Volume 1: The Battleship Yitian Changes into the Sino-Japanese War of 1894 Chapter 49: Burning Maguan
He went to Sun Yuwen's house to express his gratitude, and then the imperial court issued an order to appoint Li Hongzhang as the plenipotentiary minister to negotiate with the Japanese, and to let Sun Gang also serve as one of the deputy envoys to assist Li Hongzhang. Sun Gang bid farewell to Sun Yuwen and hurried back .
When he met Lord Zhongtang, Li Hongzhang had already received a telegram from the court and was very satisfied with his mission. "Finally, there is some good news from the land." He handed a telegram to Sun Gang.
Sun Gang took a look and was still surprised.
It turned out that after the Japanese army captured Haicheng, another army turned around to attack Lushun and Dalian. Xu Bangdao, the general of Zhengding, fought alone in Jinzhou and suffered heavy casualties. Zhao Huaiye, the defender of Dalian, and Gong Zhaoyu, the defender of Lushun, not only did not send troops to support, but abandoned their troops and fled. At the critical moment, Liu Buchan led the four ships "Dingyuan", "Zhenyuan", "Jingyuan" and "Laiyuan" to support. Zhang Wenxuan, the commander of the Beiyang Guard, led his troops to take over the defense of Lushun and Dalian, and then sent troops to support the Jinzhou front. With the support of the naval guns of the four Beiyang ships, Xu Bangdao led his troops to launch a counterattack and repelled the Japanese army in one fell swoop. The Japanese artillery positions were destroyed by the naval guns of the four Beiyang ships, and they were unable to attack again and retreated. The Jinzhou Defense War was a victory, which finally saved some face for the Qing Army.
Sun Gang was horrified by what he saw. If it had not been for the proper handling of the matter by Liu Buchan, Zhang Wenxuan and others, and Xu Bangdao's bravery and tenacity, the "first fortress in East Asia", Lushunkou might have been lost.
"Zhao Huaiye and Gong Zhaoyu, these two guys are so angry that they want to kill me." The Lord Zhongtang took a breath and said, "If you hadn't brought me good news, I would have killed them."
Sun Gang actually has the same idea now. Thinking about the disastrous consequences that might be caused by them abandoning the army and running away, Sun Gang even feels a chill.
"The two bastards were quite smart. They knew their crimes were unforgivable, so they both committed suicide by taking poison." Li Hongzhang snorted, "This way the court won't pursue the matter. They deserve to be punished! "
Sun Gang was also somewhat disappointed after hearing this. The last time the Japanese army attacked Weihaiwei, the land defenders Dai Zongqian and Liu Chaopei also abandoned their troops and fled when they heard the cannon fire. After being caught, they also played the same trick and drank poison to die. The court did not pursue the matter. No wonder many corrupt officials in later generations also used this method after their crimes were exposed. It turns out that there is a historical basis for this!
"Let's not talk about this! It's a shame!" It seems that the Lord Zhongtang is very dissatisfied with the negotiation conditions he suggested to Emperor Guangxu. "Withdrawal of troops and compensation are fine, but I don't understand the cession of this land to Korea and the restoration of Ryukyu. Korea is small and weak, and it is difficult to protect itself. What's the use of the Japanese islands? Ryukyu is a small and round place, isolated overseas, far away from China, and close to Japan. Once something happens, how can we reach it in an instant?" Li Hongzhang looked at Sun Gang and said with some doubts: "And the request for Japanese warships, most of the Japanese warships are now destroyed. The foreign navy telegram yesterday said that they gathered in the waters of Tsushima Island to attack the Japanese ship "Akitsuzumi" and destroyed it. They will come to Tianjin soon to present the ship's flag and emblem. The only Japanese warship over 3,000 tons is the "Takachiho". Why is this one ship listed in the treaty?"
"Return to the Lord, this war was caused by Korea. The cession of Japanese islands to Korea shows that our Celestial Empire is a small country and we are only protecting our vassal states. It is not for coveting Japan's land. The Qing Dynasty accepts tribute from Ryukyu. This time it is also to uphold justice for small countries and not give excuses to the great powers." Sun Gang said: "Korea and our country are closely related, and Ryukyu and Taiwan are close. They can both serve as our shield. Now that the peace treaty has been concluded, our Qing navy can be invited by the two countries and stationed in the two countries to clamp them down. Even if the Japanese have objections, they can do nothing about it." He looked at Li Hongzhang's surprised eyes and said: "As for asking for warships, the Japanese want to develop overseas, and the navy is indispensable. Although the Japanese have suffered a great setback this time, they may not be unwilling to make a comeback. This is a plan to control their armaments and to prepare for the Qing Dynasty."
Li Hongzhang stood there for a long while, then he sighed slowly, "It turns out that you have thought deeply about this matter. I didn't expect you to have such insight. I really underestimated you."
For Sun Gang, who came later, these were countless lessons and conclusions learned from blood. How could Li Hongzhang, the pathfinder, have imagined this!
"Although the Japanese have been defeated by sea, they still have an advantage by land." Li Hongzhang said, "They may not accept all of these conditions. In your opinion, where should we strive for first?"
"Withdrawal of troops, payment of compensation and restoration of Ryukyu." Sun Gang said, "Also, the severance of the treaty between Korea and Japan. The compensation can put the Japanese economy into trouble and temporarily unable to develop their navy. Ryukyu and Korea are to contain the Japanese in the future. With these two items, we can relax on the other items."
"Before we start the talks, let's beat them up again and vent our anger on Haicheng." Li Hongzhang showed a cunning and strange smile, "I will send a telegram to the navy right now, asking the Beiyang, the mainland and the foreign navy to gather together and bombard the Japanese coast again." He looked at Sun Gang and asked, "Where do you think we should attack?"
Sun Gang thought for a moment and said, "What do you think of Maguan?"
"Is there anything special about that place?" Li Hongzhang asked. He didn't know yet that if it weren't for the young man in front of him, he would have to go there to sign the Treaty of Shimonoseki that the whole country hated, and from then on he would be labeled a "traitor" and would never be able to turn over.
Oh, and I had to take a bullet there.
Now, not only do we not have to be attacked by someone secretly, we can also fire back with artillery shells first, hehe.
Whenever Sun Gang thought of the Chunfan Tower in Maguan, he felt so angry that his teeth were itching.
Lord Zhongtang was frightened by the way he gnashed his teeth and didn't understand why he was so excited. "Didn't you suffer any loss there before?" Li Hongzhang asked.
"There is a Chunfan Tower there. I heard that it was named by Japanese Prime Minister Ito Hirobumi." Sun Gang managed to calm himself down and said, "If we can destroy this tower, it will cause a severe psychological blow to them and have the effect of conquering their hearts."
"You are young, but you are so dark." Li Hongzhang laughed and pointed at him and said, "Let's do it! I will issue an order right now, ordering my entire navy to bombard the city and make sure to destroy the Chunfan Tower!"
Well, this time Ito Hirobumi doesn't have to "drunk on the lap of a beauty, sober up and hold the power of the world". Sun Gang thought viciously, after this battle, he should also get out of office, right?
In order to buy time for the Beiyang Fleet to bombard Shimonoseki, Lord Zhongtang left the Japanese delegation alone for several days and finally received good news.
First is the Liaodong battlefield.
After the Japanese army failed to attack Jinzhou, they did not launch a new offensive. Ding Ruchang, Song Qing and other generals took the opportunity to gather the defeated troops and reorganize them. They received support from Shengjing, and Zuo Baogui, Nie Shicheng and Ma Yukun each led an army to attack Haicheng at the same time. Before the attack, Ding Ruchang and Song Qing summed up the lessons of the previous failed battles and followed Hannagan's advice. After the students of the Military Academy who followed the army accurately measured the terrain, they ordered all the cannons to be concentrated and used. In Haicheng, they launched the largest artillery battle between the two sides since the war began, and it was also the one with the most troops. The fierce artillery fire almost destroyed half of Haicheng. After two days and two nights of fierce fighting, the Qing army finally recaptured Haicheng at a heavy cost of casualties. The Japanese army suffered heavy losses and could not gain a foothold. They had begun to retreat. The Japanese army that confronted Xu Bangdao on the Jinzhou line also retreated.
It seems that the Qing army has learned something from the successive defeats. Yes! As the invaded, how much price and time must be paid to learn the real things from the invaders!
Sun Gang estimated that the Japanese army failed in this battle mainly because they had no reinforcements. The series of fierce battles also greatly reduced their combat effectiveness. They were no longer able to attack and were forced to switch to defense. The situation was becoming increasingly favorable for China.
There was no suspense in the naval battle. The Chileans bombarded the Sasebo naval port, and Wen Junfeng drove submarines into Hiroshima, and sank a Japanese ship, the Maya. It is said that the Japanese Emperor Meiji did not dare to leave the Hiroshima base! The Chileans also sent the cruiser Esmeralda to Tianjin to deliver the ship emblem and flag of the destroyed Akitsuzou. When they saw the wreckage of Takasago on the road, they also took its ship emblem and brought it over as a pair. The Lord Zhongtang was so happy that he decided to put it in the living room for the negotiation.
Due to the special order from Lord Zhongtang, in order to ensure the successful completion of the mission, Liu Buchan discussed with the rear admiral from Chile and concentrated firepower on another large-scale bombardment of Maguan. All buildings similar to Chunfanlou were in trouble. Unexpectedly, since most of the Japanese buildings were made of wood, the highly flammable picric acid shells set the whole city of Maguan on fire. The fire also spread to nearby villages, causing countless civilians to die in the fire. Liu Buchan could not bear to watch it any longer, believing that "the massacre was excessive and might violate the harmony of nature", so he ordered a return.
From that day on, "Dingyuan" and "Zhenyuan" had become synonymous with "terror" in the minds of the Japanese.
If things continue to develop in this direction, Sun Gang is now beginning to wonder whether he should continue to negotiate with the Japanese under the current circumstances.
Because he now felt that he, a little butterfly, had become part of the storm he had created.
He successfully turned the wheel of history.
However, he was already beginning to lose track of which direction the wheel would move and whether it would fall into the ditch.
