Li Hongzhang sighed and said: "I have been lurking a group of intelligence agents in Japan, and some time ago there was news that the Japanese emperor has issued an emergency ****** throughout the country, and the army has been expanded on a large scale, and four group armies have been expanded into eight group armies, with a total strength of 400,000, and with the expansion of the war, I am afraid that at least 100,000 people will enter the DPRK or directly attack the Gyeonggi important land of the Qing Dynasty from the coast of Bohai Bay by sea." ”

Weng Tongyi's face turned pale, and he snorted: "This, how is this good? How can I resist it? ”

While the two were discussing, a clerk walked in from outside, bowed down and said, "Lord Zhongtang, North Korean Nie Shicheng has sent an urgent telegram!" ”

Li Hongzhang and Weng Tongxiao's faces changed drastically, and at this time, Nie Shicheng sent an urgent telegram, I am afraid that the Korean war situation is not good.

Li Hongzhang said eagerly: "Submit the message quickly!" ”

The clerk handed the telegram to Li Hongzhang, and Li Hongzhang and Weng Tonggong hurriedly looked at it, and only after browsing it did they breathe a sigh of relief. It turned out that Nie Shicheng wrote in his heart: his subordinates have already arranged defenses in Kaesong, and one of them will break forward to the southwest highlands of Kaesong, and the main force will defend the city with all its might, echoing each other's horns, and will make every effort to prepare for war, and will definitely hit the front of the invading Japanese army. The commander of the Japanese Navy, Ito Yutei, received information on the deployment of our army, and planned to send the main force of the Japanese Navy to attack our Beiyang Navy near Dadonggou. In addition, the Japanese naval fleet is very fast, and the speed of its guns is far above our army, so I hope that Lord Ding will tell Admiral Ding that he must deal with it carefully. How to behave, please decide the middle hall.

Li Hongzhang and Weng Tongyi gasped and sent the main force of the Japanese army to attack the Beiyang Fleet, this Ito Youheng has a really big appetite. Fortunately, Nie Shicheng and Zhang Yi, who were far away in North Korea, heard the information, and if they were not careful and took the initiative to enter the trap of the Japanese army, then the Beiyang Fleet would be really dangerous.

Li Hongzhang turned to Sheng Xuanhuai and said: "Xingsun, immediately transfer this telegram to Ding Ruchang, and then send another telegram to Ding Ruchang to act carefully, the transportation of reinforcements must be cautious, for the sneak attack in the Dadonghai Sea, we must make a positive response, we must not give Japan a chance to take advantage of, preserve our strength, if there is a good opportunity, you can also wait for the opportunity to annihilate it!" ”

Sheng Xuanhuai saw the solemn expressions of the two adults, and asked, "Two adults, what happened, why did Nie Shicheng call, is it really about the Beiyang Navy?" ”

Li Hongzhang took a deep breath and said: "Xingsun, Gongting has called to say that they have detected that Vice Admiral Ito Yuhiro of the Japanese Navy has deployed the main fleet, which is going to attack the Beiyang Navy near Dadonggou while our army is transporting reinforcements. If we don't notice and enter the Japanese ambush circle, then the navy will be in danger! ”

Sheng Xuanhuai was also stunned by shock, and it took a while to react, and he hurriedly said: "My subordinates will handle it!" With that, he took the telegram and turned around and hurried out.

Weng Tongyi asked: "Brother Shaoquan, Brother Shaoquan, this, how is this good, Brother Shaoquan has a good plan?" ”

Li Hongzhang turned his head and shook his head at Weng Tongxiao, sighed and said, "The matter is urgent. Master Weng, if we have a night today, we will have dinner and discuss at the same time. Tomorrow morning, don't be tired, we will get up and go back to Beijing immediately, I want to enter Beijing to see the driver! ”

Yantai, Liugong Island.

Ding Ruchang was sulking in the Admiral's Mansion, and he really couldn't imagine that the Beiyang Naval Division had spent so much money. If it weren't for Lord Zhongtang this time, he would have to reorganize the armament and eliminate redundant personnel with his own eyes, and he really didn't know that a quarter of these ammunition could not be used, either waste ammunition or solid training ammunition, and some of the craftsmanship was so bad that they could not be used at all. Fang Boqian, the leader of the Jiyuan ship, even gathered people to gamble, greedy for military salaries, and even brought prostitutes to the Jiyuan ship! Shameless! How can such a navy be able to fight!

In a fit of anger, Ding Ruchang adjusted the management and belt officers of the four warships and rectified military discipline, but what about ammunition? This is not something that can be replenished in a hurry! Moreover, the 4,000 Ming troops supporting North Korea have already arrived in Yantai, and they will soon be drawn to North Korea, and if they don't have enough ammunition, how can they fight the Japanese army?

Ding Ruchang was in a state of anger, and the clerk walked in from outside and said, "Your Excellency, Li Zhongtang has sent an urgent telegram, please take a look." ”

Ding Ruchang perked up, took the telegram from the clerk's hand, and read it in detail. As he read deeper, Ding Ruchang's brows furrowed tightly, and after a while, he shouted: "Order, all ships and managers will come to the Admiral's Mansion to discuss matters quickly!" ”

After about half an hour, the pipe bands of each battalion arrived one after another, Ding Ruchang looked around at everyone, and said in a deep voice: "The day before yesterday, Lord Zhongtang called the governor to rectify the Beiyang armament, after these few days of rectification, a group of black sheep have been driven out of the ships, and the morale of the army has gradually risen, and the big war is coming, which is a good thing." Just now, Lord Nakado forwarded a telegram from Nie Gongting of Korea, saying that they had successfully detected that the commander of the Japanese Navy, Ito Sukehiro, had completed preparations and was preparing to attack our troops on the way to Korea to transport reinforcements. The time is just recently, and the location they chose is near Dadonggou. In a telegram, Lord Nakado ordered us to be careful not to leave the slightest opportunity for the Japanese army. Once a good opportunity arises, you can fight it to ensure that the first battle is successful. ”

"Ahh When everyone heard this, they all exclaimed in surprise that they were going to attack the Beiyang Fleet in the waters near Dadonggou. This Dadonggou is exactly on the road that troop carriers must pass by sea and land. If we hadn't gotten the news in advance, we had transported the Ming army to North Korea in the past two days, wouldn't that have been caught in the net?

Chief soldier Liu Buyun took a step forward and asked, "My lord, since Lao Zhongtang is calling, what should we do next?" After all, the situation in Korea is tense, and now I heard that there are more than 20,000 Japanese troops in Korea, which is twice the size of our Qing Army. Besides, the reinforcements of Zuo Guijun Gate and others have not yet arrived in Kaesong, and the situation is really urgent, and it is imperative to transport reinforcements by sea. ”

Deng Shichang, the leader of the Zhiyuan ship on the side, nodded again and again, and said: "My lord, what Brother Bu Chan said is very true, now that North Korea is in danger, we can't help but not send troops." ”

Ding Ruchang muttered: "Lord Zhongtang asks us to preserve our strength, and now that the Guangdong and Nanyang sailors have not arrived, just relying on our Beiyang department, there is really no chance of winning......"

Liu Buyun smiled and said: "My lord, I have the power to make the force, but I can't make the wisdom." Although we do not have an advantage in Beiyang troops and firearms, we have already obtained information that the Japanese Navy is attacking our troops in Dadonggou. I suggest that our Beiyang Fleet be divided into two groups, one to escort reinforcements forward, and the other to follow and keep a distance from the warships in front, so that the Japanese should not be aware of our intentions, and when the Japanese attack and the battle is in full swing, our reinforcements behind us will directly insert into the ribs of the Japanese Navy from behind and break up his formation. Attacking him from the front and back, he was caught off guard, so that our army should be able to win with more than eighty percent certainty. ”

Ding Ruchang pondered for a long time, his eyes flashed, and he said firmly: "That's it, it's a big deal, we died on the battlefield or lost our official position, Bu Toad is right, this is a God-given opportunity, God doesn't take it, but we are to blame, we did it." Order: Twelve ships of Zhenyuan, Dingyuan, Jingyuan, Laiyuan, Jingyuan, Chaoyuan, Guangjia, Guangbing, Zhendong, Zhenxi, and Zhenzhong are the front to escort the troop carriers. must encounter the enemy, with a goose-shaped formation to meet the battle, Zhenyuan and Dingyuan as the head of the goose to rush forward to press the Japanese naval fleet, dividing it into two parts. Zhiyuan, Pingyuan, Jiyuan, Chaoyong, Yangwei, Guangyi, Zhennan, and Zhenbei are connected at the rear, keeping a distance of ten miles from the front fleet, once the front is carried out, the Japanese fleet is cut off, and then accelerate forward, and the front of the wild goose wing, joint attack on one of them, be sure to sink or damage it in the shortest possible time! After that, quickly support the flagship of our army, surround the main force of the Japanese army, and strive to annihilate it completely! This battle is related to the survival of our Qing Dynasty, and the stakes are very important, so you must be careful, go down quickly to prepare for pre-war matters, and wait for military orders! ”

All the family managers should have given their hands, Ding Ruchang waved his hand and said: "Bu Toad stays, and the rest will retreat for the time being." ”