On February 10, 1884, west of the Shandong Peninsula, in the waters of Longxu Island.

The convoy sent by the Japanese Empire had already arrived here, and in front of it was the Japanese naval fleet, and since the standing fleet was to monitor Weihaiwei, the reserve fleet was responsible for escorting the ship.

Behind it was a huge convoy of transport ships, loaded with the "Shandong Combat Army" composed of the main force of the Japanese reserves, under the jurisdiction of four divisions and regiments, with a total strength of 70,000 troops. The commander-in-chief is Lieutenant General Prince Sadaai Fushimi Miya, but the actual commander is the Deputy Commander, Chief of Staff of the Army, and Lieutenant General Oyama Iwa.

Although it is nominally a reserve, its combat effectiveness is no less than that of the active duty troops, because these officers and soldiers have originally retired from active duty, and they have always maintained training in peacetime and can participate in the war at any time.

Japan has a total of six reserve divisions, one was sent to supplement the troops of Yama Prefecture Aritomo, one stayed in the country, and the remaining four are all here.

The Japanese landing here was carefully chosen.

Longsu Island belongs to Rongcheng County, in fact, it is a small peninsula, there are several long reefs in the southwest corner of the island, which protrude into the deep sea, like a dragon's whisker, hence the name. The east, west and south sides of the reef are so rocky that ships cannot dock. Only there is a coast behind Longsu Island, the terrain is flat and full of sand, suitable for landing, but the place is very narrow.

Strictly speaking, such a place is not suitable for a large army to land, but Japan deliberately chose this place in order to take it by surprise.

On the morning of the 10th, the Japanese ships Iwaki, Atago, Maya, and Chokai began to bombard Ryusu Island. The defense capability on the shore is extremely weak, and there are only a few bronze cannons of the Ming Dynasty (cast by Qi Jiguang, named "Zhenhai Hou").

The soldiers of the patrol battalion stationed there soon dispersed in a hurry, but the Japanese still did not dare to go ashore, and continued to bombard for more than two hours before sending a small team ashore. After confirming safety, the Japanese finally began to land in the afternoon, and hundreds of sampans crossed back and forth, constantly transporting troops, equipment, materials, horses, etc. to the shore.

Such a large-scale landing lasted seven or eight days, with an endless flow of personnel and materials, and a large number of people were assembled on the beachhead, and the vanguard troops captured the county seat of Rongcheng that night and set up a temporary command center.

Things went unexpectedly smoothly, which made the Japanese army very excited, and Oyama Iwa sent back a report to the base camp, saying that Jihua had succeeded, and he did not know that the moment had come to determine the future fate of the Yamato nation.

In Beijing, on the evening of February 11, the Qianqing Palace was brightly lit, and Ding Yuntong was pacing back and forth, holding a telegram from Shandong in his hand, and his excitement was overflowing.

The Japanese army has landed in Shandong, Zuihou's hole cards have been opened, and all the tricks have been played. During this period of time, on the surface, Japan has been pressing forward step by step, seizing the dominant power at sea, and fighting from Korea to northeast China on land, and it seems to be in an advantageous position, and international public opinion has also begun to be optimistic about Japan, and Britain, France, Germany, and the United States have also begun to waver a little.

In the Western media, some experts have already called for Japan to provide loans to Japan in view of the possibility that it will dominate the situation in East Asia in the future, and that relations should be pulled along as soon as possible.

Now that Japan has landed in the hinterland of China again, presumably those foreigners will start singing praises to Japan, but it doesn't matter, it's time for China to show its might, and the combination of punches will follow one after another, Ding Yuntong sneered: "The show is starting to be staged!" ”

He gave four orders in a row,

First, order Liu Jintang's "Yalu River Group Army" to be reorganized into the "Northern Group Army", always be vigilant, if the enemy attacks, immediately retreat, no matter how many cities are lost, no matter how much loss of the people, all ignore it, in short, never fight a decisive battle with the Japanese army, and wait for the opportunity to zuihou.

Second, order Liu Mingchuan's division stationed in Weihaiwei to prepare and defend the defensive position.

Third, the Guards assembled in Baoding were ordered to form the "Southern Group Army", with Lieutenant General Feng Zicai as the supreme commander, to take the railway, the goal was directly aimed at the Shandong Peninsula, and immediately reinforced Weihaiwei!

Fourth, Zuihou gave an order, that is, to order the secret fleet anchored in Xuwen Port in Guangdong, and immediately raise its anchor and set off for the Yellow Sea for a decisive battle at sea!

Ding Yuntong considered that it would take about 12 days from Xu Wen to the Shandong Peninsula, that is, around February 24, and then he could let the fleet in the harbor attack and flank the Japanese army together.

As for the army, from Baoding you can take a train to Shijiazhuang, and then change the track and turn around, and go directly to Jinan along the branch line under construction. This process only took two days, but it would take about ten days for the troops to cross the Yellow River and go to Weihaiwei, which means that Liu Mingchuan had to hold on at least until about the 25th.

On February 12th, Xu Wengang colorful flags were hung high, gongs and drums were noisy, like a festival, the powerful secret fleet has been here for several months, and has been doing various drills and sand table deductions on weekdays, and has long been eager to try, eager for a war, every day ammunition, food, medicine, and coal are ready to go, and now the emperor's order is coming, and he can finally raise his eyebrows and sword out of the sheath.

Although the size of the fleet is not large, with only two ironclad ships and four cruisers, in terms of its advanced degree and comprehensive strength in all aspects, it is worthy of the top of Shijie at this moment!

Fleet Commander Liu Buyun hung out the signal flag on the flagship Suzaku "Fight for the motherland!" The officers and men of the ships cheered, "Long live the emperor!" "Long live China! Amid the cheers, the salute rang out, the fleet sailed out of the harbor in a majestic and solemn manner, the clouds were flying, the seagulls were circling, and the people on the shore and on board were all enthusiastic.

Jin Ge Iron Horse, swallowing thousands of miles like a tiger!

Zuihou's decisive battle is about to begin, holding a three-foot Longquan sword in his hand, and swearing no more than evil!

On February 15, as most of the Japanese troops had completed their landing, a military meeting was also being held in the headquarters of a fishing company in Rongcheng County.

According to the intelligence, there are two roads from Rongcheng to Weihaiwei: one is called Zhifu Avenue, that is, through Qiaotou, Hot Spring Tang, Hushan and other places, north to Weihaiwei and Beibang Fort;

The other is the North Road, called Weihai Avenue, that is, through Beigang West, Baojia Village, Gushan Hou and other places, directly to the south bank of Weihai Fort, the south road is easy to walk, the north road is difficult to walk.

Weihaiwei is located at the northeast end of the Shandong Peninsula, bordering the Yellow Sea in the north, and Dalian on the Liaodong Peninsula, choking the gateway to the Bohai Sea. It is bordered by mountains in the east and Yantai in the west, and the harbor is semicircular, stretching to the northeast and embracing the sea. Liugong Island and Ridao Island are lined up at the mouth of the bay, which is like two gates blocking the bay, and the situation is dangerous.

The whole port is surrounded by mountains on three sides, one side faces the sea, the north is the North Gang Fort, the south is the South Gang Fort, and the middle is the Weihai Acropolis, the defense is tight, easy to defend and difficult to attack.

At the meeting, Zuihou decided that since the southern road was easier to walk, the southern road would be the main direction of attack, and the 7th and 9th divisions would be concentrated to attack the Nanbang Battery, and the 10th Division would be responsible for the Beibang Battery and Weihaiwei to contain the Chinese defenders Liliang, and the 8th Division would be used as a backup.

On February 17, the Japanese army began to attack, the 7th Division captured Sanjiamiao on the same day, the 9th Division occupied Beigang West, and the 10th Division crossed the Baima River on the 18th and occupied the bridgehead.

In the Weihai Acropolis, Liu Mingchuan got the news on the day of the Japanese landing, and the emperor gave him the task of holding out until at least the 25th. He carefully considered that the Japanese army had a great advantage in strength, and if the troops were divided into various places, they would scatter Liliang, defend anywhere, and they would not be able to hold anywhere, so they would simply concentrate Liliang to hold Weihaiwei Port. Therefore, on the north and south roads, he only laid mines and sent small units to carry out guerrilla sneak attacks.

On the 19th, after the Japanese army on the south route had captured Gushan, the front was already the South Gang Battery, and it took two days to get to the North Gang Fort after taking Hot Spring Tang, Hushan, and Fenglinji on the North Road.

After several years of construction in China, the Nanbang Fort has built a total of seven forts, of which three forts are facing the sea, and the other four forts are north of the city, Yangfengling, Motianling and Lianziding, all of which are land forts, and the muzzles are facing inland.

The original construction was entirely due to Ding Yuntong's strong intervention, and the Minister of Military Affairs was puzzled: Aren't these forts built to cover the fleet in the harbor? Why are there more turrets with the muzzles facing backwards? Will there be enemies behind?

Today's facts have proved the emperor's "wisdom", and Liu Mingchuan's admiration is indescribable. At this time, there were more than 7,000 guards stationed in the South Gang Fort, and more than 5,000 people were stationed in the North Gang Fort and Weihai Acropolis.

Therefore, Liu Mingchuan also set up his headquarters on Motianling.

Weihaiwei will face the test of blood and fire.