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Chapter 148 Chu Ting's Crushing Defeat
As the sun slowly rose above the horizon, a ray of warm sunlight shone through the rusty iron bars of the prison window into the cell.
Jiang Yueming was awakened by the sound of artillery fire, as was Jiang Ye, who was standing next to him.
Unfortunately, the prison was too far from the battlefield, and Jiang Yueming could only hear the sounds. Otherwise, he would have liked to go and see if he could help in any way.
Even though I knew the final result would be a loss...
But then I thought about it again. Yang Fang had ordered him to be locked up here, so there must be heavy guards outside the prison. It wouldn't be easy for him to get out if he wanted to.
It would be better to wait until they are defeated and then find an opportunity to sneak out. At that time, Yang Fang's attention will not be so focused on him.
Moreover, more than the matter itself, Jiang Yueming was concerned about who exactly was behind Yang Fang.
Given Yang Fang's character, he should have been someone who absolutely couldn't afford to offend the Jiang family unless someone was giving him pointers.
But he suddenly changed his mind and betrayed us, and it all seemed like a grand drama orchestrated by someone behind the scenes.
No, perhaps this play had already begun the moment he set off for Dinghai City.
First, Dinghai fell, then came the Battle of Taiping, and now the Battle of Chutingfu.
These were all wars that Jiang Yueming had clearly recorded in his textbooks from his previous life, but why were these wars being played out before his eyes, scene after scene?
If it happened once, it could be a coincidence, but after three times, it certainly wasn't just a coincidence. There must be someone pulling the strings behind the scenes!
However, Jiang Yueming currently has no way to find out who is behind this operation.
Now all he can do is wait and see.
……
At the mouth of the Pearl River in Chu Ting Prefecture, the British forces on the main battlefield dispatched warships along the coast and headed north to attack the Wu Yong Fort.
A total of more than 1600 soldiers, one warship equipped with 32 cannons, and more than 40 other warships were dispatched.
A sizable fleet sailed majestically across the sea, its advance aimed directly at the garrison of the Wuyong Fort.
The garrison at the fort immediately glanced at the British troops and opened fire in an attempt to stop the British ships from moving forward.
Boom! Boom!
After the British warships entered the planned battle area, all the cannons in the ship's hold were fired, and the two sides engaged in fierce fighting at Wu Yong Fort. Under the heavy bombardment, all the defenders of Wu Yong Fort were killed in less than 15 minutes.
In this battle, the British army easily captured the fort without a single death, while the Chinese army suffered 466 casualties.
Just as Jiang Yueming had predicted, the British army successively captured the Pizhou Fort and the Bazhou Fort, and their advance was aimed directly at Chuting City.
When the British ships reached the Liede Battery and Ershawei Battery, they found that the river was full of obstacles. The British commander immediately ordered the removal of the obstacles, but the defending troops just stood by and did nothing. After the British finished removing the obstacles, the two sides began to exchange fire, and the two batteries fell.
The defenders could have fired back when the British removed the obstacles, catching them off guard. However, the defenders seemed to lack any will or awareness to fight, allowing the British to remove the obstacles and missing a golden opportunity to attack.
There are many similar incidents. For example, during the fall of the Dahuangjiao Fort, the defending general actually sent someone to negotiate with the British army the day before, agreeing that if the air force did not fire, they would not fire either.
So on the day of the battle, they fired six blank shots, essentially deserting and abandoning the Great Huangjiao Cannon. The British army captured the Great Huangjiao Cannon without losing a single soldier.
Meanwhile, Jiang Ye, inside the prison, also received news of the battle outside through the guards, and was shocked.
The outcome of the battle between the Chu Ting troops and the British army was exactly the same as Jiang Yueming had described, without the slightest error.
If Jiang Yueming hadn't eaten two steamed buns last night, he would have almost thought Jiang Yueming was a celestial being who didn't eat meat. What else could someone be but a human with such divine wisdom and calculation?
"Brother Ming, please accept my bow." Inside the cell, Jiang Ye suddenly bowed and clasped his hands, preparing to pay his respects to Jiang Yueming.
Jiang Yueming noticed this and quickly took Jiang Ye's hand, saying, "I was just lucky; I just happened to guess right."
"No, no, Brother Ming, you're too modest. I can guarantee you're definitely not someone to be underestimated."
Jiang Ye was lavish in his praise, expressing his astonishment at Jiang Yueming's ability to anticipate the enemy's moves. He then asked, "Brother Ming, what are your plans after we leave?"
Upon hearing this, Jiang Yueming's eyes darkened, clearly sensing Jiang Ye's desire for talent: "I'm an ordinary person, I don't have any grand plans, I just want to travel and enjoy life."
The implication behind his words was still clear: although he didn't know Jiang Ye's true identity, it was impossible for him to have Jiang Yueming as his advisor.
He was naturally free-spirited and lazy, so at most he could only be a collaborator; being a staff member was out of the question. Therefore, Jiang Ye's desire to recruit talent was destined to be in vain.
Jiang Ye was a quick-witted man after all. He soon understood the refusal in Jiang Yueming's words and said with a faint smile, "It's good that Brother Ming has no plans. Living a carefree and unrestrained life is also a kind of enjoyment."
Jiang Yueming nodded, smiling without saying a word.
Inside the prison, the conversation was relaxed and calm, but outside, the battlefield was a scene of bloodshed and carnage. The British army fired cannon after cannon, leaving the Chinese soldiers with no chance to fight back.
The British plenipotentiary, Elliot, dispatched five warships, two steamships, one transport ship, and some small boats to launch a major attack on the various artillery positions in Chu Tingting City.
Yongjing Fort, West Fort, and Zhuhai Fort successively fell to the British. At 4 p.m., the British army successfully occupied the trading post in the southwest corner of Chuting City, the Thirteen Factories of Chuting.
It was a trading post in the Holy Dragon Empire specifically for trade with foreign nations.
More than two years later, the British Army once again raised the British flag outside the trading post.
So far in this battle, the Chinese defenders have lost more than 1000 soldiers and officers, while the British army has only suffered 8 wounded.
Subsequently, the Celestial Empire's garrison dispatched four warships, one steamship, and one merchant ship to launch a fire attack at night.
The British ships avoided the fire ships and returned fire, the fierce bombardment like a torrential downpour, shattering the defenders' fire attack plan in one fell swoop.
The British then dispatched four warships to bombard the West Battery for fifteen minutes, completely destroying it.
The Celestial Empire's garrison has once again lost an important military facility, and without the West Fort, Chu Ting Prefecture is in dire straits.
The next morning, the British forces assembled 11 warships, 2 steamships, 2300 army troops, and more than 1000 marines and naval officers and soldiers in the Phoenix Hill area. They dispatched 4 warships to the Huangpu River east of Chuting City, forming a pincer attack on Chuting City from the east and west.
Starting at 2 p.m., the British forces began their attack, with warships bombarding the western sand fortress and trading post west of Chu Ting City, and then turning their attention to the Zhuhai fortress.
At 4 PM, the left wing column carrying the army arrived at the battlefield via the waterway west of Chuting Prefecture, totaling 2400 men.
One of them was a field artillery unit of about 400 people, carrying 15 artillery pieces of various types.
British troops landed at 9 p.m. and completed their landing by the early morning of the next day.
At nine o'clock in the morning, the British army began its attack, advancing on Chu Ting Prefecture by land. They quickly captured the forts on Yuexiu Mountain north of Chu Ting City, set up the forts, and began bombarding Chu Ting Prefecture from their high vantage point.
Boom! Boom!
The fierce bombardment almost turned Chu Ting City into ruins. The entire street was ablaze with flames, countless buildings collapsed, and the screams of the people inside the city were deafening!
Not long after the counterattack, a white flag was raised at Chu Ting Mansion. Yang Fang sent envoys to Yuexiu Mountain in the north of the city to negotiate. The British army put forward the following conditions.
First, it was demanded that Yang Fang and other truly influential figures in power lead their troops out of the city and station themselves 200 li outside Guangzhou within six days.
Second, the compensation of 600 million yuan must be paid in full within seven days.
Third, compensation for the losses caused by the robbery and burning of the merchant ship and the previous accidental burning of other countries' merchant ships.
Fourth, once Chu Tingjun pays on schedule, the British army can retreat to outside Humen City.
Fifth, all of the above must be authorized by the major officials of Chuting and processed by the prefect of Chuting for them to be valid.
Within a single day, Wang Zishan gave the British army 100 million coins and fully agreed to their demands.
Subsequently, the British army and navy withdrew entirely from the Chu Ting area and returned all the forts above the Humen Hengdang.
Thus, the Battle of Chuting ended with the Celestial Empire suffering a crushing defeat and being forced to agree to pay reparations.