The Qing Dynasty

Chapter 91 Seymour's Tricks
The fact that officers in the coalition forces generally wore wristwatches and pocket watches alone made Teng Yuzao very emotional!

This is not because Teng Yuzhao only saw on the surface that most of the Allied Forces' officers came from wealthy families, but that Teng Yuzhao saw a deeper problem.

That is, the children of nobles and wealthy people in Western powers did not have the second-generation mentality and style of high-ranking officials and nobles and wealthy children in China, who relied on the wealth and power of their fathers or ancestors to act arrogantly and indulge in pleasure. Instead, most of them maintained a strong enterprising spirit to achieve success independently.

Joining the army and going to the battlefield is the first choice for these children of Western aristocrats and wealthy people. In the West, soldiers have always maintained a respected and high social status, and many well-educated children of aristocrats have joined their armies.

The contrast between the status of soldiers in the East and the West is so great that Teng Yuzhao couldn't help but feel strong emotions and resentment in his heart!
Although waiting is an annoying thing, most people can still maintain their composure in front of the expressionless Teng Yuzao.

The most impatient and busiest person is Liu Shijiu. During this period, he has been in and out of the machine gun bunker more than a dozen times.

Unable to bear the anxiety in his heart, Liu Shijiu once again lifted the thatched curtain blocking the door of the machine gun bunker and walked out of the bunker. He wanted to go out for some fresh air.

There were wind lanterns lit in the machine gun bunker. In order to prevent the light from leaking out, the firing holes were now blocked tightly, and the atmosphere inside was a bit too stuffy.

Although it is already mid-to-late June, the nights in the north have already darkened as it is almost seven o'clock in the evening.

The lights on the battlefield were controlled and there were no lanterns outside, but the night sky was clear tonight, and the moon on the 19th day of the lunar calendar was still very full, and the nearby scenery could be clearly seen in the moonlight.

Liu Shijiu's guards, or the two members of the regiment who were equivalent to orderlies, were standing in the shadow of the trench outside the machine gun bunker with Li Yaoting and others, talking in low voices.

These two militiamen were the ones who carried the wine gourd for Liu Shijiu.

However, the wine gourds on their bodies were gone, and instead, each of them now carried two German military canteens cross-carried on their bodies.

Teng Yuzhao still remembered what he had said, and after dinner, he asked someone to find two military canteens to fill Liu Shijiu with wine. Unexpectedly, Liu Shijiu's two wine gourds were very large. After filling up the two military canteens, they only contained a little more than one wine gourd.

There was no other way, so Teng Yuzao had to ask someone to find two more, and then he put the wine in the two wine gourds into the military water bottle.

When Liu Jiujiu came out, a member of the regiment carrying a wine gourd came forward carefully and said in a flattering voice, "Big Brother, how about having a drink?"

Unexpectedly, this member of the group's flattery made Liu Shijiu glare and curse, "You bastard, it's already this hour, and you're still gathering with Old Liu to drink. I wonder if you're itching for more."

The member of the group knew Liu Nineteen's temper and didn't care. He smiled and said, "Big Brother, I am just worried about you. Let me drink some wine to relieve my annoyance."

Liu Shijiu couldn't help but be moved by the words of the regiment members. When he reached out to take the wine jug, he glanced at the soldiers of Li Yaoting and Teng Yuzhao's guard squad standing solemnly beside him. He sighed inwardly and retracted his hand.

"Get out of my way, kid, so I don't get upset when I see you."

"Boom boom boom" three dull artillery sounds came from a few miles away in the east. The sudden artillery sounds cheered up Liu Shijiu, who was already in an irritable mood. He was about to run towards the machine gun bunker, but the people inside had already run out, and the first one to run out was Teng Yuzhao.

Teng Yuzhao walked quickly to the top of the machine gun bunker and looked towards the direction of the concession.

Following these three shots, another series of shots rang out, and then we could see balls of fire and faint shouts of killing coming from the direction of the concession in the darkness. Liu Shijiu immediately jumped to the top of the fort and said excitedly, "The fighting has begun!"

Teng Yuzhao didn't say anything, but just held up the telescope and looked in the direction of the concession where the explosion occurred.

Li Xianze, who was following behind Teng Yuzhao, was also observing the movements in the concession with a telescope.

Although there were only a few places with lights in the concession and the rest were pitch black, the target of the Wuwei Vanguard Army's artillery bombardment could be roughly determined based on the lights and the direction of the explosions. It was not the most prosperous London Road in the British Concession, nor was it the brightest-lit Belgian Shichang Company and the nearby Dutch Consulate on London Road, nor was it the equally brightly-lit Shichang Company and the fur processing factory near the company, but rather it was a woolen weaving factory opened by the British.

According to the intelligence obtained from the reconnaissance, the headquarters of the coalition forces was located in this woolen factory.

Li Jinyu snorted and muttered in a low voice, "The artillery preparation before launching the attack should first bombard the coalition's frontline positions to clear obstacles for the attacking troops. At the very least, it should be bombarded at the Prohibition Hall where the coalition's forces are relatively concentrated. Why are they bombarding the cotton weaving factory coalition headquarters first at this time? I wonder what General Nie is thinking?"

Li Xianze chuckled a few times, "Staff Officer Li, I guess you must have wrongly blamed General Nie. This should be what Yu Zhongtang meant."

Teng Yuzao observed the situation in the concession, sighed and said: "Kangnian is right, I guess that's what Yu Zhongtang meant. Although General Nie is also an old-school officer, he has been in the army for many years, so he must understand these military common sense."

"but,"

"There is one more thing you haven't thought of. There are two other possible reasons why we didn't bombard the Allied Forces' positions in the concession and the Prohibition Hall."

Li Jinyu asked tentatively, "Your Excellency means, is it because it's dark?"

Teng Yuzhao put down the telescope, and Wu Peifu was about to take it from him, but Liu Shijiu had already reached out to take the telescope, raised it in front of his eyes and looked towards the concession.

Teng Yuzao said, "Yes, I guess it's because it's dark."

Teng Yuzao sighed again, "It's not their fault. They probably didn't think of conducting reconnaissance and determining the location of important targets in the concession beforehand. Now they suddenly have to attack the concession, and they can only confirm it through test firing during the day. Now the only target they can calibrate the effect of the artillery is the coalition headquarters at the woolen weaving factory."

Liu Shijiu had no clear idea of ​​the target in the concession. He had never been to the concession before. After looking for a long time, he could not tell where the artillery machine was located or what its effect was. He had no choice but to hand the telescope to Wu Peifu and complain to Teng Yuzhao.

"Damn it, the fighting has already started here, why is that old guy Seymour still sitting there doing nothing? Brother, how about I take some people over there too, and take advantage of the darkness while the foreign devils are still not firmly established, and charge in and kill them?"

Seeing that Teng Yuzao was silent, Wu Peifu said carefully, "Sir, is Seymour playing any tricks?"

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(End of this chapter)