The Silent Reforms of Eldridge Chapter 22

Many bombs and caltrops were built, but they were of no use. Caltrops were used to defend against cavalry. The British came by boat and did not ride horses. Moreover, most of the roads in Fujian were narrow rocky roads. To bury the caltrops, the stones had to be removed first---this must be true. Not a solution. The range of bombs is only one or two miles, and they cannot hit enemy warships. Moreover, some bombs explode, some do not, some never explode after being thrown, and some explode as soon as they are ignited. Proportion and timing are very important. Difficult to grasp. As for the flamethrower, it doesn't go far and is not a powerful weapon. Confucius said: "Don't talk about it when it's done." That's already the case, so I'll just let it go.

At various entrances to the sea, some are closer to the city and some are further away from the city. You only need to choose dangerous places to fortify, and there is no need to station troops everywhere, which will increase expenses in vain. When the British barbarians captured Xiamen, the civil and military officials panicked, thinking that their only lives would be lost here. There’s a lot of bluff about lining up, but it always feels like it misses the point. For example, Zhangpu Haikou is 90 miles away from the county seat, and 90 people are stationed in the township. I think it is really unnecessary. A mere ninety people defended, blocked, resisted, and fought to no avail. The British and barbarians relied on ships, and the most powerful thing was cannon. Only when a ship had cannons could it be powerful. After landing, the cannons became a burden. How could they abandon their ships and go ashore and walk ninety miles to attack the county town? Moreover, during the ninety-mile journey, they must pass through several large villages, where pirates live. If the British and foreigners enter the village, they will be seeking death. Therefore, I ordered all the Xiangyong in Haikou, which was far away from the county seat, to be abolished in order to save food and salary.

Longxi County reported a total of 1,200 rural heroes, but in fact there was none. I ordered the prefect of Zhangzhou to abolish it. After receiving the official document, Magistrate Zhao led the county magistrate to the Highway Department to beg me for a few days of grace. I said, "Why?" Magistrate Zhao said, "Not long ago, when Governor Yan Qian was passing through the border, Magistrate Jiang actually spent more than 10,000 taels of silver, which cannot be made up without borrowing the food and salary of the local warriors." I I couldn’t help but sigh: The national food and salary was wasted like this! Later, I resigned and returned to my hometown because of Ding You. I don’t know if Xiang Yong was dismissed.

One day, the garrison in Haicheng came to report that the Yingyi had built a high observation tower on the seaside, but it was demolished by the coastal villagers. The Yingyi fired several cannons one after another. They have several large boats, and they measure the depth of the water on the shore not far from the city when the tide is low in the morning and evening. Their motive is unknown. There was also news that the Yingyi would dispatch warships from Xiamen to attack Haicheng. The soldiers in the city were horrified after hearing the news.

The British general and I jointly warned the soldiers and civilians in the city: "This is the bluff of the barbarians. Do not believe it. We are blocked by natural stone beams. How can the British and barbarian ships fly over? Besides, our defenders are numerous and can resist them." If you mess up your position, bandits and thieves will definitely take the opportunity to cause trouble and cause a lot of harm."