1850 American Gold Tycoon

Chapter 542 Special Envoy Plenipotentiary of the United States

Hong Mingxiang led the Biao battalion to fight red-eyed, and with his passion, he briefly drove the exhausted British Marines off the Shajiao Fort.

But God did not favor them. Seeing that the British Marines were unable to attack the fort for a long time, the French army sent reinforcements ashore to support the British army.

"Military gate! Fa Yi is also coming! Brothers have cut off the rear for you, you can withdraw! The Guangdong Navy cannot live without you! As long as you are here, the Guangdong Navy will be there!"

The battalion officer of the Navy's Admiral Biao Battalion saw the French troops rushing towards the Shajiao Fort like a tide, and knew that it was only a matter of time before the Shajiao Fort fell. He knelt on one knee, with tears in his eyes, and begged Hong Mingxiang to withdraw the fort. He was willing to cut off the rear.

Hong Mingxiang stood up, looked around at the more than two hundred loyal and bloody men on the Shajiao Fort, and showed a pleased smile: "I have spent my life in the army, and having soldiers like you is a comfort to me throughout my life."

"I am willing to die with the army!"

More than two hundred remaining soldiers of the Biao Battalion let out an earth-shattering cry.

Looking at the pacesetters who died generously in front of them, at the dilapidated Shajiao Fort, and at the corpses of sailors everywhere, Hong Mingxiang could no longer control his emotions.

He looked up to the sky and screamed, asking God: "Ah! Why! Why! Close the army gate! Why on earth is this!"

16 years ago, our cannons could not reach the British warships, and they could only be beaten. The Humen Fort could not hold it, I admit it!

Today, we have the best cannons, and the British ships are all within the range of our cannons. Why? Why? Why can't the fort still be defended? ! "

All the pacesetters also burst into tears and choked with sobs. They were just as unwilling as Hong Mingxiang. Why, why couldn't the Humen Fort be defended? !

More than ten years ago, they could still comfort themselves by pretending that they were inferior to people?

Now their artillery is more advanced than the British army, and their ammunition tubes are sufficient. However, they still failed to hold the Humen Fort.

Yes, why can't we defend the Humen Fort? This was the unwillingness of the two admirals of the Guangdong Navy before their deaths.

Hong Mingxiang stroked the still-warm Sacrament cannon and sighed: "What a good cannon, what a good fort! Why did God allow me to lose so miserably?! To be defeated so cowardly?! The defeat made my heart bleed. ?!”

"Hong Junmen!"

The remnants of the Dubiao camp hugged each other and cried. No one wanted to lose so miserably and in such a useless way. Why did they lose the battle that they obviously couldn't lose?

Hong Mingxiang picked up his sleeve and wiped his old face, which was full of vicissitudes of life, and told the battalion officer: "You are right, we need to leave a seed for our Guangdong Navy. From now on, this fort must be guarded by someone." .

You go, send the flag to ask Kang Shen to withdraw from the Dajiao Fort. Don't go back to Guangzhou City. Go to Xiangshan Port to find Liang Shilang. Only Liang Shilang can clean up the mess in Guangzhou! For now, please listen to the command of Mr. Liang. "

"If the military gate doesn't leave! We won't leave!"

The tone of the pacesetters was decisive.

"This is my last military order! Do you still want to disobey me?! Do you want me to die in peace?!" Hong Mingxiang shouted in a deep voice.

"The Humen Fort is my life's hard work, and it is also the life's hard work of Guan Junmen. It was here that Guan Junmen died for his country. Even if I die, I want to die here."

The battalion officer had no choice but to let some young pacesetters who had not been injured withdraw from the fort with Hong Mingxiang's orders, and he led the remaining brothers of the battalion to follow Hong Mingxiang and prepare for the final battle.

There was a burst of thunder, heavy rain fell on Shajiao Fort, strong winds howled, and angry waves rolled.

In the rain, the British and French forces once again rushed to the Shajiao Fort with guns in hand.

Hong Mingxiang, who had long disregarded life and death, smiled calmly and commanded the last battle of his life with his sword in hand.

"Prepare! Release!"

The muzzles of 103 rifles sprayed hot metal projectiles at the British and French troops in the rain. Dozens of British and French troops fell down.

After a burst of gunfire, Yu Yong on the Shajiao Fort and the British and French allied forces who were three or four times their own number fought together.

"Keep your mouth alive!"

Major General Spence saw the old and familiar figure of Hong Mingxiang in the telescope and ordered to capture him alive.

But it was too late. By the time Spence and Mentoban arrived at the Shajiao Fort, all the Guangdong Navy's Gu Zhong and Yu Yong on the Shajiao Fort had died for their country.

Hong Mingxiang knelt on the fort, like a sculpture that refused to rest in silence. His two hands only held the handle of the knife, and under the knife was a British captain who stabbed Hong Mingxiang's chest with the general's sword.

At the last moment before his death, this seventy-year-old veteran still tried his best to kill the enemy bravely.

The officers and soldiers of the British and French allied forces stood in the rain, in awe of this veteran with graying hair and a shirt soaked in blood.

Spence and Montauban could not help but give a military salute to the late veteran.

They could not deny that although Hong Mingxiang lost, he showed unparalleled courage and tenacity in this battle and was a respectable soldier.

"Destroy the battery, but do not destroy the Admiral's body."

This was the last order given by Spence before leaving the fort.

"In order to repel the Guangdong Navy fleet and capture the Humen Fort, we have already suffered a lot of casualties."

Montaban, who returned to the battleship, was worried.

After a whole day of fierce fighting, the losses of the British and French coalition forces were not small. In the naval battle, the British army lost a cruiser Pearl, a gunboat Barracuda, and Pegasus and Calcutta were seriously injured.

The British army lost a total of 216 soldiers in the naval battle. In order to capture the Sand Point Fort and Big Point Fort, the British Marine Corps paid a total of 185 casualties. Although the French army suffered light casualties, they also lost 37 people.

This was not the first time that the British army attacked Guangzhou, but this attack on Guangzhou caused the greatest casualties. It was the first time that a battleship was directly sunk by the Qing army.

You must know that the first trade war with China resulted in only 523 British casualties in the entire war (of which only 69 were killed). At that time, the British army fought all the way from Dajiao Shajiao Fort to Humen Town and then to Guangzhou Inland River. The death toll was almost negligible, with only a few soldiers suffering minor injuries.

"General Mentoban, don't worry, the obstacle of the Guangdong Navy has been removed, and what awaits us next will be a smooth journey."

The confident Spence smiled lightly, as if the city of Guangzhou was already within his grasp.

That night, the British and French allied forces sent out a vanguard company, an engineer company, and demolitions to continuously occupy Weiyuan Platform, Zhenyuan Fort, Jingyuan Fort, and the deserted Erweisha, in order to gain a foothold for the attack on Guangzhou City.

During this period, the British and French forces only encountered sporadic resistance from the remaining naval forces on the forts. Apart from this, the British and French forces never encountered organized resistance from the Qing army.

At this point, all the Humen forts were lost, Guangzhou City Ping Fan was lost, and the warships of the British and French allied forces were able to move freely on the Pearl River.

In the early morning of that day, the British and French fleets docked on the Pearl River outside the Wuxian Gate of Guangzhou City and bombarded the city. For a while, people in Guangzhou City were panicked.

After learning that the coalition forces had captured the Humen Fort Group and were approaching the city of Guangzhou, the belatedly arrived British Plenipotentiary Envoy Elgin and French Plenipotentiary Envoy Grofen arrived from Hong Kong by gunboat.

The commanders and special envoys of the two countries held a combat meeting on the French Navy flagship Kogan and decided to send another note to Ye Mingchen at noon that day, requiring him to hand over Guangzhou City within 48 hours, otherwise the coalition forces would storm Guangzhou City.

The two bannermen dignitaries Bai Gui, the governor of Guangdong, and Muten, the general of Guangzhou, did not disappoint as always. They took advantage of the British and French allied forces not yet attacking the city and led their troops to flee in a panic overnight.

Among all the officials in Guangzhou City, only Ye Mingchen remained in the city.

U.S. President Buchanan appointed Liang Yao as the plenipotentiary special envoy to China, responsible for handling U.S. affairs in China.

After receiving Buchanan's appointment to arrange for graduating West Point Military Academy and Virginia Military Academy cadets to intern in the Chinese army, Liang Yao set out for Xiangshan Port with his entire army.

When Liang Yao's fleet arrived at Xiangshan Port with the 11th Regiment, 12th Regiment, and Machine Gun Regiment of Umbrella Company's mercenary regiment, the British and French forces had already captured the Humen Fort.

Liang Yao, who had just landed ashore and arrived at Liang Shaoqiong's command post, met Hong Mingxiang's adjutant Kang Enze, the Guangdong Navy Admiral and Hong Mingxiang's adjutant, who was covered in blood and tears and brought six to seven hundred Guangdong Navy remnants to Xiangshan Port.

Liang Yao had met Kang Enze several times before, so although Kang Enze looked embarrassed, he still recognized him.

"Shilang Liang!"

When he saw Liang Shaoqiong, Kang Enze burst into tears and choked with sobs.

"Hong Jun gate him, Hong Jun gate him"

"What happened to Hong Junmen?"

Liang Shaoqiong had a vague feeling of ominous premonition.

"Hong Junmen died for his country at Shajiao Fort!"

Kang Enze said with runny nose and tears.

"The green battalion soldiers in Humen Town fled. We were unable to hold the Humen Fort. The Humen Fort has now fallen into the hands of the foreigners!"

"Damn! These idiots from Green Camp!" Liang Shaoqiong said angrily.

When Liang Shaoqiong was fighting against the Taiping Army, he was also tricked by the green battalions of the two camps in the south and north of the Yangtze River. He could relate to this feeling.

"Hong Junmen ordered us to come to Xiangshan Port and obey the orders of Mr. Liang. Mr. Liang is now our superior officer." Kang Enze said with his fists in his hands.

Kang Enze didn't want to return to Guangzhou City and obey Ye Mingchen's orders.

Ye Mingchen was inseparable from Hong Mingxiang's death.

As a governor, Ye Mingchen had military and political power in Guangdong. As long as Ye Mingchen did a little bit and actively mobilized troops to guard Humen, instead of leading the army to hide in Guangzhou like a tortoise and die. Why did Hong Mingxiang fight alone at the Shajiao Fort in Humen?

The Guangdong Navy listened to Liang Shaoqiong's orders and disobeyed regulations, but Liang Shaoqiong was not a pedantic person. He also wanted to save the last flesh and blood of the Guangdong Navy for Hong Mingxiang and fulfill his last wish for this old friend.

If these remnants of the Guangdong Navy are driven into Guangzhou City, God knows what tricks this weirdo Ye Mingchen will pull off.

Liang Yao was also deeply moved when he learned that Hong Mingxiang had died in the battle.

He also fought side by side with Hong Mingxiang, and they were considered comrades-in-arms. The two of them fought against the Dutch in Nanyang together. Hong Mingxiang is also one of the few officials in Guangdong and even the country who is doing practical things.

Without Hong Mingxiang's many years of management, I am afraid that the Manchu Qing authorities would not even have a fig leaf to cover the Battle of Humen.

Although the Humen Fort was not defended, the performance of the Guangdong Navy was much better than in history.

Liang Yao's business in Xiangshan was so smooth, and Hong Mingxiang also contributed a lot. Unexpectedly, a good naval admiral was just gone.

"Has Guangzhou City been lost?"

This is the issue that Liang Yao is most concerned about now, and it is related to his next troop deployment.

"When we came, the Gui Lao soldiers only attacked the forts outside Guangzhou City. According to the people who fled, although the Gui Lao warships were bombarding Guangzhou City, they did not start to attack the city." Kang Enze said.

"There are at least 20,000 to 30,000 flag soldiers and green battalion soldiers in Guangzhou City, plus the Du Biao Battalion and Fu Biao Battalion of the two governors. They can last at least a few days."

"The Eight Banners soldiers are worse than the Green Camp soldiers. Once the British and French allied forces attack the city, I'm afraid they won't be able to withstand it for a day." Liang Yao shook his head and had no hope for the Green Camp Eight Banners.

"There is news from Borneo that a large British army has arrived at Sin Chau Island (Singapore). If Guangzhou is lost, once the main force of the British army arrives, we can combine forces to attack Xiangshan Port from both land and water. By then, Xiangshan Port will be unable to support itself alone. That's it." After thinking about it for a long time, Liang Shaoqiong sighed helplessly.

"Hey~ Guangzhou City still can't be lost."

"The British and French forces have occupied the Humen Fort. Even if we want to save Guangzhou City, we are powerless." Liang Yao said after pondering for a moment.

"Returning to support Guangzhou City is a bad move; it is a bad move."

"Does your wise nephew have any good ideas?" Liang Shaoqiong asked.

He knew that Liang Yao had many ideas, so he might as well listen to Liang Yao's opinions.

"It's not a good strategy, but it's a risky move that requires us to risk all our assets." Liang Yao said.

"Come and listen." Liang Shaoqiong listened attentively.