The Heroic Age of the Late Qing Dynasty

The squadron leader immediately hesitated. They had a mission to complete, so who would be held responsible if something went wrong? The squadron leader said reluctantly, "General, this..."

Our Commander Du didn't give the little squadron leader any time to hesitate. He immediately shouted, "Bakayalu, I'm on a secret mission and I have to instruct you to maintain confidentiality. Do you understand? You're being extremely disrespectful to your superiors."

Commander Du, pretending to be unhappy, took two steps forward and slapped the Japanese squadron leader in the face. He shouted, "A soldier's duty is to obey orders. If you were in my army and hesitated after hearing my order, I would shoot you on the spot, you bastard!"

Commander Du delivered these slaps with all his might, not just one hand, but two. And he didn't slap the cheeks, but the ears and temples. Every slap from Commander Du's powerful hand sent pain through the cheeks of everyone who saw it. The squadron leader was completely stunned, not knowing where he was, only that the world was spinning. Commander Du slapped him several more times, and the unfortunate captain collapsed to the ground, his life or death unknown.

This Japanese was really strange. The Japanese soldiers who accompanied the squadron leader off the car saw their squadron leader being slapped hard. Not only did they not show any sympathy, some of them looked gloating, while others looked indifferent. Commander Du naturally understood the mentality of these Japanese soldiers at this time. They were probably wondering why the squadron leader was so stupid. He should have done whatever the superiors told him to do immediately. Why hesitate? Isn't this asking for a beating? He is really asking for trouble!

Seeing the squadron leader fall to the ground, Commander Du immediately stopped and said to the Japanese soldiers who followed the squadron leader out of the car: "Eight, this is the result of your disrespect for your superiors. You must immediately call everyone in the car out. I will give you a lecture and let everyone see the result of your squadron leader's disrespect for his superiors. Everyone should learn from this. Do you understand?"

The Japanese soldiers immediately stood at attention and shouted, "Understood."

"Bakayarō, why don't you get everyone off the bus?" "Hey!"

Commander Du narrowed his eyes as he watched the Japanese soldiers running towards the train to call for help and die. Damn, these Japanese are really a group of good soldiers. They carry out orders meticulously.

At the same time, Commander Du also knew that if an ordinary army faced these Japanese troops with light weapons, without strong will, it would definitely not be their opponent. The Qing army was the best proof of this.

Commander Du turned around and found a higher position, as if he was really going to give a speech. When he saw the Japanese soldiers running over and lining up, he smiled at them, nodded at them repeatedly, and kept saying "Yoshi, Yoshi" in his mouth, as if he was praising these Japanese soldiers.

After receiving a report from the deputy squadron leader that all the men were present, Commander Du stood at attention and shouted, "Everyone, I order..."

These words were naturally not shouted at the Japanese soldiers, but at the field army who had secretly fixed their bayonets. He himself quickly drew out the Japanese sword in his hand. The deputy squadron leader of the Japanese army only felt a flash of a sword, and then he heard the word "kill".

He dazedly heard the screams of the Japanese soldiers below, and subconsciously turned his head to look, only to see a firefight between two Japanese armies, his own squadron being quickly bayoneted to death by the opposing Japanese. He didn't understand what was happening, and just as he was about to speak, blood quickly gushed out of his mouth. He then raised his hands and covered his neck with force, trying to block the severed blood vessels, but it was all in vain. He could only stare at the expressionless Commander Du with bulging eyes, unwillingly falling to the ground, twitching a few times before moving.

Commander Du glanced at the fallen deputy squadron leader, then glanced at the locomotives in both directions. After the field army soldiers had bayoneted the defenseless Japanese, cleaned up the battlefield, and even stripped the Japanese uniforms, he immediately said loudly: "Now everyone knows that the Japanese are not a big deal, right? We can easily deal with a squadron of Japanese soldiers. Now follow me to the front train. We don't have much time to count the spoils. You can count our spoils later so that we can make arrangements. Everyone get on the train immediately. We will continue to march south to liberate Dalian and Lushun and drive the Japanese out of Northeast China..."

All the soldiers who got off the train immediately answered loudly: "Yes."

Chapter 504:

Commander Du, upon seeing the train arrive safely at Jinzhou Station, chuckled, stood up, took two steps, and then lightly jumped off the train. As soon as he stepped off, he was greeted by a thick haze that obscured his view. He was used to this; without his orders, the soldiers had already disembarked and quickly set about securing the station.

There is more than one train track on the platform of Jinzhou Railway Station, so the train following behind did not stop in Jinzhou to waste time, but passed through the station directly and headed straight for Dalian.

Commander Du, wearing a general's uniform, stood there with a proud look on his face, looking at the Japanese stationmaster approaching. When he saw the Japanese stationmaster approaching, our Commander Du gently waved his hand, and an officer wearing captain's epaulettes flashed out behind him and said to the Japanese stationmaster in fluent Japanese: "Are you the stationmaster of Jinzhou Railway Station?"

The Japanese stationmaster nodded doubtfully. After receiving a positive answer, the captain continued, "The Russian army has now launched a despicable sneak attack on the front-line positions, resulting in heavy casualties among the Imperial warriors. Bandits in South Manchuria have also begun sabotaging the railway, seriously threatening the transportation of supplies. The military believes that the Russian army has colluded with the bandits to sabotage our rear areas. In order to ensure the smooth flow of logistics and promptly suppress the sabotaging bandit forces, the Imperial Army will now directly take over the security and other responsibilities of Jinzhou Station to ensure the smooth flow of railway traffic. Stationmaster, please follow my order and gather all employees for questioning before returning to work. I hope you can understand."

The reason for taking over the railway station was certainly strong, but Commander Du hadn't anticipated that Jinzhou was a very important station. The closer it was to Lushun, the more influential the stationmaster was. How could a small figure become the stationmaster of such an important place like Jinzhou? Moreover, the Jinzhou Railway Station was too important to be taken over simply.

The Japanese stationmaster nodded in understanding, then immediately assumed a businesslike attitude, extending his hand expressionlessly and saying, "Please show me the order. I will do it."

This was a complete lie. Where was the paperwork? This "captain" was also quite clever. Without the slightest hesitation, he immediately reached into his pocket to fish for documents, but naturally, he couldn't pull anything out. Then, as if he suddenly remembered something, he bowed to Du Lisan and said in Japanese: "General, I forgot my documents on the train. Please forgive me."

Commander Du naturally knew that this was to buy time for the soldiers' actions, so he simply nodded and said, "Then go and take it down and give it to the stationmaster for inspection. Don't waste our stationmaster's precious time."

"Hay"

The Japanese stationmaster was not an easy person to deal with. He followed the "lieutenant" and looked at the train. Suddenly, his pupils contracted rapidly, as if he saw something incredible. The corners of his eyes began to twitch, and for a moment, his whole face twisted.

He hadn't noticed the train entering the station earlier because of the smoke, but now, through the partially closed doors, he saw it was loaded with munitions. Furthermore, he recognized it as the one he had let go not long ago. He had just heard about a conflict between the front and Russia; there was no way the munitions could have been transported south so quickly. What was going on?

Although Commander Du's eyes weren't fixed on the Japanese station chief, his peripheral vision never left his face. When he saw the Japanese's eyes fixate on the munitions inside the train, Du Lisan immediately realized the problem. The train and the munitions were two huge flaws. When he saw the ferocious expression flash across the Japanese's face, he knew that the Japanese station chief was already suspicious. However, seeing that the Japanese station chief hadn't done anything yet and had nothing in his hands, Du Lisan felt that everything was still under his control, so he was happy to continue waiting with the Japanese for a while, buying more time for the soldiers to act. However, at this time, he was ready to draw his saber or pistol to kill the Japanese station chief at any time. If the Japanese station chief made the slightest move, he would face his thundering blow.

With his suspicions, the Japanese station chief immediately began to carefully observe the troops entering the station. As a veteran of the anti-Russian war, he quickly determined through countless details such as how they walked and held their guns that these men, wearing Japanese uniforms and holding fixed bayonets, were definitely not from the Japanese army, but were imposters.

He was startled by his own assumptions, his hair standing on end, and he shuddered. He observed again, and was certain that his men were surrounded by the people before him. His only chance was to escape before they could completely control the station, allowing some people to spread this horrifying news. Otherwise, the consequences would be disastrous.

He saw the general in front of him looking around with his head raised, as if he didn't notice him. He didn't care about that at the moment and planned to retreat quietly. Du Lisan saw the Japanese soldier's feet moving backward out of the corner of his eye, and immediately turned his head and stared at the Japanese station chief.

The Japanese station chief was now even more certain of his guesses. He was also a man from the battlefield and acted very decisively. He knew that he had no chance of escape now, and the only chance might lie with this disguised general.

The Japanese station chief had an idea in his head. Although he was startled by Du Lisan's piercing gaze, he immediately said, "General, you have worked hard. Waiting here is a waste of time. Why don't we go sit in the lounge for a while?"

The Japanese station chief spoke loudly while casually walking towards Du Lisan, as if to show him the way. Du Lisan looked at the Japanese station chief who had just been acting in a businesslike manner, and now invited him to the lounge without waiting for any written orders. Coupled with the change in his expression just now, how could our Commander Du not know what the Japanese station chief was planning? As soon as the Japanese station chief grabbed his butt, he knew what the Japanese was going to do.

Looking at the approaching Japanese station chief, Commander Du could only sigh inwardly: "It's really the God of Hell who wants you dead at three o'clock in the morning, and will never let you live until five o'clock!"

Since this Japanese station chief is going to die sooner or later, let's send him to see Japan's Amaterasu as soon as possible.

Commander Du seemed not to notice the approach of the devil at all, and said in Japanese: "Okay, let's go to the lounge and sit for a while..."

This Japanese station chief also understood the secrets of killing. Generally speaking, when a person exerts force, he must hold his breath. When a person speaks, his trachea is normally closed, so he can't exert much force at all. When speaking, he has to think and be distracted, so his reaction will become slow, and he will not be able to react in time when facing a sudden attack.

So, the moment he heard Du Lisan's words, he concentrated all his strength and lunged at Du Lisan's throat. He had no intention of taking hostages. He just wanted to use the death of the man in front of him to create some chaos, then shout loudly to tell everyone that these people were fakes while trying to escape. Even ants try to survive, let alone humans!

Although Du Lisan was talking at this time, he had already prepared a breath in his mouth and was ready to use force at any time. His hands were also ready to draw his sword at any time. The moment he saw the Japanese station chief attack, he closed his mouth tightly and began to draw his sword with force. The moment he drew the sword, he coordinated the swing of the sword with his hands and shouted loudly: "Baga, you are actually a Russian spy!"

While Du Lisan was shouting, he stepped to the side in the direction of the force, avoiding the attack of the Japanese station chief. At the same time, his knife had already cut across the Japanese station chief's neck, and half of his neck was directly cut off.

Seeing the flash of the knife, the Japanese station chief suddenly stopped as if he had pressed the pause button, then covered his neck with his hands, trying to stop the blood from flowing out, but his efforts were completely useless, and the blood still kept gushing out.

He also heard Du Lisan's call, and his eyes were fixed on Du Lisan. He really didn't know that there was such a cunning and shameless person in the world. He wanted to speak immediately, but a lot of blood immediately came out of his mouth. He suddenly thought of his colleagues and wanted to warn them not to fall into the trap and escape immediately. But the moment he turned around, he fell limply to the ground, his body hitting the ground heavily. His mouth moved, trying to say something, but nothing came out. Blood entered his trachea, causing suffocation. His eyes bulged, and he died with his eyes open.

Du Lisan didn't spare a second glance at the doomed Japanese station chief. He knew that his death would instantly put all the Japanese inside Jinzhou Station on the brink of death. However, he still tried to stabilize the situation, perhaps trying to fool as many Japanese as possible. He immediately shouted to the Japanese who were trying to flee in panic, "We've captured a Russian spy. This person is a Russian spy. Everyone, don't be afraid. Now, everyone, get down and don't move. Wait for the military to interrogate and question..."

Many soldiers who could speak Japanese also shouted immediately: "Get down and don't move."

Hearing these cries, many Japanese were genuinely confused, unsure what to do. However, the station chief wasn't the only one who was clever; many others had already noticed something was amiss and harbored suspicions. Many were also certain that the station chief, a hero in the fight against the Lu army, was not a Lu spy. But now, he had been killed. They knew something had happened, and naturally, they wanted to flee this dangerous place immediately...

Du Lisan saw that many Japanese had indeed fallen down immediately after he shouted. He was happy and naturally did not hesitate to stop those who were still fleeing. He immediately shouted in Japanese: "Bakayaro, the military said it would rather kill a thousand by mistake than let one go. These people who are fleeing are not following orders and must be spies."

After shouting, he pointed his sword and shouted, "Kill them!" In fact, the soldiers saw that the commander had already chopped off the Japanese station chief with a single blow. Without waiting for the commander's shout, they had already started bayoneting the Japanese who were trying to escape. Du Lisan's shouting only accelerated the process, making the killing more legitimate.

Without the Japanese stationmaster, the leaderless Jinzhou Railway Station soon fell into the hands of the field army.

Jinzhou Railway Station was very basic, with the ticket office still a single-story building built by the Russians using gray bricks. Furthermore, the station had just experienced war the previous year, and traces of the conflict were evident everywhere. However, Jinzhou Railway Station was a major station with a strategic location, so it had all the necessary facilities, including coal and water refueling, as well as some stored supplies and spare locomotives and cars.

After the field army took control of the railway station, these things naturally became the field army's spoils of war.

Chapter 505:

The field army quickly took control of the entire train station and seized a large amount of loot, but Commander Du was not concerned about this at the moment. He was thinking about the specific next move.

The Japanese army was naturally very clear about the importance of Jinzhou. Therefore, even in the absence of enemies, Japan still stationed about a thousand soldiers in Jinzhou City, that is, a fully staffed battalion, equivalent to a battalion, with the battalion headquarters located in Jinzhou City.

There were indeed not many garrisons, because after driving out Tsarist Russia, Jinzhou was the hinterland, an almost absolutely safe rear base. Looking around, where were the powerful enemies? It could even be said that where were the enemies? The Qing navy was almost completely wiped out in the Sino-Japanese War of 1894-1895. Would they dare to seize Lushun and land in Jinzhou? The army? Haha, if the Qing army had the ability to take the initiative to attack, Russia would not have appeared in the Northeast, and the empire would not have been able to obtain Korea.

Commander Du knew that at this time, he and the troops who got off at Jinzhou Railway Station might be able to defend against the Japanese army in Jinzhou with the captured ammunition, but they were seriously insufficient in attack.

"Should we wait for the troops behind us to gather and capture the Japanese army in Jinzhou before heading south together?"

Commander Du immediately rejected this idea. The reason was simple: this battle required a surprise attack, catching the enemy off guard. Eliminating all the Japanese troops in Jinzhou City was no easy task. Even if they could quickly eliminate the Japanese troops, there were undoubtedly a large number of other civilians inside. The field army couldn't completely surround Jinzhou, and Jinzhou was only 30 kilometers away from Dalian, which would immediately alert the Japanese troops stationed in Port Arthur and Dalian.

Dalian might be a little better, but Lushun is a real defensive fortress with a complete defense system. The Japanese army paid such a huge price in casualties to capture Lushun. If the news spreads thoroughly and makes the Japanese army alert, they will definitely strengthen their defenses, which is definitely not worth the loss.

Could the field army capture Port Arthur in a short period of time? Even if the field army was very powerful and attacked without regard for casualties, it would still take several days to capture Port Arthur. However, after a few days, all the opportunities would have been lost. The Japanese army in Port Arthur could have easily dispatched troops and requested reinforcements from the country. With the strong fortress, they would have no problem holding on and waiting for help. The Japanese army's fighting spirit was also very strong.

Regardless of whether the field army could capture these strong fortresses, even if they did, they would suffer huge casualties, and the loss of life and land would not be worth the loss. Moreover, if the Japanese navy, after the Battle of Tsushima, finished repairing its warships and replenishing its ammunition and entered Port Arthur, or received a telegram requesting assistance and immediately provided support to Port Arthur, the field army would have basically lost the possibility of liberating Port Arthur.

Commander Du knew what his advantage was at the moment, so he had to seize the opportunity that the Japanese army was not yet aware that the field army had taken the train south to penetrate deep into the Liaodong Peninsula and controlled the stations along the way. He took the train directly to Dalian and Lushun railway stations to lay the foundation, and then waited for the follow-up troops to arrive and completely liberate the Lushun and Dalian areas.

Once the Japanese army learned that someone was trying to take advantage of them, especially after learning that the enemy had captured the train station, they would definitely try every possible means to attack. It is not difficult to imagine that the Japanese army in a foreign country would inevitably become crazy and attack at all costs.

Therefore, the reinforcements had to arrive before the Japanese army captured the railway station, otherwise there would be the risk of all being sacrificed, or even sacrificed in vain. Of course, if the Dalian and Lushun areas could be captured, some sacrifices would be worth it.

Of course, Commander Du is not afraid of how crazy the Japanese army becomes. Could it be worse than the killing of ordinary civilians during the war between Japan and Russia? In addition, for the field army, the entire Northeast is a chess game. As long as they take the Dalian and Lushun areas, can the Japanese army still grow wings and fly? The Japanese army dares to go crazy, so does the field army not kill people? Therefore, it is not scary for the Japanese army to go crazy. The crazier they are, the more difficult it will be for them to gain a foothold in the Northeast, and the sooner the end of the Japanese army trapped in the Northeast will come.

Commander Du closed his eyes and thought for a while, knowing that he had to take a risk. He had to let go of the Japanese troops in Jinzhou City and go south with all his strength. He just hoped that he would not end up like a half-cooked rice, and he also hoped that he would not end up like a sandwich and be attacked from both sides.

After weighing the pros and cons, which took only a moment, Commander Du opened his eyes and said to the Chief of Staff, "Send a telegram to the General Headquarters immediately. Tell them that we have captured the Jinzhou Railway Station and have decided to let the Japanese troops in the city go and take the train to seize the Dalian Railway Station. We will also wait for an opportunity to capture Lushun. Please order the follow-up troops to speed up their march, eliminate all Japanese troops along the way, eliminate any worries, and support our troops as quickly as possible."

"Yes!"

Commander Du then said to the Japanese "captain" who was approaching with a bayonet, "Old Liu, I'm only leaving one company for you to defend Jinzhou Railway Station. Pick up the bodies on the ground and continue to disguise yourself as Japanese soldiers on duty here. You only need to protect the railway station and the tracks. Delay as long as you can until the main force arrives. If the Japanese troops in Jinzhou City don't react, just keep an eye on them for now. If they hear that we have arrived in Lushun, be sure to hold them back. If the main force arrives, you can assist them in destroying this group of Japanese troops. Remember, everything is based on our army arriving in Lushun without the news leaking in advance."

"Yes"

Commander Du suddenly became full of energy. He looked up and gave the order: "Send a telegram to the cavalry column. Tell them to rush south at all costs. Even if all the horses die from running, they must rush to Jinzhou Railway Station as fast as possible to ensure that Jinzhou Railway Station remains in our hands. At the same time, the cavalry column must also take on the task of patrolling the railway to ensure its smooth operation..."

After issuing a series of orders and arrangements, Commander Du immediately led his troops onto a train heading south. The railway distance from Jinzhou to Dalian was only 33 kilometers, and at full speed, the train could reach the destination in just over an hour!

Dalian's real development began when the Qing government built a naval base in Lushun. At that time, Dalian was not called Dalian, but "Darny," which means "distant city" in Russian. Of course, for Russia, Dalian was too far from St. Petersburg, the center of Tsarist Russia. Of course, the name also meant that the city was a distant city in Russia, hence the name.

Originally, after the First Sino-Japanese War, the Japanese directly translated the Russian name into Chinese, giving rise to the Chinese name Dalian. Of course, the Dalian of this era originated from Zhang Yinghao's plan. Although the name was initially a bit confusing, since Chairman Zhang Yinghao called the city Dalian and it was marked on maps, comrades naturally began to call it that.

The train that had previously passed through Jinzhou City had now stopped at the Dalian Railway Station. Dalian was still devastated at this time, and the Japanese had originally driven Chinese laborers to rebuild it. The field army's train arrived too quickly, and the incident happened too quickly, so quickly that the Japanese had no time to react! However, due to the dense crowds and complicated situation at the Dalian Railway Station, when Commander Du was about to arrive here by train, he had already received a telegram in advance. The field army had already controlled the Dalian Railway Station and also notified the Lushun Railway Station that Dalian would send a train to Lushun. However, the field army also reported that when they occupied the railway station, they were not completely sure whether anyone had escaped, and they were not sure whether the news had been leaked.

Upon hearing this news, Commander Du frowned briefly before relaxing. Leakage of the news was inevitable, and inevitable. At this point, exposure wasn't a question anymore. Success or failure wasn't determined by these factors, but by timing and speed, and perhaps even more importantly, luck. Man proposes, God disposes.

Commander Du immediately ordered two infantry companies and a fire support company to remain at Dalian Railway Station to ensure smooth passage. The remaining soldiers boarded trains and continued on their way, their target naturally being the last stop on the Chinese Eastern Railway—Lüshun Railway Station. His own train, however, passed through the station without stopping.

A journey of a hundred miles begins with a single step. Now has come the final moment. Success or failure depends on this final tremor.

Chapter 506:

Lushun, located at the southernmost tip of the Liaodong Peninsula, was about to welcome two trains arriving together. The carriages were densely packed with field soldiers wearing Japanese military uniforms.

If the train was only used to transport troops, no one would be surprised, after all, troop movements were common in Japan. However, the fact that there were so many munitions on the train was quite unusual, as munitions had always been transported from Lushun to the front lines, and such a large amount of munitions had never been transported from the north to the south. This was an inevitable flaw in the field army.

Thanks to advance notice, the train, scheduled to arrive at the station, traveled smoothly from Dalian to Lushun. Commander Du, dressed in the uniform of a Japanese general, sat at the front of the first train, one hand on a nearby iron pillar, the other holding a telescope, observing the terrain from the train. He was especially attentive as they approached Lushun Railway Station.

Before the Russo-Japanese War, Port Arthur boasted over 40 forts and 70 large artillery batteries, all protected by barbed wire, traps, mines, and numerous infantry bunkers. The frontier positions included Dagushan, Xiaogushan, and Hill 203. This rigorous defense system inflicted heavy losses on the Japanese.

However, until January 2, 1905, when the Russians in Port Arthur officially signed the surrender, there were still 32,400 Russian officers and soldiers in Port Arthur, 610 artillery pieces, and 203,000 rounds of artillery shells. It is conceivable that as long as the Russian army's fighting spirit was strong enough, it could have held off the Japanese offensive for a considerable period of time, and perhaps the outcome of the Russo-Japanese War would have been rewritten.

Therefore, it was worth it for the Japanese army to pay a heavy price to capture Port Arthur. It can be said that the capture of Port Arthur made an indelible contribution in the Russo-Japanese War and played a key role in defeating the Russian army.

It can be said that Port Arthur is a nail. As long as it is not removed, Tsarist Russia will never give up this only ice-free port that they have tried so hard to control. They will definitely continue to transfer troops from Europe to continue the war with Japan.

For Japan, Port Arthur tied down a large number of Japanese troops. If this thorn in the side of Port Arthur was not removed, these Japanese troops would be nailed here and unable to move at all. In the case of insufficient manpower, if there was no reinforcement from Port Arthur in the subsequent Battle of Fengtian, it would be unknown whether they could win the battle and whether they could drive the Russian army to the Siping line.

The fundamental issue in resolving the Russo-Japanese War was control of the seas. As long as the Russian fleet remained at Port Arthur, and the port remained in the hands of Tsarist Russia, the Japanese army had no way of determining the course and outcome of the war. Russia's expeditionary fleet also had more options, perhaps avoiding the risk of sailing to Vladivostok and instead seeking to establish contact with Port Arthur. This prevented the Russian fleet from engaging the Japanese in the narrow Tsushima Strait, ultimately leading to their near-complete destruction.

At this time, Zhang Yinghao was also paying attention to Lushun. Whenever Zhang Yinghao saw the description of Nogi Maresuke's human bomb and pig-rushing tactics in history books, he would think that Nogi Maresuke was such a fool. Wasn't this just sending soldiers to their deaths?

However, Zhang Yinghao had a different opinion at this time. Perhaps, without Nogi Maresuke's pig-rushing tactic, Kodama Gentarō might have found it difficult to capture Port Arthur.

The Russian commanders saw Hill 203 taken and knew the tenacity of the Japanese army. At this time, their confidence was shaken, and they probably felt that they were no longer able to stop the Japanese army's pig-surfing tactics. In addition, the Japanese army's super artillery bombarded Port Arthur, sinking all the warships. It seemed that the Russian army had no choice but to surrender.

Commander Du had already lowered his binoculars, a surge of excitement welling up within him. A quick comparison revealed that the actual situation in Lushun largely matched the intelligence received. While the attack on Lushun was Chairman Zhang Yinghao's impromptu proposal, as a crucial northern naval port of the era, how could Liu Wenxiu and his men remain indifferent? Even after the Russian occupation of Lushun, the Russians hadn't prohibited the flow of people, and trade was even thriving. Liu Wenxiu and his men needed to purchase machinery and other equipment. They'd all been to Lushun before, so naturally, they'd discussed and researched the attack numerous times. The plan the staff had drawn up based on previous intelligence could be implemented directly...

"Only when, only when..."

At this time, the two trains entering the Lushun Railway Station had already blown their whistles. The drivers still acted as usual and pulled the brakes. The locomotives spewed out thick steam and smoke, covering the entire platform. All the staff waiting on the platform were shrouded in smoke.

The Japanese on the platform were furious and even cursed inwardly, but that was the nature of trains in those days. Perhaps a skilled train driver could reduce the amount of smoke and steam emitted, but few would deliberately do so. In that era, smoke and steam symbolized industry and power, and the more smoke, the better. Naturally, the thick smoke meant that the small matter of two trains entering the station at the same time was overlooked.

However, Lushun was a military port, and unlike other ordinary train stations, there were actual troops stationed inside the station, and Japanese soldiers were standing on duty on the platform. Of course, these Japanese soldiers were not surprised by the train spewing large amounts of smoke, and they simply frowned and prepared to inspect it.

This does not mean that the Japanese troops were not vigilant. When something is done countless times without any problems, when everything is as usual, when everything becomes task-oriented, people will feel relatively numb.

The soldiers of the field army were of course well aware of the rules for entering the Lushun Railway Station. They were just waiting for the Japanese army to come and kill them first!

The soldiers, having undergone political education, knew that during the First Sino-Japanese War, Port Arthur had a population of over 20,000. After the Japanese army captured Port Arthur, they massacred the city, killing people inside and outside the city for four days and three nights, creating the horrific Port Arthur Massacre. Women were raped and then murdered, and men, young and old, were slaughtered without exception. Ultimately, only 36 people from the city's 20,000 residents survived, all of them members of the body-collecting team hired by the Japanese army. After the Port Arthur Massacre, bodies were strewn everywhere, and blood flowed like a river. The 36-person body-carrying team worked for two months to finally clear the bodies of the victims.

Why did the Japanese army commit the Port Arthur Massacre? In his previous life, Zhang Yinghao had never considered this question, simply believing that the Japanese army had always been so inhumane. But in this era, Zhang Yinghao had a different perspective. No one knew better than Zhang Yinghao the scarcity of talent in this era and how valuable these talents were to China. Without a doubt, every talent was a priceless treasure, priceless. After learning about the corruption of the Qing Dynasty and seeing clearly that Japan had fully understood the Qing Dynasty, Zhang Yinghao felt that he might have understood a little bit of the truth: Japan had undermined the foundation of the Qing Dynasty.

You should know that starting from 1880, the Qing government invested heavily in the construction of Lushun Port. The entire project took 10 years and cost more than 430 million taels of silver. Military facilities such as docks, artillery batteries, docks, railways, and telegraph offices were built. Military agencies such as torpedo battalions and ordnance bureaus were also set up. It also served as the base for the newly established Beiyang Navy.

However, Nogi Maresuke led his army to capture Port Arthur in one day, and only about 800 people fled Port Arthur in advance. Port Arthur prospered because of the construction of Port Arthur, but Port Arthur is a military port, which requires a large number of supporting technical and professional talents. It is really difficult to cultivate talents in this era, but what about now? These talents are basically hiding in and outside the city of Port Arthur and have no time to escape.

Everyone is loyal to their own interests! My God!

If these people were still there, and the Qing Dynasty lost Lushun, they only needed to reorganize these people and establish a second military port somewhere else. This only required the Qing Dynasty to have determination. But what if these talents were gone?

Chapter 507:

In order to completely crush the Qing Dynasty and prevent the Qing Dynasty's navy from rising again and posing a threat to Japan or even retaliating, Japan wanted to crush a Central Empire that had been envied for thousands of years and prevent it from turning over. How much profit would there be in this?

Therefore, the massacre of all the talented people hiding in Lushun was probably an inevitable choice. Later generations have blamed Li Hongzhang for avoiding battle to save his ships, lamented the annihilation of the Beiyang Navy, and denounced the Japanese massacre as genocide.

However, few people pay attention to the very people who were massacred. It was the Port Arthur Massacre that truly and completely extinguished the Qing navy's hopes for a resurgence. The navy is a technical branch of the military, prioritizing inheritance. A century-old navy is no joke, and training naval officers and soldiers is indeed difficult. But those massacred at Port Arthur were elites gathered from across the nation. They embodied the true essence of the entire Chinese Navy, far more than a few warships or a few naval officers could ever hope to equal.

Even if the Beiyang Navy's warships were preserved, without the skilled personnel who were massacred at Port Arthur, the Beiyang Navy would still decline rapidly. However, if these personnel were preserved, even if all the naval officers and soldiers died in battle, as long as there were warships, they could still be rapidly trained. This also shows that talent that masters production, professional expertise, and technology is the foundation of a truly strong country.

Of course, the reality is that the navy is gone, and the talent pool has been completely wiped out. China's naval personnel have suffered a serious talent gap, and it has been unable to recover from this setback. Lamenting and lamenting will not help. Without sufficient time to accumulate, massive investment, and a strong will to build up the navy, the Chinese navy will never rise again in the short term. If the enemy continues to suppress it relentlessly, rebuilding the navy is basically a pipe dream.

Commander Du naturally didn't think about these things. He was only thinking about taking Lushun as soon as possible. As soon as the train stopped at the Lushun platform, the doors were immediately opened, waiting for the Japanese soldiers on duty to come and check.

At this time, Yamashiro Jiro, the captain of the guards at Port Arthur Railway Station, and the stationmaster, were watching the trains on the platform from the stationmaster's office window. Yamashiro Jiro was originally a soldier in the 6th Division, also known as the infamous Kumamoto Division. He had also participated in the Sino-Japanese War of 1894-1895, and was responsible for the Port Arthur Massacre.

The reason why Yamashiro Jiro was in Port Arthur was because he was injured during the Russo-Japanese War, but he was unwilling to retire and was nostalgic for the glory he once had in Port Arthur. Even the smell of the sea breeze in Port Arthur could make him excited, so he came here to serve as the captain.

The thick smoke on the platform obscured his vision, leaving Yamajiro feeling a sense of unease. Suddenly, he vaguely saw figures fighting, and then the entire station erupted in chaos, with people on the platform running around, seemingly shouting something. Just as he was still wondering what was happening, he saw a Japanese soldier, bayoneted rifle in hand, chase out of the thick fog and stab the panicked platform staff. The Japanese staff member who was stabbed collapsed to the ground with a look of despair and disbelief.

"Baga, this is a mutiny!"