Nanyang Storm 1864

Chapter 291 Retreat
King Zheng Guohui of Chu refused the invitation of Major General Zhou Laonian, commander-in-chief of the Saigon Expeditionary Force, and did not enter the city of Saigon. He still rested on the large sailing ship "Guangming" at night.

Given the high status of the King of Chu, it was not appropriate for him to appear in Saigon when it was suffering from ravages. He would inevitably be questioned by European powers or future generations.

King Zheng Guohui of Chu was in a very good mood today. Under the quiet night sky, warships gathered at the Saigon Port terminal, and the scene was completely different from last night.

Yesterday the French ruled the world, but today the Chu State dominates Saigon's destiny.

Saigon Port Pier
Five ironclad warships carrying more than 4,600 tons of rice have left the port one after another and are heading towards the mouth of the Mekong River.

Their mission was to stay there for two days until the entire sailing fleet withdrew.

Night had fallen, but the Saigon port was still brightly lit. Team after team of mule and horse carts loaded with spoils arrived one after another, and were then loaded onto ships by local Jiaozhi laborers.

According to the order of His Majesty the King of Chu

After the two ships are filled, they will immediately cast off and set sail. The ships will sail to a secluded bay outside the mouth of the Mekong River and anchor there, waiting for the subsequent sailing warships to gather.

The reason for doing this was to avoid being blocked in the Mekong River by the British sailing fleet, repeating the tragedy of the French Far East Fleet being wiped out.

It is better to take precautions before they happen. We must not be careless in the slightest.

Based on this, the five ironclad warships, loaded with more than 4600 tons of rice, immediately set sail towards the estuary and anchored in the bay outside the estuary.

This powerful armored fleet of the Chu State will sail to the Port of Singapore and enter the port bay to assist in the defense of the fortress for at least half a year.

Therefore, other spoils of war were useless to this ironclad fleet, and loading a large amount of food was just right to alleviate the local food shortage problem in Singapore.

Saigon was originally a famous rice market in Indochina. Although there was not much else here, it was no problem to produce 20,000 to 30,000 tons of fresh rice. Not only was the quantity sufficient, but the quality was also excellent.

At night in Saigon Port, cool breeze blows across the river.

There was a constant clamor of noise on the dock, and King Zheng Guohui of Chu had no intention of going to bed early. He came to the side of the ship, lit a cigar, and looked at the busy port in front of him with confidence.

Can be seen from a distance

This was a fleet of hundreds of mule and horse carts, loaded with French red wine in large oak barrels, with four or five barrels filling a cart.

The first hundreds of mule-drawn carts were all loaded with red wine, which must have been the inventory dragged out from some French warehouse. The dozen or so carriages at the back were loaded with pianos, luxurious gilded European furniture, and crosses and other things. They must have been robbed from a church.
I don't know what went wrong during the transportation.

Amidst exclamations, a heavy oak barrel fell from the cart and broke with a loud bang, and the rich aroma of wine immediately spread.

Then there were faint shouts and scoldings, and the whip was raised with a "snapping" sound. Who was being punished again?

King Zheng Guohui of Chu turned his head speechlessly and looked at the city of Saigon in the distance at night. There were several fires in the city, and the flames were as high as more than ten meters. They could be clearly seen in the night.

Taking a deep puff of his cigar, King Zheng Guohui of Chu looked over with complicated eyes. This army, which he had led, had a strong predatory nature from the beginning to the end, and was extremely powerful and brave.

Like a tiger out of the cage, it is full of bloodthirsty wildness in its bones.

King Zheng Guohui of Chu had no intention of changing. To him, the army was just a tool to be used.

As long as the tool works well and fits the hand, why change it?

The primitive capital accumulation in the colonial era revealed blood, tears and barbarism in every pore. This was true for the British and French, and the Americans and Germans were no exception. It was naturally difficult for the Chu State to remain aloof.

Around eleven o'clock at night

The two sailing battleships, "Zhenhu" and "Zhenhe", were loaded with spoils, cast off the dock one after another, and slowly sailed towards the mouth of the Saigon River.

At this point, all four "Zhen"-class sailing battleships left fully loaded.

In the early hours of the morning, two sailing cruisers came up to the dock and began loading cargo along with other sailing ships on the dock.

The goods carried were naturally spoils of war.

According to the order of His Majesty the King of Chu
The city of Saigon had to be emptied, and all kinds of French palace furniture, from dining tables, silver candlesticks to European curtains, French draped beds, from red wine to machinery and equipment, from Western carriages to high-quality horses, from stockpiled artillery to all other valuable trophies had to be moved away.

Those that could not be moved were smashed and burned. Now, flames shot up into the sky at the iconic Notre Dame Church in the center of Saigon. This landmark building was set on fire and burned like a huge torch.

There were also those exquisite French street-facing buildings, which were directly set on fire after being looted.

The reason why King Zheng Guohui of Chu offended the French so badly was that he still felt the pain of the fire in the capital a few years ago. Now, as long as he has the chance, he will retaliate fiercely.

He wanted to trample the pride of the French people into the ground.

It was obvious that the Chu State had been unable to retaliate against the French during the past two years. By the time the French had the strength to retaliate, the Chu State had also grown stronger.

If you are unable to defend your dignity at that time, then let the French trample on you.

The weak are not worthy of talking about human rights and no one will pity them.

This is a cruel world where you fight to the death. Perhaps facing the threat from the French at any time can also become one of the driving forces for the Chu State to strive for progress.

Although France is powerful, King Zheng Guohui of Chu is not afraid of it at all.

The only thing to worry about... is the British Empire.

In 1868
The British Empire entered its most glorious period in the mid-Victorian era. Britain was full of aggressiveness during this period, and it was also a stage of rapid colonial expansion.

We have attacked all over the world and achieved many successes.

Since the 1950s
The British Royal Navy has more than 800 naval guns in the Mediterranean, more than 300 in the Atlantic, and more than each in the Pacific and Indian Oceans, which exceeds the total number of navies of all European countries and is far superior to other countries.

By the end of the 1960s

The total number of ships owned by the British Royal Navy grew to more than 630, including 99 main sailing battleships, and military expenditure was approximately 930 million pounds, or about 3720 million silver dollars.

This figure is almost the total fiscal revenue of the Chu royal family and government for two years.

In a dozen years

The number of ships owned by the British Royal Navy will further reach more than 880, and it will be equipped with a large number of steam ironclad ships. That will be the peak moment and will last until the First World War in the next century.

As an archipelago country, Chu was inherently in awe of the maritime powers that dominated the world's oceans. This was absolute suppression of the food chain.

The greatest confidence of King Zheng Guohui of Chu lies in
The vast territory of Chu was an indispensable link in the British Empire's control of global influence and a vital location on the Pacific shipping route.

If you can't conquer them, you can only win them over. This is the strategic value of the Chu State.

In the thick night

King Zheng Guohui of Chu's eyes were exceptionally bright. He looked up at the starry sky, his thoughts already drifting away.

As long as we can withstand the subsequent fierce counterattack of the British and French forces, this matter is almost certain to be won.

If the Chu State is not dealt with, it will seriously affect Britain's interests in northern China. At least those British opium merchant ships will have to consider whether it is safe to sail in the South China Sea?
If the British Royal Navy fleet dared to intercept the Chinese immigrant fleet, the Chu Navy sailing fleet would break up into small pieces, wander around the South China Sea, and carry out lone wolf attacks on British merchant ships.

A tooth for a tooth, an eye for an eye.

Anyway, they hurt each other. The Chu State did have many ports that were easily attacked. This was because more than 80% of the important cities of the Chu State were on the coast, including Davao, Zamboanga, Batangas, Cagayan, Puerto Angeles, Xi'an and Donggang, all of which could be attacked by the British.

The defensive fortress and artillery facilities in these ports are adequate for dealing with the navies of other countries, but they are not enough to deal with the British.

Only the Manila Bay Fortress could cause great harm to the British Royal Navy, nothing else could.

But looking at it the other way around

Were the important cities of Hong Kong in the British colony, Weihai, Shanghai and Guangzhou in the northern continental concessions, Nagasaki in Japan, Chennai in India, Sydney and Melbourne in Australia not within the attack range of the Chu navy?
Since the Chu Navy was able to conquer Singapore, which is known as the world's top coastal defense fortress, wouldn't it be easy for it to conquer these cities?
King Zheng Guohui of Chu deliberately did not touch Hong Kong for this very reason.

Hong Kong is only eight or nine hundred kilometers away from the Hainan Islands. It is like a piece of fat meat at your fingertips. You can eat it whenever you want.

The British should be a little cautious, right?

King Zheng Guohui of Chu had considered things very carefully. If the British were to act ruthlessly against Chu, then Chu would naturally not be polite and would just let go and hurt each other.

Therefore, he was very concerned about the captured French warships, as these warships would play an important role in subsequent plans.

After careful inspection, the 3600-ton five-masted sailing battleship "Machine Gunner" has been proven to have no problems with its keel and five main booms, and personnel are being arranged to repair them overnight.

The 2344-ton "Venetian" was also found to be in good condition, with dozens of carpenters working overnight to repair it. Meanwhile, over 130 men were dismantling the "Foubin," the flagship of the French Far East Fleet. This heavily armored warship was a pity.

The "Taishan" hit her hard, causing the mainmast to break and the keel to be damaged. The entire ship was scrapped and had to be completely dismantled.

The two-inch iron plates that were dismantled can be used on other ships after some hammering.

The heavy, high-quality planks removed can be used to repair the Gunner, Vengeance, and other damaged warships.

Recently

Everything that could be dismantled had to be dismantled. After simple repairs to the "Machine Gunner" and the "Nemesis", the damaged parts along the waterline had to be plugged, and the damaged sails and cables had to be replaced. Then, they had to quickly leave the Saigon port and return to the Manila port of the Chu State.

Then it entered the shipyard and began a comprehensive renovation.

It turns out
The two-inch iron plate is far from enough for defense. King Zheng Guohui of Chu has sent a letter to domestic engineers to calculate how much additional weight these two giant ships can carry?

Make appropriate trade-offs between sailing speed and anti-strike capability and select a suitable optimal option.

Considering the large area that these two giant sailing ships need to cover, King Zheng Guohui of Chu planned to use iron armor between 3.8 and 4.5 inches thick, but the specific amount still needs to be carefully calculated.

Domestic steel mills have the ability to produce armor. No matter how thick the armor is desired, the rolling mills can produce it.

At that time, these two armored warships can form a heavy firepower strike formation with the "Taishan" ship, or they can adopt a lone wolf formation and wander in the South China Sea.

This lone wolf formation usually consists of a heavy firepower strike ship, a large sailing support warship and a fast sailing ship, a total of three ships.

The fast sailing ships in the formation are used to scout the surrounding enemy situation, transmit messages, and act as scouts and guides.

Not to mention the support warships in the formation, which are mainly used to load spoils and prisoners, carry food, water, gunpowder and other supplies, and support the formation in long-term fighting at sea.

Such a small fleet can cruise on the sea for a long time, looking for prey to attack.

Even with the powerful strength of the British Royal Navy's Third Battleship Fleet, it would still be a headache.

Two or three British sailing battleships of the same level could not do anything to him. If a large number of troops were mobilized to capture him, it would be like looking for a needle in a haystack given the extremely backward communication conditions today.

Not only was it time-consuming and labor-intensive, but it also dispersed the Royal Navy's forces, and invisibly relaxed the blockade of the Chu coastline.

In this way, they fell into the calculations of the State of Chu.

But if we just leave it alone, that won’t work either.

Three or four such guerrilla formations could completely cut off shipping in the South China Sea and even the Malacca Strait, causing serious damage to British interests.

They also had the ability to attack the ports of British colonies, sinking and capturing British and French merchant ships. If a large number of British merchant ships were lost, it would cause public outrage, which would be unbearable for the British cabinet.

King Zheng Guohui of Chu was determined

As long as the Port of Singapore was in the hands of the Chu army, it would be like grasping the testicles of the British Empire, making it dare not act rashly.

The location of the Strait of Malacca is very important, it is the waist point connecting the Indian Ocean and the Pacific Ocean.

If it really gets cut off here, the British will probably go crazy.

King Zheng Guohui of Chu thought about it carefully again and felt that he was very confident. Then he walked back to the cabin, washed up and prepared to rest.

Tomorrow will be another beautiful day.

This night

There was a constant flow of convoys carrying spoils of war in the port of Saigon, and sailing cruisers loaded with cargo left the port one after another.

By 9 o'clock the next morning, when it was already bright, only five sailing cruisers were left at the dock loading cargo, and the others had already left.

It is expected that by around three o'clock in the afternoon, the five sailing cruisers will be fully loaded with cargo and leave one after another.

After that, eight sailing frigates began to load cargo, and they would leave immediately after loading without stopping.

There are still many tasks to be done today. Several captured French sailing warships will leave one after another and anchor in the remote bay near the mouth of the Mekong River.

After intensive repairs, the "Heavyman" and the "Nemesis" will leave Saigon Port before dusk and head towards the estuary.

All ships go to a secluded bay at the mouth of the Mekong River to anchor. After stopping, carpenters can continue to repair damaged parts of the ship. Repairs can be done even while sailing, which does not affect the situation.

These ships carried a large number of Chinese expatriates who wanted to leave. Most of them had paid for their tickets, and some were successful Chinese businessmen in the local area.

These Chinese businessmen were very sensitive. After seeing the Chu army invade Saigon City, burn, kill, and loot crazily along the way, and slaughter all the white people in the city, they finally felt scared.

They feared retaliation from the French, and after the Chu army left, they would vent their anger on themselves.

As the old saying goes, a gentleman does not stand under a dangerous wall.

So they packed up their belongings and moved their families. Seeing that Saigon was devastated by war and would not be able to recover within three to five years, when would they leave if not now?
Early in the morning, Saigon Port was crowded with people.

King Zheng Guohui of Chu accepted everyone who came. He arranged for his fleet to take over the local French sailing cargo ships and transport a large number of Chinese families and property on board. Every ship was filled to the brim.

At noon, a fleet of 31 sailing cargo ships left, and in the evening, another fleet of 27 sailing cargo ships left, heading straight for the port of Manila without making any stops.

The two fleets carried more than 2.79 Chinese immigrants. Almost everyone with some property in Saigon bought a ticket to leave.

Most of these ships are loaded with immigrants and personal belongings, so the loading speed is very fast, and a ship can be filled in tens of minutes.

They would set off as one boat filled up, and as one boat filled up, they would set off as one boat. They would gather into a fleet in the Saigon River ahead, and then leave in a mighty procession.

Also leaving at the same time were the battleships "Machine Gunner", "Nemesis", and three sailing frigates.

As a result, the dock became deserted.

The originally densely packed ships (note: specifically large sailing ships) in Saigon Port were almost cleared out, and tens of thousands of tons of food were also taken away. More than half of the Chinese in Saigon City left.

In the early morning of the 5th day, the Guangming sailing ship, carrying more than 630 soldiers, slowly left the dock and headed towards the mouth of the Mekong River with 11 troop transport ships.

These troop transports carried more than 1730 soldiers from the newly formed Seventh Regiment, 2655 soldiers from the newly formed Ninth Regiment, more than 4700 young white women, and a large amount of property, and left in a mighty manner.

Around 9:00 am the next day

The large sailing ship Guangming led the fleet through the anchorage in a secluded bay and issued the order to "return".

The large sailing ships anchored here set sail one after another, forming several large formations and heading towards Manila.

The armored strike formation led by the "Taishan" left the brigade and headed straight south towards the port of Singapore.

Their mission was not completed and they still needed to hold on in Singapore Port for more than half a year.

At this time, there were still five troop transports and five captured French merchant ships, plus three sailing frigates left in Saigon Port.

Two sailing frigates are still patrolling and providing warning in the direction of the Mekong River mouth.

These remaining large sailing ships were prepared for the retreat of the 7241th Division, the main force of the Saigon Expeditionary Force. The entire army had a total of 1377 people. After deducting 5864 casualties, there were still officers and soldiers left, who would return with a large amount of spoils and male and female prisoners.

Major General Zhou Laonian rode on his horse and looked back at the devastated city. More than a dozen burning fires in the city were still emitting thick black smoke, and he sighed slightly in his heart.

He turned around and looked at the long evacuation team in front of him, as well as the white prisoners, both men and women, being escorted along the way. He shouted, "Hurry up, don't dawdle. If you're late, the ship won't wait for you."

After saying this, he squeezed his legs against the horse's belly and galloped away with several officers, leaving a cloud of dust behind him.

On the evening of the seventh day after the capture of Saigon, the remaining troops of the Saigon Expeditionary Force completely evacuated the war-torn city, leaving only rubble.

Along with the main force of the Saigon Expeditionary Force, there were more than 4700 people of Chinese descent who gathered at the Saigon port and caught up with the last departing fleet.

Anyway, the distance is not far, and there will be a seat if you squeeze in.

At this point, the Saigon Expeditionary Force's mission was successfully completed, leaving behind an empty port, a city full of ruins, and a large number of white colonists who were crying in despair.

(End of this chapter)