Master Yuan, start!

Although Zhenhai City was a small city mainly used for military equipment, there were also many merchants traveling between Guangdong and the north. When they heard that the French were invading, there was another round of chaos.

Merchants pulled carts of herbs and tea they had collected from the inland areas of Zhejiang and Jiangxi out of the city. The more clever ones deliberately slowed down as they followed the main force's movement.

After falling behind for a certain distance, he left the team and ran west to Hangzhou.

The remaining civilians who were able to run also ran away.

Only more than a thousand yamen servants and their families related to the garrisoned Qing troops were transferred to the Jinjishan camp.

After escaping from the Yong River and moving to the Jinji Mountain position, Xue Fucheng and Yang Qizhen could only sigh to each other.

This time, they were in big trouble. Zhejiang Admiral Ouyang Lijian was probably killed by a French artillery fire at Zhaobaoshan.

The Nanrui was captured, and it was estimated that the admiral of the Nanyang Navy was also in danger. In just one day and night, Zhejiang lost two senior military and political officials.

The burden of guarding against the French fell on their shoulders, and they even voluntarily gave up Zhenhai City. If the court knew about this, they would inevitably be dismissed from their posts or allowed to serve their sentences while making amends for their crimes.

But how can one redeem oneself for meritorious service when the French army is approaching?

I'm afraid that it's true that he is guilty, but it will be a long time before he can make any meritorious contributions.

They rushed all the way from the barracks to the ruins of Zhaobao Mountain, and then went to the beach to stop the French but failed, so they retreated to Zhenhai City. They then transferred the people from Zhenhai City overnight and crossed the river to the Jinji Mountain camp.

The Jinjishan camp is bordered by the Yongjiang River to the north and land to the south, so there is no need to worry about French artillery bombardment and landing for the time being.

The Yong River had already been filled with mines under Zeng Zhaolin's deployment, but he was killed by the explosion on Zhaobao Mountain and could not see this scene.

After gradually recovering from his shock, Xue Fucheng cursed loudly: "Damn it, how could we have such a defeat!"

Yang Qizhen was quite open-minded. Although he would suffer some setbacks as a visiting soldier, the responsibility of defending the territory should be placed on the local officials first.

So he spoke out in persuasion: "Master Xue, Brother Xue! Things have come to this point, what else can we do? Both admirals are gone. The most important thing right now is to let the governor know the news about Zhenhai and ask the court to send a large army to support us as soon as possible."

These words actually woke Xue Fucheng up: Yes, now that Shangguan is dead, if he doesn't want to take the blame, he should quickly pass the blame to Shangguan's Shangguan.

Brother Yang, I sent someone to report to the Governor before I left the city, but I think it’s not enough. I will send someone to Fuzhou to inform the Governor.

As the sky gradually brightened, the news reached Hangzhou. The shocked Zhejiang Governor Liu Bingzhang quickly telegraphed Beijing.

Chapter 50: Unable to defeat the French Army

Thanks to the telegraph line that Yuan Shikai had laid when he was in Korea, shortly after Cixi received the news of the fall of Zhenhai, he also received the news in Jinzhou.

The moment he received the news, he immediately convened an emergency meeting of the military instructors.

"Chief Instructor, the French are just as unwilling as you expected and have invaded from the north!" Ming Ye now had great admiration for Yuan Xiangcheng.

This is because Yuan Shikai had said half a year ago that the battle between the French and the Qing Dynasty would not be limited to Vietnam, but would inevitably expand.

But Yuan Shikai was also a little stunned. He didn't expect the French to act so quickly. The reason why he was confident that the French would not give up Taiwan like they did in later generations was because he planned to spread the news that there were gold mines in Taiwan.

With the gold mine, the French would not give up Taiwan because of low returns.

But before he released the news, the French rushed to Zhejiang in such a hurry, which he did not expect.

But he didn't have time to be surprised. Holding the telegram about the fall of Zhenhai, he said to everyone: "The French's goal was to force the imperial court to surrender. They easily won the Battle of Zhenhai.

However, there are many militias in the Jiangsu and Zhejiang areas, including the remnants of the Huai Army and the Hunan Army. It is impossible for the French to land on a large scale in Jiangsu and Zhejiang. If they want to force the court to surrender, they will inevitably march towards Beijing.

Yuan Xiangcheng pointed to the map in front of him and said: "If we want to enter Beijing, we must first remove the three nails of Jinzhou, Weihai and Tanggu.

This brings us to a very difficult problem. The Beijing-Tianjin area has a large number of troops, but Jinzhou only has our Jiashen Right Army Tianjin Town and a few hundred veteran garrisons. It is difficult to stop the French. "

"Chief Instructor, I have confidence in the new recruits of Tianjin Town. If it doesn't work, transfer the 8000 troops of Incheon Town to support them." Han Bei has been observing the training of Tianjin Town of Jiashen Right Army in the past six months and feels that the French may give it a try.

Duan Qirui rolled his eyes at Han Bei and said in a serious tone, "General Instructor, according to newspapers such as Shenbao, there are nearly 20000 French troops in Vietnam and Taiwan. Even if we only bring half of them north, it will be difficult for us to deal with them.

This is not to say that we have no confidence in the Jiashen Right Army. It is simply that the French army has been training according to the new rules for decades, while we have only been training for half a year, and our weapons and equipment are not as advanced as the French.

Yuan Xiangcheng waved his hand and said, "Zhiquan, there is no need to say more. I am well aware of the combat effectiveness of the Jiashen Right Army. Being the best among the five armies of Jiashen does not mean that we can defeat the French army.

Don't worry, I won't do anything so cruel as to take the lives of my soldiers lightly.

Besides, Instructor Hoffman doesn't recommend that we confront the French directly, right? " Yuan Xiangcheng said the last sentence in the German he had learned during this period.

The German instructor Hoffman, whose name was called, nodded quickly after hearing it.

"Although our German army defeated the French as easily as cutting butter with a hot knife, I don't think your new Qing army has the same combat effectiveness as the German army." Hoffman stretched out three fingers and compared them, then hesitated and retracted one.

"20%. The new army you're training has at most 20% of the combat effectiveness of the German army. And they need to fight on familiar terrain, otherwise their combat effectiveness will drop to a lower level."

Yuan Xiangcheng had never thought of using this little fortune to fight the French, but with Hoffman's endorsement, he came up with a plan.

"Kikuto!"

"What are the instructions, Chief Instructor?"

"Hurry back to Tianjin by boat and inform Lord Li to quickly relocate the remaining personnel from the Tianjin Machinery Bureau and the Beiyang Academy. If Lord Li is not around, you can use this document to your advantage."

Yuan Xiangcheng took out the blank document he had obtained from Ronglu before and wrote on it, "You are ordered to move quickly. Anyone who violates the order will be arrested immediately. No mistakes can be made!"

The machinery and talents in the Tianjin Machinery Bureau were the essence of the current Northern Westernization Movement. They were able to produce gunpowder, bullets, rifles, and mines. Later, under the supervision of Li Hongzhang, they were even able to manufacture shrapnel shells and artillery carriages.

There were also electrical engineering schools and telegraph schools. Many people in Yuan Shikai's Jiashen Right Army Tianjin Town were previously apprentices of the Tianjin Machinery Bureau.

The Tianjin Machinery Bureau was the largest arsenal in northern China during the late Qing Dynasty, second only to the Jiangnan Arsenal. Its original location was destroyed after the Eight-Nation Alliance invaded China.

In this life, Yuan Shikai would never let the Tianjin Machinery Bureau decline in the war.

At the same time, he also had to make another contribution in this turmoil. The reason was obvious. When the French went north, Cixi would certainly call on the whole world to defend the king. At that time, whoever was closer to Cixi would have greater merit.

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After all, a county magistrate gave Cixi a bowl of noodles when she was fleeing famine, and later he was promoted to the position of prefect.

What a great achievement it would be if we could stop the French at the gates of Beijing.

The French are not as flexible as the British, and some are stubborn, especially the current commander Courbet.

If he landed in Tianjin, he would probably lead his troops to attack Beijing no matter what, and then Yuan Shikai would have room to maneuver.

But for now, we still have to avoid the first line of attack from the French.

Yuan Shikai did not intend to defend Jinzhou and the Lushun Peninsula further south. If the French army wanted to land, he would pretend to be defeated and retreat directly to the vast hinterland of the Liaodong Peninsula, relying on the small gullies and hills in the Liaodong Peninsula to fight guerrilla warfare against the French.

Anyway, it's summer now, and there's no shortage of food and drink in the mountains of Northeast China. At most, we can stay for a few more days. The French are targeting Beijing, so it's impossible for them to stay in Jinzhou for a long time.

When the French left Jinzhou and landed in Tianjin, they would inevitably clash with the left army of the Beijing-Tianjin area before and after Jiashen. When the two sides fought fiercely, Yuan Shikai would suddenly appear.

It can not only maximize the benefits, but also maximize one's own strength, killing two birds with one stone.

However, the most important thing is to let the troop transport ships in Jinzhou Bay go out to avoid the limelight, otherwise they will be wiped out by the French, and Yuan Shikai will have to take a detour through the Liaoxi Corridor to enter Beijing.

In that case, by the time Yuan Shikai arrived, Cixi would probably have already fled to Xi'an.

3 After having this idea in mind, everyone present quickly agreed to Yuan Shikai's plan. After all, they all rose to power thanks to Yuan Shikai, and they had no good feelings towards the Qing court. Preserving strength was a good thing for everyone.

After the meeting approved Yuan Xiangcheng's plan, all parties began to prepare one after another.

4 First, Xu Shichang took a ferry to Tianjin to prepare to relocate the Tianjin Machinery Bureau;

Next was Ming Ye, who went to Seoul and transferred 5000 new troops from Incheon, so that Yuan Xiangcheng would have at least available troops, and the rest would still be used to suppress the situation in Seoul;

Then there was Duan Qirui, who worked with the German instructor Hoffmann to conduct emergency landing training and French tactical exercises for the new recruits during this period.

Just as Yuan Shikai's troops were preparing for battle in Jinzhou, Li Hongzhang had already received an order from Cixi, asking Hangzhou to quickly seek peace with the French army.

Fifth Franco-Japanese Army

A few days later, Courbet and his men entered Zhenhai City and found that there was no one there. After searching the city, they caught those who did not want to escape and found out that all the people in the city had been evacuated.

Another Qing soldier who stole money from a wealthy businessman's house was arrested. Only then did they realize that except for the Zhenhai officers and soldiers who had retreated to the Jinjishan Fort, tens of thousands of troops near Hangzhou were also rapidly approaching Ningbo.

Courbet couldn't help but frown. Although he looked down on the Qing army, he didn't want to waste his troops on meaningless battles.

In a rather imposing house in Zhenhai City, Courbet was sitting on a chair in the middle, with Lisby and the translator named Hong standing beside him.

"General, should we continue to attack the southern provinces of the Qing Dynasty?" Lisbi asked, holding a bluish-white vase in his hand, not knowing who forgot to take it away.

Courbet watched the soldiers in front of him breaking into houses in the city, rummaging through drawers and cabinets in search of valuables, but he himself did not take any action.

Adjusting his French military cap, Courbet said, "Whether or not to continue attacking the southern cities depends on the Qing's response. If the Qing officials' response satisfies me, I will naturally ask the French soldiers to stop the attack. But if they are not satisfied..."

Lisbi was a little excited after hearing this and couldn't help but start to fantasize.

Just now he showed the blue-and-white porcelain in Hong's hand. It was said to be a high-quality product fired in the palace caves and could be auctioned for a lot of money in Europe.

If a small county town can have such a surprise, if we can go to the Qing capital and plunder it, the gains will be even greater.

Translator Hong chimed in, "General Courbet, we've already taken Zhenhai City, giving us a foothold. The Qing's main force in Zhejiang Province is in Hangzhou, so we can seize this opportunity to capture it."

Then, we marched north along the coast, attacking Shanghai, Jiangning, Jiaozhou, Dengzhou, and Tianjin, and finally reaching Beijing. The Qing army, with its weak fighting spirit and poor equipment, was no match for the French soldiers.

Courbet was not very interested in the plan of heading north mentioned by translator Hong. He had less than 20,000 people under his command, and it was impossible for him to attack every major coastal city.

However, he agreed with the idea proposed by translator Hong at the end, which was to land in Tianjin and head straight for Beijing.

"Do you know the deployment of the Qing Dynasty's northern navy?" asked Courbet.

"Of course we know. The Qing Dynasty has no defense against this kind of information. You can see it in the newspapers." Translator Hong's words revealed his contempt for the Qing court.

"In the north, the Qing government only had a large number of ships stationed in Weihaiwei. They had built artillery batteries at Dagukou, Tianjin, Lushunkou, and Weihaiwei, but their cannons were not as advanced as those on the Baya, in terms of range or caliber."

The Dagu Fort at this time was far less powerful than it was in the original time and space when the Eight-Nation Alliance invaded China. Most of the artillery was purchased after the Second Opium War, and most of them were small forts.

The forts at Weihaiwei and Lushunkou are still under construction and have not yet been completed.

The large-scale deployment of Krupp cannons did not begin until after the First Sino-Japanese War.

So what Hong the translator said is really correct.

The riot in Zhenhai City lasted for most of the day before it subsided. When Zhejiang Governor Zhou Bingzhang was ordered to go to Zhenhai for negotiations, what he saw was a scene of disaster and devastation.

But he didn't care about much and hurried to Courbet's residence with his entourage.

The negotiations, or rather the arguments, were quite intense.

Forced by the situation, the Qing Dynasty had to argue with the French army, hoping to minimize losses as much as possible.

But what you can't get on the battlefield, you are destined not to get at the negotiating table.

Courbet made an exorbitant offer at the outset, forcing Mansour to not only agree to the conditions previously stated in the newspaper, but also to cede Dinghai County to France.

Dinghai County is the Zhoushan Islands. When Courbet passed by here on his way north, he found that it was a place that was close and convenient to the mouth of the Yangtze River. There were many excellent ports and not many Qing people there, making it convenient for the French to move in in the future.

But this condition would not be easily agreed to by Zhou Bingzhang, a governor, or even by Li Hongzhang.

"We can agree to the transfer of Vietnam's sovereignty, and the opening of ports in Guangxi and Yunnan can also be discussed. However, the cession of Hainan, Taiwan, and Dinghai is really unacceptable." Zhou Bingzhang stated his bottom line right from the start.