Time flies, and at the beginning of November, Xu Huaijin had already returned to Tianjin to meet Li Hongzhang under the military orders of Nie Shicheng and Zhang Yi.

Li Hongzhang praised the young man in front of him, Xu Huaijin is deep in wisdom, and he talks well, has far-reaching knowledge, and is young, he has a calm atmosphere that far surpasses his peers, and is deeply loved by Li Hongzhang.

Li Hongzhang once asked Xu Huaijin, what are the chances of winning the battle of Weihaiwei in Japan?

Xu Huaijin replied: "Lord Zhongtang, in the next battle in Japan, his subordinates are fully sure that they will repel the attack of the Japanese Navy, but the possibility of annihilating the main force of the Japanese fleet is very small. ”

Li Hongzhang asked: "Then what is the key to this battle?" ”

Xu Huaijin pondered for a moment and replied: "Lord Zhongtang, this battle is to repel the Japanese navy and hold Weihaiwei, and the second is to hold the defense line of the Shandong Peninsula and repel the landing operation of the Japanese army. ”

Li Hongzhang was surprised: "Landing operation, didn't the Japanese army land in Weihaiwei?" ”

Xu Huaijin smiled and said: "Lord Zhongtang, when his subordinates returned to China, he and the instructor were Zhang Yijunmen, and they conducted a long-term exercise on the map, thinking that the possibility of the Japanese army landing directly in Weihaiwei is very small. First, our army and its navy fought a big battle, and the flames of war were pervasive, which was not conducive to their direct landing, and second, the Beiyang Naval Division was close to the left, and once the war began, our army concentrated its firepower and sank its troop carriers, then Japan's losses would be immeasurable. Therefore, we believe that this time, the first wave of the Japanese army's attack on Weihaiwei was a feint, and the real purpose was to cover the landing of the Japanese army. Their landing site was definitely not in Weihaiwei Harbor, but near Weihaiwei. The most likely place to be—"

Xu Huaijin pointed his finger to the south side of Weihaiwei - Rongcheng Bay.

Li Hongzhang frowned and asked, "Huai Jin, are you sure?" ”

Xu Huaijin bowed down and said: "Lord Zhongtang, my subordinates have discussed with the instructor for a long time, and there is at least a seventy percent chance that the Japanese army will land here." Once the Japanese army lands again, the Japanese Navy will launch a general attack on Weihaiwei, and the sea and land will be flanked, so that Weihaiwei is in danger! ”

Li Hongzhang's face was gloomy, he didn't expect that he hadn't counted those old guys in Japan, such an old treacherous and cunning, if it weren't for Xu Huaijin and Zhang Yi, I was afraid that he would really be kept in the dark.

Li Hongzhang asked in a deep voice: "Huai Jin, then according to your plan, how should we deal with it?" ”

Xu Huaijin replied: "Lord Zhongtang, first of all, we will mobilize the main force of the Beiyang Fleet to the vicinity of Rongcheng Bay, since the main force of the Japanese Navy is feinting to attack Weihaiwei, then there will not be many warships escorting the Japanese troop carriers, so we will attack the Japanese troop carriers, sink them as much as possible, and cut off the claws of the Japanese landing in Shandong; Second, mobilize heavy troops, deploy defenses in the area of Rongcheng Bay, and once Japan lands again, immediately enter the army to encircle and suppress, and take advantage of its unstable foothold to annihilate it near Rongcheng Bay! ”

Li Hongzhang's face was heavy, and he shouted: "Order; Li Bingheng, the governor of Shandong, quickly gathered troops, mobilized 20,000 heavy troops, and deployed in the area of Rongcheng Bay, preparing to attack the Japanese army that had landed! Ordered Yuan Shikai to shrink his forces, gather his 20 battalions, and station on the north side of Weihaiwei to assist in the defense of Weihaiwei, and act immediately when he saw the order. ”

Xu Huaijin replied: "Lord Zhongtang, without further ado, your subordinates should immediately rush to Weihaiwei to take over the defense of Weihaiwei, and your subordinates also suggest that you should move to Weihaiwei and command the Weihaiwei battle nearby." After all, the soldiers of the Qing Dynasty have not fought for many years, and this war is very important, and once someone responds to the battle and escapes, it may destroy all our arrangements. ”

Li Hongzhang nodded and said, "Okay, according to your words, this governor will go south to Weihaiwei in a few days." Weihaiwei defense, the old man will hand over all to you, Weihaiwei more than 60 large and small forts, all taken over by you, I am mobilizing ten battalions of elite soldiers for you to assist you in defense. In addition, you have just arrived in Weihaiwei, you are not familiar with the geography, and at the same time I am afraid that someone will not listen to your constraints, I will put Youqiao by your side first, to help you guard, he is enough to deter a small night, in addition, I have informed the Governor of Yuting, he will provide you with more than a dozen people who are familiar with the terrain and hydrology of Weihaiwei for you to deploy. ”

Xu Huaijin bowed down and said: "Huaijin thank you for your cultivation, your subordinates will live up to your trust!" ”

Li Hongzhang nodded with satisfaction, this Xu Huaijin is too satisfying to him, over the years, except for Zhang Yi, he has not met such a good seedling for a long time, and he will definitely become the pillar of the Beiyang family in the future, it is really in vain Zhang Yi praised him so much.

A few days ago, Li Hongzhang received a telegram from Zhang Yi, in which he praised Xu Huaijin and regarded him as the number one capable person among the Korean generals, who had a great future and was a rare general, and asked Li Hongzhang to appoint him to garrison the fort in Yantai and command the army and the Japanese navy.

Under Li Hongzhang's deep talk, he immediately appointed Xu Huaijin as the general of the Yantai Fort, and led the local Qing army to garrison the Weihaiwei Fort.

Li Hongzhang sent Xu Huaijin away, his eyes were stunned, there are talented people in the country, he is really old, if it were not for these young people, he might not be able to sink this Sino-Japanese battle, together with the last Qing-Japanese dispute in Korea, it was Yuan Shikai's own strength to calm down the chaos, and the energy of young people should not be underestimated.

Look at yourself, but also prepare as soon as possible, as soon as possible to Weihaiwei to command the battle, although Tianjin Wei sits in the center, but the battlefield is changing rapidly, they are far away, thousands of miles away, just afraid that it is difficult to fully control the live, fortunately Weihaiwei also has its own telegraph line, it is convenient to go back and forth.

Just when Li Hongzhang was full of worries, Sheng Xuanhuai hurriedly walked in from outside. said: "My lord, the capital telegram." Galeries Lafayette and the Emperor have summoned you to Beijing to negotiate the arrival of the German Legation in Beijing to celebrate your birthday. ”

Li Hongzhang was shocked in his heart, and was slightly dissatisfied in his heart, at such a critical moment, the war is imminent, what kind of mess did Lafayette and the emperor fill in, and there are not enough troubles for themselves, it is just a small legation to visit the Qing Dynasty to celebrate his birthday, and it is also worth calling himself to Beijing for a meeting? What to do with the upcoming war?

Sheng Xuanhuai smiled and said: "My lord, now that the war between China and Japan is unknown, you just take the opportunity to get out, if the war is not harmonious, don't you also have an excuse?" Now go to Weihaiwei, once there is a difference, there is no way out! ”

Li Hongzhang suddenly woke up and said in a deep voice: "Get ready, tomorrow at noon, we will enter Beijing!" ”