Sure enough, Fukushima Anmasa's words immediately dispelled the consuls' desire to surrender, so Jin Zhang immediately turned to Ball and said, "Mr. Colonel, how long can we last if the other party launches an attack?"

Ball thought for a while and said, "Mr. Consul, I guess I can only last for three days at most, because the area in the concession is too large. Although I have shrunk my defensive positions, our number is still insufficient and there are not enough guns and ammunition. I think three days should be the limit. I don't know when Beijing's reinforcements will arrive in Tianjin."

Jin Zhang smiled bitterly and said, "Beijing has replied. In a short period of time, they are unable to come to reinforce Tianjin. They only ask us to stick to it for as long as possible."

It turned out that the Eight-Nation Alliance in Beijing received a telegram from Anmasa Fukushima, knowing that Tianjin City had fallen and the Japanese troops stationed in Tianjin City were also defeated. This also shocked the Eight-Nation Alliance. Although they were very suspicious of the origin of this group of Chinese claiming to be overseas, they believed that it was very likely that it was caused by the Qing government, or that it was caused by the governor of the South. However, the commanders of the Eight-Nation Alliance reached an agreement that it would be difficult to recover Tianjin and reopen the sea routes with the current strength of the Eight-Nation Alliance. After all, the enemy troops in Dagukou could not be regarded as the strength of the German fleet. Only when the German fleet arrived in China could the two sides be sure to defeat this enemy. At least the German fleet arrived, the coalition forces could regain control of the sea.

So the commanders of the Eight-Nation Alliance first jointly generated a power to Shanghai, first informing the Shanghai side of the war, and demanding that the British Consul in Shanghai PEHmarren immediately investigate whether this group of so-called overseas Chinese were related to the Qing Dynasty's southern governor.

It turned out that before the Qing court declared war on various countries, Liu Kunyi, Governor of Liangjiang, Zhang Zhidong, Governor of Huguang, Li Hongzhang, Postal Minister Sheng Xuanhuai and other southern governors of the Qing Dynasty discussed how to preserve the stability of the Southeast provinces under this tense situation and avoid the great powers having excuses to invade China; they even discussed and conspired that if Beijing was lost, and Empress Dowager Cixi and Emperor Guangxu encountered an unexpected accident, Li Hongzhang would be elected by the Southeast Governor of the Southeast to serve as president to support the situation in China.

On June 1, 1900, the Qing government declared war on the British Empire, the United States of America, the Third Republic of France, the German Empire, the Russian Empire, the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Great Japanese Empire, the Kingdom of Italy, the Spanish Empire, the Dutch colonial Empire, and the eleven Kingdoms of Belgium at the same time.

On June 6, 1900, with the support of Li Hongzhang, Liu Kunyi, Zhang Zhidong and others of the Qing Dynasty, Sheng Xuanhuai planned it out, and Yu Lianyuan of Shanghai Road came forward to negotiate and sign the "Southeast Mutual Protection Charter" with the consuls of various countries headed by British Consul in Shanghai, Huo Bilan. It stipulates that the Boxer Rebellion will be resisted to spread to the south, and the Shanghai Concession will be jointly protected by all countries, but the Yangtze River and the mainland of Jiangsu and Hangzhou are protected by the governors of various provinces in the south, and the two are not disturbed, and are mainly to protect the lives and industries of Chinese and foreign businessmen.

Since the "Southeast Mutual Protection Charter" was signed by British Consul in Shanghai Huo Bilan, now the Eight-Nation Alliance suspects that this group of so-called overseas Chinese were created by the Qing Dynasty's Southeast Governor, so naturally it is instructing Huo Bilan to investigate clearly. In addition, Li Hongzhang is now in Shanghai, and he is one of the important supporters of the promotion of "Southeast Mutual Protection", so he happened to find out directly to him.

In addition, the Eight-Nation Alliance also made Shanghai prepare. Once the German fleet arrived in Shanghai, it immediately told the German fleet the current situation and asked the German fleet to arrive in Tianjin as soon as possible. The two sides worked together to defeat this so-called overseas Chinese. In addition, the two sides maintained close contact and could fight together.

At the same time, the German mansion in Beijing also sent a telegram to the Governor's Office in Qingdao, Shandong. The content was roughly equivalent to that sent to Shanghai, and they were urging the German fleet to arrive in Tianjin as soon as possible.

After sending these telegrams, the Eight-Nation Alliance was stationed in Beijing and sent some spies to Tianjin to inquire about the news, but there was no intention to send troops. As for the Tianjin Concession, they could only let them die. Anyway, before the German fleet arrived, the Eight-Nation Alliance would not send troops easily.

However, the consuls of various countries in Tianjin knew about these internal information and thought that the Eight-Nation Alliance needed some preparation time, so as long as they persisted for a few more days, the Eight-Nation Alliance would come to reinforce the concession.

Only Anmasa Fukushima knew in his heart that the Eight-Nation Alliance would not come to reinforce Tianjin in the short term. Although Anmasa Fukushima had little practical experience, his grasp of the situation was much stronger than that of all consuls. However, Anmasa Fukushima would not break it, because he had already planned it and the fight between the two sides was beneficial to Japan. In addition, he also made plans. Once the concession could not be held, he immediately retreated from the concession. He had already discussed with Japanese Consul Iji Inn Hiroki, I had prepared a boat on the dock and set a fire on standby. Once the war was not good, he immediately boarded the ship north and fled to Beijing. The Tianjin Concession in Japan had not been built, so there was only one consulate in Tianjin, with only a dozen people, so it was easy to retreat.

The other consuls naturally didn't know that the Japanese had ulterior motives and had already sold all of them in secret. They thought that if they persisted for a few days, they might be able to wait for reinforcements. In this way, not only can the concessions be kept, but their own property can be kept. Of course, the consuls of various countries mainly held a slight illusion, hoping to protect their property.

At this moment, I heard the "Dangdangdang" and it turned out that the bell in the hall rang. Everyone looked at the big bell together. Eight bells in the morning arrived. The hearts of the consuls of various countries suddenly hanged, as if they were waiting for judgment.

Before the bell of Eight was finished, only "Boom boom boom boom" was heard, and there were continuous explosions. Jin Zhang's body trembled and he murmured: "The war has finally begun."

At this time, Colonel Bao stood up and said, "Dear consuls, the enemy has launched an attack, so I have to go to the front line to command the battle and can't stay here."

Jin Zhang raised his head and said, "Go, Colonel."

Fukushima Akamasa also stood up and said, "Let me go with Colonel Ball, I should be able to help." He bowed to everyone and left with Ball, but when others were not paying attention, he exchanged a wink with Japanese Consul Iji Inn Hikoki.

After the two left, the sound of explosions continued to come, and the consuls of various countries were also a little restless. They stood up and walked to the window and looked out, as if they wanted to see the situation on the battlefield. However, Gordon Hall was located on the north side of Victoria Garden (now the Garden of Jiefang North Road) in the central green space of the British Concession in Tianjin. The direction of the crossing army's attack was in the Zizhulin area (now the west side of the intersection of Jilin Road and Chengde Road in Heping District). There was still a considerable distance, and there were many tall houses in the middle, so there was no battlefield at all.

Zizhulin is an old place name in Tianjin, and is famous in modern Tianjin. The section from Zhong Road to Yingkou Road is now called Zizhulin Road. Therefore, it was first classified by Britain and France as a concession area in the Zizhulin area, and was also called "Zizhulin Concession" at that time. The British Concession built a "Zizhulin Pier" in the Zizhulin River area, which was later the Datong Road Ferry. The French Concession authorities established a barracks at the northern end of Chifeng Road, namely the French Yingpan, commonly known as "Zizhulin Barracks". However, after the founding of New China, these related place names have changed. In the old time and space, the only place names related to Zizhulin's original place was probably the ruins of Zizhulin Church.

Now the Zizhulin area is located at the junction of the concessions between Britain and France, facing the Haihe River to the north, Hai Avenue to the south, and Majiakou to the main waterway outside Tianjin City, and is a must-fight place. At the peak of the Boxer Movement, the Boxer Rebellion and the Eight-Nation Alliance fought fiercely on the Zizhulin area. The crossing army also regarded the Zizhulin area as the first place to attack.

After looking by the window for a while, nothing could be seen, so the consuls of various countries returned to their seats dejectedly. At this time, Decuilin said: "Mr. Consuls, the war has begun now. Although we must do our best to defend the concession, we must also make the worst plans. The reason is to try our best to protect the residents in the concession. Therefore, I suggest that according to the requirements of those overseas Chinese, the residents in the concession will be placed in a place. If the concession really cannot be maintained, the casualties of the residents can be reduced."

After hearing this, the other consuls also felt that De Cuilin's suggestion was very reasonable. No matter whether the other party would respect their promises, since the other party asked this, he would not visit and follow what they did. This would also leave a way out for himself. If the concession really couldn't hold it, he would hide in the residential area, and at least he could save his life.

Of course, De Cuilin's suggestion was also for his own sake. His current identity is the director of the Tianjin Taxation Department. Even if the concession is broken, there will be no trouble. He just needs to do his best to put the consuls of various countries aside and not implicate himself in it.

At this time, Ijiyuan Hiroki stood up and said, "Everyone, since this is the case, I want to arrange the Japanese expatriates. It's useless for us to sit here anyway. Why not do something useful?"

Listening to Yoshikiichi Yijiyuan, Tokuilin also said: "I have to go back to the Taxation Department, and there are still many things to deal with."

The two of them took the lead, and the other consuls also reprimanded and left, and went to do what they thought was useful. After a while, Jin Zhang was the only one left in the conference room.
Chapter completed!