"The United States should not only set its sights on Europe," the U.S. [***] official said, "and according to the current situation, sooner or later Ben will become the most formidable enemy of the United States." ”

"We should keep a complete record of what we have seen here, so that the American political axe and the public can understand the truth about this war between the yellow race." Rear Admiral Glennon looked at the wreckage of the ship on the surface of the sea and said thoughtfully, "This is the only thing we can do to help the Chinese now." ”

Yanjing, Xinhuamen Square.

"Extra! Extra! Shandong victory! [***] to recover Jinan! ”

"Extra! Extra! Shandong victory! Conquer Qingdao Fortress! The Woko were driven out to sea! ”

As the crowd continued to gather, the newspapers in the hands of the newsboys were quickly snapped up, and the people who grabbed the newspapers could not wait to open the newspapers on the street and read them carefully.

Not far away, at a fund-raising point of the "National Salvation Savings Fund", people lined up in front of a wooden box and handed over the gold and silver products they brought to the staff in charge of fundraising, and the staff carefully counted and registered each gold and silver product -- gold bars, gold coins, gold jewelry, silver dollars, etc., wrote down in detail the name and weight of the item and the name of the fundraiser, and gave a receipt.

Jiang Xueying, who was standing on the street, quietly watched the fundraising team, and when she saw that in addition to workers, clerks, students, and rickshaw drivers, there were not only a few gray-haired old women, but also a few rickety beggars, and her eyes couldn't help but have tears flashing.

She can't remember the last time she felt so moved.

'Look!' Poplar's is really powerful, and it really hit Qingdao. Shuijing came to Jiang Xueying's side and handed her a copy of "Shuntian Times", "I really can't imagine how he used to build such a fortress." ”

"What you can do instinctively, we Chinese can do too." Jiang Xueying took the newspaper and her eyes fell on the front page of the news, although the black-and-white photo on it was not very clear, she immediately recognized the one among the four generals in military uniforms who held their hands together.

In the photo, at the feet of Yang Shuoming, Fu Xiao'an, Zhang Xiaozhun, and Zhang Xun, there are two military flags of the Yue Army, as well as several command knives of the officers.

Next to this photograph is a group photo of several ordinary soldiers, some of them wearing military uniforms and large-brimmed military hats, some wearing ordinary people's clothes, and some of them are simply naked, their faces are full of victorious smiles, and behind them, there is a giant German-made coastal gun, indicating that this photo should have been taken on a German-built fort in Qingdao.

The sky in the distance suddenly remembered the sound of firecrackers, giving people the feeling as if the Spring Festival had arrived early, and the well looked up and saw the little sparks flashing, he knew that this was some ordinary people spontaneously celebrating the victory.

"I'll go back later, and I'll get a whip and put it away!" Zhu Feng, who was beside Jiang Xueying, said happily.

"We can't rejoice too soon." Jiang Xueying handed the newspaper to Zhu Feng and said lightly, "Don't forget, the army from Fengtian is about to reach Chengde." ”

"By the way, I heard that General Cai Ye is very sick and often has hemoptysis when he is commanding operations on the front line, and the colleges and universities in Beijing have organized a labor corps and a medical team, and they are preparing to leave for the front line." Mizui said.

"General Cai Ye has actually tried his best." Jiang Xueying looked at the Xinhua Gate not far away, sighed softly, and said, "It's a pity that he doesn't have the ability to 'poplar'." ”

Zhu Feng heard Jiang Xueying's words, she looked at the "Shuntian Times" in her hand, and also let out a sigh.

At this moment, in the Zhongnanhai Juren Hall in Xinhua Gate, Yuan Shikai was also looking at the same newspaper and let out a heavy sigh.

"The Ministry of Civil Affairs has agreed to organize a lantern-carrying parade tonight to celebrate the victory of the liberation of Qingdao." Liang Shiyi said happily to Yuan Shikai.

"What is there to celebrate." Yuan Shikai shook his head and said, "It's better to save it!" The front-line military supplies are in urgent need, and it is almost the same to use this money to buy more guns from the Americans. ”

"Shandong's victory, Qingdao's recovery, this is an unprecedented victory!" Liang Shiyi didn't expect Yuan Shikai to say this, he looked at Yuan Shikai with some surprise, and then said, "There should be a grand celebration ceremony to improve the morale of the people." ”

"It's okay in Shandong for the time being, but now the Jingshi is in danger." Yuan Shikai, who had a sad face, said in a sullen voice, "The battle over there in Fengtian can reach half of Shandong, and I won't be worried." ”

"Fengtian said that the army has been blocked by Cai Songpo in Chengde, and it has become the end of the strong crossbow, so it should not be able to reach Yanjing." Liang Shiyi understood what Yuan Shikai was worried about, and immediately suggested, "The Shandong army has been cleared, and the victorious army in Shandong can be transferred north by the railway to enrich the defense of the Beijing division, thinking that Songpo is the backup." ”

"The Shandong army has not been completely wiped out," Yuan Shikai knew far more about the actual situation on the front line than his secretary, "The former Wuwu [***] incident observation group also said that our victory was watery, and Feng Guozhang and Cao Kun and Zhang Xun only divided and surrounded the main force of the Shandong army in the area from Anqiu to Gaomi, and did not annihilate it. Although the fifth town and the first town of Nanyang cooperated with the two brigades of the Jiangxi army to raid and take Qingdao, the navy still fought with our army in Jiaozhou Bay, and refused to leave, as if they were waiting for reinforcements from Yueben. ”

After listening to Yuan Shikai's words, Liang Shiyi was silent, he just stood there quietly, looking at Yuan Shikai, waiting for him to show him.

"That Yang Hanzhi is indeed a general, and he has gnawed down such hard bones in Qingdao." Yuan Shikai said to himself, "His Gan army is well-equipped and very capable of fighting, but it's a pity that the number is too small, otherwise it ......" He looked at the map on the wall, shook his head thoughtfully, and shrunk back from the words.

"It's time for me to reopen peace talks." Yuan Shikai said, "Go and find Cao Rulin!" There are some things that must be explained to him face to face, and then let him go to find out about himself. ”

"Okay, I'll go." Liang Shiyi agreed and turned to leave.

August 7, 1915, Qingdao, Shandong, Moltke Mountain Fort.

"I said I sent another big one."

In a hidden command post, Xu Yuanjin held a telescope and looked at the sea, letting out an exclamation.

Yang Shuoming carefully looked at the steel troll that appeared in front of him from the telescope and sneered.

At this time, Yang Shuoming's "supercomputer eye" was constantly magnifying the image, and according to what he saw, the relevant information and line drawings of the warship flashed quickly under his eyes.

“…… Ship type: 'King Kong' class battle cruiser. Standard displacement: 26330 tons. Overall length: 214.6 meters. Breadth: 28 meters. Draft: 8.1 m. Main engine: 2 steam turbines, 4 shafts, 64,000 hp. Boilers: 24 'Yarrow' boilers, coal capacity: 4,000 tons. Oil capacity: 1000 tons. Maximum speed: 27.5 knots. Caliber of the main gun: 356 mm. Duplex, 4 seats. Secondary gun caliber: 152 mm, 16 seats; 76 mm, 12 seats. Torpedo tubes: 533 mm, 8 seats. Waterline armor: 203 mm, turret armor: 76-2544 mm. Command tower armor: 203 mm. Deck armor: 70 mm. Crew: 1193 ......"

"I said that this time I took out all the goods at the bottom of the box." Yang Shuoming looked at the battlecruiser "King Kong" of the Yueben Navy sailing over on the sea, and said in a deep voice, "It seems that their determination to retake Qingdao is still not small!" ”

"It's the first time I've seen such a big warship in my life." Xu Yuanjin grinned, put down the telescope in his hand, looked at the dome of the shelter overhead, and asked jokingly, "I said, is this hole built by the Germans strong?" Lao Tzu is more than 100 catties, don't explain it here for a while. ”

Hearing his words, Yang Shuoming couldn't help but smile slightly, "Don't worry, I can't see through my shells." ”

The reason why he dared to be so sure was because the "supercomputer eye" had already given him a positive answer just now.

"The cannon of this ship seems to be bigger than the last time I came, right?" Xu Yuanjin's gaze fell on the "King Kong" again, and at this moment, a person like him, who knew nothing about the navy, could also see the difference between his own battle cruiser and other warships.

"Yes, the battleships that came before had twelve inches of main guns, that is, thirty and a half centimeters, and the ones on this ship were fourteen-inch guns, thirty-five .6 centimeters." Yang Shuoming said.

"The largest caliber gun on our turret is only twenty-eight centimeters, right?" Xu Yuanjin asked, "And then those 'private goods' you carried, right?" ”

The "private goods" Xu Yuanjin mentioned were the 180mm heavy howitzers ordered from the United States brought by Yang Shuoming.

The reason why such a large-caliber cannon was ordered at the beginning, Shi Xuanhou and Lin Yuqing and some technicians all raised objections, thinking that this kind of cannon was not suitable for the army, and even Xu Yuanjin thought that this caliber was a little too big, but Yang Shuoming insisted on being equipped with this kind of large-caliber heavy artillery, and everyone did not understand it at the time, but now, Xu Yuanjin understands Yang Shuoming's intentions.

Heavy artillery of this caliber can not only be used in siege field battles, but also extremely powerful weapons against warships that are rampant in the Chinese sea.

"Twenty-eight-centimeter shells hit the warship, even if it doesn't sink, it can make them uncomfortable for a while." An artillery officer said from the side.

(To be continued)