Chapter 40: The Guards' Bayonet Charge

  Andrew and Parkes had always been trusted by Li Mingfang, so the two men took the lead in persuading their comrades-in-arms to stay behind. Li Mingfang alone went to Elgin's camp to present Weijima's letter, Elgin read the letter, waved his pen, approved 200 names, 400 rifles, countless bullets, military knives, uniforms and other supplies.

  There were still many British soldiers who did not want to go to India to fight, Andrew soon gathered two hundred men, Li Mingfeng took the documents and took away the weapons and other logistical materials, finally loaded onto a dozen or so horse-drawn carriages, and the crowd set off towards the prepared campsite.

  The barracks were not far from the British concession, surrounded by iron railings on all sides. The sign above the gate read "Shanghai Customs Protection Foreign Gun Squad". According to the Tianjin Treaty, Shanghai's customs was jointly managed by Chinese and foreigners, and this protection squad was also named after Gong Xianglin's relationship, which made both Weihaiwei and Sushun Tao nod their heads.

  The military camp had just been built not long ago, and many facilities were still under construction. However, judging from the current scale, Li Mingfeng was secretly shocked in his heart, thinking that Gong Banlun's ambition was not small, building such a large military camp, he was probably not doing it just to help himself.

  The overall architectural style is Western, so the foreign soldiers who decided to stay are also very used to it. Just as Li Mingfeng was helping the British soldier tidy up their new residence, they heard a commotion outside.

  It turned out that it was Gong Cheng who had arrived, but he didn't come alone. He was followed by many cavalrymen wearing green uniforms. The barracks were large enough to accommodate the hundreds of horses that filled the courtyard.

  When Gong Cheng saw Li Mingfeng come out, he pulled his hand and said: "This is the two hundred strong green camp soldiers and four hundred military horses that Daotai gave us, look, I brought them all for you."

  Li Mingfeng was inwardly gloomy, but his face didn't show it. Instead, he laughed loudly and said: "Haha, great! Andrew, these people will be your comrades-in-arms from now on. Our foreign gun squad is getting stronger, haha!"

  At this time, Gong Cheng took out a paper from his sleeve and handed it to Li Mingfeng: "This foreign gun team belongs to Sino-foreign joint management. This appointment letter is the appointment of Li brother as the captain of this foreign gun team. Other personnel appointments are all arranged by brother."

  After reading this letter of appointment jointly issued by British Minister Plenipotentiary Wyndham and Su Songtao, Li Mingfeng's doubts about Gong Chang were slightly dispelled.

  Having arranged for the soldiers to rest and take turns on watch, Gong Zhen and Li Mingfang returned first to the Gong family's concession estate. Accompanying them were Andrew, Parland, Adams, and three small Qing military leaders.

  Arriving at Gong's house, the three Qing army Green Camp officers all bowed to Li Mingfeng and reported their identities. The first one was named Cai Yiqun, 28 years old; the second one was Chen Xinghan, 30 years old; and the third one was Wu Ting, 29 years old. All three were battalion commanders, but Li Mingfeng wasn't clear what level that was, though judging from the number of people they brought with them, he estimated it was probably around the rank of company commander or regiment commander.

  Li Mingfeng, being a trusted superior, saw his subordinates kowtowing and quickly helped the three of them up. He said a few words of comfort, saying that from now on, such grand courtesy was not necessary, and for now, just bowing would be enough. Later, when the foreign gun squad is on the right track, they can use military salutes. The three people all responded with: "Respectfully obeying your orders."

  They lined up for dinner, and everyone sat around the table eating. Li Mingfeng took the opportunity to build relationships with the three new partners, while Gong Cheng lowered his head to eat. Andrew and the others couldn't understand anything and chatted among themselves.

  After the first high-level meeting of the Foreign Gun Squad, six senior officers took a horse-drawn carriage back to their barracks. Gong Cheng and Li Mingfeng were talking in Gong Cheng's room.

  "Are you blaming me for not notifying you before bringing in two hundred Qing soldiers? Are you even suspecting that I have intentions of seizing power?" Gong Cheng said, lying on the rocking chair inside the room.

  "Brother Gong can clarify everything, and we brothers will naturally have no grudges. Even if he doesn't explain, just the fact that he helped me get the team leader position shows that Brother Gong doesn't want to control the Foreign Gun Team." Refusing to acknowledge my suspicions about Brother Gong would be petty, it's better to admit it frankly and generously.

  After listening to Li Mingfeng's response, Gong Cheng nodded in satisfaction and continued: "If you want to gain the trust of the Qing court, then there must be Chinese people in the foreign gun squad. In order to expand the foreign gun squad in the future, it is definitely not enough to rely solely on foreigners. We must recruit Chinese people into the team. Rather than wasting energy on other things, it's better to start cultivating Chinese people who are familiar with Western combat methods now, so that they can be the backbone of the team in the future."

  "Still, Brother Gong has a broad vision, Mingfeng is enlightened." Li Mingfeng stood up and bowed to Gong Cheng.

  Gong Cheng waved his hand, indicating that he didn't want to hear so many clichés. Li Mingfeng knew Gong Banlun's temperament and took the opportunity to find a chair and sit down. The two of them then finalized the specific personnel arrangements for the Foreign Gun Brigade.

  Andrew, who had served as a lieutenant colonel in the Anglo-French Allied Army, was appointed as the chief instructor and head of the foreign affairs section, responsible for training these 400 men into elite riflemen, with training methods modeled after those of the British army. Li Mingfang was appointed as the commander-in-chief and head of the Chinese affairs section, the highest commanding officer. The 400 men were divided into four small teams, with Palando and Adams each in charge of one team, and Cai Yiqun and Chen Xinghan each in charge of one team.

  Gong Cheng said that the remaining one who was in charge of logistics in the Green Camp would be responsible for logistics afterwards. Gong Cheng himself refused Li Mingfeng's invitation and did not take on any duties. However, although Li Mingfeng spoke warmly, he also didn't want Gong to interfere with the Foreign Gun Corps. Seeing that Gong was unwilling to take office, Li Mingfeng was happy to have sole control over power.

  A few days ago, I received news that the Taiping Army's Zhong Wang Li Xiucheng, Ying Wang Chen Yucheng, and Shi Wang Li Shixian joined forces with tens of thousands of soldiers and were approaching the Jiangbei Dazhan. Based on Li Mingfeng's limited historical knowledge, he estimated that the fall of Jiangbei Dazhan was imminent, and soon after would be the great victory at Sanhe Zhen.

  Knowing the basic historical context is Li Mingfeng's winning weapon, so he started living in the Foreign Gun Brigade from the second day of its establishment to quickly integrate the troops. A few days later, the entire Foreign Gun Brigade's training methods, organizational systems, and combat command systems were all established.

  At this time, the news that Li Mingfeng had been waiting for finally arrived.