The news of the Japanese army's capture of Pyongyang, Korea, soon reached its climax in Japan, and in just a few days, the whole of Japan reached a climax.

In an editorial in the Shiji Shimbun, Yukichi Fukuzawa said: "The seizure of Pyongyang is a great strategic victory, which means that the Korean Peninsula will forever become the new territory of the empire. But this is not enough, the empire should have more ambitious goals, the mouth of Arthur is Hong Kong in North China, and Japan should have Jinzhou, Dalian, and Lushun. ”

On January 10, the first celebration was held in Tokyo, and citizens celebrated the victory in Ginza, Nihonbashi, Asakusa, Kanda, Shimoya, and Yamatemachi. A congress of people from all walks of life was held on the 11th, unanimously agreeing to march into China, resolutely rejecting the interference and mediation of the foreign powers, and never giving up until Beijing was occupied.

In the midst of this boom, there are still some people who remain calm, and Ito Hirobumi said to Saionji Gongwang: "Judging from the situation at the front, the Chinese army was not defeated, but only a premeditated retreat, which reminds people of the Sino-French war in Vietnam." The Chinese also retreated step by step, and Zuihou won in one fell swoop. He was one of the very few Japanese who insisted on using the term "China" rather than "Shina."

Xiyuan agreed: "Although our country has mastered the right to control the sea, there is no need to worry about the future. However, by abandoning Pyongyang and avoiding a decisive battle, it is obvious that China wants to extend the supply lines of our army, and to take advantage of the harsh weather and the difficult logistical supply of our army to wage a protracted war with our country in order to drag down our country. ”

In the same opinion, there is also the army chief of staff Oyama Iwa, who also stated his worries at the headquarters meeting: "The Chinese army has not been dealt a real blow, and its retreat has been carried out in a step-by-step manner, destroying everything that can be destroyed, and it is clearly implementing a scorched earth policy." Such determination, such determination, is really terrifying, very similar to the strategy adopted by the commander of the Russian army, Kutuzov, when Napoleon attacked Russia. ”

But at this time, the Japanese government has no choice, and although many people understand the risks, there is no turning back. Every day in Korea, Japan's 100,000-strong army had to consume a large amount of materials, and there was no time to hesitate at all, so it could only defeat China with indomitable strength and force China to sue for peace, and there was no other way.

The Japanese base camp had already begun to discuss the possibility of launching an attack on the Yalu River with three armies, and then mobilizing reserve divisions from within the country to land on the coast near the heart of China for a decisive battle with China.

On 8 January, Ding Yuntong sent a long telegram of condolences to the officers and men on the Korean front, in which he fully agreed with Liu Jintang's analysis of the Japanese army and pointed out that our army's tactical thinking was more advanced than that of the enemy.

Then he warmly praised the officers and men of the Guards for their heroic operation, believing that they had perfectly fulfilled the tasks assigned to the country: to deplete the enemy's life and delay the enemy's attack.

A large number of messages were made to award and reward those soldiers who had made meritorious contributions to the war, and this was the first time that Ding Yuntong had awarded medals to the troops.

After a long period of preparation by the Ministry of Military Affairs, Ding Yuntong finally approved the style of the Military Merit Medal.

The Military Merit Medal is divided into one, two, and three classes, and each class has four levels, so there are a total of three classes and twelve grades. The middle pattern of the first-class meritorious service medal is the red dragon flag of the Guards, surrounded by five large water chestnuts; The middle pattern of the second-class meritorious service medal is the Tiananmen Tower and a bayonet; The middle motif of the Order of Merit of the Third Class is the Guards flag, a cogwheel, and an ear of wheat.

The ribbon of the medal is woven with white silk threads, the two sides are blue, and the 1-3 red bars in the middle represent the first, second, and third respectively, and the size will gradually increase as the level increases.

The materials of the medals are: the first class is pure gold, the second class is pure silver, and the third class is fine copper.

The award of medals is based on a comprehensive analysis of the army's report and the military commander's secret report. The 7th and 9th Divisions, as well as Wu Zhaoyou's troops, received thousands of medals of various ranks, and in fact they received military merit medals as long as they were confirmed to have killed the enemy.

This telegram was read out to the officers and men of the Guards, and it greatly boosted the morale of the officers and men. This is also in line with the concept that Ding Yuntong has always instilled: it is not that you can make meritorious service by advancing, as long as you obey orders, fight bravely, and complete the task, you can be rewarded for meritorious service even if you retreat. War is a long process, victory and defeat are normal things, as long as everyone conscientiously does what they have to do, then the country will thank you and reward you.

So, on the Korean Peninsula, a very peculiar scene appeared. The retreating Chinese troops were full of self-confidence, they sat on the train, climbed the mountains and mountains as if walking on the ground, energetic, well-fed and clothed, and easily watched the scenery along the way, talking and laughing, and their morale was high.

On the other hand, the advancing Japanese troops were demoralized, and the officers and men were full of confusion. After the capture of Pyongyang, there was no loot, and the much-needed food, ammunition, and clothing were all lost, which greatly disappointed everyone.

The road to the march was difficult, the train tracks were blown up by the Chinese in front of them, the Japanese had to trek through mountains and rivers by themselves, and the soldiers marched in the snow, some of their shoes were worn out, so that their feet were bloody. The logistics line is getting longer and longer, and the supply is becoming more and more difficult, and some brigades have no winter clothes, so they can only wear white summer clothes and skirts, and march with their bodies huddled in the cold wind. The soldiers were also fed with a few umeboshi (a traditional Japanese pickle food) and the soldiers had to eat frozen rice with a pinch of salt.

The road ahead is shrouded in a vast snow and fog, and the future is full of unpredictable hardships, especially the strength and strength of the Chinese army, the ferocious firepower, and the ease of advance and retreat, so that those officers and soldiers who have been instilled with the "Chinese army will collapse at the touch of a button, and they are vulnerable" have a great sense of being deceived, and some soldiers have already had questions in their hearts: "Are we going to come to this blizzard on the East Asian continent to suffer?" ”

On the north bank of the Yalu River, a large number of Guards troops had been assembled at this time, including Wu Changqing's Fourth Division, which came from Mukden to reinforce, Ma Yukun's Sixth Division, Su Yuanchun's brigade, which was the first to withdraw from the south to rest, and the newly withdrawn Seventh and Ninth Divisions, Wu Zhaoyou's troops, etc., Su Yuanchun's troops and Wu Zhaoyou's troops had suffered casualties and were reorganized into a brigade. The 7th and 9th Divisions were also replenished with troops.

All the troops were reorganized into the Yalu River Group Army, which had four divisions and one brigade under its jurisdiction, with a total strength of more than 53,000 troops, and Liu Jintang served as the commander of the group army.

Ding Yuntong gave the task, the Yalu River is Zuihou's line of defense, and it is never allowed to take another half a step back! He used the Yalu River Army to block the enemy and waited for the Japanese army to use reserves to open up a second battlefield, which was the beginning of a major counterattack.

On January 19, after more than ten days of arduous trekking, the Japanese army began to arrive in Yiju County on the south bank of the Yalu River. Yama County Youpeng set up a headquarters in the city, but because Uiju County was also completely destroyed, the headquarters could only be set up in military tents. But after all, the number of military tents is limited, and can only be reserved for officers, ordinary soldiers do not have such good luck, they can only rely on mountain cliffs, boulders, big trees and caves to shelter from the wind and snow, groups of people huddled together, barely resisting the cold, every minute and every second is torture.

The Japanese commanders climbed the United Army Pavilion on a hill northeast of Uiju County to observe the surrounding mountains and rivers and look at the positions of the Chinese troops on the opposite bank.

Uiju County is located on the Yalu River in front of it and Jiulian City on the opposite side, which is the command center of the Chinese army. On the left side of Jiulian City is Andong City, and on the right is the commanding heights of Tiger Mountain.

Japanese spies and ronins have conducted detailed reconnaissance of the Yalu River for many years, and in winter, the water volume of the Yalu River is very large, and the suitable ferries are Anton, Jiudian River Estuary, and Shuikou Town, of which Shuikou Town is the most ideal.

On the opposite side of Shuikou Town is the Anping River Estuary, where the river begins to diffuse, the water depth becomes shallow, the current gradually slows down, and it is easy to cross the river on foot. From here to the upper reaches, both sides of the river are steep cliffs, the blue stream is like an arrow, the sound of the turbulence is like thunder, the ferry boat can easily capsize, from Uiju County to the coast, the land on both sides is deep in silt, full of swamps, and it is difficult to march.

Youpeng in Shan County finally decided to cross the river in Shuikou Town!

He imagined the scene of crossing the Yalu River on the unified army pavilion, and like other Japanese generals, he once again attached himself to the elegance of the vassals, and waved a book of seven unique poems to express his words: "

What about the confrontation between the two armies?

The sound of war was like a thunderbolt.

Three more snow outside the city of Fengtian,

Millions of elite soldiers crossed the river. ”