Another general of the Beiyang Army, General Feng Guozhang of Jiangsu, also showed the true qualities of a soldier, not only actively deploying defenses in the province, but also personally leading a division of soldiers and horses to the north to help strengthen the defense in the direction of Beijing.

"Jingshi's defense is so empty, what do you Duan Zhiquan do on weekdays?" Feng Guozhang asked Duan Qirui loudly.

Duan Qirui's face was full of anger, he looked at his old comrade-in-arms Feng Guozhang, held back his anger, and did not have an attack.

"What have we done? See what you've all done? Xu Shuzheng, who couldn't bear it, shouted, "On weekdays, how many of the funds that should be solved by the provinces have been realized?" The government has paid off the reparations, so what is the surplus and salt surplus enough for? As soon as I borrowed some foreign debts, I was scolded by the backbone, what do you think we can do? ”

After listening to Xu Shuzheng's answer, Feng Guozhang had nowhere to attack with anger, he gasped and sat down on a chair with a gloomy face.

"It's useless to talk about this now, let's think about how to deal with the Japanese attack." Suiyuan General Zhang Shaozeng said with some annoyance, "Does Zhiquan have any plans?" ”

Duan Qirui nodded and glanced at Xu Shuzheng, who immediately came to a huge map on the table, beckoned to the people around him, and motioned for everyone to come forward.

Yang Shuoming and all the generals gathered at the map table and listened to Xu Shuzheng's explanation.

"Judging from the current situation, the most likely action of the Japanese army is to attack the Beijing division from Fengtian and Shandong, and the Japanese navy may also cover the landing of the first army in Tianjin," Xu Shuzheng said, pointing to the map. ”

Yang Shuoming listened to Xu Shuzheng's explanation, and the cursor in his eyes kept marking on the map in front of him.

Because during the negotiations, in order to exert pressure on the Chinese side, the Japanese frequently mobilized troops in the Mukden and Shandong areas, and the Japanese warships also appeared in the waters of Tianjin and Shandong. Regarding the orders of the Central War Department, the generals of many provinces disobeyed the Yin, but there were also many patriotic generals who abandoned their factional views this time and personally led the elite troops to come.

In order to cope with the possible attack of the Japanese, Duan Qirui first set out to strengthen the troops in the Gyeonggi area, which originally had more than 6,200 troops from the 7th Division of the Beiyang Army, more than 11,000 people from the 10th Division, 6,000 Janissaries and 14,000 Gong Guards, a total of 37,200 people. Among them, the 7th Division was stationed in Nanyuan, the 10th Division was stationed in Beiyuan, the Praetorian Guards were stationed in Xiyuan, and the Gongwei Army was stationed in Xiyuan and Sanhai. On the outskirts of Beijing, 9,200 men of the Eighth Division of the Beiyang Army were stationed in Qingyuan County, and more than 15,000 people from the patrol battalion were stationed in Tianjin, southern Hebei, Jiyu, Duofang, Chifeng, Xuanhua, Zhengding, Chaoyang, and Gubeikou.

In order to accumulate troops, Duan Qirui added two new infantry brigades and one heavy artillery brigade, and Duan Qirui also used the 12th, 13th, and 14th mixed brigades originally stationed in Shanxi with a total of more than 15,000 people and Cai Yi's two divisions of the Yunnan Army with nearly 20,000 troops to strengthen the defense of Beijing's periphery. Through the efforts of Duan Qirui, Xu Shuzheng and others, it was easy to gather nearly 100,000 troops in the Beijing Division and nearby areas, and almost all of them were capable of fighting.

Compared to Beijing's defenses, the situation in Mukden and Shandong is much worse.

In order to strengthen the control of the three eastern provinces, Yuan Shikai appointed Zhang Xiluan as the governor of Fengtian, and in 1914 added Zhang Xiluan Zhen'an to the title of general, the prime minister of the military affairs of the three eastern provinces, the garrison of Fengtian Province is mainly led by Zhang Zuolin The 27th Division and the 28th Division under the command of Feng Delin, the 27th Division has a strength of more than 8,600 people, stationed in Fengtian City and Tieling, etc., the 28th Division has a strength of more than 7,500 people, stationed in Beizhen Jinzhou and other places, and then there are 3,300 people patrolling on the right road, stationed in Phoenix, 5,500 rear road patrols and 1,400 cavalry brigades were stationed in Taoliao and other places. The total strength of the army is less than 30,000, and the total strength of the Japanese army stationed in Mukden is close to 60,000.

What is worrying is that as the supreme military governor of the three eastern provinces, Zhang Xiluan is only an empty commander, and the military power of Fengtian Province is mainly in the hands of Zhang Zuolin, although Zhang Xiluan used to be Zhang Zuolin's old boss, but now Zhang Zuolin has lost the ability to control it, as the overlord of the northeast region, Zhang Zuolin, who has a heavy army, has not been so tame, and there is news that the Japanese have been trying to win over Zhang Zuolin. And with the current strength of Mukden, it is undoubtedly impossible to resist the large-scale attack of the Japanese army. ,

In order to strengthen the troops in the direction of Fengtian, Duan Qirui transferred 12,000 people from the 20th Division to Feng, stationed in Xinmin and Liaoyang, as a support. With Duan Qirui's efforts, the Rehe garrison increased to nearly 40,000 and the Chahar and Suiyuan garrisons to more than 20,000.

Compared with the Mukden direction, the situation in the Shandong direction is undoubtedly more tense.

In addition to the more than 10,000 people of the Beiyang Fifth Division stationed in Weixian, there are nearly 4,000 people of the 47th Brigade, and in addition, there are more than 20,000 people in the front, rear, left, right, and new patrol battalions, which are stationed in the area of Dexian. And these troops had to face a Japanese army of nearly 60,000 men and a powerful naval fleet.

During the negotiations, due to the atrocities of the Japanese army in Shandong, which caused widespread anger among the soldiers and civilians in Shandong, in order to prevent misfire, under the persuasion of the British minister Zhu Erdian, Yuan Shikai ordered the Shandong garrison to retreat, try to stay away from contact with the Japanese army, and avoid accidental conflicts. In order to prevent the Japanese army from using Shandong as a base to invade the Chinese mainland, Duan Qirui did his best to transfer troops and generals, transferring more than 15,000 troops from the second and third divisions of the Beiyang Army and a heavy artillery brigade to Shandong, and vigorously strengthening the troops of Jiangsu, Anhui, Henan, and other provinces adjacent to Shandong. In order to guard against a possible attack by the Japanese army on Jiangsu, Duan Qirui transferred more than 37,000 people from the First Nanyang Division and the Wuwei Front Army to be stationed in Xuzhou and Tongshan, and more than 10,000 people from the Fourth Beiyang Division to be stationed in Nanjing.

After Japan proposed the "21 Articles" to China, Feng Guozhang, the general of Jiangsu, learned the news and immediately sent a joint telegram to Yuan Shikai with the generals of 19 provinces, pointing out that "the occurrence of Japanese funds is a harbinger of the destruction of the country", and proposed to prepare for war, saying that "Guozhang and other subordinate soldiers will do their duty as soldiers to save the country, and those who want to destroy the integrity of our country's territory will be rejected by our soldiers with dead force." When Yuan Shikai was still hesitant, Feng Guozhang actively deployed defense in Jiangsu. Feng Guozhang vigorously expanded the original garrison in Jiangsu, expanding the establishment of the first, seventy-fourth, seventy-fifth, and seventy-sixth mixed brigades stationed in Jiangsu from no more than 5,000 people per brigade to 10,000 people, and expanding the fourth division to 20,000 people, and built a large number of fortresses, and in some larger fortresses, the defenders reached more than 2,000 people.

In order to further strengthen the concentration of troops, Duan Qirui also transferred troops to neighboring provinces, and he originally planned to transfer Zhang Jingyao's Sixth Division to Zhengzhou, but Zhang Jingyao played a trick with him, and let the new Jiangxi Fifth and Sixth Mixed Brigades and the First Division of the Sixth Division, which were nominally under the jurisdiction of the Sixth Division, go north together, even if it was a transfer to Duan Qirui. Therefore, in the end, it was 12,000 people from the two mixed brigades of the Jiangxi army under Yang Shuoming's command.

After listening to Xu Shuzheng's explanation, Yang Shuoming's "super computer eye" constantly showed the establishment, strength and commander of these troops, and when he heard the words "Wuwei Qianjun", his heart moved slightly, and the cursor in his eyes involuntarily stopped.

When Yang Shuoming saw that the name of the supreme commander of this unit turned out to be "Zhang Xun, the Yangtze River Patrol Envoy", he couldn't help but smile bitterly.

It is even possible that he has to squat in a trench with the head of the notorious "pigtail soldiers", history is really a joke!

On the whole, the arrangements made by Duan Qirui were quite targeted, and they were generally in place before breaking with Japan, which proved that his preparations for war were still quite effective.

In fact, it was precisely because of the military arrangements that Yuan Shikai had gained some courage that he was able to make a decision to reject Japan's ultimatum after carefully weighing the pros and cons.

After the military meeting, Yang Shuoming left the army and navy command office, he looked at his watch, nodded to an entourage beside him, and the entourage immediately took out a small flare gun and shot it into the sky.

"Where did the plane come from?"

Yuan Shikai, who was in the presidential palace, saw four planes suddenly appear in the sky and couldn't help but ask in surprise.

"This is the aircraft fleet of the guard of Yang Town, Ganxi." Liang Shiyi said to Yuan Shikai, "I heard that he came to Beijing to attend the military meeting of the War Department on this plane, and he should be leaving now." ”

"Is that the young offspring who sent fifty box cannons?" Yuan Shikai remembered the gun that made him love it, "He's on the plane now?" ”

"Exactly." Liang Shiyi recalled the gift Yang Shuoming gave him, and said with a smile, "This aircraft is said to have been designed by himself and manufactured by a private company in the territory. What's even more incredible is that the fuel used in the engines of this aircraft is spirited soju. ”,

"What? Shochu planes? Yuan Shikai listened to Liang Shiyi's words and was taken aback again.

"I didn't see this in person, I heard it from the people below." Liang Shiyi said, "They said that the wine tasted good, and it should not be bad." ”

"It's really rare that we Chinese can build such a good plane ourselves." Yuan Shikai looked at the planes in the sky that were getting smaller and smaller, and sighed, "If only there were a few more people like him." ”

May 22, 1915, Jiaozhou Bay, battleship "Zhoufang", bridge.

"We just received news of victory! The Imperial Army captured Mukden today! A staff officer excitedly reported to Vice Admiral Takichi Kato, commander of the Second Fleet of the Japanese Navy.

"What's so strange about that?" Kato Dingji sneered, and seemed to feel a little disapprehensive of the joy of his subordinates, "Beiman is originally equal to our hands. ”

"At this rate, it won't take long for the Imperial Army to be able to hit Beijing!" The staff officer still hasn't recovered from the excitement, "Let the people who don't know what to do with it taste our awesomeness!" ”

"Such a victory is nothing." Kato Dingji looked at the coast in the distance and said in a deep voice, "The key is whether you can occupy these places forever!" ”

Listening to the commander's words, the originally elated staff officer couldn't help but be stunned.

"Do you think the Western powers will watch us occupy China?" Kato Dingji said slowly, turning his head to look at his subordinates, "The biggest enemy of the empire is not China. ”

The staff officer sensed the hidden meaning in the commander's words, and nodded involuntarily.

"This time, our actions against China are too hasty." Kato Dingyoshi said.

"Why do you say that?" Another staff officer said with some puzzlement, "The army of the Chinese is completely vulnerable, and we can completely defeat them with our current strength." It didn't take long for the imperial army to capture Beijing. ”

"None of you doubt that, do you?" Kato Dingji looked at his subordinates and asked rhetorically.

"Yes." Several of his subordinates nodded.

"Okay, as you said, we will be able to capture Beijing soon, but what about after we capture Beijing?" Kato asked, "Have you thought about it?" Is the capture of Beijing the same as the occupation of China? ”

After listening to the commander's questioning, all the subordinates were silent.

"Even if the Yuan Shikai government will surrender to us, we all know that the power of this government does not reach all the provinces of China, and if the Chinese refuse to surrender, what will we do?" Kato then asked, "Can we now occupy all of China in one go?" ”

"I can't." A staff officer looked at his companion and said softly, "If you want to occupy the whole of China, you need more time. ”

"So, it was a hasty and ill-prepared operation." Kato Dingji said, looked at the British battleship "Triumph" in the distance, and said, "What's more, even if we can occupy the whole of China this time, the Western powers will not allow us to do so." ”

The Triumph was a former dreadnought battleship originally deployed in Hong Kong. At the beginning of the Anglo-Japanese attack on Tsingtao, the British and Japanese found that their main enemy, the main force of the German East Asian Fleet led by Count Spee, had left, and the Japanese navy attacking Tsingtao was redeployed, and Kato Dingyoshi ordered the dreadnought battleships, battle cruisers and new pre-dreadnought battleships under his command to disassemble the formation, and sent two rapid detachment fleets to help the British Navy search for the escaped German fleet, and at the same time lent the British a powerful cruiser as an escort ship, Two more cruisers were sent to patrol the waters off Singapore to deal with local pirates. In return, the British lent Kato Dingyoshi "Triumph".

The subordinates were surprised to hear the hostility of the commander to the British, their current allies.

"You're right, the biggest enemy of the empire in the future is not China, but the United States." "I have heard that it was under the threat of the Americans that the Cabinet decided to cancel Article Five, which was vital to the Empire," said one of the staff officers. ”

"The U.S. Navy is the real threat to the Imperial Navy." Kato Dingji nodded, and he was about to continue to express some opinions on the current situation, but suddenly there was a low sound of cannon on the shore in the distance. ,

"The Army guys are firing artillery again." One of the staff officers said with a smile, "Until now, they have not fully grasped what the Germans left them." ”

"That's not right." Kato listened intently for a moment, then raised his telescope in the direction from which the cannon on the shore was coming from, and in the telescope, he vaguely saw what seemed to be a faint column of black smoke rising there.

"Order the ships, ready for battle." Kato Dingyoshi put down the binoculars and said in a deep voice.

"There's been no briefing from the Army on the progress of the battle lately, so are we ......," a staff officer suggested, but when he met the commander's stern gaze, he couldn't help but shrink his back words.

"By the time those stupid guys in the Army speak, it's too late." Kato Dingji sneered and said, "Execute the order!" ”

"Yes!" The subordinates raised their hands in salute and ran away.

As if to confirm Kato Dingyoshi's fears, a low roar suddenly sounded in the sky in the distance, and the people on the bridge looked up into the sky, and soon a plane appeared.

Seeing the nose of this plane painted in the shape of a dragon's head, Kato Dingji couldn't help frowning.

It is clear that this is a reconnaissance aircraft of the Chinese.

The Chinese plane spotted the Japanese fleet anchored in the sea, and immediately swaggered over, and began to dive, Kato Dingyoshi raised the telescope again, aimed at the Chinese plane in flight, and he clearly saw that on the two-seater plane, the pilot in the back seat was filming his fleet with a camera.

"Damn the Chinese! Get rid of them! ”

Because the Chinese plane was flying very low, Kato Dingyoshi could almost see the sarcastic smile on the corner of the Chinese pilot's lips, and he couldn't help but scream in annoyance.

Soon, two "Morris. The "Falman" seaplane appeared in the air and swooped down on the Chinese reconnaissance plane.

Seeing the Japanese planes rushing over, the Chinese planes still did not seem to want to dodge, and they roared past the battleship "Zhoufang" and easily left the two Japanese planes behind.

The roar of the Chinese planes startled the Japanese naval personnel on the bridge, and some could not help but shout and curse, while others simply pulled out their pistols and began to shoot at the Chinese planes.

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