The Heroic Age of the Late Qing Dynasty

It was the darkest hour before dawn, and also the most sleepy time for everyone. The Wuhan Military Commission had long known the location of the British gunboat's berth, and was even more aware that half of the naval officers and soldiers aboard the British gunboat were resting ashore, while the other half were resting on the warship.

In fact, at the beginning, the British warships were always ready, that is, all officers and soldiers stayed on the warships. But when they saw that the field army did not do anything to the foreigners in the British Concession, nor did they blockade and embarrass the officers and soldiers of the warships, the officers and soldiers of the warships naturally relaxed their vigilance. In addition, staying on a small warship for a long time is unbearable for anyone, not to mention that the captain has spent money to gild himself or make money. How could they bear this? They relaxed their vigilance after just a few days. In addition, in the minds of the British Navy, who would dare to touch the warships of the British Empire? Isn't that an act of seeking death?

At this point, multiple snipers were targeting various locations on the warship from a distance, ready to provide fire support and cover. The special forces leading the main attack were armed with Mauser pistols, loaded and with the muzzle wide open. These pistols were equipped with a silencer and a stock, resting on the shoulder, allowing them to be used like submachine guns. In this close-quarters assault, a rapid-fire pistol was the true offensive weapon. Some soldiers clutched a pistol in one hand and a dagger in the other. Others carried a high-pressure steel cylinder with a skull painted on it, demonstrating their thorough preparation.

The leader of the operation kept watching the time. When the minute hand jumped and the time was up, he whispered, "Action!"

The captain shouted, then raised his rifle and fired at a patrolling British soldier. Two soft "puffs" were heard, and the British sailor fell to the ground without a sound. At that moment, two team members swung their cotton-wrapped hooks, which accurately caught the warship's railing. Another soldier behind them immediately brought out a door panel and placed it on two ropes, creating a simple floating bridge! Without a word, the special forces members stepped onto the door panel and boarded the warship.

The moment the special forces boarded the warships, their fate was sealed. Navy officers and soldiers were no match for the Army; Army infantrymen were far more effective in close combat than Navy crews, who rarely used firearms or other melee weapons. The battle-hardened special forces quickly boarded and seized the warships' decks. If they showed no mercy, a brutal massacre would ensue.

However, the British soldiers on the warship were all asleep at the time, which naturally provided a good opportunity to capture these naval officers and soldiers. So after the special forces boarded the warship, they immediately advanced to various places, giving priority to controlling the command room, ammunition room, etc.

The operation went exceptionally smoothly. Aside from a mishap on one of the warships, which caused a few British soldiers who had heard the noise to flee into a closed room, all the other naval officers and soldiers were captured. The accident on the warship was also prevented by the chlorine gas canister, which made the accident a non-event.

After capturing the British gunboat, the special forces immediately signaled a successful operation. The officers and soldiers of the Wuhan Navy, who had been hiding, excitedly ran aboard the warship. Soon, they weighed anchor and set sail. The original British gunboat disappeared from Wuhan, and from then on, these gunboats changed their names.

Chapter 550: First update!

While Zhang Yinghao was sleeping or lecturing, good news didn't need to be immediately communicated. Waking up the next morning, Zhang Yinghao received news of the successful Wuhan operation, and he was filled with joy. To change the inertial state of things, external forces are needed; to accomplish something, action is required. Zhang Yinghao now quite enjoyed the thrill of having his subordinates pull out all the stops to accomplish the task. A leader simply opens his mouth, and subordinates run like crazy. While his own words alone didn't contribute much concrete credit in this matter, without his own decision-making, nothing could have happened. Therefore, history often records such events as the decision-makers, not the executors. The removal of the British gunboats in Wuhan might become another major achievement in history, safeguarding national sovereignty. However, removing the British warships in this way was not entirely glamorous. Their reuse would surely require a facelift, otherwise it would be too embarrassing. Perhaps this operation would only become a declassified archive decades from now.

The British warship officers and soldiers who were resting on the shore came to the river the next day and were stunned to see that the warship that had been floating on the river had disappeared. They naturally knew the seriousness of the matter and immediately reported it to their superiors.

Afterwards, the news of the "mysterious disappearance" of the British gunboat in Wuhan spread quickly, causing an uproar. In fact, needless to say, everyone knew that apart from the new government, no other force had the ability to take away the warships in Wuhan silently. No one in the great powers knew how this group of Chinese people took away these warships silently, but no matter how these warships were taken away from Wuhan, one thing is certain, that is, it was definitely done by the army from Sichuan. This absolutely broke the bottom line of the great powers in an instant, and it was tantamount to an act of war. The Chinese people also talked about this with relish, and it became a topic of discussion for everyone after dinner.

British Minister to China, Sir John Sawyer, received news that the British concession in Wuhan had been forcibly reclaimed by the new government and that the British nationals inside were being temporarily detained. He had no alternative but to immediately notify France, Germany, and the United States. The great powers shared common principles regarding China, and their interests. France and the United States immediately dispatched diplomats to protest to the new government in Wuhan. Comrade Shen Ruo, who had just arrived in Wuhan to take charge of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, met the two foreigners. They fiercely demanded that the new government take responsibility for the incident, surrender the warships and all the officers and men on board, apologize, provide compensation, and guarantee a recurrence.

Shen Ruo smiled and replied, "Gentlemen, we are currently investigating the situation with the British Empire's warships. We have reason to suspect that the British officers and soldiers sailed away last night, and the British are now blaming them. Or perhaps aliens appeared and took the British warships away. In any case, I didn't hear any sound last night. Did you hear any sound?"

The two foreigners looked at each other without saying anything. Shen Ruo continued, "Moreover, our new government did not invite these warships to dock in Wuhan. We even persuaded them to leave long ago. Therefore, we have no responsibility or obligation to protect the safety of these warships, nor do we bear any responsibility for their "disappearance." However, I believe that the officers and soldiers on these warships should be safe, otherwise the bodies of the British soldiers would have been found long ago..."

Shen Ruo had done his utmost to ensure the safety of the officers and men on the warships. As for what the great powers would think and what they would do, neither the Progressive Party nor the People's Liberation Army knew...

Upon receiving the news that Shen Ruo had dismissed the foreign diplomats, Zhang Yinghao knew the matter was far from over. The foreign powers would undoubtedly want to get to the bottom of this matter, or else all the foreigners in China would be uneasy. Such a large warship and so many officers and soldiers aboard could vanish so suddenly—if it were truly the work of the new Wuhan government, it would be truly incredible. Of course, now that the British Empire had suffered another major loss of face, perhaps other nations were now laughing at the British Empire.

Zhang Yinghao, after dispatching troops to Korea to resolve the dire situation in Northeast China, realized that creating a contradiction, if one does not want to resolve it, will mask it with a larger, more acute contradiction. This more acute contradiction naturally concerns the core interests of the great powers in China—the concessions and privileges. If China attempted to reclaim these rights, the great powers would immediately oppose it, and everything else would become secondary. This was the primary contradiction between China and the great powers.

Just as Zhang Yinghao was about to urge Wuhan to forcibly take back the Japanese concession in Wuhan, his secretary ran in and immediately handed him a telegram, "Chairman, an urgent telegram just came from the Northeast."

Zhang Yinghao took it and looked at it. As he had expected, the Japanese warships were bombarding Lushun.

"Damn, this is like a perfect storm. Just when I was about to take over the Japanese Concession in Wuhan, Japan gave me another excuse."

Zhang Yinghao muttered to himself and immediately sent a telegram to Wuhan, asking them to send troops to reinforce the situation immediately, and for the police to forcibly take over the Japanese concession, confiscate all property inside the concession as compensation, and temporarily detain Japanese diplomats and expatriates...

Zhang Yinghao also instructed his propaganda department colleagues: Immediately publish all the information they have collected about Japanese atrocities, in chronological order. This should include the Japanese pirate rebellion during the Ming Dynasty, the Port Arthur Massacre during the First Sino-Japanese War, and a detailed account of the brutal slaughter of civilians in Northeast China during the Russo-Japanese War. Then there's the current Japanese warships bombarding the Yangtze River, the Japanese landing in Andong to invade Northeast China, and now the bombardment of Port Arthur...

The Chinese people understand this feeling of being bullied most clearly. In this era, the feeling of being bullied is shared by every Chinese. Zhang Yinghao wants all citizens to clearly understand who our enemies are, so as to rally their hearts, unify their thoughts, and strive for progress...

At the same time, Zhang Yinghao personally published articles in the People's Daily and New Youth, writing: "...The Japanese army's act of launching a war and attempting to invade China will be condemned by all peace-loving people. Faced with the Japanese invasion and its brutal atrocities, our Progressive Party and the People's Liberation Army will retaliate at all costs. With the selfless and full support of the people, our Party and our army have the ability and confidence to defeat all invading enemies. Anyone who offends China will ultimately end in failure..."

By this time, Wuhan's newly formed armed police force had already assembled early in the morning. They all knew what their mission was and were incredibly excited. Reclaiming the concession by force—what a truly ambitious undertaking! What a glorious mission! Just being able to carry out this mission was a testament to their past life's accumulated merits, something worth bragging about for the rest of their lives.

Upon receiving the order, the armed police immediately rushed into the Japanese concession in Wuhan amid the cheers of the masses. Faced with the armed police, armed with live ammunition, any Japanese soldiers and police who attempted to resist with firearms were shot dead. At this point, Japan's inherent tendency to bully the weak and fear the strong was immediately exposed. Seeing the armed police's real intentions, they dared to open fire and kill them without restraint. The vast majority of Japanese soldiers and police immediately obeyed and surrendered.

The Japanese Concession was remote and far from prosperous. Therefore, to prosper, the Japanese openly allowed opium dens, casinos, brothels, and drug trafficking centers to open within the concession. As a result, the Japanese Concession was considered by Wuhan locals to be a major base for smuggling and drug trafficking. It could be said that the Japanese Concession was the most despicable and filthy of the five concessions in Hankou.

Now that the Forward Party had sent in armed police, they were naturally determined to sweep away all evildoers and eradicate all evil with great force. The police first arrested all Japanese citizens on charges of illegal entry; opium dens, brothels, and casinos were all shut down and sealed off. The armed police would swiftly dispatch any Japanese merchants who dared to resist with rifle butts.

At this point, the propaganda department no longer concealed the Japanese shelling of the Yangtze River coast, shelling Lushun, and attacking Andong. They announced everything through newspapers and began to publicize it widely to agitate the people.

At the same time, the Revolutionary Committee also participated in this. Those Japanese who had not been found to have committed serious crimes were temporarily handed over to the police for detention. Those Japanese and their accomplices who had irrefutable evidence and had committed numerous and serious crimes were immediately dragged out and put on prison vans and paraded through the streets. After the crimes they had committed against the Chinese were announced, they were taken to Caishikou and stabbed to death.

Chapter 551: Second update!

For the Western imperialist powers, the forced repossession of the Japanese concession in Wuhan came without warning and was unacceptable to them. The remaining foreigners in Wuhan's German, French, Russian, and Belgian concessions were terrified by the Revolutionary Committee's brutal and unceremonious execution of the Japanese and their lackeys. Who could have imagined that the imperialist powers, once so arrogant in China, would be treated like pigs and sheep when faced with the Forward Party and the People's Liberation Army?

Upon hearing this, British Minister to China Sir Thomas Sartorius and Japanese Minister to China Yasuya Uchida's eyes welled up. The Japanese gunboats' advance upstream was indeed the result of British connivance, but what neither the British nor the Japanese anticipated was that the Japanese ships were stopped at Madang. The fortress defenders responded without hesitation with warnings and a powerful counterattack. According to past British experience, upon learning of Japanese warships shelling the Yangtze River, the Chinese government would immediately consult the British and attempt to resolve the issue through the British Empire, as the Yangtze River was, after all, a British sphere of influence. However, the British miscalculated once again.

The first targets of Wuhan were British warships, followed by the forced repossession of the Japanese concession and the arrest of Japanese nationals, who were charged with illegal entry. Wuhan ignored the British, leaving them feeling completely ignored. For the British, who are used to stirring up trouble and making their presence felt, they suddenly felt uncomfortable.

What irritated the British most was the Progress Party's impulsive approach, which clearly showed them treating themselves as if they were a major power. How dare those yellow-skinned monkeys do that? As soon as the Japanese bombardment ended, the armed police quickly retaliated, resolving the issue of the Japanese concession.

"How dare they? How dare they? Sir Sadao, how dare Sichuan do this?"

Facing Uchida Yasuya's question, Sa Daoyi was speechless. In fact, Sa Daoyi wanted to curse "five grams of oil" three times to express his anger, and then pointed at Uchida Yasuya's nose and said, "If I had a way, the British Empire's warships would not be missing now."

Sadow also knew that the Qing government would have sent representatives to discuss a solution with the British Empire long ago. However, none of the current China experts anticipated that the Progressive Party had a completely different approach to thinking about and solving problems. They were completely unafraid of escalating conflicts and were determined to resolve them on their own, which was truly frustrating for the British. They were completely ignoring the opportunity for British intervention.

The British now understood the meaning of the "maintain the status quo" they had previously discussed with Sichuan rebel leader Zhang Yinghao. It meant maintaining the status quo that the Progressive Party was willing to maintain. Naturally, the status quo that the Progressive Party was unwilling to maintain would no longer be maintained. Now, with no warships from the great powers in the middle and upper reaches of the Yangtze River, their confidence in speaking and seeking unconventional benefits was severely diminished.

In retrospect, simply sending warships into Chongqing to bombard it was a complete mistake to interfere with the revolution. The Qing government should have been strongly supported, and the foreign powers should have sent troops into Sichuan to help the Qing government suppress the revolution. Allowing the Sichuan Forward Party to leave Hubei without promptly sending troops to stop them and allowing them to occupy the middle reaches of the Yangtze River was a failure within a failure. Now, the middle and upper reaches of the Yangtze River are completely devoid of a single foreign warship, and this situation couldn't be worse.

The British maintained their global hegemony thanks to their vast fleets and control of numerous strategic waterways. When challenged on the continent, they could only point out their limited power. Therefore, facing a fragmented Europe, the British mastered the policy of continental balancing, isolating and attacking those who were stronger in Europe.

The great powers had now witnessed the cruel and tragic consequences of being without armed protection in a backward and barbaric China. The Japanese in the concessions were slaughtered like chickens and sheep. They tried to resist, but faced with the black muzzles of the armed police, the muzzles pressed against their heads, they ultimately surrendered. All the diplomats from the great powers felt that if they were faced with such a situation, they would have no choice but to surrender.

Especially when they saw the brutal beheading by the Chinese, it was an act of barbarism and backwardness, devoid of any sense of human rights. German, American, and Russian diplomats all felt a chill down their spines, their lives in jeopardy. They also felt that the way the Chinese looked at them had changed, and some even dared to speak to the foreigners in a joking tone from a distance.

Sa Daoyi ignored Uchida Yasuya's words and turned to the map behind him. Seeing that the Forward Party had already occupied such a large territory of Qing Dynasty, Sa Daoyi's eyes became redder and his face darkened a little. However, Sa Daoyi knew that the best opportunity to curb the Forward Party had long been lost.

The Forward Party's expansion was unbelievably rapid, so rapid that by the time they tried to intervene, their chance had already been lost. By this time, Sa Daoyi had learned that the Northeastern Field Army was a force originating from Sichuan. He knew the situation in the Far East would soon undergo a drastic change, one that no force could prevent. Even the Qing Dynasty's current half-dead state was a source of deep sorrow for Sa Daoyi.

"It's time to speed up the process of extracting benefits from the Qing Dynasty."

Just as Sadaoyi was looking at the map, thinking about how to squeeze more benefits from the Qing Dynasty, Uchida Yasuya said again: "Sir Sadaoyi, regarding our country's issuance of bonds to the British Empire to raise funds, would you like to say a few good words for our country?"

Sa Daoyi glanced at Uchida Yasuya and felt speechless. How could he not know what was going on in Japan? He actually wanted to borrow money to continue the war. The British Empire was very clear at this time that the nature of the war in Northeast China had changed. It was no longer a war between Japan and Tsarist Russia, but a war between Japan and Sichuan. Britain had experienced the Boer War and naturally knew that Japan would most likely face a more difficult situation if it entered Northeast China. The British Empire had emptied its treasury to win the Boer War. Could it be that Japan entering Northeast China would have a better outcome than the British Empire entering the Boer War?

It's absolutely impossible for Yisa Daoyi to understand Sichuan. Sichuan is just a bunch of desperate, fearless criminals. Why would the British Empire lend money to Japan now? Moreover, for Japan in the Russo-Japanese War, the real big lender wasn't the British Empire, but the United States. While Japan might be able to defraud those upstart American nouveau riche, getting more money from the British Empire is absolutely impossible. Furthermore, once the loan expires, the British Empire will force Japan to repay the debt. Let's see what you can do.

Therefore, the British were naturally unable to help the Japanese with what they were experiencing in Northeast China. Of course, Sa Daoyi wouldn't say no outright. He nodded and said, "Of course, I will report back to the country about the Far East situation. As for whether Parliament approves your loan or bond application, that's not something I can decide."

Upon hearing this, Uchida Yasuya bowed deeply and said, "Thank you, Sir Sadaoyi."

As the saying goes, those involved in the matter are often confused, while those on the sidelines can see things more clearly. As another island country, Britain is very aware of the difficulties Japan is facing now.

"He who knows others is wise; he who knows himself is enlightened. Unfortunately, it is not so easy to know oneself..." Sa Daoyi looked at Uchida Yasuya who bowed deeply with sympathy, shook his head slightly, and sighed in his heart.

"The situation in the Far East...Alas!"

Chapter 552:

After receiving the telegram about the armed police entering the concession, Zhang Yinghao stopped caring about Wuhan and immediately shifted his attention to Shanghai, where the great powers now gathered. The previous forced repossession of the British concession had provoked the great powers. To safeguard their interests in the Far East, Britain, France, Russia, Japan, Italy, Belgium, Germany, Austria, the Netherlands, and Portugal all mobilized warships or sent troops to Shanghai. As a result, the number of foreign troops stationed in Shanghai quickly increased to over 30,000, forming the largest ten-nation coalition in Chinese history. After the Forward Party launched the Liberation War, a large number of foreigners from the middle reaches of the Yangtze River fled to Shanghai, resulting in the city now being overcrowded with foreigners.

Now that the British warships had disappeared and the Japanese concession in Wuhan had been forcibly reclaimed, this would undoubtedly once again irritate the extremely sensitive and fragile nerves of the great powers. Zhang Yinghao was now waiting to see whether the warships and troops in Shanghai would go upstream, attack the liberated areas, and interfere with the revolution.

Zhang Yinghao knew that the great powers must be holding meetings to discuss how to deal with the Qing revolution and how to deal with the issues of the liberated areas.

It's true that he wasn't afraid, but it would be a lie to say he wasn't worried at all. If tens of thousands of allied forces and a large number of warships were to come up the river, a major war would surely break out. Although Zhang Yinghao was confident of victory, the war would undoubtedly cause severe damage along the Yangtze River.

Zhang Yinghao didn't know what result the great powers would come up with, but it didn't seem good to do nothing to divide the great powers. It was necessary for the Progressive Party to send a friendly signal to the great powers.

Zhang Yinghao thought for a moment and said, "Send a telegram to the Wuhan Military Commission to immediately lift the blockade of the Russian, French, German, and Belgian concessions. Tell the foreigners inside that the concessions will remain as they are. If they choose to leave, we will not stop them. In addition, immediately hand over all captured British and Japanese who have no clear evidence of guilt to the foreigners in the remaining four concessions. If these Japanese and British want to leave, we will not stop them, and the military government can pay for their transportation..."

Zhang Yinghao believed that if these captured British and Japanese were released, the foreigners from the other four powers that had concessions in Wuhan would be able to rest a little easier and no longer have to panic. At least, even if the Chinese took back the concessions in the future, as long as they were not bad people, their lives would still be safe.

As for using these foreigners as shields, Zhang Yinghao hadn't even considered it. The world's discourse was firmly in the hands of the great powers. If they truly resolved to fight, they wouldn't care about the lives of these foreigners; instead, they would become sacrificial offerings. Using foreigners as shields would undoubtedly be widely publicized by Western media, smearing China as an ignorant and barbaric nation that needed to be conquered by force, and requiring military force to protect the lives and property of the great powers in China. This would only further provoke a shared hatred among the great powers, leading to further blood feuds and a loss that outweighed the gains.

Soon, Zhang Yinghao received a telegram from Wuhan, announcing that Germany, Russia, France, and Belgium had all accepted the captured British and Japanese. Zhang Yinghao breathed a sigh of relief. He still didn't want to go to war with these powers, especially Germany and the United States. If he went to war with these two countries now, it would be difficult to do business with them later.

However, Zhang Yinghao also discovered that the imperialists of this era are not very good at using the super stick of trade, or in other words, it is still a time when the free capitalist economy is transitioning to a monopoly capitalist economy for the sake of profit. Monopoly capitalism is also called imperialism, and monopoly capital needs to be exported and expanded on a large scale. Therefore, it is not wrong that China is now suffering from the oppression and exploitation of imperialism.

However, monopoly means domination. These monopolies have established a dominant position throughout their respective industrial sectors. This relationship is no longer one of competition between small and large businesses, or between technologically backward and advanced enterprises. Instead, it is the monopolist stifling those businesses that do not join the monopoly but refuse to succumb to their oppression and manipulation. Monopolies have achieved complete dominance in advanced countries, generally concentrating seven or eight tenths of an industrial sector's total output in their own hands. This has become the foundation of economic life, allowing monopolies to easily alter state policies. Therefore, socialism claims that the state controls the economic lifeline, while capitalism claims that monopolies control the economic lifeline. The only difference is that the state serves the public, while the monopolies serve private interests.

The formation of monopoly organizations promoted colonial expansion. The monopoly bourgeoisie continued to demand not only the expansion of commodity sales markets and raw material production areas, but also the expansion of capital export areas. The Liberated Areas were willing to trade with these monopoly organizations. These monopoly organizations naturally used all means to achieve their interests. How could they not be willing to trade with the Liberated Areas to make money?

Moreover, world trade today is far less prosperous than it would be in later generations. It's so hard to find an organization willing to trade with each other on a large scale, so who would be willing to give it up? Therefore, for the time being, apart from Britain, no country has wielded the trade stick to sanction the Liberated Areas. In other words, Britain has only blockaded the Liberated Areas. However, if a war breaks out between the two sides, that would be another matter. Therefore, Zhang Yinghao is currently very reluctant to go to war with Germany and the United States. This is also necessary for the diplomacy of dividing and disintegrating the great powers and making friends with distant countries and attacking nearby ones.

While Zhang Yinghao was closely watching every move in Shanghai, Japanese warships were still cruising on the sea off the coast of Lushun. Faced with the heavy bombs fired from the sea, the field army's artillery units could only fight back using fortress guns.

At this time, the remaining enemy forces on the Liaodong Peninsula had been basically completely eliminated by our field army. The Port Arthur Fortress had also been completely occupied by our field army, and all the field army units had entered the defensive positions. Our commander Du was in the Port Arthur Fortress headquarters at this time. Facing the bombardment of the Japanese warships, he picked up the fort's dedicated phone and shouted: "Does the Huangjinshan Fortress hear? Does the Huangjinshan Fortress hear?"

"Golden Mountain heard it, Golden Mountain heard it."

"Organize an artillery counterattack immediately."

"Yes," the battery commander answered loudly.

After hanging up the phone, Commander Du asked about the laborers working in Lushun. These people had been forcibly captured by the Japanese and forced to do hard labor, repairing the war-torn areas. During Commander Du's most difficult time defending the train station, these laborers rioted, cooperating with the troops to attack the Japanese from behind, and later effectively blocked the escape of the Japanese. Seeing the Japanese army's defeat, the laborers had an opportunity for revenge, and they naturally did not miss it. They either picked up the guns of the fallen soldiers on the ground or simply picked up their own tools and began to work.

These laborers were now more familiar with the terrain than the field army itself, and having been severely bullied by the Japanese, they were naturally willing to lead the field army. Although the addition of these laborers initially caused some confusion, it also greatly accelerated the field army's attack on all the fortresses. The laborers also hunted down the Japanese everywhere, making indelible contributions to the liberation of Port Arthur.

At this time, these laborers did not stop to rest. Under the mobilization of the political commissar, they continued to help the field army defend and build the Port Arthur fortress. They were now digging trenches and building fortresses with a hundred times more enthusiasm. Commander Du was naturally very grateful for this. The Japanese and Russians fought fiercely in Port Arthur, killing all the Chinese in the area, so the help of these laborers was really needed now.

Of course, these laborers also knew that if the field army had not come to liberate this place, the Japanese would have kept it secret and they would have died. So to express their gratitude, the laborers worked very hard.

"They are now helping the various units of the field army dig fortifications and repair fortresses to prevent the Japanese infantry from landing."

"We must do everything we can to protect their safety and allow these laborers to train in their spare time. If we run out of manpower or suffer heavy losses, we may need them to take up arms and go to the battlefield. Defending our country is everyone's responsibility. Especially Jinzhou and Dalian, they are our retreat to Lushun, and we cannot afford to lose them."

"Yes."

Commander Du knew that the battle to drive the Japanese out of Northeast China was the battle that would establish the Field Army. Even after liberating Port Arthur and driving the Japanese out of Northeast China, there would undoubtedly be several more fierce battles to fight, otherwise the Japanese would not admit defeat. It could be said that the battle to defend Port Arthur would be unprecedented for the Field Army, a huge challenge, and perhaps the most dangerous battle since its founding, as they faced the powerful Japanese navy and its immensely powerful naval guns. If the previous battles were considered low-intensity, then the battle to defend Port Arthur should be considered at least medium-intensity.

He still couldn't forget the power of the naval guns. A single shell could create a crater three meters deep and eight meters in diameter. Without any shielding, anyone within twenty meters would have died from internal bleeding due to the powerful shockwave. The lethality was immense.

Commander Du had attended classes, particularly on Japanese strategy, and he knew the Japanese didn't have many of these powerful shells, and they were expensive to produce. The Japanese Navy had just experienced a naval battle, so shells were even more scarce. Japan's finances were already on the brink of collapse. Even if all Japanese ships were deployed, they wouldn't be able to fire many shells. Or, after using up their stored shells, all that would be left was the useless iron shells.

Commander Du also knew that the Japanese Navy couldn't possibly fire all its shells. As an island nation, national security was their top priority. If they ran out of ammunition and encountered any emergency, they would be lambs to the slaughter. This was entirely conceivable. The Western powers were not easy to deal with. They loved to take advantage of the situation, not to come to the rescue. Therefore, the Japanese were only firing shells one by one, rather than firing heavily at Port Arthur.

However, even with such continuous firing, the Japanese navy was now too familiar with Port Arthur, so it posed a great threat to the field army and laborers in Port Arthur. If the Japanese infantry forcibly landed, the field army would have to face an even worse situation.

Chapter 553:

Commander Du shook his head, as if trying to shake off all the negative thoughts. The naval guns had a range of thirty to forty kilometers. While accuracy was no longer a concern at such long distances, the danger still existed. If a Japanese ship were to stumble upon a dead mouse and a shell directly hit the headquarters, all of them would likely be killed. Since the Japanese Navy was largely aware of Port Arthur's current defenses, the field army could only exploit the existing conditions and desperately build fortifications, dig trenches, and dig super-anti-artillery holes.

Yu Dehai had also arrived in Lushun at this time. He was very worried when he stayed at the headquarters. He said to Commander Du: "Commander, I'm going to the Huangjinshan Fort to take a look. I'm really worried."

Commander Du listened and nodded and said, "Go ahead."

Facing the Japanese naval guns, there was no need to say anything like "pay attention to safety" at this time. If a shell hits, then there is no question of safety. If it doesn't hit, then it is safe. This is the situation now.

After the field army batteries returned fire, the Japanese warships' bombardment intensified. The artillery roared loudly. Although the Russian batteries were strong and well-hidden, the Japanese knew where they were, so news of the batteries being hit spread quickly, and those that were hit suffered heavy losses.

The field army's artillery had never fired a massive artillery piece like the fortress gun, so they could only learn through practice. After each artillery firing, the relevant data was immediately reported to the calculation staff for accurate calculations. It was precisely because of this that the field army's artillery was able to grow so rapidly; otherwise, the field army would not have had so many artillery shells to provide for the soldiers to practice.

Finally, Yu Dehai arrived inside the fort. He saw his men methodically directing the cleaning of the barrel, loading the shells, and adjusting the firing parameters. He nodded slightly. Soon, a loud "boom" rang out from the barrel, and the shell whistled out with a piercing sound.

Yu Dehai hurriedly observed through the telescope. The shell did not hit the target, but entered the water more than 100 meters away from the target, and had no killing power at all on the Japanese ship.

At this point, the inexperienced commander was clearly flustered. He believed his calculations were correct, but now that he hadn't hit the warship, he was becoming increasingly anxious. Yu Dehai couldn't say anything about this performance; after all, this was his first time using this weapon against a Japanese ship.

Yu Dehai knew that there was a famous saying in the British Navy: "Only fools would use naval guns and shore artillery to bombard each other."

Of course, Japan was no fool. With their positional parameters now practically all under control of the Japanese Navy, every missed hit increased the risk. More importantly, the fortress's shells were all captured, so using one meant one less, which put even more pressure on the commanders. Every shell fired by the Japanese ships was carefully aimed, especially the main gun shells, which would cause a trembling sensation. Therefore, the pressure on the field artillerymen in the turrets was particularly intense.

However, after the field army artillery opened fire, the Japanese fleet did not dare to get too close, which might be considered good news. Yu Dehai walked to the side of the artillery commander, patted him on the shoulder and said: "Don't be anxious, take your time and command well."

"Instructor, I really want to hit the target."

"I know, but thinking about it is useless. The shell hitting the target is the result, not the process. The Chairman said that there are a hundred links in doing a thing, and we can only work hard to do all of them well. As for whether the final result is what we want, it is actually beyond our control. It's the same now. You just need to do everything you can before firing. After the shell flies, we can't control it. Do you understand?"

Artillery commanders are no ordinary people. They undergo countless repetitive training, are able to maintain concentration in a highly noisy environment, and have excellent scores in math and physics. Moreover, their mental arithmetic speed alone is unmatched by ordinary people. So, he naturally understood what Yu Dehai was talking about and immediately replied, "Yes."

Yu Dehai nodded and continued, "Let's take a step back and say that even if we can't hit the Japanese ships, as long as we leave some shells behind as a threat, Japan won't be able to send infantry to land directly on us, so there's no need to be nervous."

Sure enough, after hearing Yu Dehai's words, the commander took two deep breaths, forced himself to calm down, and continued to direct his men to clean the gun barrels, load ammunition, and adjust the firing parameters. The artillerymen of the fort performed their work in an orderly manner according to artillery regulations.

Yu Dehai stood at the lookout, looking into the distance with a telescope. In fact, he couldn't see anything, but he couldn't help but want to take a few more glances. After confirming that the Japanese army had no army transport ships, Yu Dehai breathed a sigh of relief and continued to watch in silence.

At this point, the commander immediately directed the artillerymen to begin vigorously cranking the massive capstan, moving the barrel of the cannon half a barrel. It was impossible to have the heavy coastal artillery continuously pursue a single ship. The coastal artillery was too heavy and inconvenient to move. Current fortress artillery also lacked a high rate of fire. Therefore, when these heavy guns were installed, each gun was given a firing angle, which was further divided into several intervals. The firing parameters could essentially be fixed through testing, meaning that fortress artillery was essentially a case of waiting for the enemy ship to enter its firing range. The commander would then calculate the firing parameters and firing time based on the speed of the moving gun, the impact point of the shell, and the enemy ship's speed, ultimately colliding the ship and the shell.

After the commander finished adjusting the cannon and calculated the time, he took out his watch and said, "Ready, fire in six seconds."

Yu Dehai heard the shouting, turned his head and took a look, then continued to look outside.

Everyone held their breath, waiting for the moment to fire. The commander, without even glancing at his watch, raised his hand and counted, "Five, four, three, two, fire!"

The commander waved his hand as the command "Fire" was given. The gunners didn't even bother to see what was happening on the sea. Of course, even if they had, it wouldn't have been of any use. Following their training, they decisively pulled the rope. The heavy gun roared, shaking the entire reinforced concrete emplacement. The shell erupted from the barrel, exploding near the Japanese warship's waterline.

“It’s a near miss!”

"This warship just turned early. I don't know if it was damaged."

"Only the Japanese know whether they have sustained any damage. Let's speed up and give them another shot."

.…………-

After the shell is fired, the commander immediately records the data and directs personnel to cool down the cannon, clean the barrel, and other tasks in preparation for the next firing.