[Today's first shift, there will be a second shift in the evening]

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The assassination of the British minister to Russia, Saudie, in the summer palace put Russia in an extremely disadvantageous position diplomatically. In the face of diplomatic pressure from the British political axe, as well as strong public condemnation from Europe and the United States, the Russian political axe had to choose to back down from Britain to a certain extent.

Because the Assassins were Russian, and the Russian police were unable to find out who instructed the Assassins, the Russian political axe had to bear the cauldron on his back, and finally put down his face and publicly apologized to the British.

But this did not mean that the Russians would give in to the British, and Russia continued to expand in the global hegemony between Britain and Russia.

In the Far East and Northeast Asia, Russian negotiators continued to play soy sauce with the Qing Empire's premier Yamen, and the negotiations dragged on for three days of fishing and two days of drying nets. Behind the negotiations, the Russian Far Eastern Military District continued to increase troops on the banks of the Heilongjiang and Tumen rivers and the Yalu River on the Korean Peninsula.

By June 25, the Russian army had assembled two divisions on the north bank of the Songhua River in Heilongjiang Province, and the 1st Amur District Division and the 2nd Coastal District Division were aimed at resisting the first and second towns of the Beiyang Army of the Qing Empire. At the same time, the Russian army assembled the 2nd Amur District Reorganized Division on the outskirts of North Hamgyong Province and Hunchun on the Korean Peninsula, with the aim of crossing the Tumen and Yalu rivers to attack Jilin Province. On the banks of the Yalu River, the Russian troops in North Pyongan Province in North Korea were the 2nd Binhai District Division and a Reading Brigade, and their combat purpose was to break through the Yalu River and attack Shengjing.

The absurd concession of the Qing Empire made the Russians extremely arrogant, and the Russian army from the beginning of the tentative invasion of Heilongjiang Province, soon the ambition swelled, and the Russian army prepared a full-scale invasion of the three northeastern provinces from three directions, in order to create a fait accompli.

Among them, the overall strategy of the Russian army is very vicious, and the two divisions of the Russian army on the north bank of the Songhua River are used to contain the Beiyang Army, and once the second Amur division of the Russian army on the outskirts of Hunchun attacks Jilin Province, it will threaten the right rear on the south bank of the Songhua River, creating a situation of two-front attack. If the Qing army divides its forces to block the second Amur division, then there will be no troops to reinforce Shengjing, and the Russian army in North Ping'an Province will be able to flank the Qing army in the north, and can also go south to Shenyang and Jinzhou, cutting off the retreat of the Qing army in the entire northeast, and the situation is extremely grim.

In the face of this situation, Qing Zhengaxe is still tepid and bent on negotiating peace. It's just that the Russians have the purpose of encroaching on territory, and it is not easy to send them away with indemnities. All the officers and men of the Beiyang Army on the south bank of the Songhua River were very angry, and their hard training was to become an elite army one day, but the Qing court was not allowed to take the initiative to fight, although they had well-equipped weapons in their hands, they were no different from burning sticks.

After Tie Liang took over Wang Chenhao as the Minister of War, he wanted to take over this army, but now it backfired, and the Beiyang Army was bent on asking for war, but he did not have the courage to disobey the orders of the imperial court and block the petitioning soldiers from the door. In this way, the gap between Tie Liang and this elite army is getting deeper and deeper, and it is impossible to retract it.

Of course, all this was deliberately arranged by Wang Shizhen, Ruan Zhongshu and other small Beiyang staff. They instructed Duan Qirui, Feng Guozhang, Jiang Guidi and other generals of the Beiyang Army to launch a petition action for the whole army when Tie Liang did not dare to disobey the orders of the imperial court. If Tie Liang agrees, once the fight starts, it will still be Tie Liang who will be the one who suffers, and he will just take the opportunity to drive him out of the Beiyang Army.

It can be said that no matter what Tie Liang does, he will lose his ability to control this army. And the real purpose of Wang Shizhen and the others is to wait for Wang Chenhao to return, and before he returns, any official who commands the Beiyang Army will be boycotted.

Every day in the army, soldiers deliberately make trouble, and senior generals such as Duan Qirui and Jiang Guidi turn a blind eye and push everything to Tie Liang. Tie Liang has been working almost every day since he became the Minister of War, and at this moment, in the face of the invasion of the Russian army, he is even more of a big head.

Tie Liang went to the imperial court, and either asked for orders to go to war, or removed him from his position. However, the imperial court's answer was that it was being studied. As for how long it will be studied, it is unknown.

Similarly, the Beiyang Naval Division hid in a military port and did not dare to go out to sea to cruise, allowing the Russian Far East Fleet to seize sea supremacy in the Yellow Sea, and even watched the Russian ships enter the Bohai Sea but did not dare to go out to intercept them. All the officers and men of the Beiyang Naval Division were also indignant, but they were strongly pressed by Li Hongzhang.

Tianjin Zhili Governor's Mansion Yamen, Li Hongzhang called Yang Shixiang, Zhou Fu, and Zhang Peilun to discuss matters. The first is the negotiations with the Russians, and the second is the preparation for the use of force when the negotiations break down.

Zhou Fu said: "My lord, I think what Wang Chenhao said is right, the Russians are negotiating fake, and the delay is real, and it can't be delayed any longer, otherwise it will be too late when the Russian reinforcements from both the sea and land arrive." ”

Yang Shixiang fiddled with the teacup and said lightly: "The problem is that the imperial court is bent on peace, thinking that it can send the Russians away by promising some benefits." It was precisely this weakness of the imperial court that the Russians saw through, and therefore deliberately delayed the negotiations. As long as the Russians were willing to negotiate, the imperial court would not abandon this idea. ”

Zhang Peilun said at this time: "I got some Chen Hao's views from Wang Shizhen on this Sino-Russian military conflict. In his telegram, he said that because of the current financial constraints caused by the silver crisis and the lack of vehicles to be delivered by large corps, Russia could not launch a full-scale war, but could only fight a short-term local war, and the scale of the campaign would not exceed the scope of the three northeastern provinces. ”

Yang Shixiang asked: "Lord Wang is far-sighted in this regard, I don't know what else the young haggard asked?" ”

Zhang Peilun smiled and said: "Chen Hao said that the Russians will at most wait for the arrival of reinforcements from Central Asia and then start immediately, due to the limited financial resources and military reserves in the Russian Far East, the military funds consumed every day after the arrival of the Central Asian reinforcements will soon drag down the finances of the Far East, so the Russian army will immediately launch a high-intensity short-term local war, swallowing the three northeastern provinces in one go, for which it will not exceed a month." ”

One month?

Everyone immediately looked at Zhang Peilun in surprise, and the latter smiled: "Don't look at me, this is not what I said, it is the original text of Chen Hao's telegram to Wang Shizhen!" ”

Zhou Fu said in disbelief: "This is too exaggerated! Although the Russian army is very strong, we won't lose the three eastern provinces in a month, right? ”

Yang Shixiang asked thoughtfully: "Lord Wang's overall view is very clear, we have all learned it, and this time I am afraid it is not without purpose." ”

Zhang Peilun continued: "The original text of Chen Hao's telegram to Wang Shizhen was: 'The Russian negotiations are fake, the Russian army in Heilongjiang is only a diversion role, and the real killer is on the banks of the Yalu River and the Jinzhou and Shenyang lines. When Russian reinforcements from Central Asia arrive, the Russian army will attack from the Heilongjiang, Tumen and Yalu rivers, as well as from all sides by sea. The Russian navy will escort an army to land in the northern part of Bohai Bay in order to capture Jinzhou and cut off the three northeastern provinces from Guannai. At that time, the Qing army in the northeast will become a turtle in the urn, and the Russian army will eat all the Qing troops in the territory in one go, so as to achieve the goal of a quick victory. ”

Zhou Fu frowned and said: "Jinzhou is the hub of communication inside and outside the Guan, once Jinzhou is lost, the three provinces outside the Guanxi will lose their supplies and become completely alone." However, the Russian army has a geographical advantage of encircling the three northeastern provinces on three sides, and it is not difficult to completely annihilate the lone army in the northeast. ”

Li Hongzhang also frowned and said: "Recently, the old man has also received some information that the Russian army has increased its troops to the Tumen River and the Yalu River, and the specific amount is unknown, but what Chen Hao said is exactly what the Russian army is planning." If we really wait for that moment, I am afraid it will be difficult for us to stop the Russian army. ”

Zhou Fu sighed: "Lord Wang is really insightful, admire, admire!" ”

Yang Shixiang asked: "Since Lord Wang has guessed the strategic purpose of the Russian army, there must be corresponding countermeasures!" ”

Zhang Peilun replied: "Chen Hao has hired a fleet in Europe, all of which are strong ships and guns, and it will be possible to come back around October without accident." When the time comes, it will form a joint fleet with the Beiyang Naval Division, and I believe that it will be able to break the deadlock at sea. As long as the maritime deadlock is broken, the Russian Navy will not be able to cover the landing of the army in the Bohai Bay, keep Jinzhou and Shengjing, and fight a protracted war with the Russian army, I believe that it can drag down the Russian army. ”

Protracted war, that was the only way Wang Chenhao could think of to untie this knot.

Zhou Fu said: "The Russian army can't afford to fight a quick battle, and we can fight a protracted war in turn and drag down the Russian army, which is feasible." ”

Zhang Peilun then sighed and said, "It's just that the Russian Admiralty also sent a reinforcement fleet to the Far East, which made the situation confusing. The situation will get worse if this Russian reinforcement fleet cannot be resolved. ”

The crowd fell silent.

Yang Shixiang said suddenly: "It's uncertain whether Lord Wang's side can solve the Russian reinforcement fleet, we can't sit idly by, I think Lord Wang should take the initiative to attack!" ”

Li Hongzhang asked rhetorically: "But the problem is that the imperial court is not allowed to fight!" ”

Yang Shixiang smiled and said: "Don't forget that the Beiyang Army was trained by Lord Wang, if I guessed correctly, Duan Qirui and they have been making trouble during this time, presumably planning to squeeze out Tie Liang." Why don't you secretly order the Beiyang Army to fight, it is your credit to win the battle, and if you lose, you will cut off Tie Liang's head. ”

Zhou Fu suddenly said happily: "What Lord Yang said is extremely true, Lord Zhongtang can give it a try." At present, the Russians thought that the imperial court would not dare to fight, and presumably the defense should be looser, and the Beiyang Army was well-equipped and well-trained, and if it launched a surprise attack, it was estimated that there would be unexpected gains. If Heilongjiang is recaptured, it will inevitably be able to disrupt the current deployment of the Russians. ”

"This?" Li Hongzhang was a little hesitant.

Yang Shixiang gave Zhang Peilun a look, and the latter understood. Under the persuasion of the three of them, Li Hongzhang gritted his teeth and decided to take a risk and give it a try.

On June 28, Li Hongzhang crossed Tieliang and issued a secret order to attack the Russian army in Jiangbei to the first and second towns.

Jiang Guidi, Duan Qirui, Feng Guozhang and other officers hurriedly approached Wang Shizhen to discuss countermeasures, and Wang Shizhen immediately sent a telegram to Wang Chenhao in New York to inquire.

After Wang Chenhao received Wang Shizhen's telegram, he discussed with Tang Shaoyi, Tang Shaoyi thought that this was a clever move, and whether it was successful or not, Tie Liang would definitely have to bear the black pot. If successful, it would immediately break the current impasse in negotiations and disrupt the plans of the Russians.

Wang Chenhao also wanted to see how effective his Beiyang Army was, so he immediately called back and ordered Wang Shizhen to arrange the specific battle plan in detail.