Chapter 047 Sultry Battle

"Didn't you sign an agreement with the Qing Dynasty to assist the Qing army to encircle and suppress the Zhang army?" Zhou Charter asked.

"According to the words of the Chinese, at this time, according to the Westerners, there is no eternal enemy! There are no eternal friends!" Zhongzuo said, "The Qing Dynasty openly tore up the agreement and launched a full-scale attack on the Imperial Japanese army from both sea and land! This untrustworthy behavior of the Qing Dynasty made the Japanese Empire very angry. The Qing court had no faith to speak of, so General Dashanyan decided that the Second Army would no longer follow the original agreement between the two countries, that is to say, it would no longer assist the Qing army to attack the Zhang army. On the contrary, the Second Army was willing to fight side by side with the Zhang army and counterattack any attack of the Qing army on Lushun at any time!"

Zhou Charter was even more surprised. The Japanese officer claimed that the Qing army launched a full-scale attack on the Japanese army from both sea and land. According to Cai Tinggan, the attack at sea should be the work of the Beiyang Marine Division, but the land attack does not know where it came from.

Minxiu and Li Guoge led a 500-strong army to Lushun to participate in the war. However, this was only a small army, and the Qing army also appeared in the Jinzhou direction. However, this could not be called a "comprehensive" attack in any case.

Is it that the Qing army finally woke up? Or did the Empress Dowager Buddha change her mind?

But anyway, one thing is certain is that the Japanese army has fallen passive on the battlefield and the situation is not optimistic. Otherwise, they will never come to give gifts to Zhang Jun at this time.

"It's a pity," Zhou Charter said, "If the Qing Dynasty has really launched a comprehensive counterattack against you, it should be. You should know that your army has set foot on Chinese territory, and the Chinese army should attack you!" What Zhang Jun should do is to cooperate with the Qing army to fight against you, not to cooperate with you to resist the Qing army. Don't forget that this is the land of the Qing Dynasty, and we have the right to decide what to do!"

Zhongzuo shook his head: "In the eyes of Empress Dowager Cixi, Zhang Jun is not a Qing army, but a rebel army. If the Qing army wins and loses, it will not only the Japanese army, but also your Zhang army! The Qing army is bound to launch a more fierce attack on you. From the perspective of survival, the interests of the Japanese army are consistent with those of Zhang Jun!"

"Is it?" Zhou Charter sneered: "Whether the Empress Dowager Buddha admits it or not, Zhang Jun will always be a Chinese army. Can he sell the interests of the country in order to survive? Will you Japanese soldiers respect such soldiers? I believe that if I do what you want, Japanese soldiers, including General Oyamaiwa, will not look up to me!"

"General Zhou..."

"Wend off!" Zhou Charter turned around.

Lieutenant Colonel saluted Zhou Charter and turned away.

Hannagan stared at his blue eyes and shook his head and said, "I don't believe that the Qing army dares to launch a comprehensive counterattack against the Japanese army. The Qing army has no fighting spirit. Even if there are a few troops counterattacks, it is impossible to succeed in such a short time."

Li Guoge also said, "When I left Gaiping, the decree of the Empress Dowager Buddha was that all departments of the Qing army cooperate with the Japanese army to eliminate Zhangjun. This intention has been conveyed to the Qing army on various battlefields, including North Korea and Shandong. It is impossible for the court to issue an opposite order to the whole army in such a short time. If the Empress Dowager Buddha does so, she will have no prestige!"

"But I'm sure that the Qing army really counterattacked! Moreover, it occupies the initiative of the battlefield!" Zhou Charter said, "Otherwise, the Japanese will never put down their bodies and negotiate with me."

"However, without the order of the court, who dares to counterattack? The plenipotentiary who coordinated the war against Japan is Liu Kunyi. He absolutely does not have the courage! Even Li Hongzhang dares not do this. This is a conspiracy!" Li Guoge said.

In the northwest, there were bursts of smoke and dust, and the sound of dense gunfire was faintly heard.

That's the direction of Golden State.

A large army has arrived at the city of Jinzhou and caught fire with Xi Kuan Erlang!

"I'm going to see Minxiu." Zhou Charter said.

Li Guoge said in a hurry, "Master Zhou, Ge Ge said that she didn't see you."

"I can't control so much!" Zhou Charter said as he walked, "I offended Gege. At worst, let her cut off her head. Anyway, my head should have been cut off long ago!"

......

In the waters of the Temple Islands, the Beiyang Marine Division and the Joint Fleet are fighting.

This naval battle, like the Dadonggou naval battle eight months ago, is also an encounter. The difference is that in the naval battle of Dadonggou, the Japanese ship did not declare war and took the lead in attacking the Beiyang Marine Division. This time, the Beiyang Marine Division fought in its own way and fought without declaration. Ding Ruchang ignored the armistice agreement between the Qing Dynasty and Japan and commanded the fleet to launch a sudden and resolute attack on the joint fleet.

As soon as the battle began, the Beiyang Marine Division took the lead and injured three warships, including the Songdao, the flagship of the joint fleet. In the subsequent melee, the rushed joint fleet could not set up the best single vertical array, but could only meet the enemy horizontally and give full play to the strength of the Japanese ship's rapid-fire gun, while the Beiyang Marine Division had a large caliber The power of the artillery is fully exerted.

As a result, less than an hour, the cruiser Tsushima and two small gunboats were sunk. The flagship Matsushima was hit by five 30-centimeter heavy shells, the mast was blown away, and more than 100 sailors were killed. Commander Yidong Youheng was injured. Matsushima lost mobility and paralyzed on the sea and became a live target of the Beiyang Marine Division. Zi.

Yuki Ito had to give up the Matsushima and ran to the cruiser Fuso under gunfire.

The Beiyang Marine Division completely occupied the sea advantage and rushed to the Japanese ship. In the melee, the right team of the torpedo boat behind the fleet came out of the battle and launched a torpedo to the Japanese ship. The Kaohsiung cruiser of the joint fleet could not dodge and was blown up in two by a torpedo.

On the sea, there were only five warships left in the joint fleet, most of which were injured, and a total of 12 warships of the Beiyang Marine Division launched a group fight against the Japanese ships.

Yidong Youheng saw that it was difficult to escape, and in a hurry, he thought of half of the fleet stranded in Lushun. This half of the fleet was transferred by the base camp.

At this time, Ito Yuheng could not take care of Lushun and ordered Yoshino and other Lushun ships to quickly move closer to the Miaodao Islands.

Ten ships, including Yoshino and Hashidate, hurriedly left the Lushun Sea and rushed to the Miao Island Sea. At this time, the five Japanese ships that were fighting with the Beiyang Marine Division have completely lost the ability to fight back under the powerful artillery fire of the Beiyang Marine Division.

Ten warships participated in the battle and finally stabilized the position of the joint fleet, and the two sides launched a fierce tug-of-war.

These are the two remnants, and neither side is the strongest lineup.

In the Battle of Dadonggou eight months ago, the Beiyang Marine Division was severely damaged, and three main cruisers were sunk. In Weihaiwei, it was attacked by Japanese torpedo boats, and the iron battleship Zhenyuan with a displacement of 7,000 tons sank in Weihai Garrison Port. Beiyang sailors lost half of their maritime firepower.

In the Battle of Lushun, the heavy cruisers Langsu, Chicheng and Zhuzi gunboats of the joint fleet were sunk and rushed to the warships in the waters of Miao Island. The Takachie and Akitsusu cruisers were seriously injured, and Yoshino were slightly injured. In addition, three gunboats were injured, and their combat effectiveness was not as good as before.

Moreover, the Japanese ship consumed a large number of shells in Lushun, and there was no time to replenish them, and they had no place to supplement it. The Japanese army has never recaptured Lushun, and they have no logistics base. The Japanese ship's ammunition was exhausted, and it was even more afraid to let go of the attack.

And after a day of fierce fighting, the Beiyang Marines were also extremely tired. At the same time, the cruiser Pingyuan of the Beiyang Marine Division was sunk, and the cruiser Jingyuan and the gunboat Yangwei were seriously injured and withdrew from the battle. Other ships also suffered different degrees of damage.

Both sides are unable to go all out, but neither side can withdraw from the battle,

In the fierce offensive battle, no one dares to turn the bow easily. If the direction is slightly shifted, the opponent will seize the opportunity to attack the weakness.

In this way, the two sides lined up on the sea, opened a distance of 2,000 meters, and shot against each other, but no one dared to rush.

The war entered a state of stalemate, and the gunfire rumbled and the smoke filled with gunpowder, but the sea seemed very dull and helpless.

Both Ding Ruchang and Yi Dong Youheng are very anxious.

Ding Ruchang is becoming more and more regretful that he should not do this after the armistice agreement takes effect, which will make a dilemma.

Ding Ruchang's battle was a gamble that bet his life! He bet that this battle could hit the joint fleet, and at the same time, the Beiyang Marine Division paid a small price. In this way, the Beiyang Marine Division could revive its strength, echo the Zhang Jun of Zhou Charter, and form a force on the Empress Dowager Cixi to protect the throne of Emperor Guangxu. To save Emperor Guangxu is to protect himself. However, if the Beiyang Marine Division can't get out and fight a war of attrition with the joint fleet, if Zhou Charter can't stand it in Lushun, he will face a serious crime against the decree. Ding Ruchang is guilty, and the Empress Dowager Cixi will never forgive him!

And Yidong Youheng is still more anxious than Ding Ruchang. He disobeyed the order of the base camp and ordered Yoshino and other ships to leave Lushun to reinforce, which was equivalent to giving up Lushun. More seriously, the base camp has launched Taiwan's combat plan, and the Guards Division has gathered in Hiroshima, waiting for the joint fleet to escort to Taiwan. However, the joint fleet was dragged by the Beiyang sailors in the waters of Miao Island and could not escape. If it continued like this, the Taiwan battle, which was related to Japan's fate, had to be postponed or even abandoned. Yuheng Ito will become a historical sinner in Japan!

However, from the overall situation of the war, Ding Ruchang and Yi Dong Youheng are anxious, but they are not the only ones who are anxious.

There are also many people who are also anxious. At least, General Dashanyan in Shandong, Empress Dowager Cixi of the Forbidden City, and Hirofumi Ito of Hiroshima are not at ease at all.