On the dark sea, three warships dropped their iron anchors, and the sailors on the deck were mournful one by one, holding a set of neatly folded clothes in their hands, and the mast above their heads was slowly lowering a flag.

"Brothers, today we take off this military uniform, so that tomorrow we can wear it to a higher rank, the country needs you, the emperor needs you......"

"From today onwards, you are not soldiers, but a pirate who is rampant across the ocean, and your only task is to hunt down Xiao Letian's forces as much as possible......"

"Don't be discouraged, don't be upset, there will be darkness hidden under any glory, and your sacrifice is destined to be rewarded......"

This is the sea off Jiaozhou, that is, the place called Qingdao in later generations, and the huge black shadow in the distance is vague, not Laoshan and what it is. The three battleships parked in the sea were none other than the French warships that had been withdrawn from the Ryukyus.

The Lyra, the Roma, and the two frigates were the two battleships that slowly lowered their flags, and on the Holy behind them, a large group of sailors watched their comrades hand in their naval uniforms one by one, and they also felt the same way, and their expressions were lonely.

Rear Admiral Bruce was giving a lecture to the sailors on the two ships, and this was the last time he would lecture as a soldier, and from today the two battleships, the Lyra and the Roma, were about to 'riot' The sailors broke away from the French navy, and they seized the ships and became wandering pirates.

Of course, this qiē is just an excuse, in fact, these two battleships are just the last effort of General Bruce, who has thrown away the bottom line and is ready to punish Xiao Lotian with the most rogue means.

After all, you Ryukyu don't have a strong navy, and the cause of Ryukyu is still inseparable from the sea, since the expeditionary force has failed, since you have dodged the open gun, then look at our hidden arrows.

The two frigates, the Lyra and the Roma, loaded with all the weapons, ammunition and supplies of the expeditionary force, and then selected volunteers from the entire expeditionary force, from this moment on, they were all pirates in the legal sense.

"You must remember that from today onwards your identity is a pirate, a pirate rampant in Asia, you will not receive any support from your mother country, you will have to rely on yourself for food and clothing, including all expenses..."

"There is no rival in weak Asia, the entire coastline of the Qing Dynasty is where you make a fortune, I swear in the name of God, I will secretly record your merits, and when Xiao Le goes to hell, you will return to the embrace of the motherland......"

"Now, give me back the flag and uniform, and you can go to battle..."

In the darkness, the French flag and the flags of the two warships were neatly folded and handed over to Rear Admiral Bruce, and the folded uniforms of the soldiers were taken away by the other soldiers.

After all, France is one of the center countries of European culture, and it is the place where the Great Revolution began.

Bruce was also infected by this atmosphere, and he really wanted to give the order to cancel the mission, but after thinking about it, if he didn't make amends, I was afraid that no one would be able to calm the emperor's anger at that time.

"God bless you... France bless you... Go to battle, boys, and exchange your victories for your tickets home......"

Bruce turned around and left, and the Holiness took him all the way south, to the British colony of Hong Kong, and now the Glory should be in the Taiwan Strait, and the Holiness must chase at full speed, but behind the Holiness was a miserable cry.

The captain of the Lyra, Kraft, and the captain of the Roman, Molde, saw that the atmosphere was so sad, and knew that the morale of the army was very unstable now, so they made a decision after a little touch.

"Soldier...... No, no, no, warriors... Why weep, you have to see the good side, we are now free from military law, and our opportunity to make a fortune has come......"

"Think about it carefully, why did you voluntarily get on the ship and take off your military uniforms? Don't you all have a dream of making a fortune in your hearts? Warriors, not far from the east, is the weak Qing Dynasty, where is Jiaozhou Bay, and the rich villages and towns are waiting for us to visit, what are you hesitating about? Attack at dawn......

"Hooray... Attack at dawn......" There was jubilation on the battleship, and the battleship began to sail cautiously to the east.

Sailing in uncertain waters could not be carried out at night, and the bandits had to approach cautiously and attack at dawn.

The morning fog shrouded Jiaozhou Bay, the late Qing Dynasty did not have the place name of Qingdao, Jiaozhou is just a larger town, the so-called defenders here have only one shed, and there are only three red-coated cannons cast during the Kangxi period on the old fort on the top of the mountain.

It was a one-sided slaughter, and the people who had just gotten up early had not had time to eat breakfast when they were stunned by the loud sound of an explosion, and the fishermen on the sea saw two hideous monsters rushing out of the morning fog in the east, and it was a round of shelling without saying a word.

The fort at the top of the hill was suddenly in flames, but this round of shelling did not cause any casualties at all, and if the bandits knew that the fort was not manned at all on weekdays, they would certainly not waste ammunition.

The soldiers who took off their military uniforms were still in the way of soldiers when fighting, and the people watched dozens of sampans on the sea row as fast as swordfish, and the long oars actually raced the dragon boat between the ups and downs.

"Mother...... Here are the robbers...... Or a hairy bandit...... Run...... "The whole town was like a frying pan, and everyone ran wildly towards the north, and the fastest one was the defender of the shed, who did not fire a single shot, did not draw a bow, and even ran into the mountains with their bare butts.

The decay of the Manchu Qing Dynasty has not fallen, which can be seen from this.

The fires were rising in the town, the gunshots were continuous, the humiliated women were crying, the badly wounded old men were screaming, and a small coastal town, not a place where merchants were concentrated, it was not so much that these French people had come to make a fortune as they were just trying to vent.

In a whole day, this group of pirates only looted more than 3,000 taels of silver, but killed 4,000 people, and the entire Jiaozhou was completely swallowed by the flames.

When night fell, this group of robbers took the silver and did not let go, and actually carried dozens of pigs, hundreds of chickens and ducks, and a lot of flour on the ship, it seems that their identity has changed really quickly, and they have adapted to the identity of pirates in just one day.

The Lyra and the Romans were gone, and the Jiaozhou Bay tragedy did not reach Jinan until three days later, and at this time, the big man in Shandong was none other than Li Hongzhang, the founder of Beiyang in later generations.

The Taiping Heavenly Kingdom was exterminated, but the Twist Army has not been pacified, especially the East Twist Army, which has been active at the intersection of Shandong and Henan Zhili, and the imperial court has been able to clear it several times, and even last year, that is, in 1865, the Twist Army ambushed a cavalry of the whole Annihilation Monk Greenqin in Caozhou, Shandong, and killed the Monk Greenqin, the entire Beijing Division was shaken, and even the foreigners in Dongjiaomin Lane exclaimed that the Manchu Qing Dynasty had lost a general.

Although Monk Greenqin was defeated by Britain and France, the crazy cavalry assault on Liuliqiao shocked the Europeans, and the West has always worshiped the strong, so although they don't like Monk Greenqin, they still have the respect they deserve.

When the monk king fell, the court was furious and immediately mobilized Zeng Guofan to go north to pacify the Twist army. But the spectacle happened, Zeng Dashuai, who was able to gallop half of China with long hair, was actually cowardly in the face of a group of rogue-like twisters.

This battle was fought like a warm swallow of water, and the power of the firearms battalion was not brought into play at all, and the marshal simply came to travel at public expense.

In stark contrast to Zeng Guofan's warm swallowing of water, it is the first-class Su Yibo, and the dazzling new star of the Qing Dynasty political arena, Li Hongzhang. In the battle of pacifying the Twist Army, Li Hongzhang's Huai Army shined and fought majestically, and in the end, the imperial court even moved the idea of replacing Li Hongzhang with him.

What is the problem between Li Hongzhang and Zeng Guofan, this is not enough for outsiders, but at present, the boundary of Shandong is really the Huai army of Li Hongzhang, after all, it is still a war period.

When the information on the Jiaozhou Bay tragedy was delivered to Li Hongzhang's desk, he had two other files in front of him, which were all information compiled for him by his most loyal staff.

"Zuo Jigao (Zuo Zongtang) is going to be transferred? Go to the Ganshan Hui Department? Okay, as long as you leave the Central Plains, I will sing the rest of the play, wrap your henchman Hu Xueyan, and I will take good care of you......"

"Foreigners and pirates attacked Jiaozhou? How is this possible, when did a group of pirates full of foreigners appear in Jiaozhou? And they robbed 3,000 taels of silver? How do you feel like pirates are killing people and training soldiers?"

In Li Hongzhang's eyes, thousands of people who died and lost thousands of taels of silver, these are all small cases that can't be smaller, pacify the long hair, pacify the twisted army, that big war is not tens of thousands of dead people, the Jiaozhou Bay tragedy is a case in his eyes.

Only the third dossier, as well as the secret letter contained in it, was the most headache for Li Hongzhang.

"Queen Mother, you have a problem for me...... If I lead troops into Beijing to help, then I will be branded with the mark of the Empress Dowager of the West for life, and I will not be able to get off the ship from now on......"

Unexpectedly, what was in front of Li Hongzhang was actually Cixi's handwritten letter, and this old witch actually thought of looking for him for help.

The relationship between Cixi and Li Hongzhang in history is very complicated, because when Cixi took power completely, important ministers such as Zeng Guofan and Zuo Zongtang gradually fell, and only Li Hongzhang has always been an important minister of the Han people under him, and Li Hongzhang's Beiyang made the old witch both respectful and afraid.

Without Li Hongzhang's support, the Manchu Qing will definitely die, this is the consensus of the top level of the royal family, but Li Hongzhang is the leader of the Han warlords after all, and he is afraid of usurping their country if he is not careful.

However, the current Li Hongzhang has not yet become a leader, in the eyes of Cixi, he is a Han warlord who can win over, so this secret letter is placed on Li Hongzhang's desk.

This book was first published from 17K Novel Network, the first time to see the genuine content!R405