Chapter 544: Is This Also French?

Chapter 538 Is this also French?

"The ghost guy is on the beach!"

"Why are these bad ghost guys different from the ghost guys we saw before?"

"The ghost soldiers we saw before were all wearing red clothes and barrel hair, and the darker ones also wore turbans. Why do these ghost soldiers wear blue clothes and red pants?"

"Didn't the ghost guys from Citigroup say that these are ghost soldiers from the French country, not the British country's ghost soldiers?"

"Whether it's the French or English ghost soldiers, they are not good things."

"Do you think the French ghost soldiers are more powerful or the English ghost soldiers?"

"The ghost soldiers from the Citizen country said that the ghost soldiers from the British country are very powerful on the water and ashore, and the ghost soldiers from the French country are very powerful."

"Then we can't let these French ghost soldiers come ashore!"

Near Xiangshan Brother Reef, a group of Yue Yong recruit camp soldiers who were patrolling looked at the French soldiers on a small gunboat and talked.

This gunboat is called the Reina. Its displacement is very small, only more than two hundred tons, and there are not many people on board, only about twenty people.

But these patrolling Guangdong soldiers saw at least thirty or forty people on the boat. The extra people were engineers and vanguards responsible for reconnaissance and surveying work.

"The ghost guys from Citi are right. The French ghosts are not as good at water skills as the English ghosts." Liang Xiude, chief of the Guangdong Patrol Team, saw the small gunboat rushing straight into the reef area. Very surprised.

"Don't they know there's a reef here?"

The waters near Brothers Reef are a reef area, but now that the tide is high, the underwater reefs are not easy to find.

"What the hell! Look! Gui Lao's boat has hit the rocks!"

Whatever comes to mind, a sharp-eyed Xiang Yong said, pointing to the gunboat Reina that ran aground on the rocks.

I saw the small gunboat sitting firmly on a sharp rock, unable to move.

"Quickly notify the sentry! There is a foreign ship running aground here! Others disperse, follow me and fire guns to contain these foreigners!"

Liang Xiude was very excited. Not all of these foreigners seemed to be good at water. This small gunboat now represented military merit in his eyes.

"Sir, our guns can't reach them at this distance." A big-headed soldier said.

"You're the only one who talks nonsense!" Liang Xiude glared at the talkative soldier.

"Disperse quickly! There are cannons on the foreigners' ships! Cannonballs don't have eyes!"

Liang Xiude didn't want to kill the French soldiers on the Reina. He even wanted to capture them alive and claim credit.

It was only because they were afraid that the Reina was equipped with naval guns and that the French army was far more numerous than they did that they did not dare to act rashly.

Soon, Liang Shaoqiong heard that a French gunboat was stranded, so he personally came with the men and horses of the Sanshao (Company) Shanzi Battalion. He also asked Sutter to borrow three 6-pound Sacramento guns, and even the artillerymen were borrowed. .

These French troops were also unlucky. The lifeboat they lowered ran aground before rowing far, and the sailors on the lifeboat had to get back on the ship.

The French troops on the Reina were in a dilemma. Facing the guns fired by the Cantonese warriors on the shore, they could only use the four naval guns on the Reina to fight back.

It's just that the Guangdong Yong's formation was very scattered, and the French troops on the Reina fought low and high. They couldn't even see where the people on the shore were. They could only rely on intuition and the sound of the opponent's guns to fight back.

On the other hand, the three 6-pound Sacramento field guns, relying on their advantages in rate of fire and accuracy, were able to suppress the four naval guns on the Reina from a commanding position.

"That old boy Sartre's artillery fire is really fast and accurate!" Liang Shaoqiong couldn't help but sigh.

Liang Shaoqiong's artillery regiment is also equipped with 6-pound Sacramento field guns, but the quality of the Yueyong artillery is not at the same level as Sutter's private artillery.

Sutter's private artillery also worked part-time as quality inspectors at the Sacramento Arsenal. These people probably fired more shells in a month than the Yueyong Artillery in a year.

The British and French warships passing nearby heard the sound of cannons and came to support the Reina. This rekindled the hope of the French troops on the Reina, but soon their hopes were dashed.

After several attempts by British and French warships to enter Brother Reef and almost running aground, they chose to give up entering Brother Reef and instead lowered their lifeboats to rescue the French troops trapped on the Reina.

However, these lifeboats that were released could only withdraw from Brother Reef in despair under the increasingly fierce firepower of the enemy forces on the shore. One of the British lifeboats accidentally ran aground on the rocks during the retreat.

Unfortunately, these British sailors had excellent water skills, so they were allowed to swim back.

Seeing that it was impossible to rescue the Reina and that the tide was about to recede, the British and French rescue ships fired several rounds of cannons at the shore and then withdrew to safer waters.

At night, Sutter pulled two heavier 12-pound Sacramento field guns to the vicinity of Brothers Reef, quickly assembled them, and then personally fired the guns, which was a pleasure.

Sartre had many opportunities to shoot with artillery, but there were not many opportunities to shoot with live targets. Sartre continued to hit more and more, until the French troops on the Reina raised the white flag and refused to give up. They fought for two more rounds before stopping.

There were originally 39 French navy and land officers and soldiers on the Reina. Except for an engineer who couldn't swim and fell into the water and drowned, and 7 people were killed in the shelling, the remaining 31 French soldiers were all captured.

Seeing that the British and French warships in the distance had not yet evacuated, Liang Shaoqiong had no choice but to give up the idea of ​​capturing the Reina and ordered people to bring yellow diatomaceous earth explosives used to blow up mines and blow up the Reina.

Back at Xiangshan Port, Liang Shaoqiong and Sartre interrogated the prisoners overnight.

Liang Shaoqiong ordered the disarmed and shackled French prisoners to stand in a row. He walked back and forth in front of the group of French prisoners, observing them.

"This is also French? French also keep slaves?"

Liang Shaoqiong stopped in front of a black prisoner and looked at the black prisoner up and down in the light of the kerosene lamp. This black prisoner was very eye-catching among the white prisoners.

In Liang Shaoqiong's cognition, France is a white country and there are no black citizens.

"There is nothing strange about the native soldiers of the West African colonies. There are also a large number of Indian native soldiers in the British army." Sartre then pointed to several Arab-faced prisoners and said.

"Although these few look quite white, they are not orthodox French people, but native soldiers of the North African colonies."

"Which one is the real French? Ask them what the purpose of this operation is!" Liang Shaoqiong did not understand the French army. He did not expect that the personnel composition of the French army was so complicated.

Sartre stopped in front of a French Army NCO. As for why Sartre was sure that this person was an Army NCO, the reason was very simple, obtained from the information on the military uniform he wore.

The two orange horizontal stripes on the front of the NCO's arm indicated his NCO status.

The two rows of red inverted V-shaped armbands worn on the upper arm indicated that this NCO was an old NCO who had served for a long time. The brief with red and green colors indicated that this NCO belonged to the vanguard unit and was an NCO of the elite unit.

During the Crimean War, the Lotus Garment Factory in California produced a large number of military uniforms for the French Army. Therefore, although Sartre was far away in California and had never been to France, he knew the French military uniforms very well.

"This is an orthodox Frenchman, and a veteran."

Sartre moved his eyes from the brief of the French NCO to his face. He looked directly into the eyes of the NCO and asked in not very proficient French.

"Tell me, sir, what is the purpose of your vanguard company's operation this time!"

"Are you French?"

The French sergeant was very surprised to see that the other party knew the French army so well. However, the other party's French was poor, and it could be clearly heard that French was not his mother tongue.

"Now I am interrogating you! Not you interrogating me!"

Sartre did not bother to be polite with the French sergeant, and directly punched him in the face.

Sartre's ancestral home was in Germany. When he was a child, he grew up in the war-torn German region. He not only had no good feelings for the French, but also had some hatred, especially French soldiers.

"No comment!" The French sergeant gritted his teeth.

Seeing that the other party was still stubborn, Liang Shaoqiong, who had rich experience in handling prisoners of war, did not waste words. He waved his hand and signaled the guards to come up and punish him directly.

Several guards skillfully pressed the French sergeant to the ground, pressed his hands tightly with their knees, and then found a few bamboo sticks to pierce the French sergeant's fingernails.

For a moment, the French soldiers' pig-killing screams resounded throughout the courtyard.

Several French recruits were so scared that they trembled all over, their legs trembled, and they covered their eyes and dared not look, fearing that they would be the next one.

"Liang Shuai, this guy is still very tight-lipped and refuses to say anything."

After torturing him for a while, the personal soldiers reported to Liang Shaoqiong.

"Take off his pants and find some wax to wash his dick." After that, Liang Shaoqiong said to Sartre again.

"Mr. Sartre, please tell him that I, Liang, am not afraid that he will not say anything, but I am afraid that he can't stand my torture."

Liang Shaoqiong has seen hard tongues before. He has interrogated hairy tongues in Jiangnan. Many tongues can withstand one or two rounds, one or two days, but it is rare to be able to withstand it all the time.

There are so many French prisoners here, he doesn't believe that he can't get the truth.

Sartre relayed Liang Shaoqiong's words to the French sergeant, who heard the words and cursed Liang Shaoqiong crazily.

Liang Shaoqiong didn't understand French, so he asked Sartre, "What did he say?"

"He said you are a barbarian and uncivilized." Sartre translated.

"Barbarian? Tell him that no matter how barbaric a barbarian is, he will not run wild on his French land. As for civilization? Are these bandits worthy of calling themselves civilized people?" Liang Shaoqiong sneered.

"Today I will let you civilized people open your eyes and experience the hospitality of us barbarians!"

Soon, the guards brought a few pieces of candles and lit them, and lowered them to the vital parts of the French sergeant.

At first, the French sergeant could still hold on.

Liang Shaoqiong was very patient, and he was not in a hurry. He ordered people to pour a basin of water on him to cool him down, sprinkle sea salt and continue dripping.

Some guards felt that dripping wax was not enough, and they would burn it directly on open fire from time to time.

Not long after, the whole courtyard was filled with a burnt smell, and several timid French soldiers were frightened to incontinence.

The French sergeant finally couldn't stand it anymore and confessed everything.

It turned out that they were ordered to survey Xiangshan Port and its surrounding areas, and to select a suitable landing site for the subsequent landing of the army.

There are heavy coastal defense guns at the Xiangshan Port dock, and the artillery on the mountain of Qi'ao Island can form crossfire with the coastal defense guns on the dock.

These days, the French army tried to approach Xiangshan Port again and again on the pretext of replenishing supplies and purchasing military supplies, but was expelled. The French Navy also experienced the power of the coastal defense guns at Xiangshan Port.

Frightened by the powerful firepower of the coastal defense guns, the French army had to abandon the plan of using warships and naval guns to cover and the Marine Corps to attack and seize Xiangshan Port.

Although the naval guns have powerful firepower, they are still at a disadvantage when they are bombarded on the turbulent sea with the well-prepared coastal defense guns.

After discussion, the French high-ranking officers chose to take a different approach and land from other places. The Reina was one of the small gunboats responsible for surveying and scouting. The French army sent a total of three such gunboats.

When the French prisoners were asked why they did not attack Guangzhou but wanted to attack Xiangshan Port instead, the French were very honest and said that the people of the British East India Company told them that the American Bank in Xiangshan had a large amount of gold, and other business houses also stored a lot of gold and silver treasures in Xiangshan Port.

After interrogating the French prisoners, Liang Shaoqiong called the patrol captain who discovered the Reina today and rewarded him and the entire patrol team with 200 US dollars in California gold coins. The California dollar is very popular in the port area because of its sufficient materials and excellent casting technology. It is a hard currency that is harder than the Eagle Dollar.

Liang Shaoqiong was very happy to learn that the patrol captain was a child of the Liang family, and specially said a few words of encouragement to him.

Liang Xiude was so excited that he could not express it in words. After taking charge of the Guangdong Yong, Liang Shaoqiong became one of the most prominent figures in Guangdong, with a very high prestige. It was difficult for ordinary people to see Liang Shaoqiong, let alone talk to him alone.

After doing all this, Liang Shaoqiong and Sartre were busy interrogating the prisoners and had not eaten dinner yet. Liang Shaoqiong then asked Sartre to have a midnight snack with him.

The thing they were most worried about now was the landing of the French army.

Liang Shaoqiong looked at the confiscated French equipment with worry.

Except for the elite Shanzi Battalion equipped with the original Walter rifle, the rest of the Guangdong Yong guarding Xiangshan were equipped with the same export-type Walter rifle as the French.

In terms of rifles, the gap between the two sides was not big, and the Guangdong Yong could be said to have a slight advantage.

But in this aspect, the French equipment was better than the Guangdong Yong in all aspects.

The belts, shoulder straps, ammunition belts, water bottles, wool blankets, backpacks and other carrying equipment equipped by the French army are all high-quality industrial products. The coats and military uniforms are good-quality wool coats, and the boots are wear-resistant buckles, adjustable cowhide boots and sheepskin boots.

Opening the canvas backpack of an ordinary French soldier, Liang Shaoqiong found that there were multiple compartments in the backpack. In addition to military rations such as hard bread, canned food, dried meat, and sugar, there were also daily necessities such as knives, matches, sewing kits, and cigarettes.

The backpacks of ordinary French soldiers are like a small warehouse, which makes Liang Shaoqiong envious.

After leading troops for so many years, he knows that logistics is the place that best reflects the strength of an army. The equipment of ordinary soldiers can be so detailed. Not to mention the combat effectiveness of the French army, the national strength must be very strong.

Even if it is the most elite direct battalion of the Guangdong Yong, Liang Shaoqiong cannot equip every big head soldier with such complete equipment.

In the end, Liang Shaoqiong still didn't give up and dismantled a rifle seized from the French army. The result still disappointed him. The French soldiers maintained the rifle very well.

"These French equipment are good, comparable to the Western Brigade." Sartre also looked through the small items of the French army with interest.

"The equipment is too complete. Although there has not been a decent formal fight, looking at these equipment, the French army is not an easy enemy to deal with." Liang Shaoqiong ordered people to take pictures of these things and put them away. He asked Sartre with his hands behind his back, staring at the map behind him.

"Mr. Sartre, if you were the commander of the French army, where would you choose to land?"

"You are asking knowingly." Sartre saw Liang Shaoqiong's eyes fixed on Macau, and said the answer for him.

"Only when you have to, you need to land on the beach. Besides, Xiangshan is densely populated. No matter where the French army lands, it is difficult to hide it from us, except for one place."

"Macau."

The two almost said the answer in their hearts in unison.

Although Macau is small, it has everything it needs, and there are ready-made ports and docks. The French army can march directly to Xiangshan Port through the Macau Peninsula, and the distance from Xiangshan Port to the Macau Peninsula is only more than 40 miles.

According to the marching speed of the French army, it will take less than a day for the light infantry to reach Xiangshan Port.

"Macau is occupied by the Portuguese. Will the Portuguese let the French army pass through Macau?" This is the last doubt in Liang Shaoqiong's mind.

"The British and French warships are parked at the door, and the Portuguese have no choice but to agree or not." Sartre drew a line from the Macau Peninsula to Xiangshan Port with a pencil.

"I also suggest deploying some elite troops here to prevent accidents. If you want to attack Xiangshan Port, this is the most efficient and convenient route."