The Qing Dynasty is about to end

Chapter 821 French Railway Guerrillas
In the basement of the Paris Workers' Association headquarters, kerosene lamps flickered with dim light, illuminating an oak table covered with maps and markings. Hu Wansheng, Garibaldi, and Sakuma Shouzan sat around a sand table, frowning.

"The Prussians have more troops, are better trained, and have breech-loading guns." Hu Wansheng's finger slid across the red flag representing the Prussian army on the sand table, "and we only have 150 Armstrong guns, and not enough ammunition."

Garibaldi stared at the sand table with his gray-blue eyes, and the corners of his mouth twitched slightly under his beard. He had fought with the Austrians in the mountains of Italy for ten years, and was well aware of the threat of Prussia - the Austrian Empire, which was so difficult to deal with, was easily destroyed by the Prussian army! The Second German Empire was about to be born. This empire would not only annex Alsace and Lorraine in France, but also control Venice in Italy, and could interfere in the affairs of the Italian states at any time.
"If they surround Paris..." Garibaldi whispered, "two million people will starve to death. I think we must evacuate the useless population!"

Hu Wansheng shook his head: "Before winning the Battle of Paris, the Workers' Association actually controlled the area around Paris. Where could they evacuate to?"

Sakuma Shozan wiped his wakizashi silently. He had experienced the failure of the Nagasaki Republic, the collapse of the Tokugawa Shogunate, and the fall of the Ezo Republic. More than a year ago, he took advantage of the opportunity of Yang Xiuqing's "Eastern King Amnesty Order" (Yang Xiuqing was encouraging the remnants of the Nagasaki and Shogunate to go abroad to make a living) to join the "Eastern Crusade" with his disciples and traveled to Europe to find the true meaning of revolution. He actually found a mentor who led him on the road to revolution, Moore
Sakuma stared at the winding railway line on the sand table and suddenly spoke:
"Comrades, the lifeblood of Prussia is the railways!"

Hu Wansheng and Garibaldi looked up at the same time.

"If the railway is broken, their heavy artillery and supplies can't be transported." Sakuma Shozan pressed his finger heavily on the railway line from Metz to Paris. "The Moselle River Railway Bridge, Nancy Railway Station - once these places are destroyed, half of the Prussian army's logistics line will be destroyed."

"But the Prussian engineers are quite capable!" Hu Wansheng frowned, "Maybe they can fix it in ten days or half a month!"

"We'll blow it up again once it's repaired!" Garibaldi slammed the table and said, "Let's organize a 'railway guerrilla force'! We'll specialize in attacking the railways and messing with the Prussians' logistics!"

Hu Wansheng smiled: "The Railway Commando is great! I remember there are a few armored trains in Paris, which are just right for the Railway Guerrillas to equip and use to blow up the railway!"

At this moment, Prince Napoleon, commander-in-chief of the National Army, pushed the door open and walked in, his military boots making a dull sound on the floor.

"Everyone, do you have any good suggestions?" Prince Napoleon pulled a chair over and sat down on it. He had just returned from the barracks of the First National Army - this National Army was a mixture of the National Guard, the Guards and the French Army originally stationed in Paris. Most of the officers and soldiers were members of the original National Guard, with poor military quality, and some of them were "Parisians" who were most likely to rebel, making them very difficult to lead!

But Prince Napoleon had to try his best to train them into a usable army, which was really worrying!

In addition, the defense of Paris was also a headache for Prince Napoleon - digging trenches and building fortifications were all physical work! Parisians were not very good at these heavy physical work, and there was an eight-hour workday.
Hu Wansheng raised his head and said, "Prince, we have two suggestions - first, to deploy defenses around the Seine River; second, to destroy the railway from Metz to Paris so that the Prussians cannot transport heavy artillery."

Prince Napoleon's eyes flashed with sharpness: "Which targets are the most critical?"

Sakuma Shozan immediately pointed to the sand table: "The Moselle River Railway Bridge, Nancy Railway Station, Reading Railway Station, Le Rouville Railway Station - once these places are destroyed, the Prussian army's railway transportation will be paralyzed for at least two weeks. In addition, if the double-track tunnel in Verdun is blown up."

"No, don't bomb Verdun now!" Prince Napoleon said, "Act immediately, bomb the Moselle River railway bridge and Nancy train station. We still have several armored trains that can cover and transport the guerrillas."

Hu Wansheng added: "Among the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom's military aid that has just arrived in Paris is a batch of nitroglycerin explosives, which are most suitable for bombing railways."

Garibaldi grinned. "You can also use light crude oil and rubber to make incendiary bombs to burn sleepers and railroad tracks."

Prince Napoleon clapped his hands and said, "It's settled then - we'll set off tonight, and the first batch of railway guerrillas will be selected from the International Brigade and the Eastern Crusaders!"

Midnight, Gare Saint-Lazare, Paris.

Six French armored trains were parked quietly on the tracks. The front of the train was covered with thick boiler steel plates, with shooting holes on both sides. A rotating turret was installed on the top of the carriage, equipped with a 70mm pound breech-loading gun and a Mitellius multi-barreled gun.

Garibaldi stood on the roof of the first train, the old cloak of the Italian Red Shirts fluttering in the night wind. He looked at the dark railway line in the distance and whispered to Sakuma Shozan beside him:

"The Venetians taught me to burn the Austrians' grain wagons."

Sakuma Shozan did not answer, but silently checked the French Chasper rifle in his hand - this was the weapon that the Paris Workers' Association had just distributed to the guerrillas, and it had a faster firing rate than the Prussian Dreiser needle-fired rifle. His disciples - Yoshida Shoin, Katsu Kaishu and others - had already dispersed in various carriages, holding explosive packs and Molotov cocktails in their hands.

Prince Napoleon and Hu Wansheng saw off these "French Railway Guerrillas" together on the platform.

As they watched, the armored train's steam engine emitted a low roar, and its wheels slowly turned as it drove into the night.

Railway bridge over the Moselle River.

This railway bridge is located on the road from Metz to Nancy. Prince Napoleon deployed a small number of French National Army in this area to cause some trouble to the Prussian army.

However, the Prussian army’s vanguard has already crossed the Moselle River, but has not yet completely gained a foothold, so this area is now a "gray zone."

The water of the Moselle River rushed under the bridge piers, the moonlight was obscured by heavy clouds, and only a few torches flickered beside the railroad tracks. A Prussian patrol had just passed, and the sound of horse hooves gradually faded away.

Katsu Kaishu was crouching in the shadow of the bridge pier, holding a long fuse in his hand. His subordinate Kondo Isami was squatting beside him, holding a "fire-stopper" in his hand.

"Do you want to light a fire?" Kondo Isami whispered.

Katsu Kaishu did not answer, but gently stroked the French Chasper rifle in his arms. This rifle was issued to the guerrillas by the Paris Workers' Association. It had a faster firing rate than the Prussian Dreiser needle-fire rifle. It was much better than the muskets used by the Tokugawa army to resist the Shinyo Shrine and the Korean army.

But in tonight's battle, this French breech-loading rifle was just a safety. The real killer weapon was the 20 kilograms of nitroglycerin explosives under the bridge pier.

In the distance, the whistle of an armored train pierced the night sky - that was the signal from Sakuma Zozan.

"Get ready." Katsu Kaishu's voice was very low.

Kondo Isami took a deep breath and was about to light the fuse with a fire extinguisher.

suddenly
"Who is it?!" A sharp shout in German came from the bridgehead.

It turned out that it was another team of patrolling Prussian sentries who discovered the tiny flame from the fire baffle in Kondo's hand.

"Ignite!" Katsu Kaishu shouted.

"hiss"

The sound of the burning fuse was particularly harsh in the dark night.

"Enemy attack! Enemy attack!" The Prussian soldiers roared, followed by chaotic gunfire. Bullets whizzed past the bridge piers, splashing a string of sparks.

Katsu Kaishu suddenly raised the Shasbo rifle, and flames spurted out of the muzzle.

"boom!"

A Prussian soldier fell on the railroad tracks.

But more footsteps and horse hoofbeats came from all directions - the Prussian patrol turned back!
"Retreat!" Katsu Kaishu roared, grabbed Kondo Isami and rushed towards the bushes on the river bank.

Behind him, the roars and gunshots of the Prussian soldiers blended into one.

"boom--!!!"

A deafening explosion tore through the night sky.

The central pier of the Moselle River Railway Bridge was shattered by the shock wave of nitroglycerin, the steel frame twisted and collapsed, the rails were broken into several sections, and part of the bridge fell into the river with a thunderous roar.

The gust of air knocked Katsu Kaishu and Kondo Isami to the ground.

"Success!" Kondo Isami climbed up coughing, his face covered with mud and blood.

Katsu Kaishu did not answer, but just stared in the direction of the bridge - Prussian soldiers were running panicked in the flames, some were trying to put out the fire, and some were shooting at them, but it was all in vain.

The critical Moselle River railway bridge has been blown down!

In the distance, Sakuma Shouzan on the armored train put down his binoculars and grinned:
"Well done." He paused, then said, "Fire the Armstrong cannon to cover Katsu Kaishu, Kondo Isami and the others' retreat!"

Nancy train station at dawn.

The railway dispatching center, which was still under the control of the French army, was now engulfed in flames. Garibaldi's men threw incendiary bombs at the coal storage station, and the rails and sleepers were also doused with light crude oil thickened with rubber, which turned into twisted scrap iron and black coke in the raging fire.

"Mission accomplished!" Garibaldi wiped the coal dust off his face, lit a cigar proudly, and looked at the sky that was gradually turning white in the distance.

That afternoon, in front of the ruins of Nancy train station, Moltke's face was livid.

He kicked away a piece of burnt sleeper, and Prince Karl Frederick of the Second Army came up to him and said, "Sir, the railway bridge over the Moselle River has been destroyed, and the Nancy dispatch center is paralyzed. It is estimated that it will take two weeks to repair it..."

"Two weeks?!" Moltke shook his head. "It's too long!"

He turned around abruptly and shouted to his staff, "Order - the engineers must repair Nancy Station within a week! The Second Army Corps will use foot and horse-drawn artillery to bypass Paris southeast!"

The staff officer hesitated and said, "But General, our heavy artillery..."

"Transfer all the heavy artillery to the First Army. The Second Army's mission is only to outflank and encircle, not to attack!" Moltke said in a deep voice, "Order Steinmetz's First Army to seize Verdun immediately and protect the double-track tunnel!"

(End of this chapter)