Chapter 109: The Horn of War

Tang Yulin chuckled, "Don't talk like that; brothers don't need to be so formal. Honestly, I wanted to borrow more men from Brother Feng, but he wouldn't agree. Brother Yang, don't blame him."

Yang Xiaolin nodded, "I understand. Everyone is afraid of being implicated by me now."

Tang Yulin seemed eager to explain, "It’s not like that. Brother Feng has been genuinely busy lately. That Matsubara provided him with a massive amount of firearms and funds, and he even renamed his force the East Asian Dare-to-Die Corps, preparing for a head-on clash with the Russians. The real trouble is that Zhang Laowu fellow. He’s been helping the Imperial Court recruit local factions, winning people over with gold bars and guns. He’s even publicly declared that since he’s working for the Court, he’s at least a Chinese, whereas Brother Feng is working for the Japanese and will eventually meet a miserable end. Brother Feng is furious and is looking for a way to deal with him."

Yang Xiaolin paused, stunned. The East Asian Dare-to-Die Corps was, plainly speaking, Japanese cannon fodder. He could understand why Feng Delin would do this; in Feng’s eyes, the Russians were far more hateful than the Japanese. What interested him now, however, was whether the Russo-Japanese War was about to break out.

Historically, the war began in 1904, just over a year away. Yang Xiaolin’s arrival had further altered the situation. In history, both the United States and Britain had urged Russia to withdraw from Western Liaoning, but the Russians refused, prompting the US and Britain to turn and support Japan in starting the war.

But things were different now. Yang "The Ghost" Xiaolin’s actions had led Western nations to tacitly accept the Russian military presence in Western Liaoning. This panicked the Japanese; they knew that if the Russians were allowed to develop peacefully in Western Liaoning for a few years, Japan would never be able to gain a foothold.

Therefore, at least regarding the East Asian Dare-to-Die Corps, Japan's pace had quickened slightly compared to history. Yang Xiaolin knew that arming these bandits was merely a prelude to the Russo-Japanese War; it seemed he had to move faster.

Tang Yulin noticed Yang Xiaolin’s weary expression. "Brother Yang, there’s a town ahead. The magistrate is an old acquaintance of mine. You can take your men there to rest, and I’ll keep watch for you."

Yang Xiaolin didn't refuse, as he truly needed the rest. "Alright, thank you, Brother Tang. We can only rest for five hours. Nyerere, what time is it?"

Nyerere checked his watch. "Four-twenty in the afternoon."

Tang Yulin had already glanced at Nyerere several times. He was just as curious about this black man, though out of politeness, he avoided staring as if looking at a gorilla.

Yang Xiaolin told Tang Yulin, "Brother Tang, wake us up at nine tonight. Remember, no later. The Russians are right behind us; we don't have much time."

Tang Yulin agreed and asked, "Understood. Where are you headed?"

Yang Xiaolin whispered, "Liaoyang."

Liaoyang, the cradle of the Qing Dynasty. During the time of Nurhaci, it was the economic and political center of the Later Jin. As the Manchu iron cavalry marched into the heart of China, Liaoyang’s status plummeted. Throughout the period from the Qing Dynasty to the Republic, Liaoyang served merely as a geographical boundary: "Western Liaoning" was west of Liaoyang, and "Eastern Liaoning" was to the east.

During the First Sino-Japanese War, Liaoyang was occupied by Japanese forces. Later, after the Triple Intervention forced Japan to return the Liaodong Peninsula, the Qing government paid thirty million taels of silver to reclaim a city that felt as if it had been scrubbed clean by water—at least they hadn't lost their ancestral home.

They even forcibly relocated over a million Han Chinese from within the Great Wall to fill the void. Yet, once these people restored vitality to the region, the Manchu court immediately began "slaughtering the wealthy"—killing the influential Han families to make room for Banner men to come and steal the fruits of their labor.

In a sense, it was no surprise the Qing Dynasty was crushed by foreign powers; they viewed themselves as nothing more than bandits. They never thought of creating a future alongside the Han people; from beginning to end, they only sought to prevent the Han from doing so. They sucked the bone marrow of the Han people, even more ruthlessly than the foreigners!

It was no wonder the Empress Dowager declared, "Expend the resources of China to curry favor with the powers." In the eyes of the Manchus, China's resources had nothing to do with them; sharing what remained after their own plundering with the foreigners was simply a matter of "the rule of the road"—those who see it get a share.

This time, after occupying Liaoyang, the Russians didn't leave. They established their military headquarters there. To the north lay Fengtian, the Qing sphere of influence. To the south lay the Liaodong Peninsula, where Japanese and Russian interests were tightly intertwined.

Liaoyang was rich in mineral resources—coal, iron, silica, gypsum, and clay—all of which made the Russians and Japanese green with envy. The Russians had clearly acted faster; they had already built railways, and every day, vast quantities of coal and iron were extracted and loaded onto trains headed for Russia.

The Japanese could only rely on trading firms to buy whatever the Russians were willing to sell. Naturally, the Japanese were unwilling to accept this, and they were attempting to change it.

Inside Liaoyang, at a Japanese merchant shop, Matsubara stared at the telegram in his hand, furious. His face was dark, as if covered in frost. Asai Naofu, standing beside him, asked, "Matsubara-kun, what does the telegram say?"

Matsubara set the telegram down. "Those fools in the cabinet are nothing but bastards! They do nothing but deceive the Emperor! They actually claim I’ve been causing trouble lately and demand we show restraint."

Asai Naofu clearly understood. "Damn them! Those bastards have no idea what we’ve done here! The Russians must have protested to them again. It was the same last time—we soldiers shed our blood to take Liaodong and Korea from the Qing, only for the government to let our comrades' blood be spilled in vain because of protests from Western nations! Matsubara-kun, do not listen to them. We are loyal to the Emperor; we do this for the rise of the Great Japanese Empire! Those Western nations should be ignored entirely!"

Sujō Matsubara looked at Asai. "Asai, the General Staff says the same. But the Russians are a truly formidable opponent. This is the first time our Imperial Army is testing its strength against a Western power, so we must concentrate all our force to ensure victory. Do you understand?"

Asai Naofu didn't seem to fully grasp it, so Matsubara continued, "Put it this way: we must mobilize the entire Empire toward Liaodong to drive the Russians out."

Asai finally understood. "You mean we must convince the Cabinet?"

Matsubara nodded. "Yes, the General Staff will negotiate with them. Their instruction is for us to accomplish three things, all concerning the Chinese in Western Liaoning. We have already completed the first: arming Feng Delin. I believe it won't be long before we have fifty thousand pieces of cannon fodder ready to launch our first assault against the Russians!"

Matsubara paused. "The second task is to eliminate Zhang Zuolin! We have sufficient evidence that this man is extremely hostile to the Empire. He is currently working against Tang Yulin, clearly creating trouble for our efforts to build a Chinese force."