The Han culture is spreading strongly in Southeast Asia

Chapter 370: British Gentlemen, What a Coincidence

Li Xianwen was in Hua County, less than 30 kilometers away from Feilai Gorge, holding two thousand people in his hands and waiting anxiously.

Most of his two thousand men were pirates who had come ashore. In recent years, as the Xingtang Navy grew stronger, it recruited many South China Sea pirates and brought them ashore. Their combat effectiveness was much stronger than that of the militia.

Li Xianwen prepared that if the militia and secret societies in Feilai Gorge could not defeat Fukangan's more than 10,000 Qing soldiers, he would go up there himself.

Fortunately, the news of victory came not long after.

Li Xianwen was impressed by the courage of the militiamen, mainly the Chen family of Qingyuan, but his opinion was that their combat capability was still too poor.

Since ancient times, there has been another important criterion for testing the combat effectiveness of an army, that is, whether it can quickly reap the rewards after a great victory and achieve the greatest possible results.

Because when the enemy collapses, the pursuing army will largely be unable to catch up with the enemy's escape speed.

When the enemy fled, he could throw away his armor and weapons, and in extreme fear, he could unleash amazing potential.

But as the victor of the pursuit, you can't just throw away your weapons and give chase, right?
And because their lives are no longer in danger, many people will choose to pause or give up after being exhausted during the chase.

Therefore, the arrangements of encirclement, cutting and pursuit after victory are a great test of an army's combat effectiveness, and of course, more importantly, it tests the ability of the army's commander.

This is very important. In the Qing-Myanmar War ten years ago, the Burmese army's ability to expand its victory after victory was extremely poor, which often led to the Qing army being trapped and often being able to break through easily, making it impossible to deal a fatal blow.

"Thirteen thousand Qing troops were defeated. They were familiar with the geography, but they only beheaded more than eight hundred people, and more than five hundred of them died in battle."

Li Xianwen sighed. The casualties in this battle were not too great. After all, the Chen family, including the members of the Tiandihui, had mobilized nearly 40,000 people in total.

What made him sigh was the next strange situation. Out of a force of nearly 40,000 men, only over 500 were killed in the battle, but there were as many as 6,000 to 7,000 missing.

These six or seven thousand people did not encounter any accidents, but many of them took the spoils and ran back home.

After all, the Qing army carried more than 200,000 taels of silver with them. This was all official silver, and one ingot weighed ten taels. If you could rob two or three and take them home, you would be rich.

Of course, there was also a part that was searching for Qing troops in the mountains and forests, or simply had no concept of collective action. After they defeated the Qing army and saw that the battle was over, they each went home.

"My Lord, this is a great victory, a great victory never before seen!" Luo Zhongda, the third son of Grandpa Luo, also followed Li Xianwen to the mainland. When he saw the battle report, he excitedly said to Li Xianwen:
"Ever since Emperor Longwu was defeated in Fujian and his brother Emperor Shaowu ascended the throne in Guangzhou, the Tartars have been running rampant in Guangdong, slaughtering countless of our ancestors and fellow countrymen. We Cantonese people have often suffered heavy casualties and have been left with little chance to fight back.

Now, the Tartar general Fu Kang'an led 30,000 elite troops to attack, but was defeated by the 30,000 militiamen of the Chen family of Qingyuan. The entire army was wiped out, and Fu Kang'an only escaped with his life.

This is the greatest victory of our Cantonese people over the Eastern Tartars in two hundred years, further proving that the Xing Tang Army truly defeated the Qing at Beihe. The Tartars' main force was completely destroyed, and they are now unable to defeat even the civilians in a direct confrontation!

"Yes, that's right!" Li Xianwen nodded heavily. The Tartars' army of 30,000 was defeated head-on by a militia of less than 30,000.

How to say it, although the Guangdong people at that time did not submit to the Qing Dynasty, they still felt a little insecure about the Eight Banners Heavenly Soldiers boasted by the Qing Dynasty. After all, their ancestors were almost swept away by the Qing Dynasty more than a hundred years ago.

This is just like how the fifth great-uncle of the Chen family was still a little worried about whether Mo Zibu was a Yue or Cantonese.

Even though the Battle of Beihe had been over for more than four months, with all sorts of news flying around and people like Kunlun Mountain spreading the news everywhere, many people still had doubts.

What if King Mo is the same as King Li Jin and Koxinga back then? He fought back, but was defeated and driven away by the Tartars within two days. Then the ones who suffered would be the locals like them.

Therefore, this is also the reason why Li Xianwen would rather let the descendants of loyal martyrs like Chen Shaowen and Chen Songfeng inspire the entire Beijiang line, and even the Qingyuan Chen family, which has the most powerful clan influence north of Guangzhou.

The purpose was to let all the Cantonese people see that the main force of the Qing Dynasty had indeed been destroyed, and their remaining old, weak and disabled soldiers could not even defeat the militia.

"That's right. Let representatives from all regions go and see for themselves. Parade the captured Bannermen and Green Camp soldiers through the streets. We must let all of Guangdong, no, at least everyone in Guangdong, Guangxi, and Fujian know that the Tartars are no longer viable."

. . . .

Sure enough, this method was excellent. The news that the Chen family of Qingyuan defeated 30,000 Qing troops with only 30,000 militiamen began to spread like wildfire.

But the more this thing spread, the more outrageous it became. From the initial 30,000 Qing troops, it somehow grew to 50,000, and then the Qing troops became entirely Eight Banners soldiers.

Naturally, the results of Mo Zibu's battle at Beihe also began to rise. Someone was so talented that he started spreading rumors that Emperor Qianlong was killed in Beihe during his personal battle, and the Qing Dynasty was already preparing to retreat outside the Great Wall.

Under such circumstances, the whole of Guangdong was in turmoil, like a frying pan.

A few days later, the Xingtang Navy, which had landed near Shajiao in Humen, immediately received support from all parties. Large-scale anti-Qing uprisings broke out in Xiangshan on the west bank of the Pearl River Estuary and Xin'an and other counties on the east bank.

The fleet commander, Count Olivier, sent naval officers and soldiers who were familiar with the local area, including Tankaer and Zhou Yuanquan, ashore. Under the guidance of local people, they quickly captured these counties.

Afterwards, with the help of the pilots who came to seek refuge, the fleet passed through Jiaomen, Jiaotang and other places and arrived at Huangpu outside Guangzhou City. Not only did they force the landing of some small boats left by the Eight Banners Navy Camp stationed in Guangzhou, but they also blocked a large number of merchant ships from various European countries in the Huangpu waterway.

Guangzhou was shocked by this.

First, the handicraft practitioners in Foshan launched an uprising under the instigation of the Tiandihui members. The people took out their privately hidden swords and muskets, attacked the Tongzhi Yamen, killed the Tongzhi of Foshan, and then killed the Green Camp commanders and captains who were guarding the place.

In Shunde, the situation is somewhat different. There is the Lelou Town Village Regime controlled by the gentry. This village regulation, which is similar to militia, is a major feature of grassroots governance in the late Qing Dynasty.

However, the village covenants and public offices throughout Guangdong basically did not come into being until the middle of the Jiaqing period, or even after the Opium War. This was an important feature of the Qing Dynasty's inability to control the local areas and was forced to cede power to the Han landlords and gentry.

Because once these rural militias were established, they would be controlled by local gentry and wealthy families without exception. The rural militias would have patrol boats, water warriors, and local militias, and would have the power to maintain public order and arrest thieves.

The image of Wong Fei-hung in Hong Kong films is a typical local gentry who controls the village association.

The Lelou Township Agreement, which has been established for more than ten years, is one of the earliest township agreements in Guangdong. Its main function is to help the Qing government monitor and even manage the large number of foreign ships entering Guangzhou for trade.

The interests involved were enormous, so the members of the village group, which was mainly composed of gentry from Lelou Town, all made a lot of money and were extremely opposed to Mo Zibu's arrival.

Some gentry even said directly: "We have been trusted by the court and have helped the Jingning area through the village agreement, and we have become rich and powerful because of it.

Mo Wu is from western Guangdong, where there are many ships going out to sea and pirates are not afraid of the sea. If he takes Guangzhou in the future, will he still respect us?"

So, in order to gain tens of thousands of taels of silver every year, a group of ignorant gentry decided to recruit water warriors to defend Shunde County.

Of course, there are fools as well as wise ones. As soon as the meeting of the township council ended, the head of the He family, a prominent family in Lelou, ran south to Xiangshan County, where a large number of anti-Qing militias were already gathered, to inform on the matter.

Chen Agao happened to be here, and now his power has risen because the Xing Tang Army is very short of talents. It only has tens of thousands of soldiers to take over Guangdong, and there is an extreme shortage of officials at all levels to suppress the local forces.

Therefore, people like Chen Agao, who could barely recognize a hundred or so characters, were considered talents and were trained and promoted.

"People die for money, just as birds die for food, but my He family has been in Lelou for a hundred years, so we don't need the money for the next few years. Please believe me, General. There are people in Shunde who want to resist the king and collude with the British and the red-haired barbarians to launch a surprise attack on the camp at Jiaomen."

Chief He spoke very sincerely. Jiaomen Camp was the base of Count Olivier, the commander of the Xing Tang Army fleet.

"Of course I believe Mr. He." Chen Agao smiled and then took Mr. He to the back room.

Mr. He's eyes widened instantly, because in the back room, there were already three gentry from Lelou Township.

Wow, it turns out they are not the only smart ones. The four of them bowed awkwardly, but they knew in their hearts that they were safe, but the other five would be in trouble if they didn't die.

. . . .

At the Jiaomen camp, Count Olivier called Brigadier General Manuel Bonn over.

"The British in Guangzhou are crazy. They actually want to collude with local officials loyal to the Qing Dynasty to break out. I never thought Captain Robert Goode would be so naive."

Manuel Bonn's eyes lit up when he heard this. Over the years, dealing with the British has always been the thing that the French are most happy to do.

At this time, the British East India Company merchant ships anchored at the Thirteen Hongs Trading House in the southwest of Guangzhou City were a very good target.

They have little self-defense ability and are quite rich.

"Thank you, Count. When Your Majesty comes to Guangzhou, I will definitely inform Your Majesty of your contribution."

Having received such a good job, Manuel Bonn naturally wanted to return the favor. He also knew what Count Olivier wanted.

At present, the war in the Thirteen Continents of North America is about to reach its most intense moment. It is naturally impossible for Count Olivier, a naval admiral who is considered a talented general in the French Navy, to command the small fleet of the Xing Tang Navy in the East for a long time.

It can be predicted that Count Olivier will soon be transferred to North America, and the transfer order may even be on the way.

At this time, Count Olivier very much hoped that Mo Zibu would confer him a title as a reward for his destruction of the Qing navy.

However, this demand is not low, because the titles of Xing Tang are interchangeable with those of France and Habsburg.

However, this exchange was conditional. It was impossible for Mozibu to confer a title at random and France and the Habsburgs would recognize it.

If that really happened, it would be a mess. Mozibu would confer titles on a bunch of princes and grand dukes, and France and the Habsburgs would not be able to bear it.

Therefore, in fact, when conferring such mutual titles, titles above earl had to be communicated to Europe in advance by Mozibu through letters, and only after obtaining the consent of Louis XVI and Joseph II could they be conferred, otherwise they would not be recognized.

Olivier was originally a count, so to be canonized he had to be at least a marquis, which was not easy. Although this mutual marquis would not have any fiefdom in France and would only be a symbol, it was still not easy.

Therefore, Count Olivier has been trying to please Manuel Bonn, the king's confidant, recently, hoping to get Mo Zibu's approval.

. . . .

The Thirteen Factories, also known as the Thirteen Yi Halls by the people of Guangzhou, was located on the south side of the Thirteen Factories Road in the west of Guangzhou City in later generations, close to the Pearl River.

The Thirteen Foreign Trade Houses were built entirely in European style, all crowded together, and distinguished by the flags hung in the trading houses.

Currently, there are representatives from countries such as France, England, Greater Luzon (Spain), Brussels (Portugal), the Netherlands, and Denmark.

However, for the Europeans at that time, living in the Thirteen Foreign Halls was not a pleasant thing, because the Qing government imposed very strict restrictions on them.

Among the merchant ships that arrived in Guangzhou, only the captain, foreman and other senior staff were allowed to land. All other people were only allowed to stay on the merchant ship to guard the ship and were not allowed to go ashore.

The people who were allowed to go ashore also suffered a lot. They were restricted to the small area of ​​the Thirteen Foreign-style Halls, with only five servants allowed in each hall, and were not allowed to hire Chinese.

This means that if more people come ashore, there will not be enough servants, and sometimes even cooking is a problem.

At the same time, since they could not go out and communicate with the Chinese, the Qing government did not allow these Europeans to have close contact with each other, and their every move was monitored.

So much so that some people complained that this was not going to engage in trade, but going to jail.

Of course, the situation was better now, as Guangzhou was in chaos, with only the Guangdong Provincial Surveillance Commissioner left to pretend that the Qing Dynasty was still in power. But in reality, even the foreigners in the Thirteen Foreign Pavilions were left unattended and began to run around.

Captain Robert Goode would of course oppose the Xing Tang Army because his ship was loaded with 1.5 million taels of tax silver from the Guangdong Customs.

He also hid another 1.5 million taels in the underground vault of the Thirteen Yikan and on merchant ships of the Dutch, Portuguese and other countries.

Such a large sum of money was enough to drive anyone crazy, to make anyone disregard all laws and dangers. As long as they could escape from the Huangpu Waterway, their net worth would soar to over 200,000 pounds.

"Gentlemen, don't be stingy with your rewards now. Tell everyone that every soldier and sailor will receive twenty pounds, and any unpaid wages will be made up, as long as we can break through."

Captain Robert Goode shouted, "Pull out all the hidden artillery! The Xing Tang navy isn't strong enough to blockade Guangzhou Bay."

After we break through the blockade, we will go to Macau first. Governor Menezes has prepared a fleet to escort us. Together we will sail to India and become rich."

"Captain Goode, are those Qing people reliable? If they cannot raid the Xingtang Navy's camp and disrupt the Xingtang Navy's deployment, it will be difficult for us to break out." Someone asked worriedly.

"Don't worry, there won't be any problems, because Mr. He from the Qing Dynasty has arrived here. He will bring you the latest news and coordinate our actions."

Captain Goode never thought that these Qing people would betray them, because in his opinion, the 500,000 taels of silver buried under the Thirteen Foreign Pavilions were enough to bribe anyone in the world.

(End of this chapter)