1850 American Gold Tycoon

"Attack Hong Kong Island, so that the British and French forces can no longer care about each other."

Liang Yao revealed his risky move.

Hong Kong Island is the most important frontline supply point for the British and French forces and the forward base for the British and French forces in the Second Drug War.

The British and French allied forces' first attack on Guangzhou City and the third attack on Dagukou all set off from Hong Kong Island after supplies.

Once Hong Kong Island is captured, the supply line of the British and French coalition forces will be forced to extend by more than 2,000 kilometers, and they will have to use Sarawak Port and Xingzhou Island, which is far away from the Qing mainland, as their advance base.

The extension of the supply line will inevitably increase the logistics cost and difficulty of the British and French coalition forces, making them strategically passive.

At present, the British and French forces are sharpening their swords under the city of Guangzhou. The main force of the British army has not yet arrived at Hong Kong Island because it was delayed by the national uprising in India.

Today is December 24th, and tomorrow is Christmas in the West. The garrison on Hong Kong Island is celebrating the holiday, and the mental state of the garrison is bound to be relaxed.

The British troops stationed in Hong Kong and the French Expeditionary Force had just experienced a major war and were severely weakened. Hong Kong Island's defense was now at its most empty.

This is a God-given opportunity to attack Hong Kong Island. Now or never!

Of course, Liang Yao could think of this level, and the generals of the British and French allied forces could naturally think of this level as well.

Once the British and French forces learn that the Qing army is attacking Hong Kong Island, they will definitely return to Hong Kong Island with all their strength as soon as possible.

"It is indeed a very dangerous flag, but do you want to surround Wei and rescue Zhao, or do you really want to take Hong Kong Island?"

Liang Shaoqiong took a breath of cold air.

Britain has always attached great importance to Hong Kong Island, a strategic location in the Far East. It has been operating it for 16 years. Hong Kong Island has relatively advanced defense facilities. Attacking Hong Kong Island requires a huge investment.

And even if he spent a lot of money, Liang Shaoqiong was not completely sure that he could win Hong Kong Island.

"Of course we will take Hong Kong Island." Liang Yao's tone was very firm.

"I want the main force of the British and French forces to have no place to rest."

"That's the case, I'm willing to risk my fortune to make a big gamble with you. The rise and fall of the Liang family will depend on this." Liang Shaoqiong gritted his teeth and made up his mind.

"Not only must we capture Hong Kong Island, but we must also capture Macau." Liang Yao's attitude was very determined.

Macau is only more than 20 kilometers away from Xiangshan Port, which has long made him feel like a thorn in his back.

If the British and French allied forces can attack Xiangshan through Macau once, there will be a second and third time. This thorn in the back of Xiangshan Port must be removed.

"Macau? Macau is the territory of the Portuguese. The British and French forces have not been destroyed. If we provoke another Portuguese, wouldn't we create another enemy?" Liang Shaoqiong hesitated.

"Portugal is a small country and has nothing to fear." Liang Yao said contemptuously.

"It was they who used the route for the British and French forces to invade Guangdong without declaring war. The Qing Dynasty used this as an excuse to regain Macau. It was a well-known force and it was not considered a breach of contract."

"That's right." Liang Shaoqiong nodded and asked immediately.

"When do you plan to send troops to Hong Kong?"

"The earlier the better, let the soldiers have a good rest, and we can send troops tomorrow." Liang Yao turned to ask Kang Enze, "General Kang, does the Guangdong Navy have extra flags? Can I borrow them from Liang?"

"Yes, yes. If General Liang wants to use it, just send someone to get it." Kang Enze was quite happy. Now that the Guangdong Navy is almost gone, there is nothing to care about a few flags.

"I came to the Qing Dynasty as the plenipotentiary envoy of the United States. Don't call me general again, especially in front of foreigners. Just call me Special Envoy Liang." Liang Yao coughed dryly and reminded Liang Shaoqiong.

"Uncle, you also sign an employment contract with my fleet, the 11th and 12th Infantry Regiments, and the Machine Gun Regiment."

"It's just a contract. You and I are both members of the Liang family. It's just a matter of left hand and right hand." Liang Shaoqiong said with a smile.

"Since we are a family, we have to give out all our wealth this time. Don't hide it." Liang Yao also said with a smile.

The Liang family has many spies and spies on Hong Kong Island. According to the information sent back by the spies and spies, Hong Kong Island is indeed as defenseless as Liang Yao expected.

There are less than 600 garrison troops left on Hong Kong Island. Among the warships of the British and French allied fleets, except for the Pegasus and Calcutta, which were seriously injured in the daytime naval battle, and are being repaired in the ship repair yard on Hong Kong Island, there are only 600 warships left on Hong Kong Island. There are 6 ships.

Among them, the four British warships left behind on Hong Kong Island are the Doomsday Sail Battleship Scout, which was launched in 1856. It has three gun decks, 90 guns, and a displacement of 2,187 tons. This is a newer, second-class sailing battleship in good condition. It is also the flagship of the British ships remaining on Hong Kong Island.

Another large ship is the sailing battleship HMS Incitement built in 1834 with a double-decker gun deck, 40 guns, and a displacement of 1,622 tons. According to the standards of the British Royal Navy, the HMS Incitement can only be regarded as a third-class sailing battleship. .

The other two ships were the fifth-class sailing cruiser Rattlesnake, built in 1843, with 13 guns and a displacement of 888 tons, and the Shelduck gunboat, built in 1847 with 4 guns and a displacement of 455 tons.

The two French ships remaining on Hong Kong Island were the gunboat Rocket with 6 guns and the gunboat Marceau with 8 guns.

The British and French warships remaining on Hong Kong Island were either old sailing warships or small gunboats.

Liang Shaoqiong couldn't help but sigh after watching it, what a God-given opportunity.

At the same time, I couldn't help but think: How much the British and French allied forces looked down on the Qing army and were so arrogant. Hong Kong Island, such an important logistics base, only left a few broken ships to guard the gates and courtyards.

The British ships left behind were all warships stationed in Hong Kong all year round, so the data collected was very comprehensive. Not only was the year of construction clear, but even the displacement when launched was accurate to single digits.

The Liang family's spies on Hong Kong Island did a very good job in intelligence work.

As for the two French ships, since they first came to Hong Kong Island, the information collected is relatively limited, but it does not matter.

The British and French allied forces so boldly dropped all their battleships into the Pearl River outside Guangzhou. They must have predicted that the Qing army would not dare to attack Hong Kong Island.

The Qing army did not dare to fight, but it is a pity that I, Liang, am not a Qing army, Liang Yao sneered in his heart.

How to attack Hong Kong Island has been demonstrated once by the army during World War II: land at Taikoo Shing, and then divide and encircle the entire Hong Kong Island.

Although the military facilities on Hong Kong Island at the end of 1857 and Hong Kong Island at the end of 1941 were not exactly the same.

But Hong Kong Island has begun to take shape after 16 years of British management.

The earliest developed area on Hong Kong Island was Victoria City, which later became the Central area. Victoria City is the core business district of Hong Kong Island. The urban area of ​​Hong Kong Island is centered on Victoria City and expands horizontally along the flat land on the south bank of Victoria Harbour.

Hong Kong Island's port facilities, including coastal defense forts, are mostly concentrated at the pier in the north of Victoria City, and warships are also anchored here.

There were only a few British troops stationed in Hong Kong left behind, so it was not impossible to attack from here, but the casualties would definitely be high. This plan was first eliminated by Liang Yao, who brought elite soldiers instead of cannon fodder.

Liang Yao's idea coincided with that of Commander Xiaotian, and he chose Taikoo Shing in the eastern district of Hong Kong Island as the landing place.

Of course, at this time, this place is not called Taikoo Shing, but Taikoo Village.

There are many benefits to choosing Taikoo Village as your landing location.

The first advantage is that there are scattered civilian shipyards and small docks here, where small ships can park directly, making it convenient to transport military supplies.

The second advantage is that this is a settlement area where Chinese boatmen, porters, coolies and fishermen live. To put it bluntly, it is a slum. Without British people living here, the resistance to landing will be much smaller.

These bitter people in the Taikoo region may not help you, but they certainly won’t dare to stop you from landing.

The third advantage is that once the landing has gained a foothold, the army can march westward directly along the existing roads on the coastal plains and directly attack the city of Victoria.

In addition, Liang Yao and Sartre also finalized another landing point: Sandy Bay in the west of Hong Kong Island.

At this time, the British Hong Kong authorities had not yet built a fortress at Mount Davis, and it was safe to land at Shawan.

Liang Yao planned to land part of the artillery from Shawan, and then take the artillery to the commanding heights behind Victoria City, Cheqi Mountain, and set up field artillery to bombard Victoria City. Firstly, it distracted the attention of the British army from the Marines attacking in the direction of Taikoo Village. The British troops in the city were caught off guard and forced the British troops in Victoria to descend rapidly.

Liang Yao brought two Pioneer-class ironclads this time, one was the prototype ship Pioneer, and the other was the sister ship of the same class that had just been launched.

There are also 28 Bold-class frigates and 18 Loach-class gunboats.

This is all his wealth at sea. The main force of the British navy has not yet arrived. Facing the British and French fleets that have just experienced a war, on paper, Liang Yao's Umbrella fleet is not inferior in strength.

This was the first time Liang Yao fought in such a rich naval battle.

Liang Yao temporarily divided the fleet into two.

The first is the Pearl River Fleet, whose flagship is the ironclad Home, which has 18 Bold-class frigates and five Loach-class gunboats. It is responsible for blocking the Pearl River Estuary and preventing the British and French forces and their fleets under Guangzhou from returning to Hong Kong Island.

The second is the Hong Kong Island Fleet. Its flagship is the ironclad Pioneer. It has 10 Bold-class frigates and 13 Loach-class gunboats. It is responsible for clearing out the British and French warships remaining on Hong Kong Island and covering the landing troops on the island.

Liang Shaoqiong also has one Bold-class gunboat and six Loach-class gunboats in Xiangshan Port. They had been suppressed in the port by the British and French fleets before, and had no chance to fight.

Liang Shaoqiong hopes that Liang Yao's Umbrella fleet can bring his navy to refresh the dungeon and accumulate some practical experience.

Liang Yao agreed and incorporated Liang Shaoqiong's navy into the Hong Kong Island Fleet.

After making these arrangements, Liang Yao called Liang Xi, the trainee deputy commander of the artillery regiment.

Liang Xi is the son of Liang Shaoyu and the cousin of Liang Yao. He was sent to the east by Liang Yao in 1851 for further study. He was later admitted to the Artillery Department of the Virginia Military Institute and became the first group of people on the West Coast to receive systematic military training. Military cadet.

The Liang family's children finally have someone they can use. Liang Yao deliberately gave Liang Xi an opportunity to practice his meritorious service and accumulate qualifications so that he could find opportunities to correct him later.

"Your Majesty, Special Envoy, what are your instructions?" Liang Xi gave a military salute to Liang Yao very seriously.

"Okay, okay, Xi'er has grown so big." Liang Shaoqiong said with emotion.

"When I sent you abroad, you could guess my uncle's breasts due to your size, but now my uncle has only reached your ears."

While saying that, Liang Shaoqiong did not forget to come to Liang Xi to make some gestures. Time flies like a knife, and now Liang Shaoqiong has already passed her forties.

"Have the artillery regiment dismantle all the 6-pound field guns they brought and put them on ships to be ready for use." Liang Yao gave the order to Liang Xi.

"Yes!" Liang Xi took the order, turned around and said to Liang Shaoqiong with a smile.

"Uncle, I'll catch up with you after I finish my official duties."

"Go, go, is uncle that old?" Liang Shaoqiong rolled her eyes at Liang Xi angrily.

After watching Liang Xi leave, Liang Shaoqiong said to Liang Yao: "There are our people on Hong Kong Island. Do we need to let them support our operations tomorrow?"

"No need, the fewer people know about this, the better. If more people know about it, the news will inevitably leak out." Liang Yao shook his head.

"If I can't take Hong Kong Island, which is guarded by more than 600 people, my years as a general will be in vain."

For tomorrow's operation, Liang Yao decided to let Sven lead the Pearl River Fleet to intercept the British and French coalition forces, while he himself led the Hong Kong Island Fleet to coordinate the capture of Hong Kong Island.

Hong Kong Island, a deep-water port with complete port facilities no less than Xiangshan Port, has been coveted by Liang Yao for a long time.

Although Xiangshan Port is good, its upper limit is not as good as that of Hong Kong Island. Moreover, Hong Kong Island is an independent island and is relatively easy to defend.

Liang Yao would question the character of the British, but he would never question the British's vision for selecting trading ports.