Chapter 161 Nanyang Navy
Chapter 161 Nanyang Navy
"The generals in the Federation don't understand the military qualities of the mercenaries you sent to the Federation as well as I do. They only regard them as cannon fodder like the Hessian mercenaries. I hope you can understand this."
After hearing Xi Huade's words that they had won, Shao Quanzhong calmed down a little and listened to him continue to keep the suspense.
"This has both advantages and disadvantages for your mercenaries. During the siege, General Hooker did not dare to send the mercenary division as a vanguard, fearing that if the mercenary division failed, it would cause the collapse of the entire battlefield. Therefore, their initial casualties were very minor. Later, when the situation became urgent, General Chen's troops were temporarily sent to take over."
Well, the King of England is a man who is appointed to a position in times of crisis, and it’s the same when it comes to the Americans.
"The King of England sent Zhang Hanchen's group to lure the enemy head-on. The Southern Army did not know these mercenaries and thought they were Indian soldiers temporarily recruited by the Northern Army, so they sent troops to chase them relentlessly. Zhang Hanchen's group pretended to collapse and lost nearly 200 people."
Well, Shao Quanzhong could accept the number of 200, but he suspected that Zhang Lexing really couldn't beat him, so he didn't need to pretend. He heard from Grant that Stonewall Jackson was a famous general who was as wise and brave as him, and Zhang Lexing's team was the weakest among the three regiments.
Fortunately, the Nian Army was best at escaping, and Chen Yucheng made the right choice by using him to lure the enemy.
"General Chen cleverly used the time difference and repeatedly mobilized his troops, eventually splitting up General Jackson's 20,000 troops. Three regiments surrounded the 5,000-strong Confederate vanguard on three sides."
"And the King of England won the battle, right?"
"No, no, no, it's more than that. When the encirclement was formed, it was already dark. Neither the federal army nor the Confederate army had the habit or ability to fight at night.
General Chen commanded his troops to build more than a dozen camps in a short period of time, surrounding Jackson's troops without attacking them. In the second half of the night, he ordered two small elite troops to attack Stonewall Jack and the 18th North Carolina Regiment of the Confederate Army, respectively, causing misunderstanding between the two Confederate armies and an exchange of fire in the dark.
You know, the uniforms of the Confederate and Union armies were very similar, and it was difficult to tell them apart in the dark. The two Confederate armies killed each other in the dark, and only discovered the misunderstanding at dawn.
Both Confederate armies suffered heavy casualties, and Stonewall Jackson was severely wounded by friendly forces. General Chen launched a general attack at dawn, defeating both Confederate armies in one fell swoop, killing 2,000 people and injuring more than 6,000. If General Hooker had not believed that General Chen could win and had not sent reinforcements in time, the results of the battle would have been several times greater, and this defeat would have turned into a great victory.
In this battle, the entire Potomac Army of the Northern Army was defeated. Only General Chen's rear guard troops won the battle with only minor losses. More importantly, after the battle, Stonewall Jackson died of his injuries, and the Southern Army lost its most capable general..."
Some people in history commented that Chen Yucheng "had a very beautiful appearance, and was very elegant in his daily conversation. But when it came to fighting, he was as brave as lightning and as courageous as a thousand men. Whenever he rode a snow-white horse and appeared in the galloping army, people saw his heroic appearance and could not help but praise him with a worshipful mood, saying, 'Now I know that there are true heroes!'"
There was not a single day when he did not train his troops, and every squad of soldiers was strong and well-trained, and every decisive battle was invincible.
When encountering a powerful enemy, attack the area that the enemy must defend, so as to divide its forces and tire them out, and then suddenly gather superior forces to annihilate them. Therefore, attacking cities and seizing land is as unstoppable as breaking bamboo.
When the two armies were on the battlefield, he was "the best at turning the tables" and striving for the initiative in the war, while the enemy often responded hastily and suffered defeat. Zeng Guofan and Hu Linyi were very afraid of his tactics, which were called "returning the horse spear". When he was doing the inspection, the reputation of "30 inspections and returning the horse spear" had spread all over Hubei.
He was particularly good at using the tactic of building fortifications to encircle the enemy's rear and supply routes. His actions were as fast as lightning, and he built dozens of fortifications overnight. Every time the enemy was surrounded by his fortifications, the entire army would be annihilated. Therefore, when the enemy's powerful generals talked about his tactics, they were all terrified.
His heroism and fighting skills were so great that people said his "reputation shook the world" and even his enemies had to admit that "there are few people like him in modern times."
Such a truly world-class general who was capable of commanding large-scale military operations was surrounded and intercepted by hundreds of thousands of Qing troops, and encountered stupid superiors and teammates. Without the support of friendly forces, he alone maintained the situation in Jiangbei of the Taiping Army for several years. In history, he died heroically at the age of only 25, which is quite regrettable.
Now that he had the opportunity to equip himself with the most advanced weapons, he tried his skills on the American side and immediately shone brightly.
When he heard Xi Huade say that Chen Yucheng not only won the battle but also suffered minor losses and killed the enemy's most famous general, he immediately quit.
"Hey, Lao Xi, my troops just killed the King of Wings for the Qing Dynasty. Do you know how much the court rewarded them? 500,000 taels of silver. General Chen turned the tide and killed Stonewall Jackson, but you only gave him 200,000 dollars. Isn't that too stingy?"
"this--"
Are you mercenaries? We have already received the hiring fee, and this 200,000 is an additional fee, which is already very generous. Can the treatment be compared with that of regular soldiers?
Xi Huade was not in a good mood to refute Shao Quanzhong, but Shao Quanzhong knew what he was thinking. He was just climbing up the ladder out of habit. Shao Quanzhong smiled playfully, not feeling that his request was excessive at all. "Okay, okay, I won't ask you for more money, but Lao Xi, can you do me a favor and help me mediate with the British?"
This is what diplomats do every day, and Heward readily agreed.
The two of them muttered for a long time, and finally Heward put his hands behind his back and discussed it, "I am not qualified for this matter, and the Minister Burlingame must come forward."
"I don't know Lao Pu, so I'm counting on you for help."
…………
On October 20, the second year of the Tongzhi reign, Shao Quanzhong, the acting governor of Anhui Province of the Qing Dynasty, formally requested the British government through Hart to purchase seven small and medium-sized warships and two supply ships from the Aspen fleet.
These nine boats have been retired in the UK, so there is no point in bringing them back, so they can only be auctioned. International public auctions don't make much money, and most of the small boats can't be sold.
Historically, only the flagship "Jiangsu" was acquired by the Satsuma Domain of Japan and renamed "Kasuga Maru".
The British Empire was very happy when it heard that a warlord here wanted to buy it for himself.
But Li Taiguo insisted that the British command the fleet and asked for a price of 400,000 taels.
There was 400,000 taels, but Shao Quanzhong did not spend it.
The 1,500-ton Haichang weighs only 60,000 taels, okay? The Jiangsu, the flagship of the Aspen Fleet, weighs less than 1,300 tons, and the others are even smaller. Shao Quanzhong will definitely not be fooled by Li Taiguo like the imperial court and be the big boss.
Shao Quanzhong was better than the imperial court because he had connections in London. Liao Rong bypassed Li Taiguo, the broker, and directly contacted British Prime Minister Palmerston, and eventually purchased the Aspen Fleet for 100,000 taels of silver.
This price is slightly lower than the normal market price, but for the British government, it is much more cost-effective than auction.
As for the issue of command, all 600 foreign soldiers were hired by Shao Quanzhong and the commander did not want them.
American Minister Anshen stepped in to mediate, saying that the fleet would be commanded by U.S. Navy Admiral Mahan.
We are all Anglo-Saxons, and we share the same interests in China, so we should all benefit from it. Britain saved its face and thought it was not against its principles, so it finally agreed.
The Abensi fleet, which was replenishing supplies in Taizhou, received an order to turn around and return. It arrived at Zhenjiang Port on November 15, the second year of the Tongzhi reign, and the nine warships were successfully handed over to the Huai Army.
The Haichang was no longer a lone flagship, and the Huai Army Navy was officially formed and called the Nanyang Navy.
Shao Quanzhong was full of pride and confidence. When he returned to Fengyang, he immediately received an emergency transfer order from the court.
Li Xiucheng abandoned Suzhou and Fuzhou and led his main force back to Nanjing. The pressure on the Hunan Army besieging the city increased greatly, and the encirclement was in danger. Zeng Guofan urgently requested reinforcements from the court.
The Huai Army was ordered to set out immediately to participate in the siege of Nanjing.
On November 19, the second year of the Tongzhi reign, the Huai Army swore an oath in Fengyang and marched to Nanjing.
(End of this chapter)