Erkin's answer made everyone present uneasy: "Three days ago we received a piece of information sent by the Americans. It was a bit of clipping from the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom newspaper in the south of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, which clearly described the battle situation of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom in the north. Gentlemen, the news is regrettable. The Russians were hit by the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom in the north. The Cossack cavalry legion of at least 30,000 people was annihilated, and many fortresses and strongholds were lost. I think the Russians will not be able to reverse the decline in the short term." After that, Erkin signaled his secretary to take out the information for people to circulate.

Several different newspapers published the war between Northern Xinjiang and Russia, which detailed the process and results of the war. After reading it, the Field Marshal John Colborne of Baron Sidon frowned and asked, "Is it possible that the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom people made the newspapers publish the false news to boost morale?"

Erkin shook his head and said, "I don't know, but personally, the new emperor of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom pays great attention to the credibility of the government. Such things will not be faked. Moreover, these newspapers are not official newspapers, but newspapers run by the people." As soon as he finished speaking, the generals below began to discuss.

Admiral Dundas coughed and said, "Gentlemen, please be quiet." Everyone calmed down, and he continued, "From the current situation, we can no longer count on the Russians. Our original plan was that the Russians sent troops from the north. If they could reach Heilongjiang, we could provide cover for them with the fleet, and then they could follow the northeast coast of China to Shanhaiguan. Then we organized a Beijing-Tianjin battle, directly attacking from Dagukou in the north, directly threatening China's new capital. In the end, we forced the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom to surrender. Now the Russians' land attack cannot be achieved at all, so we can only find another way. Do you have any good suggestions?"

Baron Sidon, Field Marshal John Colborne, said first: "We should attack the Yangtze River Delta region such as Shanghai, Nanjing, Suzhou, and other regions, because it is the military-industry location of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom and destroy it. We can dismantle the enemy's will to resist and weaken their potential for war."

Lieutenant General He Bo was the first to stand up to object. He said: "Gentlemen, we certainly know that the Yangtze River Delta region is the most developed place in the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom's industrial industry, but I expressed concern about launching a battle there. According to the military reconnaissance conducted by our fleet in the above areas before, the enemy's defense focus was also there." He Bo asked someone to hang up a map of the estuary of the Yangtze River. Then he pointed to Shanghai and said: "According to the intelligence provided by the Americans, the enemy deployed at least two infantry troops in Shanghai, as well as 20,000 coastal defense troops and tens of thousands of township troops. When we first attacked Shanghai, we found that the enemy had a lot of troops, and there were many river bays, ports and swamps. The enemy's mines could seal the river at will."

Baron Sidon, Field Marshal John Colborne, interrupted He Bo and said: "Lieutenant General He Bo, we do not have to land in the area where the enemy is heavily deployed. The entire area around Shanghai is very vast. We can even choose to land in Kingsoft Guard. Then our powerful army corps will attack the above areas along the landing road."

Massimogri immediately said: "I have no intention of offending the Marshal. If it were in the past, we would definitely recommend doing this. Lieutenant General He had not finished his words. Of course, we can choose the landing location at will and launch troops to fight, but the problem we are facing now is that we cannot establish an effective supply line. The enemy has implemented a strategy of strengthening the walls and clearing the fields in the southeast coastal areas, and it is difficult for us to get sufficient supplies along the way. If the fleet goes north, if it is responsible for guarding the landing site and maintaining sufficient supplies. We must travel between most of the South China waters. The enemy's naval power has not been completely eliminated, and there are pirates. Therefore, we must flew escort the transport ships, and the escort fleet must maintain a certain scale, and the war costs will be very high."

Baron Sidon, Field Marshal John Colborne, sneered: "So what? If you defeat the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom in the future, all these losses can be returned from the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom."

Erkin finally gritted his teeth and told the truth: "Marson Marshal, we are actually worried that even if the army lands, relying on 60,000 troops, we may not be able to conquer Shanghai or any important city under the control of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom."

The words were astonishing, Baron Sidon frowned and said, "Sir Erkin. Do you think our 60,000 elite troops cannot defeat the enemy?" Sir Erkin nodded solemnly and said, "Marson, in fact, from the war against the Russians in the north, it can be seen that the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom Army's combat effectiveness on land is not weak. In Shanghai, Nanjing, Suzhou and other places, the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom has a total of nearly 80,000 regular field troops stationed in Shanghai, Nanjing, Suzhou and other places. This is not considered local troops and coastal defense troops. Once our army lands on the ground, the enemy will definitely come to support from all directions. The enemy is local to fight and has a very advantage in concentrating troops. If the enemy is equal in force, it will be difficult for us to attack successfully. If the enemy is twice ours, we will suffer a defeat. If it is three times or even more, we will have the possibility of being annihilated..."

Lieutenant General Luken frowned and said, "Sir Erkin, why are you so pessimistic?" Massimogri said, "Lieutenant General, because our 20,000 troops in the Beijing-Tianjin area were defeated by an infantry army of more than 40,000 people from the enemy."

After everyone was silent for a while, Baron Sidon said, "What should we do? Did our expeditionary force come here for an armed trip?"

Lieutenant General He said: "Marson Marshal, we think the most practical approach is to attack Guangzhou. We are close to Hong Kong's main island to facilitate supply and the fleet can maximize the protection of the army troops. Moreover, we are more familiar with the terrain near Guangzhou. Unlike attacking Shanghai, we don't know much about the terrain there. The most important thing is that if the war is unfavorable, it will be easier for us to organize retreats."

Baron Sidon sneered, "When did our generals want to retreat before the war began? Where did your courage, glory and dignity go?"

Sir Erkin saw that He Bo, Massimogri and others were unnatural, and immediately defended them: "Marson, it is not that our generals have lost their courage, glory and dignity, but that we came to this conclusion through the lessons of the last war. Whether the enemy is the combat effectiveness of the army or the tactics of the battle, they are very powerful in strategy. We must pay enough attention to the enemy."

Baron Sidon waved his hand and said, "Okay, then let's attack Guangzhou and discuss it. We will attack Guangzhou first. If the enemy's combat effectiveness is not as you described, we will attack Shanghai and other places next. We will solve the big trouble of the Far East once and for all!"

After two days of discussion, the British and French coalition forces formulated a combat plan. Then they began to clear the mines on the waterway in large quantities and sent reconnaissance ships to investigate the forts in the Pearl River Estuary area, focusing on reconnaissance of several forts in the Pearl River Estuary.

The first place where the Guangzhou Battle broke out was on the Kowloon Peninsula. On the fifth day after the British and French Expeditionary Force arrived in Hong Kong, the British army first landed on the Kowloon Peninsula. Their army landed in the Long Gutan area of ​​Tuen Mun on the Kowloon Peninsula, and then attacked Shigang in the east, intending to attack from the hinterland of the Kowloon Peninsula and encircle and annihilate the Taiping troops from Kowloon, Kwun Tong and other places, but the British and French coalition forces encountered trouble.

The landing of the coalition was very smooth at the beginning. As Sir Sidon said, the Taiping Army could not set up defensive forces at all landing sites, so the landing of the coalition was very smooth. However, on the night of the landing, the operation of the coalition was reported to the Taiping Army by the local people, and the Taiping Army stationed on the Kowloon Peninsula rushed to Shigang area to deploy defense overnight.

A small-scale battle broke out in the Shigang area. An infantry regiment landed by the coalition forces, two battalions of the Taiping Army and more than 1,000 township troops fought for a day. The two sides were comparable. Finally, the coalition chose to retreat because the coalition forces later found that the Taiping Army mobilized troops from Nantou, Bao'an and other places to support. The coalition forces were afraid of being cut off from the rear route, so they chose to retreat. Moreover, fighting here was of no significance. After winning the Taiping Army, they only occupied several villages and towns. At first, the plan to encircle and annihilate the Taiping Army troops on the Kowloon Peninsula was also failed. Since the enemy had already set up defenses, they meant that they knew the intention of the coalition forces.

However, the coalition's attack still made the Taiping Army much more cautious. The Taiping Army in Kowloon was no longer as unscrupulous as before. They needed to be vigilant at all times to land in the rear, so the Taiping Army did not have enough manpower in Victoria Bay and then organized the installation of mines. Even the shelling of Hong Kong from the Kowloon Peninsula every day was less.

Although the coalition forces suffered a setback in the landing war on the Kowloon Peninsula, Baron Sidon and other British and French generals still intuitively realized the enemy's combat effectiveness. The two sides in Shigang were comparable in the battle, confirming that Sir Erkin's words, when the number of people was the same, the two sides were tied. So Baron Sidon and others began to pay attention to the Taiping Army, and then the investigation of the Pearl River Estuary became more careful.

But the subsequent reconnaissance results were frustrating. The defense at the Pearl River Estuary in Guangzhou was very tight. The reconnaissance ships were attacked by the enemy's large-caliber coastal artillery, and the enemy's artillery was large. Lieutenant Colonel Walter organized a night landing reconnaissance operation, and found that the enemy had tight positions behind the side and side of the fort. After observation, they found that the enemy's coastal artillery had been covered and reinforced, and some were simply hidden in the tunnel. I believe that the navy's artillery would be difficult to completely remove these coastal defense artillery.

Lieutenant Colonel Walter's reconnaissance operation was soon discovered by the Taiping Army patrol. The two sides exchanged fire for half an hour. In the end, Lieutenant Colonel Walter's reconnaissance team lost five people and was finally forced to withdraw to the sea... (To be continued)
Chapter completed!