The Qing Dynasty

Chapter 395: Division and Reinforcement

"no no."

Waldersee shook his head firmly and said, "The transport troops led by Teng Yuzao that are escorting the ammunition and supplies that have been robbed from us have less than 10,000 combat troops, and the rest are baggage troops and civilian laborers. To deal with these people, we don't need a hundred thousand troops to chase them closely."

"That would be a huge waste of our military strength."

At this point, Waldersee glanced at Gasley and said, "Generals, this war has dragged on for too long."

"Every day the war is delayed will put greater financial pressure on the governments of the generals. I know very well that some countries do not have the military budget and are borrowing to fight the war."

"So, I want to remind you generals that we are not here for war. We are here to avenge the Qing court for tolerating the Boxers and killing our priests and diplomats. We want to eliminate those thugs and the officials who condoned them from this world and force their court to bow to us as soon as possible."

"Therefore, leave about 20,000 troops to pursue and cooperate with the northern troops to eliminate Teng Yuzao. The rest of the troops should go straight to Baoding and occupy Baoding, the capital of Zhili, and then force the ignorant Qing Empress Dowager who is hiding in Shanxi to ask for peace as soon as possible, so as to end this war as soon as possible."

"Generals, don't forget that Baoding's Zhili Provincial Governor Ting Yong is a demon who was directly involved in killing our missionaries and believers. This man must not be allowed to remain at large. He must be executed on the spot to deter those ignorant officials in the Qing court."

"I agree!"

Chaffee began by saying, "It was under the instigation of this Ting Yong that more than a dozen missionaries from the Presbyterian Church of the United States and the Congregational Church of the United States in Baoding were brutally murdered. This demon must be eliminated."

However, what disappointed Waldersee was that, except for Chaffee, no one else showed much enthusiasm.

Waldersee glanced at Gasley and said, "General Gasley, I remember that your missionaries in Baoding, including their wives and children, were also killed by this Ting Yong. Aren't they citizens of your British Empire? Don't you want to avenge them?"

Gasley frowned and said, "Sir Waldersee, of course I want to avenge the citizens of our British Empire, but as you said, we need to end this war as soon as possible."

"The key to ending this war is not to kill the thugs and officials who have harmed our citizens, but to eliminate Teng Yuzao. As long as Teng Yuzao is eliminated, the war will be over, and the Qing court will immediately kneel down and ask for peace from us."

"So, I think our most important task right now is to eliminate Teng Yuzao. We have already reached a consensus on this point. Based on our experience, to eliminate him, only twice the force is not enough. We need more troops to do it, at least 50,000."

"If we give up this opportunity, we will not only regret it for the rest of our lives, but we may also lose the time to end the war early."

Waldersee believed that what Gassley did not say next was most likely about losing "victory".

Waldersee cursed in his heart, "Coward", and then looked at everyone else, but no one agreed with his plan.

If a vote was required, it was estimated that no one would respond to him except Terhap of the Austro-Hungarian Empire and Rusov of Italy, which made Waldersee sigh inwardly.

He is the supreme commander of the coalition forces of the great powers, but in the final analysis, he is only a nominal commander!

"Okay, generals, let's vote. We Germans are going to Baoding, and our American friends shouldn't object. If others don't want to go to Baoding, they can stay."

Fukushima Yasumasa stood up, bowed slightly to Waldersee, and said with a smile.

"Sir Waldersee, kill Ting Yong for revenge! I have no objection, but General Gasley's words also make sense. Teng Yuzao must be sold out, so I am willing to personally lead a brigade to follow Sir Waldersee to Baoding."

It was obvious that Fukushima Yasumasa wanted to follow Waldersee to Baoding to get a piece of the pie. How could others not understand that? Frey said immediately.

"I am also willing to lead a regiment to follow Lord Waldersee to Baoding." Lian Navich also said: "We can also send a regiment."

Gasley twitched his lips and said, "Well, we can also send a group to Baoding."

Although Tehap and Rusov did not express their opinions, it was obvious that they would follow Waldersee to Baoding.

Waldersee was well aware of what these people were thinking, but in order to maintain his dignity as the nominal supreme commander of the Allied Forces, he could not reveal it.

Time was running out and Waldersee was unwilling to waste any more time, so he gave the order immediately.

"Well, generals, please ask General Lianavich to rush to Dongxianpo immediately to lead the northern army, and General Gasley to lead the remaining troops, and set out immediately to intercept the Qing general."

"General Gasley, if we fail to intercept him, lead your troops to chase him and don't give him time to breathe. We must hold on to him tightly. Not only must we take back the ammunition and supplies we lost, but we must also work closely with General Lenavic's northern troops to encircle and destroy our enemy."

Waldersee then looked at the other senior commanders and said, "All other troops, prepare to march to Baoding in the morning."

Finally, Waldersee encouraged the senior commanders.

"Generals and gentlemen! I have received a telegram from our Majesty William. Our German Empire will send two more divisions of troops. At present, His Majesty is actively negotiating with the leaders of various countries. I believe that within three months, we will have reinforcements coming in continuously."

"As for the news about the reinforcements, I believe that everyone here should have detailed and accurate information from their respective countries. What is certain now is that the British Empire, the Kingdom of Italy, and the Austro-Hungarian Empire have all agreed in principle to continue to increase their troops."

"Therefore, even if we cannot eliminate the Qing generals on the battlefield in front of us, as long as we can weaken this so-called vanguard army, we will have achieved our goal."

"Once our army arrives, we will deal a decisive blow to this disgusting Qing Empire."

The commanders of various countries present were all aware of whether their respective countries would increase their troops, because they had already submitted reports to their countries via telegrams.

They all believed that the existing military force was not enough to defeat the Qing Dynasty. To be more precise, with the current military force, they no longer had the confidence to defeat this vanguard army unless they increased their military force.

And Lenavich knew very well that their Tsar was very happy to continue to increase troops in the Far East. However, given that the Western powers did not want to see more Russian troops in the Far East, the reinforcements would not arrive in Zhili soon. The reinforcements would temporarily remain in Guandong Province and surrounding areas to eliminate resistance.

Fukushima Yasumasa was also aware that the Japanese were very wary of the Tsarist Russian army continuing to increase its troop strength. This was also the reason why two more divisions were added to the Zhili territory of the Qing Dynasty to participate in the war when military expenditures were extremely tight.

Fukushima Yasumasa believed that if there was a need, for example, if the Russians continued to increase their troops, it would be entirely possible to transfer one or two divisions from the country.

Gasley and Frey were also aware of the attitude in their own countries.

Although both countries were very reluctant to continue to increase their troops, the Russians and Japanese had repeatedly taken the opportunity to significantly increase the number of their troops in the Qing Dynasty. The situation had developed to the point where they had to increase their troops, otherwise it would be difficult for them to guarantee their interests in the Far East.

As for Tehap and Rousseau, they were also aware of the situation in their own countries. They would still follow their powerful German allies to send troops, but the scale of the troops would still not be large.

The one who was the calmest was Chaffee.

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(End of this chapter)