C525 Pirates of Jiaozhou Bay

On the pitch black sea, three battleships had dropped their anchors. The sailors on the deck were all carrying a set of neatly folded clothes in their hands while a flag was slowly lowered from the mast above their heads.

"Brothers, today we will take off our military uniforms so that we can wear even higher ranking uniforms tomorrow. The country needs you, the emperor needs you …"

"From today onwards, you are no longer soldiers, but pirates. Your only mission is to think of a way to kill Xiao Letian's forces …"

"No need to be depressed and no need to be upset. Any glory will hide the darkness, and your sacrifices will definitely be rewarded …"

This was the outer sea of the Jiaozhou, the place which was known as the Qingdao in future generations. In the distance, there was a vague shadow of a giant, what else could it be if it wasn't Laoshan? The three battleships that were parked in the ocean were the French battleships that had been withdrawn from the Ryukyu.

Zodiac, Roman s, the two frigate s were the two battleships that were slowly lowering the flag, and behind them, a large group of sailors was watching as their comrades handed in their navy uniforms one by one, they too felt the same, and their expressions became lonely.

This was the last time he was lecturing as a soldier. From today onwards, the two warships, the Zodiac and the Roman, would be under the control of the French Navy. They had seized the warships and became a wandering pirate.

All of this was just an excuse, but in truth, these two battleships were just General Bruce's last effort. He had already thrown his limits, and was prepared to use the most heinous method to punish Xiao Letian.

Your Ryukyu does not have a powerful navy after all, and the cause of your Ryukyu cannot leave the ocean. Since your Expeditionary forces has failed, and you have dodged the spear, then let's see our hidden arrows.

Zodiac s and Roman s, after loading all the Arms and ammunition s and supplies, and then selecting the volunteers from within the entire Expeditionary forces, from this moment on, legally speaking, they were all pirates.

"All of you have to remember, from today onwards, your identities will be pirates, pirates that roamed the Asia region. You will not get any support from the Home Country.

"The weak Asia has no rival, the entire Great Qing Province's coastline is where you earn money. I, Bruce, swear in the name of God, that your contributions will be recorded in secret, and the moment Xiao Letian goes to hell, you will definitely return to your homeland …"

"Now, give me back the flag and military uniform. You can go and fight!"

In the darkness, the French flag and the two battleships' flags were neatly folded and handed to General Bruce. The soldiers' uniforms were also taken away by the other soldiers.

France was, after all, one of the central countries of European culture, and this was also the origin of the Revolution. The people's national and national attitudes were very strong, and at the moment of handing over the military flag and military uniforms, many soldiers began to cry.

Bruce was also infected by this atmosphere. He really wanted to cancel the mission, but then he thought that if he did not make up for it, no one would be able to quell the Emperor's anger.

"God bless you! France bless you! "Let's go fight, boys. We'll trade the victories for your tickets home …" "No, no.

Bruce turned around and walked away. The Holiness had brought him all the way south to the British Colony Hong Kong. By now, the Glory should have arrived at the Taiwan Strait.

The captain of the Zodiac, Kraft, and the captain of the Roman, Molde, knew that the morale of the troops was very unstable. They made their decision after a brief encounter.

"Soldiers... No, no, warriors! Why cry? "You have to see the good side. We are no longer bound by martial law, so our chance to get rich has come …"

"Think about it. Why did you volunteer to board the ship and take off your uniform? Isn't it just a dream to get rich? Warriors, not far from the east is the weak Great Qing Dynasty. That is Jiaozhou Bay, and the fertile villages and towns are waiting for us to visit. "Attack at dawn …"

"Long live! "Attack at dawn …" The battleship was filled with cheers as it began to carefully head towards the east.

It was impossible to attack by night while traveling in the unknown waters of the sea. The group of robbers could only carefully approach the point where the sky was bright and they could only launch their attacks.

The late Qing did not have the Qingdao as a given name, and the Jiaozhou was merely a slightly larger town. There was only one shed for the so-called garrison here, and on the old turret on the mountain top, there were only three red-clothed cannons forged by Kang Xi.

This was a one-sided massacre. The people who had just woken up were stunned by the loud explosion before they even had time to eat breakfast. The fishermen on the sea only saw two hideous monsters rushing out from the Dongfang morning mist.

The cannon emplacements on the mountain peak immediately lit up with fire. However, this round of cannons didn't cause any loss in numbers. If these robbers knew that there was no one on duty, they definitely wouldn't have wasted ammunition.

The soldiers who had taken off their military uniforms still fought in the same way. The citizens watched the dozens of boats sailing across the sea as fast as swordfish. Between the long oars, there was even a rhythm to the dragon boat.

"Mother …" Bandits have arrived... It's a long-haired bandit after all … "Run …" The entire town seemed to explode as everyone ran towards the north. The fastest one was the garrison, and from beginning to end, they did not even shoot or pull a bow. Some of them even ran towards the mountains bare-footed.

From then on, it could be seen how decadent the Qing Dynasty was.

The women who had been humiliated were crying and the old man was screaming. In this small coastal village, it was not a place where there was a lot of business. Rather than saying that these Frenchmen were here to make a fortune, it would be more accurate to say that they were here to vent.

For the entire day, the pirates only managed to plunder three thousand taels of silvers. However, the number of civilians they killed was four thousand. The entire city was engulfed in flames.

When night fell, the robbers took the silver and actually carried several dozen pigs, over a hundred chickens and ducks along with a lot of flour on the boat. It seemed that their identities had changed quite quickly. They had adapted to the status of pirates in just a day.

The Zodiac and the Roman Empire had left, and the tragedy at Jiaozhou Bay only reached the Ji Nan Palace three days later. At this time, the great figure who spoke all the words in Shandong's land was none other than the founder of the future generation of Beiyang clan, Li Hongzhang.

The Taiping Heavenly Kingdom was annihilated, but the Twisted Army was still not at peace, especially the Eastern Twisted Army, they had been active in the southern part of Shandong Province and had been annihilated several times by the imperial government. In fact, last year, 1865 was the year where the Twisted Army ambushed and killed all of Seng Gelinqin's cavalry, causing the entire imperial capital to shake, and even the foreign citizens of the East Crossing Folk Lane were shocked.

Although Seng Gelinqin was defeated by the English and French, the incident at the Six Li Bridge was still shocking to the Europeans. The West had always worshipped strong warriors, so although they did not like Seng Gelinqin, but there was still respect for him.

With the death of the Monk King, the imperial government was furious and immediately gathered Ceng Guofan to head north to pacify the Twisted Army. However, something strange happened. Long Hair, who could travel across half of China, actually became terrified in front of a group of rogue Twisted Army.

This battle was like a warm water, it did not show the power of the firearm battalion at all. The marshal simply came here for a public tour.

The clear contrast between Ceng Guofan's Warm Swallowing Water and First Class Uncle Su Yi was the one who rewarded the new star of the Great Qing political stage, Li Hongzhang, who wore a pair of flowery eyes. In the battle to pacify the Twisted Army, Li Hongzhang's Huai Army was shining brilliantly, with power and prestige on all sides. In the end, the imperial government even had the idea of using him to replace Li Hongzhang.

As far as Li Hongzhang and Ceng Guofan were concerned, there was something going on between them, which was not something that could be ignored by outsiders. But in the current Shandong Province, it was really ruled by Li Hongzhang's Huai Army, after all, it was still considered a period of war.

When the information regarding the tragedy at Jiaozhou Bay was sent to Li Hongzhang's desk, he still had two other files in front of him. Those two documents were information that his most loyal aides had compiled for him.

"Zuo Jigao is going to be transferred away? Go to pars dorsalis Gan Shan? "Alright, alright, alright, as long as you leave the Central Plains, I will be the one to sing the rest of the play. I will take care of your trusted aide Hu Xueyan as well …"

"Foreign pirates attacked Jiaozhou? How could that be possible? Since when did pirate groups that were filled with foreigners appear in Jiaozhou? And he stole three thousand taels of silvers? Why does it feel like a pirate killing a soldier? "

In Li Hongzhang's eyes, the loss of thousands of silver taels was nothing more than a small case. To pacify the dead, pacify the dead, pacify the Twisted Army, that war was not about the deaths of tens of thousands of people. In his eyes, the tragedy at Jiaozhou Bay was just a case.

Only the third scroll and the secret letter inside it gave Li Hongzhang a headache.

"Oh, Empress Dowager, you've given me a difficult question …" If I bring troops to the capital to assist, then I will be branded as the Empress Dowager Xi for the rest of my life. From today onwards, I will not be able to disembark from this ship … "

Never would he have thought that the letter in front of Li Hongzhang was actually Ci Xi's own. This old granny actually wanted to ask him for help.

The relationship between Ci Xi and Li Hongzhang had been very complicated throughout the history, because after Ci Xi had completely taken control of the situation, the likes of Ceng Guofan and the rest of the important officials had also gradually fallen. Only Li Hongzhang had always been one of his important subjects among the Chinese people.

If they left Li Hongzhang's support, the Qing Dynasty would definitely die. This was a consensus among the higher ups of the imperial family, but Li Hongzhang was after all, the leader of the Chinese warlord.

In Ci Xi's eyes, he was still considered a Chinese warlord that he could fight for, which was why this secret letter was placed on Li Hongzhang's desk.