Chapter 21

Lin Yuan stayed at Ye Zhichao's place for a day. During this time, Ye Zhichao worked tirelessly to gather the remaining troops, while Lin Yuan almost constantly communicated with the Beijing warship, from which he learned that the morale of the sailors on board was high, and they were ready to launch an attack against the Japanese army at any time.

The Marine Corps had already landed, guarding the prisoners of the Combined Fleet and training the rescued Qing army prisoners. Lin Yuan learned that the biggest challenge was still the lack of personnel for land combat. A total of 143 Qing army prisoners had been rescued, but most of them were injured or sick.

After Lin Yuan issued the combat order, the carrier-based aircraft continuously attacked various Japanese military targets. Under the surveillance of the early warning aircraft, as soon as the Japanese telegraph machines were turned on, they would be destroyed. Therefore, the Japanese had almost completely lost contact with the outside world. The carrier-based aircraft also carried out carpet bombing of Japanese artillery and other heavy weapons.

It was already September 20th. On this day, the Qing court sent a message appointing Sichuan Governor Song Qing to assist in the Beiyang military affairs and station his troops at Jiuliancheng. Song Qing, who had distinguished himself in battles against the Taiping and Nian armies, was granted the title of "Yi Yong Batu," so his troops were called the Yi Army.

Although Song Qing's official title was Sichuan Governor, his Yi Army was stationed in Lüshun. Everyone knew that the Qing army entered the pass with the Eight Banners, but after entering the pass, the Eight Banners quickly became infatuated with the life of young masters who enjoyed birding and caged birds. So, when Emperor Kangxi pacified the Three Feudatories, he relied on the Green Standard Army, which was mainly composed of Han people. This was in 1673. By 1850, when the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom uprising occurred, after two hundred years of peace, the Green Standard Army was no longer useful, so the Qing court had to rely on local militias, such as the Xiang Army and the Huai Army. Song Qing was one of these. To give these people a formal structure, they were arranged across regions. Therefore, although Song Qing was stationed in Lüshun, his official title was Sichuan Governor.

Ye Zhichao clearly understood the meaning of the Qing court's appointment of Song Qing to assist in the Beiyang military affairs and station his troops at Jiuliancheng, rather than to assist him in defense. This meant that the court was going to take action against him to appease the reformist officials and allow the Empress Dowager to celebrate her birthday peacefully, making Emperor Guangxu a filial son. Therefore, Ye Zhichao led his troops to Yizhou on the afternoon of September 20th.

Lin Yuan followed Ye Zhichao to Yizhou. Yizhou had already received news of the defeat at Pyongyang, and the city's defenders were on edge, ready to retreat across the Yalu River and return to China. With the return of the commander, the city's defenders were somewhat reassured.

After arriving in Yizhou, Ye Zhichao immediately convened a war council, and Lin Yuan also attended the meeting.

As the saying goes, "You can't wrap fire in paper." Although the Japanese could seal the news of the commander's death, they could not hide the news of the destruction of the supplies and weapons at Incheon Port. Therefore, Ye Zhichao also heard this news. Seeing that the facts were indeed as Lin Yuan had said, he became even more impressed with Lin Yuan.

Those attending the meeting were the commanders of the various units that had originally been stationed in Pyongyang. They were still haunted by their recent defeat and feared that the court would one day hold them accountable, so they also wanted to achieve something glorious in Pyongyang to protect their heads and their official positions.

The first to speak was Wei Rugui, whom Lin Yuan naturally knew. He was the commander of the Sheng Army (the term "commander" here means "leader"). The names of the various local militias and brave camps were usually derived from the names of their leaders. The "Sheng" in the Sheng Army was taken from the name of its founder, Zhou Shengbo and Zhou Shengchuan.

Wei Rugui was later identified as the main culprit for the defeat and was beheaded in Beijing's Cai Market. Afterward, many historical records portrayed him as a traitor to the nation.

During the retreat, Wei Rugui gathered the remnants of his troops, managing to assemble about 80% of the Sheng Army. Therefore, among the various units, his was the largest. He said, "I don't think it will be easy to retake Pyongyang. First, our troops are insufficient. We have less than 5,000 men in total, while the Japanese have over 10,000 elite troops in Pyongyang. Second, our equipment is lacking. During the retreat from Pyongyang, we abandoned almost all our artillery and Gatling guns. Now, we only have rifles left."

Through his observations, Lin Yuan found Wei Rugui to be quite honest and straightforward. He learned from his soldiers that Wei Rugui had led from the front and fought bravely in the battle of Pyongyang, which increased his respect for him.

Lin Yuan said, "General Wei, there's no need to worry. The Japanese in the city are short of food and supplies, and their high-ranking officers have been assassinated, causing chaos. So, you don't need to worry about their numbers. As for heavy weapons, the Japanese heavy weapons have been largely destroyed by us, so we don't need heavy weapons either."

Everyone was surprised by this. Ye Zhichao asked, "Mr. Lin, you said that the Japanese heavy weapons have been largely destroyed by you. What do you mean by that?"

Lin Yuan thought, "If I say we are from the 21st century and have planes and missiles, would you believe it!" So, Lin Yuan said, "We have gathered experts and hermits in Korea who can do things that ordinary people cannot. The assassination of Japanese high-ranking officials and the destruction of Japanese weapons were all done by these people!"

Although Ye Zhichao did not believe it, he was willing to believe it from the bottom of his heart because it increased his chances of retaking Pyongyang and securing his own head.

So, Ye Zhichao said, "Let's discuss how to attack Pyongyang. Everyone knows that when the Japanese attacked Pyongyang, they achieved a strategic encirclement from all directions and launched a three-pronged attack from the north, south, and west. If we hadn't run out of ammunition and supplies, it would have been difficult for them to capture Pyongyang. Now, if we want to retake it, we can't avoid Mount Dan."

Everyone present understood that Mount Dan was a strategic high point outside Pyongyang. From there, one could overlook the entire city. If artillery was set up on Mount Dan, the entire city would be within range of the guns. During the battle of Pyongyang, the Japanese did just that. However, Mount Dan was a difficult place to capture, and the troops lacked heavy weapons, making it almost impossible to take.

At this point, Lin Yuan smiled and said, "There's no need to worry about that. We don't necessarily have to capture Mount Dan. The decisive factor in war is people. Our goal in this battle is to strike at the Japanese forces, to annihilate them. When that happens, whether it's Mount Dan, Pyongyang, or even Incheon and Seoul, they will all be within our grasp!"

Wei Rugui said, "Mr. Lin, it's easy to say, but how do we annihilate the Japanese if they don't come out to fight?"

Lin Yuan said, "Everyone knows the importance of Mount Dan. The Japanese in the city know it even better. If our troops capture Mount Dan, they will certainly send a large force to retake it. Our plan is to have our troops capture Mount Dan, and when the Japanese forces surround it, you will lead your troops to attack their reinforcements and completely annihilate the Japanese!"

Wei Rugui asked, "How will your troops capture Mount Dan?"

Lin Yuan smiled and said, "We have our ways, no need for General Wei to worry about it."

Ye Zhichao nodded and said, "This plan is excellent. We will set out immediately. When the time comes, we will hold a grand banquet in Pyongyang to celebrate our victory!"

Following Lin Yuan's plan, the Qing army did not carry heavy weapons, only light weapons and a large amount of food, and they were all cavalry, so their march was very fast. Three days later, on the afternoon of September 23rd at 6 PM, the main force of the troops arrived five kilometers outside Mount Dan!

When the Japanese troops from Pyongyang surrounded Mount Dan, the Qing army would attack them!

Lin Yuan's communication device rang, and Chen Fei's voice came through: "The Marine Corps is ready for airdrop and can capture the main position of Mount Dan at any time!"

Lin Yuan calmly issued the order: "Attack according to the plan!"

He looked at the quiet sky, the night deep and dark like a silent sea. He silently told himself: The decisive battle is about to begin!