Chapter 10 Chapter 10 Anton fell, and the Japanese army crossed the Yalu River for the first time in history

In the previous narration, we have already learned about the process of the Ching-ri naval battle, and what we are going to tell next will be a land battle with a longer time span.According to my habit, we need to understand Qingri's comparison of troops in the army first. The total number of armies of the two countries has been introduced earlier. The Japanese standing army is 75,000, including 6,000 artillery and 4,000 cavalry.The standing army of the Qing Dynasty was 600,000, including 470,000 infantry, 100,000 cavalry, and 30,000 artillery.Another 1 million militiamen. If you look at the numbers alone, the Japanese army is not only touching eggs with stones, but also with egg steamers.

But in addition to the quantity issue, there is a more important quality issue. Before the war between the two countries, the Japanese Army had completed the reform of the "division system", that is, the standing army was organized into divisions (equivalent to divisions) and formed into six divisions, which are: the first division (Tokyo division) Regiment), Second Division (Sendai Division), Third Division (Nagoya Division), Fourth Division (Osaka Division), Fifth Division (Hiroshima Division), Sixth Division (Kumamoto Division group). There is also another division that is being formed, which is Muren's Imperial Forest Army - the Guards Division.As well as the planned seventh division (Asahikawa Division), this division belongs to the half-agricultural and half-soldier "Tuntian Soldiers", and its main job is to transplant rice seedlings in Hokkaido in the Asahikawa area.Therefore, there are only 6 divisions that can be used to fight in Japan.

On the surface, it seems meaningless to implement the "divisional system" organization reform, but if we look at the original organization of the Japanese army, we can find the strength. The original organization is similar to that of the Qing army. The main task of the movement's "Taiwan suppression system" is to maintain local law and order and suppress peasant uprisings.After changing to the division system, the main tasks of the army have changed. This new task is - field warfare, in other words, aggressive warfare. Before the start of the Dadonggou naval battle, 30,000 people from the First Division and the Third Division had assembled in Incheon to form the First Army, commanded by Youpeng in Shan County, and preparing to go north to attack Pyongyang.

This general who made great achievements in the war against the shogunate and Takamori Saigo was known as the father of the Japanese army. Apart from his military achievements, there is another more important reason for this honorary title—loyalty .This can be seen from a small thing. Not long after Muren came to power, his Imperial Forest Army had a mutiny due to issues such as treatment. Youpeng in Shan County cut the mess quickly and killed more than 50 mutiny soldiers, successfully defending Muren's safety.Since then, Aritomo Yamagata began to make great efforts to rectify military discipline. The most ruthless move was to promulgate the famous "Military Instructions" in Japanese history, requiring every Japanese soldier to be absolutely loyal, absolutely obedient, and absolutely guaranteed to the emperor. , so that wherever the emperor directs, the army will fight there.

The tradition of the Japanese military's extreme devotion to the emperor emerged. Aritomo Yamagata is not only an avid war lover, but also a person who is prepared for danger in times of peace. In 1889, he proposed that Japan must defend two lines: one is the so-called "sovereignty line"; the other is the "interest line". In Yamagata Yutomo's view, Japan's interest line has two focal points: one is North Korea in the north; the other is Taiwan in the south.Conquer Taiwan, this is the south gate of the eternal kingdom; conquer North Korea, this is the springboard to realize the mainland policy.

In the hands of Youpeng in Shan County, the mainland policy has been refined, and his plan is divided into five major steps.Step 1: Occupy Taiwan; Step 2: Occupy North Korea; Step 3: Occupy the northeast of Qing Dynasty and Inner Mongolia; Step 4: Occupy the whole country of Qing Dynasty; That's right, it is the whole earth. This is the dream of Japanese soldiers represented by Youtomo Yamagata.It is the welfare of aliens not to include the whole universe plan. After the Sino-Japanese War broke out, Youpeng from Shan County took the initiative to ask for a battle and asked to go to the front line to command in person.At this time, Pyongyang had assembled 15,000 Qing troops. In Incheon, Shanxian Youpeng decided to dispatch the same troops as the Qing army as a vanguard to march towards Pyongyang.All armies must arrive in Pyongyang before September 15, and then launch a general offensive.

From a military point of view, Shanxian Youpeng's move is undoubtedly crazy.Because the army of more than 10,000 people did not dispatch as a whole, but marched in four directions. There are hundreds of kilometers from Incheon to Pyongyang. There are many mountains and dangers along the way. After the division of troops, there are only a few thousand people left in each army (the minimum is only more than 2,000 people).However, they took different marching routes and had no information with each other. Once the Qing army set up an ambush on the way, the Japanese army would be wiped out one by one, and the whole line would collapse.

The crazier ones are yet to come.Shanxian Youpeng ordered the army to resolve the battle within 48 hours after launching the general offensive. In order to facilitate the march, the army did not need to organize a special food and grass team to advance. Each soldier marched lightly and carried the food supplies until September 17. Dividing up the troops and rushing forward without bringing any more food, everyone was stunned by Shanxian Youpeng's crazy move.The generals walked out of the camp anxiously. Such a crazy leader has never been seen in my life. On September 15, all four Japanese armies arrived safely outside Pyongyang. Except for one or two Qing army sentries, they did not encounter any resistance or ambushes along the way.

Shanxian Youpeng's judgment was correct. Under the leadership of Ye Zhichao, the Qing army in Pyongyang had been preparing to rely on Pyongyang's strong city walls and fortresses to defend to the death.Take the initiative to attack, such a risky thing does not need to be considered, it is better for everyone to be safe. However, it is not so easy for the Japanese army to attack Pyongyang next. From a geographical point of view, Pyongyang is surrounded by city walls, with the highest point reaching ten meters, which is equivalent to the height of a three- to four-story building, and the thickest part reaching seven meters, which is difficult for shells to explode.There are cannon strongholds all over the city wall, and the power of condescending shooting can be imagined.In Pyongyang, enough food was stored for the Qing army for a month, but the Japanese soldiers outside the city had only two rice balls left, and the officers only had two bowls of gruel to drink every day.

Since ancient times, the siege army generally needs to have three times the strength to launch an attack when the food and grass are sufficient and the personnel are neat.You can't fight with an empty stomach.The Japanese army was not only hungry, but also in poor spirits. They traveled all the way through mountains and rivers without a break, and they were about to launch a general offensive.It seemed that if the Qing army occupying a favorable terrain could defend against the danger for more than two days, when the Japanese army outside the city had eaten their last bit of food and was dizzy from hunger, they would be done by going out of the city and slashing a few knives.

Ye Zhichao, who escaped from Yashan, was forced by Li Hongzhang to stay in the position of commander-in-chief.Two days before the Japanese army arrived in Pyongyang (September 13), Ye Zhichao asked Li Hongzhang for sick leave, stating that he could not even eat and was about to die, and that the heavy responsibility of guarding Pyongyang should be left to others.Li Hongzhang sternly refused.Then Commander Ye sent another telegram to Li Hongzhang requesting another reinforcement. Li Hongzhang, who received this telegram, sent the army to reinforce Pyongyang to Dadonggou, and the Beiyang Fleet escorted the troop carrier.Then, the Japanese troops arriving in Pyongyang did their first thing: cut the telegraph wires. Ye Zhichao became even more depressed.Without the telegraph line, Pyongyang completely lost contact with Tianjin. Mr. Ye Zhichao was a little confused, and the tense atmosphere spread from him.At the military meeting of senior generals, he advocated withdrawing to the Yalu River first. At first, everyone was silent. After all, the army came to Pyongyang to defend the city. Just can't explain it. After Comrade Ye Zhichao's repeated ideological work, the confidence of some generals began to shake. They said: We can't withdraw now, and we will withdraw when the Japanese army attacks. Ye Zhichao found a bosom friend, and quickly said: Good!Seeing that everyone is about to form a unified opinion on active abandonment. At this moment, a person stood up. He didn't agree with Ye Zhichao's opinion, and loudly reprimanded the general who asked to withdraw his troops. He said impassionedly: "The enemy's army goes deep alone. It is the best way to make the enemy stop here It’s time! The country sets up machinery, raises troops, and spends millions of dollars in military expenditures every year, just for today! If we retreat without fighting, how can we serve the country?” More than two months ago, when the situation in the Qing Dynasty was tense, Li Hongzhang wrote a letter to Zuo Baogui, the commander of the Fengjun, asking "Zuo Baogui, my brother" to help send troops to deal with the possible outbreak of the Korean War. On July 3, this personal letter reached Zuo Baogui's desk. Although Zuo Baogui's rank is much lower than that of Li Hongzhang, he has two choices: agree or refuse. In order to uncover this strange answer, we need to understand the situation of the Qing army. The earliest army was the well-known Manchurian cavalry, collectively known as the Eight Banners.There are actually twenty-four banners in the Eight Banners, because it has the Manchu Eight Banners (Man Eight Banners), the Mongolian Eight Banners (Mongolian Eight Banners), and the Han Chinese Eight Banners (Han Army Eight Banners). The Mongols were the partners of the Manchus in conquering the world, and the Han Army Banner was the army of the Ming Dynasty generals who cooperated with the Manchus before entering the customs. In short, they all contributed to the war.Therefore, during their time in the country, they enjoyed privileges.As long as you are a Bannerman, your son will be a soldier supported by the state from the moment he is born crying, with a fixed salary and rations. This is a child of the Eight Banners, hereditary treatment.In order to ensure the purity of the blood of the Eight Banners, intermarriage between Man and Han is not allowed (except for the Eight Banners of the Han Army).As a result, the emperor could only choose girls from Manchus and Bannermen, and his blind dates were very narrow. Emperor Qianlong, who liked Han beauties, had to go to Jiangnan many times, leaving countless sources of creativity for TV screenwriters. As an army, the Eight Banners Army is unique in that no Han can mobilize it. It is directly controlled by the imperial court, and the Han governor has no right to mobilize the Eight Banners.Although this kind of system guarantees the long-term stability of the rule and the "undeteriorating" of the army to a certain extent, because the rice bowl is too easy to come by, corruption is the most serious problem in the later period of the Eight Banners Army. To give a simple example, riding and archery was originally a stunt of the Eight Banners Army, but the officers were ashamed of riding a horse, and had to sit in a sedan chair when going out. Over time, it was difficult to even get on a horse.There is almost an entertainment street around every Eight Banners Army barracks.At night, the sedan chairs of the generals of the Eight Banners Army are full, and the soldiers also have things to do, fighting cocks and grasshoppers, walking birds and listening to operas, anyway, they don't have to worry about food and drink.Promotion within the army is based on money. How much money is needed to buy what kind of military position, the price is clearly marked, and no one deceives anyone.No matter how high the martial arts are, no matter how many military exploits, if there is no money to get through the joints, it will be difficult to be promoted. There is no doubt that this is no longer an army, but a swarm of parasites.The imperial court is very worried about this phenomenon, knowing that once there is a real war, this group of people will have no hope.Simply continue to use money to support them, but abandon the Eight Banners Army in terms of national defense and military, and start recruiting from the Han people to train another regular army-the Green Battalion Army. The green battalion is composed of Han Chinese.It is precisely for this reason that the imperial court has always been wary of the green battalion. Not only did it invest very little, but weapons and military pay were not fully in place.At this time, a serious event happened, that is, the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom Uprising, the two central armies of the Eight Banners and the Green Camp were beaten and fled, and the court faced a situation where there were no troops to fight and no one to fight. At a time of crisis, the imperial court could only recruit soldiers wantonly, and 44 ministers from different parts of the country received a decree: Go back to your hometown to recruit soldiers.Among them was a man named Zeng Guofan, who formed the Hunan Army in Hunan.The Hunan Army pays people to fight, and is actually a kind of mercenary.When forming the Hunan Army, apart from providing policy support, the imperial court basically did not contribute money or efforts. It relied on Zeng Guofan to find a way. One result was that the Hunan Army only listened to the boss Zeng Guofan, which was basically equivalent to Zeng Guofan's private armed forces.Most of this army was later abolished at the initiative of Zeng Guofan, but another private armed force was retained. This is Li Hongzhang's Huai Army.Zeng Guofan helped his apprentices form this army in the form of the Hunan Army, and helped fight the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom. When the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom Uprising was suppressed, a peasant uprising (Nian Army) broke out in the north, and the Huai Army was retained in this way.The difference between the Huai army and all other armies before it is that it is an army that has bid farewell to spears and swords as a whole. It is equipped with foreign guns and cannons, and has the strongest combat effectiveness among the existing troops of the imperial court. In order to strengthen the military strength and guard against the Huai army, the imperial court began to think of a way again. It selected some people from the green battalion, and equipped them with foreign guns and cannons according to the model of the Huai army, which is called army training.Military training belongs to the Central Army, and it also has many local versions, which are the armed forces that maintain local law and order. For example, Fengtian has Fengjun, which is responsible for exterminating beards. These troops belong to the local establishment and are supplied by the local government. Soldiers are not civil servants, so they might be abolished at some point.In order to appease people's hearts, the imperial court placed military officers in the establishment of the green battalion, where they could be inserted.The position of Zuo Baogui, the commander of Fengjun, in the system is: the commander-in-chief of Gaozhou Town, Guangzhou, but his work has nothing to do with Guangzhou half a dime, and has been suppressing bandits in Liaoning. Now we know that the military situation of the Qing Dynasty is relatively chaotic, with many factions, basically all political troops, controlled by different interest groups.In order to prevent the rebellion of the Han Dynasty, the imperial court used different systems of troops to contain and restrict each other, so this situation occurred. Zuo Baogui and Li Hongzhang did not belong to the same system. From an organizational perspective, Li Hongzhang was unable to mobilize Zuo Baogui’s army. After receiving Li Hongzhang’s letter, Zuo Baogui’s reasons for rejecting Li Hongzhang were fair and just—suppressing bandits was also very important.Everyone knows that it is more dangerous to fight the Japanese, so they have persuaded Zuo Baogui to excuse himself. But Zuo Baogui didn't hesitate at all. In Fengtian, he visited his friends one by one and bid them a final farewell. "This war is different from the suppression of Hu bandits. I'm afraid I won't come back!" The moment Zuo Baogui received the letter, he was ready to lead troops into the court. It's not that I don't know the danger on the road ahead, and I don't know that there are sufficient reasons to avoid this danger, but I still move forward.Knowing that it is impossible to do it, knowing that there is danger, but going forward, because I know that the light always depends on some people to fight for it. Maybe the effect is very small for a while, and maybe it will not be famous in history, but I still want to do it.Dye the red flag with blood when needed, and inspire more people to fight - because this is what I believe in.Others can ridicule me for my persistence, but I am calm because of my persistence. Zuo Baogui set off with his army of 3,500 men. After leaving the army, Zuo Baogui became an unconscious master. He sent telegrams to Li Hongzhang all the way, constantly asking Li Hongzhang for soldiers, guns and cannons.Li Hongzhang has provided guns and ammunition to the best of his ability, but Zuo Baogui never seems to be satisfied. Many people think that Zuo Baogui took the opportunity to blackmail him, relying on the fact that he was invited, and took the opportunity to increase the combat effectiveness of his troops and fill his own pockets.This word reached Zuo Baogui's ears, Zuo Baogui was very silent, he didn't explain, he believed that the reason why he did this, people would know one day. At the military meeting, Zuo Baogui angrily reprimanded Ye Zhichao for retreating without a fight. In order to prevent Ye Zhichao from escaping, Zuo Baogui sent his own soldiers to guard Ye Zhichao, and a general sent troops to guard the coach. Ye Zhichao will run sooner or later. In the early morning of September 15, the Japanese army that had just arrived outside Pyongyang did not rest, and the general attack on Pyongyang began. The attacking Japanese troops were divided into three groups, attacking from the south, southwest and northeast of Pyongyang.From the perspective of terrain, the South Gate of Pyongyang is open, while the Xuanwu Gate in the northeast is close to high mountains.Ye Zhichao judged that the main attack direction of the Japanese army should be the south gate, and the main force of the Qing army should be deployed at the south gate. The Japanese army would never go far to attack Xuanwu gate, so Xuanwu gate should deploy the least troops. Zuo Baogui led the 1,500 men assigned to guard the Xuanwu Gate.Zuo Baobao has doubts about such a distribution of troops. The Japanese army is cunning, and Xuanwu Gate may not be safe, and 1,500 people are not enough to guard it.And Ye Zhichao replied that he had no soldiers left.Brother Zuo, I'm sorry, I'm also in a difficult situation. Ye Zhichao has a secret in distributing troops in this way: he deployed 3,000 troops to garrison Anju, 170 miles north of Pyongyang, and used one-fifth of the total troops to protect the retreat route. It can be seen that he still fought this battle bravely. And Ye Zhichao's judgment on the direction of the Japanese army's main attack was completely wrong!Xuanwumen is the main direction of the Japanese attack.After the general offensive began, the Japanese army adopted the strategy of attacking the east and attacking the west. First, they used part of their troops to feign an attack at the south gate to attract the main force of the Qing army. The remaining 7,800 Japanese troops detoured outside the Xuanwu Gate.As a result, the Japanese attacking force was five times that of Zuo Baogui's defenders! What Zuo Baogui is facing is an arduous battle of life and death! Fighting more with less will be a battle in which there is no guarantee of survival.But I have already made preparations to serve the country with my death.And I will not sacrifice needlessly, I will use the strongest combat power to fight against the Japanese army.I know that this is a fierce battle of life and death, so I have prepared sufficient ammunition, and I must have a big fight.I am eager to win and defeat the Japanese. If I am unfortunate enough to lose the battle, I will have more Japanese to back me up. I believe my bravery will inspire future generations. The moment I accepted the request, the moment I bid farewell to my family and friends and entered North Korea, I was ready. No matter what the situation was, I would fulfill my promise. bring it on! The battle started, and hundreds of Japanese soldiers lifted their cannons up the mountain, ready to use them to open the way and bombard the Xuanwu Gate.The city wall of Xuanwumen was pierced by artillery fire. At this time, the Japanese infantry charged, but the inside of Xuanwumen did not fight back. The position was quiet, and it seemed that the city was empty. The Japanese army boldly reached under the city wall. Just as they were about to enter through the gap, 13 rounds of Mausers ambushed on both sides opened fire at the same time. The charging Japanese army was hit as a target. It turned out that Zuo Baogui asked in advance not to shoot at the opponent needlessly. Under the unfavorable conditions of the opponent being condescending, he wanted to lure the Japanese army into the position and lure them to charge, while his own troops lay in ambush on both sides, and when the Japanese army approached, they would kill them in one fell swoop! The Japanese army probably didn't know that the commander in the opposing army was famous for beating bandits on the mountain. The Japanese army suffered heavy losses, and even the detachment leader who was in command was shot and injured.Seeing that the strong attack could not be achieved, the Japanese army retreated a little, and then used cannons to bombard them from above. More than a dozen cannons fired at the same time, and the shells came like a heavy rain.The artillery fire was fierce, and the walls of Xuanwu Gate were soon covered with dead bodies.Under the cover of artillery fire, the Japanese engineers once again approached the city wall and climbed up the city wall with rope ladders.After opening the city gate, the Japanese army occupied the outer city of Xuanwumen. Occupying the outer city does not mean the loss of Xuanwu Gate, because there is a stronger inner city ahead, but if the inner city is also breached, the Japanese army can drive straight into Pyongyang City and attack the main force of the Qing army at the south gate. The defenders in the inner city are quietly waiting for the arrival of the Japanese army. This is the second key line of defense arranged by Zuo Baogui.Due to the continuous intense work before the war, Zuo Baogui fell ill and fell to the ground due to a sudden stroke. He could only lie on the bed and listen to the battle report. When he woke up, Zuo Baogui asked him to change into a piece of clothes, which was the yellow mandarin jacket bestowed by the emperor back then.Zuo Baogui, who was wearing a yellow jacket, drew out his saber, stood on the top of the city, and commanded himself. The strong charge of the Japanese army was repulsed many times.But Xuanwumen is a position that the Japanese army must take, and it must be used to open the gap into Pyongyang. The Japanese army, who are not afraid of death, quickly regrouped and launched a strong attack. The firepower on the ground was suppressed again, and the charging Japanese army was already close to the city wall, and the position was critical again! Zuo Baogui's only four cannons finally came into play, and what he deployed here was the artillery line of defense.Zuo Baogui ordered the soldiers to push the cannon in front of him and fire the cannon himself.The Japanese army kept charging, Zuo Baogui kept firing dozens of shells, and the Japanese army's charge was repulsed again. The Japanese army already understood that as long as there is Zuo Baogui, Xuanwu Gate will be difficult to capture.So they aimed their cannons at Zuo Baobao and fired.Everyone persuaded him to change the yellow jacket, so as not to become a target of the Japanese army, but Zuo Baogui knew that this was a kind of spiritual support, and at critical moments, the spiritual support must not be lost. live. Zuo Baogui refused, and shouted loudly: "The enemy is watching, why should I be afraid?" All the soldiers wanted to put him off the city wall, but Zuo Baogui's eyes spewed fire, and he pushed him away with a palm: "How can the master go down the line of fire? I swear to live and die with the city wall!" The Japanese army launched a strong attack again, and the engineers carried rope ladders to climb the city wall. Although the Qing army fought more with less, they were infected by the commander and their morale was greatly boosted. The bullets and artillery fire of the Japanese army were more focused on Zuo Baogui. When a shell flew in, Zuo Baogui had no time to dodge, and the flying shrapnel cut off a whole piece of his forehead!Zuo Baogui tore off the white cloth, bandaged the wound and fought again!Another piece of shrapnel hit the ribs, the abdomen was cut open, and the intestines flowed out. Zuo Baogui finally fell down. With his sword on the ground, he opened his eyes wide and ordered the other soldiers to defend the city wall! The Japanese sniper aimed at Zuo Baogui, and Zuo Baogui was shot several times in the left chest. Finally, he could no longer support himself and fell to the ground and died.Before falling down, Zuo Baogui issued one last command to his soldiers: People are in the city! Although there have been heavy casualties, and although there is no coach, no one in the Qing army gave up holding on.Shouting Zuo Baobao's last words, the soldiers assembled again and fired at the Japanese army at the top of the city.When the Japanese army charged under the city wall, the Qing army jumped on top of the Japanese army, threw them down, and then fought with their bare hands! The Japanese army was stunned by this scene.Since entering the Korean battlefield, the Japanese army saw the heroism of the Qing army for the first time, and this desperate style of play was terrifying.And when the Japanese army retreated a little, the Qing army in the inner city took advantage of the momentum to launch a counterattack! The Xuanwumen Japanese army finally retreated with annoyance and a hint of bewilderment.They originally thought it would be easy to take down Xuanwumen with an overwhelming force, but they did not expect to encounter such tenacious resistance. Zuo Baogui gave his soldiers the best weapons, sufficient ammunition, and more importantly, his spirit was immortal. On the battlefields in the south and southwest of the city, the Qing army repelled the other two Japanese attacks.The situation is very favorable for the Qing army.The casualties of the Japanese army were higher than those of the Qing army, and their artillery shells were almost exhausted, and there were not many rifle bullets left. More importantly, the rice balls were also eaten up, so they had to dig wild vegetables.Many people charged without eating for a day, but the weather was not good. It rained heavily in Pyongyang, and the shivering Japanese soldiers huddled together, tired and hungry, and extremely exhausted. The wounded soldiers had no medicine, but kept wailing. Morale was gone, and he fell into a pessimistic situation. For the Pyongyang defenders, this is an excellent fighter to wipe out the Japanese army.All the Qing army had to do was to take the initiative to launch a surprise attack overnight. The Japanese army's hungry and exhausted troops were powerless to resist. In order to prevent the Qing army from launching a sneak attack overnight, the Japanese army decided to retreat in general. For this result, Shanxian Youpeng is not unprepared.Before the Japanese army set off from Incheon, Youpeng Shanxian had already prepared for the worst. He would rather be broken than broken ("broken jade" later became synonymous with the Japanese army's collective suicide on the battlefield), and must be "loyal" to the emperor. "If the battle situation is extremely difficult, I will never be captured by the enemy. I would rather die innocently to show the integrity of Japanese men and preserve the reputation of Japanese men!" The Japanese troops from all walks of life were ready to retreat and were packing their luggage. In fact, there was nothing to pack, because they didn't bring much, and the Japanese army was waiting for the final miracle. In Pyongyang, Ye Zhichao is making his decision. Zuo Baogui died in battle, and there was nothing left of his body, except for a boot.Ye Zhichao was terrified and excited by the result. Excitedly, no one can stop him from escaping. The Japanese soldiers who were about to pat their buttocks and leave were surprised to find that a white flag was hung on the top of Pyongyang city! So the retreat of the Japanese army stopped, trying to see what happened. A North Korean sent a letter out of the city to the Japanese army. He was sent by Ye Zhichao. Ye Zhichao surrendered to the Japanese army in the name of North Korean officials in Pyongyang, indicating that the Qing army had agreed to a truce and quit. He hoped that the Japanese army would abide by international law and stop firing a single shot at night. On the second day, the two sides formally negotiated how to surrender. The Japanese army accepted the surrender document with great surprise, agreed to the content of the surrender document, and sent the Koreans away.Then the Japanese army began to arrange in the back of Pyongyang-ambush. Based on their understanding of Ye Zhichao, the Japanese knew that the so-called negotiation the next day was just a cover, and he would definitely run away overnight!This is an excellent opportunity to wipe out the Qing army. As night came, the rain in Pyongyang became heavier, with torrential rain in the strong wind, lightning and thunder, and the hungry Japanese army dispatched all their main forces, marched hurriedly to the back road of Pyongyang, and lay in ambush on both sides of the road. The Japanese army quickly confirmed their guess. As soon as it got dark, Ye Zhichao took his soldiers and ran away quietly in the rain.The news of the disappearance of the coach quickly spread in the army, and all the defenders in Pyongyang collapsed.Before they had time to bring their weapons and supplies, they rushed out of the city gate and fled to the back of Pyongyang. The Japanese army ambushing on both sides of the road opened fire at the right time. In the dark night, the Qing soldiers who were only running for their lives didn’t know what happened. The Qing soldiers in front were shot, and turned around in panic. The Qing soldiers behind didn’t know what was going on. .The Japanese army took the opportunity to surround and shoot again. For a while, dead bodies were everywhere on the road. More than 1,500 Qing soldiers were shot to death on the spot, or were trampled to death by their companions, and more than 700 people became prisoners. Life! Pyongyang just fell.The Pyongyang defense line carefully laid out by Li Hongzhang fell within 24 hours. On September 16, the Japanese army entered the city of Pyongyang.The Japanese army obtained spoils they could not imagine, a large number of Krupp guns, a large number of continuous Mauser guns, a large amount of gold and silver, 792 rounds of shells, 560,000 rounds of bullets, and 43 kilograms of gold bricks. On this day, Ding Ruchang was leading the Beiyang Fleet to escort and support the Pyongyang army to Andong. No matter whether it was Li Hongzhang who sent troops, Ding Ruchang who transported troops, or the Qing army who landed, they didn't know. When they arrived in Andong and were about to enter North Korea, Pyongyang had already lost.The next day (September 17), the Dadonggou naval battle took place. Ye Zhichao ran for six days without any stops along the way. He ran across mountains and rivers, and ran for more than 500 miles.On the rugged mountain roads in North Korea, he ran an average of more than 80 miles a day, at a speed comparable to that of an off-road vehicle. He even ran from Pyongyang to the Yalu River before stopping with lingering fear. Ye Zhichao finally ended his performance in North Korea with two escapes, and his military career was also declared over. Ye Zhichao used to be a fierce general of the Huai Army. When he was young, he often fought desperately on the battlefield because of his bravery in battle. Everyone called him "Ye Big Idiot". There is no difference between the fierce generals of the Huai Army and the generals of the Eight Banners. In addition to the dye vat effect brought about by the comprehensively corrupt social environment, they also have many difficulties.Li Hongzhang said that the Qing Dynasty was a shabby house made of paper, and he himself was the paper maker.Even if Li Hongzhang is an extremely human minister, there are many things he wants to do but can't do.The hereditary Eight Banners soldiers are not only military generals from birth, but also many civilian ministers who do not know a single character. Just because they are the "second generation of officials", they become the bosses of those Han officials who have studied hard since childhood. No matter how hard one can be, they are always suppressed by the "second generation of officials", and the same is true for Li Hongzhang. But when they devoted themselves to the Westernization Movement and opened their eyes to see the world, they realized that the outside world was wonderful and their own world was helpless. Ye Zhichao is just such a "smart man". He knows that the problem of the Qing Dynasty is no longer a problem of a certain army, but a problem of the entire military system, not only the problem of the entire military system, but also the problem of the entire court.Ye Zhichao is fundamentally pessimistic about the future of this war. He understands that even if he is brave, others may not cooperate with you. It is better to save his life than to fight a hopeless war. And Ye Zhichao knew that Li Hongzhang would definitely protect him.Although Lord Li has many difficulties, he also represents an interest group, one of the many interest groups in the imperial court, and it is a relatively large one. He has a close interest relationship with Lord Li. Lord Li has to save yourself. Ye Zhichao was not wrong.When Ye Zhichao was sentenced to prison for running away, Li Hongzhang used his relationship to keep Ye Zhichao.The unforgivable Ye Zhichao was acquitted again.Master Li will not kill his own people, no matter how damnable this person is, all the Huai people understand this. Shanxian Youfeng won the battle of Pyongyang with his crazy gambling, and the following things will prove that this is not only a crazy person, but also a deceitful person. After the capture of Pyongyang, 25,000 Japanese troops gathered in the North Korean border city of Uiju (now Sinuiju). On the other side of the Yalu River, 30,000 Qing troops assembled.They were commanded by Song Qing, a respected 74-year-old white-haired general.Although Song Qing was also a general of the Huai Army, he was from Shandong rather than Anhui.After the fall of Pyongyang and the defeat in the Dadonggou naval battle, the Japanese had already reached the border, and for the first time the supreme commander of the Qing army was held by someone who was not from Li Hongzhang's hometown. This is the result of mutual compromise between the imperial party and the queen party. We will introduce this situation later.Now we only need to understand that interest groups not only appear among the officials in the frontier, but also in the highest power center-the imperial palace.The flames of war have reached the doorstep, and everyone is still tearing each other down. Before departure, the 74-year-old Song Qing wrote tremblingly in blood: Defend the country! Song Qing took Jiulian City as the center and distributed his troops along the nearly 100-mile-long riverside, deploying defenses along the Yalu River.The Qing army rushed to work day and night to build a series of fortresses that were three meters high and one meter thick. There were forts at regular intervals on the fortresses, which could shoot down at the river.Landmines were planted outside the fortress, and the Yalu River was a natural danger beyond. It was very difficult for the Japanese army to cross the river to fight. After learning about the defense situation of the Qing army, Youpeng of Shanxian County was uncharacteristically not eager to fight, but strictly ordered all the main forces to retreat.Then small groups of troops were dispatched. They ran back and forth by the river every day, waving flags and shouting, and making an offensive posture, but their real purpose was to cover the actions of a group of people. These guys are scouts. Under the cover, the scouts took binoculars, long bamboo poles (to test the water depth), and drawing tools to measure back and forth along the river.They found an excellent attack location on the other side of the Yalu River - Hushan. Hushan is located outside Jiulian City, and it is the commanding height to enter Jiulian City. Once it is captured, you can set up cannons there and shoot down at Jiulian City. It is an ideal stronghold.However, Hushan is guarded by a large number of Qing troops, and it is almost impossible to attack across the river head-on.Youpeng of Shanxian made a plan to divide the road and surround Hushan. In the early morning of October 24, in the darkness, a death squad composed of 500 Japanese troops arrived at the mouth of the Anping River in the upper reaches of the Yalu River.This place was also carefully chosen by the scouts. It is located in a remote place, guarded by only a few hundred Qing soldiers, and the water flow is slow and the water is not deep. The Death Squad plans to swim through here. It looks good, but there is a more serious practical problem: cold.At the end of October, the water of the Yalu River was almost freezing, and it was not possible to swim during the day, but only in the second half of the night when the Qing army guards were most relaxed.A war is a war, and I didn't expect to have a winter swim. The death squad just swam past quietly like this, and the Qing army sentries on the shore never expected such a thing to happen.By the time they found out, it was too late, and the first Japanese troops to set foot on the territory of the Qing Dynasty went ashore just like this. According to the deployment of Youpeng in Shanxian County, the death squad had to persist for a day after landing, fumbled to the foot of Hushan to ambush, and waited for the main force to cross the river. Before crossing the river, Youpeng from Shan County specially organized a military parade. 300 years ago, Toyotomi Hideyoshi led the Japanese expeditionary force to attack North Korea with the dream of "drinking horses from the Yalu River, conquering Beijing, and realizing the unification of the Three Kingdoms", but his troops were defeated by the Ming army as soon as they arrived in Pyongyang. Toyotomi Hideyoshi He was also pissed off. 300 years have passed, and Youpeng of Shan County did not expect that he would become the first practitioners of "Yalu River Drinking Horses". "You are the first Japanese soldiers to reach the Yalu River!" There were thunderous cheers on the parade ground, every Japanese soldier waved a bayonet, the cheers were thunderous, and the shouts shook the sky! "But we still have to go into Beijing." On the evening of the 25th, Youpeng of Shan County issued an order: engineers and soldiers erected pontoon bridges, and the main force crossed the river! At midnight, the engineering team set off. They touched the riverside carefully and began to erect the pontoon bridge.一切都在黑暗和寂静中进行，工兵在冰水中紧张地忙碌着，可是岸上竟然听不到任何击水的响声。防守松懈的虎山清军也自始至终没有发现眼皮底下的架桥行动。 等到天亮之后，虎山上的清军守军这才发现江面上突然从天而降三座浮桥，他们顿时都惊呆了。接到报告的宋庆也大惑不解：一夜之间（准确地说是半夜之间），日军是怎么偷偷摸摸地完成了这么庞大工程？ 宋庆当然不会知道近代化的军队中有一个专门的军种——工兵。他们的任务就是架桥铺路、挖沟凿墙，而日本工兵日常的魔鬼训练使得他们在战场上能极为迅速地完成任务。所谓平时多流汗，战时少流血，这话看来是很有道理的。 浮桥架设完毕后，日军主力全部出动了！所有的大炮都被拉到江边，向江对岸猛轰，步兵们冒着炮火冲过浮桥，向虎山强攻！ 驻守虎山的清军将领是聂士成，他是跟随叶志超进入朝鲜的将领，参加了牙山和平壤之战，也算是日本人的老对手。When enemies meet, they are extremely jealous. 过江的日军在虎山山脚发起一轮又一轮的强攻，聂士成率领清军奋力作战，虎山阵地几次被日军夺去，又被夺了回来，双方反复争夺，形成拉锯战。此时，埋伏在虎山后侧的日军出动了，他们对清军发动出其不意的袭击！聂士成猝不及防，阵地被夺了过去。但是，聂士成重新组织起清军发动冲锋，又把虎山给夺了回来！ 江对面，山县有朋焦躁不安地看着这一切。如果战事形成拉锯，对日军是极为不利的，因为日军是背水作战，虎山清军如果得到主力支援，发动反攻，只需要把日军往江里赶就行了。 山县有朋命令：必须争分夺秒，抢在清军主力到来之前拿下虎山，预备队上！日军真正倾巢出动了，没有投入战斗的只留下了山县有朋的几个警卫。日军在山脚分成三路，再次向山顶发动冲锋！ 面对急于进攻的日军，聂士成也明白了形势，他决定死守虎山，同时能否等来援军成为取胜的关键，于是他向九连城里的宋庆告急，请求增援。 接到报告的宋庆立即下令：大军出城，增援聂士成！ 清军只要主力出动，眼看就要取胜在望。而下完军令的宋庆发现了一个几乎要令他气炸的现象：军令虽然下达了，却没有人执行。 援军无法出动的原因是一个老生常谈的话题了。前面我们已经了解清国的军队是分为很多派别的，门户众多。而宋庆统领的就是一支杂牌军，番号五花八门，分属的派别林林总总不下十余种。他表面上能节制三万大军，实际上在这三万大军中，有一半是他无权调动的八旗兵（宋庆是汉人），还有另外一小半，就是刚跟随叶志超从平壤溃退而来的士兵，他们见识过叶总指挥丢下大军独自逃跑的神速，不得不怀疑宋庆和聂士成就是下一个叶志超，所以，当日军一进攻，他们就开始在作逃跑的准备。 在虎山上苦盼的聂士成绝望了，部下伤亡严重，日军兵力已经达到了他的近十倍，继续守下去，很快就要全军覆没，无奈之下，聂士成只好撤出虎山阵地。 当聂士成后撤时，九连城里的各路军望风而逃，宋庆也只好带着聂士成和几百名亲兵，放弃九连城，向西边的凤凰城撤退。 日军开进了九连城，这是日军在清国领土上的第一个落脚点。第一次踏上清国国土的日本人还是很有礼貌的，山县有朋特意严厉要求士兵遵守军纪，并贴出告示：禁止军队扰民，免除本地赋税一年，但九连城的老百姓还是都跑了。 日军在这里又获得了更加丰厚的补给：74门大炮，三万多发炮弹，4400枝连发毛瑟步枪，400多万发子弹，几千顶行军帐篷和5000多石军粮！ 这真是世界上最发财的生意。 有了九连城这样的据点，就可以放心大胆地前进了。中午，日军马不停蹄，奔向20多里外的安东，安东县城早已经是人去城空，日军没开一枪，进入安东城内。 在安东，日军干了一件特别的事：就是成立日本本土之外的第一个民政厅。这是日本在大陆上建立的第一个县级民事行政机构，象征着长期在海岛上捕鱼的日本人，终于有了一个“大陆县”。电报传回国内后，日本民众的战争热情又一次被点燃了，整个日本几乎再找不到一个反对战争的人——谁也无法拒绝这项利润巨大的生意啊。 以安东民政厅名义发布的《告十八行省豪杰书》张贴在安东城内的大街小巷，它的内容是劝告清国各地的“豪杰”起来推翻清国政府，这张告示的内容是令人惊奇的，而起草这份告示的人，更加令人惊奇，以后我会讲到。 安东失守后，日军又迅速攻下了宋庆的退守地——凤凰城。凤凰城里的宋庆原本也想重新收拢部队，据城一战，可是，溃兵们不给他这个机会了。他们与“胡子”勾结在一起，在凤凰城的南门外放了一把火，高喊：日军到了！然后，乘势对百姓进行抢劫，抢完之后再继续逃跑，大火烧了一昼夜，城南一千多户百姓人家的房子化成灰烬。灰头土脸的宋庆只好带着聂士成，又一次向西撤退。 三天之内，朝廷花大力气打造的国防线全线崩溃。在九连城之战中，山县有朋从发起主攻到结束战斗，仅用了不到一天的时间完成了渡江、攻山、占城的全部任务。胜利的轻易取得让山县有朋豪情大发，他认为接下来的主要工作就是清点行军途中的战利品，清军永远是不堪一击的。 豪情满满的山县有朋特意写下了一首诗，在鸭绿江边迎风朗诵。 good.在山县有朋看来，渡过鸭绿江只是小小的第一步，迅速攻下奉天才是值得庆贺的。在战报上奏给睦仁后，山县有朋再一次集合了大军，集合起来只是要进行一句简单的问话。 “你们想不想去奉天过新年？” 他似乎看到了奉天城外的烟火。 志得意满的山县有朋并没有料到，因为一个人的出现，他的野心很快就要破灭了，他即将迎来第一次严重的失败，不得不结束在清国的作战生涯。而他手下的士兵，只能在冰天雪地里瑟瑟发抖，饥寒交迫，冻死冻伤，山县有朋即将为他的狂妄付出惨重的代价！