Chapter One: The Heart Can Be Executed

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  This newspaper debate was finally settled by an article published in a Hong Kong newspaper, which suddenly changed the tone. This article did not have any flashy writing, in-depth analysis, or dazzling data. In fact, it only had one sentence that occupied the entire page.

  "How can the incompetent Manchus continue to rule over 400 million Han people?"

  This sentence suddenly shut everyone up.

  "Preposterous! How dare you utter such treasonous words?! Pass on the imperial edict, seal off the newspaper office, arrest its editor-in-chief, and especially find that person named Mu Yunfeng and execute his entire clan!" The Empress Dowager Cixi was furious when she saw the newspaper in front of her. To say the least, this old woman was not one of those ignorant and foolish old crones. In fact, as a woman, she relied solely on her intelligence to dominate the treacherous political arena for decades, controlling the country until her death without anyone daring to challenge her authority. Even after surviving the Boxer Rebellion, she remained unshakeable, which is enough to make her a politician of the highest caliber.

  Of course she won't govern the country, that's another story, will politicians necessarily govern the country?

  Politicians only need to be able to protect the interests of their own group well, and it is perfectly fine to use the country for the benefit of their own group. From this point of view, Cixi can be said to be one of the few outstanding politicians in modern times. If not for her cleverness, the Qing dynasty would have perished many years ago. After the suppression of the Taiping Rebellion, the military strength of the Han warlords was already sufficient to overthrow the Manchu rulers, but they were defeated by this old woman who used various tactics to exploit their contradictions and defeat them one by one. Even great figures like Zeng Guofan, Zuo Zongtang, and Li Hongzhang all fell at her hands, which is enough to prove her ability.

  Of course, these people themselves also have enough weaknesses. However, being able to find out the opponent's weaknesses and take advantage of them is exactly the skill of a master politician. Think about how many generals were under their command, but in the end, they were all stripped of their military power by her, either by name or by interest. Even someone as cunning as Liu Mingchuan ultimately chose to hide in his hometown. To say that these people have any loyalty worth mentioning is simply a joke. How many Taiping Heavenly Kingdom and Nian rebels were manipulated by her at will?

  With her intelligence, she saw through this article or sentence at a glance. It's more sinister than those slogans, this is the real "heart can be executed". If it was just shouting slogans, Cixi would have been laughed at, everyone knows that thing is to fool around with fools, but this sentence is directly aimed at the ambition of those Han generals who hold military power, shouting some national righteousness won't really move these people's hearts, but ambition is easy to ignite.

  However, her wish to shut down the newspaper and arrest people, including their families, is unlikely to come true. Hong Kong is not her territory, and the British will not give her face. Moreover, even if the Governor of Hong Kong were willing, he would not have the guts to do so. The Ming Pao Daily is not someone to be trifled with, haven't you seen that the great god behind it is now stirring up the whole of East Asia?

  Mr. Yang raised a thought-provoking question for the Chinese people and then threw it to the back of his mind because he suddenly realized that staying in Tokyo all the time was not very meaningful either, as the city had already been looted clean, and even the bored soldiers had started digging three feet into the ground in some rich people's homes. Although there were also considerable gains, for him, it was just barely enough to pass the time. Japan still has many good places that haven't been ravaged yet, leaving a sense of unfinished business.

  "Count, we must change our strategy a bit. Keeping 30,000 troops in the Tokyo area is sufficient, and with the naval fleet protecting them, they can't escape our grasp no matter what. It's a waste to have everyone concentrated here. Why not divide 5,000 troops and send them on landing ships to attack their coastal cities? This will also increase military pressure on them and force them to accept our terms sooner." Yang Feng said seriously to Waldersee.

  Waldsee still doesn't understand his intention. This guy thinks that Tokyo has nothing left to plunder, so he wants to change places to get rich. Of course, this is possible. To be honest, with the current strength of the Allied forces, even if there were 100,000 Japanese troops, they wouldn't be able to break through the defenses of Tokyo, let alone 60,000. It's a bit wasteful to pile them up here. The best strategy is to use war to feed war.

  Of course, the army that went out to make a fortune couldn't be composed solely of Yang Feng's men. In the end, the two decided to each contribute half, but six landing ships were a bit too many. After all, their transportation tasks were still very heavy. Dividing four was enough. With Tokyo as the base and no need for long-distance navigation, there was no need to consider the soldiers' endurance. One ship could easily hold 2,000 people. A landing ship with a standard displacement of 2,000 tons meant that it would be fine even if it were fully loaded to 4,000 tons.

  Moreover, the Japanese Navy can now be said to have vanished, with a few remaining warships being seized by the British. This is the result of Ding Ruchang's negotiations, and also because the British wanted to shut up the Germans. After all, you came over under the banner of mediation, so we had nothing to say. However, if you only intercept the Beiyang Fleet and allow the combined fleet to roam freely outside, this is somewhat unreasonable.

  Ito Sukeyuki and his remaining four capital ships, three gunboats, and two wooden cruisers were all bottled up in Chemulpo harbor by the Far East Squadron. This meant that Yang could now disregard any threat from the Japanese Navy, but he still had to be careful about shore defenses.

  This problem is also easy to solve. Just avoid cities with coastal fortifications and you'll be fine. Before the First Sino-Japanese War, due to financial constraints, the Japanese only built forts in a few key locations, and most places just had one or two small gun emplacements, which Yang Feng could basically ignore.

  As the destroyers of the raider fleet were out on blockade duty, the raiding force consisted of Raider and three German cruisers, one Russian cruiser, and one American cruiser.

  His next target was Nagoya, and at this time the Ise Bay was almost defenseless for him. Moreover, most of Japan's combat forces in this area had been transferred to Tokyo, which was a great opportunity for him to show off his skills. The 5,000-strong coalition army charged towards Ise Bay, just as he used a ton of explosives to blow up the Nagoya Castle Tower and then looted the ancient castle. At the same time, Yamagata Aritomo's troops also began their attack on Liaoyang.

  However, at this time his opponent had also changed, because Iketangga was blocking the Japanese army's brigade that attacked from the north road on Mount Maotian, and it is said that the battle was not bad, after all, the Qing army at this time was also a veteran of many battles, even if they were defeated, they would have gained experience, plus Mount Maotian was basically a place where one man could hold off ten thousand men, so the Qing army finally managed to hold their defensive line for the first time when facing the Japanese army.

  It has been a month since the battle began, and it is said that over 100 enemies have been killed. Of course, this is the actual number. In the war report publicly announced by Cixi to the outside world, at this time, the Japanese army facing them had already died nearly twice.

  He defeated the Japanese army at Maotian Ridge, so this time Yamagata Aritomo's opponent changed to Wu Dacheng. The Hunan Governor who asked for battle himself, Commander-in-Chief of the Xiang Army, Wei Guangtao and Li Guangjiu led two troops with about 10,000 people, plus General Shengjing Changshun's troops with about 5,000 people. Although they were at a disadvantage in terms of military strength, their morale was very high.

  "I have been ordered to lead the Xiang Army of over 50 battalions, which has been trained for three months. We will depart from Shanhai Pass and head east to engage in battle with Japan within two months. I am confident that we will emerge victorious. I have studied the use of guns and cannons, and the troops I trained in the past two years are all skilled in their use. Our formation is solid, our flags are held high, and we can only advance, not retreat. We can only win, not lose. The soldiers of Xiang Army are loyal and brave, united as one. How can Japan's exhausted army compare to our fresh and vigorous troops?"

  I am a benevolent ruler who values human life and abhors bloodshed. I consider the people of Japan to be my children, each with their own parents, wives, and children. Would they willingly sacrifice their lives to my guns and cannons? They are forced by military orders to travel across the vast ocean, braving the harsh weather, hunger, and cold, with death lurking around every corner. Their families back home are worried sick, unaware of their fate. If we win, it's the general's merit; if we lose, it's the soldiers' fault. Thousands of lives are gambled to bring joy to a few individuals. I doubt that the wise men of Japan would consider this a good strategy.

  I, the Minister, wish to save the lives of both countries' people. I must be sincere and open, and clearly explain: When the two armies are at war, if you Japanese soldiers have no way to escape, but see the surrender and pardon sign set up by me, immediately hand over your guns and knives, kneel down under the sign, and my specially appointed kind and honest personnel will take you into camp. You will receive two meals a day, treated equally as Chinese people, and not be forced to do hard labor. After the matter is settled, I will send a ship to return you to your home country. I issue this proclamation, witnessed by heaven, earth, and spirits, and I will not go back on my word, lest I harm my moral integrity.

  If you are still confused and do not understand, fight to the death and refuse to surrender. I will select elite soldiers and sharp weapons to engage in battle with your excellency three times. The outcome of victory or defeat will be clear soon enough. When your troops have lost all three battles, I will have a plan to capture you seven times over. Please learn from past experiences and do not regret it later. This is specially shown to you." Yamagata Aritomo couldn't help but feel a chill run down his spine after reading the famous epigrapher Wu Dacheng's letter to him, then he couldn't help but burst out laughing, holding his belly in laughter until he was satisfied, and only then did he wave his military sword and shout: "Fire!"

  Behind him were thirty Krupp 75mm field guns received from the Qing army, twenty Gruson 57mm guns, plus hundreds of trench mortars produced by Hanyang Arsenal and the original 70 bronze cannons, adding up to more than two hundred large-caliber artillery pieces simultaneously spewing flames towards the front line of Liaoyang City, while piles of shells received from the Qing army were stacked beside the Japanese artillery.

  The blast of flames instantly engulfed this small county town.

  " is a novel written by "Mu Yunfeng", latest.

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