"Extra! Extra! Victory!! Extra! Extra! Victory!! "At noon, the streets of Tokyo were filled with such frantic shouts, which reminded people of the scene when war was declared on Shina more than half a month ago." Our submarines dared to attack to the death, completely destroying the Huludao China Navy, and all the enemy ships were destroyed! This is the complete victory of Yamato Soul! Onboard! Onboard! Onboard!! ”

As the number of people who heard the news increased, the shouts of 'board loaded' became louder and louder, and the streets and alleys that were originally brightly lit were once again decorated with red, red, green and green decorations to celebrate the navy's victory again. Carnival on the streets of Tokyo, in the Kasumigaseki Naval Province in Chiyoda Ward, the navy people, including the Minister of the Navy, Minoru Saito, did not have much joy.

"When will the submarine force of China recover from this blow?" Navy Minister Minoru Saito asked.

According to the report of Rear Admiral Oguri, he lurked until 8 a.m., and after floating and sinking the gunboat, the oil depot at the Huludao Military Port was suddenly ignited by the flames of the gunboat's explosion, and then a violent explosion occurred in the entire military port, and many submarines in China were affected. Rear Admiral Oguri, as the only survivor, sent a telegram to the Arthur headquarters on his way back, and although there were many uncertainties in his words, the base camp publicized the news of this victory to cover up the army's defeat at Kwandian and the entire northern front in the morning. Minoru Saito understood the government's strategy was to be suspicious of Major-General Oguri's report.

"Your Excellency, if there is an explosion at the oil depot of the military port of China, even if the submarine is not injured. It would take three months to six months to rebuild the harbor. There are these times. We can send enough troops and supplies to the brigade in three months or six months. We should be able to come up with an effective solution to the submarine in China. Major General Tetsutaro Sato said. The trigger for the Sino-Japanese war here was the storm plan he proposed last year, which resulted in the failure to contain China and the loss of four warships, and he has been criticized in the Navy Ministry.

"News from Zhoushan that there are signs of mobilization of the East China Sea Fleet." Another well-known staff officer of the Navy, Rear Admiral Mayuki Akiyama, also said. "With the limited range of the submarine in China, we should immediately send a destroyer fleet to patrol the coastal area of China to prevent the submarines of the East China Sea Fleet from entering the Bohai Sea."

"News from Zhoushan?" The head of the Military Command Department, General Goro Ijiin, questioned. "The people of China have completely blockaded the whole country, can we get news of the East China Sea Fleet in China?"

"Your Excellency, yes!" Akiyama said. "The blockade of the Chinese is only against the Japanese, and it is difficult to blockade the Chinese themselves. I built yì to send a large fleet of destroyers and cruisers in the waters north of Zhoushan in China. At the same time, domestic troops and materials were sent to Lushun and Dalian at an accelerated pace. According to the pre-war situation, the China Navy was in too much of a hurry in building the Huludao Military Port, and the number of shore guns was very limited, and since the China submarines had lost their combat capability, we should immediately send warships to shell the Huludao Military Port so that the China Navy would not be able to restore it. If possible, the army should also carry out landings in the vicinity of Qinhuangdao and Jinzhou to completely occupy the western Liaoning region. ”

"Login?" Akiyama's strategy of shelling Huludao made everyone nod in unison. But hearing that he was going to land, Minoru Saito laughed, "Akiyama-kun, the current Shina is not the previous Shina. Yang's Revival Army is no worse than the Army's Red Deer, otherwise the base camp and cabinet would not have vigorously publicized the victory of our attack. Let's build a base camp at once and quickly transport troops and supplies to Lushun, only the army has won in Manchuria. Only then can we truly carry out the decisive battle of the Zhili Plain. The landing will not work, but an immediate shelling is necessary. Draw up the order now, and let the fleet stationed in Arthur carry out this mission! ”

"Hay!" Seeing that Saito is so calculating. Tetsutaro Sato and Mayuki Akiyama had to say yes.

At the same moment, Beijing Yin'an Palace, cabinet press conference.

Lu Bicheng, dressed in official robes, walked out of the back door of the press conference hall on time and made the same opening remarks without a smile: "Ladies and gentlemen, good evening!" Before answering your questions, I have the following news to post:

At 17:30 p.m. on the first month of the first month of Beijing time, various units of our Renaissance Army launched a fierce offensive against the Japanese invading forces that had invaded and occupied our northeast region; in just one hour, our 33rd and 28th divisions occupied Maodian, Daxing, and Shicheng, and their troops were directed at the right flank of the Japanese army, and they could cut off the rear roads of the Japanese troops arranged on the line of Tongyuanbao and Lianshanguan at any time. At this time, the battle in Kuandian Phoenix and other places is continuing, and it is believed that at this time tomorrow, the Japanese army under the Sky Ridge will be completely surrounded by our army......

Lu Bicheng babbled a few news, and everyone did not care about the attack on the Huludao military port by the Japanese naval submarine, and everyone who knew the rules of the press conference waited patiently, just waiting for her to read a qiē message and announced that the following was the time to ask questions, and everyone on the scene gave the first opportunity to ask questions to Mr. Morrison, who was most popular with the government, "May I ask Lord Lu, I heard that the Japanese submarine successfully attacked the Huludao naval base at dawn today, and the oil depot in the port exploded, and all the submarines were destroyed, is this true?" ”

The people in the prime minister's office didn't give Lu Bicheng this news at all, and now when Mo Li asked, Lu Bicheng's face was suddenly stunned, but fortunately, the press officer had trained how to deal with it before, so she coughed and said, "The press office has not received the news about the attack on the Huludao base of the navy......

As soon as Lu Bicheng said this, many reporters at the scene were in an uproar. Although there is a trend of news openness in the imperial court, the Manchu Qing Dynasty still gives everyone too deep an impression, and all previous wars are good news but not bad news, this time the press office reported in detail the war in the area of Kuandian Phoenix, but did not say a word about the attack on the Huludao military port, and it seems that Huludao has suffered heavy losses under the desire to cover up.

"May I ask Lord Lu, can our submarine still go to sea to blockade Luda?" Lu Hongkui of the Imperial Daily stood up and said loudly, because of Yang Du's relationship, he is a hardcore supporter, and the Imperial Daily also touted the war here and the Fuxing Army, especially the submarine force deployed in Huludao, which is more powerful than the Beiyang Fleet under the propaganda of the Imperial Daily. If the Huludao submarine is gone, the previous tout will not be round.

"Ladies and gentlemen. China is not the only submarine force deployed in Huludao, even if Huludao is attacked. Zhoushan ...... "The more Lu Bicheng explained, the more chaotic it became, she said this, and those reporters who originally thought that Huludao had only suffered a slight loss also felt that something big had happened in Huludao, otherwise why would Lu Bicheng say another submarine force."

The press conference ended with a sigh from the Chinese reporters, who, although not navy, have been well aware of the role of the navy, especially submarines, since the Battle of the East China Sea. According to the official number, there are 48 submarines in China, but after the war, foreign reporters inferred that the Chinese Navy was equipped with about 20 submarines based on the performance of Chinese submarines and the role they played in wartime. And according to an unknown source. The Chinese government had ordered 80 submarines in Germany, and the deposit for these submarines had been paid at the beginning of last year, but after the naval battle in the East China Sea, submarines were valued by the navies of various countries, because the German navy also had to equip submarines, so these submarines under construction were resold to the German navy by the shipyard. This news said that there was a nose and an eye, and the sudden change of the Chinese envoy to Germany in the last few days of the year made this news believed by the vast majority of people.

"It's over, Gyeonggi is in danger now!" Out of the press conference. Lu Hongkui said to Huang Yuansheng, a special correspondent in Shanghai stationed in Beijing, and Huang Yuansheng became famous. He had wanted to recruit this talent for a long time.

"Gyeonggi is dangerous?" Huang Yuansheng shook his head and said, "I think it's dangerous in the Northeast." Now the Japanese army is stopped by submarines and cannot increase the number of troops, but now it is good, the submarine is gone. Japan will inevitably increase its troops in the northeast. As for Gyeonggi, the Northeast Reconstruction Army is about to outflank the Japanese army, and Japan can't take care of Gyeonggi for a while. ”

"Far from mediocre. You are saying that the Japanese army will increase its troops. Launching an offensive along the Dongqing Railway? Lu Hongkui said. He was worried about the Japanese landing in Gyeonggi, after all, the submarine was gone. Gyeonggi is uneasy.

"Exactly!" Huang Yuansheng said worriedly: "The Northeast Renaissance Army took advantage of the lack of Japanese troops to hit a left hook, this punch really hit the waist of the Japanese, the 33rd Division is the 3rd town in Beiyang, and Yuan Gonglian's soldiers are not green battalions." After an hour of fighting, they took Maodian, and after replenishing ammunition, they would fight again, and tomorrow they might really take Liujiahe or Tongyuan Fort with the 28th Division. If this is the case, the Japanese army under the Sky Ridge will really suffer. It's a pity, it's a pity! Now in this shape, the Japanese will hold out for a few more days, and as soon as reinforcements arrive, the siege will be immediately resolved. ”

They all eat news, and they report on the war in the Northeast every day, and the map of Liaodong is printed in the hearts of reporters. Hearing Huang Yuansheng say this, Lu Hongkui also pondered, and he said after a while: "But the Japanese want to increase their troops, and the Andong Seaport has been destroyed, so don't you want to increase the number of troops on the brigade side?" ”

"It's Luda." Huang Yuansheng pinched his beard, very military and strategic, "The Japanese have a lot of ships, they have long been thinking about how to send people to Luda, I dare to conclude that there will be a war in Gaizhou within two days." ”

What Huang Yuansheng said was categorical, but in fact, while he was speaking, North Korea's Asan, Nampo, and Incheon, and Japan's Nagasaki, Osaka, Yokohama, Kobe, and other ports of all sizes, dense Japanese troops were boarding ships. After the news of the attack on Huludao broke, one of the Navy's decisions was to shell Huludao, and the Army, after coming up with a strategy to stabilize the battle situation on the northern front, ordered the Korean troops in the country to urgently assemble and increase the brigade area through the Guò sea route.

Standing at the command post of Nampo Port, the commander of the 5th Army, Ichito Guard, who was watching the soldiers get on the ship, said with emotion: "God bless Japan!" The submarine of the China people is finally gone. ”

"Your Excellency, as long as the sea transportation line can be guaranteed, the Chinese army will definitely fail, their defense line from Shandong to Zhili to Liaoxi, this line of defense is simply too long, from now on, the Chinese army will be exhausted. This can't help but remind people of the situation after the Battle of Nissin and the total annihilation of the Beiyang Naval Division in Weihaiwei. Chief of Staff Kawai Cao was as emotional as the commander, and he actually wanted to say why the navy's luck in every major battle was so good, and was it really the blessing of Amaterasu.

"Can Your Excellency Dashan still hold on?" A family guard asked. "The first ship will arrive in Anton, I'm afraid it will be tomorrow morning."

"Your Excellency Dashan has ordered us to go to Dalian, and the offensive of the Chinese army has been resisted by the 3rd Army. Now we have to launch an offensive from the South Manchurian Railway to the north, so that the Chinese army can really be put on the passive. "Kawai." It is impossible to guarantee the supply by relying on a Jingyi line alone, and the decisive battle is still on the front line of Yingkou Dashiqiao Haicheng. ”

"Is the attack of the Northern Front Army blocked?" The general of the Ichito guard was a little surprised. In the morning, the General Staff of the Manchurian Army also vigorously urged the 5th Army to hurry up and reinforce it, and now there is no hurry.

"Your Excellency Terauchi ordered the use of special ammunition. The Chinese army had to abort the offensive. "Kawai." The Chinese Revival Army has suffered losses from special shells before, and now it sees our army using such shells. They had to stop attacking. ”

Hearing that special ammunition was used, Ichibu couldn't help but be relieved about the war on the northeastern front of Anbei. The special bomb is a sharp weapon that has absolute confidence to defeat the Chinese army this time. According to the base camp trials, no one survived chlorine.

Ichito thought so relaxedly, in fact, in the morning, there was a big disagreement between the staff officers of the 3rd Army Terauchi Masayi and the Manchurian Army on whether or not to use special ammunition, and many staff officers thought that using special ammunition now would make it lose its suddenness, and if it suddenly used special ammunition during the decisive battle, then it would be very likely that the entire Chinese army would be annihilated, and it would not be worth using it now.

Although the staff officers had such thoughts, the situation on the right flank was critical, as long as the Zhina Army was given another day. Then Tongyuan Fort is very likely to be occupied by the Chinese army before the arrival of its own reinforcements, once Tongyuan Fort is occupied, then the troops that have advanced to the line of Motianling Lianshan Pass are equivalent to being surrounded by the Chinese army, this loss is impossible for anyone to bear, and it is because with the permission of the commander Marshal Dashan Yan, the special ammunition is approved for use.

As soon as this order was given, the Japanese artillery began firing chlorine bombs at 4 p.m. As soon as the shells exploded on the front line, the yellow-green smoke startled both officers and soldiers, and the front commander did not wait to report. So he retreated with his troops. As soon as this side retreated, the Japanese army immediately followed to regain the lost territory, and the results of the morning were in vain.

It may be a pity to lose the gains, but if the Japanese army uses chlorine shells as weapons. A direct attack on one's own positions is a decision to be made by the General Staff: should gas masks be used or not? At this time, the revival army is no better than in Yanzhou, and now the entire front is hundreds of kilometers. There are more than 200,000 combat troops, plus civilians in the war zone. Journalists and military observers from 'friendly' countries are authorized to enter the war zone, as long as the troops use gas masks. That leak is for sure. And among the renaissance forces on the front line, the 11th Army was not equipped with gas masks because of the low level of secrecy, and once the Japanese army attacked in the direction of Kuandian, even if the use of gas masks was approved, the left flank defended by the 11th Army might collapse overnight.

With all kinds of problems, on the night of the first day of the Lunar New Year, in the Shenyang Headquarters, several bigwigs in the war room with closed doors and windows were discussing the military situation.

"The Japanese offensive has stopped for the time being, but it cannot be concluded that it will not attack tomorrow. Now the restriction of the Japanese army is still logistics supply, after the attack on Huludao, this restriction was removed. According to the intelligence of the intelligence bureau, the Japanese army was transporting troops to the brigade on a large scale at this time, and once the Japanese army increased its troops and the war materials were replenished, then it was the time to launch a general offensive. Huang Fujin said that the whip was pointed on the front line of Haicheng, "At present, Yingkou, Dashiqiao, and Haicheng will be the focus of contention. If the ice floes in the Bohai Sea are over, then the Japanese army can directly land in the area of Qinhuangdao and threaten Gyeonggi. Nearly 400 kilometers of coast from Jinzhou to Tianjin, it's really hard to guard! ”

The more Huang Fujin said, the more gloomy his face became, if it weren't for Yang Rui and Leo being present, he would definitely be scolding. What is the navy, Japan came to a few submarines, and the oil depot of this military port was bombed, which is even more Beiyang than Beiyang. No, these people are originally handed down from Beiyang, and they are really not enough to succeed and more than to lose!

Taking a hard breath, Huang Fujin said again: "Now the news from Huludao is that many Japanese warships are shelling the military port in the open sea, and the Japanese army's plan is probably to make it impossible for our army to restore the military port. If the military port cannot be restored, even if the submarines of the East China Sea Fleet come over, there will be no place to stay. ”

"Okay, the General Staff of the Navy will take care of it!" Seeing that Huang Fujin's introduction had been aimed at the navy, Yang Rui, who understood the reason, interrupted. If the Huludao Navy is not destroyed, the Japanese army will not be able to go ashore at all, and if the Japanese army does not go ashore, how can it be encircled and annihilated? It is necessary to destroy Huludao, and it is worth it to exchange a military port for the entire Japanese army.

After he finished saying this, he said: "Let's judge how the Japanese army will fight, right?" The occupation of Haicheng was inevitable, and without the occupation of Haicheng, their 1st and 3rd armies would not be able to converge with the Japanese army in the direction of Luda. But what about after taking Haicheng? How will they fight? North or West? ”

Hearing Yang Rui's question, Bei Shoutong said: "It should be westward." At that time, part of the Japanese army and our army can be held on the front line of Panjin in Liaoyang, so that the northeast army will be blocked outside the pass. The Japanese army marched west to occupy Jinzhou, and if the defenders of the pass went out of the pass to meet the Japanese army in the direction of Jinzhou in western Liaoning. Once the Japanese army landed in the area around Qinhuangdao, the troops in western Liaoxi could only withdraw to the western mountains to protect themselves. The entire Liaoxi Corridor would be occupied by the Japanese army. The Navy poked the basket big this time! ”

Bei Shoutong is one of the people who knows the truth about Huludao, even so, he can't help but sigh, as soon as the submarine goes, the entire Bohai Sea is opened, and the capital is in danger of being surrounded by accident, but it's too dangerous!

He sighed at the navy's basket, and continued: "The current plan is to increase the number of troops in the entire Liaoxi. As long as the Japanese navy shelling Huludao is not attacked by submarines, then they can be sure that our Huludao submarine force has lost its combat effectiveness, and in this way, even if there is thin ice along the coast of the Bohai Sea, the Japanese army will take the opportunity to break the ice and land, especially Huludao.

And once Liaoxi was mastered by the Japanese army. Our army will be divided into two parts, one outside the pass and one inside the pass. This raises a question to the military-industrial capacity of Tonghua. It will be difficult to maintain the 600,000-strong army outside the customs gates, and at this time a situation will arise in which there are troops outside the customs but no ammunition, and there are ammunition but no troops inside the customs gates. Therefore, the entire corridor of western Liaoning must be defended to the death, and the ammunition inside the customs will be transported out of the customs at an accelerated pace from this evening. Count as much as you can transport, otherwise wait for the Liaoxi Corridor to be cut off by the Japanese army. Our airships are not up to the task of replenishing ammunition. ”

"Then make the plan!" Leo said that he felt that everyone was a little flustered at today's meeting, there was no support in logistics, and it was terrible to lack guns and ammunition, but as a soldier, it was a shame to panic because of the unfavorable shape. After he finished admonishing Pei Shoutong, he said: "Many things will happen in war, and even the simplest things are extremely difficult to do in wartime. If the Japanese army occupies Huludao, or the entire Liaoxi Corridor, we need not panic. Because in this case, the battle in the northeast can only be defensive, and the main direction of the Japanese attack will be the Zhili Plain, and only by occupying Beijing and capturing the emperor will they be the real victors.

Will it be so? No! That's impossible! This is a disgrace to the military, and none of our officers and enlisted men will let the Japanese do it. Generals, all the Japanese now have at their disposal is the opportunity to land at will, and even then they have a limited number of places to choose from, one is the Liaoxi Corridor, especially Qinhuangdao, and the other is Tianjin. Where it was originally a commercial port, the terminal throughput was the largest among the northern ports. Although Tianjin cannot directly send troops according to the treaty, as long as the Japanese army shows signs of landing, then the army will definitely enter the Tianjin area to deploy defenses.

China is a country with a large population, and although the construction of our reserve force has only just begun, we already have 2 million reserve troops, and even if these troops cannot be used for various reasons, we can still easily assemble 25 divisions and 300,000 troops in the Gyeonggi direction. With these 300,000 troops, it was enough to win the Battle of the Zhili Plain. Generals, firmly believe that victory will always belong to the Renaissance Army! ”

Leo, who rarely talks at length, suddenly said a bunch of long words, which made Yang Rui feel that the matter in Huludao was indeed a bit big, but then he thought that he was reluctant to let the child trap the wolf, so he put up with it. The military meeting did not end until twelve o'clock at night, and as soon as the closed room was opened, Li Zilong came over with a stack of telegrams and said: "Sir, these telegrams are all about the situation in Huludao, including the parliament, government ministries, and German and American ministers, oh, Mr. Xiao Xu and Mr. Xianfeng also call from abroad......

"They all told them that the Revival Army has 500,000 troops in Guannai, and the security of the Gyeonggi area can be fully guaranteed." Yang Rui replied with a calm face.

"Sir, to say that is tantamount to admitting the ...... Huludao," Li Zilong reminded.

"The Japanese Navy is shelling the military port off the coast of Huludao, and as soon as they are not attacked by submarines, then tomorrow the news that the submarine forces in Huludao have completely lost their combat effectiveness will appear in the newspapers." Yang Rui said, "I don't admit it, and I can only delay it for one day." Give them something back like that. Oh, by the way, the telegram from New York is going to go first, and our national debt is going to plummet this time. (To be continued......)