Chapter 213: Activating the Naval System

Deng Shichang, Lin Yongsheng, Lin Luzhong, Lin Taizeng, Yang Yonglin, etc., the names of naval commanders flashed in Wei Jichen's mind one by one. These people were heroes who fought bravely against the enemy and sacrificed their lives for the country with their passion.

Perhaps it was because of the special nature of naval warfare, or perhaps it was because of other reasons. In short, in the Sino-Japanese War of 1894-1895, the performance of the navy officers and soldiers was far more dazzling and heroic than that of the army officers and soldiers.

Wei Jichen rode on the way to Dagu Port, and involuntarily compared the performance of the Beiyang Navy in the Sino-Japanese War of 1894-1895 with the performance of the army.

In the end, apart from regret, there was admiration. What was regrettable was the failure, and what was admired was the courage to live and die with the ship.

Beside Wei Jichen, there was a middle-aged man in his thirties with a three-point mustache. This person was Duan Qirui, who had just arrived from Shandong.

Li Chun and Chen Guangyuan stayed in the barracks to train the newly recruited soldiers. Ruan Zhongshu and Yan Dunyuan were the only two clerks around Wei Jichen. They were busy recording files and counting materials. Naturally, they had no time to accompany Wei Jichen to the port.

Therefore, Wei Jichen only brought Duan Qirui and Wang Huaiqing. He brought Duan Qirui because he was an instructor at the Weihai Military Academy before the Sino-Japanese War of 1894-1895, and he also stayed in Weihaiwei for several years when he was young. Therefore, he had some interactions with the officers and soldiers of the navy.

A group of more than a dozen people rode fast on horseback. Wang Huaiqing and others saw that Wei Jichen looked solemn and had no interest in speaking, so they kept silent and kept silent.

"Zhiquan, thank you for coming to help me this time. With you, my Dingliao Army will definitely have another tiger general. I look forward to the future development of the Dingliao Army." Duan Qirui came all the way to join him. Even if Wei Jichen was in a bad mood, he would not let Duan Qirui feel that he had neglected him.

"General, you are too kind. I am grateful to you for your appreciation. I am over 30 years old and have not accomplished anything. If you hadn't appreciated me, I don't know how many years I would have to be a teacher." Duan Qirui replied with gratitude.

Wang Huaiqing next to him glanced at him in surprise. This guy was still arrogant and proud when he went to invite him. Now that he is with you, he seems to have changed and become more humble and restrained.

The reason why Duan Qirui changed so much is that he clearly understood that his current status has changed. He was not Wei Jichen's subordinate before, so of course he could wait for a price like Zhuge Liang when he left Longzhong. This would make others think that you are very talented. Once you become someone else's subordinate, you still look like the best in the world. Isn't it annoying and arouse the disgust of the commander-in-chief.

"Do you know? I repeatedly suggested to the Zhongtang that the Beiyang Fleet abandon Weihaiwei and break through." Wei Jichen suddenly changed the subject, his voice was low and he seemed to be talking to himself.

Duan Qirui was slightly stunned. He didn't know about this matter yet. No wonder the previous order to defend the port suddenly changed. With Wei Jichen, who was very important in Li Zhongtang's mind, persuading him, it was foreseeable that Li Zhongtang would change his mind.

However, seeing Wei Jichen's lost look, Duan Qirui knew that what he had to do now was to comfort him.

"Your Excellency, don't blame yourself too much. If the navy fleet hadn't broken through, it might have been completely wiped out, and not a single ship would have been left." Duan Qirui thought about his words in his mind, and then he said it carefully.

He had just surrendered to Wei Jichen, and he didn't know much about Wei Jichen's character in all aspects, so he naturally only said three points when he spoke.

"Not maybe, it's definitely." Wei Jichen replied without hesitation.

Who in the world today can understand my heart?

"Others laugh at me for being too crazy, I laugh at them for not seeing through me, let's go!" Wei Jichen patted his horse's back and suddenly sped up his pace. As long as he was clear in his heart, why did he have to let others understand? Wei Jichen adjusted his mood in a moment.

Duan Qirui and others were puzzled when they heard Wei Jichen suddenly say a poem by Tang Yin, but when they saw the haze on Wei Jichen's face just swept away, they secretly breathed a sigh of relief, and the atmosphere of the whole team became much more relaxed.

In the port, three lonely cruisers were docked in it, and there were seven or eight smaller ships of various types next to them.

A series of clanging sounds came from the ships from a long distance.

Wei Jichen looked far away and saw that on each ship, there were densely packed naval officers and soldiers busy on it, checking for leaks and filling gaps, nailing and riveting, a busy scene.

Soon, the group rode to the port, and Wei Jichen could clearly see the clothing styles of the officers and soldiers on the ship.

Suddenly, a navy officer came out and stopped them, saying: "This is a navy stronghold, and strangers are not allowed to approach."

"Little brother, please tell Admiral Liu that I, Wei Jichen, am here to visit." Wei Jichen turned over and got off the horse, asking very politely.

"Wei Jichen? General Wei." The officer exclaimed, and hurriedly replied: "General, please wait a moment, I will report to the admiral now."

The officer who spoke left a few people to continue monitoring, and he hurried to Dingyuan.

Dingyuan is an armored cruiser with excellent defense capabilities. The thick armor can ignore the bombardment of ordinary ships. It was hit by hundreds of Japanese shells in the Yellow Sea Battle, but it was still safe and sound, and had the strength to fight again.

Unfortunately, the heavy artillery installed was not as fast as the medium-caliber rapid-fire guns on the Japanese main battleships in terms of firing rate, and the attack power was limited.

Soon, a naval commander came hurriedly with several naval officers and soldiers.

"Is this General Wei? I am Li Dingxin, the deputy commander of the Dingyuan. The admiral is waiting for you in the command tower." Li Dingxin came forward with a smile on his face.

Perhaps fearing that Wei Jichen would misunderstand, Li Dingxin explained: "The Admiral has sworn that if the three cruisers parked in the port are not repaired, he will not land on land."

Wei Jichen could understand Liu Buchan's mood, so he left the rest of his soldiers on standby, and followed Li Dingxin forward with only Duan Qirui and Wang Huaiqing.

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

Wei Jichen asked as he walked: "How are the repairs of the ships now?"

"It's almost completed, but unfortunately it can't go on an ocean voyage due to problems with repair materials." Li Dingxin sighed, feeling very complicated.

A few people walked and chatted, and in a moment they reached the half-foot-wide wooden board protruding from the Dingyuan ship.

Wei Jichen glanced at the sea and suddenly saw a small boat docked on the shore with no one on board. He couldn't help but curiously asked: "Why isn't this boat repaired?"

Li Dingxin replied with a helpless look: "This small ship is called Kuai Ma. The hull is too badly damaged, no matter how much repairs are done, it is useless. We can only put it aside temporarily, remove some usable things from it, and then scrap it." ”

Wei Jichen took a closer look and found that the small steamer Kuai Ma had serious water leaks and was lying in tatters on the shoal. It might be broken up as Li Dingxin said.

After stepping on the deck with one foot, Wei Jichen realized that the Dingyuan ship was really huge, with numerous forts, towering smokehouses, and masts spreading in all directions. It lived up to its name as the first ship in the Far East.

There were still navy officers and soldiers who were repairing various places. When they saw Wei Jichen and his entourage passing by, they bowed quietly and went about their own business without stopping to ask and watch curiously.

Lushun has the largest shipyard in East Asia. Unfortunately, it is currently helping to repair the damaged ships of the Japanese. After the Japanese leave, I don’t know what will be left in the shipyard. The lack of tools here will be a hardship for the navy officers and soldiers.

"We're at the control tower."

Li Dingxin interrupted Wei Jichen's reverie and stretched out his hand as if to invite him inside.

Wei Jichen had to bow his head and enter the door because there were some parts whose names Wei Jichen didn't know hanging on the door of the control tower.

As soon as he entered the door, he saw a thin, middle-aged man wearing a navy admiral's uniform, sitting on a chair next to the table with a haggard look on his face.

It seems that this person is Liu Buchan.

"Is Admiral Wei here?" Liu Buchan stood up to greet him, with a forced smile on his face.

"Sorry for my intrusive visit." Wei Jichen responded with a smile.

"Admiral Liu." Duan Qirui, who was behind Wei Jichen, suddenly stepped forward and said hello.

Only then did Liu Buchan realize that the person behind Wei Jichen was Duan Qirui, and he couldn't help but said in surprise: "Zhiquan is here."

Duan Qirui stepped aside again, nodded and replied: "I am following General Wei now."

"So that's it." Liu Buchan couldn't help but look at Wei Jichen with admiration. To understand a person, you must first see who is around him.

The few people exchanged greetings for a while, then took their seats one by one. Liu Buchan had tea brought to him.

"I heard that Mr. Wei is selecting soldiers for the Dingliao Army. I wonder how it is going now?" Although Liu Buchan was not far from the Dingyuan, he was still well informed.

After Wei Jichen took a sip of tea, he smiled slightly and said: "That's why I came here. I have selected one-third of the soldiers of the Dingliao Army. They will be fully recruited in the near future. I will lead the army to Haicheng at the right time." , so it depends on whether the Navy can send ships to transport it.”

Liu Buchan pondered for a moment and then agreed: "There are still a few troop transport ships in the fleet. If Lord Wei is not in a hurry, we can escort them after my three cruisers are repaired."

Liu Buchan knew that Wei Jichen was definitely going to land at Yingkou, so he felt that there was no big problem. Although the Japanese fleet was still cruising in the Bohai Strait, it had stopped entering the Bohai Sea due to the armistice to avoid misunderstanding.

Wei Jichen's brows were filled with joy and he said gratefully, "Well, I'd like to thank Mr. Liu for your help. I'll make a request to the Governor when I get back."

After Liu Buchan nodded, he hesitated to speak. He suddenly stood up, bent down and saluted Wei Jichen.

Wei Jichen was startled by him. He hurriedly stepped forward to help him up and asked, somewhat confused, "Why is Mr. Liu like this? If there is anything I can do to help, just say so."

Duan Qirui also tried to persuade him: "Brother Zixiang is too foreign. You and I are old acquaintances, and now that I am working under your lord, you and my lord are one family, so what else do you need?" This is a great gift.”

Duan Qirui, an old boy, was very good at talking, and he immediately shortened the distance between the two parties. Wei Jichen quietly nodded to him in appreciation.

Liu Buchan sat back down under the persuasion of the two men, and then said with a sad face: "In the Weihaiwei breakout battle, our Beiyang Fleet lost a huge number of ships, and countless naval officers and soldiers were buried in the sea. I only survive in this world. In order to avenge them in the future, we suddenly learned the news that the Zhenyuan ship commander Yang Yonglin's legs were blown off. After falling into the water, he was picked up by the Japanese. Fortunately, he survived but we were exchanging prisoners with the Japanese. Something went wrong up there.”

When Liu Buchan said this, he glanced at Wei Jichen and continued: "The Japanese are willing to exchange Gui Tailang for Yuchen. Therefore, I implore Mr. Wei to make an offer and exchange Gui Tailang for Yuchen."

Katsura Taro was the highest-ranking Japanese general captured by the Chinese side. The Chinese negotiators hoped to gain more benefits from him when exchanging prisoners, but the Japanese side was only willing to exchange him with Yang Yonglin.

Yang Yonglin's legs were now disabled, and in the eyes of some people, he had no value. The Chinese side was naturally unwilling to do so, so the two sides were deadlocked.

Katsura Taro was captured by Wei Jichen, and it was obvious that Wei Jichen had a say in this matter.

In fact, for Wei Jichen, it didn't matter how Katsura Taro was returned to the Japanese side, but since Liu Buchan had asked him for help, he had no reason to respond.

"This is a small matter. I will urge this matter as soon as possible so that Lord Yang can get treatment as soon as possible." Wei Jichen agreed without hesitation.

"I thank Lord Wei on behalf of Yuchen." Liu Buchan bowed again.

Wei Jichen could only smile helplessly, picked up the teacup, and asked casually: "Lord Liu, when I boarded the Dingyuan just now, I saw the small steamer Kuaima was scrapped and put aside. I wonder if I can buy this small steamer?"

Liu Buchan was wondering how to thank Wei Jichen. Hearing this, he hurriedly said: "This ship has been scrapped, but there is no time to deal with it. Just report it to the court. If Lord Wei wants it, just take it. But now the Kuaima is just a pile of scrap copper and iron. What use can Lord Wei have for it?"

Wei Jichen laughed and said: "I have wanted to be a naval officer like Lord Liu since I was a child, but now it seems impossible, so I bought a scrap ship to comfort you."

Seeing this, Liu Buchan did not ask any more questions.

Then, the two talked about some things during the war against Japan. With Duan Qirui's help, Wei Jichen soon became familiar with Liu Buchan, and Liu Buchan was not as polite as before.

Both sides were busy with military affairs, and Wei Jichen got up and said goodbye soon.

After getting off the Dingyuan, Wei Jichen got on the boat with excitement and boarded the Kuaima alone.

This 25-ton small ship was indeed in tatters. Fortunately, Wei Jichen was not trying to get the Kuaima. The Kuaima was just his agent to lead out the navy system.

Wei Jichen entered the system with some expectation and some trepidation.

Please, please! This method works, Wei Jichen muttered.

In the military system, when Wei Jichen saw that the option of the navy system was already lit, he couldn't help but feel very excited. He hurried in.

Navy system: Kuaima, a damaged ship, it is recommended that the host repair it quickly.

Number of naval officers and soldiers: 0, it is recommended that the host recruit quickly.

Morale: None.

The navy finally came out, Wei Jichen really wanted to shout loudly, but he didn't expect that he would be recognized by the system by taking advantage of the situation.

Hurry, go to the Super Tech Military System, don't let me down.

Wei Jichen rubbed his hands excitedly, and couldn't wait to enter the Navy Tech Military System in the exchange system.

The dark hull appeared on the sea.

What is this picture? Wei Jichen immediately looked at the introduction below.