King of Beiyang

"Brother Jingyuan, with six new and advanced cruisers now in service with the Beiyang Fleet, defeating the Japanese navy should be a piece of cake."

But no matter how strong the navy is, warships can't land on land!

The Japanese not only strengthened their navy, but also learned from the West in building their army.

In comparison, both the Beiyang Army and the Huai Army were probably inferior to the Japanese army. Not to mention the other units.

Zheng Rucheng was somewhat worried.

"Yes, Brother Jingyuan. Even if we defeat the Japanese navy, the war will likely remain very difficult if the army is not up to par. In particular, the attitude of the imperial court is extremely important."

Once the Japanese army attacks, they'll probably surrender without a second thought!

Li Yuanhong looked at him with a disappointed expression.

Other Beiyang elites also recognized this problem.

"Don't worry, everyone, I've already thought it through. That's why I brought along those elites from the military academy for this study abroad trip."

After returning to China this time, I planned to establish a Marine Corps.

Every country in the world has a marine corps, except us.

Marines from various countries are not only capable of launching amphibious operations, but they are also in no way inferior to their armies in ground combat.

At that time, we can easily establish a marine corps of tens of thousands of people.

As long as the navy can defeat the Japanese navy and cut off their sea transport lines.

Then, wouldn't the Japanese army be trapped like turtles in a jar?

Li Jingyuan was clearly prepared.

Originally, Li Jingyuan planned to reorganize the Beiyang Army and the Huai Army to establish the Beiyang New Army.

But he soon realized that this would inevitably face tremendous resistance.

Not only would the Qing court face considerable resistance, but even within the Beiyang government itself, those veteran generals of the Huai Army who held considerable power might not agree.

Therefore, Li Jingyuan came up with the idea of ​​establishing a marine corps first.

In Li Jingyuan's view, the Marine Corps of this era was not much different from the Army, except that it had the additional skill of beach landing. In terms of other weapons and equipment, it was also similar to the Army.

After he returns to the United States, he will begin to establish the Marine Corps.

Before the outbreak of war, forming a Marine Corps of tens of thousands of men should have been enough to stabilize the situation.

If the Beiyang Fleet can defeat the enemy's combined fleet in naval battles and cut off their sea transport lines, it can seize the initiative.

Moreover, the Japanese are under tremendous financial pressure.

They had already accumulated a mountain of debt in order to expand their military and prepare for war.

As the saying goes, "When the cannons roar, gold pours in," war is all about money.

Given the Japanese army's financial resources, they simply couldn't hold out for very long in the war.

Perhaps, before long, the Japanese will be unable to hold on.

  

Only then did the elites of the Beiyang Army feel relieved.

Li Jingyuan stayed at the Naval Academy all day and didn't go out. At the same time, the security of the Oriental Pharmaceutical Company was also being upgraded, which made the Japanese very anxious.

Fukushima Yasumasa was so frustrated that his eyes turned red, like a hungry rabbit.

"Mr. Fukushima, Li Jingyuan has clearly sensed the danger. Our plan is unlikely to succeed. Perhaps we should abandon it!" suggested Saionji Kinmochi, the Minister of the Eastern Empire to the German Empire.

"No, Your Excellency. This further proves that Li Jingyuan is very likely to become a major threat to the Empire. The more this is the case, the more the Empire should eliminate him as soon as possible," Fukushima Yasumasa insisted.

Seeing this, Saionji Kinmochi no longer insisted.

He knew all too well that these samurai-born guys were single-minded.

Once a decision is made, not even ten oxen could pull it back.

"Alright, Fukushima-kun, I have only one request, and that is that the Empire must absolutely not be involved," Saionji Kinmochi emphasized.

"Yes, Your Excellency, I understand!" Fukushima Yasumasa replied.

Before we knew it, it was already the end of the sixteenth year of the Guangxu Emperor's reign.

On the eve of Christmas, the Naval Academy was closed for another holiday.

Li Jingyuan had been at the school for several months, so he invited the elites of Beiyang to visit Bolin together.

At the same time, one can also exchange ideas and build relationships with the elites who studied at the Prussian War College from the military academy.

The elites of the naval academy did not refuse.

Over the past two years, everyone has gotten used to life studying abroad.

Not only were they able to keep up with the college's courses, but they also achieved excellent grades.

A little relaxation won't affect your studies.

On December 23, Li Jingyuan had someone buy him a train ticket to Bolin.

The group left the Naval Academy and prepared to head to the train station to catch their train.

In recent months, security at Orient Pharmaceutical Company has been greatly upgraded, with hundreds of retired officers and soldiers from the German Imperial Army and Marine Corps being hired as security personnel.

As the company's largest shareholder, Li Jingyuan's safety naturally needs to be guaranteed.

Even while Li Jingyuan was studying at the Naval Academy, more than ten security personnel were stationed in Kiel Port to ensure his safety once he left the school.

Li Jingyuan and a group of students from the Beiyang Fleet rode in two horse-drawn carriages to the train station.

The drivers were all security personnel from Oriental Pharmaceutical Company.

At the rear of the vehicle, security personnel were also standing on the vehicle, looking around and maintaining vigilance.

The two carriages had barely left the Naval Academy when they were spotted.

A young man with an Asian face, but blue eyes and blond hair frowned.

"Damn it, which carriage is the target on?" He was the intelligence agent of the Eastern Empire deployed in the German Empire, and also the assassin who tried to kill Li Jingyuan.

His father was from the British Empire, and his mother was from Japan. Therefore, he has obvious mixed-race characteristics.

"Never mind, I'll just pick one!"

The assassin immediately made up his mind.

He had been waiting for half a year to assassinate Li Jingyuan, but had not yet had the opportunity to do so.

He was afraid that if he continued to wait, he would have even less of a chance.

The assassin swiftly weaved through the crowd and threw a box at the lead carriage.

The security personnel driving the vehicle immediately realized the danger.

"Attack underway, be careful!"

The first carriage in front quickly turned around, while the carriage behind immediately braked.

"boom!"

An explosion rang out, overturning the first carriage. The two horses pulling the carriage were killed instantly, and the carriage itself was blasted with several holes.

Keep in mind that this was only because the carriage's base and surrounding area were specially reinforced with steel plates. Otherwise, it would probably have been blown to pieces long ago.

However, Li Jingyuan was not in the first carriage at this moment, but in the second carriage.

It can only be said that he was lucky and escaped a disaster.