Maputo, East Coast, South Africa.

With the news of the official war between the Qing and British in Pretoria, the atmosphere in Maputo became tense, and a large number of machinery and equipment and mechanics for the construction of railways and ports began to move inland one after another.

There is also a criss-cross trench more than ten kilometers northeast of Maputo from the coast, which is the second line of defense set up by the marines, which was set up both to prevent the British from landing and besieging Maputo from afar, and also to reserve another line of defense for the loss of the first line of defense, which can be held or cover the main retreat.

Tang Zaosheng's horse ran along the barbed wire fence around the perimeter of the position, and only stopped at the entrance of the position, the time was a little rushed, the fortifications of this line of defense were naturally a little unsatisfactory, but this place was far away from the range of British naval guns, with this line of defense and weapon superiority, it was more than enough to block the British army.

"Brigadier, do you want to go in?" The guards who followed behind asked.

"Nope." Tang Zaosheng said and turned the horse's head, "Go back to the headquarters." ”

Back at the headquarters in the city, Tang Zao entered the war room with his front foot, and the staff officer Jiang Baxiang followed in, "The principal called, the British fleet stationed in Cape Town has left the port and headed north, and the target should be Maputo." ”

"It's coming so fast." As he spoke, Tang Zaosheng picked up the tea jar and poured most of the cup of herbal tea.

Jiang Baxiang said slowly: "The British army has a big heel in Pretoria, so they are naturally eager to come to Maputo to win back a game. ”

Tang Zao snorted coldly, "You really treat us as soft persimmons." ”

"Look at it." Jiang Baxiang handed the telegram over and said, "The principal instructed us to hold on until the twenty-fifth day of the twelfth lunar month, that is, the twelfth day of February. ”

There was a large-scale run on the domestic side, Tang Zaosheng also knew something, on the 21st of the lunar month, the domestic yamen were closed, the stock exchange was suspended, and the 24th of the lunar month was the day when the Yuanqi Bank closed its doors, and it seems that the victory in Pretoria only relieved the pressure of the run, and if Maputo is lost, there may be another large-scale run.

Jiang Baxiang said slowly, "The British fleet will arrive before noon tomorrow, that is, we will hold on for ten days. ”

"It's only ten days, no problem at all." Tang Zaosheng said disapprerovingly: "Relying on these two lines of defense, even if we hold on until the ironclad fleet arrives, it will not be a big problem." ”

Hearing this, Jiang Baxiang was stunned, he really didn't expect the other party to be so optimistic, "The ironclad fleet is expected to arrive in Maputo at the end of March and early April, can we hold out for so long?" Wouldn't it be too optimistic? ”

Tang Zaosheng glanced at him and said, "Then what do you think?" ”

"The British army is in a hurry to save face, the offensive is bound to be fierce, and it is good that the first line of defense can hold on for ten days." Jiang Baxiang said in a heavy tone: "The second line of defense is estimated to be able to hold out for more than half a month .......at most, and this must be at the cost of great casualties." ”

"You're too pessimistic." Tang Zaosheng said-for-tat: "The victory in Pretoria is enough to show that the combat strength of the British Army is average, with the second line of defense and combat power advantage, we will hold for a month, absolutely no problem." ”

Jiang Baxiang didn't argue with him either, and instead asked, "Why did Commander Xiao suggest that we retreat to the ....... of the Lai Bangbo Pass when we can't defend it?" ”

"It's just that we're worried that we'll hold out for a long time and cause too many casualties." Tang Zaosheng said disapprehantly: "The second line of defense is far beyond the range of the British naval guns, and the land artillery has an advantage, so it is impossible to have major casualties." ”

"The situation in Maputo is not the same as in Pretoria." Jiang Baxiang said slowly: "The victory in Pretoria, the most important thing is that Feng Zicai has an artillery advantage and can suppress the British artillery, but we are just the opposite, the British artillery is enough to suppress our artillery."

Once the war is unfavorable, the British army will definitely disassemble and transport the naval guns ashore, our shore defense guns are too bulky, difficult to disassemble and transport, and there is no abdication and re-entry device, the rate of fire is too slow, relying only on 150 mm land guns, it will inevitably be completely suppressed by the British Armstrong guns.

When the artillery is completely suppressed, even if we have the advantage of the trenches and the advantage of weapons, we will not be able to hold on for a long time, I think, Commander Xiao took this into account and suggested that we retreat, after all, the British naval guns are not easy to pull, far inferior to our 150 marine guns. ”

Dismantling the ship's guns and transporting them ashore? Tang Zaosheng looked at him with a stunned expression, not that he didn't expect this, but that he felt that this was impossible at all, "How is it possible that the 180 mm caliber and 200 mm caliber Armstrong gunboat guns, weighing at least four or five tons, are disassembled from the battleship and hauled ashore?" ”

Jiang Baxiang said: "In the Battle of Pretoria, the British army already knew that our army had large-caliber marine artillery, if they were not sure, how could they dare to come?" ”

This is not unreasonable, since the British army dares to come, it is naturally relied on, Tang Zaosheng couldn't help but hesitate a little, if the artillery is completely suppressed, holding on for so long is a joke, and after a moment of silence, he said: "At that time, depending on the situation, if the artillery is completely suppressed, there is no need to defend it." ”

Jiang Baxiang finally showed a smile on his face, "Even so, the retreat-related matters have also been deployed in advance. ”

Tang Zaosheng nodded and said: "You can deploy in advance, but you have to keep it secret, so as not to shake the morale of the army, if you can defend it, you still have to defend it, after all, our persistence is not meaningless, at least it can reduce the pressure of domestic runs." ”

"Don't worry." Jiang Baxiang said solemnly: "I'm not cowardly, I'm just worried that the casualties will be too big to explain to the principal and Commander Xiao." ”

The other party's mind Tang Zaosheng also understood, after all, when he left, he told him not to defend and evacuate backwards, if there were large casualties because of the stubborn defense, it was indeed difficult to explain, and he groaned slightly, and then he said: "Call back to the principal and ensure that the task is completed." ”

After Jiang Baxiang left, Tang Zaosheng took out a cigarette and lit one, he had never seen an ironclad ship, but he heard that the gun layout of the English ironclad ship was no different from that of a sail battleship, it was still a broadside salvo, and it was not difficult to disassemble it, thinking of this, he got up and ordered to the outside: "Come on, disassemble all the gantry cranes at the dock and pull them away." ”

Shanghai, Zhennan Wangfu, Changle Book House.

Yi Zhengxing walked into the study with a telegram and said with a smile: "Father, Tang Zaosheng called back to ensure that the task is completed." ”

After receiving the telegram, Yi Zhishu immediately signed the telegram and then handed it to Zhao Liewen, all the telegrams were to be archived, Zhao Liewen took the telegram and said: "The big shopkeeper, even if it can ensure that Maputo does not lose before the annual leave, but Yuan Qi's annual leave is only until the tenth ...... of the first month." ”

"When Yuanqi's annual leave ends, it's already the end of February." Yi Zhizu said slowly: "At that time, the ironclad fleet should be unveiled in Shanghai, even if there will be a run, it will not be too powerful." ”

After a pause, he instructed: "Call back, Tang Zaosheng must ensure that there is a cable telegraph contact, and report it every day." ”

Seeing that Yi Zhizhi was not busy, Yi Zhengxing said: "England also circulates paper money - the pound sterling, but no matter how big or small the war is, there has never been a run, why do runs frequently occur in my country?" It is said that Yuanqi has been established for so many years, and its credit is not inferior to the ....... of the Bank of England. ”

"It's not just a matter of credit." Yi Zhizhi pondered and said: "China's paper money appeared in the Song Dynasty - Jiaozi, and the large-scale promotion of the use of paper money was the Ming Dynasty - Ming Dynasty treasure banknotes, Jiaozi was issued by private money banks, and treasure banknotes were issued by the imperial court, but they all depreciated sharply and eventually had to withdraw from the circulation market.

As the so-called once bitten by a snake, ten years afraid of the well rope, the people have a shadow in their hearts on the banknote, if it is not for the prosperity of commerce and trade, the world is peaceful, and the banknote does have a lot of convenience, the people will not easily accept the banknote, which is also the reason why the promotion of banknote in our country is very difficult and slow.

European countries are different, the issuance of paper money is late, there has been no significant depreciation of paper money or even invalidation, such as the pound sterling, the value of the currency has been very stable for decades, of course, there will not be a run on the wind and grass. ”

Yi Zhengxing smiled bitterly and said: "In this way, doesn't the situation of the run have to exist forever and for a long time?" ”

"There's no better way to do it right now." Yi Zhishu said slowly: "However, after the Transvaal gold mine is fully mined and has sufficient gold reserves, this situation should gradually change, and in the case of our country, it may be easier to establish international credit than at home." ”

Yi Zhengxing was stunned when he heard this, how is this possible? The difficulty of establishing international credit for paper money is many times more difficult than that in China, even if there is no good foundation in China, is there a good foundation in the world?

"It's actually not very difficult for Yuanqi to build international credit for paper money." Yi Zhizu said slowly: "If we can master a resource that is indispensable in the world, it will be easy to build the international credibility of paper money...... ”

Hearing this, Yi Zhengxing and Zhao Liewen glanced at each other, both of them were at a loss, what resources are indispensable in the world? Gold, diamonds? This seems unlikely.

Seeing the two looks, easy to be content and too lazy to explain, after all, the time has not yet come, when it comes to this topic, he will mention it in passing, it is a pre-foreshadowing, the resource he is talking about is naturally oil, after the dollar gave up the gold standard, it was able to continue the hegemony of the dollar, one of the most important reasons is that the oil in the Middle East is settled in dollars, and the reason why he wants to fight a war with England in South Africa is not only for the gold mines of the Transvaal, but also for expansion in the Persian Gulf, after all, most of the Persian Gulf belongs to the British sphere of influence.

Maputo, South Africa.

At ten o'clock in the morning, a large fleet appeared on the surface of the Gulf of Maputo, a mixed fleet of ironclads and sail warships, all of which were flying the 'rice flag' symbolizing the British empire, and behind the fleet were even larger supply convoys and troop carriers.

The scale of this fleet is not inferior to the Qing fleet that came to Maputo for the first time, looking at a large black and oppressive fleet on the sea, some of the nearby blacks who did not evacuate and stubbornly stayed behind thought it was the Qing fleet at first, and they were told that it was the British fleet, which came to attack Maputo, and then I knew that the previous warning was not a joke, and one by one there was no need to do ideological work, and those who fled faster than rabbits.

As soon as the news spread, all the blacks in Maputo fled from this place that they missed as quickly as possible, compared to the panic of the blacks, the American and Russian military observers and some war correspondents who lived in the city were very excited, and they missed the battle of Pretoria, many of them regretted it, worried that they had come to South Africa in vain, and now the expected outbreak of war, one by one was naturally happy and excited, and rushed to the camp or headquarters, asking to go to the position for a close observation.

Tang Zaosheng, who rushed back from the second line of defense, happened to encounter this scene, and the people who were stopped outside the door and were not allowed to enter were waiting for Tang Zaosheng to come, and surrounded him with a hula, and the guards who followed him hurriedly stepped forward to stop everyone in fright.

"Ask what's going on?" Tang Zaosheng said as he dismounted and walked quickly into the gate, and when he entered the war department, Jiang Baxiang greeted him and said: "In the American Civil War, we also sent many officers to observe, could it be that they were all on the battlefield in person?" ”

As soon as he heard this, Tang Zaosheng understood what was going on at the door, and immediately said: "Send someone to arrange for them, find a location that is convenient for watching the entire battlefield, and let them watch the battle, as for other requirements, ignore them for the time being, however, the attitude should be as polite and polite as possible, our observation group is very courteous in the United States." ”

"Can you not be courteous?" Jiang Baxiang sneered: "In the Civil War, Yuan Qi did his best to assist the federal army in the north. ”

Tang Zaosheng laughed secretly in his heart when he heard this, the aid was indeed good, but Yuan Qi also made a lot of money in that war, he didn't have the heart to continue this topic, and immediately changed his head, "The British fleet has already hit the door, you are not in a hurry." ”

"How anxious it is." Jiang Baxiang said: "Today is at most a tentative attack, and the vicious battle will be until tomorrow and the day after tomorrow." ”

This is not bad, even if the other side's navy is well aware of the hydrological situation in Maputo, but the newly built defensive position, the other party must not understand it, and it will inevitably be tested many times, Tang Zaosheng groaned for a while, and then said: "The front observation post has not called yet?" ”

"It should still be counted, the size of the fleet is not small, and it is estimated that the time will be important." Jiang Baxiang said: "This formation is clearly to avenge Pretoria's arrow. ”

Tang Zaosheng poured a cup of cold white and said, "Then it depends on whether their teeth are good, if you don't knock down a few of his big teeth, we won't retreat!" ”

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