The Qing Dynasty

Chapter 254: Too Many Foreigners
"They are American devils."

Liu Shijiu, who understood what Teng Yuzhao meant, grabbed an enamel cup on the table, drank the herbal tea in it in one gulp, then wiped his mouth and said.

"It's just that there are quite a lot of foreign devils coming this time. I estimate that there are more than 8,000 of them, and there are many real foreign devils among them. Should we still let these foreign devils in to fight as planned?"

Liu Shijiu said to Teng Yuzao with some concern, "Xingfu, the foreign devils have brought so many people this time. I'm worried that they might bite us back. If we end up making things worse, it will be difficult to deal with."

"More than eight thousand people!"

Teng Yuzao was also surprised by Liu Shijiu's words.

It seems that the coalition forces are really anxious this time. They want to achieve their goal in one fell swoop, capture the capital city in one fell swoop, and rescue the people who are trapped in the embassy district.

They may even have learned that their vanguard troops had arrived in the capital and were planning to destroy them.

Or maybe, it was because they knew of my arrival that the coalition forces were so cautious. This should be because I scared those foreign devils in Tianjin, and they were worried that with too few people, they would be surrounded and annihilated by my vanguard army in one fell swoop.

However, there is one thing that Liu Shijiu said was very correct. That is, if more than 8,000 people, including many American troops with stronger combat effectiveness, were allowed in, and if he could not weaken them and the land in a short period of time, he would have to send heavy troops to besiege them. This would make his already insufficient troops even more stretched.

You have to know that the US military at that time was not comparable to the old soldiers in later generations. Not only had their Civil War been over for more than 30 years, it was still the gold rush period in the West, and the cowboy spirit was still popular in the United States. The genuine US military was still very tough, which was not comparable to those fake US military in the Philippines.

At this time, if the British army launched another large-scale attack, or if the Russian army at the East Gate broke through the Gansu army's blockade and rushed into the outer city, there would be a big melee.

In a melee, especially in a large-scale street fight, the side with fewer people will definitely suffer. Even if Liu Shijiu did not mention it, Teng Yuzao would have considered the risks involved.

"Let's stick to the original plan and let them in to fight."

Teng Yuzao did not want to miss this good opportunity to weaken the strength of the coalition forces. If the coalition forces suffered more than 10,000 casualties on the first day of the defense of the capital, it would put him in an extremely advantageous position and he might even be able to hold on for a longer period of time.

Teng Yuzao thought for a moment and said, "But we can't let all of them in. Just let in five or six thousand people, and then you can still close the city walls as planned, big brother."

"However, in this case, the troops you have on the city wall are a little too few. You need to send another squad up there, and also bring more grenades. Otherwise, if the British army attacks Guangqumen again, you will have no troops left."

"Also, if the Gansu troops at the East Gate can no longer hold out and the Russians attack the city, your people will rush to rescue them in time."

Seeing that Liu Shijiu was in a hurry to leave, Teng Yuzao hurriedly said, "Brother, even if we only let in five or six thousand Americans from outside the city, the number is still a bit too many. You and Kang Nian must cooperate well and fight together. This is very important."

"The Americans have never fought street battles with us in Tianjin, and they are not familiar with our street fighting style. This is a good opportunity. Once the battle starts, we must attack both inside and outside the city at the same time. We must take advantage of their unstable foothold and their panic because we have cut off their retreat. We must charge in and attack them fiercely, and try to stun the American troops entering the city in one fell swoop. Then it will be much easier to deal with them later."

"In addition, if the British army comes to attack Guangqumen, the city will have to resist for a while, but only inflict certain casualties on the British army, and then let them enter the city. It would be best if the number of British troops entering is around 5,000. Then the independent brigade on the south city will cooperate with you to blockade Guangqumen."

"Then your troops besieging the Americans on the south side will retreat and let the Americans get closer to the British troops entering the city. You and Kangnian's troops will just have to squeeze the British and American troops as close to Guangqumen as possible. After dark, we will attack these foreign devils and try to wipe out the more than 10,000 coalition troops in one fell swoop."

Knowing that what Teng Yuzao said was the truth, Liu Shijiu no longer argued and patted his chest, "Xingfu, since you have made up your mind, there is nothing to say. Don't worry, if there is no fighting, then there is nothing to say. Once the fighting starts, I will personally lead the big knife team to kill them. No matter if they come with 5,000 or 8,000 people, and no matter if they are real foreign devils or fake foreign devils, I guarantee that they will be beaten dizzy and unable to tell east from west." Seeing that Liu Shijiu was in a hurry to leave again, Teng Yuzao hurriedly asked, "Brother, how is the cleaning of the people in the outer city going? Why don't I see any people entering the inner city from here?"

Liu Shijiu waved his hand and said, "There are not only the old and weak who stay in the outer city, but also many young and strong people, and even many wealthy families. However, I sent people to escort the old and weak out of the city. As for those who were unwilling to leave, I killed two troublemakers and they all behaved themselves. Now I have almost driven them all out of Guang'anmen."

Liu Nineteen raised his head and said, "I told them, the murderer is Liu Nineteen, if you want to sue the authorities in the future, sue me."

Seeing Teng Yuzao looking at him with his mouth opened, Liu Shijiu said disdainfully, "Xingfu, you can't be soft-hearted to these ordinary people. If you don't use some drastic measures, they won't be afraid of you. If they don't leave, there will be more casualties in the fight."

After saying that, Liu Nineteen turned around and strode out of the city wall in a hurry.

Liu Shijiu's words left Teng Yuzao speechless.

Teng Yuzhao knew clearly that those who were unwilling to leave, except for a few elderly and weak ones who did not leave due to mobility problems, the others did not leave because they had illusions about the coalition forces.

They did not believe that the Allied Forces would commit crimes after entering the city, and they certainly did not believe that these well-dressed foreigners would not only rape and plunder in broad daylight, but would even shoot and kill civilians if they disobeyed, treating human lives as worthless.

Teng Yuzhao sighed. Not to mention that the outer city would soon become a battlefield, even if the civilians who stayed in the city were not affected, they would experience the ravages of the foreigners, and it would be too late for them to regret then.

For these people, gentle words of persuasion are of no use, and the only option is to use drastic measures like Liu Shijiu did.

Moreover, Liu Shijiu gave out his name, obviously not wanting Teng Yuzao to take the blame. This made Teng Yuzao feel warm in his heart. Liu Shijiu was someone he could rely on.

Teng Yuzao said to a messenger beside him, "Tell Commander Li that the number of American troops entering the city in front of him is likely to be as high as 5,000 to 6,000. Tell him to be prepared and make full use of the advantages of our grenades to confuse and stun the American troops entering the city, and then divide and eliminate them."

After Teng Yuzhao finished his instructions, he made another phone call to Wei Jinghai and learned that the two cavalry battalions had already set out, the independent battalion had completed its defenses on the South City, West City, and North City walls, and Hu Dianjia's Third Mixed Brigade and Artillery Brigade had also been deployed.

In addition, Hu Daqiu had already led the Guards Battalion to Chongwenmen, and the foreign devils in Dongjiaomin Lane were also very quiet.

In addition, Wei Jinghai also reported an important situation. The battle of Xishiku had ended. Except for a few who were burned to death or suffocated to death, the rest of the people inside were killed by the Boxers when they tried to break out. Fan Guoliang was among them, and his body had been identified.

The death of Fan Guoliang, the main culprit, finally relieved Teng Yuzhao of his worries. His death not only saved the Qing court some money, but most importantly, it made some robbers and murderers in the coalition forces, whose consciences had not been completely lost, have some scruples when they burned, killed, humiliated and looted.

After learning about these situations, Teng Yuzhao finally calmed down and prepared to focus on dealing with the US military and the upcoming British army, which was the highlight of today's battle.

However, what Wei Jinghai reported next made Teng Yuzao a little worried.

Thanks to the reward from the book friend “Young Master, don’t cut it”!

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(End of this chapter)