Chapter 52: Strike a Friendly Force

Chapter 52: Strike a Friendly Force

Chapter 52: Strike a Friendly Force
Tongzhou in Jiangsu has the same name as Tongzhou in the capital. Later it was renamed Nantongzhou, abbreviated as Nantong. Now no one cares about this issue and it is still called Tongzhou.

The Hang Canal flows into the mouth of the Yangtze River, and Tongzhou is to the east of the river. For some unknown reason, a fight broke out there.

Hai Qing looked at it nervously and asked, "Should we send someone to investigate?"

This time they were escorting arms and had no plan to attack anywhere, so the marching team was sent out. Tian Xing stayed in the weir to take charge, while Hai Qing and ten gendarmes followed.

Ordinary soldiers have also practiced reconnaissance subjects, so they can conduct reconnaissance even without a trooper squad.

Shao Quanzhong shook his head, "It's none of our business. Don't they want to cling to Shanghai? Don't they need Hengzhong's militia to protect them? We don't care even if they beat the crap out of them."

"Sir, sir, please save Tongzhou!"

On the river bank, a fifth-rank official came in panic with several wounded soldiers. They had escaped from Tongzhou.

I saw a big flag with the word "loyalty" on it flying on the fleet. Although I didn't know which unit it belonged to, I knew there were battalion officers from the Qing Dynasty there, so I came to ask for help quickly.

He was a prefect of the fifth rank, a higher official than himself. Shao Quanzhong stood at attention on the sampan and said, "Your Excellency, I have the important task of escorting the arms and cannot provide reinforcements.

I think these bandits can't cause any serious trouble. They just robbed and left. Why did you abandon the city and flee? This is a crime punishable by dismissal."

The prefect cried and said, "They are not bandits, they are foreign soldiers.

This group of foreign soldiers are so bold that they even robbed the treasury of Tongzhou. How can my personal soldiers defeat them? I hope this general will lend a helping hand and save Tongzhou."

Foreign soldiers? Shao Quanzhong narrowed his eyes and thought for a long time, but he couldn't remember which country's foreigners had conflicts with during this period of time.

The treaty in the capital has just been signed, Britain and France left with satisfaction, and even the United States and Russia, who came to mediate, are extorting money and land. They are already full for the time being, so how could they possibly cause trouble again?

Most likely there was a conflict between a church and the common people. It's not worth my while to make a fuss about such a small matter as the foreign soldiers and guards opening fire. They can realize their dream of Tongzhou on their own.

What Shao Quanzhong didn't know was that there was no foreign church in Tongzhou at all...

Shao Quanzhong smiled and said, "The imperial court has repeatedly warned us not to clash with foreigners. I can't do anything about this matter. See you later.

If the foreigners dare to attack Taizhou, or even Jingjiang and Taixing, I will fight them. You Tongzhou people don't give money to the Huai Army, so why should I send troops to help you settle the matter?
Huh? Why did the boat stop? Did I tell it to stop? Sven, give the order to continue sailing."

"General, General, this group of foreigners, numbering only a hundred people, robbed the provincial government treasury of one hundred taels of gold and twenty thousand taels of silver. The gentry in the city are in a state of panic, and I can hardly continue to serve as an official.

If you send troops to drive out the foreign soldiers, I will certainly call on the gentry to donate heavily to your Huai Army."

As he was talking, the gunfire had stopped, and a wounded soldier reported in panic, "Sir, sir, the foreign soldiers are coming this way."

When he heard about gold and silver, Shao Quanzhong's eyes lit up immediately. He still owed Baoshun Foreign Company 25,000 taels of silver...

What? Why are the foreign soldiers coming this way? Did they rob the money and go after the prefect, an official appointed by the imperial court?
Shao Quanzhong picked up the telescope and observed that in the distance, more than a hundred foreign soldiers were driving a dozen stolen donkeys and mules and returning with a full load.

There were only four or five white faces among them, most of them were yellow faces from Southeast Asia, Filipino natives. Their formation was chaotic, and their guns were carried crookedly.

Glancing to the side, Shao Quanzhong understood. There were several dozen sampans moored not far away. They were probably left behind by foreign soldiers who were preparing to retreat after looting.

This group of foreign soldiers is no good. They are fake foreigners and can only bully Tongzhou, where there is no one.

There wasn't even a ship, so it couldn't be an official action, but a private robbery.

No, you guys are still stealing so much money - I have to take care of this matter!

"Stop the boat, everyone go ashore, and prepare for battle! The military police will stay to watch the boat."

At Shao Quanzhong's command, thirty sampans quickly docked and one hundred and fifty soldiers lined up in an orderly manner.

Shao Quanzhong led his personal soldiers off the boat, put his hands behind his back and ordered, "Form a scattered formation, intercept the foreign bandits, and set off!"

The soldiers all lowered their guns to their shoulders in unison, then dispersed into squads and formed a semicircle to surround the foreign soldiers.

Shao Quanzhong came before the prefect and stepped on his heels, "I am here to protect Tongzhou on your orders. Don't forget the donation you promised me." He turned around and followed him with his personal soldiers.

The foreign soldiers came leisurely with their spoils. The Zhongzi Battalion quickly lay down and hid, and was not discovered.

It was no wonder that the foreign soldiers were careless. In the Qing Dynasty, they had never seen an army that knew how to fight in a skirmish line or lie in ambush with rifles.

Seeing that the two sides were less than 60 meters apart, Shao Quanzhong raised his revolver and shouted, "Fire!"

When the first gunshot was heard, a Filipino mercenary who was walking in front and pulling a mule fell to the ground.

Then gunshots broke out, and in a blink of an eye more than 20 foreign soldiers were knocked down.

The foreign soldiers were suddenly attacked and became a mess. A bearded commander took out his revolver and fired a shot into the air. "Don't panic, lie down!"

Then he looked around for the enemy.

Song Laosan didn't fire a gun just now. He was holding a rifle and looking for an important target.

From afar, he saw the active foreign soldier commander gesticulating and giving orders, and his mouth twitched. With a "bang", the commander, who had already bent over and was about to lie down, fell to the ground.

The leader of the foreign soldiers was killed in the chaos, and another white officer immediately took over command.

He had already seen the soldiers of the Loyalty Camp lying in ambush, and finally saw the "Loyalty" flag hoisted on the sampan on the river.

This kind of flag was exclusive to the Qing army. The foreigners had a psychological advantage over the Qing soldiers. When they saw the enemy was not far away, they picked up their command swords and shouted, "Charge!"

The soldiers responded, crouched down and rushed forward with bayonets in hand.

In the eyes of foreigners, the Qing army's matchlock muskets were fine for long-range shooting, but they would inevitably collapse if they encountered a charge and bayonet fight.

The muzzle-loading rifle took a while to load bullets, so Shao Quanzhong shouted, "Charge, fight with bayonets!"

One hundred and fifty soldiers stood up, immediately raised their bayonets, and charged at the foreign soldiers. The two sides were getting closer and closer, and the sound of gunfire rang out. More than twenty enemy soldiers were shot and fell to the ground.

Shao Quanzhong was not particular about this. The ordinary soldiers charged with their guns, while Shao Quanzhong and his ten personal soldiers fired dozens of bullets from their eleven revolvers. The two sides were too close, so they aimed very accurately, especially Shao Quanzhong, who was used to hitting the target with every bullet.

Now the other commander saw clearly that their uniforms looked a bit like those of the French army, and they even had such a ridiculous thing as a pistol squad.

The other side doesn't seem to be afraid of a bayonet fight at all. Our side has suffered more than 20% casualties and our numbers are already smaller than the enemy. We are bound to lose this battle.

The French were hired by the Qing government? How come we didn't know?

The other commander's thought was just a flash, and he immediately shouted, "No more fighting, we surrender!"

Before the two sides officially engaged in hand-to-hand combat, the other side raised their hands in surrender.

Zhang Siwen beside Shao Quanzhong was stunned, "Are foreign soldiers so immune to attack?"

Shao Quanzhong waved his hand and said, "Don't think too highly of the foreign soldiers. They were ambushed, 20% of them were killed or wounded, and their leader was shot dead. It is normal for them to surrender.

Let's go and see where these foreign soldiers come from."

The opposing commander was brought in front of Shao Quanzhong. After he saluted Shao Quanzhong, it was discovered that the other party was not French.

When did the Qing Dynasty have such an army? How did they lose to the British and French forces when they had such an army?
"Which part are you from?"

"Misunderstanding, misunderstanding, we are friendly troops. We are the foreign rifle team from Shanghai, and we came here to collect our own military pay.

The one killed by your army was our deputy commander Bai Qiwen."

(End of this chapter)