In 1884, on February 2, the Japanese army withdrew from the chestnut orchard.

In fact, the Japanese army did not suffer major losses, but Yama Youpeng believed that the enemy was attacking from both sides, and it was menacing, and holding on to the chestnut orchard might suffer losses, so he simply withdrew to attract the Chinese to pursue. At the same time, he ordered the Japanese troops at the mouth of the Anping River and Andong to be reinforced immediately, and as soon as these troops arrived, they could encircle and annihilate their opponents.

But the Chinese army did not pursue, or even occupy the entire town, and after gaining connection, the whole army immediately turned north and withdrew in the direction of Fengcheng. When the 6th and Guards Divisions of the Japanese Army arrived in the morning, all they saw was an empty chestnut orchard.

The battle on the Yalu River, Zuihou, ended with the Japanese occupying various beachhead cities on the north bank of the river. Tactically, the Japanese army emerged victorious, broke through the Chinese defenses and seized a piece of Chinese territory.

However, strategically, it was a major defeat for the Japanese army, and the Chinese and Japanese sides fought some battles, and the Japanese army, after paying relatively large casualties, did not inflict heavy losses on the main forces of China, and the war would undoubtedly drag on, and Japan's hopes for a quick victory were dashed. In the next pursuit battle to the north, the supply line will inevitably continue to extend, and the difficulties will be further exacerbated, which Japan does not want to see.

The total number of casualties of the Guards so far is nearly 7,000, and this gap has been largely filled by newly trained units in the country.

On the other hand, from the time the Japanese army landed in Korea to the present, the number of casualties was beyond imagination, reaching 20% of the total number of Japanese troops, and this proportion was very staggering, with more than 16,000 casualties alone, of which nearly one-third were non-combat casualties, including freezing to death, death from disease, and so on. Moreover, because of poor logistical conditions, insufficient medical supplies, and severe cold weather, Japanese soldiers were often unable to receive effective treatment when they were wounded, which greatly increased the mortality rate.

In addition to the Guards Division, all other divisions and regiments have attrition to varying degrees, such as the 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 6th Divisions, all of which have fought viciously with the Guards, especially the 6th Division, where less than half of the combat infantry remains.

All these greatly affected the morale and combat effectiveness of the Japanese army, so that Yama County Youpeng was very not optimistic about the next offensive battle, and he had to stop the troops to repair and replenish food, ammunition, and soldiers.

In a top-secret report to the base camp, in addition to requesting at least 20,000 reserve officers and soldiers, Youpeng of Shan County also made an important suggestion:

The Japanese army fought far from the mainland, the climate and geographical conditions were extremely harsh, and the tenacity of the main force of China was completely beyond pre-war expectations, and it was very likely that endless tug-of-war would form in the vast land of China, which was not good for the empire.

Therefore, it was necessary to take a decisive decision to mobilize the main forces of the reserves, land in places close to the center of China's rule, such as the Shandong Peninsula, and directly threaten Beijing, forcing China to fight a decisive battle and end the war at an early date.

On February 4, an emergency meeting was held at the base camp in Japan to discuss related issues.

The war was protracted and costly, but it is still a stalemate. On land, it seems that the progress is step-by-step, and the public opinion is full of news of victory, but the government knows that the enemy is not without the power to fight back.

The same is true at sea, it looks as if the Chinese are blocked in the port, but the other side does not have big losses. Therefore, so far, in fact, the results of the war are very limited, in such a situation, the Chinese will definitely not give in, to Zuihou is only afraid that Japan will be consumed first, and all of them feel heavy.

The Zuihou meeting gradually leaned towards Jihua, who agreed with Yama Prefecture Youpeng, to send the main force of the reserves, which had already been assembled at the docks, to open up a second battlefield on the Shandong Peninsula, which could not only besiege Weihaiwei and annihilate the Chinese navy, but also threaten the Chinese capital.

Although there are also opinions, it is advocated to land on the Liaodong Peninsula and support the battle of Youpeng in Shanxian County. But it was quickly rejected by the meeting, for the simple reason that the current Japanese army in Northeast China is actually not a lot of troops, but due to various reasons such as climate, geography, and supplies, it cannot play its due role. Now, even if it lands in Liaodong, the Chinese army has complete combat strength, and it is a big deal to continue to retreat, forming an endless pursuit battle in the vast northeast land, which really makes the Japanese government a little frightened.

Moreover, the General Staff Headquarters calculated that the Chinese Guards Army, an elite unit that fights, is about five to six divisions, while the Chinese army in the area of the Yalu River is about five divisions, so it can be judged that there is only about one division in its rear, and the strength is empty, so the landing in Shandong has a greater chance of victory.

Three decisions were made at the Zuihou meeting: the first was to agree to replenish the Yama Prefecture with 20,000 troops in order to maintain pressure on China from the north.

Second, assemble the main forces of the reserve forces and prepare for the landing in Shandong.

Third, it is necessary to spread the word of victory, and use public opinion to motivate the Japanese people and maintain morale and hope. At the same time, it mobilized newspapers and media to announce that Japan would establish a pro-Japanese puppet regime headed by Kim Ok-gyun in Korea, and also set up a civil affairs office in the newly occupied city of Andong in China.

The next day, the news was published in all the major newspapers in Japan, and in particular, the establishment of the Civil Affairs Office in Andong caused the whole country to revel, and the people were extremely happy and intoxicated, arousing a new war fever.

Yukichi Fukuzawa praised in the Jiji Shimbun, "The establishment of the Civil Affairs Agency outside the Japanese territory was a quick event since the establishment of the 'Nippon Prefecture' (an ancient Japanese dispatch agency established in Renna in southern Korea), but at that time the Japanese government never developed outside Korea." Today, our army has occupied the area on the north bank of the Yalu River and enforced Japanese laws there, which is unprecedented since the founding of Japan. ”

Emperor Meiji of Japan also announced that the commander of the book, Yamaprefecture Aritomo Kashimi: "I am deeply rewarded for his loyalty and bravery, his ability to attack against all odds, retreat from the enemy's borders, enter the enemy's country, and occupy the key places." When it is cold, Qing and others love each other, and they expect to succeed in the future. ”

In the following period, the Chinese and Japanese armies confronted each other in the northeast, the Japanese army rested in the areas of Andong and Jiuliancheng, and the Chinese built fortifications on the front line of Phoenix, Xiuyan, and Haicheng, putting on the appearance of "waiting for the big driver", obviously to fight a protracted war, and drag the Japanese until "the sea is dry and the rocks are rotten, and the sky is barren and the land is old."

Beijing, Jingshan, Qiwanglou.

Ding Yuntong looked at the snowy scenery of the mountains, only felt comfortable and high-spirited, and hummed casually in his mouth: "There are so many delicate rivers and mountains, which have led countless heroes to bend their waists." ＂

Thinking of the former dynasty Taizu, he was also determined to win the championship, singing "Count the romantic figures, but also look at the present dynasty!" "I also mentioned the Qin Emperor Han Wu, Tang Dynasty and Song Zu, because I was worried that the students felt that Taizu had feudal emperor thoughts, and the textbook desperately explained what "the romantic figure refers not to himself, but to the people". It's strange, how did those who wrote textbooks know, did they ask Taizu himself?

Thinking about it now, I really want to cover it up, I'm afraid that students will think independently, and I'm afraid that students will have their own ideas.

He was thinking wildly, and his subordinates sent Xue Fucheng's report, which was a secret report from Japan, according to spy observation, the docks in Tokyo and Hiroshima in Japan were busy, and a large number of troops that had been assembled had finally begun to set off.

Ding Yuntong thought silently: "That's it, Japan is going to dispatch the main force of the reserve force to open up the second battlefield." In this life, the war situation in the Northeast is stalemate, and if the Japanese army lands in Liaodong, China can fight and retreat, and the threat is not great. Therefore, it seems that it is more likely to land in Shandong, at least to outflank Weihaiwei Military Port. ＂

At this time, Ding Yuntong only left Wang Xiang's guard brigade in Beijing, but gathered a large number of troops in Baoding, namely Feng Zicai's first division, Song Qing's fifth division, and Nie Shicheng's eighth division.

The Zuo Guigui Brigade, which was fighting in Siam, was also transferred to Baoding, while a regiment of Ma Jinxu remained on guard in Vientiane.

In this way, the guards in Baoding reached more than 40,000 people, forming a powerful mobile corps, which was a killer feature of Ding Yuntong.

In addition, Liu Mingchuan's third division was stationed in Shandong, and Ding Yuntong believed that as soon as the Japanese army landed, it would be an end with no return!

On February 5th, Hiroshima, hundreds of boats competed for the current, and the flags were like a forest. The army of the Japanese Empire set off again, partly to Northeast China, but the main target was Shandong, which was a Japanese sword, ready to pierce directly into the heart of China!