The Ming Dynasty began from Sarhu

Chapter 918 Island Capture
"Can the Eighth Army Corps handle a landing operation? Emperor Taizong suffered a crushing defeat on this island. If the casualties are too great, those people in the council will not let me off the hook."

"Your Excellency, please rest assured. Times have changed. Our ships and artillery are far superior to what they once were. Moreover, the Eighth Army Corps is a unit with a glorious tradition. They have besieged Shenyang and eaten potatoes in Moscow. For over a hundred years, they have fought in countless battles, invincible in every direction. Iwo Jima is but a tiny island. According to reliable intelligence, the remaining rebels on the island number only a mere thousand, and they have been out of ammunition and food for many days, barely clinging to life. As long as the Imperial Navy cooperates effectively, we can encircle them from all sides and strike with lightning speed, taking them down within ten days."

Within ten days.

Zhang Ruoting pondered these four words repeatedly.

Since persuading Parliament to wage war against the eastern provinces, Prime Minister Zhang has been working tirelessly day and night, often until the early hours of the morning, and has staked almost his entire fortune on this war.

If the rebellion cannot be quelled in time, Zhang Ruoting's path to prime minister will end prematurely, and she may even be imprisoned by the opposition on trumped-up charges.

By early June, preparations for the war were nearing completion. A 100,000-strong army was dispatched to quell the rebellion, and millions of tons of food and ammunition left the port. Several neighboring vassal states sent their auxiliary troops, and several allies in Europe also expressed their support for the Great Qi's "peaceful unification" campaign.

Despite everything being ready, Zhang Ruoting was filled with apprehension about the upcoming battle.

On the sixth day, he summoned the Vice Minister of War to his private residence again for a heart-to-heart talk about war preparations, hoping to obtain some more valuable intelligence.

"The rebellion must be quelled; the empire cannot be divided! I am not worried about the war in the north, but Iwo Jima in the south..."

The Vice Minister of War reiterated: "Minister Zhang, rest assured, there are no problems in the north and south. The pacification can be achieved within ten days."

"I need more information!"

Gong Lingjiang forced a smile and said, "Why doesn't Prime Minister Zhang consult Lord Wu for intelligence? They should be more professional."

“Wu Zhongguo is old and useless. Besides, he is the emperor’s man. The emperor does not agree to go to war.”

There was silence.

Zhang Xiang said with great concern, "I don't want it to be done in ten days. As long as you can quell the rebellion according to plan, give the council an explanation, and shut up the gossip, that will be enough."

"Old Gong, this concerns my life and fortune, so tell me the truth: how many men will die in the Eighth Army this time? How long will it take you to conquer the entire island?"

Gong Lingjiang, the Vice Minister of War, had a close personal relationship with the Prime Minister. Back then, he was able to enter Tianxin City from a remote military town and into the imperial decision-making circle thanks to Zhang Ruoting's support.

Seeing that the Prime Minister's tone was quite sincere, after thinking it over, he suddenly changed his words and said: "Prime Minister Zhang, there is no need to worry. If the navy cooperates well, cuts off the rebels' connection between the north and south, and blocks British aid, I think that with the full siege of the 60,000 troops of the Eighth Army Corps, we can take it down within half a month."

"What if we can't take it in half a month?"

Parliament was short of war resources for the pro-war faction. When allocated to the Eighth Army Corps, the resources could only support the Eighth Army Corps for about twenty days. If Iwo Jima could not be captured within half a month, the southern campaign would be declared a failure, and the anti-war faction would have an excuse to attack the Prime Minister.

"Half a month should be enough time. After all, Iwo Jima is just a tiny island. Our army has thousands of ships, tens of thousands of light infantry, a sky full of airships, and the support of our allies."

Zhang Ruoting clearly did not get the comfort she wanted from Lao Gong.

"How many warships has the British deployed near Iwo Jima, and what is the current situation?"

"Twelve third-class ships have approached the island by 500 miles and are now in a standoff with the navy." Gong Lingjiang gritted his teeth and said, "Prime Minister Zhang, we have already stalled the British. Once the rebellion is quelled, Prime Minister Zhang must get Parliament to pass a bill to declare war on Britain."

Zhang Ruoting shook her head helplessly. A full-scale war with the Kingdom of Britain was clearly not a problem that the empire needed to consider at the moment.

After a moment, he muttered to himself, "Iwo Jima was a dead end to begin with. If it weren't for the rebels repeatedly harassing our shipping lanes, we wouldn't have needed to pay them any attention. As the saying goes, a cornered mouse will bite a cat. Ah, what's done is done, no need to say more..."

~~~~~~~~~~
July marks the start of the rainy season on Iwo Jima. Light rain drizzled for two weeks, finally stopping at 2:30 a.m. on the 14th.

However, the wet mountains began to overflow, and countless streams on the island were flooded.

The rising water level brought unexpected difficulties to the Qi army's landing operation.

On the morning of the 14th (the landing day), the two thousand light infantrymen of the Eighth Army Corps were stuck in the mud and suffered terribly on the soft beach.

According to the operational plan formulated by the General Staff, the Eighth Army Corps, with the cooperation of the Navy, will complete the encirclement and blockade of the rebels on Iwo Jima in late June and begin the landing operation in early July.

However, the situation developed unexpectedly. The sudden intervention of the British Royal Navy disrupted the General Staff's plans. After losing twelve warships and driving the British out of the battlefield, it was already July.

According to pre-battle reconnaissance, Iwo Jima, where the Eighth Army Corps was about to land, was small in area with complex beach terrain. The entire island was mainly composed of volcanic rock, with uneven terrain. Due to its age, the ground was crisscrossed with ravines and had many caves. The island was surrounded by cliffs, making it a terrain that was easy to defend and difficult to attack from a military perspective.

Qi Jun discovered that the entire Iwo Jima lacked good ports, or rather, there was no decent port at all. The only relatively flat area was located in the southern part of the island, which was a shallow beach made up of volcanic ash. Although the heavy volcanic ash would slow down the infantry's progress, it was still better than having soldiers carrying more than 50 kilograms of weight climbing cliffs.

Despite numerous difficulties, in order to coordinate with the main force's operations in Kyushu, the Eighth Army Corps had to fight the rebels to the death on this small island, 1,200 kilometers from Edo.

The strategy adopted by Tianxin City for suppressing the rebellion was to launch a full-scale offensive and defeat the enemy piecemeal.

To use a lion to hunt a rabbit, you need to strike with all your might.

The decision-makers of Tianxin City believed they could crush the enemy, so they planned to end the war before the Mid-Autumn Festival and assured many mid-level officers of this.

Such optimism was not arrogance. The Qi army sent 80,000 troops to the eastern provinces to participate in the suppression of the rebellion. Various equipment was piled up like mountains on the sea, and supplies were continuously transported to the front line by sea.

Organizing a campaign involving 80,000 people far exceeded the organizational capacity of Tianxin City.

This was clearly the result of support from local warlords.

Yes, the pro-war faction received strong support from local warlords.

The regional governors showed great interest in regaining control of the eastern provinces, perhaps to gain greater commercial benefits or to enhance the combat capabilities of their own military forces.

The suppression of the rebellion will be carried out simultaneously on three battlefields. The first is a carpet bombing of the main rebellious cities in the eastern provinces. The main force will land in Kyushu and pacify the remaining islands in turn. The second battlefield is the confrontation between the navy and the British. If the British insist on getting involved in this internal war of Qi, the Qi navy will use its most intense artillery fire to teach the British a lesson.

The third battlefield is Iwo Jima, where the Eighth Army Corps is landing.

According to the original plan, after the Eighth Army Corps occupied Iwo Jima, it would continue north until it finally joined forces with the main army corps somewhere in the eastern province.