Chapter 35: Utter Defeat!

  In the drill hall, all the officers shifted their gaze away from the sand table, no one was interested in watching a battle that already had an outcome.

  Even Weng Tonghe lost interest in the sand table, he couldn't understand the offense and defense on it, but he could understand the expressions of the officers - Zhou Xuanzhang had lost.

  Only Ed stared at Rongcheng on the sand table. The distance between Rongcheng and Weihaiwei is only 15 kilometers.

  Zhou Xuan Zhang lightly exhaled and pointed his command baton towards Rong City - the Blue Army launched a siege!

  Moreover, he suddenly unfolded fifty large cannons and concentrated on bombarding the south gate of Rongcheng.

  Ye Kui was shocked, fifty large cannons concentrated on attacking one point, this had never been encountered in the history of the Qing army, not even by the French in Vietnam.

  Ye Qiao burst out laughing: "Zhou Xianzhang, you really are a inferior student!"

  "Ye Shoubei, take this!" Zhou Xianzhang's face was expressionless.

  "Damn it, what kind of crap strategy is this!" Ye Kui cursed: "Zhou Xianzhang, you get your old man to take a good look at the map, from the beach to Rongcheng County, ten kilometers are all big mountains, there's no road at all, infantry can only carry light weapons, your cannons can only stay on the beach, waiting to be captured!"

  Zhou Xuan Zhang said: "Ye Shoubei, the Japanese army is equipped with dismountable mountain guns, not wheeled field artillery! After disassembling the mountain gun, it can be transported by horse in the mountains as if on flat ground, and can march simultaneously with infantry. Moreover, the Japanese artillery is an independent branch of service, not mixed with infantry, five thousand landing troops are equipped with fifty mountain guns, this is still a conservative estimate by students, under normal circumstances, the Japanese army can assemble one hundred mountain guns below Rongcheng!"

  "Fart!" Ye Qiao cursed: "The power of mountain artillery is less than that of field artillery. In the armies of Western powers, artillery is equipped with large-caliber wheeled field artillery. The Japanese will not be unaware of the power of field artillery. What kind of mountain artillery are they using? Their army was also trained by Germans, and they won't be ignorant of this principle!"

  Zhou Xuanzhang shook his head: "Ye Shoubei, the Japanese army indeed adopted the German Army's organization, but their artillery was mainly mountain guns. There are two reasons for this. Firstly, Japan's terrain is mostly mountainous, making it inconvenient for field artillery to maneuver; secondly, Japan's domestic industrial capacity was limited, making it difficult to mass-produce large-caliber field artillery."

  "Mr. Zhou is right," interjected Ai De, "the German advisor in Japan had once suggested that the Japanese artillery adopt field guns, but was rejected by the Japanese military."

  Ye Tong was shocked and lost his color: "Zhou Xianzhang, how did you know?"

  Zhou Xuanzhang sneered: "A soldier should not be ignorant of his opponent!"

  Zhou Xuan Zhang's words made all the officers present break out in a cold sweat.

  In fact, the Qing dynasty always regarded Westerners as its number one enemy, and few people thought of taking the Japanese army as a hypothetical enemy. No one seriously studied the Japanese military. Moreover, the officers of the Qing dynasty were also disdainful of studying the Japanese military, in their eyes, the Japanese military was even more backward than the Qing dynasty's military!

  In Tianjin Wubei Academy, only two people, Zhou Xuanzhang and Feng Guozhang, seriously studied the Japanese military, because they believed that China and Japan would inevitably go to war.

  The Blue Army's offensive began, fifty mountain guns fired in unison, and the Rongcheng defense line collapsed in less than a minute.

  Four thousand Blue Army troops charged into Rongcheng under artillery fire.

  Rongcheng has fallen, and the reinforcements gathered from all over are still crawling on the rugged mountain roads of the Shandong Peninsula like a sleeping cow.

  After the Blue Army captured Rongcheng, they did not stop to catch their breath and advanced to attack Weihaiwei. From Rongcheng to Weihaiwei is fifteen kilometers, but it was a flat plain, and the Red Army had no natural defenses to rely on, nor could they gather enough troops. Soon, the Blue Army inserted itself into the rear of the Weihaiwei defense line.

  The eastern fortress of Weihaiwei, which was as solid as a gold wall, has become a mere decoration.

  Faced with the blue army's attack from behind, all of the red army's cannons, including the 30 cm caliber Armstrong giant cannon, were useless.

  Behind the artillery emplacement, there wasn't even a single infantry bunker.

  Ye Tong stared blankly at the sand table, resistance had lost all meaning.

  With the fall of Weihaiwei, the Beiyang Fleet, which was facing off against the Japanese fleet in Rongcheng Bay, found itself in a precarious and helpless situation.

  Of course, for Tianjin Martial Academy, the fate of the Beiyang Navy had no significance to them.

  The hall was silent as a ghost town, with everyone staring blankly at the sand table at the unbelievable yet solid result - the Red Army's complete defeat!

  What's even more inconceivable is that Ye Kui's on-site command was flawless, and all the officers present asked themselves in their hearts, if they were to face Zhou Xuanzhang instead, the outcome would still be the same.

  If there is anything wrong with Ye Kui, his only mistake was that he did not know the Japanese were using mountain guns instead of field guns.

  Everyone present was also like Ye Qiao, and did not think of this point.

  The Japanese army took mountain cannons as its main artillery type, which is completely unconventional and totally different from the mainstream military thought of today's world.

  Western powers, whether it was the world's number one military power Germany or the old imperialist Britain, even the Italians who were most despised by the Chinese, all adopted large-caliber field artillery, and even howitzers. Mountain guns were only a supplementary type of artillery, and would never appear as an independent branch of service.

  Weng Tonghe lifted his teacup with a smile: "Lord Li, please have some tea."

  Weng Tonghe didn't understand offense and defense, but he could see the outcome.

  Li Hongzhang expressionlessly picked up his teacup: "Sir Weng, please."

  Weng Tonghe said with a smile: "Zhou Xianzhang's writing is as beautiful as flowers and brocade, his martial arts are also impressive, he has both literary and military talents, truly a pillar of the country! The heavens have bestowed such a talented person upon our great Qing dynasty, it is a blessing for our great Qing, a blessing for His Majesty! Zhou Xianzhang is a student of the Tianjin Military Academy, under the command of Lord Li. Lord Li has cultivated such a talented individual for the nation, his contributions are not to be overlooked!"

  Weng Tonghe forced Li Hongzhang to personally recommend Zhou Xianzhang to the imperial court.

  Li Hongzhang had been an official for several decades and always handled things with ease, but he had never encountered such a troublesome situation!

  He has made up his mind that Zhou Xuanzhang was instructed by someone to deliberately make things difficult for him! The mastermind behind the scenes is in this hall, and it's likely to be Weng Tonghe!

  If Zhou Xuzhang was just a mediocre person who had been used by others, and was made to lose face in public, Li Hongzhang would be annoyed but not very worried. He was confident that he could eliminate both Zhou Xuzhang and the mastermind behind him, eliminating any future troubles.

  However, a game of chess proved that Zhou Xuanzhang was indeed a versatile and formidable opponent, just as Weng Tonghe had said. With such a talented person standing in his way, things were about to get complicated.

  Now, Li Hongzhang cannot punish Zhou Xuanzhang, let alone investigate the mastermind behind him. On the contrary, he must "seek talents for the country" and personally recommend Zhou Xuanzhang to the imperial court!

  This is simply plotting against a tiger for its skin!

  Li Hongzhang was after all a seasoned politician, his heart was anxious, but his face remained calm and collected. He turned to Liu Buquan on his left and said: "Liu, what do you think?"

  Among the martial arts generals on the stage, Liu Buzhen had the highest official rank and was also the most trusted officer of Li Hongzhang's Beiyang Navy. Li Hongzhang kicked the ball to Liu Buzhen, hoping he would come out to resolve the situation.

  Liu Buzhen was intently staring at the sand table, and the fall of Weihaiwei was indeed depressing, but as a high-ranking general of the Beiyang Fleet, he was now most concerned about how to get the Red Army fleet out of its predicament of being unable to advance or retreat.

  On the surface of Rongcheng Bay, the Red Army deployed 24 large and small warships, including two giant ironclad cruisers. The Blue Army, centered on a giant ironclad cruiser, gathered 20 warships to confront the Red Army, which had a slight advantage.

  The disadvantage of the Red Army fleet is that the loss of the naval base will deal a heavy blow to morale.

  If morale factors are not taken into account, the Red Fleet can completely fight against the Blue Fleet, and the winning rate is extremely high.

  If the Red Army fleet defeats the Blue Army fleet, then the four thousand Blue Army troops who have captured Weihaiwei will be isolated and vulnerable to attack. When the Red Army reinforcement arrives at Weihaiwei, they can easily retake Weihaiwei by attacking from the weak side or rear, turning defeat into victory!

  The problem is that Weihaiwei has already fallen, and after the defeat of the Blue Army fleet, it can immediately enter the Weihaiwei military port, use the artillery positions around the port to block the Red Army fleet's attack, and obtain the shipyard and logistical supplies of the Weihaiwei military port, quickly restoring its combat effectiveness. At this time, even if the Red Army wins temporarily, it will be difficult to get supplies, and in the end, it will still be defeated by the Blue Army!

  To save the fleet, the only way is to quickly retake the military port.

  However, the Red Army was a hundred miles away and it would take at least two days to reach Weihaiwei. In two days, the Blue Army fleet would be able to defeat the Red Army fleet drifting helplessly on the sea.

  By then, the Red Army's fleet had ceased to exist, and even if the Red Army recaptured Weihaiwei, it would have been meaningless.

  This is a dead knot, and the knot is in Weihaiwei!