Kaohsiung County, Zhang Xining fled here with the remaining soldiers. The county is still under the control of the Qing army.

Although he had already realized that he was going to fail, Zhang Xining was still shocked to be defeated by the escort so quickly.

He found that the Qing army did not seem to be on the same level as the pirates in the field battle, and it felt like they were being completely beaten by the other side.

Lu Dasheng's feelings were stronger than Zhang Xining's. He was a professional general after all. He could see that the guard army was better than the Qing army in terms of training and equipment.

"Master Zhang, the British have escaped, what should we do now?" Lu Dasheng asked in despair.

It seems that such emotions should not appear in a battle-hardened general.

But the battle just now really made Lu Dasheng completely despair.

There were only a few hundred soldiers left under his command. When they rushed all the way to Kaohsiung County, they discovered that all the transport ships docked in the port were gone, and there were no British anywhere.

I only found out after asking the troops left behind in the city.

A fleet of pirates came over, attacked the port, and captured all the transport ships. Now all the transport ships were taken away by the pirate fleet, leaving only an empty port.

"I have an unshirkable responsibility for the defeat of this battle." Zhang Xining knew that he had deep grudges with the rebels. Although he was afraid of death, he was already ready to commit suicide.

"Alas..." Lu Dasheng also sighed. His family were all in Quanzhou, and there was no possibility of surrender.

The escort quickly pursued Kaohsiung County and surrounded the place.

At the port, the warships of the escort navy also arrived. After a fierce battle with the British army, the battleships of the escort navy were all bruised and bruised, as were the warships captured from the British army.

The battle outside Yikun Fortress was much more intense than the battle in Jilong Port. After all, it took place during the day.

The Royal Navy of the British Empire has its own glory, and it is not that easy to get them to surrender.

There was even a British warship that self-destructed at the last moment. The escorts who boarded the ship almost perished together with the British troops on board.

Fortunately, the escort army took the lead and finally defeated the British army and captured two steam battleships, three sail frigates, and six armed merchant ships.

The only ones who escaped with Herb were three frigates and a steam gunboat.

In a short time, the escort navy was unmatched in the east.

However, the escort navy is basically unable to fight anymore, and it will at least take some time to repair and inspect the ships.

"Führer, do we need to bombard Kaohsiung County?" Zhou Chengguo walked to Dong Liang's side and asked.

"Forget it, let people go and persuade them to surrender, give them an hour to think about it, and tell them that we will only hold the chief officer responsible."

By this time, the Qing troops who had retreated to the city had already lost their morale.

If the gun is fired, innocent people may be injured.

And there is no need to use artillery.

The people in the city still kept the gates closed, but no one knew when these people would rush out from their homes to help the guards open the gates.

Even if no one opens the city gate, a row of cannons deployed outside the city gate alone is enough to blast the city gate open.

What's more, there are escort warships in the harbor, which can also bombard Kaohsiung County.

In less than an hour, the gate to Kaohsiung City opened, and the Qing troops walked out one by one with their hands raised.

Zhang Xining and Lu Dasheng committed suicide by taking poison in the county government office.

It was a real advantage to the two of them, especially Zhang Xining. He did all kinds of bad things and countless anti-Qing martyrs died in his hands.

Kaohsiung County was recaptured, the Qing army surrendered, and the battle to defend Dongfan Island officially came to an end.

In this battle, the escort force completely annihilated the U.S. Perry Fleet and the Far East Fleet, captured three battleships, including three 3,000-ton steam paddle cruisers, annihilated more than 1,000 American troops, and captured more than 1,000 others.

A large number of firearms and ammunition were also seized.

More than 10,000 Qing troops fighting across the sea were annihilated and more than 5,000 were captured.

In addition, it also defeated the British army's improvised sea crossing fleet and captured most of the British warships.

Annihilated more than 2,000 British sailors and captured more than 1,000 people.

At this time, the escort force, plus the original two steam gunboats, already had seven steam-powered warships, which could form an all-steam-powered fleet.

In addition, the number of sailing warships in the escort force suddenly reached twenty. Of course, most of them were armed merchant ships, and there were only eight professional sailing warships.

Including the original "Rage", the "Plymouth" captured from the US military and other four ships, as well as the three "Rage" frigates of the same class captured by the British army this time.

If these nearly thirty warships form a combat force, they can already compete with foreigners in the East, or at least defeat the Manchu and Qing Dynasty's southern navy.

But Dong Liang doesn't have time to have fun now.

He is organizing a memorial event in front of the Yanhuang Temple outside Anping City.

A stone tablet was erected in the forest of steles in front of Yanhuang Temple.

This place is called the Forest of Steles, but there is only one stone stele at present. The stele is densely engraved with inscriptions, most of which are the names of the sacrificed soldiers. The other side describes the process of the defense battle.

Just like Dong Liang did on Ishigaki Island.

A Yanhuang Temple is now built next to the stone monument of the Battle of Ishigaki Island.

Every year, the local government organizes sacrificial activities.

Ordinary people can also go there to worship and pray for blessings.

This is part of Dong Liang's promotion of Chinese culture.

That is to first unify everyone's ancestors.

Regardless of whether it is true or not, it is officially clear that we are all descendants of the Yan and Huang Dynasties, and we only have the common ancestor of the Yan and Huang Dynasties.

Dong Liang was wearing a very formal robe, which was discovered with the help of several old gentlemen from the university hall.

The wide-sleeved gown, the tall jasper crown, and Dong Liang's handsome appearance make this look really good.

He held a eulogy in his hand and read it in a low and solemn tone.

The square in front of the temple was filled with people who came to watch the ceremony. There were ordinary people wearing all kinds of civilian clothes, there were guardsmen and soldiers wearing blue military uniforms, there were university students wearing blue gowns, and there were also people wearing blue official robes.

of Chinese officials.

With so many people standing together, they could all hear Dong Liang's speech. It wasn't that Dong Liang's voice was so loud, but that these people were very quiet and their expressions were solemn.

The bones of those soldiers will also be buried here, worthy of enjoying the ancestral temple. This is a great honor.

Dong Liang could see the envious expressions in the eyes of the guardsmen.

No dynasty has ever given such high honor to soldiers.

Next Dong Liang also announced rewards for the soldiers.

A large number of soldiers were awarded military titles.

The soldiers who died will also receive a generous pension, and their families will enjoy the treatment of martyrs.

This is not just an empty talk. Plaques will be hung in front of the courtyards of martyrs' families, and even officials must bow before entering.

The production brigade will organize team members to help the families of martyrs cultivate food.

Families of martyrs can also sponsor one member to study in a military academy or university.

…

All this makes people jealous.

This battle to defend Dongfan Island not only did not shake the local rule of the Chinese, but actually allowed the Chinese to be recognized by the people of Dongfan.

Especially in the mobilization of various retreats and the defense of the city, the guards always put the lives of the people first.

Although some people were still harmed, this further proved the cruelty and unkindness of the Manchu rule.

Popular support - this is the biggest gain from this battle, which is more meaningful than the capture of the entire Perry fleet.

Reconstruction after the war, appeasing the people, resting and reorganizing the army, repairing warships... many things need to be arranged.

But Dong Liang doesn't need to worry about these things.
Chapter completed!