Chinese martial arts! Grandmaster

Chapter 229: Attack Nanjing!
Shandong, Dongying!
The Western Allied Forces' fleet was anchored on the sea at Dongying Wharf.

The most advanced fleet of the British Empire, equipped with the most powerful naval guns, is the overlord of the sea!
The weather has been very bad these days, with a drizzle falling from the sky.

The sea breeze blowing on the face makes people feel bitingly cold.

At dusk, Seymour stood on the deck of the battleship and looked up into the distance.

at this time,

The drizzle in the sky gradually stopped and the sea breeze also eased.

Seymour ordered his followers: "Move the barbecue rack to the deck!"

During this period, Seymour did not have a good time.

After the Battle of Dagukou in Tianjin, Hunter's coalition forces were almost wiped out.

Seymour was under tremendous pressure.

Next, in the battle at Cangzhou Canal Transport Terminal, Johnson's coalition forces suffered another crushing defeat.

As the commander-in-chief of the Western Allied Forces, Seymour's situation became very bad.

but,

He has a very strong ability to adjust his mentality.

It seemed that the two major defeats did not crush his confidence.

In front of all the officers and soldiers of the Western Allied Forces, he always appeared to be confident and assured.

Every evening, rain or shine, he would set up the barbecue, start grilling, drink coffee, wine, and relax.

have to say,

It was Seymour's calmness that gave all the generals of the Western Allied Forces confidence.

in fact,

A few months ago, Seymour had signed a treaty with the Daqian Dynasty, and he had almost perfectly completed his mission of leading his army to Daqian.

If he had not brought his fleet to Tianjin three months ago.

Then,

I believe that the Guangdong and Guangxi regions of the Daqian Dynasty have been taken into the possession of Seymour's army.

Unfortunately, human greed is insatiable!

He was not satisfied with the treaty he had signed with the Daqian Dynasty.

He wanted to bring greater benefits to the British Empire, and he wanted to take over the entire Daqian Dynasty.

That's right,

In his heart, he wanted the entire Daqian Dynasty to become a colony of Great Britain.

The original plan was about to succeed.

As long as we capture the capital, everything will fall into place.

but,

Unexpectedly, he suffered a disastrous defeat at the Dagukou Fortress in Tianjin.

He no longer thought about anything else now, he just wanted to return home safely and return to the British Empire.

Because the commander of the Western Allied Forces has been replaced!
He had received the notice this afternoon.

Perhaps Seymour cannot escape blame for the failure of these two major battles.

Finally, after the decision of the Federal Conference, the commander of the Western Allied Forces will be replaced by Waldersee!

Seymour didn't have any other thoughts now. He just wanted to quickly hand over the military affairs so that he could relax.

Other commanders of the Western Allied Forces were aware of Seymour's habits.

Therefore,
Once the grill was set up, everyone else followed.

The table, the wine, the whiskey, the beef—everything was ready.

All the soldiers understood one thing: every time Seymour had a barbecue with everyone, he was discussing the war.

and,

While chatting and laughing, the Western merchant caravans also gained the most.

After nightfall, Dongying's wharf becomes very lively.

Many merchant ships of the Daqian Dynasty would conduct maritime trade with Western merchant ships.

The merchant ships of the British Empire were loaded with a lot of "opium", which was transported away by the merchant ships from Daqian.

At the same time, shiploads of silver continued to arrive.

Whenever he saw this scene, Seymour felt very happy.

Although he was the commander-in-chief of the Western Allied Forces, he was more interested in doing business.

Exchanging "opium" for countless silver from the Daqian Dynasty is the core of maintaining the British Empire's navy's dominance over the ocean.

Lighting a cigar, he poured a glass of red wine.

Then,

He was seen lying on a chair, facing the sea breeze, watching the shiploads of "opium" being shipped away from merchant ships after nightfall.

Ever since the Western coalition forces arrived in the Daqian Dynasty, they have been moving from the south to the north.

Next, it was transferred from Tianjin Port to Dongying, Shandong.

The trade of 'opium' has never been interrupted.

The "opium" business within the Daqian Dynasty and with Western trading companies grew bigger and bigger.

honestly,
If it weren't for the war some time ago, the 'opium' business would definitely be more prosperous.

Thinking of the two crushing defeats, Seymour felt very unwilling.

Just as he was drinking red wine, smoking a cigar, and watching the white silver dollars being delivered onto the ship.

I heard a voice behind me:
"General Seymour!"

From the voice, you can tell that this is his lieutenant general Charlie.

Seymour nodded, pointed to the cigars on the table, and asked him to have one himself.

then,

He exhaled a puff of smoke and asked, "What's the situation?"

"News from the Daqian Dynasty—"

Charlie took out a secret document from his body and said in a deep voice:
"According to news from churches in Tianjin and Beijing, the Daqian Dynasty is preparing to transfer the Ximentang Yituan stationed at Dagukou Fortress to Shandong."

"However, at the Tianjin Dagukou Fortress, three hundred more Weiyuan cannons will be added before Ximen Tang leaves."

"Now, a lot of Weiyuan cannons have been transported from the Ximentang Arsenal in the capital to the Dagukou Fortress in Tianjin."

"It seems that although Daqian is preparing to let Ximen Hall change its defense, it is worried that we will attack Tianjin again. Not only has it strengthened Tianjin's defense, but it has also transferred 100,000 troops from other places to re-guard Tianjin!"

"The entire capital of the Daqian Dynasty is heavily guarded. It is very difficult to break through their fortifications!"

Seymour nodded, picked up the red wine on the table, took a sip leisurely and said:

"The Daqian royal family has been frightened by our continuous attacks on the capital. They are now afraid that we will launch a general attack on the capital!"

"The goal of the Orientals now is to take over the Northeast of the Daqian Dynasty. Unfortunately, the Northern Russians have not received enough benefits and will not stop."

"We have been stationed in Shandong for so long. Since Ximen Tang will be transferred here soon, it is time for us to leave!"

call--!
After saying this, Seymour sighed helplessly.

He suffered great losses each time he encountered Ximen Tang.

Ximen Tang is about to be transferred to Shandong. Currently, the Western Allied Forces do not want to engage in a direct battle with Ximen Tang, so they have no choice but to move to another location.

but,

Seymour quickly realized that he would soon no longer be the commander-in-chief of the Western Allied Forces, so why should he worry so much?

He took a sip of red wine and said to Charlie:

"What does General Waldersee mean? What are his plans for the upcoming war?"

"Are you preparing to attack the Tianjin Dagukou Fortress again, or——?"

Charlie shook his head and said:
"I don't know. General Waldersee doesn't have a detailed plan yet!"

"But it is not wise to continue attacking the Tianjin Dagukou Fortress. According to the information we have received, the defense of the Tianjin Dagukou Fortress has been strengthened several times under the garrison of Ximen Tang!"

"They are heavily guarded now. Even if we can take them down, we will have to pay a heavy price."

"The Weiyuan cannon built by Ximen Tang has a rotating turret that can adjust the direction of the firing."

"With three hundred Weiyuan cannons, we have no advantage even without Ximen Hall's continued garrison."

"So I don't agree to attack Tianjin next, and I don't want to land in Cangzhou, Hebei."

"The river in Cangzhou is too narrow for our warships to enter. It is simply impossible for the army to capture Cangzhou!"

"What's even more terrifying is that there are three thousand elite soldiers from the Ximen Hall stationed in Cangzhou, equipped with five hundred artillery pieces. I don't want to fight them. I can't win!"

It is clear,
Charlie was also scared after two consecutive defeats!

Who wouldn't be afraid of being crushed by overwhelming artillery fire?
Just like a meteor shower, tens of thousands of elite Western coalition forces were covered by full firepower and had nowhere to hide.

Both Charlie and Seymour were traumatized.

Seymour smoked a cigar, pondered for a moment, and then murmured to himself:
"If we don't want to attack the Tianjin Dagukou Fortress, and we can't attack Cangzhou and Shandong, where will General Waldersee attack next?"

"Now that our fleet has arrived, we cannot leave the Daqian Dynasty before we have gained enough benefits."

Charlie was silent for a moment and said:

"There aren't many places we can attack!" "Almost all the cities along the southern coast are under the control of the Western Allied Forces. There's no point in attacking them."

"Next are southern Fujian, eastern Zhejiang, southern Jiangsu and other places. These places are the most important strategic locations of the Daqian Dynasty."

"As long as our Western coalition forces occupy one more place, I believe Daqian will return to the negotiation table, compensate us for our losses, and cede territory!"

"The Japanese are eyeing Daqian's territory covetously. We must be one step ahead of them."

"Otherwise, once the Japanese take over the northeast of the Daqian Dynasty, they will most likely turn around and attack us."

Seymour smiled and said:
"Which place should we attack? I suggest you ask Mr. Zhao from the Taiping."

The Mr. Zhao he mentioned was none other than Zhao Tianba, the boss of Taiping!
Zhao Tianba is the largest opium dealer in the north, and he is on Seymour's warship at this time.

When Zhao Tianba heard that Seymour was looking for him, he hurried to the deck of the battleship.

Although the Taiping was forced to leave Tianjin by Ximen Tang, its influence was still extremely strong in Hebei, Beijing and other places.

Seymour's "opium" business, and even the trade of "piglets", were secretly controlled by the Taiping.

For Seymour, the commander-in-chief of the Western Allied Forces.

Zhao Tianba is his best partner, and the two get along very well.

There is money to be made, they are in cahoots with each other and they are birds of a feather!
The two hit it off immediately, and since they had a common goal, they naturally got along well!

When Seymour saw Zhao Tianba coming, he stood up and asked someone to prepare a chair.

It can be seen that he thinks highly of Zhao Tianba.

After all, even if Seymour was no longer the commander-in-chief of the Western Allied Forces, he was still in charge of the "opium" business.

Seymour told Zhao Tianba what he had just discussed with Charlie.

After listening, Zhao Tianba lowered his head and thought for a moment.

Next,
He raised his head and said seriously:
"General Charlie may not understand the situation inside the Daqian Dynasty!"

"The Western coalition's occupation of coastal cities will not force the Daqian court to make concessions."

"Because Daqian closed the sea for more than 200 years, it did not pay much attention to the development of the coastal areas."

"If you occupy coastal cities such as Minnan, it will be easier to inspire unity within Daqian and jointly resist foreign enemies."

"By then, you will have to get caught up in an endless war."

"If we want to force the Daqian Dynasty to sign the contract again, we must hurt them and control their lifeblood!"

"You may consider taking down Jinling, Tianjin, eastern Zhejiang and other places."

"Tianjin will definitely be difficult to attack. Ximen Hall's artillery battalion is too strong. The Japanese have to go around it. It will be very dangerous if your warships get close!"

finished,

Zhao Tianba took out a cigar from the box on the table.

Click——!
He lit the cigar with a match and took a long drag.

For some reason, he liked this kind of cigar smoked by Westerners more and more.

Unlike 'Big Smoke', this cigar has a strong flavor, but it is not too addictive.

Next,
He continued:
"Eastern Zhejiang was a rich land in the Daqian Dynasty, but unfortunately there was no water transportation."

"Once the Western Allied Forces land, without the artillery of the ships, even if they can capture eastern Zhejiang, the losses will be huge!"

"The only option left is Jinling, which is the center of southern Jiangsu and the most important hub where the north and south meet."

"The wealth of Jinling far exceeds that of eastern Zhejiang and Guangdong and Guangxi, and is even comparable to that of the capital."

"As long as the Western coalition forces can occupy Nanjing, not only will they be able to cut off the north-south communication of the Daqian Dynasty, but they will also be able to cut off the canal, causing the capital's material supply to collapse."

"The most important point is that Nanjing is adjacent to the Yangtze River, so the navigation of Western warships is unimpeded, and the risk of attacking it is minimal."

"—"

Listening to Zhao Tianba's narration.

Charlie nodded continuously, expressing his deep agreement:
"According to Mr. Zhao, taking Jinling will provide the lowest risk and the greatest benefit!"

"Thank you, Mr. Zhao. I will tell General Waldersee!"

The British Empire had already conducted detailed investigations on important cities across the Daqian Dynasty.

Therefore,
Seymour was no stranger to the cities of the Daqian Dynasty.

He ordered his followers to bring a map of the Daqian Dynasty and spread it on the table.

Then, he pointed to Jinling on the map and said:

"Jinling is on the bank of the Yangtze River. It is indeed a rich place. Water and land transportation here are unimpeded!"

suddenly,
He remembered something and couldn't help but take a deep breath and said:
"Although according to intelligence, Ximen Tang has been transferred to Shandong!"

"But in the next period of time, before attacking Jinling, we must not take Ximen Hall lightly."

"As long as Ximen Hall makes any move, we must prepare in advance."

He is now afraid of being beaten by Ximen Tang. Whenever something happens, the first person he thinks of is Ximen Tang.

When Zhao Tianba heard the word Ximen Tang, his eyes became terrifyingly gloomy.

Blood feud!
The Taiping was driven out of Tianjin, which was equivalent to giving up its own foundation.

He certainly knew why Seymour was so afraid of Simon Hall.

Not to mention the Westerners, even the Taiping was afraid.

The Taiping tried to assassinate Ximen Hall's boss Chen Jie more than once.

In order to kill Chen Jie, the Taiping even cooperated with the Japanese Black Dragon Society.

It's a pity that the success fell short in the end.

Originally, the Taiping wanted to send out its top priest to assassinate Chen Jie secretly.

but,

When he knew that Chen Jie, the head of Ximen Hall, was always followed by Cao Shaoqing, the chief steward of the Imperial Household Department.

The Taiping had to avoid the attack and give up the assassination.

When General Charlie saw Zhao Tianba was silent, he said:

"Mr. Zhao, we want to attack Jinling next, so we need to keep a close eye on Ximen Hall's movements. Can the Taiping provide intelligence assistance?"

Zhao Tianba nodded without hesitation and said:
"No problem! In the coming period, our Taiping branch in Jinling will continue to provide you with the most accurate intelligence!"

"In addition, we will also deploy personnel in Tianjin and Shandong to closely monitor the movements of Ximen Hall."

Charlie heard this and said in surprise:

"OK! Mr. Zhao, you are our friend, forever!"

Zhao Tianba stood up, took a puff of his cigar and said:

"General Seymour, General Charlie, you guys are busy, I'll take my leave first——!"

Wait until Zhao Tianba leaves.

Seymour's eyes turned deep, and he said to Charlie:

"It's not an easy task to take over Jinling."

"Jinling's commander is no ordinary man, but Guan Qilin, who is known as the most powerful commander in southern Jiangsu!"

Charlie nodded, picked up the glass and drank it, then said:

"The current head coach of the coalition forces is neither me nor you!"

"How should we fight? Everything needs to wait for General Waldersee to make the decision. He is the commander-in-chief!"

Seymour and Charlie clinked their glasses.

The two of them smiled knowingly. This time when they came to Daqian, everyone made a lot of money.

Seymour knew the character of his lieutenant, who was extremely greedy.

In order to gain greater benefits, Charles has always advocated launching a general offensive to expand the results of the war as quickly as possible.

When Waldersee came to Daqian to take over as commander-in-chief of the Western coalition forces, he naturally wanted to achieve greater results.

Charlie had long been eager to win a battle so that he could gain more.

Seymour relaxed, smoked his cigarette, and stopped thinking about anything else.

Now he only hopes that the money he made in the Daqian Dynasty can be shipped back to the British Empire so that he can become a rich man for the rest of his life.

-

Toot—toot—!
Early the next morning, on the sea at Dongying Wharf in Shandong.

A row of warships slowly approached and the sirens sounded.

next moment,
Alarms were sounded all around.

The Western coalition forces feared most about being ambushed, and they were always on guard against the Japanese.

Therefore,
At this moment, the lookout sentry on the ship discovered that a ship appeared at the Dongying Wharf and quickly sounded the alarm.

Wow——!
Seymour woke from his sleep.

in fact,

With his current status, he should rest in the camp in Dongying.

but,

Seymour never felt safe. He rested on the warship at night and did not dare to go ashore like other soldiers.

When he saw the warship appearing in the distance, a smile appeared on his face.

Waldersee is finally here!
(End of this chapter)