Anti-Qing: Starting from the Jintian Uprising

Chapter 263 Elgin: I gave you the chance but you are useless!
At this moment, a servant came in from outside and spoke to Elgin.

"Your Excellency, the Tatars have responded to our request that the Qing Dynasty be responsible for providing supplies for our expeditionary army!"

"The Tatar emperor said that they can be responsible for the logistics of my expeditionary army, but we have to agree to some conditions."

Elgin raised his eyebrows when he heard this, and then asked.

"What conditions did the Tatars offer?"

Upon hearing this, the attendant took out a letter from his arms and handed it to Elgin.

This letter was sent from Shanghai and contained the conditions that Yi proposed to the foreigners.

After reading it, Elgin agreed without even thinking about it.

"Send a message to the Tatars, and tell them that I have agreed to all the conditions proposed by their emperor!"

The reason why Elgin agreed so readily was not because he was generous.

It was because he had no intention of executing it at all.

It's so funny. Elgin was planning to teach the Qing Dynasty a lesson after he dealt with the Tang Dynasty, if conditions permitted, and turn the whole of China into a British colony.

How is it possible to really implement the conditions proposed by the Qing Dynasty?

As for credibility?
Elgin doesn't care!

Over the years, Britain has done countless treacherous things.

But does this affect Britain's status as a world hegemon?

It has no impact at all!
So why should he care about credibility?

Upon hearing this, the attendant nodded in agreement and turned to leave.

Elgin turned around and continued discussing with Gro and others.

"How do you think the next war against the Tang Kingdom should unfold?"

Seymour heard this and spoke.

"My Lord, my opinion is that we can drive straight to the mouth of the Pearl River and launch an offensive against Guangzhou."

"Guangzhou is close to the coast. Our fleet can directly attack Guangzhou and cover our land forces in launching an offensive against Guangzhou."

"Moreover, Guangzhou is the capital of the Tang State and has an extremely important political position. As long as we can capture Guangzhou, we will definitely be able to force the Tang State to make concessions and completely open up their market to us."

"However, Manila's supply capacity is limited after all. I'm afraid it won't be enough to support us to complete the Guangzhou Campaign."

"So, my suggestion is that our fleet can first head north to Fuzhou and use the ports of the Qing Empire for supplies."

"After we complete the supply, we will turn back south and start the battle in Guangzhou."

Elgin heard this and nodded.

"Playing against Guangzhou is indeed our best option at the moment."

"And it is only right to go to Fuzhou for supplies."

"But I think our army should be prepared for a tough battle. According to the information I have obtained so far, the Tang army should have known in advance that the coalition forces were coming and have already begun to make military preparations."

"If this is the case, the battle of Guangzhou will not be so easy."

"The Tang army still has some fighting power!"

The Tang army had defeated the British army in the Battle of Guangzhou. Although they were still unclear about the specific course of the war, they were defeated.

It would be extremely foolish to be arrogant in the face of an enemy who once defeated you.

Gro also made a suggestion.

"Your Excellency, we can borrow troops from the Qing Dynasty."

"If the Qing army can launch an offensive against the Tang army from Fujian and Jiangxi when our coalition forces attack Guangzhou, it will surely attract a certain number of Tang troops to mobilize for reinforcements."

"Help our coalition to contain a certain amount of Tang troops!"

Elgin heard this and said angrily.

"These Tatars are really useless, if their main force in the south had not been annihilated by the Tang army in Jiangning."

"Then, the support that the Qing army can provide us in this battle is not just simply to contain a part of the Tang army's forces."

"And Aliguo and Taylor, these two are also useless. There are 3,000 people..."

As the commander of the Allied Forces, Elgin naturally had some understanding of the situation in China.

He had also received the news that the Qing Dynasty was defeated in Jiangning, the main force of the South was completely lost, and 3,000 British troops were also buried in the Yangtze River.

Originally, Elgin planned to join forces with the Qing army to attack the Tang army in this battle.

But there was nothing he could do. He gave the Qing army a chance, but the Qing army itself was useless!
Before the coalition forces arrived, the Qing army was annihilated in Jiangning.

This also made Elgin's plan fail.

Thinking about it now, Elgin is still furious.

Gro, who was standing by, spoke to comfort him.

"Your Excellency the Commander, don't be angry. We didn't place our hopes on the Qing army, did we?"

"They are only playing supporting roles. The outcome of this war will ultimately depend on our coalition forces."

After hearing this, Elgin's expression improved slightly.

He immediately gave the order.

"Order the fleet to speed up supply, depart from Manila as soon as possible, and head north to Fuzhou..."

……

The third year of Zhaowu in the Tang Dynasty, mid-January.

After completing rest and simple supply in Manila, the Eight-Nation Alliance headed north from Manila to Fujian.

Soon, they crossed the Bashi Channel and arrived in Fuzhou.

After replenishing another wave of supplies in Fuzhou, they quickly turned back south and headed towards Guangzhou.

The fleet was huge, with ships linked end to end, stretching for miles, with no end in sight. Jinghai Marquis Shi Delu and Fuzhou Vice Governor En Ming stood side by side on the deck of a Western warship, looking out at the vast sea in the distance.

While the Eight-Nation Alliance was replenishing supplies in Fuzhou, the Qing military observation group led by Shi Delu and En Ming also boarded ships from Fuzhou and headed for Guangzhou with the army.

The main reason why they joined the army this time was to observe how the foreigners fought.

Then, we can take the essence and remove the dross, absorb the advantages of foreigners and use them to strengthen the Qing army itself.

Looking at the vast sea in front of her and the large and small ships floating on the sea, Shi Delu slowly exhaled and said to Enming beside her.

"It is said that foreigners have strong ships and powerful guns, and it is difficult to match them. In the past, Shi did not believe it. He thought that the ships were all made of wood, so even if there was a difference, how big could it be?"

"Looking at it now, I realize how shallow I was."

"This foreigner's warship is dozens of feet long, can carry sixty or seventy heavy guns, and hundreds of sailors. It is as huge as a mountain on the sea, and it is really hard to match."

This was the first time that Shi Delu boarded a foreign warship.

After boarding the ship, he was stunned!

Enming on the side also said with a wry smile.

"Fortunately, the Qing Dynasty is now an ally of the foreigners, not an enemy."

"Otherwise, if the foreigners come to attack Fuzhou with this huge ship, I'm afraid Fuzhou will be unable to resist."

Enming was also frightened by the foreigners' powerful ships and guns.

Especially the heavy artillery on the sailing battleships, Enming simply couldn't imagine how terrifying the noise would be if so many heavy artillery fired at the same time!

Upon hearing this, Shi Delu couldn't help but burst out laughing.

"However, since the foreigners are now going to deal with the Tang thieves, for our Qing Dynasty, the stronger these foreigners are, the better."

"It would be best if we could beat the crap out of Tang!"

Hearing this, Enming also laughed along with the others in a happy mood.

It feels like gloating!

After saying this, Enming and Shi Delu returned to the cabin and called the members of the observation group to discuss the matter.

Discussing stealing warfare skills from foreigners!

……

Hong Kong Island!
In early spring of February, the weather in Lingnan has begun to become sultry, and the air is scorching hot.

Only at night or in the early morning will there be a slight coolness between heaven and earth.

At dawn, a sea breeze mixed with a salty smell blew, and Ding Yong on the watchtower couldn't help shivering.

He sniffed, picked up the coat at his feet and put it on himself, then pulled up his collar and felt a little warmer.

Taking a deep breath of the cold air at dawn, Ding Yong's spirits were visibly lifted.

While raising the telescope and preparing to take a look at the sea as usual, I was thinking about what to have for breakfast after work.

Suddenly, the expression on Ding Yong's face froze.

Through the telescope, the red sun rises in the east, turning the blue sea into orange-red.

Where the sea and the sky meet, a dense mass of black dots slowly emerged from the morning mist and headed towards the coast.

When Ding Yong saw this, he suspected that he had seen it wrong.

He rubbed his eyes hard and raised the telescope to look again.

As time goes by, the black spots are getting bigger and bigger.

Gradually, the outlines of small boats began to emerge.

Ding Yong could now finally be sure that he was not mistaken and that there was indeed a fleet approaching.

Without any hesitation, Ding Yong turned around, picked up a firework at his feet, lit it, and released it.

After a loud bang, a red firework exploded in the dawn sky.

Extremely conspicuous!

"Enemy attack! Enemy attack!"

"The foreign warships are coming!"

"Quickly send a telegram to Guangzhou, the foreign warships are coming!"

"..."

Amid the clamor, news of the foreign invasion quickly spread to the Hong Kong garrison camp and several artillery batteries.

The Tang Dynasty's garrison in Hong Kong began to prepare to meet the enemy, and war flags had been raised on several artillery batteries.

At the same time, news of the foreign invasion was sent to Guangzhou and various coastal artillery positions via telegram.

Almost all the coastal fortresses, including Humen Fort, Shajiao Fort, Dajiao Fort, and Weiyuan Fort, received the news and began to actively prepare for war.

War is imminent!
……

As the sky gradually brightened, Li Yi, who was sleeping soundly, was awakened by a knock on the door.

Li Yi stood up, put on his clothes, and walked out of the bedroom.

Pushing open the door and stepping out of the bedroom, Li Yi looked up and saw Zhang Tai.

When Zhang Tai saw Li Yi walking out of the bedroom, he hurried forward and reported.

"Your Majesty!"

"Urgent report from Hong Kong! The fleet of the Eight-Nation Alliance is invading and has now appeared outside the mouth of the Pearl River. It is approaching Hong Kong with the intention of occupying Hong Kong."

“Hong Kong is in danger!”

Upon hearing this, Li Yi took the telegram from Zhang Tai and began to read it.

Zhang Tai stood aside feeling somewhat uneasy, waiting for Li Yi's decision.

(End of this chapter)