Prince Su Shanqi was dismissed from the title of king and demoted to a commoner. He was exiled to serve in Xi'an for five years, causing a great sensation in the Qing court. Such severe punishment for a prince was not common in the history of the Qing court, but the East China government was unsatisfied with this. First, the focus of the East China government is on the battlefield in the Northeast and has no time to sort out the little things of the Qing court. Second, for the East China government, the attack on the Shanghai New District was not solved by the expulsion of Prince Su, but to wait until the end and settle the accounts together.

On May 23, the East China Government Military Group held a meeting to summarize the combat situation in the previous stage, and determine the strategic goals and combat arrangements for the next stage, as well as other related auxiliary and supporting work. Although the overall combat goals and plans have been determined long ago, due to the ever-changing battlefield environment, detailed planning and arrangements for the next step are needed at each war node. Although the East China Government has not participated in the war for a long time, and it has only been 11 days since it was deducted from the 3 days of the ceasefire, and it has only been 8 days of battle for a full battle, the first stage has severely damaged the Japanese and Russian navy, obtained absolute sea control, and gained a foothold on the Liaodong Peninsula, and have all achieved all the goals of the next step. Now we need to make detailed planning and arrangements for the next step.

The meeting was first given a military report by Xiao Jianjun on behalf of the Military Commission. Although the military team is now fully responsible for the war, the military team mainly works at the macro and strategic levels, as well as overall organization and coordination; while the specific tactical plans, combat plans, troop preparation and other professional work are still formulated and implemented by the Military Commission, and the military team approves and supervises them.

"In these 8 days, we fought a total of 12 battles of varying sizes with the Japanese army on both fronts. According to the information feedback from the front line, the Japanese army's combat characteristics are summarized: 1. They are brave in combat, soldiers are not afraid of death, and they are quite tenacious. Even when they are at a disadvantage, they do not give up easily. 2. There are very few soldiers who actively surrender. Even in a situation where they are bound to lose, most Japanese soldiers would rather choose to die in battle than give up surrender. 3. The soldiers have high personal qualities, excellent training, rich practical experience, and warfare.

The arts and movements are used quite skillfully and reasonably, and the individual soldiers have strong combat capabilities, because they have strong bayonet combat capabilities, 4. The tactics are relatively rigid and lack changes, and only emphasize the bravery of soldiers, while ignoring the use of tactics. The troops are too concentrated during attack and are not fully developed. The level, elasticity, and fire cover of the offensive are insufficient; the trenches and firepower arrangements are obvious mistakes during defense; 5. The firepower is insufficient, both artillery firepower and infantry firepower are insufficient, because the use of artillery and infantry artillery coordination are poor."

"These situations are basically consistent with the Japanese army's combat capabilities in this era we know. Therefore, in the future, we must give full play to our advantages in firepower, because we are good at using artillery and strengthen the coordinated combat of infantry and artillery. In close combat, we must give full play to the advantages of group cooperation and combat. These tactical points have been promoted in the army and targeted training. Of course, we must also strengthen the education of soldiers' courage to fight and fighting spirit. When we should fight with the Japanese army, we must never be lenient."

"At present, we have two fronts on the Northeast battlefield. One is along the Liaohe River, which we call it the Western Front; the other is Lushun direction, which we call it the Southern Front. At present, both battlefields have been truce. We plan to restart the war on May 28, and no later than May 30. The next main goal of the Western Front battlefield is Liaoyang. First, it is only about 50 kilometers away from Liaoyang, and it is the current location of the Japanese General Command. Therefore, our capture of Liaoyang can speed up the complete collapse of the Japanese army. Second, the Japanese and Russian armies are now fighting each other from Shenyang to Tieling. Once the Japanese withdraw or defeat, the Russian army will take advantage of the situation to capture Chenyang. When we capture Liaoyang, we can also block the Russian army's road to the south, forming a situation where we and the Russian army compete on the front line from Liaoyang to Shenyang."

"The battle in Liaoyang will be extremely complicated in the future. It is very likely that there will be a melee between us and Japan and Russia. Now we have only one army on the Western Front, with about 70,000 people, which is definitely not enough. Therefore, the Military Commission decided to send an additional third army and the 4th army to enter the Western Front battlefield to fight, so that our troops on the Western Front can reach about 200,000, and now some of the troops have arrived in Jinzhou."

At this time, Shang Qisong said: "Based on the information we received, Japan is likely to be negotiating the armistice with the Russians and intends to join forces to fight with us. However, due to the lack of sufficient information, we cannot judge the authenticity of this information for the time being. However, from common sense, this possibility exists and is quite large. Therefore, when we formulate a combat plan, we must not ignore this factor."

Wang Yunpeng interrupted: "However, according to the report of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Russian consul has proposed to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs twice in the past few days, hoping to join forces with us to launch an attack on the Japanese army. I wonder if we should trust the Russians?"

Qin Zheng said: "I think the Russians are probably betting on both sides. After all, on the surface, we are fighting with the Japanese now, so Russia believes that this is good for itself, so we negotiate with us and Japan at the same time, and the benefits gained in that aspect are greater. However, the joint efforts of Japan and Russia are the most unfavorable situation for us. I think before completely defeating the Japanese army, we should try our best to stabilize Russia. Without damaging our fundamental interests, we can make some concessions to Russia appropriately."

Wang Yunpeng said: "But the limit of concessions is there, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs also hopes to have a principle of negotiating with Russia."

Xia Bohai sank for a while before saying, "I think the principle of negotiation is to let the Russian army attack Chenyang. When we attack Liaoyang, we will first withdraw the Japanese army and defeat the issue of the Northeast. We can negotiate in the next step."

Xu Jichao frowned and said, "I think this concession is too small. Can Russia accept such concessions?"

Xia Bohai smiled and said, "If it were peacetime, the Russians would certainly not accept such concessions, but now it is a wartime period. In the final analysis, we must show the truth on the battlefield. Even if we promise Russia that we will work together to drive away Japan, and then we will give up the entire three northeastern provinces to Russia, do you think Russia will believe this? On the contrary, we attack Japan at the same time with Russia, and the chance of winning is high. Russia can regain Shenyang, which can not only reverse their current adverse situation in the Northeast, but also use a victory to ease domestic conflicts. For Russia, it has made a lot of money, and what actual benefits can Japan promise to Russia?"

Qin Zheng also said: "I also think this condition is just right. We can negotiate with Russia according to this standard, but we must also make the worst plans and have enough plans for the joint efforts of Japan and Russia."

Xia Bohai said: "Lao Xiao, keep talking."

Xiao Jianjun nodded and said, "Now we have organized 200,000 logistics personnel in western Liaoning. However, if we want to concentrate 200,000 troops on the Western Front, at least 300,000 logistics personnel will be mobilized to western Liaoning. Such a huge number of personnel needs unified management. In addition, there are three armies on the Western Front, and someone needs to coordinate and cooperate. Therefore, the Military Commission decided to establish a Northeast War Zone Command to facilitate the unified management of operations, personnel and materials in the entire Northeast region. The headquarters is located in Jinzhou, with * as the commander."

Xia Bohai nodded and said, "The talents on the front line know the situation on the front line best. I agree to establish the Northeast War Zone Command, but the headquarters is temporarily located in Jinzhou, about 150 kilometers away from Liaozhong, which is still a little farther, which is not conducive to the commander understanding the situation on the front line."

Xiao Jianjun said: "The headquarters is located in Jinzhou for a temporary arrangement. First, Jinzhou is currently the material concentration site on the battlefield on the Western Front, and the headquarters is located in a favorable material arrangement and dispatch; second, from Jinzhou to Liaozhong, there is no suitable place for the time being. After the Liaoyang is captured, it is planned to move the headquarters directly to Liaoyang."

Xia Bohai said: "Okay, let's arrange it like this first."

Xiao Jianjun then said: "The three weapons we have made for this war, armored train cannons, self-propelled cannons, and car tow cannons, have all been tested by the war and have proved very effective. It can be said that without these three weapons, it will be difficult for us to achieve early victory. In the subsequent battles, we must continue to give full play to the role of these three weapons. However, the next step is to fight on the east bank of the Liao River. We have already begun to build railway bridges on the Liao River, but it will take at least one month.

Time, therefore, armored train cannons cannot be used for the time being, but self-propelled artillery and car tow cannons can cross the river to fight. In order to make up for the shortcomings of armored trains, the Military Commission suggested that the armored troops be transferred to the Western Front to participate in the war to strengthen the army's assault capabilities. In addition, the external team also hopes to have more such weapons. Now two armored trains are under construction, and car tow cannons are enough, but it is best to make a few more self-propelled artillery. I remember we should have several load-carrying vehicles."

Xia Bohai said: "Agree, good steel should be used on the blade. This war is related to the fate of our entire group. Therefore, as long as we can win this war, we must play any card. The armored troops can be sent over immediately to create self-propelled artillery. We need to check the situation of downloading heavy vehicles to determine. As long as there are free vehicles, they will definitely be modified."

Xiao Jianjun said: "Also, we won the previous stage, and the high-altitude reconnaissance of drones is also an important factor. However, now our drones and fuel are limited, and the war is consumed too much, so the Military Commission believes that the flight research team can be transferred to the Western Front to participate in the war."

Qin Zheng frowned and said, "The Flight Research Team is just an experimental institution. Is it appropriate to let them go to Liaodong to participate in the war now?"
Chapter completed!