Beijing Railway Station.

The train from Hankow slowly stopped, and after the door opened, young soldiers wearing steel helmets and carrying brand-new rifles jumped off the platform and gathered in a line to the whistle of veterans and officers. Due to the truncation of Jinzhou, the reservists who came from various bases across the country had to get off the bus here and wait for all the comrades-in-arms to arrive before they made a detour to Chengde and went to Mukden on their feet to support the old comrades-in-arms who fought bloodily on the front line.

When Dai Tianqiu and the reporters jumped out of the car, they happened to hear the officers cheering up the soldiers, not only informing them of the discipline during their rest in Beijing, but also telling them that they would have a chance to visit the Forbidden City before going to Fengtian, and that the military photographer would take pictures of them.

These words made him frown, and he turned his head and asked Wu Zhaolin, who was passing: "General Wu, didn't you say that military spending is tight?" A few days ago, he called for donations, why did he spend money to let the soldiers take pictures in the imperial city? So many soldiers have a lot of money for film alone. ”

Some time ago, because of the shortage of manpower in Nanjing, some veteran staff officers such as Wu Zhaolin and Cai Jimin were temporarily transferred back to the General Staff Headquarters, and he regretted that he missed witnessing the Great War in the north, so this time he also wanted to take the opportunity to come back to the army to have a look. Seeing that Dai Tianqiu didn't understand the meaning of this, he smiled slightly: "Tianqiu, you are now a well-known reporter in the country, can't you even figure out this truth?" It has only been three years since the abdication of the Qing Dynasty, and for these reservists, the imperial city is still ~ an inviolable place of the Holy Spirit. Therefore, the commander-in-chief personally ordered that the soldiers were going to the battlefield, and the photos could not only be souvenired, but also let them understand through the visit that we have overthrown the decay and we are moving towards a new China! Let them understand what a country is and for whom they are fighting with a gun. ”

Under the leadership of the officers, the reservists marched to the garrison in a line singing military songs, looking at their spines that had risen after a long period of training, and the reporters who had not yet arrived in the war zone seemed to smell the thick smoke of gunpowder. Anxious, he immediately asked: "General Wu, I heard that Jinzhou has been occupied by the Japanese invaders, when can we go to the front line?" ”

"The Japanese army hasn't entered Jinzhou City yet, but the train definitely can't go. But don't worry, I will send someone to escort you to Mukden as soon as I see the commander-in-chief. After Wu Zhaolin asked the officer to take the reporters down to rest, he got into the car with Dai Tianqiu and asked, "How are Henan and Shaanxi?" ”

Dai Tianqiu had been reporting on land reform and agricultural development in Henan and Shaanxi before, and he knew best about the ever-changing situation there. Since last month, Zhengzhou Industrial Group has been able to produce its own guns and some simple machines, in addition to ammunition. The cotton planting base in cooperation with the United States has also been leveled. Large-scale planting will be possible before the end of the year. Since last year, farmers have been much more motivated to farm the land, and Murong Han's promotion of the cultivation of sweet potatoes and potatoes there has also been very good, and I heard that this year, most of the province's grain needs can be solved by relying on these alone. Shaanxi is a little worse, and the ethnic issues there are more complicated, but the situation is much better after the Northwest Army was stationed and defeated a group of tyrannical local tyrants. That's right. I heard that several oil wells have been drilled in Yanchang, and the output can be more than 20 tons per day, but the cost of each transportation is very large. When I was in Wuchang, I visited Mr. Cheng and said that it would take at least three years for the western section of the Longhai Line to be completed. ”

Although Zhengzhou industry concentrates the industrial essence of Guangdong, Zhejiang, Jiangsu and other provinces, compared with Hanyang and Chongqing, which has been developed for three years, the gap is not only not narrowing, but getting bigger and bigger, and even inferior to Changsha, so there is no need to consider it in three or five years. At present, Wu Zhaolin and the General Staff are most concerned about grain, and since the Manchu Dynasty, Shaanxi, Gansu, and Henan have not really solved the problem of grain self-sufficiency, and the state needs to transfer funds from other places every year. Now that the war has begun, everyone is uncertain when it will end, so the food will definitely be gradually tightened, and if a few poor provinces can solve the food problem, it will undoubtedly greatly support the military's actions.

The car soon arrived at the former Military Advisory Bureau compound, which was once the military brain of the Qing government and is now the northern command center of the Wehrmacht. As soon as the two of them entered the compound, they saw Jiang Baili talking to several officers, smiling as if there was some great joy. Hurriedly went over and asked, "Brother Baili." If there are any great joys, we will also hear about them. ”

"Fear three, heavenly hatred. When did you arrive? Why don't you send someone to say hello first, so I'll pick you up myself. Jiang Baili and the two of them are also old acquaintances, and after a few laughs and talks, they introduced the battle of Jiulian City: "Jiulian City has won a big victory. Feng Huafu personally sat down and ate two Japanese gunboats and dozens of river-crossing boats in one go, and also killed two brigades of infantry! There will be no major battles in the direction of Anton and Jiulian City for at least ten days. ”

"Great!" After Dai Tianqiu heard this battle report, he hurriedly took out a pen and paper to record it, Jiang Baili laughed when he saw this: "My Dai Da reporter, you don't have to be in a hurry like this, when you see the commander-in-chief in the afternoon, let him tell you in person." ”

"Afternoon? Is the commander-in-chief not there? ”

Jiang Baili nodded: "I went to Peking University to inspect, and I won't be able to come back until at least the evening." ”

Since Yang Qiu was not there, Wu Zhaolin was not in a hurry to meet, and pulled Jiang Baili to ask about the situation in Shandong. Speaking of Shandong Jiang Baili's face was much worse: "The two forward regiments were blocked by Shirakawa Yoshinori in Zhaoyuan, and Laiyang also discovered that at least one brigade of the Japanese army was rushing there. However, the Longkou side is not the most urgent now, I just got the information that the three capital ships of the Japanese First Fleet have set sail from Sasebo, and if you calculate the time, they will arrive in Qingdao in three days at most, and the second fleet is dangerous. ”

Wu Zhaolin was known as a talented staff officer when he was in the new army, and in the past few years, he has participated in the training course for senior officers in the southern and northern wars, so how could he not see the key to Shandong. I heard that Japan used the First Fleet, the treasure of the town, and with the cooperation of the Second Fleet, the firepower is too strong! With the navy unable to count on and the army lacking the means to deal with it, a fierce battle will definitely break out in Qingdao. The momentary silence between the two also made Dai Tianqiu feel the solemnity in it, and just as he was about to speak, Li Zongren had already rushed over: "Report, European urgent telegram." It was sent by the Minister to France, Lord Hu Weide, and a few hours ago Austria-Hungary had officially declared war on Serbia! Jiang Baili was stunned for a moment, then violently stepped on the cigarette he had just lit, pulled up Wu Zhaolin and ran out: "Send the news to all war zones immediately and prepare the car!" Quick, go to Peking University! ”

When Jiang Baili and Wu Zhaolin and the others rushed towards Peking University, a huge fleet had already arrived outside Shikoku Island. The 27,500-ton battlecruiser King Kong rode the waves on the clear blue sea, accompanied by two Hanoi-class battleships on the left and right, and eight destroyers from the 5th Destroyer Group of the Second Fleet on the periphery.

Yuzaburo Kato, a short, thin-faced, stood inside the bridge and looked at the charts. As the commander of the First Fleet, he participated in the First Sino-Japanese Naval Battle, and even participated in the Battle of Tsushima as Chief of Staff of the Combined Fleet during the Russo-Japanese period. It was not because of fear, but because the past few years have been the most difficult period for Japan and the navy, the country's finances are tight, and the plan of the 88th Fleet that the navy expects has not been fully approved, which has made the navy very disappointed, and I wanted to wait for the economic situation to improve in a few years before mentioning the matter of the 88th Fleet, but I did not expect that the War Department would unilaterally provoke a war.

The most annoying thing is that those bastards in the army talked about how corrupt and incompetent the navy was, but on the other hand, they lost one after another and even lost the important Baufen coal and iron mine, and finally licked their faces and asked for help. If it weren't for the loss of Manchuria, the navy would have had to mobilize the First Fleet to provide fire support for the attack on Qingdao.

However, even if only three ships were dispatched, it still made the navy feel more painful.

It is no joke to know that the initiative of the capital ship is not a joke, and the Welsh white coal burned by the Navy alone will consume thousands of tons. Originally, white coal was regarded as a strategic reserve by the navies of various countries, but now the situation in Europe is tense, even if there is money, it is difficult to buy it, and the lack of coal and oil resources in Japan has made the status of white coal even more important. Moreover, each barrel of the naval gun has a life span, such as the King Kong, a 356 mm heavy gun, the cost of a gun barrel can arm an army brigade, and the barrel needs to be replaced if the armor-piercing shells are fired at most 150, and even low-wear land attack shells can only last about 400 pieces.

Thinking of this, he scratched his head, got up and put aside these things for a while and raised the telescope: "Is there anything abnormal?" ”

"Report, not found yet. However, Admiral Kato Kenkichi reminds us that the Shina fleet suddenly rushed out of the Kumatsu Pass last night and attacked the cruiser Chiyoda. The news made Yuzaburo Kato finally come up with some spirits and asked, "Is there any loss?" ”

"The time of the artillery battle was very short, and the Chiyoda was only slightly wounded." The staff officer continued: "Vice Admiral Kenkichi Kato judged that the sudden attack of the Shina fleet was probably to cover the departure of their submarines, and at present, he has sent people to investigate the number of submarines in Shanghai and Sanduao, so let's be careful of sneak attacks by submarines." ”

Yuzaburo Kato frowned after hearing this, the scene outside Port Arthur had already attracted the attention of the Navy, and the combat method of being mined under the nose by a submarine and escaping after sinking three transport ships in a row was a headache. However, he didn't pay much attention to it, because according to the intelligence sent back from Europe, these little guys could only stay underwater for a long time at the fastest speed, so as long as they could ensure enough lookout manpower, they could not threaten the fleet with a speed of more than 15 knots.

"Increase the number of lookouts and report any unclear situations as soon as they are found." After Yuzaburo Kato finished deploying, he was just about to go back to the cabin to rest for a while, when the telegraph operator rushed in and almost pretended to be full of arms with him: "Your Excellency Lieutenant General, Tokyo Emergency Telegraph!" Austria-Hungary has officially declared war on Serbia. The base camp expects that Germany will also declare war within three days at the latest. The Minister of the Sea asks Your Excellency to be prepared, and our country will also declare war on Germany as soon as it declares war on them. ”

"Good."

Yuzaburo Kato didn't like to study European affairs as much as his predecessors, and he only cared about the timing of the declaration of war on Germany, and now that it had been decided, he was relieved. But he didn't notice that a few miles away on the sea, a slender tube like a floating object turned a few times.

(To be continued)