Victoria Barracks, Hong Kong

On the cement paved lift, there were more than 30 corpses. Looking at these corpses covered with white cloths, the surrounding British troops, whether they were British, Indians, or Langrkhas, all felt sad about the death of rabbits and foxes.

General Spintozi, accompanied by Second Lieutenant Davis, began to examine the body. He half-crouched to remove the white cloth that covered the corpse in front of him, and saw a shattered face. Unfortunately, the deceased was hit in the head by more than one bullet at the same time, which did their job well, ripping off most of his target's skull, taking away his right eyeball, tearing his right cheek, and lengthening his mouth by at least two inches. When returning the body, the Chinese showed that they had not returned all of his "parts". Even after the bloody storms of the Crimean War, General Spintozzi felt sick in the siege of Sevastopol, where the Anglo-French army suffered about 73,000 casualties and the Russian army suffered about 102,000 casualties. And the Indian soldier who was in charge of carrying the corpse just now vomited directly when he saw the white paste exposed to the sun.

The general stood up and took a deep breath before suppressing the feeling of nausea. Apparently not wanting to look at the rest of the corpses any longer, he asked his adjutant, "What about the other corpses?" ”

Davis sniffled, the smell of blood on the playground made him uncomfortable, and the horrific condition of the corpse made him shudder. He joined the army for honor and medals, but he didn't want to become such a terrible corpse. "Sir, the other corpses have been examined by the medic, and each one has more than one gunshot wound, and the most one has been shot at least eight times. From this, it can be inferred that Winters is probably telling the truth. Those Chinese used a large number of firearms, otherwise it would not have been possible to break one of our companies with only a dozen people. Also, please take a look at this! The adjutant pulled a bullet from his coat pocket, "This was found from the body, it was stuck in a thigh bone." ”

The general took the bullet and looked at it carefully. It was a cylindrical bullet made of copper, and the warhead had been deformed, so you can imagine how much damage it caused to the deceased. In this era when flintlock pistols and round bullets were the mainstay, although there were already muskets that used thunder mercury and cylindrical bullets, the bullets were made of relatively soft lead. This also caused the penetration of the bullet to be not strong, that is, it was impossible to have the power of the Chinese's bullet, which was why the British army was shocked.

The general looked at the bullet in silence, and after a long time asked in a deep voice, "Davis, what do you think?" ”

The young adjutant had not yet learned to behave like a bureaucrat, and he spoke directly about his opinion. "I think the weapons used by these Chinese are more advanced than ours, and coupled with their similar clothing and behavior to Westerners, I think these Chinese should be trained and supported by Westerners." Considering how unfriendly they are to us, I suspect that it is the Russians or the Americans who are behind them. ”

As the only Englishman who had official contact with the crossing, the general took Davis's views very seriously. "Your views are insightful and bold." The general complimented, "But what I want to know is what you think of our next move." As for who supports those Chinese, that is a matter for the government to consider. We are military men and think only about military issues. ”

Davis was not discouraged by the fact that his insights were not appreciated, he thought for a while and said, "We can't do anything until we get support from Guangzhou." ”

"Really?" The general subconsciously asked. He already had a preliminary understanding of the combat effectiveness of those Chinese, and although he didn't know what the other party's will to fight was, the opponent's firepower definitely made the general dare not take risks easily. A dozen people will wipe out a company, and the remaining half of the battalion on Hong Kong Island will not be enough for them to annihilate twice. And the Chinese reinforcements have arrived, and without the cover of the navy, they may not even be able to get to the beach.

General Spintozzi's brain raced as he pondered what to do. More than twenty minutes passed, so much so that Ensign Davis felt that a century had passed, and the general spoke. "Davis, you immediately send someone to Guangzhou to deliver the letter. Oh! No, it's better for you to go for yourself. Now only you know the Chinese best, and after you met Governor Bao Ling, you gave him a detailed report on our situation here and asked him to give us instructions on our next move. ”

"Okay, I'll take the boat right away." Davis gave a military salute and prepared to leave.

"Don't rush to go yet." The general called the second lieutenant. "It's not safe to take a boat, so you might as well take the land route!" Since seeing the gunboat that can be docked on the beach, advance and retreat freely, and be very fast, the general understands that those Chinese also have a navy. Now the Chinese must have blocked the mouth of the Pearl River, and if the steam traffic boat on the Hong Kong side encounters it, it will not be able to fight and fight, and it will not be able to escape, so it can only obediently become a prisoner of the Chinese, and it is better to take the land route for safety.

"By land?" The second lieutenant looked embarrassed, "But I don't know the way!" And the north is occupied by those Chinese rebels, how can I, a foreigner, pass through? ”

"You don't have to worry about that." The general was relieved, "You go and find the Wang comprador of Jardine Matheson!" I'll ask him to send someone to show you the way!" ”

After a while, Davis brought in Wang Ju, the comprador of Jardine Matheson. Jardine Matheson was founded on July 1, 1832 by two Englishmen of Scottish origin, William Jardine (1784~184 Heson, 1796~1878) in Guangzhou, China. Jardine Matheson played a pivotal role in the development of Hong Kong in its early years, and was known as "Jardine Matheson before Hong Kong". It is also the first European company to be established in Shanghai and the first foreign company to be established in Japan. In its early years, Jardine Matheson was involved in the trade with China, mainly engaged in the trading of opium and tea. When Lin Zexu imposed a smoking ban in 1839, William Jardine, the founder of Jardine Matheson, personally lobbied the British government in London to start a war with the Manchus, and also advocated the acquisition of Hong Kong as a trading base from the Qing Dynasty. At the beginning of Hong Kong's opening in 1841, Jardine Matheson bought the first land for sale in Hong Kong for £565. After the outbreak of the Opium War, Jardine Matheson moved its head office from Guangzhou to Hong Kong in 1842.

Wang Ju is a native of Dongguan, Guangdong, the character Shouke, English name Chrysanthemum, Chinese New Year's Eve. He began his education in Macau at the age of seven, attending the Morrison Memorial School, which was still attached to the London Women's School for Girls, and was run by the wife of an independent missionary, the only Protestant missionary, opium dealer, British spy, and China expert. In 1839, the American educator Rev. Brown arrived in Macau, and Morrison Memorial School became independent. In 1842, due to the cession of Hong Kong to the British, Morrison Memorial School moved to Hong Kong, and Wang Ju also moved to Hong Kong to continue his studies. In 1846, Wang Ju graduated from Morrison Memorial School and entered Jardine Matheson through his father's relationship.

"Your Excellency General, may I ask what you are looking for me?" Wang Ju bowed respectfully to the general, and then asked.

"Mr. Chrysanthemum, I believe you have some understanding of the current situation," General Spintozi continued, after receiving an affirmative reply from Wang Ju. "Now there's a task for you to complete." He pointed to his adjutant, "Your adjutant, Second Lieutenant Davis, you should know him, right?" I now need a letter from him to go to Canton, because those of your compatriots on the other side may have blocked the mouth of the Pearl River, so I decided to let Davis go to Canton by land, so that a Chinese familiar with the terrain of the area will be needed to show him the way. I know that you have frequent contacts with businessmen in the Xinan and Dongguan areas, so I would like to recommend a few suitable candidates. ”

Wang Ju thought for a moment and said, "Why don't you let me personally escort Second Lieutenant Davis to Guangzhou!" I still have some connections in Xinan and Dongguan, but I need to come forward in person. ”

"No, no, you don't have to go yourself," the general rejected his offer, "I have another task for you." ”

"Please!"

"You know, we're now hostile to that group of rebels who call themselves the 'Liberation Army.' Through our contact with them, we found that they knew us very well, but we didn't know anything about them. So we need someone to go deep into their zone of control to find out the news," he said, looking at Wang Ju with an inquiring gaze, "I think this person is none other than you." ”

Wang Ju was stunned, in the past thirty years, he never thought that he would one day be a spy, but the general's gaze did not allow him to refuse. Although he has received a Western-style education since he was a child and has been working in a foreign bank, this Chinese identity has always been inferior in the eyes of most Britons. And the British, for themselves, are the bosses, the masters, the gods, and he really did not have the courage to refuse the orders of General Spintos.

Seeing Wang Ju's hesitant appearance, Stopbinzi cheered him up. "You don't have to worry too much, you are Chinese, and those rebels are also Chinese, I don't think they will casually embarrass you as a compatriot." You can pretend to be a grocery vendor, I don't think that's a problem for you, as long as those rebels don't know you're working for us, you won't be in any danger. ”

"But I've never been a spy, have I?" Wang Ju still instinctively repels this work. "I don't know how to spy on the rebels, and I don't know what information is useful."

"You don't have to worry about that, because you don't need to steal any classified information, so you don't need any professional functions." General Spintozi continued to persuade Wang Ju that it would be easy to be a spy. "You just have to look closely at their behavior, see how they talk and behave, and take note of the information that inadvertently leaks from their words. For example, where they came from, where they received the influence of Western civilization, and how they treated Westerners and Western countries are like our attitude towards Britain. It's not a secret, and I don't think they hide it. Of course, it would be better if you could figure out the number of their troops, the size of their navy, and the situation of the city armament. ”

Although the comprador did not agree with the general's words, he also understood that he could not escape from this errand, and in the end he could only endure the bitterness in his heart and accept the errand, and at the same time pray for God's blessing.

The next step is to prepare for two things. Davis needed to leave immediately, so Wang Ju called his long-term attendant Wang Ji. This Wang Ji is in his twenties, he is a clever person, he has been following him for six or seven years, he is trustworthy, and he is the best candidate to be sent as a guide. Davis also made some changes, and the military uniform could no longer be worn, because he had studied biology in the past, so the general asked him to dress up as a traveler and come to South China to collect insect specimens. and forged an American identification document to cope with possible cross-examination by Chinese. It's just that the general is redundant this time, because none of the survivors know the Western passports of this era.

A small steamer secretly stopped in the southeast of Hong Kong Island, in the original place of Chai Wan, and the dressed Davis and Wang Ji got on board. Also on board were two horses, a donkey, and Davis' props. The small steamer took them ashore near Dameisha in Mirs Bay, from where they would avoid the main road to Dongguan. If the Chinese rebels were well patrolled, they would have made a detour to Tamsui. Wang Ju came with the boat to see him off, and after telling Wang Ji again, Wang Ji rode a donkey to lead the way, Davis rode a horse, and the other horse carried the luggage, and embarked on an unknown journey.

※※※※※

PS: I would like to appease someone's grievances with this chapter, and may his soul rest in peace, Amen!