Beiyang Dream

Chapter 107? Now, all that's missing is a spark.

On the second day of the sixth month of the seventeenth year of the Guangxu Emperor's reign, at Incheon Wharf.

The cargo that was supposed to be sold in Seoul on the Goshung had all been unloaded, and the unlucky guys who were supposed to ride it to Wonsan to dig trenches and move bricks had all been caught and thrown aboard.

So today is the day Changdesheng sets off to Yuanshan to cause trouble—no, it's the day to resist the Russians.

He was standing by the stone pier, his back to the smoking chimney of the Gaosheng, and his newlywed wife, Luo Jingrou, in front of him.

Luo Jingrou's eyes were a little red, clearly from secretly crying last night while Chang Desheng was asleep. But now, she had a smile on her face, with the corners of her mouth turned up and two shallow dimples on her cheeks.

She truly lives up to her reputation as a Hakka woman, accustomed to men venturing out into the world.

Chang Desheng glanced at her, inwardly cursing himself for being so spineless. His wife hadn't even uttered a sound, but he was already starting to feel overwhelmed.

He quickly cleared his throat, suppressing the soreness, and then spoke with complete confidence: "Jingrou, don't worry about me. I'm a master of defense. Even if the Russians send three armored cruisers, they can't do anything to my two hundred soldiers."

He was absolutely telling the truth! Although, aside from Luo Jingrou, probably very few people would believe him...

Luo Jingrou nodded seriously, her face full of confidence in her man: "Brother Zhenbang, don't worry. I have a way with Seoul. Brother Yuan said that Queen Min is a naive woman who has never seen the world. I'll throw silver at her, and I'll hit her every time."

Chang Desheng thought to himself: "A super-rich woman is someone you can rely on."

So she went to Seoul on a mission. Chang Desheng's mission for her was to deal with Queen Min... and work with Yuan Shikai on that! Luo Jingrou threw silver paper, but Yuan Shikai didn't know what he was throwing.

However, one thing is certain: Queen Min is currently in dire need of money and will definitely not be able to withstand the financial onslaught from Luo Jingrou, this wealthy Southeast Asian woman.

Once we can win over Queen Min, things will be much easier from now on.

He was able to secure the rights to station his two hundred heavenly soldiers at Yuanshan, the mining rights to the Yunshan gold mine and Jiashan copper mine, and the development rights to Zhennanpu.

If the Japanese invaders really did come in the future, with this connection, Queen Min would probably be willing to take her husband and flee to Pyongyang...

As he was making his plans, the whistle of the Gaosheng ship behind him suddenly sounded loudly, long and muffled.

You could tell from their voices that they were urging him to get on the ship quickly!

Chang Desheng quickly regained his composure, took Luo Jingrou's small hand, and said, "It won't be long. Li Zhongtang should be able to negotiate with the Japanese. By then, the Zhenzi Battalion will have expanded to at least eight hundred men. I'll have my father and the others in Zhili help recruit another fourteen hundred new soldiers. The money might not be enough—"

The Zhenzi Battalion currently has two hundred men. If we recruit another fourteen hundred, that's over eight hundred... No problem.

Li Hongzhang simply didn't understand the concept of "remainder" and wouldn't pay the Zhenzi Battalion according to the formula of 800 plus 800.

Before the Yunshan Gold and Jiashan Copper projects can be developed, the super-rich woman will have to come up with a solution.

"You don't need to worry about the money," Luo Jingrou interrupted him. "We still have six or seven hundred thousand silver dollars in our account at Nanyang Bank... that's enough for now."

That's fucking reliable!

Chang Desheng looked at her gratefully, wanting to say something mushy, but swallowed the words back. He simply patted the back of her hand and said, "Thanks to you!"

"Take care on your journey," Luo Jingrou said. "Remember to send a telegram when you arrive in Yuanshan."

"must."

He turned and walked toward the entrance of the pier, where Yuan Shikai was standing, his plump body wrapped in a gray silk robe, with his signature honest smile on his face.

Chang Desheng walked up to him, clasped his hands in a fist and palm salute, and said, "Brother Weiting, I'm entrusting you with this task."

Yuan Shikai returned the greeting with a clasped-fist salute, speaking in a slow, unhurried Henan accent: "Brother Zhenbang, be careful on the road. I'll take care of things in Seoul, so don't worry about me. A battalion of the newly formed army will be sent to you immediately!"

Chang Desheng nodded and walked toward the gangway of the Gaosheng.

He walked halfway, then suddenly stopped and looked back. Luo Jingrou was standing on the pier, waving at him.

Chang Desheng raised his arm and shook it vigorously twice, then was about to turn around and continue walking when he heard Cao Kun's loud voice behind him: "Brother Zhenbang! Hurry up! Those Manchu princes are already crying their eyes out!"

Chang Desheng's initial sadness at parting vanished instantly. He turned and walked back to the boat, cursing as he went, "What damn cowards! The Emperor and Empress Dowager are counting on them; they should just give up on that idea!"

On the evening of July 11, 1891, at the anchorage outside Wonsan Port.

The Russian armored cruiser "Pamyat Azov" lingered on the sea under the twilight, its gray hull seemingly gilded by the setting sun.

Captain Leontiev, the ship's first captain, stood on the bridge, holding a brass monocular telescope, and was feeling his way towards the shore!

I'm so envious!

What could be more desirable to the Russians than a superior, ice-free, deep-water port?

The scene in the camera is a small town—at the end of a long concrete pier, there are rows of neat houses with gray tiled roofs, and occasionally people in kimonos can be seen walking along the streets. Further on are several roads lined with trees and a few tall Western-style buildings.

Leontiev lowered his binoculars, and the officer on duty beside him said, "Sir, according to intelligence, the Japanese concession in Yuanshan covers an area of ​​over 300,000 square meters, with several hundred houses and more than 3,000 permanent residents, half of whom are Japanese. Although the port is not large at present, its depth is sufficient to accommodate ships of 10,000 tons!"

Leontiev asked, "What about the defense situation?"

The officer on duty replied, "There are several dozen policemen, armed with swords and pistols. There are no gun emplacements, no fortresses, not even a single cannon."

Leontiev lowered his binoculars and turned his gaze directly to the neat rows of Japanese-style rooftops: "So, you mean we can take over the entire concession with just the firepower of this one ship and our marines?"

The officer on duty didn't respond; he knew the captain wasn't asking for opinions.

Colonel Leontiev propped the telescope on the railing and tapped it lightly twice with his finger: "Now... all that's left is a spark!"

As he was speaking, the lookout on the mast suddenly shouted, "Due north... a column of smoke!"

Leontiev paused for a moment. He immediately walked to another section of the ship's side, raised his binoculars, and looked due north.

On the sea, a black column of smoke was moving. It wasn't thick, there was only one, and it wasn't moving very fast.

Leontiev held his breath and stared for more than ten seconds, then exhaled and put down his binoculars: "It's a merchant ship, not a warship."

He knew that at this time, Japanese warships would not come to Yuanshan; only Qing Dynasty ironclad warships would arrive...

The duty officer hesitated for a moment: "Captain, should we arrange a boarding inspection?"

"First, check whose it is." Leontiev raised his binoculars again. "If it's a Japanese ship, board and inspect it. If it's a British flag—"

He paused, then narrowed his eyes: "Then let's not escalate the situation."

On the Kowshing

Chang Desheng was also holding a telescope he had brought back from Germany, looking ahead as well.

In the field of vision, the outline of a gray warship gradually became clear, with a low hull, thick bulwarks, and the St. Andrew's flag flying fluttering in the wind at the stern.

"It's the Parmiyat Azov!" Chang Desheng put down his binoculars and said to Cao Kun, who was standing next to him, "This is one of the main forces of the Russian Far East Squadron, a 5,000-ton ship with two eight-inch main guns and twelve six-inch secondary guns. In Asian waters, apart from the two ironclad warships of the Beiyang Fleet and the flagship of the British Far East Fleet, no ship can outclass it."

Cao Kun didn't understand these things very well, but he could sense the weight in Chang Desheng's tone: "So, can we handle it?"

"We can't handle it," Chang Desheng said with a smile, putting down his binoculars. "And there's no need to. We're here to dig trenches and seize territory, not to fight a naval battle."

He paused, then glanced at the gray warship again: "But if it stops there, the Japanese will definitely panic more than we will."

Cao Kun thought for a moment: "Why?"

"Because the Russian warships could fire upon the Japanese concession," Chang Desheng patted the railing. "While our Qing concession was four or five miles from the sea, their cannons couldn't quite reach it. The Japanese were practically crouching right under their cannons. Who do you think was more panicked?"

Cao Kun chuckled: "That's great, let them rush ahead."

Chang Desheng didn't reply. He raised his binoculars again and glanced in the direction of Yuanshan Port. The outline of the Japanese concession was already clear: neat houses, straight streets, and a few small boats flying the Rising Sun flag in the harbor. He put down the binoculars, looked down at the deck, and quickly calculated in his mind: the Japanese concession covered forty acres, with only one street and three large courtyards—a telegraph office, a commercial commissioner's office, and a gentry company.

The two hundred men Chang Desheng brought could stay inside without any problem, but he wasn't there to stay put; he was there to seize territory under the guise of resisting Russia.

On board the Parmyat Azov, Leontiev once again raised his binoculars.

The Kowshing was getting closer, its silhouette clearly visible in the twilight—a steel-hulled merchant ship of about two thousand tons, unarmed. But the Union Jack flying from the gun breech provided the best protection.

Leontiev lowered his binoculars: "The British ship...let it pass."

The officer on duty hesitated for a moment: "Captain, there might be Japanese soldiers on board."

Leontiev glanced at him, a cold smile playing on his lips: "Isn't that perfect? ​​At this time, Japan sending troops to Wonsan is a breach of Korea's neutrality and a threat to Vladivostok, providing us with the best pretext to escalate the situation."

The officer on duty fell silent, knowing that his superiors were eager for the Japanese to escalate the situation.

The Kowshing slowly passed the Russian ship on its port side, with the two ships less than 200 meters apart.

Chang Desheng stood on the ship's railing, watching the gray warship glide past. He also saw the figure in a white naval uniform on the bridge, who looked like a high-ranking officer, looking in their direction through binoculars.

Chang Desheng neither dodged nor waved. He stood there, letting the Russian see clearly that on this merchant ship flying the British flag stood a Qing Dynasty official in the robes of a fourth-rank official.

As the Kao Sheng passed the Russian ship and turned toward the port, Chang Desheng turned his gaze away and said to Cao Kun beside him, "Let's go, prepare to dock."

Inside Yuanshan Port, on the Japanese concession dock, it was deserted except for a few Japanese policemen, carrying katana and small pistols, watching the approaching Kowshing.

These Japanese devils were all pale-faced, showing no sign of Bushido.

The Kowshing was slowly slowing down, and the black smoke from its funnels was thinning. The bow of the ship was facing the concrete pier in the concession area.

On the second floor of the Japanese consulate, Naoemon Hashiguchi stood by the window, holding a small telescope, his gaze fixed on the merchant ship that was slowly approaching the shore.

Through the telescope, he saw that the ship was flying a British flag, its hull was not deep in the water, and there were several figures in gray short-sleeved shirts standing on the deck, throwing ropes toward the shore.

Before he could observe carefully, the door behind him was suddenly pushed open.

Motoyama Police Chief Shimada rushed in, without even knocking. His face was ashen, and his voice trembled slightly: "Your Excellency, the officers—are all ready. As soon as Lucia soldiers disembark from that British-flagged ship—"

"Launch a desperate assault." Hashiguchi Naoemon didn't turn around; his voice remained calm. "Understood!"

Shimada swallowed hard and pressed on, "Your Excellency, is it really true—no reinforcements are coming from the country?"

Hashiguchi put down his binoculars, turned around and looked at Shimada: "No."

Shimada's expression turned even uglier.

"However—" Hashiguchi walked to the table, picked up a telegram, and put it down again. "It says that the Qing Dynasty might send troops to Wonsan."

Shimada's eyes widened: "We—we're going to rely on the Qing Dynasty?"

Qiaokou looked out the window at the merchant ship docking, remained silent for a long while, and then softly said, "I'm afraid—"

Yes."

He paused, then turned around: "At least, it's better for the Qing people to be on the shore blocking the way than for dozens of our policemen to fill the Russian cannons."

Shimada didn't say anything, but his heart was ice-cold.

Relying on Qing Dynasty soldiers to protect Japanese concessions... that doesn't sound plausible at all!

"Waaah..."

""

Just then, the Kowshing let out a long whistle and then slowly came to a stop at the anchorage next to the Japanese concession pier.

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