So, Ramsey began with his own detachment from Guangzhou and told about the experience of the month. The sneak attack of the water ghosts encountered in Shenzhen Bay with bombs, the attacks of several fast boats with shoulder-carried cannons and flamethrowers, and the siege after the landing, all of which are described in detail. After listening to the experience of the Colonel, Davis sighed: "If we had learned about the strength and combat methods of the Liberation Army earlier, maybe we would not have failed." ”

"No, Davis, you're thinking too simply." Spintozzi denied the adjutant's claim, "The plane was discovered before the war, but we have no way to deal with it until now." And that ironclad chariot, I estimate that only a twenty-four-pounder cannon can penetrate it. ”

"Twenty-four pounder guns are useless," said one of the captains of the Peake. After he fell into the water, he swam to Kowloon in a daze, and was easily captured by the Jiao Yilian who was waiting on the beach to pick up people, as a gunner, he had a deep impression of the Type 59 tank, and he didn't know that he and the general were not talking about the same thing. "I saw that one of them was hit at least five times, and neither live ammunition nor grenades had any effect, and I think only the thunder of Zeus could penetrate it."

"Yes! Yes! I completely agree with you. The army company commander of a colonial unit whose unit was scattered by armored vehicles echoed.

More and more people have joined the discussion, you say a word, I say a word, the various weapons and tactics used by the Liberation Army in the battle, one by one in the accounts of the parties, let everyone have a rough understanding of the overall strength of the Liberation Army. Many people believe that the United Kingdom has no chance of defeating the Liberation Army within 10 years. Spintozzi, on the other hand, was more radical, believing that the Liberation Army did not show its full strength, at least not the Navy. The general did not believe that while the Liberation Army had such a technologically advanced and powerful army, it did not have a navy that matched its strength. The General therefore asserted that when the fleet of the Liberation Army appeared on the seas of East Asia, the United Kingdom's interests in the Far East would be severely challenged.

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At the same time, in Guangzhou, Bao Ling, who was anxiously waiting in the governor's yamen, also received news of the complete defeat of the British army in Hong Kong.

Although the evacuated brigade had not yet arrived, the speedboat responsible for delivering the news still brought Ergin's handwritten letter to Guangzhou at noon. Because the plan to set up a telegraph between Canton and Hong Kong was interrupted by the sudden appearance of the Liberation Army, communication between the two places could only be transmitted by speedboat.

Although he had heard bad news from the messenger, after reading the letter, Mr. Governor was still cold from head to foot. Half of the 10,000-strong army was lost, and the enemy drove it out of Hong Kong, and I don't know what kind of storm this news will cause when it reaches China. There was too little credible content to know the details, and he didn't even have anyone around him to talk to, so he had to wait for Ergin and Hebu to arrive.

As for these two people who were missed by the Governor, they had just passed through Humen by boat at this time. From time to time, the "Hornet" passed over the head of the fleet, because the planes did not take the initiative to attack, and the remnants of the British army did not dare to provoke this Grim Reaper, so they could only selectively ignore it, as if it was here to see it off. Looking at the battery not far away that he had participated in destroying more than ten years ago, Heb hated it, and he could even see the ridicule on the corner of the pilot's mouth through the binoculars.

"Sir, why didn't you let me attack in the morning?" There was nowhere to vent his anger, and Hebu could only yell at Ergin.

When the fleet retreating north entered the Pearl River, He Bu proposed to land in the area of Fuyong and Xixiang and occupy the county seat of Xin'an in one fell swoop. In this way, you can not only regain some face, but also take the initiative in the subsequent negotiations. However, his plan was strongly opposed by Elgin, and the Count had a good reason that he knew nothing about the defense of the Liberation Army in this area, and that he might fall into the trap of the other side if he dared to land on the ground. Although it is not difficult to find the party that leads the way, it is no different from relying on these Chinese natives to understand military intelligence. Moreover, the planes of the Liberation Army may appear at any time, and the suddenness of the action is not guaranteed at all, and perhaps as soon as this side lands, the army on that side will be surrounded. Ergin managed to persuade Hebu not to act rashly, and honestly retreated to Guangzhou with the remnants of the defeated army, but the "harassment" of the planes hooked the fire of the fleet commander again.

Although the fleet had five or six thousand fewer passengers than when it went south from Shanghai, and when it went to Guangzhou, there were two thousand more civilians, and it also lost four main warships, which also caused a shortage of transportation capacity, and the old ladies who were usually pampered could only huddle in one person's cabin with the stinky soldiers, and when they arrived in Guangzhou at noon the next day, when they got off the ship, one or two of them were like refugees who had fled from Africa, and attracted a large number of Guangzhou citizens to come and watch this rare Western scene.

Erjin and He Bu arrived at the governor's yamen, rested for a while, and couldn't wait to start discussing countermeasures with Bao Ling. His Excellency the Governor was more troubled than ever after listening to the whole battle recounted by Hebb, who, though mostly relayed from others, especially the soldiers who were the last to withdraw from the ship, gave him a general idea of the events of the past few days. First of all, the three of them came to a consensus, this battle could not be fought, the United Kingdom's military strength in the Far East had reached its limit, the Indian rebellion had not been completely quelled, and the latest news was that General Ross, the commander-in-chief of the British army in Central India, had defeated the young queen Akshmi Bayi in the western region of Zhangxi, who led the remnants to join forces with Tandia Toby's forces. What they didn't know was that from 19 February to 19 March, the rebels were forced to withdraw from the city after a tough battle to defend Lucknow. From March 22 to April 3, under the leadership of the queen of Zhangxi, Akshmi Bayi, the rebel army fought the Battle of Zhanxi. On 18 June, the British launched a general attack under the leadership of General Ross, in which Queen Joncey was killed and the uprising moved to a guerrilla phase under the leadership of Tandia Toby. It was not until April 7 of the next year that Tandia Toby was betrayed and arrested by a feudal lord who had infiltrated the rebels, and on April 18, the heroic inauguration of this leader with great military talent brought an end to the rebellion in India.

At the same time, the British army launched a local war of moderate intensity in two different theaters on the earth, and both of them were won, and the demeanor of the world's first power had begun to take shape. However, this also reached the limit of the British army in the Far East, and the troops that could be transferred recently could only be found in South Africa or Australia. Bao Ling knew that even if he sent more troops, it would be useless, unless the United Kingdom mobilized more than 100,000 troops and spent millions of pounds on military spending, it was possible to defeat this group of Liberation Army, but Bao Ling also believed that this proposal would not pass in Parliament anyway. What he can do now is to end this conflict or war by peaceful means, and whether the United Kingdom will retaliate in the future is not a matter for him to consider. The army and navy have suffered such great losses, and he, as a minister and commercial plenipotentiary, must not be able to escape his responsibility, and it is an ironclad matter to be recalled to China for accountability.

Ergin is the plenipotentiary in dealing with Chinese affairs, and the peace talks must be agreed by him, and he also has a share of the responsibility for the defeat, and now the two are grasshoppers on a rope, and they should first form an alliance to advance and retreat together. There were no outsiders present, so a few people discussed how to write the report.

The cause of the incident was only a skirmish, of course, the responsibility lies entirely with the Chinese, there is no doubt that the barbaric Chinese natives are always hostile to civilized society. A group of Chinese rebels, who had received covert help from unknown Western powers, suddenly intervened in the conflict and secretly attacked and caught the British squad by surprise. Subsequently, the Chinese rebels refused to hand over the murderers of the British soldiers, nor did they let go of the captured British soldiers, ignoring the goodwill of the Hong Kong government, and the conflict escalated until it turned into a confrontation between the two military groups. In the last battle, the expeditionary force, although superior in numbers, suffered an unexpected defeat when the other side had new weapons provided by a Western power. Although the situation was unfavorable, the whole army responded calmly, and the commander covered the retreat of the whole army, and finally was captured with all his strength. Several people spent three hours exchanging ideas, carefully considering the words, and the report on the course of the battle was released. In the report, try to be clear about your own responsibilities, and write about the work you do in a colorful way, after all, it is not a necessary skill for every civil servant, and this is true in ancient and modern times, both in China and abroad.

After preparing to deal with the boss, the next step was how to deal with the Liberation Army, and several people first made a prediction (guess) about the possible actions of the Liberation Army.

"Pashali, tell me about it!" Bao Ling looked at the thirty-year-old former consul in Guangzhou and said. Harry Smith Pashali came to China at the age of thirteen and has been there for almost 20 years. On January 5 this year, after the troops entered the city, Pa Xiali led a team of sailors to capture Ye Mingchen. On January 9, Bai Gui, the governor of Guangdong, was reinstated. But he was only a puppet of the Westerners, and the city was effectively ruled by a council. The committee consisted of two Englishmen, one of whom was Pashali. Because Pashali was fluent in Mandarin, he became a leader. The committee set up courts, formed police, and opened the port of Guangzhou on February 10.

"I don't think the Chinese will come to attack Guangzhou." As the "mayor" of Guangzhou, who has military experience, he first made an analysis from the military aspect. "The city of Guangzhou has tall walls, and we still have five or six thousand troops, even if the Guangfu army has more advanced weapons than us, it will be smashed under the city of Guangzhou. I talked to the army that was withdrawn from the front line, and the reason why the Liberation Army was able to break through the army's defense line quickly was because of the front of the ironclad vehicles. ”

"Iron-hulled steam car?" Of course, the governor of the steam car knew, and the steam engine was of course iron-clad, could it still be made of wood?

He Bu, who had seen the real thing, had to give the governor a popular science, "The ironclad car is a kind of vehicle that is wrapped in iron armor and can drive on its own. It's just our guess to say it's a steam engine, and I can't think of anything other than a steam engine that could be used as a power for a vehicle. Because the vehicle is completely ironarmoured, and the people who drive it are hiding inside, neither our rifles nor artillery can penetrate it, let alone destroy it. It can easily destroy infantry barricades, and with a turret at the top that can rotate at will, it will face rapid-fire musket slaughter when it breaks into a barricade. ”

In the course of Hebu's narration, Bao Ling's mind conjured up with a square, train-like monster rushing towards him, and he was as powerless as the dead soldiers, and his face turned blue.

"But I believe that the walls of Guangzhou can stop it. As long as we can't cross the city walls, the Liberation Army will not be able to defeat us with infantry alone. "Hebu's words put down the heart that came up, at least his own safety is guaranteed." General Hebu, I now appoint you as the commander of the defense of the city of Canton, and be responsible for the defense of the whole city. Mr. Pashali, you are responsible for finding contacts with the Liberation Army and trying to achieve a ceasefire first. After saying that, Bao Ling cast an inquiring glance at Erjin, who coughed, "Gentlemen, I would like to remind you that our enemies are not only outside the city of Guangzhou?" ”