?
"Minister Zuo, I have a question. You don't seem to care if we recognize your government at all." Sir Humphrey, the British consul in Guangzhou, picked up his tea and said in a casual tone.
"Yes. Since your recognition has so many conditions attached, why should we care about such recognition? "Zuo Zhidan replied as he put a few sugar cubes made in Guangdong into the cup of black tea. After talking to Vézé, Zuo Zhidan understood how highly he was regarded by Vézé. He also understood the relationship between the system and the individual, so he seemed to have put down a heavy burden, and his behavior became more relaxed. If it was in the past, he would never be so relaxed in a diplomatic situation.
Sir Humphrey cursed in his heart, but he did not show the slightest displeasure on his face. The Liberation Army had the right to be so arrogant. At this point in the war, all kinds of intelligence pointed to the same result. The defeat of the Manchu Qing was only a matter of time. Britain did not have the possibility of sending troops to maintain the Manchu Qing regime. If they could send hundreds of thousands of troops, they might as well destroy the United States.
Sir Humphrey took a sip of black tea brewed with tea leaves and sugar cubes from China and moistened his throat comfortably. "According to Minister Zuo, your government will implement the normal trade policy?"
"Yes, my government does not see any problems with the normal trade. As for the cooperation between our country and Britain in the construction of judicial and customs laws, we are still quite satisfied. "After taking a sip of tea, Zuo Zhidan picked up a piece of cream cake and stuffed it into his mouth. With the development of the Liberation Army's breeding industry, cows imported from Europe multiplied in Guangdong, and the number of dairy products skyrocketed. Everyone liked the cream cake sold in the market.
Sir Humphrey also liked cream cake very much. When Zuo Zhidan came to visit, he brought a cake. The beautiful cream layer was dotted with jam. Between the assorted jam and blueberry jam, Sir Humphrey chose his favorite blueberry flavor. He also said as he ate, "That means after you occupy Shanghai, you will take over the customs. All the agreements we signed with the Manchu Qing before will be invalid. "
"What does the agreement you signed with Manchu Qing have to do with us?" Zuo Zhidan's tone was somewhat mocking.
It was an international practice not to repay evil debts. Since Britain was unable to use its army to force the Liberation Army to accept the Old Testament, Sir Humphrey did not bother with the nonsense. He went straight to the point. "How long will it take you to occupy Shanghai before you can resume trade?"
Zuo Zhidan, who was already prepared for this, replied, "That depends on our fleet being able to control the waters around Shanghai. Of course, your unarmed merchant ships can enter the Yangtze River to do business. Warships can also dock harmlessly at our ports with our permission. This is also the condition of our previous agreement. "
"Then can you give us three months to prepare in Shanghai?" Humphrey asked.
"One month at most. One month later, our troops will march into Shanghai. We do not wish to have a military conflict with your country, but we are not afraid to fight with any enemy! "Zuo Zhidan also threw out the bottom line of the Liberation Army.
After Zuo Zhidan left, Sir Humphrey cursed bitterly, "Damn Chinese, can your broken ships fight against our battleships?"
Although he cursed, Sir Humphrey knew that the Liberation Army's broken ships, which were only equipped with a few small cannons, could indeed cause great losses to the British side. This was not an absolute loss. In terms of absolute numbers, the British Royal Navy was not afraid of the Liberation Army's warships at all. However, the number of battleships that the Royal Navy could maintain in China was limited. The broken ships of the Liberation Army had the possibility of sinking the British battleships. Once there were losses, Britain would face the problem of insufficient supplies.
Not to mention, even if those broken ships could not cooperate with the British Royal Navy on the ocean, they could cooperate with the Liberation Army to seize Hong Kong. Once they lost Hong Kong as a naval stronghold, the Royal Navy would have to return to Singapore for supplies. The expedition from Singapore to China was a costly operation.
Even if they could cause great losses to China along the coast of China, it would not have much practical significance. As long as the British Army could not gain a foothold on land, every war would only be a waste of national strength. Although Britain believed in force, Britain knew better that a war that could not be won was meaningless. Just like the Crimean War, even if Russia suffered heavy losses, Russia did not cede territory or pay reparations. The sky-high military expenditure was only for naught in the end.
At this time, Sir Humphrey made a very wise judgment that Britain could only wait for an opportunity.
So throughout February, the Liberation Army Navy carried a large number of land troops north along the coastline. The Navy used the leapfrog tactic to transport the land troops ashore. Wenzhou, Taizhou, Ningbo, Zhoushan, these cities and areas were captured one by one. After the follow-up troops landed on ships, they attacked the surrounding areas. The Navy, on the other hand, continued to move north with ease.
On March 1st, Zuo Zongtang made a painful decision in Hangzhou. Give up Hangzhou and break through to the north.
Ten days ago, France had told Zuo Zongtang the latest strategic situation. The Liberation Army Navy would enter Shanghai at the latest on March 15th. The British had accepted the future of the Liberation Army occupying Shanghai, and the French had no choice but to accept it. They did not have a fleet that could stop the Liberation Army's advance.
Of course, Britain and France hoped to create trouble for the Liberation Army, which was to help the Qing Army retreat north of the Yangtze River as much as possible. Of course, this help was limited. If the Liberation Army's 500-ton steam-powered warships really forcibly built a sea blockade, Britain and France would not be able to deal with it. The combat power shown by the Manchu Qing side was not enough to stop the Liberation Army from attacking Shanghai on land. Even if Britain and France fell out with the Liberation Army, they could not stop the Liberation Army from seizing Shanghai.
Zuo Zongtang looked at the court of the Zhejiang Governor's Office in Hangzhou. This was the peak of his official position so far. Although there were rumors that Zuo Zongtang would be promoted to the governor-general of Fujian and Zhejiang, Fujian had completely fallen into the hands of the Liberation Army. If he had not appointed Peng Yulin as the governor of Guangdong to "boost morale," the highest official position in his life would have been the governor-general of Zhejiang.
Even though he thought of himself as noble and virtuous, Zuo Zongtang's eyes were full of regret. Zuo Zongtang admired Jiang Zhongyuan for creating the path of promoting to a high-ranking official through regimental training, and he had undoubtedly reached the same height as Jiang Zhongyuan. After taking charge of Zhejiang's military and political affairs, Zuo Zongtang repelled Shi Dakai's attack on Zhejiang. In the face of the fierce attack of Li Xiucheng's 200,000 troops, he still defended Zhejiang and prepared a comprehensive counterattack plan. But these years of painstaking efforts were instantly destroyed in the face of the Liberation Army's onslaught.
Closing his eyes, Zuo Zongtang could not help but sigh. In today's world, he had never admired anyone. Anyone who befriended Zuo Zongtang, whether it was a high-ranking official, a great scholar, or a hero of the present age, would all praise him and call him an extraordinary talent. Just like Ceng Guofan, whom Zuo Zongtang looked down upon, even though he had been humiliated many times by Zuo Zongtang, he still humbly begged Zuo Zongtang to come out of retirement. Zuo Zongtang had absolute confidence in his own abilities.
And when Vézé killed his way into Guangdong, it was when Zuo Zongtang became the Minister of Training and Suppressing Bandits in Zhejiang. Seven years had passed, and Vézé had gone from a power in Guangdong to a power that could sweep through Jiangnan. Compared to many figures in history, Vézé had already established a Southern Dynasty. This Southern Dynasty was full of vigor and had the momentum to sweep through the world.
Compared to Vézé, Zuo Zongtang could only choose to escape to the north of the Yangtze River. Under such a contrast, Zuo Zongtang could not even say, "Since Yu was born, why was Liang born?" The world was in chaos, and a ruthless bandit like Vézé was born. Zuo Zongtang really wanted to say, "Born at the wrong time."
"Sir, the things have been moved. Should we hurry and leave?" Hu Xueyan asked from the side.
Zuo Zongtang opened his eyes and looked at the business genius he had unearthed. During the retreat, everyone was already in a state of panic and ran away as fast as they could. Hu Xueyan, who had always been by Zuo Zongtang's side, was still loyal.
"Let's go!" Zuo Zongtang said to Hu Xueyan.
Zuo Zongtang knew how to judge the time and size up the situation. At this time, he already knew that Ceng Guofan had led the army across the Yangtze River and entered Luzhou. In the Liberation Army's latest northern expedition list, Manchu Qing was the Liberation Army's mortal enemy, but the God-worshipping Taiping Rebellion was also on the Liberation Army's enemy list. In the past, it was the Qing Army and the Taiping army fighting, and the Liberation Army sat on the mountain and watched the tigers fight. Now, the situation was not good and they had to retreat. But this was also the time for the Qing Army to temporarily jump out of the circle to take a breather and watch the battle between the Taiping army and the Liberation Army.
Leaving Hangzhou under Li Xiucheng's fierce attack was a military risk, but giving Hangzhou to Li Xiucheng would also allow the Liberation Army to directly go to war with Li Xiucheng. This was also another important reason why Zuo Zongtang chose to escape at this time.
The guards escorted Zuo Zongtang out of the Hangzhou Inspector-General's yamen, which only had some old furniture left. Even though they were retreating, Zuo Zongtang stayed in the rear. This was his pride. If he was chased by Li Xiucheng while retreating, it would turn into a rout in the end. Zuo Zongtang would never forgive himself.
At about this time, the commander of the Qing Army's Jiangnan Camp, Jiangnan Admiral De Xing, was like an ant on a hot pan. His troops were stationed in Lin 'an, and nominally they were fighting against the Hangzhou guards. In reality, when Li Xiucheng was fiercely attacking Hangzhou, the Jiangnan Camp's troops didn't move at all. The Jiangnan Camp was originally powerless to fight, especially when the former Jiangnan Admiral Zhang Guoliang led elite troops to fight Li Xiucheng and suffered a crushing defeat. Zhang Guoliang was killed. Since then, the Jiangnan Camp's highest principle was self-preservation.
When Li Xiucheng was fiercely attacking Hangzhou, he also sent Li Shixian to monitor the Jiangnan Camp. Therefore, although Zuo Zongtang had told De Xing early on about the retreat, the Jiangnan Camp had tried several times to move but was attacked by Li Shixian and had no choice but to retreat back to Lin 'an. At this time, the appointed time had arrived, but the Jiangnan Camp still couldn't move.
Walking back and forth in circles, De Xing suddenly stopped. Gritting his teeth, he ordered the generals under him, "Tell your subordinates not to bring anything. Let's go quickly."
"Sir! How can we not bring so many things? "The generals said one after another. In the past few years, the Jiangnan Camp was not so much an army, but rather a den of pleasure. The military camp had markets, casinos, and brothels. Because the Liberation Army banned smoking in Guangdong and Guangxi, the price of cigarettes plummeted. Originally, a month's pay could only be taken for half a month. Now, if the ordinary soldiers of the Jiangnan Camp could take a month's pay, there would still be some left over.
Let this army throw everything away and go into battle lightly. This was something that didn't even need to be thought about. At this time, a mounted scout ran over with a joyful expression to report, "Sir, the Cantonese bandits have retreated!"
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