The Qing Dynasty

Chapter 295 Huge Casualties
However, these generals only knew about the battlefields they were on. It was the first time for them to learn about the overall battle statistics and that there was such a great record.

Nearly 30,000 foreign devils were wiped out at one time. Such a large number was almost the same as the number of the vanguard troops entering the capital. How could they not be shocked?

After everyone was surprised, Wei Jinghai explained the ambiguous statement of "rest of the people" that appeared in many places in the battle statistics.

"The statistics of the battle results of the Japanese, American and British armies are only estimates and not absolutely accurate figures."

"Because our unscrupulous artillery was too powerful, many foreign devils were blown to pieces. It is impossible to get an absolutely accurate number, but one thing is guaranteed, the number of foreign devils we actually killed will only be more than this number, and never less."

Wei Jinghai then added, "Since the Marshal has already promised General Ma Fulu to give all the credit for the East Gate to the Gansu Army, the results of destroying the Russian army were not included in the memorial we submitted."

"However, the Marshal's generosity also won Ma Fulu's goodwill. Ma Fulu not only expressed his obedience to the Marshal's command, but also said that he would not take any of the spoils from Dongbianmen and Qihuamen, and would give them all to us."

Liu Shijiu laughed and said, "Our contribution this time is great enough. This is the largest number of foreign devils killed in one day since the establishment of our vanguard army. It is a good deal for us to exchange our small contribution at the East Gate for so many weapons and ammunition."

Although in history, the Gansu Army failed to stop the Allied Forces' attack and soon allowed the Allied Forces to seize the capital, this cannot completely erase the Gansu Army's contribution to defending the capital and fighting hard.

What's more, in order to unify the command of the capital and give some credit to the Gansu Army, this is indeed a very cost-effective deal for Teng Yuzhao. Liu Shijiu is not wrong about this.

Teng Yuzhao's show of goodwill was rewarded. Logically, the Gansu Army should also have a share of the spoils captured at the Dongbianmen and Qihuamen battlefields. However, Ma Fulu readily stated that the victories in the two battles were entirely due to the vanguard army. Giving him a share of the spoils was already a way of taking care of his Gansu Army, and he got a great bargain.

Therefore, he did not take a single cent of the spoils.

Now, Teng Yuzhao really lacked guns, and the newly recruited Boxers needed weapons.

Although Li Yulin still has a large number of guns in Yi County, it is still hundreds of miles away. He can't send people to travel a long distance to get weapons.

Wei Jinghai continued to report, "In today's battle, we seized intact guns, including 1898 Japanese Golden Hook rifles, American M- rifles, more than British-made Lee Enfield rifles, more than Russian Mosin-Nagant rifles, and more than various revolvers."

"In addition, the 3rd Mixed Brigade not only caught the Japanese attacking the city by surprise during the counterattack outside Qihua Gate, but also seized the Japanese artillery positions, destroyed 18 Japanese 75mm bronze cannons, and seized 6 Krupp 75mm mountain cannons."

"According to the Marshal, the Third Mixed Brigade made great contributions this time. They also wiped out most of the Japanese artillery regiment. These 24 artillery pieces are the organization of two Japanese artillery battalions."

"According to our organization, this is two full artillery battalions!"

Wei Jinghai took a breath and said, "The most important thing is that we have seized a large number of shells that we urgently need."

After a pause, Wei Jinghai sighed slightly and his tone became low.

"Although we won an unprecedented victory in today's battle, we also paid a huge price. Including the 8,000 new soldiers who participated in the battle, the total casualties of various units exceeded 7,000, including more than 4,000 deaths."

"It really shouldn't have happened that there were such heavy casualties, because we adopted ambushes and caught the foreigners off guard everywhere. But our casualties were still huge. As the deputy chief of staff in charge of operations, I have to take responsibility. I have already asked the Marshal for punishment." After Wei Jinghai said this, Li Xianze and Hu Dianjia could no longer sit still, and they both stood up. Among the more than 7,000 casualties, their troops accounted for more than 5,000.

Li Xiance said first, "Marshal, I didn't command well. Please punish me."

Hu Dianjia also said in a heavy tone, "Marshal, the 3rd Mixed Brigade suffered the greatest casualties. It's all my fault. I wanted to let in more Japanese soldiers and give them a hard time. I originally wanted to let in 10,000 people, but I was greedy. In the end, more than 13,000 Japanese soldiers were let in."

"As a result, the Japanese invaders rushed into the city in large numbers and broke through many places in the encirclement. We had no choice but to engage in hand-to-hand combat, which resulted in such heavy casualties. I also ask the Marshal to punish us."

Liu Nineteen smacked his lips and said, "Speaking of casualties, the assault brigade also suffered heavy casualties, and even the people who were sent to support by the independent brigade also suffered more than 300 casualties."

"But there will always be casualties in war. The key is whether it is worth it. In this battle, we killed nearly 30,000 foreign devils, but only more than 4,000 of our own people were killed. This is..."

Liu Shijiu looked at Liu Yuanshou, the deputy captain of the assault brigade, who was not far away. The two had been together for more than two months and knew Liu Shijiu very well. Seeing Liu Shijiu looking at him, Liu Yuanshou hurriedly said, "Battle damage ratio."

Liu Shijiu obviously didn't think of this new term for a moment, and when Liu Yuanshou mentioned it, he hurriedly spoke.

"Yes, that's the loss ratio. Our loss ratio to the foreign devils is 1 to 7. It's a good deal no matter how you look at it."

"In my opinion, you guys shouldn't rush to take on any responsibilities. Xingfu knows the wins and losses. No one can take away your credit. You should just do a good job of summarizing the battle."

"The right thing to do is to think about how to reduce our own losses and kill more foreign devils the next time we fight the foreign devils."

Although Liu Shijiu is not well educated, he has a quick mind. In Teng Yuzhao's opinion, Liu Shijiu has a high emotional intelligence. He seems careless, but he always sees the key points of the problem. Now is the time to boost morale, not the time to consider who has what responsibilities.

Teng Yuzao smiled and glanced at Liu Shijiu, then waved his hand, motioning Li Xianze and Hu Dianjia to sit down.

Teng Yuzhao took a sip of tea, smiled and pointed to the teacup in front of everyone.

"Although my tea is not a top-grade famous tea, it still tastes very good. It is a scented tea that has recently emerged in the capital from a tea shop called Zhang Yuyuan Tea House on Huashi Street. Now its scented tea is very famous in the capital. It tastes very refreshing. You should all try it. It will help you cool down in the hot summer."

Teng Yuzhao loved drinking tea in his previous life, and he especially liked Zhang Yiyuan's scented tea.

When Teng Yuzhao was still in Anping, he asked Li Yaoting's people to buy it for him. However, he could not find a tea house called Zhang Yiyuan in the whole capital, and only found a tea house called Zhang Yuyuan.

After reporting to Teng Yuzhao, Teng Yuzhao suddenly remembered that during the period of the Eight-Nation Alliance, Zhang Yiyuan Tea House was still called Zhang Yuyuan.

The name Zhang Yiyuan was only used when the tea house reopened eight years later.
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(End of this chapter)