October 22, 1915, Yanjing, Generalissimo of the Army and Navy of the Republic of China.

"The army in Shandong has been completely wiped out." Duan Qirui, Minister of the Army, pointed to the map and said to Yuan Shikai, "After the news of Qingdao's liberation came, the morale of the army and the people in the north was greatly boosted, and the Dian army, the Feng army and the Chaharre River army counterattacked together, and now the army has been expelled from Chengde. ”

"Sure enough, it's the end of the strong crossbow, and it can't be worn by Lu Min." Yuan Shikai's face showed a look of satisfaction, and after he heard Duan Qirui's report, he thought about it and asked again, "Can you take this opportunity to recover Fengtian in one fell swoop?" ”

Today's Yuan Shikai's fat face is full of red, and the sorrows and doubts of the past few days are now gone.

The frequent good news on the Shandong battlefield made Yuan Shikai regain his former self-confidence.

"If there is enough food, guns and ammunition, there should be no problem." Duan Qirui replied affirmatively.

"Even if you borrow money, you have to win this battle." Yuan Shikai understood what Duan Qirui was worried about, and said to the military and political dignitaries in the room, "Yesterday I also had a secret conversation with Zhu Envoy (that is, the British Minister Zhu Erdian), and I told him bluntly, I am just smashing the pot and selling iron, and I will take out all my trousers, and I will win this battle, guess what he said?" ”

"It should be said that Britain and Ben are allies, and they lend us some unjustifiable excuses, right?" Liang Shiyi replied.

"Either that, the British political axe is willing to intervene in the conflict between our country and Ben, on the condition that it wants our country to join the Entente camp to fight against Germany and send its army to Europe to fight the war." Duan Qirui replied.

Yuan Shikai nodded and shook his head again.

"Zhiquan is only half right," Yuan Shikai smiled slightly, and said, "The British actually relented this time, and Zhu Envoy vaguely expressed such a meaning, that is, he agreed to secretly lend us money to call himself, on the condition that Zhiquan just said, we join the Entente and send the navy and army to fight against Germany." ”

Hearing Yuan Shikai say this, the surrounding military and political dignitaries all showed surprise on their faces.

After the war of aggression against China was launched, Yuan Shikai repeatedly begged the British minister Zhu Erdian to urge the British political axe to come forward to stop the invasion of the British political axe, and Zhu Erdian also tried his best to explain to the British political axe what was happening in China, but the British political axe was always indifferent and resigned himself to the act of invading China. The attitude of the British political axe greatly disappointed Yuan Shikai and some Chinese officials who had great hopes for Britain, and Britain's laissez-faire aggression against China also caused resistance and hostility among the Chinese people.

But now, as the tide of war gradually turns in favor of China, Britain's attitude has suddenly taken a 180-degree turn. For Yuan and most Chinese officials, though, the British political axe change has not yet made them comfortable with it.

"It looks like the alliance between Britain and Ben is coming to an end." Duan Qirui sneered and said.

"The British may now see the true face of Yue himself," Lu Zhengxiang said, "This ally of Yue Ben patronizes and picks up bargains, not only does not contribute at all in the war, but always stabs him in the back." What is the use of such an ally? ”

Lu Zhengxiang's words were not echoing Yuan Shikai, in fact, Britain and its allies were already tired of this ally, who was not interested in the war in Europe at all and was always playing tricks behind his back.

The original purpose of concluding the Anglo-Japanese alliance was to allow the British alliance to contain Russia in Asia, but with the establishment of the Anglo-French-Russian Entente bloc, the significance of the existence of the Anglo-Japanese alliance has become insignificant. After the outbreak of World War I, in the face of the threat of the German navy, Britain urgently needed the help of a strong navy to take care of the backyard, but his own behavior disappointed the British. Due to his slow action, the main force of the German East Asian Fleet in Qingdao easily rushed into the Pacific Ocean, inflicting huge losses on the British rear.

After the Allied group joined the Entente group to declare war on Germany, the army took the lead in attacking Qingdao, but after the army landed on the Jiaodong Peninsula, it was not in a hurry to attack Qingdao, but was busy dividing troops to seize the cities along the Jiaoji Railway and put Shandong in the beak. In addition, after the start of the war, he sent the battleships "Katori", "Kashima", and Satsuma and the battlecruiser "Kurama" to form the "Special Southern Detachment" and the "Second Southern Detachment" to go south to the Pacific Ocean to seize the former German islands, and by October 19, 1914, he had occupied all the German Pacific islands north of the equator, including the Mariana Islands, the Caroline Islands, and the Marshall Islands. Ironically, as early as September 12, 1914, Australia had already declared its occupation of the islands!

In addition to these islands, he also seized the Palau archipelago and Yap, the undersea telegraph center in the Pacific Ocean. What made the British even more annoyed was that every time the army occupied an island, they would erect the national flag and establish a military administration in that place, as if they regarded these places as their own territory. For example, on October 14, 1914, when the battleship Katori occupied Saipan, the largest island in the Mariana Islands (he called it Saifan Island), he even "enshrined" the "Lord God of Keitsu" enshrined in the shrine of the ship "Katori" to the island, and built the "Katori Shrine" near the lighthouse built by the Germans!

Said's behavior made the British very unhappy, but at this time, the European battlefield was in a state of gelatinization, and Britain still wanted to borrow this ally, so they could not bear Yue's behavior. After the army captured Qingdao, he immediately proposed to China the "21 Articles" in a vain attempt to destroy China, and after being rejected by the Chinese political axe, he brazenly launched a war of aggression against China in spite of the difficulties that Britain was fighting in Europe.

At the very beginning of the war, Britain warned him not to take military action in his sphere of influence in China and adjacent areas, and soon the United States, Russia, and France issued the same warning. He did not dare to ignore the warnings of the Western powers, so he confined the battlefield to Mukden and Shandong, and gave up the plan to land and fight in Tianjin because of the scruples of the foreign powers' interference.

With the continuous expansion of the scale of the war and the escalation of the intensity, the navy and army forces invested more and more in the Chinese battlefield, and they became less and less enthusiastic about the war in Europe. In this context, it is easy to understand that there has been a radical change in British attitude towards China.

"It's not just about seeing through my true face." Navy Chief Liu Guanxiong said, "This time, we have choked myself enough to show the great powers the military strength and popular sentiment of our China, which is also an important reason for Britain's change of attitude." ”

"Yes, this time, the officers and men of the Navy and the army and the patriotic people went forward one after another and bravely resisted the enemy, which is really singable and crying." Yuan Shikai sighed, "From now on, the Taixi countries should no longer dare to underestimate my China." ”

"In this battle against the Japanese invaders, the sacrifice of the front-line soldiers and civilians is very sad." Lu Zhengxiang reminded Yuan Shikai, "At present, although our navy and army have won many victories, the overall situation is still that the enemy is strong and we are weak. Now that Britain and the United States are at odds with each other, China might as well take this opportunity to ask Britain and the United States to mediate and force a truce with the United States. ”

"Yes." Yuan Shikai nodded and agreed with Lu Zhengxiang's opinion, "Although our army has won many victories, but the military and civilian power have been greatly consumed, and the country has not recovered at present. ”

"If peace talks are resumed, it is imperative to recover all the land and rights that have been usurped by the previous capital." Duan Qirui looked at Yuan Shikai and said.

"Shandong has now recovered, and what is missing is Fengtian." Yuan Shikai understood what Duan Qirui meant, and said, "If it is difficult to recover with troops, only Xu Yingmei will use his privilege to urge him to put pressure on Yueben." ”

"The three eastern provinces are located between Russia and China, and if we want to restore our territorial sovereignty, we have to work harder!" Lu Zhengxiang sighed.

At this moment, an official from the political hall hurriedly walked in and handed a report to Yuan Shikai, who noticed that the official seemed to be happy, and couldn't help but feel a little strange.

"What's going on again?" Yuan Shikai asked.

"There is a large-scale plague in our country!" The official said with some excitement.

Listening to the official's report, Yuan Shikai couldn't help but be taken aback, he took the report with a somewhat trembling hand, and couldn't wait to read it.

"God bless me China!" When Duan Qirui heard the news, he couldn't help but nod and sigh.

He knew that now there should be no need for the intervention of Britain and the United States, and China could regain the lost land.

In October 1915, a large-scale outbreak of plague began in the coastal areas of Japan, and by November it spread to major cities such as Tokyo, Osaka, and Kobe. In many areas, one person falls ill and the entire family dies soon after. In order to prevent the spread of the epidemic, a large number of soldiers and police were dispatched to estimate and burn houses and corpses in the areas where the epidemic was more severe, but the plague also quickly spread to the personnel on duty, and many people contracted the disease and died. For a time, all parts of the country, from the city to the countryside, were shrouded in the shadow of death.

After the emergence of the plague, the government immediately ordered all localities to prevent the spread of the epidemic, promulgated various epidemic prevention laws and regulations, and adopted various measures such as cutting off traffic in the epidemic area, establishing a large number of isolation areas, organizing manpower to incinerate the bodies of patients, and strictly disinfecting the epidemic area, but due to the rapid spread of the epidemic, the government axe was unprepared in advance, resulting in a large number of deaths, and many people fled by boat to avoid the plague, and the result inevitably spread the epidemic to North Korea and Hawaii, where a large number of immigrants lived.

Due to the ferocity of the plague, after it spread to North Korea, the invading army based in North Korea was also infected, many soldiers were infected, and the army was seriously attritional.

On December 7, 1915, all the Yue troops retreated into the territory of Korea, and the [***] team recovered the entire territory of Mukden and confronted the Yue army across the Yalu River.

On December 9, 1915, under the joint mediation of the British and American political axes, China and the two countries announced a cease-fire on the same day.

On December 27, 1915, when the plague epidemic was discovered in Mukden, Dr. Wu Liande, secretary of the Chinese Medical Association, led a medical team to inspect and investigate, and was awarded full authority to command and coordinate epidemic prevention by Yanjing Zhengaxe, responsible for extinguishing the plague. Chinese provinces have organized medical personnel to travel to Mukden.

On February 7, 1916, thanks to the efforts of the United States, the epidemic in Hawaii was extinguished, and according to incomplete statistics from the United States, a total of about 30,000 people in Hawaii were infected and died.

On March 12, 1916, the Chinese government announced that the epidemic in Mukden had been completely extinguished, and 2,543 people were confirmed to have died of the disease.

On May 2, 1916, the government announced that the plague had been completely eliminated in the territory, and the official death toll was 133476. According to some foreign experts who participated in the anti-epidemic work in Japan, the officials deliberately concealed the death toll for political purposes, and the foreign experts conservatively estimated the death toll to be more than 500,000.

Shandong, Qingdao, Moltke Mountain Fort.

"Why did you get here?" Yang Shuoming looked at his brother-in-law Huang Shengyun, who was dressed in military uniform, and patted him on the shoulder with a smile, "You were actually promoted?" ”

"After the battle, I took a leave of absence and came to see my brother-in-law." Huang Shengyun, who had already become a lieutenant in the army, smiled embarrassedly, and his eyes immediately fell on the distant fort.

"You want to see the sunken warship, right?" Yang Shuoming guessed his mind and said with a smile.

"This cannon is really exciting!" Huang Shengyun looked at a new 180mm heavy howitzer, and his eyes lit up little by little, "I have never seen such a big cannon on General Cai Songpo's side." ”

"By the way, tell me about your situation." Yang Shuoming pulled his brother-in-law and sat down next to the cannon, "I heard that you guys have fought a lot of tough battles there, right?" ”

"I don't think it's a tough fight." Huang Shengyun shook his head and said, "Actually, we always lost the battle at the beginning, retreated in stride, lost a lot of places, and the people pointed at our backbone and scolded us at the beginning. ”

"Oh? No way? General Cai Songpo is a well-known general, who studied in this book and is known as the "Three Heroes of Chinese Non-commissioned Officers", so he should be very familiar with his own tactics. Yang Shuoming couldn't help but be a little surprised when he heard Huang Shengyun's words, "It shouldn't be like this, right?" ”

"But that's how we got it. However, I actually admire General Cai Songpo very much. Huang Shengyun smiled bitterly and said, "Because everyone is very frustrated because they always lose, General Cai found out and personally sent troops to cheer everyone up, and some officers were deflated and asked him directly: 'Repeated defeats, what are we going to fight?'" General Cai replied: "Our military strength is not as good as that of the Japanese Invaders, this is a fact, we have never fought such a battle before, and it is reasonable to suffer some losses." We are compared with the Japanese Bandits, the advantage is that we have more people, and the other is that our Chinese territory is vast, although we are now repeatedly defeated, but the Japanese Kou have also suffered great losses, their strength is weakening little by little, and the battle line is getting longer and longer, and we have been defeated and fought repeatedly, the more we fight, and we are close to the rear, the supply is easy, and there is the support of the people, the strength will only get stronger and stronger, and when the Japanese can not bear the strength, it is when we will completely defeat them. ”

"He's right." Yang Shuoming nodded, a hint of admiration flashed in his eyes, "He is worthy of being a good general, who knows how to use his own strengths and the weaknesses of his enemies." ”

From Huang Shengyun's words, Yang Shuoming has already understood that what Cai Ye adopted should be similar to Kutuzov's strategy and tactics against Napoleon.

"yes!" Huang Shengyun said, "General Cai also said: 'A step back is the homeland, if we don't go to war, it will be tantamount to sending our wives, children, parents, and villagers to the enemy to ravage, even if it is for them, no matter how hard it is, we will fight the war again!'" Listening to the general's words, everyone's fighting spirit rose again, re-energized and fought with the Japanese invaders, when the Japanese invaders hit Chengde, they finally couldn't stand it, General Cai seized the opportunity, united General Zhang Shaozeng and General Zhang Zuolin's troops, plus General Xu Shuzheng's reinforcements, all at once ate the front army of the Japanese Kou, the Japanese were beaten off the arrogance, and then began to retreat, we chased all the way over, and the lost places were all recovered, and then I heard that there was a plague in Fengtian City, General Cai was afraid that the troops would be infected, ordered to halt the advance and disengage from contact with the Japanese ......"

"Do you mean that at that time, it was already discovered that there was an epidemic among the army?" Yang Shuoming suddenly interrupted Huang Shengyun's narration and asked.

"yes. On the way to the pursuit, we saw a lot of dead corpses of Japanese soldiers, many of them were covered with black spots, at that time the military medical officer said that it was the plague, and suggested that the pursuit should be stopped immediately, all the corpses should be burned, and strictly disinfected, General Cai followed the advice of the medical officer, and ordered to rest on the spot. Huang Shengyun said, "Together with the common people, we burned the corpses of the Japanese for three days and three nights." ”

"Understood." Yang Shuoming nodded quietly and motioned for Huang Shengyun to continue.

"Despite the strict precautions taken by the troops, hundreds of brothers contracted the plague and died, and those who were less ill were left in temporary quarantine areas established in the area to receive intensive treatment." Huang Shengyun said, "Later, when we heard that the Japanese had retreated to the territory of Korea, we continued to advance, and we regained the lost territory without bloodshed. ”

(To be continued)