Chapter 145: Laying mines for a while
Chapter 145: Laying mines is fun
Four hours after Shao Quanzhong and King Ying set out, Li Xuyi, a famous general of the Hunan Army and the governor of Hubei, arrived with 10,000 pursuing troops. The vanguard stepped on a landmine and stopped eighty miles south of Shouzhou.
Li Xuyi scolded the Huai Army for not being polite and not informing friendly forces when they laid mines. He sent scouts to conduct a detour and the scouts stepped on mines again. He didn't know how many mines there were ahead.
Such is the manufacturing capability of a modern arsenal with steam-powered machine tools.
Li Xuyi could only set up camp and wait for orders. Hearing the loud gunshots in the distance ahead, he became anxious and jumped up and down.
The mines planted by the Huai Army were specifically planted for us. You must want to take all the credit for capturing Chen Yucheng alive. I, I - I really have no other choice.
Even though he became the governor, Li Xuyi was a student of the Tongsheng school and he didn't even pass the examination to become a scholar. This governor was made through fighting and he had a very bad temper.
The gunfire continued intermittently throughout the afternoon and only stopped when it got dark. Zhang Zhidong kindly sent someone to inform us that the Huai Army had completely wiped out the remaining Guangdong bandits in Anhui, beheaded 5,000 people, and captured Chen Yucheng alive, and there was nothing for you to do here.
Li Xuyi angrily returned to Luzhou without informing his comrade Duolong'a. In a rage, he impeached Shao Quanzhong for greed, greed, and laying mines to trap friendly troops, and then angrily led his troops back to Hubei.
Duolong'a didn't care. He was a bannerman, and his bloodline was a bonus. He could be promoted if he made some achievements. Now they were all first-rank generals and generals, the real ruling class. It didn't matter who caught Chen Yucheng, as long as the Qing Dynasty was preserved.
The next morning, the Huai Army triumphantly entered Shouzhou City.
Grant led the cavalry and escorted a prisoner wagon. On the wagon was a man said to be the King of England, wearing a dragon robe, with dishevelled hair and a bloody face.
Behind them was the Third Battalion of the Left Wing of the Huai Army led by Shao Hengzhong, and on the logistics carts that followed were five thousand long-haired heads.
Zhang Zhidong presided over the public execution of Chen Yucheng by slow slicing in Shouzhou government office, and Haiqing carried out the execution personally.
Chen Yucheng looked extremely heroic. He did not make a sound during the process of being tortured to death by slicing, and died bravely.
The King of England's flag, the dragon robe, Chen Yucheng's head, and five thousand long-haired heads were delivered to the Grain Transport Governor's Office in Fengyang the next day, along with Shao Quanzhong's victory report.
Ahem, the person in charge of Anhui military affairs now is Suwanguerjia Shengbao. However, when Shao Quanzhong was about to board the ship to write the victory report, he said, "Who is Shengbao? I don't know him."
Anyway, after I was suspended from my post pending investigation, it was Yuan Jiasan who guaranteed my reinstatement, so of course the victory report should be given to him.
The victory report indicated that the Guangdong bandit Chen Yucheng's troops were extremely brave. Even though our troops had buried a large number of mines to trap the enemy, they still suffered heavy casualties, with 30% killed and 20% injured. It was a tragic victory.
Wu Ziyi, the battalion commander and engineering battalion officer, commanded the laying of mines to trap the enemy troops. He also took great risks and personally took on the task of luring the enemy, leading the cunning Chen Yucheng into the encirclement, and made outstanding contributions.
Shao Hengzhong, the commander of the left wing of the infantry, commanded the firing of Hale rockets, killing and wounding a large number of enemy troops. He personally led the three battalions of his troops to fight hand-to-hand with the Guangdong bandits in a brutal bayonet battle, paying a heavy price without collapsing, and firmly blocked the enemy in the encirclement, which was truly an iron wall for the Huai Army.
The cavalry led by the foreign general Grant cruised outside and although they did not kill or injure the enemy, they captured the traitor Chen who escaped alone, and thus they should be credited with the greatest achievement.
Chen Ni was arrogant and claimed that "If the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom loses me, half of its country will be lost" and "If I die, our dynasty will be destroyed."
He was also stubborn and refused to change his ways. After being captured, he cursed his superiors and attempted suicide several times. In order to prevent him from committing suicide, he was publicly tortured to death in Shouzhou as a warning to the stubborn bandits.
Our troops suffered heavy casualties, and for the safety of the people of Anhui, there are a large number of mines that need to be cleared. We kindly request to rest for a few months and not leave Shouzhou for the time being.
Shao Quanzhong's battle report was very consistent with the battlefield situation at the time. If it weren't for Tian Xing's persuasion to surrender and the escape route to the United States, the result would basically be this.
Chen Yucheng's reaction also fits the character's personality as perceived by the Qing court: he was definitely a die-hard Cantonese bandit.
Yuan Jiasan had been on the battlefield for a long time and was very satisfied with this battle report.
The Huai Army was very good. Against a top-level tough guy like Chen Yucheng, they wiped out all the enemies and beheaded 5,000 of them. They only lost more than 4,000 people and injured 3,000. It was quite impressive.
Shao Quanzhong was also very particular and asked me to report victory to him. It seemed that before I retired and returned home, I could get a promotion and would be more highly regarded in history. Shao Quanzhong was ruthless enough to the Guangdong bandits and lived up to his name, Shao the Butcher. The court would really like such a general.
With this great military achievement, all the troubles that had occurred before were completely wiped out - how could someone who could help the court to torture Chen Yucheng be connected with the rebels?
He immediately ordered the Huai Army to repair and clear mines on the spot, and had his men check the heads. He then sent Chen Yucheng's head, the commander's flag, the dragon robe, and a victory report written by himself to the capital at an express speed of 800 miles.
…………
In the American Concession in Shanghai, American Consul Hillelton hugged Shao Quanzhong tightly, extremely excited, as if he was hugging a peerless beauty.
"General Shao, you are so amazing that you can even subdue a world-class general like the King of England and send him to the United States. We Americans will continue to support you in the future."
No one knew how much the Northern Army suffered without Grant and Emery, but with the addition of Chen Yucheng and Yang Fuqing, as well as nine thousand of the most elite and capable Taiping troops, this was simply the strongest support for the United States.
"I will write to President Lincoln to recommend you to become an honorary citizen of the United States and award you the Medal of Honor."
There is no aristocracy in the United States. Medal of Honor recipients are de facto aristocrats. They have the right to free priority rides on military transportation, including but not limited to warships, first-class cabins on ships, and train compartments.
Children can attend West Point without any quota restrictions, and receive a monthly honorary allowance of $200 for life.
Shao Quanzhong didn't want to go to the United States. At that time, West Point was not as good as the Berlin Military Academy. Two hundred dollars a month was really a lot.
Climbing up the pole is Mr. Shao's basic operation. "Mr. Xihuade, I have a problem now, and I need our American help to solve it."
Um, your status as an honorary U.S. citizen hasn’t even been approved yet, but you’ve already called yourself “our America.”
"No problem. I can help with anything within my authority."
"The captain of the Huai Army's Haichang has been sent to the UK for further studies. I would like to borrow a naval officer from the American friendly forces to temporarily help me serve as the captain for a few years."
"this--"
At the moment, our Qing Dynasty does not have any talent who can be the captain of a steam warship. If we are not capable enough, we will definitely fail at the critical moment.
If we find the British, the gunners are all hired from the UK, and if we get a British captain, we may not be sure whether the ship will obey us.
Shao Quanzhong is trying to create a check and balance among the foreigners, so he should use the warships first.
Seaward began to scratch his head. "Our naval talents are all at home fighting the naval war with the South. The Far East Fleet is very short of personnel, and we really can't spare anyone to support our friendly forces for the time being. How about this, I will send your request and the mercenaries back to the country, and let President Lincoln send someone to you."
The Yunsheng Fleet, escorted by the US Far East Fleet, went to the US again to send people. It would only take two months for the round trip, and the new captain of the Haichang would probably be in place in three months. Shao Quanzhong calculated the time and thought it would be early for the Qing army to take Nanjing.
After sending off the new batch of mercenaries, Shao Quanzhong's monthly income from mercenaries reached 90,000 taels of silver. It was true that when the cannon was fired, there was a thousand taels of gold. Now Shao Quanzhong hoped that the American Civil War would last a few more years.
Shao Quanzhong originally planned to go straight back to Fengyang or Shouzhou, but when he passed by Hailing, Wenxiu happened to be giving birth, so he was delayed in Hailing.
Wenxiu lived up to everyone's expectations and gave birth to a son, which made Shao Quanzhong proud and even more convinced of his unscientific fallacy that a real man could give birth to a son.
The second son was named "Shao Jisi" by Shao Quanzhong. After spending a few days with Wenxiu, when he returned to Fengyang, the new reward from the court had already been issued.
(End of this chapter)