The first meeting above Jiaozhou Bay

  Another Beiyang Army general, Jiangsu General Feng Guozhang, also showed the true colors of a soldier. Not only did he actively deploy troops in his own province, but he also personally led a division of soldiers to march north and assist in strengthening the defenses in the direction of Beijing.

  "How can the capital's defenses be so empty? What have you been doing every day, Duan Qirui?" Feng Guozhang loudly questioned.

  Duan Qirui's face was filled with anger as he looked at his old comrade Feng Guozhang, suppressing his rage and not erupting.

  "What have we done? Look at what you've all done!" Xutong exclaimed, "In the past, how many provinces actually paid their taxes on time? The government has finished paying off its debts, but that little bit of customs and salt surplus is not enough to do anything with. As soon as we borrow a bit of foreign debt, people start pointing at our backbone and scolding us. What can we do?"

  After hearing Xu Shuzheng's answer, Feng Guozhang was furious and had nowhere to vent his anger. He took a deep breath, sat down on a chair with a gloomy face.

  "It's no use talking about these now, let's think of how to deal with the Japanese attack instead." General Suiyuan Zhang Shaoyang said somewhat irritably, "Does Zhiquan have any plans?"

  Duan Qirui nodded, glanced at Xu Shuzheng, and Xu Shuzheng immediately went to a large map on the table, beckoning to the people around him, indicating that everyone should come forward.

  Yang Shuo Ming and all the generals gathered in front of the map table, listening to Xu Shu Zhen's explanation.

  "Judging from the current situation, the Japanese army is most likely to take action by dividing its troops into two routes from Shenyang and Shandong to attack Beijing. The Japanese Navy may also cover a part of the land forces to land in Tianjin," Xu Shuzheng said, pointing at the map, "Based on this idea, our military has also deployed along these three directions."

  Yang Shuo Ming listened to Xu Shu Zhen's explanation while the cursor in his eyes kept making marks on the map in front of him.

  During the negotiations, the Japanese frequently mobilized troops in Fengtian and Shandong to put pressure on China. Japanese warships also appeared in Tianjin and the waters of Shandong. In response to Japan's increasing pressure, Duan Qirui made corresponding military deployments in secret. On the one hand, he strengthened his forces in the Beijing-Tianjin-Tangshan region and other areas of Zhili and Shandong with all his might. On the other hand, he secretly ordered the governors of various provinces to send troops to participate in the defense.

  To cope with the possible attack by the Japanese, Duan Qirui first strengthened the military forces in the Beijing-Tianjin area. The Beijing-Tianjin area originally had more than 62,000 troops from the Northern Army's Seventh Division, more than 11,000 troops from the Tenth Division, 6,000 Imperial Guards and 14,000 Gendarmerie, totaling 37,200 people. Among them, the Seventh Division was stationed in Nanyuan, the Tenth Division was stationed in Beiyuan, the Imperial Guard was stationed in Xiyuan, and the Gendarmerie was stationed in Xiyuan and Sanhai. In the outer suburbs of Beijing, more than 9,200 troops from the Northern Army's Eighth Division were stationed in Qingyuan County, and more than 15,000 troops from the Patrol Battalion were stationed in Tianjin, Jinnan, Jixian, Duofu, Chifeng, Xuanhua, Zhengding, Chaoyang and Gubeikou.

  In order to concentrate his forces, Duan Qirui added two newly formed infantry brigades and one heavy artillery brigade. Duan also used the original 12th, 13th, and 14th mixed brigades stationed in Shanxi, totaling over 15,000 people, as well as Cai E's Yunnan Army of nearly 20,000 people to strengthen the defense of Beijing's outer suburbs. Through the efforts of Duan Qirui and Xu Shuzheng, they were able to gather a force of nearly 100,000 men in the capital and surrounding areas, mostly consisting of capable troops.

  Compared with Beijing's defense, the situation in Fengtian and Shandong is much worse.

  To strengthen control over the three eastern provinces, Yuan Shikai appointed Zhang Xiluan as the Governor of Fengtian and granted him the title of General-in-Chief for Pacifying the East in 1914. He was responsible for overseeing military affairs in the three eastern provinces. The garrison troops in Fengtian Province were mainly composed of the 27th Division led by Zhang Zuolin and the 28th Division led by Feng Delin. The 27th Division had over 8,600 soldiers stationed in Fengtian City and Tieling, while the 28th Division had over 7,500 soldiers stationed in Beitun and Jinzhou. There were also 3,300 Right Route Patrol troops stationed in Fenghuangcheng, 5,500 Rear Route Patrol troops, and 1,400 cavalrymen of the Second Cavalry Brigade stationed in Tieling and other places. The total number of troops was less than 30,000, while the Japanese army stationed in Fengtian had a total strength of nearly 60,000 soldiers.

  What's more worrying is that as the highest military commander of the three eastern provinces, Zhang Zuojin was just a nominal commander, and the military power in Fengtian Province was mainly controlled by Zhang Zongchang. Although Zhang Zuojin had been Zhang Zongchang's superior before, he had now lost control over him. As the warlord of Northeast China, Zhang Zongchang, who commanded a large army, had never been very obedient, and there were rumors that the Japanese had been trying to win him over. With the current military strength in Fengtian, it was undoubtedly impossible to resist the Japanese army's major offensive.

  To strengthen the military strength in the direction of Fengtian, Duan Qirui transferred 12,000 troops from the 20th Division to Fengtian, stationed in Xinmin and Liaoyang as a reserve. He also successively dispatched troops to Rehe, Chahar and Suiyuan for garrison duty. Under Duan's efforts, the garrison force in Rehe increased to nearly 40,000 men, while those in Chahar and Suiyuan increased to over 20,000 men.

  Compared with the situation in Fengtian direction, the situation in Shandong direction is undoubtedly more tense.

  In Shandong, the troops were also relatively thin, with only over 10,000 soldiers from the Northern Expedition's Fifth Division stationed in Weixian County, and nearly 4,000 soldiers from the Forty-Seventh Brigade. In addition to these, there were about 20,000 soldiers from the Front, Rear, Left, Right, and New Patrol Regiments, stationed in Dezhou area. These troops faced a Japanese army of nearly 60,000 men and a powerful naval fleet.

  During the negotiations, due to the atrocities committed by the Japanese army in Shandong, widespread outrage was triggered among the military and civilians of Shandong. In order to prevent accidental clashes, under the advice of British Minister Zhu Jintang, Yuan Shikai ordered the withdrawal of troops stationed in Shandong, trying to keep a distance from the Japanese army and avoid unexpected conflicts. To prevent the Japanese army from using Shandong as a base to invade China's inland areas, Duan Qirui made every effort to deploy troops, transferring the 2nd, 3rd Division of the Northern Army and an artillery brigade with over 15,000 soldiers to Shandong, and greatly strengthening the military forces in neighboring provinces such as Jiangsu, Anhui, and Henan. To guard against a possible Japanese attack on Jiangsu, Duan Qirui deployed the Southern Yangtze First Division and the Wuwei Front Army with over 37,000 soldiers stationed in Xuzhou and Tongshan, while the Northern Fourth Division with over 10,000 soldiers was stationed in Nanjing.

  After Japan presented the "Twenty-One Demands" to China, Jiangsu General Feng Guozhang learned of the news and immediately joined forces with nineteen other provincial generals to send a telegram to Yuan Shikai, pointing out that "the Japanese demands are a harbinger of national subjugation", advocating for war preparations, and stating that "as military men, we must fulfill our duty to save the country; whoever tries to destroy our territorial integrity will be met with fierce resistance from us soldiers." While Yuan Shikai was still hesitant, Feng Guozhang actively began deploying troops within Jiangsu. Feng Guozhang greatly expanded the original garrison in Jiangsu, increasing the strength of the 1st, 74th, 75th and 76th Mixed Brigades from around 5,000 men to over 10,000 men each, and expanding the 4th Division to 20,000 men. He also built a large number of fortresses and strongholds, with some larger forts having garrisons of over 2,000 soldiers.

  To further concentrate his forces, Duan Qirui also drew troops from neighboring provinces. He originally planned to transfer Zhang Jingyao's 6th Division to Zhengzhou, but Zhang Jingyao played a trick on him and let the Jiangxi New 5th and 6th Mixed Brigades, which were nominally under the jurisdiction of the 6th Division, go north together with part of the 6th Division, as if they had fulfilled their obligations to Duan Qirui. As a result, the actual troops that arrived in Zhengzhou were the two mixed brigades of the Jiangxi Army led by Yang Shouming, totaling 12,000 men.

  After listening to Xu Shuzheng's explanation, Yang Shaoming's "Super Computer Eye" continuously displayed the organization, troop strength and commanders of these troops. When he heard the words "Wu Wei Front Army", his mind moved slightly, and the light cursor in his eyes involuntarily stopped for a moment.

  When Yang Shuo saw that the commander-in-chief of this army was actually "Changjiang Xunyue Shi Zhang Xun", he couldn't help but sigh.

  It's actually possible that I'll be squatting in the same trench as the infamous "queue-cutting soldier", history really does play jokes!

  Generally speaking, Duan Qirui's deployments were quite targeted, and before the final break with Japan, these deployments were largely in place, proving that his preparations for war were still quite effective.

  It was precisely because of the military arrangements made for Yuan Shikai that he gained some courage, and after careful consideration of the pros and cons, he finally made the decision to reject Japan's final ultimatum.

  After the military meeting, Yang Shuo Ming left the Army and Navy Joint Chiefs of Staff office. He glanced at his watch, nodded to an aide beside him, and the aide immediately pulled out a small signal pistol and fired it into the sky.

  "Where did the plane come from?"

  Yuan Shikai in the Presidential Palace saw four planes suddenly appearing in the sky and couldn't help but ask.

  "This is the aviation team of the Garrison Commander of Western Jiangxi." Liang Shiyi said to Yuan Shikai, "I heard that he came to Beijing to attend the Military Conference of the Ministry of War by this plane, and now he should have left."

  "Is that young fellow who sent the fifty rounds of boxed cartridges?" Yuan Shikai thought of the gun he had grown fond of, "He's on the plane now?"

  "It's true." Liang Shixiu thought back to the gift Yang Shuo Ming had given him, and smiled as he said, "This airplane is said to have been designed by him personally, and was manufactured by a private company within the borders. And what's even more unbelievable is that the fuel used by this airplane's engine is actually strong spirits."

  "What? A plane for burning wine?" Yuan Shikai was shocked again by Liang Shiyu's words.

  "I haven't seen it myself, I heard it from the people below," said Liang Shiwei. "They say that wine tastes good, and it should be fine."

  "We Chinese can actually build such a good plane, it's really rare." Yuan Shikai looked at the airplane that was getting smaller and smaller in the sky, sighed and said, "If only there were a few more people like him."

  May 22, 1915, Jiaozhou Bay, "Chao Ho" battleship, bridge.

  "We've just received the news of victory! The Imperial Army occupied Mukden today!" a staff officer excitedly reported to Admiral Kato Sadaji, Commander of the Second Fleet of the Japanese Navy.

  "What's so strange about that?" Katō Teiki sneered, seemingly unimpressed by his subordinate's delight. "Northern Manchuria was already in our hands to begin with."

  "At this speed, the Imperial Army will be able to reach Beijing in no time!" The staff officer still hadn't recovered from his excitement, "Let those obstinate Chinese people get a good taste of our strength!"

  "Such a victory is nothing." Katō Teiichi gazed out at the distant coastline and said in a low voice, "The key is whether or not we can occupy these places forever!"

  Having heard the commander's words, the staff officer who was originally in high spirits couldn't help but stand there in a daze.

  "Do you think the Western powers will just sit back and watch us occupy China?" Katō Sadakichi said slowly, turning his head to look at his subordinates. "The empire's greatest enemy is not China."

  The staff officer sensed the deep meaning hidden in the commander's words and nodded involuntarily.

  "This time our actions against China were too hasty," said Katō Sadakichi.

  "Why do you say that?" Another staff officer said with some puzzlement, "The Chinese army is completely no match for us, and our current military strength can completely defeat them. The Imperial Army will not take too long to occupy Beijing."

  "None of you have any doubts about this, right?" Katō Teiki looked around at his subordinates and asked back.

  "Yes." Several subordinates nodded in agreement.

  "Alright, just as you said, we will soon be able to capture Beijing, but what about after capturing Beijing?" Katō Teiichi asked, "Have you thought it through? Does capturing Beijing mean occupying China?"

  After hearing the commander's question, all his subordinates fell silent.

  "Even if the Yuan Shikai government surrenders to us, we all know that its power has not reached every province in China. What should we do if the Chinese refuse to surrender?" Katō Sadaki asked further, "Can we occupy the whole of China at one stroke now?"

  "It can't be done." One of the staff officers looked at his companion and said in a low voice, "To occupy all of China will take more time."

  "So, this is a hasty and unprepared action." Katō Tetsunosuke said, looking at the British battleship "Triumph" in the distance, "Besides, even if we were to occupy all of China this time, the Western powers would not allow us to do so."

  "Triumph" was a pre-dreadnought battleship originally stationed in Hong Kong. When the Anglo-Japanese fleet began its attack on Qingdao, the British and Japanese discovered that their main enemy, Admiral Spee's German East Asia Squadron, had already departed. The Japanese Navy redeployed its forces attacking Qingdao, and Admiral Kamimura Hikonojō ordered his dreadnought battleships, battlecruisers, and new pre-dreadnought battleships to disband and sent two fast despatch vessels to assist the British Navy in searching for the escaped German fleet. He also lent a powerful cruiser as an escort vessel to the British and dispatched two cruisers to patrol outside Singapore to counter local pirates. In return, the British lent Kamimura "Triumph".

  His subordinates detected the hostility towards the current ally, Britain, in the commander's words and were all shocked.

  "What you said is right, the empire's greatest enemy in the future will not be China, but the United States." A staff officer said, "I heard that it was under the threat of the Americans that the cabinet decided to cancel the fifth clause which is crucial to the empire."

  "The US Navy is the real threat to the Imperial Navy." Katō nodded, and was about to continue expressing his views on the current situation when a low rumble of cannon fire suddenly echoed from the distant shore.

  "The army guys are at it again, firing wildly." A staff officer chuckled and said, "They still haven't fully grasped the things the Germans left behind for them."

  "Not right." Katō Tetsukichi concentrated and listened for a while, then raised his binoculars in the direction of the cannon fire from the shore. In the binoculars, he faintly saw what seemed to be a thin black smoke column rising up over there.

  "Order all ships, prepare for battle." Katō Sadakichi put down his binoculars and said in a low voice.

  "There has been no recent briefing on the progress of the battle from the army, are we..." a staff officer suggested, but when he met the commander's stern gaze, he immediately swallowed back the rest of his words.

  "When those idiots in the army open their mouths, it's already too late." Katō Teiki sneered and said, "Carry out the order!"

  "Yes!" The subordinates raised their hands in salute and then ran away one after another.

  As if to confirm Katō's concerns, a low rumbling sound suddenly came from the distant sky, and people on the bridge looked up at the sky one after another. Soon, the shadow of an airplane appeared.

  Kato Teiichi furrowed his brow at the sight of the airplane with a dragon head painted on its nose.

  It is obvious that this is a Chinese reconnaissance plane.

  A Chinese plane discovered the Japanese fleet anchored on the sea surface, and flew over with a big swing. It started to dive, and Katō Sadaki raised his binoculars again, aiming at the flying Chinese plane. He clearly saw that the rear-seat pilot of this twin-seater was taking pictures of his fleet with a camera.

  "Damn Chinese! Get them out of here!"

  Because the Chinese planes were flying very low, Katō Teiichi could almost see the sneering smile at the corner of the mouth of the Chinese pilots, and he couldn't help but shout out in anger.

  Soon, two Japanese Navy Air Service "Maurice Farman" seaplanes appeared in the sky and dived towards the Chinese reconnaissance plane.

  Seeing the Japanese planes coming, the Chinese plane seemed to have no intention of evading, it whizzed past from above the "Chōfū" battleship, easily leaving two Japanese planes behind.

  The roar of the Chinese plane flying over frightened the Japanese naval personnel on the bridge, some of whom couldn't help but shout loudly in anger, while others simply pulled out their pistols and started firing at the Chinese plane.