In the conference room, Jiang Baili, Cai Yi, Bu Zigao, Liu Guangyuan, and others analyzed it, and after determining that the Japanese army was indeed the most likely to land at Longkou Bay, the 150,000 National Defense troops assembled in Shandong soon moved in accordance with the new order.

In fact, Cai Ye and Bu Zigao's judgment is still very accurate, because the Japanese did land in Shandong from Longkou Bay in history.

Here we need to introduce Longkou Bay, located in the west of Longkou Town, southeast of Qimu Island, west of Longkou, part of Laizhou Bay, south of Longkou Qimu Island, west of Longkou City, southeast of Longkou City, Huangshanguan Town. It covers an area of 83 square kilometers, with an average water depth of 5 meters and a maximum depth of 12.2 meters.

To put it simply, Longkou Bay is located next to Penglai, if Qingdao is in the south of the Shandong Peninsula, then Longkou Bay is located in the north of the Shandong Peninsula, and the distance between them is definitely not close.

If you pull a straight line, then the distance between the two places is about 150 or 60 kilometers, and if you want to attack Qingdao from Longkou Bay, you must at least cross the entire Shandong Peninsula.

If you look at it this way, you can't help but have some questions in your heart about why the Japanese want to land in Longkou Bay, after all, their target should be Jiaozhou Bay, where Qingdao is located, why did they land from Longkou in a big circle?

As early as March 1913, more than a year earlier, Ryo Asami, a Japanese, had been dispatched by the Kanto Prefecture to conduct more than 30 investigations in the Longkou area, and wrote an investigation report entitled "The Longkou Affair" to the Japanese government, which reported in detail the important situation of the Longkou harbor, markets, population, customs, shipping, trade, taxation, finance, hinterland resources, and the army and government.

1914 year. Tahara Tiannan came to China again to investigate Longkou, and he pointed out in his report: "Longkou has a close relationship with the ports of Kanto Prefecture, and serves as an entrepot for goods exported from Hutouya and Yangjiaogou. On the back of it, there is the reason for the Yellow County, which has become more and more prosperous recently. In particular, there were no less than three or four million coolies who traveled to and from the three northeastern provinces through this port...... and their investigations provided intelligence for the Japanese army to send troops to Longkou.

Secondly, judging from the map, Qingdao Port and Weihai Port are like the two front gates of the Shandong Peninsula, and the famous Longkou Port (which had been declared by the Nationalist Government to be a commercial port for foreign trade at that time) was the back door of the peninsula, and landing from Longkou could attack from the back door in a roundabout way. Avoid its edge and attack its abdomen and back.

Moreover, Longkou did not have any army stationed at that time, and it did not have much defense. There was no fort or anything, so landing from Longkou was obviously more strategic than attacking Qingdao directly from the frontal sea, with fewer losses and a greater chance of victory.

The last and most important point...

If it is said that the Japanese sent troops this time only to fulfill the obligations of the allies. Then it is indeed enough to hit Qingdao alone. Don't forget. The purpose of the Japanese is the whole of Shandong...

To land at Longkou Bay, you would have to pass through many towns to get to Qingdao, but it just so happened that the Japanese had taken all the towns along the way into their own hands...

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Just when Jiang Baili and others began to lay out, on the dock in Tianjin, Elaline also looked at his father with some reluctance.

With such a big thing happening in Europe, it is naturally impossible for Bertrand, an active lieutenant general, to continue on leave. The day after the events in Sarajevo, a telegram from the French government ordering Bertrand to return to China had arrived. It was not easy for Bertrand to delay the day of returning home. But now, it's time for him to return home.

"Alright. Don't be sad..."Looking at Elino standing in front of her, although she thought she was a woman at this time, in Bertrand's eyes, she still looked like the little girl who was about to leave for Madagascar, clutching her right leg and crying to prevent herself from leaving. "I swear, when this war is over, I'll take a leave of absence to come and see you..."

Bertrand is still very confident in this war, after all, their teammates are very giving this time, and correspondingly, the German teammates are a little piggy.

Although the Germans themselves are very fierce, but on his own, it is obvious that he cannot deal with the three major powers of Britain, France and Russia at the same time, and the odds of victory are still very high.

Moreover, the French have never lacked pride, and as a proud Frenchman, Bertrand did not think that his country would be much worse than Germany.

"Be careful..."At this time, Elino was no longer the little girl she was at the beginning, although she was very worried, she did not drag Bertrand to prevent him from crying as she had done in the past, but whispered softly with a little worry.

"Don't worry..."Bertrand smiled, his daughter cared about her, Beltrand was naturally very happy. Don't forget, my place is Algeria, and even if there is anything, it won't be my turn..."—————— unless the trenches of the Western Front were already filled with the corpses of young French people, and the French had to find a way to find a way elsewhere.

When looking at Elaine, Bertrand was naturally like a competent father with a gentle attitude, but when he turned his head to look at Yan Shao, his attitude was ......... It's not so gentle...

"You kid remember for me, treat my daughter well, if my daughter suffers a little grievance, I will never let you feel better!"

Turning his head to look at Yan Shao, Bertrand's attitude was not so 'gentle'.

Although Bertrand's attitude made Yan Shao look like a fight back, under Elanon's forced gaze, Yan Shao's attitude softened.

Compared with Yan Shao, Bertrand's attitude was obviously much softer when facing Caterina and them.

"Your relationship......... My daughter will leave it to you..."

Over the past few days, Bertrand has also accepted his daughter's family relationship that is absolutely unacceptable to ordinary Europeans, so his attitude is much better than when he first arrived.

Facing Bertrand, Caterina and the others nodded. "Don't worry, uncle..."

"We usually need her to take care of her..."

Beltran nodded. After a few more words of advice to Eleno and Yan Shao, at the urging of his entourage, Bertrand turned around and boarded the passenger ship bound for France.

It's still early. Bertrand also wanted to rush back to France as soon as possible, otherwise...

No one knows if the Mediterranean would be as safe as it is now if war had broken out.

Although Germany does not have much power in the Mediterranean, don't forget that Italy is also a member of the Allies at the moment—————— although this country has always been very cheating and is a pig teammate among pig teammates.

——————————————————

Standing on the pier, watching the departing passenger ships. The worried look on Elino's face was finally fully revealed.

Maybe she wouldn't be like this in normal times, but this time...

This time is war, after all. And the scale is not comparable to the past, although Bertrand's current position seems to be very safe, but who dares to guarantee that after the outbreak of war, Bertrand can continue to be his emperor in Algeria with peace of mind?

What's more, the German side is full of pig teammates. Could it be that the Germans themselves do not know the way? Since they dare to bring these pig teammates on the field. This clearly shows that the Germans have full confidence in winning the war.

At this time, Germany was one of the strongest countries in the world, and Elaline did not dare to underestimate the wisdom of this country.

If one day in the future, because of the situation, Bertrand really goes to the battlefield, the guns have no eyes...

"Don't worry..."Gently holding Elano in her arms, Yan Shao comforted her in her ear. When the Japanese problem is solved, I will find a way to help my father-in-law......... With me, France will not fail this time..."

Ten years ago, that would not have been very convincing. But at this moment. Yan Shao's words made Eleno feel unusually relieved.

Leaning on Yan Shao's arms, Elaline didn't want to think that Yan Shao would say this. Whether it is for her, or for the good of his own country—————— this is the attitude of a smart woman, smart when she should be smart, confused when she should be confused...

At the same time, looking at Yan Shao and Elaino, although Caterina had a slight envy in their eyes, no one wanted to go up and snatch her place.

————————————————————

After the events in Sarajevo, Austria-Hungary began to look to Germany for support.

The Germans had been preparing for this war for too long, and now was the opportunity they had always dreamed of. Therefore, without hesitation, Germany agreed to provide support to Austria-Hungary.

With the support of the Germans, Austria-Hungary used this as an excuse to send troops to Serbia on July 28, 1914, which became the trigger for the First World War.

On July 28, 1914, Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia. On 30 July, Russia began a general mobilization to aid Serbia. August 1; Germany declares war on Russia; and made a final ultimatum to France, demanding that it remain neutral in the event of a war between Germany and Russia, but France refused and entered into general mobilization. On 3 August, Germany declared war on France. On 4 August, Germany invaded Belgium, which had been permanently neutral at the time of its founding, and on the same day Britain declared war on Germany under the pretext of preserving the Treaty of London signed in 1839. On 6 August, Austria-Hungary slowly declared war on Russia. On 12 August, Britain declared war on Austria-Hungary.

At this point, the First World War officially broke out...

While European countries were still playing the game of declaring war on each other, the Japanese were quietly preparing.

For the Japanese, this war was definitely a great joy, a killing of white people, is there anything more joyful in this world?

Perhaps, that was when China was annexed, but Japan doesn't have that much appetite right now, so...

"Let's just bite Shandong down first..."

Sitting in his room, Yama Prefecture Youpeng took a sip of tea and said happily to Katsura Taro, who was sitting opposite.

For Youpeng in Shanxian County, maybe he hasn't been so happy for a long time.

"Yes," Katsura Taro also nodded, although he had to step down after two months as prime minister due to pressure from all sides, but no one in the whole of Japan dared to underestimate this person. After all, China is still too big, and if it is too aggressive, I am afraid that it will backfire, so it is better to take a bite first to strengthen the power of the empire. Also, interrupt the process of Chinese growth, but..."

Speaking of which. Katsura Taro hesitated slightly. "I wonder when the Empire plans to send troops? Right now? Or is it? ”

"Of course it won't be now..."Shan County Youpeng smiled. At present, the Chinese are preparing in Shandong, I am afraid that they plan to take down Shandong first, so that the countries will have nothing to say, and the calculation is good, but..."

"But they probably didn't expect the Empire's determination to be so strong..."

"That's right." There are friends in Shanxian County who bow slightly. "Even if there is no reason for Shandong, as long as there is this reason, I will choose to do it. After all, the threat of the national government is too great, and their progress must be interrupted......... But we don't need to be so impatient, aren't they planning to gnaw Qingdao first? That being the case. Let's let them fight first, and we can have a river mussel to fight, and the fisherman will profit..."

Qingdao Fortress was a very strong fortress, even though the defenders inside were only a few thousand men. There are few ships and everything, pitiful. But Yama County Youpeng still didn't dare to underestimate there, after all, it was Germany, the strongest army in the world, stationed there, and from a certain point of view, it was a Japanese teacher, and Yama County Youpeng was because Germany's army was the strongest, so he would study the German Army—————— originally he wanted to learn from France, but unfortunately France was later cleaned up by Germany.

Even if there were few defenders in Qingdao Fortress and had the experience of Lushun, the friends of Shan County did not dare to underestimate them.

So...

Let the Chinese be the vanguard. Obviously, it's the best way to do it.

If the Chinese can take the fortress of Qingdao, then the Japanese can save a lot of effort. Moreover, with the solidity of the Qingdao fortress, it will definitely make the Chinese suffer a lot, and even the sharp spirit may be able to frustrate a lot, which can be said to kill two birds with one stone.

On the other hand, if they play now, they won't be able to watch a good show...

No matter how weak the Chinese army is, there are still 150,000 in Shandong, and the Japanese today are not as crazy as they were decades later, so it is better to be careful.

At the same time, hearing the answer he wanted, Katsura Taro also bowed slightly.

"In that case, then I'll take my leave..."

According to the inferences of Yama Prefecture Aritomo and other Japanese generals, even if the Chinese have as many as 150,000 people, with their strength and the solidity of the Qingdao fortress, it may take more than a month to take the Qingdao fortress, so Japan can prepare slowly, there is no need to be too anxious...

As a result, when almost all the major warring countries in Europe have declared war on each other, Japan still seems very quiet, and it looks like it is out of the way...

————————————————————

Just when the Japanese were looking forward to the Chinese and Germans fighting first, and then they themselves came forward to make a profit. Weifang, Cai Yi, Jiang Baili and others finally explained the truth to the lower-level generals, that is, the government had already signed an agreement with Germany, and Qingdao could recover it without using swords.

"I'll go, there's such a thing..."

"It's just that it's really hard for us to hide it..."

After the facts were announced, I don't know how many generals complained.

However, there are also some generals who are happy. "Fortunately, I don't have to deal with the Germans first and then the Japanese, so the workload will be too much..."

Seeing that the people under his hands were either complaining, or rejoicing, and some were silent, not knowing what Lu Dao was thinking, Cai Ye and Jiang Baili slapped their palms at the same time.

It is not surprising that the nominal commander of the Shandong War this time was Yan Shao, after all, there were too few people in the Kuomintang government who could suppress the situation at this time. Although Fu Xiuming and others are competent, they can only be said to be competent, what kind of famous generals are they talking about...

It's a little worse......... Many...

If it weren't for following Yan Shao for many years, and his qualifications were higher than anyone else's, I am afraid that he would not have been able to climb to his current position at all.

There are a lot of people who can fight in Beiyang, and their qualifications are enough, but at present, the Guoshe Government and Beiyang have only been merged for less than a year, and...

commanding more than 100,000 people at a time, to be honest, Yan Shao also can't believe in Feng Guozhang's ability, although this person is known as the best in Beiyang...

So Yan Shao could only take command in person, but he didn't think that he would personally command the battle—————— at least he didn't plan to interfere excessively, after all, the lessons of a certain principal in later generations were there...

Some battles can be won, but they are lost because of blind command, such a lesson is worth remembering for a lifetime...

So except for some issues related to the afterlife, Yan Shao basically won't interfere in this matter...

His role is only the pearl situation, and the rest of the things are taken care of by Jiang Baili and Cai Yi.

Yan Shao still trusts these two people...

————————————————————

After learning the truth, many generals suddenly changed their mentality.

At the same time, Yan Shao, who was far away in Beijing, also talked with Marzan and finally determined the date for the return of the Qingdao fortress.

On August 5, the day after Britain declared war on Germany, a Wehrmacht unit marched to the fortress of Tsingtao...

It's just that while the Japanese were waiting with great anticipation for the so-called 'Chinese X Germans', they were surprised to find that nothing had happened. Not only that, but the Germans instead opened the entrance to the Qingdao fortress and let the Wehrmacht walk in...

Almost at the next moment, the red-bottomed dragon flag representing China was raised in the sky above the Qingdao fortress...

And in the disbelief of the Japanese, Qingdao and Jiaozhou Bay have finally returned to the embrace of the motherland.

At this point, the matter can be regarded as over, and the wishful thinking of the Japanese to sit on the mountain and watch the tiger fight has also completely failed... (To be continued......)