Chapter 560: Final Battle

By mid-August, the war between the Qing army and the British and French coalition forces had fallen into a stalemate.

Liang Yao had offered a bounty of $60 per person for the Mongolian cavalry captives, and $100 per person for the Solon cavalry.

But it was already difficult to buy captives from the British and French coalition forces.

Liang Yao had a new respect for his uncle.

Liang Shaoqiong had used more than 10,000 remnants of the Qing army to withstand the fierce attack of the British and French coalition forces, and Tongzhou City still stands today.

When the British and French coalition forces decided to bypass Tongzhou City and directly attack the capital, Liang Shaoqiong sent cavalry to continuously harass the logistics and baggage troops of the British and French coalition forces, making the British and French coalition forces overwhelmed.

Once the British and French coalition forces concentrated their forces to prepare to kill the Qing cavalry that had left the city, these Qing cavalry did not want to fight and quickly retreated into the city. The British and French coalition forces had no place to use their strength.

The two sides were deadlocked near Tongzhou City for nearly two months.

In Tianjin, a group of detained Sauron tribe captives chatted after having a good meal and a good drink.

Although they were shackled, there was no sign of abuse on their bodies. They all had rosy faces and looked in good physical and mental condition. Some of them were even fatter than when they were captured.

But they didn't understand why these foreigners did this.

They ate wine, meat, vegetables and fine grains for every meal, which were not cheap.

"What do you think these foreigners are up to? They imprisoned us here, but they didn't beat or scold us. They fed us well, with fish and meat for every meal."

"And wine!"

"You know what, the foreign doctors are really good. I thought my leg was going to be crippled, but now it can move."

"They are not foreigners. These jailers are Qing people with shaved braids!"

"Yes, they are Qing people! I heard those jailers talking in the southern Nikan dialect."

"Shut up!" A tall captain named Kekudi scolded, "They must have had bad intentions in imprisoning us here!"

"The captain is talking, foreigners, bah! These Nikans of unknown origin have made you forget your ancestors with a little favor?"

The transport ship has arrived at Dagukou. Liang Yao came to the prisoner-of-war camp to check the Mongolian cavalry and Solon captives that he spent a lot of money to buy from the British and French coalition forces, preparing to transport them to California.

In the past two months, he has purchased a total of 2,820 Mongolian cavalry captives and 816 captives from the various Solon tribes from the British and French coalition forces.

After a round of inspection, Liang Yao found that the Aisin-Gioro family was not only cruel to the Han people, but also to the Mongolians and the so-called Manchurian Solon tribes.

The Han people had to bear taxes, and the Solon people not only had to bear the mink tax and endure the economic exploitation of the Aisin-Gioro family, but also had to bear the blood tax, providing high-quality soldiers for the Qing Dynasty without restraint.

The situation of Mongolian cavalry captives would be better. Although the proportion of herdsmen in the cavalry was quite high, at least the majority were young and middle-aged.

The captives of the various Solon tribes were outrageous. After statistical screening, among the 816 Solon captives, only 370 could be called armored, and the rest were mostly idle Xidan recruited from Jilin and other places.

There were minors of thirteen or fourteen years old and elderly people over seventy with white braids everywhere.

The term "Sollon" first appeared in the late Ming Dynasty, and was a general term for the tribes along the Heilongjiang River. The Solon tribe in the Qing Dynasty mainly refers to the three tribes of the Solon tribe, the Ewenki, Daur, and Oroqen. It is a semi-fishing and semi-agricultural ethnic group in the Heilongjiang River Basin.

Among them, the Daur people are the best at farming and have the largest population. The lifestyle of the Ewenki tribe and the Oroqen people is mainly fishing and hunting, and the population is much smaller than that of the Daur people.

After the Battle of Yakesa and the signing of the Treaty of Nerchinsk, in order to strengthen the control over the Solon tribe and facilitate the conscription of Solon soldiers, the Qing court moved a large number of Solon people, especially those in the Outer Northeast region, to the Nenjiang River Basin south of the Heilongjiang River, and successively organized them into the Solon Niulu and the Buhat Eight Banners.

Although this move strengthened the Qing government's control over the Solon tribe, it also led to the emptiness of defense forces in the Heilongjiang River Basin, especially in the Outer Northeast region, and laid the seeds for the subsequent loss of the Outer Northeast territory.

The tribesmen of the Solon tribe have lived and grown up in a harsh natural environment since childhood, and they can become very good soldiers with a little training.

When Nurhaci integrated the various Jurchen tribes in the northeast, he said to the Solon people: We are one country. He called on the Solon people to fight for the Manchurian community of Jianzhou Jurchen and absorb the Solon people into the army.

But after entering the pass, the Aisin Gioro family forgot their promise to the Solon people. The Eight Banners of Manchu, Mongolian and Han all entered the pass. Except for a few Solon nobles who were promoted, most of the Solon people were still left in the bitter and cold land outside the pass.

This is not because the Aisin Gioro family forgot these bitter brothers, but because they remembered these bitter brothers and did it intentionally.

In order to keep the Solon people's combat effectiveness and prevent the Solon people from being contaminated by Han customs and repeating the mistakes of the Eight Banners of Manchu and the Green Camp soldiers. The Aisin-Gioro family prohibited the Suolon people from entering the pass, and continued to let them maintain their "national language, riding and shooting" in the bitter cold land outside the pass, strictly prohibiting the use of firearms, and living a harsh life of hunger and fullness.

This approach did achieve certain results.

After the Qing army entered the pass, the combat effectiveness of the Eight Banners soldiers plummeted at an alarming rate. During the period of suppressing the Three Feudatories Rebellion, the Eight Banners soldiers were no longer used as the main force to suppress the rebellion. In the Qianlong period, the Eight Banners soldiers fell into the embarrassing situation of arrows shooting in vain and horsemen falling to the ground.

Among the many Eight Banners troops, only the soldiers and horses of the Suolon tribe maintained extremely strong combat effectiveness until they could no longer squeeze out manpower.

The wars experienced by the Qing army after entering the Pass: pacifying the Three Feudatories, the Battle of Yaksa, the Battle of Junggar, the Battle of Altai, the Battle of Jinchuan, the rebellion of the Hezhuo family, the resistance to the invasion of the Kulkhas, and the pacification of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom and the Lien Army.

In these battles, whether civil or foreign, whether in the snowy plateau, the desert of the Western Regions, or the primitive jungles of the Hengduan Mountains in the southwest, or the Baishan Heishui in the northeast, the Suolon soldiers not only never missed, but also performed very well.

However, the Aisin-Gioro family did not sympathize with the Suolon people. As the wars became more frequent, the conscription of the Suolon people increased and intensified.

By the Xianfeng period, more than 10,000 Suolon soldiers had been conscripted, accounting for 40% of the ethnic group. The Suolon tribe had reached the point of extinction.

Therefore, although the Suolon people are also bannermen, their living standards and treatment are far inferior to those in the interior, especially the Manchu Eight Banners in the capital.

Although famous generals such as Hailancha, Duolong'a and Mutushan emerged in his tribe.

But this did not change the miserable living conditions of most ordinary Solon people. Many Solon people even had to beg for a living when they could not hunt prey.

"Hey, Nikan, that Nikan, come and talk to me."

Seeing that Liang Yao's attire was different from others, and the soldiers were very respectful to Liang Yao, Kekudi guessed that Liang Yao should be a person of great status among these people, so he shook the shackles on his body to make a sound, attracting Liang Yao's attention.

He didn't want to be locked up here for no reason.

This aimless feeling, like waiting to die, was more uncomfortable than killing him directly.

"Can you speak Chinese?" Liang Yao stopped in front of the Solon soldier who was a little taller than him with interest.

"Since the third year of Emperor Xianfeng (1853), I have been fighting against the Hongyang Rebellion in Jiangsu and Anhui. What's so strange about knowing some Chinese?" Kekudi said with some pride.

"From your accent, you are from Guangdong, right?"

"You are an interesting person. You can recognize my Guangdong accent." Liang Yao was a little surprised.

"My troops have been fighting with the Guangdong Braves for many years. If I hadn't received the imperial edict to defend the king, I would still be killing the Taiping in southern Jiangsu. I have served under General Liang. I can not only recognize your accent, but also speak a few words." As he said, Kekudi approached Liang Yao and said after taking a closer look.

"You and General Liang look a bit similar."

"Liang Shaoqiong is my uncle." Liang Yao couldn't help laughing.

The Hunan Army and the Guangdong Braves lacked cavalry, so the Qing court sent the Solon cavalry to cooperate with the Hunan Army and the Guangdong Braves in the battle, and was also responsible for monitoring the actions of the Hunan Army and the Guangdong Braves.

"General Liang is your uncle? So you are here to save us?" Kekudi was overjoyed when he heard this.

"I guess so." Liang Yao did not deny it. He looked at Kekudi carefully and asked.

"You look like an official? What's your name?"

"I'm a captain, my name is Kekudi," Kekudi replied.

"I didn't expect that there would be a fish that slipped through the net." Liang Yao looked at Kekudi, and then at the Solon soldiers around Kekudi, and sighed.

"Senggelinqin actually let you charge head-on, how stupid, he wants you Solon people to be extinct. It was you who almost defeated the Sikh Cavalry Regiment that day."

The British and French coalition forces always thought that it was the Mongolian cavalry that almost defeated the Sikh Cavalry Regiment on the day of the field battle, and only knew in the battle that it was the Solon cavalry that almost defeated the Sikh Cavalry Regiment.

"Sikh Cavalry Regiment?"

"It's those Indians with turbans."

"Those foreigners with turbans can't help but fight. If it weren't for their good guns, we would have torn their army apart long ago." Kekudi said disdainfully.

"It's the foreign cavalry wearing helmets and red clothes that are difficult to deal with."

"That's the British Royal Dragoon Regiment."

"Anyway, they are all foreigners, and none of them are good. Since you are the nephew of General Liang, you are also a citizen of the Qing Dynasty. I think you have some status among these people. You persuade them to let us go.

My brothers and I will remember your kindness, and I will also speak a few good words for you and General Liang in front of General Duolonga in the future." Kekudi said.

"Do you still want to stain Duolonga's hat with your blood?" Liang Yao shook his head.

"I didn't save you from the guns of foreigners for these reasons."

After speaking, Liang Yao left.

The British and French coalition forces attacked Tongzhou City for a long time, and after two months of consumption, the ammunition stocks of the British and French coalition forces were gradually running out.

Elgin and Gro found Liang Yao, hoping that Liang Yao could mediate.

Liang Yao couldn't wait, and after a hypocritical excuse, he reluctantly agreed to mediate.

Liang Yao pulled several carts of medicine to Tongzhou City.

At this time, the Qing army in Tongzhou City was also exhausted, but there was no shortage of food and grass for the time being.

The composition of the garrison in Tongzhou City was relatively complex, including Guangdong Yong, Green Camp, Mongolian cavalry and Solon soldiers.

These Solon soldiers were mostly 13 or 14-year-old boy soldiers who were still immature, just like the captives Liang Yao captured in Tianjin.

"Britain and France are willing to negotiate. Please help me make a connection and let me go to the capital to meet Prince Gong."

Finding Liang Shaoqiong, Liang Yao directly explained his purpose. Seeing that Liang Shaoqiong had a bandage on his arm, he asked with concern.

"Uncle, what's the injury on your arm?"

"I was accidentally hit by a stray bullet. It's a minor injury." Liang Shaoqiong said after moving his arm.

"It's better to be careful. If you make a mistake, no one can continue to carry the banner of the Liang family." Liang Yao said.

"I will help you to make connections with Prince Gong. I also want to stop the war as soon as possible. The ammunition brought from Jiangnan is almost used up. I am not sure if we can continue fighting." Liang Shaoqiong looked around and saw that there was no one around. He lowered his voice and said to Liang Yao.

"Something big has happened in the court."

"Something big?"

Liang Yao frowned and thought for a while, thinking that maybe Emperor Xianfeng died?

Something big happened in the Qing court. In addition to Emperor Xianfeng's death, the throne was replaced, and the power was transferred, Liang Yao could not think of any other big things.

"The emperor passed away." Liang Shaoqiong said softly, and then told Liang Yao everything that happened in the Qing court in the past few days.

It turned out that Emperor Xianfeng fell ill shortly after arriving at the Chengde Mountain Resort, and finally died of depression. The cause of death is still unknown.

Before his death, Emperor Xianfeng left a will to three imperial ministers and five military ministers (Zaiyuan, Duanhua, Sushun, Jingshou, Muyin, Kuangyuan, Duhan, Jiao Youying) to assist the three-year-old Crown Prince Zaichun to become the emperor and take charge of the government. They are the eight ministers of state.

"Not only are you and Pan Shicheng not among the ministers of state, but even Prince Gong Yi is not among them?" Liang Yao said after reading the secret letter sent by Pan Shicheng in Liang Shaoqiong's study.

"One of these two letters is from Sushun and the other is from Yi." Liang Shaoqiong pulled out two more secret letters from a corner.

Liang Yao opened them and read them. It turned out that Yi and Sushun were both trying to win over Liang Shaoqiong.

"You have elite troops in your hands, and the court is counting on you to quell the Hongyang Rebellion and the Lien Rebellion. In the future, whether Yi or Sushun is in power, as long as the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom and the Lien Rebellion are not quelled, they will have to use you. What do you think?" Liang Yao asked.

"Sushun has used many Han officials and treated them well, but he is domineering and aggressive, and he doesn't know how to restrain himself. Pan Shicheng said that he was arbitrary and authoritarian in Chengde, which frightened the new emperor. The two empress dowagers were also dissatisfied with him, but they dared not speak out because of the power of the eight ministers." Liang Shaoqiong frowned.

"Compared to Sushun, Yi did better in this respect. He was more calm and composed, and was not surprised by praise or criticism.

Sushun and Yi each had their own strengths and weaknesses. Sushun was already a powerful minister, and now he had the will of Emperor Xianfeng. In terms of power, no one could surpass him.

Yi was prominent in the court because of his noble status. Although he temporarily lost power and was excluded from the center of power, it does not mean that he would not have the opportunity to return to the center of power in the future." Liang Yao said.

In the fifth year of Emperor Xianfeng's reign (1855), Emperor Xianfeng dismissed Yi from all his posts for "many negligences in all etiquette." Yi, who was a military leader with great power in the court and above everyone else, became an empty shell with only the title of prince overnight.

This time, Emperor Xianfeng excluded Yi from the list of ministers of state, which was a big blow to Yi, who was left alone in the capital city to face foreign enemies alone.

"I am also blind to the affairs of the court, but weighing the pros and cons, I still think it is better to stand on Yi's side." Liang Shaoqiong analyzed.

"I was promoted by Yi, so Yi has done me a favor anyway. Besides, Sushun already has Han ministers like Zeng Hu as his supporters. Now the situation is urgent and he has to win me over. Once this is over, I am afraid that I will not be so important in Sushun's heart."

"That's right. Sushun is in power now. If you stand on Sushun's side now, it will be icing on the cake, but if you stand on Yi's side, it will be a timely help." Liang Yao is also more inclined to support Yi.

"I will arrange for you to meet Prince Gong now." Liang Shaoqiong said.

"Okay." Liang Yao nodded and asked immediately.

"By the way, do you know Kekudi?"

"The name sounds familiar, but I can't remember it for the moment."

"A Sorenzo leader."

"Oh, it's him. This guy is a man who doesn't care about his life when fighting. When fighting Gaozi Town, Duolong'a placed this guy next to me as a spy and borrowed 20 taels of silver from me, so I still have some impression of him. How do you know him?"

"It's a long story. Let your people take me to the capital."

The Qing court suddenly changed and the war situation fell into a stalemate. Under the mediation of Liang Yao, Yi and Liang Shaoqiong finally negotiated with British envoy Elgin, French envoy Gros, and American envoy Liang Yao on behalf of the Qing government.

After several rounds of consultations, the two sides reached the following agreement.

The Qing Dynasty allowed the British, French and American envoys to enter the capital, but the accompanying personnel should not exceed 10 people, and they were not allowed to bring weapons into the capital.

The Qing side also included the dispatch of envoys to London, Paris and Washington in the agenda.

The compensation for military expenses was halved. The Qing side compensated the British side for 4 million taels of silver and the French side for 1.5 million taels of silver.

Residents of the three countries of Britain, France and the United States can live and do business freely in the ports with legal procedures, but there will be no concessions in the ports.

The Qing side opened the navigation rights of the Pearl River and the Yangtze River to the merchant ships of Britain, France and the United States.

The Qing side took back the tariff autonomy.

Qing residents were allowed to live and make a living in the United States freely.

Hong Kong Island was temporarily leased to the United States for use for 99 years.

Zhoushan was temporarily leased to Britain and France for joint use for 99 years. How to allocate it was decided by Britain and France.

Finally, the Qing Dynasty and Britain, France and the United States formally signed the "Beijing Treaty" in Beijing in October 1858.

The British and French envoys were satisfied with being able to sign the treaty in Beijing.

Although this treaty was still unfair, it was much better than the previous "Tianjin Treaty".

After the treaty was signed, the Qing Dynasty and Britain and France returned prisoners to each other.

The Qing Dynasty returned the prisoners of war captured in the war and the British merchants and civilians captured in Hong Kong Island to Britain and France.

Britain and France also returned Ye Mingchen, He Guiqing and the captured Green Camp soldiers to the Qing Dynasty.

After the British and French forces withdrew.

The Qing Dynasty officially decided to jointly run the Ship Administration with the United States.

However, the Qing Dynasty did not adopt Liang Yao's suggestion to set the location of the Ship Administration in Guangdong. Instead, it appointed Shen Baozhen as the Minister of Ship Administration and decided to establish the Ship Administration in Fuzhou.

In addition, the Manchu Qing high-level officials also made personnel adjustments to local officials.

Ye Mingchen, the former Governor-General of Guangdong and Guangxi, and He Guiqing, the Governor-General of Liangjiang, were sentenced to death.

Guangdong Governor Bai Gui and Guangzhou General Mutten were dismissed.

Liang Shaoqiong was appointed as the Governor-General of Liangjiang, and Pan Shicheng was appointed as the Governor of Jiangsu, responsible for supervising the suppression of the Hongyang Rebellion.

As for the vacancy of Guangdong local officials, the Manchu high-level officials played a political trick and let Hu Linyi of the Hunan Army serve as the governor of Guangdong and Guangxi, and Guo Songtao as the governor of Guangdong.

Speed ​​up the progress, and return to the United States in the next chapter