After discussion, Youpeng in Shan County decided to block the news and not let the soldiers know the truth for the time being, otherwise the morale of the whole army would collapse. At the same time, the gendarmes were ordered to strictly supervise and those who dared to spread "rumors" were to be put to death.

He felt that he could not sit still, wait one more day, consume a little more reserves, and must fight to the death with the Chinese before the grain is eaten!

On March 2, the Japanese army launched the Liaodong Campaign from the eastern and western fronts.

On the Eastern Front, the Japanese Second Army invaded and occupied Caohekou to the north and attacked Lianshan Pass, Liaoyang direction; On the Western Front, the First and Third Armies were flanked on both sides by the lines of Ximucheng and Haicheng. Youpeng in Shanxian Province hopes to achieve a quick victory, fight Mukden in a short time, obtain a large amount of materials, and achieve the goal of "fighting to support war" without backup.

Liu Jintang continued to adopt the strategy of war of attrition, and the terrain on the eastern front was steep, densely covered with mountains and valleys, and the Sixth Division was held by the Sixth Division and blocked at every level.

The terrain on the western front was relatively flat, and Liu Jintang personally commanded three divisions to confront the Japanese army, and at the same time ordered Su Yuanchun's brigade to be stationed in Longchang to protect the rear road.

From March 2 to 7, the two sides fought fiercely for five or six days, and the Japanese army was never able to make a breakthrough.

In order to cover the main force, Su Yuanchun defended the 30,000 Japanese army with 8,000 guards for a whole day, and 3,000 people died in battle, including Su Yuanchun was also seriously injured and died. On the 9th, Wu Zhaoyou led his troops to withdraw from Longchang and retreat to Liaoyang, while the Third Army had to stop and recuperate due to heavy casualties.

Due to Longchang's resistance, Liu Jintang was able to calmly lead the army to retreat, successively abandoned Ximucheng and Haicheng, and withdrew to Liaoyang on March 11.

On the other side, Ma Yukun also fought and retreated, using the terrain and firepower to continuously kill and injure the Japanese army. The Japanese Second Army fought a series of battles, after paying a lot of attrition, gradually captured Qijiabao, Lianshanguan, Matang, Motianling and other places, Zuihou hit the Tang River on March 10, only 25 kilometers away from Liaoyang at this time, but the Japanese army was really exhausted and unable to continue to advance.

To make matters worse, the military material had reached a state of extreme shortage, in which the field artillery of the 3rd Division was almost completely exhausted, and many soldiers had only about a dozen rounds of ammunition. The situation in the 4th Division was even more serious, and due to the extreme shortage of medicines, many soldiers were suffering from diseases such as measles, chickenpox, rubella, mumps, etc. More than a third of them were frostbitten, their hands and feet swollen, and their faces were bruised, and for these men, the death of bullets may have been a better result.

But these are nothing, the most terrible thing is hunger.

The grain brought in from the rear became less and less, and from February 28, the Japanese army stipulated that they could only eat one white rice a day.

By March 4, the meal was already mixed with beans or wheat.

By March 8, the rice was completely gone, and it became one meal a day of wheat rice or other grains.

On March 11, it was again stipulated that it would take two days to eat a meal.

At this time, even the most stupid people will know that there is a big problem in the rear, and some news about the sea is gradually circulating in the army, plus ammunition is getting less and less, and no reason can explain such a situation, and discontent begins to spread.

On March 12, there was a riot in the 5th Division stationed in Haicheng, with soldiers shouting "We want to eat!" ", stormed the logistics warehouse. Although the riots were quickly suppressed, such riots were unprecedented for the hierarchical and disciplined Japanese troops.

The same situation happened in the "Shandong Combat Army", no, it was more serious!

Because there is still Korea behind the Japanese army in the northeast, a few Japanese transport ships can still be smuggled to the east coast of Korea. The Shandong Combat Army, on the other hand, has completely become a "motherless child", and there are no reserves at all, and there has been a shortage of food since March 2, and there is almost no Liliang to fight again.

On March 4, in the midst of extreme pain and regret, Nogi Noshinori had to give up all the hardships and sacrifice his two sons, and finally captured Motianling, because in fact the troops were no longer able to fight, the news of the defeat in the naval battle was already known, and hunger and despair completely broke the morale of the troops.

In a reckless plain, the hungry Japanese officers and soldiers lowered their heads and staggered towards Rongcheng, like a long black snake winding towards the unknown end.

In this situation, the Japanese are still orderly and quiet, and their respect for order is amazing, as natural as the blood flowing in their bodies.

Even so, walking on the frozen earth, with falling snowflakes above my head, and having not eaten for a whole day and night, everyone's heart is asking a question: "I, Weishenme, want to come to this snowy continent and endure all kinds of suffering?" ”

The Southern Chinese Army, slowly following behind, if they are about to leave, without hurry or impatience, they will keep an eye on the Japanese until they are cornered!

After Aoki Shuzo's hard work, and more importantly, the British believed that with the end of the naval war, the Japanese had basically lost the war, and in order to avoid Japan's complete finish, Britain should pull Japan at this time, and in the future, it could be used as a pawn to contain China in East Asia, so Britain agreed to mediate.

On 7 March, the British Cabinet sent a telegram to Sir Charles Pasha, Minister to China, asking him to come forward to persuade China and Japan to make peace.

However, on the evening of 6 March, Wu Tingfang, the Chinese minister to Britain, made a secret report to China that the British had frequent contacts with the Japanese envoys, and it was very likely that they would be unfavorable to our country.

Ding Yuntong was keenly aware that the British were likely to come out and make trouble, because according to these imperialist logics, it was better for China and Japan to fight a lose-lose fight, and it was not in their interests to kill whom. But there is a premise here, the British will never sacrifice their own interests for the sake of Japan. Therefore, it is impossible to be firm in its attitude, as long as China shows absolute will, believing that the British will retreat in the face of difficulties.

Ding Yuntong summoned Pashali overnight and solemnly declared China's position to him, demanding that the core interests and major concerns of the other side be respected and taken into account, and that more things should be done that are conducive to promoting mutual trust. At the same time, Ding Yuntong also hinted that if Britain thinks that it is worth sacrificing its friendship with China for the sake of Japan, then it will be difficult for Britain's interests in Hong Kong and Shanghai to be guaranteed. Moreover, the UK will lose its priority on China's industrialised overseas procurement list.

These stark warnings were quickly conveyed back to London by Pashali, forcing the British cabinet to think carefully about the consequences of proking China. It's not a question of strength, as a top power in Shijie, Britain is confident enough to force China to its knees, the question is whether it's worth it? For Japan?

After weighing, Britain made a decision on March 9 to organize an international mediation team, composed of Britain, the United States, Germany, France, and Italy, to jointly mediate the Sino-Japanese war.

When Pa Xiali proposed this plan, Ding Yuntong smiled, he knew that the British listened to his words, and the British showed the cunning like a loach, not only did not break their promise to Japan, but also released goodwill to China, so it can be said that the knife cuts tofu on both sides.

Who says Westerners don't understand human feelings? Who said that foreigners are simple-minded and don't understand conspiracy and cunning? Who said that foreigners can't do thirty-six tricks?

This trick of the British can be said to be extremely insidious, first of all, he shirked the responsibility of his mediation, and pushed the affairs of one person to five people, and Japan is not good to complain, I promised to mediate for you, but I did not say that one person mediated for you.

On the other hand, the British also expressed their sincerity to China, this kind of thing five countries come out together, you have a set of plans, he makes a rhetoric, plus the five countries themselves have conflicting interests, intrigue, such mediation is protracted, and there will be no results in eight lifetimes.

As a matter of fact, as soon as the five-nation mediation team came up, it quarreled over what level of officials to be dispatched, and it was estimated that it would take at least a few months to come up with a mediation plan.

Ding Yuntong thought silently: "This shijie is so cruel and ruthless, there is no fairness and morality at all, everything is the law of the jungle, and strength is supreme." If the Japanese had won, they would have slaughtered China wantonly, but now the winner is China. Since the Japanese are bent on expansion, they must have the consciousness of being brutally retaliated against, and they cannot complain about China's ruthlessness. ”

He officially ordered: the Guards began to counterattack!

The Great Counteroffensive has begun!