After the deliberations of Takashima and Akiyama, it was very difficult to attack the Han River from the front, because the river was so open and unobstructed, and it was forced to cross the river under artillery fire from the other side, and the casualties were incalculable.

Akiyama Yoshiko, who had always emphasized the use of cavalry, proposed that he lead the cavalry brigade, with some additional infantry, to make a detour from the right flank, find a shallow water section to cross the Han River, and then attack Seoul from the rear, so as to avoid heavy casualties on the one hand and shake the morale of the Chinese army.

Takashima thought so, so he gave Akiyama's cavalry brigade a reinforced infantry brigade, so that the total strength of more than 1,300 people, half of the cavalry, detoured to the upper reaches of the Han River, looking for a shallow place to cross the river, and let the only remaining core of the Heavenly Blessed Hero, the ronin Kataoka Kotaro, act as a guide.

On the Seoul side, Yuan Shikai assigned the defensive positions of the various divisions, and Major General Wu Zhaoyou led a regiment, plus the right battalion of Li Zuyuan's new army, to defend the frontal zone from Namsan to Yongsan on the north bank of the Han River; Zhang Guangqian commanded a battalion and the front battalion of Han Gyuji's new army, which was stationed on a small hill called Mount Esa, just outside the east gate of Seoul; Zhu Xianmin commanded a battalion stationed in the area of Muhua Pavilion outside the West Gate; He Zengzhu led a battalion and the rear battalion of Yin Taijun's new army, which was stationed in Seoul.

At the same time, a large amount of materials were also stored in the city, and the rice alone was enough for the Chinese and North Korean defenders to eat for more than a month, and there were also plenty of bullets and shells, so Yuan Shikai felt confident to persist in waiting for help.

Just the day before yesterday, the North Korean government had issued a following China's declaration of war on Japan. The decree demanded that the subjects of the whole country work together to assist China in the fight against the Japanese invaders, and that anyone who provided material goods to the Japanese invaders, or traded with them, or was employed by the Japanese and accepted favors from the Japanese would be punished as treasonous Japanese slaves. Yuan Shikai believed that the lethal effect of this on Japan would become more and more obvious with the passage of time.

Before the war, the Japanese side had already drawn a detailed map of the Seoul area, with mountains, rivers, ditches, slopes and canals, and it was extremely detailed. But no amount of detail has been able to mark the depth of the waterways.

It's not that Japanese spies are lazy and don't take measurements, but that North Korea's flood control measures on the Han River are very backward, and often when it rains heavily, the river will flood upstream, and it may not necessarily become what it will become, and the amount of water in each section is sometimes deep and sometimes shallow, making it difficult to calculate. It wasn't until September 24, after a day of searching, that Akiyama's cavalry scouts finally found a temporary shallow basin more than 20 kilometers upstream of the Han River, a place called Xichuan-ri, which could even allow infantry to wade across the river on foot.

Akiyama was overjoyed, and immediately led the troops across the Han River, and the cavalry made a big turn and advanced at full speed, aiming at the east gate of Hanseong, and asked Gu Zhi Masatsuna to lead the infantry brigade to attack the area around the east gate without turning a corner. In addition, Takashima was also sent to inform him, demanding that the whole army be moved here immediately to cross the river.

Akiyama Haogu's name is "Haogu", and he also admires Li Mu, a famous general in China's Warring States Period, because Li Mu is good at using cavalry, coming and going like the wind, fast as lightning, and his tactics are elusive. Akiyama promised himself to be "Li Mu of the world", and specially carved a seal for himself "The Lackey under the Command of Wu Anjun" to show his respect. He had always dreamed of using cavalry outflanking to create a legendary victory similar to that of classical warfare, and to make a mark on the emperor's military exploits.

In order to maximize the offensive effect, Akiyama Yoshiko came up with an ingenious bow attack line. The so-called bow attack is to let the fast cavalry take a long way to "bow back" and sneak attack from behind, and let the slow infantry approach the "bowstring", so that although the speed of the two troops is different, due to the distance relationship, they can almost reach the destination at the same time, forming a front and rear flanking attack on the enemy.

On the evening of September 25, on Mount Esa, east of Seoul, next to the avenue at the foot of the back mountain, Colonel Zhang Guangqian of the Guards was lazily lying on a rattan chair and chatting with Han Gyuji, the former camp envoy. On the orders of Yuan Shikai, Chinese troops were stationed on the front slope, while North Korean troops were at the foot of the back hill. Zhang Guangqian felt that the wind on the hillside was too strong, and it was uncomfortable to stay, and there would be no enemy anyway, so he simply abandoned his troops and ran to the foot of the mountain to brag and rest.

In his opinion, if the Japanese army wanted to cross the Han River by force under the fire of the front-line troops, it would be tantamount to volunteering to be a human target. Therefore, the defense line of the Han River is impregnable, and I can spend my days here at leisure. This Han Guiji is also quite acquainted, blindly flattering, and promised to wait for the completion of this matter, he will give his sister-in-law, Han Yise, who is known as a beauty, to Zhang Guangqian to be a child. The relationship between the two has become much closer all of a sudden, and Zhang Guangqian's heart has flown to Seoul.

At this moment, there was a sudden gunfire on Eshan Mountain, and then a shout came, and Zhang Guangqian wondered for a while: "What's going on?" Could it be that there was a group fight and infighting? ”

Just as he was stunned, a soldier ran to report: "The Japanese are walking along the small bushes in front of the mountain, suddenly touching the hillside, and fighting with our army!" ”

Zhang Guangqian only felt a buzz in his head, and hurriedly asked, "Is there a lot of people?" ”

"Many, the brethren are not ready, and the bullets have not had time to load."

Zhang Guangqian suddenly felt that he was too careless, thinking that he was at ease, leaving the troops behind, and going down the mountain to chat, there must be spies of the military commander here, and he was investigated afterwards, but he was afraid that the crime would not escape. Now we can only hope to repel the enemy army and make up for it. He asked Han Gyuji to immediately gather the front camp and go up the mountain with him for reinforcements.

While the troops were scrambling to pack up their guns, there was a sudden rumbling in the back, and with a burst of smoke and dust, a large number of cavalry swept along the avenue in front, like thunder, only less than a kilometer away.

Zhang Guangqian understood at a glance that it was the enemy, because there were no Chinese cavalry in the Seoul area, and the enemy must have covered the horse's hooves, otherwise he would not have heard the sound of the horse's hooves so close.

Seeing that he was being flanked by the enemy, Zhang Guangqian suddenly lost confidence, and the new Korean army collapsed even more rapidly. Under the rapid assault of more than 600 Japanese cavalry, hundreds of Korean officers and soldiers threw away their rifles and desperately drilled into the bushes.

But on the hillside, after all, the soldiers of the Guards quickly calmed down after the initial panic after the strong wind and waves, and the will to fight that they had honed through the brutal training they usually had finally shown their value. Hundreds of people shouted and suicidally rushed forward, resisting the onslaught of the Japanese infantry with hand-to-hand combat, and although almost all of them were killed, they bought time for the others. The remaining hundreds of officers and soldiers quickly prepared guns and ammunition with tacit understanding, and launched a confrontation with the Japanese army, and the battle suddenly fell into a stalemate.

At this time, at the foot of the mountain, Akiyama Haogu had completely defeated the Korean troops, and he observed the slopes with a telescope and felt that the fighting will of these Chinese was extremely tenacious, and it was not easy to annihilate these people.

What's more, this is not a result that he can be satisfied with, what he pursues is to use speed to establish immortal feats, so he made up his mind: ignore the fierce battle on the mountain, and directly lead the cavalry to attack Seoul!

If Amaterasu blesses, he will be able to defeat the Chinese defenders of Seoul in one fell swoop tonight, and the entire Japanese archipelago will sing his praise!

Subsequently, Akiyama Yoshiko ordered Kotaro Kataoka to be in front, and he personally led his subordinates to rush to the east gate of Seoul like a lightning speed!

In the side hall of Qianqing Palace, Ding Yuntong was sitting and drinking tea while looking at Rong Hong opposite. Although Rong Hong was in a state of mind and his whole body was rickety, two officials from the Ministry of Internal Affairs still pressed his shoulders one left and one right. Although the blood on his face had been wiped clean and he had changed into new clothes, he could still see blood marks on his face, and his left eye could not be opened due to swelling.

Today, Rong Hong is about to be executed, and before he is executed, Ding Yuntong wants to meet him. This Rong Hong used to be the earliest student in China, and then he organized to study abroad, known as the "father of Chinese students". During the period of the New Deal, it was also a talent that Ding Yuntong relied on very much, he met with a foreign guest for the first time, that is, the US Secretary of State, or Rong Hongdang's translator, and he was also a former comrade-in-arms of reform, but today he has become an enemy, although he has long known it, but Ding Yuntong still wants to ask him

"You want to rebel?"

"Because you should be opposed!"

Rong Hong raised his head and stared, without fear, the one eye that could be opened radiated a yearning for freedom and truth, like the brilliance of faith, shining like a diamond in the gloomy hall