At this time, Shanghai County was like a large slum area, with slums everywhere. To the north of the city was the foreign concession area. At this time, the concession was only a street along the Huangpu River.

This was the Bund in later generations, but at this time the water of the Huangpu River was very clear, there were aquatic plants growing on the shore, and fishermen could also be seen lowering their nets to catch fish.

Because foreigners have withdrawn in large numbers and foreign ships cannot enter, it seems that there is not much difference between the Bund and the docks in Fuzhou.

Some steamships and Chinese merchant ships are also Chinese maritime transport teams or Chinese merchant ships.

Dong Liang's trip to Shanghai this time was done in secret.

According to the intelligence obtained by the Chinese, the Manchus did not know that this place was indirectly controlled by the Chinese.

"Head of State, the imperial court has decreed that we attack Chongming, otherwise we will send troops directly. What do you think?" The speaker was Liu Lichuan.

He and Yuan Jiugong were reporting work in front of Dong Liang at this time. One of them was in charge of government affairs and the other was in charge of military affairs.

On the surface, Yuan Jiugong was Wu Jianzhang's staff and was stationed in the Wu Mansion. On the surface, Liu Lichuan was the commander of the escort team of the Shanghai Merchant Corps.

"Since they want Chongming, then we will take Chongming down and put Chongming under the jurisdiction of Shanghai Road."

Dong Liang had long planned to put Chongming under the jurisdiction of Shanghai Road, because the agreement between him and the Americans had been reached, and soon the concession area in Shanghai would appear with a new look.

"After capturing Chongming, the imperial court must reward us. Then the entire southern Jiangsu will be handed over to Wu Jianzhang. By the way, let's report it to the imperial court." Dong Liang said to Yuan Jiugong.

In fact, it doesn't matter that Dong Liang is now showing off the situation in Shanghai with the imperial court. Wu Jianzhang was originally asked to be this puppet just to allow those businessmen to run to Shanghai with peace of mind.

Now these people are used to staying in Shanghai. Even if they know that the actual controllers of Shanghai are Chinese, they will not leave as long as the Chinese do not change the current status of Shanghai Road and do not overturn the order established here before.

"Führer, do you want us to take action against Suzhou's sharp army?" Liu Lichuan keenly interpreted the meaning of Dong Liang's words.

"Commander Liu, you said everything I had to say. Originally, I wanted to give him a pass." Dong Liang said with a smile.

Liu Lichuan scratched his head, showing a simple and honest look.

"Tell me, how confident are you in defeating the Fengrui Army?" The merchant escort team will be the main force on the road to attack the Fengrui Army, so Dong Liang came here mainly to seek their opinions.

Liu Lichuan said sternly: "Your Majesty, the Fengrui Army is indeed the strongest among the Qing armies. Their fighting will and tactical weapons are stronger than those of the ordinary Qing army. Lu Jianfeng is the largest opium dealer for foreigners in the mainland, so he and the foreigners

The relationship between them is good, the army has hired many foreign instructors, and most of the weapons are foreign guns and cannons."

Liu Lichuan first introduced the situation of Fengrui Army.

"It is said that their current total strength is between 20,000 and 25,000."

"And our merchant escort team only has 5,000 people. Even if our training and equipment are better than theirs, the disparity in military strength is too big." Liu Lichuan did not try to take over everything when he came up. He still commented objectively.

The balance of power between the two sides.

This is a mature general.

Dong Liang nodded slightly. He knew all this information. The reason why he asked this was to see what Liu Lichuan was like.

He has not had much contact with Liu Lichuan, but he was recommended by Sun Yanping, so there should be no problem with his political stance.

Dong Liang disliked the kind of people who were overjoyed in their achievements.

"So, your army alone cannot defeat the sharp army." Dong Liang said.

"Indeed, I am ashamed of myself. The development of the Merchant Corps Guards is really too slow. We get all our funds from those merchants, and we spend all our time talking to them."

"Führer, my subordinates are responsible for raising money for the escort. This matter is all my fault." Yuan Jiugong said quickly. He used to work under Chen Deli and was responsible for contacting these businessmen.

But it is not that easy to take the money out of these people's pockets.

"Shanghai Road is so big. It's unrealistic for you to raise 20,000 soldiers and horses like Jiangbei. And the money of those businessmen doesn't fall from the sky. We Chinese people must develop together with them, instead of killing the goose to obtain the eggs."

Dong Liang did not blame the two.

"Master Yuan, you are right. The commercial capital in Shanghai must be well cultivated. Although we Chinese have a large number of industries of our own, we cannot manage all walks of life."

"Merchant capital will also be an important part of our Chinese economy in the future."

Liu Lichuan said: "Führer, I still have confidence in my business escort team. With our current strength, there will be absolutely no problem in reaching Suzhou City."

Dong Liang waved his hand and said: "Commander Liu, it is easy to capture the Fengrui Army, but it is not so easy to control Suzhou, Huzhou, and Changzhou."

"I have made a big plan this time, and you are just one part of it. Just do your part well."

"Master Yuan, those businessmen in Suzhou have asked us to send troops, so we must agree to accept the money as ordered, otherwise they will suspect that we are not sincere."

Dong Liang smiled.

Originally, he had not taken Suzhou merchants into consideration, but now these people have come to his door and are willing to cooperate internally and externally to assist the merchant escort team in taking over Suzhou. Isn't this just giving him pillows when he comes to sleep?

In this way, Dong Liang's package plan to win the Fengrui Army will be more confident.

Dong Liang asked Guan Yan to be temporarily responsible for the government affairs in Jiangbei, and asked Fu Shanxiang to follow behind to cooperate.

Yuan Wei's army established a firm foothold in Yangzhou City, and the western defense line was mainly placed on the Yizheng and Liuhe lines.

In this way, the entire Yangzhou Prefecture was officially brought under the jurisdiction of the Chinese.

Qishan led the remaining troops to survive in the Jiangbei camp in Pukou.

The Taiping Army's offensive in northern Anhui became more and more fierce, and Qishan's Jiangbei camp gradually lost its strategic depth.

The timid Qishan moved all his imperial envoys' camps to Huai'an Prefecture.

He also prepared a fleet of boats for himself. If anything happened, he would just get on the boat and escape north.

Suzhou City, Lu Jianfeng's residence.

Lu Jianfeng also received news of the failure of Jiangbei Camp.

However, in the view of the Qing army, this was a merger between the Taiping Army and the Red Flag Army entrenched in Jiangbei.

"Qishan is such a loser. With an army of nearly 20,000, he couldn't take down Yangzhou City, which was defended by thousands of people, and he gave it to others." Lu Jianfeng and several of his brothers were drinking, and they cursed Qishan for his incompetence.

The table is filled with delicacies from mountains and seas, unparalleled delicacies.

The original three brothers have now absorbed Wu Guangjin, the commander of Taihu Navy, and become four brothers.

"Brother, the Manchus are now a bunch of losers. The Manchu Qing court is indeed at the end of its rope. The era of heroes has come. This is the era of the strong. Having guns, people, and territory is the way to go." Zhong Zilu

Although he is a scholar, he is the most radical among them.

"With my eldest brother taking care of me, I feel comfortable doing things. All my life, I, Old Wu, have always followed my eldest brother's lead." Wu Guangjin also quickly expressed his loyalty.

"Fourth brother, haven't there been a batch of those rocket boats installed? How about, when can they be formed into an army? I'm still counting on your navy to open a way to capture Shanghai Beach. I don't know how many businessmen have gathered there now. It's like a golden mountain.

Silver Mountain." Lu Jianfeng said.

Now he has been eyeing Shanghai and Jiangning.

Shanghai gathered almost all the merchants in the Yangtze River Delta, while Jiangning City concentrated all the wealth stolen by the Taiping Army.

If they could snatch this money, their sharp army could possibly feed an army of 100,000 people.

"Brothers, the rocket boats we built are no worse than those of the Red Flag Army. And the rockets we built are bigger and more powerful."

The rockets made by the Fengrui Army are indeed larger, but that's because their craftsmanship is not as good as that of the Guards. If they want to ensure the power, they can only make the rockets bigger.

However, the range cannot be guaranteed. Moreover, the accuracy is much lower than that of the Guards' rockets.

Some of the small parts that Dong Liang assembled in the rockets could not be cast by the craftsmen of the Qing army.

Wu Guangjin was a layman, and he didn't even know he was being deceived by his craftsmen.

The Fengrui Army also treated craftsmen very poorly. How could those craftsmen work wholeheartedly for them?

"Okay, fourth brother, you should seize the time to become a navy master. Let's capture Shanghai first, take its money, then buy steamships from foreigners, then go up the river and capture Jiangning City," Lu Jianfeng said.

Zhong Zilu heard the shouting and said: "When the time comes, let the imperial court grant my eldest brother the title of Governor of Liangjiang. If not, we will rebel against him."

Among the few people, Ju Shizhen, who is tall and strong, is more rational.

The last time, during the battle of Chongming Island, he saw the might of the Red Flag Army, which was right on the edge of Shanghai. They didn't occupy Shanghai Beach. Could it be that the Fengrui Army could capture Shanghai so easily?
Chapter completed!