So, when Liu Kun went to the Diantong Prefecture Military Affairs Office and asked to stop He Changying from dividing the troops into Jinmen, the bigwigs in Yanjing took the opportunity to push the boat down the river and forcefully assigned Liu Gangzhi's troops and the Dagu military station to Wu Hongluo's control.

Trying to strip He Changying of control.

Moreover, in order to double insurance, the Qing Military Department also ordered the recruits of Wu Hongluo's sixth battalion, which was originally stationed in Shuanggang Fort by the Haihe River, 30 miles south of Jinmen, to immediately go south with the whole army and garrison the Dagu Fort.

Take the first step to take over the Dagu Fort, 2,000 recruits of the anti-Japanese army, and the Dagu military station.

The court's move is almost equivalent to tearing his face and saying that he is shameless.

However, if He Changying makes a stumbling block at this time, he will have to be pointed out by the Chinese people, and at least scold a 'martial artist, who doesn't know the general situation'.

If He Changying goes one step further and disobeys the order, then his reputation will be instantly discredited and he will become a 'national thief' who shouts and kills the whole country!

The bigwigs in the imperial court had a good calculation, but they underestimated the anti-Japanese army who stayed at the Dagu military station, Xiong Kaiyu, Liu Shihao, and Liu Guangming.

also misread Wu Hongluo.

On the morning of the 16th, Xiong Kaiyu rode all the way into the Shuanggang Hongzi Army camp and met Wu Hongluo, who was about to set off.

The two sides were alone in a room and talked for a long time.

Wu Hongluo himself was a subordinate of Liu Mingchuan of the Huai Army, and followed Liu Mingchuan to Keelung, Taiwan, in 1884 to fight against the French Lone Fleet, and was very brave.

Later, in 1890, because Weng Tongyi wanted to get his hands on Liu Kunyi's 'Yu Jizi White Plate', he failed to succeed.

He held a grudge against the party and united his henchmen to attack Liu Mingchuan and force him to resign voluntarily on the grounds that 'the tax issue at the commercial port and foreign businessmen involved in the investment promotion and contracting of the Keelung Coal Mine'.

Wu Hongluo, who was disheartened, immediately dismissed the official club and lived in Anhui on the grounds of returning home to serve his mother.

Therefore, after Xiong Kaiyu met with Wu Hongluo, Wu Hongluo's sixth battalion Hongjun arrived in Dagu on the 17th and was stationed in the southern artillery group, without touching all the resources and military strength of the northern artillery group of the anti-Japanese army, so that this calculation of the imperial court was temporarily frustrated.

This is also the fundamental reason why he pinched his nose and temporarily admitted that the bigwigs of the military affairs department who had besieged Chengyanjing City by the 1st Army of the Japanese Army and became the old turtle in the urn ordered Liu Gangzhi to temporarily stay in the Ninghe camp and not let him continue to go south to the Dagu Fort.

At this time, these bigwigs already felt that the Japanese soldiers were nothing more than silver and North Korea, and when the Japanese soldiers retreated, they would have to face many domestic problems.

They really didn't think too much and too deeply, they were afraid that they would spend so much effort and finally defeat Beiyang and Lao Li, so that a new Beiyang and Xiao He would come out at that time.

You have to plan ahead!

On the south bank of the Haihe estuary, Dagu Nanjia 'Wei' character fort.

Wu Hongluo, the former commander-in-chief of Penghu Town, held a single-hole telescope and looked at the two verticals, one in front of the other, dragging a long column of smoke from the sea in the distance, and the Japanese ships came like snakes.

Beside him, there stood a group of battalion officers and gun commanders of each battery of the South Shore Artillery Group, all of whom were also looking at the Japanese ship group from afar at this time, and everyone was silent and their faces were shocked.

"What are you panicking about, there are so many foreigner cargo ships parked at the Xingang Ice Belt Wharf in Dagukou, Lao Tzu doesn't believe it, and they dare to bombard? If you really have this guts, you won't be blocked by four British obsolete ships in the Bohai Sea before! ”

Wu Hongluo looked at a group of subordinates, their faces turned pale, and said angrily:

"Besides, there are so many artillery pieces at the mouth of Dagu, when the monk and the British and French forces fought, they sank 4 of their warships, seriously injured 6, killed thousands of enemies, and only killed and wounded 34 people; Ten years ago, we repelled the French fleet with small artillery in Keelung? The key to fighting a war is one word,—— see if you have tiger guts? As long as you have the courage to fight to the death, all the soldiers under your command will naturally be tigers descending from the mountain! ”

Hearing Wu Hongluo say this, the six battalion commanders and more than a dozen artillery commanders gathered around him were suddenly bold.

These people are all Wu Hongluo's old Penghu troops who specially begged from Liu Yongfu, the chief soldier of Taiwan Town, when he recruited troops this time, and they are first-class heroes who have experienced the Keelung artillery battle and fought bloodily in the artillery fire of the French warship group.

"Junmen, we have nothing to say about fighting the Japanese, but the will of the court can be placed there, and this matter can be safe; Otherwise, maybe the brothers would have lost their lives, and in the end, there would be no good fruit to eat in the court. ”

Xue Jinsuo, the general manager of the Hongzi Army's pro-military camp, persuaded in a low voice: "Junmen, we still have to ask the will of the imperial court." ”

At this time, a fast horse crossed the frozen Haihe River and ran to the south bank.

"Newspaper—"

As the cavalry shouted all the way, the column horse came to the Nanjia Fort: "Open the military gate, the assistant minister of Beiyang is electric." ”

"Bring it!"

Wu Hongluo eagerly took the telegram and unfolded it.

'The military situation is known, and it has been submitted to the Tongzhou Military Affairs Department, waiting for a response, and the peace has begun to be unprovoked and cause disputes; Remember, remember! - Wang'

Wu Hongluo's face was gloomy, he forcibly endured the anger in his heart, put the telegram in his pocket, and ordered in a cold voice: "Everyone return to the fort to load the ammunition and wait for the order, and the gun commanders of each fort will do a good job of supervising and bring the broadsword team, but there are cowardly escapers ,—— killed!" ”

"Wow!"

The group of generals roared in unison, then trotted back to their respective shells, shouting and issuing various commands.

Dagukou, the north shore artillery group.

At the Dagu Military Station, all the family members and employees of the anti-Japanese army were quickly evacuated to the rear.

And a large number of officials, clerks, government soldiers, mine soldiers, mine boats and sailors who touched the ship in the Dagu dockyard were also under the leadership of Luo Fenglu, desperately running towards the rear.

The ice, which had already frozen, had already frozen these ships, making them completely incapacitated.

Once an artillery battle is really launched, these dock soldiers who have not volunteered to go to the fort at all, staying in the dock is equivalent to waiting for the cannons.

They certainly weren't so stupid.

On the top of the Beiyi 'Gao' character fort, nearly 200 soldiers of the anti-Japanese army were in their own gun positions, full of resolute and resolute faces.

And in the anti-artillery barracks at the back, there are still 200 soldiers waiting to take over.

More than half of the heavy artillery in the Dagu Fort Group are old mortars made by the Qing Dynasty, firing stone bullets, lead bullets, iron bullets, honeycomb bullets, and chain bullets.

In the Second Opium War 35 years ago, these projectiles were okay to attack the wooden-hulled sailing ships of the British and French forces, but now they are used to bombard the capital ships of the Japanese army, that is, the muzzles of the guns are against the deck of the ships, and at most they smash off a layer of paint.

Moreover, the range of the 6,000-pound heavy artillery of the artillery group is only about 1,000 meters, and it can't even fly over the ice belt of Bohai Bay, let alone attack the Japanese ship group at least four or five kilometers away.

As for those mortars under 6,000 catties, small cannons, and guns, they are simply an international joke when used in coastal defense.

Only 2 12,000-kilogram copper cannons and 9 10,000-kilogram copper cannons cast by Wusong Bureau can barely reach about 5,000 meters.

In the face of these self-made artillery of the Qing Dynasty, not a single soldier of the anti-Japanese army invested, but all concentrated on the Krupp artillery that Li Hongzhang had purchased one after another in the past ten years.

There are a total of 37 guns in the north bank and 26 guns in the south bank.

Today, Xiong Kaiyu will rely on the 37 Western artillery pieces of the North Shore Artillery Group to fight against the Japanese ship group.