The Qing Dynasty is about to end

Chapter 464: Xianfeng: In the battle of laws and soldiers, the advantage is mine! (Please subscribe, please vote)

As soon as Maria translated Luo Yaoguo's words into English, Bao Ling's slightly nervous brain suddenly seemed to open up, and he immediately understood that the conditions offered by the other party were something he could not refuse at all!
The British and French forces are now having a hard time fighting on the Crimean Peninsula - harder than ever before!
If Lord Bao Lingbao could sneak a peek at the Crimean War historical materials stored in Luo Yaoguo's mobile phone, he would probably be shocked. Because the difficulties encountered by the British and French forces in the Sevastopol Fortress are much more serious than what is written in the historical materials. This has to start with Emperor Xianfeng's foreign lama Tupolev. This guy wandered around Shanghai for a while, and during that time he found Cardinal Doria and spent 100,000 silver rubles (equivalent to 50,000 taels of silver, which is not a small amount) to buy a key prophecy from Luo Yaoguo - they had to defend the Sevastopol Fortress and save the Black Sea Fleet.

This prophecy was passed back to Russia in the shortest possible time. At that time, the British and French coalition forces had just successfully landed on the Crimean Peninsula, and Marshal Menshikov had just lost the Battle of the Alma River, which he hastily launched. In addition, the tsar's spies in the Vienna court heard the prophetic prophecy that "Russia will be defeated", which frightened Nicholas I enough and felt that a disaster was about to happen. So he risked his life to send reinforcements to Marshal Menshikov and ordered him to strengthen the troops and artillery of the Sevastopol Fortress.

So, by the beginning of October 1854, the defenders of Sevastopol were much larger than in history, with people and more than more artillery pieces. As a result, in the crucial artillery battle on October , the British and French forces suffered heavy losses. The commander of the Sevastopol fortress, the famous Russian naval commander Kornilov, was lucky to escape and was not killed in the artillery battle.

At the same time, the number of field troops under the command of Marshal Menshikov increased rapidly like a balloon, which made the British and French forces who landed on the Crimean Peninsula very miserable. They were like falling into the quagmire of war, with no way out. If the British and French forces could not defeat the Russian army in Crimea, this war would surely become an endless war of attrition!

In order to save the crumbling Turkey, Britain and France had to continuously send large numbers of land and naval forces to the Black Sea and surrounding areas, launching a brutal and protracted war with Russia, and enduring the death threat brought by infectious diseases such as cholera. It was simply unbearable.

What's even more troubling for the British and French is yet to come. If the war drags on like this, the Russian army may win a great victory in the Caucasus battlefield where only the Turkish army participates, and then take advantage of the victory to invade Western Armenia and Cilicia like a pack of hungry wolves, and incite the Armenians there to rebel against the Ottoman Empire. At that time, Britain and France will have to send troops to help the Turks suppress the Armenians. Think about the complex maze-like terrain of the Anatolian Plateau, the elusive Armenian guerrillas, and the Russian army that is deeply supported by the locals. This is definitely a huge quagmire of war. Even Napoleon I, the uncle of Napoleon III, would be troubled if he were alive.

"Your Highness, Prince Wu," Lord Bao Lingbao's face, which had been as stern as a piece of iron, softened all of a sudden, revealing a smile that looked particularly gentle and friendly, "How many people do you plan to send to the expedition?"

"How many people?" Luo Yaoguo didn't even wait for Li Taiguo to translate, and said in Chinese with a smile, "My country lacks everything except people. So, I will give Britain as much as it needs! The Russians dare to compete with Britain and France for more bloodshed, but if they compare with our Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, they are far behind!"

Maria quickly translated these words into English. After hearing them, Mr. Bao's smile almost reached his ears, and he could hardly hide his inner ecstasy.

For those gentlemen in Whitehall, nothing is more important than defeating the Russians. If Britain cannot defeat the Russians and the war ends with the collapse of the Ottoman Empire, then Britain's most important colony, India, will be in danger. If the Russian Empire continues to move south, it may even reach into India!

"I need an exact number!" Bao Ling pondered for a moment and said, "Can you guarantee to send out 30,000 expeditionary troops in the first phase?"

This expeditionary force of 30,000 was probably the maximum number of Taiping expeditionary forces that Britain and France could transport to the Near East at one time even if they tried their best.

"Sure!" Luo Yaoguo nodded very confidently, as if he was saying something that was set in stone. "As long as the price is high, we are willing to fight for Britain... I guarantee that the Kings' Council will definitely pass a resolution to send troops!"

Hey, this can really be guaranteed. Think about it, Queen Victoria is the "Fifth Sister Victoria" in God's family. If the Fifth Sister is in trouble, how can her brothers and sisters not help her?

"So...what's the price?" Bao Ling asked immediately.

Luo Yaoguo suddenly became serious and said seriously: "First, the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom and Britain signed a 30-year alliance treaty, treating the Russian Empire as an imaginary enemy. In the future, Britain will be in the west, and we, the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, will be in the east, and together we will block the expansion of the Russian Empire!

Second, we will sign a treaty to jointly develop Nanyang. The Taiping Heavenly Kingdom and Britain will each divide their spheres of influence in Nanyang, not invade each other, jointly develop, and achieve win-win cooperation.

Third, Britain had to recognize that the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom government was the only legitimate government in China, the two countries would establish embassies in each other's capitals, and Britain could not have any official exchanges with the Qing government.

Fourth, the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom purchased warships from Britain, hired instructors, and asked Britain to help build a naval academy and naval shipyard.

Fifth, the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom and Britain signed a mutually beneficial trade agreement.

Sixth, Britain must return Hong Kong Island to our Taiping Heavenly Kingdom. This is our Chinese territory and it must be returned to its original owner.

Seventh, the cost of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom's military deployment and the equipment it needs will all be provided by Britain. "His words were quickly translated into English by Maria, and Bao Ling nodded readily, looking very satisfied: "Okay, your request is very reasonable, I believe that London will agree in principle, and at most they will negotiate on the issue of the sphere of influence in Southeast Asia. I hope that the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom can prepare for the deployment as soon as possible!"

"Okay, it's a deal!" Luo Yaoguo nodded and said with a smile, "In that case, let's sign a 'draft agreement' as a symbol of reconciliation and friendship between our two sides. All British officers and soldiers captured in Xiangshan can be released immediately. At the same time, I also hope to hire Colonel Asben as my naval advisor and Mr. Hart as my financial advisor."

Luo Yaoguo proposed signing a "draft treaty", hiring advisers, and taking the initiative to release prisoners to show goodwill to Bao Ling. Of course, this was not because he had a "change of conscience", but to end the hostility with Britain as soon as possible.

Otherwise, it would be a bit dangerous for him to lead his troops to leave Guangdong and return to Shanghai by sea.

Luo Yaoguo had no plan to stay in Guangdong for long. He was now waiting for Shi Dakai to arrive and then he would lead his troops north to deal with Xianfeng.

The British Army in Hong Kong was defeated, but the Royal Navy ships stationed in Hong Kong were still able to give the Dingyuan a good beating.

Shandong, Yanzhou Prefecture, Ziyang County.

At this time, a yellow dragon flag with the Shroud of Turin sewn on it, symbolizing the emperor, had been raised in front of the Donglu Academy in Yanzhou City.

The huge city had become a sea of ​​Eight Banners soldiers. On the street that stretched from north to south and all the way out of the city, large groups of Eight Banners soldiers marched. The cannons and guns pulled by mules and horses rumbled through the streets, even leaving two shallow grooves on the ground. In the cold weather, everyone, from officers to soldiers, was sweating, but no one dared to complain.

This time, the emperor is leading the army in person! The rise and fall of the Qing Dynasty depends on this one move!

The Eight Banners New Army stretched from one end of the city to the other, as if there was no end.

Emperor Xianfeng, also in full attire, stood on a high ground beside the official road outside the city, looking towards the south through a telescope. Accompanying him were the foreign lama Tupolev, Duke Yansheng Kong Fanhao, the head monk of the Baiyun Temple of the Quanzhen Sect, the great monk from Mount Wutai, and the third Master Zhangjia, who held the golden seal of the Grand Master.

The Orthodox priests, the Holy Archbishop of Confucius, the Quanzhen Zhenren, the Wutai monks, and the Yellow Sect masters are all here!

In order to deal with the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom's "divine attack", Emperor Xianfeng really spent a lot of money and invited all the gods he could. If the White Lotus Sect had not been rebelling, he would have wanted to invite the Mother of No Birth as well.

In addition to these "great gods", Xianfeng also gathered 80,000 new troops under his command. In the southern areas of Xuzhou, Huai'an, and Fengyang, there were tens of thousands of Xiang troops and Huai troops ready to fight at any time. The total force reached more than 100,000!

In addition, Xianfeng also received reliable information that Luo Yaoguo, the "Prime Minister" of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom who held the "Divine Spear", led an army of 10,000 and went south to Guangdong by sea after spreading rumors that he was heading north to Tianjin.

Regardless of whether it was easy to hold on to Ye Mingchen and Jierhang Ananda, Luo Yaoguo would certainly not be able to finish conquering Guangdong and Guangxi so quickly. And Xiao Chaogui was seriously injured by the Langnusky spear last time, which damaged his vitality and made his health deteriorate. It was impossible for him to lead the troops to attack. Feng Yunshan and Shi Dakai either stayed in Hunan or went south to Guangdong. Even Wei Changhui went to Jiangxi and became Shi Dakai's chief steward.

Therefore, the only one who can protect Tianjing now is Yang Xiuqing, and Yang Xiuqing has now lost his ability to "fight with the gods"
This news is said to come from Yang Xiuqing's side and is very reliable. Since the last fight on Capitol Hill, God has not gone to the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom!

Therefore, the advantages in military battles and tactics seem to be on Xianfeng's side!

(End of this chapter)