Dinghai County, the terrain is dangerous. It is surrounded by green hills on the east, north and west sides. Two or three miles south of the city is Daotou Port, there are auspicious, Zhushan, Daqu three mouths, is the entrance gateway of foreign ships, south of Daotou Port, there are islands such as large and small Wukui Mountain, large and small Panzhi Mountain, large and small Qu Mountain.

The Zhejiang Navy Division set up a naval division town in Dinghai, with a total of more than 2,500 sailors and soldiers, and there is a fort on Dongyue Mountain in the southeast of the city, and the Mingguanshan Fort, with eight artillery pieces, 50 garrisons, and 7 large and small warships.

Yi Zhizhi sat in Rong Yuan's study and looked at the information about Dinghai that had just been sent, secretly wondering how the defense of Dinghai was so poor, the forts of only eight guns were estimated to be some small cannons, no wonder they were so vulnerable.

Li Wang walked quickly to the door and reported: "Young master, the gate of the army is here." ”

Yi Zhixiang didn't go out early in the morning, he was waiting for Guan Tianpei, he originally thought that he would come in the morning, and he didn't want to arrive early in the morning, it seems that Guan Tianpei probably came to Guangzhou yesterday, he didn't dare to slack off, and hurriedly got up to welcome him out.

As soon as they met, Guan Tianpei complained: "Contentment is so confused." ”

Yi Zhishu naturally understood that he was referring to the matter of sending troops to Dinghai, and immediately said with a smile: "Let's talk about it when we enter the house." ”

As soon as the two entered the house, Guan Tianpei sat down, and said in a deep voice: "Why would you agree to the Yuanqi regiment to train troops to recover Dinghai?" Picking up an egg and touching a stone, can you do it with contentment? ”

Yi Zhizu poured him a cup of tea, then sat down opposite him, and said slowly: "Knowing that he is invincible, how can Yuan Qi send troops?" The main force of the British army went north, and the troops left behind in Dinghai were bound to be small, so they would fight more and fight less. and occupy the heavens, the time and the people. It doesn't have to be a dozen. ”

said. He got up and handed the information about Dinghai that he had just seen and handed it to Guan Tianpei, and said: "Guan Junmen came just right, and see if there is any error in this information, since it is said that Dinghai is an important place for soldiers and an important coastal defense town, why is there only more than 2,000 soldiers in Dinghai Town, only one fort, and only eight artillery pieces." Compared to Humen, such a disparity? ”

"How can Dinghai be compared to Humen?" Guan Tianpei took the information and glanced at it a few times before continuing: "Humen is the residence of the Admiral of the Navy, and Dinghai is just a town, which is like Humen is the seat of government and Dinghai is the seat of county government, so naturally it cannot be compared."

There are few forts in Dinghai, because the defense of Dinghai is mainly based on city defense, while Humen is mainly based on fort defense. As for the small number of soldiers, it is because of the long period of peace. Because the quota has been repeatedly reduced. ”

"Bear peace for a long time, and do not repair war readiness. If the general is weak and encounters a strong enemy, how can he not be defeated? Yi Zhizhi shook his head as he spoke, and said: "There is no danger to rely on, there is no fortification to defend, and the defense is rudimentary, even if you can recover Dinghai, I am afraid that it will be difficult to hold it for a long time." ”

Hearing this, Guan Tianpei said in surprise: "Is contentment really sure to recover Dinghai?" ”

"How dare you say you're sure." Yi Zhizhi said with a smile: "Whether we can send troops and recover Dinghai depends on how many troops the British army will leave to garrison Dinghai." ”

Guan Tianpei glared at him dissatisfied, and said, "That being the case, why did you still express your stance to Lin Butang and be willing to send troops to recover Dinghai?" If you want to find an opportunity to win military merits, you also have a chance in Guangzhou, why bother to run to recover Dinghai? ”

Hearing this, Yi Zhizhi knew that he didn't know, hesitated, and then said: "Sending troops to Dinghai is to share the worries of the ministers, Guangzhou is a ban on smoking, causing a war, and the Qing Dynasty lost its territory, how can no one take responsibility?" Only by recovering Dinghai as soon as possible can the ministers have room for maneuver. ”

Worry about the department? Guan Tianpei said: "Is it for Lin Butang, or Deng Butang?" ”

Yi Zhizu said with a smile: "To be exact, it is for Lin and Deng's two ministries to share their worries, Guangzhou is a ban on smoking, Lin Butang is Qincha, Deng Butang is the governor of Liangguang, Yingyi launched a war because of the destruction of opium and the severance of trade between the two countries, and the two ministries are inseparable." ”

I heard that this kid attaches great importance to love and righteousness, but ignoring the life and death of Yuanqi's 10,000 regimental training just to share the worries of Lin and Deng's two subordinates, Guan Tianpei obviously didn't believe it, and immediately said suspiciously: "Yuanqi's regimental training is a local regimental training in Guangzhou, and its duty is to protect the territory and the people, and send troops across provinces to recover Dinghai. After all, it is the responsibility of the governor of Fujian and Zhejiang and the governor of Zhejiang to recover Dinghai. ”

Seeing that he was chasing this question, Yi Zhixiang smiled bitterly: "Because of the ban on smoking in Guangzhou and the invasion of the British army, Lin and Deng have shared honor and disgrace, and it is normal to join forces to resist the Yingyi, and there is no overstepping the bounds." To put it bluntly, Lin Butang hoped that Yuan Qi would send troops to Dinghai to provoke the British army and attract the main force of the British army south to Guangzhou, so as not to prevent the British fleet from going north to Tianjin, threatening the Beijing Division, or harming the two rivers. ”

Anger the British? Guan Tianpei's heart sank, and he said, "Isn't Guangzhou in danger?" ”

Yi Zhizhi said: "Lin Butang said that he would implore the imperial court to mobilize the Eight Banners Green Battalion from the surrounding provinces to come and assist in the defense of Guangzhou. ”

Lin Zexu wanted to attract the British army to Guangzhou, and then mobilize troops and horses to fight the British army in Guangzhou? Then Guangzhou can be lively, silent for a while, Guan Tianpei said: "Now that the British warships have blocked Haikou, I am content with how to send troops to recover Dinghai, say it and listen." ”

Yi Zhizhi said: "The British army blockaded Haikou with the purpose of cutting off Guangzhou's foreign trade, how could it stop Yuanqi from sending troops?" Even if you want to take the sea route, you don't necessarily have to go to sea by boat from Guangzhou, as for the detailed plan, don't hide it from the military gate, it's really not, yesterday, I have sent people to Dinghai to inquire and collect intelligence on the British army, can we send troops, how to send troops? How to fight? It's too early to say at the moment, and we have to wait for the feedback from Dinghai intelligence to make a decision. Saying that, he smiled and said: "It is said that the soldiers and horses have not moved, and the grain and grass go first. ”

Hearing him say this, Guan Tianpei breathed a sigh of relief and said, "Since contentment is so cautious, the old man doesn't need to worry too much. Saying that, he said with concern: "Yuanqi regimental training is only in April and May, can it really fight against the British army?" ”

"The British army has excellent firearms, which can be called the elite soldiers of a hundred battles, and it is based on the city, and the Yuanqi regiment was formed in a hurry, and the training is insufficient, and it has not passed through the battle formation, and the only reliance is that the firearms are on par, and they are all Western muskets." Yi Zhizu groaned: "Against the British army, the only way to fight more is to fight less, and to fight three to one." You should be able to give it a try. ”

Three to one? Even if the firearms of the two sides are comparable. This may not work. Veterans and recruits, that is not a little bit of a difference, Guan Tianpei said noncommittally: "I heard that Yuanqi's group training is to imitate the Western method of military training, although the time is not long, but it can be called well-trained, the old man wants to open his eyes." ”

Yi Zhisuff said with a smile: "The military gate personally went to inspect the regiment training camp, this is the glory of Yuanqi's group training, when will the military gate have time." Accompany the military gate to the next. ”

"For now." Guan Tianpei said with a smile: "Look at the real situation of Yuanqi's group training. As he spoke, he asked again: "Tuan Yong, have you heard the rumor that you are going to send troops to Dinghai?" ”

Yi Zhizu shook his head and said: "This place in Guangzhou is basically no secret for Yingyi, how dare you leak the news in Xia, and now this matter is only known to the Ministry, the Military Gate and the three people in Xia." Furthermore, it is still undecidable whether to send troops to the sea, so it is naturally not appropriate to make a statement. ”

Caution about contentment. Guan Tianpei is very satisfied, Guangzhou smuggling and selling crows. Filmmaker. It has close ties with British businessmen, and even so strictly bans smoking. The piece has not been cut off, and it is clear that the crow. Piece smuggling is still going on in secret, those smuggling crows. The filmmaker wished that the officers and soldiers of the court were beaten by the British army, so that they could recover the crows. The prosperity of the piece trade was indispensable for someone to collect intelligence for the British army.

Huadi battalion, a group of regimental warriors as usual for musket shooting training, in addition to the shooting step training, they also began to shoot live ammunition, however, not with a mini gun but a smoothbore gun, for the mini bullet, Yi Zhicontent has been strictly blocking the news, the reason why Yuanqi regimental training has the confidence to fight against the British army, relying on the mini gun, he naturally will not let too many people contact, at present, it is only the two thousand elites of the Henan battalion to carry out the live ammunition training of the mini gun.

Walking into the Huadi camp, Guan Tianpei had a refreshing feeling, the sentry at the door, dressed in Western-style military uniforms and military hats, although it looked awkward, but it was very spiritual, and all of them had a straight military posture, and the way of saluting was completely different, simple and powerful, what surprised him was that Yi Zhishu actually returned the gift to the soldiers.

Entering the camp gate, all the way forward, Guan Tianpei always felt that something was wrong, thought about it carefully, and then reacted, clean and tidy, the whole barracks gave people a feeling of being very clean and tidy, all the way, there was no garbage on the ground at all, and all the tents were neat and orderly.

On the big playground, there was a regiment of Yong who was lining up for shooting decomposition step training, the neat queue, the monotonous slogan attracted his attention, strolling over to watch, only then approached, there was a leader of the action of the mechanical trot over, saluted Yi Zhi Adachi, and said loudly: "Report to the big treasurer, the 12th battalion is undergoing musket shooting decomposition step training, please instruct." ”

Yi Zhi Zu Lizheng returned the salute and said, "Continue training." ”

Watching the leader trot away with some funny trotting, Guan Tianpei said with a smile: "What is the musket shooting decomposition step?" ”

Yi Zhisuff said with a smile: "The military gate will know if you watch it a little. ”

After looking at it for a while, Guan Tianpei understood and said, "What's the point of training like this?" ”

Yi Zhizu explained: "This is to prevent the battlefield from being nervous, loading errors, affecting the shooting speed, so training, each step goes deep into the bone marrow, will form a habit, and reduce the mistakes caused by tension." ”

"Makes sense." Guan Tianpei nodded and said, "Can there be live-fire training?" ”

"The shooting range is seven or eight miles away from the camp, and there are no horses in the camp."

Seven or eight miles to walk? Guan Tianpei hesitated for a moment before he said, "There is also a shooting range on Xiaohoop Wai Island, why don't you go there and have a look?" ”

Xiaohoop Wai Island is the shooting range of the 2,000 elites of the Henan battalion for live ammunition training, Yi Zhizhi didn't want to let Guan Tianpei observe without preparation, took out his pocket watch and looked at it, and when he saw that it was almost noon, he smiled and said: "Live-fire training consumes ammunition, and the ammunition distributed by each battalion is not much, and the general live-fire training is carried out in the morning. ”

"The old man is a guest today, so naturally he has to listen to your master's arrangement." Guan Tianpei said with a smile: "Yuan Qi is rich and generous, and he is reluctant to pay for live-fire training? ”

"It's not that I'm reluctant to pay for the money." Yi Zhizu explained: "The main reason is that the ammunition bureau cannot be supplied, one is that the situation is tense, and the ammunition reserve must be carried out, and the other is to supply the sailors and the Yuanqi regimental training at the same time, as well as more than 10,000 volunteers and braves live-fire training. ”

Guan Tianpei nodded slightly: "It's also a loss that Contentment has built an ammunition bureau, and the output is large enough, otherwise there won't be so much ammunition to consume." ”

"Don't mention the Ammunition Bureau." Yi Zhizhi said in a sullen voice: "The ammunition bureau has suffered a lot of losses, and I am still worried about how to explain to the owners." ”

Hearing this, Guan Tianpei simply pretended not to hear, pointed to the neatly arranged tents, and said, "This military camp is clean, let's go, go and see what is going on in the tent?" ”

The tent to be entered, Guan Tianpei was stunned for a long time without saying a word, the tent was clean and tidy, he was surprised, all the objects were almost arranged in a straight line, as large as the marching bed, quilts, small iron buckets, quilts, towels, all of them were neatly aligned, and when he came back to his senses, he entered another tent without saying a word, and looked at six or seven tents one after another, all of them, he couldn't help but sigh: "How much effort does it take to tidy up every day?" ”

Yi Zhicontent said with a smile: "I'm used to it, I don't need a pillar of incense." ”

"We'll see." Guan Tianpei turned to the following few pro-soldiers and said, "Compared with the big camp of other people's regiments, your barracks is simply a kennel!" ”

Seeing that a few pro-soldiers lowered their heads and did not say a word, Yi Zhixiang was about to relieve the siege, but when he heard the sound of the military trumpet, he immediately smiled and said: "This is the sound of the opening of the meal, how about a light meal in the camp at the military gate?" ”

"Okay, the old man is not particular." Guan Tianpei said in wonder: "Three meals a day in the camp? ”

Yi Zhishu nodded and said: "The training intensity is high, and if you don't eat three meals a day, the group braves can't stand it." ”

"Poor and exquisite." Guan Tianpei muttered softly, these days, ordinary people have two meals a day, and three meals a day are all rich people, and they don't want Yuanqi to practice three meals a day.

The big camp Tuanyong went back to the tent for dinner, because there was no canteen, Yi Zhishu and the others ate in the simple conference room, and the meat, vegetables and soup were served, Guan Tianpei ordered the pot of green pepper meat slices with chopsticks, and said: "Tuanyong is also this kind of food?" ”

Yi Zhishu nodded and said, "I came in a hurry, I didn't say hello, and I was wronged by the military gate." ”

"Nonsense." Guan Tianpei said: "The Tuan Yong have this kind of food on weekdays? ”

"No meat for dinner." Yi Zhizhi said: "Chinese food guarantees one meat, and the rice is full." ”

"Yuan Qi is really generous." Guan Tianpei said angrily: "Tuan Yong has to deduct money when he eats?" ”

"Two oceans in a month, and silver is still deducted, how can Tuan Yong support his family?"

On the table next to him, several of Guan Tianpei's pro-soldiers listened with their ears pricked up, and they didn't need to deduct money for such a good meal, and they all secretly slandered in their hearts, compared with the food in the Humen camp, it was simply pig food. (To be continued.) )