Tianjin, Haiphong Office.

Cao Gensheng hurriedly walked into the headquarters and reported: "Dagu called, the enemy army is overwhelming, the attack is fierce, it is difficult to resist, the defenders of Dagu Koukou and Beitang have been ordered to withdraw to the military grain city and Gegu. ”

Retreat so quickly? Yi Zhizu raised his wrist and glanced at his watch, at a quarter past two in the afternoon, from the beginning of the battle to the retreat, he only held on for an hour and a half, it was dark early this season, but it would not be dark until more than six o'clock, that is to say, there were still four hours left, and he immediately realized that the military food city and Gegu were only afraid that they would not be able to hold it!

Originally, he thought that even if the Dagukou and Beitang forts held out until dark, they would be able to hold on for at least three or four hours, so that when they retreated to Junliangcheng and Gegu, it was already dark, and the coalition forces might not be able or dare to follow the pursuit, but he really didn't expect that they would only hold for an hour and a half.

For four hours, the Four-Nation Alliance, which was in a hurry to capture Tianjin, would definitely not let go of these four hours easily, and would inevitably follow the pursuit, and the fortifications of Dagukou and Beitang could not be defended, so how could the military grain city and Gegu be defended?

Seng Lingqin also realized that this matter was troublesome, and said straightforwardly: "There is no danger to defend the military grain city and Gegu, if the enemy army follows and pursues, it will inevitably be defeated, do you want to increase the troops to respond?" ”

Yi Zhishu shook his head slowly, if there was really a rout, there would be no point in increasing the number of troops, and he groaned slightly, before he said in a deep voice: "Send electricity to the military grain city and Gegu, and after receiving the rout of Dagukou and Beitang, immediately retreat to Tianjin, and there is no need to hold on." ”

Hearing this, Gui Liang, who was the governor of Zhili, frowned, "In this way, isn't Tianjin City in danger?" ”

"Tianjin can't be lost!" Yi Zhizu said coldly, and then ordered: "Call Feng Renxuan and Wu Yundong over." As he spoke, he turned around and walked to the sand table, and Monk Greenqin followed, saying, "The four regiments drawn from the Beijing Division have arrived in Tianjin ....... ”

"There is no need to send troops to respond, if you withdraw and retreat, you will inevitably collapse, and it is estimated that a large number of defeated troops will flee back to Tianjin overnight." Yi Zhizu interrupted him, pointed to the sand table as he spoke, and said, "The monk king led two regiments to build a position in the Majiakou area in the southeast to collect the rout. ”

Immediately pointed to the north of the city, "Gui Zhongtang led two regiments to build a position in the area of the Xigu arsenal, collect the rout, and the coalition army landed from Dagukou and Beitang, and it was inevitable that the troops would attack Tianjin in two directions, and the north of the city could not afford to lose. ”

Before the words fell, Feng Renxuan and Wu Yundong had already walked in quickly, stood up and saluted, Yi Zhizhi nodded, and said: "It's just right to come, the old dragon head railway station will be the focus of the enemy's attack, Wu Yundong led a brigade of the headquarters to be responsible for garrisoning, and the enemy army may arrive at dawn tomorrow." ”

"Subordinates obey!" Wu Yundong said excitedly.

"The area around the Nanguang Temple in Chengnan is also the focus of defense." Yi Zhizu pointed to the sand table and continued: "Feng Renxuan led two brigades of the headquarters to garrison, and in addition, the Beiyang Naval Division fleet was stationed on the Zizhulin River to prevent enemy ships from going up the water. ”

On the post road from Dagu Pass to Gegu, Zaizhao rode on a horse and looked at the chaotic Dagu Association Green Battalion soldiers who had lost their formation as if they were rout, and couldn't help frowning, this is no longer a retreat, but a rout, the soldiers can't find the officers, the officers can't get the soldiers, once the enemy follows and pursues, the consequences are unimaginable.

What is gratifying is that although the queue of the officers and men of the Beiyang Naval Division was also a little chaotic, it was still a queue, and the wounded were not discarded, or carried on stretchers, mules and horses, and some were supported to advance or even carried on their backs.

Zaizhao was not sure if the enemy would pursue, but it was obviously not possible in this situation, so he gently pulled the reins and stopped, intending to wait for a senior military attache of the Dagu Association, in this situation, the low-level military attaché was afraid that he would be helpless.

Several fast horses galloped from the direction of Gegu, the first one was in his early thirties, it was Tang Huijun, who was awarded the rank of general, and when he arrived, he threw his stirrups and dismounted, and saluted: "The army gate, the last general's department has built a simple position in Dagu." ”

Zaizhao nodded and said, "Where is Chengbao's 1,000 Mongolian horse team?" ”

The 1,000 Mongolian horse team led by Chengbao, the Mongolian capital, was the first to retreat, and it was on horseback, but he was afraid that he had already arrived in Gegu at this time, Tang Huijun hurriedly said: "Back to the military gate, Chengdu Tong did not go to Gegu, and the horse team was in Dagu." ”

This Chengbao is quite interesting, I think I came to see the enemy army, I expected that this battle will be lost, so I led the horse team to stay in Dagu to respond, Zaizhao nodded, and was about to speak, when he heard a rapid sound of horses' hooves, "Emergency military situation!" Emergency military intelligence! "Riding all the way shouting, galloping over.

At this time, what else is the urgent military situation? Zai Zhao's heart sank, it must have been the enemy rank and tail catching up, and sure enough, the rider saw Zai Zhao, and hurriedly grabbed the reins and dismounted and reported: "Yu Jun Gate, the enemy is catching up!" ”

As soon as he heard that the enemy army was catching up, Tang Huijun hurriedly saluted and said, "The last general implores to lead his troops to break off!" ”

"Hold off the enemy for half an hour, then retreat." Zai Zhao raised his voice as he spoke, "Order, Li Kuntong led his troops to build a line of defense between Gegu and Dagu. ”

"The last general commands." Tang Huijun said loudly.

"I asked Cheng Bao to leave you a thousand war horses, complete the task, and retreat immediately to minimize casualties." Zai Zhao said softly, he knew very well that Cheng Bao's 1,000 horse team had at least 2,000 or more war horses, and Cheng Bao would not refuse to leave 1,000 horses for the broken troops.

After hearing that there were chasing soldiers, whether it was the Dagu Association Green Battalion or the officers and soldiers of the Beiyang Naval Division, they all accelerated the pace of retreat again, and Zaizhao did not have the heart to find someone to rectify the Green Battalion, pulled out the horse's head, and followed the team to evacuate, and was faintly worried about the situation of the Beitang defenders, after all, Beitang was dominated by the Dagu Association Green Battalion.

Landing from the vicinity of the Dagukou Fort and pursuing the British army and the Dutch army, the commander of the army is the British Army Major General Grant, from the telescope, he can clearly see the defenders of the Dagukou Fort who hastily evacuated, from the military uniform, these are obviously two different teams, wearing Western-style military uniforms and still maintaining the queue must be the newly established navy of the Qing State - Beiyang Naval Division.

Because the previous order was to cooperate with the naval fleet to capture the Dagukou Fort, when the Qing army retreated in an organized manner, he did not pursue, and when he received the order - to pursue with victory, he had already missed the best opportunity to pursue.

However, judging from the situation of the other party's retreat, he did not agree with the fact that the terrain was unfamiliar with the victory, the situation was unknown, the pursuit was too fast, the artillery and supplies could not keep up, and the other party was not fleeing, at least half of the troops were retreating in an orderly manner, and it was not a good thing to chase too closely.

Putting down the binoculars, Grant said loudly: "Order, don't chase too closely, keep a distance of two miles." ”

The reason why he had to keep a certain distance was that he was worried about being ambushed, he knew very well that the Qing army on the opposite side was actually not too damaged, and it still retained a certain strength, and he also knew that the key to this battle was to capture Tianjin as soon as possible, and he only needed to push these Qing troops forward like a rabbit.

After chasing Dagu and encountering a blockade, after judging that the opponent was using a Minny gun, Grant was more cautious and slowed down the pursuit, which allowed the defenders of Dagu to calmly retreat to Gegu.

As soon as he entered Gegu, Zaizhao received two telegrams, one was sent by Yi Zhicontent, and there was no need to stick to Gegu and evacuate immediately. He didn't pay much attention to this, the pursuers behind him were not in a hurry, and he could take a breath and then retreat.

Another telegram was sent from the Military Grain City, "The Beitang garrison has collapsed, the enemy ranks are in quick pursuit, and the Military Grain City has been abandoned." Zhili Admiral Shi Rongchun. ”

He has just entered Gegu, and the military grain city has been abandoned, which is really called fleeing from the wind! Zaizhao was secretly annoyed, and he was even more worried that the losses of the Beitang defenders were too great, and he groaned slightly, and then he ordered: "Send a ...... to the Haiphong Office." ”

Haiphong Office, Headquarters.

After receiving the telegram that the military food city was abandoned, Yi Zhishu really understood the power of the green battalion soldiers, and fled without even seeing the shadow of the enemy, is it necessary to be so exaggerated? However, he didn't care, it wasn't his soldiers, and he was embarrassed to overstep his bounds, the officers of the Yuanqi New Army dared to disobey orders like this, and how many heads were not enough for him to cut off.

After lighting a cigarette, he said in a muffled voice: "The military grain city is only more than fifty miles away from Tianjin, and the enemy army should not have the spare strength to march overnight, and they don't dare!" However, by noon tomorrow, the enemy will be able to reach ...... Tianjin. ”

Monk Lingqin said tentatively: "Do you want to go to the Dianjing Division and then send a brigade of Eight Banners New Army for reinforcements?" ”

Yi Zhizu glanced at him, he knew very well that the other party wanted to use this as an excuse to transfer more Eight Banners New Army from the Beijing Division to participate in this battle, and after a slight sigh, he spoke: "I don't mind the Eight Banners New Army sharing the merits, and I also hope that more Eight Banners New Army can participate in this battle, after all, it is a rare opportunity to fight, and after the victory, the imperial court also has a light on its face."

However, the Eight Banners New Army of the Beijing Division has already reinforced the strength of the two brigades in Tianjin, and if it asks for reinforcements again, will the imperial court have any ideas? As for the safety of Tianjin City, there is no need to worry, and at least 10,000 troops will arrive before noon tomorrow. ”

Seeing that he said so bluntly, Monk Greenqin sneered and said: "This king also thinks that the opportunity is rare, such a large-scale opportunity to fight with Western countries, I am afraid that it will be rare in the future, since the city is in favor, then this king will try .....?" ”

"Cough" Gui Liang coughed lightly and said, "The emperor is sticking to the Beijing Division, how can he transfer all his troops to Tianjin?" ”

"Report-" Cao Gensheng came in and reported: "Gegu, Zaizhao has called, the rest of the troops have withdrawn to Gegu in an orderly manner, the casualties are not large, and the enemy army is following all the way. ”

Hearing that the casualties were not large, Yi Zhishu nodded slightly, and said, "Call back and withdraw to Tianjin overnight." ”

Monk Lingqin frowned, "After a day of fierce fighting, and then marching overnight, I'm afraid it's ......." ”

"Gegu has no fortifications and cannot be garrisoned." Yi Zhizhi said: "If you don't withdraw overnight, I'm afraid you won't have the opportunity to withdraw calmly tomorrow." ”

Tianjin is the gateway of Beijing, Dagukou is the gateway of Tianjin, the news of the loss of Dagukou spread, there was a panic inside and outside Tianjin, hundreds of people helped the old and the young to flee from Tianjin to avoid the war, most of the shops were closed, a scene of chaos and chaos.

However, all the Yuanqi branches in Tianjin have not closed, they are still open as usual, although the railway station has ceased to operate externally, but it is still busy, from time to time you can see the train with smoke and whistle driving into the platform, a large number of Yuanqi new army and arms and baggage supplies have arrived in Tianjin in a steady stream, and Tianjin has almost become a large military camp.

Because of the telegram, the news spread quickly, and the news that the Dagukou Fort and the Beitang Fort were captured by the Four-Nation Alliance after only one hour reached the Beijing Division, which quickly caused panic, and the people inside and outside the Beijing Division were also panicked, and the children in the family were even more worried in the clans, princes, ministers and ordinary banner people of the Beiyang Naval Division.

Forbidden City, Qianqing Palace, Xinuan Pavilion.

Xianfeng was shocked, the Beiyang Naval Division of Gancheng, the impregnable Dagukou Fort, was captured by the Four-Nation Alliance in less than an hour, and he began to worry a little about whether Yuan Qi was capable of winning this battle? And is it a wise move for him to stay in Beijing?

Shocked, he slowly calmed down, quietly glanced at Su Shun who was kneeling below, and said, "What do you think about this?" ”

Su Shun knew very well what Xianfeng was worried about, and hurriedly replied: "Back to the emperor, with the combat power of Yuanqi's new army, we will be able to ensure that Tianjin is not worried." ”

Xianfeng said in a deep voice: "The defeat of Dagukou is enough to prove that Yi Zhisuff is suspected of underestimating the enemy, he has neglected the combat power of Britain and France and other Western Yi, who knows that he can still hold Tianjin?" Do you know that the Nanyang Naval Fleet can annihilate the Xiyi Fleet in one fell swoop in the Bohai Sea? ”

Su Shun was even scared out of a cold sweat behind his back, in fact, he was also skeptical about Yi Zhixiang's extremely bold plan, and he didn't dare to believe that the Nanyang Naval Fleet had the strength to completely annihilate the four-nation combined fleet in the Bohai Sea, after all, this matter was too unbelievable.

Xianfeng's suspicions are indeed not unreasonable, the defeat of Dagukou does reflect that Yi Zhixin is too light on the enemy, but at this time, he can only stubbornly support Yi Zhi, and groaned slightly, before he spoke: "Your Majesty, the slave secretly thinks that the key to the success or failure of this battle is not in the land battle, but in the naval battle!"

Yi Zhicontent was negligent in the battle of Tianjin in order to lure the Xiyi fleet into the Bohai Sea to attack Tianjin, and it is also possible that he overestimated the combat power of the Beiyang Naval Division.

Now there are 30,000 troops gathered in Tianjin, as well as many new artillery, and the new army of Yuanqi is also constantly reinforced, even if the Xiyi army is strong, it is impossible to capture Tianjin in just three or five days.

In three days, at most three days, the Nanyang naval fleet will arrive in Lushun, and the Xiyi fleet will inevitably panic, which will greatly relieve the pressure on Tianjin.

The slave secretly thought that Yi Zhishu might underestimate the combat power of the Xiyi coalition army, but he would definitely not underestimate the combat power of the Xiyi fleet, after all, in the Strait of Malacca, the Nanyang Navy completely annihilated the British East India Fleet, and had a comprehensive and detailed understanding of the combat power of the Xiyi fleet.

Since he dared to make such a bold plan, he must have full certainty, and he should know very well that once this battle is defeated, Yuan Qi will inevitably collapse. ”