Master Yuan, start!

...

After arriving at the meeting hall of the former Tianjin prefectural government, Dou Nale not only met Yuan Shikai, but also met Xu Shichang, Duan Qirui, Wang Shizhen and other senior leaders of the Socialist Revolutionary Party and the National Revolutionary Army.

Seeing Dou Nale enter the room, several people in the room quickly stood up.

Just as Dou Nale was hesitating whether to step aside and come back after the others had finished discussing, Yuan Xiangcheng pulled him to sit on a chair beside him, waved his hand, and said:

"Sir Claude MacArthur is not an outsider. Go on."

Hearing this, Wang Shizhen continued:

“Current intelligence from Hanoi indicates that a French infantry brigade has arrived in Taiyuan, northwest of Hanoi, which shares the same name as Taiyuan in Shanxi.

Another artillery regiment arrived to assist them.

In addition, the French garrison in Hanoi also sent about 2000 people to Shandong, which has the same name as Shandong Province, northeast of Hanoi, forming a pincer attack with the French Marines landing along the coast.

Of course, there is also the Lang Son area, which is the top priority for the French army's defense.

From the end of last year until January 15th of this year, the French army deployed at least two artillery regiments in Lang Son, confronting the Black Flag Mixed Brigade stationed at Zhennan Pass.

Yuan Xiangcheng still frowned when he heard this. He knew very well the gap between the National Revolutionary Army and the French Army.

It's not the size of the individual infantrymen, nor the will to fight.

In terms of physical fitness, the National Revolutionary Army, whose soldiers were mostly from Shandong, outside the Great Wall, and Haidong, was not necessarily inferior to the French soldiers at that time.

You should know that historically, the Chinese Warriors recruited by the British in Shandong were all big men over 1.8 meters tall. In the group photos passed down to later generations, some Shandong Chinese Warriors were even taller than the Indian soldiers wearing hoods.

Therefore, judging only by the quality of individual soldiers, the National Revolutionary Army is not weak.

However, once it came to technical arms, such as engineering corps, artillery, and volunteer troops, the gap of the National Revolutionary Army became apparent.

After all, China does not yet have strong industrial capabilities and cannot equip its troops with the latest artillery like France.

Moreover, during the civil war phase, the artillery units' sophisticated volleying techniques were often not used.

Often, the artillery would bombard the enemy with a few rounds, followed by an infantry charge.

Of course, now that Dounal is here, we can’t just discuss the war with France.

Yuan Xiangcheng paused and deliberately did not answer the question of how the National Revolutionary Army fought against France. Instead, he asked about the Gansu Army's westward advance.

"Dong Fuxiang, have you left with the Gansu army?"

Wang Shizhen saw Yuan Xiangcheng's smile and immediately understood what he meant. He replied, "Let's go. We've traveled day and night and are probably past Wushaoling and on to the Hexi Corridor."

Xu Shichang, who was standing by, was surprised when he heard this: "They left so early, aren't they celebrating the New Year?

I don't know how many years I'll be away, so why not spend more time at home with my wife and children?"

Yuan Xiangcheng smiled and replied, "Haha, you forgot, the Christians don't celebrate the Han Chinese New Year. They celebrate the Loyalty and Filial Piety Festival around May every year, and that's when they reunite."

"How strange that is!" Xu Shichang stroked his chin with an expression of sudden enlightenment.

"Sir Claude MacDonald, I have fulfilled my promise and sent a force to Xinjiang to guard against the Russians.

However, the distance to Central Asia is long and it is difficult to transport supplies.

I wonder if the British Empire can provide some convenience from India and Afghanistan?

After all, this is also for the jewel in the crown of the British Empire."

Yuan Xiangcheng smiled shyly, feeling quite embarrassed.

After all, supplying Xinjiang from Afghanistan across the Pamir Plateau is no less difficult than supplying from the Central Plains.

But who can blame the British for being so wealthy?

Now that we have formed an alliance, it is reasonable to give our allies more food, right?

Chapter 426 Slightly Spicy French

"If you want to rise quickly in the French Army, go to Algeria or Indochina."

This is a well-known saying in the Paris Military Academy. Among the French colonies in the late 19th century, only these two places had sufficient resources to provide an officer with promotion.

Jean Nissen, Major General and commander of the 1st Division of the French Indochina Expeditionary Force, took this path.

After graduating from the Paris Military Academy at a young age, he went to Algeria to suppress the local Muslim rebellion and was promoted step by step to captain.

Originally, if he had no connections, the highest military rank he would have achieved in his life would have been to be promoted to colonel in Algeria, and then he would retire and return home.

However, the outbreak of the Franco-Prussian War changed the course of his life.

The French army surrendered too quickly to the Prussian army, leading to unrest in Paris. Workers took to the streets and established their own organization, which they called the "Paris Commune."

Under such circumstances, Jean-Nison was urgently transferred back to his home country from Algeria to suppress the workers' movement in Paris.

After this battle, he was promoted from captain to major as an exception, and found support among Parisian politicians. In the following days, he was sent to Indochina for training.

Originally, his future was bright. During the continuous fighting in Indochina, Nissen participated in the establishment of the Indochina Federation. With his military exploits, he was promoted all the way to lieutenant colonel and colonel, and was about to reach the threshold of general.

However, all this was blocked by the Battle of Zhennan Pass. Although Nissen's army did not directly participate in the Battle of Zhennan Pass, he was forced to retreat due to the burden of friendly forces and suffered the reputation of defeat for nothing.

Jeannissen's military rank remained unchanged for many years until the Franco-Siamese War of 1893, when he was promoted to major general for his outstanding performance, officially entering the upper echelons of the French military system.

However, the position of major general came later than he expected.

...

Therefore, when Nissen led him to Zhennan Pass today, he had the idea of ​​washing away the shame in his heart.

He brought with him the 1st Division of the French Indochina Expeditionary Force and two French artillery regiments, as well as four Tonkin Rifle Skirmishers.

"This time the French army is fighting on their home turf. The Chinese army will surely suffer a more complete defeat than it did 14 years ago!"

Jean Nissen stubbornly believed that the French did not lose the Sino-French War 14 years ago.

It’s just that an accident happened in the last battle of Zhennan Pass!

However, unlike Jeanison, some French soldiers who had just been transferred to Indochina from other colonies were muttering something while cleaning the barrel of the gun.

"I heard that the Chinese army is different from before. They have a lot more cannons?"

"Yes, yes. It is said that China has produced a figure like Napoleon, who not only unified the country but also repelled the invasion of foreigners!"

These young soldiers had not participated in the war between China and France in Vietnam 10 years ago, so they did not have a systematic understanding of the combat effectiveness of the Chinese army.

According to the news they read in the newspapers, the army of the Chinese Republic Government fought from the Yangtze River to the Pearl River and hardly suffered a single defeat.

This is the distance from Paris to Marseille. Being able to win consecutive games all the way seems very powerful.

"I don't think so!"

After hearing the whispers of his soldiers, the French major general, who happened to be out on patrol, asked Nissen to take two steps closer and said disdainfully:

"China's military has indeed grown in size. It is said that the original six divisions of the National Defense Army have expanded to the current 6 divisions of the National Revolutionary Army.

However, a large number of people means that the artillery and heavy firepower will be diluted. Their artillery is scattered all over China and there is no way to concentrate it near Vietnam in a short period of time.

Look at the defenders at Zhennan Pass not far away. Their flag is still the Black Flag Army from 14 years ago.

Don’t they know that the Black Flag Army had suffered a crushing defeat in the past?

We just need to launch a quick attack. The Chinese soldiers will not be able to withstand the offensive and will be scared out of their wits and flee north in panic, just like they did 14 years ago!"

What Jeanniesen said, "14 years ago, Chinese soldiers were scared out of their wits and fled north in a hurry," was not a lie, but a true story.

Unlike the "Zhennan Pass Victory" which is widely described in Chinese history textbooks, the French did not give a particularly detailed description of this battle in their history books.

It is not because the French deliberately "hid" this defeat, but because this defeat is insignificant and irrelevant to France's colonial history.

The disastrous defeat in this battle was just a small episode in the French conquest of Indochina. Since it was just an episode, there was no need to emphasize it.

If there was any impact, it was at best that it caused some shock to the French political arena at the time, allowing those who were dissatisfied with the government's excessive colonial spending to take this opportunity to oppose Prime Minister Jules Ferry, forcing him to resign.

Then why is there such a divide between China and France in their propaganda about the Battle of Zhennan Pass?

In fact, it is still a political need.

The Chinese government emphasized that they had defeated the French army's offensive attempt at Zhennan Pass and won the victory, but ultimately ended up "defeated without being defeated" at the negotiation table in order to reinforce the public's perception of the Qing Dynasty's corruption and stupidity.

But what is the real situation?

Battle reports can be deceiving, but battle lines cannot.

You should know that the Qing army was originally stationed in Hanoi, Vietnam.

The straight-line distance from Hanoi to Zhennanguan is 200 kilometers. If the terrain impact caused by the increase in altitude is taken into account, the distance is far more than 200 kilometers.

But why is it that while fighting in Hanoi, in the end, they won a great victory at Zhennan Pass on the "Sino-Vietnamese border"?

There is a sense of humor in it, like "annihilating one hundred million enemies and occupying the Zhennan Pass."

The great victory was true, but it was also true that the Qing army retreated all the way from Hanoi, Vietnam to China, and only when they had no way to retreat did they fight back and won the Zhennan Pass counterattack.

The Spring and Autumn style of writing has always existed.

As a result, after the victory at Zhennan Pass, China lost Vietnam as a vassal state, opened the land ports on the Vietnamese border to the French, and agreed that if a railway was to be built in Yunnan and Guangxi provinces, France would be notified in advance.

Feilu Extraction Group 9667-10

It's not a victory by any means.

Therefore, even in this time and space, when the French army suffered a crushing defeat at the gates of Beijing, French Major General Jean Nissen still believed that France had not lost.

The first failure, the Battle of Zhennan Pass, was due to politics.

After all, the Indochina Expeditionary Force drove the Chinese all the way back out of Vietnam and only suffered a minor defeat on the border. If they regrouped and attacked again, they would surely win.

The second failure, the defeat of Beijing City, was due to unprofessionalism.

The headstrong Vice Admiral Courbet dared to disembark with his unprofessional navy and march hundreds of miles inland in the scorching summer heat, intending to raid a country's capital. In any way, this failure could have been avoided.

"Okay, guys, put your worries aside!"

Let Nissen pick up the telescope and stare at the Black Flag Mixed Brigade that was constantly reinforcing the fortifications at Zhennan Pass in front of them, as well as the fluttering seven-star black flag military flag.

Putting down the telescope, Nissen scanned the artillery position and said loudly:

"Now, fire at the pass that once recorded the shame of the French army!

Guys, go wash away the shame!

Slightly spicy, French!

Encouraged by Jeannissen, the French soldiers, their national pride aroused, shouted wildly.