Chapter 231 Changxing Island

Wei Jichen stayed in Fengtian for four or five days. During this period, he stayed at home and discussed the future development of Fengtian with Yiktang'a all day long. Wei Jichen combined what he knew with the policies and guidelines of Xu Shichang, Zhang Zuolin and others in governing the Northeast in later generations.

In just a few days of getting along, Yiktang'a admired this young man more and more, and wanted to keep Wei Jichen by his side. If he didn't know that Wei Jichen was busy with military affairs and should not stay for long, he would really be reluctant to let Wei Jichen leave.

With the departure of Wei Jichen, Yiktang'a and important officials of the three northeastern provinces wrote a letter to the emperor, which was officially sent to the capital at full speed.

Yiktang'a was a general in Shengjing and could write directly to the emperor.

The three northeastern provinces were about to fall into the hands of the Russians. When this memorial with such a fierce first line was placed on Guangxu's desk, it caused an uproar in the court.

This memorial contains in detail what the Russians have done in the three northeastern provinces in recent years, pointing out that the Russians have bigger ambitions than the Japanese. The Japanese are at least separated by a sea, while the Russians border the three northeastern provinces.

Most of the territories of Russia's Amur Oblast, Transbaikal Oblast, Primorsky Oblast and Sakhalin Island were ceded from China, and now the three northeastern provinces have been surrounded by the above Russian states and are in danger.

The Russians built railways to enable domestic troops to reach the above areas at any time. Once they are unfavorable to China, the consequences will be very serious. Taking advantage of the Sino-Japanese War of 1894-1895, Russia has slowly infiltrated the three northeastern provinces. Through bribery, inducement and coercion, many small tribes in Heilongjiang Province have surrendered to the Russians. In time, the Russians will soon control Heilongjiang.

The memorial also pointed out that the Russians' large-scale survey activities in the northeast are, like the Japanese before the Sino-Japanese War of 1894-1895, a preliminary action of aggression. If they are not controlled, every road and every river will become a stroke on the Russian military map.

After reading this memorial, Guangxu felt shocked, cold all over, unable to eat, and unable to sleep at night.

Then, the memorial proposed many practical solutions, which was what Wei Jichen said, focusing on the establishment of industry, conducting trade wars with the powers in the three northeastern provinces, enriching the province, strengthening the army, and resisting insults, so as to effectively curb the expansion of Russian power.

At the end of the memorial, it was pointed out that the Northeast could not be saved without the development of the whole country. I beg the Queen Mother and Your Majesty to be aware that the place where our ancestors rose must not be lost, otherwise it will be too late to regret.

And Yiktang'a, Wei Jichen, Changshun and other officers and soldiers jointly declared that it would be better to develop on their own than to invite wolves into the house. We swear to resist foreign humiliation to the death, and there is no need to ally with the Russians for help.

One bloody fact after another, so many officials from the three northeastern provinces stood up to tell the facts, which is more convincing than the court's boasting about how much benefits they have gained after the alliance with Russia.

Guangxu immediately summoned the central ministers to discuss countermeasures. Afterwards, except for the objection to "open more commercial ports, hire foreign staff, and introduce foreign capital", all other items were agreed. He was even more firmly opposed to the Russians' desire to build railways in the Northeast.

At this time, the width of railway tracks in various countries was not uniform. The Russians would definitely build railways according to their country's specifications. If the three northeastern provinces built them on their own, as long as they followed the practices of other countries, it would be impossible for the Russians to transport troops by railway when they invaded the three northeastern provinces without spending a lot of effort.

The Military Affairs Office immediately replied to Yiktang'a and agreed to set up the General Administration of Coal and Iron Mining in Fengtian and start to work on mining and building factories.

As for immigration to the three northeastern provinces, the Qing court had always been turning a blind eye. This time, Guangxu decided to strongly support it and ordered Shandong, Zhili, Henan and other provinces to plan the immigration.

As a result, the entire Northeast was about to boil.

Inside the court, the pro-Russian forces have been greatly restrained. Although they dare not offend Russia, they have begun to be evasive and ambiguous unless it is absolutely necessary, because this memorial was submitted secretly, and the Russians are temporarily unaware of it. The Russians also think that this is due to the usual procrastination of the Chinese.

Wei Jichen, who caused this storm but hid behind Yiktang'a, is now in the barracks of the Dingliao Army in Haicheng.

Today will be the day when most of the Dingliao Army will go to Lushun and Dalian.

Ma Jinxu led the left wing of the Dingliao Army to take over these places, and most of them set off at this time.

On the playground, Wei Jichen stood on the high platform in the front, his eyes fixed on the more than 10,000 soldiers lined up neatly and silently below.

After this period of training, the Dingliao Army has begun to take shape, and the quality and skills of the soldiers have been greatly improved.

The Dingliao Army is different from Yuan Shikai's new army. The Dingliao Army is mostly composed of veterans, while Yuan Shikai's new army is mostly composed of new soldiers.

"Last year, the Japanese invaded Liaodong and occupied Lushun and Dalian. Our army was defeated and the people were displaced. It was because of this that the Ding Liao Army appeared." Wei Jichen spoke slowly, his voice was very sad.

"Now, our Ding Liao Army will re-enter these places, but these territories are not taken back by us, but redeemed with money. This is a shame for you and me standing here." Wei Jichen looked at the angry faces and began to gradually raise his voice.

"Here, I, Wei Jichen, swear not to let Lushun fall into the hands of the Japanese again. If the Japanese want to occupy Lushun, they have to step over my corpse. And you are my support for survival. Soldiers, our Ding Liao Army will - settle Liaodong and resist foreign humiliation!" Wei Jichen shouted loudly and passionately.

"Settle Liaodong and resist foreign humiliation!" The soldiers of the three armies shouted in unison with all their strength, and their voices pierced the sky, swearing that this land has been completely protected by the Ding Liao Army. Whoever dares to fight for it from the Ding Liao Army will pay the price of blood.

"Now, set off!" Wei Jichen raised his hand, and the army that had been waiting for a long time began to move in slowly.

The Ding Liao Army camp in Haicheng will not be demolished. Wei Jichen dispatched Hu Zi's cavalry to garrison here, and there is also a special forces base in the deep forest under the jurisdiction of Haicheng, which must not be known to others.

My lord, there is more to this chapter^.^,

The army travels a thousand miles a day and eight hundred miles a night. Wei Jichen regards it as a long-distance training. While marching, he can also test the training results of the army in these days.

With such a rapid speed, in a few days, the army passed through Fuzhou and Jinzhou and entered the Lushun area.

Before the Sino-Japanese War of 1894-1895, Lushunkou was known as the "First Fortress in the East". Lushunkou is backed by mountains, with winding peaks and undulating peaks. There are artillery platforms on the main peaks, with about 100 cannons, howitzers, field guns, mountain guns and other cannons. It is a veritable military fortress.

However, at this time, Lushunkou has become a dead city. The civilians in the city were slaughtered by the Japanese. The Dingliao Army had just taken over the city and had not yet had time to transfer civilians from all over the country.

On the road leading to Lushunkou, the left wing leader Ma Jinxu led several officers to welcome Wei Jichen's arrival. The left wing troops took over Jinzhou, Lushunkou, and Dalian Bay in advance, and set up camps, waiting for the arrival of the army.

"Wei Shuai, you are here!" Ma Jinxu rode over and saluted with a heavy face.

Needless to say, he must have seen the miserable situation in Lushun City and felt heavy-hearted, which was also the reason why Wei Jichen was unwilling to take it in person.

"General Wei, over there are Songshu Mountain and Erlong Mountain, and over here are Yizi Mountain and Anzi Mountain." Ma Jinxu sat on his horse and pointed to the peaks on the east and west sides to introduce them to Wei Jichen.

"Let's go there first." Wei Jichen asked Xu Daobang to lead the army into the city first, and he took Ma Jinxu and others to Songshu Mountain.

This mountain guards the way in and is a natural defense barrier for Lushun. There were originally artillery platforms on the mountain.

But when Wei Jichen went up the mountain, he saw nothing but emptiness. Everything was razed to the ground. Not to mention the cannons, the Japanese even dismantled the camps completely, and those that could not be taken away were also blown up. In short, nothing that could be used was left.

Such a dangerous place, but because of fleeing without a fight, it easily fell into the hands of the Japanese. Wei Jichen sighed silently, raised the telescope, and saw that the surrounding peaks were not much better. Except for the original foundation that could be used, everything had to start all over again.

Fortunately, the current Zhili Governor Wang Wenshao attaches great importance to the coastal defense, otherwise Wei Jichen would not know who to ask for cannons.

Wei Jichen was depressed and said nothing. He led everyone to gallop on horseback, surpassing the army, passing through the city of Lushun and heading straight to the Lushun port.

In the city, except for the soldiers entering and leaving, there was no one else. Many houses were burned, and the blood had not yet dried. Wei Jichen seemed to be able to see the tragic scene of that day appearing in front of his eyes, and countless wronged souls were entangled around, suppressing his chest.

Wei Jichen didn't want to stop for a moment, and galloped on horseback until he reached the port, and then he felt that he could breathe normally.

The places where the coastal artillery was originally lined up were also not spared. These were all within Wei Jichen's expectations, and he was not very surprised.

And Lushunkou has a dock known as the first in East Asia, and Wei Jichen still has some hope for this.

After the Sino-Japanese War of 1894-1895, the Japanese Navy also anchored here, and the ships were repaired in the dock. They did not expect that they would withdraw from Lushun.

Later, when China and Japan negotiated, the dock was also included in the negotiations. The Chinese side argued that the dock was also included in the ransom and the Japanese side should not damage it. In the end, the Japanese side agreed to it in order to extort more silver.

Moreover, it was not easy for the Japanese to dismantle and move the entire dock in a short period of time. They could not blow it up blatantly, so they would definitely leave a large frame.

Not long after, a towering dock appeared in front of Wei Jichen. Although there were places where the dock was missing, the steel frame was still there and was not blown up.

The Navy Office had sent people to deal with it.

Wei Jichen saw that the navy officers and soldiers were busy repairing and replenishing inside and outside the dock. It seemed that the Beiyang Fleet, which had lost the Weihaiwei naval base, would regard Lushunkou as its shelter in the future.

Even though he didn't know if Liu Buchan had come, Wei Jichen also began to consider the port of his shipping company.

Because it was a false pretense, and it was going to be built as a military port, Wei Jichen required the port to be concealed.

So it couldn't be too close to the Port of Lushun, nor too far from Liaodong under his jurisdiction, so there were very few places to choose from.

If it could be on a small island, that would be the best. Thinking of this, Wei Jichen suddenly had an idea. Isn't Changxing Island next to Dalian in the future a shipbuilding base?

Since it is a shipbuilding base, it must be suitable for building a port. Maybe he can also build Changxing Island into a naval military base.

Changxing Island is the fifth largest island in China and the largest island north of the Yangtze River. It is surrounded by the sea on three sides and a strait on one side. It is a completely independent island that can form a closed area.

Now Changxing Island is under the jurisdiction of Fuzhou, and the population on the island is sparse. These are rare good conditions.

The more Wei Jichen thought about it, the more excited he became. When his power was small, it was not easy to be discovered. When his power developed to a certain level, he no longer had to worry about being known by others.

Suppressing the excitement in his heart, Wei Jichen rode forward and soon saw a familiar figure, it was Liu Buchan. Wei Jichen immediately got off his horse and walked over.

Liu Buchan also heard the sound of horse hooves and turned around to see Wei Jichen. He also put down his work and came over.

"Brother Zixiang!" Wei Jichen shouted excitedly.

Liu Buchan's demeanor was much better than the last time they met, probably because he saw that the Beiyang Fleet was finally found.

"Brother Zijie!" Liu Buchan stepped forward and patted Wei Jichen on the shoulder. Both of them were filled with emotion when they saw each other again.

"Lushunkou is finally back in the hands of the Chinese." Liu Buchan looked in the direction of the dock with a smile, and pointed to Wei Jichen: "Here, the dreams of our navy were once entrusted, the Pingyuan, Dingyuan, and Zhenyuan. All our Beiyang ships have been overhauled here.”

My dear, there will be more after this chapter^.^,

Wei Jichen knew that before the Lushun Shipyard was built, these ships would need to be overhauled and would have to go to other countries.

"In addition to ship repairs, doesn't the shipyard also build ships?" Wei Jichen was very curious and couldn't help but ask.

"The dock was completed in 1890. It was originally used to repair the ships of our navy. It has not yet had the function of building ships. However, I believe that it will not be long before our Lushun dock will be able to build our own ships like the Fuzhou Shipping Bureau. Come on, it's a pity that it was damaged a lot by the Japanese again. I don't know how long it will take to build a ship." Liu Buchan shook his head and sighed.

The two of them walked to a house next to the dock as they talked.

When Wei Jichen saw that the room was almost tidied up, Liu Buchan asked someone to bring tea, and the two of them sat down separately.

"We don't know when Weihaiwei will be back in our hands, dear brother, I will work with you from now on." Liu Buchan said with a hint of meaning.

Wei Jichen said with great pride: "You and I, brothers, working together, can break gold. If the Japanese dare to come again, they will never come back."

"Based on your words, dear brother, I will fight alongside you no matter what in the future." Liu Buchan replied confidently.

Liu Buchan took a sip of tea and continued: "By the way, Yuchen has returned to Dagokou and will soon come to Lushun with my Beiyang Fleet. When the time comes, I will entrust him to you."

Liu Buchan is now the admiral of the Beiyang Navy. He first came to Lushun for acceptance, and the fleet arrived soon after.

Wei Jichen breathed a sigh of relief and said softly: "That's good. I bought two more barges from the Steamship Merchants Bureau not long ago, and I'm worried that no one can use them. How is brother Yuchen doing now?"

Liu Buchan said helplessly: "How can he be better off if he loses the Zhenyuan? Fortunately, after my brother's repeated persuasion, he has gained some vitality after he was originally despairing."

Liu Buchan then gave Wei Jichen a strange look and said with some advice: "Brother, I'm not talking about you. Those barges you bought from China Merchants Bureau are all things that others will soon eliminate. They will be scrapped in a few years. Why bother?" Throwing money into the water."

"Because it is about to be scrapped, the price is very cheap. Big brother, you don't know that the imperial court is about to develop the three eastern provinces. I have to hurry up. If there is no new ship, it will have to wait for a while." Wei Jichen started to talk nonsense.

Wei Jichen looked at the tea leaves floating in the tea cup and continued: "Also, I have some difficulty with capital turnover now because I plan to build a port on Changxing Island as the main base of my shipping company."

Wei Jichen's words made Liu Buchan almost spit out the tea he had just drank. He thought in his heart, there is no pure gold and no one is perfect. Seeing that his wise brother is good at fighting, he is really not good at doing business. He needs to be persuaded. advise him.

This was the second time Liu Buchan sighed after seeing Wei Jichen today. He said solemnly: "Zijie, your family has a small business. The civilian port in Lushun is enough for you to use. Why spend a huge amount of money to build a port specially?" ?”

Day, it seems that the relationship is too good, and I have to go to great lengths to explain it.

"I, Wei Jichen, would rather work as a chicken head than a phoenix tail. No matter how good the civilian port in Lushun is, it will be shared. If we build our own port, when the shipping company develops in the future, the benefits will be countless. Please give me a favor, big brother Stop trying to persuade me, just help me find some people to design the port." Wei Jichen looked like he would be the best in the world.

Liu Buchan sighed secretly. It seemed that it was not good to pursue perfection too much. However, he stopped trying to persuade him and instead started to build a bridge for Wei Jichen.

As the admiral of the navy, Liu Buchan naturally knew many talents in this field. Not to mention, the Lushun Dockyard Bureau had transferred a large number of technicians, designers and other non-combatants before the Japanese attack.

The two chatted for a while, and Liu Buchan reassured Wei Jichen that these people would be rushing back to Lushun in the near future. At that time, they would only need to second some people to survey Changxing Island for a day or two before they could select an address. In this way, they could break ground in advance. It's time to start the work.

With such treasures as Lushunkou in front of him, Wei Jichen is not afraid of mistakes in the design of the port. It seems that it is time to take out the treasures around Jinzhou. Because there are many antiques, calligraphy, paintings, treasures and the like, he has to get rid of them first and exchange them for silver. Of course, it was left to Zhang Zuolin to sell the stolen goods.

As for the gold and silver you still have in the water, you can use it as an early investment.