After the battle in the northern part of the Yellow Sea on 17 September, after fierce quarrels, the Japanese army headquarters finally decided to change the established strategy of all-out support for the army's attack on the Liaodong Peninsula and finally the troops went out of Shanhaiguan to threaten Beijing and Tianjin.

One of the reasons for this change is that the Yang's armed fleet has greatly threatened the Japanese army in naval battles, and their survival will always bring unexpected changes and great losses.

The other is that he suddenly got double intelligence from the British and other secret agencies, and determined that the Yang Group's lair was Rizhao, a small county town that no one would care about before.

Saburo Kanesaki, a Japanese spy who escaped the catastrophe because he came out early to carry out activities, wandered around Zhili and Shandong in March to find out the military deployment and the latest movements. But inadvertently, because he saved someone, he easily got important information that he couldn't get by any means of investigation before-about the Yang family's secret base.

That person was Mu Hong, the bandit leader who fled directly into the mountains without even returning to his lair after one arm was broken.

In the past few months, Mu Hong secretly dispatched the remaining bandits, carefully inquired about the situation from Yizhou and Jiaozhou, and finally determined that the Yang family, who was in the limelight at sea and Tianjin Weida, was the family that emerged from Rizhao.

Saburo Nakazaki was like a treasure, and he put up the latest investigation summary report, which shocked everyone in the base camp.

In the small county mountain, there is a huge industrial base, which can not only produce guns and bullets, but also make steam engines and textile machines!

A humble fishing port was built in a few months with a shipyard capable of building advanced cargo ships with a displacement of up to 5,000 tons. It can also make powerful naval guns!

Such a plant. Japan doesn't have it on its own. They are still mainly assembling and repairing at the moment. The warships that can really be built are still pitifully small, and the artillery technology can't catch up with what Yang's watch came out.

Linked to the land battle, the various advanced equipment that the other side had come out of, including Emperor Muren, could not sit still. No matter where such power comes from, no matter what kind of attitude the Qing State has towards them, if it can be in the hands of the empire, what a great boost it will bring!

The Japanese, who were about to go crazy and destitute, discovered for the first time the most worthwhile thing to rob. That is far more direct than simply defeating the Qing army and living for profit. Not to mention. The Yang family itself has earned millions of dollars in the past few months, which is very fat!

Waiting for the British to reveal intentionally or unintentionally that the Beiyang Fleet sent the two main warships to the Yang shipyard for maintenance and improvement, this time even the army, which was strongly opposed, had to change its tune. A force that can repair ironclads will definitely become their most terrifying variable.

On the other hand, if it can get ironclad ships, it will be tantamount to adding wings to Japan.

Invisibly, Yang's preservation has actually become an important weight that affects the entire war, which is not only unthinkable to Yang Hao, but I am afraid that Li Hongzhang has not really realized it until now.

However, the Japanese army resolutely changed its offensive plan because of this. The First Army, still under the leadership of Youpeng in Shanxian County, advanced forward layer by layer. Second Army and Navy. Instead of breaking through the landing operation on the Liaodong Peninsula, it turned to raiding the Yang family's lair, seizing the industrial base and shipyard, and capturing the "Zhenyuan" and "Laiyuan".

After nearly a month of meticulous preparations, and after all the wounded ships had been repaired, on October 12, 1894, Emperor Muhito personally summoned dozens of officers from the expedition at the Hiroshima base camp and gave them food and drink. He also gave the commander Dashan Yan a horse and a famous sword to show his favor and encouragement.

The officers were inexplicably moved, and they all uttered bold words such as "we will never return to Japan if we do not win" and "we will only use horse leather to shroud the body."

Subsequently, the main force of the 1st Division's 2nd Infantry Brigade and the 2nd Infantry Brigade was the main attacking force, and the combined fleet was used to integrate the main unit of the 1st Guerrilla Brigade, plus the 2nd and 3rd Guerrilla Units, escorting more than 20 troop transport ships, forming an unprecedentedly huge lineup and sailing to the north.

In order to ensure the secrecy and suddenness of the plan, the Japanese army did not hesitate to go to great lengths to sail north along the Goryeo Peninsula from Hiroshima to create the illusion that they were going to attack the Liaodong battlefield all the way. When they were about to reach the mouth of the Han River, they left the 1st Brigade and the rest of the troops and horses to land at Incheon, but the main force quietly turned around and drove to the hinterland of the Shandong Peninsula!

The operation was so secretive that even the ships of Yang Haiwei's department, who were secretly monitoring them, were almost deceived.

When it was determined that the Japanese army was unloading at Incheon, they thought that the purpose of the Japanese army was probably here, but where did they expect such a change?

Yang Haiwei recently took a defensive position, temporarily confined the patrol area to the southern part of the Yellow Sea, and for the purpose of training, most of the 10 gunboats were dispatched in groups of twos and twos, and the radar detection range carried on them was ultimately limited, but the cunning of the Japanese troops was beyond their judgment.

So, when the seemingly quiet night passed, the huge fleet of the Japanese army suddenly appeared on the sea east of Qingdao.

With more than 200 kilometers to go to reach the destination, the flagship "Hashidate," the commander of the Second Army, Japanese Minister of War General Oyama Iwa, and the officers of the First Division gathered together to make the final intelligence update.

Chief of Staff Oji Yasumi Daisa repeated in a sure tone: "With Ishusu Port as the center of the attack, the landing force will advance from the ancient town pass on the back and Haizhou Bay in the south. Occupy Langyatai, Lingshanwei and Andongwei respectively, forming a complete isolation from the enemy's communications. Then a surprise attack on the county seat and the Heshan industrial zone can destroy the resistance in one fell swoop. When the time comes, the entire county will be in our hands. ”

Dashan Yan nodded majestically, and asked in a deep voice, "Have you thoroughly grasped the situation at the landing site?" I don't want any surprises! ”

Oji Yasujun affirmed his head: "It's been confirmed!" As of 12 o'clock yesterday, there were no anomalies at either landing site. It seems that the enemy forces are not aware of our covert operations. ”

"That's good, although with our strong forces, we don't need to care too much about whether we are guarding against it or not, but it is always good to reduce some casualties."

Although Oyama Rock is crazy, he is very cautious in his actions. He would not simply listen to the deception of the British and the information provided by a traitor who betrayed his country. The information found by one's own people is the safest.

After pondering for a moment, he reiterated: "Before attacking, be sure to update the information again to make sure that nothing goes wrong, that's all." ”

"Hay! Please rest assured, Your Excellency, that we will be able to completely destroy the enemy army and succeed in the first battle! ”

Ahead, on a Japanese reconnaissance ship disguised as an American freighter, Saburo Nagasaki heard the third cannon fire and saw a distinctly colored column of water rushing up, and the initial worries basically disappeared.

He put down his binoculars and turned his head sideways to ask Mu Hong, who was standing on the side with a gloomy face: "Can your people still send a message?" This is very important! We have to know what the port is about to do well. ”

Mu Hong's remaining other arm looked even thicker, the scar on his face flashed with a cold reflection, and he snorted coldly: "My brother, don't doubt it!" I said it's okay, it's okay! When attacking, I will be the first to rush ahead, what else do you have to worry about? ”

Saburo Nagasaki snorted disdainfully: "Compared to the soldiers of the Great Japanese Empire, your life is not a single hair!" Do your job well, and the benefits we promise will not be less at all. Now, let's do a closer look! ”

Mu Hong glanced at his neck sharply, and the hairs of Saburo Zhongqi stood on end, as if there was a knife on it, and he couldn't help but shrug his shoulders.

Muhon turned to leave, muttering a few words to a dark-skinned fisherman, who immediately jumped out into the sea from the other side and swam to a sail fishing boat not far away. Then, the fishing boat, newly equipped with a steam engine, suddenly emitted black smoke and headed for the coast.

On the test battery, the third shell fell far into the water, still fired with a reduced charge, and the firing distance was obtained by observing the hand through the binoculars and the control: "11850 meters!" Scatter 200 near and far from the point of impact! Scatter 150 left and right! ”

Without waiting for the smoke to clear, the artillerymen rushed in and pulled the bolt, checked the residue of the propellant and the cleanliness of the chamber, and recorded first-hand information. It was then cleaned up and ready for the next test shot.

Xu Jianyin couldn't hold back and looked up again and again, and praised: "The recoil is uniform, the control and retreat efficiency is high, the re-entry speed is fast, the gun body is stable and solid, and the cradle is precise and practical." It's perfectly possible to do one shot a minute or even faster! Good cannon, really good cannon! ”

Zhang Peilun next to him was still being watched by the two strong guards, and his face turned black and sneered: "It's only three shots, Lord Xu said this too early!" ”

Xu Jianyin didn't argue with him, and said to Yang Hao intently: "Mr. Yang, this kind of modification mechanism is enough to change the pattern of the world's artillery. But I don't know when and who invented it, and why don't there be rumors of patents? ”

Yang Hao shook his head with a smile: "The military is a heavy weapon, of course, it must be kept secret." In fact, the French were almost successful in research, and the Germans, who invented the mechanism, did not know how much opportunity they had missed. We can only make a fortune with a muffled voice. ”

"I see!"

Xu Jianyin was thoughtful, and he certainly understood how great the impact of a technical means that could exponentially increase the rate of fire, stability, and accuracy of artillery could have on the great powers. Not to mention anything else, only the 305mm gun in front of me could be fired once every 3 minutes at the earliest, and it took 4 minutes in actual combat. Now it's at least four times higher!

With four guns on an ironclad ship, with such an overall increase in efficiency, accuracy, and range, the combat effectiveness has been enhanced extensively, which can be described as amazing!

While speaking, a guard hurriedly came from a distance and whispered a few words in Yang Hao's ear. Yang Hao raised his eyebrows and smiled coldly: "Wow!" I didn't go to them, they came first. This time you'll have to be treated! ”

He didn't reveal it to the people around him, and shouted the order: "Then test the gun, three rounds of two-thirds of the charge, three rounds of three-quarters, three rounds of full loading, three rounds of one and a quarter!" After completion, change to 350 kg of heavy ammunition! Keep records. ”

immediately got up, took Jiao Hai and others with him, and hurried to the shipyard. (To be continued......)