Nanyang Storm 1864

Chapter 138: Shocking Changes (Please support with monthly tickets and recommendation tickets, thank you!)
The report was submitted about the "C" fleet, which consisted of 14 large ships. At 1866 pm on March 3, 11, the fleet was intercepted by three French sailing warships while sailing south through the Mindoro Strait.

that time

The wind speed on the sea was about level 5, and the waves were 2 to 3 meters high. Three French sailing warships were lined up in an interception formation, blocking the southward passage of the "C" fleet.

Because the wind was blowing from the southeast at that time, the ships were moving very fast. After discovering that the Frankish gunboats were blocking them, the entire fleet found it difficult to turn around and change direction.

Under duress
Pang Guangyan, the leader of the "C" fleet, sounded the alarm and raised a red flag on the pilot boat, ordering the fleet to be on high alert. The sailors were given weapons and were determined to fight to the death if anything went wrong.

Pang Guangyan led the fleet and did not obey the orders of the Franks. Instead, he raised the sails and accelerated the passage.

Around three and twenty minutes
The three French gunboats fired threatening shots one after another, and the shells landed on the sea, with the closest distance to our ships being only 140 meters.

See this scene
Team leader Pang Guangyan raised the star-spangled flag on the mast and continued to sound the alarm, which was a signal to the fleet to disband the formation, force a breakthrough, and fight on their own.

The Franks were obviously caught off guard by our tough response. At around 3:30, our pilot ship and the three following ships, which were heading in the opposite direction, broke through the defense line set up by the Franks and fled in all directions.

The Franks immediately fired artillery to intercept, and their artillery rained down like rain. Two of our ships were hit, and more than 20 people were killed or wounded.

Fortunately, the hull and mainsail were not damaged. Six more immigrant ships rushed over under the artillery fire and then fled in all directions.

At this time, there was chaos on the sea.

The French gunboat fired and turned to chase at the same time. The four immigrant ships that fell behind became the focus and were difficult to take care of while they were fleeing.

In order to lighten the load on the ship, each ship discarded a large number of water barrels, cargo and other disposable items, and fled all the way to the south.

Post-mortem

Twelve ships from the "C" fleet eventually arrived at Zamboanga Port, four of which were hit by artillery fire, resulting in a total of 52 casualties, including 11 killed in action and 41 injured.

There were also two large Fu ships, Bingqi and Bingshier, which never arrived at the port. Later, warships went to search for them but found nothing.

According to the Manila spies;
The sailors and refugees on the Fuzhou ship No. 12 fought hard, but after being attacked by artillery and volley fire, there were many casualties on board, and the ship was damaged and sank. The news was confirmed.

At that time, there were still two hundred and sixty or two hundred and seventy refugees and sailors on the ship, holding wooden barrels and broken pieces of planks and shouting for help.

The French laughed and ignored us, allowing the Chinese immigrants to drown one by one and die in the sea.

A total of 387 sailors and refugees on and off the Fuzhou Fuzhou No. ship died here.

Another Fu ship No. 130 was damaged and captured. During the resistance, more than people were killed or injured. Regardless of their injuries, they were thrown into the water by the Franks and now drowned.

The brutality of their behavior is truly outrageous.

Nearly 300 other people were locked up and chained at the Manila dock for public display. The captain and 17 other sailors were hanged on the spot, and the rest were thrown into prison, their lives unknown.

"The Franks are so cruel. They are bullying the Chinese people. They deserve to be put to death!" Zheng Guohui's face was distorted with anger. He slammed the table so hard that the teacup fell over.

It rolled twice and fell to the ground, shattering into pieces, making a sharp and crisp sound.

Li Hezhang did not take these into consideration. He was also a knowledgeable military officer and had once commanded more than 2 Hunan troops to fight in Anqing.

In the first year of the Tongzhi reign (1862), he was ordered by his cousin Li Hongzhang to aid Jiangnan, and he led his personal troops to assist in the battle. The following year, he conquered Taicang and encircled and suppressed the Taiping Rebellion in Suzhou.

After more than a hundred battles, big and small, he had already developed the composure to remain calm even under pressure.

When Zheng Guohui calmed down a bit, Li Hezhang said, "General, you should remain calm in times of crisis. How should we deal with this situation?"

Zheng Guohui tried his best to calm the turmoil in his heart. He looked up at him and said, "The teacup is broken. Make another cup of tea."

Li Hezhang raised his eyebrows, a look of approval flashed across his eyes, and he ordered, "Come here, make some tea for the general, and remember to bring me a cup too."

"Yes, sir." There was always someone waiting outside the door, but they didn't dare to go in. When they heard the voice, they immediately went to make tea.

Zheng Guohui suppressed his inner anger and sat down again. He felt as if a thousand ants were gnawing at his heart. He wished he could lead his troops to attack him right now and leave a mountain of corpses and a sea of ​​blood to satisfy himself.

Those damn French people have been annoyed with them for a long time.

However, this is contrary to the previously formulated policy of "steady progress" and the pros and cons need to be carefully reviewed before a conclusion can be made.

Instead of acting rashly and leading the troops to attack without any regard for the consequences.

War is a matter of great importance to a state. It is the place of life and death, the road to survival and destruction. It must be carefully considered.

With Zheng Guohui's current foundation, how many hardships can he withstand?

Li Hezhang did not try to persuade him, and this was not the point of persuading him.

He waited until the tea was brewed, then silently accompanied Zheng Guohui to drink tea. The atmosphere in the room was extremely depressing, making people feel a little breathless.

after a long time
Zheng Guohui's eyes grew firm. He looked up at Li Hezhang and asked, "Brother Xianqie, in this urgent situation, I would like to send an additional 2,000 soldiers to Southeast Asia. Can I squeeze out an extra 100,000 taels of silver?"

"Yes, you can borrow 100,000 taels from a Jinling merchant, offering an annual interest rate of 1.2%. I'll handle this, and the money will be available in just seven days."

"Well, this silver will be used to purchase a large quantity of gunpowder from a British trading company, at least 1500 barrels, and it must arrive by the middle of next month. Can you do that?" "Not a problem. I just want to ask, sir, are you ready?"

"Brother Xian, the ancients said there are things you should do and things you shouldn't do. Jinghai has no other strengths except his courage. If the Frankies dare to bully me, I will slaughter them and make them regret it forever."

"In that case, we can leave everything to the immortals. We are still short of more than a thousand new recruits, and we still need to make up for it."

"But, the immortals will do their best to prepare it."

"General, where will we get the extra 2000 soldiers?"

"Well, 500 from Zhenjiang, 500 from Tongzhou, 500 from Changzhou, and 500 from Jinling, that's a total of 2000 men."

"Then I will immediately order the deployment of troops and ask His Excellency to approve it and arrange for ships to be transported to Chongming Island one after another to wait."

"Okay, go draft the transfer order."

Zheng Guohui nodded in agreement. Li Hezhang and he had a tacit understanding. He stood up, bowed, and turned to draft the military order to mobilize troops.

There is a reason why Zeng Guofan relied on Li Hezhang's talents.

He is well-organized in small matters and clear-headed in big ones. He is capable of governing the people and managing government affairs, and leading the army in battles. He is indeed a rare talent.

The same was true of his fifth brother Li Fengzhang. Relying on his ability to govern the people and his outstanding military achievements, he was promoted to the position of Taotai. In the end, he resigned sadly and returned to his hometown to run the Li family business.

main reason
The reason is that the eldest brother Li Hanzhang and the second brother Li Hongzhang are both pillars of the court. Li Hanzhang was promoted to Governor-General of Huguang by the court at the beginning of this year.

It is truly a glorious thing that one family has two governors.

This has completely blocked the official careers of several younger brothers. Otherwise, with the talents of Li Hezhang and Li Fengzhang, both of whom are good at both civil and military affairs, and can command troops and govern the people, the mere governorship would be no problem for them.

The imperial court cannot give all the official positions to the Li brothers. If they become too powerful to be controlled, they will eventually become a disaster.

That being said, it’s really a pity.

Even the disabled Li Yunzhang was a genius. He became blind at the age of twelve due to eye disease. At the age of thirteen, he gave up his studies to become a scholar due to eye disease.

"He was a brilliant reader, and he loved to read the Five Books of Song Dynasty and historical records of all dynasties. Those who had read them could understand the main idea, and those who had not read them could recite them to him by his side, and he would never forget them."

"He dictated thousands of words to the imperial court, and the imperial historian was always unable to write them down. He was filial and friendly by nature, and a man of great sincerity."

This thought flashed through Zheng Guohui's mind. He was already very grateful to have Li Hezhang's assistance.

What is particularly rare is
Li Hezhang put his position very straight, even though he was the third uncle of his mother's family. He regarded himself as a guest official, never questioned the important decisions of his lord, and resolutely obeyed them.

At most, a hint of worry may be expressed after the decision is implemented.

Zheng Guohui originally planned to launch an offensive next year or the year after. Before that, he had been accumulating strength and concentrating on building an immigration base in Mindanao, taking his time.

But plans are not as fast as changes.

The brutal actions of the Franks successfully angered him, so he increased the number of troops heading south from 5,500 to 7,500, and purchased a large amount of black gunpowder in preparation for launching an all-out attack.

For this reason, Zheng Guohui's trip to Southeast Asia would be delayed to a year or even longer.

If the Luzon Islands are successfully conquered, the resettlement and governance of the large local population will be a major problem that needs to be handled carefully, otherwise there will definitely be chaos.

The Luzon Islands are different from Mindanao. They have a long history of development, and the local indigenous population, under the rule of the Franks, are relatively civilized and shrewd and will not be bullied.

How to govern in a way that is like boiling a frog in warm water without causing a public uprising is a real problem.

The situation in the Luzon Islands must be completely stabilized before he can withdraw and return north, so that he can superficially get away with it in front of the court.

Fortunately, the current Governor-General of Liangjiang is Li Hongzhang. With this immediate superior covering for him, the imperial court will have difficulty figuring out Zheng Guohui's movements, and no major problems will arise in the short term.

In a secret conversation in the study of the capital

Zheng Guohui has already revealed his plan. He will write a secret letter and ask Li Hezhang to pass it to his second brother, asking for help.

With Li Hongzhang's extraordinary talent, he certainly knew how to make choices, so there is no need to worry.

Zheng Guohui turned his attention back to Mindanao, his eyes hesitant.

Although the Wan Guo Tong Bao Company learned through diplomatic emails that Joe Johnson had confirmed that the four ironclad ships decommissioned by the US Navy were among the fleet to be delivered in mid-to-late May.

Zheng Guohui didn't see the real thing, but he was still worried, afraid that something might go wrong.

As long as he had these four ironclad ships in his hands, his plan to march north to annihilate the French naval fleet would be much more likely to succeed.

If we consider it intentionally or unintentionally, the odds are at most 60:40.

If we can get these four ironclad ships as we wish, we will have to increase our chances of winning by 4%, and the extra % will be just in case.

(End of this chapter)