In fact, as soon as he learned of the defeat of Dagu, Napoleon III, who was far away in France, instructed Admiral Amurin, Minister of the Navy, and Marshal Langdon, Minister of War, to prepare for an "expedition" against China. The "expedition" should be based on the four pillars of the formation of land troops, the formation of operational fleets, transport and quartermaster stations, and the development of operational plans.

The initial consideration was to form a large "expeditionary" army, about 18,000 men. But Napoleon III's wife, Empress Eugenie, was in favour of a large-scale "expedition" to China. At one point, the War Office planned to create four new Zhuaf light infantry regiments, mainly volunteers, plus more than 1,000 Belgian soldiers to form a single unit. However, due to problems and economic factors in the implementation process, and especially in order not to make Britain feel the pressure of increasing the strength of the French army, France reduced the planned strength considerably during the formal consideration of the plan.

In fact, the British would not have agreed to France sending a large number of troops to China that outnumbered the British army. Second, France wisely abandoned its plan to send war horses, or cavalry, to China. Colonel Dupan regretted this, but expressed understanding, saying: "...... The demands for an alliance with Britain dashed these overly large plans...... However, now that the extreme sensitivities of our neighbours have henceforth been respected, we may hope that the Entente of Friendship between England and France will remain stable. ”

Together, London and Paris studied how military "expeditions" were organized and planned for war, which required far more coordination and coordination than the last war in which the combined fleets of Britain and France went to the Far East. The total strength of the two armies was determined to be 20,000, the British army was 12,000, most of which were drawn from the troops stationed in India, and the French army was 8,000.

In the formation of the "expeditionary" force, Colonel Bourgeva of the French Navy played an important role. He was sent to London by Admiral Amurin to communicate with the British in advance. and to prepare together with it for joint operations that the Franco-British forces will carry out on the same battlefield. Colonel Brzewa, on behalf of the Admiralty, and Colonel Riebre, on behalf of the War Office, studied with the British representatives various aspects of the future "expedition", such as the allocation of forces, the coordination between coalition forces, the transportation of personnel and materials, rear bases, offensive targets, etc. The method of seizing Tientsin - by land or water - was also studied. As for the supreme goal of seizing Beijing, the coalition forces were still hesitant.

The concerns of the coalition were still old problems, and British politicians feared that the Manchus would quickly collapse after the capture of Beijing. And let the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom soon unify all of China. The French emperor, on the other hand, was so enthusiastic that he even joined forces with the Taiping army, and he was happy to see a Christian state in the East replace the now barbaric and ignorant Manchus. However, the British were very cautious about the Taiping army, especially the king of the west, and the last time because of the unpleasant experience of Temple Street and Sakhalin Island, the British really felt the political courage of the king of the west. It is conceivable that if the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, represented by the king of the west, rules the Far East, a powerful country with the same land and population as Russia will emerge in the East. British interests in the Far East were bound to suffer.

So. In the discussion of whether to occupy Beijing, there was a serious disagreement between Britain and France.

Fortunately, in the end, the two sides compromised, this battle must be fought, and what will be fought will depend on the course of the war, and the British are also worried that only occupying Tianjin will not reach the point of making the Manchus submit.

The French side chose Major General Montauban as the commander-in-chief of the French army, and he was a veteran soldier stationed in Africa. He spent most of his life in Algeria, where he gained a reputation and won about 12 awards for it. The most outstanding exploit was the capture of Emir Abdel Qader on the Moroccan border.

On the same day that the British and French declaration of war note was sent to Suzhou. General Montauban, 63 years old, was received by Emperor Napoleon at the Palace of Compiègne, and the advance declaration of war by Britain and France did not affect their military operations, and Grant's fleet retreated to Shanghai and then to Hong Kong, and their initial target was still Canton.

Like the Château de Fontainebleau, the Palace of Compiègne is also a favourite royal resort, and the emperor likes to govern here every year on the feast of St. Eugenie on 15 November. Napoleon III asked General Montauban if he felt strong enough to withstand the fatigue of an "expedition" that could last a long time, and the harsh climate that could be hot or cold. Montauban replied with pride that he had spent 27 years in Africa and had never fallen ill, but that his body had become stronger from the fatigue of the war.

The Emperor picked up a map of China from the imperial table and handed it to him, and then told him to go to Count Goschi. Goe, the first secretary of the French Mission in China, was present at the time of the Dagu incident and was sent back to China to report the fiasco to the government. This diplomat was responsible for presenting General Montauban with all his knowledge of the people and events of the Chinese Empire. Then, as the commander-in-chief of the "expeditionary" force against China, Montauban was introduced to the dignitaries of the palace and the Empress Eugenie.

In view of the remoteness of the war zone, General Montauban also had some special powers, such as the right to appoint officers of all ranks below the rank of colonel and to confer the rank of Legion of Honor up to the fourth degree.

Napoleon III also appointed Lieutenant Colonel Schmitz, one of his lieutenants, as chief of staff of the "expeditionary" army. And the artillery was commanded by Colonel Benzman. The engineering unit was led by Lieutenant Colonel Delulay, a close confidant of General Montauban and who was on duty in Cochinchina at the time. The administrative affairs were taken care of by Assistant Quartermaster Dubie, but he himself (in the formation of the "expeditionary" army) did not have to turn back from China!

The commander of the French cavalry, Rebull, was sent to the British as a commissioner; Colonel Foley of the British Army came to General Montauban as a liaison officer. There was also a group of additional officers with no specific duties accompanying the "expedition" in case it was needed...... i.e. the replacement of a regular incumbent......

Colonel Dupan, with an expert eye, emphasised the difficulties associated with the implementation of such "expeditions". He wrote: "The formation of a fleet and an army for expeditionary purposes is a much more difficult thing than one usually thinks. the selection of generals, the primitiveness of soldiers, the issuance of clear and precise orders to control possible problems and avoid conflicts, the provision of sanitary precautions, the quantity and quality of the various military baggage to be transported, etc.; All of this qiē constitutes a whole composed of combat effectiveness assessment and special military quartermasters, and in order to make this whole work well, it is necessary to have a strong sense of proportion, especially relying on rich experience. In this regard, we should learn from the Taiping Army in the Far East, which paid special attention to logistical preparation, and they did it better than us. ”

The French combat unit consisted of 2 infantry brigades. It belongs to different branches of the armed forces, with a total of 5,600 people, including 1,600 naval officers and men. The 1st Brigade was commanded by Brigadier General Ranman and consisted of four infantry battalions (two battalions of light infantry), the 101st Infantry Regiment and two engineer companies of 320 men) and one engineering platoon. The 2nd Brigade was commanded by Brigadier General Collino and consisted of 4 battalions, including the 102nd Infantry Regiment under Colonel Omalay, the 2nd Marine Battalion under Colonel Vasogne, and 4 artillery squadrons (1,200 men) and 1 company of bridgebuilders and 1 platoon of fuses.

It is worth noting that the French "expeditionary" army did not have cavalry, only a small hussar convoy of about 50 people. Responsible for following the Commander-in-Chief and diplomatic representatives. Admiral Montauban could also rely on France's modern navy and a suitable fleet (already a warship with a steel hull, a steam engine, and a propeller). Since Napoleon III came to power, he has not been stingy with naval funding. Admiral Amurin, the Minister of the Admiral, was busy assembling the necessary troop transport ships, and at the same time purchasing three fast steam ships (i.e., the "Japan", the "European" and the "Weser" from the British) to speed up the construction of new ships and charter merchant ships. The French fleet consisted of 42 propeller ships. 6 steamers, 13 sailing ships. and 87 chartered or chartered ships for transportation.

Of course. Don't forget that 16 of the 21 ships of the French Navy in the Far East were able to cross the sandbar of the White River and go up the river. These iron-detachable gunboats were equipped with rifled cannons of 30 cm caliber. Firepower is powerful and mobile, and they will play an active and effective role. It must be noted, however, that the strength of the Navy may have been reduced at the time of the review. The fleet departing from the ports of France will only make peace with the ships already in the Chinese Sea.

The "expedition" was also accompanied by a highly skilled medical team. Led by Chief Physician Castaño, it includes 40 military doctors and 8 pharmacists. There is also a religious office, where there is a senior priest in the army, Fr. Tregaro, and a Protestant priest, Fr. Juya. They also had another task, which was to meet with the local archbishop of the Taiping army after arriving in Shanghai, of course, the French did not know that there was no archbishop in the Taiping army, and if there was, it was the Hong sect leader who was still trapped in Tianjing.

At the beginning of the Crimean War in 1854, the British army was rather rigid and almost ineffective. It can even be said that the management is very chaotic, the command is incompetent, the military quartermaster is poor, and the medical service is even more lacking. In short, there are many slack officials, and the soldiers have no fighting spirit. However, the full recovery of the British army was swift and thorough.

The British had extensive military cooperation with the Taiping Army in the Far East, and while the British taught the Taiping Army how to fight a hot weapon war, they also learned the Taiping Army's serious attitude towards logistics, especially in terms of medical support. Grant visited the Taiping Army's garrison when he and Tan Shaoguang went on a northern expedition to Temple Street, and remembered the strange rule in the camp, Grant, who stipulated that soldiers' socks must be kept dry, and at the same time, soldiers who had no task had to clean up the mosquitoes, rats and ants in the camp every day, and even had to pay a certain number of rat carcasses per head. Later, Grant learned that the Taiping Army's practice cut off most of the routes of transmission of infectious diseases, and he immediately recommended this experience to China.

The British "Expeditionary" Force was still Commander in Chief with Grant as commander-in-chief, and he brought together a number of prestigious teams, the main part of which was also two divisions. The 1st Division was led by Major General Michel (equivalent to the French brigadier general at the time) and had two brigades and 11 regiments (including 3 Indian regiments). The 2nd Division, led by Major General Napier, had two squadrons of field artillery and one squadron of siege artillery, which had been sent from England via Egypt and were equipped with new Armstrong cannons and fired from a bolted mount. 3 artillery corps were commanded by Brigadier General Croton (equivalent to colonel). There was also 1 Queen's Engineer Company and Cavalry, which were deployed by Brigadier General Battle.

The British cavalry numbered 1,340 (40 officers, 400 British soldiers, and 900 Indian soldiers), including two "Queen's Guard Dragoons" and two irregular Indian Sikh cavalry regiments, led by Major Fanner and Probin respectively.

The 1st Sikh Cavalry Regiment under the command of Major Probin consisted entirely of volunteers and was stationed in Lucknow, central India. The regiment traveled 600 miles in 18 days, then took a train to Calcutta, from where it boarded a ship and sailed to Hong Kong, a gathering place for British troops.

As British military correspondents Wu Shili and Tullok later emphatically pointed out, the British army paid special attention to the establishment of management and medical services on this expedition, and they referred to the practice of the Taiping Army in many aspects.

For the British, it was easier to organize an "expeditionary" force. They had many troops stationed in India and Cape Town, with both infantry and cavalry, which could be easily sent to Chinese mainland via Hong Kong, and their heavy transportation problems were also much reduced. They bought many horses in Cape Town and sent them to the battlefield on stables.

The British army already had a strong fleet in Chinese waters, with 61 propeller warships, most of which were gunboats, 10 steamers, and 16 galleons. Secondly, the number of merchant ships chartered by the British was huge, as many as 135. Combined with the ships sent to the Far East from places such as India and Cape Town, Grant's fleet reached a staggering 300 ships of all kinds.

Compared with the 60,000 troops sent during the Crimean War, the British and French "expeditionary" troops to China were only 20,000, which could only be regarded as a small army. However, if Lieutenant Colonel Wu Shili, assistant quartermaster of the British camp, is to be believed, Britain has never been so well organized, so effective and well-equipped in the event of war. Even the need for medical care and comfort for soldiers was not overlooked. He even dared to say that the preparations for this "expedition" were "perfect." Lord Elgin, however, felt that the "expedition" was costly and grossly disproportionate to its objectives.

Sir Elgin's prediction was extremely accurate, and while Britain and France were in full swing preparing for war, an incident broke out in India that was very unpleasant to the British...... (To be continued......)