In addition to intelligence work, the preparations of the East China government are also proceeding step by step.

In the Army, the plan for 10 divisions has been completed, and another three divisions are being formed and are officially in winter training. Although Shandong has a continental climate, it will have a climate below zero for about one month every winter, which is also the best time to allow soldiers to adapt to the severe cold weather. At the end of 1904, there is another such opportunity. The Army's weapons, such as armored trains, towed artillery, vehicle-mounted self-propelled artillery, etc., are being manufactured or installed and debugged.

In the Navy, in Germany, all types of warships built in Shandong were carried out according to the construction plan, and other fleets were also rushing to train. The Marine Corps has completed the formation of combat personnel and is undergoing strict training. The next step is to organize and form Marine Corps logistics personnel.

The new arsenal factory established in Jinan has also started construction and is expected to be partially put into production by the end of 1904. The railway construction and port terminal construction in Shandong are carried out according to the construction plan.

The Executive Yuan also made a decision to strengthen auditing efforts for new applications. Except for projects that are helpful to war and key projects related to national economy and people's livelihood, other projects must be stopped and saved money to prepare for war. Of course, the personal entrepreneurship of time travelers is not included.

The international atmosphere at this time was getting tense. On January 13, 1904, Japan submitted the last amended negotiation agreement to Russia. There was only one core point, that is, Russia must recognize Japan's special power in the Korean Peninsula. Japan can use the territory of the Korean Peninsula for military purposes, and Russia must withdraw all from the Korean Peninsula. Although Japan also recognizes Russia's special interests in Northeast China, it also requires Japan to obtain the power of commercial ports and concessions in the Northeast.

It should be said that this amendment agreement is much tougher than the previous agreement. This can be regarded as an ultimatum issued by Japan to Russia, or it can be understood as Japan has no confidence in the negotiations, because there is a very obvious signal that when Japan submitted this agreement to Russia, it did not stipulate Russia's final reply period.

And on the next day, Japan established the Military Senate, which was fully responsible for war affairs.

At the same time, Japanese Ambassador to the United Kingdom, Dong Lin, announced to the British government in London: "There was a peace faction in Japan, but it no longer exists. Ito Hirofumi and Inoue Kin were once regarded as pro-Russian factions, but they now have no hope for peace."

Russia responded to this: on January 25, a new mobilization order was issued to the Far East army and ordered all Russian warships in Lushun Port to cruise on the outer sea.

On February 1, Chief of Staff Oyama Iwa officially reported to Emperor Meiji to demand a war against Russia; on February 4, Emperor Meiji recruited a meeting of imperial predecessors, and Japanese military and political officials led several participation. After a fierce debate, Emperor Meiji finally issued an imperial order, announcing the severance of diplomatic relations with Russia and the war was started, but no edict was issued.

On February 5, Japanese Minister Shinichiro Kurino submitted a notice to the Russian government for severing diplomatic relations and closed the embassy in Russia. Embassy staff evacuated Russia from now on and asked Russian diplomatic personnel to leave Japan.

At 9 a.m. on February 6, Lieutenant General Heihachi, the commander of the Japanese Joint Fleet, ordered that each warship would start the ships and set off from the Sasebo Naval Base. The joint fleet was divided into two groups. One was a main fleet led by Heihachiro Togo, including 11 warships in the absolute main "Six Six Fleet", heading to the Lushun Sea, preparing to attack the Lushun Port.

The other route was led by Major General Guason Waikiki, the commander of the Second Fleet, and the fourth warship, the five warships of Takachiho, Langsu, Waizumi, Xingao, Thousand Army, and the ninth and fourteenth boat fleets, a total of eight * boat destroyers. With the armored cruiser Asama in the "Six Six Fleet" as the flagship, they rushed to Incheon, North Korea, with several transport ships and 2,000 troops. On the one hand, they rescued the Chiyoda who stayed in Incheon, annihilated two Russian warships stationed in Incheon Port, protecting the cruiser Varyag and the gunboat Koryo. On the other hand, they also covered the army's landing in Incheon, and directly penetrated into Seoul, the capital of South Korea, and controlling the Korean royal family. In this way, Japan could force the Korean royal family to order Japan to send troops to expel Russian forces on the Korean Peninsula, occupy the high point in the famous discussion, and then use the Korean Peninsula as a springboard to march towards Northeast China.

On February 7, the Japanese government officially announced the East China government that Japan would launch a war against Russia within the 8th to 10th, and the first batch of materials ordered by Japan would be shipped at any time. Although this action was opposed by the military and believed that such an approach would bring great harm to the Japanese military operations, the Japanese government decided to inform the East China government after repeated weighing. After all, the two sides had just signed a treaty and were lazy immediately. The East China government would never agree. On the one hand, Japan still needs material support from the East China government; on the other hand, the war has just begun. Who knows what the outcome is? If the war is not good for Japan, it still needs military help from the East China government. Therefore, based on these reasons, Japan still needs good relations with the East China government.

After receiving the notification from Japan, the time travelers were relieved. The Russo-Japanese War was indeed fought as scheduled, and Japan continued to play the old routine of undeclared war. What the East China government now needs to do is to step up its own preparations, while paying close attention to the situation on the battlefield, grasp the direction of the war, and join the war at the most appropriate time.

According to the agreement, the East China government can send observers to act with the Japanese army. After discussion, the Military Commission decided to send the Qingzhou, a protective cruiser returned from Germany, to watch the battle on site. Of course, this is an observation ship on the surface, and in secret, the Xiangyang ship, which crosses the warship, was sent to collect relevant information about the Japanese and Russian warships.

Japan's war machine had been running at high speed, while Russia's reaction was slow as ever. It was not until February 8 that Tsar Nicholas II recruited the imperial meeting to discuss the war against Japan. At this time, the Russian government was still full of confidence and optimism about this battle.

Nicholas II declared at the meeting that once Russia wins the war, the only kind of reward that it deserves is to annex China's Northeast region and complete the "Yellow Russia Plan" that was not completed four years ago. Because the Korean Peninsula is not valuable, and Russia cannot expect to receive much compensation from Japan, which has gone bankrupt due to the failure of the war. Only Northeast China can satisfy Russia's appetite. Therefore, Nicholas demanded that the government adopt a new economic program and plan to annex Northeast China.

The war began with this optimism in Russia.

At 8 a.m. on February 8, the Guasheng fleet met with the Chiyoda, stationed in Incheon Port. It turned out that after learning that Japan had broken off diplomatic relations with Russia, the Japanese crew members on the Chiyoda became nervous. The Chiyoda's mission was to monitor two Russian warships in Incheon Port, but the Chiyoda was an old cruiser with a displacement of only 2,600 tons, while the Varyag of Russia was a large protective cruiser with a displacement of 6,500 tons. Although the Koryo is a shallow-water gunboat, it is also 1,200 tons. The gap between the two sides is too big.

After the joint fleet left the port, Colonel Murakami, the captain of the Chiyoda, received an order from the country, ordering him to join the Guasheng Fleet in southwest of Incheon at 8 a.m. on February 8. So at 11 p.m. on the 7th, the Chiyoda took advantage of the night to sail out of Incheon Port.

When the two sides met, Guason Waiki heard the report from Murakami Guaki. It turned out that in addition to two Russian warships, there were also British cruiser Talbot, French cruiser Bascar, Italian cruiser Elba, American gunboat Vickersbag and other warships. However, knowing that there were British warships from Incheon Port, Guason Waiki was relieved and ordered the Chiyoda to be temporarily included in his fleet sequence, and then ordered the fleet to go to Yasan Bay to make final preparations for breaking into Incheon.

At 4 pm, the Guasheng fleet arrived near Bawei Island, about 13 kilometers outside Incheon Port, when the Russian ship Koryo people appeared in front of the fleet.

Although the news of the severance of diplomatic relations between Japan and Russia had reached Lushun, the Governor of the Far East, Alexeyev, did not take any precautions because he still firmly believed that Japan did not dare to go to war against Russia. Therefore, in order to stabilize the hearts of the people, the Governor only informed a few people of the severance of diplomatic relations and asked them to keep it confidential to the outside world. The two Russian warships far away in Incheon knew nothing about this.

However, the news of the severance of diplomatic relations between Japan and Russia has spread throughout the country. Captain Varyag, Colonel Rudnev, learned about the severance of diplomatic relations between Japan and Russia from the French captain the day before, and immediately asked Pavlov, the Russian ambassador to South Korea, to verify the matter. Pavlov's reply was: "The severance of diplomatic relations is a rumor, and the official has not received an official communiqué yet."

But Rudnev was still worried and called Lushun to ask about the breakup of diplomatic relations. After waiting for Lushun for a whole day, there was no reply. It turned out that Japan had cut off the external telegram from Incheon and no news could be transmitted. Therefore, when the Chiyoda ships sailed out of Incheon Port overnight, although the Varyag had discovered it, he did not know the details, so he did not take any action. However, Rudnev also felt that things were not good, so he immediately ordered the Goryeo to sail immediately and rush to Lushun to report the situation.

The Japanese fleet naturally could not let the Goryeo leave, so Guason Waiyoshi immediately ordered an attack. The Eagle of the Ninth Boat Team suddenly approached 300 meters away from the Goryeo and fired a shot. This was also the first time that the Russo-Japanese War opened fire. Then another pigeon fired another shot. Although both shots were missed, the Asama launched a shelling at the Goryeo, and the Goryeo had to be forced to retreat to Incheon Port.
Chapter completed!