Chapter 22: The Mountain Rain is Coming, the Wind Fills the Building

  On September 15, Japanese Army General Yamagata Aritomo landed in Incheon with 8,000 troops from the 3rd Division's infantry brigades 5 and 6 led by Lieutenant Generals ōshima Yoshimasa and Kiguchi Kohei. The rest of the division (cavalry, engineers, logistics) were assembling at Nagoya under the command of Lieutenant General Katsura Tarō, preparing to enter Korea.

  General Rikugun Taishō Yamakawa Heihachirō, in accordance with the general headquarters' guidelines, organized the remaining troops of Nogi Maresuke's 5th Division and the 5th Brigade into the First Army, assuming command.

  At this time, the Japanese army had 18,500 men, with the main force of the 5th Division being 4,500, including 500 remaining personnel from the 9th Mixed Brigade. The 9th Brigade was removed from the Japanese Army's combat sequence and became the first brigade to be removed. It was led by Lieutenant General Nozu Michitsura.

  The 10th Brigade had 3,000 men and was commanded by Lt. Gen. Ogawa Mataji, the chief of staff of the 5th Division, who replaced Lt. Gen. Tachibana Naoyoshi as its commander.

  There were Major General Saito Shiro leading the 18th Brigade with 3,000 men;

  There were also 8,000 men from the 5th and 6th divisions, these troops gathered together in Hwangju, Korea, waiting for Yamagata Aritomo's orders.

  Due to the Korean people's resistance against the Japanese army, a very cruel human bomb attack was launched, making it extremely difficult for the Japanese army to supply themselves, which is not conducive to a protracted war. At the same time, considering the growing anti-war sentiment at home due to previous defeats, and avoiding giving Western powers space to intervene, he demanded that he immediately launch another campaign, rather than waiting until the 3rd Division was fully deployed in Korea before proceeding.

  Moreover, the Qing army was also constantly reinforcing, and it would be more difficult to attack after its defense was strengthened. Therefore, Army General Yamagata Aritomo prepared to launch a strong attack on Pingyang with his 18,500 troops, and decided to launch a general offensive on September 22, and each unit must arrive at the designated position on time.

  At this time, there were 17,000 Chinese and Korean troops in Pyongyang Castle. Meanwhile, Ye Zhi-chao ordered Lü Benyuan, who was stationed in Anzhou, to lead the Xing Army with 2,500 soldiers to advance on Pyongyang, expecting to arrive before the 18th. Liu Shengyou's Ming Army of over 4,200 had already reached the Yalu River and would soon enter Korea.

  Before the Battle of Pyongyang had even begun, fighting first broke out at sea on 18 September, just as ōshima's troops were arriving at Pyongyang. The Beiyang Fleet was escorting the Qing fleet back from Inchon when it encountered the Japanese Combined Fleet, which was patrolling off Dairen in accordance with a plan drawn up by Admiral Kabayama Sukenori, Chief of the Navy General Staff.

  The two enemies met, their eyes reddened with anger. In an instant, the ships on both sides fired hundreds of cannons simultaneously, filling the air with smoke and churning the sea into a boil.

  Before the war, Li Hongzhang received a secret report from Ye Zhiqi and attached great importance to this national blessing general. He ordered Ding Ruchang to inspect the ammunition of each ship and repair the ships. He even showed Ding Ruchang the Japanese evaluation of him, which said that he only knew about bows and horses but not about cannonballs. When Ding Ruchang saw this, he was so ashamed that he didn't dare to refute it. At the same time, Li Hongzhang appointed Deng Shichang as the deputy commander of the Beiyang Fleet.

  After returning, Ding Ruchang stared at the armor-piercing shell and high-explosive shell for a long time, finally sighing that there was no difference between these two shells. Ding Ruchang is still a loyal and serious person, not understanding something doesn't make him ashamed to ask, after studying for several days, he finally understood the difference between the two shells. Thinking about it now, if they were to encounter the Japanese fleet again, using this armor-piercing shell would have predictable consequences. He couldn't help but break out in a cold sweat, and hastily retrieved that batch of high-explosive shells from the Weihai base that was almost rusty. Afterwards, he studied various naval knowledge like a starving person, trying to get rid of the Japanese people's contemptuous evaluation of him as only knowing archery and horse riding.

  Ding Ruchang's baby was still very useful at the time, first, he inspected each ship according to Li Hongzhang's orders. This inspection was not easy, and after inspecting, he was sweating profusely, only to discover that his main ship had been in the water for 12 years, but hadn't been repaired in 7 years. If even his own main ship was like this, then what about the other warships?

  For a time, Ding Ruchang was very strict, day and night he glared at his subordinates, the subordinates were so scared that they didn't even dare to smoke opium, instead they switched to smoking cigarettes. The Beiyang Fleet had a completely new look.

  Unfortunately, the inertia of history is still very strong. Ding Ruchang was still unlucky as he had been in history. Soon after the war began, he deployed his main force warships - 2 ironclad ships and 10 cruisers in a horizontal "eight" shape, with one ironclad ship at the center, charging towards the Japanese army, attempting to disperse the Japanese fleet.

  However, the main turret of "Dingyuan" soon caught fire, and Ding Ruchang was burned. The signal flag was destroyed, and command authority was lost. Fortunately, Deng Shichang of "Jiyuan" took over the command in time. He ordered the fleet to continue advancing forward, and soon separated the Japanese First Flying Squadron from the main force, preventing the Beiyang Fleet from being attacked from both front and rear as it had been historically.

  This small butterfly, with a light flap of its wings, finally changed history. In this Yellow Sea naval battle, the Chinese side lost three warships "Jingyuan", "Chaoyong" and "Yangwei", with over 1,000 officers and soldiers killed or wounded. Deng Shichang's "Zhiyuan" was not sunk, and Deng himself survived. The Japanese also lost three warships "Yoshino", "Akagi" and "Naniwa", with 800 officers and soldiers killed or wounded. Both sides fought fiercely, evenly matched and neither gaining the upper hand.

  But the world did not feel surprised at this war, and the Guangxu Emperor, who thought that the Beiyang Fleet was the first in East Asia, was very dissatisfied with the result. The stubborn faction and the Qingliu Party in the imperial court took advantage of the situation to make a big fuss, nominally criticizing Ding Ruchang, but actually attacking Li Hongzhang. On September 20, the Guangxi Dao Surveillance Commissioner, who knew nothing about naval affairs, requested the dismissal of Ding Ruchang, and the Henan Dao Surveillance Commissioner demanded that Ding Ruchang be punished. Weng Tonghe and other military ministers also joined in the chorus. On September 21, the Qing court issued a decree: "Naval Admiral Ding Ruchang is hereby dismissed from office."

  If they knew the outcome of the Battle of the Yellow Sea in history, I don't know what they would think. People are like this, when they don't know they almost lost 100 yuan, they will be resentful about losing 50 yuan, and only Ye Zhi Kui is the one who knows he would have lost 100 yuan, so he secretly delights in having only lost 50 yuan.

  The outcome of the Battle of the Yellow Sea had far-reaching consequences, as the Japanese Navy did not gain control of the Yellow Sea. As a result, Admiral Kamimura's 2nd Fleet did not land troops at the Ryojun (Port Arthur) harbor entrance, and the combined fleet was forced to wait in hiding for another naval battle.

  At this time, Ye Zhiwei, who was garrisoned in Pyongyang, did not know that so many things had happened. He led his Hu Yong and the Korean military and civilians to launch the "Ten Million People's Ten Million Army, Ten Million Military and Civilian Unity" Iron Movement aimed at defending Pyongyang.

  The call to the North Korean people to smash pots and sell iron, to change jobs and become blacksmiths, to smelt sharp iron wire. Yeh Zhikui suggested to Yeh Zhi-chao that they dig trenches outside the city to form the first line of defense. After discussing with the generals, Yeh Zhi-chao felt it was feasible. Yeh Zhikui taught the layout and connection of some transportation trenches and scattered soldier pits to each general. Now, in Pyongyang, the most prestigious one is Yeh Zhikui, even Yeh Zhi-chao can't compare to him. Yeh Zhikui was personally praised by Li Hongzhang as a fortunate general for the country, directly praised by the British as the first military strategist in East Asia, and called by the Germans as the most excellent foreign student. Everyone ignored the last one or two words. Therefore, his suggestions were taken very seriously by everyone.

  At that time, the trenches and scattered pits inside and outside Pingyang City were crisscrossed and connected together. Ye Zhikui also set up countless bright and dark firepower points. There were barbed wire in front, which was made of thorny wooden stakes and iron wires, and was used to block infantry. Suddenly, a storm was brewing, and a big battle was imminent.

  Hehe, this chapter is a transitional one, aiming to help brothers clearly understand the strengths of both sides. It contains many important data, all calculated by Xiao Chong, which wasn't easy! Of course, if you feel it's tedious, you can directly skip it. Hehe, after you've all finished reading this chapter, Xiao Chong will remind you, isn't that a bit sinister? Additionally, Xiao Chong wants to sincerely thank the brothers here. With your support, we're about to sign a contract! This is the result of our joint efforts. To those who haven't collected it yet, please feel free to do so, and Xiao Chong will definitely write this book seriously until the end.