"1929 doesn't make a move, 3949 goes up the river, 5969 looks at the willows along the river, 79 opens the river, 89 geese come, 99 and 19, ploughing cattle everywhere."

Zhao Erniu walked through the streets and alleys where he couldn't even see a single person, humming the song "Ninety-Nine Songs" from his hometown, his home is on the edge of the Yellow River, and now it should be cold and freezing in this season, but this place in Penang is the same as summer.

With the withdrawal of the Nanyang Navy fleet and the forced relocation of all the people here, Penang, which was originally quite prosperous, is now no different from a ghost town, except for the members of the few telegraph monitoring points left behind, there is no one else, Zhao Erniu has just come down from the observation point on Penang Hill.

Although it was broad daylight, but walking alone in the empty streets and alleys, he still felt a little panicked in his heart, so he sang to strengthen his courage, he walked to the courtyard of the temporary residence, and saw a figure rushing out, out of instinctive reaction, he quickly pulled out the pistol on his waist.

"Nervous." The squad leader Li 13 nodded and said, "Hurry up and follow me up the mountain." ”

"Huh?" Zhao Erniu was stunned for a moment, and he came down from the mountain to change shifts, Li Shisanyi raised his hand, "What are you still doing?" The British fleet is coming! ”

The British fleet is coming! Isn't it time for them to endure this hard life? Zhao Erniu was overjoyed, and hurriedly followed.

The flag mountain said that the height is not high, and the low is definitely not low, from the foot of the mountain to go up four or five miles, the two people climbed to the top of the mountain with a light car and took more than half an hour, as soon as they arrived at the observation point at the top of the mountain, the two soldiers on duty greeted and saluted and reported: "Squad leader, the black pressure is a large area, at least hundreds of ....... ”

Li 13 took the telescope and looked at it, it was indeed a large sail shadow pressed by the black pressure, looking at this, I was afraid that I would not be able to observe the details for an hour or two, and he groaned slightly, before he ordered: "Erniu, go and bury those two shells under the flagpole, and the dog dares to come and lower the flag and blow him up." ”

Zhao Erniu was originally from the Orion family, digging a pit and setting a trap is a good trick, burying this new type of touch fuse cannonball is simply effortless for him, when even if he responded cheerfully, glanced at the dragon flag flying high on the flagpole, and ran to get the guy.

In the afternoon, a large shadow of the sail gradually became clearer, and from the telescope, you can clearly see the flags fluttering on the top of the mast, as well as the large and small warships and supply ships, "rice flags...... Tricolour...... This TM is also a tricolor, even the color is the same, well, horizontal tricolor....... There are also red and yellow flags, and the fleets of the four-nation coalition have all been put together. ”

Song Zigui, who was in charge of the record, couldn't help but roll his eyes, can't he speak well? Needless to say, the national flags of Britain and France are known to everyone, and the national flags of Spain and the Netherlands are also described in detail. The British East India Fleet is a living example.

"Damn, this is not only hundreds, including supply ships, I'm afraid there will be thousands, this time it's really a big battle!"

"Squad Leader——。" Song Zigui couldn't help but say: "Don't look at it, let's hurry up and count ......." ”

"What are the statistics?" Li 13 said: "There are statistics on the other side, we have to withdraw quickly, the patrol fleet that is fighting the front has already come." ”

"Dididi." The sound of sending and receiving telegrams in the military intelligence room of the Groba Telegraph Bureau was loud, and after Tang Zaosheng carefully compared the telegrams one by one, he couldn't help but gasp, the scale of the combined fleet of England, France, Spain, and the Netherlands had reached the scale of 280, the size of the Nanyang Navy's baby-bumpy third-class ships, the other side actually had 32 ships, and there were more than 600 supply ships of various sizes and sizes, and the naval strength alone was estimated to be between 70,000 and 80,000.

He lit a cigarette and took a deep breath before he said in a deep voice: "The telegram orders all observation points to be closely monitored, even if the fleet has already passed, do not relax!" ”

After speaking, he strode to the map and stared at Penang, the port where the Combined Fleet was stationed, such a huge force, if it swept through Java and Luzon first, it would definitely be a disaster! Hopefully, the judgment of the Grand Treasurer is correct, and the combined fleet of the four countries will not attack Java first.

Shanghai, Zhenhai Mansion, Changle Book House.

After reading the telegram sent from Groba, Yi Zhifu frowned, the size of the combined fleet of the four countries was not unexpected by him, as early as when he learned that Ergin led the fleet to Colombo, he expected that the size of the fleet should be about three hundred.

The reason is very simple, even if France wants to drink soup with England, the scale of its troops cannot be too shabby, and Spain and the Netherlands want to recapture Luzon and Java, and they must not spend a little blood, so the scale of the joint fleet of the four countries will naturally not be small.

He frowned because the fleet of the four countries sent troops during this time period! At this time, the Bohai Sea was in a freezing period, and it was obvious that the British and French countries were coming to Guangzhou and Shanghai!

Wei Yuan obviously saw this as well, and said slowly: "Sir, it is possible that the fleet of the four countries will attack Hong Kong first. ”

After a little hesitation, Zhao Wenlie said: "Manila should also be possible." ”

"Won't hit Manila." Wei Yuan said firmly: "As a supply port, Manila is too remote, and furthermore, to capture Manila, whether to divide troops and garrison is also a difficult problem, if you don't defend it, there is no need to fight at all, and Spain will not be willing to beat Manila into ruins." Defend, how many troops are left to garrison? Less doesn't work, more doesn't work. So, they will certainly not waste time and ammunition in Manila. ”

Jiang is still old and spicy, Zhao Wenlie secretly admires it, this analysis is really thorough, and Yi Zhizhi is also the head of the jaw: "Mr. still sees it thoroughly." ”

Wei Yuan smiled when he heard this, "Hong Kong is not in danger, those prisoners of war, the lord should be transferred, right?" ”

Those prisoners of war will be bargaining chips in the future, Yi Zhizhi naturally attaches importance to them, and has already transferred them to the mainland, nodded slightly, and then he said: "The Four-Nation Alliance should be very clear that Guangzhou must be heavily guarded, and the Humen Fort can be called the first fortress in the East, and it will be hard to fight as soon as the war starts, which does not seem to be like the style of Britain .......and France." ”

Malacca, Penang, Harbourfront.

Ergin didn't hurry to get off the ship, raised his binoculars and looked around, and found that it was indeed an empty city as reported before, but there was almost no damage, his face couldn't help but be a little ugly, the Qing army did too much, not to leave them a little thought, needless to say, the situation in Malacca and Singapore should be the same as Penang.

"Your Excellency, is that the flag of the Qing Kingdom?" He Bu pointed to the Qing Dragon Flag fluttering in the wind on the Flag Mountain, Erjin turned around and looked at it, and said, "It should be, the Qing people respect the dragon." As he spoke, he commanded: "Send someone to raise the flag of our British Empire!" ”

Two hours later, when the harbor was full of smoke and noise, a dull explosion suddenly came from the flag mountain, two shells buried under the flagpole were detonated almost at the same time, a team, a dozen British soldiers who were too close to the unguarded station were killed in the explosion, only two were left behind, the soldiers who served as guards were spared, and the two lucky ones thought they had been attacked by the enemy, and they lay on the ground for a long time and did not dare to get up.

The sudden and violent explosion alarmed the warships and ships inside and outside the harbor, and the officers and men who did not know why thought it was an enemy attack.

Soon, everyone found out that it was a false alarm, there was no enemy attack at all, it should be that the Qing army planted mines near the flagpole of Penang Mountain, and landmines are not a novelty in Europe, as early as the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries in siege warfare, but for this insidious and vicious, unjust thing, they lack interest, and have not vigorously developed.

Knowing what happened, Ergin, Hebu, and Grant all felt that their faces were gloomy, and they had just entered the Strait of Malacca, and for the sake of a banner, more than a dozen soldiers had died inexplicably, but what made them secretly relieved was that the dragon flag of the Qing Kingdom also fell down in the explosion.

The two shells on Penang Hill, which were used as mines, left the Qing army with the impression of being vicious and lacking in light among the Four-Nation Alliance, and the result was that the Combined Fleet no longer docked along the coast and went straight to Hong Kong.

The reason why the Combined Fleet went straight to Hong Kong was to follow the instructions of British Foreign Minister Claranton, in which the first thing Claranton proposed was to recover Hong Kong. Then, it is to conduct diplomatic negotiations with the Qing State, and if a satisfactory result can be obtained through negotiations, there is no need to use force, and if negotiations cannot solve the problem, then use force!

Guangzhou, Humen Town Wharf.

Mai Tingzhang, the commander of the Guangdong Navy Division, dressed in official robes, led a group of subordinates to stand on the dock and wait, and saw five steam gunboats flying the golden dragon flag slowly sailing over, he was in good spirits and said in a low voice: "Here, cheer me up." ”

The gunboat docked, Yi Zhizhi walked up to the deck, and saw Mai Tingzhang and his entourage greeting him on the dock, he didn't hesitate, and hurriedly stepped on the gangplank to board the dock, Mai Tingzhang hurriedly led the crowd to come over and salute respectfully, "The last general and others greet Grandpa." ”

Yi Zhixiang hurriedly stepped forward and helped him, "Mai Junmen doesn't need to be polite. As he spoke, he raised his hand, "Everyone, please get up." ”

Straightening up, Mai Tingzhang smiled and said, "Grandpa has already eaten in Hong Kong, should you go to the fort first, or go to the camp first?" ”

"I've been on the boat for a few days, and I want to take a walk, so let's go and see the fort first." Yi Zhisuff said with a smile, he also wanted to see the renovated Humen Fort, the big battle was imminent, if he didn't inspect it in person, he really didn't know the bottom in his heart.

All the way to the fort, Mai Tingzhang deliberately asked his subordinates to distance himself a little, and then he whispered tentatively: "The big shopkeeper came to Humen at this time, but the British fleet has arrived?" ”

Yi Zhishu didn't hide it, and said with his jaw: "The fleets of Britain and France and other four countries have passed through Malacca, and they should be heading straight to Guangzhou, but are they ready for a big war?" ”

"The Great War?" Mai Tingzhang said excitedly: "I have been prepared for a long time, just wait for the order of the big shopkeeper!" ”

Yi Zhizhi said without hurry: "I'm afraid that your little strength is not enough, I have to transfer three or four more brigades to support Humen." ”

Three or four brigades? Mai Tingzhang knew the strength of one brigade of Yuan Qi, and three or four brigades were twenty or thirty thousand troops, and he was really a little frightened, "How many warships did the other side come?" ”

"There are 300 large and small warships, and the naval strength is about 70,000 or 80,000." Yi Zhishu said with a smile, "You won't be scared, will you?" ”

"I'm really scared." Mai Tingzhang said with a bitter face: "This transfer of three or four brigades over, is it a little less ......." ”

"No matter how many troops there are, Humen can't be opened." Yi Zhishu said in a relaxed tone: "The new artillery can be skillfully manipulated, right?" ”

When it came to the new artillery, Mai Tingzhang felt full of confidence, but when he thought of the other party's huge fleet, he hurriedly said: "It's true that there is no new artillery, but the number is a little less, can you add another thirty or forty new artillery?" ”

"I can't." Yi Zhishu said simply without thinking about it: "Guangzhou is not the only target that the other party will attack. ”

Mai Tingzhang hurriedly shut up, he knew very well how important Guangzhou was to Yuan Qi, besides, to defend Guangzhou, the Guangdong Navy Division was not the main force, the real main force was still Yuan Qi's soldiers and horses, if the new artillery could be drawn over, Yi Zhishu would definitely not be the slightest bit ambiguous.

Jingshi, Forbidden City, Qianqing Palace, Xinuan Pavilion.

Xianfeng put down the telegram in his hand, and was secretly happy in his heart, the Bohai Sea was in a freezing period, and the British and French and other four-nation coalition forces were attacking on a large scale at this time, obviously going to Guangzhou or Shanghai, how could he not be happy, for the imperial court, the best result was that Yuanqi and Britain and France and other countries were defeated.

However, after calming down, he was a little worried in his heart, glanced at Su Shun, who was kneeling below, and said, "The total strength of the Four-Nation Alliance is really 100,000?" ”

"One hundred thousand is just a conservative estimate." Su Shun said in a deep voice: "The navy has seventy or eighty thousand troops, and the army will definitely not be less, at least thirty or forty thousand, more than six hundred supply ships, and two hundred should be troop carriers." ”

The more Xianfeng listened, the more worried he became, "Will the naval strength be overestimated?" ”

"No, according to the estimation of the minions, it should be more than 80,000 at least." Su Shun said firmly, he has been in the navy for many years, so he naturally knows the relationship between warships and troops.

Xianfeng was a little uneasy or nervous, Yuan Qi and Yangyi fought for both defeats, which was naturally what he wanted to see the most, but if Yuan Qi was defeated, who would help defend Tianjin? If even Yuan Qi is not Yangyi's opponent, can he still rely on the Beiyang Naval Division and the Eight Banners New Army?

Su Shun was very able to figure out Xianfeng's thoughts, and when he saw that he was silent, he said: "Yi Guocheng is known for his long-term vision, judging from the measures taken in the past two years, Yuan Qi should have already deployed for the battle against Yingyi, and in this battle, the slave dares to guarantee that even if Yi Guocheng is defeated, it is impossible to be defeated!"

Even if the war in Guangzhou was unfavorable, Yi Guocheng would inevitably be able to inflict heavy losses on the Four-Nation Alliance, making it impossible for it to continue the attack on Shanghai or Tianjin, and the railway transportation was convenient, and the coalition forces could not occupy the advantage of troops. ”

Xianfeng was extremely sensitive and asked, "In this way, the coalition forces will take Guangzhou as the main target?" ”

"This one could be big." Su Shun said in a deep voice: "Once the coalition forces learn that Guangzhou's troops are insufficient and they cannot reinforce it in time, they will inevitably take Guangzhou as the main target. ”

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