The 35,000 Japanese troops who attacked the Shengjing North Route Army, all the way to capture Fengcheng, Liujiahe, Caohekou, and Xiamatang line, the Qing army almost fled, but when the Japanese army captured Benxi City, it was Benxi City Defender Hetu led more than 3,000 defenders to resist the Japanese army for half a day, and after the defender Hetu was killed, the Japanese army immediately occupied Benxi.

The Japanese army continued to attack Shengjing, when heavy snow suddenly fell near Shengjing, and the Japanese army had to retreat to Benxi and wait for the weather to improve before attacking Shengjing.

At this time, Shengjing's troops only escaped from the Yalu River defense line and the original Shengjing's defenders of 20,000 people, the 20,000 cavalry, 40,000 green battalions and 20,000 newly recruited Huai troops sent by the imperial court were still in the pass and did not rush over, thanks to the sudden heavy snow, which gave Shengjing a chance to breathe, so that the Qing generals of Shengjing at this time Yi Ketang'a, Qingyu, Zhang Xiluan, Nie Shicheng and others breathed a sigh of relief, relying on the 20,000 people at this time, the Qing generals did not give any hope to hold Shengjing.

Now that the Japanese army has stopped attacking because of the heavy snow, several generals immediately urgently recruited a few reinforcements to enter Shengjing quickly!

The Japanese base camp had already received the four Japanese divisions that attacked Lushun in Jinzhou City by the student soldiers of the Sailor School, and they were beaten to the head and bloodied, and nearly 10,000 people were killed in battle alone.

Emperor Meiji looked at the battle report sent from the front, frowned and said to Japanese Prime Minister Ito Hirobumi and Combined Fleet Commander Ito Yuxiang beside him: "I didn't expect that someone like Lin Daxin could appear in the Qing Dynasty!" Not only did he buy warships at his own expense and defeat the combined fleet, but he also inflicted heavy losses on our army with an army composed of student soldiers from the Sailor Academy! This Lin Daxin is indeed like what Katsura Taro said, and he is my confidant in Japan! If you have a chance, you must get rid of this person! ”

Prime Minister Ito Hirofumi nodded and said: "Lin Daxin is indeed the henchman of the empire, long before the war, our intelligence department discovered the threat of this person to the Japanese Empire, and launched a large-scale assassination operation, but unfortunately the operation failed, so that the imperial intelligence personnel in the Weihai Acropolis suffered heavy losses!" And then Lin Daxin's retaliatory actions completely paralyzed the empire's intelligence system in Weihaiwei! In this way, our combined fleet did not know that the Beiyang Naval Division was hiding a fleet. Thus the defeat of the Combined Fleet in naval battles! ”

Ito Yuko, the commander of the Combined Fleet on one side, is from the same faction as Ito Hirobumi, and Ito Hirobumi said this in order to excuse Ito Yuko from Emperor Meiji after the defeat in the naval battle.

After hearing this, Emperor Meiji said, "Let the intelligence services continue to develop a new assassination plan!" Lin Daxin, this person must be removed! ”

Hirobumi Ito nodded and said, "Yes!" I will order the Ministry of Intelligence to do everything possible to deal with this person! ”

Emperor Meiji said: "The battle report from Katsura Taro said that because the defenders of Jinshu had many long-range and powerful artillery, coupled with the shelling of the warships of the Beiyang Naval Division at sea, the army attacking Jinzhou suffered heavy losses!" Ito-kun, you can send someone to buy a batch of large-caliber artillery and transport it to the army attacking Golden State! As for the warships of the Beiyang Naval Division, Ito-kun, how is the situation with the combined fleet now? ”

The commander of the Combined Fleet, Ito Yuxiang, said respectfully: "Your Majesty the Emperor, the Matsushima, Hashidate, Takanami, Murayu, Kakaze, and Ishikari that were injured in the naval battle have been repaired, and with the Naniwa, the seven main warships of the Combined Fleet can go to battle at any time!" As for the Fuso and Chiyoda, which were seriously injured in the naval battle, it will take at least half a month to repair! ”

Emperor Meiji nodded, at least the Japanese combined fleet had not completely lost its combat effectiveness!

Emperor Meiji turned to Hirobumi Ito and asked, "How is the matter of contacting the warship?" ”

After the defeat of the Combined Fleet, most of the warships were lost, and Emperor Meiji was ready to use the remaining British loans to purchase some foreign warships in service to make up for the losses of the Combined Fleet.

Ito Hirobumi said with joy on his face: "The British government knows that our Combined Fleet needs to replenish warships, and has sent Colonel Robt, the representative of the British Admiralty, to Japan to discuss the sale of the British Navy's active warships to the Combined Fleet!" ”

Emperor Meiji nodded with satisfaction and said, "Very good!" The UK has always been very supportive of us in Japan! Try to buy some advanced active warships this time! In this way, you can compete with the powerful Beiyang Naval Division for sea control! Do other naval powers have any intention of selling their warships to Japan? ”

"The active warships that France, Russia and Germany are willing to sell to our combined fleet are very backward and expensive. Italy was captured by the Beiyang Naval Division with 4 powerful ironclad battleships, and now it is still asking us Japan for compensation, and will not sell active warships to us Japan anymore! Hirobumi Ito replied.

When Emperor Meiji heard this, he understood that now he wanted to immediately make up for the losses of the Combined Fleet, and he had to rely on the British! So Emperor Meiji instructed Ito Hirobumi: "We must entertain the British Navy well, try to buy more advanced warships at a low price, and the number of warships must also reach a certain number, otherwise the combined fleet will have no chance of winning in the face of the powerful Beiyang Naval Division!" ”

Emperor Meiji asked Ito again: "The personnel of the Combined Fleet suffered heavy losses in the naval battle, and if the new warship is bought, is there any problem with the allocation of the personnel of the new warship?" ”

The commander of the Combined Fleet, Yuxiang Ito, said very confidently: "Our Combined Fleet has sufficient reservists, plus graduates of the Naval Academy, there is no problem in terms of personnel!" ”

Emperor Meiji said with satisfaction: "After the large-caliber army guns and new warships are bought, let those student soldiers of the Qing Dynasty know how powerful our Great Japanese Empire is!" ”

In the end, Emperor Meiji and Prime Minister Ito Hirobumi agreed that the Qing Dynasty was now frozen for thousands of miles in Liaodong, which was not suitable for combat, and ordered the Japanese troops attacking Jinzhou to rest and recuperate in Pulandian, and the Japanese troops attacking Shengjing to rest in Benxi, wait for the spring flowers to bloom, and then continue the attack!

During this period, the Japanese Navy tried its best to purchase a sufficient number of advanced British ships, so that the Japanese Combined Fleet could restore its strength and once again compete with the Beiyang Naval Division for sea control.

The Japanese Army purchased some large-caliber army artillery to deal with the artillery of the defenders of Golden State. At the same time, the Japanese Army continued to expand its new army divisions, planning to completely defeat the Qing Dynasty next year and win the war!

After discussing the matter with Emperor Meiji, Japanese Prime Minister Hirobumi Ito personally took the commander of the Combined Fleet, Ito Yuto, to the British consulate where the representative of the British Navy, Colonel Robt, was staying.

British Navy Captain Robt heard a report from the consulate that Japanese Prime Minister Hirobumi Ito had come in person, and Robt immediately invited Hirobumi Ito and Yuki Ito to a meeting room in the consulate.

Robt said to Hirobumi Ito, "It's an honor to see you again!" Your Excellency the Prime Minister! ”

Hirobumi Ito introduced to Colonel Robt and said, "Colonel Robt, this is the commander of our Combined Fleet, Ito Yuko!" ”

Robt said to Ito, "It's an honor to meet you!" Your Excellency the Commander of the Combined Fleet! ”

Ito Yuxiang said with a smile on his face, "Colonel Robt! It's also a pleasure to meet you! ”

Prime Minister Hirobumi Ito said straight to the point: "We are here today for the purchase of your country's active warships for the Japanese Combined Fleet!" ”

Colonel Robt said with a smile: "The friendship between our British Navy and your navy goes back to ancient times, and I believe that Your Excellency the Prime Minister and Your Excellency the Commander of the Combined Fleet will be satisfied today!" ”