Open an aircraft carrier to fight against Japan

The Japanese military advisory group headed by Mori Natsutaro fled back to Nanjing at noon on October 26, and brought back news of the defeat of the Qing army. Kodama Gentaro jumped up from the tatami in anger when he heard the news of the defeat. He scolded more than a dozen times in a row.

Mizuki Nagata, who was beside Kodama Gentaro, said: "General Kodama, it's not been a day or two since the Qing army is trash. Are you so angry?"

Kodama Gentaro said angrily: "I know that the Qing army is trash, but I didn't expect them to be so trash! There are tens of thousands of people, many of whom are officers trained by our imperial army of Japan, and our advisers In this way, they have not fought with Lin Yuan for five days, and I thought they could fight with Lin Yuan's troops for a long time, and let our troops land directly behind Lin Yuan."

Mizuki Nagata asked, "Then what is your plan?"

Kodama Gentaro said: "My plan is this: Our troops land from Jinshanwei, Jinshanwei is relatively close to Shanghai, Lin Yuan's troops are all in the south, Jinshanwei and the others have no time to take care of them, and the Suzhou defenders are also relatively close to Shanghai. , can form a north-south pincer attack with our Jinshanwei landing force."

Mizuki Nagata said: "Attack between the north and the south, directly attack Shanghai! This move is really brilliant."

Kodama Gentaro said angrily: "But the Qing army can't hold Lin Yuan at all, so what's the use of my clever plan?"

Mizuki Nagata said: "Then can we still land at Jinshanwei?"

Kodama Gentaro said: "Impossible, Lin Yuan's troops conquered Hangzhou, they will definitely stick to Hangzhou, and shift their energy to the battle to take Nanjing directly. At that time, there will be many troops around Jinshanwei, and our troops will be few. , and have no command over the sea, they will definitely be annihilated by Lin Yuan's troops when they go ashore."

Mizuki Nagata said: "But what if we think of a way to make Lin Yuan's troops fight the Qing court?"

Kodama Gentaro asked: "Tell me carefully, what does this mean?"

Mizuki Nagata said: "When Lin Yuan occupied Hangzhou, Xu Yingkui, the governor of Fujian and Zhejiang, would not let it go. He is now leading his elite troops in the Huainan area. Why don't we let the Qing court transfer them back from the front line of the Huaihe River and attack Hangzhou again? Can you fight with Lin Yuan's troops?"

Kodama Gentaro said: "There is a railway from Huainan to Hangzhou. It will only take about two days for them to withdraw, but I have already made a plan to counterattack North China. Xu Yinggui's troops are an important part of this plan. If they withdraw Come on, our plan to counterattack North China will be overthrown and redone.”

Mizuki Nagata said: "Then we don't need Xu Yingku to come back. There are Zhang Haixiao's troops in Shaoxing and Ningbo. Zhang Haixiao's landing was blocked by Lin Yuan. His troops must have not suffered too much loss. There are also Zhejiang and Fujian troops. In other places, the troops are relatively sufficient, and they can also counterattack Hangzhou."

"Lin Yuan will definitely rely on the Tianmu Mountain in the north of Hangzhou and the Fuchun River in the south for defense. The terrain of these two places is dangerous, and it is by no means easy to defeat them. If they fight over there, our Imperial Japanese Army will not Is there a chance to log in?"

Kodama Gentaro rolled his eyes and said, "This plan is not bad. It's very good. Let's do it this way. When Hangzhou starts to fight, our troops will land behind Lin Yuan." At this moment, a servant outside suddenly came in to report : "Your Excellency, Your Majesty invites you to enter the palace."

Kodama Gentaro asked, "Did you say anything?"

The subordinate said: "It is said that Xu Yingkui has returned from the front line."

Hearing this, Kodama Gentaro said angrily: "Xu Yingkui is back? It's nonsense! As a commander, how can he leave the army and come back as soon as he comes back? Lin Yuan's army is busy carrying out reforms in North China, and it is true that they did not attack the Huaihe River." , but it doesn't mean they don't have the strength to fight the Huaihe River!"

His subordinates said: "Xu Yingkui was very angry when he heard that Hangzhou was captured by Lin Yuan. He wanted to lead his troops back to Hangzhou. Emperor Guangxu hoped that His Excellency the General could persuade him."

Kodama Gentaro said: "In that case, I'll go and have a look." When Kodama Gentaro came to the palace, he saw Xu Yingku who was furious, so he smiled and said, "Master Xu, why are you so angry?"

Xu Yingkui had met Kodama Gentaro before, and he was no stranger to him, so he said: "General Kodama, as the governor of Fujian and Zhejiang, I am based in Hangzhou. Now that Hangzhou has fallen, my small capital has fallen into the hands of Lin Ni. What should I do?"

Kodama Gentaro smiled and said, "My lord, don't worry, Lin Yuan won't hurt them."

Xu Yingkui said: "I also know that Lin Yuan won't kill them, but I can't swallow it! I am stationed in Huainan now, but Hangzhou is lost. What will people say about me? People will say that I, Xu Yingkui, can't even keep my hometown, but To garrison troops outside! It really makes people laugh!"

Kodama Gentaro smiled and said: "I have already made a plan to counterattack North China, you should return to the front line of the Huaihe River as soon as possible, don't let Lin Ni discover that you are back, and take the opportunity to attack."

Xu Yingkui nodded helplessly, and Kodama Gentaro continued to persuade: "We are ready, so let the defenders from other places in Zhejiang attack Hangzhou and take it back."

Only then did Xu Yingku feel relieved and returned to Huainan. Kodama Gentaro looked at Xu Yingku's back and thought silently: "Xu Yingku is so impulsive, maybe he will suffer a big loss on the battlefield."

Kodama Gentaro then asked the Qing court to order Zhang Haixiao to attack Hangzhou from the east of Hangzhou. The south of Hangzhou is Jinhua Mansion, which is also a rich place. The Qing court also ordered Zhao Jincheng, the general of Jinhua Mansion, to lead the army to attack Hangzhou from the south of Hangzhou. , Lin Yuan intercepted the telegram of the Qing government's order, and then ordered the Tenth Division occupying Hangzhou to build a line of defense along the Fuchun River.

Lin Yuan thought to himself: "Shaoxing Mansion is the closest to Hangzhou, and the defenders here must be the fastest to reach Hangzhou. I will deal with this defender first." Lin Yuan called Wu Dayong to his side and asked, "Zhang Haixiao, do you know Zhang Haixiao?" ?"

Wu Dayong said, "Of course I do."

Lin Yuan said: "If I ask you to persuade him to surrender, are you sure?"

Wu Dayong shook his head again and again, and said, "I can't even see his face, how can I persuade him to surrender?"

Lin Yuan smiled and said, "I can ask you to write to him, how about that? Will he surrender?"

Wu Dayong smiled and said, "I don't even know many words. You want me to write to him? What should I write?"

Lin Yuan said: "Of course you don't need to write by yourself. Now you treat me as Zhang Haixiao. If you come to persuade me to surrender, my subordinates will write down your words."

Wu Dayong said: "Zhang Haixiao is an official fan, and he wants to be a high official. If you promise him a high position, he will definitely surrender."

Lin Yuan smiled and said: "It's easy, I can promise him: If he surrenders, I will let him be the commander of the Zhejiang Military Region, which is much higher than his current official position."

Wu Dayong agreed, and then dictated a letter to Lin Yuan's subordinates. Lin Yuan read it and found nothing wrong, so he asked someone to send it to Zhang Haixiao.

Zhang Haixiao received this telegram, read it once, slapped the table fiercely, and said angrily: "Go and send a letter to Sun Zhengmao, the commander-in-chief of Shaoxing, and ask him to attack Hangzhou immediately with his troops and horses, and reach Fuchun River within a day." By the way, if there is a slight chance, I will want his head!"