Since the parade began, Xiao Yungui stood in front of the ceremonial platform in military uniform, and kept watching every square that walked by. This article was written by...... When the 159 officers and men of the honor guard walked neatly across the high platform in the first parade phalanx of the Taiping Army's drill, the crowd watching on and off the stage did not know who took the lead in applauding first, as if they were infected, and the Chinese and foreign spectators all gave a standing ovation. Different from the previous two flag-awarding ceremonies, this time Xiao Yungui deliberately let people from all walks of life at home and abroad participate, firstly, to let them feel the strength of the power of heavenly affairs, and secondly, to encourage the soldiers, their military prestige is enough to make people proud.

After the guard of honor passed through the high platform, it changed to a pace of walking in unison, and then walked directly opposite the high platform and stood and waited. The second phalanx walked over slowly, only to see that the number of this phalanx was more than the number of the honor guard, fourteen people in a horizontal row, twenty-five people in a column, for the two lieutenant rank military attachés wearing officer uniforms, leading the team to walk over with passionate music, which could be regarded as walking into the range of the Gaotai military band, and the two lieutenants shouted loudly together: "Forward-forward!" ”

The three hundred and fifty soldiers in the phalanx behind him roared loudly together: "Expelle the Tartars and restore China!" Then the musket with the bayonet in his hand made a chopping motion forward, and the whole phalanx only heard a sound, but saw that the bayonets of the entire phalanx were raised at forty-five degrees forward, and all the square soldiers were looking sideways at the high platform, and the pace of the whole phalanx changed, and they all became walking in a positive step. And several commanders of the Taiping Army, including Xiao Yungui, who stood on the steps of the high platform, also immediately stood up and saluted.

This roar stirred people's hearts and made people's blood surge. The most rare thing is that the movements of the soldiers in each phalanx are neat, the pace is neat, and there is a very fierce and unruly momentum. The faces of the British and French envoys present changed from sluggish to worried.

Ergin couldn't help but whisper to Burblon beside him: "Mr. Minister, what do you think about this?" ”

Bourblon's face was a little pale, but he still said with a hard mouth: "They are very disciplined and neat, it seems that they have been practicing for a long time, but I don't think these are of any use on the battlefield, the most powerful 6th Army in the world is still our 6th Army in France." ”

Ergin sighed. said with a smile: "I'm not asking who the 6th Army is the most powerful, I'm asking you what you think about the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom arranging this military parade." ”

Bourblon was slightly stunned. "This is a provocation to our two countries. ”

Mai Huatuo on the side suddenly said: "I don't think this is a provocation, Mr. Minister, they are just showing a kind of power. After all, a large number of our expeditionary forces from India are gathering in Hong Kong, and the king of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom must be very jealous of us. He made both sides aware of each other's strengths. It is very good for political zhì games. ”

Ergin snorted. He looked at Pei Luo again and asked, "My major general, what do you think?" ”

Pei Luo frowned and said: "They all use Camanlaird rifles, with a range of about five hundred yards, firing five to six per minute, relying on soldier rotation to achieve the barrage of Xu, but now we have begun to replace the newer Enfield and Lancaster-style rear-loading rifled rifles, with a range of five hundred yards, firing ten to fifteen per minute." On the shot can completely suppress them. And in a country with a long coastline, only the 6th Army is not good. I think we're still maintaining an advantage. But the discipline and perseverance they showed were admirable. Pei Luo didn't seem to notice some small changes in this standard weapon in the hands of the Taiping Army, the Fifth and Sixth Armies were already equipped with a brand-new Taiping 1856 rifle, which used a unified standard paper bullet, and the firing could reach 10 to 11 per minute.

Ergin said: "The major general explained to us the equipment of the 6th Army once, and also gave an evaluation of the spiritual outlook of the 6th Army, and we can control the export of weapons to China, so there is no need to worry that the equipment of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom will be superior to ours." What I want to know more is what we do now. ”

Pei Luo touched his beard and only said one sentence: "If there is a war, we need to increase our troops in large numbers, and the 20,000 expeditionary forces assembled in Hong Kong are far from enough." Your Excellency, we should consider adding another three to fifty thousand expeditionary forces. ”

Mai Huatuo chuckled and said, "Your Excellency Major General finally defeated arrogance with reason, and clearly analyzed the current shape. How many people were there in the 6th Army of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom? I heard that with the addition of the two troops in front of us, they have a total of six armies, more than 200,000 people, and they are fighting on their own soil, and our current strength is far from enough, and the parliament has also given us another important task, which is to fight the Manchu government when necessary. If we were to go to war with the two major Chinese military blocs at the same time, I don't think the parliament would have agreed to it, especially against the Taipings, and our businessmen would never have agreed to it. ”

Ergin nodded and said: "The young consul's analysis is very correct, in order to avoid unnecessary friction with the Taiping Tian ** team, we must let the army and fleet of Hong Kong maintain restraint. After reading the table of the 6th Army of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, I suddenly had a Jianyì, and I don't know if the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom will agree. ”

The French minister, Bourblon, had been listening and pondering, and when he heard this, he said, "Does Your Excellency the Governor want the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom to join us in the war against the Manchus?" ”

Mai Huatuo and Pei Luo were taken aback when they heard this, looked at Ergin, and only listened to Erjin say: "A month ago, the Western King of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom obeyed our Jianyi and launched an effective local offensive before the Manchu defense line in the north, effectively containing the Qing army in the north, and the Qing army in the direction of Dagukou did not receive more effective reinforcements. Judging from the words of the prince of the Manchu Qing Dynasty, the Manchus would not participate in the five-party talks with the participation of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, so the war will definitely start after the freezing of the Dagu Pass is lifted at the beginning of next year. And we don't need to have hostilities with the Taipings, we need strong allies, and even we can support the Taipings to overthrow the rotten and conservative Manchu government. ”

After listening to this, Burbulon first said: "Your Excellency the Governor's proposal is very constructive, but I doubt the possibility that the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom can send troops, you must know that there are still a large number of Qing troops to the south of them that have not been resolved. Meantime. Didn't there be a high-ranking official on the Manchu side who contacted us and hoped to cooperate with us? If the Taiping army joins this war, after victory. The Manchus will cease to exist, the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom will inevitably become the successors, they will not pay for our war reparations, and I think that at that time we may not be able to get what we want. ”

After listening to Burbulon's words, Ergin, Mai Huatuo and Pei Luo also fell into deep thought, and saw that the five infantry phalanxes of the Taiping army continued to pass through the high platform, and each phalanx was mighty and majestic. The Chinese people and gentry next to the high platform were all cheering constantly.

I saw several British and French envoys watching and whispering there. Xiao Yungui sneered slightly in his heart, and Wang Minyun, the director of the Shanghai Navy Political Department who was watching from the side, also saw it, and asked in a low voice: "Your Highness, the Yiren seem to be discussing countermeasures." Do you want to let the interpreter come over and hear what they're saying? ”

Xiao Yungui waved his hand and said with a faint smile: "No." What they are calculating is very clear to this king. The infantry formation has passed, and you see the cavalry formation is coming. ”

Wang Minyun hurriedly turned his head to look, for fear of missing the opportunity to see the style of the Taiping cavalry, only to see the Taiping cavalry phalanx under the high platform marching over, at this time the music of the military band changed, into a more sonorous and powerful music, is the famous cavalry march in later generations.

The cavalry of this phalanx were all white horses under their crotches, and it was rare for each cavalryman and his mount to be felt. They are all generally tall and short, and they march to the music. Every row, every column was as fast and slow, the cavalry sat straight on the horses, and the snowy Chaksy saber rested on the shoulder. Seeing the range of the high platform, the two cavalry lieutenants in front of the formation pulled the saber leaning on their shoulders together, followed by pointing straight forward, and roared loudly: "Expelle the Tartars and restore China!" ”

The three hundred and fifty white horse cavalry behind him also followed a sword flower, and the three hundred and fifty sabers pointed forward, and in a dazzling cold light, the shout of the sky sounded: "Expelle the Tartars and restore China!" "The white war horse is like snow, the sword in his hand is like snow, the feather helmet is a line, the horse's head is a line, and the knife edge is a line, as if it was neatly cut out with a knife, and I don't know how these cavalry are trained. The people on the high platform were all dumbfounded, and after a while, the cheers burst out like a series of cannons. What's even more rare is that the shouts and cheers from the top and bottom of the high platform are extremely noisy, but the cavalry in the phalanx are holding their swords in one hand, holding the reins in the other, and their legs are clamped on the belly of the horses, and the horses are not affected by the chaotic sound and shadow at all. ”

The gentry and the common people were especially happy, such a rare grand occasion, they could actually see it with their own eyes, and many old people began to kneel on the ground and worship, muttering in their mouths, "Wang Shi, Wang Shi, this is our mighty Wang Shi!" "It is really a mighty army, I am fortunate to see it in this life, and I have no regrets in death." Some people even recited the poem, "The black clouds crush the city and want to destroy it, and the light of the armor opens to the sun." The sound of horns fills the sky with autumn colors, stuffed with rouge and night purple. Half a roll of red flags is in the water, and the frost is heavy and the cold is silent. repay the king's will on the golden platform, and carry the jade dragon to die for the king. ”

After the white horse cavalry phalanx passed, followed by the red horse cavalry phalanx, the cavalry costumes and horses of this phalanx are red, and it looks like a red cloud rolling in from a distance, and the white horse phalanx in front of it, it is also neat and tidy, and the momentum is majestic. The applauding gentry on the edge of the high platform were all hoarse, and everyone stood up, stretching their necks, just afraid that they would miss a certain detail.

The red horse phalanx was followed by the black horse phalanx, the black horse phalanx was all black armor and black horses, and the intention of killing was even stronger, as the last phalanx, their momentum was even more domineering.

At this point, the parade of more than 3,000 officers and soldiers in the nine phalanxes ended, and the 3,000 officers and soldiers phalanx all arrived at the front of the high platform, at this time, the instruments of the military band stopped, and the cheers of the people and gentry gradually calmed down. The neat shouts of 80,000 officers and soldiers rang out: "Defend the homeland and defend the country!" Who else is me! These tens of thousands of people shouted together, how moving the momentum was, the timid of the people and gentry, caught off guard, by this sound of drinking, frightened to sit on the ground, and some of them had never seen this kind of posture and were so frightened that they peed their pants.

After shouting, Lin Qirong, the principal of the Martial Arts Academy, nodded and said to the two: "Start giving the flag!" The order was passed on, only to see six flag guards each escort a military flag to stand in front of the stage, King Xi strode forward, after the two sides saluted each other, Xiao Yungui took the military flag in the hand of the flag guard, and handed the two military flags to Chen Bingwen and Pan Qiliang in turn.

"At the end of the reorganization of the Fifth Army, the Fifth Army of the Kingdom of Heaven is hereby awarded the number of the Fifth Army, and the banner of the army is Jiaomujiao, hoping that your troops will fight bravely to kill the enemy, expel the Tartars, restore China, and defend the country!" Before the words of the King of the West fell, Chen Bingwen took the military flag after saluting the military salute and responded loudly: "Swear to serve the kingdom of heaven!" People are in the flag! Then Pan Qiliang also took over the Kang Jinlong military banner like this.

Then Lin Qirong ordered the army to start the drill, the herald soldier trumpet sounded loudly, only to see nine phalanx soldiers retreat to both sides to stand, a phalanx soldier quickly put the equipment and muskets on the ground, followed the formation to the open space opposite the high platform, and began to walk out of the later generations, after walking horizontally, turned to walk in a vertical column, the entire phalanx spread out the distance, under the command of the two lieutenants in front of the formation, three hundred and fifty soldiers started to fight the enemy. It was still neat, the shouts were as if one person was shouting out, and the cheers on the sidelines rang out even from the sky. After that, there were bayonet drills and equestrian drills, and the people were so fascinated that their voices were hoarse.

At noon, the whole drill ended, and the Taiping army soldiers and horses withdrew, still in a neat and tidy ranks, without any messy appearance. Some of the squires wanted to go up and send some food and water to the soldiers to eat and drink, but they were stopped by the soldiers on duty, and the Taiping soldiers only waved to the people, and no one stepped forward to take the people's things. A lieutenant gave a trumpet, and all the Taiping officers and soldiers ignored the drill for half a day without dripping water, their throats were dry and hoarse, and they tore their throats and sang loudly together: "The red glow flies in the west mountain at sunset, the soldiers return the camp to the camp in drills, the red flowers on their chests reflect the colorful glow, and the happy singing is ......flying all over the sky." When the scorching sun was in the sky, the squires of the people were reluctant to disperse for a long time.

On the high platform, Xiao Yungui walked to the side of the British and French envoys, and said with a smile: "The drill is over, I don't know what the two ministers think?" ”

Ergin stood up and said slowly: "It's really a spectacular military parade. Your Royal Highness King Xi, regarding the assembly of the Hong Kong Expeditionary Force, we will send a special military attache regiment to inform you at any time to show our sincerity. ”

Xiao Yungui touched his beard and said with a smile: "This is natural, later the expeditionary force will go to Shanghai to meet with the huge fleet of the coalition forces, and we don't want the coalition forces to have any unnecessary friction and conflict with our defenders during the stationing in Shanghai, it is better for the two sides to be frank and trust each other." ”

Burbulon also stood up and said, "But His Royal Highness the King of the West, whether the costs related to the transportation of the fleet and the expeditionary force in Shanghai and the supply of materials should be considered to be lowered, for God's sake." ”

Xiao Yungui laughed and said: "There has been such a saying since ancient Europe 6, God's to God, and the king's to the king's, these transshipment, port docking and other expenses should be charged by me, the king, even the church and the pope can't say anything, God will not give this king face because of this." Besides, the first few times the port of Shanghai was provided to the allied forces, and this price was also charged, and we did not increase the price, but this time the 6th Army arrived, and we only collected one or two silver per person per day for the docking fee, which is already very cheap......" (to be continued......

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