After taking the French fleet, according to Liu Mingchuan's meaning, he simply blocked the news directly, and then Yan Fu's fleet went south to attack the French military port in Vietnam. However, he was rejected by Yan Fu, because it was simply impossible. Taiwan's Tamsui is a treaty port, and Yan Fu doesn't think that Liu Mingchuan has the ability to make foreign merchant ships and warships stay honestly in the Tamsui port and not come out, and once they come out, the surprise attack will turn into a strong attack. So the idea is tempting, just on paper.

In fact, Yan Fu also understands that Liu Mingchuan may not have the intention of taking the opportunity to send Buddha. However, as the saying goes, it is easy to invite God, but it is difficult to send God, Liu Mingchuan also saw that Yan Fu did not want to leave at all, and Lai was not leaving Keelung.

In this regard, Liu Mingchuan felt that his brain hurt, these guys are obviously more vigorous than the French, and they look reasonable on weekdays, but in fact, they only focus on interests. The only thing to be thankful for is that these bastards in the Northeast did not forcibly occupy the whole of Taiwan, but Liu Mingchuan soon retracted his optimistic idea. People built a Xiyue Villa before they came, and who knows if there are similar institutions in other parts of Taiwan.

"What's the matter with love!"

Yan Fu had already received a telegram from Wang Yi at this time, since most of Yan Fu's hands were ships of the Nanyang Fleet, then he really lived in Nanyang.

Nanyang Fleet, what's the matter with your garrison in Shanghai and Nanjing?

The Prime Minister's National Affairs Yamen, Yixun, Yixuan, and Shiduo are rare to come together today. The three of them were gossiping, and a disciple reported that Tang Shaoyi, director of the Beijing Office of the Northeast Autonomous Region, asked to see him.

When the three of them heard it, they all had one word in their hearts, annoying! They don't bother Tang Shaoyi, this person is good at dancing with long sleeves, and he is kind to people on weekdays. What they annoyed was the Northeast, it was Wang Yi.

"I don't know this Tang Shaochuan, what's the matter here?" Yi Xun said casually.

Tang Shaoyi had already walked in, with a smile on his face, and smiled at the three princes: "Great joy, great joy!" ”

The three princes saw that Tang Shaoyi was almost as neurotic, but fortunately, Yi Xun could still endure it, and said, "Shaochuan, sit!" In front of Tang Shaochuan, he didn't dare to take the prince's shelf, with a smile on his face.

"The three princes are overjoyed!"

"I don't know what to do?"

"The French expeditionary fleet has been completely wiped out by the fleet that we assisted the Nanyang Naval Division, and Taiwan has been pacified."

The teacup in his hand almost fell to the ground, and he exclaimed, "Is this true? ”

Tang Shaoyi smiled, and after helping Shi Duo stabilize his figure, he said, "It's true." ”

Although Yi Xun was surprised, he still had some calculations in his heart, and his originally lowered eyes suddenly looked at Tang Shaoyi, and said, "Shaochuan is here, I'm afraid it's not just for the good news." ”

After hearing this, Tang Shaochuan shook his shirt and sat down, and smiled at the three princes: "Of course, the good news is only one of them, and there are two other things that need to be agreed by the imperial court." ”

"What?"

"First, our Northeast Autonomous Region has always been in a state of hostility with France, so now we will also participate in the negotiations between Qing and France in Shanghai! Second, in order to prevent the French from attacking again, we need the imperial court to allow us to build three military ports in Taiwan and Qiongzhou, two in Taiwan, Keelung and Kaohsiung. One in Qiongzhou, in Sanya. ”

Only Keelung, these three princes have heard of it, and the remaining two places don't know where they are.

After Tang Shaoyi made a request, he said something to the three princes, and then said goodbye and left.

Later, the three of them entered the palace to meet Cixi and Guangxu and report the good news. Although this battle has little to do with the Qing Dynasty, it has finally solved the current dilemma. After hearing this, Cixi agreed to Tang Shaoyi's request without thinking about it, which is mainly due to the fact that Keelung, Kaohsiung, and Sanya are too far away from the capital, and Lafayette doesn't care at all. Besides, she thinks that it is not a good thing that there is such a watchdog in the southern sea. As for the Northeast Autonomous Region's participation in the Qing and legal negotiations, there is nothing wrong with it. There are more bandits in the Northeast, and they are also a restrain to the French, no matter what, the court can pay one or two less silver, one or two!

In Shanghai, Badeno sat in a conference room, waiting for Zeng Guoquan and Li Hongzhang to arrive. Now that he has known the news, the arrogance that was originally very arrogant under the support of his own fleet has finally returned to normal. What he was really worried about at this time was what kind of reaction would be when the news of the destruction of the expeditionary fleet came back to China. If it's good, Prime Minister Jouferi will step down for this.

As soon as the door opened, Li Hongzhang, Zeng Guoquan and a stranger walked in side by side, and the three of them talked and laughed happily, and there was no more tense atmosphere in the past.

"So Mr. Badno arrived early." Li Hongzhang greeted Badeno with a smile, and then said: "I forgot to introduce to Mr. This is the new representative to the negotiations, my Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Northeast Autonomous Region of the Qing Dynasty, Zhao Liewen, Mr. Zhao." ”

In addition to the French negotiator Bardeno, there were also a number of envoys from various countries who were in charge of attending. None of them had seen Zhao Liewen, but they knew that there was such a person in the Northeast.

In the past two years, the Northeast has focused more on internal affairs, so Zhao Liewen no longer wants to meet the outside world like before. Most of my daily work is spent learning about diplomacy on my own or interacting with foreigners in Tohoku. Now he is busy preparing for the establishment of the Foreign Affairs Academy, but because of this sudden war, he was sent by Premier Yang Qiuxing to be in charge of negotiations.

Speaking of Zhao Liewen and Daqing, the two negotiators, Li Hongzhang is a student of Zeng Guofan, so Zeng Guoquan does not need to mention it. And Zhao Liewen was Zeng Guofan's chief staff back then, so the three knew each other well. Before the negotiation, they talked to each other, and everyone had a basic calculation in their hearts.

"How could someone from a big business join the negotiations?" Baderno suddenly stood up and protested.

"We are already in the war, why can't we join the negotiations?" Zhao Liewen said with a smile: "If you don't want to, I can leave, and then we will go to Annan to greet you in person, I'm afraid that there won't be many people left." ”

Baderno wanted to continue to be tough, but then he thought that the gang had many French officers and soldiers in their hands, including Guba, and he really wanted to provoke them. I heard that these people don't have the concept of prisoners of war, and they can do anything in a hurry. In case Gu Ba and the others die in the palm of the other party's hands because of this, and when it is transmitted back to China, most of this account will be counted on their own heads. Badeno thought about it, forget it, let's talk about it if you want to. Although the current inhabitants are not going to collapse, they are also in danger.

Fortunately, Vietnam still has a number of warships, including the Baya ironclad with a displacement of nearly 6,000 tons, the 3,500-ton Atarante ironclad, and the third-class cruiser of more than 1,000 tons of the same model as the Guba flagship Volda, the Amirin. Three cruisers of the second class, Destan, La Perlouse, Nielli and many others.

They traveled far out of the port to engage the Great Shang Nanyang Fleet, and there was no possibility of victory at all, but relying on the fort to do a good job of local defense should not be too much of a problem. This is also the main reason why Yan Fu did not attack the Vietnamese military port, of course, in addition to the turtle cowering in the military port, the French fleet in Annam has now completely lost its due role.

As for the Northeast to join the negotiations, Badeno did not dare to assert himself, saying that he agreed or disagreed. On the day of the negotiations, he only said that he would ask for instructions from China.

A telegram arrived in Paris, but by this time the city was already in a state of agitation, with people protesting in the streets and clashing with the military and police. Ru Feili was also anxious at this time, and came forward to apologize and promise revenge on the Qing Dynasty, which eased the people's feelings a little.

"Mr. Prime Minister, call from Shanghai."

Jouferi was in a meeting with his ministers when the secretary walked in and handed in a telegram. After he finished reading it, he passed it on to several ministers under him, and everyone finally looked at me, I looked at you, and no one could make up their minds.

"What do you think of getting Tohoku into the talks?"

Pei Long, the Minister of Naval Colonization, who was said to be in charge of this matter, thought about it, and finally said, "I agree." At least take a look at their requirements first. ”

Thinking about it, the two sharp losses that France suffered in the Far East were in the hands of the Northeast. Now look at their conditions, if they can, it's not unacceptable.

A few days later, however, when Badeno sent back the news, Jouferi nearly smashed his office.

The demands of the Great Merchants were simple, France withdrew from North Vietnam and Cambodia, and at the same time compensated the Qing Dynasty and Northeast China for a series of losses, totaling 250 million francs. In other words, the reparations that the French lions asked for at the beginning have now been all reversed.

This condition is tantamount to slapping the face, so France will never accept it, and Wang Yi didn't expect them to accept it at the beginning. What is the money, the account must be paid slowly......

Taiwan's great victory was publicized in the Qing Dynasty, and the credit of Liu Mingchuan and Nanyang Zeng Guoquan was achieved. Liu Mingchuan deserved his name, and he fought with the French on the front line. And Zeng Guoquan ...... After all, most of the fleet under Yan Fu is nominally a ship of the South Seas, and the name of the battle is also the flag of the South Seas, and many of them are indeed officers of the South Seas. So Wang Yi didn't mind selling one to Zeng Guoquan, but the fleet wanted to go back now, and the doors were gone at that time.

Zeng Guoquan was later knighted, Liu Mingchuan was awarded the title of governor of Fujian, and the rest of the meritorious ministers such as Li Tongen, Sun Kaihua, Zhang Licheng, Zhang Gaoyuan, etc., were also rewarded. As for Liu Chaohu - as an uncle Liu Mingchuan, he only remembered his merits and did not ask for rewards, preferring to suffer his own people and give credit to the rest of the generals, although it made his nephew a little unhappy, but it convinced the generals, especially Sun Kaihua, Cao Zhizhong and other Hunan army generals, and was even more loyal to Liu Mingchuan, and the cohesion of the Taipei defenders was virtually improved.

Of course, a few families are happy and a few are sad. There are those who are happy, and there are those who are unhappy. And among them, the most unhappy, or the most injured, is Zuo Zongtang. Originally, I was full of hope that I would take advantage of Keelung's loss to send Liu Ming to the northwest three thousand miles away to farm. However, due to Li Hongzhang's desperate activities, the imperial court did not punish Liu Mingchuan, but openly supported him, isn't this Chengxin against me Zuo Zongtang! Seeing that Liu Mingchuan has now turned over and become a governor, it seems that there is no way to avenge the revenge of the year in his lifetime, and the sad Zuo Zongtang can only helplessly wait for the arrival of the last moment of his life.

Because the Northeast Autonomous Region took action to eliminate the French threat in the coastal areas, this made Zhang Zhidong, the governor of Liangguang, completely excited, and walked to the court one after another, saying: "The way of war is to fight in one blow, then decline, and then exhaustion." Now that our army has won a great victory in naval warfare, the officers and men of the army must be deeply encouraged and vigorous. The imperial court should take advantage of this opportunity to launch an attack and completely solve the problem ...... the southwestern border."

Guangxu, Cixi, and the princes of the military plane, and the important ministers in the court seemed to have been beaten with morphine after getting this new strategy. Therefore, under this general trend, the imperial court once again sent an expedited 600 li to the commanders of the eastern and western fronts of North Vietnam, Pan Dingxin and Cen Yuying.

When the two of them got the new strategy, they almost rushed to Liangguang to stuff Zhang Zhidong's head into the night pot!

Nima, is there such a trick! It's not enough to pit once, you have to continue to pit, you deadly serial pit!

The victory of the navy has something to do with the army, can you let the bandits of the big merchants send troops to help us get back the control of the river, or can you let them send troops to land behind the enemy and cut off the logistics of the French, or do you have the ability to let them use artillery in the mountains and dense forests to blast out a road that can go along the way?

The navy's victory basically did not change anything for Pan Dingxin and Cen Yuying. In the river, it is still the French gunboats that are running, and the French are on land, how arrogant they should be, and how arrogant they should be.

Now that you are talking in the vernacular, standing and talking without backache, you want us to launch an all-out attack on the French, just kidding...... It's a pity that the fate is hard to disobey!

On September 8, 1884, Lieutenant General Miller, who advocated prudence in the French army and did not advocate expanding the fighting, was recalled for health reasons. The belligerent former commander of the 1st Brigade, Bourier, succeeded as commander of the French Expeditionary Force, and was clearly more like a pure soldier than his predecessor, Millet. Politics was definitely not as important in his mind as the honor of the French soldiers, and the old men in Paris, who were enraged by the "Guanyin Bridge Incident", were bent on washing away the shame of the defeat of the Guanyin Bridge, and must not encourage the arrogance of the Orientals. And Pourier himself was full of strength to defend the "glory of France" with victory.

But then the shape took a sharp turn, and the news of the demise of the lone fleet soon came, and the French were at a loss for a while. However, the slap in the face of the big businessmen at the negotiating table completely angered the Parisian top brass and the French people. Telegrams fell like snowflakes into the hands of Porrier, and what the navy lost had to be won back by the army. Although it sounds a little cowardly, but in the ears of the French army in Annam at this moment, it is more like a kind of sustenance from the motherland.

However, what the French didn't expect was that when they thought of the cowardly and bullying Daqing, this time they actually showed a rare, even some jaw-dropping courage! The Qing army on the eastern and western fronts began to implement the great strategy of Zhang Zhidong, the new governor of Liangguang.

At the beginning of October 1884, Cen Yuying's Yunnan army, which had been well prepared earlier, began to attack the south. By mid-October, Pan Dingxin's Gui army and Yue army also began to move south. The second phase of the land battle in Beiqi was thus begun. The only point of disharmony is that Cen Liuying once again resolutely "disobeyed orders and disrespected" and refused to serve as the joint commander-in-chief of the Eastern and Western Fronts. Obviously, he also knew in his heart that this was the role of a leading scapegoat.

Not to mention, the French seemed to be timid, began to shrink their forces, and abandoned many important towns one after another, including the Guansi of the Western Front and the bow of the Eastern Front, Langjia, land shore and other places.

The good news was transmitted back to the capital, and the whole country rejoiced!

Zhang Zhidong also trembled in Liangguang, who said that only the bandits of the Northeast Autonomous Region can defeat the French, and we can do the same in the Qing Dynasty! Even Zeng Guoquan and Li Hongzhang, who participated in the negotiations in Shanghai, seemed to have more spirit in front of Zhao Liewen. In the face of the compliments of ministers from various countries, although the two were calm on the surface, everyone could see that their hearts were full of joy. Zhao Liewen was indifferent, saying flattering words on the surface, but in fact he didn't pay attention to the victory of the Qing army in Beiqi at all. Even if the relationship between the two sides is good, Zhao Liewen expressed himself like this, but it still made Li Hongzhang and Zeng Guoquan a little unhappy.

It's just that the sneer in Zhao Liewen's eyes still makes people feel chilled.

In the Northeast Army Military Academy, in the intermediate command class, Wu Xiao is the lecturer in today's class. As is customary, he began to report on the fighting on the North Vietnamese side, and many people smiled after a series of so-called successes. After all, they are people of the same country, and most of them are students from Nanbeiyang who are requested to be sent to the military academy for training, although they get along well with officers from the Northeast on weekdays, but after all, there is still a three-point gap.

As soon as Wu Xiao finished speaking, he suddenly heard someone in the class snort coldly. Wu Xiao turned his head and saw that it was Shangguan Shenyun, from the 1st Infantry Division. There were also two people with poor complexions, one of whom was also a local officer, named Fan Zhe, who came out of the Third Artillery Division. The last one was a pigtailed man named Ruifang, a Manchurian officer who had entered the city.

"Shangguan Shenyun, Fan Zhe, Ruifang!" Wu Xiao suddenly shouted.

The three of them got up at the same time, "Here!" ”

"Tell me about the plans of the French!"

In the evening, the more Li Hongzhang and Zeng Guoquan thought about Zhao Liewen's expression, the more wrong it became, the three of them had spent a lot of time together in the morning, and they were all clear about Zhao Liewen's temper. Later, Li Hongzhang discussed with Zeng Guoquan, so he simply ordered it directly and paid a visit.

Regarding the arrival of the two, Zhao Liewen was not surprised.

"You may be seated."

The servant served tea, and it could be seen that Zhao Liewen was reading a book, the title of the book was "On War", and the author was German, Clausewitz.

The three of them first talked a few words, and after Li Hongzhang and Zeng Guoquan glanced at each other, they finally explained their intentions.

"Brother Huifu, we have been friends for many years, and we have all worked under Wen Zhenggong, so I also have something to say."

Zhao Liewen smiled and said, "Please!" ”

Li Hongzhang hesitated for a while before he said: "Today, when I saw that you got the good news from North Vietnam, you didn't seem to have the slightest sense of joy. I don't know why? ”

Zhao Liewen looked at Li Hongzhang and Zeng Guoquan, and suddenly sighed.

"I didn't want to say it at this point, because even if I did, it wouldn't be useful."

Zeng Guoquan was puzzled and said, "Huifu, what do you mean?" ”

Zhao Liewen didn't answer him, picked up the teacup, thought about it, and then said a sour text.

"Whoever is on the battlefield first and treats the enemy at ease, and then on the battlefield and tends to the war. Therefore, those who are good at fighting will cause others but not others. If the military book discusses the enemy, this is the situation, and its purpose is not to choose a place to treat the enemy; In the simple to control the complex, to the constant strain, to the small change to the big change, to do not move to the small to the big move, to the pivot to the ring also. For example, Guan Zhongyu's military orders are in internal affairs, and they are actually prepared; Sun Bin ambushed Pang Juan in Maling Road; Li Mu guarded the Yanmen Gate without fighting for a long time, but he was prepared for it, and he broke the Huns by fighting. Zhao Liewen took a sip of tea, and then asked with a smile: "I don't know the two brothers, do you know the source of this statement?" ”

Li Hongzhang and Zeng Guoquan were stunned for a moment after hearing this, and then immediately understood! This is the words in "Sun Tzu * Fiction and Reality", and at the same time, "Sun Tzu * Military Struggle" said: "Treat the near and far, treat the labor with the, and wait for the hungry with the fullness, and the one who governs the power is also." ”

Thirty-six plans to wait for work!

In the face of the oncoming pressure of the Qing army from both sides, Porier did not want to accept the attack immediately, he was not timid, but as a soldier with a sense of modern warfare, his grasp of the situation of both the enemy and us was the most basic element. Polier saw that the Qing Dynasty was not qualified to fight modern warfare at all, and the fragile veins of logistics alone were enough to break the bloodline of the giant who was not strong in the Qing Dynasty, and finally suffocated to death. Therefore, the treacherous and cunning Porier chose to shrink his forces and wait for work.

The troops at the front line shrank, and several important towns were abandoned on the western and eastern fronts, including Guanji on the western front, and Chuantou, Langjia, and land on the eastern front. Use space to lengthen the Qing army's supply line, which was already as thin as a hair, and at the same time shorten its own supply line. Between this elimination and rise, the pitiful numerical advantage of the Qing army will be evaporated! Hunger, malnutrition, and wounds would replace the French in the first place to drain the living strength of the Qing army, and to dampen the Qing army's own weak spirit.

The next thing to do is very simple, to use the elite division that has completely recuperated to cut those tired divisions who have gone through a lot of hardships, and to fight the fatigue with refinement, which is the essence of waiting for work with ease. This was a trick used by the Communist Party of later generations, and now the Qing soldiers have not yet learned to understand it, but it has blossomed and borne fruit in the French generals first.

Li Hongzhang and Zeng Guoquan both broke out in a cold sweat, knowing, it's over! But I also understand the reason why Zhao Liewen didn't say it...... I can't say anything like that. In particular, the queen mother is happy, the emperor is happy, the princes, the military aircraft officers are warmly celebrating, and the whole people are enthusiastic about the great Qing Dynasty and the prosperity of the country. Who are Li Hongzhang and Zeng Guoquan? Official spirit, official fan, all his life just to be an official.

Zeng Guoquan and Li Hongzhang stopped talking.

Zhao Liewen is white, and now it can be seen that he is definitely not the only one who uses tired tactics in the French, and there is no one within the Qing Dynasty? How is it possible, it is estimated that the two commanders on the front line, Pan Dingxin and Cen Yuying, know better than anyone else, but do they dare to stop?

Don't always treat yourself as a green onion, it's okay to always think that everyone is drunk and I am sober.

In the world, there are still many stupid people, and only by disguising yourself as a stupid person will the stupid person not regard you as the object of hatred.

Just for the tired plan that Zhao Liewen said today, Li Hongzhang and Zeng Guoquan listened to it here, that is, they listened to it, and they must forget it when they go home. At most, they will think about the pros and cons of the next possible gains and losses, and if they are not a last resort, until the defeat will threaten themselves, they will never open their mouths.

Really open your mouth, if you win this battle, the end will be better, at most you will be ridiculed by the courtiers, saying that you are a fool. But if you're right...... Then the trouble is gone! The whole Qing Dynasty, as long as you can, as long as you can, you yourself are the white jade pillar of the Qing Dynasty, and you are the purple gold beam of the sea! Incorrect intelligence is not a problem, but if the government is incorrect, dare to doubt the Queen Mother Lafayette, the emperor, plus a group of princes and ministers, can this official still be in office?

Since ancient times, China has been a lonely person who is too smart for the emperor. But if the minister is too smart, then most of them are lonely ghosts!

Li Hongzhang and Zeng Guoquan ended up a little embarrassed...... After Zhao Liewen waited for them to leave, he made some wine and poured himself a drink, and then laughed inexplicably, the louder he laughed, and even rolled on the bed.

But at last the laughter stopped, and there was crying.

Wang Yi was talking to the two girls, Wu Xiao came at this time, and said with a smile: "Captain, I'm here to eat." ”

After eating, Wu Xiao talked about the war in North Vietnam.

"When I talked about North Vietnam in class today, many students in the command class saw the fatigue of the French."

"You're so pleased!" Wang laughed.

"The Qing Dynasty bunch of waste, we originally helped them destroy the sea power of the French, and they just kept it on land. At that time, the negotiations can also have an advantage, and then slowly improve the logistics in order to counterattack before it is too late. "Wu Xiao has a posture of hating iron but not steel." But he was about to launch an attack on the French, and he really didn't know how many dry meals he would eat. ”

"Forget it, forget it!" Wang Yi came from his own time and looked away from the early morning. "Long live understanding, long live understanding, it's not so easy to be a patriotic capitulation faction."

"Long live understanding?" Shen Yatou wondered, is this still related to the emperor?

Since the fall of the French fleet, the tune in Paris has remained high, but their demand for reparations from the Qing Dynasty has been reduced to 50 million francs. Compared with the beginning, it is a discount of two. As for the request of the Northeast Autonomous Region, it was completely ignored.

The Qing and French sides can now also see that if they don't make a name for themselves on land, whoever says anything on both sides will be farting on the other side.

The current situation on the battlefield is:

On the eastern front, Su Yuanchun, the acting governor of Guangxi, led about 4,800 men from the 10th battalion to hold the bow, while Wang Debang, the official governor of Guangxi, was still on the way to the front. Fang Yousheng, the named commander, led seven battalions of about 3,200 people to garrison Langjia. The rest of the Qing army was scattered and deployed on the main communication road connecting Chuantou and Langjia with Lang Son to ensure the safety of the back road and the smooth flow of supply lines; Pan Dingxin himself led the six battalions of the Huai Army of about 3,000 people to guard Lang Son and coordinate the overall situation.

On the western front, Liu Yongfu led four small battalions, about 1,600 Black Flag Army, five battalions including Zhang Shirong and Xie Yougong, and about 2,500 Yunnan troops along the Red River to the south to attack Guansi. Huang Shouzhong and Wu Fengdian's six battalions of about 2,000 Black Flag Army Raoshan Road southward, the target was also the Pavilion Division, but because the Pavilion Division was voluntarily abandoned by the French army, the two Qing armies joined forces and arrived at the important town of Xuanguang City, Cen Yuying led the brigade of the Yunnan Army to follow up and prepare to attack Xuanguang.

The Lang Gia region is closer to Bac Ninh and Hanoi, and the threat to these two places is also greater. It borders Bac Ninh to the south and threatens Hanoi. "But the bow of the ship is on the left bank of the Lunan River, leading to Lang Son in the north, connecting Anzhou in the east, choking the Hongjiang River and the center of the Lang River", which is located behind the side of Lang Jia, if the bow is lost, then Lang Jia also loses the need to guard, and more importantly: the bow is the direct gateway of Lang Mountain, although the threat to the French is not as good as Lang Jia, but in terms of the danger of strategic location, whether it is Pan Ding Xin guarding Lang Son or Pourier attacking Beiqi, the bow must be occupied. As for the important town of Xuanguang, it is the key to whether the Qing armies on the eastern and western routes can meet the divisions, and as long as the Qing army on the western front cannot seize Xuanguang in one day, then the "coordinated operation" on the eastern and western fronts can only be empty talk.

Because the position of the bow of the ship was so important, Pan Dingxin arranged Su Yuanchun there. Su Yuanchun, who was born as a guest general of the Hunan army, can be regarded as experienced in a hundred battles, and has suppressed bandits, Tiandihui, and Miao bandits, and has made great achievements. This expedition, with the convenience of the people of this province, recruited and trained from Guangxi to form an army, and naturally brought up troops much more easily than other foreigners to bring local soldiers, and its bravery and ability to manage the army were quite appreciated by Pan Dingxin.

The French had shrunk their forces all the way before, so there weren't a few real battles, so what are the French doing now?

In fact, while the Qing army was trying to lengthen its own supply lines, the French were cleaning up the troubles of their own supply lines. Originally, there were many anti-French forces in Vietnam, and they harassed and attacked the supply lines of the French when they had nothing to do. Although he did not necessarily take the initiative to help the Qing army, he did help the Qing army in a large way. Now Pourier couldn't bear it anymore and finally began to clear the bandits in the rear. As a result, the Vietnamese anti-French guerrillas suffered a sudden heavy blow and lost the ability to make waves on the French supply lines for a short time.

With an offensive routine like the Qing Army, which cannot be taken into account now, Porier once again showed his talent as a soldier. His tactics were as simple as they could be: concentrate his forces, attack one point, and calmly break through. Seeing that the Qing army simply did not have the ability to coordinate operations on two fronts, it was still the same if it opened up the loopholes.

When it comes to specific operational deployments, it is a very simple multiple-choice question.

Hit the East Road, or kill the West Road?

Pourier had less than 10,000 troops at his disposal, and 3,000 more were coming to reinforce him. However, important towns along the road need to be garrisoned, and to be honest, there are not many troops.

Although the Qing army on the western front was small in number and slightly worse in combat effectiveness than the Qing army on the eastern front, as long as the important town of Xuanguang was in hand, the threat of the Qing army on the western front could be ignored. With the dangerous terrain of Tuanguang, easy to defend and difficult to attack, with strong fortifications and strong firepower, coupled with the two strongholds of Xinghua and Duanxiong on the western front into a horn, supplemented by the fire support of the river artillery fleet that crisscrossed the river. I dare not say for a long time, and there should be no problem when Porrier himself defeats the Qing army on the Eastern Front.

It was on the basis of the above calculations that Pourier was determined to target the Qing army on the Eastern Front of Pan Dingxin. In general, the decision was bold, and he was very confident in his troops and in the troops of the Qing army, only one was confident that they were capable, and the other was confident that they were incapable. The total garrison that Pourier transferred to Xuanguang never exceeded 700 men, but it could face more than ten times the Qing army on the Western Front.

If this kind of thing happens to Wang Yi, it's almost the same as scolding him! As long as you capture the opponent's position, from top to bottom, who told you to look down on me!

But the Qing army on the Western Front is really despised!

After the question of the Eastern and Western Fronts was decided, the selection of the primary targets for attack on the Eastern Front began. There were three people in front of Poriya, Pan Dingxin in Langshan, Su Yuanchun in the bow and Fang Yousheng in Langjia. It was obviously impossible to beat Langshan, because the bow of the ship and Lang Jia were in the way in front, so there were only two targets left.

After this scrutiny, the final decision of Pollier was to concentrate more than 4,000 troops. The main force of more than 3,000 attacked Langjia, and left more than 1,000 to contain the attack on the bow of the ship and prevent its reinforcements. After Lang Jiake, the enemy at the bow of the ship will be surrounded by two ways. As a result, Su Yuanchun's 10th Battalion of about 4,800 people faced the French army on the East Road and only more than 1,000 people under the command of Colonel Rainier, while Fang Yousheng's 7th Battalion of about 3,200 people had to face the main force of the French Army's First Brigade of Nigri on the Western Road, as many as 3,000. Lang Jia's fate was predestined almost at the beginning of the war, and Lang Jia's fate directly determined the abandonment and defense of the bow!

At this time, the imperial court was still issuing a strict decree, requiring the east and west to advance at the same time and attack together! Attack your sister together!

On October 20, 1884, after a rest, Colonel Rainier began a feint attack on the bow of the ship on the east road, although the general defense arrangements of the defenders on the bow were well known, but Su Yuanchun's troops bravely met the battle. The French feint was thwarted, with dozens of casualties on each side. Seeing that he could not make a profit from Lord Su Yuanchun, Reinier stopped the attack according to Pourier's prior deployment, and instead contained the Soviet Union and prevented it from reinforcing Langjia.

A week later, the Western Route Army began to storm Langjia. However, Comrade Fang Yousheng has limited vision and does not understand modern warfare. Therefore, the French army still successfully applied its own combat methods, grabbed the high ground, set up artillery bombardment, and finally settled the battle! Negri took the lead in concentrating the main force to storm the high and low level of the southern fort on the periphery of Langjia, and immediately built an artillery position after obtaining the commanding height, and then set up artillery to bombard other Qing defensive fortresses according to the coordinates of the Qing army's fortifications marked on the map as reconnoitred in advance, while the infantry quickly outflanked the Qing army's positions from both flanks. The battle lasted for four hours, and although the resistance was fierce, Fang Yousheng, who was powerless, was seriously injured and was surrounded by his subordinates and withdrew from Lang Jia, who was already in ruins. On the French side, Nigri was also injured by shrapnel, and the top field commanders on both sides were seriously wounded, which is probably the only case in the entire Sino-French war.

The soldiers on both sides of the battle can be called brave and tenacious, and at this time, when the courage is half a pound against eight taels, the difference in combat effectiveness between the two sides has become a key factor in victory or defeat. The casualty figure reported by Fang Yousheng afterwards was: "More than 300 soldiers were killed and more than 400 were wounded. "However, according to the Qing army's habit of reporting, victory is overreported, and defeat is underreported. In fact, when the French were cleaning up the battlefield, they collected the remains of 690 Qing soldiers from the main central position alone. At the same time, the number of casualties on the French side was 21 killed and 58 wounded.

Colonel Rainier on the East Road once again led his troops to storm the bow of the ship, and Su Yuanchun supervised the troops desperately and did not retreat. The position changed hands several times, and after three whole days of repeated seesawing, Rainier still had no way to completely control the bow of the ship. But at this moment, Su Yuanchun received the news that Lang Jia was lost and Nigri's main force moved east.

Because he was afraid that the lone army at the bow would encounter the encirclement of the French army on both sides, Su Yuanchun led the remnants to abandon the bow and retreat north late at night, and the French army lost more than 60 people and wounded more than 140 people in the battle of the bow. The Soviet Department was even more tragic, with three battalion officers killed, five wounded, and thousands of brave soldiers. Although the bad image left by the Qing army after the disastrous defeat at Bac Ninh was swept away by this World War II, Pourier even admitted that the Qing army fought "so fiercely and desperately". But no matter how much there is to hide the fact that the Qing army was defeated, it can't hide the passive situation caused by the loss of the bow and Lang Jia.

Gu Song and Tunmei, the gateways of Langshan, were directly exposed to the spearhead of the French army, and the original rear of the Qing army suddenly became a big front, Pan Dingxin also panicked, and suddenly remembered the letter written to him by his old superior, Li Hongzhang, the meaning of which was very clear, and summed it up in one sentence: "If you win, you will not chase, and if you lose, you will retreat!" It seems that he was also influenced by Zhao Liewen, after all, Pan Dingxin is his subordinate of Li Hongzhang, and the battle is fought, that is Zhang Zhidong's strategy, the wise decision-making of the queen mother and the emperor, and the full cooperation of the courtiers. But if you lose...... Pan Dingxin was beheaded, and he, Li Hongzhang, also had to eat some small hanging.

When Lao Pan got the letter, he was about to cry, and he said in his heart that his old superior was distressed! As far as our family's logistics supply and soldier training level are concerned, his Zhang Zhidong feelings are two skins, anyway, they are all reasonable! But what about me......

Badeno, who received the news, straightened his back again and claimed: "General Negri's victory at Langjia will, to a certain extent, alleviate the unpleasant impression of the Taiwan news......"

At this time, French Prime Minister Jouferry finally breathed a sigh of relief from the protests of the French people. His telegram to the front wrote: "Only an advance to the Guangxi border by taking advantage of the victory was enough to forcefully arouse the apprehension of the Qing imperial government." In other words, he demanded that the Army's fighting continue to advance north.

However, Porier was obviously much calmer than him, and after capturing Lang Gia and the bow of the ship, in view of the fact that the reinforcements had not arrived, and the rear was held back by the Vietnamese rebels, he was unable to continue to develop the offensive, so he had to temporarily take the defensive, so he withdrew the main force to Bac Ninh and Hanoi, and patrolled the front line of the bow and Lang Gia with a force.

After December 1884, France successively increased its troops in Vietnam, and changed the French army in the Beiqi battlefield from the original naval command to the command of the War Department. During the period of waiting for reinforcements, Pourier actively carried out various preparations for the capture of Lang Son, using the bow of the ship as a base to build fortifications and roads, and accumulate war materials.

Now that it is almost the end of the year, Wang Yi is in a good mood. However, Tu Xiaohua suddenly called him, which made the corners of his eyes glow again......