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Volume 1: Fierce Battle in Changsha Chapter 739: Postwar Aftermath

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    The coalition's landing operation finally ended with the complete defeat of the army. In the fierce battles after several landings and several previous offensive fort battles, the coalition suffered a total of more than 30,000 casualties and more than 30,000 people were captured, including Baron Seton.  Waiting for a large number of senior British and French generals, the only ones who slipped through the net were a group of senior navy generals.  £¤f, The Taiping Army suffered more than 39,000 casualties, especially the troops guarding several forts, which were almost organic casualties. The troops of several forts such as Shajiao, Dajiao, Jingyuan, and Weiyuan were exchanged after the war.  After being captured, more than 100 wounded and captured defenders were exchanged from the coalition forces. Twenty-six people from the Humen Fort survived.

    The total number of casualties in this battle exceeded the sum of the Taiping Army¡¯s battles against the remnants of the Qing Army in all battlefields across the country last year. It can be said that the casualties were huge.  But as Xiao Yungui said before the war, through this battle, at least more than ten years of peace can be guaranteed, and the power of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom will be completely recognized by the great powers such as Britain and France.

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    The coalition army lost, and the navy saw no hope of rescue. Admiral Dundas led the fleet to withdraw from the Pearl River Estuary that day. The navy was also very afraid of the elusive local soldiers who would come out in small boats to lay mines at night.  In the past few days when the coalition navy entered the Pearl River Estuary, there would be suspicious boats coming and going near the Pearl River Estuary every night. Then the next day, the coalition navy would find more than ten more mines on the waterway, and the coalition had to send ships to try again.  Clear waterways.  Clearing mines is a very dangerous job. In the past few days, the coalition navy suffered casualties of more than a hundred sailors and some small boats due to clearing mines, which made the coalition navy disgusted.  Therefore, when the army suffered a total defeat, Dundas immediately withdrew from the Pearl River Estuary and returned to the main island of Hong Kong without any regrets.

    After the Allied Navy returned to Hong Kong Island, the new Minister Plenipotentiary, Lord Collington, could hardly believe the news of defeat brought back by the Navy. The more than 60,000 army soldiers were composed of elites from Britain and France.  They were all eaten up in less than half a month. How many 60,000 troops could Britain and France have to feed them?

    At the meeting held that day, Sir Elgin said sadly: "Gentlemen, we should consider post-war issues. People in the country should understand clearly that what we are facing now is no longer the Manchu Qing government; we are  We are fighting a big country with a population of 400 million. Even if a country with a population of 400 million only mobilizes 1% of its troops, it still has four million troops available. And please note that these four million troops are not those of the Manchu Qing Dynasty.  The indigenous soldiers armed with swords, guns, bows and arrows are instead troops equipped with weapons similar to those we use!¡±

    Sir Collington felt very unhappy, but he had to admit that what Sir Elgin said was true. Moreover, coupled with the number of people captured after the defeat of the last expeditionary force, there may now be at least more than 30,000 British and French prisoners of war in the hands of the Taiping Army.  (Sir Collington is not yet clear about the specific defeat of the Allied Army, but he only speculates that a total of 30,000 people were taken prisoner.), including more than a dozen marshals and generals. It can be said that this disastrous defeat in the Far East War was an embarrassment.  Arrived in the Pacific Ocean.

    But Sir Collington said unconvinced: "We can also mobilize the whole country, France can also do it. We only need to mobilize two million troops to the Far East" At this point, Sir Collington also felt that what he said was too much.  In an unimaginable way, the British mainland might be able to mobilize one million troops including the troops mobilized in the colonies, and the same is true for France. But how much supplies are needed to launch an expedition of such a scale?  How many ships are needed?  How much military spending is needed?  Parliament would never approve these astronomical logistical preparations. If the Palmerston cabinet dared to propose such a stupid war motion, not even the Queen would be able to protect him this time.

    French Admiral Hamlin looked at Lord Collington with contempt and said: "I'm sorry, Sir, I hope you can wake up. We in France will not carry out national mobilization for the so-called interests of the Far East. Our interests  In Europe, we still have the Prussians eyeing us, and the Russians may also hope to avoid the humiliation of the defeat in Crimea. We will never mobilize the whole country and then come to China with an army of four million.  Combat. No. Absolutely impossible. This does not need to be decided by our Congress. I can tell you now."

    The British know very well what the French think. In fact, to put it bluntly, France's interests in the Far East are not as good as those of the United Kingdom, and have even been surpassed by the United States. Now the Taiping Rebellion and the United States are fighting fiercely.  The trade volume between the two sides has far exceeded that of France.  The reason why the second expedition was able to be formed was that in addition to Napoleon II's desire to divert domestic conflicts, some French people also imagined that the second expedition could bring the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom to surrender. Taking a risk might be able to make up for the losses caused by the failure of the previous expedition.  .  But this time the army was completely defeated. I believe the news spreadAfter returning home, there is no need to talk about organizing another expedition. All French troops may have to return home to prepare to suppress the revolution that is about to break out in the country.  You must know that the French bourgeoisie has been waiting for this day. However, Napoleon II had better luck before and never failed in foreign wars. His rule of France in later history continued until the defeat of the Prussian war. This time  The Taiping Rebellion played the role of Prussia and might have brought forward the French bourgeois revolution.

    Sir Elgin also said: "Sir Sir Collington, I don't mean to offend, but I believe that both houses of Congress will not agree to mobilize the whole country to fight in the Far East. The Far East is too far away from us. Once our army  Trapped in the Far East, colonial and European interests elsewhere would not be guaranteed.¡±

    Sir Collington also knew that he had made a mistake. After coughing, he looked at Dundas and asked: "Admiral, is it possible for us to make the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom surrender through naval blockade or other means?"

    Admiral Dundas shook his head and said: "This is difficult. The enemy's country has a long coastline. We need to dedicate many fleets and ships to blockade every port and waterway of the enemy. Moreover, this blockade is very slow to take effect. The Taiping Rebellion is not  An island country like Japan is a big land country. During the Manchu era, they were able to be self-sufficient without even trading with the outside world. Moreover, they still have tens of thousands of our soldiers and important figures in their hands. How can we let them  Can¡¯t those soldiers and generals go home?¡±

    Sir Elgin added: "Furthermore, if trade is blocked, other countries will make very strong protests, and our own trade will also be greatly damaged. Could it be that after we have passed two wars, we will return to the Manchu era, and China is a huge market.  Are you going to continue to isolate the country?¡±

    Sir Collington waved his hand feebly and said: "Then what should we do?" Sir Elgin said meaningfully: "Actually, everyone should have known it when they heard the news of the defeat. We can only end it through negotiation.  End this war as soon as possible. Of course, the country needs to know what is happening in the Far East. I can only hope that Lord Palmerston¡¯s cabinet can survive this time"

    Sir Elgin's idea was of course just wishful thinking. A month later, British and French fast sailing ships brought the news of the defeat in the Far East to Egypt. The British colonial authorities in Egypt immediately sent the news back to the country via telegram. This time, Britain and France successively  Large-scale anti-war demonstrations broke out in both countries. The people of both countries demanded that the authorities of the two countries end the war as soon as possible. The families of the soldiers demanded to know the whereabouts of their relatives immediately. However, it is a pity that no one from the army broke out. Who died in the battle?  Now, the government has no idea who was captured.

    On the day the news came back to London, Palmerston held an emergency meeting, but at this meeting, cabinet members also rarely criticized each other.  War is a continuation of politics, and conversely, failure in war also means political failure.  Some members of the cabinet began to accuse Prime Minister Palmerston's China policy of being a mistake from the beginning. Then several of Palmerston's die-hard supporters began to fight with the accusers. The cabinet's own internal meetings were already quarreling.  One can imagine the quarrel between the two houses of Congress.

    The second expedition was already a huge adventure, and all the cabinet members knew this. The expedition to China was different from the later British war against the Boers in South Africa. Although the British army suffered a heavy blow at the beginning in the later Boer War,  Britain still gritted its teeth and finally won.  Because there were gold mines and diamonds in the places occupied by the Boers, and the number and occupied area of ??the Boers were quite limited. In addition, South Africa was not as far from the British mainland as the Far East. Therefore, although the British army lost at the beginning of the Boer War, it still  The ensuing war turned the tide.

    The war in the Far East was somewhat similar to the American War of Independence. One was that the United States was across the Atlantic Ocean, and the other was that the United States had a relatively large land and population at the time. In addition, there was secret support from the French, so Britain was ultimately defeated, and the United States  independent.

    War is always a continuation of politics, and politics comes from class interests. Britain¡¯s interests in the Far East are not to occupy those lands. What they need is stable trade channels. When the costs of the war are far higher than the benefits, give up the war.  Just a good choice.

    After hearing the news, the Queen of England locked herself in her bedroom and did not come out for a whole day. Napoleon II was even more straightforward. He was so angry that he almost jumped from the second-floor balcony of the palace.  The cabinets and parliaments of the two countries were also in a quarrel. Palmerston's cabinet did not survive. On the third day after the news came back to London, all members of the cabinet resigned.  France, on the other hand, is in more trouble. The emerging aristocrats of the bourgeoisie have begun to connect with each other and plan how to carry out a major change.

    "Noisy is noisy, scolding is scolding, and anger is anger. After calming down, Britain and France, from the emperor and queen to the merchantsSoldiers, everyone is thinking about how to deal with the aftermath. Do they really want to admit defeat to the yellow people in the Far East?  (To be continued.)
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