1850 American Gold Tycoon

Soon, Liang Shaoqiong learned what was going on with the foreigners Ye Mingchen wanted to kill.

It turns out that Ye Mingchen took great pains to avoid seeing the British. He played the same tricks with the British as in the official circles of the Qing Dynasty. It was left to dry for three or four months.

Unexpectedly, the British were determined to enter Guangzhou this time. The British consul and Hong Kong governor, Bonham, even issued a very harsh diplomatic note in order to see Ye Mingchen.

Wen Xian thought that I had already sent out the diplomatic notes and my words were so tough. Ye Mingchen, in accordance with international diplomatic practices, had to meet me no matter what, right?

As a result, Wenxian once again made a mistake in this matter. Wenxian could not have expected that the mighty Governor of Guangdong and Guangxi and Minister of Commerce of the Qing Dynasty did not know what a diplomatic note was and had no concept of diplomatic relations at all.

Ye Mingchen didn't even bother to talk to Wenxian.

Ye Mingchen's attitude is still the same. I can let go of the 12 smugglers and pirates on the Yarrow.

If you want to go to Guangzhou to have an interview with me, there’s no way!

What? Want me to go to Hong Kong to meet you for an interview? Beautiful thought!

Ye Mingchen thought that what he did was very clever, and the British would have nothing to do with him as usual. Unexpectedly, the British did not listen to him this time and sent warships directly into the Pearl River and sailed to Guangzhou City.

Seeing the British invasion, the British ships sailed up the Pearl River and approached the city of Guangzhou. Navy Admiral Hong Mingxiang was anxious and asked Ye Mingchen whether to open fire to resist the enemy.

Unexpectedly, the British were about to invade Guangzhou, and the governor, Ye Mingchen, claimed to be ill and refused to see Hong Mingxiang.

Ye Mingchen, the governor of Guangdong and Guangxi, could not see him. Hong Mingxiang was so anxious that he could only go to Bai Gui, the governor of Guangdong.

Baigui is from the Zhenghuang Banner of Mongolia.

At the end of 1852, after Xu Guangjin, the former governor of Guangdong and Guangxi, was transferred to the governorship of Guangdong and Hunan, Ye Mingchen, the governor of Guangdong, filled the vacancy left by Xu Guangjin's transfer and took the position of governor of Guangdong and Guangxi. The imperial court sent Mengchen Baigui to take over as governor of Guangdong.

This Mr. Bai Gui was even more amazing. As soon as he heard that the British were coming, he just rubbed oil on his feet and slipped out of the city. He was even less of a thing than Ye Mingchen. At least the enemy troops are approaching, and Ye Mingchen's people are still in Guangzhou.

In desperation, Hong Mingxiang had to order the Guangdong Navy to meet the enemy.

Fortunately, the British army had always looked down upon the Qing army. The Humen Fort had just been renovated in the past few years and installed many new cannons purchased from the Sacramento Arsenal in California. The Guangdong Navy also purchased some steam battleships from Liang Yao.

Therefore, facing the British attack, the Guangdong Navy was still able to fight.

The two sides then started a fierce battle in the Humen area, and the battle was very tragic.

In the Battle of Humen, the Guangdong Navy paid the price of 480 naval officers and soldiers being killed and 213 people were captured by the British army, and achieved fruitful results in killing 231 British soldiers, capturing 116 British soldiers, and capturing a sailing battleship.

Although the battle loss ratio was rather ugly, at any rate they were able to repulse the British army. This was the most glorious victory against foreigners since the Battle of Daoguang Southeast (the first drug war).

However, it was this victory that made all the local officials in Guangdong and Guangxi feel dizzy.

Ye Mingchen's back was strengthened, and Bai Gui returned to Guangzhou with a high profile.

Two frontier officials reported victory to the court overnight, taking all the credit for the Humen battle on themselves.

Hong Mingxiang couldn't bear it. After all, this was an old tradition in the Qing Dynasty officialdom. His arm couldn't twist his thigh.

But Hong Mingxiang couldn't bear the next operation of the two men. The two governors refused to reward the navy officers and soldiers, and did not pay pensions. In order to boost the morale of the soldiers and civilians in Guangfu, and to vent their personal anger and frighten the British Hong Kong authorities, Ye and Bai actually wanted to execute British prisoners as a warning to others.

This is tantamount to playing with fire.

No one knows better than Hong Mingxiang how weak the Guangdong Navy is. Although the Guangdong Navy won the battle of Humen, it was a tragic victory.

Hong Mingxiang's elite Guangdong Navy suffered nearly half casualties. The British also lost 2 of the forts near Humen and destroyed 8 expensive coastal defense guns. There are not many shells left in the inventory.

The Guangdong Navy captured a British sailing warship, but the British also captured a valuable Guangdong Navy Bold-class steamship. Another 213 elite Guangdong Navy were captured by the British. Hong Mingxiang also pointed to exchanging British prisoners for British prisoners.

Hong Mingxiang had directly fought against the British army, and he knew very well the combat power of the British army. If the British army assembled a large number of troops and attacked Guangzhou City again, with the few remaining soldiers of the Guangdong Navy, they would not be able to stop the British army with strong ships, powerful artillery, and strong soldiers and horses. military.

If Guangzhou fails to hold on at that time, not only will it be impossible to keep the support, but the court will blame it and it will be easy for him to lose his head.

Therefore, Hong Mingxiang placed her hope on Liang Shaoqiong, hoping that Liang Shaoqiong could come forward to stop Ye Mingchen's stupid behavior and avoid amplifying the situation.

"Hong is humble and humble, but I hope that Minister Liang will take the friendship with his fellow countrymen and come forward to persuade Governor Ye and others for the sake of the folks in Guangfu. Hong can't bear the military disaster that happened to the folks in Guangfu." Hong Mingxiang said in a very special way. He said to Liang Shaoqiong in a sincere tone.

"Alas~" Liang Shaoqiong sighed.

"It would be fine if you lost this battle, but you won, giving them the illusion that foreigners are vulnerable. Ye Mingchen and Bai Gui both came from the imperial examination, and they know nothing about military affairs and barbarian affairs. .”

Liang Shaoqiong had a vague premonition that once the British came, not to mention Hong Mingxiang's Guangdong Navy, even if all his elite Cantonese warriors gathered in Guangfu, they might not be able to withstand it.

What's more, the elite Guangdong soldiers are now fighting against Hong Yang's long-haired bandits in Jiangnan, and those left behind in Xiangshan are a group of new recruits.

Will the elite troops of Yue Yong be transferred back from Jiangnan?

It doesn't work. Rushing to transfer the elite Yue warriors from Jiangnan back to Guangfu without the permission of the imperial court is unjustifiable both emotionally and rationally.

Furthermore, if Liang Shaoqiong mobilized troops, he would also use sea ships to transport Guangdong Yong from Jiangnan back to Xiangshan. Once the troop transport ship was attacked by British warships midway, the consequences would be disastrous.

As for taking the land route?

Not to mention whether the state capitals along the way would let them go, the supplies for the march would not be able to keep up. Even if these two problems can be solved. The land march was too slow, and the British might have captured the city of Guangzhou before Liang Shaoqiong's elite troops entered Guangdong.

Liang Shaoqiong knew very well the virtues of the Green Camp and the Eight Banners garrisoning in Guangzhou City.

At present, the only troops that can be counted on in the area near Guangzhou City are Hong Mingxiang's more than a thousand elite naval forces, the more than 800 Yue Yong recruits who are being trained in the Xiangshan Yue Yong Camp, and the more than 800 Yue Yong recruits who have not yet formed an army, as well as his nephew. 360 Umbrella Company mercenaries deployed at Xiangshan Port.

"Shilang Liang, you mean that Hong did something wrong?" Hong Mingxiang felt very confused now.

"Hongjunmen defends against foreign aggression and protects the country and the people. What's wrong?" Liang Shaoqiong said with a bitter smile.

"If you work with these idiots, sooner or later you will be pissed off by them."

"In the opinion of Minister Liang, what should we do? We can't just watch Governor Ye and Governor Bai act randomly and ignore them, right?" Hong Mingxiang asked. He had lost his sense of proportion now and didn't know what to do next.

Liang Shaoqiong hurriedly wrote two letters and sent one to California. The other was handed over to Shen Baozhen and gave solemn instructions.

"Brother Shen Xian, please go to the capital and tell Prince Gong the stakes. Don't start a war with foreigners easily.

In addition, be sure to inform Prince Gong to strengthen the defense of the Dagukou area! Don’t forget the command of the Southeast Campaign in the 22nd year of Daoguang’s reign! "

Liang Shaoqiong was worried that the British army, like the first drug war, would go north without opening up the situation in the southern coastal areas.

After all, the navy of the Qing Dynasty was useless. Once a war broke out, sea control would definitely be in the hands of the British. The Qing Dynasty had a long coastline. If the British army failed to open up the situation in the southern seaboard, it was entirely possible to give up attacking the important southern coastal towns and directly Open a breakthrough from the north where coastal defenses are weaker.

"Brother Liang, don't worry! Shen will tell Prince Gong the stakes involved."

Shen Baozhen and Liang Shaoqiong had just returned from California. Although his understanding of foreigners and foreign affairs was not as deep as Liang Shaoqiong's, what he saw and heard during his trip to the United States still gave him a great shock. He also believed that he should not be with Qingqing at this time. Start fighting, otherwise the consequences will be unpredictable.

Shen Baozhen said goodbye to Liang Shaoqiong and Hong Mingxiang, boarded the clipper Liang Shaoqiong prepared for him and quickly headed north.

After watching Shen Baozhen leave, Liang Shaoqiong and Hong Mingxiang entered Guangzhou angrily.

As soon as he entered the city, Liang Shaoqiong felt the strong smell of gunpowder and festive atmosphere in Guangzhou.

Soldiers from Ye Mingchen's Dubiao Battalion were escorting British prisoners captured in the Battle of Humen to parade through the streets.

The onlookers threw whatever they could in their hands to greet the prisoners.

Some merchants fired firecrackers, beat gongs and drums, and even performed lion dances to celebrate.

To resist the British from entering Guangzhou City, the sound of shouting and denouncement of the British and barbarians was deafening.

Guangzhou City was one of the main battlefields during the First Opium War. The British army directly invaded Guangzhou City and committed rape and robbery in Guangzhou City. The people of Guangzhou City have always had a deep hatred for the British army.

After the signing of the Treaty of Nanjing, five ports were opened for trade, and Guangzhou lost its foreign trade monopoly during the Thirteenth Bank period.

During the trade period, relying on the unique foreign trade monopoly franchise, the Guangzhou government and the merchants of the Thirteenth Bank lived a very prosperous life, and tens of thousands of local people relied on the Thirteenth Bank to make a living.

After the opening of the Wukou port, the thirteen industries declined rapidly, and local sailors, coolies, porters, clerks and other practitioners who made a living from foreign trade lost their livelihoods.

As the saying goes, taking away people's jobs is like killing their parents. These people hate foreigners even more.

These unemployed sailors, coolies, porters, and clerks had limited knowledge.

They do not and do not dare to think that their poverty is actually caused by the merchants of Guangzhou’s Thirteenth Bank and the officials of the local government in Guangzhou who have taken away most of the profits from foreign trade and now do not even leave any scraps for them.

They only know that since the foreigners came and the five families opened their ports, their lives have become worse and worse.

Liang Shaoqiong looked at these British prisoners carefully and became even more angry. More than half of these British prisoners were Chinese policemen from Hong Kong Island and colonial soldiers from South Asia. Not even half of them were serious British people.

In other words, the British army was not fully prepared to attack Guangzhou last time. What the Guangdong Navy paid a heavy price to defeat was not the elite British army. Before the British showed their trump card, the Guangdong side had half of their trump card, the Guangdong Navy, in it.

Even so, it still does not affect the Guangzhou authorities' celebration of the Humen victory.

This celebration, I don’t know, I thought the Qing Dynasty had invaded London.

The irony is that none of the people celebrating, singing and dancing in the city had personally participated in the Battle of Humen.

The remnants of the Guangdong Navy who actually participated in the Battle of Humen and repelled the British attack on their own without the support of friendly forces still guarded the Humen fort and the battleships in fear. In the midst of suffering, he was preparing for the next attack by the British army.

The Governor of Guangdong Province has not yet sent troops to replace the remaining soldiers of the Guangdong Navy on the Humen Fort, and has no intention of letting the exhausted Guangdong Navy take turns to rest.

"Kill all the British barbarians to eliminate the hatred in the hearts of our people in Guangdong!"

"Kill these ghosts alive!"

"There are also these traitors who have forgotten their ancestors!"

"The sky has eyes! We have two great masters, Ye Zhitai and Bai Futai, in Guangzhou, why should we be afraid of foreigners!"

"This Bai Futai is incredible. When the Yingyi invaded, Bai Futai led the Fubiao camp out of the city overnight to fight. Bai Futai's swordsmanship was superb. He killed three ghost soldiers with three arrows! The arrows were all in vain! I was so frightened that more than a hundred ghost guys surrendered on the spot!"

"Tsk tsk tsk, he is a Mongolian bannerman after all, and his archery skills are excellent!"

"Ye Zhitai is strategizing in the city, and Bai Futai is on the battlefield to kill the ghosts. Even if the ghosts have millions of powerful soldiers to invade, there is nothing to fear!"

"The bodies of the fallen navy brothers are still cold, and their pensions have not yet been paid. We don't know when the British barbarians will invade again, but the city is celebrating here."

This situation made Hong Mingxiang feel extremely chilled.

In the crowd, several soldiers wearing Fubiao camp uniforms were distributing leaflets, promoting the governor's "heroic deeds" of killing ghosts.

Angry, Hong Mingxiang dismounted and grabbed the leaflet from a pacesetter and tore it into pieces.

"The ghost who killed your mother! I asked you whether you have money for pension, but you can get money by printing these toilet papers?"

The ghost guy who went out to kill your mother was out of the city. When I was shopping with the ghost guy in Humen with my navy brothers, your kid's governor team had already arrived in Zhaoqing Fucheng, and he wished he could run back to the Mongolian grassland.

"Bold! Who are you?! How dare you speak rudely to Lord Futai!"

"Master Futai is a hero who fought against the British. How can you, a petty person like you, slander him?!"

"Someone! Get it for me!"

"Kill this traitor to death!"

Several pacesetters aggressively tried to grab Hong Mingxiang, who was wearing regular clothes, and the surrounding crowd also responded.

"Be bold!"

Liang Shaoqiong, who was riding on the horse, took out the Colt revolver from his waist, fired a shot into the sky, and shouted angrily.

"Don't you even recognize Hong Junmen?!"

A sharp-eyed pacesetter finally saw that the person who tore up their leaflets was the admiral of the navy, and apologized to Hong Mingxiang again and again.

"The little one has no eyesight"

"Did Bai Futai ask you to post these things?" Liang Shaoqiong pointed to the leaflets in the hands of the pacesetters.

"It's the merchants who are grateful for Bai Futai's kindness in defending the city," the pacesetter replied.

"Where are Ye Zhitai and Bai Futai now? Take us to see him!" Liang Shaoqiong said.

"I wonder what position this gentleman currently holds? What do you want from Bai Futai?"

Seeing that Liang Shaoqiong was an extraordinary person, the pacesetter guessed that Liang Shaoqiong was not an ordinary person. However, Liang Shaoqiong was wearing regular clothes. They did not know Liang Shaoqiong's specific identity, and they did not dare to take Liang Shaoqiong to meet Ye Mingchen and Bai Gui.

"Damn it! Do I need to inform you about anything I have to do with Bai Futai?" Liang Shaoqiong shouted angrily.

"Hong Junmen, my lord, please follow me." Seeing Liang Shaoqiong getting angry, the pacesetter hurriedly opened the way for the two of them.