Chapter 98: Blood Battle in Tokyo
Yang Feng's sinister plan was soon put into action, as the Germans did not want to play the role that would easily be attacked by public opinion, and the real culprits also had to continue maintaining their positive image. So this task was handed over to Min Yong-jun and his Joseon Revenge Army to do. Anyway, considering the harm caused by the Japanese people to their national feelings, it is understandable that these people have done some despicable things, but mainly because they are worried that if the Japanese really sacrifice themselves for their country, it would be troublesome to clean up even the executors of the task.
Yang Feng and Walderze hid on a mountain top nine kilometers away, using binoculars to look towards the Guanyinji Battery, while at the foot of the mountain below them, more than 200 bound Japanese people knelt on the ground, with a Korean soldier standing behind each one, holding rifles with bayonets at the ready. A Japanese collaborator who had been summoned was walking towards the battery carrying a white flag.
In the distance, a massive fleet was waiting in formation, and even further away, Tokyo was still shrouded in thick smoke. This scene left Yang Feng feeling deeply moved, with a sense of having achieved everything he had ever wanted.
That Japanese traitor walked forward for two hours in the midst of fear and trembling, while Yang Dabao sat down with Waldsee and Min Yongjun, Ma Yukun, and the four of them played mahjong together. This ancient oriental entertainment activity made Old Wada extremely surprised, despite having lost a pile of gold bars, he was still full of enthusiasm.
Just as Waldersee lost the eighth round and was about to make an effort in the ninth, the observer next to him reported that the Japanese traitor had been put into the artillery position. Half an hour later, when Waldersee was trying to lose ten rounds in a row, the observer reported again that the Japanese traitor had come out. Two hours later, Yang Feng and Ma Yuqun were too embarrassed to win from him anymore, and the Japanese traitor was finally brought back before the four of them.
Yang Feng's trick succeeded, the Japanese troops on Guanyin Hill Fort, after being promised not to kill them and their families, finally raised a white flag on the fort, which is not surprising at all. Who can watch as their loved ones are placed in front of them waiting to be stabbed to death, and still consider what country or nation they belong to? If there really were people like that, they would either be crazy or AI.
With their example, the garrison at Chiyoda Battery also surrendered. However, the garrisons at Kinugasa, Motofusa and the three sea forts put up a bit of resistance, mainly because they were not from Tokyo and only relented when Admiral Yelverton threatened to land on the Boso Peninsula and kill all Japanese there if they did not surrender. Tirpitz's fleet finally sailed into Tokyo Bay.
Immediately after, the Eight-Nation Alliance began to deploy its defenses. First, the forward base in Yokosuka was abolished, and all personnel and supplies were withdrawn to Tokyo. All artillery emplacements on both sides of the Port of Yokohama were blown up, and with bayonets, all Japanese people in Tokyo, except for 5,000 girls who were left in the Imperial Palace as comfort women, were forced to dig trenches on the outskirts of Tokyo, including deepening the existing Tamagawa defense line and the Arakawa River south bank trench. This formed a closed defensive system with the port as its base.
The route of the Japanese Sixth Division should be along the coast to the north, that is, taking the Tokaido Main Line which was bombed and fragmented, and then attacking from the southwest. The First and Fifth Divisions are likely to land in Niigata and attack from the northwest. Divide troops to occupy various transportation hubs and enclose the Japanese army outside the Kanto Plain. This is indeed a good method, but for the Allied forces fighting on occupied land filled with hatred, it's better to save such textbook defense tactics.
Three to four hundred thousand troops went nowhere, just huddled in Tokyo, and then surrounded themselves with trenches, with a fleet at sea to protect them. Any kind of supplies could be delivered continuously, Yang Feng's six landing ships made a round trip to Taiwan in just one week, plus four high-speed cargo ships of the same tonnage, which could transport tens of thousands of tons of supplies at a time, enough to sustain everything here. As for the money problem, it didn't need to be said that taking out one-third of what was scooped up in Tokyo this time would be enough to exhaust the Japanese army.
As for whether the defensive line can be held, this is no longer a consideration. Without machine guns, only 100 Type 70 field guns, and 50-60,000 Japanese troops, if they could break through more than 300 Madsen machine guns, nearly 200 various land-based artillery pieces, plus hundreds of naval guns from a fleet including four battleships, the defensive line would be simply a fantasy. Moreover, the main force of this army is the most powerful land force in this era.
Just as the Eight-Nation Alliance was busy setting up its defenses, Li Hongzhang was also in a dilemma about whether to send troops or not. It was easy to talk to Yuan Shikai, whose 5,000 new army had just been trained for less than two months, and the imperial court didn't even notice, let alone sending them to Yang Fung would be no big deal. The key was the troops in Yashan, if they were sent to Japan, it seemed a bit inappropriate.
The imperial court had urged him several times to withdraw the troops from Yashan and send them to Liaodong to resist Japan, but he was blocked by saying that the navy was facing off against the British at sea and the situation was tense, so he didn't dare to withdraw lightly. The imperial court could only scold him a few words, it wouldn't be too serious, but if they were sent to Japan, it would be equivalent to openly slapping the imperial court in the face.
But if I don't agree with Yang Feng, it will affect the relationship between both parties, especially since there is a German involved, and more importantly, the price offered is really hard to refuse.
"Come on, Third Brother, we've been friends for many years, just give me a straight answer, how much did Yang Feng actually make in Japan?" He gritted his teeth and asked Song Qing, who was sipping tea beside him.
"Master Zhong, why don't you believe me? Do I have to go to Taipei and bring back the portion that was allocated to me just to show it to you? Yang Feng's haul in Osaka is worth at least 10 million silver dollars, and what he got in Sendai is worth 3 million silver dollars. These are all clear to me. As for what we got in Tokyo, the exact value can't be estimated yet, since many of these things don't have a market price, but it's definitely not less than 20 million taels. If I give you 2%, that's 4 million. But don't forget about the reparations later on - the Germans are asking for 25 million pounds, and after giving some to Russia and America, half of it will go to them, and the other half will be split between Yang Feng and us. If you send troops, I'll still give you 2% of the total amount. You do the math and see how much we can get from this expedition. Now I understand why the British are so rich - they've destroyed countless countries, and each family must have gotten hundreds of millions of silver dollars." Song Qing said with a sigh.
This number made Li Hongzhang's eyes bulge with bloodshot, there are tens of millions of silver taels to be earned, the court is still worth nothing. Besides, this surrounding Wei to rescue Zhao is also a good strategy in the art of war.
"Alright, let's do it this time." He gritted his teeth and said. As for how to deploy the troops, it was very simple. Yuan Shikai's new army was training in Weihai, and they could be directly loaded onto those six landing ships. As for Yashan, Jiang Zikang and Xu Bangdao's two divisions were withdrawn, and the six landing ships would pick them up along the way.
Just as the Second Army led by Oyama Iwao returned to Niigata and began to march on Tokyo, Li Hongzhang's expeditionary force also set sail. At this time, after completing the deployment of the defense circle in Tokyo, the Eight-Nation Alliance immediately drove out all the Japanese people who had been working for them from the city. As for the lives or deaths of these hundreds of thousands of people, no one cared. They couldn't stay in the city to cause trouble, could they? In this way, except for comfort women, there were no other Japanese left in Tokyo.
Two days later, the vanguard of the Sixth Division, the fastest, had already appeared on the outer periphery of the defense circle. The dark and thin Kumamoto soldiers saw the distant capital with scars all over it, and those Japanese people who were driven out to beg for food everywhere, their hatred for the invaders in their hearts was not mentioned how strong it was. These guys are severely lacking in understanding of the combat effectiveness of the invaders in front of them. The first arriving Eleventh Brigade launched an attack on the German defense line on the north bank of the Tama River without hesitation, but unfortunately, they were blown back by the naval guns before they even reached the rifle range.
Yang Feng personally designed the Tokyo defense circle, the easternmost part of which is only seven kilometers away from the coast. Anyway, as long as it can accommodate 400,000 to 500,000 people and horses, that's enough. What's the point of having such a large place? In this way, no matter where the Japanese army attacks, while withstanding the attack of the land artillery, they will also face the terrible naval guns.
When Brandenburg's main battery fired a salvo, an entire company of Japanese soldiers disappeared, and the regimental commander was directly stunned.
"Retreat, retreat to the east!" Looking at the massive fleet lined up in battle formation on the distant sea surface, he waved his military sword with fear and shouted. The Japanese army, who was charging forward, was frightened and quickly turned around to run east. At this time, not only did the naval guns open fire, but also the field artillery within the defensive circle opened fire at the same time. The dense shells blasted them into chaos, and when they retreated to a safe area and took stock, an entire battalion had been wiped out.
The commander of the brigade suddenly became honest, and what proactive attack was temporarily not mentioned, let's wait until the main force arrives. The commander of the 6th Division, Lieutenant General Kuroki Tadayoshi, arrived later, and after learning about the enemy's strong firepower, he also had a headache. At this time, the Japanese army was not like during World War II, in fact, they were more rational at this time, and it was clear that attacking alone was unrealistic. Kuroki Tadayoshi decided to wait for the arrival of the Second Army and then launch an attack together.
The speed of Oyama's troops was very fast, and they almost arrived in Tokyo at the same time as Yang Feng's reinforcements. In addition, a mixed brigade composed of garrison troops from various fortresses also rushed to the scene, plus the 9th Division expanded by mobilizing reserve forces, the total strength of the Japanese army had reached 70,000 people.
And their opponents, after receiving reinforcements from the Huai Army, had a total strength of over 35,000 men, exceeding 100,000 horses, and unfolded a meat grinder-style bloody battle in Japan's capital, of course, the ones being slaughtered were the Japanese.
