Chapter 42 1. In the face of artillery fire, Zhang Peilun, who likes to talk about military affairs, panicked

In recent decades, the status of the southern metropolis Guangzhou in China has become more and more important. More than 40 years ago, Lin Zexu made the decision to burn opium in this city, trying to maintain the national dignity and personal dignity of the Chinese nation through this shocking act, and cut off the evil claws of criminals who poisoned the Chinese people.The raging flames in Humen have promoted the righteousness of the nation.However, not long after, under the threat of strong ships and sharp guns, Emperor Daoguang succumbed, and Lin Zexu was dismissed from his post and exiled. Ships sailing from the English Channel sailed from the South China Sea to the Lingding Ocean and entered the Pearl River Estuary, where they piled up into hills. General opium chest unloaded.Drugs are legally trafficked across the country, right in broad daylight, through the city.Since then, the beautiful Wuyang City has been covered with a great shame and has become a sinful city.

However, at the same time as the opium was publicly landed, foreigners also bought land and houses in Guangzhou, with the idea of ​​​​living in it for a long time.They built tall, solid buildings with good lighting and ventilation equipment on both sides of the Pearl River; they generated electricity by themselves, turned on electric lights, and installed telephones; they replaced them with exquisite and comfortable luxury goods such as clocks, gramophones, and leather sofas.They also brought in gilded hard-covered foreign-language books and foreign-language newspapers full of the latest news from all over the world.

They read foreign books and newspapers, spoke foreign dialects, dealt with officials in Guangzhou, did business, passed transactions, and the white money flowed into their coffers like water. With the frequent transactions of Huayang, a group of Chinese who communicated with Huayang came into being.Such people understand both foreign language and official language, both foreign affairs and national conditions, and they make huge profits from it.People in Guangzhou call them servants, and officials call them compradors.The comprador quickly spread the foreign customs in Guangzhou through himself and his family, relatives and friends.Therefore, the city of Guangzhou is also the most vigorous city influenced by Western civilization.

It was the middle of May in the hot summer season. Zhang Zhidong brought his family and followers all the way from Shanxi to Guangzhou, and became the supreme ruler of this metropolis in southern China and the vast land of Guangdong and Guangxi provinces. Those who come. The journey by boat and vehicle for more than a month gave him plenty of time to read the historical records about Guangdong and Guangxi.He also obtained various Beijing newspaper notes issued by the imperial court from the government along the way, which contained a lot of news about the Vietnam War.During this period, he was still in several Futai yamen, and received envelopes specially sent to him by the imperial court.Inside the envelope are top-secret documents about Guangdong and Guangxi.All of these are conducive to his in-depth thinking about the new job he is about to assume.

When he arrived in Shaozhou, Guangdong, he received a secret letter from the imperial court that he could only open and read personally.The secret letter contained the main points of the peace talks between Li Hongzhang and Fluno in Tianjin.These points are: France is willing to protect the security of China's territory adjacent to Vietnam, China's garrison battalions in Beiqi, Vietnam will immediately be transferred back to the border, France will not claim military expenses from China, China allows French goods to be freely transported and sold on the Chinese border, France and Vietnam have signed various agreements None of the treaties should hurt China's dignity, and the detailed terms will be discussed after three months.

Zhang Zhidong had always disliked peace talks, so he sealed them up after casually looking at them, and he did not attach too much importance to the "Concise Treaty of Tianjin", which will be recorded in the annals of modern history in the future.Along the way, he, Sang Zhiping, Yang Rui and others often talked about the current situation.Yang Rui, who is full of youthful enthusiasm, has always held an optimistic view of the future.Sang Zhiping, who has experienced many things in the world, tends to pay more attention to the complicated side of things. They talked more about the current situation in Guangdong.Although the former governor Zhang Shusheng moved out of the supervisory office, he still lives in Huangpu Port outside Guangzhou to supervise the military affairs of Guangdong and Guangxi.The barracks stationed in Humen are recruited from the former Hunan Army system in the past few months. The commander is the veteran Peng Yulin, who is known as a famous minister of ZTE, and his assistant is Lou Yunqing recommended by Zhang Zhiwan.The other army was the green battalion under the command of the admiral of Guangdong.Before Peng Yulin came to Guangdong, Zhang Shusheng's Huai army camp had a deep suspicion with the local Guangdong army.The reason for this is that Zhang used his supervisory power to place the Cantonese army in the forward positions in the Humen area, while leaving his own troops in the suburbs of Guangzhou.The Cantonese army was very dissatisfied with this, so they refused to cooperate with Zhang, and reported all kinds of wrongdoings of Zhang to the court.Zhang Shusheng's removal from the post of Governor of Guangdong is also closely related to this.After Peng Yulin arrived in Guangdong, he transferred the Cantonese army back to the mainland, and stationed the Hunan army camp in Humen.Peng Yulin's character of being selfless and putting state affairs first has won the respect of both Huai and Guangdong schools.At present, the three main military forces in Guangdong Province are all preparing their war equipment and closely monitoring the progress of the war.

On the second day after entering the city of Guangzhou, Zhang Zhidong received the seal and Wang Qi of the governor of Guangdong and Guangxi from Ni Wenwei, the governor of Guangdong, and officially became the supreme local commander in charge of commanding the Vietnam War.Through repeated talks with the Xiantai of the major yamen in the city and the staff members of the former supervisory office, Zhang Zhidong has a better understanding of the current internal and external situation.For better planning and planning, he decided to take two actions.One is to accept Zhang Zhiwan’s suggestion and send Sang Zhiping and Lei Qiong Daoist Wang Zhichun, who is familiar with the situation in Vietnam, to go outside Zhennan Pass in person to inspect the situation on the battlefield and meet the newly appointed governor of Guangxi, the leader of the Qing army who is supervising the battle outside the pass. Pan Dingxin, and Liu Yongfu, the leader of the Black Banner Army, and others.The second is to go out of the city of Guangzhou by yourself, first go to Huangpu Port, which controls the provincial capital, to visit the Huai Army and Zhang Shusheng stationed here, and then go to Humen, the southern gate of Guangdong, to visit the Hunan Army and Peng Yulin who are defending the front line.

The day after seeing off Sang Zhiping and Wang Zhichun, Zhang Zhidong, accompanied by Li Bizhong of Bingbei Road, took a small steamer and went down the Pearl River.In Huangpu Port, he met Zhang Shusheng, who was seriously ill. Zhang Shusheng poured out to his successor the complaints and grievances that had been suppressed in his chest for the past six months.In order to stabilize the morale of the Huai army and prepare for the war together, Zhang Zhidong readily agreed.Accompanied by Chief Soldier Wu Hongluo, Zhang Zhidong inspected the fortifications around Huangpu Port.The loose military style of the Huai army and the weakness of the fighting force worried the new Guangdong governor.

At Humen Fort, Zhang Zhidong met Peng Yulin, Minister of the Ministry of War, who was nearly 70 years old and still shared the joys and sorrows with the soldiers.Peng Yulin and Lou Yunqing personally accompanied him to inspect more than ten forts inside and outside Humenkou.Peng Yulin is a staunch main combat faction, and the defense of Humen is stronger than that of Huangpu Port. However, there is a large lack of new artillery with long range and strong lethality, which makes the old general very worried.Facing the Jingyuan Fort where General Guan Tianpei died heroically, Peng Yulin said sadly that General Guan and his soldiers were not lacking in patriotism and will to serve the country. The reason why they lost to the invaders was because their weapons were not as good as others.The cruelty of war forced everyone to accept this ruthless fact.Therefore, in the future, the Xianghuai Army will buy a large number of foreign guns and cannons.Hu Linyi even advocated making it by himself.The last words he left to those around him were: If we don’t learn from foreigners, we will be bullied forever.The old general sighed: Our weapons are still not as good as those of the foreigners. If we add 20 more German Krupp steel guns to Humen, we will be more confident in our defense.

The turbulent ocean, the blood-stained old fort, the humiliating and painful memories of the past, and the grim situation today, all of these strongly shocked Zhang Zhidong's mind.Hanlin, Xima, Xuetai, and Qingliu Party, these identities are gradually drifting away from him without knowing it; the commander-in-chief of the Guangdong and Guangxi armies, the guardian of the country's gates, the head of the eastern and western Guangdong, and thirty million people As a parent officer, a pair of heavy burdens are pressing on him.Whether he wants it or not, whether he can afford it or not, he has to accept it and take on it.

"If we don't learn from foreigners, we will be bullied forever." Peng Yulin's recitation of Hu's last words rang in his ears over and over again.The deep conversation of Yan Jingming in the Yuci Posthouse and the scientific and technological experiments of Timothy Li in the Taiyuan Yamen came to mind again.If you want to be strong, you have to learn from foreigners, and if you want to get rich, you have to learn from foreigners. "Learn from foreigners and do foreign affairs", Zhang Zhidong squeezed out these words through his teeth on the Pearl River waterway back to Guangzhou. During the days when Sang Zhiping and Wang Zhichun made unannounced visits to Vietnam, Beiqi, the place where the war started, was surprisingly quiet, while the southeast coast of China, thousands of miles away, became increasingly tense. The French Empire, which is smaller than Sichuan and has a population smaller than Guangdong and Guangxi, has always regarded the Qing Dynasty as something in the palm of its hand, blackmailing and bullying it without fear. On the second day after the French army invaded Lang Son and Wang Debang led his troops to drive them away, the French acting minister in Beijing, Xie Manlu, sent a note to the Prime Minister's Office of State Affairs, saying that the French side took back Lang Son according to the regulations, but was attacked by the Chinese army. In violation of the Tianjin Li-Fu Treaty, the responsibility for this incident should be borne and military expenses should be compensated.The Prime Minister’s National Affairs Office replied to the French Minister: The Tianjin Treaty stipulates that the detailed terms will be negotiated after three months. Before the detailed terms are released, the two sides should maintain the current situation. It is deemed that the French army violated the Qing army, and the military compensation should be borne by the French side.The Zongli Yamen's reply letter was clearly on the grounds, but Xie Manlu quibbled that the treaty should be based on the French version, and the Chinese version was wrongly translated.The Qing court repeatedly checked the Chinese and French texts and found no ambiguity, so they severely refuted them.The French government was furious, and immediately sent an official envoy, Bardenot, to China, demanding that China compensate military expenses of 250 million francs, equivalent to 1.25 million taels of silver, according to the second clause of the Tianjin Treaty. As the negotiator and signatory of the Tianjin Treaty, Li Hongzhang also had a headache for the French government's approach.He told Budeno, who had arrived in Shanghai, that the Chinese troops stationed in Vietnam had obeyed orders and stood still, Beiqi was peaceful, and the treaty had stated that there was no compensation, and it was unacceptable to ask China to pay any more.Badeno refused to talk with the Zongli Yamen and Li Hongzhang by staying in Shanghai instead of going to Beijing.The weak Qing court went so far as to give in to Badenuo, and reassigned Zeng Guoquan, governor of Liangjiang, as a full-fledged minister to hold talks with Badenuo.At this time, Chen Baochen also came to Nanjing as the Office of the Nanyang Military Affairs Association. Chen Baochen, who has always advocated being tough with the outside world, told Zeng Guoquan that we must adhere to the Tianjin Treaty, fight hard on the basis of reason, and never show that Ba Dewei is weak.Zeng Guoquan said, however, that he had received a secret message from Li Hongzhang. Li said that France had already taken military action against China's southeast waters, and the situation was tense and explosive.Once a war breaks out, it will be unfavorable to China.It should be feasible if small losses can be exchanged for the peace of the overall situation.Li's secret telegram also said that the Tianjin Treaty has been approved by the Queen Mother, and the court is required to pay for compensation. Regardless of whether it is straight or wrong, give France hundreds of thousands of silver to satisfy their greed. This will not harm the country. Chen Baochen firmly opposed to doing so.Zeng Guoquan ignored Chen Baochen's opinion, put on the air of a boss, and ordered Chen Baochen to go to Shanghai to contact Badenuo on his behalf, and promised to stop the lawsuit at the price of 500,000 taels of silver. The boss Chen Baochen was reluctant, but faced with Zeng Guoquan's stern and majestic face and his non-negotiable attitude, he had no choice but to bite the bullet and go to Shanghai to find Badeno.Unexpectedly, Budeno heard that there was only 500,000 yuan, which was too far from the government's request, so he refused.Chen Baochen was greatly ridiculed by Budeno. The matter did not end there.As soon as Chen Baochen returned to Nanjing, foreign newspapers in Shanghai made the matter public, and the public was in an uproar. When Cixi learned about it, she was very unhappy.The decree reprimanded Zeng Guoquan for secretly agreeing to outsiders behind the back of the court, but he really didn't know the general situation. Chen Baochen had his own opinions when encountering problems, so he echoed his voice on this matter, and he was very responsible for the appointment.Chen Baochen was so useless when he thought about it.I was obviously unwilling to make peace with the invaders and show weakness, but as a subordinate, I couldn't resist the orders of my superiors, so I went to negotiate with the French against my will. The matter failed, but it caused embarrassment on all sides: the foreigners looked coldly, the Chinese were indignant, and the Queen Mother scolded.Why bother!It was so easy and easy to destroy the famous name that was cultivated with great difficulty for a lifetime!Chen Baochen, who has always been self-proclaimed, came to Liangjiang not long ago, and suffered this unspeakable dumb loss.He began to understand the complexity of the world and the difficulty of practical affairs, and he regretted that he should not have left the capital. From then on, he would be trapped in this troublesome business circle.When Li Hongzhang, Zeng Guoquan, and Chen Baochen were in a difficult situation, the American Legation expressed its willingness to intervene.So everyone breathed a sigh of relief and waited for the result of the private transaction between the two powerful countries, the United States and France. At the same time, France actively dispatched troops and generals, trying to threaten the Qing court with force, intimidate the main fighters, and achieve his strategic goals of controlling Vietnam, opening up the Red River route, and eventually carve up China to conquer the Far East as soon as possible. French Vice Admiral Guba led a huge fleet to the East China Sea.On June 15, five French warships suddenly attacked the Keelung Fort in Taiwan.The military commander stationed in Taiwan is Liu Mingchuan, a veteran of the Huai Army. He commanded the soldiers to rush to the battle. Within an hour of the battle, the Keelung Fort fell.Liu Mingchuan hurriedly asked his old boss Li Hongzhang for help, and asked Li to send Beiyang Navy to Taiwan for rescue.The next day, more than 400 French soldiers forcibly landed.The admirals Cao Zhizhong and Zhang Gaoyuan of the Huai Army led their troops to fight the French soldiers. Both sides suffered heavy casualties. Seeing that Taiwan had not taken advantage of it, the French government instructed Badeno to take a step back in the negotiations.After receiving the government's order, Badeno immediately sent a note to Zeng Guoquan, falsely claiming that he had seized the Keelung Fort, and the compensation could be reduced as appropriate.He also secretly asked the Chief Taxation Department Hurd to come forward and talk about it.Hurd made a gesture of speaking for both China and France, and proposed a compromise plan. China would pay 800,000 taels of silver, but pay it off in ten years.At the same time, Xie Manlu, the acting minister in Beijing, also issued an ultimatum to the Qing court, and a reply was given within two days.If it is not allowed, the flag will be lowered and leave Beijing. It seems that the serious moment of withdrawing the embassy and severing diplomatic relations between China and France has come. Faced with this sudden change, the Qing court was both angry and fearful.On the one hand, the recent unreasonable actions of France were notified to other countries in order to obtain justice from the international community; The secret decree was sent to the Yamen of the Governor of Fujian and Zhejiang in Fuzhou. After the Governor He Jing received it, he ordered people to fly to the Shipping Bureau. He Jing is an old bureaucrat. He was in Hanlin in the 27th year of Daoguang, the same year as Li Hongzhang.Although he had no military exploits, he was outspoken and capable in politics, so he was promoted smoothly. In the second year of Tongzhi, he became the inspector of Anhui, and was promoted to the governor of Hubei. In the ninth year of Tongzhi, he was promoted to governor.In the eleventh year of Tongzhi, Zeng Guofan died of illness and Jiang Du took office, and He Jing was serving as governor of Jiangsu.He went to the imperial court and asked to set up a special shrine for Zeng Guofan in Jiangning. For a while, the ruling and opposition parties believed that he was sympathetic to the heroes and could speak up for justice. The officialdom is similar to the military camp.No matter how simple a country bumpkin is, he will become a soldier after staying in the barracks for a long time.To keep the barracks alive, it is necessary to constantly withdraw soldiers and replace them with country bumpkins.Similarly, no matter how bloody a scholar is, after staying in the officialdom for a long time, he will be polished and exhausted until he is polished from the beginning to the end, soaked black, and smoked. Ivy, but it is rarely seen throughout the ages.It's a pity that officialdom has its own rules, and you can't constantly let go of the old and bring in the new like in the military camp. Therefore, the officialdom is less energetic, more stagnant, less aggressive, more obedient, less honest and self-loving, and more gangsters.This is really helpless! When He Jing was young, he used to be stern and aggressive, but now he is over sixty-six years old, and he has been an official of the frontier for fourteen or five years. Last month, Zhang Peilun, who was full of vigor and ambition, came to Fujian to handle military affairs.The thirty-six-year-old left deputy of the Metropolitan Procuratorate, who is famous all over the world, faced the Bamin officials, including He Zhu, as an angel.Because Zhang Peilun has always dared to participate in the impeachment of high officials, as soon as he arrived in Fuzhou, someone filed an anonymous petition, accusing the Fujian admiral of corruption in Yuan Dynasty, which was absurd, and listed four major crimes.In order to establish his image as a stern and honest official, Zhang Peilun immediately investigated and dealt with them one by one within a few days.He delivered the impeachment letter to the capital, and it was handed over to the Ministry of Yuan for strict discussion.As the governor, He Jing was negligent, and he was also criticized in the bulletin.From this, He Jing knew that Zhang Peilun was particularly favored by the Queen Mother, and that he would be able to achieve success in just a few days, so he simply handed over all major military and defense matters in Fujian and Zhejiang to Zhang Peilun, and let him be the master.After the Keelung War broke out, he came to the Shipping Bureau thirty miles outside Fuzhou City. The official name of this shipping bureau is Fuzhou Shipping Bureau. Because the bureau is located in Mawei Port on the Minjiang River, it is customarily called Mawei Shipping Bureau.In the fifth year of Tongzhi, it was founded by Zuo Zongtang, then governor of Fujian and Zhejiang. It was a government-run Westernization Enterprise established at the same time as Jiangnan Manufacturing Bureau and Jinling Manufacturing Bureau.The Jiangnan Bureau focuses on making bullets, the Jinling Bureau focuses on building machines, and the Mawei Bureau specializes in building ships.The Mawei Bureau hired a Frenchman, Riyige, as the chief supervisor.Over the past 30 years, under the supervision of Zuo Zongtang, Shen Baozhen and others, more than ten warships such as Wannianqing, Anlan, Feiyun, Fubo, etc. have been built, equipped with Beiyang Navy.At present, the bureau has 20 workshops for shipbuilding, models, and equipment, three slipways, and an iron ship, with a total of more than 3,000 personnel and a shipping school.Some famous figures in the history of the Chinese navy, such as Yan Fu, Deng Shichang, Liu Buchan, Sa Zhenbing and others are all graduates of the Shipbuilding School.Obviously, the Mawei Shipping Bureau was the largest Westernization enterprise in Fujian and Zhejiang at that time, and it was also one of the largest batch of Westernization enterprises in the country.The military situation in the sea area is urgent, and the Mawei Bureau has become the first key protection object. There is also He Ruzhang, a minister of shipping, who is resident in the bureau.He Ruzhang is a mediocre official.Putting on airs and seeking personal gain, he can do it all, but when it comes to real talent and learning, he is as ignorant as most officials in the officialdom. As soon as the wind in Haijiang became tighter, he wished for someone to replace him.Now, Zhang Peilun came to Mawei with great vigor, while He Ruzhang felt rescued.Zhang Peilun patted his chest and said to He Ruzhang: "With me here, you can rest assured. I have figured out the foreigners. They always bully the weak and fear the strong. I, Zhang, is famous for being a tough guy. Forgive them for not doing anything wrong. " As the Minister of Shipping, He Ruzhang still knew the character and military strength of foreigners.He thought to himself, are foreigners still afraid of you, Zhang Peilun, a tough guy?It's too crazy!He knew that once the war broke out, the situation would definitely be bad. Right now, he needed someone to stand up and be the leader, so that he could take responsibility on his behalf in the future. He said with a face full of trust: "Master Zhang, you are the imperial envoy sent by the Queen Mother. He Zhitai has entrusted you with important military affairs in Fujian and Zhejiang. Naturally, I have nothing to say. How the Mawei Ship Administration can defeat the enemy depends on the entire situation." Following your command." In terms of duty, He Ruzhang is the master of the Shipping Bureau, and in terms of qualifications, he is far above Zhang Peilun. Zhang Peilun is afraid that he will not listen to orders.Hearing him say that now is just right.Zhang Peilun was about to take advantage of this place to put his military talents to good use, so he said bluntly: "During this period, everything about the Mawei Ship Administration Bureau was entrusted to me. Although I don't agree with spending tens of millions of taels of silver to build this shipyard, But since it took twenty years to build this scale, the shipyard is a property of the country. As the minister of the Fujian Military Affairs Association, I have the responsibility to protect it. Master He, you can rest assured that the shipyard is in my Zhangzhou It must be safe in someone's hands!" "Okay, okay, Mr. Zhang is versatile in both civil and military affairs, young and promising, I don't worry." He Ruzhang nodded with a stooped smile, thinking of a big event in his mind. On the seventh day of June, Vice Admiral Guba of the French Navy, after receiving a secret message from the government, led a large fleet of eight ships, suddenly appeared at the mouth of the Minjiang River, and released a small speedboat from the command ship.The small speedboat drove up the river at full speed, and soon arrived at Mawei Port, where it was intercepted by patrol personnel from the shipyard. "We are the French fleet." A young Chinese man in a suit and leather shoes stood up on the speedboat, answered the patrol officers' questions in Mandarin with a Hokkien accent, and pointed to an equally young foreigner sitting beside him to introduce, " This is Mr. Michel, the deputy captain of the French tanker Volta, under the order of Mr. Guba, the commander-in-chief, is here to visit the Minister of Shipping of Fuzhou to discuss important matters.” The patrol officers heard that foreigners were discussing important matters, so they dared not neglect, and hurriedly took the guests to the Office of the Minister of Shipping to see He Ruzhang.After listening to the translator's introduction, Michelle took off her hat and bowed respectfully to the Chinese Shipping Minister.After the salute, Michelle chatted on the phone, and the translator relayed: "We are a team of French tankers, we are going to Russia to load gasoline, and we are passing through your country. First, we have run out of fresh water and want to replenish fresh water. Second, I heard that there are some French people in the Mawei shipyard. The chief supervisor, Mr. Riiger, is a friend of our team leader, Mr. Guba. I am ordered by Mr. Guba, please allow our fleet to enter Mawei Port to replenish fresh water and meet friends and fellow villagers. We will pay according to the amount of fresh water replenished, please agree.” He Ruzhang said: "Mr. Riyige is not here, he has gone to Hong Kong for vacation." They already knew that Riyige was not in the ponytail.Michelle pretended to be surprised and asked: "That's a pity, but there are other French compatriots, we also want to meet and chat." He Ruzhang asked, "How long are you going to stay?" Michelle replied: "Only stay for a week at most." He Ruzhang agreed. In the afternoon, eight ocean liners drove into Mawei Port in an orderly manner and moored at the designated place of the shipyard.Immediately afterwards, Guba, who claimed to be the chief leader of the merchant marine, was accompanied by Michelle, who was actually a lieutenant in the navy and named the deputy captain of the Volta, and an interpreter, and came to visit He Ruzhang.Gu Ba is in his fifties, with gray temples and a rough complexion, but his body is strong and straight, full of energy. He first thanked the Chinese Shipping Minister for accepting his request, and then asked Michelle to present two gifts: a monocular telescope more than a foot long, and a gold pocket watch the size of a small saucer. He Ruzhang is particularly fond of foreigners' binoculars.He once borrowed Riiger's telescope to play with.Standing on the roof and looking through the binoculars, the entire Mawei Shipyard is in sight, and even a few ships parked in the dock five miles away can be clearly seen.Now someone gave him this good thing, why wouldn't he accept it!After he happily took the telescope, he also took the gold-cased pocket watch, thinking: This watch will be given to He Jing in a few days, so that the old man will also be happy, and he will say a few good words for himself in the report during the year-end performance appraisal. The next day, He Ruzhang returned to worship.His gift in return was also different, a pair of high-necked and big-bellied blue and white porcelain vases made by Jingdezhen Royal Kiln Factory during the Kangxi period, and a stone sculpture of the Eight Immortals in Qingtian, Zhejiang.Each piece was carried by four servants, including translators, entourages, and servants, a group of more than ten people came to the lead ship Volta in a mighty and dignified manner. Guba happily accepted the gift, was full of praise, and happily accompanied him to visit the Volta up and down.The Volta is sturdy and mighty, the interior of the cabin is magnificently furnished, the electric lights are as bright as day, and there are colorful lights in red and green, like a fairyland.Compared with the Fubo and Anlan manufactured by the shipyard, the Volta is like a painting in a fairyland, which is beyond reach.The Fuzhou Shipping Minister of the Qing Dynasty continued to express sincere admiration. After the visit, Guba held a banquet to entertain the guests.The exquisite Parisian cuisine, the mellow Marseille wine, and the host's gracious persuasion made He Ruzhang's mind drunk and his heart sweet. From the second day on, the eight ships were pouring fresh water non-stop, and Michel really invited all the French craftsmen in the Mawei Shipyard to drink on board to reminisce about their nostalgia.When one week expired, the interpreter accompanied Michelle to the shipyard again, saying that two ships were out of order, and they planned to invite the French craftsmen in Ponytail to repair them. The workers during the repair period would be paid by them. stop their wages. He Ruzhang fully agreed, and generously said to Michelle: The salary of the craftsmen will still be paid by us, so you can hire whoever you want. Michelle thanked He Ruzhang for his generosity.Unexpectedly, this repair took five or six days, and it is still moored in Mawei Port. He Ruzhang never visited again.Now that Zhang Peilun is here, He Ruzhang remembered this incident and asked him to go and have a look. If something happens in the future, he can bear the responsibility and has nothing to do with himself. Zhang Peilun also felt that he should not stop for so long, so he agreed to go and have a look.When they came to the ship, Guba and Michel repeatedly apologized. After a comprehensive inspection, they found new problems. The check came, saying that according to the international practice, if the Falun was parked in Mawei for more than ten days, the berthing fee should be paid.He Ruzhang and Zhang Peilun don't know if there is such an international rule. They only know that Chinese fishing boats and government ships don't need to pay berthing fees when they berth at any port.Originally, a boat parked here and didn’t eat yours, so take yours, this place is empty and empty, the guest thinks there is no reason to pay, and the owner is embarrassed to collect the money.China is a country of propriety and righteousness. Since our own people don't have to take money, how can we take money from foreigners?Have friends come from afar!If you are really a friend, not only will you not be charged parking fees, but you will also be entertained with delicious food, as a landlord!But the habits of foreigners are unclear, not to mention that on the Vietnam battlefield, China and France are still in a hostile relationship, so we have to be more or less vigilant about this group of French merchant ships.After Zhang Peilun thought this way, he said to Gu Ba: "We don't charge berthing fees, please leave Mawei Port within three days." "Okay, okay." Gu Ba immediately agreed, "We must leave within three days." Michelle invited them to eat before leaving.He Ruzhang wished that the master would say this, and Zhang Peilun couldn't go alone first, so they went into the restaurant together.The two high officials of the Qing Dynasty were satisfied with the delicious food and wine. When the wine was hot, Gu Ba proposed that if it is not repaired in three days, please wait for a few more days.He Ruzhang, who was already drunk, couldn't help playing the popular tone in Chinese official circles: "It's easy to say, easy to say!" When Zhang Peilun and He Ruzhang returned to the office from the French ship, they received the imperial court's secret order from He Jing about the Keelung War and the strengthening of guard along the coast and river. Zhang Peilun said: "I don't know if this group of French ships has any connection with the warships that attacked Keelung." "They are merchant ships." He Ruzhang said confidently, "The status of foreigners doing business is very high. They are not controlled by the government, and there is no need for them to be tools of the government." "But they are French ships after all. Now that the two countries are fighting, we have to guard against them." "Didn't you tell them to leave within three days? They'll be fine if they leave." Unexpectedly, after three days, they did not leave, and He Ruzhang did not urge them.The strange thing is that this Qingliu cadre repeatedly reminded those in power to be vigilant against foreigners and take effective preventive measures when he was in the capital. The French fleet actually believed the lies of the "merchant ships" easily, did not take precautions, and did not tell them to leave when the time came.In this way, he planted a disastrous root for the country and himself! July 3rd was an ordinary and peaceful day. The employees of Mawei Shipyard No. 3,000 were working in their respective positions as usual.There are eleven Chinese warships moored in the empty Mawei Port. These warships are all built by Mawei Shipyard itself, and several of them have made great efforts for national defense on the sea.Compared with Western warships, they are naturally inferior, but in China and Southeast Asian countries, this is still a powerful fleet.Each warship is equipped with guns with strong firepower: the main guns are installed on the bow, and the guns at the stern are relatively weaker.A huge iron anchor is thrown into the river from the bow, and the bow is tied to the mooring on the riverside by a thick iron chain. A large ship with a carrying capacity of tens of thousands of tons is fixed on a certain place in the river by this anchor and chain. position.When the tide rises in the morning, the tide rushes in from the downstream, and the river flows backwards. The untied stern of the boat floats upstream with the current, and the bow points downstream.When the tide ebbs in the afternoon, the stern floats downstream with the current, while the bow points upstream.Every boat went up and down like this twice a day, and everyone was used to it. Today is also the same. In the morning, the sea tide is high, and the water from the East China Sea is pouring into Mawei Port from the mouth of the Minjiang River in waves. The bow of the ship pointed downstream, and not far downstream were moored eight French "merchant ships" that had been in Mawei Port for nearly a month. After noon, the sea water receded, and the stern slowly floated down again, and the part close to the ocean liner changed from the bow to the stern. At this moment, the French Consulate in Fuzhou sent someone to send an urgent official document to the Yamen of the Governor of Fujian and Zhejiang Provinces in China. The translator opened the official document case and couldn't help being surprised. He handed it to He Jing and said urgently: "This is a A declaration of war. The French government is scheduled to declare war on the Chinese warships anchored in Mawei Harbor at 2 o’clock this afternoon.” After hearing this, He Jing's face suddenly turned pale, his whole body was sweating profusely, and the words he spit out were incoherent: "Okay, what kind of war is declared? How can foreigners do this... There is no reason for declaring war like this... Mawei Port stops Isn't it a merchant ship?" At this time, Lin Wangfa, the chairman of the Fuzhou Chamber of Commerce, was in the Yamen. He was surprised when he saw the declaration of war, and said to He Jing, "Tell the shipyard quickly." He Jing asked suspiciously: "They declared war on the shipyard, didn't the shipyard receive it?" Lin Wangfa took out his pocket watch and said in surprise, "It's 1:38, less than half an hour before the declaration of war. Regardless of whether they received it or not, we must tell them about it." "It's too late!" He Can was so angry that he was at a loss. "Telegraph at the telegraph office!" Lin Wangfa reminded the masters of Taiwan, and the patrol was ordered to gallop to the Fuzhou Telegraph Office immediately. The Mawei Telegraph Bureau quickly received the urgent telegram.When the translation students translated the word "declaration of war", their hands trembled unconsciously, and when they were about to translate the following sentence, "boom, boom", a huge cannon sound came from the river, shaking the telegraph office. The stained glass clanged, and the pen in the hands of Yidian students was shaken to the ground. At this moment, Zhang Peilun, Minister of Maritime Affairs of Fujian Province, and He Ruzhang, Minister of Shipping, were taking a nap in bed when they were suddenly awakened by the earth-shattering sound of cannons. On the pocket watch, the time marked by the long and short hands is: one fifty-six. A thick smoke mixed with a strong and irritating smell filled Mawei Port, and the entire shipyard was immediately plunged into horror. "My lord Zhang, there is a call from the Taiwan government office, and the French ocean liner wants to declare war on me." After the translation student hastily translated all the telegrams, he hurried to Zhang Peilun's residence, handed over the telegram, and panted out the main content of the telegram. Zhang Peilun picked up a long robe and draped it on his body. He jumped from the bed barefoot to the ground barefooted, took a quick glance at the telegram, and ran to the window to look at the river. Go: The peaceful and beautiful Mawei Harbor in the past has now become a murderous water battlefield. At 1:30 in the afternoon, under the order of Guba, eight French ships lifted off the canvas covering the gun positions, revealing the latest long-range and powerful steel guns produced by the German Krupp Gun Factory installed on the bow and stern.After the camouflage of the peaceful and friendly merchant ships was stripped off, what appeared was the original shape of the ferocious and ferocious warships.All the personnel on the ship were in their positions, staring at the Chinese warship more than a hundred feet away in front of them like a falcon staring at a rabbit. He stared motionless ahead with a single-scope telescope, and next to him stood Lieutenant Michele. As the tide receded, the sterns of the warships in front were slowly drifting down. Seeing that all the sterns had floated down, Gu Ba took out the pocket watch in his breast pocket, opened it, and looked at the watch beside him. Michelle gave the order: "Ships get ready!" "All ships get ready!" Michelle passed on the order. "Fire!" Gu Ba roared viciously. "Fire!" Michelle shouted, and the Jackal on the left of the Volta couldn't wait to fire the first shot.Then the Vera, the Testang, the Tronfon and other French warships fired shells one after another. The personnel on the Chinese warship, from the captain to the sailors, did not expect this. In a panic, the two ships Chenbo and Yongbao closest to the French ship were hit by shells, and flames were everywhere on the ship. Slowly sinking horribly. Zhang Peilun rushed out of the door and came to the riverside. Seeing that the Chenbo and Yongbao ships were surrounded by flames and gradually lost their balance. One head was up and the other was down. He only kept shouting loudly: "Why didn't you fire back!" He followed him and ran to the shipyard co-organizer by the river and said: "The main gun is at the bow, they can't fight back!" “该死！”张佩纶情急之中骂道，“这些蠢猪，还不快把船头掉过来。” “来不及了！”协办绷起着脸答。难道就这样让他们活活的打！张佩纶痛苦万分。眼看着自己的兵舰被击中而不能还手，心中悔恨不已：悔不该上当受骗，悔不该前几天没有下死决心让这些魔鬼离开马尾！除了痛苦和悔恨，张佩纶拿不出一点实际办法。 What can he do?他既不能跳到闽江里去将中国兵舰的船头都扭转过来，将炮火猛烈地对着那一群卑鄙无耻的骗子强盗，又不能飞到伏尔他号去，怒斥孤拔、米歇尔，叫他们停止这种罪恶的行为，以正义去压倒邪恶，用良知去熄灭战火。他一无实战经验，二不懂船炮战术，此时，即使他能借用电报指挥江上的中国兵舰，他又能指挥出个什么名堂来？ 张佩纶想大骂一通引狼入室的何如璋，但何如璋连影子也看不到了，气得他在岸上毫无目的地来回奔走，没有走几步，便已两腿发软，浑身颤抖，终于瘫倒在江边。江面上，马尾港里的中法两国水战越来越惨烈了。 孤拔为他们的突然袭击获得成功而大声狞笑，他又下达了“连续发炮”的命令。一发发凶猛的炮弹呼啸着向中国舰队打去，有的打在船上，立刻引发出一片烟火，有的打在江上，则马上激发几丈高的水浪。 中国的水师官兵并不是懦弱的，他们经过几秒钟的思索后，便明白过来这是怎么一回事。尽管事前无一丝毫准备，且眼下的处境极为不利，凭着军人本能的血性和勇敢，他们在没有统一的指挥下，舰自为战，人自为战，给予侵犯者——无耻的骗子以猛烈的回击。 福胜、建顺两舰的舰头上都各装有两座十八吨的大炮，他们一面急忙掉转船头，一面用船尾所安装的十吨炮向敌舰开火，豺狼号只得集中火力对付这两艘中国兵舰。 扬武号的船尾装有两座十二吨的炮位，在十一艘中国兵舰中，扬武号是船尾火力最强的一只。眼看着船头一时掉不过来，舰长决定充分发挥自己舰尾的优势，认真对付这群卑劣的洋鬼子。他看出伏尔他号是敌舰队的指挥舰，便命令炮手瞄准着号令台射击。两发炮弹同时从扬武号舰尾射出。Wonderful!第一炮便恰好打中伏尔他号的舰桥，桥上的五个法国兵顷刻之间便毙了命。第二发炮弹打中了发号台，发号台被打得稀巴烂，只可惜偏了点，那个罪恶的大头子孤拔没被击中，他被震倒在地，爬起来后又哇哇直叫，命令打炮。扬武号的尾炮又接连发出几发炮弹，虽压住了敌舰的火力，但遗憾的是未打中伏尔他号的要害。这时，一艘在伏尔他号旁边的鱼雷舰偷偷地对着扬武号发出一枚鱼雷，鱼雷箭一般地在水中向扬武号飞去，打在右舷下。 轰的一声，扬武号爆炸。开战后的二十七秒钟，立了大功的扬武号悲壮地沉没了。 这时，福星、济安、飞云等兵舰都中了敌炮。就在随时都有灭顶之灾的时候，各舰上的炮手仍在用尾炮回击敌舰的挑战，维护着中华民族的尊严。 振威号是一艘刚出厂的新舰，它的炮位上装的也是德国克虏伯厂新出的钢炮。现在它的船尾后面跟着的是法国的维拉号和台斯当号两艘兵舰，他们正利用船头主炮位的优势，全力猛扑振威号。振威号毫不畏惧，一边用尾炮英勇还击，一边全速掉头，在掉头的过程中，恰遇法国的特隆方号向它侧面驶来。振威号狠狠地射出一炮，击中特隆方号船头侧面，一股浓烟立时将特隆方号的船头罩住。 特隆方号没料到振武号的炮火威力这样大，气急败坏地也向振武号发来一排炮弹，有两发打在振武号的船舷上，立刻穿成两个大洞。江水从洞口急涌而入，振武号还在继续掉转船头。好了，主炮位正好面对跟踪的维拉号和台斯当号。振武号将一肚子仇恨发出去，一排炮弹连珠般射出，两艘敌舰都被打中了，维拉号在江面摇摇晃晃，似要沉水。这时，伏尔他号身边的鱼雷舰从烟火中冲进，疯狂地向振武号发射一颗鱼雷，击中了它的船头。就在振武号即将沉水，炮位就要沉没的那一瞬间，振武号用尽全身力气，将最后一颗克虏伯炮弹射出。它迅速直前，将法舰台斯当号的旋转轮打得粉碎，轮机手及其身边的挥旗人被击毙，身后的舰长右臂离开身体不知去向。就在这个胜利的炮声中，振武号带着对船厂、对闽江、对父老乡亲的深深眷恋，永不屈服地沉入江底。 这就是中国近代史上著名的马尾之役。从打第一炮开始，到振武号的沉没，前后不过半个钟头，中国十一艘兵舰全部被击中，伤亡将士七百余人，经营了三十多年的福建水师全军覆没；而法国八艘军舰无一沉没，只有两艘遭到重创，死伤不过三十来人。 大清帝国在世界面前再一次暴露出它的衰败无能，懦弱可欺！ 当看到振武号悲壮沉江的那一刻，瘫倒在岸边的张佩纶眼前一黑，晕了过去。 “轰隆隆，轰隆隆”，猛烈的炮声将张佩纶惊醒，他看到身边不远处车间腾起了烟火。 “不好了，法国人的炮打到岸上了！”一肚子造船技术却惮于兵戈的船厂协办，吓得脸色惨白，他本能地意识到，必须离开这里，否则将性命不保。 “张大人，我们快走！”协办扶起张佩纶，张佩纶的两腿仍然无力。 “快过来扶着张大人往后山走！” 协办招来几个工役，大家架起张佩纶，扶着协办，转身向后。 张佩纶觉得自己此时离开船厂，正好比守城的官员弃城而逃。临阵弃逃，论律当有死罪！张佩纶心里一震，不由地停住脚步。船厂的第一号主管官员，自然是船政大臣何如璋。“何大人呢？何大人在哪里？”他茫然地问身边的工役。“何大人早已转到后山去了。”一个工役答道。何如璋早已走了，这话使张佩纶惊虚的心略为安定下来。论职守，自己是整个福建海疆的会办大臣，不只管一个马尾船厂，马尾的守土之责在何如璋身上。他都先走了，我还等什么！ “轰隆隆，轰隆隆”，又是一阵炮轰声，江面上得胜的法国舰队掉转炮位向岸上打来，他们在发泄征服者的淫威，试图彻底摧毁这个中国最大的造船基地，炸死手无寸铁的三千员工！可怜的马尾船厂四处受炸，房屋倒坍，数十名员工倒在血泊之中，更多的人在抱头鼠窜，向树木茂集的后山奔去。 一发炮弹就在张佩纶等人的身边炸开，尘土飞扬，刚才还是一块平整的地面上，立时出现了一个足可埋下四五个人的坟坑。 从小在锦衣玉食的官衙里长大的张佩纶，从来没有见过这种惊心动愧、生死系于瞬间的战争场面。此时，他早已方寸大乱，六神无主，只有求生的本能在强烈地驱使他挪动脚步，一步一步地向后山密林里逃去。这一逃，铸成了张佩纶终生不能洗刷的耻辱。他那令人目眩的光彩形象，因此而黯然失色，轰然圮塌。