After many preparations, the Northern Expedition to the Qing Dynasty finally officially began on October 25, 1861.

The Chinese Empire dispatched most of the First Military Region and a small part of the Second Military Region, totaling 500,000 troops, divided into three routes, and pressed the "Qing Empire" like a wind and candle in its last years.

Among the three Northern Expedition troops, one route was led by Zhou Da himself, with a total of 200,000 troops, straight out of Shanhaiguan, along the coastline to Jinzhou Mansion to kill, and there was a great sense of smashing Huanglong, until the meaning of Fengtian City.

The troops on this road are the absolute main force, and there are 50,000 elite troops in the Praetorian Guard, almost two-thirds of the soldiers and horses of the elite army, and the other 150,000 are the national defense forces, including 50,000 volunteers and 100,000 conscripts. Although Jinzhou Mansion was heavily guarded by the Qing army, in the face of the Northern Expedition Army with heavy artillery, it was only a matter of time before it fell.

The Second Route Army was led by Feng Zicai, with a total of 100,000 people, including 10,000 elite troops and 90,000 national defense troops. There are 30,000 volunteers and 60,000 conscripts in the Wehrmacht. This route army boarded the ship in Tianjin, and then was escorted by the First Fleet of the Navy, and landed directly in Wugou Ying, that is, Yingkou, and then directly entered Liaoyang, and also went straight to Fengtian City.

Obviously, the Second Route Northern Expeditionary Army is a partial division, and the combat method is still relatively novel amphibious landing operations. Although it was an amphibious operation, because the Qing court had not fortified Yingkou at this time, and the garrison and fort were in Niuzhuang, it was actually safer to land in Yingkou.

In the history books of another time and space, Yingkou opened a port in April 1861, but in this time and space, due to the early defeat of the British and French forces, it was not involved here, so the so-called port is still in Niuzhuang, not in Yingkou. Yingkou is still a very barren place.

In particular, it is worth mentioning that in the Second Northern Expeditionary Army, there were not only Qing generals such as Zuo Guigui, but also Chen Yucheng and Shi Dakai, two vassals of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, who were subordinate to the National Defense Army and the Praetorian Guard, respectively, and they also led the troops to fight as a general of the Imperial Army.

The last way, led by Wang Sanwu, a total of 200,000 people, this way soldiers and horses will leave Zhangjiakou and go straight to Guihua City (Hohhot).

This third way soldier has a characteristic. That is, there are 50,000 cavalry, 150,000 horses, and most of the other troops are bicycle troops, which can be said to be the most mobile troops.

According to the plan, after the Third Route Army conquered the city of Guihua, it would take a break to recruit Mongolian herdsmen in the local area, and at the same time be responsible for immigrating to the local area, waiting for the beginning of spring next year. It will divide its troops into two routes, one to the west and take many cities, including Baotou Town, and the other to the north. Fight all the way to Kulun, and then with Kulun and Baotou as the core, continue to immigrate and build roads. At the same time, they instigated the Mongols to fight among themselves, striving to turn the entire Mongolian region into a pasture for the Han Chinese.

In other words, from the current point of view. This Third Route Army is more like fighting the Mongols under the pretext of cutting down the Qing Dynasty, and it actually has no direct effect on the Northern Expedition to the Qing court, and the only real threat to the Qing court is the First Route and the Second Route Northern Expeditionary Army.

In fact, there is no need to dispatch two routes at the same time, only one route of the Northern Expeditionary Army, with the current state of the Qing court, it is simply impossible to stop, and now this kind of big move is not so much the Northern Expedition as the training of troops through the Northern Expedition, and the exercise is more meaningful.

Think about it, at this time, more than half of the Qing army was still armed with cold weapons with large blades, and there were very few troops equipped with firearms, and even if they were equipped with firearms, most of them were old-fashioned guns and earth cannons, and there were less than 30,000 people who were really equipped with foreign guns and foreign artillery.

However, even the 30,000 Shenji battalions equipped with foreign guns and cannons were mostly front-loading smoothbore guns given by the Russians, and their power was not comparable to that of the rear-loading rifled guns of the Imperial Army.

Muskets are inferior, artillery is even worse. The artillery of the Qing army is still old-fashioned artillery, and there are basically no flowering shells, while the artillery used by the imperial army, whether it is the Praetorian Guard or the Wehrmacht, has explosive shells, and the range is far more than that of the Qing army's artillery.

Speaking of training, even if the Imperial Army was a compulsory soldier, it was strictly trained, and everyone was disciplined and morale was high, not to mention the Wehrmacht volunteers and the Praetorian Guard.

Therefore, the imperial army surpassed the Qing army in all aspects in terms of numbers, equipment, and training level, and this war was like a twenty-five-year-old strong man with a stick bullying an unarmed five-year-old child, and the victory or defeat had already been decided as early as the moment the imperial army sent troops.

"It's boring." Liang Chengfu said to Lai Wenguang, who was brushing the horse, "I didn't fire two cannons, the other party on the shore ran away, this kind of battle, it's really boring to fight, I knew this, I should have gone to the First Army, at least there is Jinzhou City to fight." ”

"Be content." Lai Wenguang continued to brush the horse, and said lightly, "Isn't it good to fight easily?" I think your head is caught in the door. ”

"I just don't think it's interesting." Liang Chengfu spit out the dried sweet potato in his mouth, "Phew, it's really unpalatable...... I wonder why I suddenly find this thing unpalatable now. ”

"That's because you can eat enough now and your mouth is nourished." Suddenly, a voice rang out.

Liang Chengfu turned his head to look, it turned out that Chen Yucheng didn't know when he came over, so he hurriedly got up from the ground, and respectfully clasped his fists and saluted: "I don't know that the prince is here, forgive my sins." ”

"What prince, that's all old things, don't mention it again." Chen Yucheng waved his hand, "I'm just a small national defense corps commander now, although this unit doesn't have much control over private names, but it's better to pay attention." ”

"No, in my heart, you are my eternal prince." Liang Chengfu said loudly, "Our defeat is not a crime of war, and we can't complain about the prince." ”

"A crime of war? Hey, it's all about time, and we don't have to kid ourselves. Chen Yucheng shook his head, "Compared to that emperor, we are indeed far inferior, this person, I obey him." ”

"Hmph, he's just bullying people with foreign guns and cannons, who wouldn't fight such a battle." Liang Chengfu was still a little unconvinced, "It's like our landing battle, against the Qing army of so many hundreds, their Zhenyuan was far away for half an hour, it's a waste, it's just a group of cowards." ”

"Don't say these uninformed words again." Lai Wenguang suddenly said, "The key to fighting a war is to win, and if you can win, then you must minimize your own damage on this basis." Increase losses to the other side. If you can win the battle with artillery, why do you have to rush to your life? ”

"That's a good point." Chen Yucheng nodded and said, "Chengfu, let you usually study more, always be unhappy, and learn more from literature and optics in the future."

In the future, this war will rely more on the brain, and it will no longer be brute. Well, it's not that bravery is bad, but that bravery is just a weight on the scales of victory. Relatively speaking, things like weapons and equipment, supply levels, etc., are also weights.

As long as the morale of an army is not too bad and it is equipped with advanced weapons, it is basically unlikely to lose if it defeats a lagging army.

Therefore, the essence of marching combat is how to maximize one's strength. In particular, give full play to the weapons in your hands, instead of being brave and fighting hard. As for the so-called strategy, the essence is nothing more than to weaken the other party by various means. Then give better play to your own strength, so that the balance of victory is more on your side. ”

"The prince is the prince, and he can tell the truth everywhere." Liang Chengfu smiled, "I don't understand it very well." But I only know one thing, follow the prince, there will be absolutely no mistake. ”

"It's all said, don't call me the prince anymore."

"I'll just call it." Liang Chengfu said loudly. "Lord Wang, you are wise and martial, even if the dragon is trapped in the shallows temporarily, you can be crowned king again sooner or later!"

"That's right!" This time, Lai Wenguang also followed, "Dashuai, you are still young, you have a chance, and besides, that majesty has always been a meritocracy, with your skills, it is a matter of time before you become the king." ”

"It's not that easy." Chen Yucheng shook his head, "This majesty is not the heavenly king we were at the beginning, he doesn't like to indiscriminately seal titles, and there are very few noble titles, let alone the prince." Moreover, although the military merits are the heaviest, according to the current situation, after the defeat of the Manchu Qing Dynasty, looking at the world, the empire will not have many enemies, even if there are some local rebellions, it is estimated that there will not be much credit to be given to sweeping those places.

Didn't you listen to the lecturer when you were in night school? Our merit calculation method is different from the past, no matter how great the merit is in a civil war, it is not knighted, so if you want to be knighted or even crowned, you have to fight a foreign war. ”

"Then fight a foreign war." Liang Chengfu said, "I've long wanted to fight with foreign devils, he's **, in the past, foreign devils had foreign guns and cannons, and now we have our own, and it is said that they are produced by themselves, not inferior to foreign devils at all, when the time comes, we will have a good competition with them to see who can fight in the case of the same weapons." ”

"That's what you think?" Chen Yucheng stared into his eyes and asked.

"Of course." Liang Chengfu said loudly, "It's not that I haven't seen foreign devils, except for the strange appearance and taller figure, there is nothing unusual." Hmph, it's good to be tall, the target is bigger, and it's easier to get shot! ”

"What about you, Wenguang." Chen Yucheng continued to look at Lai Wenguang, "What are you going to do?" ”

"What's going on?"

"I mean, after the battle of the Qing court, what are you going to do in the future?" Chen Yucheng said, "Do you retire and become a rich man, or continue to fight as a soldier?" ”

"I'm ......" Lai Wenguang silently touched the body of the horse that was cleaned by him, "I don't know for the time being, but it's actually ......"

"Lord Wang, don't ask him." Liang Chengfu suddenly said, "I see, this old boy has long lost his original ambition, hmph, he must be planning to retire and go back to become a rich man." ”

"If it's really peaceful, of course I want to be a rich man." Lai Wenguang ignored Liang Chengfu's clamor and looked directly at Chen Yucheng, "I want to ask first, what are you going to do?" ”

"Me? What else can I do, naturally I will continue to fight as a soldier. Chen Yucheng smiled, "Speaking of which, I have followed the Kingdom of Heaven since I was a child...... Well, I've been fighting people since I was a child, and I've been fighting, and I've been fighting, and I've grown to this point, and suddenly I realize that I don't know anything but war. ”

Speaking of this, Chen Yucheng sighed: "In the past, we all said that we would fight a peaceful world and give the people peace. But now that it is too peaceful, and the people's lives are getting better and better, I always feel a little lost in my heart. At first, I didn't understand it, but now I understand that everything is false, and it's true that I like to fight.

When there is no war to fight, I am not energetic, and if there is a fight, I am excited. But the country is about to be peaceful, and the night school teacher is right, but it's just that my own people are fighting around, and it's not interesting, so I want to wait for this battle to be over. I signed up for the Overseas Volunteer Corps and went to fight in the Americas. ”

"So." Chen Yucheng looked at Lai Wenguang and Liang Chengfu again, "It is estimated that after this fight, I will go abroad to fight, so I asked you what you will do in the future, whether to go with me or continue to stay here." ”

"Needless to say!" Liang Chengfu said, "Wherever the prince goes, I will go, and the prince will go abroad." I'm also going abroad, hehe, I heard that foreign girls are very white, maybe you can taste the taste of Yanma. ”

"What about you, Wenguang." Chen Yucheng looked at Lai Wenguang, "What are you going to do in the future?" It doesn't matter, say what you really mean, I won't force you, on the contrary. No matter what you decide, I'm behind you. For example, if you want to retire, I can help you write a letter to Your Majesty and ask him to arrange a good position for you. Not to mention anything else, with your ability, it will be no problem to become a city police chief in the future, and even the mayor is very likely. to your abilities. If you go into politics, over time, you may be able to become a feudal official. ”

"Feudal officials? The head of the regiment thinks too highly of me. Lai Wenguang smiled. patted the horse's back, "Actually, to tell the truth, I, like you, the head of the regiment, have fought for so long, and I am already a little uncomfortable with a stable life." Moreover, I quite agree with what His Majesty said, that is, to fight foreign wars, fight with outsiders, and strive for greater living space for the Chinese, that is what a true hero should do. ”

"Oh?" Chen Yucheng raised his eyebrows, "So, you plan to go abroad with me in the future?" ”

"Hmm." Lai Wenguang nodded, "Recently, I just read a book called "The Rise of Great Powers", and I found that the book makes a lot of sense. The rise of a big country should pay attention to the right time, place and people, but in the final analysis, it is the right place and the right people. With the right location and people, even if the weather is temporarily unfavorable, it will succeed sooner or later.

Just like our China, even if we are backward now, but we have a vast land, rich resources and a large population, and it is only a matter of time before we rise again.

In the same way, if you look at the map, the United States also has a vast territory and rich resources and population, and if it is not stopped sooner, it will be a formidable adversary in time. If you don't have a chance, it's just that, but now that the United States is in a civil war and may split into two countries at any time, such a good opportunity will surely become a big trouble for us sooner or later. ”

"You have a good eye." Chen Yucheng nodded, "But why do you say that the United States is a big problem, not Russia?" Russia also has a vast territory, abundant resources and a large population, right? ”

"Russia? Hehe. Lai Wenguang smiled, "Although Russia seems to be powerful, the biggest problem is that it borders on our land, with that majesty's character and ability, how many chances do you think Russia will have to rise in the future?" If you want me to say, there will inevitably be a big war to be fought between China and Russia. ”

"Then why did you choose to go to the United States with me instead of staying to fight Russia?" Chen Yucheng asked.

"Because according to my estimate, the fight against Russia will not be achieved in a while." Lai Wenguang continued, "Look at the meaning of the current majesty, it is a bent on dealing with the United States, otherwise it will not be so easy to make peace with the Russians, you must know that now the Russians are actually weaker, if the majesty does not let go and continue to fight with the Russians, in terms of the current situation of the Russians, they will only lose more, and they will not give us a barren land like now." ”

"So what do you mean?"

"What I mean is that if a unit like ours doesn't fight the Americans now, I'm afraid it won't have a chance to continue serving in the army in the future." Lai Wenguang said, "We are only the national defense army, not the emperor's own army, but the Ministry of National Defense." Once the Manchu Qing Dynasty is completed, I am afraid that in order to save finances, they will drastically reduce the number of our troops and ask us to retire, and once we retire, if we want to join the army in the future, I am afraid that we will have to have a chance after the reserve mobilization order is issued. But looking at the current situation of the Imperial Army, even if it is to fight the Russians, I am afraid that the reserve mobilization order will not be used, and it is enough to increase the number of conscripts. ”

"So, you plan to take this opportunity to sign up for the Overseas Volunteer Army, and then become a real Praetorian Guard?" Chen Yucheng asked.

"Yes." Lai Wenguang nodded, "Although the Overseas Volunteer Legion is not a Praetorian Guard, you and I both know that it is just a disguise, in fact, the treatment is the same as that of the Praetorian Guard, and they are all directly under the leadership of the General Staff of the Internal Affairs Office, which is no different from the emperor's pro-army."

If we join this unit, we can become real professional soldiers. And according to my estimate, it is estimated that this overseas legion will continue to fight in the future, and the calculation of military merits will definitely be higher than that of the country, and it is really easy to be knighted. ”

"Looks like you've already decided." Chen Yucheng smiled, "I'm still worried about you, it seems that I'm worried in vain." ”

"Hey, what about me, and what about me." Liang Chengfu said loudly. "You haven't asked me yet."

"You? Didn't you ask a long time ago? Lai Wenguang smiled, "Didn't you say that you want to follow your prince, where the prince goes, you will go?" ”

"That's right." Liang Chengfu touched his head.

"Okay, we'll talk about that later." Chen Yucheng exhaled, "In short, have a good rest, tomorrow we will continue to attack Liaoyang."

Liaoyang is not comparable to here, it is a real strong city. It is said that the defense is tight, and we have no naval artillery support, so it is expected that there will be a dangerous siege to be fought, and you will have to cheer me up. We must fight this battle well, and we must not let people look down on it. ”

"Don't worry!" Liang Chengfu clenched his fists and patted his chest, "Don't dare to say anything else, this is leading soldiers to fight." My old Liang has never been afraid of anyone! ”

"Very well, it's about that morale." Chen Yucheng nodded, then walked over and patted Liang Chengfu on the shoulder. "Anyway, take it easy, don't die so early, I'm still waiting to take you to a foreign country to see."

"Hahaha, don't worry, my old Liang didn't die so easily, and Lord Yama didn't accept me so quickly."

While Chen Yucheng was chatting with his subordinates separately to find out their true intentions, Li Yongji in Nanjing was also chatting with his brother Li Yongchang, also about the war against the Qing Dynasty and the intervention in the American Civil War.

"Your Majesty, you finally attacked the Manchu Qing Dynasty, I said before, how long do you plan to keep the Qing Empire."

"In the past, there were a lot of concerns, the most important thing was to consider economic problems, but now our financial situation is very good, and we are fully capable of fighting this battle, and if we don't fight again, we can't say that we can't talk about it." Li Yongji took the phone and said, "And I plan to go to California in a few days, before I go to you, I must first clean up the tail of the Manchu Qing, otherwise even if I am not afraid, it will be disgusting, isn't it?" ”

"Well, that's right." Li Yongchang said, "So what's the situation now?" ”

"It's been moving so fast that it's exceeded expectations." Li Yongji said, "It's only been three days, and the First Route Army has arrived at Jinzhou City, and when I talk to you, the Battle of Jinzhou has already begun, and it is estimated that Jinzhou will be taken in a few days."

At the same time, the Second Route Army had also landed at Yingkou, and a forward force of 15,000 men had also taken Haicheng County, and it was said that it was about to attack Liaoyang. At this rate, it is estimated that it will not take half a month to advance under Fengtian City, and if you are a qiē shun lì, you will be able to take the entire Northeast a year ago and completely bury the small Qing Empire.

In addition, what I'm talking about is still a normal military attack, I'm talking about attacking the city little by little, if the other courtiers can't stand it and take the initiative to surrender, then the time will be faster. According to the estimation of my general staff, as long as Liaoyang and Jinzhou are defeated, it is estimated that those people in the Qing court will not be able to endure it, and sixty percent of them may take the initiative to surrender to us and completely submit to us. ”

"Completely obedient, if that's the case, do you still plan to continue to clean up those Manchu nobles?"

"Of course." Li Yongji said, "For the sake of the Manchu and Han families, in order for the Han people to truly rule the Northeast, the Manchu scholars and aristocrats must be eradicated, without those nobles, it is still easy to assimilate those poor Manchus."

Well, in fact, I am also for the good of the Manchus, because now those poor Manchus are no different from the Han people, except for the nobles among the Manchus, ordinary Manchus do not know Manchu dialect at all, and they can't write Manchu Chinese. ”

"You're really taking a salary." Li Yongchang said, "Then it looks like Mongolians, Koreans, and other nationalities, and you plan to do the same?" ”

"Pretty much." Li Yongji said, "At most, I will appropriately retain their national characteristics, such as clothing, customs, etc., you can leave a little national characteristics, but the text must be all in Chinese, and all the words must be spoken in Chinese, as long as the language and writing are the same, then the future will not be able to turn the world upside down, and it will be a whole after all." ”

"Okay, let's not talk about it, when are you going to come over here?"

"Let's celebrate the New Year." Li Yongji said, "Originally, I wanted to go early, but Su Su has been more sensitive recently, and I am a little relieved that Su Su can't be done, and there are still many things to deal with here...... In short, I will go to you after the New Year, and during this time, I still need you to be more wronged and wronged. ”

"There's nothing wronged." Li Yongchang said, "I have a good life here, now there are 150,000 Chinese immigrants here in Los Angeles, half of them are elite armed forces, not to mention San Francisco, even if the entire California region, in terms of military strength alone, we are the strongest." Now even the Americans in San Francisco are afraid and respectful of us, and they don't dare to bully the Chinese, anyway, I'm quite comfortable here, haha, the only thing is that the food is not good, I eat seafood every day, and I have to vomit when I eat. ”

"......" Li Yongji was speechless for a while, and finally said, "Okay, next time I come over, I will bring you something delicious." ”

"That's settled, I'm going to eat pork, vegetables, fruit, and rice!"

"Okay, good, I promise to give you satisfaction." Li Yongji said, "In short, the American Civil War has just begun, don't act rashly, develop in Los Angeles with peace of mind, and wait for me to go over." (To be continued......)