After a week of anxiety and suffering, in the middle of the night of February 18, several people dressed as ordinary Tatar herdsmen, led by Lieutenant Colonel Wu Shili, an intelligence staff officer of the British army, quietly entered the British military camp in Weihaiwei.

After daybreak, the British High Command sent a letter to the French army for an urgent meeting, and General Montauban and a number of senior French naval and land generals came to Weihaiwei again. At this military meeting, Wu Shili, an intelligence officer of the British army, informed the French army of the military deployment information of the Qing army, and the landing site was selected in Beitang, which is only located a little north on the left bank of the Baihe River, although there are 5,000 elite firearms battalion soldiers of the Qing army stationed there, but the people inside the Qing country guarantee that once the war starts, the Qing army can completely retreat and let the British and French troops land along the lì, and on the south bank of the Baihe River, there are 10,000 elite cavalry and 20,000 foot soldiers of the Qing Mongolian prince and monk Greenqin to hold on, and the defense is extremely tight, and it is confirmed that the landing here cannot be confirmed.

After listening to Wu Shili's information, Colonel Dupan of the French army pointed out that it was necessary to reconnoiter and confirm the information obtained, and the French army still could not fully believe the so-called internal intelligence of the Qing Kingdom obtained by the British army.

Du Pan's words were simple and clear: "Gentlemen, the last time we suffered a defeat at the Dagukou Fort, we must be cautious and ensure victory in this operation, since the Qing people were able to suddenly strengthen the defense of Beitang, Dagukou and other places, it means that they are waiting for us there, we must be cautious." ”

General Montauban naturally supported Dupin, but General Grant thought that the French army was too cautious, but Grant decided to respect the French and organized a joint reconnaissance the next night.

The next day's reconnaissance went smoothly. The south bank of the White River was indeed heavily garrisoned by Qing troops, and although there were Qing troops on the north bank, the intelligence obtained from the British army was the same. So the question arises, once the coalition forces choose to land here, will the Qing army take the initiative to retreat and make way for the passage as agreed?

After a stugging argument, the two coalition commanders decided to make a tentative landing first, and to abandon their plans to split up on both sides of the White River. As a result, the Anglo-French forces decided to land at the same time on the north bank of Beitang.

The coalition ships are only scheduled to sail on February 26. As the British said, meet at the Beitang Fortress. The number of ships and troops dispatched by the British and French armies varied greatly, with a total of 300 ships. Among them, there were 100 warships and 200 transports, most of which were British ships. The French Navy counted about 8,800 people participating in the war, including 296 officers. 925 support staff or coolies. But the British claimed that the French army had only 6,500 men in the battle, and more than 1,000 horses and mules.

The British army totaled more than 11,000 officers and soldiers and thousands of Nanyang and Indian coolies, divided into 73 warships and more than 100 merchant ships used for transportation. According to Groween's estimates, the British Navy had a total of 223 ships and merchant ships, carrying 18,000 people in addition to the crew, although the number is high. But counting the 3,500 Indian servants and Chinese coolies brought by the British seems reasonable.

Thus the Anglo-French forces began the war. A distant and magical battle, a battle with an uncertain ending, because in the eyes of the Anglo-French coalition, everything is unfamiliar, this coast that was unknown in the past, this vast empire that no European army has ever set foot on, the Beitang River just marked on this map......

At this time, in Guangzhou, which was under the control of the Taiping army, speculators were betting on the success of the Anglo-French conquest against China. Chinese merchants watched the war with skepticism, and the members of the Canton Cotton Guild offered $50,000 to bet that the Allies would not be able to take the Dagu Fort, a bet that the British merchants did not dare to accept. Only an American industrial group bet $10,000 on the victory of the British and French forces, and the Cotton Guild refused to make such a small bet.

On 25 February, the embarkation began, and it took two days for the French artillery and baggage to be loaded, and two days for the horses and soldiers. On the night of the 26th, General Montauban and his staff first boarded the ship "Forban". According to Dr. Castaño: "It is not without nostalgia that the officers and men of our army have left this temporary resting place. "And the French infantry left behind in Zhifu was only about 200.

On the 27th, at dawn, the French fleet lifted anchor and sailed in three columns. The three columns were commanded by Commodore Bage and Brod, and Colonel Brzewa, who were on the lead ships, the "Nemesis", the "Fairy of the Forest" and the "Spike". The ships are separated by two chains (400 meters) of distance. General Montauban was on board the Forban, General Chanet was on the large ship Nemesis, and the French envoy Baron Gro and the French minister Bourblon were on the Duschera. The sea is so beautiful! Goodbye, Zhifu!

On the morning of 28 February, the two fleets met, and the French fleet dropped anchor to the south of the British fleet, with two British formations and one French formation. After sailing along the same route, the two fleets docked together at a distance of 20 nautical miles from the Beitang fortress. The 250 ships and ships dropped anchor in separate rows, and the spectacle was a spectacle that Admiral Collino marveled at. Zhu Ya, the priest of the army, also wrote excitedly: "There are many masts, like a church bell tower towering into the sky, and the colorful flags on the top of the masts are fluttering high, which is a majestic scene. ”

Commenting on the scene and the feelings of the troops, Bourblon wrote poignantly: "The remoteness of the motherland and the uncertainty of the future of war have a mystical effect on the psychology of the soldiers, and the strength and confidence of the magnificent sight of the sea are intertwined with this mystery. There are more than 200 warships and transport ships, and the lights are reflected on the water at night, and the waves seem to present the scene of a big city. ”

In addition, not far from the Anglo-French fleet, there were four Russian warships and two American warships, and the flags hoisted on the masts indicated that the Russian and American ministers Ignati Yeff and Warrhohan were on board. Britain and France were friendly with the Americans, and they were wary of the Russians, who were intent on taking advantage of the fire, claiming that in order to recapture Sakhalin and Temple Street, they would massively increase their forces in the Far East against the Taiping forces entrenched in these two places. However, the British also knew that the strength of the Russian fleet in the Far East was inferior to that of the Taiping Army, at least after the British took the initiative to let the six warships ordered by the Taiping Army return to China, the strength of the Russian fleet in the Far East was not comparable to that of the Taiping Army. The Russians' reinforcements were almost always an increase in the army, and the British believed that the Russians were trying to take advantage of the fire. Get a piece of the soup when the Manchus are weak.

In the following two days, the main arrangement was for the landing of troops. Colonel Dupan of the French army took advantage of this to conduct a final reconnaissance of the terrain of the White River, and sure enough, he found that the other side had no defense. The Qing troops stationed on the north bank of the Baihe River took the initiative to retreat, and there was no sign of Qing army activities on the shore, only the Qing troops of the Seng Lingqin Department on the south bank of the Baihe River often patrolled and reconnoitred back and forth on the river bank, but they were soon dispersed by the artillery fire of the coalition fleet.

On March 1, the British and French fleets approached Beitang for about 10 nautical miles. Cross the estuary sandbar and prepare for the next day's landing. However, due to the strong southeast wind and the rough sea, the landfall was not successful on the 1st.

Early morning on March 2. Despite the first spring rains, the weather has improved. According to Navy Captain Baru, at about 6 o'clock. Generals Heb and Shane gave the order for the troops to be lowered into dinghys and sailboats. Each soldier was given a seven-day ration, two portions of cooked meat, wine and shochu, and roasted ground coffee. And horses. Distribute forage for five days.

Special Envoy Gro and Minister Bourblon were on the ship "Dushera" and watched the scene quietly, only to see a vast cloud of smoke and rain in the distance, without a hint of breeze. On board, everyone was ecstatic, and every battleship docked barges, dinghys, and boats. Soldiers lined up in long lines and descended the gangway, crowded with landing ships. I saw horses driven to the end of the truss everywhere. Then slowly put it in the barge. The anchorage is all boiling and presenting a very exciting scene.

Small steam gunboats. With a draft of less than 9 feet, the ships carrying 2,000 soldiers, 2 artillery squadrons, 1 platoon of engineers, 1 platoon of ambulance personnel, and 200 Nanyang coolies were towed to the shore one by one. Speaking of the collection of coolies, the British and French armies have complained, originally during the first battle of Dagukou, they recruited a lot of Guangdong coolies, but since the Taiping army captured Guangdong, the Taiping army through guò diplomatic means made the British and French forces give up the use of Guangdong coolies, these coolies turned into the Taiping army's military and civilian husbands, and the British and French forces had to use Nanyang coolies.

In order to prevent discontent, the French command decided that all branches of the army, including their commanders, should go ashore in part, so that all the senior officers would disembark and go ashore, while the large force remained at sea. This deployment was inevitably criticized by Colonel Dupan: "In wartime, trying to please everyone is bound to be detrimental to the interests of the whole." ”

According to the agreement reached between the commanders of the two sides, the British drew an equal number of soldiers from the 1st Brigade and landed under the command of Major General Michel. At high tide, the two small fleets crossed the sandbar of the White River without difficulty and docked at the anchorage. Generals Montauban and Chanet went aboard the ship to meet with General Grant and Admiral Heb. It was 3 o'clock in the afternoon. Montauban was anxious to disembark, and Grant insisted on waiting until the tide receded. According to the reconnaissance, although the Qing troops originally stationed on the north bank retreated, the Qing troops of the Seng Lingqin Division on the south bank took the initiative to cross the river to attack, and Montauban was worried that they would cut off the Beitang Bridge, which would lead to the final failure of the landing operation.

Montauban's insistence allowed him to win, although the strange retreat of the Qing army on the north bank allowed the coalition troops to land bloodlessly, but a large number of Mongol horse teams on the south bank of the Baihe River were still eyeing the landing, and whether the coalition forces could expand the landing field and quickly deploy their forces, the battle for the Beitang Bridge became the key.

At about 4 p.m. that day, the French commander was mounted in a small boat, accompanied by Colonel Dupin, his son Captain Montauban, and Adjutant Elisson, as well as several North African cavalrymen. The boat approached the riverbank, encountered a pool of silt, ran aground, and General Montauban was the first to jump down and set foot on Chinese soil, that is, jumping in the muddy water, which was knee-deep and seeped into his leather boots. Immediately, 500 French light infantry followed, and soon overtook him.

General Montauban did not linger long on the coast, and soon he moved his headquarters forward, and ordered the French infantry and artillery to move forward quickly and take control of the Beitang Bridge. Although he learned of the inexplicable collapse of the Qing army on the north bank, he quickly made a deployment and ordered his troops to cross the river in the upper reaches of the Baihe River to prevent the British and French forces from breaking through Beitang, but the Qing army was slow to move after crossing the river and did not quickly control the Beitang Bridge, and the French army took the lead.

The following day, more than 1,000 French infantry and two artillery squadrons engaged in a fierce battle with the Qing army at the Beitang Bridge, although the Qing army risked the charge to the death, but never recaptured the Beitang Bridge, as more and more British and French troops crossed the Beitang Bridge, at the other end of the formation, Seng Greenqin realized that the successful landing of the British and French troops in Beitang has been unstoppable. (To be continued......)