The Qing Dynasty is about to end

Chapter 841 You have the summer offensive, I have the Tiangui Defense Line, and I have the Indian Heavenly Soldiers!

Morning mist enveloped a forest on the west bank of the Missouri River. Xianfeng lay in a well-camouflaged machine gun nest, tapping the copper heat sink of the Gatling gun with his fingers. This six-barreled machine gun from Medin-Denver was a good thing that had just been shipped from the San Francisco Arsenal three months ago, and the inscription "State Rights Supremacy" was engraved on the gun.

"Governor, ten Gatling guns are ready in ambush, just waiting for the Yankees to take the bait!" Black Tom knelt on one knee, holding up a telescope and looking at a floating bridge three or four kilometers away that was built at an unknown time.

Xianfeng nodded and took out his pocket watch from the leather case on his waist. This was the gold watch Feng Yunshan gave him, and the three Chinese characters "Zhu Qing Yao" were engraved on the cover. The hour hand pointed to 5:20 - according to the plan, the American cavalry decoy team should have already engaged in a battle with the Union Army scouts.

"boom!"

The sound of gunfire in the distance confirmed his judgment. Then came the dense sound of rifle fire and the neighing of war horses. Through the telescope, Xianfeng saw more than 20 American cavalrymen wearing Mongolian hoods galloping on their horses, turning back and firing from time to time. Three hundred yards behind them, a team of blue-uniformed Northern Army infantrymen were chasing them closely.

"Bait taken." Black Tom grinned, revealing his white teeth. "It's the 14th Infantry Regiment of the Union Army. Judging from the flag, it's old man Foster's unit."

Xianfeng remained silent. He carefully observed the Northern Army's formation - these veterans from the East were indeed well-trained, and they still maintained a neat line of skirmishers when they pursued. The leading officer rode a chestnut warhorse and was waving his saber to urge the soldiers to speed up.

"Pass the order down," Xianfeng finally spoke, his voice terrifyingly calm, "wait until they have all formed a dense formation in the death zone before opening fire."

The so-called "death zone" is an open area about 400 yards wide in front of the oak forest. Once the enemy forms a dense formation here, they will only be living targets.

When the vanguard of the Northern Army stepped into the open area, something unexpected happened. Suddenly, a group of black cavalrymen holding spears and wearing gray uniforms appeared right in front of them!
The frightened voice of the "Black Knight" immediately rang out among the Northern infantry.

"Hollow square! Form a hollow square quickly!" the mounted officer - presumably Colonel Foster - shouted at the top of his lungs.

The Northern Army soldiers were veterans, and after the initial panic, they quickly gathered together, with bayonets pointed outward to form a standard defensive square. This was exactly the moment Xianfeng had been waiting for.

"Now!" Xianfeng waved his hand violently.

Ten Gatling guns hidden in the woods spewed out flames at the same time. The rate of fire of 400 rounds per minute created a metal storm in the open field, creating a terrible killing effect in the dense crowd. The Union soldiers fell in groups like wheat being cut, and the blood quickly soaked the dry soil. Colonel Foster's horse fell first, pressing him under it and making him unable to move.

"charge!"

Black Tom shouted and personally led 300 elite lancers into the already fragmented square formation. The battle ended in 20 minutes. Among the 1,200 Union soldiers, only less than 200 escaped back to the other side of the river. The rest were either captured or turned into cold corpses. Xianfeng strolled on the battlefield, his boots making a creaking sound in the blood and mud. He stopped in front of a group of captured officers and lifted Colonel Foster's chin with a whip.

"Tell Lincoln," he said, his English sounding eerily calm, "to send more live targets next time."

Following his gesture, twenty captured officers were pinned to the ground. The American cavalrymen skillfully cut off their noses and ears with knives, and their screams echoed on the riverbank. Xianfeng specially ordered these mutilated organs to be placed in an exquisite sandalwood box and given to the unfortunate Colonel Foster and several lightly wounded soldiers to take back to the Northern Army's defense line.

In the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, Lincoln slammed the New York Tribune to the floor. The battlefield sketch on the front page vividly reproduced the horror of the "Black Wood Massacre" - earless officers kneeling in a pool of blood, Indian cavalry cutting off their noses.

"This is barbaric!" The president's roar made the windows buzz. "We must retaliate! We must make those yellow monkeys pay the price!"

Republican presidential candidate Grant slammed the table and said, "President, give me 200,000 people, and I promise to burn Denver to the ground before the election!"

Lincoln frowned: Grant was a war hero packaged by the Republicans and a hero who could lead the United States to victory and unification. The vote was only a few months away, and now he was going to the battlefield, would the president still be elected? If he was not elected, then the candidate put forward by the Northern Democrats would be elected.

They are all Davis's accomplices!
Sherman stood in front of the map, his finger running over the contours of the Rocky Mountains: "According to reconnaissance reports, they have built strong fortifications at the four major passes. The defense of Kiowa Pass is especially strong."

"Fuck the fortifications!" Grant punched the sand table, and the Vicksburg model fell down. "What I learned at West Point was siege! The Taiping Heavenly Kingdom has not fought a serious battle since the end of the Crimean War. And the Chinese militia on the West Coast is even less worth mentioning. What have they been doing in the past eight years? Mining, clearing wasteland, building houses, repairing railways. In short, they have nothing to do with fighting. They have no actual combat experience! And our soldiers are all experienced veterans!"

Secretary of War Stanton took the opportunity to say, "Mr. President, the people need a victory now. One beautiful offensive is worth a hundred campaign speeches." Lincoln's eyes swept across the sand table model of the Rocky Mountains and stopped at the location of Denver: "Draw five divisions from the Tennessee Army, shrink the front line in Mississippi by twenty miles, and draw out five more divisions. Take out ten more divisions from the reserve." He turned and stared at Grant, with crazy flames burning in his gray-blue eyes, "But I need a guarantee - before the election on November 11, I want to see Denver burning!"

At Kiowa Pass, the steam locomotive "Denver" slowly drove into the platform with white smoke. Hong Daquan was the first to jump off the carriage. He pointed to the outline of the bastions looming on the cliff in the distance: "Each fort is equipped with three Taiping 17th-year rifled cannons, and the range covers the entire canyon."

Luo Yaoguo walked on the coal cinders on the platform towards the headquarters of the 1st Brigade of the Colorado Militia located in the train station.

In the headquarters, Hong Tiangui pointed to the three-dimensional sand table with an exquisite mahogany baton: "There are 2,000 jumping mines buried in Kiowa Pass. There are three barbed wire fences with a depth of 100 meters. Each machine gun nest has a communication trench connecting to the ammunition depot in the rear."

The defense system on the sand table is amazing: behind the minefield and barbed wire, there are three zigzag trenches, each of which is connected by several communication trenches. Behind the three trenches, there is a gun group hidden on the reverse slope (consisting of large-caliber mortars and breech-loading guns), and the trajectory can be corrected through the observation post on the top of the mountain. There is also a railway connecting the four major passes near Denver - Kiowa Pass, La Junta Pass, Rincon Pass and Strasburg Pass (this is a branch line of the Denver-San Francisco Railway), so troops can be mobilized between the four major passes and Denver at any time.

Through the Denver-San Francisco railway line, Chinese militiamen and logistical supplies in California could be continuously transferred to Denver.
"Report!" Lieutenant General Han Yulin, the joint chief of staff of the militia of the four states on the west coast, rushed in and saluted. The sound of the heels of his leather boots colliding echoed in the stone hall. "Lincoln has appointed Republican presidential candidate Grant as the commander-in-chief of the Western Army, and he has threatened to flatten Denver before the election!"

Luo Yaoguo suddenly laughed: "Is Grant treating the attack on Denver as a campaign event? If he defeats the next US president, he will be Davis's ally, right?" He looked around and said, "We must let Grant see what modern defense is!"

Hong Tiangui, the chief commander of the Denver defense project, immediately patted his chest and assured, "Please rest assured, Your Highness. The Denver Fortress is impregnable. In addition to defense facilities such as minefields, barbed wire, trenches, and artillery positions, the engineers of the Denver Railway Bureau have also built four steam armored trains that can reinforce key battlefields at any time."

As he spoke, he raised his hand and pointed to a steel behemoth lurking quietly on the railroad tracks outside the window.

Luo Yaoguo narrowed his eyes, as if he had already seen the blue tide crashing into this iron wall.

The docks in New York Harbor in early May.

Lincoln personally led the military band to the dock to welcome the "elite Indian Army" promised by Britain. The president's forehead was covered with beads of sweat, but he still maintained a stiff smile.

"Here it comes!" Secretary of State Seward pointed at the steam battleship that appeared on the sea surface.

When the first troop ship arrived at the shore, Lincoln's smile froze. What came down from the gangplank were not the British troops he had imagined, but a group of Indian soldiers wearing colorful turbans and khaki shorts. They carried old Enfield rifles, and some were even barefoot.

"This is." Lincoln's voice trembled a little.

"The 17th Punjab Infantry Regiment, sir." The British liaison officer saluted, "and the Gurkha Rifles Battalion is on the boat behind."

Lincoln looked at the thin Indian soldiers who were in a mess on the dock, pointing at the tall buildings in New York and chattering. The military band playing "God Save the Queen" could not cover the officers' shouting in Hindi.

"Is this the support from the British Empire?" Grant's face flushed. "We need this. This..."

"At least they are cheap," Sherman said coldly, "and they can afford to die. As long as the money is in place, they can be sent to the front line. Unlike those German troops, they are only willing to stay on the east bank of the Mississippi River to protect the interests of the German Empire."

The British liaison officer smiled and said to General Sherman: "General, when you see our Gurkha Infantry Battalion, you will know how timely the British Empire's assistance is!"

Sherman frowned and asked, "Why? Are those Gurkhas particularly good at fighting?"

“Not really, but they look very interesting.”

(End of this chapter)