Chapter 557: Vulnerable

Chapter 550: Vulnerable

In Xiangshan Port, Liang Yao anxiously waited for the outcome of the war.

If the British and French coalition forces were determined to take over Hong Kong Island with human lives, he really had no good solution.

After all, the early machine guns were not very reliable. After several rounds of high-intensity shooting, it was estimated that more than half of the machine guns needed to be repaired and troubleshooted. If the British and French coalition forces insisted on attacking Hong Kong Island, they would not give the mechanics of the machine gun regiment time to repair the machine guns.

"Retreat! The British and French coalition forces retreated!"

Soon, Liang Yao received intelligence that the British and French coalition forces suffered heavy casualties in their first landing on Hong Kong Island, and seeing that Victoria Harbor had been destroyed, they did not bite the hard bone of Hong Kong Island.

The commander of the British and French coalition forces was far more courageous than Liang Yao expected.

Not only did the British and French coalition forces give up the recapture of Hong Kong Island, but the main force also looted Guangzhou City. After burning several government offices, they withdrew from Guangzhou City with the officials of all sizes who were captured and went north.

What was going to happen next was no longer something Liang Yao could control.

Training troops, protecting Xiangshan, and seizing Hong Kong, except for the goal of the embassy going to Beijing, he had already achieved all the other goals.

He still needed to rely on Britain and France to achieve the goal of the embassy going to Beijing.

As for what kind of humiliating treaty the Qing court would sign with Britain and France, as long as the land near Xiangshan was not ceded, it had little to do with him.

On January 15, 1857, the British and French coalition forces once again captured Zhoushan and hired local civilians to rebuild the Zhoushan wharf.

Why was it rebuilt? Because after the last Fushougao War, the British army had occupied the Zhoushan Islands and built a port on the island to berth ships.

When negotiating the cession of land in the Treaty of Nanjing, the British side initially preferred to cede Zhoushan.

However, Zhoushan was the anti-Qing base of the remnants of the former Ming Dynasty. The Qing government was very sensitive to Zhoushan. In addition, Zhoushan was closer to the tax-collecting areas in Jiangnan and the capital. Therefore, the Qing government was very tough on the issue of ceding Zhoushan. The British side could only choose to cede Hong Kong Island, which was less sensitive to the Qing government and further south.

However, after the signing of the Treaty of Nanjing, the British side refused to return Zhoushan on the grounds that the compensation of 21 million British dollars required collateral, using Zhoushan as collateral.

It was not until 1847 that the Qing government repaid most of the debt, and the British side was eager to enter Guangzhou for trade, so they returned Zhoushan Island to the Qing government.

The anti-barbarian sentiment in Ningbo Prefecture was not as strong as that in Guangzhou. After the British army landed in Ningbo Prefecture, they easily hired local people to build Zhoushan Port for them with the looted property from Guangzhou.

Because the British and French coalition forces paid a high wage, local people followed them and repaired Zhoushan Port for the British and French coalition forces.

The diligence and self-consciousness of the local civilians even surprised the British and French soldiers, especially the British troops from the Indian colony. In India, they had to monitor the Indians when they hired them to work, and they would use whips and sticks to beat them from time to time to prevent them from being cunning and slippery.

The British and French coalition forces only occupied Zhoushan, not the surrounding prefectures, which also made the local officials breathe a sigh of relief.

They tacitly kept their distance from the British and French coalition forces.

After all, they didn't have the ability to do so even if they wanted to.

After gaining a foothold in Zhoushan.

The British envoy Earl Elgin and the French envoy Earl Gros sent China's envoy Parkes to Shanghai to meet with He Guiqing, the governor-general of Liangjiang, and told He Guiqing that they had just occupied Guangzhou City and now occupied Zhoushan, and asked He Guiqing to represent the Qing government in peace talks with the special envoys of Britain and France.

Unexpectedly, He Guiqing was also a piece of meat on the knife's edge. He made it clear that he was the governor-general of Liangjiang, and the affairs of Guangzhou City were not his responsibility, but the responsibility of Ye Mingchen, the governor-general of Guangdong and Guangxi.

Parkes told He Guiqing very seriously that Ye Mingchen had been detained by them and was in Zhoushan.

He Guiqing was even happier when he heard this, and told Parkes that you should have a candlelight talk with Ye Mingchen at night, and I hope you can reach an agreement soon.

Parkes told Elgin about this matter, and Elgin was so angry that he stamped his feet. He knew that He Guiqing was pretending to be confused. If I want to talk to Ye Mingchen, why do I need to come to you?

Elgin sent Parkes to visit He Guiqing again, and told He Guiqing in a tough attitude that if He Guiqing was unwilling to negotiate on behalf of the Qing government, Zhoushan would not be returned.

He Guiqing still looked indifferent, and told Parkes that Zhoushan's affairs were not his responsibility, but the responsibility of Wang Yide, the governor of Fujian and Zhejiang. If he wanted to talk about Zhoushan, he should go to Fuzhou to talk to Wang Yide, the governor of Fujian and Zhejiang.

Elgin then asked Parkes to visit Fuzhou and have a face-to-face meeting with Wang Yide.

Who would have thought that Wang Yide would also kick the ball.

Elgin and Gros, who were kicked around like a ball, finally lost their patience.

Elgin was furious and ordered the British and French forces to attack Shanghai.

The Guangdong warriors originally stationed in Shanghai had already gone north in advance, and the local defenders had no intention of fighting. The British and French forces easily attacked Shanghai, captured He Guiqing, the governor of Liangjiang alive, and locked He Guiqing and Ye Mingchen in the same room.

The two Qing Dynasty frontier officials looked at each other in the room.

Now He Guiqing could not only talk with Parkes and Elgin by candlelight at night, but also have a long talk with Ye Mingchen.

As for Wang Yide, the governor of Fujian and Zhejiang, he was lucky to escape because the British and French forces were not on the way.

After discussion, Elgin, Gros and others decided not to waste time dealing with these governors who were in office but did nothing, and went directly north to attack Dagukou and talk to Emperor Xianfeng in the capital city.

After the Anglo-French Allied Forces' logistical ships were able to berth at Zhoushan Port, the Anglo-French Allied Forces left a regiment to guard Zhoushan, while the main force headed north to Dagu.

April 20, 1857.

The British and French warships arrived at Dagukou and bombarded Dagukou.

After losing three shallow-water heavy gunboats and 186 soldiers, a British and French marine corps of only more than 100 people successfully landed at Dagukou.

The resistance of the Qing army on the Dagukou Fort was far less than that of the Guangdong Navy at the Humen Fort, which was unexpected by the British and French.

This is the gateway to the capital of the Qing Dynasty! The resistance is not as strong as that of a group of forts protecting the Guangdong provincial capital!

Once bitten by a snake, you will be afraid of the rope for ten years.

Due to the great loss in the landing operation on Hong Kong Island, the high-level British and French forces became much more cautious in landing at Dagukou.

Only one company of Indian soldiers was sent to land to scout the firepower for the large force in order to find out the strength of the Qing army at the Dagukou Fort.

The Qing army stationed at the Baihe South Fort and Baihe North Fort saw that the British and French forces had landed, and they all abandoned the forts and fled.

When the foreigners came, firing a few cannons was enough to justify the little imperial food they ate. It was not worth it to defend and lose their lives on the fort.

Therefore, a very strange scene appeared. The British and Indian soldiers who had already landed did not dare to approach the empty Baihe South Fort.

Finally, under the constant urging of British officers, they rushed to the Baihe South Fort.

The British and Indian troops who rushed to the Baihe South Fort found that it was just a false alarm. They soon occupied the Baihe North Fort as well.

At this point, the gates of the capital were wide open.

The main forces of the British and French coalition forces landed continuously from Dagukou.

The key to the capital made by Prince Gong Yifei with 500,000 taels of silver was vulnerable to the British and French coalition forces. They could not even stop the British and French coalition forces for a day.

"Sir, the ammunition depots of the two forts have been checked, and the ammunition is sufficient. The artillery on the two forts is in good condition and can still be used."

A British major reported the situation of the two forts in Dagukou to Grant, Seymour, Montoban and others.

Grant also personally checked the artillery on the fort. These Napoleon cannons are all rifled. Some are drilled at the factory, and some are drilled later.

No matter which type, these artillery are not inferior to the artillery they are equipped with.

"It seems that the Guangdong Navy and Guangdong Yong gave us an illusion that most of the Qing Dynasty's troops are still as bad as they were 16 years ago." Grant laughed.

Grant was in a very good mood after taking down the Dagukou Fort.

He ordered his men to dismantle all the artillery on the Baihe South Fort and the Baihe North Fort, and take the ammunition stored in the two forts as field artillery.

After losing Hong Kong Island, the British and French coalition forces lost the military supplies stored on Hong Kong Island, and their military supplies and ammunition reserves were not abundant.

The well-preserved cannons and piles of ammunition at Dagukou Fort were simply gifts from heaven.

"I think now the arrogant Qing emperor must come forward and have a serious talk with us about setting up embassies in the capital and compensating for military expenses."

Elgin quickly wrote a letter and ordered Parkes to deliver it to the Qing emperor in the capital.

Parkes and others, escorted by more than 50 cavalrymen, set out from Dagukou to the capital with great fanfare.