At the headquarters of Oyama Iwa, commander of the Japanese Northern Dispatch Army in China, about 7 or 8 kilometers east of the mouth of the Eagle Gorge in the Sikhote Mountains, the 18 division commanders of the Japanese Northern Dispatch Army heard Commander Oyama Iwa say that 100,000 reinforcements and two new divisions, the 33rd Division and the 34th Division, would be transported from the Japanese mainland to the Far Eastern Province.

Da Shanyan looked at the cheering 18 division commanders, smiled and pressed down with his hands, so that the headquarters was quiet again, Da Shanyan continued: "And the base camp knows that our artillery losses are strict, and this time there will be 2 newly formed independent heavy artillery brigades to follow the transport fleet, and there are 500 field guns and mountain guns with a caliber of 75 mm, as well as the artillery that operates these 500 guns, will also follow the fleet together." And the base camp promised that such a supplement, our Japanese northern dispatch army will continue to receive until we have completed the planned combat objectives. ”

As soon as Da Shanyan's words fell, the 18 division commanders in the headquarters couldn't help but cheer again, what kind of rhythm is this, this is completely a crushing rhythm! Although the Dingbei Army had strong combat effectiveness, the Japanese Army sent troops from northern China only captured the position of the Dingbei Army outside the mouth of the Eagle Gorge, and paid the price of more than 100,000 people, but with the support of the Japanese mainland, the loss of 100,000 troops was immediately supplemented with 100,000, and new divisions were also dispatched. Until the capture of Lin Daxin's nest Shenyang City.

After the cheers of the 18 division commanders in the headquarters of Dashan Yan and other headquarters ended. He continued: "Under the protection of the Combined Fleet of the Great Japanese Navy and the British Navy's escort fleet, the convoy of transport ships will be able to reach the sea near the Wild Boar River Pier in two days. However, in the past two days, we cannot give the Dingbei Army in Eagle Gorge a chance to rest and recuperate, so we still need to attack Eagle Gorge. Given the pressure exerted by the Northern Army, I have decided to transfer 1 to 3 brigades from each division and regiment for the attack on Eagle Gorge tomorrow and the day after tomorrow, according to the casualties of each division and regiment. ”

Dashanyan must ensure that a certain number of veterans are left for each division, otherwise additional troops will be brought in from the Japanese mainland and added to the divisions and regiments, and divisions and regiments lacking veterans will also greatly affect their combat effectiveness. Therefore, Dashanyan is not prepared to designate any division to take up the offensive task tomorrow and the day after tomorrow, otherwise it will definitely be an aggravation of the various divisions and regiments that have already suffered considerable losses.

Of course, there are still 2 divisions of the Japanese Northern Dispatch Army that have suffered little losses, that is, the 6th Division and the 8th Division that occupied the last position of the Dingbei Army outside the mouth of the Eagle Gorge today, but Dashan Yan will not let the 2 ace divisions of the Great Japanese Empire, but only play a role in attrition, and he wants to keep these 2 divisions to use in key places.

So on October 21, the Japanese troops from the northern part of China sent troops from various divisions and regiments to continue the attack, and these Japanese officers and soldiers were under the cover of the remnants of artillery fire. The two hills on both sides of the mouth of the Eagle Gorge and a position of the Dingbei Army between the two hills were launched on a brigade scale.

The two hills on both sides of the mouth of the Eagle Gorge were limited in size, and the Dingbei Army could only place 1 battalion of defenders on them. Only 1 battalion could also be placed on the position between 2 hills, but behind them there were sufficient reinforcements ready to support the forward positions. The Dingbei Army and the Japanese army again began the same tragic offensive and defensive battle as a few days ago.

In this kind of tragic offensive and defensive battle, the Dingbei Army originally had an advantage in firepower. There is no shortage of troops, plus it is on the defensive side. Therefore, it had a very large advantage, especially the position on the two hills also had a geographical advantage, so that the losses of the attacking Japanese army far exceeded that of the defending Dingbei army.

Originally, the Japanese army was also preparing to attack the two hills on both sides of the Eagle Gorge from the nearby hills, but it was found that the Dingbei Army had built fortifications on the hills within a few kilometers around the Eagle Gorge, and if they wanted to bypass and attack the hills on both sides of the Eagle Gorge Gorge, they had to capture many hills guarded by the Dingbei Army all the way, and the gains outweighed the losses, so they could only honestly continue to launch a fierce attack on the hills on both sides of the two Eagle Gorge mouths and a Dingbei Army position between the two hills.

Dashanyan looked at the frontline situation with a telescope from a distance, sighed and put down the telescope in his hand, it seems that the Dingbei Army is very well prepared in the Eagle Gorge, and without paying a certain price, don't want to break through the Eagle Gorge, but as soon as Dashanyan thought of the support of the Japanese base camp for the Japanese army sent to the north of China, his confidence in breaking through the Eagle Gorge became firm, and he gave orders to the troops who were transferred to be responsible for the attack to continue to strengthen the offensive......

At the same time that the northern Japanese army from China launched an attack on the positions of the Dingbei Army in the Eagle Gorge in the Sikhote Mountains and in the hills on both sides, Japanese Prime Minister Hirobumi Ito and Foreign Minister Mutsu Munemitsu were drinking tea with Emperor Meiji in the Imperial Palace in Tokyo, Japan.

After Emperor Meiji took a sip of the tea in the cup, he put the teacup on the wooden table in front of him, and then said with a sigh: "This oolong tea made in Taiwan is really fragrant after tasting it, and the aftertaste is sweet and fresh!" Good tea! Good tea! ”

Prime Minister Hirobumi Ito also took a sip of the tea in the teacup and said: "His Majesty the Emperor, this kind of oolong tea in Taiwan can also be called frozen top tea, this kind of tea is curly in strips, copper-brown, the tea soup is orange-red, the taste is pure, the talent is strong and fruity, and the bottom of the leaves is red and green after brewing. ”

Emperor Meiji sighed and said, "I heard that there are dozens of kinds of precious tea in the entire Qing Dynasty. Why didn't Amaterasu give such a vast land to the Yamato nation! ”

Foreign Minister Mutsu Munemitsu said at this time: "Your Majesty the Emperor, as long as our Empire of Japan can win this war, then the boundless land will belong to the Empire of Japan, and now every aspect of the Qing Dynasty will belong to His Majesty the Emperor!" ”

Prime Minister Ito Hirobumi also said: "As long as we defeat Lin Daxin, then our Japanese Empire will take action against the Qing Dynasty in the next step, then our Great Japanese Empire will become the country with the largest land area in the world, and when we are given some time to develop, we even have the power to compete with the British, and that is when our Great Japanese Empire really rises in the world!" ”

Ito Hirobumi has always been skeptical about launching a war with Lin Daxin now, he thinks that Japan's preparations are not sufficient, and there is a risk of stealing chickens and rice, but now that the war has broken out, and even the British are involved, regardless of what kind of purpose the British have, in short, the British are on the side of Japan, which makes Ito Hirobumi's confidence in winning this war much stronger.

Emperor Meiji nodded and said, "Yes! As long as we win this war, a bright future is in front of the Great Japanese Empire, and even the British are on our side to help our convoy escort, and the final victory will definitely belong to our Great Japanese Empire! By the way, did the convoy depart this time? How many troops were sent to the northern part of China this time? ”

Hirobumi Ito said, "Your Majesty the Emperor, the convoy departed from the mainland yesterday and is expected to reach the sea outside the Wild Boar River dock tomorrow. This time, the mainland sent 100,000 troops to the north of China, two new divisions, the 33rd Division and the 34th Division, two newly established independent heavy artillery brigades, 500 field and mountain artillery guns with a caliber of 75 mm, and the officers and men who operated these 500 guns. The 2 newly formed separate heavy artillery brigades were armed with 20 152-mm howitzers and 30 127-mm howitzers, and the 500 field and mountain guns of caliber 75 mm, which we purchased from the British and French before the war. ”

Emperor Meiji nodded and asked, "I heard that the expeditionary fleet drawn by the British from the mainland and other colonies has also arrived in Japan, did you follow the escort this time?" ”

Foreign Minister Mutsu Munemitsu said: "Your Majesty the Emperor, the British expeditionary fleet arrived at our Sasebo naval base in Japan a few days ago, and this escort, the British not only sent most of the warships that had come to our Japan before, but also most of the expeditionary fleet that had just arrived joined the escort fleet, and the British left only a few protective cruisers and destroyers, as well as some torpedo boats at the Sasebo naval base. ”

Although the British did not send an unusually large expeditionary fleet according to the original idea of British Admiral Campbell, the British did not have a large expeditionary fleet as originally conceived, but the scale of the expeditionary fleet now sent to Japan is not small, including 6 newly built old man-class all-steel battleships, 2 Majestic-class all-steel battleships drawn from the Americas and Australia, 6 ironclad battleships, 6 large fast armored cruisers, 16 new protective cruisers, 20 new destroyers and 30 torpedo boats. A total of 86 warships, large and small.

Together with the warships drawn from the Chinese Fleet in Hong Kong, the Singapore Far East Fleet, and the East India Fleet, the entire British Navy has concentrated 8 Sovereign-class all-steel battleships, 6 Old Man-class all-steel battleships, 4 Majestic-class all-steel battleships, and 2 Pavrel-class all-steel battleships, making a total of 20 powerful all-steel battleships.

In addition, there were 16 large fast armored cruisers, 6 ironclad battleships, 24 new protective cruisers, 28 new destroyers and 60 torpedo boats.

It can be said that half of the forces of the British Navy were concentrated here in Japan to participate in some bullshit escort. (To be continued......)