wiped her tears, and her face was expressionless. The six-year-old Guangxu Emperor's puppet was placed on the throne, but the princes and important ministers of the entire Dongnuan Pavilion did not look at the throne, even Emperor Guangxu's own father, Prince Alcohol.

Today, the two palaces are all their own people, and they did not summon Hanchen, and those present are either banner people or Mongolian princes, who are closely linked to the fate of this dynasty and share weal and woe.

The fall of the Qing Dynasty means that they will lose all their privileges, so they are loyal to the Qing Dynasty.

The foreigners put forward these conditions, and the ambition of the wolf is extremely hateful. But unlike the thief in the south, the foreigners can't take away the rivers and mountains of our Great Qing Dynasty, but the Liu thief can bury the entire Eight Banners. ‘

Empress Dowager Cixi's gaze swept over all the ministers, and there was no figure of Wen Xiang below, which made her heart even more sad. At the time of national crisis, the humerus minister was bedridden, which made people feel a sense of turmoil in their hearts.

'Sixth Master. You are in charge of the Prime Minister's Yamen, and you have also seen them in Weituma, what do you want to say? ‘

Seriously, Cixi hadn't slept well for a month, and she couldn't sleep day and night when she beat Liu Xian and started the army. In the face of the urgent reports and defeats of Liangguang one after another, the bubble on her mouth never went down. But she's in a hurry, isn't she? This depends on the part-time work of the troops one battle at a time.

That is, in the past two days, the envoys of Britain, France, Russia, and European powers in Beijing have successively approached the Prime Minister's Yamen, expressed their support for the Qing Dynasty, and expressed their domestic attitude. Cixi slept peacefully!

All three countries are willing to provide large-scale aid to China. It was real money, arms and ammunition that could be seen and touched. He is an experienced officer with real skills.

Cixi, what else is there to worry about!

Although the foreigner's offer was ruthless, it didn't go around the corner. directly expressed the support of the Qing Dynasty, especially France and Russia, which was too much lower than the Qing Dynasty to plead for a number.

And France and Russia are also trustworthy. Have these two countries been beaten by Liu Xian? Now it's okay, Liu Xian has to pay off the debt for the 'peerless style' of the year. When Cixi thought of this, she felt happy. Liu Xian is a traitor. This is real 'death'!

But the foreigner's mention also made Cixi very painful. She can make up her mind, but she is afraid of bearing the infamy. The Prime Minister's Yamen is under the management of Prince Gong, Yi? belongs to her potential target, this black pot Cixi wants to be very much? I carried it!

"Back to the Queen Mother, my brother thinks it's better to postpone it. As long as the Huai army and the Chu army can thwart the momentum and advance of Liu Thief. If the war situation can be temporarily stalemate, the Prime Minister Yamen will bargain with the foreigners! ”

Britain wants Kowloon and Weihai.

The Russian lion opened his mouth and asked for the entire Ili Valley.

The French also have a good appetite and not only Vietnamese. He wanted Guangzhou Bay, and he wanted the imperial court to completely open the southwestern provinces to trade and preach to him.

Abundant? As soon as I thought of the agreement thrown out by these three countries in the Prime Minister's Yamen, I gritted my teeth very much!

There are not a few important ministers and princes in the main hall who have the same thoughts as Prince Gong. These people are also superstitious about the family wealth accumulated by the Qing Dynasty's efforts to run foreign affairs for more than ten years. has great trust in Zuo Zongtang, Li Hongzhang, and even some giants of the Hunan Army. thinks that his own strength alone may not be able to quell Liu Xian's rebellion!

Now one defeat after another, it was just caught off guard by Liu Xian's army. As long as you stabilize your position, gather the strength of the whole country, and fight with it. It is not impossible to win.

The anxious people in the court who can't sleep day and night are not the only one in the Empress Dowager Xi.

Cixi was blocked by Prince Gong again. There was silence in the Dongnuan Pavilion, and there was silence outside the Heart Cultivation Palace, and the eunuchs and palace maids walked cautiously. Speaking softly and slowly, for fear that a Queen Mother of the West who would accidentally annoy her inside, she would have to follow His Majesty the Emperor Daxing.

A moment later, a small military plane walked outside the Dongnuan Pavilion and shouted in a low voice: "Report to the Queen Mother." Just now, the British Minister Wittema sent a message saying that it was from Hong Kong. Three days ago, the first part of the official army in the southwest of the Qing Dynasty and the rebels were caught fire in Zhen'an, and the battle was fierce. ”

The quiet atmosphere in the East Warm Pavilion was immediately broken. It's like a spark falling into the oil pot. The flames are burning. Even Cixi herself felt dry in an instant.

Zhen'an, the official army in the southwest, isn't that Zhang Shusheng, Liu Shiqi, and Zhou Shengbo's Huai army.

To win or not to win?

A layer of sweat instantly appeared on Prince Alcohol's forehead.

"The Queen Mother, among her ministers and brothers, will first talk to Britain, France and Russia, and if you can suppress a little bit, it is a little bit. Especially for the Russians, the Ili Valley could not be given to him, and he could be exchanged for something else.

We talked to them while waiting for the battle report from the southwest. If you win, it's easy to say. If you lose again, Sixth Brother, I don't think you will be stiff anymore. No matter how ruthless this foreigner is, he won't be able to conquer my Qing Dynasty, and Liu Xian's thieves are going to dig up our roots! ”

Prince Alcohol's 'heartfelt words' with cement drew a temporary end to the dispute between the Empress Dowager of the West and Prince Gong. As soon as Qiē is waiting for the Southwest War Report to come!

……

The confrontation between the two armies of Qin and Huai in Zhen'an Mansion relied on the Youjiang River. The Qin army marched west along the Nanjiang River, took Long'an and Guohua lightly, and met with Liu Shiqi's troops of the Huai army in Shanglin.

In Dujie, Jie'an, Jielun and other places south of the Youjiang River, the two armies did not look at it. Don't think that the 100,000 mountains in Guangxi are joking, those places really look at the mountains and run dead horses, no matter how many people are sprinkled into it, they will immediately become independent teams. With today's communication conditions, it is simply impossible to immediately and quickly contact and assemble troops.

Therefore, whether it was the Qin army or the Huai army on the opposite side, they didn't look at those places at all. The eyes are only fixed on the transportation lifeline of the right river.

The ammunition, food, and military supplies of the two armies all depended on the communication between the two armies.

Shanglin County is located on the right bank of the right river, the city wall is less than zhang high, the side length is less than a mile, placed in the north of the Jiangnan River, this can only be regarded as a big town.

The speed of the Qin army was a little faster, because the Zhou army had a cavalry regiment led by Xing Chang in the palm of his hand. Therefore, the Qin army took the lead in occupying the county seat of Shanglin. Liu Shiqi, who came one step late, did not suffer any losses. The county seat of Shanglin is the widest place in the valley of the right river in this section, and it has not collapsed to the left of the river, which is difficult to attack and easy to attack. If you really arrange defense or attack, the villages along the river in front and behind are more suitable.

Liu Shiqi's camp stopped at Lagutan, fifteen miles from the county seat of Shanglin, while his troops in front advanced to Naxiao, which was only two miles away from the county seat.

Liu Shiqi is a veteran general of the Huai Army, and his Qizi battalion may not be the head of the largest battalion in the Huai Army, but it is definitely one of the most elite troops in the Huai Army. Like Liu Mingchuan, the Qizi Battalion is the first batch of modern chemical weapons in the Huai Army, the first battalion leader in the Huai Army to form an artillery team, and one of the most daring troops to fight tough battles.

Because Liu Shiqi is from Phoenix, Hunan, his hometown soldiers are the most capable town in Hunan since the Ming and Qing dynasties! Although the popularization of guns in modern times has made the town pole lose its former prestige, the soldiers can endure hardships and are not afraid of death, and in China at this time, it is a first-class elite.

"Boom, boom, boom......"

The artillery of the odd word battalion again poured shells across the river. On the battlefield, the cunning and experienced artillery officers of the Qizi Battalion learned from the experience of the first battle and adopted the tactics of changing positions after one round of artillery bombardment, so as to avoid being estimated by their counterparts in the Qin army to release their positions and incur retaliatory strikes. Therefore, this burst of artillery bombardment is only a temporary urgency to relieve the position of the Huai army on the other side of the river, and it is not a permanent solution to the trouble!

The binoculars in Liu Shiqun's palms were sweating. The pride and pride that had been in his heart for a long time seemed to have been lost with the sweat that kept oozing from his forehead and body.

The Qin army is very capable of fighting, and it can really fight. It is not just that the artillery is sufficient and the artillery is excellent to bully people.

With the threat of artillery bombardment temporarily eliminated, the Qin offensive resumed again. Standing on the other side of the river, Liu Shiqi could clearly see the fire after the bullets fired from the muzzles of the Qin army attacking the Huai army's position, and that little bit of light was gradually pulling into an arc-shaped battle line, and the highest end of the arc was not far from the front line of the Huai army's position.

A few rocks confronted each other, and then consolidated with logs and earth sand, and a good firepower point was erected opposite the Qin army. As long as it is not directly hit by artillery, this point of fire is not at all threatened by bullets, grenades, or even mortar shells. And the flames of the muzzles of the Huai soldiers hiding inside directly suppressed the Qin army's offensive sharp edge in such a recess.

As the sharp knife squad of the squadron, if the attack is ineffective this time, it will affect the morale of the comrades behind him. Moreover, the strategy formulated at the beginning of the attack was that they plunged into the heart of the enemy like a 'sharp knife'!

Now that he is suppressed here, the progress of the left and right flanks can be imagined. The soldiers of the sharp knife squad turned their heads and looked back, and they could see their comrades who had to pout their butts and lie on the ground to fight back.

The squad leader's surname was Peng, and he wanted to transfer his position several times, but he was immediately stopped and shot by the Huai soldiers in the bunker, and he had to dispel his thoughts.

He had already used tactical sign language to provide mortar support to the rear, and two mortar shells had definitely hit the pillbox, but to no avail. The gunfire paused for only a few minutes before it went on again.

"Squad leader, apply for fire support again, you guys cover with grenades, I'll blow it up!"

There was no time to delay on the battlefield, and taking advantage of the space for the transfer of enemy artillery units, the captain of the brigade gave a death order that an enemy line of defense must be taken. For their sharp knife squad, that is to take the fortress in front.

Without hesitation, the squad leader gestured backwards to ask for fire support. It didn't take two minutes for the mortar shells to fall with a clatter. The fighters of the sharp knife squad also took the opportunity to throw out a few grenades, and the smoke and loess raised by the explosion completely obscured the sight of the enemy soldiers in the fortress.

A fighter rushed out with a bag of explosives.

Lying down, jumping, bending, rolling, prostrate, bullets hit the soldiers from time to time, but luckily they didn't hit. This Qin soldier's tactical dodging moves are excellent!

The distance between us and the enemy was less than 70 meters, and it was approaching evening, so the trajectory of the bullets could be clearly seen. Bullet after bullet attempt to kill the soldier failed. And taking advantage of this opportunity, the soldiers of the entire sharp knife squad jumped out of the pothole. (To be continued) R655