Chapter 109 The arrival of the big shot
Chapter 109 The arrival of the big shot
Where did Li Hongzhang’s Shanghai troops come from?
Didn’t Li Hongzhang just recruit four battalions of militia troops in Anhui and prepare to transport them to Shanghai to help defend against Li Xiucheng?
As a result, Youshi Freight claimed that it had accepted the commission from the Huai Army and had no available ships for rent, so they had to wait.
At this time, Zeng Guofan's order arrived.
Zeng Guofan was in charge of the overall situation of the siege of the Guangdong bandits and believed that taking Anqing was the most important thing. In Shanghai, the foreign rifle team should be able to hold out for a while.
Seeing that the city of Anqing was about to be captured, in order to ensure success, four newly-formed battalions of the Shanghai Army were transferred to Anqing to help. To ensure the success of the city's capture, the Huaiyang Navy led by the Hunan Army was sent to pick up the Shanghai Army to Anqing.
Li Hongzhang had no choice but to obey the order and lead the Shanghai Army up the river to Anqing.
When they were about to reach the vicinity of Liudu, they encountered the Huai Army attacking the second reinforcement led by Yang Fuqing.
Liu Mingchuan's Ming Camp was composed entirely of Liu Mingchuan's fellow villagers. They fought fiercely and were one of the most effective troops in the Qing Dynasty.
Liu Mingchuan himself had been through many battles while training militia in Anhui, and was very good at seizing opportunities. He could see at a glance that now was the key opportunity to defeat the Taiping Army on the south bank.
The opportunity for battle was fleeting. As the saying goes, a general is not always subject to orders from the king when he is away from home. Liu Mingchuan ignored it and ordered his subordinates to dock. He led the horses and troops on the Changlong warship and rushed up as soon as possible.
Li Hongzhang discovered this from behind and sent soldiers to call them back, but Liu Mingchuan pretended not to hear.
He has an extremely strong desire to achieve merit and get promoted. Great achievement is right before his eyes, and no one can stop me.
Li Hongzhang's great reputation was also earned through fighting.
Before he joined Zeng Guofan, he was the leader of a group of militiamen in Anhui, and his style of leading troops in battle was extremely brutal.
As a scholar leading troops, he was unexpectedly evaluated as "only good at fighting recklessly" and his colleagues sourly called him "a Hanlin who turned into a bandit".
On the boat, he saw that Crazy Liu had a better tactical vision than himself, and he actually defeated the Taiping Army with only a battalion of cavalry. He lost his composure at that time.
The Shanghai Army was just established and it desperately needed to prove itself through military achievements.
As for destroying Zeng Guofan's plan to kill someone with a borrowed knife? Screw it, I'll make a contribution first. What? Teacher, you won't really use a friendly army to kill someone with a borrowed knife, right? Will the teacher admit it? I can only hold my nose and admit my military achievements.
The most important thing is to make achievements and gain the attention of the court. Now that I, Li, have been promoted to governor, the next step is to suppress myself. I no longer need to please this superior. My Shanghai army needs to grow on its own, and it is the emperor who needs to be pleased.
Once Li Hongzhang had his own powerful Shanghai Army and was appointed as the governor of Jiangsu, his situation became the same as that of Qiao Songnian who led the Huai Army. Both had to endure the suppression of Zeng Guofan.
The name of Huai Army was registered by Shao Quanzhong. As the governor of Jiangsu, he originally planned to use the word "Su" as the name of his army. But for some reason, Li Hongzhang always felt that something was wrong, so he had no choice but to name it Hu Army...
As one of the smartest people of this era, Li Hongzhang immediately made a decision, "The entire army will dock and pursue the Guangdong bandits!"
The Shanghai Army currently has only 3,500 people, but these 3,500 people are all elite veterans who have fought for several years. Led by rare and famous generals such as Li Hongzhang and Liu Mingchuan, they are madly chasing after more than 10,000 Taiping troops on the south bank.
Seeing that in addition to the large flag with the word "Ming" on the south bank, large flags with the words "Shu", "Qing", and "Ding" were quickly erected, Shao Quanzhong laughed up to the sky, "Li Jianfu, Li Jianfu, you are really my benefactor."
A single-masted clipper with full sails came against the current, braving the wind and waves, and docked beside the Haichang ship.
The Haichang lowered a ladder and three foreigners climbed up. The leader was Henry Wall, who had not been seen for more than half a year. When he saw Shao Quanzhong, Wall ran over enthusiastically and gave Shao Quanzhong a warm hug.
"My old friend, we finally meet again."
Shao Quanzhong looked at his "old friend" with a smile. Well, there was a gleam of silver in his old friend's eyes.
"I heard that your army has expanded again? My Lord, I have brought you the artillery talents you wanted. Take a look--"
Wall pinched his index and middle fingers together and made a gesture of counting US dollars. Suddenly he was afraid that Shao Quanzhong, who was used to handling silver, would not understand.
Shao Quanzhong understood very well, "Mr. Huaer, you have good information. Why did you chase us here if you didn't take people to Hailing? This is a war zone, how dangerous it is."
"The beautiful sound of silver can only be heard in dangerous places. Your Excellency the Governor is eager to find talents. I believe you want to see talents as soon as possible. Come, I will introduce you to the talents you are eager for."
Wall dodged and two officers in American military uniforms appeared behind him.
Hearing that it was the foreign artillery instructor hired by Shao Quanzhong at a large sum of money, Zhang Zhidong came over to watch out of curiosity.
The two foreigners were one old and one young. The older one looked to be nearly 40 years old. He was short and strong, with a messy stubble on his face. His military uniform was tattered and looked worn, probably more than seven or eight years old. There were stains of alcohol on it, and he looked down and out. He had a captain's badge on his shoulder.
The younger one was very young, wearing a new officer's uniform and without a military rank, and looked like a freshly graduated student. He was well-mannered and had a shy smile, but there was a long scar on his right cheek, which made him look more fierce and military.
In Zhang Zhidong's mind, a qualified artillery instructor should be like the foreign gunners on the Haichang that You Sihai found, who were around 30 years old, in their prime, experienced and physically strong.
This down-and-out old soldier, who is nearly 40 years old and has obviously never fought in a war, seems to be a brave and aggressive man judging by his scars. Can he be trusted?
Wall also looked guilty. He took a deep breath and introduced Shao Quanzhong to the two American officers.
"This is your employer, a noble and senior official of the Qing Empire. He manages a population and wealth equivalent to that of a state in the United States. He currently has a division of modern troops under his command. The battleship you are standing on also belongs to him. You can call him Commander Shao."
To be honest, the prefect Shao Quanzhong is certainly not the same as a state in the United States. The administrative level corresponding to a state in the United States is a province.
However, at that time, the GDP of the Qing Empire was US$1897.4 billion, ranking first in the world, British India was second at US$1348.82 billion, the United Kingdom was third at US$1001.79 billion, and the United States, which ranked fourth, had only US$891 billion.
Jiangsu is densely populated, rich in resources and prosperous in people. It is the richest region in China at that time. The population and wealth of Taizhou alone are indeed comparable to that of a state in the United States at that time.
The old soldier had a typical American casual look on his face and saluted Shao Quanzhong carelessly.
"Dear employer, Ulysses Simpson Grant salutes you. I hope you will quickly pay the five thousand taels of silver you promised as resettlement allowance. My wife and four children stayed in Hailing, and I also brought five black slaves with me. I have a large family to support."
The old soldier spoke Chinese haltingly, probably because he learned it quickly from Walter during the three-month sea voyage. Chinese is difficult, so it is not bad to learn it in three months.
But when he said his name, he spoke it directly in English and his speed was too fast. Shao Quanzhong didn't hear it clearly, but he just felt that it sounded a little familiar.
"Captain, tell me again, what's your name?"
Wall listened to the old soldier's stammering Chinese and got anxious, so he took over the conversation, "His name is Ulysses Simpson Grant."
(End of this chapter)