Slaying the Qing: My Taiping Heavenly Kingdom

"Your Excellencies, the Taiping rebels have launched a massive invasion, and Songjiang Prefecture is in imminent danger! We implore you, Your Excellencies, to consider the mutual dependence of our forces and send troops to help us defeat the Taiping rebels!"

I, along with all the people of Songjiang Prefecture, are deeply grateful!

Prefect Wu Xu of Songjiang Prefecture pleaded.

"Your Excellency, the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom has disregarded our warnings and brazenly dispatched troops to Songjiang Prefecture. We will absolutely not stand idly by. We will immediately send troops to help you defeat the rebels!" Consul Henry Benson said.

Consul Ai Tang nodded repeatedly from the side.

This immediately made Wu Xu breathe a sigh of relief.

He seemed surprised that these foreigners would be so easy to talk to.

"Your Excellencies, please rest assured that as long as you two can help us resist the Taiping Rebellion this time, I will definitely report to the court and request commendation for you."

"At that time, the imperial court will certainly expand trade with the British Empire and the Gallo-Pacific!"

Wu Xu said.

Wu Xu knew exactly what these foreigners wanted. Wasn't it simply to expand trade?

This was nothing to the Qing Dynasty.

Or rather, the Qing Dynasty simply didn't value these things.

Subsequently, Consuls Henry Benson and Ai Tang urgently summoned the commander of the foreign gun corps, Ward.

As an adventurer, Hua Er had always longed to make a fortune in the distant East.

Especially since he was employed and able to form a foreign gun corps, he regarded this as his greatest opportunity.

"Your Excellencies, please rest assured, our foreign-trained troops have undergone rigorous training and now possess combat capabilities equivalent to those of the armies of major Western powers. In the entire East, we are absolutely invincible!" Ward exclaimed with great confidence.

"Very good, Captain. Now, we look forward to your performance. If you can lead the foreign-trained corps to defeat the Taiping Army, we will reward you handsomely. In addition, the foreign-trained corps will be significantly expanded after proving its strength in this battle," said Consul Henry Benson.

Upon hearing this promise, Hua Er was so excited that his breathing became rapid.

If the foreign-trained troops could be further expanded, it would mean that the number of troops under his command would increase further.

He was able to acquire even more wealth.

"Your Excellency, the foreign-trained troops will surely defeat the Taiping Army in the upcoming war!" Ward assured him.

Subsequently, Ward urgently assembled all members of the foreign gun corps, and set off early the next morning from Zhonghai County to Huating, in preparation for assisting the Qing army in resisting the Taiping army's attack.

On June 4, 1857, the 4th Regiment of the 2nd Infantry Division of the Taiping Army's Eastern Expeditionary Army arrived in Huating County and began its attack.

Zhang Yuliang, the Jiangnan General who led the Qing army to defend the city, turned ashen-faced when he saw the Taiping army outside the city.

Huating was not a large city to begin with, and they didn't have many troops either.

Zhang Yuliang simply did not believe that he could withstand the Taiping Army's attack.

Especially with reinforcements failing to arrive, it became even more impossible to withstand the Taiping army's attack.

Therefore, Zhang Yuliang fled Huating under the protection of the guards, intending to escape to Zhonghai.

With the generals all fleeing, how could the Qing soldiers below be expected to defend the city to the death and desperately resist the Taiping army's attack?

That's simply unrealistic.

As a result, the ordinary soldiers below also fled in droves.

This allowed the Taiping Army to capture the entire Huating County almost without bloodshed.

So much so that General Li Xiucheng, the commander of the Eastern Expeditionary Army who personally led this battle, was speechless when he learned of the situation.

"Commander, it seems the Qing demons are truly no match for us. If our troops hadn't been incomplete reorganization, we could have swept away all the Qing demons in the world!" said General Li Shixian, commander of the 2nd Infantry Division of the Eastern Expeditionary Army.

General Li Xiucheng nodded: "Yes! However, this mainly refers to the Qing army in southern Jiangsu, whose main force had already been wiped out by us. The remaining Qing army was just a rabble to begin with."

While the Qing troops in other regions might not be a match for us, they wouldn't be this weak. The Xiang Army, in particular, is quite formidable.

Li Shixian nodded repeatedly.

"Order the 4th Infantry Regiment to take over the entire Huating County. Where are the foreign-equipped troops?" General Li Xiucheng asked.

They knew very well that the main enemy this time was not the Qing army, but the foreign gunners.

This is crucial to whether the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom can recapture Zhonghai County and the concessions in one fell swoop.

"Commander, according to the scouts' report, the foreign-equipped detachment is on its way to Huating. They are expected to arrive this afternoon," Li Shixian replied.

Li Shixian was also looking forward to fighting against the foreign devils.

"Then, according to the plan, prepare to ambush the foreign devils. In this battle, we must completely wipe out all the foreign devils. Afterwards, order the cavalry battalion to prepare for a surprise attack on Zhonghai County. Before the foreigners can react, take Zhonghai County, including the concessions," Li Xiucheng ordered.

"Yes, Commander!" Li Shixian nodded repeatedly.

That afternoon, Hua Er led more than two thousand foreign gunmen, hurrying along, and finally arrived in Huating County.

But when they discovered that the flag of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom had already been raised on the city walls of Huating County, Hua Er and his companions' expressions changed drastically.

"Captain, the Taiping Army has already captured Huating County. We are too late!" said Farsde, the deputy captain of the foreign rifle team.

"Damn it! Those damned Qing people, are they all a bunch of useless cowards? Huating County has fallen into the hands of the Taiping Army, which means we can no longer rely on the city for defense and have to fight the Taiping Army in the field!" Hua Er cursed.

As for launching an attack on Huating County, Hua Er had never even considered it.

"Captain, what do we do now?" asked Bai Qiwen, another vice-captain.

Hua Er hesitated for a moment, then gave the order.

"Order all units to construct defensive lines and prepare to garrison in place. Let's observe the Taiping Army's next move before making a response!" Ward said.

Both Fars and Whitehead expressed the same opinion.

"Boom! Boom! Boom!"

But at that moment, a violent explosion was heard.

In the sky, cannonballs rained down and exploded among the ranks of the foreign-equipped soldiers.

Amid the violent explosions, soldiers of the foreign-trained guerrilla unit were repeatedly blown to pieces.

The scattered shrapnel relentlessly claimed the lives of these soldiers.

"Enemy attack! Prepare for battle!"

"Where are our artillery pieces? Suppress enemy fire!"

Hua Er and the others' expressions changed drastically, and they issued a series of orders to prepare for battle.

But the soldiers of the foreign-made rifle team were in a state of panic, and no one was strictly following orders.

Ultimately, apart from a portion of retired soldiers and officers from various countries, the majority of these soldiers in the foreign-trained brigade were ordinary people.

Even after receiving several months of military training, they were ultimately just a mob.

Especially now that they have been suddenly attacked by the Taiping Army, it is only natural that they would be thrown into a panic.

"Boom! Boom!"

The Taiping army's artillery fire was extremely fierce. In addition to the 24 75mm field guns of the division's artillery battalion firing wildly, the 12 75mm mountain guns of the mountain artillery companies of two infantry regiments were also firing.

The 120mm mortars of each infantry battalion and the 80mm mortars of each infantry company also joined the shelling.

This resulted in the foreign-trained troops being bombarded by nearly a hundred cannons of various types.

For a foreign-armed squad of only two thousand men, this was a firepower they had never imagined before!

It should be noted that the foreign-trained force of over two thousand men was only equipped with a dozen or so muzzle-loading cannons.

The Taiping army's fierce artillery fire not only inflicted heavy losses on the foreign-equipped troops, but also severely damaged their morale.

After several rounds of artillery fire, the Taiping infantry launched an attack on the foreign-equipped troops.

Two infantry regiments, comprising a total of six infantry battalions, launched an attack on the foreign-trained troops from all directions.

General Li Xiucheng's goal this time was very simple: to annihilate the entire foreign-equipped troops and not let a single one escape.