Outside the west gate of Shanghai, a group of officers and soldiers were lying in the grass. Heavy artillery had flattened the city wall by three feet. The originally fluttering flags had turned into ashes. However, there was no reaction at all on the city walls. There was no fight back and no one shouted.
Running away, could it be possible that they were all killed in the explosion?
Hundreds of officers and soldiers held up their shields and rushed over. They quickly ran to the city gate and climbed in through the hole in the city gate that was damaged by artillery fire. This was just a force exploring the path. Their life and death were no longer in the hands of the generals.
It was within the scope of consideration, but the situation was beyond everyone's expectation. After a while, the imperial flag was actually raised on the top of the city, and several soldiers shouted excitedly: "Retreat! All the rebels have retreated!"
The officers and soldiers conquered the city of Shanghai without any bloodshed, just within the seven-day guarantee Yuan Chengzhi made to the emperor. The proud Yuan Chengzhi immediately sent the news of success to Beijing, and then led the army into Shanghai.
The once prosperous city has been destroyed by the artillery fire of the officers and soldiers. The people who lost their homes are sleeping on the streets. When they see the officers and soldiers entering the city, they just pay attention with numb eyes. They do not come with tea, egg white noodles and pancakes as Marshal Yuan imagined.
Although the labor force was grand, this did not hinder his good mood. While riding on a tall horse and marching, he dispatched his men to occupy various important places.
When Yuan Chengzhi entered the governor's office, the rewards came from everywhere. The city shipping department and the treasury were all empty, and tens of millions of silver were moved away by the rebels. The Jiangnan Shipyard was also empty, except for the gantry crane that could not be moved.
Even the warships in the dock and the semi-finished products in the warehouse were gone, and the dock was even more desolate. Except for some small fishing boats, all the sea-going ships had sailed away, leaving only oil stains and debris in the harbor.
"Run away, I guess you know each other." Yuan Chengzhi snorted coldly. As for the property that the rebels took away, he didn't care. The Ming Dynasty was so rich in resources that he didn't care about this kind of property. Taking away the property would be more indicative of the enemy's intentions.
Cowardice and future trends, it seems that they have decided to go into exile overseas.
There is another reason for Yuan Chengzhi not to worry, that is, the emperor has ordered Shi Lang, the admiral of the Zhejiang Navy, to block the sea route. The rebels have packed up so many jars and jars, and the journey must be slow. By then, they will not become the navy's
Living target.
At this time, off the coast of Shanghai, Shi Lang was standing on the bridge of his flagship, using a telescope to watch the unprecedentedly huge fleet in front of him. There were at least four to five hundred ships of various sizes, sailing ships, steam paddle wheels, internal combustion engine propellers, and stern ships.
Iron-clad warships, large fishing boats, ocean-going cargo ships, all imaginable ship types can be seen here. The fleet is heading due east, and there are several unpainted warships cruising around the periphery, with huge gun muzzles pointed at
Shi Lang's side.
"Junmen, let's fight. With a burst of artillery fire, we can sink a few ships, and we can explain to the court." The subordinate suggested to Shi Lang sincerely.
"If we start fighting, we will be doomed." Shi Lang pointed to the distance, and several black things similar to shark fins were looming in the waves. They were the submarine force stationed in the Song Dynasty. These days, submarines are the overlord of the sea. No matter how big the tonnage is, no matter how many artillery pieces there are.
Even the warships of the Ming Dynasty were helpless in the face of submarines. The technological level of submarines was too high. Even the Jiangnan Shipyard of the Ming Dynasty could only imitate small-tonnage river submarines and could not build such ocean-going submarines at all. In front of these overlords of the sea, Shi Lang
The Zhejiang Navy is like a big dish on the table. Whether you want to eat or not depends on the mood of others. In this situation, if you want to fire at others, you are afraid that you will be hit first before the muzzle of the cannon is fired.
The torpedo went into the sea to feed the sharks.
"Military Gate, fire the cannon. If you don't fire a single cannon, I'm afraid you..."
Shi Lang shook his head: "Many people will be killed if the cannon is fired. If not, only me will be killed. Besides, who will be hit by the cannon? They are not the people of the Ming Dynasty. Give me the order to withdraw the troops."
The Zhejiang Navy retreated, and the escort fleet breathed a sigh of relief. They turned the steering wheel towards the east and sailed towards the sun. It was Liu Ziguang's decision to abandon Shanghai. No one dared to disobey. They packed everything they could take away with the highest efficiency.
They were taken away, and those who were willing to follow were all put on the ship without even having time to pack their luggage. Of course, there were also many people from the Ax Gang of the Tiandi Society who asked to stay and continue the underground struggle. These people quietly evacuated and hid among the people, waiting for the future army.
Of course it will be useful when you come back from the kill.
Zeng Cheng and Kuang Kuang were both on board. Originally, the Gurkha soldiers insisted that their mother and son go to Tibet, saying that only in Tubo could Kuang Kuang's disease be cured. However, Liu Ziguang, who learned of the situation, sent a telegram saying that Kuang Kuang could not be allowed to go to Tibet anymore.
Kuang risked his life, but if he really wanted to be loyal to His Majesty the King of France, he could detour to Tianzhu and take a China Merchants ship to detoxify Kuang, so in the end the mother and son embarked on the road to Japan.
The direction of the fleet is exactly where the sun rises - the Japanese slave country. This country is backward and barbaric, with continuous civil wars and poor people's lives. It only produces fans, high-quality long knives, and bandy-legged pirates. It's really unbelievable.
I know how the commander-in-chief chose this place as his place of exile.
Liu Ziguang had his own ideas. During his time in Goryeo, he and Peng Jingrong took stock of the places in the world where they could settle down. China Merchants Group has acquired a lot of land in the past few years. The Guinea Island Group in the South Sea and the vast Australia are all owned by China Merchants Group.
To the west is Tianzhu and the oil-producing desert areas of the Middle East. In these places, the Investment Promotion Bureau has established colonial regimes and has good cooperative relations with local feudal states and tribes. Further to the west is the endless African grassland and rainforest. Here, we have established
In the Great Zambia, the king is Liu Ziguang's sworn brother Magotou. Although these places are very large, they are always too wild and can only be used as raw material production places and product dumping places. The people are not enlightened and cannot be used.
, besides being far away from the Central Plains, it would be more troublesome to counterattack in the future, so Liu Ziguang set his sights on the Japanese country.
The Japanese country of Japan is just across the border from the Ming Dynasty. In the early years, it sent envoys from the Tang Dynasty to the Central Plains to study politics, economy, culture and art, and learned some basics. Chinese characters are commonly used in the country, and the architecture is also quite Tang-style. People from the Central Plains will feel at home when they go there, and even more
The important thing is that Liu Ziguang admires some unique habits of the Japanese people. They don't care about eating but beating them. As long as they scare them, they will be the most obedient slaves.
After more than ten days of trekking at sea, the fleet finally arrived at Nagasaki Port in Kyushu. Looking from a distance, the flag of the Red Shirt Army was already flying on the lighthouse in the harbor. Looking back at the city, it was charred and covered with rubble. It looked like a conquest.
Nagasaki also fought a vicious battle.
Nagasaki is the window of Japan's foreign trade. It has a natural deep-water port that can accommodate giant merchant ships. However, there are too many ships coming from Shanghai, so they can only enter the port one by one to unload their goods. The passengers after the long journey have long been weak from vomiting and have no choice.
I have enough strength to work, but it doesn't matter. The dock is already full of bow-legged people wearing only loincloths. Their eyes are radiating with enthusiasm, eager to work.
Seeing the Japanese coolies rushing to work without being urged or whipped, people from Shanghai asked puzzledly about their fellow occupying forces at the port.
"How are you doing this? The city has been destroyed, and many people must have died. Why are these coolies still working so hard?"
The man in question raised his fingers, and a Japanese who had just put down the goods ran over, knelt on the ground, nodded and asked in half-baked Chinese: "Taijun, what kind of work do you do?"
The soldier asked: "These adults ask you why you work so hard. Don't you regret that we destroyed Nagasaki?"
Before the Japanese could speak, tears came out: "It's from Taijun, I'll give you the rice, it's from Nagasaki, and it's for the daimyo." Then he felt that his Chinese vocabulary was not enough to express his meaning, so he babbled a long paragraph about Japanese.
language.
The soldier knew some Japanese and explained to everyone: "This man means that Nagasaki is the territory of the daimyo, not common people like them. It doesn't matter if they are beaten to pieces. After the Chinese army arrives, they will eat the food that only the samurai class can eat."
Rice was distributed to these small people, but it was too late to be grateful. How could they resent the Chinese army?"
Everyone looked at each other, thinking that the magic power of rice was so great. What did the Japanese usually eat? The soldier seemed to have guessed what everyone was thinking, and explained: "The Japanese are poor, and it is good if they can eat rice. Nagasaki
Being close to the sea, you can also catch some fish to eat. I heard that farmers in the inland areas usually eat millet and beans and drink some miso soup. They don't see any meat all year round. Their nobles only eat some prune rice cakes or something like that.
, the life is not as good as that of the poor people there."
Everyone was relieved. That was it. No wonder the Japanese were so short and bow-legged. It turned out to be caused by long-term malnutrition.
After Zeng Cheng and others landed, they saw Peng Jingrong waiting for them. They held their heads in pain for two times and complained about the difficulties and dangers since the separation. After crying for a while, they stopped and boarded the carriage to their apartment in the city. Inside the carriage, Peng Jingwei asked
: "Why isn't my brother-in-law here?"
Peng Jingrong said: "Your brother-in-law led the army to conquer Xiaguan. After conquering Xiaguan, he had to cross the strait to attack Kyoto. If the Japanese shogun defeated the Japanese shogun, we would be done. Then we can go to Edo together."
Peng Jingwei said: "What general? Doesn't Japan have an emperor?"
Peng Jingrong said: "The Japanese country is different from our Ming Dynasty. The emperor is just an empty post, and all the power lies in the hands of the shogun. I heard that the previous emperor gave up the throne to his daughter at a young age because he had a bad relationship with the general."
Peng Jingwei's eyes widened: "It's the Queen again, isn't that why I'm taking advantage of my brother-in-law again?"
A finger poked Peng Jingwei's forehead hard, "Your brother-in-law is such a person." Peng Jingrong said angrily.