Chapter 54 Old Enemy
Chapter 54 Old Enemy
"That's outrageous!"
Yang Fang, a wealthy Shanghai businessman, owner of Taiji Money House, director of Siming Public Office, and alternate governor, went angrily to find Wu Xu, another local tyrant in Shanghai.
"Sir Wu, the newly-formed Huai Army Zhongzi Battalion engaged in a firefight with our foreign rifle corps, killing more than 40 people, including Bai Qiwen, the deputy commander-in-chief of the foreign rifle corps. This is simply outrageous.
They captured four foreign officers and actually asked us for a ransom. They are just like bandits. Can we accept such Huai Army?
Let's join forces to investigate them and make them pay for what they have done."
Wu Xu's face was filled with sorrow. "They have the foreigner's confession in their hands. Stop and listen. You don't care about the foreign rifle team. Can the government just rob them?"
"Tsk, Tongzhou is just a small place, it's no big deal to rob it.
If the prefect of Tongzhou wants to keep his official title, he has to help cover it up, make the people suffer, and collect more donations to fill the hole, right?
Where did this Loyalty Camp come from? Why are you so bored and meddling in other people's business?"
“He is Qiao Songnian’s soldier.
Lord Qiao used to be my superior. The reason why I was favored by the court was because when I was the prefect of Songjiang, I served under Lord Qiao and made great contributions in suppressing the Xiaodao Society.
If I were to report Lord Qiao, it would be a big taboo in the officialdom, and I would never be able to survive in the officialdom of the Qing Dynasty.
I am not in a position to get involved in this matter, so Sir Yang, please handle it. Please send the guest away."
Yang Fang walked out of the Salt Transport Commissioner's Mansion in a daze.
Lord Wu doesn't care. How could I, a small candidate for the title of Taotai who was donated by others, dare to go against the popular Lianghuai Salt Transport Commissioner?
The governor of Tongzhou is still waiting for a reply at my house. How should this matter be resolved? I am so worried. Wall, you should come back from France as soon as possible.
When he returned to Siming Public Office, his guest, the prefect of Tongzhou, was seeing off Yung Wing, the manager of the Po Shun Trading Company, who had come to gather information.
“Don’t worry, Mr. Rong. General Shao’s soldiers are very capable of fighting.
More than 40 members of the foreign rifle team were annihilated, and not a single soldier from the Loyalty Battalion was injured. This was a great honor for the Qing Dynasty.
Who dares to say that the soldiers of the Qing Dynasty cannot fight? When the troops are equal in strength, the foreigners suffer a great loss.
I think that the Huai Army has gained great prestige this time, and Lord Qiao has reason to expand the army. It seems that there is another Zeng Bohan. "
Yung Wing was very happy, as long as his nephew Shao was not injured. Shao Quanzhong was rising, and China's industrialization was promising. He went back and opened a bottle of Louis XIII to celebrate.
Oh, my daughter, you have to hurry up...
Yang Fang was dejected. This news could not be covered up. He believed that the explosive news that "the Huai Army's Loyal Battalion defeated the foreign rifle team" must have spread throughout Shanghai.
What would the imperial court think? The imperial court had just suffered a great loss at the hands of the foreigners in the capital, and it was in need of a model to boost the morale of the people and restore its prestige.
That bastard Shao Quanzhong has plagiarized it. Now, won't it be heard directly by the emperor?
It is probably impossible to overthrow Qiao Songnian and suppress the rise of the Huai Army.
However, Shanghai belongs to us wealthy businessmen. I can bear this loss in silence. You, the Huai Army, will never make a penny in Shanghai from now on.
I'll have to discuss this with Wall when he comes back.
The foreign rifle team has too few people, and the fighting power of the natives in Southeast Asia does not seem to be good. We need to recruit more foreign officers who have participated in the British and French coalition forces and are truly capable to rebuild the foreign rifle team.
In the future, I will find a reason to severely attack the Loyalty Camp and regain my face.
Humph, I just don’t believe that you, Shao Quanzhong, can beat the natives of Southeast Asia and the real British and French monarchs…
…………On November 15, the tenth year of Emperor Xianfeng’s reign, forty-five sampans of the Zhong Camp were sailing on the Hang Canal, and Hailing’s old nest was not far ahead.
When the fleet docked for repairs, Haiqing personally delivered beef jerky to the four white prisoners and expressed deep regret for the lack of milk and bread.
These four gentlemen must be taken good care of and cannot suffer from acclimatization to the local climate - it costs 20,000 silver coins to raise them.
"Brother, if you insist, the foreign rifle team was defeated by our Zhongzi Battalion. Our team is now invincible, right?"
"Third brother, please stop it.
The current foreign rifle team is the worst version of the foreign rifle team. Those white officers are all hooligans who can't make it in their own country, and Bai Qiwen's level is not that good either.
Their soldiers are colonial soldiers recruited by Wall from the Philippines. They have the brains of those Southeast Asian natives, but their courage and insight, I'm not looking down on them, but can they compare with us Chinese?
Among the foreign rifle team, only the leader Wall was really capable. He did not even have an officer who had served in the British and French regular armies. Such a mob was able to cheat military pay from Shanghai officials simply because they had foreign rifles and cannons.
This time they came out to rob, not to attack the city, and they didn't bring any cannons, otherwise we would definitely not be able to defeat them head-on.
They were harmed by Bai Qiwen, the scumbag. They didn't even send scouts during the march. Isn't that stupid? That's why they fell into our ambush.
They have robbed enough money and are eager to go back to divide the spoils. They have no intention of fighting. We can ambush them and catch them off guard. This is called "strike them when they are lazy and return home". It would be strange if they don't lose.
Our soldiers have only been trained for two months. Compared with other Qing troops, they are stronger, but still far behind the real foreign soldiers.
Our two tasks now are, first, to train the two battalions in our hands as quickly as possible; second, I am waiting for Ding Gongchen to arrive.
Ambushes don't always succeed, we need heavy firepower."
Zhang Siwen seemed to be thinking about something, "Second brother, I think it's a waste of resources for you to send Liao Rong to find someone.
Liao Rong has received formal training from the British devils. If he were to lead a battalion, their combat effectiveness would definitely be overwhelming.
"As for finding someone, who can't we send? It's easy to just find a foreigner to teach English. Isn't it good to let Liao Rong lead the army in the next two years?"
Shao Quanzhong sighed, "I'm still not sure about Liao Rong.
This guy is a Hongmen disciple who has seen the world. He reminds me of someone with a similar nickname to Wang Siguizi.
When Liao Rong led the army, I always felt a chill on the back of my neck. If he became the commander of the navy, the threat would be much smaller, because the warships could not go ashore and rebel. "
Shao Quanzhong actually forgot that warships can also play a role at critical moments. There is a ship called "Yongfeng" and another one called "Aurora"...
Hai Qing patted the back of his head and said, "Second brother, I think it's a waste for you to use three thousand taels of silver to invite three children. That's three thousand taels, why not do it?
Even if you knew in your previous life that those three kids would have a bright future, how do you know if they will still be successful in this life?
Without their family's long-term training, I don't think they will be better than the children in your hometown of Jiangyan if they are brought here directly. "
"A person's aptitude and character will never change. A person's future can be seen from the age of three. Their character should have been determined by now. What I lack is not their ability, but their character, which is priceless..."
As they were talking, they had already arrived at the Shaojiawei Port on the Jichuan River. Le Sen was waiting there, and in a flash, more than three hundred people came to carry the goods.
This time, the recruitment included two battalions with 1,000 "regular soldiers", 10 officers, and 180 logistics officers in each battalion. The logistics soldiers under Le Sen suddenly expanded to 360 people.
Shao Quanzhong was just about to go and see his new recruits, who were probably waiting for him to pay them personally.
Suddenly, I heard a familiar voice in my ear, "Yuting, you are back. This time you have done something big."
Shao Quanzhong was stunned, and stepped forward to salute, "Greetings, Lord Wu, why are you here in person?"
Wu Wenxi looked at Shao Quanzhong with a smile, "I'm an errand boy. Come with me to the Zhe Garden. Lord Qiao is urgently summoning you."
(End of this chapter)