Solovyov in Tsarist Russia 1796.

Upon hearing Jardine's suggestion, Napier moved his warships toward Humen.

To be fair, there's a reason why he has such a vulgar name; once people have reached a certain level of mutual disgust, they're bound to create chaos.

Especially at this time, the Qing Dynasty still considered itself the Celestial Empire, and regarded France and Russia as foreign countries with equal relations. The inclusion of Britain was due to their own incompetence.

Here we go again.

Even when the three warships approached, the Qing army fired warning shots, demanding that the British not trespass into the Pearl River Estuary.

The British were indeed very courageous. The forts at Humen had all been inspected by Solovyov. If arranged properly, even if the Royal Navy's home fleet came with a giant ship, it would still be severely damaged here.

Unfortunately, although the army used cannons and the navy used ship guns, both Jiaqing and Daoguang made money from the French, Russians and their relatives.

However, the gun emplacements are still old-fashioned, consisting of traditional large cannons.

Although cannon casting technology has improved and sand holes are now rare, it's hard to say how effective they actually are in combat.

During the artillery duel, the British also noticed this: although the Qing army's firepower was fierce, and even hit near misses several times, the heavy artillery was not designed to be flexible in its deployment.

And the canopy that Solovyov requested was not included when the Guangdong naval commander made the arrangements.

Because the Qing Dynasty's silver was obviously more useful on warships, mainly because Chen Huacheng had successfully led the Fujian Navy to fight pirates, the Qing army was more interested in fast-moving escort ships. As a result, even though Drouot had mentioned it, Daoguang did not comprehensively strengthen the forts, but only strengthened the strategic points at the mouth of the Yangtze River and Dagu Port.

The reason is simple: the former involves the lifeline of the Grand Canal transport, while the latter is the gateway to the capital.

There isn't enough time to allocate funds to places like Dinghai and Zhenhai.

The reason is simple: if spending money like this continues, the emperor will no longer be able to afford eggs.

At that time, the Qing Dynasty had many internal problems, such as floods and salt administration, and there were many places to spend money. It was not enough to simply defeat Zhang Ge'er and allow the trading ports in the north and south to earn some silver to improve the situation.

Even Emperor Daoguang attached great importance to the prohibition of opium. In the eleventh year of his reign, he issued an edict to declare the harm of opium and added that heavy users could suffer the serious consequence of having no descendants.

Even so, there are still many people who don't take the emperor's words seriously and continue to smoke as usual.

Speaking of which, it's said that this kind of pipe came from the island of Taiwan in Southeast Asia. How could there be such a wicked person in this place?
Because of a lack of funds, the forts in Fujian and Guangdong all lack roofs.

Chen Huacheng submitted several memorials, which wore down the threshold of the Fujian-Zhejiang Governor's Office, which finally led to the preparation to add a roof to the Xiamen Fort where he was stationed. The construction is still underway.

The artillery battle at Humen inflicted heavy losses on the Qing army.

Of course, the artillery skills of the Qing army had improved somewhat because the French instructors required them to practice various artillery techniques every day.

Unfortunately, the British ships were a bit strange; not only did they have the wind advantage, but they also caused the exploding shells to explode one after another on the gun emplacements.

Although some of the cannonballs fired from the fortress hit the sails, the damage to the British was not that great.

The deputy commander guarding the fort was also in a bind. He had no choice but to send someone to Guangzhou to report to the governor and the naval commander that the situation was critical, with at least three British ships forcibly breaking into the Humen Fort.

It was only after an hour of fighting that some of the Qing army's cannons went silent, forcing them to call for reinforcements.

To be fair, the Qing army's artillery was quite resilient; as long as they weren't missing limbs or killed, they could continue firing.

The Qing army's resilience was a significant advantage for the foreign instructors.

But they had never seen this before. The Qing army's close combat skills were no longer comparable to those of the Eight Banners soldiers when they entered the pass. Although some officers might still be using the old methods and personally lead men to charge forward, the soldiers under their command were truly incompetent.

Hailancha's eldest son probably died in battle in this way, and Ancheng had a deep impression of it.

However, he passed away a few years ago, and now his son, Ayuxi, has inherited the title.

This kid is clearly a step behind his grandfather, uncle, and father in combat power, but as a descendant of the Zoron Gundam, he's just a Zaku in disguise.

Moreover, the number of Solon soldiers is now small, and if he wants to lead troops, he has to mix with foreigners.

His troops were in Guangzhou at the time, but as an infantry force, this mixed force of Solon soldiers and "Red Barbarians" was indeed not very effective.

To truly unleash their power, we must rely on the artillery.

However, the Qing army's artillery was firing against the wind today, so their accuracy was indeed somewhat lacking. In addition, they had been using solid shot, and possibly even stockpiled stone cannonballs, which made their combat effectiveness quite worrying.

There was also a Russian instructor on the fort. He was somewhat helpless in the face of these circumstances. As soon as the artillery battle ended, he would write to the Consul General in Guangzhou and the Count of Anton, the Ambassador in Tianjin, to express the need to strengthen the defense of the Qing army's forts, especially to provide new types of artillery shells.

As for the grenade launcher, that thing has only been demonstrated. It exists at Sifang Fort, and although it also exists here at Humen.

But with only one mine and no small boat to volunteer for the attack, it would be a one-way trip.

The commander of the fort wouldn't risk his men's lives like that, so he could only continue firing and wait for reinforcements to arrive.

The British are currently engaged in fierce fighting, and have even suppressed two Qing army artillery positions.

If they continue fighting like this, something terrible is likely to happen.

The forts at Humen were personally selected and rebuilt by Solovyov, but the main focus was on strengthening their anti-landing capabilities.

This was also the key to the battle of Humen Forts: the forts could be destroyed, but they could not be occupied by the enemy.

The Qing army had few effective countermeasures against the kite-flying tactics employed by these escort ships.

The gun emplacements, which were even capable of firing, were now much more efficient. One shell struck the mast of the British ship HMS Imogen, snapping it in two.

From this distance, the Qing soldiers could also see that the mast of a British warship had broken, which boosted the morale of some, and some even shouted "Victory!"

We never achieved such results when dealing with the arrogant British before.

When the British commander discovered that the mast of the HMS Imogen at the rear of the column had broken, he realized that they either had to suppress the remaining gun emplacements or run away as quickly as possible.

But if they ran away, it would be a loss of face for the Royal Navy, and for them, they still had the upper hand on the battlefield, so running away at this time would be very inappropriate.

So the three frigates and several sailing ships continued fighting.

But at this moment, a terrified scream from the HMS Andromache sent a chill down the spines of the British.

"A giant ship has been spotted to the due south!"

When the captain of the Andromache took out his binoculars and looked inside, his heart sank.

"What the bloody hell!" The "Wannianqing" ship actually arrived at this time. If they fight for another half hour, the Humen Forts will probably lose their ability to resist. At this time, they can force their way into Guangzhou to demand an explanation.

However, the Guangdong land commander was no pushover either. If they blocked the gate, it would be like trapping a dog inside the gate, and things could easily get out of hand.

But that wasn't the worst of it; something even more despairing was about to happen.

Guan Tianpei's giant ship was not far from Humen. It is very likely that they were just cruising outside their own shipping lanes. Either the British merchant ships did not detect them, or something happened to them.

That's true, because fighting would affect legitimate people's business. Many British merchant ship owners, and even those East India Company ships doing legitimate business, did not actively provide intelligence to the Royal Navy.

Because of the opium in Jardine Matheson, our business of bringing back the opium to our homeland to make big money was cut off, and that was fatal.

At this time, the British merchants were not of one mind, and many of them still looked down on opium dealers.

The Royal Navy, used to being arrogant, would have been fine last time here if it weren't for the Russians' giant ships blocking their way.

When they went to Hirado to put on airs with the Japanese, the samurai gentlemen couldn't do anything about it and could only watch helplessly.

Therefore, they were somewhat complacent and even eager to expand their gains despite having the upper hand.

As a result of this delay, coupled with the change in wind direction, they can now see the "Wannianqing," which means that there will be escort ships following behind the ship, and two fast ships of the Qing army leading it.

If this naval battle breaks out, it'll be a real mess.

To deal with a first-class warship like the HMS Wan Nian Qing, Royal Navy officers would need at least one second-class warship to coordinate with the frigate.

If it were a Tier 3 warship, two or three ships would be needed to attack from both sides for a chance of victory.

As for Nelson's great victory at the Battle of the Nile, it was his relentless pursuit, unwavering will, the Royal Navy's fearless spirit, and tireless firing during the battle that brought him this prestigious victory.

The problem is, the Qing army's forts were resisting before, and now even giant ships are coming to fight back?

In particular, Guan Tianpei has a bad temper and is likely to fly into a rage. He is also a very brave admiral who will take bold actions.

Even with the Queen's blessing, the valiant Royal Navy sailors were no match for such a colossal monster, nor could they find their own Royal Ark for refuge.

One can only pray that the Royal Navy's oak planks are sturdy enough to serve a defensive purpose.

As for Rodney, Hood, and Nelson, they couldn't protect these sailors far from England either.

Seeing this situation, Guan Tianpei also ordered the engagement.

Since the fire had already been opened, he no longer needed to worry about his fleet being punished by the emperor for firing.

It is a soldier's duty to defend the country from the enemy, especially since he is the Governor of Jiangnan and has received imperial favor.

The two officials in the family, Governor-General Tao of Liangjiang and Governor Lin of Jiangsu, had long been displeased with the British. They even believed that if the British armed merchant ships continued to disobey the rules, they could send warships to drive them away, issue warnings with fortifications, or even directly attack them with cannons. If they were sunk, it would only be the British's own bad luck.

In truth, if the Governor-General and the Viceroy were to meet the British Foreign Minister, they would probably consider each other kindred spirits.

They all knew that at this point, they needed to stay focused, avoid losing points, and then get to work.

Although relations between the two countries have stabilized in terms of trade, and Queen Charlotte herself even prefers to be friendly to the Qing emperor, unlike the "constitutional monarchy" of Gascan who can't care about the consequences and just talks a few words without any concern for the outcome.

Even though she was a king on standby, when he really needed to fulfill his monarchical duties, he never missed a single opportunity to appoint a prime minister, dissolve parliament, or attend board meetings at the Bank of England to audit accounts. She just didn't have to.

A gas canister is basically just lying down; it's even more useful if your husband is there to pour it for you.

Charlotte remained proactive, but she still had to contend with the men of Parliament in London.

As a result, the Royal Navy remained as arrogant as ever.

But today, luck is not on their side again.

"That damned Titan, if he had appeared sooner we would have run away already."

Arriving early is not as good as arriving at the right time.

Guan Tianpei even asked the Danish coach beside him, "Coach Pi, what formation should we use to meet the enemy?"

"Reporting to the commander, in the naval battle, the fast ships will be in front, followed by the large warships, forming a single column and a T-formation to meet the enemy!"

This foreigner is living more and more like a Qing Dynasty military officer. Apart from his abnormal enforcement of discipline on the ship, he doesn't care if the sailors worship Mazu or Guan Yu, because the Danish Navy also has superstitious practices.

As for the suggestion of "single column formation, just do it", Guan Tianpei had long wanted to do it. He even ordered the interception of British ships and not to let any of these small boats escape.

Even with the lead fast ship, and then the "Wan Nian Qing" in second place, the British ships were about to experience the most intense gunfire in the Far East.

Being bombarded by a first-class ship with 130 guns, using 50 to 60 guns on one side, all of which were French-made, was not a pleasant experience.

Moreover, Guan Tianpei did not intend to let them escape, and his order was to load them all with solid shot.

This means bombarding the ship's hull; if the British knew, they'd probably curse.

Because another veteran general next door, Chen Huacheng, had caught pirates many times, he would inevitably use grapeshot to wash the deck a few more times.

With Guan Tianpei's order and the dozens of naval cannons firing in succession, the story could be declared over.

There was no fierce fighting; it was just a round of naval gunfire, and then nothing more.

Two British ships were pierced by cannonballs one after another, and the Qing navy's hit rate was surprisingly high.

When the Dane was directing the cannon fire, he was even more enthusiastic than the Qing army artillerymen. After all, he couldn't take revenge in Denmark, so he would just have to make do with helping the Emperor beat up the British in China and have some fun here.

What Guan Tianpei said to Pearson before the battle also had an unexpected effect.

Then, British ships were successively crippled, and some even raised white flags, showing none of the majesty of the Royal Navy that once dominated the seas.

In fact, the Humen victory ended so quickly that it almost broke the record for the fastest naval battle.

If it weren't for the fact that it would have taken the frigate time to capture those small boats, this record would probably have been broken.

Now, things have taken a very serious turn, and everything is uncertain. (End of Chapter)