In September, Li Guolou, who became a father for the first time, did not enjoy much love as a son and daughter, so he left the capital as an imperial envoy and went to the Dagukou Fort.
Dagukou Fort is more than 40 kilometers east of Tianjin Wei. In the early Ming Dynasty, after Yongle Emperor Zhu Di moved the capital to Beijing, the strategic position of Dagu Haikou became increasingly prominent. It was the only gateway to Beijing from the sea. Once it fell, the capital would be will be exposed to outsiders without any obstruction. During the Jiajing period, in order to ward off Japanese pirates, Dagukou coastal defense preparations were intensified. Fortresses were built and troops were garrisoned. In 1816, the Qing government built a circular fort on each of the north and south banks of Dagukou. The forts It is made of wood on the inside, green bricks on the outside, and white ash grouting. It is about one foot and five feet high, nine feet wide and six feet deep. This is the earliest fort in Dagukou, and it is built as solidly as a mountain. After several years of operation, Dagu There are 5 large forts, 12 earth forts, and 13 earth forts built in the mouth forts, forming the Dagu fort group. A complete military defense system has taken shape.
In 1858, the imperial envoy Seng Gelinqin guarded Dagukou, renovated the forts, and built 5 more forts, 3 of which were on the south bank and 2 on the north bank, with "power", "shock", "sea", "gate" and "high" respectively. The five-character name means that the fort is majestic and guarding the heights of the gateway to the sea. Another fort is built on the stone wall on the north shore, and its name is "Stone Seam Fort". Each fort is equipped with 3 cannons and 25 small forts. Each fort is 10 meters to 17 meters high, with a base circumference of 182 meters to 224 meters. The upper bricks and lower stones are made of Sanhe earth and glutinous rice juice. There are 64 cannons in the large and small forts, and the muzzles are aimed at the magnificent waves. Sea surface. With the changes of time, the craftsmanship of the fort has been greatly improved. In addition to the wood and blue bricks, it is compacted with more than two feet of three-dimensional earth. When the cannonballs are fired into it, it is only a shallow hole at most, and the height of the fort has been increased to three to five meters. ten feet.
Nowadays, the fort at Dagukou has been expanded again, and armored clippers, bumper ships, and mine ships have been purchased from Europe. At this time, Dagukou's ability to resist the enemy cannot be underestimated.
Since 1840, in order to seize economic interests and political privileges in China, foreign powers launched three invasions of Dagukou in 1858, 1859, and 1860. They launched three invasions of Dagukou Fort. The foreign powers relied on ships. The powerful artillery put the Dagu area under its iron hoof, and even invaded the capital, burning, killing, looting, and committing all kinds of evil, forcing Emperor Xianfeng of the Qing Dynasty to flee the capital.
The Dagukou Fort is known as "Humen in the south and Dagu in the north". Admiral Shi Rongchun led his troops to defend the fort and fought fiercely with the British army. Most of the patriotic officers and soldiers died heroically for their country. This is known in history as the First Defense Battle of Dagukou.
The unique national flag of the Qing Dynasty, the Yellow Dragon Flag, fluttered in the wind on the highest fort, and the hunting sea breeze blew the Yellow Dragon Flag. This flag was first used on October 17, 1862 due to the influence of the national flag flying on Western ships. The national flag that was designed in a hurry is still a young man, full of vigor and majesty.
Li Guolou brought glory to the country and defeated the foreign boxing champion Tarzan in Tianjin. He became a new generation of national heroes in the Qing Dynasty and was awarded by Emperor Tongzhi. So he was promoted again to a third-grade civil servant - general political envoy of the Hanlin Academy.
The batch of Jinshi who debuted with him have now become his students. When he speaks or shuts up, the words are, "Teacher!" This makes him afraid to go to the Hanlin Academy. He is treated so favorably that even Jinshi in the same year ask him for help. Really lacking.
Li Guolou wore a sapphire glass top, nine pythons and five python robes, and a peacock patchwork suit. However, he did not ride in the eight-carrying green cloth sedan. Instead, he walked out of the carriage with a solemn look on his face and a pair of slender eyes. His long eyes glanced at the thousands of officers and soldiers who lined up to welcome him.
The eight strong Mongolian bearers assigned to him by the Ministry of Rites were all changed by him into personal guards. Originally, he wanted to return the eight Mongolian bearers to the Ministry of Rites, but those eight spent money to come to Li Guo. How could the bearers beside Li Guolou be willing to return to the Ministry of Ceremonies? They swore and swore that they were willing to endure hardship and were not afraid of death. Li Guolou also liked Mongolian men. Mongolians were not as corrupt as the Manchus, and they were all good soldiers, so he raised They were ordered to eliminate illiteracy first, so that the eight Mongolians could read and write, and then all of them were sent to study.
Admiral Yulu of Dagukou is in his thirties, named Shoushan. He is from the Zhengbai Banner of Manchuria and the son of Chonglun, the governor of Hubei Province. His roots are Zheng Miaohong. The admiral has the title of a third-grade military attache. His rank is the same as that of Li Guolou, but he is a civil servant in the Qing Dynasty. Damn, a military attache is almost two levels lower than a civil servant. When he saw Li Guolou stepping off the carriage, he hurriedly paid homage and said loudly: "Your Majesty, Yulu, the imperial envoy."
Nowadays, the Manchus are extremely jealous of Li Guolou, a Han who was raised to join the Manchus. Li Guolou, who has no civil and military skills, has been promoted intolerably. Isn't it just an official title obtained by using money and selling an official title? So. Although Yu Lu saluted, the perverse look on his face made Li Guolou feel particularly unhappy.
Li Guolou said with a sinister smile: "Yujunmen is not too polite. I am here to inspect the Dagukou Fortress according to the emperor's order. Thank you for your hard work that you lined up to greet me on such a hot day. Hahaha!"
There was a blast of horns, and Li Guolou, accompanied by Admiral Yulu, inspected the formation of thousands of people. Now that the Qing Dynasty's national destiny is moving forward, the soldiers of the Eight Banners and the Green Camp soldiers are squeezed by the new army trained by the militia, and there is no room for survival. .Become an unpopular group of soldiers. So they are also very anxious, fearing that they will not even have the opportunity to eat. This is not a person's business, it is ruining the jobs of future generations. Therefore, the soldiers of the Eight Banners and the soldiers of the Green Camp know their shame and become brave. , has also changed a lot, the procrastinating ruffian is no longer visible, the honor guard is neatly arranged, the roar is loud, and the drill is quite efficient. The deployment of the battle formation is quite organized.
Li Guolou held a monocular telescope and watched the results of the cannon fire. Each shot hit the target in the distance. A gust of sea breeze blew, and the pungent smell of gunpowder made people feel like they were on the battlefield.
"Okay! Very good! But I want to see each artillery team fire, and the 64 cannons are fired one by one." Li Guolou nodded with satisfaction, but still not satisfied. Seeing is believing. An army is not just a few. It is composed of outstanding officers and soldiers, but it is the collective combat ability that is the military quality that a quality army should display.
"Your Majesty the Imperial Envoy, there is no more target for this...target. Do you think we should look at another project?" Admiral Yulu, who had been arrogant and domineering just now, was suddenly stunned and looked at Li Guolou stupidly. I never expected that the Imperial Envoy would be easy to fool, and the "little plum" who is known as the "Magic Catcher" was not fooled by the appearance, and actually wanted to find out the truth behind the Dagukou Fort. I just underestimated the layman Li Guolou, and the Imperial Envoy who has no access to oil and salt should do it. Where to start to establish friendship?
Li Guolou put down the telescope in his hand and said decisively: "Yujunmen, this imperial envoy wants to see 64 cannons, each firing individually. I will give you one hour to prepare the targets and shells. Otherwise, you will be punished for neglecting military affairs." "
Admiral Yulu felt as if thunder had struck his head, and cold sweat broke out on his forehead. He turned over and bowed, lowered his head and said: "Zha! My subordinates go and prepare immediately." He already had a bad omen of impending disaster. He didn't know how many cannons could not fire? There are several forts spread over several miles, some of which are just decorations, and not a single cannon has been fired for many years.
A junior high school student said flatteringly: "Your Majesty, please sit in the lounge for a while. It will take an hour to prepare for the Invalides Gate."
"If I'm not sitting down, why don't you stand up straight? Soldiers must behave like soldiers. Why don't you all stand up straight for me?" Li Guolou angrily scolded the junior colonel who was bowing his head and asked those who were following him. All the officers scolded him.
It only took Li Guolou two rounds to make the officers in Dagukou feel like they were facing a formidable enemy. The imperial envoys had the power of life and death. If Li Guolou took part in it, his military career would be over. All the officers gathered around Li Guolou in spirit. Next to the building, he climbed up one fort after another and inspected various military facilities, fearing that he would see something wrong with the Dagukou fort.
At about noon, Li Guolou boarded a fort and said: "We will eat with the officers and soldiers here. Don't tell me that the soldiers here eat old moldy rice."
"Don't worry, Mr. Li. This is the gateway to the Qing Dynasty. The officers and soldiers are treated first-rate and they all eat good rice. There is also a lot of fat meat today, and there is a jar of daughter's red in each fort at night!" This time the Dagonkou Fort's The officers made arrangements so that Li Guolou could not find any loopholes. A big meat lunch left everyone's mouths full of oil.
Li Guolou wiped his lips, pointed at a chubby officer, and said, "Hey, my dear fellow, what do you do?"
The fat officer, who had been eating well, choked, and rice grains spurted out of his nose. He put down the big bowl, stood up straight, and said loudly: "I am reporting to the Imperial Envoy. Your subordinate's name is Hongdu, and he is a logistics quartermaster. Following the example of the upright and honest Admiral Shi Rongchun, if the fort is still there and the people are there, the fort will be dead and the people will die! Never take a step back!"
What can Li Guolou say? The chubby quartermaster standing in front of him is a corrupt official. He can only praise: "Well, very good! You are ambitious! I will give you some advice and transfer you to the northwest to fight. Do you agree?" good?"
"Thank you so much, Your Majesty the Imperial Envoy. I have long wanted to serve the country with loyalty and loyalty!" Quartermaster Hongdu thought Li Guolou was joking. He was not an officer of the same faction and could not be transferred casually, so he pretended to die duty-bound to win praise. .
"Okay! I'm here to help you. There happens to be a batch of military supplies in Tianjin, and we need to send someone to transport them to Lanzhou. At that time, I will issue an order for you to accept this arduous task. The military order is overwhelming. If you miss the deadline, you will be beheaded. , Hongdu, don’t betray my trust.” Li Guolou handed over the task of transporting military supplies thousands of miles to the quartermaster Hongdu, and let him suffer the hardship of sleeping in the open air.
The officers present were all dumbfounded. Their eyes were focused on the quartermaster Hongdu. They made a mistake and were immediately punished.
"Zha! I promise to complete the task and dare to issue a military order!" Quartermaster Hongdu admitted his defeat and raised his voice to an octave, which brought both misfortune and good fortune. Quartermaster has a term of office, and he may soon be transferred from the logistics post. You can get a more lucrative job by following Li Guolou. With so many soldiers around, Li Guolou fell in love with him. This is the fate cultivated in his previous life.
"Well, this is what our new generation of soldiers in the Qing Dynasty looks like. I want to see your performance."
Li Guolou only wanted to punish the corrupt elements in the army, but he accidentally pulled a corrupt official into the camp of his cronies. Everyone looked at the quartermaster Hong with admiration, and it was awe-inspiring for him to be able to bring Li Guolou back without leaking any information. Violating military ethos.
The shooting range was rearranged, and the viewing angle of the cannon was adjusted again and again. Most of them were adjusted by a few sharpshooters. Li Guolou didn't understand these things about testing distances and adjusting angles. He thought that as long as the people firing the cannons on the fort were different, That's the average level of a gunner.
Admiral Yulu had already made arrangements for an hour. The only thing Yulu was worried about was how many cannons would fail to fire, or whether they would even explode. It all depended on God's will.
The forts are distributed on one side. Walking from one fort to another requires riding a horse or riding a carriage. Since the Imperial Envoy Li Guolou rode on horseback to watch the firing of cannons at several forts, other officers also had to ride horses. This time something went wrong again. Some officers did not know how to ride a horse and got into the carriage with their heads down regardless of official etiquette.
Admiral Yu Lu was still able to ride a horse and rode alongside Li Guolou. He defended his subordinates and said: "Master Imperial Envoy, we are artillery, and our usual training subjects do not include riding horses. Horses and mules are used to transport military supplies. Therefore, soldiers usually take good care of their animals and mainly walk and run quickly."
"Oh, really?" Li Guolou sneered at the admiral Yulu who was marching slowly beside him, and waved the riding whip in his hand. The black horse rushed out with great hooves, like an arrow from the string, throwing away all the officers. Eating dust in the back.
Admiral Yulu's original honor and self-confidence as a soldier were completely disgraced by Li Guolou. How could he dare to show his seniority in front of Li Guolou? Yulu pressed his feet into the horse's belly and urged the horse to run quickly, but he was unfamiliar with it. His equestrian skills left him far behind Li Guolou. Yulu was so ashamed that he was going to disgrace the soldiers of the Eight Banners today. The fact that several cannons from the Dagukou Fort became decorations would definitely cause an uproar in the court. , how will he justify his theory? The serious crime of dereliction of duty is destined to be a tragedy.