Hiroshima, the wartime base camp

At this moment, they were completely overwhelmed by ecstasy, and compared to the grim, even a little apprehensive look on everyone's face before the war, it was completely replaced by joy and arrogance that could not be concealed at this moment. The base camp was full of celebratory crowds, generals and staff officers talked about Pyongyang's victory, and even the faces of the guards were filled with the joy of victory.

The Pyongyang Assault was a rare victory in modern history. This is also the first time in history that the regular army against the regular army on the battlefield has truly defeated the army from China from the front. The whole country celebrated, and Kobe and other places even held a lantern parade of 10,000 people to celebrate the victory of this historical surname. Under the command of General Youpeng in Shanxian County, in more than half a month, the army waved all the way north with the strength of two divisions, and broke through the Nie Shicheng Department of the Qing Army in Asan in World War I, and the Second World War was even more brilliant, and captured Pyongyang in just one day, the Huai Army, which the Qing State regarded as the elite, was beaten all night long, trampling on the road of rout and trampling on the dead and wounded amounted to more than 1,000 people, the Huai Army is like this, looking at the Qing State, which army can stop the pace of the Imperial Army's gallop.

He was still celebrating his victory in the Pyongyang offensive battle, and he won an even greater victory. On the sea surface of Dadonggou, the seemingly huge Beiyang Fleet of the Qing Kingdom sank to the bottom of the sea little by little under the fire of the Imperial Combined Fleet. The Empire's wartime base camp can no longer describe the victory of the Navy in words, this is no longer a glorious victory, but a war that changed the fate of the Empire. Dingyuan and Zhenyuan, these two giant warships, once overwhelmed the empire, and now, all the fears and worries have been left in the deep seabed forever with the sinking Qing [***] ships in the Yellow Sea.

The successive victories made the people of this country crazy. In Tokyo, major groups poured into the streets to celebrate the glorious victory of the Empire, and even His Majesty the Emperor issued an edict to encourage the troops on the front line.........

The army won a big victory. The Navy won a big victory. The Qing Kingdom, which seemed to be a behemoth, finally collapsed in front of the empire. The clouds that have been weighing on the empire for thousands of years have finally lifted, and the empire will be bathed in sunlight. For many years, the pressure on the empire from the huge country on the other side was too great, like an incomparably heavy shadow, hanging over the empire all the time, and even every breath of the empire was stained with the smell of that country. For many years, the empire has been huddled on islands full of volcanoes and earthquakes, the land is barren, the resources are scarce, and it is desperately frugal under the drive of the general trend of the world. Put every copper plate, every grain of grain. All of them were used to organize the army and the military, and today I finally see the hope of changing the fate of the empire.

While the entire base camp was immersed in a jubilant atmosphere, Ito Hirobumi was silently staring at the map on the wall alone in the conference room facing the port of Kabingoura.

"Gentlemen, Korea is completely in the hands of the empire, and the navy has also gained sea supremacy, but the war is not over, and the main force of the Qing Beiyang is still there...... Only when the First Army of the Imperial Expedition crossed the Yalu River, the Second Army of the Qing Dynasty landed in southern Liaonan of the Qing State, captured the Qing State Lushun, and joined forces with the First Army of the Qing Dynasty in Liaodong to attack the Qing Dynasty, swept the Qing State Liaoxi Corridor, pointed directly at the Qing State capital, and forced the Qing State to sign an alliance under the city, Gentlemen, that time is the time when the empire can open champagne to celebrate. Looking around at the people in the base camp, Ito Hirobumi said with a stern expression.

As a politician with an extremely broad strategic vision. Hirobumi Ito knew better than anyone in the base camp at this time that the war empire was actually gambling. The easy capture of Pyongyang came from the self-defeat of the Qing [***] team without a fight. And the battle in the Yellow Sea, in fact, was also very lucky.

At the end of May, when the 5th Division advanced north, Maxiling, Feihuling, Liuguoling, and Qilin Ridge were ...... In every place where the road is difficult and dangerous, the Qing army has sent troops to block it. Although the Qing army did not stop the advance of the empire in the end, it inflicted more than a thousand casualties on the empire. What is worrying, however, is that from the confessions of Qing prisoners captured in these places, it can be learned that the battalion officers of the troops who came to stop the attack had all studied through the two-month officer training course of the Qing New Army Military Academy. Although they had only studied the new army tactics for two months, they had already shown that they had a better tactical command than the other battalions that had not been studied, and they had already begun to learn to block attacks and cover each other's retreats. The good news is that they have only been learning for a short time, so short that they have not completely changed them, and they are still the old army.

In the Battle of the Yellow Sea, although the Imperial United Fleet sank four warships of the Qing State, the Imperial United Fleet was also heavily damaged, and the four warships had completely lost their combat effectiveness, and even if they were repaired in a short time, they could barely be used as transport ships. Even the Saikyo Maru, which Shiki Kayama was riding, was almost sunk by the Qing torpedo boat Furyu, and if the torpedo at the launch site of the Fukuru had not passed under the Saikyo Maru, Shiki Kayama, the founder of the Imperial Combined Fleet, would have smashed the jade into the Yellow Sea.

There is no doubt that it was Amaterasu who favored the empire again and again, and the fate of more than a thousand years suddenly turned around and turned to the empire at this moment, but the empire must take the opportunity to change its fate into its own hands. Dingyuan and Zhenyuan have not yet been sunk, the main forces of the Qing State have not been eliminated, the war has just begun, and the empire has not really won, at least not yet.........

"By the end of July at the latest, the Second Army of the Qing Dynasty must capture the Qing state of Lushun, and the Empire must completely win this war before the arrival of winter. Ito clenched his fists and slammed them down.

"Please rest assured, Your Excellency the Prime Minister, the First Division of the Second Army of the Imperial Qing Dynasty has been assembled, and the Twelfth Brigade is being formed, and when the soldiers and materials are ready, I will personally lead the Second Army of the Qing Dynasty to the south of Liaonan of the Qing Dynasty, and capture Lushun, the most important military port of the Qing State, in one fell swoop, and join His Excellency Youpeng of Shan County in the Liaoxi Corridor of the Qing Kingdom, at that time, there will be no strength that can resist the advance of the Imperial Army......" War Minister Dashan Yan leaned over slightly. The navy's victory over the Qing Beiyang Fleet has greatly stimulated the army, and this time, as the Minister of War, Dashan Yan will also take command of the expedition, and will use the record of marching into the Qing capital to win dignity for the imperial army.

Just when everyone was looking forward to the future, as if they saw the defeat of the main force of the Qing State again, and the huge Qing State prayed for peace under the chrysanthemums and swords of the empire, a hurried footstep woke up the army staff officer Jikawa Kamiroku. An army staff officer whispered a few words beside Nagakawa Akami, and Kawakami Kawakami's expression suddenly became grim.

"Your Excellency Prime Minister, I have just received confirmed that except for the Leshantang in Wuhan and Ishikawa Wuichi who was sent to the Qing Kingdom, the rest of the locations have been destroyed, and the whereabouts of the personnel are unknown......" Kawakami said with a frown: "And Ishikawa Wuichi has not contacted us for half a month, maybe he has ......"

"When did this happen? When was it discovered? Ito's heart moved.

"Since the Qing State declared war on our country, except for Leshantang in Wuhan, no intelligence station can be contacted. According to the information sent back by Ishikawa Wuyi, the two intelligence stations in Beijing and Tianjin were attacked by non-civilian personnel on the night of the Qing declaration of war. I suspect that the Empire's intelligence system within the Qing State has been systematically destroyed by the Qing State. Saying that, Kawakami Yaliu bowed violently: "I haven't been able to find that the Qing Kingdom still has a force against the empire. Your Excellency the Prime Minister, this is my rereliction of duty. ”

"They hid this force and did not mobilize it until the declaration of war. It's not your fault, the Qing people are too cunning. Ito Hirobumi said with a smile on his face: "Now the most elite Beiyang tribes of the Qing Kingdom have been defeated by the empire. This force could not stop the advance of the Empire. ”

"But now the movement of the new army of the Qing State has been lost, and we have never been able to figure out the actual situation of this army. I also ask the Prime Minister to remind the Army of the need to pay special attention to this force. ”

"No matter how strong the new army of the Qing State is, it will only have 20,000 people." Looking at the direction of Liaodong in the Qing Kingdom on the map, Ito Hirofumi said quietly: "I believe that the First Army of the Qing Dynasty under General Youpeng in Yama Prefecture will solve this problem......"

Inside the Cining Palace

Li Hongzhang fell to his knees, and the thin telegram in his hand was as heavy as Mount Tai.

On 14 May of the 20th year of Guangxu, the Beiyang Fleet and the Yueben Combined Fleet encountered each other in Dadonggou in the Yellow Sea. After this battle, the Beiyang Fleet has lost the strength to go to sea to fight.........

The Beiyang Fleet was defeated. The Beiyang Fleet, which the imperial court gathered the material and financial resources of the whole country, spent a huge amount of money, and painstakingly built for more than ten years, was defeated by a small country like Yuben? So many ironclad ships, which Li Hongzhang said had been firmly established and claimed to be the number one fleet in Asia, were sunk four in one go, and there was no strength to fight again? ………

The entire Cining Palace suddenly fell into a deathly silence, which made people feel suffocated.

Defeated, defeated. Guangxu sat down in the chair like a prostration. Why did he ask back to Weili again, purchase more rapid-fire guns from the second ship of Dingzhen, and purchase new shells, but in the end it still couldn't change the outcome. Why...... Two lines of tears slipped from Guangxu's eyes.

At this moment, all the people in Le Shou Tang were at a loss, with a shocked face, staring at the thin pages of the telegraph and unable to say a word.

"What are you doing on your knees?" Guangxu suddenly stood up, looked coldly at the Minister of Military Aircraft kneeling below, and said, "Kneeling on the ground can save the crisis?" Kneeling on the ground can knock me away? ”

Shi Duo and the others were stunned at this time, but they couldn't say a word, just peeked at the Queen Mother's expression.

The Beiyang Fleet has always been the face of the imperial court, and it is a flag that has supported the self-improvement of the Qing Dynasty for decades. It is impossible not to fight this battle. But he said that he was so strong, even Li Hongzhang's Beiyang was defeated, fighting, can he win?

"Pyongyang lost the battle, and now even the Beiyang Fleet has been defeated. The government and the opposition discussed, this battle, I Daqing can't fight if I don't want to, but I Daqing said that I can't lose anything again. How to play, you all have to discuss it...... Li Hongzhang, how are you going to prepare for defense? Suppressing the panic in her heart, Cixi said weakly.

Cixi also felt that even her heart was in pain at the moment, and she had a good longevity celebration, but she was stunned and was stirred up into a messy situation today, what kind of sixty years of life is this! was bullied by the little devil, and the fight must be beaten, but once the court opens up to fight, what are the chances of winning? This matter only needs to wait until the Ming Dynasty is announced, and the whole country, the government and the opposition, will definitely be in an uproar. If the imperial court can't come up with any more practical proposals to calm people's hearts, there may be some earth-shattering waves. What worries Zixi the most is the attitude of the emperor now. At this juncture, if you really take advantage of Li Hongzhang's Beiyang fiasco, coupled with the discussion of the government and the opposition, and secretly do something, it will be the real big trouble.

Cixi's heart was also empty, frightened and angry, and at this moment, her heart was a hundred turns and thousands of times, and all kinds of tastes were mixed together.

"Back to the Queen Mother's words, at present, the Beiyang Huai Army departments want to consolidate the Haikou fortress in Lushun and other places, and now there are no troops to adjust, in order to prevent myself from rushing all the way from North Korea and disturbing the safety of the land of Longxing in the Qing Dynasty, Weichen ...... Weichen wanted to ask for the transfer of the new army to consolidate the first-line defense from eastern Liaodong to southern Liaoning. Li Hongzhang hesitated for a while before hesitating.

Cixi raised her eyebrows, her face suddenly gloomy, and she asked for a new army. Now Cixi is afraid that the new army will move, and this transfer may be out of her control. The Beiyang Navy Division was defeated, could it be that Li Hongzhang was also at a loss and dizzy?

"Joke, I can't transfer troops from hundreds of battalions in the Qing Dynasty?" Cixi glanced at Di Guangxu beside her, "The new army is defending Gyeonggi, and the newly built army has been transferred, how can the defense of the capital division be settled?" ”

Li Hongzhang slowly raised his head and said: "If you go back to the Queen Mother, the top priority at present is to mobilize heavy troops to consolidate the defense of the front line of the Yalu River. In case the army takes advantage of the victory and marches into the army, threatening the land of Longxing in the Qing Dynasty. At present, Weichen has urgently dispatched more than 4,000 people from Liu Shengxiu's department of the Ming Army to reinforce him, and he will work with Ye Zhichao's troops who have returned from North Korea to take charge of the defense of the Yalu River. However, Ye Zhichao was afraid of the enemy in battle, and it was no longer enough to take on the big responsibility, so Weichen suggested that Song Qing, the governor of Sichuan, who had been assigned to assist in the military affairs of Beiyang before being transferred, go to the Yalu River to take charge of the defense affairs, and control the training of the troops in various departments in Beiyang and Feng Province, so as to have one power. At the same time, the 12th battalion of Heilongjiang General Yiketanga was stationed in the Yalu River ......"

Everyone was a little confused at this time, but just now the Queen Mother was clearly talking about the new army, why was Li Hongzhang turned around and pulled it to the defense of the Yalu River?

At this moment, Cixi was also a little confused, and was about to speak, but Li Hongzhang paused and said: "In order to consolidate the defense of the Yalu River, Weichen has exhausted all the troops in Liaodong. Other Beiyang departments also had to guard the Haikou fortresses in Lushun, Weihai, Dagu and other places. There is no longer a single soldier on the line from Liaodong to southern Liaoning, so Weichen asked for a new army to consolidate the defense of the line from eastern Liaodong to southern Liaoning. ”

Cixi frowned, thinking about whether to agree. Sun Yuwen, who was on the side, slowly raised his head and said: "Queen Mother, during this time, the defense of the first line of the Yalu River is being raised, and the troops on the front line of Liaodong have indeed been evacuated, in case the war does not go well, the ministers may not be able to continue." Therefore, the minister thought that the new army could be transferred to the Liaodong area to be garrisoned in order to consolidate the defense of the place......" Sun Yuwen paused and glanced up at the Queen Mother, "However, the new army does shoulder the heavy responsibility of defending Gyeonggi, and all of them have been withdrawn. The defense of the Kyoshi was empty. Therefore, Weichen suggested that the troops of a division of the new army could be transferred there. ”

Everyone knows that Sun Yuwen is the most perceptive of the Queen Mother's mind, but now that he says this, who knows what kind of medicine he sells in this gourd.

"Division?" Cixi was a little sarcastic about this title, and Cixi was very unhappy when Guangxu wanted to decide on a name. If this ancestral system is still wanted, in the end, Cixi did not object, so she let Guangxu make trouble. Now that he heard this name again, he said a little coldly: "What does the emperor mean?" ”

"Raise soldiers for a thousand years, and use soldiers for a while. At the beginning of the establishment of the New Army, the original intention was to make this new army a model for the Qing army. I've been practicing for so long, and it's time to see the real chapter. Although the training is good, it will eventually be tested on the battlefield where artillery is full of fire. Let the first division go, and let Ouyang Zhenhua personally take the first division. Tell him, tell every officer and soldier of the 1st Division. There is no way back for the Qing Dynasty, as long as there are still living soldiers in the first division, do not give up resistance. Guangxu looked at the ministers in the surroundings and said calmly: "Is there a way out?" ”

Guangxu's voice suddenly became stern: "The Military Aircraft Department immediately issued an edict to the whole country to boost the morale of the world." Gather the material resources of the whole country, and fight to the death in this book. ”

Beiyang has been defeated, and the new army can do much to transfer 10,000 people? And in case of an accident, it is naturally the emperor's proposition, and everything has a way out. Thinking of this, Cixi nodded slightly, "Since the emperor is trying his best to advocate the transfer of a new army, and you all mean the same, then transfer the strength of a division." I'm an old lady who doesn't know anything about military affairs, so the emperor can make up your mind about this war. (To be continued.) )