The winter in Korea is cold, and the bad weather has made it impossible for both the Qing and Japanese sides to continue fighting. The fleets of both the Qing and Japanese sides temporarily lost their combat effectiveness due to many bloody battles. Although the armies of both sides were not exhausted, they

The bad weather and traffic conditions also made both sides rationally choose to suspend the battle.

Before entering the winter truce period, Nie Shicheng's troops withdrew from the line of Wolbong Mountain to Incheon. Ma Yukun's troops fought small and medium-sized battles with the Japanese army that landed in Wonsan. Although the Japanese army was unable to break through Ma Yukun's defense line in Pyongyang, the strength of the troops

The more sufficient Japanese army can obviously maintain pressure on Ma Yukun's troops while detouring

The rear of the Qing army cut off the retreat route from North Korea to the country. The Qing troops stationed in North Korea, who had no retreat route, could only huddle in the small area of ​​Incheon and Pyongyang to defend. Fortunately, although land transportation was cut off, sea transportation was still available.

It was relatively smooth. Supplies and communications were never interrupted, and a large number of wounded soldiers returned to the country on transport ships.

Taking advantage of this truce period, the senior generals of the Qing army stationed in North Korea also needed time to plan future combat plans. So the generals of the Qing army came to Pyongyang to discuss the next combat plan. In addition to the new Beiyang Army and the old

In addition to the generals of the army, Zuo Guogui, a general of the Feng army who entered the North Korea to fight, also came to participate.

However, unlike history, Zuo Baogui was not the actual commander of the Qing army in Korea this time. Zuo Baogui, who entered the DPRK relatively late and did not have the advantage in military strength and official position, did not have many achievements, so the top command of the troops entering the DPRK fell to

Nie Shicheng is the leader. In terms of military exploits and military strength, Nie Shicheng, who won the battle of Chenghuan and had the support of the new army, naturally achieved the top spot.

"Our army has been fighting for half a year since entering the DPRK. Although the fighting was pretty good at the beginning, there is a constant flow of troops today, and one group has been destroyed and another group has come. Now, our army has been compressed into the narrow area of ​​Incheon-Pyongyang.

The route of retreat has also been cut off by the Japanese army. Food, grass and ammunition all rely on sea transportation. The situation is not good." At the beginning of the meeting, Ma Yukun put forward his own opinions.

"The current plan is whether our army can reopen the land channel to the country. Even if it loses to the Japanese army head-on, our army still has the opportunity to withdraw from the country by land." Zuo Guogui is also very pessimistic about the current situation.

Following the speeches of Ma Yukun and Zuo Guigui, many generals also whispered to the people below that it was impossible for them to say that there was no way out and they were not worried. Although supplies by sea were still sufficient, the Japanese army had now formed.

In a siege situation, if there are no more reinforcements, the Qing army can still be driven into the sea by relying on its superior strength.

"I wonder if Lord Zhongtang has mentioned the navy?" Shao Yu on the side asked Nie Shicheng with an arched hand. Although Shao Yu's official position is not high, he and Nie Shicheng fought together in the Battle of Chenghuan and the bloody battle of Yuefeng Mountain. They have made great contributions, so

He was also allowed to attend this meeting of senior military officers.

"Why do we mention the navy in our army meeting?" Zuo Guigui said with some dissatisfaction. Facing these military trainings from Southeast Asia, Zuo Guigui was very dissatisfied. Both the equipment and treatment were better than those of his Fengjun counterparts. Although they had military exploits, they still had military exploits.

Zuo Guogui felt that if he had the money and equipment, he would definitely do better than those in Nanyang.

"Master Zuo, what you said is wrong. Judging from the current situation, there is basically no possibility of success in returning by land. The Japanese army that landed in Wonsan has already outflanked our army. The Japanese army that came from Wolbong Mountain has already arrived in Incheon.

Nearby, our army has actually been completely surrounded, and our army's strength is limited. And the soldiers used to transport materials and supplies are even more limited.

Even if our army can open a breakthrough, it will not be able to return to the country quickly. Among other things, those 105 heavy artillery cannot be transported without enough horses. Even if the baggage is discarded, it will easily turn into a rout under the attack of the Japanese army along the way.

"By then, North Korea's 30,000-strong garrison may be completely wiped out." Shao Yu talked eloquently, not feeling the slightest bit nervous when facing many senior military officers.

"Then you mean to retreat by sea?" Zuo Guogui asked.

"Now the only option is to take the sea route. And taking the sea route must control the sea. The so-called last general only cares about the navy's situation." Shao Yu nodded and said.

"Oddly enough, our Beiyang Navy and the Japanese Navy have also fought two wars. Whether it was the Battle of the Izu Islands or the Battle of Gunshan Bay, both sides suffered heavy losses. No one can completely control the sea routes. If we want to seize this opportunity

If we retreat for a while, the 30,000 Qing troops stationed in North Korea will

The army can also withdraw. What are you waiting for, Lord Zhongtang?" Ma Yukun said very simply. If you want to fight, then quickly add troops and equip them. If you don't want to fight, then hurry back. This kind of focused offensive is waiting for the opponent to come.

The fighting situation really made Ma Yukun very dissatisfied.

"Since everyone wants to know Li Zhongtang's thoughts, I might as well give you the bottom line. This is a top secret. Just know it yourself. If anyone wants to leak it, the military law enforcement will not tolerate it." Nie Shicheng said sternly.

"Letting our Beiyang garrison continue to stay in North Korea is based on the overall situation. Everyone knows that in addition to our new Beiyang army and old army, Governor Liu of Taiwan and Mr. Li, the governor of Guangdong and Guangxi, also trained new armies. These new armies were obtained by the court after the war.

With permission, transportation to Liaodong began. Not to mention the Yellow Sea. The fleets of both sides were fighting fiercely, so they could only transport to Shandong first.

Then take the land route to Liaodong. The defense of the Liaodong Peninsula is also being arranged intensively, but fortunately, after nearly half a year of preparations for transporting troops and deploying defenses, they are nearing completion. It stands to reason that our troops who have been working hard in North Korea for half a year are also

You can withdraw it." Nie Shicheng listened for a moment and looked at everyone's reactions.

"However, we still have two important tasks to complete. First, we need to make a bait. We use our Qing Dynasty's 30,000 army as bait to attract the Japanese combined fleet. Second, the Liaodong peninsula will take some time to prepare for war.

Clean up." Nie Shicheng said.

"Nie Junmen, you mean that our army stays here to allow the Japanese combined fleet to find an opportunity to steal our sea route. Then the Beiyang Navy will start a decisive battle with the Japanese fleet?" Shao Yu asked in his heart.

road.

"That's what I mean." Nie Shicheng nodded and said.

"Then the Beiyang Navy is sure of winning the battle? Whether it was the Battle of Izu or the Battle of Gunshan Bay, both sides suffered losses." Ma Yukun frowned.

"Master Zhongtang promises that as long as the mainland can withstand it, retreat by sea will definitely not be a problem." Nie Shicheng still trusted Li Hongzhang very much, so he said confidently.

"Since Li Zhongtang has an order, we should naturally abide by it. However, I hope Nie Junmen can ask for more artillery supplies. The artillery of the Japanese artillery regiment far exceeds that of our artillery stationed in North Korea. In the bloody battle at Yuefeng Mountain in the previous month,

The 107 cannon caused huge casualties to our army. Now there is intelligence reality. In order to break through our Pyongyang defense line, the Japanese army specially assigned an artillery unit

The team has 120 cannons, which have been seen in the history of the Sino-Japanese War of 1894-1899 and were used when attacking the Yalu River defense line. And large-caliber mortars, the former is a Cheng Yuan gun, and the latter is extremely powerful. It poses a great threat to our army."

When Ma Yukun saw that it was Lao Si's order, he stopped worrying about the issue of withdrawing troops. Instead, he focused on how to hold on.

"General, there is still something unclear. Why did our army not retreat to the Yalu River but to Lushun? Is it possible that Lord Zhongtang intends to let the commander of the Japanese army advance straight in?" Zuo Baobao asked dissatisfied.

Several Beiyang bosses looked at me and I looked at you, but no one said anything. In fact, everyone knew the reason. On the long Yalu River defense line, it was impossible for the Qing army to stop nearly 100,000 Japanese troops.

Moreover, the general rear area of ​​Beiyang armies is in Lushun, and the supply problem from the Yalu River to Lushun is also very difficult to guarantee. After all, there are not so many conscripts in the Beiyang army now, and the Northeast is even more vast and sparsely populated. It is difficult to find people.

So easy to find.

"Since all the old people in Beiyang don't want to talk about it, let me, an outsider, talk about it." Seeing Nie Shicheng's gesture, Shao Yugong cupped his hands and said, "Zuo Junmen believes that whether it is Feng Jun, Sheng Jun and Zhenbian Army combined,

How many people can there be?”

"General Yiketang'a's border army has about 5,000 people, plus the remaining Fengjun and Shengjun. The total number can still reach 30,000." Zuo Baobao calculated and said.

"The Beiyang New Army, plus the Guangdong, Guangxi, and Taiwan training armies now in the north, only has 45,000 troops at most, and you have to note that this also includes the troops in North Korea. Based on this calculation, the Qing Dynasty can mobilize

All the troops going to the Yalu River will not exceed the Japanese army. Is this order correct?" Shao Yu continued.

"It should be like this." Zuo Guigui curled his lips.

"If we talk about combat effectiveness, the gap is even more obvious. To put it bluntly, the combat effectiveness of the Northeast Army training is not at the same level as that of the Japanese army. Excluding the heavy artillery units deployed in Lushun, the New Army has an advantage in artillery in addition to light weapons.

On the other hand, they were also invaded by the Japanese army.

Suppression. As for supplies, although our army is fighting on the inside, the human resources that can be used are still too few. The old army and the Northeastern training army do not even have a logistics supply system. Then Mr. Zuo, how do you think this battle should be fought?

?" Shao Yu said somewhat seriously.

Zuo Guigui was speechless for a moment. Before entering the DPRK, Zuo Guigui was considered a veteran of hundreds of battles. He had fought against the Taiping Army, Nian Army and bandits. However, after he first came to Korea, although he did not fight many battles, he still fought small battles.

Several ri army training sessions

The quality and firepower were completely beyond Zuo Guigui's expectations. Compared with Japan's brigade-level attack, which can be supported by 4 mountain cannons, Zuo Guigui's Feng army has more than 3,500 people, but only has 2 rapid-fire cannons and 6 small mountain cannons.

.

Although Lao Li very generously provided 24 camp guns, due to various reasons, he could not find enough gunners and related personnel. The artillery team was not completed for a long time. Fortunately, 12 Krupp camp guns were brought with the army.

artillery, and then transferred a group of gunners from the Beiyang Army to complete the formation of the artillery team.

"Since we can't defeat the Yalu River, it's better to retreat and rely on the fortress for defense. Not only can we get the support of heavy artillery and the protection of bunkers, but we can also lengthen the supply line of the Japanese army and provide the possibility for our army to raid the opponent's logistics. Instead of

It is better to use defense as offense in a decisive battle with the Japanese army at a key position than wasting troops in the Yalu River." Nie Shicheng looked at Zuo Guogui, who was blushing, and said patiently.

"Since Nie Junmen has said so, we should obey the order." Although he was still a little dissatisfied, the situation was stronger than the others. Zuo Guigui could only accept this order.

Thank you for your support for the late update. After all, it is not easy to write and check information. Thank you for the breeze, the monthly votes of Boxwood 2, the evaluation votes of bnkd, and the rewards from new and old people. Thank you very much. To be continued.
Chapter completed!