Forty-eight years of Qianlong

Chapter 698 War in South Asia ([-])

After Zhao Xin returned to Beihai Town, he had a meeting with Wang Zhong and the others the next night.Participants included not only members of the negotiating team, but also staff from the staff, civil affairs, and surveying and mapping departments.

Negotiating with Li Chao is not only a matter of winning or losing at the negotiating table, but also involves many issues such as the re-demarcation of the border between the two sides, the garrison, the Tumen River waterway, and how to deal with the people of the Li Dynasty who cross-border land reclamation. The actual operation is extremely complicated , There is no one that cannot be completed in a year or a half.

The 29-member Committee of Beihai Town had previously made a resolution that the people of the Li Dynasty who had crossed the border in Hunchun to reclaim wasteland should either be forcibly repatriated or sent to Siberia according to Zhao Xin's plan.Anyway, the north bank of the Tumen River must not stay, otherwise one day they will say that this is theirs and that is theirs.

The reason why everyone has made this decision is that there are historical lessons.The so-called toad hits the foot, if it doesn't kill you, you will be disgusted to death.

In the middle and late nineteenth century in another time and space, the Li Dynasty encountered extremely serious natural disasters. A large number of refugees crossed the Tumen River and sneaked to the rich and empty Hunchun area in the north of the river to cultivate and settle down. ghetto.

In November of the seventh year of Guangxu (1881), the Manchu Qing ordered Li Chao to "return" the people who illegally settled in the land within one year, but most of the people in Li Chao refused to return to the country.Unexpectedly, in the ninth year of Guangxu, the cross-border reclamation residents of Zhongcheng Mansion suddenly wrote to the envoy of Zhongcheng Mansion, saying that the north bank of the Tumen River was not the territory of China, but the land of the Li Dynasty.

In the subsequent "Yiyou" border negotiations, Li Chao's envoy even said that the boundary line between the two countries was the "Tumen" in the north, not the Tumen River; in fact, even they themselves knew how absurd this statement was.

After the negotiations on the border affairs, the negotiator Li Chongxia played his true understanding of the "Two Rivers Theory" to King Gojong of North Korea in the form of "don't order".Due to Li Chongxia's explanation and the lack of strong evidence, the DPRK had to abandon the "Two Rivers Theory" on its own.

However, after 1897, the "Korean Empire" created with the support of the Japanese ignored the results of the border negotiations between the two countries, and once again threw out the "Tumen" non-Tumen River, which triggered the so-called "intervention". Island issue” has been raging into the 21st century.

Tipu Sultan can't wait for this, because the "Third Anglo-Michael War" that ended last year made him feel humiliated and indignant.When he learned from his son that the North Navy would send troops to attack the British, he immediately mobilized. Among them, the [-] new-style army trained by Beihai Town for Mysore will be his main force against the British.

Ding Guofeng said in his heart, get the hell out of here, I'm here to make trouble for you gangsters this time!In fact, according to his personality and temper, if Zhao Xin hadn't confessed the truth in advance, he would have dared to destroy the British fleet directly, and then go to bombard the port of Calcutta.

Furthermore, when the Northern Navy advances to Shengjing, they can only rely on us for trade. The abolition of the suzerain-vassal system in the future is also a good thing for the Li Dynasty, and the heavy burden of tribute is gone.Whether it is the border trade of the Yalu River or the border trade of the Tumen River, it is not even a little fingertip for us, but it is very important for them.As long as the output of weapons and steel products is controlled, they won't be able to make money! "

The shells used in the Beihai Town 12-pound gun are different.The round case of the whole shell is made of steel, the purpose of this is to make the shell thinner, so as to carry more shot and explosive powder, with a manually adjustable time fuze on the top, the charge of explosive powder Located on the bottom of the shell.A timing fuze at the top of the shell is triggered when it is fired, which then travels to an explosive charge at the bottom of the fuze, which breaks the steel casing and releases the shot.

Clement had no choice but to go back angrily.But for him, it would be nice to have weapons and ammunition support right now.In particular, the 12-pound shells of the Beihai Navy played a big role in the previous offensive and defensive battles, causing the British troops outside the city to suffer enough.

It is already the end of 1793, and the entire Northeast land has once again entered a period of peace covered in ice for thousands of miles.In stark contrast to the rhetoric at the negotiating table, the North Navy is fighting in full swing in South Asia and Borneo.

On August 8, Colonel Clement concentrated all the twelve 12-pound guns sold to them by Beihai Town to the north of the city, and carried out continuous attacks on the fortifications and trenches of the British army. Engineer Lieutenant Colonel George Moore also died under the fire.

Fortunately, the previous sea blockade was very successful. After three French supply ships were captured, they no longer dared to come again.Now his only worry is that the North Navy will provide support for local governance from land.

Ding Guofeng's explanation for this is that the battle of the North Navy in West Java is at a critical juncture, and the outcome will be seen in another month. At present, there is really no deployment of troops. I hope the French will persist.This time I brought 12 rounds of shells and six [-]-pound guns, and I will assist you with thirty artillerymen. You will send people over at night to take them all away.In addition, all weapons and ammunition are half-price this time, right as a friendly support.

He finally said falsely, don't worry, don't worry, persistence is victory.

However, in this time and space, due to the official end of Beihai Town, the war for local governance has not ended for four months, but the French have changed from the protagonist to the foil.

The shells used by the artillerymen of various European countries in this year are similar, mainly solid shells, grape shells, canned shotgun shells, and various projectiles.As for the most talked about "blossom bomb", since the black powder of this year does not have high explosive power, its effect is only shock rather than fragmentation effect, and the range is only a few hundred meters.

Regarding the issue of dividing the border between the future and the Li Dynasty, Zhao Xin's attitude is to insist on the principle that the western border remains unchanged, and the middle and eastern borders are pushed southward.

In the following ten days, eighteen battery groups composed of artillery from the French army and the Northern Navy showed their might. The number of British casualties expanded from more than 400 to more than 1000.

Knowing the arrival of the Northern Navy Fleet, Colonel Prosperd Clement, the commander of the French Army, was overjoyed. He thought that the fleet had also brought ground troops, so he personally brought people over to contact him.Unexpectedly, when I arrived at Paza Yalai, I found that only [-] soldiers from the Northern Navy had arrived, and I couldn't help being disappointed.

While Ding Guofeng was always paying attention to the progress of the war in local governance, he sent a letter to Tipu Sultan through Prince Ali, who was already able to communicate in Mandarin, and he planned to let the other side send troops in a month.

First of all, on the Indian side, the British siege of local governance that began in June was originally only the prelude to the Eastern battlefield of the "French Revolutionary War" in another time and space.The war, which spread to the east, lasted for nine years, with the warring parties fighting in the Red Sea, the Indian Ocean and the East Indies, and finally ended with the Treaty of Amiens.

Zhao Xin explained to everyone present indifferently: "Maoshan has extremely high iron ore reserves and must be controlled in our hands. This is a goal that has been determined many years ago. As for taking back the four northern cities, it is to teach them a lesson and let them They have no time to covet the territory on the north bank. The Li Dynasty spent 50 years encroaching on the south bank of the lower reaches of the Tumen River, and we can use 20 years to establish an established fact. As long as we ourselves are not corrupt, they will never dare to launch military provocations.

To put it simply, the western section is still bounded by the central line of the main stream of the Yalu River; in the middle section, the source of the Tumen River and the Yalu River is no longer used as the watershed between the two countries, but the tributary of the Yalu River should be pushed southward to build the Chuangou and the Tumen River. A tributary on the south bank of the Hongdan River.That is to say, in the future, whether it is Changbai Mountain, Xiaobai Mountain, or even Sanchiyuan, it will no longer have anything to do with the Li Dynasty; Dacheng, Wencheng, Meijian Town and Xun Town were taken back.

Colonel Clement, the commander of the French army, said in his heart that what you said was really easy. He has less than 2000 troops in total, and there are [-] British troops outside the city!

The plan of Colonel Braithwaite, the commander of the British army, was to use the weaker defense and drier ground in the northeast corner as the main direction of attack. The first thing he had to do was to build forts in the west and north of the city. Downpours derail his plans.During this period, the French used their own 24-pound guns and the 12-pound guns provided by Beihai Town to bombard the British, causing heavy losses to the British construction personnel.

Wang Zhong, Liu Taigong and others raised their concerns. They felt that if they did this, Li Chao might be driven crazy, and the two sides would definitely have constant friction on the border in the future.Even Shen Jingdan also pointed out that doing so will inevitably affect the future border trade between the two sides.

In the history of another time and space, once the British army showed its power at the two forts outside the city, the French couldn't stand it that day, and simply surrendered the next day.In this time and space, as two thousand shells from Beihai Town were transported into the local area for governance, the tragic situation of the British army is far from over.

In this way, the Tumen River was divided into several sections in the middle and lower reaches, and Maoshan and the four northern cities became the enclaves of Beihai Town on the south bank of the Tumen River.

What he didn't know was that Zhao Xin had already reached a secret agreement with Louis XVI's sister, Madame Elizabeth, and the former Governor-General Leclerc. Opportunity, let those republican diehards die clean.

The problem is that Pajayarai is not a big place. If thousands of people come, no matter if they are British or French, they will definitely find out.Therefore, the thousands of servants that Ding Guofeng took away from Bacheng were all hidden in the dense forest outside the city of Malacca and were waiting for orders. As long as he called, they would board the boat and set off immediately, and they would arrive within a week.

It was already mid-August when Ding Guofeng arrived in India. His arrival made Cornwallis, the governor of the British East India Company, very nervous.

To put it bluntly, this thing is actually an imitation of the "shrapnel" improved by the British in another time and space in 1852.An early model of the shell had been invented nine years ago by a lieutenant of the Royal Artillery named "Shrapnel", but it was not officially used by the British army until 1804 in the Suriname War.

From July 7, the troops of the British East India Company reached the outskirts of the city and established positions on the Red Hill overlooking the entire city.After the surrender request was rejected, detachments of the British 28st and 71th Infantry Regiments staged a feint attack and took positions south of town on 74 July.

On the other hand, although the British army suffered heavy losses, the commander, Colonel Rethwaite, was mentally prepared. The fort would have to be built no matter what. Anyway, the lives of Indian mercenaries were worthless.On August 8, a large number of indigenous mercenaries finally succeeded in building the main fort known as the "Royal Fort" against the fierce artillery fire of the French. The next morning, the British 21-pound cannon fired back at the French army. .

Colonel Braithwaite, the commander of the British army, was already on the verge of riding a tiger. Before he set off, he was ambitious. It would be too shameful to go back in despair, so he could only grit his teeth and ask Madras for help. Support more artillery.

Cornwallis soon sent an envoy to Paza Yalai. After seeing Ding Guofeng, the other party said that the British East India Company had no intention of entering a state of hostility with Beihai Town and hoped to maintain a good relationship.Even if they occupy the local governance, they will still respect and ensure the rights and interests of Beihai Town in Paza Yalai, and even donate [-] square kilometers of land.

As a rear admiral, Cornwallis knew very well that the British navy's strength in the Bay of Bengal was very weak; in the blockade fleet, the frigate "Minerva" was the only active warship, and the other four were all merchant ships.Bullying the French and the Dutch is nothing to him, but facing the five menacing ships of the Northern Navy, Cornwallis really does not have the courage to challenge.

As a result, the British gained Sri Lanka, and Tipu Sultan, who lost the support of the French, also died in street fighting in the "Fourth Anglo-Malaysian War".As for Europe, everyone on the earth knows that Napoleon became the first ruler of the First French Republic, taking a big step towards the throne of European hegemony.

He intended to take back all the four regions of Malabar, Salem, Bellary and Anantapur ceded to the British through this battle.

On the other side, the Mumbai Governor's Mansion, located in the northwest of the Kingdom of Mysore, learned of Tipu Sultan's movements, and immediately sent a ship to inform Madras, and then contacted the Maratha people in the north to prepare to send troops; After learning of the situation a few days later, the Governor's Office of Sri Lanka also sent envoys to contact Hyderabad, requesting the other side to send troops.

Cornwallis, who was in Calcutta, was shocked when he heard the news. He was keenly aware that Mysore's imminent move must have something to do with Beihai Town, and the long-term inability to attack the local government was also an important reason.He then sailed to Madras to supervise the battle, and at the same time ordered Colonel Braithwaite to take the local administration by the end of September.

By this time, apart from the British East India Company and French India that were at war, the three Deccan regimes and Beihai Town were gearing up, and a war that would spread to the entire South Asian subcontinent was imminent.

(End of this chapter)