Anti-Qing: Starting from the Jintian Uprising

Chapter 339 The dead duck has a tough mouth

Bruce heard this and nodded.

"Makes sense!"

"That would be best."

The two discussed some details and then walked out of the quiet room one after another.

After meeting Guo Songtao, the British Minister to China Bruce spoke.

"Mr. Secretary, Britain and France can withdraw from Vietnam."

"But as compensation, our two countries want to purchase a batch of military weapons from the Tang Dynasty. We can ensure that these military weapons will not be used in the Far East."

"I hope Datang won't refuse!"

Upon hearing this, Guo Songtao smiled again.

"This matter cannot be handled by me on my own, I need to report it to the king before making a decision."

"However, I think the court will not refuse this matter..."

This is different from the severe shortage of production capacity at the beginning.

After several years of development and expansion, the production capacity of the Datang Arsenal has made great progress and it has begun to gradually become prosperous.

While meeting the Tang army's own military needs, it was also sufficient to sell small quantities of arms to other countries.

Moreover, the production capacity of the Datang Arsenal is still increasing, and this surplus will inevitably increase.

Otherwise, Li Yi would not have agreed to Shi Dakai's proposal to exchange war horses for arms.

Nor would they think about selling arms to both sides after the war in Crimea breaks out, or even exchanging arms for Alaska from the Russians.

……

Capital, Forbidden City!

Yi sat upright on the dragon throne with a solemn expression.

In front of him, Rui Lin was reporting to him.

"Your Majesty, according to the latest news, both Britain and France have rejected the Qing Dynasty's offer of ceding territory in exchange for their stationing troops in Lushun."

"And the Tang Kingdom is preparing for a war against the Liaodong Peninsula, attempting to capture the Liaodong Peninsula."

"From my humble opinion, the Liaodong Peninsula may be in danger."

"Also, the Russian Empire outside the Great Wall seems to be indecisive. After delivering the first batch of weapons to the Qing Dynasty, they have been finding excuses to delay the delivery of the weapons they promised."

Yi took a deep breath and asked.

"Does your family have a solution to this problem?"

Rui Lin shook his head and was unable to offer a solution.

The situation facing the Qing Dynasty now is extremely critical.

On the one hand, the Tang army captured Tianjin and threatened the capital.

On the one hand, he sent troops to the Liaodong Peninsula, aiming outside the Great Wall in an attempt to cut off the Qing court's retreat.

It is obvious that even if the Qing court withdraws from the border in the future, the Tang Dynasty will probably not stop, but will choose to kill them all.

In addition, Britain and France both refused the Qing Dynasty's request to cede territory, and the Qing Dynasty also cut off foreign aid due to the repeated changes of Tsarist Russia.

Anyone can see that the demise of the Qing Dynasty is really just a matter of time.

If the Qing government had not blown up the Yellow River dike, leaving the Tang Dynasty trapped in the disaster relief and reconstruction of the Yellow River dike in the lower reaches of the Yellow River and unable to spare the energy to go north, the Qing Dynasty's reign might have come to an end at this time.

Yi slowly exhaled a breath of foul air.

"National affairs are so difficult. Where should the Qing Dynasty go..."

Yi now really felt a sense of despair.

Regret arose in my heart again, regretting my impulsiveness.

I shouldn't have killed Xianfeng!

Otherwise, I wouldn't have to bear such great pressure now.

Rui Lin had a conflicted expression on his face and spoke cautiously.

"Your Majesty, I have another plan that may help the Qing Dynasty resolve its current predicament."

Upon hearing this, Yi seemed to have grasped a life-saving straw and spoke hurriedly.

"Say it!"

"Tell me quickly, sir!"

Upon hearing this, Rui Lin stopped hesitating and spoke directly.

"Your Majesty, judging from the current situation, the Qing Dynasty can no longer stay in the interior of the country."

"Even if the Qing Dynasty retreats outside the Great Wall, the Tang thieves probably won't give up the pursuit."

"By then, the land outside the Great Wall may be undefendable, and all of our millions of people may be slaughtered by the Tang thieves."

"Therefore, I think that the Qing Dynasty could follow the example of the Xiongnu, Turks, Khitans and other tribes. Since we can no longer stay in the East, we should launch a westward expedition and seek a way out in the West."

Upon hearing this, Yi became conflicted, with his expression changing from gloomy to bright.

The Western Expedition might be a solution!
However, he was really unwilling to accept this!

If he were to just give away his ancestral heritage like this, how would he face his ancestors in the future?
Also, the Western Expedition is easy to talk about.

However, Central Asia and West Asia are mostly deserts with little water and grass. If we really want to march west, the journey will be too difficult.

Among the millions of nations that marched westward, how many were able to reach their destination alive?

Besides, the West today is no longer the West of the time of the Huns, Turks, and Khitans.

Even if the Qing Dynasty could escape the pursuit of the Tang bandits and fight its way through Central Asia and West Asia, it would most likely not be able to gain a foothold in the West.

"There is no need to mention the Western Expedition again."

"My Qing Dynasty has not yet reached the point where it needs to become a stray dog."

"At present, the most important thing for our Qing Dynasty is to open up the land outside the Great Wall and prepare for the war in Liaodong Peninsula to fight against the Tang invaders."

"The Tang thieves want the border areas of our Qing Dynasty?"

"Humph, let's fight. Why has the Qing Dynasty ever been afraid?"

After thinking for a long time, Yi said stubbornly.

In Yi's view, the Western Expedition might be a way out for the Qing Dynasty.

But this retreat is the kind that can only be used as a last resort.

Today's Qingyuan has not reached that point yet.

Yi couldn't make the decision to go all out.

Upon hearing this, Rui Lin could only nod in agreement.

However, just when Ruilin was about to leave with a disappointed look on his face, Yi spoke again.

"Although the Qing Dynasty will not march westward for the time being, this does not prevent the Qing Dynasty from making corresponding preparations in advance." "How about this, you will start collecting information about the specific conditions of the countries that the Qing Dynasty needs to pass through along the way of the Western Expedition, as well as the water and soil conditions."

"If things become unavoidable in the future, our Qing Dynasty will not be completely unprepared."

Upon hearing this, Rui Lin immediately bowed and agreed.

……

Outside Hanoi, Vietnam!
Tang army camp.

"Report! Report to the commander."

"All Vietnamese troops in northern Vietnam have arrived in Taiyuan and have assembled in Taiyuan, preparing to march south to Hanoi."

A scout quickly ran to Chen Yucheng and reported.

Chen Yucheng took a deep breath, put down the water cup in his hand, and asked with a slightly serious expression.

"How many enemy troops are there?"

After hearing this, the scout thought for a moment and then answered.

"Commander, according to our scouts, almost all the Vietnamese troops in northern Vietnam have gathered in Taiyuan this time."

"All Vietnamese troops in Cao Bang, Lang Son, Hai Duong, Vinh An, Bac Ninh, Hai Phong and other places have assembled."

"The total force is about 60,000!"

When Chen Yucheng heard this, his eyes lit up immediately and he laughed loudly and spoke.

"Good! Vietnamese reinforcements are gathering and fighter planes are arriving."

"Pass the order down, summon all our generals to come to my tent to discuss how to defeat the enemy!"

As soon as he finished speaking, the communications soldier beside Chen Yucheng immediately clasped his fists and went away to convey the order.

Chen Yucheng stood up from his chair and walked to a hanging map.

Looking at the map marking the deployment of various Tang army units, he couldn't help but clench his fists.

After being dragged on for so long, the battle is finally going to come to an end!

……

The seventh day of the third month in the fourth year of the Zhaowu reign of the Tang Dynasty.

That day, the sky was clear and the air was fresh, with not a single cloud in the sky.

The sun hangs high in the sky, releasing light and heat unrestrainedly.

The temperature in Vietnam in March is already very high.

Standing on the ground and looking into the distance, you can see obvious heat waves.

On the flat plain north of the Red River, two large armies marched towards each other.

Like two carpets spread on the ground, they seem to cover everything.

It’s just that these two carpets, one is dense and the other is sparse.

Obviously, the sparser one is the Tang army.

The total force that the Tang army could mobilize for this battle, even including the advance battalion that had just been reorganized, was no more than 20,000 men.

The Vietnamese troops on the opposite side indeed numbered as many as 60,000.

The ratio of military strength between the two sides was as high as three to one.

However, even so, the Tang army was full of confidence that they could win this battle.

Flags were waving between heaven and earth, and the Tang army soldiers formed a battle array and advanced in a skirmish line towards the direction of the Vietnamese army in front.

In the sky, hot air balloons hung high, constantly reporting locations to the Tang army's artillery.

The Tang army's artillery quickly adjusted the shooting parameters according to the hot air balloon's reporting point.

On the top of Hanoi City, Lin Weijia, Pan Qingjian and others climbed up the city wall, raised their telescopes and looked at the battlefield north of the Red River.

They all look very nervous!

Because this battle north of the Red River will affect the safety of Hanoi.

If the Vietnamese army can win the battle north of the Red River, Hanoi can be saved.

If the Vietnamese army is defeated, the entire northern Vietnam will be taken over by the Tang army.

This result will be fatal for Vietnam.

"We must win!"

Lin Weijia clenched his fists tightly and prayed silently in his heart.

If he doesn't win, then he will be sorry to the Emperor of Dai Viet...

For some reason, Lin Weijia actually had some expectations for this matter.

……

boom! Boom boom!

The deafening sound of artillery fire opened the curtain of war.

"Three rounds of rapid fire ready!"

"Fire!"

Puffs of smoke rose from the Tang army's artillery positions, and shells streaked across the sky and fell towards the heads of the Vietnamese army.

Boom! Boom!
The shells hit the ground and exploded, and fire and smoke instantly swept everything.

The shock wave spread at a speed visible to the naked eye, blowing countless limbs and arms into the sky.

Boom boom!

The Vietnamese artillery also began to fire back.

One shell after another streaked across the sky and shot towards the Tang army.

The solid black shell fell to the ground and rolled forward.

But for the Tang army that adopted a skirmish line attack, the threat was almost non-existent.

"Aim at the Vietnamese artillery and shoot them down!"

Zhang Guoliang gave the order very decisively.

Although the solid shells fired by the Vietnamese artillery posed limited threat to the Tang army, in his opinion, it would be better to pull them out.

Soon, the hot air balloon above their heads provided shooting elements for the Tang army's artillery.

The Tang army's gunners began to adjust the shooting parameters in an orderly manner.

The next moment, the sound of artillery fire rang out.

One shell after another made a sharp sound that tore through the air and fell towards the Vietnamese artillery positions.

The shells landed and flames rose.

(End of this chapter)