Chapter 34 Section thirty-four

So more than a hundred Beijing officials gathered in the guild hall and submitted two public notices. The first was to attack He Jing and Zhang Zhaodong, and the second was for Zhang Peilun, led by Pan Bingnian, editor of the Imperial Academy of Changle, Fujian Presented by the Metropolitan Procuratorate. Naturally, the Military Aircraft Department had already heard the news. In order to quell the public anger, it first issued an edict on the first day of August: "He Jing, the governor of Fujian and Zhejiang, has been in office for the longest time. He usually has nothing to do with defense matters, and he has not been able to quickly rescue him. He was dismissed first. Zhang Zhaodong, the governor of Fujian, guarded the provincial capital, unable to do anything, and the Ministry of Communications strictly discussed and dealt with him.

Zhan Shifu, the Minister of Shipping, and Zhan Shihe Ruzhang, the Minister of Shipping, is his sole responsibility to guard the factory, but when the battle is tight, he hurried back to the province, which is really fearful and incompetent.The Ministry of Communications strictly dealt with it.Zhang Peilun, a lecturer of the Imperial Academy, commanded the warships and confronted the enemy. When negotiating peace, he repeatedly asked to go first, and he had the purpose of allowing war, but he was unable to carry out his foreword.When the imperial court dispatched reinforcements, Zhang Peilun often used the reinforcements as a word.Martial law in the provincial capital is just a matter of arrogance and no opinion.He should have been severely punished, but Gu Nianqi was still brave enough to guard the shipyard, so he was removed from the lenient rank of Sanpinqing, and he was still handed over to the Ministry for discussion to show that he should be punished lightly.General Mu Tushan of Fuzhou was stationed at Nagato. Due to the attack from inside and outside the enemy ship, he failed to block its exit.With Garn exempting him from commenting.

Afterwards, before Zuo Zongtang arrived in the defense of Fujian Province, he ordered Mu Tushan, Yang Changjun, Zhang Peilun and Zhongshang to do it carefully. " This edict was issued together with Zhang Peilun's original performance.Fujian's capital officials were shocked when they saw it, because the situation reported by Zhang Peilun was very different from what was said in everyone's letter. Therefore, in addition to the public submission, Wan Peiyin, a native of Chong'an, Fujian Province, gave a single title to Wan Peiyin. Send high-level officials to investigate and deal with it, and according to military law, impose a heavy code urgently to avenge public anger."It pointed out "seven suspicious": "In the battle of the third year of junior high school, according to what I heard, He Ruzhang hid the war, Zhang Peilun did not send arms, and Wei Han was sent to delay the teacher's period, which was blocked before the note. , which is suspicious.

The divisions of the water and land battalions, as far as I have heard, only the four ships such as Fuxing, and the battle to the death is true.Yixin boat Xiaoyi went away, Fubo chiseled himself, Yang Wu did not fire the cannon, and the rest boat set fire to himself.In the army, Fang Xun's subordinate Chaoyong collapsed first, and Huang Chaoqun's army took advantage of the chaos to enter the school, the Guangshu office, the machine room, etc., and looted everything. As far as the number of enemy ships was destroyed, according to what I heard, the enemy entered the Ma River with eight ships, and only three ships attacked, fired seven giant cannons, and our ships sank one after another.But Fuxing once destroyed one of his torpedo boats.

Its suspicious three also. The matter of Fang Xun and Huang Chaoqun's refusal to the enemy is based on what I heard. After the enemy attacked Mawei, they attacked the shipyard the next day and destroyed the iron factory. The chimney was half broken and the ship's tank was slightly damaged.At this time, Fang Xun doesn't know where to go?Huang Chaoqun had already retreated into the back mountain on the third day of the first day, but escaped without breaking his ears!Its suspicious four also. In the battles at Min'an, Guantou, etc., I heard from my ministers that the armies of the forts scattered when they heard the cannons. The enemy then went ashore, cracked the cannons with water, and threw gunpowder to burn the houses.If you don't go ashore, why are the cannons cracked?Its suspicious five also.

When He Ruzhang returned to the province, according to what the ministers heard, He Ruzhang hired his husband in advance as an escape plan.On the 2nd day of June, the juridical cannons were played, and He Ruzhang, in short clothes, shouted at the audience in the lobby.On the third day of junior high school, hearing the cannon, he fled from the back mountain. At night, he ran to Kuai'an, and then went to Nantai foreign company. In the morning, he entered the city to wear a top hat and sit in a bamboo pocket. Its suspicious six also. Zhang Peilun was stationed in the factory, and according to what I heard, on the third day of the first day, Zhang Peilun walked through the thunderstorm in bare hands, went to the courtyard under the Gushan Mountain at night, and sat on the floor recommended by reeds.After Chi Ming ran out of Pengtian Township, he sent a bill to the house of a giant gentry in the city to make a fake quilt, and stayed in hiding until the sun came out.On the fourth day of the lunar new year, when the enemy attacked the factory, Zhang Peilun entered Pengtian from Gushan. Why did he guard the factory?It's suspicious. "

Although these "seven suspicious" rumors are different, but when viewed together with the public report led by Pan Bingnian, there is much more credibility.In addition, Wan Peiyin also talked about "foreigners' theories": "The minister heard about the foreigners' theories, saying that when the French soldiers crossed the Ma River and sailed into the desperate land, there was a way to be defeated. Ships and French ships will all sink. This is the best strategy. Use No. 4 gunboats to protect the army on the shore. If the French soldiers are all guns, the enemy will not be able to go ashore. Small boats, equipped with gunpowder and other materials, go down the river to cover the river, add army gunpowder, and throw them between the banks, which is a great embarrassment, and this is the worst policy."

Some people may not understand these arguments on paper, but Zhang Peilun said that "Yang advocates fighting for peace, while Yin really hopes for peace and is timid to fight", but it hits the nail on the head. However, although the participation was strong, there were also many people who spoke for Zhang Peilun. This was entirely the relationship between the two Lis—Li Hongzhang and Li Hongzao.Some people say that Zhang Peilun has repeatedly suggested "preemptive action", and the imperial court never allowed it in order to preserve the peace and fear of accidentally injuring other countries' warships and causing accidental disputes.Speaking of it, this person is still talented, and talents are rare, so you might as well take responsibility for the future.

Some people also said that Zhang Peilun had not been familiar with the situation in Fujian since he arrived in Fujian, and the arrangements were not well planned, which is understandable.One of the most powerful arguments came directly from Li Hongzhang, who said: "The forts in Fujian are not strong enough to resist the French army. It is expected. The forts in Fujian do not know how to do it. I heard that the muzzles of the guns are completely outward, so the French Warships can attack from the inside, which is "losing power". The fort cannot be rotated because of He Jing's "seven years of operation" in his same year. Li Hongzhang knew it a long time ago, and deliberately said that he "doesn't know how to do it".

He also said: "The Chinese warships have not been in operation for a long time. The ships are not as strong as others, and the drills are not as proficient as others. It is well known both at home and abroad that it is difficult to defeat the enemy." Why do we have to be wronged and seek knowledge? Talking about the "lure the enemy to land and set up an ambush" that King Chun has always advocated and hoped for, he believes that there must be breech-loading guns and breech-loading cannons to talk about this.However, there are no breech-loading guns in all provinces, and there are very few "breech-loading light artillery", so it is difficult to be sure that they rely on hand-to-hand combat.It takes a lot of money to purchase breech-loading guns, and Beiyang has been operating for many years, and it barely has a scale.This means that the Fujian army should not be deeply blamed for its ineffective defense of the factory.

Next, we will discuss the war preparations in Nanyang, saying that the Yangtze River is wide and deep, and it is a place for sailors. The forts in Wusong and Jiangyin are also strong and usable. It can sail." Then he quoted a book "New Theory of Sea Defense" translated and printed by the Beiyang Yamen two years ago, which described the battles of the American Civil War, proving that he did not deceive people who had never seen warships. As for the deployment of mines, they are indeed the most powerful weapon for "blocking the river", but the Majiang River is more than ten miles wide, or even tens of miles, how can it be deployed everywhere.All in all, what he meant was that Zhang Peilun was not responsible for Ma Jiang's defeat.As far as the moment is concerned, no place can prevent the invasion of foreign warships, let alone confront foreign warships. For these reasons, the Empress Dowager Cixi had nothing to say except a long sigh.Of course, Zhang Peilun had to be held accountable. Zuo Zongtang was about to go to Fujian, so he happened to be sent to investigate nearby. There seems to be a turning point in the peace talks.John Yang made a special trip from Beijing to Tianjin to see Li Hongzhang, saying that France had asked the United States to mediate after receiving a telegram from the capital of the United States.What the United States means is that if China is willing to make concessions, France will also take the same steps. During the mutual concessions, a way to take care of each other's dignity can always be found.John Yang also said that he came to Tianjin only for this matter.The implication is that China has to look at the mediator's face. If China makes concessions, it will naturally have to pay military expenses to some extent, and Huang Huang's edict has already firmly warned that anyone who claims compensation will be punished.Therefore, in Li Hongzhang's telegram, he did not dare to mention military expenses at all. Of course, the Zongli Yamen did not dare to repeat it.At the same time, I have doubts about the sincerity of France in seeking peace, because according to the telegrams from Shanghai, Hong Kong, Fuzhou and other places, Gu Ba may be worried about the sinking of the Majiang ship, and the return route will be cut off. Among the reinforcement ships, one was carrying a coal digging machine, which was more intended as a proof of the Keelung Coal Mine. Sure enough, on August 13th, Guba attacked Kilong for the second time. The first time was on June 14th, twenty days before the Battle of Horsetail.Gu Ba led six battleships, carrying 3,000 troops, to Keelung, and three sub-ships, looking at the tail of one of Taiwan's four major ports - Danshui Port. Taiwan's defense is divided into five routes. The north route from Dajiaxi to Su'ao is led by Admiral Cao Zhizhong with 4,000 troops to defend. Recently, the defense has been strengthened.In addition, there are Zhang Gaoyuan's Huai Army, Yang Jinlong's Hunan Army, Zhang and Yang are also admirals, and Liu Mingchuan is a total of five red-capped men guarding the line from Taipei to Keelung. On June 15th, while Gu Ba fired artillery and bombarded him, he sent 1,000 troops to land. Cao Zhizhong and Zhang Gaoyuan fought hard to defeat the enemy.When the French army retreated and boarded the ship, many people fell into the water and drowned.So Guba asked the tax department to come forward and invite Liu Mingchuan to board the ship to meet him. Liu Mingchuan sternly refused, and the first battle to attack Taiwan was over.When the report arrives in Beijing, three thousand taels of internal money will be rewarded. In Liu Mingchuan’s shogunate, there was a member of the Western Affairs Commissioner who was in charge of customs and dealing with foreigners. His name was Li Tongen. It can be kept, so the idea of ​​plugging is put forward. The British consul in Danshui received the news and made a firm objection. His reason was that the autumn tea was already on the market. If the port was blocked, ships would not be able to enter and exit the autumn tea, which would affect British business. Li Tongen was not someone who could easily be intimidated by foreigners. When he repeatedly argued to no avail, Li Tongen asked the British consul to guarantee that French warships would not enter Danshui Port.This is considered to have stumped the other party. According to the original plan, several ships were sunk and the freshwater port was blocked. Because of this wise move, Gu Ba made a comeback, and it was not easy to take advantage of it. Eleven French warships, led by Gu Ba, who was originally stationed in Mazu'ao, arrived in the sea off Keelung on August 12th.At two o'clock in the morning, 500 French soldiers landed from Xiandong, encountered Cao Zhizhong's Chongqing middle camp, and started a fierce battle.Zhang Gaoyuan received the report and led more than 200 people to help. The French army was defeated. Because the road was lost, they were trapped in the middle of the day and more than 100 people died. At this time, Liu Mingchuan was supervising the battle at the Keelung Fort.At the time of the stalemate, spies came to report that five French warships were about to arrive in Danshui.Liu Mingchuan ordered to withdraw his troops and return to rescue Danshui, which is thirty miles away from Taipei. "Provincial Commander," Cao Zhizhong asked suspiciously, "Isn't this just throwing away Keelung?" "It doesn't matter!" Liu Ming said, "I have my own reasons. You draw 300 people to guard Lion Ball Ridge with Lin Chaodong." Lin Chaodong was a member of a giant family in Changhua. After a famous general, his father was Lin Wencha. In the eighth year of Xianfeng, he donated money to help the army, appointed guerrillas, and stayed in Fujian to make up for it.Later, he led the army and moved to various places in eastern Zhejiang, and was promoted to the admiral of Fujian after his meritorious service. He was killed in Zhangzhou in the third year of Tongzhi, and he was posthumously named Gangmin. Lin Chaodong donated a doctor as a riding captain, and became a gentleman in his hometown. He was always eager to do justice and was loved by the local people. Negotiations between China and France broke down, and the war was about to start. Lin Chaodong recruited 500 people, prepared two months' food and salaries, and went to see Liu Mingchuan, willing to defend one side.Liu Mingchuan naturally appreciated it, and immediately allocated the ordnance, and designated Nuan Nuan, south of Keelung, as his defense zone.At this time, it took on the important task of guarding Shiqiu Ridge to prevent the French army from invading south after Keelung abandoned its defense. Of course, Liu Mingchuan’s abandonment of Keelung is justified. First, there are no warships in the open sea, and the forts are useless. They are bombarded by French ships day and night, and they are beaten in vain. Keelung still can’t defend it. Second, the Danshui Port In the future, the French ships cannot go deep, and the threat of bombardment can be avoided. If Gu Ba does not give up and sends troops to land, he will be hit head-on.Third, it is because Nanbeiyang is not very active in aiding Taiwan, or they are shouting vigorously, but there is no benefit. When Keelung is lost, the imperial court will panic and strictly supervise and order, and the backup party will come.This last layer of intention, Sun Kaihua and others, naturally cannot understand. Go back to Huwei and redeploy the defense.Sun Kaihua guarded the Danshui Fort, Zhang Gaoyuan and Liu Mingchuan's nephew Liu Chaoku were distributed along the coast, and there was also a battalion of Shiyong with 500 people ambushing in the mountains of Beilu. This battalion of Shiyong was recruited by Li Tongen. Liu Mingchuan was ordered to defend against Taiwan, and the imperial order allowed him to recruit brave men to strengthen defense. Liu Mingchuan appointed Li Tongen, an alternate member of the Western Affairs Committee, to take charge of the task. Li Tongen was very honest in his work, after posting the notice, he sat in the recruiting office and saw the young men who applied for the recruitment, overwhelming, so he also helped.In the midst of his busy schedule, he caught a glimpse of a person who seemed to have a good face. This person had fair skin and a delicate face, and there was a bit of a sissy between his eyebrows.Looking closely, I remembered that it was Zhang Ahuo, the Xiaodan who sang and played. "Ah Huo!" Li Tongen asked, "What are you doing here?" "Lord Li!" Ah Huo said with a smile, "I'm here to join the army." "Join the army! What are you kidding?" Li Tongen said, "You also know how to fight?" "You don't need to understand fighting. I don't want to be a barbarian. If I wear barbarian clothes, I will fight them desperately." Li Tongen was very surprised, never thought that Zhang Ahuo, who was used to making secret appointments during weddings, with tears and snot in his eyes, who could not complain about his boudoir, could say such a thing! "Tell Master Li again, I'm not being reckless, just for fun. When it comes to fighting, it's the first time for me. However, I don't think the French are more fierce than wild boars!" "Oh! I see. You like hunting?" "Yes!" Ah Huo pointed, "These are all!" Li Tong'en looked out, and saw a dozen or so strong young men, chewing betel nuts, opening their bloody mouths, all looking at Ah Huo and laughing.Li Tongen immediately liked it.Since the early years of Xianfeng, the recruitment of rural braves has followed Zeng Guofan's established method, and Zeng Guofan has also learned from Qi Jiguang's legacy, aiming to recruit a pair of muddy-legged peasants.With time, this generation can develop into a strong team that can withstand defeat, but they have more than enough sincerity and lack of flexibility, so it is very difficult to train, especially they can't be expected to come to the rescue.These hunters are young and strong, and they can use firearms. With a little bit of military tactics, they can go into battle, isn't it wonderful? So Li Tongen happily asked: "Are these your friends?" "It's a brother who played with me since childhood." Zhang Ahuo replied, "They heard that I was going to join the army, and they were all willing to come and play with me." "Just for fun!" Li Tongen smiled, but then seriously warned: "This is not a fun thing." "That's what I said. But they are still willing to come and play, at worst, they will lose their lives." "What are you afraid of if you are willing to risk your life?" Li Tongen watched Zhang Ahuo with admiration.There were strange people in the market, Zhang Ahuo must be loyal and committed, and he is a hero in one side, so he asked again: "Ah Huo, how many people can you recruit?" "Thousands of people can always call." "They're all hunters?" "There are also fishermen; there are also farmers; there are also businessmen." "I listen to you?" "They're all my brothers. There's nothing out of the question." Although he had an unassuming demeanor, Li Tongen still didn't dare to be rash, thought for a while and said: "You go and recruit five hundred people. If you want everyone to be effective, these five hundred people will be under your command. I will first invite you a "fifth-rank military merit" award letter. After you have made meritorious service, you will be guaranteed an official position. " "You don't need to be an official, just repel the barbarians." Zhang Ahuo asked, "It's easy to recruit five hundred people. When you come down from the mountain, you have to have a place to live..." "Don't worry about that. I've counted the number of people, and I'll immediately distribute livery and pay, and naturally I will allocate a place for you to settle down." Zhang Ahuo readily agreed and returned to the mountain that day.At Zhuzai Mountain in the northwest of Danshui, there were seven or eight hundred people who came after calling Bainuo. Five hundred of them were selected, most of them were hunters. They came down the mountain with earthen guns and went straight to Taipei. .Zhang Ahuo was also very reasonable, he left his brother outside the city and went alone to see Li Tong'en for his return. Li Tong'en inquired carefully, and heard that they all came from the mountains between Jilong and Danshui. This group of soldiers was brave and won the advantage of the land first, which is already superior to others.When I went out of the city to make up some points myself, I felt that it was a cutting-edge teacher that could be used to great effect, so I comforted them one by one, and was extremely attentive.Zhang Ahuo and his brothers became more energetic. "Ah Huo!" Li Tongen said: "There is no such thing as a general, a man should be self-reliant! If you are so eager to make progress, you will soon be able to make meritorious service and become an official. Do you want to change your name? Ah Huo is a nickname, and you will report in the future Imperial court, that's not very pleasant to hear." "Then ask Master Li to change it for me." Li Tongen thought for a while and said, "It's good to change your name to Li Cheng. The surname Zhang is Zhang Licheng." Li Chengzhi's "Li" is Li Tongen, and Li Chengzhi's "Cheng" means success. The meaning of this name is easy to understand. Zhang Ahuo was able to succeed because of Li Tongen's knowledge, or it can also be said to be complete.In short, Zhang Ahuo cherishes this new name very much. In Li Tong'en, I also felt that this was a great joy, and saw that Zhang Licheng restrained his subordinates, faithful to his words and resolute in his deeds, and felt even more overjoyed.Apart from being proud, Xi diligently went to report to Liu Mingchuan. Liu Mingchuan was distressed.There are not enough soldiers, and the equipment is not good enough. When I saw Li Tongen, I just complained.It's no wonder that Liu Ao, a Taiwanese Taoist stationed in Tainan, is Zuo Zongtang's direct descendant, and his relationship with Li Hongzhang is well known. Buying it, 31 battalions of the 40th Battalion Defense Army were placed in the south of Changhua.Now that Keelung has been lost, and the Taipei government is in danger, the chief asked his subordinates for help, but Liu Ao ignored it, how could Liu Mingchuan not be annoyed? "The three reinforcements from Beiyang and Beiyang were only 600 people. Even those who were transferred before, the total was only 1,300 people, and there were only more than 200 people in Zhangying. How come?" Of course, there are also Sun Kaihua and Cao Zhizhong's armies, but Sun Cao is from the Hunan Army and was born in the Ting Army. In the Battle of Yinhe River, Bao Chao and Liu Mingchuan lost peace, so the Ting Army and the Ming Army have always been rivals.Now Liu Mingchuan treats Sun and Cao, although he deliberately makes love, but he feels guilty and always feels out of place, so he deliberately does not mention these two people. Of course Li Tongen knew about his heart disease, it really was a heart disease, Sun and Cao had forgotten about the resentment they had back then, they had expressed it to Li Tongen, and it happened to be used to comfort Liu Mingchuan at this time. "Why didn't the provincial commander mention Sun Cao?" Li Tongen asked deliberately. "Brother, didn't you ask the question knowingly?" Liu Mingchuan replied with a wry smile, "The two of them finally praised me, so how dare I be demanding?" "How can we be demanding? We are all together, we will live and die together, and we will share misfortune and fortune. If the provincial commander has a grudge, he will be stingy instead." "Where? Brother, I don't accept the accusation. I'm afraid that people will hold grudges." "No! It's just the opposite. Both Sun Cao and Sun Cao thought that the provincial commander-in-chief was sincere, but he was too polite, which made them feel outsiders." Li Tongen said, "I think the provincial commander-in-chief is still sloppy, what should I do?" as good as it is." "Really?" Liu Mingchuan asked in surprise, "Did they really say something like that?" "Naturally. How dare I talk nonsense in front of the governor?" Liu Mingchuan decided to accept Li Tongen's suggestion and call a soldier to invite Sun Kaihua and Cao Zhizhong to discuss the matter.They met each other hand in hand, they were very cordial, and Li Tongen tried his best to win them over through needles and threads. The rift of more than ten years really melted away at this point. Then they agreed on a strategy to lure the enemy, and each returned to the defense zone, preparing to meet the enemy.