Chapter 37: Deadline (Central)

Hiroshima, Japan.

In the base camp, there was a joyful atmosphere. The people who sat down kept nodding and smiling at each other, unable to suppress their pride. The sound of leather boots clicking together and bowing together was heard. The adjutant and secretary also looked at the eyes and gave Scotch whiskey at the right time. Now Japan is still worshipping foreign countries, drinking this kind of wine during celebration is more grand than Japan's own wine.

The navy won a great victory! The army won a great victory too!

Needless to say, defeating the Beiyang Fleet at sea. The main force of the Beiyang Fleet has retreated to Lushun for emergency repairs. The next step that can be expected is to turn back to Weihai's mother port. There is no longer the will and ability to fight decisively at sea. The Japanese fleet has already allowed the Japanese fleet to travel freely. The Beiyang Navy, which once suppressed Japan's breathlessness, has now become a thing of the past!

On the land of Korea, Ai Peng from Shan County personally took action, and attacked two groups with only more than 10,000 troops. Within half a month, he captured Seoul and defeated 25,600 elite main forces of the Huai Army, and pointed directly at the key pass of Pyongyang. The land war also tested the quality of the Huai Army, which the Qing court relied on the Great Wall. The battle was not good at fighting and the defense was not strong. The Land Division, which Japan trained hard, completely gained the upper hand!

The current strategic situation is extremely beneficial to Japan. The gates to the capital of the Qing Dynasty and the heart of the northeastern land have been opened. Under the cover of the maritime power controlled by the joint fleet, the army can choose the key points to attack. The main force of the northern mainland division of the Qing court has been defeated, and even if the temporary recruitment of troops, it cannot combine too much power. As long as Japan's national strength can support the consumption of war, it will not be too big a problem to hit the city of Beijing......... Such an advantage, why don't the Japanese elites be so excited that they almost lose their composure?

The guest on the seat pointed and scratched, all with a proud look.

"The Qing Dynasty is no longer possible! They are wearing tiger fur, but there are just cowardly cats under them... East Asia should be handed over to the hands of more capable nations!"

"The two hundred years of rule of the Qing Dynasty did indeed deteriorate the determination and will of the Han people...... National replacement is also a matter of law. China ruled East Asia for two thousand years, and our great Japanese Empire should have a fortune of two thousand years, right?"

Those who say these words are full of confidence.

"…………The Qing army is really too old……It doesn’t mean their weapons. It’s because they have no idea how to establish and educate a modern army! From organization, training, combat tactics, and courage, they are all backward… and they have no offensive spirit at all! In front of our brave Japanese Imperial Army, it is difficult for them to have any ability to resist. It turns out that Li Hongzhang boasted that he had been practicing for twenty years, and this is how he looked like?"

"The Qing army fought for money, but our imperial army fought for the emperor and the fate of the divine kingdom! If the Qing people could not understand this principle, they would never build an army that could fight!"

"Now we should take advantage of the main force of the Qing Dynasty in North Korea to land in Dalian Bay as soon as possible, and then attack the Qing Dynasty port in Shandong... Unfortunately, Tianjin has Western concessions and interests, otherwise we can directly attack Tianjin! What should we do if the emperor of the Qing Dynasty?"

"Isn't the base camp just to make decisions and make a comprehensive and unstoppable attack this time? You guys, the opportunity for the Army to make achievements is right in front of you! Don't be compared by the Navy!"

Of course, the Japanese Army generals who made such a discussion were the star of the epaulette and the Western swords collided with each other. He spoke loudly, lol, as if he was afraid that no one in the room would hear it. Lieutenant General Kazu Kazu Kazu was the core figure of the army generals of the base camp. He also maintained some reserve, but he kept nodding and smiled.

The direction the Japanese Navy has been following is always Britain. Navy officers speak English when they eat Western food. Although they are short-legged, they still have to learn the gentlemanly style of the British. Seeing the army let go of their voices and praise their achievements loudly, nodding and smiling at each other, there was a sense of disdain in their smiles.

"…………If our navy hadn’t defeated the Beiyang Navy, what would these army horse manure talk about attacking the heart of the Qing Dynasty? In the next attack, we wouldn’t have to cooperate with the cover and transport? Even if we don’t transport the supplies for one day less, it depends on you going to fight on hungry………………”

When the warm atmosphere in the room was reaching its peak, I heard the attendant and military officer shouting: "The Chief of the Base Camp, Lord Ito, is here!"

Prince Orihitomiya has been sick again and has returned to Tokyo to recuperate. Emperor Meiji has not appointed a new chief of staff. Now the entire base camp is Hirofumi Ito's decision!

Everyone stood up with a blink of an eye, and the sound of horse boots hitting each other. Everyone stood solemnly, and they heard the sound of leather shoes briskly. Then they saw Hirobu Ito, wearing a formal dress, walked in with a spring breeze on his face. With a clatter, the attendant lieutenant unfolded a huge map behind him, and several huge blue arrows were marked from the sea and land!

Everyone's eyes were already attracted by the map, and Ito also stood there with a smile waiting for everyone to see for a while. Hearing the buzzing of the discussion, he elongated his voice: "His Majesty the Emperor's Crane Imperial Edict!"

"…………………… All the ministers and workers are committed to national affairs and win consecutive battles. Our invincible imperial army has fallen into Seoul. We have even destroyed the enemy and praised the strongest navy in Asia. I am very pleased. I hope all the ministers and workers will continue to work hard and win the battle against Qing Dynasty!"

"I dare not be afraid to accept the order, but I will die!"

Ito smiled and stretched out his hand to signal everyone to sit down. The goal that a politician has been striving for many years is right in front of him. Japan will inevitably rise in East Asia after this battle. Even if it is as deep as Ito and is in a high position as Prime Minister, he really can't hold back the smile. He calmed down, stretched out his hand, and pointed to the map behind him: "The general mobilization of the Ching-Ching-Ching is in full swing! Everyone, the final decisive battle you are looking forward to is right in front of you!"

"……………………… His Majesty the Emperor’s Army, the 5th Division formed the First Army to conquer the Qing Dynasty and was responsible for the Korean War. The Third Division had already formed a fleet and the Yuanshan Detachment was set off within three days. Under the cover of the Navy, the Fifth Division was from the front and the Third Division went from the flank to attack the last remnants of the Qing Dynasty stationed in North Korea, overcoming Pyongyang, and forcing the Yalu River - the Yalu River is not the last line of the First Army. We must keep going west and step into the northeastern territory of the Qing Dynasty! Attack and advance towards southern Liaoning!"

"……………………………………… The Second Army of His Majesty, the Sixth Division formed the Second Army of the Qing Dynasty and has also begun to form a fleet. Be sure to land on the Dalian Bay of the Qing Dynasty before September, attack and advance in the northeast, and fall into the Qing Dynasty, which is the largest fortress in Asia, Lushun!"

"………………………… The First Division of the Army of His Majesty, as the Reserve Corps of the Second Qing Army, after the fall of Lushun, he attacked Weihai, the Beiyang Navy General Base with the cooperation of the navy!"

"…………………… His Majesty’s Navy, with all his strength in controlling the naval power, covering the army’s fleet to transport to the land, blocking the Qing navy at the port, and mastering the specific tactics will be decided by the joint fleet, and the base camp will not be controlled remotely..."

"You guys! When our imperial army controls North Korea, Lushun, and Weihai. After the main force of the First Army and the Second Army meets in the northeast of the Qing Dynasty, we can wait for the envoys of the Qing Dynasty to seek peace! The base camp has made a comprehensive mobilization decision, and you guys will follow the strength! The first large-scale battle is the Battle of Pyongyang. After the arrival of the Third Division on Yuanshan, it is expected to launch a full-scale battle around August 20th to annihilate the main force of the Qing Dynasty and the North Korean Guard that once brought us trouble in the Datong River area!"

Ito finished speaking about the strategic decision of the base camp in one breath, clenched his hands into fists, leaned on the conference table, and looked at the audience with bright eyes: "You guys, do you have any questions?"

"Your Excellency! Why should we wait for the Qing Dynasty's envoy to seek peace? After our First Army and Second Army gained such an advantage, why didn't we go straight to the Qing Dynasty's Jingji Plain and let the Qing Dynasty become a city alliance? If the troops are not strong enough, we can also form the Third Army, the Fourth Army, and the Qing Dynasty Army lack combat effectiveness, and we will definitely not be our Imperial Army opponent!"

Ito smiled faintly. It was really satisfying to show his advantages in strategic views in front of these people. (In the Meiji Restoration period in Japan, several famous officials and generals with a comprehensive strategic view were released, as if they were genetic mutations. Later, weasels gave birth to a clump, and one nest was worse than one nest, restoring Japan's national character of focusing on small profits and neglecting the overall situation. Seizing limited historical opportunities to make the country rise is indeed a great wisdom. During the Victorian period of the United Kingdom, the United States founded, all of them gathered together for a while. The talent was so prosperous that it could not be copied for a century. I don't know if it was a hero who created the times or a hero? Sigh. - Oscar notes)

"…………The war began to prepare for the end. I don’t know how to end, what else can this battle be done? Our purpose is to force the Qing Dynasty to shake and seize profits as much as possible. We have not destroyed a country, especially the power of such a large country! You must know the limit of your ability... But I believe that the great cause of conquest of the Qing Dynasty in the future will be smoother than each other! We can threaten Zhili and intimidate the emperors and ministers of the Qing Dynasty, but the battle between Zhili is harmful and cannot support our national strength... Do you understand? With such a strategic advantage, the Qing Dynasty will not come to seek peace...…Do you understand?"

The person who asked the question bowed and sat down with a convincing look on his face. Ito looked around at the person present, and was about to announce the end of the meeting if he was satisfied. The detailed decision-making plan was about to be issued. He heard a person present raise his hand, then stood up, and bow respectfully to Ito: "Your Excellency, can you ask the Battle of Pyongyang to be carried out by Yama Prefecture?"

Ito was stunned. The person who stood up was Kawakami Shoji, with a faint expression on his face. Ito was a little unhappy. The one who made a high estimate of Xu Yifan was that Kawakami Lieutenant General. He took cautious measures in the decision-making of the base camp. After the Third Division landed on Yuanshan, he and the Fifth Division attacked Pyongyang. Now he is the one who jumped out to oppose it!

Seeing Ito's face darkened, Kawakami still looked calm: "Your Excellency, the General of Yama County swept most of North Korea with dissatisfied 5th Division, and more than 20,000 Huai troops were defeated. Now the front of the army has arrived near Pyongyang. If the General of Yama County is asked to take a cautious attitude and wait for the Third Division... I am afraid this will hurt the General of Yama County and the self-esteem of the Army. Please consider it carefully!"

As soon as these words were spoken, the generals present nodded, looking at me feeling sympathetic.

Ito frowned irritably: "Kun Kawakami, it is you who can say that the combat effectiveness of the Qing Dynasty Imperial Guards cannot be underestimated..." He already understood in his heart that the Navy had achieved such great achievements in defeating the Beiyang Navy. No matter how the Army attacked the Qing Dynasty headquarters smoothly in the future, it would be said that it was the navy who risked his life to fight to clear the way for the Army. Although Kawakami also highly regarded Xu Yifan's strength, he must fight for the Army at this time. The huge achievements after the war must be divided. The specific achievements represent the influence of the Army and the Navy in the future of the Empire!

At this time, the army must strive to annihilate the Qing army's headquarters in Pyongyang in advance, and then cross the Yalu River as soon as possible. This is the real achievement of the army itself. They must enter the Qing country's mainland one step ahead of the navy's opening path and covering the Dalian Bay strategy battle with full cover!

The faces of the navy generals here also became ugly. Kawakami's face turned pale and seemed to have a little shaken and hesitant look. Finally, he bowed deeply: "Please believe in the army and the general of Yama County! Please give the general of Yama County a chance!"

"Are you sure?" Ito asked coldly.

"I will never let you down!" Kawakami Kawakami, who was determined to stand on the army's position, was only a stubborn duck.

The indoor silence was less intense, Ito focused his head, and his tone was cold: "The base camp will give the Yama Prefecture General the arbitrary power! Let's see how the army will take Pyongyang as soon as possible and wipe out the entire North Korea!"

We must give the Army this face... Now I can still suppress the Army and Navy and let them cooperate with each other. After I go, what will the Imperial Army and Navy be like after the Meiji officials go?

At this time, this thought flashed through Ito's mind.

Maybe that Xu Yifan is indeed unable to be an attacker in the army. Li Hongzhang is already the most capable Qing Dynasty, and his elite main force is nothing more than that. So what can Xu Yifan do?

The battle curtain will be opened, and no one can save it!

North Korea's Hwanghae Road, Ruixing Prefecture.

The flag of generals who conquered the First Qing Army was flying high in this palace.

The soldiers of the Japanese brigade were either marching or briefly repairing. The more than ten days of war made the army look quite embarrassed, with broken military uniforms and everyone looked black and thin. The field kitchen was set up around the city, and each pot was churning, but there were not many rice flowers inside. There were all kinds of wild vegetables. A few livestock were slaughtered and divided according to each squadron. Each squadron was really limited.

With such a bleak meal, the marching and trimming soldiers and officers kept looking towards the field kitchen. The Adam's apple rolled up and down, looking like his eyes were hungry.

On the tail of the Japanese marching queue, there are often more haggard and embarrassing Koreans, mostly old and weak, and few young and strong. They carry their heads on their shoulders and carry the few military supplies, and move forward numbly under the Japanese bayonets and horse whip. They fall into the mud and most of them cannot get up.

At this time, the Japanese army's logistics was far from fully supporting the use of large-scale operations, and it would be good to ensure the delivery of ammunition. All food and grass had to be confiscated on site. Fortunately, when the South Korean war was fighting, Seoul fell and the Huai army could not finish the rice left by the Huai army. When it arrived in North Korea, it was completely different. The roads around the road were sparsely populated and migrated cleanly. Most of the villages had been fired, and the fields were even burned into ash. It was completely solid and cleared!

Of course, this is the result of the cooperation of the cavalry of Jiang Ziming and the traitors of the dynasty. The Japanese army was chasing lightly, and they were tired and hungry all the way. They encountered heavy rain for a few days. They immediately announced that they had stopped cooking and went out to collect grain. The small troops often could not come back. The large troops were not far away and could not catch anything. Someone at the military station had already blamed himself, so he had to order the South Korea to quickly organize the civilians and transport the materials they had robbed there and immediately transported the materials they had snatched there. How many civilians would need to transport them to hundreds of miles of roads!

The Japanese vanguard had already contacted the outpost positions of the Imperial Guards. The Japanese army thought that after firing the gun, a charge would collapse after a burst of charge - just like Ye Zhichao's troops. As a result, several small-scale fire reconnaissances, the opponent showed no sign of collapse at all, and resisted slowly. After a while, he retreated to the rear. The Japanese outpost advanced so hard that he first collected hundreds of corpses of a brigade, and then all units reported it. In the area of ​​Dongxianling, it was found that the enemy's main positions were stretched very long and were horizontally placed in front of him, with a large number of enemies stationed! The main force must attack and advance before it can be defeated!

So the Japanese army had to stop on the spot, waiting for all the infantry to catch up and pull the cannons up. No matter what, they still believed that as long as the main force came up, they would have to use all their strength to defeat the current resistance and go straight to North Korea, there would be absolutely no problem!

In the former Korean government envoy in Ruixing, officers from the Fifth Division sat around the table. The yamen was also burned, with their roofs grinning and stares visible at night. Now it is the location of the First Army Command of the Qing Dynasty.

From the commander of the army, Youpeng, the 5th Division, Zhang Yejin Daoguan, and from the staff at all levels, as well as the corps captains, all of them were in this broken house. Shan County treated guests, rice mixed with wheat rice, flavor soup, a little vegetable tempura, black plum and a little white sugar. The officers at all levels swear, without raising their heads.

Yama County also looked much haggard and had a deep beard. He finished the meal first, looked at the officers below calmly, and waited for everyone to finish their meals and finish the work. He nodded lightly: "I'm sorry for you. When I return to Japan, I will definitely make up for the best kaiseki cuisine for you once..."

Lieutenant General Notsu Dokun was a smiling fat man, touching his belly and smiling: "It's the best meal recently! I thought the General was summoning us to announce something important, but I didn't expect it to be a banquet, which is such a great treat!"

The officer below was about to agree with a laugh, but saw Shanxian standing up and bowing deeply to Dongfang. All the officers stood up in a hurry, and they were joking with the sound of bowls and bowing with him.

When Shanxian looked up, he was already murderous: "Our army has been approved by the base camp and can make arbitrary decisions and launch a main attack on the Qing army in front!"

"ah?"

"Long live!"

The officers who reacted raised their arms and shouted, and they were also full of murderous aura! The front order of the base camp asked them to wait for the arrival of the Third Division and launch a joint attack. But if they dragged on like this, they were afraid that their spirit would be exhausted!

Since Shanxian, I don’t understand why the base camp is so cautious. Can the Qing army stop their progress? When the Third Division arrives here, I am afraid that the Fifth Division will lose most of its own hunger. It’s better to take advantage of its current momentum and attack directly. As long as it falls into Pyongyang, all the shortage of materials will be replenished!

Shanxian's eyes were cold: "My brave first army, my brave fifth division, must not let down the high expectations of the base camp! Now I order! The entire division is ready and is scheduled to launch an attack on August 15th. The four regiments will fight and must fight to the Dongxianling! Twenty days ago, I will see the military flag flying at the top of Pyongyang City. The Qing general Xu Yifan, who hurt my loyal and brave brigade, I want you to bring him to my front!"

"Ah snee!" Xu Yifan woke him up from his good dream with a sneeze. Recently, he was able to eat and sleep. The situation was like this, and he just waited for the start of the battle to see the outcome. There was no need to think about the rest.

"Who wants me to come? I'll never let it go even if I dream! It's not my wife, right?" Xu Yifan touched his chin in a daze: "It's a pity that the North Korean women really have nothing to like. Otherwise, I, the minister with the four imperial envoys, wouldn't it be a big sin to secretly find someone to warm the bed, right? Anyway, I can defeat the Japanese!"

He was half asleep and half awake before he could finish his thoughts, but he tilted his head and fell asleep again. Chen De, who was dozing at the door, was awakened by Xu Yifan. He stood up with a pistol and wanted to look inside, but then he heard a uniform and low snoring sound.

He put his pistol back into the holster and sat back at the door.

"I am just lucky, look at Lord Xu, the Japanese are so calm!"
Chapter completed!