Entering the door of the combat coordination room, Yuan Shikai briefly greeted Duan Qirui, and then went straight to the point and asked: "What is the situation now?"
Duan Qirui had just arrived and didn't understand clearly yet. He asked a director of the war room who was on duty last night to introduce in detail the news received by the Army Ministry.
The director of the war room read the telegram and the emergency prediction signs of the battle situation made by the staff room in detail. The landing battle at Yingkou had just started. However, due to the previous days of continuous artillery suppression by the Japanese Second Fleet, the area near Yingkou's coast was blocked by the General Administration of Defense.
The headquarters was evacuated. Furthermore, there were no shore defenses at Yingkou, so the intensity of the resistance against the Japanese landing troops was self-evident.
"The staff room speculates that the Japanese landing force may completely occupy the eastern area of Yingkou by eight o'clock. However, the message sent from Fengtian mentioned that the Japanese Navy's Second Fleet began to withdraw several warships in batches from the day before yesterday.
, Yingkou has realized that the Japanese army will attempt to launch a landing raid, so they have taken relative precautions in advance."
"How does Yuan Su plan to take precautions?" Duan Qirui asked coldly.
"The Yingkou General Headquarters decided to abandon Dongcheng District, set up defense lines in the central and northern areas of Yingkou City, and engage in a head-on confrontation with the Japanese landing troops." said the director of the war room.
"How many people did the Japanese army land? How many people did Yuan Su deploy at Yingkou? How long can the Japanese army hold on with artillery support from the navy?" Duan Qirui's tone was a bit harsh, obviously dissatisfied with Yuan Su's actions.
Too trusting.
"Sir, the intelligence we have received right now is not too much. The staff room and communications room are also asking about the situation on the front line. I am afraid it will take at least a few hours before we receive the next message.
"The director of the war room said with some embarrassment.
Duan Qirui said nothing and quickly walked to the staff room next door to view the battle map.
Yuan Shikai is not very clear about Duan Qirui's attitude towards Yuan Su, but it was Duan Qirui himself who recommended Yuan Su as the commander-in-chief of the United Front War of the three eastern provinces. Now that the situation in Liaodong is not too good, Duan Qirui will not be too targeted.
Yuan Su. What's more, he still has some trust in Yuan Su. Although the battle during this period of time cost a lot of casualties, the Japanese army did not break through the Liaodong defense line.
He believed that since Yuan Su had noticed the movements of the Japanese army a few days ago, even if the countermeasures he deployed were ineffective, they would at least be able to hold on for a while.
"I just said that Yuan Su had formulated a battle plan to raid Dandong. What's going on?" Yuan Shikai did not follow Duan Qirui to the staff room, but continued to ask the director of the war room. It is undeniable that Yuan Su suddenly made such a move
It’s really surprising. Originally this was just a defensive battle of alert and demonstration, but it suddenly turned into an offensive battle. Not to mention that it suddenly opened up the battle situation, and actively changed defense to attack, which will inevitably lead to
Many diplomatic and political impacts.
"Commander Yuan's attack plan against Dandong was stated in the message to have been prepared five days ago. Its purpose is to relieve the current pressure on the Japanese army to concentrate its forces to attack Gaizhou. The person responsible for executing the offensive operation is the center of the defense line stationed at Hadabei.
The 10th Division of the Yang Army is commanded by Deputy Division Commander and Chief of General Staff Chen Wennian." The director of the war room quickly made an introduction.
"We started planning five days ago. Why didn't we report it to the Ministry of War for filing? Is he in charge of such a big thing?" Yuan Shikai said a little uncontrollably.
"When the Fengtian side forwarded the message, they said that it was to keep the operation confidential, so it was inconvenient to have too much contact in advance."
"The operation is kept secret? According to this, he is really going to fight this war with the Japanese!" Yuan Shikai's tone gradually showed an annoyed tone. The Liaodong War is now a local conflict, and if it is controlled appropriately, it will be beneficial to China.
. It’s not that Yuan Su is not allowed to expand the war. Japan himself does not dare to expand the war, so it is not a bad thing to take advantage of every opportunity. But once the war is expanded, it will cause many other impacts. This matter is not trivial, and it should be reported to bei jing.
Just have some discussion.
Even if Beiyang's government has serious bureaucracy, the enemy will naturally not neglect it at present. It is just a matter of a day or two.
The war room had not received any more reports about the sneak attack on Dandong. Seeing that Yuan Shikai was so angry, the director didn't know what to say for a while.
After a sullen silence for a while, Yuan Shikai continued to ask: "What is the situation of the 10th Division now, and what stage is the battle plan for attacking Dandong?"
The director of the war room said: "Yesterday afternoon the 10th Division officially launched an attack on Dandong. Currently, the Japanese army in Dandong only has a railway escort team and a few scattered engineering teams, with about 600 to 800 people. If everything
If everything goes smoothly, news of the capture of Dandong should be sent back by noon today."
Yuan Shikai did not hesitate anymore and said decisively: "Immediately send a telegram to Fengtian to ask about the progress in Dandong. In addition, give me a warning to Yuan Su. He must be extremely cautious about this matter. After occupying Dandong, he must not act rashly.
Then, send someone to deliver this news to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and let the Ministry of Foreign Affairs consider how to communicate it externally."
The director of the war room nodded quickly and said, "Yes."
After explaining this, Yuan Shikai set off for the staff room next door.
When he came to the staff room, he saw Duan Qirui and a group of staff officers, counselors, directors of various departments, and directors of various departments of the Army Department gathered together to discuss the current situation. Of course, Duan Qirui was not interested in Yuan Su's initiative to send troops to Dandong.
At this moment, the main thing that he and everyone are paying attention to is this matter.
Compared with Yuan Shikai, Duan Qirui still appreciates Yuan Suneng's bold initiative. After all, now that he is breaking up with the Japanese, there is no need to pay attention to so many details. What's more, Liaodong is originally China's territory, and there is no reason not to dare to attack on his own country's territory.
Combat. This move will not only greatly increase the momentum of the Chinese people, but also strategically relieve the pressure on Gaizhou. Even if the Japanese army launches a landing operation at Yingkou, the attack on Dandong at this time will inevitably cause mental pressure.
As long as there are benefits, there will naturally be disadvantages.
Judging from the battles in the past few days, Japan's invasion of Liaodong was mainly carried out by the Fifth Division. Once the Chinese Army took the initiative to attack Dandong, it meant that it was expanding the war situation. It would be very likely then.
It may anger some radicals in Japan, and may even prompt the 18th Division and North Korea to send troops to Liaodong for support.
As a result, the situation, which was originally one-sided in favor of China in terms of international calls, will soon lose its focus, more or less giving Japan some excuses to use the topic.
Duan Qirui told Yuan Shikai these concerns, and Yuan Shikai had already had such suspicions.
"The Fifth Division alone is enough trouble. Once this matter gets serious and the Japanese army sends more troops to Liaodong, the situation will not be so easy to deal with." Yuan Shikai said with a frown.
"President, everything has two sides. Even if things are pushed forward, it may not be beneficial to us. It is precisely because our previous combat ideas were too conservative, and we only focused on sticking to the front and preventing the Japanese army from advancing. But this
After all, it is a war, and it is an unjust war unjustly provoked by the Japanese. Since we want to defend national sovereignty, we must do this more thoroughly." Duan Qirui said solemnly.
"To put it nicely, neither we nor Japan want or be able to make this war bigger. Japan cannot fight this war, let alone us. If it really gets out of control, the local conflict will turn into a big one.
If it escalates into a direct conflict between countries, who will be responsible for it?" Yuan Shikai said angrily.
It's not that he has no fighting spirit, but he still has some scruples in his heart. He hopes that things in Liaodong can end in a relatively peaceful way, and the sooner the better, so as not to offend Japan too much, and at the same time, he can
Enter the next important step of becoming emperor.
"Even if Japan can increase its troops, it will only be the 18th Division, the 19th Division and the 20th Division. In terms of the current international situation, I predict that Japan is absolutely impossible and does not have enough preliminary preparations to recruit troops from home.
Send troops here. If Japan really mobilizes these three divisions to reinforce Liaodong, it might be an excuse for us. With only one order from the four provinces of Zhili, Shanxi, Shandong, and Rehe, we will be able to gather twenty
With more than 10,000 troops, it is very possible to take advantage of the situation and take back Liaodong." Duan Qirui said with a slightly excited expression.
"Zhiquan, I know you have experience in coordinating operations, but this matter is not only about the battlefield, but also involves many complicated diplomatic relations. If it is delayed to a certain extent, it will be of great benefit to us, but once it is delayed
If you go too far, it will be detrimental to us. The patience of the British and French powers is limited. In the end, they will choose Japan or China. You and I both know this." Yuan Shikai said seriously.