(69) First test of sharpness

  Ironically, Japan's opponents also came to roughly the same conclusion at this time.

  "The Japanese marksmanship isn't that great, huh!" A Chinese soldier who was bandaging the wound of his injured comrade said jokingly to his comrades as he watched the last few Japanese soldiers fall.

  Chinese soldiers who had just won a battle actually inadvertently revealed the true situation of their enemy.

  During the joint attack on Qingdao by Japanese and British forces, there were many cases of friendly fire, mainly because the large number of Japanese soldiers could not distinguish between British officers and soldiers and German people. Japanese soldiers often opened heavy fire on patrolling British soldiers, but fortunately, the poor marksmanship of the Japanese reduced the casualties among the British troops. The British were very angry about this, but there was no good solution, as even if they wore different uniforms from the Germans and Japanese, it only reduced rather than eliminated such incidents. Due to the poor hygiene standards, low combat quality, unstable supply of food, inexplicable personnel management practices, and contradictory combat doctrines of the Japanese military, the British military had a very bad impression of the Japanese. The British people's inherent arrogant racial prejudice further exacerbated the animosity between the two countries' armies, to the point where there was no coordination between the British and Japanese armies throughout the entire Qingdao campaign (in contrast, possibly due to the influence of the Japanese Navy learning from the British Navy, the cooperation between the two navies was always good, with few conflicts).

  The decline in combat quality of the Japanese army was largely due to the victory of the Russo-Japanese War, which fostered arrogance and conservatism within the Japanese army. This led to a rigid and stereotyped training style that lacked innovation and change, resulting in an inevitable overall decline in the combat quality of Japanese army officers and soldiers. For example, Lieutenant General Kamio Mitsuomi, the highest commander of the Japanese garrison in Qingdao, was a stereotypical officer who only understood doctrine and textbooks. During the joint British-Japanese night attack on the German forces in Qingdao, there was an incident where the British refused to follow orders because they did not want to die unnecessarily under his rigid command.

  But as a group full of contradictions, and unlike their cautiousness in the face of the German army, the Japanese army showed an unprecedented arrogance and contempt when facing the Chinese troops. Regardless of whether they were high-ranking generals, mid-to-low-level officers or ordinary soldiers, they completely looked down on the Chinese people, often forgetting even the most basic combat orders during battles, with their hearts set only on annihilating more Chinese people and quickly capturing Beijing. However, what they did not expect was that this time, on this land of China, they would encounter a formidable enemy far more terrifying than the Germans.

  When Yang Shuo Ming returned to the field hospital which had already moved into Yanzhou city, it was getting late. At this time, he surprisingly found that most of the wounded soldiers here were actually Wuwei front army soldiers with queues.

  "The Yangtze River Patrol Envoy, Zhang Xun, personally led the charge and was wounded in the leg by a cannonball. The wound has become infected. When the Garrison Commander of Yanzhou heard that our conditions were slightly better here, he sent him and their wounded over together." A deputy officer reported to Yang Shouming, "His wound has been treated and medicated, and it's much better now. He's demanding to see you."

  "Uh-huh." Yang Shuo Ming nodded silently, "Is there any new news from Xu Lv Chang's side?"

  "Xu Zhenlong has just sent a telegram, and in the vicinity of Yan City, another group of Japanese troops was annihilated, with over 1,000 people killed," said the deputy officer. "It's also possible that they were from Jinan pursuing the Wuwei vanguard."

  As the deputy officer replied, a map of the Shandong battlefield suddenly flashed in Yang Shuo Ming's eyes. Based on the data and information Yang Shuo Ming had obtained over the past few days, the map around Yan City was rapidly enlarged, showing the positions and situations of the two warring parties.

  By yesterday, the new fifth and sixth mixed brigade of Jiangxi led by Yang Shouming had driven out the Japanese army from Yanzhou, annihilating more than 7,000 Japanese soldiers. At a critical moment, they also rescued the Wuwei Front Army, which was on the verge of collapse. In this battle, the losses of Yang Shouming's Gan Army were minimal, with 375 people killed and 107 injured. However, the Wuwei Front Army, which had been fighting fiercely against the Japanese for three days and nights, suffered much heavier losses, with more than 8,000 casualties, nearly one-third of its total strength (the exact number of casualties was not counted, so a vague term "loss" was used; according to Yang Shouming's estimate, the actual number of casualties in the Wuwei Front Army was not large, and most of them should have escaped).

  Equipped with what can be said to be the most advanced reconnaissance aircraft in the country at present, plus an elite reconnaissance unit, Yang Shaoming is able to understand the battlefield situation at any time.

  According to Yang Shuo-ming's understanding, before Japan issued its final ultimatum to China, the Japanese army in Qingdao had already increased to 60,000 people. After China rejected Japan's final ultimatum and Japan declared war on China, the Japanese army continued to increase its troops from the mainland. The intention of the Japanese was very clear, that is, they planned to use the Jiaodong Peninsula as a base to invade China's inland areas.

  On May 10, 1915, the Japanese army in Jinan began to attack the Chinese troops, and the Chinese troops who had already entered the position began to counterattack against the Japanese army, and the battle between the two sides officially kicked off.

  The battle began, and Zhang Wenxuan, the defender of Yanzhou, was the first to resist the Japanese army. However, under the fierce attack of the Japanese army, he suffered a crushing defeat, not only failing to stop the Japanese advance but also losing Yanzhou. In order to cut off the Japanese army's retreat route, Zhang Xun led the Wuwei Front Army to launch an attack on the Japanese at the end of May, initially repelling the attacking Japanese army. Zhang Xun concentrated his forces in an attempt to retake Yanzhou, but he also suffered a disastrous defeat. If Yang Shouming had not led the Gan Army to arrive in time and heavily bombard the Japanese with artillery, killing them off, Zhang Xun might have been captured by the Japanese.

  For Zhang Xun, this time can be considered a great blessing. Because Yang Shouzhong's army came forward, in fact, it has a great deal of contingency.

  Although Duan Qirui had made corresponding deployments for the Japanese army's possible attack, he did not give the front-line troops a specific combat plan and guidance (Cai E had previously proposed a plan to attack Qingdao, but it was vetoed by Xu Shuzheng due to its difficulty in implementation). The front-line troops were not subordinate to each other and there was no unified command. Once the battle started, they could only be in a state of fighting on their own. Yang Shaoming deeply understood this point, so as soon as the military meeting in Beijing ended, he hurried back by plane.

  To prevent the Japanese army from entering China's interior, Yang Shouming planned to first intercept and defend the Jiaoji Railway against the Japanese army, cutting off their supply lines. He led his troops out of Kaifeng (during his trip to Beijing, his troops continued to advance under Xu Yuanjin's leadership and arrived in Kaifeng), heading straight for Jinan. However, he did not expect that near Yanzhou, they would encounter the defeated soldiers of Zhang Wenshen, the garrison commander of Yanzhou. After learning about the situation from Zhang Wenshen, Yang Shouming sent out planes and scouts to gather intelligence on the enemy. Once the enemy's position was confirmed, Yang Shouming launched a decisive attack. The Japanese army, who were fully pursuing the Wuwei Front Army, were completely unaware of the approaching Jiangsu Army and suffered a devastating blow, being thoroughly annihilated in the open plain.

  If it weren't for Yang Shuo's sudden decision to attack Jinan and test his mettle, the fate of Zhang Xun and the Wuwei vanguard might have been different.

  But then again, if it weren't for the Japanese army's foolishness and arrogance, he wouldn't have won this battle so easily.

  Yang Shuo-ming thought that from what he knew of the Japanese army's deployment and offensive performance, it seemed that the Japanese were planning to attack Beijing from Shandong!

  In Yang Shuo-ming's view, the Japanese military's plan to attack Beijing from Shandong can be said to be quite foolish.

  Although Shandong is not far from Beijing, it will definitely be intercepted by the Central Army along the way. Although the combat effectiveness of the Central Army is relatively poor, the Japanese army in Shandong has never been strong, and most of them are infantry. After continuous battles, even if they can fight to the foot of the Beijing city wall, they will inevitably become weak and exhausted (attacking Beijing from Fengtian would also have roughly the same result).

  For Japan, if they really want to take down Beijing, the most convenient way is undoubtedly to transport the army by navy and land in Tianjin, then directly take Beijing (historically, the British-French coalition invaded Beijing and the Eight-Power Allied Forces "Boxer Rebellion" took this route), rather than making it so troublesome, detouring from Shandong and Fengtian to attack Beijing.

  Due to his concerns about the defense of the Tianjin area, he went all out to create floating mines and miniature submarines for Liu Guanxiong. However, from the start of the war until now, the Japanese have not taken such actions.

  It is either arrogant or stupid for a Japanese to have such a powerful navy and not use it.

  Or both?

  "Is there any news from Beijing?" Yang Shuo Ming thought for a moment and asked.

  "There isn't much new news." The deputy officer seemed to know what Yang Shuo-ming was worried about and replied, "Our army had already completely occupied the Japanese concession two days ago. It is said that a Japanese warship was spotted patrolling on the Dagu sea surface, but it did not fire at our army."

  Yang Shuo Ming nodded and said, "Let's go, take me to see that handsome man with the braid."

  Japan, Tokyo, Imperial Palace.

  At this time, an emergency meeting including the Five Chiefs is being held in the conference hall of the Imperial Palace.

  "Our military operations in China are not going well." The face of Japanese Prime Minister ōkuma Shigenobu was gloomy, as if it could produce water. "Our army was ambushed by the Chinese troops in the area from Jinan to Yanzhou." His gaze fell on Army Minister Uehara Usaburō, "It is said that the losses are extremely heavy."

  ōkuma Shigenobu looked at him, and ōsaki no Suke's face involuntarily twitched. He nodded with some effort: "Our army was ambushed while pursuing the defeated Chinese troops, and it is estimated that more than 5,000 soldiers were killed in action. It has been confirmed that Lieutenant General Yamada, commander of the 24th Brigade, was unfortunately killed in action."

  "Are the casualties over 5,000?" Foreign Minister Kato Kōmei's eyes widened for a moment. "Could it be that the statistics department made an error? Did they add an extra zero?"

  Okazaki shook his head, "The detailed casualty figures are still pending verification, one thing that is certain is that the number will increase."

  "How is this possible?! When did the Chinese army become so capable?!" Katō Kōmei asked in surprise, "To think that we had less than 1,500 casualties during our attack on Qingdao! How is this possible?!"

  In the entire Battle of Tsingtao, a total of 1,455 Japanese servicemen were killed and 4,200 wounded. In this battle alone in Yanzhou, more than 5,000 people died, no wonder Katō Takaaki was so shocked.

  "I recall that in the Battle of Shenyang, we lost only over 500 men." ōkuma Shigenobu looked at Oka Ichinosuke and asked, "Why is there such a big difference in casualty numbers between the two battlefields?"

  "This indicates that the main force of the Zhina army has been deployed to the Shandong battlefield," said Okazaki no Suke, "rather than our previous idea that Yuan Shikai would use them to defend Beijing."

  "According to the intelligence gathered by our agents in China, the Chinese army's combat effectiveness has always been poor. How could they have caused such heavy casualties for our troops this time?" Katō Kōmei asked, "How is it possible that their combat effectiveness improved so much in a short period of time?"

  Okazaki no Suketachi seemed to feel the accusing gaze of those around him, and he began to counterattack with some annoyance: "The combat effectiveness of the Shina army is certainly poor! This point has not changed until now! According to reports, Lieutenant General Yamada's troops defeated a Shina army of more than 40,000 people with less than 7,000 soldiers before! And they were ambushed by another Shina army of more than 20,000 people in the state of extreme fatigue and lack of ammunition after continuous combat! For those brave and fearless Teikoku-jin who fought to the last moment, we have no right to blame them!"

  "This indicates that the Chinese army has a strong force in Shandong Province, and the total number of troops may have already exceeded 200,000," said General Nagatani Kodo. "This is inconsistent with what we previously understood, and we should now make corresponding strategic adjustments."

  "Moreover, according to my understanding of the situation, the weaponry and equipment of the Chinese army are not as poor as what our intelligence personnel in China have said. Many of their troops, including some non-Yuan Shikai's direct forces, are well-equipped, and they also possess a large number of artillery pieces that are no less than ours. For example, during this battle in Yanzhou, the Chinese army used a large quantity of heavy-caliber artillery, which caused our military to suffer heavy casualties." Gongshi Zhuzi continued, "According to reports from our intelligence personnel, these heavy artillery pieces were purchased by the Chinese from the United States."

  "It seems that Yuan Shikai is well-prepared, which is why he dares to refuse the Imperial Government's final ultimatum." Katō Takaaki glanced at ōkuma Shigenobu, "We should reformulate a new strategy now."

  "We should conquer Beijing as soon as possible," said Osamitsu Hasegawa. "The previous Liaodong Peninsula campaign plan and Shandong Peninsula campaign plan are no longer applicable to the current situation."

  "We should land in Tianjin and attack Beijing," said Okazaki no Suketoshi, glancing at Osagawara Bokuden.

  "But once we capture Beijing and the Yuan Shikai government falls, China will fall into chaos with bandits rising up everywhere, and we will lose our negotiating counterpart." Katō Takaaki immediately raised an objection, "And it will also lead to intervention by Western countries."

  "It's not that we're going to overthrow the Yuan Shikai government this time, but rather to gain the greatest benefits for Japan." said Okuma Shigenobu, "The reason why we chose to advance on Beijing from both Mukden and Shandong is to force the Yuan Shikai government to surrender and accept all our conditions."

  "I understand what you mean, Prime Minister," said Osamichi Hasegawa. "You want to repeat the achievements of Hirobumi Ito's first cabinet."

  Nagatani Kōdō's words were not yet finished, when an officer hastily walked in and handed a piece of paper to Ijūin Gorō, the commander-in-chief of the combined fleet who had been sitting there without saying a word.

  Ijūin Gorō took a glance at the note and his expression changed immediately.

  ōkuma Shigenobu noticed the change in color of the commander of the combined fleet and immediately focused his gaze on him.

  "Commander-in-Chief of the Second Fleet, General Katō passed away this morning." Lieutenant Commander Ijūin Gorō said in a calm tone, carefully using the ambiguous phrase "passed away" to conceal the true cause of Katō Sadayoshi's death.

  "What a misfortune." Okuma Shigenobu nodded with some sorrow, "We have lost another excellent general."

  "The navy should play a more important role in this war against the Chinese and not just stay in Qingdao." Hasegawa Yoshimichi looked at Ijuin Gorō, whose face was gloomy, "The coastline of China can be said to be completely open to the navy, and the navy can take any action to strike the Shina people."

  "The problem is not that the Navy does not want to take action, but rather there are too few places where the Navy can take action without provoking protests from Western nations." said Isetani Goro coldly.

  "The Imperial Army needs the support of the Navy to land anywhere in China." Kato Takaaki noticed the tension between the army and navy leaders, and made a suggestion as if to mediate, "We should continue to send troops to Shandong and thoroughly defeat the Chinese army there."

  "Not bad, Yuan Shikai thinks that the troops in his hands can help him win, we need to use actual actions to correct this foolish idea." said Okuma Shigenobu, "When these troops are completely eliminated by us, it will be when Yuan Shikai surrenders to us. It will also be when the Chinese surrender to us. We must show them our power, only in this way can we dissolve the Chinese people's will to resist."

  "Yes," said Takao Kato, "we must let the Chinese know that their resistance is futile. The only way out for them is to choose the protection of the Empire."