Just as the Han army in the south was attacking everywhere, Zeng Guofan, who had been standing still in Tianjing City, finally made a move.
At the beginning of October, after the Xiang army waited for several months, the firearms promised by the foreigners finally arrived!
"Marshal, this is good stuff. Prussians 'latest rifle model, 15000 brand-new Dreiser M1841 rifles, and 200 Krupp cannons!”
"These guns and cannons are the latest equipment from Prussians. They have a long range and great power. Compared to the flintlocks we used before, their performance is simply heaven and earth!”
On the dock outside Tianjing City, Zeng Guofan's younger brother, Zeng Guoquan, was extremely excited after seeing the firearms bought from the foreigners!
As a veteran general in the army, he naturally knew whether a spear was good or not.
The weapons sent by the Prussians were the standard weapons that the Prussians were currently equipped with. They were completely different from the outdated old weapons that the foreigners sold to them in the past!
" Hehe, Princes is a small European country. Although it is small, its military equipment is not weak. I heard that they have been fighting for hundreds of years. They are the most capable army in Europe. The weapons they are equipped with are even better than the most powerful country in the world, the Empire of the Sun Never Sets."
After Zeng Guofan heard his brother's words, he took out a rifle from the wooden box and played with it.
The Xiang Army had long since started buying guns and cannons from the foreigners. After many years of dealing with them, they had come into contact with many countries.
The strongest empire in the world was the Sun Never Sets Empire, the second strongest was the Gaul Empire, and there was also the Russian Kingdom in the north and the Eagle Sauce Kingdom across the ocean.
They had bought weapons and equipment from these countries before. Although the weapons of Sun Never Sets and Gaul were very good, they were very expensive. Moreover, they were only willing to sell some outdated and obsolete weapons to them. They were unwilling to sell the latest weapons of the two countries 'armies!
Russia had been eyeing the Qing Dynasty covetously for decades. They had been devouring the Qing Dynasty's land for decades, so they strictly prohibited the sale of weapons to the Qing Dynasty. They were afraid that these arms sales would increase the combat effectiveness of the Qing Dynasty's army and pose a threat to them!
As for the Eagle soldiers on the other side of the ocean, they were willing to sell anything, but the quality of their weapons and equipment was very poor. Most of them were knockoffs of European weapons, and their performance was far inferior to European weapons. Therefore, the Xiang army was actually not very willing to buy weapons and equipment from them.
Originally, the Xiang Army did not know much about the outside world. Other than these countries, they did not seem to have any other channels to purchase weapons.
However, a Prussian arms dealer named Hans contacted them and said that he could sell them cheap Prussian equipment.
This aroused Zeng Guofan's curiosity, so he bought a small batch with the mentality of trying it out.
Later, in the actual battle with the Taiping Army, it was proved that the equipment of the Prussians was indeed very good.
The weapons sold by the other party were not only powerful, but also of good quality. To a certain extent, they were even better than the weapons and equipment of the two world's old superpowers, the Sun Never Sets and the Gauls!
After tasting the sweetness, Zeng Guofan was particularly fond of Prussian-made weapons. This time, he would rather wait for three months in Tianjing City just to wait for this batch of equipment!
"Hehe, what the general said is true. Pronia doesn't have a strong navy and is controlled by the Sun Never Sets and Gaul in Europe. In order to expand their commercial interests, they can only choose to sell the weapons that we can't buy from the Sun Never Sets and Gaul at a low price!”
"This is the only way to attract us to trade with them. From this point of view, both of us can be considered to have taken what we need!”
Zhao Liewen, who had just paid a visit to Li Hongzhang, smiled.
"Mr. Zhao, you're back? Tell me, what is the attitude of the Huai Army?”
Zeng Guofan's eyes lit up when he saw Zhao Liewen return. He held Zhao Liewen's hand and asked affectionately.
Zhao Liewen bowed to Zeng Guofan and said,"Fortunately, I didn't fail you. Li Hongzhang has already agreed to follow the general and raise the flag together against the Qing court!”
"Haha, good, good! Today was really a double blessing. Since that was the case, there was no need to wait any longer!”
"Where is Bao Chao?"
"I'm here!"
"I order you to immediately gather 10,000 elites, change into 5,000 new rifles and 100 new cannons, and be the vanguard of the army to attack the Qing Dynasty!”
"I accept your orders!"
Bao Chao knelt on one knee and immediately counted the troops after receiving the order. He was prepared to cross the river and be the vanguard of the army to the north!
"Where is Zeng Guoquan?"
"I'm here!"
"I order you to lead 50,000 troops across the river and attack Huai 'an, Shou Prefecture, and Fengyang!”
"I accept your orders!"
"Where is Peng Yulin?"
"I'm here!"
"This commander orders you to lead 30,000 navy troops and immediately send troops to control the canal and escort the army's rations and supplies.”
"I accept your orders!"
For a time, the two banks of the river were bustling with activity. Warships of all sizes came and went, transporting teams of heavily armed Xiang soldiers across the river.
The Xiang Army soldiers, brimming with killing intent, formed a long dragon in Jiangbei and charged toward the vast atmosphere in the north!
On October 3, 1864, Zeng Guofan, the commander of the Xiang Army and the leader of the Han army, officially rebelled in Tianjing City!
On October 7, the Huai Army in the Huainan area, under the leadership of Li Hongzhang, changed their flag and officially joined the ranks of the rebels. They sent troops to cooperate with Zeng Guofan's Xiang Army to attack the Qing court together.
When the news reached the capital, the entire Qing court was shocked and the court was in a panic!
The bad news of the rebellion had just come from the south. They had not had time to quell the rebellion in the south, but in the blink of an eye, their generals had also rebelled!
This made them look at each other in dismay. They were all scared silly and did not know what to do!
"Zeng Guofan's Chu army has more than a hundred thousand soldiers, and with Li Hongzhang's eighty thousand soldiers, that's more than two hundred thousand men!”
"How many soldiers does the Imperial Court have? How many people can they mobilize? Can we stop the rebel army's attack?”
"Empress Dowager, I suggest that we move the capital immediately and retreat to Shengjing. With the protection of Shanhai Pass, we still have a chance to stop the rebel army!”
"That's right. As long as the Imperial Court is still around, His Majesty is still around, and the two Empress Dowager are still around, the armies and officials everywhere will be at ease. When the time comes, we will mobilize them to lead troops to help the king. We will definitely be able to turn defeat into victory and defeat the rebel army!”
"I also agree to move the capital!"
"I agree!"
“……”
Because the scale and strength of the rebel army were too strong, the entire court lacked the confidence to defeat them. Many people advocated giving up the capital and retreating outside the pass.
Otherwise, they would most likely end up like Qian Ming, being besieged by the rebel army and then exterminated!
This book is provided by FunNovel Novel Book | Fan Fiction Novel [Beautiful Free Novel Book]