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"Nine of the twelve Anglo-French paddle-wheel warships were sunk and three captured. All those who fell into the water were captured by our army. We are currently salvaging the enemy's naval cannons that have sunk into the sea. " When the latest news reached Vézé's office via telegram, it was only two and a half hours after Vézé received the first telegram.
Vézé didn't feel too happy. Twelve of these steam "boats" definitely wouldn't be able to bite through the fortress of the Liberation Army. But this was only the beginning. Vézé did not know whether he should be excited or worried when he thought about the huge sail battleships of the British. The sailing battleships of this era were equipped with hundreds of cannons.
"Commander-in-chief, did we win?" asked Minister of Foreign Affairs Hong Ren, who had been summoned by Vézé. He asked anxiously as soon as he entered Vézé's office. The telegraph office was now an important department in the restored Viceroy's Mansion. Originally, messages had to be transmitted through mid-level officials. Now, the telegraph office was staffed with full-time personnel who were directly connected to Vézé's office. Most of the latest news was received by Vézé first.
Vézé nodded slightly and said without any excitement, "We won. Annihilating a small British fleet. I asked you to come here. Ask someone to go to Hong Kong and ask Erjin if he is declaring war by sending his fleet to attack our ships and cannons. "
Hong Ren? He did not expect the war to start just like that. When he heard that the Tiger Gate Fort had destroyed a small British fleet, he was pleasantly surprised. The Liberation Army's navy had always been weak. If they weren't afraid of the British navy, the Liberation Army would have attacked Jingzhou long ago.
But when he heard that Vézé had ordered his men to test the British's "official attitude," Hong Ren was shocked. He couldn't help but be stunned. Since the British had attacked, it was obvious that they had entered a state of war. Vézé sending someone to say this was indeed an unnecessary move. So, Hong Ren? He asked, "Commander-in-Chief, why are you doing this? We should send someone to declare war on the British right now! "
"Now is not the time to declare war." There was a hint of regret in Vézé's tone. "Now is the time to determine the specific attitude of the British. We need to have a formal meeting with the plenipotentiary representative of England to determine his attitude. "
Hong Ren? He knew that Vézé was not a person who feared war. It was precisely because he believed in this that Hong Ren? After thinking for a few moments, he hesitantly asked, "Commander-in-Chief, don't you want to go to war with the British?"
"Minister Hong, what do you think?" Vézé asked Hong Ren. If the people of the 21st century had any great advantage, it was that they were knowledgeable. With the great progress of society and politics, they could easily access a lot of high-level information. For example, Wei Ze had seen a documentary about the Sino-British negotiations in Hong Kong. In the documentary, a Chinese representative had stupidly said, "I can go back and discuss it" after the British raised the condition that "China cannot station troops in Hong Kong".
Of course, the representative did come back for a discussion, and then the representative was immediately dismissed. China's garrison in Hong Kong represented China's complete sovereignty over Hong Kong. There was no room for discussion on this issue at all.
So, Vézé felt that Hong Ren? He also had the intention of probing. This famous figure in history did indeed have one thing, and that was his eyesight. But how firmly he could understand and implement the concept of a modern nation-state, Vézé had to observe him again and again before he could give a judgment.
"Commander-in-Chief, I also think it's better not to fight." Hong Ren thought for a while and said, "If we fight with the British, the British will always think that we will be at a disadvantage if we fight with them for a long time …"
Hearing this, Vézé felt a burst of displeasure in his heart. Hong Ren? He was a talent, but he didn't have any experience in military affairs, so when he considered problems, it was inevitable that he would be overly cautious. What did it mean that we will be at a disadvantage if we fight for a long time? We will definitely be at a disadvantage if we fight for a long time, and both sides will be at a great disadvantage. And the British came all the way to Hong Kong, they will only suffer more in a long war.
But Vézé did not want to criticize Hong Ren immediately. Sometimes, he had to be patient and continue to observe. So, Vézé replied, "Whether we fight or not depends on the attitude of the British. If the British don't give up, we have no other choice but to fight. "
"Then should we persuade the British?" Hong Ren asked quickly.
Vézé sighed slightly, "The British are smarter than monkeys! Do you think they can't see the situation in front of them? We don't need to persuade them, they can see it very clearly. Minister Hong, you just need to do the work that I assign to you! "
Hong Ren? Seeing that Vézé's attitude was firm, he no longer expressed his thoughts, but asked a question, "If the British don't answer my question, but ask us if we are going to declare war on the British, how should I answer?"
That was a good question. Originally, Hong Ren was not interested. Originally, Vézé was a little disappointed, but now he felt relieved. He smiled and said, "You tell the British that as long as the British are not ready to declare war on us, we have no intention of declaring war on the British. This time, we will send someone to see them to negotiate the navigation of the two sides based on the current situation! "
Hong Ren was sent away? Vézé was still a little worried about Hong Ren? Could he understand what Vézé meant? Vézé wanted to talk to the British about the existence of the navy of the Liberation Army. At least in Guangdong, the navy of the Liberation Army had begun to exist. As long as the British couldn't break through the Tiger Gate Fortress, they had to face this fact.
Before Vézé was ready to hold a military meeting, new information came. This information had nothing to do with foreigners, it was completely domestic information. An official in the Taiping Rebellion who was "inclined" to Vézé sent a message. Yang Fuqing and Yang Yiqing had more or less confirmed that they were willing to accept the title of "Mu Tianyi" and return to the command of the Heavenly State. Hong Xiuquan changed the commanding general of the Fifth Army to the Sixth Army and was ready to be conferred the title of King.
Vézé frowned and ordered the secretariat to bring up the documents about the Taiping Rebellion. Not long after, "Comrade" Li Yifang came in with a stack of documents. There was an index on the documents, and Vézé was quite surprised after reading it.
Jiujiang fell, and Shi Dakai fled. This should have been a heavy blow to the Taiping army, but he didn't expect that the Taiping army not only didn't recover after the setback, but also fought back with all their strength on all fronts. Due to the epidemic in Jiangxi, Ceng Guofan's troops in Jiangxi basically lost their combat effectiveness. The Taiping army temporarily ignored the problem in Jiangxi and began to move in the direction of Anhui and Yangzhou.
First, General Li Xubin, who had made great contributions in the battle to capture Hukou, was killed in the battle of Sanhe. Five thousand elite troops under Hu Linyi of the Xiang Army were killed along with him. At that time, Li Xubin and Jiang Zhongyuan contacted each other and both sides were ready to start a war. Jiang Zhongyuan's Huai army suddenly moved south, and Li Xubin's troops suddenly moved east. The elite troops of both sides joined forces to attack the Taiping army's core in Huainan, Luzhou.
Li Xubin first broke through Tongcheng and other places, but was surrounded and annihilated by Li Yucheng's troops in the Sanhe area. At the same time, Jiang Zhongyuan's troops were attacked by the Taiping army. Li Kaifang led the main force and fought a hard battle with Jiang Zhongyuan. Both sides lost more than a thousand men. When Jiang Zhongyuan learned that Li Xubin's troops were annihilated, he retreated.
After defeating the enemy attacks from Hubei and Huaibei, the Taiping army in Yangzhou began to move north along the canal. They fought for more than a hundred miles in one go, and it seemed like they were threatening Huai An. With the Taiping army suffering a series of setbacks, it wasn't easy to have such a performance.
Looking back at Yang Fuqing and Yang Yiqing, he decided to accept command of the Taiping Rebellion again. Vézé felt that the situation was getting more and more interesting.
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