Seoul, the capital of the Kingdom of Korea.

It is a beautiful and ancient city.

To the south, Namsan Mountain is bordered by the Hangang River, to the west is the green mountains of Mt. Inwang, Ansan, and Baekryumsan, to the east, to the east by the Junggang River and the beautiful Mount Esa, and to the north by the steep Bukaksan Mountain and the continuous Bukhansan Mountain. Between the mountains and rivers is the fertile alluvial plain of the Han River, where the rice fields are green, like countless pieces of jade embedded in the earth.

Based on the ruins found in Seoul, the earliest history of human settlement in Seoul can be traced back to about 4000 B.C. in the Neolithic Age, and it is estimated that Seoul was the political center of the Korean Peninsula from the Three Kingdoms period (57 B.C. ~ 668 A.D.) from the records of the Baekje Kingdom, which once ruled the middle and lower reaches of the Han River and even a large area in East Asia, and from the archaeological data excavated. However, Seoul, as the capital of unified Korea, should be counted from the Joseon Dynasty period (1392). Since the relocation of the capital in 1394, modern Seoul, once known as "Seoul" or "Hanyang", has experienced the looting and destruction of the "Imjin War" (1592~1598, Toyojin Hideyoshi invaded Korea), and 300 years later, the scourge of war has once again befallen the largest city on the Korean Peninsula, and the perpetrators are still the murderous neighbors from across the Korean Strait.

At noon on September 14, 1894, there was silence in Gyeongbokgung Palace, which was located at the foot of Mt. Bukak, and the most sultry time had passed, and the lotus pond in the palace had long since disappeared from the noise of frogs, and the palace built by Yi Sung-gye, the emperor of the Joseon Dynasty, was now occupied by the descendants of a group of robbers who had ravaged the Korean land.

About a month and a half ago, Lieutenant General Yoshimasa Oshima, the commander of the Japanese 3rd Division and now the commander of the Seoul garrison, led his tired and food-starved 25,000 troops into this beautiful capital without half a bullet.

Oshima sat helplessly on the Gyeongbokgung Palace's Gyeongbokgung Palace, with a common folding chair called "Maza" under his buttocks, and the North Koreans had removed or smashed all the sitting and sleeping utensils in the palace before they withdrew from Seoul, but this did not affect Lieutenant General Oshima's rest, which he solved with a few straw mats that he had temporarily requisitioned.

In front of Oshima, several generals of different heights but equally dejected were also sitting on their horses, rubbing their heads, staring at the walls in a daze, or simply squinting their eyes and not looking at anything. Major General Shirahu Mingima, commander of the 6th Brigade, Major General Kitayu Jingneng, acting commander of the 6th Division, and Major General Takeshi Toyoda, commander of the 11th Brigade, belong to the above three categories of people.

"Everyone—" Oshima seemed to want to say something, but before the opening remarks were over, he felt like he was making nonsense again, but he decided to carry on the nonsense again with the same sitting together until the middle of the night, as he had done yesterday, and that was the case.

"The situation is clear, we are surrounded, the people of China are coming from all directions, we have lost contact with Wonsan, Pusan, the port of Incheon has been blockaded and then recently captured. We have lost our source of supplies, and the 6th Division has lost all its heavy weapons after the defeat of the neutralization, including 30 artillery pieces supported by the 3rd Division, which has greatly weakened our current firepower - ammunition and food are also seriously insufficient, and the situation is very critical. Although our army actually has 20,000 troops, just over half of them can actually fight, and it is very good that it can maintain the inner line and the city defense position if it is organized into four wings with less than one member and a mobile detachment the size of a brigade. The Chinese army besieging us numbered at least 80,000 men, well-armed and well-trained, and very well supplied - every day they poured thousands of shells on our forward positions. In the past few days, the people of China have been busy repairing artillery positions and digging advance trenches on the south bank of the Han River, in the area of Mount Esang outside the east gate and in the area of Mount Zhangshan outside the west gate.

Oshima became more and more confused about what he was talking about, and after the first neutralization campaign, the base camp rebuked Oshima for the huge casualties caused by Nogi's rash attack, and drove the 3rd Division back to Seoul from the front line. This time, although Oshima was appointed commander of the Seoul garrison at the headquarters of the special headquarters, the words "Due to the unfortunate death of Lieutenant General Kamikawa, you have no choice but to make meritorious service for your crimes, and you must do your best to not be arrogant", which made Oshima feel even more insignificant.

"Maybe, I should die." For several days, Oshima kept coming to his head with this thought.

"So, is it to break out or to hold on?" The stout White Tiger Naima, Major General Naima, stopped his boring movements, raised his head and asked seriously.

"No matter whether you break through or defend to the death, you will inevitably lose the result, and the difference in strength is too great." Major General Beiliu Jingneng, who was chased by the Qing army after the Second Battle of Neutralization, shifted his gaze from the wall to Major General Baihu's face.

"Do you want to surrender?" The tall and sturdy Major General Toyoda Weiwu opened his eyes wide and stared at Beiliu Jingneng, who was much thinner than him.

"I don't know how to go, perhaps, we can use the remaining 20,000 people as our funeral offerings." Beiliu Jingneng looked at the past without fear.

"Are you scared? Coward! Major General White Tiger had a threatening tone in his tone.

"Despicable villain! Shameless traitor! Major General Toyoda scolded viciously.

"Don't curse people, listen to Beiliu." Lieutenant General Oshima said.

Beiliu glanced at Oshima and said with a serious face: "The people of the Seventh Division have already told us the truth, the navy has been destroyed, there will be no reinforcements, the Korean dispatch army has been divided into three parts, the Chinese army has been continuously thrown into the battlefield, and the hope of victory has been shattered." Now that there is no hope, what do we need to hold onto? What's the point of wasting everyone's blood? Not every soldier wants to die in vain, so what right do we have to demand that they have to? ”

Oshima looked at Beiliu with a strange expression, and was silent for several minutes, and everyone was intimidated by his momentum, and they didn't dare to say more.

"So, Major General Beiliu." Oshima smiled almost pervertedly, looking at the North Stream and shaking his head.

"The subordinates are here." Beiliu replied uneasily, and in an instant, he saw his fate.

"You cut your abdomen, and Major General Toyota will take off the head for you."

"Yes."

※※※

Outside the west gate of Seoul, a mountain cuts the Han River from north to south, the two ends of this mountain are high and low in the middle, the shape is like a saddle, but it is not called Ma'anshan, the two ends of the mountain have their own names, the north end is called Gui Mountain, and the south end is called Xuanshan.

The Qing Army's Seoul Cluster Headquarters was located in a small village called Huatian under the lush Mt. Zhangshan, which was less than ten miles away from the west gate of Seoul.

In fact, the so-called Seoul cluster was really organized only three days ago, and the headquarters system of the cluster was based on the staff team of Zhong Xiahuo's Northern Army Corps to plan the siege of the city in a unified manner. It has under the jurisdiction of the 1st Brigade of the 1st Guards Division of the Northern Army (transferred after the completion of the Sui'an-Pingkang Campaign), the 2nd Janissary Division, the 4th and 5th Brigades, the Praetorian Hussar Brigade, the 10th Brigade of the 4th Guard Division and the 1st Infantry Division of the Southern Corps, and the 1st Heavy Artillery Regiment of the Praetorian Guard. Because of the constant replenishment and material supply from the reserve forces, the units maintained the pre-war state of full strength, with a total strength of 67,000 troops, 230 cannons of 75 mm or more (including 50 guns surrendered from the Japanese army), sufficient food, grass and ammunition, and high morale of the officers and men.

Zhong Xiahuo and his old subordinate, Brigadier General Liu Bailiang, the current commander of the Fifth Guard Brigade, were lying on a simple table of eight immortals studying the map of the Seoul Theater of Operations, while the staff officers of the headquarters were busy beside them: some planted small flags on the sand table, some drew up plans, and some copied orders. The yard is steaming hot – two Korean cooks are making ginseng chicken soup and Korean bulgogi beef for everyone.

"It smells so good." Zhong Xia put a magnifying glass on the small green piece labeled "Gyeongbokgung Palace" and sniffled.

"Our roast mutton in Xinjiang should be better than this." Liu Bailiang swallowed his saliva, obviously insincere.

"Wow, you're in the right place today, and I almost made you eat alone!" A young and handsome officer in the courtyard shouted and walked over, and Zhong Xiahuo looked through the open window and saw that it was Colonel Lu Zixiang, commander of the First Janissary Brigade.

"It's so early," Zhong Xiahuo put aside the map and greeted him, "I can't have heard the news of the tooth sacrifice somewhere, and I want to come over and swallow a few pieces of meat first." ”

Lu Zixiang glanced at the steaming barbecue on the stove, and said with a smile: "Wow, why are the people of the second division so stingy, isn't it just barbecue, when I was in the capital, our division commander Ding invited a few people from our original second squad to go to the Niu Ji Hotel every ten days and a half to have a big meal, roast whole sheep, roast suckling pig, roast seafood, fried pork skin, eat as much as you want, that's cool——"

Zhong Xiahuo said: "You Master Ding don't marry a wife, you saved a lot of money to entertain guests, I can't stand it, Lao Tzu now has a wife and children, what is the important thing to support the family - come in and sit, wait for everyone to arrive and start the meal immediately, and talk about business when you are full." ”

Liu Bailiang also greeted him: "Lu Zixiang, this time Sui'an-Pingkang Battle, you are out of the limelight, it seems that a reward is indispensable, how about it, what to do when you go back, be prepared." ”

Lu Zixiang waved his hand and sat down: "I want to knock again, no problem, the Tianfu Restaurant outside Chongwen Gate, all inclusive of food and drink, the girl doesn't care, get it herself." ”

A fifteen or sixteen-year-old trainee non-commissioned officer came over to pour tea, Zhong Xiahuo donated half a pack of cigarettes, and the three of them drank tea and waited for the other officers attending the military meeting.

Lu Zixiang put down the teacup, glanced at the combat map on the table next to him, and asked Zhong Xiahuo: "Commander, the time for the general attack has been set, 20,000 little devils, do you need to be so timid, as soon as the cannon goes off, just kill it." ”

Zhong Xiahuo nodded and said, "Yes, that's what I mean." ”

"Oh?"

"A general attack was launched early in the morning of the 17th, and before that, artillery fire was prepared for two hours."

Lu Zixiang's eyes flashed with a magical light: "Then have the main attack direction and main attack force been determined?" ”

"It's confirmed."

"The main attacking force is our forbidden brigade, right?"

"That's not right."

"Oh."

Lu Zixiang hesitated for a moment, and then asked, "Then what is our brigade responsible for?" ”

Zhong Xiahuo got up and walked to the map table and beckoned to Lu Zixiang, who hurriedly came up.

"Your brigade is now deployed on the Hawolgu line northeast of Seoul, your west is the North Hansan, and the east is Junggang, and the entire north of the city is under your responsibility, and your task is to hold the line before the general attack and prevent the Japanese from breaking through—"

"And what about after the general offensive is launched?" Lu Zixiang asked next.

Zhong Xiahuo's finger tapped the Beihan Mountains marked by dense contour lines: "I plan to use a lightly armed regiment to turn over from here." ”

"Bukhansan Mountain?" Lu Zixiang pressed his temples, feeling that the contour line was ridiculously dense, and the rock climbing he often played when he was in high school came to mind.

Zhong Xiahuo continued: "Our main direction of attack is at the West Gate, you see, from the Jansan to the Han River, the Fifth Guard Brigade, the Hussar Brigade and the Second Cavalry Regiment are deployed, the Second Artillery Regiment and the First Heavy Artillery Regiment are also deployed here, in addition, the Janissan to North Hansan Line is deployed the Fourth Janissary Brigade, all of the above troops are used to attack the West Gate. To the south of the Han River, there were the 1st Infantry Division and the 1st and 2nd Brigades of Major General Deng Jian, and to the east of the Zhongjiang River, the 3rd Infantry Brigade and the 10th Janissary Brigade. In the direction of the North Gate, your brigade will send one regiment to make a feint head-on, and another lightly armed regiment will cross Bukhansan Mountain, capture Bukhansan Fortress, and then make a condescending surprise attack on Miyagi Palace, and go straight to Gyeongbokgung Palace, where the center will blossom and destroy the enemy's command system. ”

Lu Zixiang frowned at the map and thought for a while, and finally spoke: "I have taken people to see the Beihan Mountain, many places have too big slopes, and some professional climbing equipment is needed, and now I don't know where to get the road." ”

Zhong Xiahuo said non-negotiable: "You have less than four days, the 17th is late to the early morning of the 18th, I need that regiment to launch a surprise attack." ”

Lu Zixiang took a cigarette from the table and said with a wry smile: "This meal was not eaten for nothing. ”

Liu Bailiang patted him on the shoulder: "Know that you are wrong, there is no free lunch in the world, let you experience it for yourself." ”

That night, Lu Zixiang, who had eaten a round belly, returned to the brigade headquarters and immediately summoned his three regiment commanders and all the brigade headquarters staff officers to discuss the operational plan.

Lu Zixiang briefly introduced the task he received from the cluster headquarters to everyone, and when it was over, he looked around at everyone: "-This is the case, if you have any opinions, hurry up and put them forward, the time is very tight, we can't afford to wait." ”

Lei Yuming, the commander of the regiment, immediately jumped out and shouted: "Please give us the task of crossing the North Han Mountain and raiding behind enemy lines, and the regiment will definitely do a better job than in Zhonghe!" ”

The commanders of the second and third regiments also shouted, Lu Zixiang raised his hand to signal everyone to be quiet, pointed to Lei Yuming and said: "This task is very critical, now I don't care what your regiment has done in neutralization, what I want is a feasible plan, you can say it first, if I send you a regiment, what are you going to do?" ”

Lei Yuming hurriedly stretched his brain to the extreme, and said while thinking: "First of all, I request that the ropes of the whole brigade be gathered into one regiment, and the engineer battalion of the brigade should be assigned to our regiment. Second, tonight, I will send a reconnaissance detachment that is good at climbing up the mountain to find out the roads and basic enemy situations that can be passed by large troops, and to select and mark the best routes. Thirdly, I will order the artillery company and the machine gun company to carry only three dismantled 57 mountain guns and 150 shells, the machine gun platoon of each battalion to carry three dismantled machine guns and 2,000 rounds of ammunition, the individual infantry to carry only 50 rounds of ammunition and one day's dry rations, and the baggage company to carry dry food that can feed the whole regiment for three days, so that they can climb the mountain lightly. Fourth, before the departure of the large troops, the reconnaissance detachment and the alert unit will lead the engineer battalion to repair the roads, erect wooden ladders, and tie ropes, so as to provide the most convenient conditions for the rapid march of the large troops. Fifth, if the enemy encounters stubborn resistance from the dangerous mountain pass, the elite troops will be sent to the enemy's rear from other roads to annihilate it. If time does not allow, or if the detour attack is unsuccessful, withdraw from the battle to reduce unnecessary casualties. Sixth, the time for the departure of the large army was set for tomorrow night, and Ji Lu planned to attack North Hansan Fortress before the early morning, and before midnight on the 17th, he would go down the mountain to launch an attack on Seoul, and use the darkness of the night to carry out a sneak attack, attack Gyeongbokgung Palace, and destroy the enemy's command and control system. Seventh—"

"That's enough, the first six points are enough," Lu Zixiang shook his head and said, "What do you think of Captain Lei's plan?" ”

The other two regiment commanders and staff officers looked at each other for a few seconds and shook their heads one after another.

"Well, the task of crossing the North Han Mountain will be entrusted to the 1st Regiment, the task of feinting the North Gate will be entrusted to the 2nd Regiment, and the 3rd Regiment will be responsible for maintaining the front and preventing the Japanese from seeking opportunities to break through. Do you have a different opinion? ”

No one objected to the deployment of the brigade commander.

Everyone gathered at the table of the Eight Immortals and began to formulate specific plans.

※※※

Bukhansan Mountain is located directly north of Seoul and is connected to Bukhaksan Mountain, which in turn is close to Gyeongbokgung Palace, so Zhong Xiahuo will look at the map and have an idea, and want to send a regiment of lightly armed infantry over the mountains and mountains to penetrate behind enemy lines.

However, whether it is the Praetorian Guard or the Wehrmacht, there is no new regular army in the empire that has received professional training in mountain warfare, which Zhong Xiahuo did not take into account.

At the northern foot of Mt. Bukhan, there is a mountain fortress built during the ancient Goryeo Kingdom, which is made of stones piled up according to the mountain, and there are battlements, enemy platforms, watchtowers, warehouses, and cantonment caves, and the mountain road leading to Seoul is guarded. Because the walls were tall and strong, and the mountains were too steep, they had not been attacked since they were built, so they gradually fell into disrepair, and by this time, the walls were overgrown with weeds, and most of the brick and wood houses in the city were rotten.

After the Japanese army occupied Seoul, because the road up the mountain was really difficult and dangerous, and the supply was difficult, it once only sent a small detachment of 80 people with a machine gun to garrison the mountain fortress of North Han, but because Seoul was besieged and the situation was tense, the strength of the mountain fortress was increased to 300 people, equipped with two machine guns and a 75 mm mountain gun, and the commander of the fourth brigade of the 22nd Wing, Kiyota, served as the commander of the city defense.

Qingtian Congjiang thought that the terrain of the mountain city was extremely dangerous, and it was enough to be a one-man pass, and he did not think that the Qing army would come here to find hardships for himself, so since the day he went up the mountain, he kept complaining to Captain Tsuyoken Saki, a staff officer beside him: "It's really unlucky, I was banished to such a ghost place, not only did I not fight, but I often didn't have enough to eat." Such a castle, if the people of China were not fools and idiots, would never want to attack here, this place has not experienced war for five hundred years, I dare say, it is an absolute miracle that the enemy can climb up and still breathe. ”

That night, Kiyota swallowed a bowl of rice with half a salted fish head and then nagged Captain Saki like this, and when he saw that Saki was tired of picking up rice on the side, he felt bored, so he decided to go to the castle for a walk, and then go to bed early—last night the sentry used a bear as a scout of Shina, and quarreled for most of the night, so that he couldn't sleep, and he was always sleepy during the day, which was really hateful.

Along the stone pine swaying stairway, Kiyota came to the top of the city gate, in front of the tower, which had become a pile of broken bricks and tiles, a machine gun and the only mountain cannon were placed, three sentries leaned against the battlement and looked at the endless night in a daze, not far away a patrol troop walked in a disordered and loose manner, Kiyota was too lazy to pay attention, he knew that they were just like himself, enjoying the feeling of empty stomachs. He walked to the ruins of the tower, sat down against a ruined wall, and looked at the dark night without the moon, and his thoughts were boundless.

Kiyota was born into the lowliest samurai, Ashigaru, and had been stripped of his privileges since the Boshin War, but Kiyota had no resentment about it, as even during the Tokugawa shogunate, low-ranking samurai often lived in starvation and cold because of the lord's daimyo's deception. In order to live, and for the dignity of the samurai, Kiyota joined the army, but his luck was not good, he missed the Boshin War, failed to participate in the Southwest War due to illness, and never went to Ryukyu or Taiwan, and did not grab a single battle achievement, but he was a soldier for more than 20 years, and he only mixed up with the position of captain of Nakasa. At the beginning of his arrival in Korea, Kiyota Mitsuru thought that he would be able to display his talents and make meritorious contributions this time, especially after following the commander of the Oshima Division into Seoul, thinking that the North Korean and Chinese armies were vulnerable, and it would probably not be a problem to fight in Beijing. Who knew that in the first battle of neutralization, Qingtian witnessed the entire Fifth Brigade and the 8,000 soldiers of the Third Cavalry Wing turned into broken bones and flesh in one day, and his heart was shocked, and he had a vague sense of foreboding. Sure enough, in the Second Battle of Neutralization, the 6th Division, which had 25,000 elite soldiers, collapsed on all fronts, discarded all the artillery baggage, and only less than 10,000 remnants fled back with their lives.

Kiyota often talked to some friends from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs about the China issue, and he knew that China has a vast land and abundant resources, a population ten times that of Japan, and a resource far greater than that of Japan. It was only because of the decay of the Manchu Dynasty system and its seclusion that it led to stagnation in development and backward technology, and as a result, it was almost collapsed after two Opium Wars and the Taiping Rebellion, internal and external troubles, and almost collapsed. Helplessly, the Manchu Qing accumulated too many evils, and then started a war with France, Feng Zicai led the army to defeat the French army at Zhennan Pass, and the main peace faction took the opportunity to sue for peace with France. It is precisely because of this that Japan's high-ranking figures are determined to gamble with their national fortunes to challenge the huge but sleepy empire around them and realize their dream of "opening up thousands of miles of waves." However, things have changed since four years ago. After the violent death of Cixi, the Houdang clique, which originally held real power, soon collapsed, and the imperial clique and some people who came out of nowhere seized the real power of the military and government, Li Hongzhang was arrested for an inexplicable rebellion, and Zhang Zhidong and other local powerful figures of the Hunan army were transferred to the central government. Then came the top-down reforms, the cabinet replaced the Sixth Ministry and the Military Aircraft Department, an efficient General Staff appeared, a modern and new army with combat effectiveness appeared, Westernized laws began to be enforced, countless schools sprung up from the ground, and the scale of industry and commerce swelled at an incredible rate.

"China's fiscal revenue last year was 180,000,000 taels of silver, while China's fiscal revenue over the past four years combined was less than 10,000,000 taels, and China's military expenditure was 32 million taels with one-fifth of its revenue, which is more than China's entire fiscal revenue for a year. In the Navy, China has 4 armored ships, 7 armored cruisers and 25 cruisers, and we have only 9 armored cruisers and 12 cruisers. In terms of land forces, China has about 300,000 new-style troops and 200,000 old troops, as well as no less than 300,000 reserve troops, while we only have more than 60,000 standing troops and more than 200,000 reserve troops. Therefore, Japan simply does not have the strength to fight with the current China. ”

Before the war, Kiyota heard a friend say this, at that time he scolded that guy for being a traitor and a spy, and never bothered with him again, but now that I think about it, my friend is right.

"Our greatest threat does not come from China, but from Europe, the United States and Russia, which is anxious to gain unrestricted access to the sea in the Far East, and therefore will intensify its encroachment on our country for some time to come. The countries of Europe and the United States are dissatisfied with Russia's monopoly on Japan, and it is very likely that they will intervene, and the imperial state will face a crisis of partition that has never been seen in history. A war with China will only weaken our country's strength and thus accelerate this process. The best way out is to cooperate with China, or even form an alliance, against the great powers, and China needs an ally with common interests and goals in getting rid of the control of the great powers, and Japan is their best choice. ”

Kiyota didn't fully understand what his friend said until now, and he sighed and said in his heart: "Brother Kitato, how correct your opinion is, but unfortunately, the war has reached this point, and it is useless to say anything, perhaps, our unpleasant night in Kyoto will be the last goodbye." ”

"Ahh

"Don't move." The hooded, black night suit of the Qing commando commanded in a changed tone of Japanese, and took the opportunity to get off Kiyota's gun.

Kiyota looked at the enemies and the corpses on the ground that were pouring up from the battlements, and raised his hands to the Qing soldier and said, "Please don't hurt the others, I will persuade my men to surrender." ”

The other party stared at him from the hood, and although he couldn't see the expression, Kiyota could feel that it was a completely strange look.

※※※

Major Cho Min-ha, commander of the 1st Battalion of the 1st Regiment of the 1st Janissary Brigade, climbed the rope hook to the top of the fortress of Bukhansan Fortress - although the gates of the city were wide open.

"Brothers, let's see that your battalion commander is not bad." Zhao Minhe stood on the battlement and waved to four hundred subordinates dressed in black.

"The battalion commander is doing well!" The crowd shouted in unison.

Zhao Minhe said again: "The brothers are all good, wait, let's enter Seoul in two days, I invite everyone to the palace to have a good meal, okay!" ”

"Go to Seoul!" The officers and men of the first battalion brandished rifles and broadswords and shouted in unison.

The red light of the torches flickered, reflecting everyone on the city walls, including the three hundred disarmed Japanese officers and soldiers.