Yangzhou hospitals are overcrowded and anxious people are everywhere.
Just one day ago, February 17, 2023, this day happened to be the second day of the Lunar New Year. Although people were living in difficulty, they were still enjoying the rare New Year time. But who knew that an unprovoked disaster would befall them?
superior.
Five British warships suddenly opened fire on the city of Yangzhou. Huge shells exploded between houses, countless houses were destroyed, and the people who were celebrating the Spring Festival at home suffered an unreasonable disaster.
The bombing operation lasted for more than half an hour. The British poured hundreds of artillery shells into the city, killing more than 2,000 people and injuring more than 5,000 people. In the subsequent fire, tens of thousands of people were killed.
The people were left homeless, and the city of Yangzhou instantly turned into a hell on earth, with mourning everywhere.
In fact, just before the British warships bombarded Yangzhou, they had already launched an artillery bombardment on a Fengjun camp. After Zhou Zijian led the Fengjun army and seized Pukou, they aggressively collected ships in Jiangbei and prepared to cross the river to attack Nanjing.
Prepare.
A unit happened to arrive at the Yangzhou line. While collecting ships, the British fleet sailed by and fired at the Chinese ships. Three fishing boats were sunk, more than 20 soldiers died, and the camp on the shore was also shelled. A total of five
More than a dozen soldiers died in the shelling.
But even so, the British were still not satisfied. They went upstream and launched bombardments on innocent civilians. All major hospitals in Yangzhou were overcrowded. Trauma medicine, burn medicine, and surgical equipment were all out of stock. Many people had to survive without anesthesia.
In this case, surgery is performed.
The shrill screams are the best accusation! After Yang Yuting and Liang Qichao arrived at the hospital, they immediately frowned. They were also stunned by the situation in front of them.
The hospital morgue is already full of corpses, and many corpses can only be placed outside. There are children between three and five years old, and elderly people in their sixties and seventies, with hideous wounds on their bodies. Their faces are distorted, and the facial features are full of pain.
expression.
"Worse than a beast!" When Yang Yuting saw this scene, his eyes immediately stood up: "Zhou Zijian, come here!"
Zhou Zijian hurriedly came to Yang Yuting: "Report to the minister, the humble post is here."
"Why didn't you open fire and let the British attack our people?"
As soon as Zhou Zijian heard this, his face immediately turned red. He lowered his head in pain and said, "Inferior position, incompetent position."
"Ling Ge, you are leading troops, how can you be so confused!" Liang Qichao said from the side: "Brigadier Zhou and the others have just arrived at the riverside, and they have not followed with heavy weapons. How can you tell them to fight back?"
Yang Yuting shook his head: "The war will not break out when you are ready. The war has already started since the British warships shelled civilians. As a soldier, you must use the weapons in your hands to protect the people.
In order to ensure the safety of the British warships, it is dereliction of duty!"
After hearing what Yang Yuting said, Zhou Ziqiang was also shocked. He had already heard something different from Yang Yuting's words.
"Minister, are we going to war with Britain?"
"Declaring war is a matter that can only be decided by the vice president, but as a soldier, we must be happy with our grudges. Any provocation must be fought back. The murderer must be punished!"
"Understood, I'm going to prepare now."
Yang Yuting nodded and said: "I also brought two bomber squadrons this time. Don't think that just because there are a few broken ships, we dare to run across the Yangtze River. We are not cowardly Manchus!"
In fact, in order to deal with the British warships, not only the Air Force was dispatched. The Army also urgently mobilized twelve 240mm coastal defense guns, which were on the train heading south at this time. In addition, Fengjun's underwater forces were also dispatched.
.Six submarines left Jiaozhou Bay and headed for the Yangtze Estuary.
These submarines all carry mines, and they are even ready to blockade the Yangtze River Estuary. As China's most important golden waterway, once the Yangtze River Estuary is blocked, China will definitely suffer serious losses. But at this time, the dignity of the country is the most important.
Importantly, the British ship that caused the accident must not allow them to escape easily, otherwise they would not be able to explain to the people who died unjustly.
Of course, Zhang Tinglan personally issued this order. Based on his historical experience, Zhang Tinglan knew very well that once the Feng army set foot in the south, it would inevitably arouse the fear of the great powers. A unified China was not what they wanted.
Historically, during the Northern Expedition, the great powers also jumped out. The Nanjing Massacre, the Hankou Massacre, the Jinan Massacre... the armies of the great powers, desperately massacred the Chinese people, and their crimes were too numerous to describe.
The United Kingdom, the United States, Japan, France, and Italy all joined in. Everything they boasted became pale and powerless in the face of the bloody facts. What is sad and lamentable is that a certain perfect man who had no space before and after actually killed his compatriots.
The murderer apologized and fell at the feet of the powerful.
Zhang Tinglan is not surprised at all that the British caused the Yangzhou tragedy. In fact, ever since he seized Weihaiwei and cleaned up the pro-British forces, China and Britain will have a competition sooner or later. Now it seems that the temporary concessions made by the British at the negotiating table are not
Truly surrender.
This was just a delaying tactic. In the north, close to the Fengjun base camp, the British forces were weak and there was no benefit in resisting. Therefore, the British chose the battlefield on the Yangtze River.
"After all, we still have to fight!" Zhang Tinglan hurriedly called Tang Shaoyi and others over. The important officials of the cabinet gathered together again. Everyone's expressions were a little solemn. It takes great courage and courage to compete with the world's boss. Everyone here,
They are all anxious and uneasy.
Zhang Tinglan, on the other hand, seemed very relaxed: "Everyone, it is true that Britain is very powerful, but as the saying goes, the water will overflow and the moon will wax and wane. The British have already exceeded the limit of expansion. If the battle a few years ago had not been supported by the Americans,
, Britain’s painting has been exposed long ago. Even if they show their teeth and show their claws, they are just paper tigers, so don’t worry about them at all.”
"We now have two main tasks. The first is to express a tough attitude to the British and make them pay the price for the tragedy; the second is to use this tragedy to fully expose the conspiracy of the southern federal provinces for autonomy. They are just lackeys of the foreigners.
, under the banner of federal-provincial autonomy, they are actually dividing the country, and this must be seen clearly by everyone!"
As a mature politician, he would naturally not let go of any opportunity to completely defeat the other party. The banner of the Southern Federation of Provincial Autonomy is public opinion, and in order to fight against public opinion, Zhang Tinglan can only use the banner of safeguarding national unity.
But as the British directly intervened, the nature of the matter changed again. Zhang Tinglan could stand on a more favorable moral high ground to attack Nan Province. In front of the bloody afterimage, who would believe that they can represent public opinion and that they can fight for
Think about the people!
These people in the cabinet quickly understood Zhang Tinglan's intentions and secretly clapped their hands. This was indeed the best way. The cabinet quickly took action. The Propaganda Department and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs jointly acted to reveal the truth about the tragedy and mobilize the people to fight against the British.
Parades were held to put pressure on the British government. At the same time, some people in Southern Province were tied to the British, claiming that they used the power of foreigners to massacre their own compatriots, and that they were collaborators and willing to act as lackeys. They were the contemporary Qin Hui and Wu Sangui who led the wolf into the house.
Of course, these lively wars of words are just to build momentum. What really solves the problem is powerful force. If we can't kill the British fleet and cross the natural dangers of the Yangtze River, everything is in vain.
For this reason, Zhang Tinglan also mobilized a large number of troops south. The main force of the First Division in Shandong went south with all its strength. Mazhanshan's Cavalry Division and the 12th and 13th Divisions also quickly moved south. In addition, Zhang Tinglan also mobilized a bomber.
The brigade and the two independent artillery brigades all rushed north of the Yangtze River.
Yang Yuting was also promoted to the commander-in-chief of the former enemy, and Jiang Deng was elected as the deputy commander-in-chief. These two generals were responsible for the crusade against Nan Province. At the same time, Zhang Tinglan also sent them a secret message, saying that all the British ships responsible must be sunk. If the British try to expand the results, then they are ordered to do so.
The army fought with all its might.
Zhang Tinglan was putting on a show, fighting tigers and flies together. Staff officer Rong Zhen, who had been following Zhang Tinglan, had a slightly different view.
"Vice President, all these troops have been mobilized to Jiangsu. There is only one Sixth Division left in the Beijing-Tianjin area. I am worried that the troops will be empty and there will be danger!"
Zhang Tinglan didn't care: "Liaodong and Shandong are in our hands. The armies of the foreign powers cannot enter. Yan Xishan is watching over Shanxi and nothing will happen. There is only one main division in Dongjiaominxiang, which is enough."
Although Rong Zhen still had some questions, it was hard to say anything when he saw Zhang Tinglan being so persistent.
In fact, the British also know that Fengjun is not what it used to be. In history, they were able to interfere with the Northern Expedition. However, they are still wary of Fengjun. In fact, it is not just the British, but also other powers. The United States is the same.
They did not act together with the British, and France and Italy were not willing to wade into troubled waters. They just waved flags and cheered for the British from behind.
The British had no choice. They had to recover the lost face, and the southern army was too weak, so they had to rush to the front line. The five warships that caused the incident did not withdraw immediately after bombarding Yangzhou. They were still emboldened.
patrolling the river.
After replenishing food and fuel in Nanjing, he continued to come out. It happened to be February 23rd. Cao Kun had already sent a telegram to the British, hoping that they could help defend the Feng army from moving south and mobilize troops for the southern province.
When it came time to send generals, the British also agreed to this request.
On the morning of the 23rd, the British warship appeared on the river again, but the situation today was a bit strange. The river was eerily calm, as if the world had suddenly become silent.
But suddenly, there was a roar in the air, the British sailors suddenly raised their heads, and a huge fleet of aircraft appeared darkly in the distance.
"Plane!" came the exclamation.
As an old-school navy, the British were not at a loss. They set up anti-aircraft machine guns and were ready to fight. However, in their hearts, there was still a question as to whether the Chinese would dare to attack Britain.
Three planes passed by without dropping bombs. The British sailor breathed a sigh of relief: "Cowards!"
But before he finished speaking, the three planes had turned around and formed a trap with the following planes, and the bombs fell mercilessly!