Beiyang Dream

Chapter 262 Report to the Emperor: The Qing army is still 50 kilometers away!

The time was the 23rd day of the sixth month of the 20th year of the Guangxu reign of the Qing Dynasty, which was July 25th, 1894 in the Gregorian calendar, around 3 a.m.

Sagami Bay, Japan, on the sea near the coast of Yuigahama.

On the flying bridge of the cruiser "Zhiyuan", Beiyang Fleet Admiral Ding Ruchang stood there, with the cruiser's captain Chen Jinkui, first mate Huang Naimo, and a sentry officer from the Beiyang Fleet's Yongying Battalion named Zhang Desan. This man was an old soldier and a rogue, a confidant of Ding Ruchang who had been with him for more than ten years.

It wasn't fully light yet; the eastern horizon was just beginning to lighten, and a hazy, indistinct view revealed a winding coastline in the distance.

Chen Jinkui pointed to the coastline and said to Ding Ruchang, "General, look over there, that's Yuihama, it's part of Kamakura Town."

Ding Ruchang squinted at it for a while, then hummed in agreement.

Chen Jinkui continued, "Kamakura is no ordinary place; it's the stronghold of Japanese samurai, a sacred site for them, you know? Japan's first shogunate, the Kamakura Shogunate, was established here. There was a Japanese shogun named Minamoto no Yoritomo who started his career here—"

Ding Ruchang waved his hand and said, "Alright, alright, stop with the nonsense. I'll just ask you one question: how far is it from here to Tokyo, the place where that Japanese king lives?"

Chen Jinkui thought for a moment and said, "The straight-line distance is about fifty kilometers."

He turned around and shouted at Zhang Desan, "Third brother, pack up and come ashore with me!"

Zhang Desan was taken aback for a moment and said, "General, you're going up too? This—this is too dangerous!"

Ding Ruchang glared at him and said, "What's so dangerous? Didn't they say the Japanese didn't fortify that place, Kamakura?"

Chen Jinkui chimed in from the side, "General, that's true, but we're not far from the Yokosuka Naval Base. Although the main force of the Japanese Combined Fleet has gone out, there are definitely still warships left behind at the base. What if—"

Ding Ruchang waved his hand again and said, "What's there to be afraid of? We're catching the Japanese off guard!"

He paused, then continued, "Besides, if I, a dignified admiral of the Beiyang Fleet, dared not even go ashore, wouldn't I be scolded to death by Li Hongzhang when I returned? Moreover, Deng Zhengqing's 'Changyuan' is blocking the entrance to Tokyo Bay. If any foolish Japanese warships come out, they'll be sent to their deaths!"

After saying that, he waved his hand and said, "Launch the small boat! I'm going to land in Japan and capture that damned Japanese emperor! Oh, and bring the photographer too. Bring a camera; it's not easy to go there, so take plenty of photos to show Li Hongzhang later!"

"Well!"

Five sampans were lowered from the Zhiyuan.

About twenty people sat on each plank, including soldiers from the Beiyang Fleet and sailors from the Zhiyuan. Everyone was quite excited, after all, they were going to land on the Japanese mainland!

What's this called?

This is called the merit of "being the first to ascend"!

Ding Ruchang sat on the first sampan, with Zhang Desan and Huang Naimo beside him. Zhang Desan held a folded yellow dragon flag in his hand, while Huang Naimo clutched a map, which looked like a tourist map, drawn with attractions around Kamakura, such as Tsurugaoka Hachimangu Shrine, the Kamakura Great Buddha, and Kotoku-in Temple, among other things.

The sampan rowed for about twenty minutes and then reached the shore.

There is a small wooden pier near Yuigahama. It's not very big and is probably used by local fishermen to get on and off their boats.

It was a little past four in the morning, and the sky was still dark. The beach was deserted, with not a single person in sight.

Ding Ruchang was the first to jump onto the pier, followed by Zhang Desan and Huang Naimo.

Ding Ruchang stood on the pier, looked around, and said, "Hey, this Japanese beach is pretty clean."

Zhang Desan said, "General, this is a seaside resort, and many people come here to play in the summer. But now that there's a war, nobody comes anymore."

Ding Ruchang nodded and strode onto the beach.

Huang Naimo followed behind him, unfolded the map in his hand and looked at it, then pointed to a straight road ahead and said, "General, look over there, that's Wakamiya Avenue. If you keep going north along this road, you'll reach Tsurugaoka Hachiman Shrine. It's the ancestral shrine of the Japanese samurai, where their war god is enshrined, called something like Hachiman-gami."

Ding Ruchang glanced at the road and nodded.

By this time, the sampans behind had also reached the shore, and about a hundred soldiers and sailors all went ashore. Since it was their first time landing in Japan, everyone was quite excited and looking around, making a bit of a commotion.

Ding Ruchang turned around and looked at the group of men, then shouted, "Listen up! Raise the Yellow Dragon Flag and follow me into battle! Anyone who falls behind, I won't wait for them!"

Zhang Desan unfurled the yellow dragon flag, hung it on a flagpole, and raised it high.

Then, this group of about a hundred people headed north along Wakamiya Avenue in a grand procession.

Wakamiya Avenue is quite wide, with many trees planted on both sides, as well as some shops and hotels. However, it was only a little past four o'clock, and none of the shops had opened yet, so the street was deserted.

Ding Ruchang and his group were in a hurry to "check in" at Hachiman Shrine, so they didn't have time to bother the shops. The hundred or so people walked in a long line, holding dragon flags, on the main road leading to Hachiman Shrine.

They walked for about ten minutes, and no one noticed...

Just as we were about to reach Hachiman Shrine, a small house appeared by the roadside with a sign hanging at the door that read "Yuigahama Police Station, Kanagawa Prefecture".

This was actually just a police station, just one room. Inside, a young policeman in a black uniform was dozing off at the table.

The policeman's name is Okita Kojiro, 25 years old, and he is a patrolman at the Yuigahama Police Station. He was on night shift last night and stayed up most of the night. He was so sleepy that he dozed off at his desk for a while.

Just as I was dozing off, I suddenly heard footsteps outside.

This is..

Okita Kojiro woke up groggily, rubbed his eyes, looked up at the window, and saw a scene he would never forget for the rest of his life.

A troop of soldiers is marching in formation along Wakamiya Avenue.

The soldiers' uniforms were completely different from the Japanese soldiers he had ever seen. They were all tall and strong, their uniforms were dusty and gray, and they wore small round caps on their heads with long braids hanging down from the back of their heads!

Okita Kojiro's eyes widened: "A queue, a queue—the Qing army? Baka! Wasn't the Imperial Army supposed to be winning victory after victory?"

"How come—how come the Qing army has already reached Kamakura?"

After cursing the "country bumpkins" of Choshu and Satsuma, he quickly reached for the pistol at his waist, intending to draw it and fire a warning shot.

But as soon as he put his hand on the holster, he stopped.

He remembered that the townspeople of Kamakura had long since stopped using swords.

"The hunting swords have been around for so many years, the samurai have long since changed professions, and the townspeople don't practice martial arts much anymore. They simply can't resist the fully armed Qing soldiers."

Moreover, he didn't know how many Qing soldiers had landed. If there were several hundred, wouldn't it be suicide for him to charge out alone?

Thinking of this, Okita Kojiro gritted his teeth and put the pistol back.

He quietly opened the back door of the police station, crouched down and slipped out, then ran as fast as he could towards the Kamakura branch of the Kanagawa Prefectural Police Department.

He had to hurry and deliver the message... Someone had to report to the Emperor: The Qing army has landed! Quickly gather the "Bando Samurai" to protect the Emperor!

Around 5 a.m., Ding Ruchang had already led his men to "storm" Tsurugaoka Hachiman Shrine.

Although it was called an "invasion," there was actually no fighting at all.

Tsurugaoka Hachiman Shrine has been quite desolate since the fall of the Tokugawa shogunate. It originally had over a dozen priests, but many left or dispersed, leaving only five. There's even less on night duty—just one person.

Furthermore, although Hachiman Shrine has a gate, it doesn't have a surrounding wall. The gate is also wide open; it's not closed at all.

However, Ding Ruchang didn't care about anything else. He just led about a hundred men, holding yellow dragon flags and carrying rifles with bayonets fixed, shouting "Kill!" and charged straight in.

The priest on night duty at Hachiman Shrine was an old man in his sixties with white hair. He was startled by the deafening shouts of battle outside. He ran out and saw a group of Qing soldiers yelling and charging in. He was so frightened that he collapsed to the ground, unable to move.

However, none of the Qing soldiers made things difficult for him, as he was just a frail old man. Killing him wouldn't be considered "slaying a general," would it? So two soldiers came, dragged him out of the main hall, and tied him up.

Ding Ruchang walked to the front of the temple, looked around, nodded, and said, "Hmm, this place is not bad, quite grand."

Then he said to Zhang Desan, "Third brother, have the brothers line up. Photographer, come over and take some pictures of us!"

After landing in Japan, storming Kamakura, and occupying Hachiman Shrine, who would dare to underestimate the Beiyang Fleet after that?

The photographer quickly set up the camera and said, "Sir, all of you, please stand in your positions."

Ding Ruchang, Zhang Desan, and Huang Naimo stood in front of the shrine, with the main hall of Tsurugaoka Hachimangu Shrine behind them, and a group of soldiers with rifles standing beside them. The photographer shouted, "Smile!" and a flash of magnesium powder...

After taking the photos, Ding Ruchang looked around and said, "By the way, where's that white flag?"

Huang Naimo pointed to the White Flag Shrine next to him and said, "General, over there, that white flag is the White Flag of the Minamoto clan."

Ding Ruchang went over to take a look and said, "Hmm, not bad. Take it down and bring it back."

Two brave soldiers climbed up and took down the white flag.

Ding Ruchang glanced at it; it was just a white cloth.

He looked around and found a drum that was quite beautiful.

He pointed at the drum and said, "And that other drum, see it? That big drum, take it with you too!"

Several soldiers ran over and took the heavy eight-stringed taiko drum, weighing several dozen kilograms, off the drum stand, preparing to carry it back to the Zhiyuan.

Ding Ruchang stood there, watching his men busy at work, and was in a particularly good mood.

Just then, a scream suddenly came from outside Hachiman Shrine.

Ding Ruchang turned his head and saw seven or eight young girls standing at the entrance of Hachiman Shrine, wearing white tops and red skirts, with long hair. He wondered what they did.

These people are actually shrine maidens of Tsurugaoka Hachiman Shrine. According to the rules, shrine maidens cannot stay overnight at Hachiman Shrine and must return to their own homes before coming to work at dawn.

When they arrived outside the Hachiman Shrine, a group of "tall soldiers" from who-knows-where were grabbing their priests, and someone was carrying a large drum. They were all stunned.

Then they screamed.

"Ah...the enemy is coming!"

"The giant enemy troops have occupied Hachiman Shrine!"

They screamed as they ran back along Wakamiya Avenue.

It was almost six o'clock, and dawn was breaking. Most of the shops along Wakamiya Main Street had already opened. The shrine maidens' shout drew a large crowd of townspeople from Kamakura to the main street to watch the spectacle.

Seeing that the Japanese in Kamakura were finally starting to react, Ding Ruchang turned to Huang Naimo and said, "Aishan, tell these Japanese that the Qing army has arrived!"

"Well!"

Huang Naimo immediately stood on the stone steps of Hachiman Shrine and shouted loudly in Japanese: "People of Kamakura, listen up! The Qing Dynasty's Beiyang Fleet..."

"Admiral Ding, by imperial decree of the Qing Emperor, is to lead the imperial army to land in Japan, punish Tokyo, and capture the Japanese King!"

"You people of Japan, as long as you do not resist the heavenly army and do not seek your own death, the heavenly army will surely not harm you in the slightest!"

"The Qing army always keeps its word!"

Upon hearing this, the townspeople outside Hachiman Shrine were dumbfounded.

What's going on?

Wasn't it said that the Imperial Army was invincible, winning victory after victory, and that the Qing army was utterly helpless?

How come they've already reached Kamakura?

It's unclear who reacted first, but someone shouted, "The Qing army is coming! Run!"

Then, the townspeople who had come to watch the spectacle dispersed.

Ding Ruchang laughed heartily a few times, then said to Zhang Desan, "Third brother, have someone hang up all the flags we brought, the more the better."

"Okay!" Zhang Desan responded and led several soldiers to plant flags everywhere.

Taking photos, planting flags, checking in, plus some bluffing... the whole process was over in no time.

Ding Ruchang let out a breath and said to Huang Naimo, "Alright, let's call it a day."

Huang Naimo was taken aback: "General, are we leaving already?"

"Why aren't you leaving?" Ding Ruchang said. "You really want to have lunch here?"

He glanced back at Hachiman Shrine and said, "This time, we've made sure the Japanese Emperor can't eat or sleep properly!"

Then he waved his hand dismissively: "Withdraw!"

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