Wujia Village ambush battle, Yuanqi regimental training, Shanghai volunteers with weak casualties annihilated two battalions of the British army, with the two companies turned back to Shanghai, the volunteer battalion was boiling, although did not bring back the head of the British army, but captured more than 200 Western muskets, that is real, no one dares to doubt this record, with the battle of the volunteers to the battle painted and colorful description and five thousand taels of silver rewards issued, all the volunteers are gearing up, eager to have the opportunity to fight. Pen, fun, and www.biquge.info

Shanghai Daoya, Bao Shichen, who heard the news, hurriedly walked into Yi Zhi's study, and as soon as he entered the door, he couldn't wait to say: "Wujia Village won a great victory, and more than 200 Yingyi people were annihilated at the cost of less than 20 casualties, but is it true?" ”

After stretching out his hand to give up his seat, Yi Zhizhi nodded and said, "Judging from the more than two hundred and forty Burke-style flintlock pistols seized, it should be true." Saying that, he smiled, "Yuan Qi's group training hasn't learned to falsely report his combat exploits. ”

"The British army in Wusong is only 3,000." Bao Shichen sat down and continued: "Can you accumulate small victories into big victories and eliminate Wu Song's British army piecemeal?" ”

"Mr. Bao, this is a long hope." Yi Zhizhi said with a smile: "The ambush battle in Wujia Village was carefully prepared for seven or eight days, coupled with the fact that the British army underestimated the enemy, it was impossible to replicate it, and after this battle, the British army will inevitably be very vigilant and take strict precautions, not to mention ......." ”

After a pause, he continued: "In terms of time, we are not allowed to slowly consume the strength of the British army piecemeal, the battle of Zhenjiang may break out in these two days, the British army will fight easily, and if it is not easy, it may give up attacking Jiangning, or it may increase the number of troops to help, we can't delay." ”

This is not unreasonable, Bao Shichen sighed with regret: "It's a pity. ”

"Nothing to worry about." Yi Zhizhi smiled: "I am already very content, this battle, the main purpose is to boost morale, boost the morale of the army, the northern suburbs of the battle, the British army showed combat power and tenacity, for the righteous courage is quite a great deterrent, through this almost perfect ambush battle, can greatly encourage the confidence of the brave, this is enough." ”

It turned out to be this purpose, Bao Shichen couldn't help but secretly praise, and then said with concern: "Wu Song Yingyi has three thousand troops, five warships, a total strength of about five thousand, and it is to occupy the city forts, build fortifications and defend, Yuan Qi regimental training, even if it is plus two thousand volunteers, it is only four thousand people, if it is a strong attack, I am afraid that it will be lost, even if it can defeat Wu Song, it is not able to hold on." ”

Yi Zhixiang smiled and said, "Mr. Bao doesn't need to worry, Yuan Qi doesn't fight uncertain battles." ”

Hearing this, Bao Shichen said in surprise: "There are still reinforcements?" ”

Yi Zhixiang didn't hide it from him, nodded, and said, "There are still 5,000 reinforcements, and we will be able to rush to Shanghai in a few days." ”

"All the Yuanqi group exercises in Guangzhou have been transferred?" Bao Shichen was surprised, Guangzhou is the foundation of Yuanqi, Yuanqi's group training is empty, it is difficult to say that nothing will happen, and what he is most worried about is that Yuanqi and the court are at odds, which is definitely a lose-lose result.

"Guangzhou's Yuanqi regimental training has dispatched 3,000 to support Jiangning." Yi Zhizu said slowly: "What came to Shanghai was the Changhua Iron Mine's mine protection team, transport fleet and several escort warships. ”

Hearing that there were still a few escort warships, Bao Shichen's eyes lit up, and he couldn't wait to ask, "How many warships are there?" ”

"Thirteen." Yi Zhixiang smiled: "They are all light cruisers made by Citigroup." ”

Yuanqi actually has thirteen light cruisers? Bao Shichen looked at him with a stunned face, stunned and speechless, what did Yuan Qi want to do? In just a few years, such a strong force has been accumulated, and there are at least more than 20,000 men and horses in the open and in secret, and in order to fight with the British army, Yi Zhishu did not hesitate to show all the hole cards.

Seeing that he looked dumbfounded, Yi Zhizhi slowly lit a cigar, and then said with a smile: "Sir, don't be surprised, France, which has little trade with our Qing Dynasty, has sent two warships to watch the battle, as the second largest trading country in our Qing Dynasty, how can it sit still?" They also sent warships to watch the battle. ”

Hearing this, Bao Shichen secretly breathed a sigh of relief and said, "How many warships have come from Citigroup?" ”

"Five, with a fleet." Yi Zhizhi said: "In order to maintain the safety of the fleet of Changhua iron ore and high-quality coal in Annam at sea in recent years, Yuanqi has successively purchased three warships, and also hired five Citigroup warships, all of which have been transferred. ”

Bao Shichen said suspiciously: "Will the Citigroup warships get involved in this war?" ”

"Of course not, but the five ships we hired can participate in the war, eight light cruisers plus twenty or thirty armed merchant ships, against those five British warships, it will definitely be able to win."

Bao Shichen suddenly realized, this is the real confidence of Yi Zhicontent, no wonder he has the confidence to take Wu Song, and stick to Wu Song, it can be said that for this battle, Yuan Qi took out all the family funds, and groaned slightly, before he spoke: "This battle, whether you win or lose, the court is afraid that it will be restless, Dong Weng has not considered this?" ”

"This is a national war, and I have no choice." Yi Zhi's contentment said that the righteousness was awe-inspiring, but in fact, he knew very well in his heart that if he did not transfer the troops from Changhua, the imperial court would be called really restless, and the two thousand mine guards in Changhua were known by the imperial court, and there was no need for him to hide them.

Bao Shichen was moved by his words, and said with emotion: "If the world's businessmen are so brave and loyal, how dare Yingyi come to ......." ”

Before the words fell, Li Wang walked quickly to the door and reported: "Young master, there is an urgent report from Zhenjiang." ”

"Let the messenger send it in." Yi Zhisuff commanded, looked at Bao Shichen and said, "It seems that Zhenjiang has started a war." ”

Yi Zhi's guess was correct, and the urgent report from Zhenjiang said that the British fleet had captured the Zhenjiang gateway on 19 July -- in fact, it was also the third line of defense on the Yangtze River after Wusong and Jiangyin -- and the Shanguan Fort was composed of the Shanguan Fort, the Dasha Fort on Shunjiangzhou, and the Sanjiangying Fort in Jiangdu.

In just two days, the heavily defended Shanguan Fort fell, and the British fleet drove straight in, aiming at Jinshan, another important place for Zhenjiang River defense.

After reading the battle report, Bao Shichen sighed lightly and said: "If Jinshan is lost, Zhenjiang River will be lost." ”

"Jiangfang is simply unreliable." Yi Zhizu said bluntly: "The coastal defense of Xiamen has not been able to stop the British fleet, not to mention the river defense of Zhenjiang, and the mountain pass actually supported it for a day, Jinshan, it is estimated that it is half a day's work." ”

"How many days can Zhenjiang hold on?" Bao Shichen seemed to ask himself, and he seemed to be asking Yi Zhicontent.

How many days can Zhenjiang last? Yi Zhizhi is also very worried, once Zhenjiang is lost, the British fleet can drive straight to Jiangning, the longer Zhenjiang holds on, the more beneficial it will be to the battle of Jiangning, if Zhenjiang is lost in only two or three days, it will be really fatal! Jiangyin has not seen an emergency report for a long time, it is definitely the last column of the British army has not passed through Jiangyin, if Jiangyin can not be armed, this will be a lot of fun, once the British fleet returns without hindrance, Wusong Fort will definitely not be able to stop.

Another thing that made him anxious was that Zhenjiang had started a war, but the fleet of Changhua had no news for a long time, and he didn't know where it was now, in order to avoid being sent by the British army in Dinghai, he asked the fleet to bypass the Zhoushan Islands far away, he was really worried that it would be too far to delay the time, to be honest, he didn't know how long it would take to take Wusong.

On July 20, the British captured Jinshan, and on the same day, the British fleet announced the blockade of the Yangtze River and the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal.

After receiving the military report, Yi Zhizhi pursed his lips, the Yangtze River channel and the Grand Canal, Lin Zexu had already ordered a blockade, and the British fleet deliberately announced the blockade again, just to put pressure on the Qing court and local officials in Jiangsu, however, the loss of Jinshan means that the periphery of Zhenjiang has all Guo Qing, and then, the British army will directly attack Zhenjiang, I really don't know how many days Seng Lingqin can support for a few days, Zhenjiang now has 15,000 or six troops.

"Report." Ren An said loudly outside the door.

As soon as he heard that this spirit was different from usual, Yi Zhizhi knew that there might be news from the fleet, and hurriedly said, "Come in." ”

Ren An strode into the room, and after saluting, he handed over a small bamboo tube and said, "Big shopkeeper, Changhua pigeon letter." ”

Finally there was news, Yi Zhishu couldn't wait to use a knife to remove the sealing wax, pick out the small paper roll inside, unfold it, and ordered: "Call Yan Yangtian and Xiao Mingliang immediately." ”

Yan Yangtian and Xiao Mingliang would come to the Daoya every day to report, and not long after Ren An went out, the two of them walked in quickly, and after saluting, Yan Yangtian smiled and said, "Principal, but there is news from the fleet?" ”

Yi Zhizu walked to the large simple map hanging on the wall, pointed to the sea surface of Tongzhou Mansion, and said: "In order to prevent being detected by the British fleet, the fleet has wrapped a circle, and now it is near the Beesan Reef Island in the sea of Tongzhou Mansion. ”

As soon as they heard this, Yan Yangtian and Xiao Mingliang hurriedly stood up and said, "Please give the principal an order." ”

Yi Zhizu said in a deep voice: "The cordon moved directly forward and pushed it to the range of ten miles from Wusong, Baoshan. ”

In charge of the vigilance was Xiao Mingming's led Yiyong, and he hurriedly said, "The students obey orders." ”

"The troops are out." Yi Zhishu pointed to the map and said, "Early tomorrow morning, we must enter the designated attack position." Tentative attacks began in the afternoon, and ...... the day after tomorrow when the tide was high. As he spoke, he walked to his desk and checked it a little before he said: "The high tide time of the day after tomorrow is 10:12, two hours in advance, starting at 8:12, attacking with all our might, trying to attract the British warships to the river bank of Wusong, and buying time for the fleet." ”

"Students understand!" Yan Yangtian and Xiao Mingliang responded loudly, in the past few days, the battle plan for attacking Wusong and Baoshan has been repeatedly studied and deduced, and they have long been familiar with it.

After a little hesitation, Yan Yang Tiancai spoke: "Headmaster, from Shanghai to Wusong is nearly a hundred miles, and we march a hundred miles day and night, our soldiers are fine, but the speed of the artillery battalion is slow, and we will not be able to reach the established position early tomorrow morning." ”

"The day after tomorrow at 8:12 a.m., the full attack will begin." Yi Zhizhi said: "You can't move a hundred miles in two days? Note that it is better for the artillery battalion to move in concealment, so as not to let the British troops prepare in advance, so as to catch them by surprise. ”

Yan Yangtian said directly: "Headmaster, can you requisition some mules and horses?" ”

Yi Zhizhi said disappreciably: "Find Xiao Mingliang and let him go to Liu Zhixian." ”

Early the next morning, in Baoshan County, on the city wall, Yilu and Bartley with a vote of officers looked at a large tent ten miles away with binoculars as if it had appeared overnight, and their expressions were a little dignified.

"It's not a joke, is it?" Bartley asked as if talking to himself.

After being silent for a while, Yilu put down the binoculars and said: "According to the information collected some time ago, a Qing army came to the county seat of Shanghai, the number of which is about 1,500 people, if there are no reinforcements in these days, the strength of Shanghai should be 4,000 people." ”

"Your Excellency, General." A colonel said: "Judging from the size of the barracks and the number of tents, the other side should be less than four thousand people, of course, it is not ruled out that there will be troops in the future." ”

More than 3,000 people dared to attack Baoshan and Wusong forts, which were defended by 2,600 British troops? Somewhat unconvinced, Bartley ordered, "Keep an eye out for follow-up troops." ”

It was only four miles away from Wusong Yangjiazui Fort, Yan Yangtian rode on a horse and held a telescope to observe the deployment of the British army on the opposite side at close range, and a team of guards was vigilantly paying attention to the movements around him. ”

"Out of the way." Yan Yangtian said disapprerovingly, he observed very clearly from the telescope, the artillery on the fort should be the old-fashioned artillery left over from the Qing army, although the range is enough to be less than four miles, but the accuracy is really not good.

Chang Youdao didn't dare to let him take risks, and hurriedly urged him to step forward to stop, "Be careful, the other party is loading ammunition." A guard reminded loudly.

"Hmm." Yan Yangtian also noticed it, but he didn't mean to leave, and he often stepped forward to pull the reins, but Yan Yangtian ordered: "Listen to my orders, and be ready to beat the horse and leave at any time." ”

As soon as they saw the British army igniting from the telescope, the group hurriedly beat their horses and galloped, running dozens of meters away, only to hear a "boom" of cannons, Yan Yangtian laughed and pulled out the horse's head, and ordered: "Come on, go to the bomb drop point and insert a striking mark." ”

There are often doubts and asks: "What do you do with the mark?" There were a dozen guns on the battery. ”

"Send people to start digging trenches two hundred meters after the mark." Yan Yangtian said: "The soil here is soft, it should be easy to dig, there are not many people at the beginning, and one class will be completed." ”

Is this going to make a fuss like that? There is often a way to mutter, digging trenches under the enemy's guns, and the opposite side is not the green battalion soldiers who have not fired a few guns all year round, but the British army, besides, is it useful to dig a trench so far away? In his heart, he didn't dare to question Yan Yangtian's order. (To be continued.) )