Chapter 67: The Rampage of the German Army

  Ye Zhongchi led the vanguard to Dagu from a pre-planned route, took the Beiyang Navy's troop transport ship from the port of Dagu, marched by sea, and landed at Weihaiwei in Shandong. Then, he joined forces with Nie Shicheng's unit and together attacked the German troops in Jiaozhou.

  That afternoon, Ye Zhikui arrived at Dagou, and Luo Rongguang, the commander of the Left Route Army of the Huai Army in Zhili Province, led his generals to greet him. As Ye was his superior and a rising star in the Beiyang clique, he did not dare to be slow.

  "Sir, I have prepared dinner. Shall we eat first?" Luo Rongguang was over sixty years old, his hair had turned white, but he still walked with a strong and vigorous pace, full of energy.

  Ye Zhiwei glanced at the old general who had bravely resisted the Eight-Power Allied Forces in a later era and ultimately sacrificed himself at Dagu Fort, and felt a surge of respect in his heart. He spoke more politely, smiling: "No need, Old Luo, just have someone send my food to the soldiers together with theirs, I'll eat with them, the situation in Shandong is urgent, we'll march while eating, then hurry to the naval department, and set sail tonight."

  Luo Rongguang saw that Ye Zhiwei did not have the usual arrogance of a young man in a high position, and his words were extremely polite. He couldn't help but secretly admire him, thinking: "General Ye is indeed famous throughout the Qing dynasty for loving his soldiers like sons." Luo Rongguang praised him, saying: "Sir, you truly love your soldiers like sons. I will go take care of it now."

  Ye Zhiyuan hastily finished his late dinner, then went to observe the Dagukou fort, known as the "Number One Coastal Defense in the World", and also took a look at the minefield he had set up. He nodded secretly, extremely satisfied with Luo Rongguang in his heart, thinking of ways to entice him.

  He thought of the troops that would be destroyed by the Eight-Nation Alliance and said to Luo Rongguang beside him: "Luo, your deployment is meticulous, but the situation is severe now. Dagu is the throat of Beijing and Tianjin. I think we should increase the number of artillery forts to make it more secure. Later, I will ask the governor to deploy a battalion of my Wuwei new army to assist you, Luo, and repair the artillery forts to ensure that nothing goes wrong."

  Luo Rongguang nodded in agreement to his superior's request, which was more like an order, without any objection. Then Ye Zhiyuan listened to Luo Rongguang's opinions again, and as the saying goes, "each profession has its own expertise", Ye Zhiyuan agreed one by one.

  After the army had dinner, they slowly moved forward and soon arrived at the naval base. Admiral Deng Shichang had already ordered the fleet to prepare for the reception, waiting for the arrival of Ye Zhiwei's Wuwei Army. Ye Zhiwei handed over the matter of boarding the ship to his subordinates, while he himself led Luo Rongguang to accompany Deng Shichang in conversation.

  Deng Shichang was delighted to see Ye Zhiqi, as the interests of the Beiyang Fleet and Ye Zhiqi were now closely tied together. Business was booming, and the Beiyang Fleet could almost get by without any government funding. As a result, the relationship between the two men became even closer, almost to the point where they could discuss anything with each other.

  Deng Shichang took a step forward and smiled: "Yun Ah, it's been several months since we last parted ways, I've really missed you, big brother!"

  Then he patted Ye Zhiwei's shoulder and joked: "From Yun, how is your relationship with that girl from last time?"

  Ye Zhi Kui rubbed his head and chuckled: "Big brother is teasing little brother again, does big brother have several lovely wives at home?"

  The two of them exchanged jokes and pleasantries, while Luo Rongguang couldn't help but secretly curse to himself. This Ye Zikui, the lucky star of the country, was indeed widely connected, even able to call the normally stern and taciturn Admiral Deng Shichang "brother".

  As he spoke, Deng Shichang couldn't help but feel a little worried and said: "Although this battle will greatly enhance the prestige of China, after all, we are facing the German army. On the battlefield, swords and knives have no eyes, so it's still necessary to be extra careful."

  Without waiting for Ye Weizhong's response, Deng Shichang continued to lament: "It is a pity that the Western children dare to provoke us with only three warships. The court thinks about the overall situation and does not allow the Beiyang Fleet to fight against the enemy, so we are hiding in the naval base every day. Big brother is suffocated."

  Ye Zhiqi smiled awkwardly, and he naturally knew what was going on in his heart. In fact, the imperial court had formulated a general strategy for war based on his opinion. To avoid provoking Wilhelm II into a rage, Ye Zhiqi suggested that the navy should try not to participate in the war as much as possible, and only fight a local land war.

  Ye Zhiwei could only persuade him to say: "The court has its own considerations, but I believe that if Brother encounters the German Far East Fleet, he will not retreat without a fight."

  Deng Shichang smiled faintly and pointed to the Beiyang Fleet, saying: "Let's not talk about these things anymore. Big Brother is now escorting Yun from the clouds, fearing that something unexpected will happen, and even brought his family with him."

  The commander of the fleet, Admiral Ding Ruchang's flagship "Dingyuan", as well as other main warships such as "Zhenyuan", "Jiyuan" and "Jiyuan" were all present. There were over a dozen large and small ships in total. Although there was an element of imperial court attention, it could also be seen that Admiral Deng Shichang, the commander-in-chief of the navy, cared about him, and he couldn't help but feel grateful.

  The two chatted for a while, and then someone came to report that the troops and weapons had all been loaded, and they could set sail. Ye Zhiwei and Deng Shichang boarded the Dingyuan under Luo Rongguang's gaze, and the Beiyang Fleet slowly disappeared into the darkness.

  On the same evening, the commander of the German fleet, Dietrich, sat in the General's Mansion in Qingdao with a telegram, surrounded by a group of senior officers. He was a favorite general of Emperor Wilhelm II and had been sent to replace Tirpitz as the garrison commander of Qingdao.

  At present, he has only three warships anchored in Qingdao, namely "Chyang Yang", "William" and "Little Whiskers". He has more than 1,000 sailors and soldiers under his command, with more than 1,000 marines stationed at the military depot, telegraph office, pier, Qingdao fort and general army barracks.

  He had just received a telegram from the German Minister to China, Baron von Heyking, stating that General Nie Shicheng would lead more than 5,000 troops of the New Army, transported by the Beiyang Fleet, and would land at Weihaiwei in no time. It was not that he looked down on the Qing dynasty's officials and soldiers, but rather that the Qing dynasty's officials and soldiers had given him no reason to look up to them. Take the occupation of Qingdao as an example. The Qing general Zhang Gaoyuan was deceived by his clever trick, using the excuse of "borrowing land for exercises" to lure his warship into the harbor, and then he was expelled from Qingdao without firing a single shot.

  Do you think he can afford to despise the Qing dynasty's officials and soldiers? Ye Zhi-kui, a Chinese who graduated from an inferior imperial school, dared to challenge the empire just because he defeated Japan, a tiny country. Isn't he afraid of encountering ghosts on his way at night?

  Biedermann put down the telegram and handed it over to his subordinate. Half a moment later, he asked Da Wei An Mengdao: "An Meng, what do you think?"

  An Meng Da Wei was the one who drove away Zhang Gao Yuan without firing a single shot. He glanced up slightly and replied, "General, let's leave this guy to us in the army. I'll give him an unforgettable lesson, making him understand the difference between teachers and students."

  Biedermann said, "Unfortunately, our army has only about a thousand men, Ye Zhiwei has five thousand men in his hands, and with the addition of these miscellaneous troops from Shandong, there are probably over ten thousand men."

  General, don't forget that Zhang Gaoyuan also had over 3,000 men at the beginning, but they were scared off by my 200 or so men. The Far East is a place where miracles are created. General, you didn't see it, but today some of Nie Shicheng's soldiers still charged forward with firearms and long spears. Although I admire their bravery, I feel sorry for them. The Qing army is just a number. Now the Emperor is watching our performance in the Imperial Court, how can we let him down?

  Von Diederichs nodded in agreement and sent a telegram to the German fleet at Qingdao, ordering them to sail north to teach the Beiyang Fleet a lesson. The three German warship captains, who were eager for action, received the order and set off immediately to search for Deng Shichang's troop transports.

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  Brothers, help me out and go to Sanjiang Pavilion to cast a vote. It only takes one minute of your time, and Xiao Chong will be eternally grateful.