Chapter 17
After the Japanese invaders broke through the Yalu River defense line, they saw that the Qing army was vulnerable. Although the navy was defeated, the army's confidence was high.
On October 20, the Japanese army divided into two groups and attacked in two directions west and south respectively. Phoenix City, Xiuyan and other places successively occupied the Japanese army. The Qing army fought and retreated, and organized a second line of defense at the same time. By mid-November, the Qing army started Race Horse Ji on the east road in Liaoyang East Road and ended in Motianling in the west, forming a new line of defense that was 150 miles long.
The Sheng army led by Nie Shicheng was stationed in the most dangerous place in Liaodong, Motianling. According to the dangerous mountain situation, it blocked the passage of the Japanese army to enter Liaoshen. The Qing army stationed in the racing horses was led by Yike Tang A, and was responsible for restraining the Japanese army's forces from the east so that they did not dare to attack Motianling with all their strength. Xu Qingzhang, the governor of Liaoyang, also vigorously mobilized local people to organize training groups to cooperate with the Qing army's operations.
The Qing army's new defense line worked. The Japanese army's attack on the Race Maji and Motianling Qianguan were blocked respectively. The Qing army took advantage of the situation and the two routes to fight back together. The Japanese army suffered serious losses and was forced to retreat.
The land battle was no longer under the command of Li Hongzhang. After the Qing army won, the Qing court had more excuses to attack Li Hongzhang. The anti-Li faction led by Weng Tonghe and others took the opportunity to expand its attack on Li Hongzhang.
However, Li Hongzhang didn't care. The army had completely given up. He didn't care about their attacks, but only held the navy to fail.
But at this moment, he was more concerned about Wang Chenhao, because the military chess that night Wang Chenhao gave him was completely correct, and the Japanese army launched an offensive as he deduced.
Li Hongzhang was nervous because if Wang Chenhao's military chess deduction continued to be correct, the Japanese army's next goal would be Lushun.
As expected, he was convinced that although the Japanese Navy was defeated in the battle against the Yellow Sea, the main force was still there.
In contrast, although the Beiyang Navy won, its long-term lack of combat readiness caused the Beiyang Navy to lack ammunition for each ship. At this moment, the navy, which blindly relies on imported warships, exposed its biggest weakness, that is, the weapons embargo of the great powers interrupted the ammunition supply of the Beiyang Navy.
No matter how powerful a warship without ammunition is, what does it matter?
The Japanese spies in China knew the Beiyang Navy well, so as the Japanese Navy Combined Fleet ships were repaired, they went out to patrol the Yellow Sea again to patrol the Port of Incheon again.
At the same time, Japan also knew that the key factor in the last victory of the Beiyang Navy was Wang Chenhao's Jiaolong. The underwater explosion-proof nets that have been installed by various Japanese Navy ships are no longer afraid of the underwater attack of the Jiaolong.
In this case, Prince Shigen of Sugawamiya set out to organize the Second Army and appointed General Oyama Iwa, the Minister of Army, as the commander, to carry out landing operations on the Liaodong Peninsula, with the goal of occupying Luda and Liaodong Peninsula.
On October 24, the Emperor personally taught Dashanyan's horse and sword to see him off. During the meal, the commander of the First Division, Shandi said enthusiastically: He would rather wear a horse and wrap his body around Beijing than conquer Beijing. The next day, the army boarded the ship in batches and gathered near Incheon, North Korea, and at the same time, the Japanese joint fleet escorted him.
After hearing the news, Li Hongzhang thought of Wang Chenhao's military chess performance and hurriedly summoned Wang Chenhao to discuss matters.
After Wang Chenhao entered the conference hall, he looked around and looked at him, which made him feel that the atmosphere was very tense.
These people are Li Hongzhang's team of staff and his powerful generals, but Wang Chenhao only knows Yang Shixiang, so he stands directly beside him.
When Li Hongzhang saw that he was coming, he immediately asked Yang Shixiang to tell him and wait to listen to his opinion.
Except for Yang Shixiang, all the Beiyang officials were full of surprise. This was the first time in so many years that Li Hongzhang had lost his opinion, but the other party was still a young man who was only twenty years old, which was really shocking.
After hearing this, Wang Chenhao took a breath and what he was worried about still happened. After the War in the Yellow Sea, Japan was not intimidated and still dared to send naval and army to Incheon, which only shows that Japan knew the strength of the Qing Empire well before the war.
"We can only fight another naval battle with the Japanese Navy, otherwise they will definitely land in the Huayuankou area and attack the Lushun Fortress!"
As soon as he finished speaking, the seat was filled with shock.
Li Hongzhang laughed a few times and said to everyone: "Everyone, what are you talking about? Although this boy is young, he has extremely keen strategic judgment!"
At this time, an old man suddenly asked Wang Chenhao: "How do you know that the Japanese army will definitely land at the entrance of the garden, not elsewhere?"
Wang Chenhao said: "When I was in Lushun, I asked Lord Deng Shichang to accompany me to see it. Lushun Fortress looked extremely solid, but it was actually not without loopholes! Lushun Fortress had a strong frontal defense, but it relied too much on the Jinzhou in the rear to assist in defense. The Japanese army would not be stupid enough to attack Lushun head-on, so they would inevitably attack Jinzhou in the rear of Lushun. The area around Huayuankou is suitable for the enemy to land from the sea, but there is no heavy defense there. If it were me, I would definitely land from there and attack Jinzhou with weak forces. After taking Jinzhou, it would be easier to attack Lushun from behind!"
Li Hongzhang smiled and said, "Wusan is convinced this time! When Chen Hao made a military chess performance for me to show me, I was so angry that I didn't sleep well for several days, but after careful consideration, I had to admire what he said in a realistic way!"
It turns out that he is Zhou Fu, who is the hard-core aide who has been following Li Hongzhang for the longest time!
Wang Chenhao couldn't help but look at him twice. This person had a strong influence on Li Hongzhang and was the leader of all staff.
Zhou Fu couldn't help but sigh inwardly. What Wang Chenhao said was reasonable. They had just obtained a report from Lushun, saying that they found that the Japanese ship Yaeshan was detecting the depth of the water in Huayuankou area. They judged that the Japanese army might be landing there, but they were not as sure as Wang Chenhao.
Li Hongzhang smiled, but then he fell down his face, and the fear suddenly floated on his face.
"Chen Hao! Tell me about your countermeasures!"
Wang Chenhao replied: "The Japanese Second Army had nearly 30,000 people, and the transport ships were required to obtain 100. They would be stationed at the nearest large harbor pier on the Korean Peninsula in Incheon, and landing from Incheon to Huayuankou. It would take at least 20 days without stopping! During this period, if our Beiyang Navy dispatched patrols, the Japanese army would not be able to land, but the Japanese Navy would go to war with us. They knew that our ammunition reserves were not enough to deal with the Second Yellow Sea War. At the same time, they already knew my secret weapons, so they were fearless when they started the war again!"
Li Hongzhang frowned and said, "You can't do anything about this?"
"Yes!" Wang Chenhao suddenly shouted, but then turned around: "But the risk is very high, and Lord Zhongtang needs to make up his mind!"
Li Hongzhang looked at Wang Chenhao, then looked at the others, and finally nodded, "Tell me! Lushun cannot be missed! You have to give it a try!"
Wang Chenhao paused, thinking that this plan no longer belongs to history, but to his originality, so he also bears huge risks. However, if he doesn't do it, history will soon return to its original trajectory, which is unacceptable to him.
Thinking of this, Wang Chenhao suddenly made up his mind and said, "My Jiaolong is more than just the ability to explode chrysanthemums! I can use Jiaolong to dive into Incheon Port from underwater to lift the mines arranged by the Japanese army in Incheon Port. My plan is that when I lift the mines to defend against Incheon Port, the entire Beiyang Navy fleet blocked the Incheon Port and shelled the enemy ships in the port, and all torpedo boats rushed in and carried out torpedo raids on the enemy ships. If successful, the Japanese joint fleet will be completely wiped out in the port, and all the transport ships of the Japanese Second Army will be destroyed. At that time, they will naturally not attack Lushun again!"
As soon as he finished speaking, there was a silence in the conference hall, and the needles could be heard.
After a long time, Zhou Fu suddenly slapped his thigh and shouted: "Good plan!"
Everyone agreed.
Yang Shixiang suddenly poured cold water on him and said, "Chen Hao, you don't seem to have finished speaking yet! Isn't there any risks?"
Everyone suddenly became nervous and looked at Wang Chenhao.
Wang Chenhao smiled bitterly and said, "If you don't succeed, you will be successful! The Beiyang Navy ships are not as fast as the Japanese ships, and if the plan fails, they will be besieged by the Japanese ships. Our army's ammunition is limited, and the Japanese ships do not need to fight us. They just need to constantly consume our ammunition to win!"
Wang Chenhao's words poked Li Hongzhang's pain point.
Japan's combat plan against China was originally scheduled to be launched in 1896, because the Fuji-class all-steel battleships customized by Japan would return to China to serve, which completely suppressed the two armored iron battleships in Dingzhen, which were the Beiyang Navy of the Qing Empire.
The Qing Empire was not completely unprepared for Japan, so in April 1894, the Beiyang Navy's ammunition, which had been frozen for seven years, and the maintenance equipment and warship procurement plan was carried out, and the purchase of artillery shells and warships from the great powers was purchased. Japan did not want the Beiyang Navy to complete its strategic ammunition reserves, and the situation in North Korea deteriorated early, so it started war against the Qing Empire in advance. Because once the war started, the great powers of various countries would freeze the artillery shells and warships purchased by the Qing Empire in accordance with international neutrality legislation. In this way, the Japanese Navy would have the advantage and only need to consume the ammunition reserves of the Beiyang Navy. The Beiyang Navy was a pile of scrap iron, and the Japanese Navy could obtain the sea control power and complete the land strategic task.
Li Hongzhang has always made the Beiyang Navy avoid fighting. One of the main reasons is that there is insufficient ammunition, and the quality of domestic flowering ammunition cannot meet the requirements of naval combat, and most models do not meet the standards. Many self-made artillery shells in the Yellow Sea Naval Battle are proof that they cannot be loaded into the barrel, and only armor-piercing bombs cannot defeat Japanese warships.
Li Hongzhang hesitated for a while and suddenly asked, "Chen Hao, how sure are you?"
Wang Chenhao thought that he had to make a desperate bet at this time. If Li Hongzhang was afraid of retreating, the Beiyang Navy would have to finish it. Instead of doing this, it would be better to try hard.
Thinking of this, Wang Chenhao said firmly: "Ninety percent! The remaining achievement depends on whether the Lord Zhongtang has the courage!"
Provocation! Everyone can see it!
But Li Hongzhang suddenly laughed and said, "Chen Hao, you don't need to motivate me! Didn't your military chess deduction say? If I retreat without fighting and keep the ship, the Beiyang Navy will be destroyed! Since this is the case, I have no choice but to gamble!"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Today's third update, shout for recommendation votes, and bookmark it!
Chapter completed!