Dong Fuxiang was originally the governor of Gansu. Due to the tense situation in Weihai and the lack of troops in Shandong, the court had ordered Dong Fuxiang's troops to be mobilized to aid.
Unexpectedly, Li Bingheng secretly delayed. When Dong Fuxiang's troops arrived, the south and north bank forts had already fallen.
Dong Fuxiang's army was stationed in Shandong!
Now that Yang Yonglin had repelled the Japanese Combined Squadron, the hawks in the Imperial Court were clamoring to conquer all of Shandong in one go. Dong Fuxiang had no choice but to pour cold water on them.
Li Bingheng sat on the chair and glanced at him unhappily."Xing Wu (Dong Fuxiang, Xing Wu), why do you boost the morale of others and diminish your own?”
"Milord, how does our Shandong Green Camp and the various trained and brave troops compare to the Huai Army's Ye Zhichao's troops?”Dong Fuxiang asked in return. Li Bingheng's face was as black as the bottom of a pot.
Back in North Korea, Ye Zhichao's army had been utterly defeated when they fought with the Japanese army. They had fled 500 miles overnight and returned home, which had become a big joke.
The soldiers in Shandong were even worse equipped than Ye Zhichao's troops!
"Then according to Xing Wu's meaning, our army can only wait and wait for the East Asian Army to march in and occupy the entire Shandong region?”Li Bingheng asked with a dark face.
As the governor, he had the responsibility to guard the territory.
Although the Japanese navy was defeated, the Shandong Combat Army led by the Japanese Army General Dashan was still there.
If they did not take advantage of this time to attack together with Yang Yonglin, they would miss the opportunity.
"Lord Futai, this humble servant suggests that we first report to the Imperial Court and transfer the armaments and bullets from the Machinery Manufacturing Bureau in the south. It won't be too late to act after they are ready.”
Dong Fuxiang said.
Li Bingheng could only suppress the unhappiness in his heart. After all, Dong Fuxiang was the governor of Gansu Province. He was only temporarily assisting Shandong and was under his jurisdiction.
Once the war was over, he would have to return to Gansu.
There was no need to fall out with his colleagues.
Li Bingheng smiled again and planned the attack route with Dong Fuxiang.
At night, Li Bingheng returned to the backyard.
"Uncle, you're back."
Sun Zheng carefully handed over the water pipe.
Li Bingheng took a few puffs and sighed."This bandit Dong (Dong Fuxiang was originally a bandit) is really despicable! Could he not see through the intentions of the Imperial Court?”
"Uncle is right. The Emperor has already issued a decree appointing Yang Yonglin as the governor of Shandong. If Yang Yonglin wants to take up this position, he will have to work together with our Shandong soldiers to defeat the Japanese army.”
Sun Zheng was also a High Scholar and was an advisor under Li Bingheng.
He was quick-witted and good at writing. He was responsible for copying official documents.
Seeing that his uncle was silent, Sun Zheng said,"" However, the Japanese army is well-equipped. Although there are only 20,000 of them, it's as if they've entered a no-man's land all the way from North Korea..."
It wasn't that he wasn't worried about Li Bingheng!
But now that the Emperor wanted to fight, the Empress Dowager had the intention to let the Emperor do it, so Li Bingheng should go along with the Emperor's wishes.
Moreover, the long-term presence of the Japanese army in Shandong had always been a sore spot for Li Bingheng.
What plans did Yang Yonglin have?
"Uncle, Yang Yonglin sent a message saying that he will launch an attack in five days. The first battle will be to attack Rongcheng Bay. He hopes that Uncle can send troops to help and attack from both land and sea.”
"Really?"
Li Bingheng stood up with a whoosh, his eyes shining with excitement.
However, he immediately calmed down!
"What conditions does Yang Yonglin have?”Li Bingheng asked slowly.
After all, Yang Yonglin was Li Hongzhang's man. Even if the two sides wanted to cooperate, they had to find out the truth.
"Yang Yonglin said that he hopes to receive our support after the Marine Corps disembark. He suggested that our army take the Japanese army's rear path and attack from both sides.”
Sun Zheng replied.
The conditions were that simple?
Li Bingheng was stunned!
Since the start of the war, all the soldiers had their conditions.
Bullets, money, food, and clothing were all indispensable. Yang Yonglin's conditions were actually so simple.
Was that even possible?
Could it be a conspiracy?
A schemer was best at using conspiracy theories to figure out others. Li Bingheng hesitated again.
At this moment, the advisor walked in with a telegram."Lord Futai, Prince Liqin Shiduo's secret message.”
Prince Li Shiduo was one of the ministers.
After the 1894 - 1895 naval battle, due to the lack of talented people familiar with diplomacy within the court, Empress Dowager Cixi had no choice but to re-use Gong Prince Yi and appoint him to be in charge of the Prime Minister's Yamen.
However, in order to contain this talented brother-in-law, Cixi ordered Prince Li Shiduo to enter the military aircraft as a hindrance.
This was also a form of political balance!
Li Bingheng and Prince Li of the First Rank were close. When he heard that there was a secret message, he immediately took it and read it.
After reading it, Li Bingheng's expression darkened even more.
"Uncle, what did King Liqin say?" Sun Zheng asked.
"Prince Liqin sent a letter saying that the Empress Dowager and the Emperor are in a rare agreement. They both think that we should take advantage of the opportunity to subdue Rongcheng, Yantai and other places while the Japanese Combined Fleet is retreating to Lushun.”
Li Bingheng frowned even more.
Previously, he had written a impassioned letter just to put on an act for the governors of the world.
After all, he had not been able to rush to the Northern Navy in time, causing Ding Ruchang to commit suicide. He had a responsibility that he could not shirk.
Therefore, after Yang Yonglin repelled the Japanese Combined Fleet, Li Bingheng clamored for a pincer attack on land and sea to repel the Japanese army. Firstly, he didn't want the Japanese army to march straight in and harm Shandong.
After all, as the governor, he had the responsibility to guard the territory.
Secondly, he wanted to put on a show in front of the young and aggressive Emperor Guangxu to attract the young emperor's attention.
However, he did not expect that he would go overboard this time.
The Emperor and Empress Dowager actually agreed unanimously!
This book comes from：m.funovel.com。