Rebirth of the Northern Giants

Two cannon shots shocked the whole world.

All countries are paying attention to the diplomatic disputes between China and the UK, and the shelling incident that day stunned everyone who received the news. The Chinese are too unwise to provoke the world hegemon: Britain at this time.

I don't know whether it is better to say that they are ignorant, or that they are fearless. Could it be that they have forgotten the previous two Opium Wars and want to repeat the same mistakes that the capital was trampled on?

Chinese people, what are you thinking?Is the military government really going to kill itself?

In contrast to the astonished attitude of other countries, all the Chinese who learned that the Jiangyin Fort bombarded the British ships until they fled and landed all cheered and jumped with joy.

Ordinary people don't care about strategies, what puts the overall situation first, and pretend to be grandchildren. What they want to see is the toughness of the government, and what they want to see is resolute resistance. It supports the military government.

The boycott of British goods in various places reached a climax in an instant, echoing the military government. People in the southern provinces marched to celebrate and burned the British flag to express their support for the military government. Together, the military government fought against the British army and resisted the aggression together, and the prestige of the military government increased to the point where it could not be further increased.

In the General Staff Room of the Summer Palace, a long table was filled with generals from various ministries. Most of them were silent, while Ye Zhikui sat on the chief seat with a serious face.

"Everyone, I believe everyone knows what happened. Yes, this morning, in order to safeguard the country's sovereignty, our Jiangyin Fortress bombarded two British ships, causing one to surrender and the other to escape. In view of the current severe situation, I think , Now the strategic focus of the General Staff must shift from the Sino-Russian battlefield to the war against Britain."

Ye Zhikui called the British the enemy, and everyone was shocked, which meant that they were going to play with the British for real.

The Russians retreated steadily, and Ye Zhikui thought that they would not be able to make any waves.

However, although the military government will not be afraid if the British are offended, the United Kingdom is still the world's hegemon after all, and it is better to make arrangements early.

For the military conflict between China and the UK, Ye Zhikui was also psychologically prepared. Naturally, he would not believe that Britain, which is as arrogant as the world's hegemon, would reason with the military government. The reason is only within the range of cannons.

"Everyone, the boycott of British goods spontaneously organized by the people has caused heavy losses to the British. The people have not let the government down, and the government must not let down the people's expectations. I believe that after the British fleet is attacked, it will never let it go. Therefore, we cannot If you are lucky, you should actively take various countermeasures.”

Ye Zhikui first set the tone for this matter, expressing his determination to resist resolutely, so that some mature and prudent people would stop talking about peaceful negotiations.

After speaking, Ye Zhikui gestured to Wang Shizhen on his right with his eyes, asking him to briefly introduce the strength of Britain in China.

Wang Shizhen knew it, stood up unhurriedly, and said slowly: "Britain's strength in China is mainly concentrated in the south, while the military government is very strong in the north. The most urgent task is to deploy troops to Liangjiang and Guangdong. Look, there are about 20 warships in the British Far East Fleet. The ships are outdated, not only inferior to the Far East Fleet of France and Russia, that is, the new iron armor purchased by China and Japan from Europe. Cannon, our navy is fully capable, and it is possible to defeat the British Far East Fleet, and the British want to fight a land battle, I think he is most likely to dispatch Sikh soldiers from India, and the number will not be too many."

Wang Shizhen's remark relieved everyone's heavy heart a little. After all, the military government is still likely to defeat the British at present, and we can talk about future matters later, focusing on the most important thing at present.

Ye Zhikui's eyes turned cold, he stood up suddenly, and said in an angry voice: "Someone once asked me why I want to mess with the UK. In fact, this question is ridiculous and stupid. It's not that we want to mess with the UK, but that the UK wants to mess with the UK." Mess with us, since they provoke us, we have to resist, today's China is no longer a colony of great powers, the Chinese people have stood up the moment the military government was established, so no matter what kind of enemy, it is impossible to stop The determination and courage of the Chinese people to defend their sovereignty."

"If he wants to fight, then he will fight. I recommend Xuanyuan with my blood. In the military government, whoever has the idea of ​​being cowardly and fearful of the enemy should not stand here. Everyone, defending the country is not to hesitate Die, I, Ye, stand in the Forbidden City and watch, whoever retreats, cuts, who is afraid of the enemy, cuts, holds a steel knife 99, and kills all the thieves, then stop. From now on, Ye will work with you to wash away the humiliation of China for a hundred years .”

Ye Zhikui's eyes were wide open, and he finished his speech without stopping.

The generals below are all muscles tense, blood burning, and their combat power soaring

Wang Shizhen took the lead in applauding. For a while, the applause was like thunder.

Immediately, Wang Shizhen walked under the map, pointed and said: "The main force of the British Far East Fleet is in Hong Kong, and the main force of our Beiyang Fleet has returned to Busan, North Korea. It has not been spread yet, and all countries believe that our main fleet is still blocking Vladivostok, Russia, and this is our advantage."

Then Wang Shizhen swiped at the headquarters, and said in a cold voice: "According to historical experience, the most likely route for the British fleet to attack is from the south to the top, capturing Dagukou and Tianjin, thus directly endangering the capital. Therefore, For the possible marching route of the enemy army, we need to make corresponding arrangements early."

Ye Zhikui interjected: "Pin Qing, the Nanyang Navy is too weak compared to the British fleet, and they are ordered to return to Nanjing Port immediately. Unless the enemy fleet is obviously going to attack, otherwise they must not take the initiative to attack. Two-phase outflanking."

The rest of the generals have no objection to this. After all, where the strength is, why bother to fly to the flame.

Even if an attendant sent this order from the telegraph office to the Beiyang Navy stationed in Shanghai today, asking them to return to the Yangtze River as soon as possible, of course, you don’t have to be polite when you encounter the escaped British ship, and then occupy the port. The coastal artillery supported each other and stood by.

On that day, the southern provinces received various orders from the Supreme Command, generally in two words: prepare for war.

In the Governor's Mansion in Guangzhou, Tan Zhonglin, the governor of Guangdong and Guangxi, was holding a telegram just sent from Beijing: Either abdicate to make way for the virtuous, or actively prepare for war.

Tan Zhonglin did not dare to be careless about the military government's serious wording.

You can doubt Tan Zhonglin's obstinate thinking of following the old ways and opposing the reformation, but you can't doubt his determination to resist foreign aggression. After Tan Zhonglin learned that the Jiangyin Fortress bombarded the British ships, he was shocked and hurriedly dispatched troops to prepare for the war according to the requirements of the military government. .

Bian Baoquan, governor of Fujian and Zhejiang, was also shocked when he received the order. While calling back to Beijing requesting that troops be dispatched to Zhejiang and Fujian as soon as possible, he scolded the military government for its lack of thoughtfulness, but he also had to urge the commanders of the towns to be more vigilant. The Guangdong Navy and Fujian Navy, which did not have a few warships, were required to roll back to the port quickly to prevent the British from counterattacking.

Liu Kunyi, the governor of Liangjiang in Nanjing, is the one who knows the ins and outs of the incident best. It was all caused by him. After the bombardment of the British ship, he was the most shocked and worried. He was stunned and said to his staff Li Jifu with emotion: "Being a rebel, you really are not afraid of anything."

Of course, the possibility of the British attacking Guangdong, Guangxi, Fujian and Zhejiang is relatively small, because these places are beyond the reach of the military government. The British have always wanted to persuade these governors to become independent. If they attack these areas now, it is more likely to be Pushing these local governors to the military government will ultimately not be worth the candle.

Therefore, according to the established policy, the General Staff actively dispatched troops to Liangjiang and Tianjin Town to prevent the British from following the old path in history and going straight to Huanglong.

The response of the British was also swift. On the morning of the same day, Fremantle, the commander of the British Far East Fleet in Hong Kong, received a message from Steve, the captain of the Cardinal.

"What did you say that the Chinese were the first to attack our warships of the British Empire?" Fremantle couldn't believe his ears, and asked the adjutant again in disbelief.

"Yes, General, it has been confirmed. Due to the disparity in strength between our two warships of the British Empire, we were caught off guard. The Archer's hull was injured and had to surrender. The Cardinal escaped by chance and is now preparing to escape."

"Do the Chinese want to provoke a war between China and Britain?" Fremantle was furious and said in a hateful voice.

"General, do you want to report the situation to the empire and make a request for war."

The adjutant was also furious. These ant-like Chinese people thought they had defeated one or two third-rate European countries, and they started to be rampant. It was time to show them color, otherwise there would be no face for the British Empire.

"Report to China, no," Fremantle screamed, "This is war. They have already provoked a war. When the order is sent back from China, maybe the Chinese have already begun to attack Hong Kong. Send me the order, and the fleet is ready Setting out for China's Dagukou, if Ye Zhikui, the head of the general government, is not captured, I will not be able to dispel my hatred."

"There are only more than 3000 marines in Hong Kong. I am afraid it will be difficult to defeat the Chinese army."

"Don't worry, we sent back news to the country asking them for reinforcements, and at the same time took a step ahead and captured Dagukou, clearing the way for the follow-up troops."

Fremantle is not a mindless person. After thinking for a while, he replied like this. In his opinion, the defense of the Chinese navy is empty at this time, and it is time to attack. If the reinforcements from the empire arrive, maybe something will happen. new accident.

As long as I occupy Dagu and Tianjin before the return of the Chinese Beiyang Navy, everything will be settled, and the Chinese government will definitely surrender. .

Volume 2 The Wind and Cloud of the Capital [-] Chapter [-] The British Counterattack

Commander of the British Far East Fleet, Fremantle, stood on the deck, letting the sea breeze blow in his face. Today, like his predecessors, he will go to the richest place in the empire to make a fortune.

The fleet was ready to go, and he took a last look at Hong Kong. He believed that when he came back, he would be rich and rich, with gold, beautiful women, and porcelain.

The Far East is such a magical place.

Freemante waved his hand contentedly, and was about to give the order to set sail, but he saw the first mate rushing over with an unpleasant expression on his face.

"General... General, the Cardinal sent a telegram 10 minutes ago. When they fled to the mouth of the sea, they were surrounded by the Nanyang Navy of the Qing Dynasty and were attacked. At this time, they may have sunk at this time." After finishing these words with a breathless breath, he looked like he was gnashing his teeth.

The "Chinese" Fremantle was furious, as if it was only natural for Britain to attack China, and it was heinous for China to attack Britain.

"Get ready to bear my wrath." Fremantle covered the white railing on the deck tightly with his hands, with prominent veins, and bit out a few words from his mouth: "Give me an order, sail to Guangzhou first."

The first officer was a little confused, so he asked hesitantly, "General?"

"I need to vent now, understand? Vent," Freemante roared.

The first mate didn't dare to ask any more questions, and hurried down to deliver the order.

Guangzhou is not far from Hong Kong, and Fremantle has been completely angered since he learned that his fleet lost two warships.

The British never needed to swallow their anger in China, all they needed was an explosion. Therefore, he temporarily decided to bombard Guangzhou first, vent part of his anger, and then lead the fleet northward.