Chapter 56: Declaration of War

  The first attack of the Japanese army on Chenghuan Post ended like this, and ōshima Yoshimasa lost more than a thousand men in this morning, with losses close to thirty percent, which almost caused the Japanese army's full-line collapse. If it weren't for the fact that the Qing army's attacking power was really too weak, this would definitely have happened.

  With a group of defeated soldiers, General Oshima hastily retreated across the Ancheng River, but his opponent, Nie Shicheng, couldn't be happy about it. Although he wasn't a general who truly understood modern warfare, he could see that this victory was not due to good command or bravery, but simply because they had been battered by howitzers and hand grenades. That morning, the 12 howitzers fired over 3,000 shells, almost exhausting all their ammunition. If it wasn't for the artillery, it would have been a complete rout.

  As for the grenades, there were only a few left. According to the standard, each of his subordinates had two, and Jiang Zikang's unit had even fewer. They weren't equipped with all soldiers, but rather set up a separate batch of grenade throwers, totaling no more than 6,000 grenades. Now more than 4,000 have been thrown out. If the Japanese army launches another attack of the same scale, he doesn't know if he can still hold on. So Nie Shiceng sent someone to urge the rear base in Yashan to hurry up and transport ammunition, especially mortar shells and grenades, while re-adjusting the deployment based on the problems exposed in the last battle.

  While ōshima Yoshimasa also lost the courage to attack, this was not the Japanese army of the early days of World War II, when they were still arrogant and fearless after half a century of victory. Now it's different, this war has even made the Japanese cabinet nervous, let alone ordinary soldiers. Moreover, Japan had just been unified for less than a decade, and the civil war had only ended a few years ago. The combat will of Japanese soldiers at that time was not strong, and deserters were common even in the late Qing invasion of Taiwan. Now, as soon as the battle began, they suddenly suffered such heavy casualties, and their morale had fallen to an all-time low. ōshima Yoshimasa wanted to continue attacking, but his subordinates didn't have the courage.

  In this case, he immediately ordered the garrison troops in Hanzhong to go south to reinforce, and then both sides began a standoff across the Ancheng River, and this war started from now on.

  The news of the great victory was sent back to Liu Gong Island by Tan Qingyuan, the defender of Yashan, using wireless telegraph. Immediately afterwards, it was reported to Tianjin, where Li Hongzhang was conducting diplomatic negotiations. His confidence surged immediately. The news of sinking the Japanese ships had already caused a stir in the capital, with calls for war from all sides. Weng Tonghe even publicly accused Li Hongzhang of being afraid of the enemy. Now, with the stimulation of a land victory, Li also put aside his caution and ordered the main force of the Beiyang Navy to escort the remaining two battalions of Jiang Zongyi's troops to reinforce Yashan. At the same time, he sent 10,000 hand grenades, eight mortars, 5,000 pao bullets, and eight Krupp 75mm field guns to Nie Shichen, determined to have a good fight with the Japanese at Yashan.

  On the other hand, it proposed to the imperial court a declaration of war against Japan.

  This naturally suited the wishes of Mr. Wong, and on August 1st, China declared war on Japan.

  At this time, Yang Feng's massive fleet also sailed into Singapore. Although theoretically as a neutral country, the British should not have allowed warships flying the yellow dragon flag to enter the port again. However, in order not to offend Yang Da Boss and also to justify the checks in his pocket, the Governor of the British Straits Settlements had the telegraph office withhold all telegrams declaring war between China and Japan, and then watched with open eyes as Yang Feng's fleet completed its replenishment and rushed straight to Dagu Port.

  This guy just walked in, and the Japanese Consul in Singapore immediately sent a telegram back home with a start, this sudden uninvited guest had caused an uproar in the Japanese Cabinet, no one expected that he would give up his good life and come to join in the commotion. One armored cruiser, four destroyers, six large armed merchant ships, such power would be nothing in Europe, but in Asia it was already considered fourth strongest. The British Far East Fleet, the Beiyang Fleet, the Combined Fleet, and now it's his turn.

  However, the Japanese cabinet didn't have a good solution either. Their main enemy was now the Beiyang Fleet, and with this huge shadow looming over their heads, they could only watch as Yang Fusheng sailed north. They not only watched as Yang Fusheng sailed north but also had to watch as the Beiyang Fleet reinforced Yashan. The Battle of Feng Island not only made them lose Aotsuka State but also sent their number one general, Yoshino, into the dock for repairs. Four nitrocellulose-filled 152mm shells directly destroyed its front main gun and caused considerable damage to the hull, which would likely take half a month to repair.

  In this case, the combined fleet did not have the courage to take the initiative to provoke the Beiyang Fleet.

  Because the sea route was unobstructed, and it was learned that the actual strength of the Japanese army in Korea at this time was 8,000 people, Li Er Guizi again ordered Zhenzhou Town General Zhang Gaoyuan to lead his four battalions of Xungwu Army to march north into Korea. This was another elite force of Huai Army, with an equipment level on par with Nie Shichen's battalion. At the same time, Wei Ruoji's 13th battalion of Shengjun, Ma Yukun's 4th battalion of Yijun, Zuo Baogui's 9th battalion of Fengjun, and Feng Sheng'a's 6th battalion of Fengzi and Jiji drill army, four armies with a total of 32 battalions and over 13,000 people entered Korea and marched straight to Pyongyang.

  The Japanese army, in order to avoid the Beiyang Fleet, had Lieutenant General Nozu Michitsura lead the 5th Division and the Standby Reserve Brigade of the Imperial Guards to land at Busan from the south, attacking Asan while simultaneously having Lieutenant General Kuroki Tamemoto lead the 3rd Division and the Oku Yasukata Brigade to land at Wonsan, threatening Pyongyang from the side and rear, holding back the Northern Army. Meanwhile, Major General ōshima Yoshimasa's 6th Brigade landed at Incheon to reinforce the defenses of Hanseong. Both sides began mobilizing troops, preparing for a decisive battle in Korea, which would take time.

  Just as the reinforcements from Hanyang arrived, ōshima Yoshimasa launched a second attack with caution. Given that night actions were prone to problems, he changed it to daytime this time. In the previous Battle of Gwajeon-ri, Takeda Shigen had sent out a small unit to attack from behind, but most of them sank into the marsh and could not be used. It has to be said that Niu Chengsi's command of modern warfare might have been slightly inferior, but he was very good at ancient Chinese tactics. Simply by blocking the river water downstream, he formed the best barrier for himself.

  But this time, Oshima Yoshimasa still didn't gain any advantage, because just as his reinforcements arrived, Nie Shicheng's reinforcements also arrived. From Weihai to Yashan is only a day's journey, and from Yashan to Chenghuan is also only a day's journey. The two sides' reinforcements almost arrived at the same time. However, what Nie Shicheng brought with him was not just reinforcements, but also his cannons, shells, and hand grenades.

  The Oshima Brigade, which still divided its forces into two routes and launched an attack on Niuxieli and Yuefeng Mountain at the same time, once again hit the iron plate.

  Ammunition-rich Nie Shi Cheng still used the old method, maximizing his firepower advantage to cover up the inadequacy of his soldiers' combat effectiveness. The mortar, which required low quality from the artillery, was just right for his troops. The high-arcing trajectory allowed it to fire over mountains and even behind fortresses or mountain peaks, ensuring the courage of the artillerymen. He now found that this thing was simply tailor-made for his army.

  Japanese soldiers armed with rifles, this time they finally knew what despair was. The explosion of artillery shells tormented their nerves at all times, the shattered bodies of their comrades who were blown to pieces, sometimes even hitting their heads, and the miserable cries of the wounded, the Japanese army's courage disappeared rapidly with time.

  The scene in front of him made Nie Shichen very pleased, watching the enemy being beaten by himself without any power to fight back. It was a very pleasant thing, although the Japanese army also had big guns, but neither in quantity nor quality could they be compared with his own, at most it was just harassment, and they still had to be careful of retaliatory fire.

  But as both sides entered rifle range, Nie Shi Cheng's face sank again. He found that his troops' marksmanship was really too poor. With the world's best semi-automatic rifles, they were actually unable to suppress the Japanese army with single-shot rifles using firepower. This unbelievable thing left him speechless.

  Fortunately, Nie Shi had more than just a rifle in his hands.

  He sighed and waved his hand at a row of soldiers beside him.

  Then the sound of gunfire rang out, and the Japanese soldiers who were rushing towards the Qing army's fortress while shouting loudly fell down in a row like sorghum blown by a typhoon. Beside him stood ten Gatling guns or heavy machine guns, and among these Gatlings was a Maxim gun, which was produced by Jinling Factory itself, although it was black powder, but it was also a Maxim.

  Wielding a military sword and personally directing the battle, ōshima Yoshimasa was directly stunned by this sudden blow. Originally, he was most worried about getting closer, and then the hand grenades would come pouring down like a landslide, but he didn't expect that the hand grenades hadn't even started yet! He had to face the infantry's most terrifying nightmare on the future battlefield first.

  He was not reconciled, he really was not reconciled. He thought that the general opposite him was fundamentally unable to be mentioned in the same breath as himself in terms of command, and the soldiers opposite him were equally unable to be mentioned in the same breath as his own soldiers in terms of quality. In his view, the Qing army's soldiers were simply rubbish. Why did he always fail, and why did he always suffer a crushing defeat?

  What makes you think you can just do as you please just because you have money? Major Daishima's angry roar echoed in his mind.

  This time he failed again, the Japanese army, which was already on the verge of collapse after being bombed by shells, only gained a little courage from the rifle crossfire, but was crushed again in front of the heavy machine gun, and they also knew that next would be the hand grenade hell, so just run away!

  Thousands of Japanese soldiers, ignoring the angry shouts of their officers, turned and fled as fast as they could, with even General Oshima watching in horror as several officers were trampled underfoot.

  This scene also stunned Nian Shizeng, he really didn't expect that this weapon, which was considered a waste of bullets by Li Zhongtang, would have such enormous power. He saw it very clearly, in the few minutes of shooting just now, at least three hundred Japanese soldiers fell under the bullets of the Grenade and Maxim guns, which was almost comparable to the casualties caused by the artillery fire to the Japanese army. As for his thousands of soldiers who fought two battles, firing tens of millions of bullets from their rifles, they didn't cause as many casualties to the Japanese as this brief shooting did.

  It's clear that this weapon isn't a bad deal, but rather too good of a deal.