A nation's self-confidence is based on victory, especially victory at sea, which makes the Chinese people sweep away the decadence and become high-spirited, and they do not have that fear in the face of the great powers.

And this change in morale will inevitably bring about the rise of nationalism, and an ancient power cannot be forever subjugated to the feet of clowns. When the colonists set foot on this land, they knew that China was not the same as Africa and South Asia, and that it was impossible for them to completely conquer this land.

What they want most is to keep China divided forever, to let the country sink and become a public colony of the great powers. It's just that they didn't expect that the speed of awakening of this ancient nation was beyond their imagination, and the intensity was amazing.

The newsboys along the street were all fenced off, and the ink-scented newspapers were quickly snapped up.

"Look at the newspaper, a newspaper with a picture of the King Kong, come and see, it's this warship that was sunk!"

A few more newsboys rushed out, they waved the picture of the battleship in their hands, which immediately attracted the attention of countless people, although it was a black and white photo, but a behemoth of more than 30,000 tons, still had an unparalleled momentum, a thick muzzle, showing a powerful liliang.

Such a huge guy was actually sunk by the Feng army, what a good skill, so powerful! Everyone couldn't help but give a thumbs up. Eston also felt very uncomfortable in his heart, this battleship was made by the British, but now it was sunk, and he felt strange in his heart.

After driving to the presidential palace, Eston directly met President Xu Shichang, at this time Xu Shichang also got the news, he was also so shocked that he was almost speechless, the Japanese battleship sank and was sunk by the Feng army. What countermeasures will the Japanese have, will they declare war on this, will the two countries fight each other, and how should Beiyang deal with itself?

This series of problems were pressed on Xu Shichang's heart, at this time Eston hurriedly came to find it, as soon as he saw Xu Shichang, he said with a slap on his face: "Your Excellency President, what does it mean to sink the battleship, do you know it, President?" It's war, terrible war. I believe that soon the Japanese side will declare war on China at any time, how are you going to deal with it? ”

Faced with questioning, Xu Shichang was speechless, and indeed he had nothing to say, these were all done by Feng Jun. He didn't know anything about the big president, and even he didn't know as much as Eston. The trade of the Mackensen was clear to the British. And Xu Shichang didn't know at all.

"Mr. Minister, I, the president, am just a tablet, not to mention the Fengjun outside the Guan, even Beiyang, is not something I can manage. The sky is falling and it is high, and my old man has no choice. ”

Xu Shichang put his head in the meat formation, and Aiston was also red-eyed at this time: "Your Excellency President, let's get straight to the point." If war breaks out between China and Japan, the interests of the great powers in China will inevitably be affected, so I hope that I can do my best to avoid war through diplomatic mediation. The government of the British Empire is already communicating with the Japanese side to understand the truth of the matter, and I hope that you will take action to persuade the Mukden side to accept the terms of compensation. ”

When Xu Shichang heard this, his eyes also lit up, once the war broke out, not only would it affect the interests of the great powers in China, but Beiyang would inevitably be involved, and no one could stay out of it.

"Mr. Minister, I agree with your proposal, but what conditions do you need to make Mukden accept in order to avoid war?"

"Reparations, compensation for all the losses of the warship, unconditional handing over the Mackensen to the Japanese, and then expanding Japan's interests in the Northeast, preferably handing over the railways and mines to the Japanese, I believe that if this is done, it is possible to redeem it."

After Eston finished explaining, he left in a hurry and went to coordinate with the ministers of various countries, and Xu Shichang also hurriedly invited Cao Kun and Wu Peifu over to discuss how to persuade Feng Jun.

It can be said that the war has reached the edge of the cliff, and it is about to break out, and after Zhang Tinglan made a speech in Huludao, he also felt that the matter was important, and the Japanese would not give up, so they hurriedly returned to Mukden by plane, and all the civil and military officers of the Feng army gathered together to discuss the situation in front of them.

Chief of Staff Yang Yuting spoke first: "Marshal, first of all, I think that the battle with the Japanese is inevitable, we have sunk two battleships, if the Japanese can still endure it, they will not be able to explain to the country." The question now is whether to fight big or small, whether the two sides will bet on all their old capital and fight a war of the country, or whether they will limit the conflict to one area until one side is willing to negotiate. ”

Jiang Fangzhen also said: "I agree with Lingge's judgment, but we must be prepared for a life-and-death battle, and we can't leave anything to chance, otherwise we will suffer a big loss!" At present, the refitting of the army has not yet been completely completed, and the newly organized and trained troops still have to run in, especially the sea and air liliang, and there are still great shortcomings, and it is not yet completely certain whether they can hold the Bohai Bay line. All in all, we have a lot of difficulties, but fortunately, we have been able to produce our own weapons, and with the addition of internal combat, we have at least a fifty percent chance of winning if we fight with the Japanese. ”

In fact, Zhang Tinglan was not willing to start a war with the Japanese too early, but the strategy of developing the navy could not be delayed, and to be honest, he did not expect that the Japanese battleships would be so fragile, and they sank two ships at once, becoming out of control.

Of course, he also knew that when things got to this point, there was no way to undo it, he could only say that God would make people, and Zhang Tinglan could only accept this challenge.

"Ladies and gentlemen, since war is inevitable, we must be ready to meet the challenge. Now it is necessary to move to a wartime system, set up a supreme high command, and all the armed forces will immediately enter a state of first-class combat readiness and be ready to act at any time, and the military supplies must also keep up, and the organization of the common people must also be carried out. ”

Wang Yongjiang said on the side: "Humble words, you can rest assured about this, we fought with the Russians, and after the war, we have formulated various plans, which can be started immediately, and there is no need to worry about these affairs." ”

Zhang Tinglan is very trusting of Wang Yongjiang's ability, and he said with a smile: "Since this is the case, then Mr. Min Yuan and Minister Zhu are mainly responsible for mobilization, and Minister Gu also has to take the initiative in diplomacy to expose the conspiracy of the Japanese to hijack ships. ”

Zhu Qinglan and Gu Weijun all nodded, Zhang Tinglan explained these things, and brought all the generals aside, where the three eastern provinces, including the sand table in the Far East, all the important places are clear.

"Let's see, what do you think the Japanese will do, and how should we deal with it?"

Facing the sand table, everyone was pondering, they had also dealt with the Japanese a lot, they knew the tactical characteristics of the Japanese, and they also knew the terrain of the three eastern provinces, and they couldn't stop deducing the situation after the war in their minds.

Jiang Fangzhen was the first to speak: "Marshal, I think the battle will break out from four directions, first of all, the largest military base of the Japanese is Kwantung Prefecture, that is, Luda, they should send a force to attack Gaizhou, Yingkou and other places, and take Haicheng, in this way, the gate to Fengtian will be opened, especially this line is a coastal area, and it should be the direction of the Japanese to attack by being able to get support from Liliang at sea." ”

The generals present all nodded in agreement with Jiang Fangzhen's judgment, and indeed if they thought differently, they would also take this measure.

"In addition, the Japanese should also send a partial division from Lushun to attack Zhuanghe, Dandong and other places, so that they can be connected with the Japanese army stationed in Korea, and then threaten the safety of Fengcheng, once this is done, the entire Liaodong Peninsula will fall under the control of the Japanese."

"The third direction is Shanhaiguan, where the Japanese also have garrisons in North China, and they will use Tianjin as a base to contain us from the southern front. As for the fourth direction, Mukden, the Japanese still have garrisons along the Manchurian Railway, and once the war begins, these troops should quickly move south, break through the encirclement, and join the Japanese troops who have been killed from the brigade. ”

Jiang Baili's analysis was meticulous and reasonable, worthy of being a military master, and he laid out all the problems clearly at once, and everyone couldn't help but nod in agreement. Zhang Tinglan stared at the sand table, and then said, "Brother Baili, I think the Japanese may still attack from here." ”

Zhang Tinglan's hand fell on the area of Yanji and Tumen, which was originally the junction of China, Russia and North Korea, but now Korea is a Japanese colony, and the Far Eastern Empire is controlled by the Feng army, in fact, to put it bluntly, it is the forefront of the confrontation between China and Japan, and this place is only less than 200 kilometers away from Vladivostok, as long as it is captured, it can threaten Vladivostok.

After taking Vladivostok, coupled with Dalian controlled by the Japanese, the channels for the Feng army to communicate with the outside world were blocked, and they became caged birds, and they could not fly out.

Yang Yuting's brows also furrowed: "Dashuai, if the Japanese attack here, it is equivalent to getting involved in the Far East, and the war situation will be uncontrollable at that time, will they do this?" ”

"Yes!" Zhang Tinglan said very firmly: "It depends on the strategic goals of the Japanese, if they want to carry out a decisive battle of life and death, the Outer Northeast will definitely not let go, if not, their strategic goal is likely to be positioned to consolidate the interests of South Manchuria, and seize the Far East." Don't forget, for this land, the Japanese paid a huge amount of military spending, but it ended up in our hands, how can they be willing. ”

Jiang Dengxuan also said: "I also agree with the judgment of the marshal, this is all offshore and can get support from the sea." Since the Russo-Japanese War, the Japanese navy has flourished, but the army equipment has hardly been updated, and they are in a weak position in terms of artillery and armor, and if I were the decision-maker of Japan, I would also use the navy to block our contact with the outside world and force us to surrender! ”

Jiang Fangzhen nodded: "That's true, Japan's national strength is strong, the navy is huge, and our advantage is that it is well prepared, and the army and air force are temporarily ahead, so we should fight a quick battle, drive the Japanese out of South Manchuria, and then burn the war to Korea and break their blockade." (To be continued......)