Chapter 191 Heavy losses
Chapter 191 Heavy losses
"What? You're hiring us to fight the Spanish?"
"No, no, no, we are cooperating, cooperating."
Carlos sat on the sofa and took out a Havana cigar and gave it to Zhang Siwen.
Each cigarette costs hundreds of dollars. Although Zhang Siwen doesn't smoke, he couldn't resist the other party's politeness and tried it, just because he was attracted by its expensive reputation.
"I don't have the money to hire you, but Cuba does. Cuba is the 'Sugar Bowl of the World'. Its annual sugar production now exceeds 500,000 tons, accounting for one-third of the world's sugar production. Add to that the cigar in your hand, and Cuba is not short of money at all."
"But that's the Spanish money, isn't it? You're taking the Spanish money and expecting us to help you fight the war?"
"That is the wealth created by the hard work of the Cuban people. Why should the Spanish take it away for nothing? But your army has no reason to send troops to Cuba. If you go there, it will be a war of aggression and will be interfered by the great powers. But I do have the reasons for our Cuban independence. Your army has an employment contract with me, so it can rob the Spaniards with justification."
"So you're offering a righteous cause, and we have to fight for the hiring fee ourselves, right? That's a good idea you've come up with."
Carlos laughed. "I have been following you for a long time, waiting for the end of the Civil War. You are homeless now, and I can promise to let you station troops in Cuba as a base for your mercenaries. Isn't this a win-win situation?"
Carlos is obviously an old fox. He is completely different from the relatively simple Cassia. He has obviously investigated the origins of his group carefully.
"Okay, you don't have to pay a penny for the job. We'll help you conquer Cuba. We'll station troops there, and Spain won't dare to attack us. You're getting all the benefits, right?"
Carlos took out a pair of scissors and helped Zhang Swen trim the cigar very professionally. "Zhang, you are wrong. This is called mutual benefit. Yes, I am not ready yet. Without your help, the war of independence I am planning may have to wait for several years. But according to my estimation, it will not be long before the United States will expel you, the outsider. Believe me, Zhang, Cuba is a good place to go."
Well, lawyers are indeed successful liars. President Lincoln was a lawyer. This lawyer made it sound so tempting to get something for nothing that Zhang Siwen was really tempted.
"I will need to discuss this matter with my generals before I can confirm it."
Carlos took out an exquisite silver gas lighter and lit a cigar for Zhang Siwen. He skillfully took out a business card from his suit pocket and handed it to Zhang Siwen with both hands.
"This is my address in New York. I will stay here for a while and wait for your news. I will not disturb your rest. I will leave now. Cuban cigars, rum, and passionate Spanish girls are waiting for you and your mercenaries. I firmly believe that you will come to find me."
Zhang Siwen is planning to ask Jessica to go on a sloop sailing around Manhattan Island in two days, and he is not interested in the beautiful Spanish girl.
However, the subordinates of Generals Chen and Shi are probably very interested...
The next day, news came back from Paraguay. Lopez was full of confidence, thinking he was a Napoleon, and that he could easily defeat Brazil and Argentina alone. He was not interested in hiring mercenaries at a high price.
Jessica was very embarrassed when she told Zhang Siwen this. "Zhang, my sister's pillow talk didn't work. Lopez thinks my sister's worries are groundless. My sister and I didn't expect that my brother-in-law would disagree. I'm so sorry."
It's okay, it's okay. Without Luo the butcher, we won't eat mixed hair pigs. We still have Carlos. Zhang Siwen no longer has any resentment about Carlos's visit last night, which disrupted his regular schedule, and the cigar that made him cough.
"Um - Zhang, you won't be mad at me, right? How about I treat you today to make amends? We immigrants from Paris have a salon and organized a dance party. I'm in need of a dance partner..."
Well, the deal with Paraguay didn’t pan out for now, but I did have a great love relationship.
Six days later, President Lincoln was assassinated as expected, and Vice President Johnson succeeded him.
A month later, President Johnson sent a note to Zhang Siwen, the Huai Army representative in the United States, stating that the mercenaries' expenses had been paid and asking the Chinese mercenaries to leave the country as soon as possible. Zhang Siwen's telegram was then sent to the Jinjibao front of the Qing Dynasty.
…………
After Shaanxi was pacified, a telegraph network was slowly being built between the cities in Shaanxi. The military-only telegraph line leading to the Jinjibao front was built at the fastest speed.
When Shao Quanzhong received the telegram from Hu Liuniang, he was looking at Jinjibao, fifteen miles away, with the lawsuit on his mind.
A month ago, after a desperate fight by the Gansu Army, the Huai Army knocked down the fortress group north of Jinjibao, but the Gansu Army also suffered heavy losses. Only 6,000 elite troops were left out of the 45,000 troops, and they were incorporated into the Huai Army.
The Gansu Army did not belong to the Huai Army system when it was fighting, so it should not have been required to receive compensation. However, Shao Quanzhong still gave twenty taels of silver to the family of each fallen soldier, and five taels of silver to the 6,000 wounded.
Nearly 700,000 taels of silver were spent in one go, and all the budget given by the court was spent.
While Shao Quanzhong continued to submit memorials to the court for money, he continued to pay the salaries of the Huai Army, already relying on the money given by the United States to pay for the mercenaries.
It is not surprising that the siege of Jinjibao was unbearably long.
In fact, the territory occupied by the Shaanxi-Gansu bandits was no smaller than that of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, Ma Hualong was no easier to defeat than Hong Xiuquan, and the defense of Jinjibao was no worse than that of Nanjing.
It’s just that Shaanxi and Gansu are poor areas, and Ili Province is even a frontier province. Unlike the territories occupied by the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, which were all the wealthy and central areas of China’s Jiangnan region, the Qing court paid much less attention to them.
So in fact, the task of pacifying Shaanxi and Gansu that Shao Quanzhong took on was a thankless task. The losses were great, but the achievements were small, and most people were unwilling to take it on.
It took two years for the Hunan Army to besiege Nanjing until its fall. The Huai Army did not suffer any losses in Nanjing, which was a special case.
Jinjibao was full of Ma Hualong's loyal disciples, and there was no chance of any internal support. There was no Hunan Army to fight in the front, so the Huai Army could only fight hard.
The current situation is that Shao Hengzhong's regiment, Lin Bozai's regiment, Tian Xing's regiment, and Nie Shicheng's regiment have surrounded Jinjibao from all sides and are attacking from four directions, with Song Laosan's regiment serving as the reserve.
As for the Gansu Army Independent Regiment, it is stationed with Song Laosan's Regiment, undergoing expedited training and regularization, and will not be used for the time being.
There are circular fortresses with a width of 20 miles around Jinjibao, which are much more difficult to attack than the protruding Tongxincheng and Wuzhong wing fortresses.
This side can get direct manpower and material support from Jinjibao, and Ma Hualong often goes to the front line to boost morale. The bandits fight to the death, and the battle for each fortress is very fierce.
After a month, the siege on all four sides had only advanced five miles each, but the loss had reached 6,000 people.
Grant personally led people to conduct reconnaissance with binoculars every day, and was studying whether there was any possibility of improving the tactics.
"Report, something terrible has happened! Shao Hengzhong's regiment has suffered a major setback, two battalions have been wiped out, and battalion officers Yan Laoliu and Qu Laosan have been killed."
(End of this chapter)