Chapter 90: The Eight-Nation Alliance Invades Japan

  "My Lord, we now have three alternatives. The first is to bomb the Japanese coastal towns, and then force them into negotiations by this means, but I am doubtful of its success, for this country is so poor that there are few valuable targets to destroy, and the most important ones, Tokyo and Osaka, the latter has already been destroyed by me, and as for bombing Tokyo, it would be better to land in Tokyo."

  "This is my second method, directly landing in Tokyo, the simplest and most effective, but also the most dangerous. This is the shore-based firepower chart I got from the cannon battle with their Yokosuka fortress on the Yokohama waterway not long ago." Yang Feng said, handing a newly drawn map to Waldersee, who had gone to harass Tokyo just for this thing.

  Although the few torpedo boats and small gunboats at Yokosuka can be ignored, the shore-based artillery batteries defending their own capital must be taken seriously. The Japanese had begun building a new-style fortress on Kannonzaki in 1880, and after more than a decade of work, the results were naturally incomparable to those of the Yura Fortress.

  Waldsee hastily took it over with a serious face, and together with Xiao Maoqi and Tirpitz, the three of them studied it intently. This map didn't just show the location of the Japanese artillery, but also included details such as quantity, range, and caliber. The Japanese fear of Yang Feng had completely exposed their secrets.

  "It has to be said that this is a very solid defense line." Tirpitz said with some worry after looking at the map, because the cooperation between the two sides was mainly in the naval aspect, so he and Yang Feng could also be considered as having a deep relationship.

  "So, if we want to land in Tokyo, it's best to avoid these things and land around Kamakura. With my landing ship, I'll rush ashore, secure the beachhead first, and then the German army will make a large-scale landing. We'll bypass Yokosuka from the side and rear and directly attack Tokyo. However, this will greatly extend our attacking distance, and we'll have to engage in a prolonged battle with the Japanese Army. Once their troops return from Korea to reinforce, we'll be forced to retreat."

  As for the third method, it's relatively simple: directly attack Kyushu Island. The Japanese army here only has the Kumamoto Sixth Division, with a total force of no more than 20,000 people. Moreover, there will be absolutely no reinforcements. However, this division is the number one elite of the Japanese army, and its combat effectiveness can be said to be the strongest in the entire Japanese army. We may get bogged down in a protracted war, resulting in many uncertain factors. You know that there are many people who are dissatisfied with our actions. Yang Feng's hint was clear: it didn't need to be said that the British were still making efforts for peace until now.

  "Yang, let's land directly in Tokyo and proceed with your second method. As the ancient Chinese proverb goes, 'when striking a snake, one must strike at the seventh inch.' " Waldsee said without hesitation. Tens of thousands of German soldiers have traveled far and wide, they need to gain some morale-boosting spoils. Just look at how the British and French armies returned triumphantly last year, it's clear how this war should be fought. Osaka, Japan's richest city, has already been snatched up by this guy right before our eyes. So the German army can only choose Tokyo now, what's worth taking in those poor areas of Kyushu?

  "Alright! So let's make our cooperation a pleasant one!" Yang Feng said with a shrug, and the two robbers' sinful claws were clasped together in laughter. Of course, there was still some preparatory work to be done next, especially Yang Feng's work on forming the Eight-Nation Alliance.

  The Russians need not be mentioned, as four Russian cruisers have officially joined, and the Ryukyu side has allowed King Sho Nei to personally lead the expedition. With a dozen or so guards, it's enough to show his face at the right time. As for Korea, upon learning that he was going to join the Eight-Nation Alliance to punish Japan, Li Er Gui Zi sent over Min Yeong-jun, the nephew of Queen Min who had fled to China, and had him lead a hundred or so Korean soldiers under the banner of avenging the queen.

  Ottoman and Swedish just send a telegram, replace the pirate fleet with the Swedish naval flag. Replace the mercenaries with the Ottoman army flag, and Yang Da Boss himself also replaced with Pasha attire, as for the middle team this is naturally undertaken by Song Qing's Yi Army, in this way only the United States is left.

  "Yang, we don't necessarily need to drag the Americans into this. With our current strength, it's already sufficient, even if the Americans join in, they can at most send one or two warships over, which would be of no significance to us." Waldsee couldn't understand why Yang Feng insisted on dragging the Americans into this.

  The United States, this flowery country, is not very welcome internationally. It's greedy and weak, only wanting to follow the hyenas in the lion's group, waiting for a chance to grab some leftover food, but it doesn't dare take any risks. Under the banner of openness, it boasts about itself, simply wanting others to make an effort while it takes advantage of the situation. They are purely a bunch of scoundrels, and the honorable German soldiers look down on them.

  "Earl, you know I also have a lot of business in the United States. If we don't get them involved in this matter, next time I go to America, those Americans will definitely be dissatisfied with me," said Yang Feng, of course he couldn't tell him that it was actually for the sake of the Eight-Nation Alliance.

  Since he insisted on this, Waldsee did not say anything else. Yang Feng soon contacted the US Ambassador to China, Tian Bei.

  Tian Bei was well aware of Yang Feng's background, and now the big oil tycoons in the US were trying to curry favor with him, hoping to obtain his petroleum cracking technology and gasoline anti-explosion technology. Offending him would even be troublesome for the President of the United States. Since that was the case, it was only natural that his request could not be refused. Moreover, it was just a matter of sending a warship to assist, so this favor had to be granted. Thus, with the addition of an American cruiser, Yang Feng's Eight-Nation Alliance was formally established, with General Waldersee as Commander-in-Chief and Yang Feng Pasha as Deputy Commander-in-Chief.

  Just as the Eight-Nation Alliance was preparing to invade Japan, the Japanese achieved another unexpected victory. In the icy snow of Korea, General Yamagata Aritomo's First Army broke through the Qingjiang River defense line led by Iktan Ah in one fell swoop.

  The defeat of the Qing army still started with the flag people, even if Feng Sheng was removed from office and imprisoned, he couldn't muster up the courage of the Shengzi Army, Qizi Army, Zhenbian Army, and Jingbian Army. Less than an hour after the Japanese attack, they abandoned their positions and fled in disarray. Then came the full-scale retreat of all units. Their defeat was not a big deal, but what was crucial was that when they retreated, they threw away all their weapons, including more than 20 Mark IV machine guns and over 30 Han Yang-made Type 82 mortars that had just been delivered into their hands. These weapons were soon used on the only general who held his ground, Zuo Baogui's head.

  Poor General Zu Dashou, because of Yang Feng's appearance he did not die in battle at Pyongyang, but instead died in battle at Anju, not being killed by the enemy's artillery fire, but rather being shot to death by his own friendly forces' abandoned machine gun. After his death, the Beiyang Army scattered in disarray, and the First Army led by Shan Qiuyuan followed behind the Qing army all the way to the Yalu River.

  "Hurry up and ask O'Connor how many Mausers have been delivered to the Empress Dowager." Yang Feng, flustered and exasperated, had his sister Cai Yimiao send a telegram to Shanghai.

  He soon received O'Connor's reply that fifty had been shipped and another fifty were ready for shipment.

  "Tell him to deliver it directly to Taiwan, damn it, not enough to give them trouble, and equip this batch of machine guns for Song Qing, anyway he is also a regular Qing army." Yang Feng took over Cixi's batch of machine guns without hesitation.

  Not only machine guns, but also the 20 mortars and 4,000 Lee-Enfield rifles that were transported to Taiwan with them, along with bullets and shells, were all given to Song Qingliang for replacement. The Yi Army was still using the old iron-plated open-bolt rifle, which was not very coordinated in the smokeless powder rifle-equipped Allied army, let alone how Cixi would explain it.

  No need to explain anything now, anyway the money is already in hand, it's all people from the imperial court, whoever uses it will use it.

  At the same time that the Japanese army was approaching the Yalu River, the Eight-Nation Alliance also set sail from Keelung Harbor. The British hastily informed Japan, and to this day Ito Hirobumi had no other choice but to make every effort he could: compensation, apologies, even agreeing to have a member of the imperial family personally apologize to Germany. However, the Germans refused to budge on their demands for the lease of Kyushu Island and the unconditional withdrawal of Japanese troops from Korea.

  In that case, there is only one way to fight hard, he ordered the first and fifth divisions to return home, leaving only the Daishan Yichang brigade to continue defending Ancheng River, blocking the Huai Army's northern advance on Hancheng, while the First Army continued to attack the Yalu River, and at the same time prepared to fight against the Eight-Nation Alliance at home.

  He thought that the German army's attack target was either Okinawa or Tokyo. Anyway, the main force of the Japanese army on its home soil is only two divisions. Although two new divisions, the 7th and 8th, were hastily formed, more than half of the soldiers in these two divisions still used old-fashioned muzzle-loading rifles due to insufficient guns. Such an army would not have any other use except to delay the enemy's time.

  The nine islands do not need to be reinforced, and the sixth division can hold on. Ito Hirobumi deployed all the guards divisions in the outer suburbs of Tokyo, utilizing the dense river terrain to set up layered defense lines. Based on Oyama Iwao's experience, they dug large trenches around the outskirts of Tokyo, and even set up a small amount of barbed wire in some areas. Hand grenades were also issued in large quantities, as there was not enough production of nitrocellulose and picric acid, and they even began using black gunpowder hand grenades.

  Not only did the army issue them, but even those using cold weapons, such as the standing troops, were issued hand grenades. When there weren't enough hand grenades, they simply used black gunpowder to make improvised bombs. Those who couldn't even be equipped with cold weapons were given wooden clubs and bamboo spears. Even ancient bows and arrows were dug out of the historical trash heap. For a time, the streets of Tokyo seemed to have returned to the Warring States period, and even those wearing armor began to swagger through the streets.

  "The Yamato people will build a tomb for the aggressors with their own flesh and blood!" The Prime Minister declared to the reporters.