Red Alert 1895

Chapter 18 – Fall Of Penghu

March 23, 1895

“It’s not good, magistrate, it’s not good, the pirate navy has landed in Penghu!” Wang Guorui’s master suddenly shouted.

Master Wang Guorui’s shout immediately attracted the attention of the entire county government. The entire county government looked at the master, obviously very concerned about this issue. Now hearing that Penghu fell, this immediately made everyone panic. As a Taiwanese, of course I know what the Penghu Islands mean to Taiwan. Therefore, Wang Guorui immediately held another military meeting to discuss what would happen after the fall of Penghu. Everyone sat together again and began to express their views.

“Wangzhi County, Penghu is a transit point for our Taiwan to and from the mainland. The Penghu Islands are just in the middle of our Taiwan and the mainland. Once the Penghu Islands fall, we will completely lose the channel to connect with the mainland. And the mainland will also They are completely unable to support us, and it is not easy for us to return to the mainland. This is a very terrible place. Once the mainland cannot provide us with support, then we can only rely on ourselves. Moreover, the fall of the Penglu Islands , which means that the Japanese pirates’ invasion of Taiwan has entered a formal rhythm. Now we can confirm that the Japanese pirates really want to occupy our Taiwan. After all, if they have no idea about our Taiwan, why would they land on Penghu? archipelago?”

“It is precisely because they have ambitions for us that they want to sever our connection with the mainland, so that we can completely isolate Taiwan. As long as they occupy Taiwan, since we have no navy in the Qing Dynasty, they will naturally be unable to break through the defense of the Japanese pirates. , come to support us. Since ancient times, if you want to occupy Taiwan, you must first occupy the Penghu Islands. In fact, when they attacked Taiwan, they wiped out a large number of Zheng’s troops in Taiwan, and finally forced the Zheng family in Taiwan to surrender.”

“So, the Japanese army also knows this. Once they occupy Penghu, it means that they have a recuperation base. They occupy Penghu, they can let the navy transport the army, and then go to Penghu to recuperate. In this way, we will not Occupying the right location and people and advantages. Originally, if the Japanese army crossed the sea and made an expedition, they must be exhausted soldiers. Instead, we have the advantage of waiting for work. But once they occupy Penghu, they can have a place for the army to recuperate. In this way, we The advantage of waiting for work at leisure is almost gone, and their energy is not much worse than ours.”

Everyone really has nothing to say, the importance of the Penghu Islands to Taiwan is beyond doubt. Once the Japanese army occupies the Penghu Islands, the final result can only be that Taiwan is isolated, and the Japanese army can continuously increase its troops to attack. The Japanese army still has a lot of support in the future, but Taiwan does not have much strength to supplement. If there is no Red Police base, the fall of Taiwan is actually inevitable.

“Wangzhi County, those foreign arms dealers who are working with you, can’t bring the weapons here?” Chen Liyan, the artillery regiment commander, asked.

Wang Guorui immediately said: “Those foreign arms smugglers have great powers, they can still transport them in, you don’t have to worry! You don’t have to worry about the interruption of weapons, I can guarantee this.”

After hearing this, Chen Liyan also breathed a sigh of relief. Now they all know that if their weapons are interrupted, the resistance against Japan will be a complete failure. Since weapons and equipment can still be replenished, they still have the confidence to fight on. These officers have also become obsessed with this advanced weapon. If there is no advanced weapon, they may not have the confidence to fight the Japanese army at all. But in the future, everyone still has to face the situation of the fall of the Penghu Islands, which cannot be changed.

“Then we just let foreigners capture the Penghu Islands?” someone asked.

A deputy battalion commander, Chen Xi, immediately said: “What can we do? We don’t have a navy, so we can’t fight back! The Beiyang navy has been completely defeated, and it is impossible for us to regain the Penghu Islands. What’s more, it is different today. In the past, during the Kangxi era, the warships at that time were all wooden ships, and there were still very strict requirements for the weather. But now the warships are all steel, and various military equipment is getting more and more advanced, which is not suitable for landing operations. Time is no longer a problem now. The hydrological situation is no longer an obstacle, so the Japanese army does not have to be afraid at all. Besides, our current ships in Taiwan are wooden ships, and even a small number of iron ships are no match for warships. We now Even if we send troops there, our army is a living target on the water. The army has no combat effectiveness on the water, so we are going to fight the Japanese army at this time, which is completely courting death.”

Hearing this, everyone also gave up the idea of trying to recover the Penghu Islands. After all, once the army is on the water, no matter how powerful it is, it will not be able to exert its combat power, so what is the use? Therefore, the fall of the Penghu Islands has become a foregone conclusion.

“Okay, let’s not worry about the loss of the Penghu Islands. The loss of the Penghu Islands has become an irreparable result. However, I think we can borrow this news.” Wang Guorui said.

“How to use it?” Hu Wei asked.

Wang Guorui immediately said: “The fall of the Penghu Islands is certainly a military blow to us. But think about it, if the people of Taiwan know the fall of the Penghu Islands, what will happen?”

“Does it feel like the end of the world? After all, the fall of Penghu means that Taiwan is no longer defendable!” Hu Wei said.

Wang Guorui immediately said: “No, not necessarily! If we don’t die in silence, we will explode in silence. If we can make good use of the opportunity, then we can take advantage of this east wind, and then arouse the blood of the people of Taiwan. In this world, No one wants to be a subjugated slave, we can take this opportunity to mobilize the blood of the people of Taiwan so that they can cooperate with our army to fight.”

“Let the common people cooperate with us? Is it useful?” Chen Xi asked.

Wang Guorui went on to say: “Don’t underestimate the power of the common people. Although the strength of a common people is limited, once all the common people support us, then we will be able to explode with great strength. Although the common people do not have much fighting power, they can fight for us. We provide a steady stream of troops. Even, if we need it, we can get intelligence from countless people at any time, as well as various support guarantees. When necessary, we can mobilize the people to make trouble for the Japanese army, so that the Japanese army can There is nothing we can do. After all, the Japanese army is an outsider, so it must be unpopular, and our resistance against Japan is in line with the people’s will.”

“As long as we can mobilize the people, let them support us continuously. Even, if necessary, we can mobilize the people to transport weapons and ammunition to us, so that we can save countless transport capacity, and our logistics will be very safe. Failure to go up caused problems on the front line. Therefore, as long as we have a good grasp of this level, so that the people can have confidence in our resistance, then we can fully guarantee our resistance in Taiwan. All this depends on our method method, as long as we master it well, we can completely turn pressure into motivation, and finally mobilize the entire people of Taiwan so that they can support us.”

“Even if we can gain the support of the people of Taiwan, then we can fight a protracted war. Do you know? We have many mountains in Taiwan and little land, and we can fight guerrilla warfare with the Japanese army. If we get the support of the people, then we We can even fight the Japanese army slowly, as long as we have the confidence to resist, UU Read Book www.uukanshu.com Then we will be able to continue fighting.”

Of course, Wang Guorui knew how the Japanese army was defeated in the later War of Resistance Against Japan, that is, through guerrilla warfare, and then dragged the Japanese army’s economy into the abyss. Because of the guerrilla warfare in China, the Japanese army finally exhausted their resources, and then gradually failed. If Taiwan can do this, of course it would be the best. In fact, Wang Guorui was not completely afraid of the Japanese army. In addition to having a red police base, his red police base could be moved and redeployed. Then he only needs to drill into the mountain, and of course the Japanese army will have a headache.

No one knows better than Wang Guorui that in order to launch the Sino-Japanese War, the Japanese army mobilized a lot of loans internationally, and even resorted to militarism. They won the war and the economy has almost collapsed. It is impossible for them to fight in Taiwan for a long time. If their economy collapses, they will definitely give up Taiwan. And it was precisely because Wang Guorui knew this that he was able to fight with confidence. But the prerequisite is that there is a red police base, otherwise he would not dare.

“We immediately set up a propaganda and mobilization office. I personally served as the director of the office and was responsible for mobilizing the people. Let the soldiers tell everyone that the Penghu Islands have fallen. If you don’t want to be a slave to the Japanese army, you must stand up and resist. If you don’t resist , then in the end we will all be slaves,” Wang Guorui said.

Wang Guorui never planned to block the news, because the news of the fall of the Penghu Islands was so huge that it couldn’t be hidden from anyone. So it’s best to just say everything frankly, and then mobilize the people to actively participate in the resistance. In fact, the reason why Taiwan failed in history was that it was not able to mobilize the people enough. It is also a very important reason.