Slaying the Qing: My Taiping Heavenly Kingdom

On the evening of November 15, 1857, the heavily damaged Allied fleet abandoned its bombardment of the Wusongkou Fortress and instead headed towards the mouth of the Yangtze River.

On the flagship of the Allied fleet, the steam-powered frigate "Fury," a group of high-ranking Allied officials were gathered. However, their expressions were all extremely grim.

Everyone is very dissatisfied with this setback.

Admiral Seymour, commander of the Royal Navy's Far East Fleet, was particularly ashen-faced.

The Royal Navy suffered greater losses in today's battle. Because they were at the forefront, they naturally became the primary targets of the Wusongkou Fortress.

In contrast, the Gallic fleet, which hid in the rear, suffered fewer losses.

"Gentlemen, it seems the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom was indeed well-prepared. They have built a formidable fortress here. I think you should all understand this through today's battle. It will be very difficult for us to completely destroy this fortress."

Furthermore, we'd better avoid taking such a head-on approach.

Otherwise, the losses we incur will far exceed our expectations!

"The Allied Commander-in-Chief, Count Elgin, addressed the crowd."

"Your Excellency is absolutely right. Our current naval guns are simply incapable of destroying this fortress. Continuing to fight like this will only result in the loss of more of our warships."

Perhaps we can use the waterways north of Chongming Island to travel upstream along the Yangtze River and penetrate deep into the heart of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom!

Admiral Deszeiri, commander of the Gallic fleet, suggested.

Admiral Seymour shook his head repeatedly: "The waterway north of Chongming Island is rather narrow. At the same time, the water is not deep enough. In addition, it is currently the dry season of the Yangtze River. If our warships enter this waterway, they will probably run aground."

Battleships, in particular, would likely be unable to pass; only cruisers or frigates would be able to navigate.

Ideally, more shallow-draft warships, such as gunboats, should be deployed from the mainland to allow passage.

In addition, according to our previous intelligence, the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom also built many fortresses along the Yangtze River.

Even if it's not as large as the Wusongkou Fortress, we probably still wouldn't be able to get through if we only deployed a few small warships. Furthermore, the further west we go, the narrower the river becomes. Our warships will also be more vulnerable to attacks from the shore.

"It seems that it will be very difficult for us to launch an attack along the Yangtze River and deep into the heart of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom. Let's report back to the mainland and request that they send more shallow-draft gunboats to support us!" said Count Elgin.

Baron Gros, the plenipotentiary representative of the Gallic Empire, also agreed.

However, it takes time.

Even if they report this situation to the mainland now, and then wait for the mainland to make a decision and send more warships to reinforce them, it would still take at least half a year, or even longer, to get there and back.

As things stand, the difficulties they face have not been resolved.

"Your Excellency, since we cannot destroy the Wusongkou Fortress and cannot land here, we can choose other places to land. I have looked at the map, and we can land at Jinshanwei. It is not far from Huating County, the capital of Songjiang Prefecture."

If we can hold our ground here and wait for reinforcements to arrive, then we can launch a new offensive!

General Grant, commander of the British Expeditionary Force, suggested.

"That's a good idea! Instead of fighting the enemy's fortified fortress head-on, we should go around to another place!" General Montauban, commander of the Gallic expeditionary force, also agreed.

Count Elgin nodded repeatedly: "If no one has any objections, then let's choose to land at Jinshanwei."

After the coalition leadership reached a consensus on this issue, they acted swiftly.

The fleet began to withdraw from the mouth of the Yangtze River and instead sailed south.

Meanwhile, the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom was keeping a close eye on the movements of the foreign devils.

After discovering that the foreigners' fleet had left, they quickly informed the 2nd Infantry Division of the Eastern Expeditionary Army stationed in Songjiang Prefecture of the situation.

General Li Xiucheng, commander of the Eastern Expeditionary Army, personally arrived in Zhonghai County to oversee and direct this major battle.

"Commander, it seems the foreigners have failed to breach the Wusongkou Fortress and have suffered considerable losses. They are preparing to land from another direction," reported Major General Li Shixian, commander of the 2nd Infantry Division of the Eastern Expeditionary Army.

General Li Xiucheng nodded: "No matter which direction the foreigners land from, we have only one goal: to wipe out their entire landing force."

Only in this way can we truly inflict pain on the foreigners. Only in this way can we make them know the power of the Heavenly Kingdom!

"Yes, Commander!" Major General Li Shixian nodded repeatedly.

"Is the 2nd Infantry Division ready?" General Li Xiucheng asked.

"Commander, we are ready. The 1st Regiment is in Huating, the 2nd Regiment is in Fengxian, and the 3rd Regiment is in Zhonghai. The cavalry battalion is deployed on a mobile basis. The artillery battalions are deployed in Huating and Fengxian respectively."

Once the landing point of the foreigners is determined, the 2nd Infantry Division will immediately assemble and launch an attack on them.

Li Shixian replied.

"Have you notified all localities? These foreigners are vicious and ruthless. Once they land, they will inevitably harm our neighbors and even massacre our compatriots. All localities must be prepared. Once the foreign landing forces are discovered, immediately report to the garrison. Furthermore, evacuate the civilians immediately to minimize losses as much as possible!" General Li Xiucheng ordered.

"Yes, Commander!" Major General Li Shixian replied.

Before the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom's navy was fully formed and it had no strength to contend with the powerful navy of the foreign devils, it could only passively defend itself.

This inevitably leads to war breaking out on the land of Heaven. Ultimately, it is the people of Heaven who will pay the price.

There was nothing that could be done unless the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom could build a powerful navy.

Only in that way can we truly keep enemies out of the country.

The Taiping Heavenly Kingdom already knew in advance that the British and the Gallic peoples would not have many ground troops. Therefore, apart from the 2nd Infantry Division of the Eastern Expeditionary Army, they did not deploy any more troops.

The 1st Infantry Division of the Guards Corps was only used as a reserve force.

They will only be deployed if the situation in the battle changes unexpectedly.

On the morning of November 16, the Allied fleet appeared in the waters near Jinshanwei.

Officials at all levels, who had already received the news, were preparing for an attack by foreigners.

Officials reported to the garrison that the foreigners had arrived. Meanwhile, they immediately organized the evacuation of the civilian population.

Although many people were unwilling to leave, they were persuaded by officials to pack their belongings and flee their homes.

The public was also worried that after the foreign devils landed, they would really go on a killing spree as the officials had said.

Upon receiving the news, the troops stationed in Huating County and Fengxian immediately took action.

Two infantry regiments and an artillery battalion rushed to Jinshanwei to intercept the foreign troops landing.

Meanwhile, the cavalry battalion also began its march to Jinshanwei.

Li Xiucheng and Li Shixian also traveled from Zhonghai to Jinshanwei.

After the allied fleet arrived at Jinshanwei, it first conducted a round of artillery bombardment. Finding no resistance, the ground troops then began to land.

The allied ground forces were not large; the British Empire's army deployed over two thousand men, while the Gallo Empire's army deployed only over one thousand. The combined ground forces of both countries numbered only a little over three thousand.

This small ground force wouldn't even be enough to fill the gaps in the Taiping Army's teeth.

But the British and the Gauls were clearly unaware of this.

After the British and the Gauls landed, they considered themselves invincible.

After a short rest, they headed towards Jinshan County.

Jinshanwei is just a small seaside town.

The residents had already packed their belongings and left, so even if the bandits wanted to rob them, they wouldn't get much. They would naturally move on to attack other towns.

This is precisely the thieving nature of the British and the Gauls.

But what the British and the Gauls did not expect was that the Taiping army reacted much faster than they did.

The 1st Infantry Division, 2nd Infantry Regiment, cavalry battalion, and artillery battalion of the 2nd Infantry Division of the Eastern Expeditionary Army have completed their assembly in the northern part of Jinshanwei, just waiting for the foreign devils to come crashing into them.

The reason why the Taiping army did not take the initiative to attack Jinshanwei was because the foreign devils had a large number of warships at sea.

If these warships were to provide fire support to the foreign troops on the ground, the Taiping army would likely have to pay a heavy price.