"Chief, a telegram from Arthur that the Japanese attacked Arthur on the night of February 8, 1904, and severely damaged three Russian ironclad ships." Lu Liang couldn't laugh when he got the information, the war was no different from the original history, the Russians were holding a dinner party when the Japanese army attacked to celebrate the name day of the wife of the fleet commander Admiral Stark, the sound of explosions and artillery alarmed the entire port, what is puzzling is that the following report is live ammunition, and the upper deck continued the dinner, until the early morning of the next day when the wreckage of the ship that was hit near the port was discovered, and the truth was revealed, and the paralysis of the Russians was visible.

The rise of the Japanese came at a time when the two great powers in the Far East, China and Russia, were in a state of deep decay and had no other competitors. The British and Americans took advantage of Japan to contain the pace of Russian expansion, so they strongly supported it, and the Japanese also competed, and the small island country, which did not have many resources, was able to struggle to rise and eventually start a world war with Germany, which has to be admired.

Admiration is one thing, what should be done has to be done, Lu Liang admires the tenacious national character and spirit of striving for progress of the Japanese, as well as those strategic and tactical masters, who can find the right opportunity to achieve their rise. Lu Liang is a nationalist, but he is not a racial supremacist, and in his opinion, there is nothing to be ashamed of absorbing the good side of other ethnic groups and constantly learning.

With the progress of time and the continuous arrival of information, Russia accelerated the increase of troops to the Far East after the outbreak of the war, adjusted its deployment, and strengthened its defense. At the same time, Makarov, the new commander of the Russian Pacific Fleet, adopted a series of measures to lay mines in the coastal areas of the Liaodong Peninsula, improve the defense of Port Arthur, step up the repair of damaged ships, and frequently send ships to sea to strengthen combat readiness training. He also ordered Vladivostok's fleet to raid the Japanese sea lines of communication in the Sea of Japan. to disperse the pressure.

While the two countries were vying for sea supremacy, Japanese troops began to land. On March 21, 1904, the First Army of the Japanese Army, under the command of General Kuroki Weizhen, landed in Nampo, Korea, and advanced northward, and the ground war broke out. The First Army did not meet resistance until it reached the left bank of the Yalu River. In the Yalu River area, the Russian Dongman detachment had nearly 20,000 men and 62 artillery pieces, and the two sides fought fiercely in Jiuliancheng on May 1. The commander of the East Manchurian detachment, General Zasulich, ordered a retreat, the Russian army suffered its first defeat, and the Japanese army advanced out of the Phoenix area and prepared to march to the Liaoyang area.

The Second Army of the Japanese Army, under the command of General Okubaogong, landed on the Liaodong Peninsula in an attempt to capture Arthur from the north and engage in a fierce battle with the Russian army in the Jinzhou area. Japanese generals such as Okubaogong and Kuroki Weizhen swept away the bad luck when they fought against Zhen****, regained self-confidence from the Russians, and the Second Army occupied Jinzhou and Dalian one after another, laying the foundation for the Battle of Lushun.

June 20, 1904. The Japanese army established the General Headquarters of the Manchurian Army, with General Obao Gong as the commander-in-chief (originally historically Dashanyan, but had died in Guangdong), and commanded all Japanese troops in a unified manner. Japan was making good progress on all fronts, and the navy took the initiative and gained sea supremacy, and Makarov led a fleet to the sea at the end of March to challenge the Japanese Combined Fleet, but was killed by a mine on the way back to base on 13 April. The new commander, Witheft, ordered the fleet to retract to the inner harbor of Arthur and to refrain from active action.

"Chief. British Consul William visited. In the Wuhan Prime Minister's Office, Lu Liang unexpectedly got this news, the British are now in the same boat as the revolutionary government, and the British consul in Wuhan has never come, I don't know what the purpose of this visit is that it has something to do with the ongoing war?

"Your Excellency, Prime Minister. I have come this time to do business with your government on behalf of Jardine Matheson and other British foreign firms. After a brief greeting, William got straight to the point, and the two met like the relationship between the two countries, very indifferent. William was dismissive because of his arrogance. Lu Liang is because he lacks the cultivation of politicians, and he is happy and angry.

"Please speak up."

"That's right, here's an order with the catalog and quantity of the goods we need, we hope to be able to purchase and ship it under your government, and the most important thing is to be fast!" Lu Liang took the catalog, which was completely written in English, Lu Liang handed it over to the translator with a gloomy face, yes, Lao Tzu understands English, but he also hates English the most!

Ten minutes later, the translator handed the table of contents back to Lu Liang, relieving the embarrassment caused by the silence between the two. The name of the goods on the catalogue Lu Liang is very familiar, from weapons and ammunition to military boots and hats, almost all the materials needed to start a war are on it, William is not purchased for foreign companies at all, but for the Japanese army!

No wonder the British consul pulled down his face to visit him, the British could provide enough support to the Japanese, from finances to warships, but the amount of materials consumed in the war was too large, and by the end of May, the number of Japanese troops fighting on the front line had exceeded 300,000 and continued to increase. The production capacity of Japanese industry could not meet the needs of the war effort, and the procurement from other industrial countries was too far away for Japan to afford, either in terms of transportation costs or time. The emerging industrial zones in southern China offer a new option for the Japanese, but it's a bit too awkward.

Everyone knew that Lu Liang, the prime minister of the revolutionary government, had an undisguised bad feeling towards Japan, and the Japanese felt that they would definitely not pass the purchase when they came to procure, so they entrusted the British to come, and did not say what it was for, although a discerning person could see it clearly. Moreover, the money used to purchase supplies was also a loan from the British, and the British could not have done this better, so Consul William had to take on the job he least wanted to do.

"Why not, we are very welcome to all customers to purchase our goods, I have no opinion." Lu Liang finally showed a smile and said to William.

William is still the same iceberg, he has been prepared for Lu Liang's opinion, this world is the world of competition for the market, if it is not too far away and time is pressing, how can British companies let go of such a big order! Cheap for you!

"Your Excellency, Prime Minister, I propose that the first shipment be completed by the end of June and brought to the port of Shanghai for loading, with the British Foreign Company taking care of the transportation. The second and third batches should also be hurried. There is a special person in charge of the detailed procurement details, and Lu Liang can't wait for this Westerner to get out of here. After William left, Lu Liang was very happy, and the Japanese purchase list was equivalent to a big meal for the southern industry, which was on the rise, and it played a considerable role in promoting the local economy. I didn't expect that the Russo-Japanese War would also have the benefits here, and when Zhen **** joined the war, I don't know what the Japanese would think?

The Russo-Japanese War was in full swing, and from the feedback from the front, the Japanese Army immediately imitated it after suffering losses from the Zhenguo Army, and the number of machine guns in the army increased significantly, and mortars also appeared in the list of Japanese equipment, however, its tactics did not change much, and the crowd was still the most popular tactic among Japanese officers, in addition, because most of the time it was an offensive operation, the defensive weapon barbed wire did not appear on the battlefield.

Compared with the Japanese army, the Russian army is more advanced in equipment, and the number of machine guns is also quite large, and it is a defensive operation, which has been operating in the Arthur area for many years, and the fortress has just begun. At that time, Li Hongzhang also built fortifications here, and Lushun, as a military stronghold, was very unfavorable for the attacking side. If it weren't for the corruption and incompetence of the Russian army, the Japanese army would not have easily advanced to the front line of Liaoyang and Lushun.

The war also triggered a large-scale refugee wave, and the people living on the soil of China were threatened by war for no reason, and the soldiers of both countries regarded civilians as supplies, requisitioned labor, plundered property, and killed women and children.

Temporarily put down the heart hanging high, there is one thing that Lu Liang has already decided, and it must be completed in 1904, which is the founding of the country!

The elevation of a revolutionary government to state power will play a major role in the construction of local administration and foreign exchanges, and a simple example would be in the name of the state if war is declared on Japan. Moreover, the establishment of the country also plays an important role in uniting the people's hearts and minds, uniting the people, the establishment of the country is the inevitable result of the development to a certain stage, there were two kinds of arguments before the founding of the country at this time and the founding of the country after the unification, considering the actual situation, Lu Liang believes that the founding of the country is more advantageous at this time, Cai Yuanpei, Zhang Taiyan and others also very much agree with Lu Liang's view, the country is thriving, the national strength is gradually increasing, and the establishment of the country is inevitable.

Before the founding of the People's Republic of China, the most important thing is to decide the country's system, before the revolutionary government has been controlled by the Zhenguo Party, all things are decided within the Zhenguo Party, and the power is concentrated in the hands of Lu Liang to the greatest extent, which is the inevitable choice at this stage, the country needs a strong leader and leadership collective, and any internal friction will consume the country's potential and delay the time for its rise. For a long time to come, this situation will not change significantly.

However, in the long run, such a system is not suitable for the development of the country in peacetime, and the contradictions concealed in wartime will always erupt one day, and a republic is the best choice. (To be continued.) )