Li Zhen listened to Liu Taiping's report on the manufacturing situation of landmines and grenades. After the production of the two weapons was on track, he spent money like water. Even though Li Zhen had a lot of money, he was also a little heartbroken. After listening to Liu Taiping's report on the problems with the weapons, Li Zhen spoke up.
After a turn, he suddenly asked: "Sir, the war between the bandits and the imperial court is in full swing. How is the situation on both sides?"
Liu Taiping said: "There will be a winner and a loser for each other!"
Li Zhen thought for a while and continued: "You can ignore the bandits in the north because they can't take Beijing. What I'm thinking about is whether our army has suddenly emerged and is at the heart of the bandits. Will it lead to attacks by the bandits?
.”
In fact, with Li Zhen's current strength, including cannons, guns, mines and grenades, he is not afraid of the Taiping Army attacking the city, but Li Zhen does not want to waste his own strength.
Liu Taiping said: "Jiangbei Camp and Jiangnan Camp are specifically targeted at the bandits. Even if the bandits want to send troops, they have to deal with the two camps first. After all, there are countless foreigners in Shanghai, and the bandits dare not attack easily. However,
It is unlikely that bandits will attack Shanghai, but we must be prepared. I will pay attention to the bandits' movements and watch over them for you."
Li Zhen nodded. As long as Liu Taiping paid attention, his energy would not be dispersed too much.
"Boom! Boom!"
Outside the study, there was a sudden knock on the door.
Immediately, Lu Shaochuan's anxious voice came: "Commander, I am Lu Shaochuan. Something big happened at sea. Please prepare for war." Lu Shaochuan returned to Shanghai with a group of soldiers, but Lu Shaochuan came with Zhao Fa.
When he went to Daotai Mansion to visit Li Zhen, Zhu Wu took the rest of the soldiers to the military camp to inform the rest of the soldiers.
Li Zhen stood up suddenly, opened the study door, and asked, "What's going on?"
Lu Shaochuan quickly told what happened at sea, and then said: "Commander, the foreigners have sent a large fleet to the north, not only to deal with me, but also to deal with you. Shanghai is in danger, please prepare immediately."
Li Zhen took a deep breath and shouted: "Here comes Huang Shihai."
Lu Shaochuan stretched out his hand to stop him and said: "Don't worry, Commander, I have asked Zhu Wu to inform you."
Li Zhen nodded, looked at Liu Taiping, and said, "Mr. Liu, you stay at home for the time being and help me sort out the news from all sides. I will lead the troops and prepare to fight."
"yes!"
Liu Taiping agreed and felt the urgency of the situation.
Suddenly, British and French forces attacked Shanghai. This was no small matter.
Li Zhen and Lu Shaochuan left the study and just walked out of Daotai Mansion when they saw Qi Zhenhai, Zhou Xiuying, Yang Banhou, Huang Shihai, Smith and others riding on horseback and rushing outside the mansion. Li Zhen looked at Zhou Xiuying and ordered
: "Xiuying, immediately summon the three hundred female soldiers under your command and bring them back to defend Daotai Mansion."
Zhou Xiuying raised her eyebrows and said loudly: "Commander, I want to go to the battlefield."
Li Zhen shouted in a deep voice: "If all the men are not dead, why are you going to the battlefield? Shanghai is about to be ravaged by war, the situation in the city is bound to be unstable, and Daotai Mansion is also prone to problems. You lead the female soldiers to protect Daotai Mansion, and when you encounter an unauthorized person
Those who break into Daotai Mansion will be killed without mercy. Daotai Mansion is your battlefield, and protecting the people at home is your current task."
Li Zhen's tone is tough and cannot be changed.
Zhou Xiuying had no choice but to agree.
Li Zhen turned his eyes, looked at Yang Banhou, and ordered: "Yang Banhou, summon all the special forces from the Jiandao Battalion, rush to the port outside the east gate, and all lurk. As long as foreigners come ashore, you will shoot and kill them."
The foreigners who have landed ashore. We cannot compete at sea, but we have considerable advantages on land."
"yes!"
Yang Banhou raised his hands in salute, turned and left.
Li Zhen shouted: "Qi Zhenhai obeys the order!"
"Arrived!" Qi Zhenhai said.
Li Zhen ordered: "Take a battalion of soldiers under your command and go to the factory to take out all the mines and grenades produced." Li Zhen's original plan was to use the grenades and mines to deal with the Taiping Army, or to use them in the third
In the Second Opium War. Now that the British and French forces took the initiative to attack Shanghai, the weapons manufactured by Li Zhen were put to use in advance.
Smith asked: "Commander, where is my mission?"
Li Zhen did not answer, but looked at Huang Shihai and ordered: "Gather all soldiers and prepare to meet the enemy!"
"yes!"
Huang Shihai first clasped his fists, then suddenly changed to a salute, and left in a hurry.
Li Zhen then looked at Smith and said, "Take your company and follow me on the mission."
"yes!"
When Smith saw Li Zhen ignoring him just now, he was still a little uneasy, fearing that he would be left behind like Zhou Xiuying. Now it is undoubtedly more important to go to war with Li Zhen. The two of them quickly rushed to the military camp, taking a company with them.
The soldiers left the east gate of Shanghai and ran towards the east port where the warships were docked.
"Boom! Boom!!"
Suddenly, a deafening sound of shelling came from the direction of the port.
Waves of shelling hit the earth like comets, causing the ground to tremble.
Smith said solemnly: "Commander, the British and French forces have begun to attack."
Li Zhen said in a deep voice: "There are countless people and businessmen in the direction of the port. The war suddenly started. Many people will suffer, and the people must be sent away." Li Zhen, Smith and a company of soldiers quickly ran towards the port.
.On the way, I saw people and businessmen running around. These people all looked panicked, frightened by the sudden fighting.
Last year, the Xiaodao Society caused chaos, and Shanghai became a mess. It finally stabilized, but now a war has broken out, causing the people to be extremely panicked.
Li Zhen ran and shouted: "Everyone retreat, retreat into the city!"
Smith also joined in the dispersal of the people and ordered a company of soldiers under his command to organize the people to retreat. With the guidance of Li Zhen and Smith, the people were no longer so panicked.
"boom!!"
A cannonball fell on the street and exploded.
In an instant, corpses were flying everywhere, screams were everywhere, and pieces of corpses were scattered on the ground, which was disgusting. This situation only exacerbated the worries in the hearts of the people. Li Zhen looked at the soldiers who were killed and steeled themselves.
They clenched their teeth and showed an angry expression on their faces. In order to bombard Shanghai, these people did not even spare the common people. They were simply worse than animals.
"Retreat, retreat quickly, retreat into the city."
Li Zhen was unable to launch a counterattack and could only ask his soldiers to retreat.
Smith came to Li Zhen and said: "Commander, the British and French forces used artillery fire to bombard us first. It must be to break our morale. After the bombardment, they will land ashore. I think that after evacuating the people, we should strategically retreat."
Withdraw, avoid the sharp edge, deploy heavy troops on the road leading to the east gate, intercept the British and French forces along the way, and effectively destroy the enemy and win."
Li Zhen thought for a moment, nodded and said: "Just do what you want, notify Huang Shihai and let him carry out the order."
"yes!"
Smith was so happy that he excitedly called for soldiers and asked them to convey the order.