Chapter 018 State Banquet

Naha five was furious: "Lai Chuanwu, brothers Zhang Jun fought with the Japanese, and so many people died! Your dog's life was saved by Zhou Charter! You son of a bitch can do it! You ungrateful son of a bitch!"

Lai Chuanwu blushed, picked up the sea bowl full of wine, drank it cleanly, smashed the sea bowl on the ground, smashed it, and shouted, "Damn it! The Empress Dowager is kind to me. The Empress Dowager asked me to catch Zhou Charter! What the hem do you call me! I am an ungrateful life!"

......

Seoul, Jingfu Palace, the east is white, and the sun shines weakly from the corners of the palace, shining in the snow and frozen by the heavy snow.

Nozu Taoist officer, the commander of the First Army, walked in the corridor leading to the Qinzheng Hall with tired steps.

On both sides of the corridor, there are two rows of guards, one row of Japanese soldiers with live ammunition, and the other row is the Korean Imperial Palace Guards with bare hands.

The existence of the Guard of the Imperial Palace of the Korean Empire is only a decoration. The main purpose of this decoration is to show the world that the Korean Empire is an independent country. However, in front of elite Japanese soldiers, this decoration is extremely funny. It not only does not declare the independence of Korea, but also highlights that the country has become a Japanese colony.

Nozu's eyes turned red, and he had just spent a night that made him physically and mentally exhausted.

The Japanese army's attack on the Linjin River was frustrated, and the Wenshan ferry was lost, and more than 1,000 officers and soldiers were killed.

Although intelligence shows that Zhang Jun's losses are comparable to those of the Japanese army, this cannot be regarded as a draw in any case. The Japanese army was the attacking side and failed to achieve the planned campaign goal, which was a failure.

Before the war, Nozu Daoguan got the information that Zhou Charter, the commander-in-chief of the Zhang army, was not in Linjinjiang, which made him greatly relieved. Among the senior generals of the Japanese army, Nozu Daoguan is one of the few officers who have directly learned the interests of Zhou Charter. He knows better than anyone how much the existence of Zhou Charter will have on the course of the whole battle.

Zhou Charter is not in the Linjin River, at least means that Zhang Jun has no intention of attacking Seoul in the south, which makes the pressure of Yejin Daoguan suddenly reduce, and at the same time, it also greatly enhances the determination and confidence of Yejin Dao to go north.

After the attack was frustrated during the day, Yejin Daoguan deployed troops overnight and gathered a brigade of 5,000 people in front of Wenshan Ferry. Yejin Daoguan was ready to launch a continuous strong attack on the Linjin River, breaking through the Linjin River defense line and conquering Pyongyang.

However, when everything was ready, the news came that Lushun had lost.

Nozu's first reaction is that this is a rumor.

However, in the next few hours, the rumor was gradually confirmed.

At 4 a.m., Nozu Michichiru received an order from the base camp.

The Second Army's operation to recover Lushun failed, and more than 2,000 people in the army and the cruiser Langsu were crushed! The Japanese army in Shandong could not continue to withdraw troops to Lushun. The base camp ordered the First Army to send a reorganized brigade and an artillery regiment to form a mixed brigade, and immediately rushed to Incheon and took a boat to Lushun.

This mixed brigade will, as a southern attack group, carry out a north-south attack on Lushun with the Japanese army of Naimu Xidian in Liaodong. The joint fleet sent four warships to cooperate with the mixed brigade.

In Liaodong, the Nogi Xidian Brigade and the Xikuan Erlang Brigade stopped launching the Battle of Shanhaiguan. The two brigades formed an oriental attack group, commanded by Nogi Xidian and attacked Lushun from the north.

The base camp ordered that the mixed brigade must recapture Lushun before March 1, that is, three days later.

Three days is exactly the supply limit of the Japanese army in Shandong. If Lushun cannot be recaptured within three days, the Shandong battlefield will be unsustainable. At least, the combined fleet had to return to the port of Sasebol.

The total strength of the First Army was only more than 10,000. A brigade and an artillery regiment were transferred, and the First Army lost the ability to advance north.

Nozu Daoguan can only give up the battle of Linjin and turn to defense in an all-round way.

At 5 a.m., Nozu Daoguan sent away the troops sent to Lushun. The troops had just retreated from the front line of the Linjin River. Before they could rest, they immediately rushed to Incheon, where they would board the transport fleet sent by the joint fleet.

Nozu Daoguan immediately went to Jingfu Palace. According to the schedule, this morning, the emperor and queen of the Korean Empire will hold a New Year's banquet at Jingfu Palace. The banquet will be attended by senior officials above the second grade of the Korean Empire and representatives of the occupying forces, including Nozu Daoguan.

In the corridor, the guards on both sides, whether Japanese soldiers or the palace guards of the Korean Empire, remained silent. Only the footsteps of Nozu made a gloomy echo in the corridor.

Half an hour ago, all the guests had arrived at the Qinzheng Hall, waiting for the arrival of Nozu Daoguan.

Nozu Daoguan intended to postpone it for half an hour and let the North Koreans, including the emperor, wait for more than half an hour, which reflects the majesty of the occupying forces. At the same time, it also makes the emperors and ministers of North Korea clear their status - the so-called Korean Empire is already a province of Japan! The supreme ruler of the Korean Empire was not the emperor, but the supreme commander of the occupying forces appointed by the Japanese government.

Half a century later, when MacArthur gave orders to the Japanese as the supreme commander of the occupying forces, the Japanese finally realized the mood of the North Koreans at this time!

History is fair!

Nozu Daoguan walked to the end of the corridor and came to the gate of the Qinzheng Hall. A North Korean with a scar on his face and wearing a second-grade official uniform bowed his head to Nozu Daoguan: "Your Excellency."

This North Korean is Lu Wenjun.

In Anzhou, after the assassination of Tsuaki Kamei, Lu Wenjun returned to Seoul with Shinbi Mitsutomi. Because of the merit of the assassination of Tsuaki Kamei Kamei, Lu Wenjun was appreciated by the Japanese General Staff Headquarters. At the suggestion of the General Staff Headquarters, the Seoul authorities appointed him as the governor of Seoul, that is, the mayor of Han City, to control the military and political power in the capital of the Korean Empire. . Lu Wenjun jumped into a second-grade member.

In addition, the General Staff officially accepted Lu Wenjun as a member of the Second Intelligence Division. He is an intelligence officer of the General Staff in Seoul. With the help of the staff headquarters, Lu Wenjun recruited pro-North Koreans and set up a secret service agency - the Special Service.

On the surface, the special service is only the internal affairs agency of the Seoul Governor's Office, which is responsible for the internal affairs of the Seoul Governor's Office. In fact, it is an extension of the second intelligence department of the Japanese General Staff Headquarters. The special service is directly responsible to Lu Wenjun. Its mission is to maintain the stability of the puppet regime of the Korean Empire, monitor the Korean imperial court, and eradicate everything. Dissidents that harm the interests of the Japanese Empire.

In Seoul and even the whole south of North Korea, the special service is everywhere, and its power even exceeds that of the palace guards. The Korean court, including the emperor and queen, is under the close surveillance of the special service.

Today is the New Year's banquet of the Korean Empire. All the senior officials of the Korean Empire and senior officers of the occupation army were present. The vigilance at the scene was not the responsibility of the palace guard, but by the special service.

Nozu Daoguan nodded: "Mr. Lu, are you all here?"

Lu Wenjun whispered, "The emperor and all the ministers have arrived."

"Emperor?" Nozu was shocked: "Where's the queen?"

"The queen is in good health and rests in the harem."

Nozu Daoguan frowned: "Where's Jin Hongji?"

"He has arrived and is waiting for the commander in the Qinzheng Hall with the ministers."

Nozu Daoguan nodded and walked into the Qinzheng Hall.

In the hall, there was silence.

Li Xi, the emperor of the Korean Empire, sat listlessly on the dragon chair in the north, with a solemn look on both sides, facing the gate of the palace and paying respectful attention to Yejin Dao.

The respect of North Koreans made Nozu Doguan extremely disgusted.

Because he knows that this respect is purely a performance. Deep in their hearts, they were full of hatred for him, the supreme commander of the occupying army.

Nozu Michikon knew that the attitude of the Korean court towards the Japanese was closely related to the performance of the Japanese army on the battlefield. If the Japanese offensive is broken, these North Koreans can only be respectful and dare not act rashly. Once the Japanese army is frustrated on the battlefield, these Koreans will begin to be restless!

Today, the fall of Lushun is not only the failure of a local battle, but also affects the direction of the entire Qing-Japanese War. This failure will inevitably cause a series of effects in North Korea. Although the occupying authorities strictly sealed the news of the fall of Lushun, Nozu Daoguan knew that the paper could not keep the fire, and the news would one day spread to Jingfu Palace.

The Korean Empire authorities led by Empress Min Ziying have long been secretly dealing with the Russians, especially after the defeat of the Japanese army in the Battle of Anzhou, Min Ziying has increasingly shown a centrifugality towards the occupying forces. Before the war, all kinds of intelligence showed that the emperors and empresses of the Korean Empire had the possibility of escape. The fall of Lushun is equivalent to a shot of strength for Li Xi and Min Ziying and North Korean bureaucrats, which will strengthen their determination to escape!

Once the emperor and empress escape, Japan's occupation of northern Korea will lose its legitimacy.

Therefore, the fall of Lushun will have a huge impact on the stability of the Seoul authorities.

In order to prevent trouble, Nozu ordered the relevant departments to hold a New Year's state banquet in the name of the emperor and queen of the Korean Empire. The state banquet was held in Jingfu Palace, and the emperor and queen of the Seoul regime and all senior officials must be present.

ye jin dao guan has ordered the Japanese Seoul gendarmerie to secretly surround the Jingfu Palace, while Lu Wenjun's special service department has all dispatched to disarm the palace guards and take over the internal guards of Jingfu Palace. Once all bureaucrats enter the palace, they will be detained immediately. The emperors, empresses and senior officials of the Seoul authorities were put under house arrest in the palace to avoid possible escape or resistance.

This is a special action in a special period. Nozu is very clear that such a means can only cause greater dissatisfaction among North Koreans. However, the fall of Lushun has forced the occupying forces to the corner. He has no other way.