Naval warfare requires a combination of factors in order to be fought, especially group operations. If one side is determined to escape, it will be difficult to destroy all enemy ships, and the fleeing side will sacrifice a few ships at most. Therefore, Li Guolou organized the battleships into three T-shaped teams, and used one team to tempt the Japanese fleet and fight to the death. So when did the Second and Third Fleets appear on the battlefield? is the key to victory or defeat.

Hearing that Li Guolou used the mighty cruiser as a bait and risked his life as the first echelon, Feng Zicai was a little moved.

"The Japanese army trained in the spirit of bushido, which is characterized by the fact that it would rather bend than bend, and even if it dies, it will pull a cushion. Therefore, our army should seize this characteristic of the Japanese army, lay a trap in the waters of the Diaoyu Islands, and let the cruiser Fuso take the initiative to seek a decisive battle against us. An hour later, the second echelon came to the battlefield, and the Japanese army would fight to the death and continue to entangle with our army, and when the third echelon came to the battlefield, the Japanese army could only let our army slaughter. Li Guolou pushed out one model warship after another, with a momentum like a rainbow, and looked at the generals with a cruel smile, either he would not send troops, or as soon as he sent troops, it would be a decisive battle, and he wanted to destroy the main battleships of the Japanese army in one fell swoop. Fuso.

Li Guolou spoke elegantly, and taught a tactical lesson to the top, T-shaped tactics are offensive tactics, there is no return, and there are no flaws in the layout of warships on the tactical board, and at most both sides will lose.

The officers around the table looked at Li Guolou with blazing eyes, although they did not say anything, they were all mentally prepared to sacrifice their lives for the country. Everyone in a room knew that Li Guolou was a ruthless person who dared to take risks with his life. Li Guolou has a wealth of naval knowledge and has a lot of insights into Western naval warfare, and seems to be a qualified commander.

Feng Zicai looked up to Li Guolou in his heart, stroked a long beard, squinted his eyes and said: "Commander-in-Chief Li, you are on the battlefield like this, we already know your bravery, but you are the commander-in-chief, if there is a mistake, it will be too big a blow to morale." Sometimes a commander is brave and brave, but it is a disservice to an army, and the first echelon is not suitable for you to command. Only by placing it in the second echelon can we give full play to the strengths of our army. ”

Li Guolou pondered for a moment, nodded and said: "Feng Guandai is reasonable, he should focus on the overall situation, and I will command the second echelon." The command of the first echelon will be handed over to you. ”

Feng Zicai replied without hesitation: "Please rest assured Commander-in-Chief Li, I will definitely bite the flagship of the Japanese army and never let the enemy escape." ”

The decisive battle at sea, nine deaths and one life, all the generals stood proudly, with an expression of a strong man who would never return, and made a generous statement, showing their determination to Li Guolou.

The Weiwu led the first echelon to the Diaoyu Islands, Li Guolou moved to the cruiser Weili, and the moment of the decisive battle was getting closer and closer.

The stars are dotted, the Milky Way is sprinkled in the sky, Li Guolou looks at the Big Dipper, the martial arts stars are shining, what he does is beyond ordinary people's imagination. The decisive battle with the Japanese army is the biggest test for him, although he has the confidence to win, but the blood and yellow sand, how many loyal bones will be buried here.

Li Guolou was thinking about those Shandong big men, the Lance Society, the Boxers, and the bandits, these unstable elements in Shandong, who were recruited by the Xinwu Army, and in the face of the country's righteousness, these people would die with righteousness. The civil war is its own master, and he will be merciful and co-opt these scum. However, the Japanese army's invasion of Taiwan was an invasion of the Chinese nation, and as long as he commanded the operation, the Japanese army would be slaughtered and not taken prisoner.

Li Guolou looked at Zheng Hengdan beside him, he had just been promoted to the chief military officer of Shuangzhen, and Zheng Hengdan hinted that he would revive the Han family and prepare more for a rainy day. How many people are there in two towns? At most, 20,000 horses, with 20,000 horses and 800,000 soldiers and horses of the Qing Dynasty, is he an ironclad warrior? Li Guolou is a Han Chinese, and he has never regarded himself as a Manchurian, and joining the Eight Banners of the Han Dynasty is just an expedient measure, in order to climb the dragon and attach the phoenix. But the Li family, who received the emperor's favor and let him rebel, still couldn't be ruthless. There are too many fetters in his heart, the Queen Mother of the Two Palaces, the Emperor, Prince Gong, and Li Hongzhang, these five people are kind to him, as long as these five people do not die, he will not rebel. Li Guolou laughed at Zheng Hengdan's reactionary remarks, there are too many unstable factors in the Xinwu Army, and even the adopted sons want to be the founding heroes, and only he can suppress these thorns.

Li Guolou's ideal is to become a prince all the way, open up territory for the Qing Dynasty, the future is full of variables, everything depends on the will of heaven. Li Guolou put aside his distracting thoughts, looked up at the sky, and said, "Xiao Biandan, is that Wuqu star really me?" ”

Zheng Heng smiled and said: "Li Zhentai, if you don't be a martial artist, the little stone will be snatched up." ”

Li Guolou looked at him and said: "Xiaoshi doesn't learn and has no skills, and he likes to speak wildly, he doesn't have much interest, staying in Beijing will hurt him, and he will be a general guarding the frontier at most in the future." ”

Zheng Hengdan heard Li Guolou's evaluation of his subordinates for the first time, and took advantage of Li Guolou's good mood and asked, "Then what about Su Yuanchun and Li Yunzhuo, whom you value the most?" ”

"Su Yuanchun is a loyal minister, honest and kind, good at using soldiers, and he will be the governor in the future, no matter how high I am, it's hard for me to say. Li Guolou paused for a moment, looked at Zheng Hengdan under the starlight, pouted and said: "You don't bewitch him, you two are unstable factors in the Xinwu Army, be careful that I clean up the portal." ”

"Wronged, my lord, what I said was copied from your speech, how can it become a reactionary remark in my mouth? Didn't you cross the river and tear down the bridge? Zheng Hengdan was very unconvinced, he did the ideological work of the soldiers, and in accordance with Li Guolou's proposition, he instilled the idea of great power chauvinism in the new military army, how dare he tamper with Li Guolou's thoughts.

Li Guolou said: "What I say is sometimes improvised, you don't want to grab chicken feathers as arrows." Do you think I don't know the dark thoughts in your heart? Xiao Biandan, still an honest man, Fu Xiang's protégés are all over the world, and we are all weapons in the hands of Fu Xiang. ”

Zheng Hengdan lowered his head and muttered: "The vertical son can't make a big deal." ”

Li Guolou turned his head around, but he didn't hear that there were reactionary elements around the Han important ministers, but the Han important ministers were bought by the Qing Dynasty's fetter policy, just like him, he thought about opposing the Qing Dynasty and restoring the Han Dynasty, but the idea of loyalty and righteousness made him unwilling to embark on the road of rebellion. On the contrary, like Zuo Zongtang and Li Hongzhang, he embarked on the road of suppressing the peasant uprising.

Li Guolou's heart was full of contradictions, and he thought that the Qing Dynasty could not be chaotic. The supervision system of the Qing Dynasty gave local separatism a fertile ground for growth. The Qing Dynasty was already on the verge of local secession, and if the Qing Dynasty became an armed warlord, foreign powers would inevitably take advantage of the situation to invade the territory of the Qing Dynasty, just as Tsarist Russia invaded the six cities of Ili. The consequence of the Hui uprising in the northwest was that foreign powers invaded Xinjiang, and the Andijanites also established an independent kingdom in Xinjiang, and the Qing lost one-seventh of its territory, which was the evil result of the civil war fought by the Qing Dynasty.

Li Guolou does not want to see the country shattered, and sees the country being divided by foreign powers, so Li Guolou must take the revival of the Qing Dynasty as his own responsibility, first of all, he must drive the invaders out of the country, and the Taiwan naval war is imperative, he wants to fight the military prestige of the Qing Dynasty and strengthen the national prestige of the Qing Dynasty.

Zheng Hengdan has become the No. 2 person in the New Armed Army, and the military planning for the Taiwan naval battle was carried out in accordance with Li Guolou's ideas, and the specific planning of the campaign was completed by the General Staff Department under his leadership. Learn to fight in battle, and be as skilled in commanding and fighting as you are at eating. Zheng Hengdan was no longer the young man who was a scholar, and his ambitions were expanding day by day, but Li Guolou was like a mountain pressing on top of his head. Zheng Hengdan's idea is actually similar to Li Guolou's, that is, "as long as Li Guolou is in the Xinwu Army, he will not set up another mountain, Li Guolou was killed by the Qing Emperor, and immediately pulled the flag and rebelled." ”

Sometimes, Zheng Hengdan hoped that the Tongzhi Emperor would kill Li Guolou so that he could do something earth-shattering and open up the world to welcome the rise of the Han people. The ambition in his heart was buried by Li Guolou, and it was meaningless to be loyal to the Qing Dynasty. As far as Zheng Hengdan is concerned, he is only effectively loyal to Li Guolou alone, and he can't persuade Li Guolou to rebel now, and he will have a chance in the future. Zheng Hengdan is not in a hurry, when Li Guolou becomes a general, there are 100,000 male soldiers in his hands, why worry about the world!

Zheng Hengdan stood beside Li Guolou, guessing Li Guolou's intentions, the strength of the chief military officer of the second town was still too small, lying dormant at the feet of the Manchu Dynasty, temporarily serving the Qing Emperor, and making great achievements in the future.

Li Guolou employs people, first of all, to see whether the person is loyal, and this loyalty is for him. As for whether he is a loyal minister of the Qing Dynasty? With an attitude of nonchalance. Feng Zicai, the pipe band of the Weiwu, is not a member of the Heaven and Earth Society who opposed the Qing Dynasty and restored the Ming Dynasty, but now he has become a pillar of the Qing Dynasty. As for the question of ability, it is not for the country to take soldiers, and if you train it, you can become a general who can fight habitually. He is young and vigorous, and he has become a myth of the officialdom of the Qing Dynasty, and even Zhang Haogu, who has been promoted to the third level, cannot be compared with him. Li Guolou believes that through the naval battle of Taiwan, he can train a large number of commanders for the Qing Dynasty, and in the next 20 years, he will lead the Qing army.

"Li Zhentai, why do you say the Japanese army wants to invade Taiwan? What are the benefits of the Japanese army doing this? Zheng Hengdan did not ask about his status in Li Guolou's mind, but wanted to know what Li Guolou really thought of the Japanese army.

"The resurgence of Japanese militarism, the military headquarters is controlled by the main battle faction, and attacking the island of Taiwan can gather the hearts and minds of the people, and can buy the hearts and minds of the Ryukyu islanders, and after some time, the Ryukyus will be dependent on Japan and become a province of Japan. As for Taiwan's defense, it is China's soft underbelly, which Japan has seen through. The Japanese learned from the colonial policy of the West, and they are still quibbling, fighting for territory with the indigenous people of Taiwan, and refusing to recognize the sovereignty of the Qing Dynasty over Taiwan. In the final analysis, our country's national strength is not enough to deter Japan, so we must first build our motherland, not sabotage. Li Guolou told the story that Japan had no worries and could do its best to fight a decisive battle with the Qing Dynasty. On the contrary, the Qing people fought in the nest, and the civil war continued, how could the Qing and Japanese wars escalate, and it was best to drive the Japanese army out of Taiwan in the first war.

"Liu Liumazi is not easy to mess with, he is very good at training, our new military army is the foundation he laid, I believe that in this Taiwan campaign, we can achieve a big victory." Zheng Hengdan looked to the eastern sky, awe-inspiring and not afraid of the cold wind.

Li Guolou no longer cares about Zheng Hengdan, thinking about putting shackles on Zheng Hengdan in the future and not giving Zheng Hengdan the opportunity to be independent. He didn't comment on Zheng Hengdan, but this remnant of the White Lotus Sect always wanted to rebel, and he was open-mouthed, and he shared the same ideals with some of the new military officers who stayed in Jinji Fort. For this group of generals who worked for him, he still had to be on guard.

A troop transport ship can carry more than 200 people, divided into upper and lower cabins, and this ship is full of Shandong people, they are all soldiers of the New Armed Army, and the officers also sleep in it. In the cabin of the troop carrier, there was a peculiar smell, under each bed, several basins were placed, vomit was vomited in the basin, and the recruits suffered from bumps, so even if they were diligent in cleaning, there was still a smell of vomit in the cabin. More than 100 people slept in a cabin, bunk beds, and their bodies had to be tied with canvas to avoid falling off the iron bed.

The bumpy boats swayed from side to side, and when it was convenient to go out, people had to walk diagonally, and more than 100 Shandong men slept in such a narrow environment, wiped their guns, and played cards.

Gambling is not allowed in the army, so the soldiers who play cards will put a note on their forehead, and whoever loses more will have more notes on their forehead.

Zhang Xiaotian, Zhang Tiepao, and Yang Jingwei sat on a bed, their faces covered with notes, shirtless, making fun of each other, and playing cards unrelentingly. For them, going to sea by boat is the first time, and after the freshness, it is a long bump, how far Taiwan is, it is not clear, and the task now is to eat, sleep, and play cards. If you want to smoke, you need to get out of the cabin, and after a round of cards, several people squeezed out of the cabin, with cigarettes in their mouths, on the side of the ship, swallowing clouds.

The soldiers of the Xinwu Army on this ship are composed of bandits from Weishan Lake, prisoners of the Lincheng garrison, and members of the Lance Society, and boxers. Zhang Xiaotian was awarded the rank of captain because of his exploits in the battle of Weishan Lake, and was actually awarded the position of lieutenant, that is, the alternate captain, so the brothers' cigarettes were sent by him first. He is the backbone of these Shandong people and enjoys high prestige.

Zhang Tiepao and Yang Jingwei were awarded the rank of lieutenants, and each led thirty soldiers, all of whom were bandits from Weishan Lake, and now they have become a member of the glorious Xinwu Army, led by Captain Arirang of the Eighth Battalion and Four Sentinels.

Zhang Tiepao killed the bandit leader Zhou Tianlun, and expressed his will to Li Guolou with practical actions, and he deserved to be awarded the title of lieutenant, and no one in the army raised any objections.

But the "Black Tiger" Yang Jingwei was awarded the post of lieutenant, which was unexpected. At the beginning, he was still chasing Li Guolou's boat and wanted to kill Li Guolou. After Yang Jingwei was captured alive, Li Guolou did not kill him, but also said that he had the talent of a general, and asked him to lead the Shandong heroes to break into Taiwan and open up a fertile land for the islanders of Weishan Lake. Li Guolou spared the thieves of Weishan Lake, but did not let these people return to Weishan Lake to settle down, and wanted to move all the islanders of Weishan Lake to Taiwan Island.

In the future, this unit will take root in Taiwan and find a happy land for its fathers and fellow villagers. So in their minds, Taiwan has become a second home, full of the desire to fight.

Zhang Xiaotian looked at the blue sea and blue sky, spat out a smoke ring, and said: "I don't want to retire, Liu Mingchuan likes to use the rivers and lakes very much, and I will take refuge in Chief Liu in the future, and I will be the magistrate of a certain province in Taiwan in the future." ”

Zhang Tiepao shook his head and said: "I don't believe that the head of a county has to manage 100,000 people, let alone 100,000 people, are there so many people in our Shandong immigrants?" You were deceived by Li Guolou. ”

Zhang Xiaotian laughed and said: "Fool, what I'm talking about is that after retirement, twenty years later, Taiwan will be the world of Shandong people, and I will manage 100,000 people, which is still less." ”

Yang Jingwei scoffed, threw the cigarette butt into the sea, and said in a low voice: "You guys, two fools, you don't have a sense of direction at all, we have already passed the island of Taiwan, where will there be a war?" Are we being used as a transport team, to carry supplies for the sailors, or to save some effort, don't talk big. ”

"Really, we've already crossed the island of Taiwan?" When others heard Yang Jingwei's words, they couldn't help but look up at the sky, the blue sky and blue sea, the sun was shining, where could they see where they were?

"Believe it or not, the sailor is going to fight, we only have to watch, in fact, I am very good at water warfare, but unfortunately Li Guolou doesn't use me." Yang Jingwei sighed with an unfathomable expression. The defeat in the water battle of Weishan Lake was not his fault, the fault was that Li Guolou had eighteen mosquito boats, and if he had eighteen mosquito boats, Li Guolou's head would have been used by him as a night pot.

Yang Jingwei was arrogant, and looked at the mosquito boat sailing in the sea with jealousy, he didn't want to stay in the Xinwu Army, and it was his dream to change his door and serve the Nanyang Sailors.

The Shandong Dahan on the deck looked at the surrounding warships with a serious expression, the Da Qing Shui Division was looking for the Japanese army to fight a decisive battle, and they could only act as spectators to bless the troop transport ship safely.