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Text Chapter 204 Losing power and humiliating the country

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    "Is this the Beiyang Navy that used to be the best in Asia? It was actually defeated by the Japanese navy!" In the bridge of the "Leshan", Deng Shichang, commander of the First Fleet of the Western Sichuan Navy, slapped the table hard.  , face full of anger.

    Seeing his former colleagues fighting bloody battles and one battleship after another being sunk by the Japanese combined fleet, his heart seemed to be bleeding.  At the same time, there is more sadness.  After all, a decadent country has no hope of giving birth to a powerful navy.  The Beiyang Fleet had the reputation of being the best in Asia, but it ended up like this.

    The sailors of the "Leshan" and "Qijiang" both requested an attack on the Japanese fleet.  However, Deng Shichang refused.  Although, in his heart he wanted to teach the arrogant Japanese fleet a lesson more than anyone else.  But now they are just spectators.  However, it won't be long before it is the turn of the navy in western Sichuan to compete with the Japanese combined fleet.  At that time, he would avenge his dead colleagues.

    After the naval battle, the "Leshan" and the "Qijiang" turned around and headed south, returning to the North Sea.  This battle between the Beiyang Navy and the Japanese Combined Fleet was the first large-scale naval battle after the navy entered the steam age, and it had a great impact on the navies of various countries.  Especially the application of rapid-fire artillery and the Japanese combined fleet with stronger firepower projection capabilities, even without giant ships like "Dingyuan" and "Zhenyuan", still achieved the final victory.  Many countries are already considering whether to cancel the main guns on their battleships and install all rapid-fire cannons.

    The "Kaiser Friedrich III" class battleships of the German Navy are undoubtedly affected by this trend of thought.  This is a brand new battleship fully equipped with rapid-fire guns. Unlike previous German battleships, this battleship's main gun has been reduced to four, and the caliber has been reduced sharply to 240 mm.  Because this is the largest caliber rapid-fire gun that Germany can produce.  The secondary guns also all use large-caliber 150mm rapid-fire cannons. As for the smaller 105mm rapid-fire cannons, they have all been cancelled, while the more flexible 88mm rapid-fire cannons have been retained.

    However, the Western Sichuan Navy was not affected.  Because, under Wang Yuze's guidance, they have embarked on a path different from that of other countries in the world.  That is, to highlight the power of the main gun.  In the future, all warships will develop in the direction of giant ships and cannons.

    After the Battle of the Yellow Sea, the Japanese Navy gained control of the sea, which brought about smooth logistics supply lines for the Japanese army.  After a short rest, the Japanese Army also began to plan a large-scale attack.

    The Battle of the Yalu River began on October 24 and was the first defensive battle for the Qing army to face the Japanese attack.  At that time, there were about 68,000 Qing troops deployed on the north bank of the Yalu River.  The Qing government appointed Song Qing, the ruler of the twelfth town, as the president of the armies to control the armies.  The Japanese offensive force was the First Army commanded by General Aritomo Yamagata, including Lieutenant General Katsura Taro's Third Division, Lieutenant General Nozu Michunuki's Fifth Division, and the newly formed 13th Division and 18th Division.  A total of 75,000 people.  The strength of both sides is evenly matched.  However, although Song Qing had the reputation of controlling all armies, the various Qing armies were actually disobedient to his control. Moreover, Pyongyang was newly defeated, morale was low, and many generals lacked the determination to resist the enemy.  Japan, on the other hand, was highly motivated and ambitious. The Japanese issued a memorandum of "Sincere Advice to the Heroes of the Eighteen Provinces" drafted by the spy Kotaro Munakata, launched a political offensive against the Manchu Qing Dynasty, and threatened to go straight to Beijing to make the Qing emperor "beg for surrender in front of him."  .  One can imagine the subsequent battle situation.

    Before noon on October 24, the Japanese army successfully swam across the Anping River at the mouth of the Anping River upstream of Jiulian City.  That night, the Japanese army set up a pontoon bridge in the middle of the Yalu River near Hushan, but the Qing army was not aware of it.  At 6 o'clock in the morning on the 25th, the Japanese army crossed the pontoon bridge and launched an attack on the Qing army's position in Hushan.  Qing army defenders Ma Jinxu and Nie Shicheng led their troops to resist, but were alone and suffered heavy casualties and were forced to withdraw from their positions.  The Japanese army then occupied Hushan.  Other Qing army units heard that Hushan had fallen and fled without fighting.  On the 26th, the Japanese army occupied Jiuliancheng and Andong County (today's Dandong) without firing a shot.  In less than three days, the Qing Dynasty's Yalu River defense line, which was heavily garrisoned with nearly 70,000 troops, collapsed.

    The Battle of Jinlu also started on October 24 and ended with the fall of Lushunkou on November 22. This was a key battle between China and Japan during the Sino-Japanese War of 1884-1894.  On the same day that the Japanese First Army attacked the Qing defense line on the Yalu River, the 45,000-strong Second Army commanded by General Dashanyan, under the cover of Japanese ships, began to land at Huayuankou on the road behind Lushun.  Since Li Hongzhang was determined to protect Port Arthur, the Qing army did not set up defenses here.  The Japanese army's landing activities lasted for twelve days, but the Qing army sat silently. Only local farmers spontaneously resisted the Japanese army, temporarily delaying the Japanese army's actions.  On November 6, the Japanese army defeated the Qing army's Lianshun, Xu Bangdao and other troops and occupied Jinzhou (today's Jinzhou District, Dalian City, Liaoning Province).  On the 7th, the Japanese army attacked Dalian Bay in three directions. Dalian guard Zhao Huaiye fled after hearing the news, and the Japanese army captured Dalian Bay without a fight.  After resting in Dalian Bay for ten days, the Japanese army began to advance towards Lushun.  At that time, the Qing army had a town and a mixed association in Lushun area, with about 30,000 people.  On the 18th, the Japanese vanguard marched into Tuchengzi, and Xu Bangdao's defenders resisted tenaciously.  On the 19th, Zhao Huaiye absconded.  On the 21st, the Japanese army launched an attack on Lushunkou.After the general offensive, the next day, Lushun, known as the "First Fortress in East Asia", fell into the hands of the Japanese army.  After the Japanese army captured Lushun, they immediately committed the Lushun Massacre, massacring more than 20,000 Chinese residents within four days.

    With the Qing army retreating steadily, within the Qing court, the peace faction had the upper hand and carried out surrender activities on a large scale.  After the fall of Lushunkou, the Japanese navy gained an important base in the Bohai Bay. From then on, the Beiyang gateway was opened, and the Beiyang fleet was hidden in Weihaiwei Port, and the war situation took a turn for the worse.

    The Battle of Weihaiwei was a defensive battle to protect the Beiyang Navy base, and it was also the last battle of the Beiyang Fleet against Japan.  At that time, there were 26 various ships of the Beiyang Navy in Weihaiwei Port.  On January 20, 1895, the Japanese Second Army commanded by General Oyama Iwa, including the Second Division of Lieutenant General Sakuma Mata and the Sixth Division of Lieutenant General Kuroki Moraki, with a total of 45,000 troops, marched in Japan.  Under the cover of the ship, they began to land on Longxu Island in Rongcheng, and all landings were completed on the 23rd.  On the 30th, the Japanese army concentrated its forces to attack Weihai Weinanbang Fort.  The Qing army stationed at Nanbang Fort only had six battalions and 3,000 men.  Battalion officer Zhou Jiaen defended the Motianling position and resisted tenaciously, but was finally annihilated.  The Japanese army also suffered heavy casualties. Its left wing commander Major General Odera Yasumi was killed by Qing artillery shells. He was the only Japanese general killed in the war.  Due to the disparity in strength, the Nanbang Fort was eventually captured by the Japanese army.  On February 3, the Japanese army occupied Weihai Acropolis.  All land in Weihai was occupied by Japan, and Liugong Island, where Ding Ruchang was commanding, became an isolated island.  Japanese Combined Fleet Commander Ito Yuhiro wrote to Ding Ruchang to persuade him to surrender, but Ding Ruchang refused.  In the early morning of the 5th, the flagship Dingyuan was struck by a mine and ran aground, and was still used as a "water fort".  On the 10th, Dingyuan ran out of ammunition and Liu Buchan committed suicide.  On the 11th, Ding Ruchang refused to surrender and committed suicide under the coercion of foreign members and Niu Changchang, who was promoted by the Weihai Camp Office and other generals who were leading the surrender.  Foreign officials and Niu Changbang and others also recommended Yang Yonglin to be in charge of Zhenyuan and come forward to preside over the surrender. Yang Yonglin eventually committed suicide.  On the 12th, the American foreigner Haowei drafted a surrender document, and in the name of Ding Ruchang, he sent a Guangzhou Bing tube to take Cheng Biguang to the Japanese flagship.  On the 14th, Niu Changchang and Ito Yuheng signed the "Weihai Surrender Treaty", which stipulated that all ships in Weihaiwei Port, Liugong Island fort and all ordnance and supplies on the island would be handed over to the Japanese army.  On the 17th, the Japanese troops landed on Liugong Island, Weihaiwei Naval Base fell, and the entire Beiyang Fleet was annihilated.

    The Battle of Liaodong lasted for a long time.  After the Japanese army broke through the Qing army's Yalu River defense line, they successively occupied Fenghuang City, Xiuyan, Haicheng and other places.  During the Qing Dynasty, Liu Kunyi, the governor of Liangjiang, was appointed as the Imperial Envoy to supervise the military affairs of the Eastern Expedition. He was granted full power to command the military inside and outside the pass. He also appointed Wu Dacheng and Song Qing, the governors of Hunan, as assistants in order to restore the decline.  From January 17, 1895, the Qing army launched four battles to regain Haicheng. Due to poor command, they were all repelled by the Japanese army.  On February 28, the Japanese army took advantage of the victory and pursued it, attacking from Haicheng. They captured Niuzhuang on March 4, captured Yingkou without a fight on the 7th, and captured Tianzhuang Terrace on the 9th.  In just ten days, more than 100,000 troops from five towns of the Qing Dynasty retreated from the east bank of the Liao River.

    Since then, the war has become lonely, and the Manchus have lost the war.

    In 1894, Japan, with the support of American and British imperialism, launched the "Sino-Japanese War" of aggression against China.  Due to the rebellion of the Qing government, which blindly compromised and retreated, the Qing army lost ground: it was defeated first by North Korea and then by Liaodong, and the entire Beiyang Fleet was annihilated.  The Qing army was completely defeated, and Beijing and Tianjin were in crisis.  Faced with this situation, the Qing government was horrified and determined to sue for peace.

    In order to expand its aggressive interests, the United States took the opportunity to "mediate" and independently manipulate the peace talks between China and Japan. At the request of the United States, at the end of the year, the Qing government dispatched Zhang Yinhuan, the minister of household affairs, and Shao Youlian, the governor of Hunan, as plenipotentiary ministers to Hiroshima, Japan, to negotiate peace.  .  Japan believed that Zhang and Shao's official positions were too low and refused to negotiate, asking the Qing government to send Beiyang Minister Li Hongzhang to Japan.

    On March 19, 1895, Li Hongzhang, accompanied by more than 100 people including his son Li Jingfang and American consultant Costa, arrived in Shimonoseki, Japan, in the name of "First Class Plenipotentiary Minister" to negotiate a peace treaty with Japanese Prime Minister Hirobumi Ito.

    The Shimonoseki peace talks officially began on March 24. At the negotiation table, Japan, with the support of the United States, blackmailed and intimidated Li Hongzhang, forcing him to sign a clause that had already been drawn up.  On April 17, 1895, Li Hongzhang signed the treaty.

    The main contents of the Treaty of Shimonoseki are: North Korea is completely "autonomous", which in fact recognizes Japan's control of North Korea; cedes my country's Liaodong Peninsula, Taiwan Province, Penghu Islands and other places; pays 200 million taels of silver as compensation; and allows Japanese capitalists to trade in China Various factories were set up at the port; Suzhou and Hangzhou were opened as treaty ports.

    Once this humiliating treaty was reported back to the country, the whole country was shocked.  Not only were the people in western Sichuan excited and denounced the Manchus, but the people and elites in the areas ruled by the Manchus were also greatly disappointed with the Manchus.  At the right time, Western Sichuan was also ready for the final blow against the Manchus!

    PS: The fourth update is completed!  There will be three updates tomorrow, there will be no updates in the early morning, so book friends don¡¯t have to wait.  The Sino-Japanese War of Sino-Japanese War is finally over, and starting from tomorrow¡¯s chapter, it will be Western Sichuan that takes action!  !  (To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to subscribe and reward (this site). Your support is my biggest motivation.)
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