The sun never sets

Wang Qi threw fresh troops into the battlefield and sent people to gather the scattered troops. The Japanese were much more brave than the officers and soldiers they had encountered before. So many of them died that their bodies almost covered the entire train station, but they still kept attacking!

In order to protect the railway station as his stronghold, he could only keep throwing out his capital.

The ground was covered with blood, corpses were piled up, and wailing and shouting were everywhere. Even though Wang Qi had seen many dead people, he couldn't help but feel a chill in his heart because of this bloody battle.

Chapter 98 Casualties

The Japanese army did not make large-scale detours, but still expanded the battle line to the two wings, and gradually gained the upper hand with more rifles. In places like the railway station, there was also a Type A regiment stationed, and the volunteers were able to fight back and forth with the Japanese, but in other places they were almost in a state of being beaten without being able to fight back. Although there were trenches to reduce the damage from firepower, that was all.

In the battle at dusk, the Japanese captured the strongholds on the east and west sides of the station one by one, and the Langfang Railway Station was gradually half surrounded. If they wanted to send reinforcements into the station, they would first be killed by the Japanese firepower. Seeing that it was getting dark, Wang Qi released his trump card and threw out the last trump card in his hand.

A whole regiment of [Mongol Iron Cavalry] suddenly appeared on the battlefield and launched a flank attack on the Japanese soldiers near the train station. The savage and brave cavalry swept across the battlefield, cutting down the Japanese infantry who were not in strict formation in large numbers. The defenders in the station took advantage of the situation and launched a counterattack, launching a short assault.

With the addition of several other reinforcements, the Japanese army finally retreated after a bloody battle.

The battle was won, but the king

Qi was not happy at all. The only Type A regiment under his command had suffered more than a thousand casualties, and now only three or four hundred of them were still alive and well, basically losing their combat effectiveness. Several other participating troops also suffered heavy losses, and their morale dropped visibly.

The loss of personnel is one aspect, and the loss of guns and ammunition is another aspect. Wang Qi only had more than 2,000 foreign guns, and more than 1,000 of them were lost or damaged in the battle. In addition, due to jamming, bursting, and firing pin breakage, only half of the guns were usable. Although the Night Raid Group:⑥九四⑨,三六一③五 had captured some Japanese weapons, there were not many usable bullets, and they could only be concentrated to barely equip a company.

Wang Qi was in awe of the bravery of the Japanese army. Any army that could march forward under the hail of bullets was admirable. However, he looked down on the Japanese army's stubbornness and inflexibility. They were obviously suffering heavy casualties, but they still lined up in tight and orderly formations. Were the Japanese worried that they would not have enough casualties?

If he had a few machine guns, he would have killed the Japanese all over the ground! Now he has killed the Japanese all over the ground, but he has also paid a heavy price. If it weren't for the cavalry advantage, we might not be able to defend the train station today. But this is only the first day, and only the Japanese have come.

When the Eight-Nation Alliance learns that their retreat has been cut off, it will certainly not be as "easy" as it is today.

Yes, Wang Qi felt relieved, and a big stone in his heart was put down. Although today's battle was very hard, it also proved the feasibility of "defense tactics". Under the current military and technical conditions, "defense" is more efficient than "offense". The premise is that there are enough machine guns and artillery, or a highly mobile force that can block the breakthroughs on the front line at any time and attack the enemy's weak points.

Lin Yongchang proposed the "defensive warfare" theory, and Wang Qi and many others improved it. But is this combat theory effective? How effective is it? Before it was really fought, Wang Qi was unsure, and he believed that other generals were the same. Now that it has been fought, it has been proved that the theory of "defensive warfare" is very good and powerful, and it is indeed more in line with today's military technology.

Although the losses in today's battle were huge and the main force was almost wiped out, it also inflicted great casualties on the Japanese. As long as the ammunition and food supplies could keep up, he was confident that he could keep fighting. The casualties of the rebels were about 4,000, and the losses of the Japanese were less, about 2,000. It was a loss, but the number of the rebels was ten times that of the foreign devils. Even if they were to exchange two for one, they could still kill all the foreign devils.

For the soldiers, the battle was over and they could have a good rest. The officers had to count the casualties, ammunition and weapons, and the generals had to do more. They had to bury the dead, treat the wounded, allocate ammunition, send fresh troops to the train station to change guard, reorganize the army... and so on.

There were a lot of things to do, and Wang Qi was busy until midnight before forcing himself to go to bed.

The casualties on the rebel side were heavy, and the wounded camp was filled with wailing. Many battalions and teams needed to rest for a few days before they could recover their combat effectiveness. The casualties on the Japanese side were equally heavy. The 22nd Infantry Regiment, which had made many achievements since the Qing Dynasty War, was broken, and one squadron was almost wiped out. The casualties in the previous battle with Dong Fuxiang's troops were not as heavy as today.

Yamaguchi Sushin witnessed the fierce battle between the two sides, and the bloody scene was horrifying. The troops deployed to both wings encountered endless attacks and interceptions, but these were not the worst. The bad news from Tianjin was the most headache for Lieutenant General Yamaguchi. The 11th Infantry Regiment was completely wiped out, and the guns and ammunition left in Tianjin all fell into the hands of the Boxers!

In today's battle, many of the Boxers were still using swords and spears, and only the enemies stationed in the core area of Langfang Railway Station had rifles. The Boxers' manpower was almost endless, and now they had obtained a large number of guns and ammunition, which was like adding wings to a tiger! The next battle was going to be difficult!

And the 11th Infantry Regiment, a meritorious regiment awarded a banner by Emperor Meiji himself, was destroyed just like that? If the soldiers knew about this, would they be angry and boost their morale, or would they be horrified by the destruction of an infantry regiment?

The few people who escaped from Tianjin were controlled by Yamaguchi Sushin. The bad news had not spread in the army, but it could only delay the spread for a few days. Lieutenant General Yamaguchi was a little different from other troops in the Japanese army. He was strict in military discipline but not a person who killed indiscriminately. If the situation was not urgent, he would not have ordered Major Nagao to commit seppuku if he could not capture the train station.

Yamaguchi Sushin was very sensitive to the battlefield. At first, he disagreed with taking the capital first and then returning to rescue Tianjin. However, under pressure from the situation, he had to urge his soldiers to charge into Beijing first. After making a fortune, he hurriedly withdrew his troops. The convoy carrying gold, silver and treasures was still behind, and Lieutenant General Yamaguchi led his men to run all the way, and then crashed into a bloody mess in Langfang.

He had thought of the worst possible situation, but he had never thought that the entire infantry regiment left in Tianjin would be eaten by the Boxers in just two days. When did the Boxers have such a strong fighting force? First there was Nie Shicheng, then there was Dong Fuxiang, and now the Boxers have occupied Tianjin. How many heroes are there in China!

The night was as dark as water, and the wailing of wounded soldiers could be heard from the military camp from time to time. Yamaguchi Sushin looked at the open space outside calmly and fell into deep thought.

"Report!"

The guards rushed in

Come, "Major Nagao wants to see you!"

"Humph, he still has the nerve to come see me!"

Yamaguchi Sushin's face was stern at first, and he looked murderous, but then he relaxed. "I saw his hard work during the day. Although he didn't take the train station safely, he occupied two-thirds of it, so he didn't fail the mission. Let him in."

Several soldiers carried Major Nagao in. Yamaguchi Motoomi frowned, "What's going on?"

Chapter 99 Langfang

"The Major was deceived by the despicable Chinese..."

"General...General..."

Yamaguchi Motoomi stepped forward, held down the struggling Major Nagao who was trying to get up, and said amiably: "Don't say anything, wait until your wounds are healed before you talk. Or when we return to Hiroshima, I'll invite you and other warriors to go to the Kiyosu-tei to drink fine wine!"

"I......"

Yamaguchi Sushin comforted his regiment commander with a few words and asked the doctor to use the best medicine for treatment. Nagao Kanji managed a regiment with the rank of major, which showed that he was capable. In fact, Major Nagao graduated from the Army University. As long as he stayed in the army for two years, it would be a natural thing for him to go from major to lieutenant colonel, and then he would be promoted all the way. As long as nothing happened in the middle, he would definitely be among the ranks of generals in the future.

However, something has happened to Major Nagao now.

The military doctor who rushed over said to Lieutenant General Yamaguchi: "The major's injuries are very serious. I'm afraid..."

Yamaguchi Sushen asked directly: "Can't it be cured?"

The military doctor said hesitantly: "The bullet broke into pieces and embedded itself in the body. The best outcome would be amputation... and we are short of medicine."

The Japanese army has always been known for not paying attention to logistics. Although Yamaguchi Motoomi is not as evil as Mutaguchi, he is not much better. The general environment is like this, and individuals cannot change anything. Lieutenant General Yamaguchi said: "Then we can only pray for the blessing of gods and Buddhas."

After sending the doctor away, Yamaguchi Suchen tossed and turned in the big tent, unable to sleep. He had sent several waves of messengers back to Beijing for help, but he knew very well what would happen after the capital was captured. Even if General Waldersee immediately gathered his troops after receiving the news, the coalition soldiers who rushed into the city could not be pulled back for a while.

When they attacked Beijing before, the soldiers were all thinking about getting rich and having fun, so their morale was high. Now that they have become rich and are carrying a large amount of gold, silver and jewelry, can they still fight to the death like before?

The temperature in the middle of August was very cool at night, and it felt very comfortable when it blew on people, but Yamaguchi Sushen shuddered. He suddenly thought of a possibility, "Could it be that someone used the capital as bait and planned all this?"

"No, there can't be such a crazy person."

In the early morning of the next day, Yamaguchi Motoomi, who had barely gotten a good night's sleep, woke up from a nightmare. The first thing he did after waking up was to ask if there was a reply from the coalition forces. The guard answered loudly: "No!"

"What about the contacts back home?"

Tianjin had been lost. If they wanted to contact Japan, they had to use a telegraph or send a messenger through Hebei and Liaodong to reach Korea, which was controlled by Japan.

"nor!"

"......It seems that we can only rely on ourselves!"

Yamaguchi Sushin talked to himself. He looked at the sky outside which was about to get brighter, and his expression gradually became stern. "Give everyone double the food. Take out all the good things! Except for the doctor, the baggage soldiers, the signal soldiers, and everyone else will be given a bayonet. If there is no bayonet, use a wooden stick!"

"what?"

"General?"

Yamaguchi Suchen shouted, "Why don't you go and pass on the order?"

"Hai!"

The military camp soon became abuzz with the sounds of livestock being slaughtered, guns and kettles colliding, commands... all kinds of sounds intertwined together to form a murderous aura. Yamaguchi Sushin was ready for everything. He put on a brand new military uniform, enjoyed sake and food, and then watched the soldiers leave the camp after a full meal and march in a column towards Langfang.

Yesterday, they were just a little bit away from driving the enemy out of Langfang—Yamaguchi Sushin no longer wanted to use the word "Boxer Bandits" to describe his opponent—but they failed in the end because of the appearance of the enemy cavalry. But such a thing can only happen once, and as long as we are prepared, things like what happened yesterday evening will never happen again!

After not getting much sleep that night, Yamaguchi Sushin was physically exhausted, but mentally excited. He looked at the battlefield in the distance and said, "Come on, let me see how much more you can do!"

The Japanese artillery units did not line up and fire in an orderly manner as they did yesterday, but instead followed the infantry and advanced together, preparing to fire after reaching the target. According to Yamaguchi Motoomi, this was "putting the cannon on the enemy's chest!"

The Fifth Division lost a lot of people in the attack from Tianjin to Beijing. In addition to the bloody battle in Langfang yesterday, the number of troops under Yamaguchi Sushin has dropped to less than 11. This is a very dangerous signal. The majority of the casualties are frontline combat troops. The original plan was to transfer two battalions from the th Infantry Regiment after the reinforcement arrived in Tianjin. Now that Tianjin is finished, together with the soldiers stationed there, the Fifth Division will naturally not be able to get reinforcements.

"If we return to Tianjin as soon as we receive the news..."

Yamaguchi Sushin shook his head. It was useless to think too much. He should just do the things in front of him. He raised the telescope and observed Langfang's every move. The long spears were like a moving steel jungle. The movement from the column to the horizontal column was very smooth. It was obvious that the soldiers had not fallen behind in their daily training, but their spirits were not very good and their morale was not as strong as yesterday.

After a whole day of fierce fighting, with so many casualties, and after hearing screams and wails all night, it would be strange if the morale was strong. Yamaguchi Sushin had fought for decades and was very clear about these things. He also knew that once the fighting started and both sides suffered casualties, the soldiers would forget everything and fall into a frenzy of killing. At that time, morale would naturally rise.

500 meters...400 meters...200 meters...Yamaguchi Sushin held his breath and watched the fluttering military flag enter the range of 100 meters. This was the enemy's attack distance! He looked nervously in the direction of Langfang. Even though he had fought for decades, he was still nervous at this moment.

But there was no gunfire, nothing, the soldiers continued to advance and completely occupied the entire battlefield.

Yamaguchi Sushin put down the telescope in astonishment and asked his attendants, "What's going on?"

"we won!"

"The Boxers were scared away!"

"Hahahaha, we won!"

Yamaguchi Sushin was confused for a moment. Did they win? What about the desperate battle yesterday? He thought of the battles with Nie Shicheng and Dong Fuxiang, and an idea came to his mind: there are some capable fighters in the Chinese army, but their resilience is not enough. After suffering huge casualties, it is easy for them to lose the ability and desire to continue fighting.

Half an hour later, Yamaguchi Motoomi arrived at the place where the fiercest fighting took place yesterday, and then saw neatly arranged corpses on the ground near the train station. They were all Japanese soldiers, with no enemies.

When he saw the densely packed corpses, Yamaguchi Motoomi almost stopped breathing.

Chapter 100 Resistance

It's not that Yamaguchi Motoomi had never seen dead bodies before. A few days ago, he witnessed the scene of thousands of Chinese being killed. He also saw the scene of mountains of corpses and seas of blood on the battlefield, but he had never seen so many bodies of Japanese soldiers laid together.

The shock caused by the cold numbers and the corpses scattered on the ground were completely different. When Yamaguchi Motoomi received the news that more than 3,000 people were injured, killed or missing at midnight yesterday, he just felt that something was wrong. Now, seeing the miserable bodies of the Japanese soldiers neatly stacked on the ground, he suddenly felt dizzy.

"Division Commander!"

"Division Commander!"

Yamaguchi Suchen rudely pushed away the soldier who came to help him, "Go away! I'm fine!"

He asked with a sullen face, "What's going on?"

"It was done by the Boxers!" He handed over a letter, "and left another letter!"

At that time, the Japanese upper class, especially the Chinese, could read and write Chinese characters, and many officers could read and write Chinese characters. Yamaguchi Sushin endured the dizziness and took the letter. It said that the volunteers had no time to bury the bodies of the Japanese soldiers, so they could only tidy up the bodies a little and asked the Japanese army to deal with them on their own. It also said that fighting was fighting, but these Japanese soldiers who died in the war were all warriors, so they would not be humiliated.

Yamaguchi Sushin read the letter quickly, then glanced at the soldiers around him. Seeing that many of them looked sad, he sighed and said, "Burn them all and bring the ashes back to Japan."

Then he gave a loud order, "Order the cavalry to pursue eastward immediately. The Kanda Battalion and the Aragaki Squadron should occupy Beiyang Village and Wuqing!"

Beiyang Village is almost in the middle of Langfang and Wuqing, and is the shortest route to Tianjin. But is it that simple? Did the enemy really withdraw? The dark clouds in Yamaguchi Sushin's heart became heavier. He knew very well that the enemy collected the bodies of the Japanese soldiers not out of noble sentiments, but out of cold calculations. The enemy generals not only wanted to undermine the morale of the Japanese army, but also wanted to use these bodies to slow down the pace of the Japanese army!

But I will never be fooled by the other party!

Soon, news came back from the front that the camp was blocked by the enemy. This was within Lieutenant General Yamaguchi's expectations, so he personally led more fresh troops forward and captured the village after more than an hour of fierce fighting. The defeated enemy fled in panic, and the Japanese army took advantage of the victory to pursue them, but was caught off guard by a large group of Mongolian cavalry on the plain.

The infantrymen who had lost their formation fired randomly, and then used their rifles as spears to resist desperately. Occasionally, a few infantrymen with superior martial arts or good luck stabbed the horses, but they were still knocked away by the weight of several hundred kilograms. More infantrymen fell under the sabers of the [Mongol Iron Cavalry].

The Tatars were extremely savage, sweeping across the land like a hurricane, smashing the Japanese army into pieces, and then hacking and killing them. Seventy or eighty soldiers were hacked to death, and the rest fled back to the village in embarrassment. The Mongolian cavalry chased to the entrance of the village, but seeing the large group of infantry waiting in strict formation, they did not dare to continue charging in, and they all rode away.

Before leaving, many people cut off the heads of Japanese soldiers dead in the wilderness and hung them around the necks of horses.

Seeing the barbaric behavior of the Tatars, the Japanese soldiers cursed loudly, and many of them rushed out in anger. The Mongols laughed and rode away, waiting until the Japanese were far away from the village, and then they returned leisurely. After the sound of horse hooves, only headless corpses were left on the ground.

"Damn it!" A Japanese second lieutenant punched the tree trunk hard, "Where are our cavalry?"

“…They were dispersed!”

"Those idiots! Non-nationals!"

The Mongolian cavalry did not dare to attack the Japanese army, which was ready for battle. The Japanese army could not catch up with the six-legged guys and could only watch the enemy leave leisurely. Yamaguchi Sushin's eyelids twitched a few times, and ordered a few people to cremate the dead, and the main force continued to move forward. The enemy's cavalry was very powerful, but it could not change the overall situation!

In the battle of Yingrong, the enemy's infantry's firepower was much weaker, and their fighting spirit was not as resolute as yesterday. If it was three days ago, the death of eighty soldiers would have made him sad, but now he didn't care, as long as he could fight to Tianjin.

What were they doing in Tianjin? Saving the reputation of the Japanese army or saving the captured soldiers?

Perhaps, waiting for the main force to move together is the best option... No, we can't do that! Yamaguchi Sushen knew very well that if the supply line was not opened, the coalition forces in North China would be in great danger.

How detestable that Waldersee doesn't know how to fight a war! How detestable that those Westerners are blinded by greed! How detestable! How detestable!

With a heart full of anger, Yamaguchi Sushin broke through the triple defense line set up by Wang Qi in two days. He could have been faster, but the Mongolian cavalry around him were too annoying, forcing the Japanese army to advance at a snail's pace.

Wang Qi used space to buy time, resisted step by step, and retreated all the way to Gaochang Village, and then refused to retreat. Gaochang was the battlefield he had chosen in advance. Before the Battle of Langfang was over, he had sent people to dig trenches and reinforced them with trees, bricks, stones, soil and other materials. Even if the Japanese firepower was twice as fierce, he was confident that he could hold on.

Fortifications were one thing, and the arrival of reinforcements was another. After several days of resistance, reinforcements had arrived from Tianjin, bringing not only many fresh troops, but also machine guns and cannons. With these things, Wang Qi was ready to teach the Japanese a lesson.

"All the troops here are commanded by General Wang. I will lead two cavalry regiments to attack the Japanese from behind!"

Lin Yongchang reaffirmed Wang Qi's command at the military meeting. When the meeting was over, he said to Wang Qi in private: "I don't need to worry about Yamaguchi Suchen. I am worried about Britain, France and other countries. Their total military strength is nearly 40,000! In addition, the Russian army in the Northeast and the Japanese may also increase their troops!"

Wang Qi had never fought against the Russian army, so he asked, "Who is stronger, the Russian army or the Japanese?"

"Russian Army."

Wang Qi pondered for a while and said, "That's a bit difficult. We can't defeat 17 Russian troops. Fortunately, they are all in the Northeast and can't come over for a while."

In 1900, there were more roe deer than people in the three northeastern provinces. Without supplies, they had to travel hundreds or thousands of miles to fight? A small number of troops would be fine, but if there were too many, there would be no place to find food. If Russia had a full army of 17, it would be considered a great success if half of them could reach Shanhaiguan. Unless they went by sea or asked the Japanese to provide supplies, they could only come in batches. It was impossible for all 17 troops to appear in North China at once.

Chapter 101 Interlude

Wang Qi asked again: "Will the Japanese send more troops?"

Lin Yongchang didn't know the answer to this question. Because the Sino-Japanese War was won too easily and the results were too rich, the Japanese were very enthusiastic about fighting. Moreover, Japan was an island country, so it didn't have to worry about being invaded by foreign forces. It could just transfer a few more standing divisions from the country.

They have ships and can land anywhere in Hebei, Shandong or Huaihai. The Japanese have long had the idea of sending large numbers of troops to China. Previously, they were suppressed by the British and other powers, but if the Eight-Nation Alliance was defeated, they might release the Japanese beast.

"The situation is difficult." Wang Qi sighed, and was very worried about the current situation. "The foreigners' fighting power is not that strong. If the whole country unites........."

Lin Yongchang patted Wang Qi on the shoulder and said with a smile: "If the whole world unites, we can break out of the earth and fly to the moon. Don't worry, even if the worst happens and Russia and Japan join forces to attack us, China will have a way."