In Lin Daxin's office in the Governor's Palace, Wu Peifu asked Lin Daxin: "Principal, the formation of 30 new divisions has been completed and sent to the battlefields in Kazakhstan and Siberia, can the formation of the next 100 new divisions begin?" ”

Lin Daxin nodded without hesitation and said: "I don't know when this battle will be fought, we must make preparations for long-term combat, if those countries of the Eight-Nation Alliance are really ready to fight to the death with us, we must have sufficient troops to fight, I will let all departments cooperate with your General Staff, or the same sentence is to ask for money for money, people for people, and things for things, and immediately start the formation of 100 new divisions." ”

Wang Yan, the chief administrator of the northern provinces on the side, followed and said: "The three large arsenals have already worked overtime to start producing weapons and equipment, and this may delay the process of forming a new division. ”

Wu Peifu nodded and said: "When I go back, I will start arranging for 100 new divisions to draw troops from the militia reserves, but the formation of these 100 new divisions may take a lot of time." ”

Hearing Wu Peifu say that it would take a lot of time, Lin Daxin said indifferently: "Time doesn't matter, we formed these 100 new divisions just in case, if we don't know that these 100 divisions have not been formed, this war will be over." ”

Wang Yan, Wu Peifu, Jiang Hui and Li Kun in the office all smiled, Lin Daxin said this is not without purpose, the navy of the eight-nation alliance is ready to participate in the battle of the Taiwan Strait all-steel battleships more than 100, but the Northeast Navy has 13 dreadnought battleships. This will be the largest naval battle in the history of mankind, and the Northeast Navy is really sure of victory.

In addition, the eight field armies of the Dingbei Army advanced by leaps and bounds on the battlefield of the Northern Front. In the Siberian region of Russia and the region of Kazakhstan, millions of square kilometers of land were occupied. The destruction of the Russian army will exceed one million, that is, the number of coalition forces composed of the armies of the countries of the Eight-Nation Alliance is huge, but because the Dingbei Army has the support of air force fighters, the initiative on the battlefield on the northern front is currently completely in the hands of the Dingbei Army.

Lin Daxin said to his cousin Wang Yan again: "Cousin, the logistics work of the front-line troops must keep up, don't affect the battle situation because of logistics problems." ”

Wang Yanyan nodded and said, "Don't worry, Dashuai, at present, the government affairs of more than a dozen provinces in the entire north of us are all centered around this war. The logistical work of the front-line troops is even more of the most important thing, and the front-line troops will absolutely not be allowed to make mistakes on the battlefield because of logistical problems. ”

The eyes of the whole world have gathered here in the Taiwan Strait in the east, everyone knows that an unprecedented naval battle is about to break out here, and no one may think that the victory of this naval battle will belong to the Northeast Navy, and even Lin Daxin is now a grasshopper on a rope of the Qing court. Also pessimistic about this naval battle.

Several people in power in the Qing court did not expect that the Eight-Nation Alliance would be so fierce that it would be able to bring together more than 100 all-steel battleships and hundreds of other types of warships. In that case. Can these provinces in the south of the Qing Dynasty still be saved?

The Qing court took out the three provinces of Qinghai, Tibet, and Gansu as a reward for Lin Daxin to lead the Dingbei Army and the Northeast Navy to participate in the war and protect the southern provinces from the invasion of the Eight-Nation Alliance. And now that Lin Daxin's troops have entered the three provinces, the actual remuneration has been paid in advance. If Lin Daxin's Northeast Navy is defeated, then the court's remuneration will not be in vain.

Empress Dowager Cixi, Emperor Guangxu and Prince Gong Yixin anxiously invited Li Hongzhang, who had just returned to Beijing, into the Forbidden City. Ask about countermeasures.

After listening to the words of the three Qing court bigwigs, Li Hongzhang stroked his beard under his forehead, and then said unhurriedly: "Queen Mother, Emperor, Prince Gong, even if Lin Daxin's Northeast Navy is defeated, but he still has millions of Dingbei Army under his command, and now his Dingbei Army has expanded thousands of miles in Russia, and the armies of several countries of the Eight-Nation Alliance are terrified. It's just that coastal cities can be devastated by Yanzhòng. ”

After hearing this, the Empress Dowager Cixi, the Guangxu Emperor and Prince Gong Yixin looked at each other, hoping to do what Li Hongzhang said.

Li Hongzhang looked at the worried look of the three people, there was no expression on his face, but he didn't think much of the worry of the three people in his heart, after Li Hongzhang returned to the Qing Dynasty from Britain, he first met Lin Daxin in Lushun, although Lin Daxin did not clearly tell him how to deal with the naval combined fleet of the Eight-Nation Alliance, but Li Hongzhang heard from Lin Daxin's confident tone, Lin Daxin was full of confidence in the Northeast Navy's victory over the Eight-Nation Alliance's naval combined fleet.

On the evening of June 16, 1902, a fleet of considerable size appeared in the waters near Pengjiayu, a subsidiary island of Taiwan Island, which was the remaining main force of the Japanese Navy's Combined Fleet departing from the Japanese naval port of Yokosuka, as well as the American fleet that came with it, and then the troop carriers of the two countries.

The combined fleet of the Japanese Navy tossed out almost all the belongings except for some warships in the port of Fuzhou, Fujian Province, 4 Kongo-class all-steel battleships with a full load displacement of 16,000 tons, 4 Kumano-class all-steel battleships with a full load displacement of 14,974 tons, that is, the Italian Queen Margaret-class all-steel battleships, and 2 Bailu-class all-steel battleships with a full load displacement of 13,500 tons, that is, the American Maine-class all-steel battleships, There was also an all-steel battleship, the Fuji, the flagship of the Japanese Navy's Combined Fleet.

In addition, 6 Asama-class large fast armored cruisers, 6 Yoshino-class fast protection cruisers, 6 destroyers, and 12 torpedo boats followed the 11 all-steel battleships.

The reason why there are so few warships except the all-steel battleships is that most of the other types of warships of the Japanese Navy's Combined Fleet have already been sent to the port of Fuzhou in Fujian Province, and this time the other part of the Japanese warships will also join the British and French naval fleets in the same port of Fuzhou with the huge Combined Fleet of the Eight-Nation Alliance Navy in the Taiwan Strait.

And the U.S. fleet did not send many warships this time, which also had something to do with Lin Daxin's influence in the United States, so although the United States joined the Eight-Nation Alliance with the crowd, in order not to completely tear his face with Lin Daxin, the Americans still had reservations.

The U.S. Navy sent only 3 Indiana-class all-steel battleships with a full load displacement of 11,523 tons, 2 large fast armored cruisers, 4 fast protection cruisers, and 4 destroyers.

However, the Americans also made their own calculations, if Lin Daxin completely fails in the face of the eight-nation alliance, then although the United States will send fewer forces and distribute more loot, Lin Daxin's huge industry in the United States will definitely make the US government rich.

In addition, the United States also sent 500 troops to Asia to follow the naval fleet in one transport ship, compared with the United States only one troop carrier, Japan's troop carriers are many times larger, and this time the Japanese army, which went south with the Japanese Navy's combined fleet, has five standing divisions, 100,000 troops and their equipment, and is fully equipped with more than 150 transport ships.

These armies are all preparing to land at the port of Fuzhou, of course, the premise is to defeat the Northeast Fleet under Lin Daxin, and the armies of the Eight-Nation Alliance will land at the port of Fuzhou, merge the British, French, and Japanese forces there, starting from Fujian Province, and capture the entire southern coastal provinces of the Qing Dynasty.

Inside the bridge of the Fuji, the flagship of the Japanese Navy's Combined Fleet, Heihachiro Togo, commander of the Japanese Navy's Combined Fleet, looked at the surrounding warships and sighed to the captain of the Fuji, Jiro Takahashi: "We are finally going to face the Northeast Navy again!" ”

Takahashi Jiro also said with some emotion: "Yes, time flies so fast, more than 2 years have passed in a blink of an eye, and we will fight with the Northeast Navy again, but Your Excellency Commander, this time our combined fleet of the Great Japanese Navy will definitely win!" ”

Togo Heihachiro nodded with a relieved smile, this time the fleet of the Eight-Nation Alliance will only add up to more than 100 all-steel battleships, and the Northeast Navy will add up to only 40 all-steel battleships, this time there is absolutely no possibility of failure, and it can finally repay the blood debt for so many souls of the Japanese Navy who died in the hands of the Northeast Navy.

All the qiē will be realized tomorrow, Togo Heihachiro couldn't help but be a little uncontrollable excited, hundreds of warships of the Northeast Navy were sunk, from time to time appeared in his mind, the navies of the Eight-Nation Alliance had decided to set the date of the decisive battle on June 17, 1902.

Togo Heihachiro suddenly remembered something, turned his head and said to Takahashi Jiro: "Takahashi-kun, you contact the Americans, the fleets of our two countries should not rush to the Taiwan Strait, they will cruise around here for a while tonight, and then enter the Taiwan Strait early tomorrow morning." If we enter early, let us first meet the main force of the Northeast Navy, then it will become a big article, and our savings will only need to be the icing on the cake. ”

Takahashi Jiro nodded understandingly and said, "The commander is right, I will send someone to inform the Americans immediately." ”

Inside the bridge of the Indiana-class all-steel battleship USS Missley, the commander of the American fleet, George Smith, was in the bridge. Dewey, that is, the commander who led the Asian detachment of the U.S. Navy that year.

At that time, the Asian Detachment of the U.S. Navy and the Second Expeditionary Fleet of Italy were all wiped out by the Northeast Navy. Dewey, a defeated subordinate of the Northeast Navy, once again led the fleet to the East. (To be continued......) R1292