Faced with such a predicament, the Meiji government army carried out cruel persecution on the former Okuetsu vassal alliance. The Domain Lord of the Aizu Domain, Matsudaira Rongbo, had a high status and influence. If Matsudaira Rongbo was killed, more people from the Aizu Vassal and the former Okuetsu Vassal Alliance would defect to the Republic of Prawn. Therefore, the Satsuma Domain in the Meiji government's army did not recommend killing Matsudaira Rongbo. Instead, they suggested stripping him of all his positions and sending him to Edo to live in seclusion. The Choshu Domain finally agreed to this arrangement.
The Choshu Domain did not dare to kill Matsudaira Rongbo, so they vented their anger on the people of the Aizu Domain. For Aizu Domain, which resisted the most fiercely, the Choshu Domain judged the dead of Aizu Domain as "traitors" and were not allowed to be buried. The corpses were exposed to the wind and sun for a long time, or pecked by birds and beasts. In the entire Bochen War, after the Aizu Battle, the corpses of the dead were treated the most cruelly. There were even people who were imprisoned for several days for burying the dead.
In the summer, when the plague began to appear, the Choshu Domain had no choice but to allow the dead to be buried, and the burial and other treatment methods were also very extreme.
As the plague spread and their homeland was ravaged by the Choshu Domain, the people of the Aizu Domain had to flee. The only place they could go now was the Republic of Prawn. Not only the Aizu Domain, but many people from the former Okuetsu Domain Alliance also chose to escape. Within a short period of time, a large number of people had fled to the Republic of Prawn. This, of course, greatly increased the manpower of the Republic of Prawn. This has also greatly increased the food pressure of the Republic of Prawn.
Despite the material support from China, the Republic of Prawn made a strategic judgment that the Meiji government army had lost the support of the people in the territory of the former Okuetsu vassal alliance, which created a good opportunity for the Republic of Prawn to counterattack Honshu. In addition, the Republic of Prawn had a huge advantage in the navy, so it was not impossible for the Republic of Prawn to win.
Of course, the representative of China disapproved of such a foolish idea. With the way the Manchu Qing did things in the past, there was no place in the world that didn't rebel. But the world's rebels were not like-minded comrades-in-arms. If the Republic of Prawn misunderstood the attitude of the people who fled to the Republic of Prawn from the former Okuetsu Vassal Alliance towards the Meiji government's army, it would inevitably suffer losses.
However, the persuasion of China's representatives was not accepted by the Republic of Prawn. The leader of the Republic of Prawn firmly believed that by sending troops to attack Honshu, they could easily gain a foothold in the North. They even believed that they could establish a stable base in the northern mountains of Honshu and gradually expand it.
In response, the troops could only resist passively. They reiterated, "The purpose of the China Dispatch Army is to protect the territory of the Republic of Prawn from being attacked by the Tobaku. It is not the responsibility of the Dispatch Army to counterattack." Even with such a clear statement, the people of the Republic of Prawn could not change their minds. Therefore, the dispatch army decided to send ships back to deliver the news to the central government.
If the Tsingtao used telegraph communication, the news would be immediately transmitted to the country. The winds were strong and the waves were strong, so it was not safe for ships to sail. It was indeed more convenient to send warships than to use the wireless. Therefore, someone in the headquarters of the Northbound Fleet suggested using the wireless.
The commander of the fleet, Ding Ruchang, objected to this idea at the party committee meeting. "Comrades, we have confidentiality rules. Since the higher-ups did not arrange a wireless on the fleet stationed in the Republic of Prawn, we must abide by the confidentiality rules."
Ding Ruchang was from Luzhou. He had joined Vézé's army in 1853 and was now one of the top ten in the navy. The fact that he was able to command the Tsingtao and other warships of the same level was enough to prove that Vézé thought highly of him.
The 34-year-old young soldier gave the reason of confidentiality, and no one could refute it. Staff Officer Deng Shichang was 21 years old and was from Guangdong. After graduating from the Naval Academy, he served on a destroyer. Because of his outstanding performance, he was selected to serve on the Tsingtao. He suggested, "Why don't we send a telegram to the Northern Command and tell them the current situation? No matter how I look at it, it is a waste to send a warship to communicate. If our suggestion is wrong, the Northern Command will definitely tell us. If the Northern Command didn't consider this problem, I think they will have an opinion on it. "
Ding Ruchang was unhappy when he heard this. Are you trying to make me a scapegoat and get scolded? However, this thought was fleeting. After thinking about it carefully, Deng Shichang's suggestion was very reasonable. Before there was no wireless, sending a warship to transmit a message was necessary. But now that there was a wireless, it was a great waste no matter how he looked at it. The cost of burning coal for a round trip was probably enough to buy a wireless.
Therefore, during the agreed communication time, Ruan Xihao of the Northern Command received Ding Ruchang's telegram. In addition to knowing that the Northbound Fleet was ready to march into Vladivostok, he also learned about the Republic of Prawn. If Ding Ruchang did not mention it, Ruan Xihao would have basically forgotten about the Republic of Prawn. In his opinion, the Republic of Prawn was just a small force that China had fostered in Japan. On the one hand, the Republic wanted to cause trouble for the United Kingdom, and on the other hand, it was also interested in the Republic of Prawn's location in Hakodate. This location could indeed give China a more stable fulcrum in the entire Northern Sea. When he learned that the Republic of Prawn was preparing to mess around, he sent a report to Nanjing.
On the same day, Vézé sent a reply to let the higher-ups of the dispatch fleet know about the wireless. The temporary home port of the Northbound Fleet was Hakodate. After Vladivostok was captured, the home port would be placed in Vladivostok. At that time, the Northbound Fleet would be well-deserved. Soon, Vézé learned about the situation in the Republic of Prawn. He told the dispatch fleet, "If the Japanese want to be stupid, let them be. China will not participate in their actions. Recovering Vladivostok and Sakhalin is the current priority. After capturing them, the Russian Navy will have no foothold. China will have an important fulcrum to recover its territory. The Northbound Fleet must complete the mission! Remove the Russian stronghold on China's territory. "
On the 4th of April, the Northbound Fleet finally arrived at the waters off Vladivostok. Vladivostok was a good port, with a freezing period of 100120 days every year. In the middle of March, the freezing period ended. At this time, there were occasional pieces of ice on the surface of the sea, but those pieces of ice posed no threat to the full waterline armor.
There were a few Russian ships in the harbor, and there were shadows of Russian houses on the coast. Ding Ruchang ordered, "Inform all ships to advance and recover the motherland's territory."
When the Russian ships saw more than a dozen large warships rushing in, they all tried to escape without exception. The Qingdao took the lead, and the new 200-caliber cannons on the warship began to fire at the wooden sailboats. It didn't take long for the enemy ships to be taken care of. At this time, the sound of cannons could be heard on the shore. The Russian stronghold began to fire at the uninvited guests on the sea.
"Tsk, how dare you show up with 12-pound cannons?" Ding Ruchang snorted coldly. The Qingdao quickly crossed the hull, and outside the range of the 12-pound cannons, bombarded with 200-pound cannons. After five or six explosive shells fired by the 200-pound cannons hit the Russians' turrets, the wooden and stone turrets collapsed, never to be seen again.
The Marines then began to land. On the 6th of April, all the Russian strongholds within 30 kilometers of Vladivostok were occupied. Other than those who were killed, a total of about 700 Russians were captured.
Ding Ruchang sent a report to Vézé, and the response he received was, "Shoot all the captives on the spot."
This was a rare order from the Liberation Army, so Ding Ruchang couldn't help but call back to ask about it. The second reply was the same. "As the first telegram said, all the captives are to be shot on the spot. There is no reason to let go of the Russians who invaded China. The Russians killed all the local people. They are all murderers. "
Ding Ruchang still didn't quite believe it, so he ordered an interpreter who understood Russian to interrogate the captives. As a result, the captives actually admitted that they had received orders from Russian officials to kill anyone who wasn't a Russian. Ding Ruchang, who originally had some sympathy for the captives, immediately signed the order.
On the 8th of April, beside the pit dug by some of the Russian captives, Ding Ruchang told the executioners the contents of the Russian captives' confession with a livid face. After hearing it, the soldiers were furious. They clenched the weapons in their hands and glared at the shivering Russians.
"There's no need to show mercy to these beasts. Shoot them all," said Ding Ruchang loudly. "From now on, all the Russian invaders caught in China's territory will be treated in the same way. Now, the execution begins! "
More than an hour later, the troops shot all the Russian captives in the pit they dug and buried them.
On the 10th of April, the transport fleet from Tianjin arrived in Vladivostok and began to unload the supplies and build the coastal turrets.
On the 15th of April, the North Sea Fleet officially confirmed the anchorage in Vladivostok. The warships lined up neatly, and so did the troops on the shore. At the bow of the Tsingtao, Ding Ruchang raised the red flag in his hand, which was wrapped in soil. Turning 360 degrees so that all the spectators could see it, Ding Ruchang threw the red flag into the sea. The flag, wrapped in soil, drew an arc and quickly disappeared into the sea, sinking to the bottom of the sea.
The sirens of the warships began to sound, and the warships lowered their anchors. The huge anchors with thick chains plunged into the sea, splashing snow-white waves. This was the flag of the motherland, the soil of the motherland, and the waters of the motherland.
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