Regardless of the plans of the two generals, the news of the arrival of the expeditionary force in Shanghai also alarmed China and Japan.
In Tianjin, Li Zhongtang breathed a sigh of relief after learning that the Italian Expeditionary Force had arrived in Shanghai.
"Immediately send someone to inform Yu Ting and others that the Italians have arrived in Shanghai, and ask them to wait for three to five days before reinforcements will arrive."
"As you command, my lord!"
What makes Li Zhongtang worried about Weihaiwei so much is that Weihaiwei fought too hard. With more than 10,000 officers and soldiers, there are still more than 3,000 people left after the battle. It is too miserable.
For this reason, Beiyang Admiral Ding Ruchang, who was responsible for commanding the battle of Weihaiwei, sent a message. "Although the officers and soldiers of Weihaiwei fought bravely to repay the kindness of the court and your lord, the Japanese soldiers are not inferior to us, and their guns and cannons are sharp. We, the defenders of Weihaiwei,
The casualties were heavy. Although more than 10,000 enemies were killed (according to Japanese statistics, the number of casualties was more than 2,000), the number of remaining officers and soldiers was only 3,000. If reinforcements do not arrive within five days, it may be difficult to hold on."
It can be seen from this telegram that although the defenders relied on the advantages of terrain and fortifications to hold on, they were almost reaching their limit, so they had a five-day deadline.
But now that it was good, the Italian army that had arrived in Shanghai could directly send reinforcements to Weihaiwei. Li Zhongtang felt relieved and relaxed.
Most of Li Zhongtang's hearts are relieved, but some people's hearts are about to rise.
As one of the countries involved, the Japanese were more concerned about the arrival of the Italian Expeditionary Force in Shanghai.
The Japanese received the news as soon as he arrived in Shanghai.
As the base camp of the Japanese, Tokyo is particularly nervous.
"The Italian army has arrived in Shanghai, do you have any plans to deal with it?"
As the first person responsible for initiating the war, Prime Minister Ito Hirobumi held a royal meeting overnight.
"Gentlemen, now that the Italians have arrived in Shanghai, we need your full cooperation next."
Although Ito Hirobumi said this, his eyes were fixed on the two navy and army ministers.
Other important cabinet ministers and even Emperor Meiji also looked at the two ministers representing the military with scrutinizing eyes.
Facing the gazes of everyone gathered, how could Takashima Tomonosuke and Saigo Yumichi, the two ministers of the navy and army, ignore them.
In this situation, Saigō Mōmichi was obviously more experienced than Takashima Tomonosuke, who had just become the Minister of War, and spoke first.
"Our navy has used the maximum available carrying capacity to provide sufficient supplementary carrying capacity for the army. Now we are in a dilemma, and the army has an unshirkable responsibility."
Saigo's words made Takashima Tomonosuke's veins break out and his blood pressure rise sharply. He did not expect that the navy would be so shameless and put the responsibility entirely on the army.
"Asshole, our army has been unable to capture Weihaiwei. Your navy has an unshirkable responsibility."
After Takashima Tomonosuke cursed angrily, he continued to fight back. "If your navy was willing to dispatch warships in time and join forces with our army, it would have captured Weihaiwei's north and south forts and Liugong Island long ago. How could there be such a thing?"
Troublesome."
What Takashima Tomonosuke said was a dispute between the army and navy some time ago. Shanxian Yutomo, who was deeply stressed by the siege of Weihaiwei in Shandong, asked the navy for help, hoping that the other party could send its main warships to threaten Weihaiwei from the sea and reduce the pressure on land.
pressure.
It was Yamagata Aritomo, the founder of Japan's modern army, who made a helpless decision to ask for help from the navy. Although the 25,000 Japanese troops who landed on the Shandong Peninsula seemed to be strong, only a little over 10,000 were actually able to launch an attack on Weihaiwei.
The other troops either need to guard the mountains of supplies at the Rongcheng landing site, or they need to guard against other Qing troops who have gathered, they also need to block the Qing troops from reinforcing Weihaiwei, and they also need to be responsible for transporting supplies. In this case of moving here and there.
, he only has so many troops that can be used to attack Weihaiwei.
Some people may ask, since the troops are insufficient, why not deploy more troops? Isn't this good?
To be honest, this really doesn't work. This is not a game, just move the mouse. The Japanese army that has not yet been able to capture Weihaiwei can only rely on Rongcheng Bay to transport supplies. It can only support the current strength. No more supplies will be enough.
As for conquering other places, don't even think about it, it will waste time. When the Italians are about to arrive, delaying time will increase the chance of defeat.
As for the tactic of storming, it is not like Shanxian Youpeng has never tried it before. As long as the goal can be achieved, he does not care about the death or injury of soldiers.
However, he immediately gave up the idea after trying a brigade-level forceful attack. The Maxim and Gatling machine guns that the defenders dug out from warships and warehouses allowed him to obtain thousands of casualties a day for the first time. He could not rely on forceful attacks, but rely on
The water mill was slowly grinding, and he didn't have that time, so Shanxian Youpeng was in a dilemma and had no choice but to try to ask the navy for help.
However, Yamagata Aritomo's request was flatly rejected by the Navy. The reason was that the Navy needed to deal with the threat of the Italian fleet. In the words of Combined Fleet Commander Ito Yuhiro, every warship in the Navy is precious and must play its maximum role. Yan
I still don't know what I mean.
That's why Takashima Tomonosuke accused him in front of an important minister.
"Are you accusing our navy of not cooperating with you?"
"So to speak."
Hearing the blunt words of the other party, Saigo was furious in his heart. "You want our naval warships to threaten the forts. When the Italian warships are about to arrive, you really chose a good time."
"Didn't your navy just get a batch of warships from South America? Can't you tell them apart at all?"
Takashima Tomonosuke was not polite and responded directly.
The warships he was talking about were the warships Japan purchased from Chile. After Italy prepared to intervene in the Sino-Japanese War in the Far East, Japan spent 1.85 million pounds to quickly purchase a batch of warships from Chile.
The relationship between Britain and Chile allowed Japan to purchase warships so quickly. I can’t help but wonder why. In addition, Japan urgently borrowed this money from a British bank.
It has to be said that the warships that the British supplemented for Japan are not bad. The most praiseworthy one is the "Brad", which is a large ironclad ship with a displacement of nearly 7,000 tons, a main gun caliber of 283 mm, and a speed of 18.3 knots.
The fast cruiser "Blangu Enkarada" also reached 4
600 tons, as well as the dome-armored cruiser "Esmeralda" with a displacement of 295 tons, plus the dome-armored cruisers "Erachulis" and "Pingdu" with a displacement of 2047 tons, and two more
The torpedo cruisers "Kander" and "Linze" with a displacement of 713 tons.
Although this does not allow the Japanese Navy to gain an advantage over the Italian task force, at least it is not without the power to fight. As long as it is used properly, the war can still be fought. Of course, the British do not know that the Italian fleet has
Thoughts on the secret weapon.
Seeing that the two ministers of the navy and army were having a quarrel, Prince Komatsunomiya Akihito, who was responsible for coordinating the navy and army as the chief of staff, had to stand up.
"Two of you, now is not the time to discuss right and wrong. Yiren's fleet is about to arrive. The Empire of Japan is at a critical moment. I hope you two can cooperate sincerely and put aside their disputes."
As a member of the royal family, Prince Komatsugu Akihito is powerful enough to suppress the two navy and army ministers.
"Sorry, we were rude."
After seeing the two men surrendering, Ito Hirobumi, who originally wanted to stop the quarrel between the two but was intervened by Prince Komatsunomiya Akihito, spoke again. "Saigo-kun, what is your navy's plan to deal with this?"
"Our navy is ready to intercept the Italian fleet at any time and prevent it from reinforcing Weihaiwei."
Yes, from Saigo's point of view, the Italian fleet is busy on the expedition and the combined fleet is waiting for work, so there is still a chance.
"Our army will also step up the siege of Weihaiwei and will not let the Italians use the port."
The answer from Takashima Tomonosuke shows the determination of the Army.
Faced with the answers given by the navy and army, Emperor Meiji, who never expressed his position easily, stood up. "Very good, I am here to wait for good news from you two."
