Anti-Qing: Starting from the Jintian Uprising

Chapter 507 North American War
When Ando Nobumasa heard this, his expression was obviously a little excited. He raised his glass and drank the wine in it, then spoke.

"Then I will be here to thank Lord Zhao on behalf of the entire shogunate!"

Zhao Xinpei heard this but did not agree, but just said with a smile.

"I am just asking for help. You don't deserve to be so polite..."

"hehe!"

Just as the two were talking, there was a knock on the door.

Zhao Xinpei casually said, "Come in."

As soon as he finished speaking, a servant walked in quickly from outside.

"Your Excellency the Ambassador, the latest news has been sent back from Kyoto."

"Muren is caught!"

When Zhao Xinpei heard this, his expression changed and he couldn't help but burst into laughter.

"Haha, good news, good news!"

"The real culprit behind the scenes has been caught. I can now give Lord Chai an explanation!"

"Come! Come! Come!"

"Everyone, let us drink this cup together!"

As he spoke, Zhao Xinpei raised his glass high.

Seeing this, Ando Nobumasa also raised his glass.

However, the expression on his face at this time was obviously unnatural.

Ando Nobumasa knew that Emperor Komei currently had only one son, Mutsuhito.

If the Tang Dynasty killed Mutsuhito, Emperor Komei would probably go crazy, right?
By then, the shogunate will be caught in the middle and will be neither sidelined nor accepted!
Once the relationship between the emperor and the shogunate breaks down, things will be troublesome.

This was not a good thing for the shogunate, which needed to obtain legitimacy of its rule from the emperor.

However, in this situation, he couldn't open his mouth to persuade the person in front of him to be more generous...

Zhao Xinpei finished the drink in his glass and looked at Ando Nobumasa who was standing beside him.

Seeing that Ando Nobumasa looked embarrassed, Zhao Xinpei asked with a smile.

"Why do you have that expression, Ando-kun?"

"Are you worried about something?"

Seeing this, Ando Nobumasa had an idea and spoke.

"Lord Zhao, I'm worried about Crown Prince Muren."

"At present, my Japanese King Komei has only one son, Prince Mutsuhito."

"I hope that the Tang Dynasty can be more considerate and show mercy when dealing with Prince Mutsuhito..."

Ando Nobumasa had not planned to say anything, but since the other party brought it up, it wouldn't hurt for him to say something.

Zhao Xinpei heard this and shook his head.

"How to deal with Mu Ren will be determined by the Tang Dynasty Law."

"How can this official bend the law for personal gain?"

When Ando Nobumasa heard this, his expression became visibly ugly, but he didn't dare to get angry in the end. He just spoke with a slightly flattering tone in his voice.

"Lord Zhao, His Majesty Xiaoming only has one son."

"If the Tang Dynasty punishes him, it will be difficult to explain to His Majesty Xiaoming."

Zhao Xinpei sneered.

"Why? It's hard to explain to Xiaoming, but it's easy to explain to Datang?"

"Besides, it wasn't our Tang Dynasty that ordered Mu Ren to assassinate Ambassador Chai."

"People always have to pay the price for what they do!"

"What do you think, Your Excellency?"

After hearing this, Ando Nobumasa was speechless for a while, but in the end he said nothing.

In today's East Asia and Southeast Asia, no one can go against the decision made by the Tang Dynasty!

……

The capital of the Tang Dynasty!

Old Summer Palace!
Li Yi is still reviewing official documents.

Looking at the pile of documents on the desk, Li Yi felt a little overwhelmed.

He couldn't understand why he was as tired as a dog from handling official duties every day and had no time to rest at all.

But how could the emperor who was regarded as the greatest emperor of all time by some of the bondservants go to the south of the Yangtze River for sightseeing every now and then?

Why, he has no official business to attend to?
There is no doubt that the person Li Yi is complaining about here is Qianlong.

After reviewing a memorial regarding afforestation in Shaanxi and Shanxi, Li Yi put down the pen in his hand and stretched his neck.

I immediately felt much more comfortable.

He casually picked up the teacup beside him and took a sip. The fresh tea aroma bloomed on the tip of his tongue, and Li Yi slowly exhaled.

At this moment, Wang Zhong trotted over to Li Yi and reported.

"Your Majesty, Zuo Zongtang, the Grand Councilor, is outside seeking an audience."

Li Yi raised his head slightly, indicating that he knew.

Wang Zhong turned and left, and soon brought Zuo Zongtang in from outside.

Zuo Zongtang walked up to Li Yi, bowed and saluted, then spoke.

"Your Majesty, the Military Affairs Council has almost completed the preparations for the formation of an expeditionary force to North America."

"First of all, the fleet!"

"The Military Affairs Council is preparing to dispatch five 20-ton battleships, including the Weiyuan, Zhenyuan, Pingyuan, Dingyuan, and Fuyuan, as well as steam ironclad ships and supply ships to form an expeditionary fleet."

"As for the land forces, we are preparing to deploy the Second Reinforced Regiment of the Imperial Guard, the Sixth Infantry Division of the Tang Dynasty, the Third Marine Brigade, and the Fourth and Seventh Artillery Regiments to form the North American Expeditionary Force."

"The commander of this North American expeditionary force has been tentatively decided to be Marquis Huaiyi Feng Zicai, and the fleet commander will be Marquis Anhua Yang Yuebin."

As he spoke, Zuo Zongtang handed a memorial to Li Yi.

Li Yi began to read it himself.

Looking through the relevant content in the report, he nodded slightly.

Since this expedition to North America is a cross-sea expedition, the pressure on logistical supplies will be enormous.

Because of this, when the Tang Dynasty selected troops to form the expeditionary force, they only selected their best troops.

The equipment, training and other aspects are all top-notch.

Li Yi even pulled out a reinforced regiment from his own guard to join the war.

You know, Li Yi's guards are all elite troops selected from the best of the various troops in the Tang Dynasty.

Coupled with the fact that they are now equipped with the best weapons in the world, their combat effectiveness is absolutely top-notch.

After reading the report, Li Yi nodded slightly and then said.

"Very good, it was done very well."

"Let's arrange it this way!"

"By the way, what do European countries say about organizing a coalition?"

Zuo Zongtang did not say anything when he heard this, but Li Yi's secretary Zhang Zhidong spoke up.

"In reply to your Majesty, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has reported that France, Prussia, Spain, the Netherlands and other countries have agreed to join the coalition."

"In addition, Japan, Myanmar, Vietnam and other countries have also sent applications to the Tang Dynasty, hoping to send troops to join the coalition."

Upon hearing this, Li Yi showed a thoughtful expression on his face.

After a moment, he spoke.

"can!"

"Notify Japan, Myanmar, and Vietnam and have them train their armies, collect food and supplies, and be ready to go on the expedition at any time..."

Li Yi had no objection to the fact that several vassal states also wanted to participate in the North American War.

How to put it, what he wants is to divide North America.

Apart from that, Li Yi doesn't care.

After the division of North America, the United States will inevitably experience a wave of gold coins.

At that time, instead of letting all these gold coins be taken up by European countries and allowing them to grow stronger, it would be better to let the vassal states of the Tang Dynasty share some of the profits.

It is always better for Asian countries to become stronger than European countries.

To a certain extent, these vassal states were also outward projections of the Tang Dynasty's power.

With the current influence of the Tang Dynasty on the vassal states, even if the vassal states become stronger, they will not be able to escape the control of the Tang Dynasty.

Zhang Zhidong nodded to show that he understood, and then continued to report.

"Your Majesty, there is one more thing."

"In Japan, the real culprit behind the assassination of the Tang Dynasty's ambassador to Japan, Mu Ren, has been arrested..."

Upon hearing this, Li Yi asked with a strange expression.

"what happened?"

"Isn't the real culprit behind the assassination Prince Komatsu-kun Akihito?"

"Why did you become Mutsuhito again?"

Zhang Zhidong took a deep breath and continued to report.

"Your Majesty, according to the report from Japan, the reason why Prince Komatsu sent people to assassinate the Tang ambassador was because he was deceived by Mutsuhito."

"Prince Komatsu-no-Kan Akihito didn't say anything, but before our people were about to send him to the execution ground, he confessed everything..."

Prince Komatsukan Akihito originally planned to take the blame for Mutsuhito and to die himself so as not to involve Mutsuhito in the matter.

However, when the Tang soldiers pushed him to the execution ground, Prince Komatsukan Akihito's mentality collapsed.

Under the fear of death, he chose to tell the truth.

I only hope I can live a little longer!

After listening to Zhang Zhidong's explanation, Li Yi looked strange.

"Haha, that's interesting!"

Zhang Zhidong continued to ask.

"Your Majesty, the Japanese side requests instructions from the court on how to deal with Mutsuhito."

"Your Majesty, please make the decision!"

Li Yi heard this and said expressionlessly.

"That's nothing to think about!"

"kill!"

"My Tang Dynasty ambassador cannot die in vain!"

This guy Mutsuhito was the famous Emperor Meiji in later generations and the initiator of the Sino-Japanese War of 1894-1895.

The Meiji in the Meiji Restoration refers to him!
From the perspective of the Japanese, he must be a hero.

But as the saying goes, his hero is my enemy!

As for Mu Ren, Li Yi had long wanted to get rid of him.

It’s a pity that I can’t find an excuse.

Now that Mu Ren was in trouble, he took the initiative to hand the knife to Li Yi.

Haha, you can’t blame Li Yi for being cruel.

Zhang Zhidong heard this and asked with a slightly hesitant expression.

"Your Majesty, this Mutsuhito is the only biological son of King Komei of Japan."

"If our Tang Dynasty kills him, Xiaoming might..."

Zhang Zhidong didn't finish his words, but his meaning was very clear.

For the sake of Japan's stability, it would be best if Mutsuhito was not killed.

As for the explanation to Chai Zhixin? The explanation to Datang?
The weight of one Prince Akihito of Komatsu was enough.

Li Yi heard this, but he just said expressionlessly. "Kill!"

"If Xiaoming refuses to accept, then we can change the king of Japan. After all, Xiaoming is not the only king of Japan now."

"Tell the Japanese that this is my intention!"

Upon hearing this, Zhang Zhidong knew that the emperor had made up his mind, so he could only nod in agreement to show that he understood.

……

United States!

As time entered 1862, the intensity of the American Civil War began to rise sharply.

On February 1862, 2, Lincoln ordered 22 federal troops to launch a full-scale offensive against the Confederacy.

At the beginning of the war, the Northern Army won victory after victory on the Western Front where the Confederate Army was short of manpower.

The federal army used the Mississippi River, which runs across the north and south of the United States, to transport supplies, and almost opened up the Mississippi River, the main artery between the north and the south, in one go.

It’s a great victory!

But on the Eastern Front, the Northern Army suffered a series of devastating defeats.

The Union commander McClellan had 10 troops under his command, but he kept them inactive for several months because he mistook the enemy's 5 troops for 15.

Later, at Lincoln's urging, he launched the "Peninsula Campaign" in an attempt to capture Richmond.

General Robert Lee led the Confederate Army of Virginia to meet the attack.

From June 6 to July 25, Lee's 7 troops fought the "Seven Days' Battle" with 1 Union troops. Lee used mobility to find opportunities to fight, mobilized the Union Army, and then found the weak links of the Union Army to launch an attack, driving the Union Army out of the peninsula near Richmond.

During the Seven Days' Battle, the Union Army lost 1.65 men, while the Confederate Army lost 2 men. Although in terms of casualties, the Union Army had the advantage.

But the Confederate Army achieved a strategic victory in defending the capital.

After the Seven Days' Battle, Robert Lee took advantage of the victory and marched north, and at the end of August, he fought the Second Battle of Manassas with the Union Army.

In this battle, the Confederate Army had 5.4 troops and the Union Army had 8

Robert Lee used a small force to attract the main force of the Union Army to the position, and the main force maneuvered, launched an attack from the flank and rear, and then attacked from the front and flank, defeating the Union Army in one fell swoop. The Union Army suffered 1.4 casualties and 7000 were captured.

Robert E. Lee once again became undefeated.

After the victory in the Second Battle of Manassas, the Confederate Army began to move northward, and at one point almost reached the gates of Washington.

There was panic in Washington.

On the streets, one could see panic-stricken citizens and defeated soldiers in tattered clothes and with blood on their bodies.

The news of defeat reported from Manassas almost stunned the entire federal government.

Originally, the entire federation was cheering for the successive victories on the Western Front.

But before they could be happy for long, the Confederate Army was about to reach Washington!

boom!
A loud bang echoed throughout the office.

Lincoln was like an angry desktop cleaning master, sweeping everything on the table in front of him to the ground.

"Damn! Damn it!"

"McClelland, you are a loser. You have the advantage in manpower and firepower, but you still lose to the Confederate Army?"

"He's just a complete piece of trash!"

Lincoln vented his emotions to his heart's content.

In front of him, McClellan looked grim, but he could not refute because he was indeed losing ground after fighting Robert Lee.

Off to the side, a group of senior federal government officials could not help but look at each other, each with a solemn expression on their face.

"Mr. President, I know this is not good news."

"But the most important thing we need to do before that is to find out where Robert Lee is now."

"Then we can stop his possible attack on Washington!"

Federal Navy Minister Dean Wells spoke up, trying to ease the tense and heavy atmosphere.

Since the Second Battle of Manassas, Robert Lee led his army north, heading towards Washington.

But this is not the scariest thing!

The most terrifying thing is that the federal side has temporarily lost the movements of Robert Lee's troops and cannot be sure of the specific location of the Confederate Army led by Robert Lee.

In other words, Robert Lee might appear outside Washington with his army in the blink of an eye.

Then lead your troops into Washington and kick their asses!

This is not good news for the Federation.

Lincoln took a deep breath, forced himself to control his emotions, and then asked expressionlessly.

"So, do you have any ideas?"

Everyone was silent for a while when they heard this, but finally McClellan spoke.

"Mr. President, please trust me again. I am willing to lead troops to intercept Robert Lee and guarantee that he will be repelled."

Lincoln looked around and had no other choice but to nod in agreement.

Although McClellan lost the battle, the enemy he faced was Robert Lee, so it was normal for him to lose.

The level of everyone else present is not as good as McClelland!

Lincoln then talked about replenishing McClellan's troops with weapons and troops.

He ordered the withdrawal of personnel from Washington's city defense forces to supplement McClellan.

……

Soon, McClelland led 97000 troops from Washington to intercept Robert Lee's troops.

Soon, the vanguard he sent out intercepted intelligence from Robert Lee's troops on Frederick's front line.

It was discovered that Robert Lee's troops were dispersed and divided into two parts by the Potomac River.

McClellan saw this and seized the opportunity, ordering his troops to speed up their march to stop Robert Lee.

Unfortunately, McClellan's troops and Robert Lee's troops were separated by mountains.

When McClellan led his troops over the mountains and hills, Robert Lee had already received news that his military intelligence had been intercepted.

He acted decisively and ordered the army to assemble urgently at Sharpsburg, while building positions and preparing to hold the place.

On the one hand, they sent troops to block McClellan's troops at various levels, buying time for their own side to gather forces and build positions.

As a result, it took the Northern Army two days to reach the mountain road, which was only 16 kilometers long.

By September 9, troops from both sides had arrived at the battlefield.

The Confederate Army had 4.5 troops and the Union Army had 9 troops, a total of nearly troops, gathered in a small position called Sharpsburg between the Potomac River and the Antietam River.

Or it can be said that McClelland led 4.5 Northern troops to surround Robert Lee's Confederate troops in Sharpsburg.

War is about to break out!
The first thing to break the silent atmosphere of war was still the artillery bombardment.

Before the Northern Army launched an attack on the Confederate positions, the artillery opened fire first and suppressed the Confederate positions with firepower.

Boom! Boom!
Balls of fire continued to burst out on the Confederate positions.

From time to time, broken limbs and arms could be seen flying everywhere in the smoke and dust produced by the explosion.

Immediately, the Union Army began to attack the Confederate positions under the cover of artillery fire.

Dada! Dada!

The sound of machine gun fire rang out.

The Confederate soldiers lay in the trenches and kept pulling the triggers.

The charging Northern Army fell to the ground one after another.

boom! Boom boom!

The artillery suppression continued, with shells hitting the Confederate positions one after another, and the Confederate firepower points were destroyed one after another.

At the same time, the Confederate artillery began to fight back.

Shells fell one after another on the Union artillery positions.

The two sides bombarded each other fiercely, suffered heavy losses, and artillery pieces were constantly destroyed in the artillery fire.

The roar of ammunition exploding continued to sound.

It is just obvious that the Southern Army is still being suppressed.

The reason is very simple. The Northern Army had an absolute firepower advantage when facing the Southern Army.

The biggest advantage of the Southern Army over the Northern Army lies in command.

It’s a pity that the current battlefield is a head-on offensive and defensive battle. No matter how skilled Robert Lee is in command, he cannot bring his command ability into play in such a battle.

They can only keep escalating the situation and engage in a tug of war with the enemy on the front battlefield.

To put it bluntly, this is not a mobile warfare, but a trench warfare!
Boom! Boom!
A deafening roar echoed throughout the battlefield.

The brave soldiers fought desperately on the battlefield.

The moon rose and set, and the day passed quickly. The situation on the battlefield of Sharpsburg had changed significantly.

The Southern Army was severely suppressed!

In just one day, they had lost several lines of defense.

The Confederate Army retreated to Sharpsburg and suffered heavy losses.

That night, the stars and the moon were high in the sky.

Robert Lee stood in the center of the military tent and spoke loudly.

"fight back!"

"We must fight back!"

"If this continues, the Allied Forces will face chronic death!"

Robert Lee was very emotional.

However, Jackson on the side couldn't help but pour a basin of cold water on him.

"General Li, I have to tell you some sad news."

"Our army has already deployed almost all its forces to the battlefield and is engaged in a fight with the enemy."

"But McClellan, the commander of the federal army on the other side, still has at least 20,000 reserve troops that have not been deployed."

"More importantly, federal reinforcements are gathering towards Washington from all directions. We can't go on any longer..."

Robert Lee was poured cold water, and the expression on his face changed from gloomy to bright.

But in the end he spoke.

"Jackson, what do you mean?"

Jackson took a deep breath.

"withdraw troops!"

"Our only option now is to withdraw our troops and retreat back to Richmond..."

When Robert Lee heard this, his expression showed obvious confusion and hesitation.

As a qualified general, he understands his current situation.

For example, as Jackson just said, the federal army is converging towards Washington.

And Washington is not far from where he is now.

To put it bluntly, Robert Lee is now advancing alone in deep territory, and if he is not careful, he will be surrounded and defeated by the enemy's superior forces.

This is undoubtedly bad news for the current allied countries.

He attempted to persuade Britain, France, and other powerful countries to provide substantial help to the Confederacy by invading Washington, such as sending troops to join the war or imposing trade sanctions on the North.

This was used to save the Confederacy from the predicament it faced in the Civil War.

But as it stands now, there is a high probability that his goal will not be achieved!
If this is the case, the situation that the Allied Powers will face next will be dangerous.

Even though Robert Lee is fighting well and is not far from Washington.

But on the Western Front, the Allies were losing ground.

Coupled with the fall of the port of New Orleans, the Confederate coastline was blockaded.

The Allied Powers were now in the most dangerous moment.

If he could not capture Washington in one fell swoop and completely reverse the current situation, then the fate that awaited the Confederacy would be a slow death...

(End of this chapter)