Chinese martial arts! Grandmaster

Chapter 222: The Army Approaches! Battle of the Canal Transport

"Thank you, Lord Xu, for your reminder! I know what to do now!"

"Everything will be decided after the ships are modified and the blockade at sea is lifted."

Chen Jie said calmly, without revealing any of his inner thoughts.

Even if he had to give up the Dagukou Fortress in Tianjin, Ximen Tang had to get enough benefits.

Originally, he was thinking of taking over Hebei and finding an opportunity to move equipment here for surveying to see if oil could be found in Renqiu.

However, Ximen Hall is stationed in Tianjin.

Even if oil is discovered, it will take a lot of effort to extract it.

I didn't expect that when I felt sleepy, someone would immediately bring me a pillow.

If we look at the territory of the Daqian Dynasty, there were several oil fields in Shandong.

Once Ximen Tang was stationed in Shandong, he became the governor of Shandong.

The feudal official!

By then, the entire Shandong will belong to Ximen Tang’s territory.

Oil extraction will be operational soon.

Oil industry!

This is the core of maritime hegemony.

If a ship wants to go to sea, it must have enough fuel.

Otherwise, it can only be driven by steam engines like Western battleships, and it will not be possible to achieve iterative crushing.

To know,
The speed of steam engine driving is not slow, but it is too heavy. The ship needs to use half of its load-bearing capacity to install the steam engine power assembly.

If this part is load-bearing, it can be used to install artillery.

Then,

The firepower of the ship will increase exponentially.

Just by transporting diesel from there, one thousand tons of diesel can only support the consumption of a small fleet for two days at most.

If six cruisers were in place, one day wouldn’t be enough!

Xu Shichang nodded and continued:
"I heard that Ximen Tang built a gunpowder factory in Tianjin. Can we go and visit it?"

The gunpowder factory in Tianjin did not officially start production.

Currently, it is still in the trial production stage.

More importantly, the Tianjin Gunpowder Factory did not produce finished products, but only semi-finished products.

The actual gunpowder configuration, gunpowder filling, bullet production, artillery shell production, etc., are all done in the arsenal at the Ximen Hall headquarters.

The most important function of this gunpowder factory in Tianjin is to improve the purity of gunpowder.

To put it simply, it is a place where high explosive gunpowder is developed.

Since it was just being built, there were not many craftsmen, and many of them were workers from the original fireworks factory.

Xu Shichang seemed to be very familiar with gunpowder and wanted to know the current production scale of Ximentang.

He kept asking in detail, and Chen Jie naturally did not hide anything.

There is no need to hide these things.

The core production secrets are all in the fully automatic filling equipment at the Ximen Tang Zongtan Arsenal.

Even if you understand the ratio of gunpowder, trying to do it manually will not only fail to improve efficiency but will also be very dangerous.

The "fully automatic gunpowder mixing and filling production line" that Chen Jie bought from Pakistan is an authentic German product from the World War II era.

Although it is only the gunpowder ratio from the World War II period, it is slightly different from modern technology.

But its power will definitely surpass that of the current era for 50 years.

Not to mention the gunpowder technology of the Daqian Dynasty, even the Western coalition forces could not catch up.

The current mainstream is still black powder, which has relatively limited power and an explosion speed of about 500 meters per second.

The mainstream of the "fully automatic gunpowder filling line" of the Ximentang Arsenal is "trinitrotoluene", which is TNT high explosive.

When it explodes, the explosion speed can reach 7000 meters per second.

Compared to black powder, the explosive power has increased exponentially.

Although Europeans have invented TNT high explosive in the laboratory, they have not yet solved the problem of detonation and have not put it into production.

This is also the important reason why once Ximen Tang’s artillery firepower covers the entire area, it can almost cause a devastating blow to the Western coalition forces.

The gunpowder factory in Tianjin is responsible for purifying "trinitrotoluene".

Since it has not yet officially gone into mass production, Chen Jie naturally didn't mind letting Xu Shichang take a look.

The emperor sent him to take a look. If he was not allowed to see it, it might arouse the emperor's suspicion.

of course,

Chen Jie had no intention of letting anyone visit the arsenal at the Ximen Hall headquarters.

Xu Shichang saw that Ximentang’s gunpowder factory in Tianjin was only in the preparation stage and had not yet started large-scale production.

So he breathed a sigh of relief.

After a moment of silence, Xu Shichang suddenly asked:

"Mr. Chen, there is something I don't know if I should ask. Ximen Hall is not only planning to build an arsenal, but is also starting to build a fleet!"

"I don't know what will happen next—next—!"

Seeing his hesitation, Chen Jie naturally understood what he wanted to say.

then,

He said seriously, "What Lord Xu wants to ask is, will Ximen Tang want to rebel in the future?"

Xu Shichang nodded slightly.

Rebellion was a serious crime that would punish the entire clan in any dynasty.

The current development momentum of Ximen Hall has begun to gradually get out of the control of the imperial court.

To put it simply, although the imperial court had already planned to have Ximen Tang evacuate the Dagukou Fortress in Tianjin and move to Shandong.

but,

The imperial court is still very wary of Ximen Tang and is worried!

"The Emperor has already mentioned this question to me!"

Chen Jie smiled calmly and said, "The purpose of establishing Ximen Hall is not to rebel, but to resist foreign enemies!"

"This is also the reason why Ximentang has not expanded its army since it took over the Dagukou Fortress."

finished,

Chen Jie looked at Xu Shichang and continued:

"I am not interested in the intrigues in the court!"

"Don't discuss this topic in front of me anymore, understand?"

"Will Ximen Tang rebel? It doesn't depend on us, but on the emperor, the court, and the major families!"

"People have food to eat, money to earn, and opportunities for development. They live and work in peace and contentment. Who would rebel when they have nothing better to do?"

Xu Shichang was slightly startled when he heard this, then nodded and said:
"I see--!"

After sending Xu Shichang away.

Chen Jie looked at Xu Shichang's back and sneered in his heart.

The court's indirect attacks were simply a sign of its fear of Ximen Tang.

unfortunately,

For the time being, Chen Jie had no interest in the open and secret struggles among the various factions in the court.

As long as the interests of Ximen Hall are not affected, no matter how big the disaster is.

but,

As long as anyone touches Ximen Tang’s bottom line, Chen Jie doesn’t care who the other person is.

Whether to rebel or not depends entirely on the attitude of the royal family.

If the imperial court intends to destroy Ximen Tang, Chen Jie will not sit idly by and wait for death.

He has no respect for imperial power at all!
The 20,000 soldiers guarding the Dagukou Fortress of Ximentang are his confidence.

in addition,

The elite backbones of the Simon Church have all received soul shaping from Chen Jie's 'Biblical Spiritual Cultivation Technique'!

Don't say that no one would have the idea of rebellion.

Even if there was, he would notice it quickly.

The more Chen Jie practiced this 'Bible Spiritual Cultivation Technique', the more incredible it seemed to him.

There is a reason why the Bible has become the 'Book of Creation' believed by Westerners.

After seeing Xu Shichang leave with his guards.

Meng Yong, the person in charge of Tianjin Gunpowder Factory, smiled and said:

"Sir, your guess was correct. Before the gunpowder factory started mass production, the imperial court actually arranged for an imperial envoy to inspect it!"

"Lord Xu is the newly promoted Minister of War, yet he came to inspect a small gunpowder factory."

"It can be seen that the court is becoming more and more wary of our Ximen Hall!"

Meng Yong is Huang Tianyou's assistant at the Ximentang headquarters arsenal and has good management skills.

This time when planning to build a gunpowder factory in Tianjin, Huang Tianyou specifically asked Meng Yong to be in charge.

finished,

Meng Yong whispered, "Sir, the raw materials for gunpowder have all arrived, and we can start mass production!"

Chen Jie nodded and said:
"Let's get started! The production of gunpowder must be strictly managed!"

“In the beginning, don’t pursue quantity, but focus on quality.”

"It's best if nothing goes wrong at the gunpowder factory. If something goes wrong, it's a big deal!"

Meng Yong nodded and stood at attention:
"Understood! Sir, rest assured, I will personally check all production links three times, and only start production after confirming that everything is correct!" "And each process is separated, and the trained craftsmen are only responsible for one of the links."

Chen Jie smiled, very satisfied with Meng Yong's work ability, and nodded:
"Okay! Do your best. Ximen Tang will never treat his brothers unfairly."

-

Just as Chen Jie was busy modifying merchant ships in preparation for future rotation to Shandong.

Simon Hall's artillery, musketeers, special forces, etc. have all received complete training.

After two months of hard training, the Tianwu Army, which was originally under the Ministry of War, has been transformed.

It was very close to the Daqian Lunar New Year.

The Western Allied Forces stationed in Dongying, Shandong, suddenly launched an attack on Cangzhou, Hebei.

Bombard the Cangzhou Cangzhou’s water transport terminal!
The Western Allied Forces bypassed the Dagukou Fortress in Tianjin and finally could no longer hold back.

The commander of the Western Allied Forces, Seymour, divided his troops into 10,000 and launched a surprise attack on Cangzhou, Hebei.

Cangzhou Canal Transport Terminal is the largest canal terminal in the northern part of the Daqian Dynasty.

This is the largest salt transportation port in the north and the salt transportation place where the north and the south meet.

All along,
The canal transport docks are heavily guarded by Daqian troops, with the Ministry of War stationing 30,000 troops.

The battle started immediately!

This time, the Western coalition was led by Seymour's most capable subordinate - Major General Johnson of the British Empire!

The battle starts at 10 am and ends at 12 noon.

Two hours of history, the battle is over.

Finally, the Western Allied Forces captured the Cangzhou Canal Transport Wharf, destroyed all the artillery batteries, and burned down the barracks.

The Daqian garrison at the Cangzhou Canal Transport Terminal was defeated and fled.

After the Western Allied Forces captured Cangzhou.

Western warships began to approach the coast of Cangzhou, and the army was approaching.

but,

After the Western Allied Forces captured the Cangzhou Canal Transport Wharf, they did not continue to advance but stopped.

That afternoon.

The Ministry of War received the news that the Cangzhou Canal Transport Terminal had been captured.

After reading the military newspaper, Xu Shichang became angry again and smashed all the chairs in the room.

At last,
He could only hold his head and sigh helplessly.

Ever since he was promoted to Minister of War, the pressure he has been under is unimaginable.

He really didn't expect that the Western Allied Forces would suddenly launch an attack on Cangzhou just before the Spring Festival.

Led by Johnson, 10,000 elite Western coalition forces easily captured the Cangzhou canal transport terminal.

This is not a provocation, but a direct occupation!

Last time, the Japanese Third Fleet defeated Tangshan Port and left in a swagger, which was a provocation to the garrison of the Daqian Dynasty.

And this time,
The Western Allied Forces went even further and directly occupied the Cangzhou water transport terminal.

There is no doubt that this is the Western Allied Forces' revenge for the sinking of the merchant ship last time.

The Daqian Dynasty bombarded the British Empire's "opium" merchant ships, causing heavy losses to the British Empire.

How could they possibly swallow their anger?

-

Cangzhou City!
The General's Mansion of the Ministry of War, the meeting hall!

The spacious meeting hall was now full of people.

The soldiers, prefects, managers, etc. of Cangzhou gathered together.

The stationed general at the Caoyun Wharf, Zhang Yue, the county magistrate Lin Jitang, the deputy lieutenant general of the garrison, Lu Qingheng, and the garrison commander Luo Manshan——!
All the civil and military officials in Cangzhou gathered in the meeting hall.

Everyone was anxious, waiting for Cangzhou commander Fang Zhiyuan to call a meeting.

The atmosphere in the meeting hall was very depressing.

No one spoke, and the surroundings were so quiet that you could hear a pin drop.

In today's battle at Cangzhou Canal Transport Wharf, the Daqian garrison was defeated and fled by the Western Johnson coalition forces, with almost no ability to fight back.

this moment,
Everyone felt very depressed.

Lost the fight!
Failed!

Everyone knew very well that General Fang Zhiyuan was not just going through the motions when he called everyone to the meeting.

"The general has arrived!"

Following a loud shout from the servant.

Everyone in the meeting hall stood up.

Fang Zhiyuan strode in from outside, sat down directly in his seat, and said nothing.

His face looked ugly and he was very angry.

He looked up and around, and after a moment of silence, he asked in a deep voice:

"What is the specific situation of the battle? Have the casualties at the Caoyun Wharf been counted?"

When everyone heard Fang Zhiyuan asking about the battle situation as soon as he opened his mouth, they felt a little panicked.

Is this accountability?
Everyone lowered their heads and no one dared to speak at this time.

but,

Zhang Yue, the commander of the Caoyun Wharf, had to stand up and reply:

"General, of the 30,000 defenders at the Caoyun Wharf, 22,000 were killed, more than 3,000 were seriously injured, and the rest were slightly injured!"

hiss--!
After hearing the news of casualties, everyone couldn't help but take a deep breath.

boom!
Fang Zhiyuan slammed the table and said loudly:
"What the hell - 30,000 people, facing 10,000 Western allied forces, and it turned out like this?"

"Where are your cannons and your muskets?"

"Defense garrisons throughout Cangzhou, I have spent a lot of money on you and provided you with the best weapons!"

"Are you not prepared at all against the Western coalition forces?"

"In less than two hours, the entire army was defeated! Tell me why the battle turned out like this?"

All the civil and military officials lowered their heads and dared not utter a word.

It was clear to everyone that the general was angry.

At this time, anyone who dares to talk back will suffer the consequences.

Zhang Yue lowered his head and answered with gritted teeth:
"General, our garrison at the Caoyun Wharf is not afraid of death, nor did we flee in defeat!"

finished,

Zhang Yue shed a tear and said:

"They fought to the last drop of their blood to defend the Caoyun Wharf!"

"The artillery of the Western coalition forces is too fierce!"

"They were five kilometers away and suddenly launched an artillery attack!"

"In one hour of bombardment, the Western coalition forces fired at least 5,000 shells!"

"The cannons at our Caoyun Wharf were blown up before we could even respond!"

"Finally, I saw that I couldn't hold them back, so I ordered all the brothers to retreat!"

"My brothers are all innocent. They are not deserters. If you want to punish someone, punish me—!"

this moment,
The entire meeting hall became increasingly quiet.

Even the commander-in-chief Fang Zhiyuan could only sigh inwardly.

It is a fact that the canal port was captured.

There is no point in blaming anyone at this time.

The Western coalition's artillery was too powerful and could not be stopped after a bombardment.

How can we resist when we haven’t even seen the Westerners?

Seeing the depressing atmosphere in the entire meeting hall, County Magistrate Lin Jitang sighed and said:

"General Fang, if nothing unexpected happens, the Westerners have deployed at least fifty artillery pieces!"

"Not only do they have powerful artillery, they are also equipped with heavy machine guns. The garrison at the canal port cannot stop them at all."

"The only one that can defeat the Western coalition forces is the Ximentang Artillery Battalion at the Dagukou Fortress in Tianjin!"

"This time, the Western Allied Forces' surprise attack on the Cangzhou Canal Transport Wharf is not only a retaliation for the Ministry of War's bombardment of the British Empire's merchant ships last time, but also a retaliation for the Western Allied Forces' defeat at the Dagukou Fortress!"

"Request support! Relying solely on the defenders of Cangzhou, we cannot defeat the Western coalition forces and may even be wiped out!"

After hearing Lin Jitang's words, Fang Zhiyuan fell silent.

The battle at Cangzhou Caoyun Wharf was almost a one-sided massacre.

After the Western Allied Forces landed, they marched straight in and killed their way to the canal transport terminal.

As the main general of Cangzhou, he felt very uncomfortable at the moment.

However, he understood how huge the gap in weapons was between the Daqian army and the Western coalition forces.

No one can be blamed for this battle.

Not to mention that the garrison at the canal port did not take precautions in advance, even if they did, the result could not be changed.

After a moment of silence, Fang Zhiyuan sighed and said:

"I got the news that Seymour's 100,000-man army plans to land in Cangzhou within three days!"

"After they occupied Dongying, Shandong, they were no longer satisfied and were ready to take Cangzhou!"

"I have requested support from the Ministry of War! I hope it will be in time--!"

(End of this chapter)