"Zixiang be careful, be careful if the official in the court says that you are 'provocative'." Qiu Baoren smiled and said to Liu Buchan half-jokingly and half-seriously. After listening to Qiu Baoren¡¯s words, Liu Buchan¡¯s eyes instantly filled with anger. "This generation of villains are several times more hateful than foreigners!" It can be said that their subordinates felt the same attack on Lin Yizhe and Li Hongzhang. "Zixiang, calm down and don't be impatient." Deng Shichang saw the veins popping up on Liu Buchan's forehead, smiled slightly, and said, "For the current plan, we should try to prevent those Qingliu from making a big fuss about this matter." Liu Buchan After listening to Deng Shichang's words, the anger in his eyes dimmed slightly and he gradually calmed down. "The British gathered so many troops to come to Dagu this time. It was called an exercise. In fact, they used their military force to force me and wanted to use the Yunnan case to claim my rights." Deng Shichang said, "We must defeat them. His wishful thinking will not let Witoma's evil plan succeed! "The plan is going to work out?" "Liu Buchan asked eagerly. "The British ship's drill will start in a moment. We all have to go watch the drill. I want to show the British a little bit. I wonder if Zixiang can help me? "Deng Shichang smiled and asked. Hearing that Deng Shichang planned to take action, the eyes of Zhang Cheng, Qiu Baoren and other captains all flashed with surprise. "Zhengqing, what do you want to do? "Zhang Cheng asked worriedly. "Just a little joke with the British. "Deng Shichang said, waving to all the supervisors to come closer. Deng Shichang whispered his plan, and several supervisors listened. Liu Buchan's eyes were filled with excitement, and Qiu Baoren smiled with approval. Zhang Cheng He and Lu Lunhua seemed a little hesitant. "Zhengqing, if we really offend the British and start a fight, we will be in big trouble. Not only us, but also Mr. Li Zhitai and Mr. Lin will be implicated!" "Zhang Cheng hesitated for a moment, but still expressed his worries. "The British will definitely not fight us. "Deng Shichang said with confidence. "They are just bluffing. " "What Zhengqing said is that as long as we scare them back, they will naturally not be able to blackmail us. Otherwise, not only will the officials accuse us of being cowardly, but if Wetoma succeeds in blackmailing us, we will all be sinners of the country. "Qiu Baoren nodded. Several captains were discussing, and suddenly there were whistles in the distance. They followed the sound and saw that the British ships on the opposite side began to raise fire and lift anchor one after another. "Brother Zhengqing, but It doesn't matter, I'm willing to support Brother Zhengqing! Liu Buchan saw that Zhang Cheng and Lu Lunhua seemed to be hesitating and said in a deep voice. "It's not too late. If Zixiang helps me, it will be done." The three of you don't have to come forward at that time, you just have to sweep the formation for me and Zixiang. "After Deng Shichang finished speaking, he bowed his hands to several colleagues, then turned around and got off the flying bridge, and took a small boat back to his "Princess Heshuo". Qiu Baoren, Zhang Cheng and Lu Lunhua discussed it and then got off the flight. After crossing the bridge, they left their boats to return to the ship. Liu Buchan immediately gave the order to raise the fire and lift the anchor. The roar of the whistle echoed through the sea, attracting the attention of the people at the port. In the surprised eyes of the people on the shore, one ship after another. The British warships filed out of the port, and what surprised people even more was that the Chinese fleet stationed on the other side also set fire and weighed anchor and sailed out of the port. ¡°The Chinese seemed not to know what fleet to use. Shape follows us. " On the flybridge of the British fleet's temporary flagship "Odisha", Captain Coles looked at the five Chinese warships following the British fleet in the distance, with a sarcastic smile on his face. "The Chinese want to What to do? "Commodore Field, who was appointed by Redel as the commander of this so-called "flying fleet", looked at his telescope and muttered something strange. He could see clearly that the Chinese formation was very strange. It was a group of people. An ironclad ship and a cruiser were traveling side by side in front, and three cruisers were traveling side by side behind, staggered from the two warships in front. ¡°They came to watch our exercise. Coles raised the telescope and looked at it for a while, then smiled and said, "But maybe they are here to fight us." "From the telescope, Coles has noticed that the cannons on the decks of the two frontmost Chinese warships have had their gun jackets removed, and they are obviously ready for battle. Field has obviously noticed this as well. , said with a sneer: "They seem to be very dissatisfied with the appearance of our powerful fleet here, so let us open their eyes! We are the Royal Navy of the British Empire! Not the Japanese beggar fleet! Give the order for the drill! Colonel Coles! " "Aren't we waiting for Colonel Lambert's fleet? " Coles asked."No need to wait for them. Let's start now!" Field seemed eager to show the powerful force of the British Empire Navy to those untamed Chinese warships, and waved his hand impatiently. Coles nodded and immediately gave the order to the officers around him. Seemingly to show off to the Chinese fleet, the British fleet began to continuously change its formation on the sea while heading towards the scheduled training ground - an unnamed desert island. "There is no one on that island?" After discovering that the British fleet planned to conduct artillery attack drills on a small island very close to the coast, Deng Shichang frowned and asked the first mate Liu Houzhong beside him. "My lord, it is indeed an uninhabited island, and there is indeed no one on it." Liu Houzhong replied. "But how can I see that there is a house up there?" Deng Shichang asked as if he was worried, and raised the telescope again. This island is very close to the coast. The island seems to have experienced the baptism of war, because almost no house on the island is completely intact. The residents who lived here earlier must have moved elsewhere. Except for some animals that really have no ability to move away, this island is almost an empty island. The streets are deserted, with signs of charred damage everywhere on the walls of collapsed houses. Countless broken timbers and bricks are piled up and down the roadside. Countless holes have been blown out of the flowerbeds in the middle of the street. When the sea breeze blows, pieces of cloth, thatch and other debris rustle in the air, making a sad sound. On this desolate island. There was no trace of any living people at this moment, it was almost completely silent. "Don't worry, sir. When we came to this island, we sent people to check it out. I also asked the defenders of the fort, and they also said that there was no one there at all. In the past, pirates had been desperate and temporarily settled on it. But they will only stay for a night or two before leaving. No one will stay here." After hearing Liu Houzhong's words, Deng Shichang said nothing more and focused on the British fleet's exercises. At this moment, the British ships have begun to sail towards the deserted island in formation, apparently treating the houses on the islands as "forts" and other targets, preparing to launch artillery attacks. But at this moment, no one noticed it on the abandoned village street. Suddenly a figure appeared. It was a girl about ** years old who was carrying a wooden bucket. Her long black hair was fluttering in the wind. She crossed the dirt road with an alert deer posture and ran quickly towards a certain part of the street. . After she rushed to her destination, she immediately squatted down for some reason, her brows furrowed due to exertion. The veins on her thin arms were exposed one by one, and she let out a slight growl. She vigorously lifted up a thick wooden board on the ground, and then pushed it aside. There is actually a well below. Without a moment's hesitation, she neatly lowered the bucket to draw water. She grasped the rope on the handle of the bucket tightly, and skillfully flicked her wrist twice to fill the bucket with water. She immediately lifted the bucket out with force and placed it at her feet, then covered the wellhead with the wooden board again, then picked up the bucket and ran back quickly. The bucket of water weighed at least ten kilograms including the wooden bucket, but judging from her running speed and the series of movements she just made to fetch water, it seemed that she was used to doing this. All her movements were clean and neat, and there was no sloppiness at all. . It was almost only a few minutes from the time she ran across the street to the time she finished the task of fetching water and rushed back. In fact, if she had been slower, she would have been blown to pieces by the British ship's cannonballs that erupted immediately! And on the island, there was a man who watched her every move. This man narrowed his eyes slightly, his face, which was mostly covered by a black cloth, was as cold as a stone sculpture. Watching her running towards the back hill of the deserted town, the man jumped down from the hiding place he had chosen, and then followed her on foot towards the back hill. The British fleet's bombardment began. With a harsh roar, the shells fell like meteorites, hitting the dilapidated houses. Along with the rising black smoke, a large number of brick fragments flew in all directions. As if he was very familiar with the terrifying power of the shells fired by foreign cannons, the man quickly fell to the ground, held his head, and cursed angrily. "Thieves! I escaped from the ghost ship of the Peruvian foreigners after a narrow escape, and then ran into the warship of the British devils! What a great idea!" In the smoke and dust, he unconsciously glanced at the girl running in front. She was alert, her body deftly using whatever coverings she could choose to cover herself. Fragments caused by the explosion of artillery shells occasionally flew in and hit those shelters, causing a "plop" sound. Occasionally, if it hits a rock, it will explodeMars. And in such an extremely dangerous situation, she actually still had time to stop! Inspired by her, the man stood up and continued running forward. The man followed her and kept looking at her. He found that she was squatting on the ground, grabbing a handful of weeds and stuffing them into her mouth, chewing them as if she hadn't had a full meal in a long time. Weeds? No. If he read it correctly, it was not a weed at all. It should be the kind of wild vegetable that is edible but can easily cause bloating. Generally speaking, it can withstand it for a while without food. But few people are willing to eat this kind of thing, because after eating it, it is easy to become constipated. ¡°Is she so hungry that she can catch and eat anything? Or does she simply not know that eating this wild vegetable will cause her physical inconvenience? The man watched as she grabbed two more handfuls of wild vegetables and stuffed them into her pocket, then quickly ran towards the back mountain with the bucket, and entered a cave that should have been dug out for some unknown reason many years ago. The sound of cannon rumbled behind him, and the man ducked into the cave and found that it was not as dark as he thought. There was a lamp hanging on the top wall of the cave, and he was even more surprised when something like a clothes drying pole appeared in front of him. Although the light is not bright enough. But the simple lighting effect has been fully achieved. This cave seemed to have been tidied up, and compartment-like holes were dug out, which seemed to have different uses. The girl slowed down and walked to one of the holes carrying water. I saw a lot of pots, pans and other kitchen utensils placed there, but most of them were not preserved in their original intact condition and should have been salvaged during the battle. Uninvited transit - the origin of the Zuo-Li feud When talking about the four famous officials of the late Qing Dynasty, the mainstream view is that "Zeng (Guofan), Hu (Lin Yi), Zuo (Zongtang), Li (Hong) Chapter)" Four ears. Because Hu Linyi died young and failed to show his ambitions, he retired prematurely; Zeng Guofan was old. After annihilating Fa Ni, he decided to retreat bravely, protect himself wisely, and deliberately stayed away from the center of the whirlpool of the officialdom of the late Qing Dynasty. Therefore, the only famous officials who truly experienced and composed the most colorful movement of the Westernization Movement in the late Qing Dynasty were Zuo Zongtang and Li Hongzhang. And these two people have been political rivals for a lifetime. In the eyes of most people, Zuo Zongtang is a great "national hero" because he regained Xinjiang. However, Li Hongzhang became a "traitor" because he signed many unequal treaties on behalf of the Qing government. Therefore, these two people should be irreconcilable opponents in terms of emotion and reason, public and private. There is no room for maneuver. There is no love without reason, and there is no hatred without reason. Why Zuo Zongtang and Li Hongzhang, who originally had no grievances and no enmity, became incompatible with each other, starts with a cross-border incident during the encirclement and suppression of the Taiping Army. Since the Jiangbei-Jiangnan camp, which was dominated by regular economic troops, had been jointly destroyed by Chen Yucheng and Li Xiucheng, the Qing government's main regular army field force in Jiangnan was almost wiped out. Therefore, the main force in encircling and suppressing the Taiping Army fell on the head of Tuan Lian Armed Forces. At that time, there were many kinds of regiment training armed forces. However, the only large-scale and combat-effective armed forces are the Hunan Army of brothers Zeng Guofan and Zeng Guoquan, the Huai Army of Li Hongzhang, and the Chu Army of Zuo Zongtang. The Hunan Army's attack direction is from Anqing and Wuchang to Tianjing (Nanjing); the Huai Army's attack direction is from Shanghai, from Suzhou, Changzhou, and Wuxi to Tianjing; and the Chu Army's attack direction is from Zhejiang, Zhejiang, and Wuxi. From Fujian to Guangdong and Guangxi, they raided the rear areas of the Taiping Rebellion, which had the effect of removing fuel from the cauldron. Ordinarily, with such an arrangement, everyone can perform their own duties. But something happened. Li Hongzhang's Huai army had penetrated deep into the territory of Zhejiang in order to pursue and suppress the remnants of the Taiping Army Prince Li Shixian. It stands to reason that crossing the border would violate the border. After all, it was to suppress thieves. Everyone was doing it for the Qing Dynasty, so it was no big deal. However, Zuo Zongtang decided that Li Hongzhang's transgressive behavior had ulterior motives, or at least ignored him. Due to the close master-disciple relationship between Li Hongzhang and Zeng Guofan, Zuo Zongtang, who had already turned against Zeng Guofan and had a strong self-esteem and narrow-mindedness, hated Li Hongzhang ever since. It was left to Zeng Guoquan, so that the Huai army and the Chu army were not allowed to participate in the attack on Tianjing, thus arousing the jealousy of Zuo Zongtang, who was bent on making achievements). From then on, the two began to compete with each other, which lasted for more than 20 years. Because Zuo Zongtang did not have high academic qualifications (he only passed the imperial examination and failed the Jinshi examination many times), he was quick-tempered and had a bad temper, so his popularity was naturally poor. Even his early Bole Zeng Guofan, his relatives and benefactors Guo Songtao, and his "best friend" Shen Baozhen eventually became Turn against him. Compared with Zuo Zongtang, Li Hongzhang, who has a higher education, a Jinshi degree, and a Hanlin background. "I have never understood empty words in my life, but only know how to do practical things with sincerity." Li Hongzhang is much calmer and smoother, and is more popular.Naturally much better than Zuo Zongtang. Zuo Zongtang was not as popular as Li Hongzhang and had a bad temper. As a result, he pushed his good friend to the other party. Therefore, Zuo Zongtang was basically at a disadvantage in the early stages of the Zuo-Li dispute. The most typical example is the situation of the two people in the suppression. The envy, jealousy and hatred caused by the suppression of Niu - Li Hongzhang was very proud, Zuo Zongtang was very disappointed In 1866, after all the remaining Taiping Army units in Fujian and Guangdong and Guangxi were wiped out, Zuo Zongtang, who was the governor of Fujian and Zhejiang at the time, was transferred to the governor of Gansu and Shaanxi. The mission was to encircle and suppress the large Nian army active in the north. After the main force of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom was wiped out in 1864, a large number of remaining troops continued to persist under the leadership of Lai Wenguang, Chen Decai and others, together with the Nian troops of Zhang Zongyu and Ren Zhu who were active in the north. The infantry battle was changed to a horse battle, and large groups of cavalry were used to maneuver and attack across the plains over long distances. They came and went like wind and clouds, and they left as soon as they hit, never dragging their feet. This made the Qing army, which was mainly infantry, very uncomfortable and suffered repeated setbacks. Especially in May 1865, the Nian army annihilated the elite Mongolian cavalry of the Qing Dynasty in Gaolouzhai, Caozhou, Shandong (now Heze, Shandong), and killed Prince Horqin, Seng Gegelingqin. The force suddenly gained momentum and shocked the Qing court. Therefore, when Zuo Zongtang, who had purged the remnants of the Taiping Army in Fujian, Zhejiang, and Guangdong and Guangxi, was transferred north to Gansu and Shaanxi, Li Hongzhang, then governor of Jiangsu and acting governor of Liangjiang, replaced Zeng Guofan, who had failed to suppress Ni Ni, as the imperial minister, and recruited a new cavalry team to go north to suppress Ni Ni. . The Nian Army, surrounded and suppressed by two armies, actually made a big move that scared the entire Qing court into a cold sweat. A Western Nian army under Zhang Zongyu was cornered by Zuo Zongtang. It unexpectedly crossed the numerous blockades set by Zuo Zongtang without knowing it, and crossed the Yellow River under Zuo Zongtang's eyes. From Shaanxi Crossing Shanxi, we entered Zhili, the capital of Gyeonggi Province. The Nian bandits advanced and the capital was shaken. The imperial court urgently ordered all troops and horses to come to the rescue.