Rebirth of the Northern Giants

"Don't worry about Donovan, the situation is not good. Our army was defeated in the Far East and lost a brigade of soldiers." Kurobat said softly, impatiently.

"What?" Chai Fu was startled, took it over and said, "When did those yellow-skinned pigs become so powerful?"

"Grodjekov said that it was because Orlov was attacked carelessly and was caught off guard that this defeat was the result."

Chaifu grunted, "I knew these Far Eastern monkeys were not so powerful, they all relied on some tricks."

After reading the battle report over and over again, Chaifu pointed to it and asked, "What's the matter with the 1 Chinese casualties here?"

"That's the number of civilian casualties in China."

"Well, let's change it here a little bit, say that our army has won a big victory, wiped out 1 enemies, and lost 4000 of our own, and crossed out the word civilian."

Ginger was still old and spicy, Kurobatykin looked admiring, and soon completed the revision as required.

"Okay, come with me to announce the good news to His Majesty." Chai Fu tilted his mouth, pretending to be overjoyed.

In the palace, the Tsar was doing morning exercises with his cousin, the Empress Feodorovna.

"Cousin, do it again."

"Cousin, I can't do it anymore."

The queen was dissatisfied with desire, and pushed Nicholas II's body away unhappily, complaining: "It only takes 2 minutes, cousin, you are too useless."

Nicholas II was silent.

Fortunately, the guard's knock on the door just resolved his embarrassment.

"Your Majesty, the director of the General Administration of Orthodox Affairs Pobedonoschaf and the Minister of War Kurobatykin have something to see."

"Quickly summon me!" Nicholas II hurriedly got up, put on his clothes, and rushed out the door as if fleeing.

"Your Majesty, great victory. Your Majesty's brave soldiers captured the city of Hulunbeier and killed more than [-] Chinese soldiers. The Pacific Fleet even made the Chinese Beiyang Fleet dare not move."

After Chai Fu saluted, he shouted loudly.

Nicholas II was really overjoyed when he heard the words. He snatched the battle report impatiently, and said with a slight frown, "Why did we lose more than 4000 soldiers?"

Robatkin hurriedly said: "Your Majesty, this is all because of Orlov's arbitrariness. He went deep alone and was accidentally attacked by the Chinese. However, Lieutenant General Grodekov has already punished him and cut off his head." .”

"Well killed, an incompetent general like this should be treated like this. You say, how should I reward Grodekov for such a big victory?" Nicholas II has been doing "Emperor of China", "North Korea" The big dream of "King" and "Emperor of Japan" is now one step closer to his dream, and he can't help being unhappy.

"This is all thanks to His Majesty. If His Majesty hadn't always strongly supported the expansion of the territory of our Russian Empire and made grand plans, the soldiers on the front line could have achieved such a great victory. You are the little father of our Russians. Under the guidance of the leadership, we have achieved such a great victory."

Nicholas II half-closed his eyes, enjoying what Chaifu said.

With a wave of his hand, he said triumphantly: "Let the soldiers of the empire continue to dominate China, gather another [-] troops from Europe and go to the Far East, and attack Beijing in China in one fell swoop."

Robatkin broke into a cold sweat, and persuaded: "Your Majesty, the empire's finances are too much to bear. The loan with France is still being negotiated. The Trans-Siberian Railway is also under construction and has not yet opened to traffic. The empire has a vast territory, and it will take a while to deploy troops. more difficult.”

Nicholas II was slightly displeased.

Chai Fu quickly said: "Your Majesty, there is no need to worry. The [-] soldiers of the empire are more than enough to deal with China. It is not a problem to fight against China's Beijing. We just wait for the good news."

"Well, I value the Chinese too much. In this case, let's continue to wait for good news from Grodekov and Alexeyev."

Volume Two, The Wind and Cloud in the Capital, Chapter [-], The Beiyang Fleet in Action

It is not unreasonable that the Beiyang Navy was known as the number one in Asia before the Sino-Japanese War of [-]-[-], and the sixth in the world. In terms of tonnage and total number, apart from Japan, there is really no other country in Asia that can match it.

After the Sino-Japanese War, although China lost three cruisers, Ye Zhikui did not purchase any more warships. Of course, he is now actively considering it. However, due to the war between China and Russia, other countries refused to build for China on the grounds of neutrality during the war. Only some warships and torpedo boats that Song Yuren originally purchased, Ye Zhikui, in a fit of anger, demanded that the shipbuilding department of Jiangnan Manufacturing Bureau be independent, renamed Jiangnan Dockyard, build warships by itself, and develop cruisers and battleships. In 1876, Jiangnan Manufacturing Bureau built China The first ironclad ship "Golden Gull", based on this foundation, Ye Zhikui did not believe that China could not build a larger tonnage ship.

Even so, the Beiyang Fleet at this time was not something that Russia's Pacific Fleet could resist. At this time, the largest and most modern warships of the Russian Pacific Fleet were the armored cruisers Nasimov, Rurik, and Russia. Cruiser Admiral Vladimir, Dmitry Donsky, etc. and some gunboats, if the other fleets want to come to China, they must spare half of the world, and they may arrive in half a year.

Chai Fu reported to the Tsar that the Russian Pacific Fleet had been suppressing the Chinese Beiyang Fleet. Fleet Commander Deng Shichang is required not to fight easily, just to prevent the Russian fleet from transporting troops southward to prevent the Japanese fleet from attacking.

After the great turmoil in Japan, Deng Shichang tried his best to appeal to the Supreme Command and the General Staff. Considering the changes in the current situation, Ye Zhikui and the General Staff also actively considered changing the original policy, so they agreed to Deng Shichang's request to fight and asked him to wait for the opportunity to attack. Annihilate the Russian Pacific Fleet at the lowest cost.

However, Lushun is far away from Vladivostok, so we have to think of a strategy.

Due to the impact of the drug incident, the Japanese government sent a fleet to cruise in the Sea of ​​Japan-Tsushima Strait-East China Sea, strictly prohibiting any Chinese and North Korean ships from entering Japanese waters.

On June [-]th, one Chinese merchant ship and three North Korean merchant ships sailed into Japanese waters. After being warned by the Japanese coast guard, they continued to move forward, and were immediately detained by the Japanese government without reason.

When this matter was reported back to China, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the military government repeatedly asked Japan to release people and ships, claiming that these ships were legitimate merchant ships, and Japan had no reason and no need to detain them. After urgent negotiations between the North Korean government and the Chinese military government, Japan still disagreed. With the release of Chinese and North Korean sailors and captains, the situation between China and Japan has become tense.

As soon as Li Hongzhang, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the military government, received the telegram from North Korea, he said to Jianren Shiwu with a serious face: "Quickly send this news to the Generalissimo."

It turned out that Tang Shaoyi, Minister of the Military Government in North Korea, had just sent back a telegram, saying that the North Korean government had nothing to do with Japan’s arbitrary seizure of Chinese and North Korean ships due to the lack of coastal defenses, and asked the military government to send a fleet to deter them and help resolve the trade issue between the three countries. .

Li Hongzhang is not in charge of this matter, so he hastily uploaded it.

In fact, this is entirely a double reed sung by Ye Zhikui and Min Fei. Since the attack on the Russian Pacific Fleet needs to pass through the Korean waters, the journey is far away, and it is inevitable that people will notice it. It is a more legitimate reason to dispatch the Beiyang Fleet into North Korea, and finally we can talk about the sneak attack.

Because this matter is very confidential, Ye Zhikui bypassed the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of China and North Korea, and directly contacted the royal family of North Korea, asking North Korea to send a fleet to the military government on the grounds that the Chinese and North Korean ships were detained. The relationship between the two countries has reached a point of tension again, so I am more worried.

The Supreme Command had already made all kinds of preparations. As soon as it received the North Korean distress telegram from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, it ordered Deng Shichang's Beiyang Fleet to set sail from Lushunkou and rush to the North Korean port of Busan.

"Mutsu-kun, just received the news from the intelligence personnel of the Empire. In order to deal with the incident of the merchant ships of China and Japan, the Chinese Beiyang Fleet has sailed to the Korean waters to deter the Imperial Fleet."

Officials from the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs rushed in to report to Mutsu Munemitsu.

"It is rare for the Chinese government to take such a tough attitude. Could it be that they are fighting Russia in the north and dare to fight on two fronts, just for a few merchant ships, do they have any other intentions to provoke the empire?" Mutsu Munemitsu said to himself .

"Protest to the Chinese government. According to the Sino-Japanese Pyongyang Treaty, the two countries cannot send troops to North Korea at will. China's move is the biggest provocation to the Japanese Empire. I hope they can carefully consider it and not restart the war between China and Japan. Mutsu Munemitsu hastily ordered a response to China while thinking about China's intentions.

"Hi Yi"

Just as the foreign ministries of China and Japan were fighting over this matter, the Beiyang Fleet sailed into the Yellow Sea without haste. The Japanese government was very angry at the Chinese government's move, and Prime Minister Kiyotaka Kuroda hurriedly called a meeting , to discuss countermeasures.

A friend from Shan County slapped the table and said, "Masters, the Chinese government doesn't take our Empire of Japan seriously. In less than a year, it violated the Pyongyang contract. This is the greatest provocation to the empire. Gentlemen, We can't just let it go, otherwise the Chinese government will definitely make progress, so I propose to re-discuss the matter of fighting against China, and the imperial fleet should be ready to attack at any time."

The Minister of Internal Affairs, Nomura Yasushi, was overwhelmed by the turmoil in Japan during this period, and had to remind him aloud: "Mr. Yamagata, the empire is more than capable, and it would be unwise to go to war."

Da Shanyan, Minister of the Army, also echoed: "Yes, many brave and skilled soldiers in the empire are addicted to drugs and are in the process of getting rid of them. There is a serious shortage of troops."

Minister of the Navy Xixiang Congdao nodded and agreed: "The Beiyang Fleet has been fighting hard since the Sino-Japanese War. Under the rectification of the fleet commander Deng Shichang, it has taken on a completely new look. What's more, the empire's finances are not as rich as China's, and the loss of warships is not high. rise."

Seeing that the three of them did not agree with his request to go to war, a friend from Shanxian County couldn't help but angrily said: "You are ashamed to be soldiers of the empire, and you don't have the slightest sense of honor. Could it be that the Chinese government is letting the Chinese government run amok?"

Mutsu Munemitsu, who had been sitting silently for a long time, knocked on the table, looked at everyone, and then interjected: "Masters, I'm afraid we haven't figured out the purpose of the Beiyang Fleet. Do you think that the Beiyang Fleet is only because of a few merchant ships?" Just send the fleet into North Korea, or the Chinese government will ignore the difficulty of fighting on two fronts, and come to attack our Great Japanese Empire?"

Cabinet Prime Minister Kiyotaka Kuroda nodded, "Mutsu-kun is right. China and Russia are at war. The Empire of Japan will not trouble them. I believe Ye Zhikui has already called luck in his heart. How dare you provoke the Empire of Japan."

Mutsu Munemitsu stood up, walked to a map of East Asia hanging in front of him, suddenly pointed to Vladivostok in Russia and said, "Masters, the Russian Pacific Fleet is stationed here. Is it possible that the Chinese are targeting this place?"

"Chinese people can have such courage"