Volume 1 Chapter 67: Lonely City

  The decorations in the main hall are extremely luxurious. On the north wall hangs a water-ink painting of a tiger, reclining on a high mountain, gazing into the distance with an air of majesty. Below the painting is a large nanmu wood armchair, to its left is a wooden rack holding a precious sword, and to its right is a desk with the four treasures of the study. On both sides of the main hall are placed four guest chairs, on the walls hang calligraphic works by literati, and in front of the windows are embroidered silk curtains.

  The old man made a gesture of invitation to sit down and bowed out of the main room.

  Feng Guozhang plopped himself down in the armchair on the left, facing Zhou Xuanzhang and saying: "What's wrong, can't bear to put down your little beauty?"

  Zhou Xuan Zhang finally put down Jin Shu and asked: "Big brother, how did you end up here?"

  Feng Guozhang pointed at several of his subordinates behind him and said: "Take a look at who they are?"

  Zhou Xuanzhang only then noticed that there were 8 people standing beside Feng Guozhang, among whom three were his classmates at the Tianjin Military Academy. One was named Yu Guangxin, one was named Li Guoge, and another was named Xin Delin. They were all fourth-term students in the infantry department.

  It turned out that after the Donghak Peasant Revolution broke out in Korea, the domestic situation was chaotic, and Japan took advantage of the fire to loot, escalating its actions against Korea step by step. Nie Shicheng, the commander-in-chief of Taiyuan, foresaw that after the Korean situation deteriorated, it would be inevitable for the Qing Empire to have a head-on confrontation with Japanese troops, with the battlefield in Korea but likely to develop along the Yalu River. For this reason, Nie Shicheng proactively petitioned the imperial court, requesting to go to Northeast China and Korea to survey and map the terrain, preparing for future wars.

  Nie Shicheng had long heard that Feng Guozhang, an instructor at the Tianjin Military Academy, was a rare military talent and requested Li Hongzhang to transfer Feng to his army. Li Hongzhang agreed immediately.

  Feng Guozhang arrived at Nie Shicheng's army and did not disappoint Nie Shicheng's high expectations. He followed Nie Shicheng from the banks of the Yalu River to the northwest of Korea, trekking thousands of miles, braving wind and rain, and overcoming numerous hardships. He conducted on-site surveys of mountains, rivers, and fortresses, creating a "Map of Liaodong and Korea", which gave him an intimate knowledge of the geography of the region, earning Nie Shicheng's deep appreciation.

  Soon, the situation in Korea further deteriorated, and the Japanese army massively increased its troops to Korea. Li Hongzhang urgently ordered Ye Zhicha, the governor of Zhili, to lead his troops into Korea by sea and station them at Asan, while ordering Nie Shicheng's Wuwei Army to cross the Yalu River and converge on Asan.

  Wu Yi's army went through countless difficulties and dangers, finally arriving at Yashan, where they merged with Ye Zhi-chao's troops. Feng Guozhang also arrived at Yashan with his army. At this time, there were only 2,000 soldiers stationed in Yashan, while the Japanese army had already deployed 8,000 troops in Korea, and the strength of both sides was vastly different.

  Li Hongzhang also realized the seriousness of the problem, but still pinned his hopes on the intervention of the powers and a peaceful resolution to the Korean issue. Li Hongzhang's ambivalence made him neither dare to heavily reinforce the troops in Korea nor willing to see the defense at Asan too weak.

  Li Hongzhang ordered the 1,000 Qing troops stationed in Tianjin to withdraw a batch of students from the Tianjin Military Academy, led by Ye Kui, commander of the Tianjin Military Academy Guard Battalion, to take ships via the sea route to reinforce Yashan. He hoped that this elite reinforcement unit would merge with the forces of Ye Zhicha and Nie Shicheng, narrowing the power gap with the Japanese army.

  The main force of this reinforcement was the Guards Battalion of Tianjin Military Academy, and the battalion commander was Ye Qiao, son of Ye Zhao. Zhou Xianzhang's classmates Yu Guangxin, Li Guoge, Xin Delin and others also arrived at Yashan with the army.

  The Qing army in Yashan increased to 3,000 men, equipped with heavy weapons such as Gatling guns and Krupp field guns, possessing a certain combat effectiveness.

  However, the capital of Korea was surrounded by the Japanese army, and cannons were set up on W?njin-san outside the west gate of the city, aiming at the palace, forcing the Korean court to declare independence, that is, to sever its tributary relationship with the Qing dynasty.

  The Joseon royal court, led by King Gojong Yi Hui, under pressure from the Japanese army, frequently sent emergency messages to the Qing Dynasty, sending special envoys to Beijing, Jiuliancheng on the Yalu River and Asan to request that the Qing army quickly reinforce the capital.

  The Qing court was indecisive, and the special envoy sent to Beijing had no news. Song Qing, the commander of the Jiuliancheng garrison and Sichuan governor, dispatched three battalions of infantry under Zhang Xun's command in the name of escorting Zhou Xiang, but this force advanced slowly through the mountains of northern Korea, unable to quench a nearby thirst with distant water.

  Now, the Yashan side has become North Korea's only hope.

  However, General Yashan refused Ye Zhichao's plea for help from Korea.

  Ye Zhi-chao's reason was: The garrison at Yashan had only 3,000 soldiers and could only defend itself, having no strength to rescue the capital.

  Feng Guozhang strongly opposed this. Feng Guozhang believed that the Qing army was invited by the Korean royal court to help Korea resist the Japanese army, and defending Asan without reinforcing the capital city was a case of sacrificing the essential for the trivial! If the Japanese army suddenly launched a war, they would quickly occupy the capital city, control the Korean royal court, and Korea would inevitably be forced to declare independence. At that time, the Qing army would become the aggressor, completely losing its legitimacy in stationing troops at Asan. What was originally a joint Sino-Korean resistance against Japan would turn into a joint Japanese-Korean effort to expel the Qing army! The great Qing Empire's fortunes in Korea were already lost; not to mention the capital city, even a small place like Asan could not be defended!

  Now, the only thing that can be done is to break through the cauldron and sink the boat, lead three thousand elite troops to rush to the capital, unite with the Korean army, defend the capital, and wait for reinforcements.

  Although the Japanese army has an absolute advantage in terms of military strength in Beijing, the Korean people are generally hostile to Japan and can unite with the Qing army to fight against a common enemy. Moreover, the city walls of Beijing are solid and easy to defend, making it difficult for the enemy to attack. Defending for half a month should not be a problem. By then, the main force of the Qing army will arrive in Beijing and join forces with the defending troops to annihilate the Japanese army.

  In this battle, the Qing army will inevitably pay a heavy price, and most of the 3,000 Qing soldiers will be killed. However, from an overall perspective, it is completely worth it.

  Nie Shicheng fully agreed with Feng Guozhang's suggestion and strongly requested that Ye Zhicha abandon Yashan and move his army to the capital.

  However, Ye Zhichao refused to agree, and his reason was simple - there was no imperial edict.

  Actually, Ye Zhichao is afraid of death and loves life!

  At Yashan, Ye Zhi-chao was the commander-in-chief and Nie Shi-cheng was the deputy commander. Among the 3,000 troops, 2,000 were under Ye's command, while Nie's Wuwei Army had only 1,000 men. Ye refused to dispatch troops, leaving Nie with no alternative.

  Soon, Li Hongzhang also sent a telegram, ordering Ye Zhicha to march towards the capital -- Russia expressed neutrality, Britain made no statement, and the United States called for peace, but the United States had not a single warship in East Asia, and could only shout a few slogans. The hope of foreign intervention was shattered, and war broke out at once.

  After receiving a telegram from Li Hongzhang, the Beiyang Minister, Ye Zhicha finally took action. However, when the troops arrived at Chenghuan, Ye Zhicha refused to move forward any further!

  He was intimidated by the Japanese!

  The great powers refused to intervene, which was tantamount to acquiescing in Japan's actions. Japan had completely fulfilled the conditions for starting a war, yet Ye Zhi-chao stood by and watched as the capital city teetered on the brink of disaster, doing nothing to save it!

  Just this morning, Pak Yong-yeol, a trusted aide to the Crown Prince of Korea and deputy commander of the palace guard, rushed to Cheonghwawon to ask for help from the Qing army.