Chapter 127: Snow Opium War National Humiliation
Li Yiwen led his team to lie in a dense forest along the coast of Kowloon Peninsula, closely following the war in Hong Kong.
Listening to the rumbling sounds of explosions ringing in his ears, Li Yiwen stared intently in the direction of Hong Kong Port.
"Battalion Commander, Commander Feng has issued an order to lead our troops to cross the sea as the vanguard!"
A communications soldier ran up to Li Yiwen and started to give orders.
Upon hearing this, Li Yiwen immediately withdrew his gaze and spoke loudly.
"it is good!"
"Order the whole army, brothers, follow me and kill!"
"Kill the British and recover the lost land, today."
Amid the shouts, a group of people boarded a boat from the Kowloon Peninsula and headed straight for Hong Kong Island across the strait.
On the sea, there was a torch lit on every ferry.
A large number of ferries gathered together, as if the starry sky was reflected on the sea. They were so dense that they could not be counted, and they were heading towards Hong Kong in a mighty force.
At this moment, it seemed as if a fire was burning in the hearts of all the Restoration Army soldiers.
"Kill the British!"
"Kill the British!"
"Kill the British!"
"..."
The shouts of killing were deafening. Soon, the landing troops of the Restoration Army crossed the sea and landed in Hong Kong, and headed towards the Governor's Palace on the island.
Several Guangdong people who had provided services to the British on Hong Kong Island led the army and pointed out the direction.
Soon, they rushed along the street and arrived outside the Governor's Palace.
At this time, in the Governor's Mansion, a group of British barbarians were still preparing to fight to the last.
When Olsen saw the Restoration Army charging down the street, he immediately waved his saber and shouted loudly.
"fire!"
The next moment, a burst of gunfire rang out.
The street in front of the Governor's Palace was filled with the smell of gunpowder.
Several soldiers of the Restoration Army who were rushing in the front were shot and fell to the ground.
However, this did not hinder the offensive of the Restoration Army soldiers.
"Grenade, throw it to me!"
"Blow up these British barbarians!"
Li Yiwen shouted loudly, and the soldiers of the Restoration Army pulled out the grenades tied to their belts and threw them towards the Governor's Mansion.
Several grenades landed inside and outside the gate of the Governor's Palace.
Boom! Boom!
There was an explosion and flames shot into the sky.
The gate of the Governor's Palace was blown down in a burst of thick smoke, and the lobster soldiers behind the gate were killed or wounded instantly.
There were even a few unlucky people who were crushed by the collapsed gate and died instantly.
In the chaos, the attacking forces of the Restoration Army rushed forward.
Snapped! Bang bang!
A burst of gunfire rang out.
Soon there was a fierce bayonet fight, with soldiers from both sides holding muskets with bayonets and stabbing at each other sharply.
Phew! Phew!
The sound of bayonets piercing flesh continued to ring out.
Although the soldiers responsible for guarding the Governor's Palace were all genuine British lobster soldiers, the soldiers of the Restoration Army were no worse than them in a bayonet fighting.
Guangxi soldiers were famous for their bravery and courage in fighting, let alone the Guangxi soldiers who were given land.
Not to mention the current battlefield, the Restoration Army is in an absolute advantage.
With the combination of several factors, the Restoration Army was almost suppressing the British Army.
Li Yiwen held a knife in one hand and a revolver in the other. He fired several shots and killed several British lobster soldiers. Then he led his men to continue rushing into the Governor's Palace.
Grenade after grenade was thrown forward, and with the sound of explosion, a passage was blasted open for the attacking troops of the Restoration Army.
The British lobster soldiers also fought back desperately. The two sides fought fiercely. The Restoration Army charged several times but was blocked by the British army.
I have no choice but to retreat for now!
However, before Wenhan and others could be happy for long, they saw the Restoration Army transporting a large number of rockets from the rear and aiming them in the direction of the Governor's Mansion.
"You British barbarians are so audacious that you have violated the Celestial Empire, invaded our territory, and bullied our people. Your crimes are unforgivable."
"But the heavens are merciful and the Grand Commander has issued an order that those who surrender will not be killed if they drop their weapons and kneel on the ground. Otherwise, don't say I didn't warn you!"
Li Yiwen, holding a copper trumpet, began to persuade people to surrender.
Behind him are rows of rocket launchers.
If the British troops occupying the Governor's Palace do not surrender, the Restoration Army will use rockets to cover their firepower.
By then, the result will be self-evident!
However, no one in the Governor's Mansion responded, and Wenhan still refused to surrender.
Seeing this, the Restoration Army no longer hesitated.
"Ignite, fire!"
With a whooshing sound, rockets, trailing flames, shot towards the Governor's Palace.
The next moment, a deafening explosion sounded, and the Governor's Mansion was completely engulfed in flames.
"Brothers, kill!"
Amid the shouts and cries of killing, Li Yiwen once again led his team in a charge, hoping to capture the Governor's Mansion in one fell swoop with the cover of rocket fire.
……
Luo Dagang came out of Li Yi's tent. Su Sanniang, who had been waiting outside for a long time, took the initiative to come forward and ask.
"How is Brother Luo doing? Has the Grand Commander given in?"
Su Sanniang was also a member of the Tiandihui and had always had a good relationship with Luo Dagang.
After the Changsha Incident, Luo Dagang decided to return to Guangxi and surrender to Li Yi. Su Sanniang also led his troops to follow him and surrender to Li Yi together.
Luo Dagang shook his head somewhat dejectedly.
"The Grand Commander has made up his mind to punish Dingshan according to military law. It is useless for anyone to plead for mercy..."
Upon hearing this, Su Sanniang couldn't help but complain.
"Isn't this too heartless, Grand Commander? Brother Luo, you are his father-in-law. Your nephew just killed a profiteer. Why do you have to do this?"
Influenced by the Tiandihui, in Su Sanniang's mind, brotherhood is far more important than laws and regulations.
Isn't it natural to avenge one's parents?
So, she didn't think Luo Dingshan did anything wrong.
I also cannot understand what Li Yi did.
Upon hearing this, Luo Dagang just shook his head.
"The key is not the profiteer, but the gendarmerie."
"After Dingshan killed the profiteer in revenge, he also clashed with the military police and killed several military policemen."
"In this case, his problem is not just a simple violation of military law, but a violation of military law."
"If the Grand Commander doesn't kill Dingshan, I'm afraid it will be difficult to command the army in the future..."
Obviously, between his daughter and nephew, Luo Dagang cares about his daughter more.
The reason for this is, apart from the father-daughter relationship between Luo Dagang and Luo Caiyu.
More importantly, it was because his daughter was Li Yi’s legal wife.
If Li Yi could become emperor in the future, his daughter would be the empress, his grandson would be the crown prince, and he himself would be the father-in-law of the emperor.
How could a cheap nephew compare to such wealth and glory?
After hearing this, Su Sanniang didn't know what to say.
Luo Dagang took a deep breath and continued.
"Come on, come with me to see Dingshan for the last time."
"As his uncle, I can't save him, but I can't deny him even one last look at him."
Su Sanniang also nodded and agreed, and followed Luo Dagang to the military prison where the rebel soldiers were held.
The two saw Luo Dingshan in the cell, with disheveled hair and a very depressed and embarrassed look. Luo Dingshan looked up and saw that it was his uncle, and he spoke hurriedly.
"Uncle, uncle, you are finally here."
"Are you here to let me out?"
Luo Dingshan asked with hope in his eyes.
Upon hearing this, Luo Dagang smiled bitterly and shook his head. He did not directly answer Luo Dingshan's question, but changed the subject.
"Dingshan, do you want to eat or drink anything? I'll go get it for you."
Although Luo Dagang did not say it directly, the meaning of his words was very clear.
Eat whatever you want!
When Luo Dingshan heard this, he felt like he was struck by lightning.
I couldn't help but feel regretful.
However, what he regretted was not leading his troops to kill the entire family of his enemy to avenge his parents, nor was it leading his troops to charge into the gendarmerie and kill several gendarmes.
Instead, he regretted that he should not have persuaded his uncle to leave the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom and come to Li Yi for help.
He originally thought that after coming to Li Yi's side, he would be able to escape the injustice and control he suffered in heaven and soar into the sky.
I never thought that before I could even take off, I would be chopped to pieces.
What is this?
"Dingshan, why do you have to act impulsively? Since our Restoration Army has captured Guangzhou, are you afraid that you won't have the chance to take revenge in the future?"
"Why are you so anxious that you want to get yourself involved?"
Su Sanniang asked.
Upon hearing this, Luo Dingshan couldn't help but slap himself hard, and one of his cheeks quickly turned red.
The urge to curse myself in my heart.
Luo Dagang also sighed and said.
"You kid, you are not wronged this time. It's ok to violate military law, but you even dared to attack the military police."
"You just ran into the Grand Commander's gun. No one can save you."
Upon hearing this, Luo Dingshan looked dejected and said nothing more.
He just looked up and asked.
"Uncle, when?"
Luo Dagang knew that he was asking when Li Yi was going to execute him and the rebel soldiers under his command.
Luo Dagang said with a somewhat sad expression.
"Tomorrow at noon, just outside Guangzhou City, the Grand Commander will personally supervise the execution. All the soldiers of the Restoration Army, as well as the people of Guangzhou, will be organized to come and watch..."
Since Li Yi wants to kill people, he must try his best to maximize the benefits.
He wanted to use the heads of people like Luo Dingshan to enforce military law, shock the military, and win over the hearts of the people.
Kill three birds with one stone!
……
Late at night, Li Yi was sleeping soundly.
A piece of good news woke him from his sleep.
"Great Commander, great victory, great victory, our army has successfully recaptured Hong Kong..."
Li Liang stood in front of Li Yi and spoke with excitement on his face.
Hearing this, Li Yi quickly came back to his senses and laughed uncontrollably.
"Okay! Okay!!"
"Hahaha, this is great. Now that Hong Kong is recovered, my Restoration Army will have no worries when fighting in Guangdong."
The reason why Li Yi chose to recover Hong Kong was not only to avenge his father, but also because of the political prestige that recovering Hong Kong could bring.
In fact, there is also the intention to resolve the worries of the British barbarians.
If he could not recapture Hong Kong, what if the British took advantage of the main force of the Restoration Army to fight outside and sent troops from Hong Kong to raid Guangzhou? This cost was something Li Yi could not afford.
As for whether the British would have this idea?
Well, Li Yi doesn't want to gamble, and can't afford to gamble.
It would be better to just remove Hong Kong and make sure the British don’t have the ability to do so!
After saying this, Li Yi asked further.
"What were the results of our battle? What were the casualties? How many prisoners were captured?"
Li Liang continued to report back.
"Reporting to the Grand Admiral, in the Battle of Hong Kong, our army sank 11 British warships of various sizes, killed and wounded more than 16 British sailors and soldiers, captured British warships of various sizes, and captured more than British sailors and soldiers."
Although most of them were armed merchant ships and sailors on armed merchant ships, rather than real British lobster soldiers.
But a gain is a gain, there is no denying that.
"In addition, the British ambassador to China, the Governor of Hong Kong, Sir John C. Johnson, the Consul in Guangzhou, Sir John Bowring, and others were all captured."
"Our army suffered a total of 237 casualties, including 72 deaths and 165 injuries."
“It’s a great victory!”
In the Battle of Hong Kong, the Restoration Army was able to achieve such brilliant results at such a small cost.
The biggest reason is that this battle was a surprise attack!
The Restoration Army caught the British fleet off guard and inflicted heavy damage in the early stages of the operation. The rest of the things were naturally easy.
Li Yi couldn't help but clap his hands and laugh.
"Good! If we win this battle, we can wipe out the shame of our great Chinese defeat at the hands of the British in the Opium War."
"This governor has avenged my father!"
Li Yi now feels relieved.
Although they are reluctant to admit it, in the eyes of outsiders, the Qing Dynasty represented China in the war ten years ago.
If the Qing Dynasty lost and ceded territory and paid compensation, it would be equivalent to China losing and its national dignity being destroyed.
Now, the Restoration Army has been able to defeat the British Army and recover the lost territory, which is truly a revenge for the country.
After expressing his happiness, Li Yi continued.
"Send a message to Hong Kong and ask Li Sheng, Bai Yuanqin and others to salvage as many of the sunken British warships as possible after the war."
"Both the British warships and the artillery on board will be of great use to our Restoration Army."
Whether it is a sailing battleship, an armed merchant ship, or the 24-pound, 32-pound, and 48-pound large-caliber guns on the ship.
These are all things that the current Restoration Army is unable to produce on its own.
Therefore, these seized items are even more valuable.
You have to have the real thing first before you can start to imitate it!
Upon hearing this, Li Liang nodded to show that he understood, then took his leave.
The smile on Li Yi's face grew wider and wider, and he couldn't hold it back no matter what.
After Li Liang left, he wanted to go to sleep, but he couldn't fall asleep no matter what.
After he finally fell asleep, it wasn't long before daybreak.
Li Yi got up early according to his biological clock, started exercising, had breakfast, and then dealt with military affairs.
When it was almost noon, Li Yi led his guards to the gate of Guangzhou.
The generals who were still in Guangzhou, such as Wang An, Zhao Xiang and others, followed him.
Luo Dagang asked for sick leave, saying he didn't want to go, and Li Yi didn't force him.
In the team behind him were a group of tied-up soldiers and British prisoners of war.
After finally setting up an execution ground, Li Yi naturally would not just execute a few disorderly soldiers. He planned to execute the British prisoners of war who had burned, killed and looted in Guangdong as well.
As for the consequences?
Li Yi didn't think there would be any consequences.
Anyway, he has already offended Britain. Once Britain realizes what is happening, it will definitely send troops to retaliate.
In this case, Li Yi doesn't care about offending Britain any more!
Also, in his eyes, these British prisoners really deserved to die.
Li Yilian, a member of the Restoration Army who dared to violate military law and harass the people, would be executed.
What’s more, what about these British barbarians who burned, killed and looted?
If we don't kill them, it won't be enough to appease the public anger.
(End of this chapter)