Jeseong North.

The commander of the 3rd Brigade of the 13th Wing of the Japanese Army, Shigang Masayi Shaosa, stood by the moat outside the Huibo Gate of the north wall of Jeseong, looking at the remnants of the blue water and the Jeseong city wall on the other side of the moat.

At the end of February, the weather in Jeseong, the temperature has risen rapidly day by day, Shigang Zhengyi is wearing a thick military jacket, standing in the hot sun, and his forehead is so sunburned that sweat is slag.

"It's easy to defend and hard to attack,—— but luckily we don't plan to take it."

Shigang Zhengyi looked up at several Qing soldiers in the city tower, and a playful smile appeared on the corner of his mouth.

"The empire is in Ludong, except for Weihaiwei, there is no need to occupy the city and seize the land; His Majesty's notice to Britain has long been very obvious, war reparations, and the lands of Northeast, Taiwan, and Korea are equal to the foreign trade rights of the West. - For the land of Ludong, at least for now, the empire does not have such a great appetite. ”

Captain Matsujiro Harada, a staff officer of the 11th Brigade, did not agree with Shioka Masayoshi's decision on this operation, but Shioka Masayoshi's strong orders made him silent.

A hint of anger appeared on Shioka Masayi's face, and he didn't bother with Harada Matsujiro anymore, but raised his eyes and continued to watch the Jeseong moat.

Jeseong is surrounded by water on all sides, a moat with a width of more than 40 meters, and blue waves surround the city.

Because there are many springs in the city and there is a Daming Lake in the north, the water level of the moat outside the city is full all year round, and only a few stone bridges can pass through.

If the army were to attack Jeseong, even if the army forced its way through the barricade stone bridge, it would be faced with a large number of troops crowded between the narrow river bank and the base of the city wall, barely gaining a foothold.

Raise your head and raise your gun to shoot at the Qing army on top of the nearly 10-meter-high city wall.

This does not have any combat advantage at all, let alone if the Qing army throws the wood and pours 'golden juice'.

It can be said that if Shigang Masayi led his 3 brigades of 1,200 troops, he would not attack Jecheng without trickery and surprise, but openly and openly.

As long as the Qing army in the city dared to fight, the Japanese army could hardly see the slightest chance of victory.

At this time, according to the agreement between the two sides, the 4 battalions of Cao Fengyi of the Qing army were training 2,000 troops, and they were withdrawing from Jicheng from Luoyuanmen, Ximen.

Then march 30 miles northwest to the right bank of the Yellow River and cross the river at the Majiayuan Ferry.

The 4th Battalion will be stationed in Zhu'a Town on the left bank of the Yellow River and in Qihe County, 10 miles north of Zhu'a Town.

The garrison order of the Military Affairs Office of the Qing Dynasty was actually to preserve this army and use it to control the Yellow River and prevent the Japanese army from crossing the river and advancing into Zhili.

The 11th Brigade of the Japanese Army landed from Dongying before, and very skillfully avoided the problem of the Yellow River more than 30 miles north of Dongying.

Except for the more than 600 troops of the 2nd Brigade that crossed the Yellow River lightly and attacked Cangzhou, all the rest of the Japanese troops fought on the right bank of the Yellow River.

"Da, da, da-"

A few horses came running from the west around the outer ring of the moat.

"Report that the Qing army has left the west gate of Jicheng; The team escorted a large number of mules, horses, and vehicles, carrying various supplies such as grain, meat, eggs, and other materials, and marched towards the Yellow River at a slow pace. ”

Hearing the scout's report, a smile appeared on the corner of Shioka Masayi's mouth, and he said to Captain Harada Matsujiro beside him: "How about it, at least the food problem that plagued the troops has been solved perfectly." ”

"Shaozuo, I'm just afraid of causing dissatisfaction with the UK, and the gains outweigh the losses."

Matsujiro Harada, who is only 26 years old this year, has studied in the UK for several years, and knowing that Britain has always paid attention to the axiom of agreement, he can't help but be a little worried, and he wants to persuade Shioka Masayi again.

"Humph!"

Shigang Zhengyi snorted coldly, and said loudly with fanaticism in his eyes: "The reason why the empire has today's achievements is not that it rigidly follows the agreement, but that it dares to break the rules and constraints, and has the courage to challenge the powerful and impossible by stepping on the thunder pool; Without military adventures, the empire would be doomed to nothing, and the Ascension is a successful example, and the same is true today! ”

Matsujiro Harada listened to it and had nothing to refute.

Just like last summer, when the Naniwa sank the British merchant ship Gaosheng, not only did it not punish it at all, but all the Western countries sympathized with the empire, but accused the Qing Dynasty of being wrong.

It's such a ridiculous thing, and yet it's happening.

If it weren't for the example of the Goseung, the Imperial Army would have wanted to occupy Korea at most, and would have stopped its march when it reached the Yalu River.

It was the attitude of the West that allowed the Imperial War Department to see the enormous benefits of radicalism and risk-taking.

This is how the troops of the general of Shanxian County entered Yanjing.

The same is true of Prince Akihito Komatsumiya's battle plan to occupy the Ludong Peninsula.

"Lieutenant General Kuroki's order is not to take the initiative to attack the Qing army in Jeseong, that is, not to enter Jeseong, and we will strictly abide by this; However, attacking the Qing army outside the city is not a violation of military orders, haha, as the so-called soldiers are not tired of cheating. ”

After Shigang Masayi finished arguing proudly, he smiled treacherously: "Besides, this is not the order of General Yama Prefecture, General Kuroki is only the commander of the 1st Army, and the 11th Brigade is not included in the sequence of the 1st Army." ”

"Order, all squadrons act immediately, and according to the previous instructions, completely annihilate the Qing army out of the city!"

After issuing the order, Shigang Masayi's heart suddenly became clear.

He led the 3rd Brigade to stand on the transport ship without firing a shot and watch the friendly forces fight in the battles of Weihaiwei, Tanghekou, and even the capture of Dongying Port without much effort.

At this time, seeing that the Qing country was about to sign a surrender treaty, how could he be willing to fight a good battle?

Could it be that when he returned to China in the future, he told his family and friends that he and his army had not fired a single shot in the Qing Dynasty, and not even a single Qing army had been killed.

What a shame it is!

Northwest of Jicheng, Nanweizi Village Outer Road.

A long convoy of mules and horses slowly marched along the main road leading to the crossing by the Yellow River.

"Brothers, hurry up; After crossing the Yellow River, I arrived at Zhu'a Town, stewed mutton soup and drank roasted knife wine! ”

Cao Fengyi watched the team walk for nearly two hours, and it was only twenty miles away, and she couldn't help but feel a little anxious in her heart.

At this time, these soldiers and ruffians were reluctant to continue marching, shouting to rest, and then march after lunch, Cao Fengyi had no choice but to cheer loudly at the top of his throat.

"Junmen, why should we wait to cross the Yellow River, after crossing the river, it will be dark, and we won't be able to catch up with dinner."

A battalion officer under Cao Fengyi exaggeratedly complained: "We are stationed in the camp, and we are not in a hurry to fight, the brothers are hungry, and their legs are about to break." ”

"That's it, that's it, Junmen, rest for a while and eat before leaving, it's all loud at noon; After eating, everyone chartered tickets and ran to the Yellow River. ”

"Junmen, as the saying goes, the emperor is not short of hungry soldiers."

In the marching procession, there was a shouting and complaining.

And the coachmen who drove the mule and horse wagons all walked on the same foot, but none of them complained of tiredness and misery.

Cao Fengyi's face showed a trace of anxiety, but she didn't dare to express the worry in her heart, for fear of being looked down upon by her soldiers.

He looked at the plains in the northwest, thinking that it was only ten miles away, and thinking that the Japanese army would not betray his word, he was ready to compromise and ordered to rest.

"Wayi, Wayi!"

Suddenly, in the convoy behind, there was an exclamation.

"What?"

Cao Fengyi, who was already worried about something, hurriedly turned her head to look, and her face suddenly changed color.