Chapter 50: A Fish Bone Stuck in the Throat

  Song Qing originally wanted to deceive heaven and cross the sea!

  Unable to get Li Hongzhang's approval, Song Qing did not dare to send troops across the river on his own, but the situation in Korea was deteriorating day by day, and Song Qing was unwilling to sit idly by. Just then Zhou Xuanzhang arrived with a letter from Liu Baoquan, commander of the Beiyang Fleet, wanting to find Zuo Baogui. Song Qing took advantage of the opportunity to send three battalions across the river under the pretext of escorting Zhou Xuanzhang. The destination was Asan, and the escort was just an excuse; reinforcing the defenders at Asan was the real purpose.

  Song Qing did this, the reason is very far-fetched. However, he also has a bottom line in his heart. Zhou Xianzhang was sent by Liu Bocang of the Beiyang Navy, and the Beiyang Navy is Li Hongzhang's direct line. Liu Bocang is Li Hongzhang's trusted general. It is said that because of the allocation of funds for the Beiyang Navy, Liu Bocang once confronted Li Hongzhang face to face, but Li Hongzhang did not take it seriously and instead praised him highly. If the imperial court investigates further, with Liu Bocang taking the lead, it's unlikely that Li Hongzhang will tear his face off.

  Zhou Xuanzhang knew that Song Qing was using the chicken feather as a command arrow, and he was just following along to bask in the glory. However, in his heart, he also greatly admired Song Qing, this old commander who had exhausted all his thoughts for the sake of national affairs.

  Zhou Xuan Zhang didn't say a word, and instead bowed to Song Qing: "Thank you, Commander, for your kindness in escorting me. After I cross the river, I will definitely not disappoint your expectations, rush to Ya Mountain, kill the enemy and report back to the country!"

  "Aren't you looking for Zuo Baogui? What are you doing in Ya Mountain?" Zhang Xun was still in the dark.

  Zhou Xuan Zhang smiled and said: "The destination of General Zuo is Yashan, once he arrives at Yashan, it will be easy to find him. What do you think, Commander Song?"

  Song Qing stroked his white beard and smiled slightly: "Not bad, not bad." He had already established a spiritual connection with Zhou Xianzhang. The young Zhou Xianzhang in front of him was full of vitality and had a strong intuition, which Song Qing liked very much.

  Zhou Xuan Zhang bowed and said: "Director Song is loyal to the imperial court, I admire him. I have one more thing to say, it's like a fishbone stuck in my throat, I must speak out, I hope Director Song will forgive me."

  "Speak up, Admiral, I declare you innocent." Song Qing nodded.

  Zhou Xuan Zhang said with a solemn expression: "Today during the day, I searched for the location of the Feng army's camp and ran around the perimeter of Jiulian City. I think that our Qing army's deployment seems to have some flaws."

  "How dare you!" Zhang Xun shouted: "You Beiyang Navy control everything, and now you're controlling even our own camp!"

  Song Qing said in a deep voice: "Zhang Xun, let him finish speaking."

  Zhang Xun sulkily shut his mouth. Zhou Xuan Zhang continued, "General Song, our Qing army has at least two shortcomings. Firstly, with the big battle imminent, the vigilance of each camp is extremely lax. I, a small soldier, can move freely and unobstructed on various fronts in Jiuliancheng. Just think, if I were a Japanese spy, what would be the consequences!"

  Song Qing nodded silently, secretly sighing in his heart. The Qing army's discipline was lax, he had heard about it before, but as a commander, he couldn't do anything about it.

  The nine garrisons are stationed in various parts of the country, and do not belong to each other. The Qing army implemented the "soldiers have their own generals", soldiers only recognized their superiors, and superiors had absolute control over their subordinates. If you were not from the same battalion, even if you were a high-ranking official, it was unlikely that you could mobilize troops.

  Song Qing, as the commander-in-chief, was nominally the highest military officer in Jiuliancheng, but he could only consult with other generals and could not directly interfere with specific affairs of each department, including defense and discipline.

  The Qing army in Jiuliancheng was undisciplined, and Song Qing could only dispatch Zhang Xun to patrol. If there were indeed soldiers who committed crimes, they would be dealt with according to military law. However, he couldn't control the officers and soldiers who got drunk all over the streets, even if these soldiers didn't return to their camps all night. Zhang Xun couldn't handle them because this was a matter for each camp's officer.

  Song Qing really couldn't understand that the great Qing dynasty didn't have a unified command system for wartime. The Ministry of War was supposed to be in charge of the army, but actually, military power rested with the Grand Council, and the Grand Council wasn't the headquarters for this military operation. The headquarters for this invasion was actually the Northern Ocean Trade Affairs Office - an economic diplomacy department equivalent to a 21st-century foreign ministry.

  Song Qing was powerless to change the situation and could only say: "Then what about the second one?"

  Zhou Xuan Zhang said: "In my humble opinion, the defensive deployment of Jiulian City is not appropriate. The troops guarding the Anping River mouth are too dense, and the position of the artillery is also incorrect..."

  "Nonsense!" Zhang Heng shouted: "The water flow at the mouth of Anping River is calm, with a maximum depth of only two meters. The enemy will surely force a crossing here, and our army must deploy heavy troops to defend this place!"

  "General Zhang only knows one, but not the other." Zhou Xianzhang said: "The mouth of the Anping River is indeed the best choice for the enemy to cross the river strongly, and I agree with this. However, on our side of the river mouth, the terrain is flat, and all our defensive fortifications are built in open areas without any support. On the other hand, there is a high ground on the opposite bank, where the enemy can set up artillery positions to overlook our positions from above, and their firepower can accurately cover our positions. In this way, our fortress will become a live target for the enemy's heavy artillery, and the defenders inside may not even see the enemy before being blown into the sky! And our big guns deployed on the shore cannot suppress the enemy's artillery fire on the high ground on the opposite bank, but instead will be injured by the enemy's firepower."

  At the end of the 19th century, although the Qing army purchased a large number of advanced Western artillery and equipped them to various troops, however, the Qing military leaders' understanding of the tactical coordination of artillery was superficial. Up until now, the Qing army had only fought battles against opponents such as the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom and the Nian Army who used cold weapons, and had not yet engaged in a truly modern war. The commanders were completely baffled, unable to comprehend what it would be like if their opponent had cannons.

  Song Qing was shocked and asked: "What should be done then?"

  Zhou Xuan Zhang said: "There is a small mountain northwest of Anping River, called Tiger Mountain. The terrain is dangerous and overlooks the surrounding area. Our army can deploy ten Krupp field guns here..."

  "Hushan is six miles away from the river bank, and the maximum range of Krupp's field artillery is 5 kilometers. It can't even reach the other side from Hushan, let alone the center of the river!" Zhang Xun retorted, his tone much softer now. Zhou Xuanzhang had hit the nail on the head with his words, and Zhang Xun couldn't help but concede.

  Zhou Xuan Zhang laughed and said, "General Zhang, don't worry. West of Anping River mouth is Wei Zigou high ground, southwest is Lizi Garden high ground. Since Wei Zigou high ground is the enemy's only way to attack Jiuliang City, our army can build a barricade on Wei Zigou high ground with three battalions of infantry equipped with Gatling machine guns, forming a strong blocking firepower. Lizi Garden high ground has dense forests and steep mountains, where two battalions of cavalry can be ambushed. Only a small number of scattered soldiers are deployed in the open area at Anping River mouth. Once the enemy forces cross the river strongly, they must set up a pontoon bridge under the cover of artillery fire. The defenders at the river mouth will put up some resistance before retreating to Tiger Mountain. After the enemy sets up the pontoon bridge, they will swarm across the river. At that time, the open area at the river mouth will be filled with enemy infantry, and they won't have time to deploy..."

  Song Qingyi slammed his fist on the table: "Ten large cannons on Tiger Mountain fired simultaneously, bombarding the open area at the river mouth!"

  Zhang Xun also understood: "The smoke of the cannon fire had not yet fallen, and the two cavalry regiments in my Liuzi Garden high ground poured out, rushing straight to the river mouth. The infantry in Weizi Gou simultaneously launched a counterattack! The enemy could only escape by relying on that one temporary floating bridge. Those who were lucky enough to squeeze across the bridge would survive, while the rest could only jump into the river and feed the fish!"

  "General Song, General Zhang is clear." Zhou Xianzhang said.

  Song Qing stood up: "Zhou Xianzhang, what is your official position in the Beiyang Navy?"

  "The little man is just one of Lord Liu's personal guards." Zhou Xianzhang was dressed in the uniform of a Beiyang Navy soldier, indicating that he had no official position.

  Song Qing sighed: "It is said that Liu Buxian is a dragon and phoenix among men, and even a personal soldier has such insight. Indeed, the name is not in vain! Zhou Xuan Zhang, originally the commander-in-chief, now grants you the position of battalion commander, leading a vanguard team to follow Zhang Yun to fight, waiting for you to make achievements, and then promoting you to be a guarding camp officer, are you willing?"