Anti-Qing: Starting from the Jintian Uprising

Chapter 514 The armored vehicle shows its power for the first time!

Upon hearing this, Li Yi's expression froze.

His brows furrowed.

"What exactly happened?"

While asking questions, he was also constantly flipping through the reports in his hands.

Gu Shen replied cautiously.

"In reply to your Majesty, the fact is that ever since the Japanese King Chu Muren was publicly executed by our Tang Dynasty, the Japanese King Xiaoming began to alienate himself from the shogunate."

"Later, Xiaoming was instigated by the anti-shogunate faction and stood on their side."

"According to the investigation of relevant personnel of the Military Intelligence Department, this matter may also be related to the British."

"The reason why those who opposed the shogunate had the courage to go to war with the shogunate that was supported by the Tang Dynasty was because they had the support of the British..."

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

"and then?"

"What is the current situation of the war in Japan?"

Gu Shen took a deep breath.

"In reply to your Majesty, the anti-shogunate army in Japan has already entered Honshu Island and captured Shimonoseki and Hiroshima!"

"What about the shogunate's new army? What are they doing?"

"Your Majesty, according to current news, the shogunate's new army has been mobilized and is preparing to go to Shimane to fight a decisive battle with the anti-shogunate faction..."

After hearing this, Li Yi finally nodded.

"very good!"

"Continue to pay attention to the developments in Japan. If there is any news, report it to me immediately..."

The civil unrest that broke out in Japan also had a certain impact on the Tang Dynasty.

You know, Japan was one of the largest trading partners of the Tang Dynasty at that time, and the annual trade volume between the Tang Dynasty and Japan was over 10 million.

Its importance is no less than that of countries such as North Korea, Vietnam, and Thailand.

The outbreak of civil unrest in Japan will inevitably affect the foreign trade exports of the Tang Dynasty.

Li Yi had to pay attention to this!

Thinking about this, Li Yi went to rest.

The next morning he set out from Guangxi and prepared to return to Beijing.

Li Yi took a train from Guangxi and arrived in Guangzhou.

Then he transferred from Guangzhou to the Beijing-Guangzhou Line, the main north-south transportation artery of the Tang Dynasty, and returned to the capital via Hunan, Hubei, Henan, Hebei and other provinces.

Of course, he was not just traveling along the way. When passing by important cities, he would stop to inspect work or spend a few days sightseeing.

When Li Yi finished his inspection and returned to the capital, it was already May of the tenth year of Kaitai in the Tang Dynasty.

In other words, his tour of the country took him about half a year.

……

At the same time, the situation in Japan was also changing rapidly.

First of all, a decisive battle broke out in the Shimane area between the shogunate's new army and the anti-shogunate coalition forces of the anti-shogunate faction.

After a great battle, the anti-shogunate coalition won the victory and the shogunate's new army retreated towards Kyoto.

The anti-Qing army did not hesitate and immediately sent troops to pursue them.

The two sides fought decisive battles outside Kyoto and Osaka, and the new army of the shogunate was defeated one after another.

They even lost the important coastal city of Osaka!

If the Tang army stationed in the Tang Concession in Kyoto had not intervened at the critical moment and helped the Shogunate's new army, the Shogunate's new army would have even lost Kyoto.

There were many reasons why the shogunate's new army suffered successive defeats.

On the one hand, it was because the anti-Qing army had the support of the British. They obtained a batch of advanced weapons from the British and even hired British soldiers as officers to help command the army in battle.

On the other hand, the elite of the shogunate's new army had been transferred to North America to participate in the war two years ago.

Haven’t returned from North America yet!
The new shogunate army that remains in Japan today is not considered elite.

The anti-shogunate faction saw this point and chose to rise up and overthrow the shogunate at this time.

The attack was targeted by surprise!
After a series of defeats, the shogunate did not sit idly by and wait for death, but chose to ask for help from the Tang Dynasty.

Well, isn’t this the reason why the shogunate wanted to borrow money from the Tang Dynasty’s black online loan platform?

The shogunate just didn't believe it. They had borrowed so much money from the Tang Dynasty. Could the Tang Dynasty just watch the shogunate go bankrupt?

To put it bluntly, if the shogunate is destroyed, who can the Tang Dynasty ask for money?
No matter who dies, the creditor cannot die!
……

The capital of the Tang Dynasty!

A car was speeding on the asphalt road.

With a squeak, the car stopped as the tire touched the ground, leaving a clear black mark.

As soon as the car stopped, a middle-aged man in Tang Dynasty official robes got out of the car and walked towards the British Embassy in Tang Dynasty in front of him.

The guards in front of the embassy quickly saluted him.

But he ignored her and walked straight inside.

"Mr. Charles, Japan is a vassal of our Tang Dynasty. May I ask what does it mean for Britain to intervene in the Japanese civil war?"

After meeting Charles, the new British ambassador to Tang, Lin Xie, the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Tang Dynasty, launched a direct attack.

Charles paused in pouring coffee when he heard this, but continued speaking.

"Minister Lin, please take a seat first."

"Have a cup of coffee first!"

Lin Xie said expressionlessly.

"Ambassador Charles, please don't change the subject."

"The Tang Dynasty needs an explanation, and so does I."

Charles heard this and continued to play dumb.

"I don't understand what Minister Lin means by this?"

Lin Xie took a deep breath.

"On the battlefield in Japan, the shogunate captured British prisoners. According to those prisoners, they were assigned by Britain to help the Japanese rebels."

In the Tang Dynasty, the anti-Qing coalition forces were directly regarded as rebels.

The Tang Dynasty's position in this Japanese civil war is fully revealed!

Charles smiled and said in a scoundrelly manner.

"is it?"

"But I think those might be mercenaries. What does this have to do with Great Britain?"

Seeing this, Lin Xie understood the British attitude and sneered.

"very good!"

"I will report Great Britain's attitude to the court truthfully."

After saying that, he turned around and left without even drinking the coffee.

When Charles saw this, he just shrugged and didn't take it seriously.

When Britain and Tsarist Russia went to war in Crimea, the Tang Dynasty was frequently involved in both Crimean Wars.

If the Tang Dynasty had not secretly helped Tsarist Russia, Tsarist Russia would not have been able to hold on to Crimea for so long.

In that case, don’t blame Britain for causing trouble for Tang Dynasty!
Well, this is called revenge from Britain!

……

Li Yi received a reply from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and he was so angry that he almost laughed.

"Haha, this Englishman is quite interesting!"

After a brief pause, Li Yi continued.

"Let the Ministry of Foreign Affairs contact the Mughal Khanate and invite Bahadur Shah II to come to the capital for an audience."

"I haven't seen Bahadur Shah II for such a long time. It's time to catch up with him..."

How to say it? Although Britain is known to have a profound heritage worldwide, the ports, colonies, and influence accumulated during the Age of Discovery are incomparable to those of the Tang Dynasty.

But today's Tang Dynasty cannot be said to be weak against Britain.

One can even say that it is faintly strong!
And the reason is very simple.

It’s because of India!

Because of the existence of the Mughal Khanate, the Tang Dynasty always had India, the British Empire, in its grip.

As long as the Tang Dynasty puts a little effort into the Mughal Khanate, India will be in chaos. This alone is enough to make Britain uncomfortable.

Upon hearing this, Gu Shen immediately nodded to show that he understood, and then went downstairs to convey the order.

Li Yi began to wonder whether the Tang Dynasty should send troops to intervene in the war in Japan.

After the shogunate suffered defeat in the battles of Kyoto and Osaka, it turned to the Tang Dynasty for help, hoping that the Tang Dynasty would send troops.

Although the shogunate's elite troops could not return from North America, the Tang Dynasty's military was much stronger than that of the shogunate. Even if there was an elite force in North America, there was still no shortage of strong soldiers on the mainland.

All the shogunate can do now is to place hope on the Tang Dynasty!
I hope the Tang Dynasty can send troops to help them quell the rebellion.

After thinking for a long time, Li Yi finally made a decision to send troops!
We must send troops!

As I said, anyone can die, but the creditor cannot die!
If the shogunate collapses, the money that the Tang Dynasty has loaned out will not be recovered!
This is not possible!

……

The world situation is changing rapidly.

The Tang Dynasty's actions in India successfully ignited the already not-so-harmonious atmosphere between the Tang Dynasty and Britain.

The British side began to take steps to respond.

On the one hand, the Indian colonial forces expanded, and on the other hand, they increased their investment in Japan.

In addition, the British Canadian leader also took action.

Alaska is preparing to threaten the Tang Dynasty again!

It’s a pity that Alaska today is no longer what it used to be.

The Tang Dynasty’s development of Alaska over the years has not been in vain. Facing the British invasion, Alaska fought back very happily.

In addition, the Tang army stationed on the west coast of the United States is also preparing to move northward, threatening Canada's southern border...

The war atmosphere between the two sides is on the verge of breaking out!
Just when the tension between the Tang Dynasty and Britain was high, the Tang Dynasty successfully sent troops to Japan.

The Tang Dynasty East China Sea Fleet set out from Songjiang Military Port in Shanghai and headed towards Japan.

Leading the way were two 10,000-ton steel battleships!
What is more worth mentioning is that the caliber of the main guns of the Tang Dynasty’s battleships has been upgraded from 270 mm to 300 mm.

In addition, the arsenals in Datang continued to overcome the technical difficulties in producing larger caliber naval guns.

For example, 330, 350, 370, 400, etc.!
Among them, 330 has been completed, but has not yet been put into the fleet.

The 350 is still in the testing stage, but I believe it won’t be long before it can be produced and used to equip the military.

The caliber of Datang's naval guns is constantly increasing.

The era of battleships and big guns is truly coming!
……

The city wall of Kyoto.

A group of soldiers from the shogunate's new army were patrolling with rifles on their backs.

Although the shogunate's new army suffered several defeats at the hands of the anti-shogunate faction, the situation was still barely stable thanks to the Tang army stationed in Kyoto.

At least, Kyoto was not captured by the anti-shogunate faction.

In this way, there is still room for improvement.

Behind the fortification built with sandbags, Dong Chenghai held a cigarette in his mouth and smoked it intermittently.

On the campfire in front of him was a can of beef.

As the flames licked the bottom of the tin cans, the fat melted as the temperature increased, the cans bubbled, and the air was filled with the aroma of meat and spices. Dong Chenghai smelled the aroma of the cans and couldn't help but sniff.

Today, the Tang Dynasty has made great progress in promoting industrial development on the grassland, not only in mineral development but also in animal husbandry.

Because of the developed animal husbandry, the Tang Dynasty also opened a number of canned food factories on the grassland, specializing in the production of various canned beef and mutton.

This can of food from Dong Chenghai was sent from the Tang Dynasty, and its origin was the Mongolian grasslands.

A can weighs two pounds and costs five cents.

Eighty percent of it was stewed, prime beef chunks, and the rest was fat.

After opening the can and heating it up, it tastes great whether eaten with rice or steamed buns.

At the very least, it's good for people in this era who lack oily meat intake.

Of course, the canned food that Dong Chenghai is eating now is not bought by himself, but the military supplies distributed by his superiors.

With the work team as the basic unit, three canned foods were distributed every day, one each for the morning, noon and evening, to ensure the soldiers' fat and calorie intake during wartime.

"Come on, come on, the canned food is ready, come and eat!"

Dong Chenghai picked up a piece of beef shank with chopsticks and put it into his mouth. He ate it with a sizzling sound while calling for people to come and eat.

Soon, several Tang army soldiers gathered together, and the group began to share the food with laughter.

Not far away, the soldiers of the shogunate's new army were drooling at the sight.

I really envy the treatment Tang Jun received!

The shogunate was not as wealthy as the Tang Dynasty. Even if it tightened its belt to support the shogunate's new army, the most it could do was to ensure that its troops had enough white rice to eat.

As for meat, it is a treat only officers can enjoy!

Just when Dong Chenghai and others were having lunch, a burst of artillery fire suddenly sounded on the battlefield.

Suddenly, clouds of smoke rose from the anti-shogunate army's position outside Kyoto City, and artillery shells whizzed down towards Kyoto City.

A cannonball landed directly on the city wall and exploded instantly.

The shock wave spread violently and flames flashed.

Although the shell landed some distance away from Dong Chenghai and others, the shock wave overturned the campfire in front of them.

The can of beef also fell to the ground, and the soft and rotten beef was covered with dust.

"Fuck you, it's my canned beef!"

Dong Chenghai couldn't help but yell.

At this moment, shouts of killing were heard outside Kyoto.

Under the cover of artillery, the anti-shogunate coalition launched a charge towards Kyoto.

"Fuck you, you little devils, I'm going to kill you!"

Dong Chenghai roared, turned around, picked up the heavy machine gun beside him, aimed at the charging crowd, and began to pull the trigger.

Dada! Dada!

Amidst the dense sound of bullets, a barrage of metal bullets was sprayed everywhere.

The charging enemy troops were immediately swept down!
At the same time, other people on the city wall also reacted, picked up their guns and started shooting.

On the battlefield, there was a sudden sound of gunfire.

Boom! Boom!
The sound of shells hitting the ground and exploding continued to be heard.

As the battle intensified, casualties on both sides began to rise.

As the anti-shogunate coalition continued to increase its troops, the defenders in Kyoto began to find it increasingly difficult to fight.

However, just as the anti-shogunate coalition was about to attack Kyoto, Dong Chenghai and others were preparing to withdraw from Kyoto to Edo.

Suddenly, the anti-Qing coalition forces withdrew!

Dong Chenghai stopped pulling the trigger and looked outside the city with a puzzled look on his face, as if he couldn't understand why the enemy retreated so suddenly.

But at this moment, cheers suddenly sounded in the distance.

"Reinforcements are coming! Tang reinforcements have landed in Osaka!"

"Long live the Tang Dynasty! Long live the shogunate!"

"..."

The shouts gradually resounded throughout Kyoto.

……

Just as the anti-shogunate coalition forces were attacking Kyoto and fighting a life-and-death battle with the shogunate army, the Tang army landed in Osaka.

After the Tang army completed its landing in the direction of Osaka, it directly attacked the rear wing of the anti-Shogunate coalition forces from Osaka.

The anti-Qing coalition was caught off guard and they had no time to respond.

In order to avoid being surrounded and annihilated by the Tang army, they had to retreat in a hurry.

Prepare to retreat to the Shimane area first, reorganize the troops and plan for another battle!
As for the shogunate, after the Tang army was defeated, it also began to prepare for a counterattack and continued to push the front line back.

The two sides once again deployed their troops in the Shimane area.

The decisive battle is about to begin!
……

On the position of the anti-Qing coalition forces.

Sato Shinmoto squatted in a trench, chewing on a rice ball and asking with some confusion.

"By the way, how did the army lose in Osaka?"

"Didn't our anti-shogunate coalition deploy heavy troops in the direction of Osaka in advance to prevent the Tang Dynasty from interfering in the war in Japan?"

"How come we were defeated just after the Tang army landed?"

It was clear that the Tang Dynasty would intervene in the war in Japan, and the anti-Qing coalition could not have been unprepared.

But even with the preparations, the coalition forces were defeated as soon as the Tang army landed. Sato Shinmoto couldn't understand what was going on.

An officer named Jiro Takeda said with a doubtful expression.

"I heard it, just heard it."

"During the Battle of Osaka, the Tang army harnessed a monster to fight."

"This monster carries a large iron shell and emits a roar like thunder. It is invulnerable to swords and guns, and even machine gun fire cannot hit it."

"The Tang army drove the monsters into the battle formation, and our defense line was torn apart. We couldn't resist at all."

"So, the army was defeated in Osaka..."

Upon hearing this, Sato Shinmoto just waved his hand.

"I do not believe."

"Isn't this nonsense? Where did these monsters come from in this world?!"

"I think the soldiers in Osaka must have seen that the Tang army was too powerful and fled on their own. In order to shirk responsibility, they made up a monster."

"If you ask me, these cowards should all commit seppuku to apologize for their crimes!"

"How can we care about our own lives for the sake of His Majesty the Emperor and the rise of the Great Japanese Empire?"

Upon hearing this, Takeda Jiro nodded thoughtfully.

However, at this moment, a shrill alarm sounded on the battlefield.

Both Sato Shinmoto and Takeda Jiro understood that the enemy was rushing towards them.

Sato Shinmoto finished the rice ball in his hand in two or three bites, raised his rifle, lay down on the trench, and prepared to fight.

Suddenly, Sato Shinmoto felt the ground shaking slightly.

He looked intently in the direction where the vibration came from in the distance, and saw several large iron shells appearing at the end of the horizon.

Those big iron hulls were slowly moving forward with black smoke coming out from behind them. The roar of their engines was quite obvious.

The vibration on the ground is also caused by the movement of the large iron shell.

Looking at the scene in front of him, Sato Shinmoto's pupils couldn't help but shrink and his heart started beating rapidly.

"This...what on earth is this?!"

boom! Boom boom!

There was a deafening roar of artillery fire.

The roar of the Tang army's heavy artillery shocked the entire battlefield.

The shell hit the ground with a loud bang, and at the moment of explosion, a shock wave spread out from the point of impact.

Overturn everything around!
Boom! Boom!
Artillery also began to fire back at the positions of the anti-Qing coalition forces.

The Tang army's armored vehicles continued to advance under the artillery fire.

After advancing to a certain distance, the armored vehicle's turret slowly turned, adjusted the direction of the muzzle, and then opened fire.

boom! boom! boom!
Although the artillery mounted on the armored vehicle is only a small-caliber field gun, due to its close distance and direct fire, the shells it fires are still quite lethal.

Several shells in succession successfully hit the target, destroying several artillery positions on the enemy's position.

However, the enemy's artillery counterattack posed little threat to armored vehicles.

Because armored vehicles can be maneuvered.

As long as the armored vehicles move instead of staying in place, it will be difficult for the enemy's artillery to hit them.

Dada! Dada!

On the anti-Qing coalition's position, machine guns aimed at the Tang army's armored vehicles and began to pour fire.

Bullet after bullet hit the front armor of the armored vehicle, sending sparks flying.

But at best, it just caused some paint to fall off the front armor of the armored vehicle, but failed to achieve any actual killing effect.

Sato Shinmoto kept pulling the bolt, pulling the trigger, aiming at the armored vehicle and shooting.

But, it didn't work at all!
Just at this moment, a series of tapping sounds were heard.

The machine guns on the Tang army's armored vehicles began to rotate and pour down fire.

Dada! Dada!

A barrage of bullets shot towards the positions of the anti-shogunate coalition forces. Sato Shinmoto and others subconsciously lowered their heads and were suppressed to the point where they could not raise their heads.

"Everyone charge, stop the Tang army's chariots!"

"For His Majesty the Emperor!"

"Onboard!"

"..."

Amid shouts, Sato Shinmoto and Takeda Jiro followed the main force out of the trenches and rushed towards the Tang army's armored vehicles.

They tried to use their flesh and blood to block the armored attack of the Tang army.

But it didn't work!

Machine gun fire swept through the area, and the anti-Qing Dynasty soldiers who jumped out of the trenches were swept down one after another.

In the blink of an eye, there were casualties everywhere.

Sato Shinmoto gritted his teeth and rushed to the armored vehicle, stabbing it with the rifle with a bayonet in his hand.

But it's still useless!
At this moment, a shell landed in the distance, and he was knocked over by the shock wave amid the explosion.

When he came to his senses, he saw the armored vehicle approaching him. Sato Shinmoto subconsciously dodged but failed to avoid it completely.

"what……"

The next moment, the sound of flesh and bones being crushed by tracks was heard, and blood splattered everywhere.

Sato Shinmoto lost consciousness in his lower body. When the armored vehicle passed by, he found that his lower body was a bloody mess.

Everything went dark before his eyes and Sato Shinmoto completely lost consciousness due to the severe pain.

The Tang army's armored vehicles broke through the positions of the anti-Qing coalition forces with unstoppable force.

After the anti-Qing coalition's defense line was torn open by armored vehicles, Tang army soldiers swarmed forward and launched a charge.

Shouts of killing echoed throughout the battlefield!
Under the attack of the Tang army, the soldiers of the anti-Qing coalition were almost defeated at the first blow.

On the battlefield, soldiers of the anti-Qing coalition forces could be seen everywhere, abandoning their weapons and armor and fleeing in panic!

(End of this chapter)