Chapter 92 First let off two cannons and listen to the sound 【Ask for a monthly ticket】
"It seems that it's stable this time!"
"It's worth my gamble!"
Two months later, Li Hongzhang was surprised and delighted when he saw the British Royal Navy fleet entering Hong Kong for final rest.
What was gratifying was that the size of the British fleet this time was far beyond his imagination.
There are nearly a hundred large and small warships, and there is also an armored warship among them.
The formidable muzzle on it made Li Hongzhang take a breath of cold air.
Compared with the First Opium War a few years ago, the British army's equipment has obviously been upgraded.
This means that it will no longer be a problem for the British army to capture the city of Guangzhou.
What also frightened him was that since it could capture Guangzhou, the British Royal Navy could also capture any city along the coast of the imperial court.
They even attacked Tianjin from the Bohai Sea and raided the imperial capital.
Thinking of this possibility, Li Hongzhang couldn't help but feel chills all over his body.
"Fortunately, the British were not offended!"
"It seems that in the future, we must not be hostile to Britain, but should focus on being gentle and appeasing." Li Hongzhang thought to himself.
"Li, how does our fleet of the British Empire compare with your fleet of the Qing Dynasty?" William laughed next to him.
"Haha, each has his or her own merits, it's hard to tell them apart, it's hard to tell them apart!" Li Hongzhang laughed dryly.
William is a China expert, so he can naturally tell that Li Hongzhang is trying to regain his respect, but seeing that the yellow-skinned monkey gave him a big contribution for nothing, he will let him go today.
"Governor Pu Dingcha has sent a message. He will set off immediately after a day's rest. He will attack Humen first and then attack Guangzhou. You should also be prepared!" William left these words and turned around to leave.
Li Hongzhang stood there alone, his eyes slightly dull as he looked at the majestic British warships in the distance, as well as the Manchu navy beside them, where even steam had not yet been fully popularized, and many of them were sailing ships. He felt confused for a moment.
"Repay...!"
"The British army has entered Guangzhou Bay, sixty miles away from Humen."
"Thirty miles."
"Twenty miles."
"Ten miles!"
"The British army bypassed our fort at Luokou and headed straight for Humen!"
At the Humen Fort, the most forward position, Xu Da used his telescope to look at the British fleet that was slowly coming into view. He couldn't help but smile and said: "First fire the red cannon left by the Qing Dynasty twice to listen to the sound!"
"Boom, boom!" The deafening sound of artillery sounded, resounding for more than ten miles.
It's a pity that this thing is only big and loud, and can barely be used as a firecracker. In fact, it is useless at all.
What's more, the British army is still three or four miles away, and the ripples caused by the shells hitting the water have reached the British ship, and I'm afraid they won't even be able to make a splash.
"Haha, these pirates can't even use cannons, how can they fight with me, the British?" William, the governor of Hong Kong who accompanied the army, couldn't help laughing when he looked at the cannonballs falling into the water far away.
Next to him, Governor Pu Dingcha, who was waiting in full formation, was also a little speechless.
He originally thought how powerful these people could be in destroying opium in such a big way and killing British businessmen, but this is the result?
"I'm already a little drowsy!" Army Commander Lohr, who was accompanying the ship next to him, yawned exaggeratedly.
"Where is the enemy's fleet? Why haven't I seen it until now?" Pu Dingcha raised his telescope and looked around in confusion. Apart from them, there was not even a single ship in the vast Guangzhou Bay.
He had previously obtained information that the opponent's main force consisted of more than 10,000 pirates from the Red Flag Gang.
Those people are quite difficult to deal with. I didn't expect that they haven't appeared until now.
"They must have heard the reputation of our British Empire fleet and were so frightened that they ran away!"
"Those pirates have always been so cowardly!" William said disdainfully.
Seeing that there were really no enemy ships around, Pu Dingcha could only regret giving up the naval battle he had dreamed of, and said solemnly: "Continue to advance one mile and bombard the Humen Fort first."
He knew this distance quite well. The British ship could hit the enemy's fort, but the enemy couldn't hit his position.
"The enemy warship is coming!"
"Continue to fire, and then retreat after the fire is over!" Xu Da quickly ordered.
Suddenly, the sound of cannons rang out from the Humen Fort, but unfortunately they all fell into the sea. Some of them didn't even calculate the direction well, and almost hit a group of seabirds who stretched their necks to watch the excitement.
"Hahaha!" There were bursts of laughter from the British ship in the distance.
Even the great water master who was following far behind kept taunting him.
When Li Hongzhang saw this scene, he was secretly puzzled.
"The legendary Emperor Hongwu came back to life, killed 70% of the gentry in Guangdong, and defeated Zhu Hongwu who was surrounded and suppressed by tens of thousands of Qing soldiers. Is this...?"
If he had known that Zhu Hongwu's troops were such idiots, he would have led the navy himself.
However, he felt a little uneasy in his heart.
That’s not right either!
According to the information he received, Zhu Hongwu's army troops are highly disciplined and have outstanding combat effectiveness!
"Is it a trap?" Li Hongzhang was a little worried.
But he couldn't think of any trap that would work in the face of the British Royal Navy with such ferocious firepower.
"Boom, boom, boom!"
Finally, the British warships entered their respective bombardment positions and began to bombard the Humen Fort.
At this moment, on the Humen Fort, Xu Da had already retreated with all his men.
The only result of holding on to the forward forts was to exchange human lives for enemy shells. How could Zhu Yuanzhang suffer this loss?
"Continue to move forward and cover the army's landing at Humen!" Pu Ding looked at this scene through the telescope. Although he was puzzled that the enemy had just abandoned the Humen forward fort, he still advanced his plan in an orderly manner.
As long as the Humen Fort is captured, the army will have a strategic fulcrum, and the navy will be able to go straight to the Pearl River Estuary, covering the army all the way to the city of Guangzhou unimpeded.
"Boom, boom, boom!" Just after the army began to land, more than a mile behind Humen, the fort on Humen's second line of defense opened fire again, and the shells happened to fall on the landing British army position.
This is the defense line of the Humen Fort jointly set up by Lin Zexu and Guan Tianpei. The three front and rear lines of defense can not only block naval warships, but also block the landing of the army.
During the First Opium War, the British army was blocked by these three lines of defense.
But it's a pity that things are not the same now.
"snort!"
"The fleet entered the Pearl River Estuary with the main ship. I want to see what tricks these yellow-skinned monkeys are playing." Pu Dingcha sneered.
Except for the forward forts at Humen, no artillery can reach the navy, and as long as it enters the Pearl River Estuary, all the remaining positions of the opponent will be covered by the navy's artillery fire.
Pu Dingcha really didn't know whether to scold the enemy for being stupid for abandoning the Humen Fort so easily, or to say that he was smart and knew that the British Empire's navy was unmatched.
"The plan is progressing smoothly. The enemy's naval fleet will soon pass through the Pearl River Estuary!"
Xu Da from behind was also watching this scene with a telescope. When he saw that the enemy was walking step by step in the direction set by Zhu Yuanzhang, he couldn't help but reveal a smile on his face.
"We're going to watch His Highness the Crown Prince's performance next!" he said softly.