Li Hongzhang discussed with the British Army Commander Shi Defleur after discussing the plan to control Taihu Lake.Stifelli applauded, and he always wanted to find an opportunity to avenge the destruction of the Combined Fleet.However, the British army only had two warships left in Shanghai, and according to the information obtained by Stifley, there were as many as seven large-tonnage warships in the hands of the Qing army."
Lord Li, we have to make a solid plan for this matter.We can only sneak attack this time, if we fight hard, we will definitely not be Qiao Zhiqing's opponent. ”Stifley looked at the topographical map and spat out a grim expression in his not-so-standard Chinese."
Your Excellency General, according to the information that the old man has received, there are only three large-tonnage warships deployed by the Qing Army in the Taihu Lake Basin.We can make a noise, and the old man will send the Huai army to raid Suzhou.To create the false impression that we are going to attack Suzhou, the warships of the Qingzi Army will inevitably come to the rescue.On the other hand, the warships of your army entered Taihu Lake, looking for an opportunity to take advantage of the fact that the warships of the Qing army were lonely, and concentrated their firepower to break each one. ”Li Hongzhang was shocked and thought out of the well-thought-out plan, and pointed out the plan to Stifford one by one on the map."
God, that's a perfect plan.Stifley nodded his head in praise and shouted in satisfaction."
Okay, since Your Excellency the General has no opinions, then the old man will go down and prepare.I also ask Your Excellency the General to send warships as soon as possible to cooperate with our side. ”Li Hongzhang said goodbye with a confident fist.After sending him out of the door with joy, Stifoli asked the herald to summon the head of the navy to his office, and began to make arrangements according to Li Hongzhang's plan.Within a few days, all the large cargo ships of the American Qichang Foreign Company were requisitioned by the British Navy, and 20 wooden steam cargo ships of about 5,000 tons were converted into gunboats.The Ming army of the Huai army also broke through from Shanghai unusually, and Chen Bingwen, who was deployed around Shanghai, urgently blocked it.But he still let part of the Ming army break through from the waterway and go straight to Suzhou.The military information was soon transmitted back to Nanjing, and Qiao Zhiqing looked at the topographic map and was silent for a long time, unable to understand why Li Hongzhang suddenly attacked Suzhou.Suzhou City is located in the interior of Jiangsu, didn't Huaijun go to the net, "Yuting, is there any other news from Shanghai" Qiao Zhiqing asked Yan Yuting intently."
Other" Yan Yuting thought about it carefully, and hurriedly took out a secret piece of Shanghai Huaxing League from the table and handed it to Qiao Zhiqing, "This is a secret music sent by the disciples of Huaxing League installed in Qichang Foreign Company, which shows that a large number of cargo ships of Qichang Foreign Company have been transformed into warships.The current whereabouts are unknown, and it may be the warship used by the Huai army when it broke through by water. ”"No, there must be a conspiracy here.Li Hongzhang will not do a loss-making business for no reason, what is the benefit of raiding Suzhou for the Huai army" Qiao Zhiqing's eyes were shining, constantly searching for answers on the topographic map."
Brother Qiao, Navy Commander Huang Wenzhong also sent an urgent telegram, asking if you want to send two warships back to Suzhou" Yan Yuting read out Huang Wenzhong's military report on the side."
I see, I see."
As soon as Qiao Zhiqing heard Yan Yuting's words, his eyes were fixed on the Taihu Lake Basin, and he almost cried out excitedly."
What's the matter, what clues have you found" Yan Yuting looked at Qiao Zhiqing's stupid appearance curiously and smiled."
Li Hongzhang's abacus is very good, he just wants to make some moves in Suzhou.Then we attracted our attention and transferred Huang Wenzhong's warship deployed in Taihu Lake to Suzhou.I guess the foreign devils will not let go of this opportunity, but there are still two British ironclad warships stationed in Shanghai.If Huang Wenzhong's warships were separated, it was estimated that the foreign devils would take this opportunity to break them all. ”Qiao Zhiqing let out a long sullen breath, and his mind was clear."
This old fox is really daydreaming, I'll go down and ask Huang Wenzhong to guard Taihu Lake strictly, don't act rashly."
Yan Yuting pouted and scolded, and was about to retreat as she spoke."
Wait, maybe we have a better way."
Qiao Zhiqing sneered and hurriedly called out to Yan Yuting."
What way" Yan Yuting stood in place curiously."
Since Li Hongzhang wants to play, then we will co-star in a good show with him.Didn't he want Huang Wenzhong's warships to be separated, so we will plan and transfer the warships deployed in the Yangtze River to Taihu Lake.Then the warships of Taihu Lake reinforced Suzhou, deliberately creating the illusion that we were in a plan for the foreigners.As long as the foreigners' warships dare to enter Taihu Lake, they must be allowed to come and go. ”Qiao Zhiqing snorted coldly, and as he spoke, he gave two orders and let Yan Yuting send him out.The water surface of Taihu Lake is quiet, it is the middle of winter, and there is no life on the surface of the lake.In accordance with Qiao Zhiqing's order, Huang Wenzhong had transferred two warships, Huaxing and Jiangsu, to the Wusong River southwest of Suzhou, to encircle and intercept the Ming army that had raided Suzhou.There was only one battleship left on Taihu Lake, and at night, a black shadow on the battleship suddenly sneakily touched the stern of the ship.Hearing only a "poof" jumped straight into the Taihu Lake, under the cover of night, the soldiers on the ship found out about the situation, and there was no movement on the water."
Someone jumped into the lake, someone fell overboard."
The soldiers looked around with torches, but they didn't see anything.At this time, there were no electric lights, and at night, the visibility of the battleship was extremely small.The captain of the warship quickly counted the number of people, but there was one less soldier.That soldier was recently recruited to burn the boiler on the warship."
Damn, don't run around at night, and look for it tomorrow at dawn, whether it's dead or alive."
The captain indignantly admonished, and the crew responded again and again.At the mouth of the Huangpu River, where Taihu Lake flows towards Shanghai, a drenched young man struggles to swim towards the shore.The north wind was blowing in the night, and the frozen young man's face was cold and shivering.There was already a small boat on the lake, and as soon as he heard movement in the water, he rowed inside.Finally found the young man and rescued him to the ship.The boat went straight down the Huangpu River and finally entered the waters of Dianshan Lake.More than a dozen warships docked in the center of the lake, and the young men were taken to the main ship.One of the ship's interpreters, dressed in a white suit, took him to the captain's war room."
General, our spies have got the latest news and want to report back to you."
The interpreter whispered in the captain's ear, and the captain looked up in thought."
My lord, I am a spy placed on the battleship of the Qingzi Army by Marshal Li Hongzhang, just today, the two warships of the Qingzi Army have left Taihu Lake and headed for the Wusong River."
The young man nodded at the captain of the foreigner, and said carefully.The interpreter followed up and translated to the captain in English."
Very good, this information is important to us, you can go down."
The captain of the foreign ship gave an order to the young man in Chinese, which he was not familiar with.The young man was stunned for a moment, and made a gesture to the translator for some money.At the beginning, Li Hongzhang promised him that as long as he got the information, he would definitely have a rich reward.The interpreter sneered and whispered to Captain Yang, who stared at the young man with a disdainful laugh on his face.Shouting outside the door, two foreign sailors came in, and at the signal of the captain, they carried the young man from the ship and threw him into the water.The young man's struggle was to no avail, and after falling into the water, he yelled at the foreign devil on the ship, and was rescued by the people on the boat."
Big brother, this Li Hongzhang and the foreign devil are simply untrustworthy people, let's let them give them a shabu."
After the young man got on the boat, he complained to a scar-faced strong man on the boat, and his face was full of depression."
Didn't you get the money," the scar-faced strong man snorted coldly."
There was no penny, and the foreign devil threw me down directly."
The young man scolded indignantly."
Damn, Li Hongzhang and the foreign devils really think that our Green Gang people are easy to bully."
Another emaciated man in the cabin roared with a gloomy face."
Don't talk about it, let's go back to Shanghai.If the foreigners don't give it, we will ask Li Hongzhang to go. ”Scarface sulked and let the boat go.After dawn, accurate news had already come from the front, and the two warships of the Qing army were encountering the Huai army in the Wusong River, and the two sides had begun to shell each other.All the British warships stationed at Dianshan Lake were dispatched.Swimming along the Huangpu River, it rushed straight towards Taihu Lake.The British Navy Captain Philip was in charge of the operation, and when Wilson and Blair returned to England, Philip became the de facto leader of the British Navy.After the fleet entered the Taihu Lake, in order to exert the maximum firepower on the side of the ship.Searches forward in a wedge shape.Indeed, as stated in last night's detailed work, not a single warship of the Qing Character Army was found in the lake.Philip's heart was full of pride, and he stood at the bow of the ship with a telescope and kept looking around.After searching for half an hour in Taihu Lake, the "Woo" fleet finally bypassed the two small islands in the lake.The warship in front of it suddenly let out a thunderous whistle, and then a huge cannon was heard on the lake.Philip's heart tightened, and something that surprised him even more happened.Behind the fleet, he suddenly remembered the loud sound of artillery, and Philip hurriedly checked with his binoculars, only to see that there were suddenly more than a dozen warships in front of the fleet, led by two large tonnages in the middle, lined up in a horizontal line.The guns on the side of the ship had already erupted into a deafening sound of cannons, and a converted wooden cargo ship that had rushed to the front had been hit by the water.The situation in the back made Philip even more shocked, and more than a dozen warships silently drilled out behind the fleet, also led by two large warships, lined up, wrapping the British fleet in it like dumplings."
General, no, our fleet is surrounded."
An officer with the rank of captain hurriedly ran up and yelled at Philip amid the rumbling artillery fire."
Panic what, change formation, and quickly rush out of the encirclement to the left."
Philip scolded calmly, and the captain nodded repeatedly, and after swallowing, he waved the command flag in his hand to the herald on the mast.The herald then gave orders to the surrounding ships on the mast.In just a few moments, the fleet changed formation, led by the warships on the left, and all of them broke through to the left
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