Super Dictator

Wei Jichen sighed and was about to return to the camp when he saw Li Yunfei hurried over with Mengzi, Huzi, Xiaosi and other brothers who had escaped from Jiulian City with him.

Seeing Wei Jichen, Li Yunfei looked worried at first, and then he was about to say something.

However, Wei Jichen stretched out his hand and interrupted him: "Yunfei, if you are here to persuade me to take a rest, there is no need to say more. I am awake, neither in a trance nor losing my mind."

Li Yunfei thought for a while, then his expression became solemn, and he said loudly: "Now that the matter has come to an end, I won't say anything more. I'm just here to tell you that no matter what the outcome of tomorrow's bet is, I, Li Yunfei, and my brothers will always follow you. By your side, Zijie."

The rest of the people nodded and said in unison: "Wei Ying, we have discussed it a long time ago. Life is yours and death is your ghost. If Liu Shengxiu takes Wei Ziying back tomorrow, we will come back and follow you. Continue to be our soldier.”

"Brothers!"

Wei Jichen's eyes filled with tears and he was deeply moved. He saw people's hearts in times of crisis. When everyone thought his future was bleak, there was still such a group of people who supported him regardless.

Thinking of the people who were still building relationships with him at the banquet yesterday, and who were friendly and enthusiastic, Wei Jichen felt that it was even more valuable. Those people talked beautifully, but tonight none of them came to visit him.

Didn't any of them know about the bet between him and Liu Shengxiu?

But why don't these people come and see him!

This is not the first time that Wei Jichen, who comes from modern times, has experienced the hot and cold world.

Because they thought Wei Jichen was finished and no longer worth making friends with and investing in.

Naturally, they just don't care about people who have lost their value.

Fortunately, there are still this group of brothers who have always followed him closely no matter whether he is ups or downs.

Perhaps, I came here not only to upgrade and earn merit points, but also to have other responsibilities, which is to lead these brothers to escape the catastrophe of Sino-Japanese War of 1894-1894.

Wei Jichen, who originally had a condescending mentality after traveling through time, finally felt that he had slowly integrated into this era. People in this era have become living, flesh-and-blood people, rather than props for him to upgrade one by one.

Looking at the smiling faces one after another, Wei Jichen's mood couldn't help but improve a lot, and he put a smile on his face again. He joked: "You are my person in life, and you are my ghost in death. Why does this sound so awkward?" It’s like the daughter-in-law told her husband.”

He stopped smiling, and the expression on Wei Jichen's face became solemn. His eyes swept over everyone's faces one by one, and he said solemnly: "Brothers, you treat Zijie like this. Zijie can't repay you, and he won't say anything. Empty words, we can only survive on this cruel battlefield with our brothers."

Yes, survive on the battlefield!

It was already late at night. In the Xianliang Temple on the north side of Bingdi Hutong Road, the political center of the Qing Dynasty and the capital of the capital, the seventy-year-old Beiyang Minister Li Hongzhang had just laid down to rest.

There was a rapid knock on the door.

Li Hongzhang sighed secretly and had to get up and open the door. Li Hongzhang, who was in his seventies, was already old and his energy was not as good as before. Moreover, the war on the front line was getting worse day by day. The hooves are dry.

Could it be that there has been another important change in the frontline war?

Li Hongzhang put on his coat, coughed twice, and spit out a large mouthful of thick phlegm into the spittoon, then he stumbled and opened the door with a creak.

Outside the door, several of his close aides Wang Kaitai, Chen Nai, Zhang Peilun and others were standing.

Several people's expressions were very strange, and even the experienced Li Hongzhang couldn't tell whether it was a good thing or a bad thing.

It was Zhang Peilun who stepped forward first. He had two telegrams in his hand, and he didn't know which one he would give to Li Hongzhang first.

"Give me the bad news first." Seeing this, Li Hongzhang, who had lived in a circle of power all his life, still didn't understand what was going on. There must be both good news and bad news, so a few people would have such expressions.

Zhang Peilun stretched his left hand forward, handed it to Li Hongzhang and said: "Zhongtang, this is from Dalian City."

Li Hongzhang nodded and did not watch immediately. Instead, he led several people into the room. After sitting down one by one, Li Hongzhang unfolded the telegram on the table and read it carefully.

"Jinzhou was occupied by the Japanese army. Zhao Huaiye requested to withdraw from Dalian and retreat to Lushun to fight the Japanese army." Li Hongzhang slapped the telegram on the table, raised his eyebrows and said angrily: "Zhao Huaiye is talking nonsense, Jinzhou, Dalian is lost and Lushun becomes an isolated city, and defense will only become more difficult, doesn’t he know?”

Chen Nai thought for a while and said: "Previously, Zhao Huaiye asked Lushun for support because of his weak military strength, but the generals in Lushun refused because Lushun could not tolerate any loss. It seems that Zhao Huaiye has to do the same this time."

There were seven commanders in the Lushun area, with more than 13,000 people, but no one paid any attention to Zhao Huaiye's plea for help.

Zhao Huaiye was disheartened, thinking that if the generals still refused to save him when the Japanese army attacked Dalian, he would definitely not be able to resist it, so he did nothing and sent a telegram to Li Hongzhang requesting a retreat, and then hurriedly Busily leading the army to flee to Lushun.

"Where is Song Qing?" Li Hongzhang suppressed his anger and asked.

Zhang Peilun immediately replied: "Song Qingshang is on the way and has not arrived in Lushun yet."

Li Hongzhang anxiously walked two steps in the room, thought for a while, then stopped and said seriously: "Let Song Qing hurry up and rush to Lushun as soon as possible to coordinate the overall situation, and send a telegram to Gong Zhaoxuan. If the Japanese army attacks Lushun, who of the generals will retreat?" , I will kill you without mercy!”

In 1871, Gong Zhaoyu joined the Beiyang Manufacturing Bureau as an official, and the supervisor donated money to the magistrate, magistrate, and Taoist officials. In 1890, on the recommendation of Li Hongzhang, he took charge of the Lushun Dockyard project and also set up the Lushun Dockyard Operation Office.

We can get some clues from his experience. The reason why Li Hongzhang asked Song Qing to speed up was because Gong Zhaoyu was a civil servant who was promoted by donating money. He was an amateur in commanding, fighting, and training. Perhaps his qualifications could give him orders. The generals, but when facing the Japanese attack, they must be in a hurry and have no countermeasures.

After Li Hongzhang issued an order to kill without mercy, he felt a little relieved.

Zhang Peilun wrote them down one by one. Seeing that Li Hongzhang had nothing to add to the Lushun front, he handed over another telegram with a smile on his face and said: "Zhongtang, this telegram was sent by Nie Shicheng from Dakaoling. I didn't expect it to be related to Zhao Huaiye." The telegram arrived at the same time."

Seeing Zhang Peilun's relaxed expression, Li Hongzhang guessed that there would be no big trouble in the war on the Eastern Front.

When he spread it out and took a look, Li Hongzhang couldn't help but beam with joy.

"What a great victory. The armies on the eastern front not only withstood the crazy Japanese attack, but also killed more than a thousand Japanese soldiers, including Major Takeda Hideyama of the Japanese 10th Division Brigade, Artillery Captain Saito Masaki, and other captains. There are dozens of officers below, which is the greatest victory since the war began."

The deadline for his telegram was the time when Tachibana Naofumi retreated in fear. Even Nie Shicheng had not yet calculated the large number of officers lost in the Eighteenth Regiment due to Tachibana Naofumi's subsequent attack, let alone reported it to Li Hongzhang.

I wonder how Li Hongzhang would feel if he learned that he had won another victory.

In Nie Shicheng's telegram, other generals only briefly mentioned it, but they mentioned it alone: ​​Wei Jichen and Wei Zijie from Tianjin were sentry officers in our Luyu Army. Defeating dozens of Japanese attacks is a great achievement that cannot be added to.

After reading it, Li Hongzhang was shocked. Why, most of the credit reported by Nie Shicheng was done by Wei Jichen.

"This Wei Jichen is amazing." Li Hongzhang couldn't help but admire. Nie Shicheng dared to report Wei Jichen, a small sentry officer, but others had nothing to say. This shows that Wei Jichen's contribution is real, and there are Maybe some were given to others.

Li Hongzhang knew that this was a critical juncture in the war, and he must be rewarded for his merits and punished for his demerits, so as to motivate the officers and soldiers of the three armies. Otherwise, why would these officers and soldiers be forced to fight tooth and nail.

Li Hongzhang picked up the teacup on the table, rinsed his mouth with tea first, then picked up another teacup, took a sip, and said with a smile: "Youqiao, you first verify your military exploits, you should be promoted." , what should be dropped should be dropped.”

Zhang Peilun responded yes, and then asked: "Zhongtang, who should this Wei Jichen be promoted to?"

Li Hongzhang thought for a while and said, "I'll be promoted to General!"

A general is a third-rank military official, followed by guerrillas, commanders, and garrison officers. Their subordinate commanders are called battalions, which are under the jurisdiction of the governor, governor, admiral, and commander-in-chief. For example, Nie Shicheng is a named admiral, and is actually awarded the title of commander-in-chief of Taiyuan Town. soldiers.

Wei Jichen went from a low-ranking official to a rank-and-file promotion to a general. This would have been impossible on ordinary days, and could only happen during wartime.

But based on his achievements, this is nothing.

Of course, it's not that Li Hongzhang said that he was promoted to a staff general. He still needed to report to the Ministry of War and obtain its approval. However, with Li Hongzhang's current status, he was naturally able to capture it.

After a pause, Li Hongzhang continued: "Tomorrow at the morning of the court, I will report to the Queen Mother and the Emperor and ask for merit for our Huai Army officers and men. Let's see who else dares to say that I, Li Hongzhang, have retained my strength and the Huai Army cannot be put to great use. After you go down, please polish this battle report again."

The so-called polishing is to add more people. Nie Shicheng reported to the superiors that more than a thousand enemies were killed. In fact, it would be good to have seven or eight hundred people.

After Zhang Peilun has polished it up, it is estimated that there will be more than five or six hundred people added.

When the battle report finally reached Guangxu's desk, it was estimated that more than 1,500 Japanese had been killed.

However, no matter how much he polished it, Zhang Peilun did not dare to make a fuss about how many Japanese he killed and above the rank of lieutenant. Those were all prominent figures among the Japanese and they could be easily found out.

Zhang Peilun obviously understood what Li Hongzhang meant, and nodded clearly. Then several people discussed other battles on the front line, and then left safely with a bit of relief.