Twentieth Century Chronicle

Page 64

Then Lin Xinyi led his troops of more than 300 men westward along the road along the shore of Yamdrok Lake. The road here was much easier to travel than the mountain road yesterday. After resting for an hour in a village at noon, the twenty or thirty Indian soldiers in the village, despite not having any British officers, abandoned the fight after being persuaded by Harry Singh and decided to remain neutral, just like the previous village.

From these Indian officers and soldiers, Lin Xinyi further confirmed that Colonel Cooper was in Baidi Village, and at least yesterday he was there giving them orders. Baidi Village has now become a logistics base for entering the northern mountains to suppress the guerrillas. At least one or two companies are stationed in the area, and more than one company is stationed in Langkazi, about 10 miles southwest of Baidi Township.

Lin Xinyi immediately said to Cheng, Qian, and Liu Tong beside him, "It seems we've arrived just in time. If we'd been any later, the British troops who went into the mountains to encircle and suppress them might have returned, and it would have been dangerous for us to attack Baidi. Now, as long as we defend against the British troops attacking Langkazi, we can focus on taking down Baidi Township."

Cheng, Qian, and Liu Tong were all eager to try. Indeed, there was no better opportunity. With Lin Xinyi's maneuvering, they appeared behind the British army almost without delay. The British army was now completely unprepared. If they couldn't take it down now, they would be even less able to defeat the British army when they came out of the mountains.

After the villagers learned about the terrain around Baidi and the layout of the village in detail, Lin Xinyi decided to have Cheng and Qian lead the Banlian people and some Tibetan volunteers to set up an ambush between Baidi and Langkazi, while he himself would take Liu Tong to launch a surprise attack on Baidi Township. After careful consideration, he decided to set the attack time between 5:00 and 5:30 a.m. the next day.

Starting on October 3, Colonel Brown led three Gurkha companies from Baidi Village to search and pressurize the area from the northwest towards the Yarlung Tsangpo River. Colonel Burn led four Gurkha companies from northeast of Baidi upstream along the Yarlung Tsangpo River to search and pressurize the area. Their intention was to force the guerrillas out of the mountains into the Padang River Valley and then eliminate this guerrilla force that had caused great trouble for the British army's logistics in the valley.

To carry out this encirclement and suppression operation, the British army deployed the Gurkha companies, which were skilled in mountain warfare, and then had the Sikh companies guard the outer transportation lines. As long as the guerrillas could not hide in the mountains, the British army was confident that they could eliminate these guerrillas in a head-on battle.

After nearly a week of searching and pressure, Colonel Brown finally tracked down the guerrillas and gradually narrowed the search area, slowly pushing them towards the Padang Valley. Although his men were exhausted, Colonel Brown encouraged them, saying, "Those Chinese can't hide in the mountains anymore. Now, if we push harder and drive them down into the valley, we can wipe out these hiding rats all at once..."

On the widest river valley plain in the Padang River Valley, Chen Jingcun was discussing countermeasures with his subordinates in the Padang Manor. At this time, his men had expanded to nearly 400 after joining the Tibetan militia in Jiangnan. However, they lacked weapons and ammunition, and the British army adopted a net-like search and advance. The mountain villages were all under British control. Without these villages as a foothold, even the local Tibetans could not live in the mountains.

It can be said that, as a British army with rich experience in colonial warfare, the British immediately found the key to dealing with local guerrillas: isolating the guerrillas from Tibetan villages. This tactic was particularly effective in these sparsely populated, high-altitude mountainous areas, where some mountains were barren, making it impossible to find food or even fuel for a fire at night.

Faced with the British army's unhurried advance from both the east and west, Chen Jingcun lost his way to break the deadlock. His subordinates either advocated fighting the British to the death or retreating first. Retreating would mean crossing the Yarlung Tsangpo River, which would be tantamount to completely abandoning the guerrilla area north of the river. Chen Jingcun found it difficult to make this decision because he knew very well that once he lost the support of the Tibetans in the guerrilla area, it would be very difficult to recover and rebuild, because no one would support an army that would flee at the first sign of danger.

After much deliberation, Chen Jingcun decided that he should fight the British army before considering retreat. He consulted with Han and Tibetan officers and decided to fight the British in the volcanic area east of the Padang River Valley. If they lost, they would retreat; if they won, they could break the British encirclement. The reason for choosing the volcanic area was its complex terrain, with multiple volcanic lakes, making it difficult for the British to form a coordinated attack.

On October 11, Chen Jingcun led over 200 men into the volcanic area. The mountaintop was covered by glaciers that never melted, and below lay a series of volcanic lakes. The terrain here was incredibly varied, formed from cooled volcanic lava, providing numerous opportunities for concealment. A small contingent was also dispatched to the west to monitor the British forces there.

That afternoon, Chen Jingcun's sentries discovered that the British advance troops had entered the edge of the volcanic area, but the British suddenly withdrew early the next morning. Just as he was feeling puzzled and worried that the British were up to some kind of trickery, a messenger came from Padang Manor and brought him good news. The day before yesterday, Lin Xinyi led his troops to capture White Village, Colonel Cooper surrendered his weapons, and the British logistics base that was besieging them was captured. Lin Xinyi asked him to return to his position as soon as possible and cooperate in eliminating the various British troops in the mountains.

Chen Jingcun was overjoyed and said, "Cooperate? Immediately reply to Commander Lin and ask him to cooperate with us in eliminating the British troops east of the Padang Valley. As for the British troops west of the Padang Valley, just monitor their movements; there's basically no way out there..."

Chen Jingcun's judgment was correct. Colonel Browne learned around the same time that Baidi Village had been occupied by the Chinese army. He knew very well that returning from the original location was impossible, as the Chinese troops blocking the mountain pass would leave them to freeze to death in the mountains. After regrouping his troops, about two Gurkha companies—the rest of the Gurkha troops near Baidi Village had already surrendered to the Chinese—Colonel Browne decided to risk crossing the Karola Snow Mountain to return to Langkazi. This was clearly a disastrous choice, and the two British companies disappeared without a trace.

Chapter 221 The Persuasive Power of the Gun

Major Rams handed a letter to Colonel Byrne, his face full of humiliation as he said to his superior, “The Chinese are simply too arrogant and rude. They are demanding that we lay down our weapons as if they were reprimanding servants. But we still have at least four companies here, and we are not without the ability to fight.”

Colonel Byrne stood on the platform and looked towards the Chinese army's position. The area they were in was a tributary valley flowing into the Yarlung Tsangpo River. However, there was little flat land here, so the villages and fields were built on the gentle slopes along the valley, looking like the terraced fields in Southeast Asia, which looked very beautiful.

However, this beauty could not serve as a defensive fortification to stop the war. The Chinese occupied the high ground to the north, gaining a commanding position over the village of Deji. They had already lost their advantage in terms of terrain, and moreover, this was on Chinese soil; they could not wait for a second wave of reinforcements to come to their aid.

The colonel glanced at the Gurkha soldiers in the village, sighed, and asked the officers around him, "Are they also willing to die here with us, for our honor?"

The British officers around the colonel immediately shut their mouths. Not to mention that the Gurkha soldiers were already wavering, geographically and culturally speaking, the Gurkhas were actually closer to Tibet. However, the upper class of the Gurkhas were nobles from India, so the Gurkhas had always wanted to conquer Tibet and achieve theocratic unification of the country.

The Gurkhas could obey orders to invade Tibet, but in this situation, they wouldn't die for British honor, especially after the Tibetans had announced favorable terms for surrender. Therefore, even if an order to resist to the death were issued, whether these soldiers would actually carry it out was questionable. Furthermore, not only the Gurkhas, but most of the British soldiers present were unwilling to die like this; after all, the British Empire had no tradition of fighting to the death, unless the Chinese forbade their surrender.

The colonel then complained, "How was this battle fought? We were actually defeated by a bunch of barbarians! How many Chinese troops did the brigadier general encounter? His Maxim machine gun couldn't even stop the Chinese...?"

The British officers present were also puzzled. According to their understanding, the road from inland China to Tibet should have been even more difficult. How many troops had China mobilized this time to inflict such a defeat on them? However, no matter how confused they were, they still surrendered their weapons to the Chinese army at the last moment.

On the Ngauthau side, the captured journalists and some lower-ranking British officers were still hoping for a miracle. Although Chinese troops were coming from the north bank every day, looking at their disheveled uniforms and outdated weapons, they found it hard to imagine that these men could defeat them. However, their wait did not produce a miracle; instead, they saw Colonel Cooper being carried back on a stretcher by British prisoners.

The Times reporter looked at his new comrades in disbelief, grabbed the stretcher, and asked the colonel, "Colonel, what are you doing here?"

Colonel Cooper's injuries weren't too serious; he was only hit in the calf by shrapnel. However, he was deeply ashamed of his defeat, and when asked such a question by a reporter, he became even more reluctant to speak.

Edmund Candler, a reporter from the Daily Mail standing nearby, defused the colonel's embarrassment with another question: "Colonel, how are Colonel Byrne and Colonel Bland?"

Colonel Cooper then replied in a somber tone, "If you're lucky, you'll see them soon. That's all I have to say."

Just then, Colonel Fuller came over and interrupted the reporters' questions, saying, "The Brigadier General wants to talk to the Colonel. Please don't stop him anymore."

As the stretcher was about to leave, the Times reporter finally couldn't help but ask a new question, "Colonel, do you know who defeated you?"

Colonel Cooper was silent for a moment before replying, "A madman."

Edmund Candler calculated the time and said, "He's definitely a madman. Only seven days have passed from when he set out to when the colonel arrived here, which means he reached Prodigal Son at almost marching speed. Either he took a shortcut, or he persuaded the garrisons along the way to lay down their weapons. Whatever he did, it's the idea of ​​a madman..."

As the reporters were discussing the matter, a Chinese military officer approached them and announced, "According to orders from higher command, starting tomorrow, you will all be transferred to Lhasa in batches. I hope you will elect a person in charge to take over the transfer with me, in order to avoid any unpleasant incidents on the way..."

On October 11, Wu Luzhen arrived at Langzika. After Lin Xinyi captured Baidi Village, the British troops in Langzika suffered several setbacks and were surrounded by Tibetans who came from the surrounding area. In the end, except for a few cavalrymen who escaped to Gyantse, the rest had to surrender their weapons to the Chinese army.

Obtaining Langzika meant the road into the Nyangchu Valley was now open. The Tibetan troops previously scattered by the British army, along with nearby Tibetan nobles, immediately regrouped at Langzika. Seeing Wu Luzhen arrive with reinforcements at Langzika, Lin Xinyi simply convened an expanded meeting, bringing together the army and local Tibetan nobles to discuss the next steps.

There were 17 noble families in the Gyantse region, and about 11 of them came to Langzika. Among them, Tashi Dargye of the Pala family and Langtongwa of the Langtong family were quite prestigious because neither of them surrendered to the British army. The former's home was burned down by the British army, while the latter settled a large number of Gyantse refugees.

At the meeting, the local Tibetan forces, represented by these two Tibetan nobles, strongly advocated going to recapture Gyantse and completely annihilate the British troops, giving the British a severe lesson. Wu Luzhen was also quite interested in this proposal because Lin Xinyi had attacked too quickly. At present, the British troops in Gyantse numbered less than a thousand, with only a few thousand porters and auxiliary troops remaining. Meanwhile, their strength and weapons had greatly increased, and they had already trained nearly five battalions of regular troops, with each battalion consisting of 600 men, totaling 3000 men.

After listening to everyone's opinions, Lin Xinyi suddenly asked, "Do you really think that the war will end once we capture Gyantse and eliminate this British army?"

Tashi Dargye and Langtongwa, who had just been speaking passionately, fell silent. The Tibetan nobles of Gyantse were different from the monks and officials of Lhasa. Because Gyantse bordered Shannan, they had no shortage of channels of communication with India and naturally knew what kind of entity the British Empire was. If it weren't for the Han Chinese returning with their army, they would have urged Lhasa to negotiate peace with Britain as soon as possible in order to get the British to withdraw.

The idea of ​​annihilating the British forces in Gyantse was merely a fantasy they held, hoping that the British would abandon their campaign against Tibet after this defeat. However, Lin Xinyi's counter-question left them speechless, because they felt that the British might not be willing to give up.

Lin Xinyi continued, "The British have suffered two setbacks in Afghanistan, but they have not given up their ambitions for Afghanistan to this day. The current losses are not even a wound for India, which has a population of over 3 million. Look at the setbacks they suffered against the Boers. They would rather redeploy their troops and spend 2 million pounds to force the Boers to submit. Therefore, it is wishful thinking to expect to threaten Britain not to invade Tibet by eliminating the current British Expeditionary Force."

Seeing that the others remained silent, Langtonwa finally spoke up and asked, "So how do we get the British to give up? Will they give up if we don't eliminate the British troops in Gyantse?"

Lin Xinyi glanced at him and said, "To get the British to give up, I think at least three things need to be done. First, we need to rely on the support of the mainland. Without the support of the mainland, Tibet cannot fight against Britain. Second, we need to strengthen ourselves. Why were we able to defeat the British? Because we were fighting for our homeland. Therefore, we must first protect the Tibetan people's homeland before we can call on them to defend it. This is why we need to establish a military and political committee to promote reforms. Finally, we need to weaken Britain's rule over India, making it too busy to deal with its own problems..."

Lin Xinyi originally thought that the meeting would take a long time, after all, he had spent a lot of time persuading Shannan Jiqiao and had used a lot of tricks. However, he did not expect that after he put forward his views, the Tibetan nobles or monks present all bowed their heads and accepted them. He thought that these people had probably been educated by the British, so they felt that the Tibetan system had to be changed.

However, Wu Luzhen, who was sitting to the side, had a clearer perspective. When he spoke with Wu Luzhen alone afterward, he said dismissively, "They weren't taught a lesson by the British army, but by you. The British army, which they could not resist no matter what, was easily defeated by you. Do you think they wouldn't be afraid of you?"

Lin Xinyi then realized what was happening and subconsciously nodded, saying, "Indeed, political power grows out of the barrel of a gun. I almost thought they had been persuaded by me, but it turns out that the gun persuaded them."

Wu Luzhen couldn't help but agree, saying, "Political power grows out of the barrel of a gun—that's a brilliant saying. But let's talk about how you plan to weaken British rule in India. You only gave a vague answer at the meeting, and I still didn't understand."

Lin Xinyi casually grabbed a captured British map and said, “To weaken British rule in India, all we need to do is invade India. Since Britain took control of the Indian subcontinent at the end of the 18th century, no country has ever been able to conquer India, so the Indian people generally believe that Britain is unparalleled in power. We are now going to destroy the myth of Britain’s great power and show the Indians that the British can be defeated, even by Chinese people wielding stones. Once the Indians understand this, British rule in India will not be as secure as it is now.”

There are two routes to advance into India. One is to go down from Bhutan and Sikkim, attack Darjeeling, a key British military point, or directly penetrate the Assam plain. The other is to go south from Nepal and directly enter the Ganges plain. Currently, if we can defeat another wave of British reinforcements, capture Kalimpong and Darjeeling first, and then directly advance into Siliguri on the Indian plain, that would be the most likely way to incite a national upheaval in India…”

Chapter 222 The Death of the Major

Gyantse received news of Langka's attack on October 5th and managed to assemble two battalions to go to his aid. However, before they even reached the Karola Pass, they encountered the retreating British troops of Langka. John Claude White, the political commissar in Sikkim who was leading the team, stared at the Karola Pass for a long time before finally succumbing to fear and choosing to retreat.

White's decision did not provoke discontent among the British officers below him. Brigadier General MacDonald had been too angry about the death of Colonel Younghusband and had transferred all the courageous British troops from Gyantse to the front lines. This left the British troops in Gyantse with either wounded soldiers or old and unambitious men. They had no strong desire to conquer Tibet and only hoped to return to the Indian plains alive.

If even Brigadier General MacDonald and the main force of the troops were wiped out by the Chinese, wouldn't it be suicide for these few men to go there immediately? Moreover, the Gurkha and Sikkim battalion that was cobbled together was completely unfamiliar with the British who led them, and could even be said to hate the British, because they were forced to come and serve as transport laborers for the expeditionary force. Many of them had already deserted before crossing the Nathu La Pass. Did they expect them to risk their lives for the British army now?

White retreated to Gyantse and sent a messenger to Yatung, requesting that Kalimpong and Darjeeling send troops to aid them. Although the Tibetans were unable to attack Gyantse, the telegraph line between Gyantse and Yatung had been destroyed beyond repair. Therefore, Gyantse now had to send the letter to Yatung in order to send a telegram down the mountain.

In fact, White knew that the mobile forces in Kalimpong and Darjeeling had been almost entirely withdrawn, so by the time reinforcements arrived, Brigadier General McDonald's body would probably be ready for burial. However, he couldn't just abandon Gyantse and flee before the Chinese army attacked it. Therefore, this telegram requesting aid was less a plea for help and more a hope that Calcutta would order him to retreat or resolve the conflict diplomatically, that is, to acknowledge the failure of this Tibetan expedition.

After receiving orders from the Commander-in-Chief, Major Philip Whitley began moving his battalion to Darjeeling. British India developed from the British East India Company, whose expansion in India was based on the ports of Bengal, Bombay, and Madras, establishing military and trading posts inland, eventually forming three major districts. This basic administrative division remained unchanged when the East India Company relinquished its rule to British India.

Therefore, the Bangladeshi government, the Mumbai government, and the Madras government each had their own independent armed forces. The vast area from the Ganges Plain to the Indus Plain was actually under the administration of the Bangladeshi government. This was also the main reason why the capital of British India was located in Calcutta, since the expansion of British India was mainly the expansion of the Bengal region.

In fact, after Punjab was annexed by British India, British India had already considered weakening the power of the Bengal government. On the one hand, Calcutta was too far from Afghanistan; on the other hand, Bengal's national consciousness was constantly awakening, making this region a birthplace of Indian nationalism.

Of course, in order to strengthen its rule over India and to unify education, culture, and administrative systems across the Indian subcontinent, British India also objectively fostered a sense of Indian national identity.

For example, before Kitchener became Commander-in-Chief of the Indian Army, the Indian Army was mainly a colonial armed force used to suppress local rebellions. The soldiers had not even left their agricultural lives. They were composed entirely of volunteers. The army did not have a proper staff system. The officers were all from local British nobles and princely states. Their military training was organized by the local government, and their military skills were extremely poor.

After Kitchener took office as Commander-in-Chief, he began to reform the Indian Army, bringing it under complete control of the British Indian government and transforming it into a fully professional army. This solved the problem of mobilizing troops, which in the past was not recognized and was a frequent cause of mutinies, because soldiers could not take care of their families if they were away from their homeland.

Kitchener also planned to deepen reforms of the officer corps, separating all officers from their direct units and concentrating them in training and development programs. Once war broke out, they would be reassigned to the army. For British officers, this reform offered little financial loss. However, for indigenous officers, losing control over their soldiers based on land and race meant losing their own power. A Muslim might be led by a British officer, but not necessarily by a Hindu with whom they had no connection.

Just as Governor Curzon's proposed partition of Bengal sparked discontent among the Bengal people, Kitchener's reforms to the army also provoked discontent among the indigenous officers. However, out of fear of the British officers, the indigenous officers did not express their emotions as intensely as the Bengal people, since the British had always forcefully suppressed dissent within the army.

However, Kitchener had only been in office as Commander-in-Chief of the Indian Army since 1902, and the reforms he had initiated in the Indian Army were less than two years old. Therefore, it was impossible for the Indian Army to become professional at that time. As a result, when Major Philip Whitley urged his troops to go to war, the Indian officers and soldiers below him were naturally reluctant to cooperate.

It was only after the railway was built from Calcutta to Siliguri that these Indian soldiers were able to reach Siliguri, otherwise it would have been impossible to know how long they would have been delayed. However, from Siliguri to Darjeeling, the army could only use mules and horses because the toy trains were not powerful enough to transport officers and some important military supplies.

On October 5th, three weeks after receiving the order, Major Philip Whitley finally led the entire battalion to Darjeeling. Although he had already traveled back and forth between Darjeeling and Kalimpong several times, his biggest problem was the lack of transport capacity, as the Tibetan Expeditionary Force had already requisitioned all the local mules.

The best animal for traversing the Himalayas was actually the mule. Not only were they adept at navigating mountainous terrain, but they also possessed exceptional resistance to disease; horses and yaks were far less useful. The mules and yaks provided by Nepal and Bhutan to the Tibetan Expeditionary Force did indeed offer them tremendous support. However, for Major Philip Whitley, this was a disaster, meaning he could carry almost no heavy equipment, and even his baggage had to be significantly reduced.

However, the worst news came from Yadong's telegram. Just as he was leading his troops along the simple road through the Testa Valley toward the Zelila Pass, Kalimpong sent a messenger to tell him that Brigadier General McDonald's troops were under siege by a large number of Chinese troops and that he needed to go to Gyantse as soon as possible to lead the British army to rescue them. This was at 10 p.m. on October 15.

After multiple communications, from Gyantse to Yadong, from Yadong to Kalimpong, and from Kalimpong to Major Philip Whitley, Commissioner White's true intentions had been largely eliminated. Major Philip Whitley mistakenly believed that Gyantse needed a commander to lead its troops to rescue Brigadier General McDonald's forces.

Under this misunderstanding, the major decided to lead a company of cavalry to Gyantse first, and ordered his deputy to quickly follow with the remaining two battalions. Meanwhile, in Calcutta, Commissioner White's telegram caused a major upheaval. Both the Governor and the Commander-in-Chief were stunned by the bad news. The arrogant Sir Curzon had to inquire through the Foreign Office with the Minister to China about the exact number of Chinese troops sent into Tibet, while Commander-in-Chief Kitchener began to discuss with his subordinates the trouble Brigadier General MacDonald was in, whether he could hold out, and for how long. Both the military and the government had forgotten that they still had a force advancing towards Gyantse.

On the Chinese side, after Wu Luzhen took over command of Lin Xinyi's front-line troops, he began the isolated operation against Gyantse. He accepted Lin Xinyi's proposal that eliminating the British troops in Gyantse would not be very meaningful, but using the British troops in Gyantse as a bargaining chip to attract the British troops below the mountain to continue to reinforce could continue to weaken the British forces in the southern part of the mountain, thereby further shaking the British control over Nepal, Sikkim and Bhutan, and incidentally training the tactical capabilities of the new army.

Adhering to this operational concept, starting from October 15th, the Tibetan New Army began to cut off the routes from Gyantse to Shigatse and Yadong, and continuously eliminated British supply depots between Gyantse and Yadong. Wu Luzhen learned from Lin Xinyi's surprise attack on Baidi Village and did not advance in a straight line from Gyantse to Yadong, but instead chose to conduct a series of leapfrog operations.

The term "leapfrog warfare" means that instead of attacking the enemy in front, one should first seize enemy strongholds in the rear, and then force the enemy strongholds in front to surrender. This tactic not only accelerated the Tibetan New Army's recapture of territory but also greatly reduced its losses. Once it was confirmed that the rear had been occupied by the Chinese army, almost no British troops would choose to resist.

On the night of October 20, a company of the new army infiltrated Samada Village, the last British stronghold at the southern end of the Nyangchu River Valley. From here, the valley leads to Qumi Xingu, the site of the first massacre of Tibetan troops by the British. At the southern end of Qumi Xingu lies the vast Tuna Plain, which the British called the most desolate place in the world, with constant strong winds. Beyond the plain lies Pari, the gateway to Tibet.

When they reached Samada village, the Han and Tibetan soldiers in the company were very excited, because it meant they were not far from completely shutting out the British. So that night, the company launched a fierce attack, but unexpectedly, they encountered fierce resistance from the British army. Moreover, the number of horses and British troops in the village exceeded their expectations, and the company commander had to temporarily order a retreat and request reinforcements from the rear.

Major Philip Whitley had never anticipated such a fierce attack upon arriving on the plateau. After all, according to his intelligence, Brigadier General McDonald was in danger, not Gyantse. But now even Gyantse was in danger, and he himself was in peril.

At daybreak, the major attempted to break through the encirclement and return to Pali to regroup with his troops. However, he quickly realized that this idea was not feasible, not only because a large number of mules and horses had been lost in the attack the previous night, but also because the Chinese had occupied the terrain and blocked the passage to Qumi-Xingu. In other words, the Chinese were not afraid that he would run to Gyantse, but they were afraid that he would run back. This discovery made the major's heart sink.

The major launched several attacks on the Chinese army's positions, but they were all repelled by Han and Tibetan soldiers equipped with British rifles. After the company held out at the pass for a day and a half, Deng Yulin arrived with reinforcements. Major Philip Whitley had no choice but to retreat to the village. Deng Yulin demanded that the major surrender, but the major refused. Deng Yulin then led his troops to attack the village.

This battle was probably the fiercest fighting between British and New Army forces in the Tibet region, with a casualty ratio of 2 to 1. The British suffered approximately 100 dead and wounded. After a day and a night of fighting, the major was killed, and the remaining 36 British soldiers in the village surrendered their weapons. The New Army suffered 109 dead and over 90 wounded.

Chapter 223 Muddy Waters

The new headquarters building is in a great location, especially since Kawahara Yoichi's office overlooks Tokyo Bay in the distance. Only when sitting in this office can Kawahara Yoichi feel like he is the owner of this building. Therefore, even before the smell of paint from the new building has dissipated, he has already moved the headquarters here.

For him, working in this office every day was a real pleasure. However, in the past two weeks, his mood had become somewhat depressed. Someone, instead of enjoying a good life, insisted on creating trouble for himself, and this trouble was quite significant, making it very difficult for him to handle.

Just as Kawahara was pondering how to bring the person back, his office door suddenly opened, which annoyed him, and he snapped, "Who is it? Don't you even know the basic etiquette of knocking? Yamamoto... Minister, what brings you here?"

Just as Kawahara was surprised and got up to greet him, Yamamoto Gonnohyōe stormed up to his desk and slammed his fist on it, saying angrily, "Commander-in-Chief Kawahara, what exactly is the Naval General Staff planning? Why do I, the Minister of the Navy, know nothing about this? Do you even have any organization left?"

Kawahara was taken aback but quickly retorted, "I don't know what you're talking about. Minister Yamamoto, even if you want to cause trouble, you have to produce evidence first. Don't try to smear the Military General Staff. I won't fall for your tricks."

Yamamoto Gonbei looked at Kawahara Yoichi, who was stubbornly refusing to admit his mistake, and slammed a newspaper on the table, asking, "Who is this Lin Feng who killed Colonel Francis Younghasburn?"

Kawahara glanced down, then shrugged and said, "The newspaper clearly states that he is Chinese. How would I know? I don't know him."

"Ha, you still want to deny it? Then where is Lin Xinyi?" Yamamoto Gonbei stared at Kawahara and pressed him for an answer.

Kawahara said without changing his expression, "Lin Xinyi should be doing his internship at sea right now, right? If you're so concerned about him, I'll pass on the message to him when he returns to Japan."

Yamamoto Gonnohyōe took a telegram from his pocket and placed it on the table. He then said, slowly and deliberately, "This is a telegram from the consul in Hankou. The first batch of cadets from the Naval Landing School are currently training Chinese people in guerrilla tactics in Hankou. According to their understanding, several Japanese cadets have changed their names and entered Tibet. They have sent their names back to Japan to request the Navy Ministry to confirm them and have asked us to recall these Japanese cadets as soon as possible. Do you want me to give you their names?"

Seeing the telegram Yamamoto had placed on the table, Kawahara finally had no excuses left. As he silently pondered how to explain to Lin Xinyi, the door opened again, and a voice came in, "Chief, bad news, Brigadier General MacDonald has been captured... Oh, the minister is here too. You're busy, I'll go out first."

"Wait a minute." Minister Yamamoto walked over, pulled Togo back who was about to slip away, snatched the newspaper from his hand and started reading. After a while, his face was even more grim as he returned to Kawahara Yoichi's desk, put down the newspaper and asked, "Now, do you have anything to say? Chief of Staff Kawahara, your General Staff must take responsibility for this matter."

Kawahara Yoichi ignored Yamamoto's threat. After reading the newspaper, he finally breathed a sigh of relief and said to Yamamoto, "I don't know what you're talking about. Whether it's the Chinese or the British, everyone is saying that the Chinese officer Lin Feng captured Brigadier General MacDonald. If you insist that this Chinese man is the Japanese Hayashi Nobuyoshi, then please go and explain to the people, the Chinese, and the British. The Naval General Staff will not admit it."

Yamamoto Gonnohyōe initially thought that Kawahara Yoichi might have gone mad from excessive stimulation, but he quickly realized the situation. The fact that a Japanese man impersonating a Chinese man had killed a British colonel was a political uproar. Even the general public would not sympathize with Hayashi Shin-yi; they would only feel that he had damaged the close relationship between Japan and Britain.

However, if the Japanese, along with Chinese, captured a British army, that would be a legendary story. The public would only think the British were too weak, not that Lin Xinyi had broken any Anglo-Japanese alliance. If, at that time, someone were to apologize to the British on behalf of Lin Xinyi, then in the eyes of the people, that person would be a traitor who worshipped foreign things.

Seeing that Yamamoto Gonnohyōe had kept quiet, Kawahara was immediately relieved. This was good; before, he was the only one worried, but after today, Yamamoto Gonnohyōe would be sharing the fear. As long as Yamamoto didn't expose it today, he wouldn't be able to shirk responsibility later. Of course, if he did, Yamamoto's political career would be practically over, because no one likes a politician who betrays a naval hero.

The newspapers said that Lin Feng's troops killed Colonel Yang Hasben. At that time, he was certainly not a hero, but rather a rogue from the mainland. However, the news published in the newspapers today was enough to make Lin Feng a hero.

Leading hundreds of Chinese troops through countless hardships to enter Tibet and defeating the world's leading power—what story could be more legendary? Even a single trip to Siberia by the army is hailed as a national hero. Therefore, if Yamamoto were to leak this information, while the higher-ups might publicly reprimand Lin Xinyi and apologize to the British allies, the domestic public would simply perceive Yamamoto as meddling.

Yamamoto Gonnohyōe was now filled with regret. He inwardly berated himself for being too impulsive, rushing to question Kawahara as soon as he heard the news, and now he'd gotten himself into this mess. He knew Hayashi Shin'yō was capable of causing trouble, but he truly hadn't realized this guy was capable of this much. But come to think of it, the British were really too weak, weren't they? At this moment, his fear of the British unconsciously diminished considerably.

Yamamoto Gonbei took a few steps back, looked at Kawahara Yoichi, and suddenly asked calmly, "Perhaps you're right, Hayashi Shinji should still be interning, and I was mistaken. But are you sure he can make it back for the graduation ceremony?"

After a moment of silence, Kawahara said, "I think it might be more important for him to go to Mindanao for social research than to come back for the graduation ceremony."

After thinking for a moment, Yamamoto Gonnohyōe asked, "If something unexpected happens, can you be sure that the British won't know his identity?"

Kawahara sighed and said, "There are many diseases and accidents in the tropics. We can announce the news of Lin Xinyi's death in the line of duty first."

Yamamoto nodded, wanting to say something, but ultimately left without a word. After Yamamoto left, Kawahara casually picked up the telegram Yamamoto had left behind, unfolded it, and glanced at it, only to find that Lin Feng's name wasn't on it at all; clearly, the other party had tricked him. Surprised, he said to Togo, "It seems someone in the Military Command has leaked the relationship between Lin Xinyi and Lin Feng. Investigate privately and see who betrayed the Military Command..."

Cai E had been studying at the Berlin Military Academy for over a year, and had been working hard to learn German. He had to admit that compared to his German classmates, their foundation was far too weak. After all, most of the German students here came from military families and had been exposed to military knowledge since childhood. Even civilian students were discriminated against by these people, let alone trainees from underdeveloped countries like them.

However, Cai E cautioned his Chinese comrades not to cause any conflict with the Germans over this, because they were there to learn, not to gain German approval. The dignity of Chinese soldiers needed to be upheld on the battlefield, not through words. Because of Cai E's approach, the Chinese cadets at the Berlin Military Academy were all quite low-key and diligent.

On October 25th, however, German Chief of the General Staff Alfred von Schlieffen visited the school and, for the first time, inquired about the names of the Chinese students. Cai E, representing the Chinese students, gave a brief introduction to Schlieffen. Surprisingly, this usually stern and sharp-tongued Chief of the General Staff congratulated him, saying, "Congratulations on your country's glorious victory, an undeniable one. If Lin and Wu, who commanded the Chinese army in defeating the British Expeditionary Force, are willing to visit Germany, I would be happy to invite them..."

Cai E didn't react at first, because he was so engrossed in his studies that he rarely read newspapers. It was only after Schlieffen left that a German classmate told him what had happened, quoting a comment from a German newspaper: "This battle was as brilliant as Napoleon's crossing of the Alps and winning the Battle of Marengo in 1800."

This battle was indeed legendary because the British refused to believe that Lin Feng was merely a clerk without rank. They arbitrarily added the designation of major to Lin Feng, since a British brigadier general could not be captured by a private. In fact, while Lin Xinyi was in charge of affairs in Lhasa, he had always avoided mentioning his own name and that of the Marine Corps School cadets, but after he left Lhasa, things spiraled out of control.

Wu Luzhen refused to accept honors that were not rightfully his, and the newcomers to Tibet who took over Lhasa, unaware of the gravity of the situation, sent a telegram to the mainland as Wu Luzhen had instructed. As a clerk, Lin Feng's ambush of Colonel Younghusband with an army can only be described as a stroke of good luck and considerable courage. However, as Lin Feng's name appeared repeatedly in battle reports, and Brigadier General MacDonald was captured, the British could no longer ignore the issue of Lin Feng's rank.

Because this series of defeats had already damaged Britain's reputation, the Germans had previously hesitated on whether to assist Hubei and Hunan in building the Yangtze River Fortress. However, after hearing the news of Brigadier General MacDonald's capture, the Germans immediately replied to Hubei and Hunan, indicating that they could design the fortress and sell large-caliber fortress guns.

Previously, the Russians had been constantly probing Britain's position on the issues of Outer Mongolia and Manchuria. However, after news of the failure of the expeditionary force in Tibet spread, the Russians suddenly fell silent, which was clearly not a good sign.

The British Minister to China sent a telegram to London stating: "Either send a stronger force as soon as possible to save face for the British army, or admit defeat and recover the loss diplomatically. Any hesitation will only further damage Britain's reputation in the East."

Conservatives in London who supported the British India Forward Policy hesitated. Prime Minister Balfour, who had previously said he would take over the right to negotiate the Tibet issue with British India, now dared not take on this hot potato, because he did not want to take the blame for the British government.

Negotiating with the Chinese under such circumstances required someone with the courage of Li Hongzhang, who signed the Sino-French Treaty. Balfour was unsure whether China still had such a courageous figure. Li Hongzhang's death was indeed a great loss to all nations.

Chapter 224 British India

To foreigners, Sir Curzon was the Viceroy of India, but to Indians, he was the Viceroy of India, essentially the British monarch's successor in India. Therefore, his power in India was actually greater than foreigners imagined. However, this failed invasion of Tibet dealt a heavy blow to his prestige.

This defeat was not merely a literal loss, but also a political one. Apart from the landowning class and the new bourgeoisie who expressed support, most commoners and intellectuals in India opposed British rule.