It is not very clear how much it has played, but one thing is clear, that is, it has put on a legal cloak for the aggression of the British and French forces, and the common people have nothing to be motivated by, and they will still suffer from the poison of war.

Lieutenant Colonel Wu Shili was surprised to find that after learning the contents of the inscription, the citizens of Tianjin did not rejoice and participate in the war to defend the imperial family with great enthusiasm, but on the contrary, they were even more pessimistic and cowardly. Wu Shili heard the words from an elder, "Prince Gong is a traitorous king? He doesn't seem to have done anything wrong, but after you came, our lives were a mess......" Wu Shili admired the old man's frankness, and when he visited the old man a few days later, he did not see anyone, and heard that he had been shot and killed by several drunken Indian Sikhs in the street......

As a result, Lieutenant Colonel Wu Shili came to the conclusion that the people of this country were indifferent to the imperial authority and imperial power, and that they only had a fear of the imperial power, but not the slightest admiration, and it seemed unlikely that they would sacrifice themselves for the throne and imperial power.

But no matter what, it still inspired a group of people, that is, all the generals and soldiers below Mianyu who stood up against the Empress Dowager Xi, they had the object and goal of allegiance, and they also had a legitimate name of righteousness, and they could continue the war.

The coalition army rested in the city of Tianjin for several days, and then intelligence came that the defeated Qing army had regrouped in Tongzhou, and that Seng Lingqin had erected a banner on a bridge leading to the capital to hold back the rout, and finally he had assembled an army of more than 30,000 men. So the Mongolian prince still stood in the way of the coalition army to the capital. It's so indefatigable.

Although more than 20,000 British and French allied troops plus more than 40,000 Qing allied troops of Mianyu and Ronglu, the allied forces were in an advantageous position in terms of strength for the first time, but everyone admitted it. Advancing into Beijing is full of risks. The ordeal in the Tanggu area made the coalition forces believe that this march might be dragged out again, and the way would be difficult and dangerous.

On this day, bad news came again, according to the reconnaissance intelligence of the Navy. Because the water was not deep enough, the ships of the coalition forces could not sail in the upper reaches of the Baihe River in Tianjin. However, there were enough inland river ships in Tianjin to be taken by Seng Lingqin to fill the river, and the coalition forces could not find ships suitable for inland navigation in this area, so their plan to transport military supplies by the river was in vain.

And the French army did not have enough transport, they lacked horses, mules, ox carts, etc. Wu Shili suspected that mules, horses, cattle and other things were eaten by the French army as military rations when they were in Tanggu. Therefore, the problem of transportation and supply of military supplies for the coalition forces is strict.

This was only the beginning of a series of difficulties, the beginning of a real big battle. The real problem for the two commanders at the helm of this joint expeditionary force is that they must resolutely rush to a completely unfamiliar territory. What kind of places will the coalition forces enter? Will the troops, as well as the outfits and artillery, be held back by unexpected difficulties and obstacles? The navy is unable to travel up the river due to the lack of water depth, so what will be the source of the coalition camping and supplies? The difficulties and dangers that may arise in the supply of troops are more terrible than fighting.

Fortunately, their Qing allies gave them the confidence to overcome difficulties, and after the planning of Prince Hui Mianyu and Rong Lu, the Qing army sent 10,000 cavalry and infantry to act as the vanguard. Grant and Montauban believed that their allies were familiar with the local situation and could do a better job than the coalition forces. And the Anglo-French forces followed. They planned to steadily establish a solid logistical support line, and in six to seven days, gradually advancing northward by piece, reaching Tongzhou, the last gateway to Beijing, the capital of the Qing Dynasty, not far from Beijing.

On the tenth day after the capture of Tianjin, the Qing Allied troops were in front, and the allied forces were divided into three columns, each day apart. The first column set out on 15 April, consisting of 800 British infantry and 600 cavalry, and 2 Armstrong artillery regiments, which Elgin followed on horseback. The French column then set out, in good order. It is composed of 3,000 men and horses under General Ranman and 2 artillery batteries.

The departure of the French army and the French mission was spectacular, and the French mission accompanied the army and occupied a prominent position. Two North African cavalrymen led the way, followed by Baron Gro's palanquin, carried on his shoulders by able-bodied Nanyang coolies. Then came General Montauban and members of the General Staff. The large procession that walked behind happily marched across the Chinese soil, proud to have crossed the boundaries where the ancestors had stopped.

It is said that Gro wanted to stay in Tianjin and wait for the situation to develop. He felt that this was "more appropriate, more suitable, and more convenient for the envoys than to take the risk of war." But the excited British envoy Ergin did not listen to his advice and was unwilling to leave the British commander! Gro had no choice but to go with the army.

In a letter to the Foreign Secretary, he wrote: "I did not hesitate to devote myself to a diplomatic battle of this peculiarity, no matter how hard and harsh it may have been for me; After reaching an agreement with our Qing allies in Tianjin, I marched with the French. ”

To this end, Gro brought with him a considerable diplomatic corps and convoy, a group of dignitaries and retinues, 25 carriages, 4 sedan chairs, and about 40 Nanyang coolies. Among the entourage were secretaries Basda and Venouye, interpreters Moriden and Father Delama, Admiral Trico, Captain Yores, Adjutant to General Chanet, and young officer Bublon, liaison officer of the Mission and Army. In addition, there were 5 European servants, 3 Chinese literati and 8 sailors. The legation of Gro was provided with the same supplies as soldiers, and the Quartermaster Department provided quota biscuits, cooked meat, and liquor.

The second column consisted of about 2,000 follow-up troops of the British army, led by General Michel, and then set out, followed by the French army of 4,000 men, followed by the army of Qing allies led by Mianyu and Ronglu.

On the night of the third day after the first column hit the road, the camp was suddenly hit by a torrential rain. A large number of strong men (mostly made up of Tianjin locals and recruited by the governor of Hengfu) who were escorting supplies took the opportunity to desert and take the horses and mules with them. Could this be due to the intervention of the monk Grinchen? In short, the coalition forces had been so skeptical. In Tianjin, whether it was an accident or hostility, the Allied stables caught fire and some horses were burned to death, but fortunately most of the horses and saddle ropes were rescued.

All in all, the coalition forces are always suffering from inexplicable accidents, and the coalition forces seem to be suffering more hostility and hostility, and the situation is worrying.

On the daily march, a new column took turns to open the way. Each leg of the journey is quite short. The weather gradually began to heat up, and the road was lined with sorghum fields on both sides, which were taller than those on horseback, and the road was muddy after the rainstorm, so the road was very difficult. The muddy roads on rainy days brought difficulties to the coalition forces, and the Qing coalition forces also came to help, but the manpower could not compete with nature, and the coalition troops were once again in a bad situation, not knowing when they would be able to continue their advance. General Montauban was so depressed that his troops were paralyzed by lack of provisions, and that there were few or no villages where food could be found along the way.

What is even more frustrating is the flight of personnel, the strong men in Tianjin have basically escaped, and when they fled, they also instigated a lot of Nanyang coolies. The Nanyang coolies had made a fortune from the previous robberies, and it is said that many of them were willing to return to their homeland rather than do this kind of service again. Even the sedan bearer of the envoy Gro fled, and they even took a few valuable ornaments from the palanquin, and the envoy was even more desperate......

Luckily, as Captain Sanouan put it, "there is no end to it", Artillery Colonel Benzman and Bridging Captain Breville were walking around the campsite when they noticed a towering mast in the distance. Where there is a mast, there must be a ship; Where there are ships, there must be waterways. Sure enough, the river was separated only by sorghum fields, close to the coalition camp, and countless sailing ships headed south from Tongzhou.

Upon inquiry, the shipowners replied that this river was a grain transportation channel in Beijing. It turned out that the navy made a mistake and confused the 150-meter-wide river with a small canal that was not navigable......

At the same time, the allied navy's self-righteous reconnaissance methods misled the allied high command, and the allied forces were also very arrogant and forgot to ask their Qing allies about the depth of the river, so the allied naval scouts insisted that the Baihe River would no longer be navigable after 3 kilometers upstream of Tianjin, not even the small wooden boats with two pointed ends. Captain Bezia lashed out at the Navy's mistake, while Grant and Montauban took the incident more seriously, paying the price for their men's self-righteousness and arrogance.

When the meeting was held again, when Wu Shili explained to the Chinese allies that they would use the new waterway to transport supplies, Mianyu and Ronglu looked surprised, it turned out that they ignored the waterway problem of the coalition army, thinking that the coalition army already knew the situation of this waterway, so the two sides made a big fuss, which was the same funny as the last time the coalition army forgot the siege ladder in Beitang Village.

As a result, more than 60 Chinese merchant ships were requisitioned, and the daily rent was 2 piastes. The bridging crews assembled the ships and detained the crews, thus forming two fleets. One transports the sick back to Tianjin, loading food and ammunition on the return; The other was responsible for transporting the things that had been carried by the wagons, which were useless when the coolies fled. These actions were carried out quickly. Colonel Dupan paid tribute to the bridge-builders, especially to Breville, whom he had given the nickname "Captain of the Pontoon," for "saving the expedition to China." This "expedition" was lucky again. Thanks to this improvised "navy", the coalition forces were able to obtain sufficient supplies from Tianjin.

Rong Lu was also puzzled by the requisition of Chinese ships by the coalition forces, according to the temper of Seng Lingqin, it was impossible for these ships to pass through Tongzhou to the south, and then he interrogated the owners of those ships, and got the news that Seng Lingqin's department was also out of food, and after he lost Tianjin's military supplies, Tongzhou was short of food and clothing, and these ships were originally sent south by him to prepare to transport a batch of grain to Beicang for emergency relief, and he also stored a batch of military grain in Beicang, but only one trip was intercepted by the coalition forces.

Rong Lu laughed, Monk Lingqin seemed to have been in a mess, and he didn't get much food but exposed the North Warehouse as a military point, and at the same time allowed the coalition forces to get valuable ships...... (To be continued......)