Chapter 56 The Wind Rises in the Yellow Sea

Zuo Guigui asked in shock: "Zhang Yi, is this true?" ”

Zhang Yi replied in a deep voice: "Lord Zuo, some time ago, the blue wolf brigade under my command successfully infiltrated, the Japanese army headquarters, stole some confidential documents of the Japanese army, and now the Japanese domestic strength has reached 160,000, and at the same time, the emperor issued a national ****** to urgently recruit soldiers, and the Japanese army has been expanded to seven regular divisions, and the regular army has reached 130,000, plus the reserve army, it has reached nearly 200,000. The Japanese military department demanded that the navy maintain its maximum transportation capacity, continuously increase troops to Korea, and at the same time wait for an opportunity to sneak attack the Beiyang Fleet, in an attempt to completely annihilate the Qing Navy, establish maritime supremacy in one fell swoop, advance by land and water, and invade the Qing Dynasty! ”

Except for Nie Shicheng, everyone changed color in shock.

Zuo Guigui's face was solemn, and he said: "Since this is the case, then we must urge the imperial court to continue to send a large army to support, just now, the Japanese army has reached 30,000, and in two months, it will be close to 50,000, if the follow-up reinforcements of our army are delayed, then we don't want to say victory, we can retreat with our whole body, even if we are lucky." ”

Ma Yukun replied: "Yes, now the enemy is strong and I am weak, although our army has just won a big victory, but the overall situation has not changed, once the enemy army comes to attack, our pressure is too great." ”

Nie Shicheng replied: "Please be a little relieved, some time ago, I have already telegraphed Lord Zhongtang, asking him to be careful, hurry up the rectification of the navy, and actively prepare for war. According to the information obtained by Zhang Yi, in the past two days, the Japanese army and our Beiyang Naval Division have already begun to exchange fire, and I am afraid that the military report will reach us in a short time. I order, Zhang Yi, as the chief instructor of the whole army, is responsible for the training and supervision of all armies, and if there is any disobedience in each department, military law will be engaged! Ladies and gentlemen, the battle situation is tense now, please forgive me Shicheng! ”

Zuo Guigui replied: "Brother Gongting, according to your words, the whole army has Zhang Yi in charge of training and supervision, and the strength of our army can be improved, so as to increase the chance of victory!" ”

Nie Shicheng nodded and said: "Zhang Yi, I order you to select elite soldiers from all the armies, expand the Blue Wolf Brigade until the first battalion is full, in order to ensure the effectiveness of the training, you are allowed to dispose of it with full authority, with four hundred soldiers." In addition, Xu Huaijin has done a lot of talent, and he is a little talented in the blue wolf brigade. Now, Li Gang is seriously injured and unable to command, and I have ordered Xu Huaijin to act as the deputy lieutenant battalion with full powers, and at the same time serve as a senator in the army. Your second squad is going to choose another detachment leader. ”

Zhang Yi smiled bitterly and nodded yes. Xu Huaijin was his right-hand man, and he was transferred by Nie Shicheng, and he was really a little uncomfortable.

While everyone was discussing the battle situation, a sunny day was also ushered in over the Yellow Sea.

Ding Ruchang led the main force of the Beiyang Naval Division to leave Liugong Island and transport more than 4,000 people from the inscription battalion to the Korean Peninsula. Although Ding Ruchang had already received Li Hongzhang's warning and made careful arrangements for the fleet's combat readiness, he was still a little relieved in his heart, after all, since the formation of the Beiyang Naval Division, it had not experienced a major battle, and in the past two years, due to insufficient funds, slack training, and a significant decline in combat effectiveness, Ding Ruchang could only hope that the officers and men would unite in front of the station, or that the combat strength of the newly formed Japanese Navy would also be two swords.

The Beiyang Naval Division marched in two columns and gradually sailed into the waters of Dadonggou, which was gradually approaching the Korean Peninsula, and there was still no trace of the Japanese army found in the sea area, Ding Ruchang breathed a long sigh, as long as the troop transport ships successfully transported the reinforcements to the Sino-Korean border, then the task of the Beiyang Naval Division would be completed.

The warship gradually docked, several battalions of Qing troops went ashore one after another, and Ding Ruchang completed the handover and led the Beiyang Naval Division to begin to return.

The fleet left the Bohai Bay and gradually moved towards the waters of the Yellow Sea.

At this time, a strong wind began to blow on the sea, Ding Ruchang stood on the deck of the flagship, his heart was surging, this time he went to sea, first, these days, the pressure on him from the imperial court is getting bigger and bigger, and the Qingliu people are fighting with one force, and they denounce the Beiyang Naval Division for doing nothing, and they are not as good as Nie Shicheng of North Korea. Second, Li Hongzhang also sent a telegram repeatedly, asking him to strictly reorganize the armament, be ready for battle, and be ready to fight the Japanese army, especially the former's letter of information about the Japanese army's plan to attack the Beiyang Naval Division, which made Ding Ruchang feel that he must not sit idly by, and he needs to take action to block the leisurely mouth of the Qingliu people in the imperial court.

Ding Ruchang sighed lightly, but he led the fleet to cruise, and he came out, if the Japanese army really came to sneak attack, would he be sure of victory? None of these clear streams are good things, and they don't allocate naval funds in peacetime, and when it's time to fight, they think that let's meet again, without strict training, sophisticated equipment and ammunition reserves in peacetime, even if they start a war, can they guarantee victory and defend the territory? These people can only talk on paper, but they don't understand bullshit! ……

At this time, a personal soldier behind him walked up and said, "Lord Admiral, the wind is already rising, you can go to the command room to rest for a while, or add some clothes." ”

Ding Ruchang shook his head and said: "The Japanese army may appear at any time, and today's battle is estimated to be inevitable, where does the old man still have the heart to rest." Wear the order to go, order the ships to move at a constant speed, not too fast, maintain a good formation, and be ready to engage at any time. ”

The pro-soldier agreed, went up to the deck, and began to issue flag orders.

As they were marching, the Qing army on duty on the mast shouted: "Lord Admiral, Lord Admiral, the Japanese ship has been spotted ahead, and it is rapidly approaching the Fertile Water Division!" ”

Ding Ruchang was in good spirits, holding a telescope, and climbed the mast to look at the defense line that was at least the fingers of the Qing army. I saw that at the junction of water and sky in the distance, several warships faintly appeared, and they were rapidly approaching.

Ding Ruchang shouted: "Raise the flag, order all ships to deploy in front of the station and prepare for battle!" ”

The flag officer waved the command flag in his hand, transmitted the message to the ships in the rear, and deployed combat orders.

At this time, the Japanese Navy was riding the waves, and Ito Yuheni sat on the flagship Matsushima ship, full of confidence and watching everything. Judging from the information he obtained, in recent years, the Beiyang Naval Division has neglected training, and although the naval guns are well-equipped, the quality of the soldiers is low, and the supply of ammunition is insufficient, and it is far from being the opponent of the Japanese Navy. This time, he got the exact news, saying that the Beiyang Naval Division had arrived at the Sino-North Korean border with reinforcements, and had just lifted anchor and returned home, and Ito felt that the time had come, and the opportunity could not be missed again, so he led the main force of the Japanese Navy to pour out of the nest and plunge directly into the waters of Dadonggou, and made up his mind to annihilate the once invincible Beiyang Navy in one fell swoop.

The wind is up, above the Yellow Sea, the wind is up, and in the gusts of sea breeze, there is a thick bloody atmosphere, and the bloody battle is coming!