Chapter 028 Rumors

On January 30, 1895, on the Shandong Peninsula, there was a sound of gunfire and gunfire.

Wang Shizhen held a single-shot rifle and followed the Qing army, which had been 1,000 people, and rushed down from the skyscraper fort. In front of them, there was also a 300-person Qing cavalry, wielding a sword and rushing to the Japanese position laid in the highlands of Jiangjiakou.

5 days ago, the Japanese launched a landing operation in Rongcheng Bay. In order to retain the lighthouse, the Japanese did not shell the mountain corner lighthouse, which made Wang Shizhen and the sleepy sentryman save their lives.

The two stunned to witness the destruction of Luofenggang Village and the largest landing battle in Asian history. Then, he fled in the direction of Rongcheng.

Subsequently, they witnessed the largest defeat of the army of the Qing Dynasty.

From Rongcheng Bay to Rongcheng County, the Qing army deployed tens of thousands of troops. However, in the overwhelming attack of the Japanese army, these troops were like a levee, which collapsed in an instant.

From the Chengshanjiao in Rongcheng Bay to Rongcheng County, the Qing army had hardly made any serious resistance. Almost all the troops saw the Japanese sun flag from afar. The soldiers threw down their weapons, gave up their positions, and dispersed. The officers could not restrain them and had to follow the defeated soldiers and fled all the way.

Wang Shizhen first fled to Tianjiazhuang. He knew that there were two battalions of the Qing army there, and the commander was still his fellow villager. Wang Shizhen planned to join the Qing army and fight against the Japanese army. However, before he found the leader of this unit, the Japanese army was still 20 miles away, and the Qing army in Tianjiazhuang collapsed.

Wang Shizhen had no choice but to flee to Rongcheng with the defeated soldiers. As a result, the Qing army of Rongcheng abandoned the city and fled.

Wang Shizhen followed the defeated soldiers all the way to the west, and finally stopped running under the skyscraper fort, which was only five miles away from Weihaiwei.

This is already the periphery of Weihaiwei, not far from the bay, and you can only go to the sea if you escape.

The Suizi battalion stationed at the skyscraper fort is subordinate to Dai Zongqian, the defense commander of the Weihaiwei Army.

The Suizi Army had a bad reputation. Just ten days ago, on the eve of the war, this army was still making trouble. As a result, Dai Zongqian shot more than a dozen leading soldiers before suppressing down the war. Wang Shizhen was not willing to join this army, but when she arrived at the skyscraper, Wang Shizhen involuntarily issued a death order on the peak. Whoever dares to retreat from the skyscraper will be executed on the spot!

The northwest of the skyscraper fort is the Weihai Guard Port, which is the last line of defense of Weihaiwei. After losing the skyscraper, the Beiyang navy is waiting to be a prisoner!

In this way, Wang Shizhen and the fleeing Qing soldiers were incorporated into the Suizi camp. He was still appointed as the sentry commander with a sentry of more than 100 people.

Of course, this sentry is full of defeated soldiers, all of which are frightened birds. When they see the Japanese sun flag from afar, their legs and stomachs tremble.

Wang Shizhen was depressed with this team of defeated soldiers without fighting spirit, but after all, she stopped retreating and was finally able to fight a decent battle with the Japanese.

Above the head, a sharp beeping sounded across the sky and roared on the snow in the distance, which was the heavy artillery on the Motianling fort bombarded the position guarded by the Japanese army.

However, unfortunately, I don't know whether it was because of the range of the cannon or the clearance problem, most of the shells of the Qing army fell to the rear of Jiangjiakou Heights, injuring the enemy with minimal damage.

However, compared with the previous battles of the Qing army, especially the battle of Chengshanjiao a few days ago, the Qing army still behaved like an army in this battle.

This time, the Qing army's infantry, cavalry and artillery had a decent coordination. At least in the beginning of the battle, the cooperation between artillery and infantry cavalry was still normal. The heavy artillery on the skyscraper was prepared for a quarter of an hour. Although the accuracy was not good, the smoke and dust finally provided the infantry cavalry. Cover, and more importantly, gave courage to the cavalry.

Encouraged by the artillery fire, the Qing infantry took the lead, and the cavalry rushed down the skyscraper.

Behind him, there was the sound of gongs and drums.

This is a majestic gong and drum team recruited by Dai Zongqian from Jinan at a high price. It is said that this gong and drum team is higher than a sentry.

Awas the sound of gongs and drums, the soldiers launched a shout of charge.

The cavalry quickly rushed over the infantry and left the infantry far behind. Wang Shizhen was frustrated.

Just now, the artillery and the infantry were disconnected, and now the cavalry and infantry are disconnected again.

The originally orderly charge formation was scattered in just a few minutes.

However, this is also in Wang Shizhen's expectation.

The Qing army lacks training, which is a well-known fact, and they cannot be expected to be reborn overnight.

It is gratifying that the morale of this unit is not bad.

There were shells in front of them and drums. The soldiers shouted forward with a strong Shandong accent, but none of them stopped, let alone retreated.

This is the first time that the soldiers of the Qing Dynasty have launched a counterattack against the Japanese army.

The training level of the Weihai defenders did not improve overnight, but their morale mersioned overnight.

The source of morale is not cannons or gongs and drums, but Lushun!

Just this morning, a piece of news spread to Weihaiwei.

-Zhou Charter led the Zhang army to capture Lushun and cut off the back road of the Japanese army!

This news was officially announced as a rumor, because at the same time, the official order of the imperial court declaring Zhang Jun as a rebel was also conveyed to Weihaiwei.

The imperial order was that Zhang Jun and the Japanese army colluded with each other in the Linjin River in North Korea and had become a true rebel. Ye Zhichao, the direct admiral, was ordered to enter the court to suppress the rebellion. The army was invincible and the rebels collapsed.

The court asked the defenders from all over the country to take Zhang Jun as a warning, be on duty, serve the country loyally, and fight against the Japanese army to the end.

To the embarrassment of the imperial court, the whole Weihaiwei has been on the battlefield in Shandong, and there is such gossip that Zhou Charter led the Zhang army to capture Lushun and killed the elite 1st Division commanders.

Local officials were ordered to avoid rumors, requiring officers, soldiers and the people not to believe in rumors and not to spread rumors. Those who spread rumors should all do justice on the spot!

However, this rumor quickly spread throughout Weihaiwei.

What is even more ridiculous is that this rumor has greatly improved the morale of the Qing army in the Shandong battlefield.

Encouraged by this rumor, the Qing army really began to serve the country faithfully. The Qing army stopped defeat and began to set up positions in the direction of the Japanese attack, and even some troops took the initiative to launch a counterattack.

The generals also understood the great power of the rumor. They ignored the court's order to avoid rumors and allowed the soldiers to spread the rumors.

The morale of the entire Shandong battlefield of the Qing army, and it can even be said that the defense line of the entire Shandong battlefield is supported by this "rumor"!

This is really a great irony - in the war against Japan, Zhang Jun became the backbone of the whole Qing army, but the court waved a butcher knife to Zhang Jun, who was fighting in blood!

This is not war, but politics.

In the Qing Dynasty, politics is above all else, and the core of politics is not the interests of the country, let alone the interests of the people, but the interests of the Empress Dowager Buddha!

Wang Shizhen is just a low-level officer. He doesn't understand politics, and he doesn't have time to think about the court's crusade against Zhang Jun and the victory of Zhang Jun in Lushun.

As a well-educated officer, Wang Shizhen only cares about the current war situation.

The skyscraper fort cannot be lost! Behind the skyscraper is Weihaiwei!

Like most officers, Wang Shizhen was skeptical about this rumor. At the same time, he was gratified that because of such a "rumor", the Qing army finally stopped defeat, and he and his subordinates could finally form a formation in the skyscraper and launch a counterattack against the Japanese army.

The "rumors" came at the right time!

Suizi Battalion rectified the team and launched a coordinated counterattack against the Japanese positions.

The cannons on the skyscraper fort roared, and in the turbulent smoke, the Qing cavalry rushed to nearly 400 meters away from Jiangjiakou Heights.

The infantry group where Wang Shizhen was located was nearly 200 meters away from the cavalry.

"Damn, why are you running so fast!" Wang Shizhen scolded hatefully.

Behind him, a soldier held a hairsergun and said with a strong Henan accent, "Whistle, of course they run fast on horses!"

Wang Shizhen looked back and spoke to the sentry who was awakened by his slap on the Chengshanjiao Lighthouse.

Wang Shizhen ran all the way from the Chengshanjiao Lighthouse, and this dull sentry always followed him, step by step. This guy has a pair of triangular eyes, a thin face, an obscene appearance, and a thief. Wang Shizhen looks down on him very much and is very reluctant to associate with him.

Wang Shizhen glanced at the sentry and scolded, "Damn, why do you always follow me!"

"Shir, look at what you said, the little one is your subordinate. Who won't follow you?" The sentry said shyly, "Such, the little one is sure. You are a general. Follow you. The little one can live. If you change other generals, the little one really dares to run with him."

The whole Luofenggang Village was 800 soldiers, and the only two of them survived. Speaking of which, it was also fate. Although this guy was obscene, his mouth could talk about it. Along the way, a "whistleman" on the left and the right "whistleman" shouted sweetly, and Wang Shizhen did not bear to drive him away.

"Forget it!" Wang Shizhen shouted, "I don't know your name for so many days."

The sentry hurriedly said, "The little name is Sun Dianying. He is from Henan. He used to do some small business. Some days ago, he lost his capital in Jinan and couldn't go back to his hometown. He happened to meet the governor to recruit soldiers. The little man thought that anyway, he was a homeless dog. On the battlefield, he might still be able to make a famous place and signed up."

As he was speaking, he suddenly heard a roar in front of him, and countless shells fell into the charging cavalry. The cavalry suddenly turned over, and the hissing of the horses and the roar of the shells shook the world.