At the same time Wu Xingchen was preparing for the counterattack on the night of July 8, the vanguard of Pang Zi's cavalry division finally arrived in the vicinity of Qingdao. The horses of one squad were already foaming at the mouth, clearly at the end of their strength. And that was relatively good; these riders had switched horses several times along the way. The cavalrymen themselves were nearly broken by the constant jolting of the journey.

As early as July 4, Chen Ke had ordered his troops to assemble and depart for the border. By July 7, after the People's Party sent the telegram to Yuan Shikai, the massed forces did not even wait for a reply before crossing the border and heading straight for Qingdao. The hallmark of this campaign was speed. The People's Party had no navy and no heavy artillery, combined with China's abysmal land transport. If the German fleet were allowed to roam freely between Lianyungang and Qingdao, the People's Party would never be able to hold out.

The Japanese loved to gamble on the national destiny—a practice Chen Ke had mocked in the past. Now he found himself more "Japanese" than the Japanese. Preparations for the operation against the Germans had been underway for some time; the moment Chen Ke reached Huaihai Province, he began organizing units and preparing supplies. Even so, the scale of preparations for the first round of combat was alarmingly small. With such limited supplies, the troops could launch no more than two offensives. Nevertheless, Chen Ke committed his forces.

He was gambling on one thing: the enemy force within the fortress currently numbered only a thousand, and most were not artillerymen. Even if they formed emergency gun crews, they would be unable to spare infantry to defend the fortress walls. The People's Party intended to use explosives and human lives to smash open the Qingdao Fortress.

The Qingdao Fortress was currently the largest and strongest fortification held by the powers in China. To break it would prove that no amount of solid fortification could withstand the People's Party. The psychological shock to the powers would far outweigh the actual strategic results.

Regardless of whether the Germans claimed the People's Party had insulted their Minister, or the People's Party claimed they were defending their homeland, the reason for this conflict was simple: the People's Party refused to recognize any treaties, and the Germans were forcing them to do so. This conflict was not merely an issue between the People's Party and Germany, but between Chinese interests and the interests of the powers. Where this war would end, Chen Ke himself could not entirely grasp. But if Chen Ke adopted any strategy of "national salvation through a curve" at such a juncture, the People's Party's own program would be completely undermined.

Since the goal was to save China, there was no need to consider one's own losses. If one could not firmly implement their principles on such a major issue of right and wrong, then what difference was there between Chen Ke and Wang Jingwei? Wang Jingwei's Nanjing government, at least in name, was not Japan, nor was it a Japanese colony. Legally, it was also an independent and sovereign government.

Having the People's Party's Beijing negotiation team claim that a hundred thousand troops were needed to attack Qingdao was merely a smoke screen. The force Chen Ke truly intended to deploy consisted of only three regiments and attached artillery—totaling over thirteen thousand men.

Communicated via carrier pigeons and telegrams, the People's Party's intelligence agencies cast off their disguises and began operating openly. Someone had already rendezvoused with the People's Party vanguard. While they could sleep in the wild, the units could not provide their own food and water in the field; they required guides and arrangements. The intense preparations continued until July 10, when the main force of the People's Party finally arrived.

Charging a fortress with warhorses was a joke; Pang Zi's cavalry division had now been transformed into a transport team. Over five thousand warhorses were loaded with supplies and equipment. Pu Guanshui, the Deputy Commander of the Shandong Military Region, personally led the infantry marching alongside them.

Chen Ke had initially intended to command this battle himself, but the Military Commission was unanimously opposed. Pu Guanshui put it plainly: "Chairman Chen, your job is not on the battlefield; your job is to command us in operations. The methods for the offensive have already been explained clearly enough. The units' regular training is also up to standard. Please stay here and command us from the rear."

Pu Guanshui's attitude represented that of most commanders. Chen Ke had been very clear about the brutal nature of this assault, and so the comrades were all the more eager to prove to him that they could indeed complete the mission. No matter how brutal the capture of the Qingdao Fortress might be, it was not a battle that would decide the survival of the People's Party. There was no reason for Chen Ke to go to the front lines himself.

After days of marching, the troops were exhausted. The soldiers and junior commanders prepared meals and rested in designated areas. The middle and high-ranking commanders gathered for a military meeting of the Frontline Committee. The camp was located northwest of Qingdao, fifteen kilometers from the city—just outside the edge of the German artillery range. Theoretically, the Germans could still strike the edge of the camp, but that would require God's own blessing.

Pu Guanshui didn't care about such a minor risk; his voice was loud and clear. "Comrades, we've been shouting about liberating all of China, and now the time has come to prove it. The whole of China is watching how we fight—watching to see if we have the ability to take the Qingdao Fortress. Everything that needs to be said has been said. This battle is not a field engagement; bayonets are useless. We must use our lives to pave the way. Therefore, I will emphasize battlefield discipline: any who hesitate before the enemy or refuse orders will face immediate execution by their commanders or commissars. We've conducted all the necessary mobilizations along the way. The German devils want to seize our land, and we must fight them to the bitter end. Do any of you have questions?"

This was the army's first battle against the foreign devils, and the commanders were all highly emotional. Hearing Pu Guanshui's words, no commander or commissar could harbor any fear.

"Don't worry. I've already written my suicide note."

"With all this training, the unit has confidence."

...

The young soldiers' eyes were bright, with no hint of retreat.

Pu Guanshui didn't actually want to say so much; as the commander-in-chief of this campaign, he was all too aware of what they faced.

"Someone has already begun evacuating the masses from Qingdao today. Tomorrow morning, the probing attacks will begin. The Germans are currently short-handed, with fewer than 1,500 men. They will inevitably rely on their artillery to resist our offensive. Even if only to bolster their own courage, they will fire fiercely. Every unit must be mentally prepared: once the offensive starts, there will be no distinction between front and rear. As long as the Germans spot a trace of our troops, they will open fire. The movement of every unit will face extreme danger."

There had already been much discussion on this point; the situation Pu Guanshui described was not new.

"What we must utilize is our numerical advantage. As long as we can blow a hole and charge inside, we'll outnumber the Germans ten to one—and most of those Germans will be busy operating the cannons. At the various battery positions, they'll have no systematic ability to resist. The cannons all face outward; once the crews are neutralized, the threat to our other comrades will decrease immediately. Therefore, once a unit blows a breach, they are not to wait for others but must immediately burst into the fortress to fight. Other units should also try to blow their own breaches and join the combat. Do not abandon your own offensive route to seek other breakthroughs. We have the numbers; with attacks coming from multiple directions, the enemy will be stretched thin, giving us a greater chance."

"What about artillery support?" Pang Zi asked.

The People's Party lacked heavy artillery. Judging by the current situation, it would take years—perhaps more than a decade—before they could produce the gun steel needed for large-caliber heavy guns. Yet without artillery, the Qingdao Fortress could never be taken. "Heartless Cannons"—the improvised explosive throwers—required simple conditions but also needed to be very close to the enemy. They were useless against a modern defensive system like the Qingdao Fortress.

The artillery support Pang Zi referred to was the new equipment developed by the People's Party: "rockets."

To Chen Ke, military industry before World War I didn't need to be measured in tens of thousands of tons, precision didn't have to reach the nanometer level, and structural depth didn't need to be at the quantum scale. These things could be resolved during the course of industrial development; the key was the mindset. As the saying goes, "If the rabbit isn't 'earthy' (crude/simple), its combat power is only five." This was perfectly illustrated by the rockets. The entire rocket was a one-time-use assembly of parts. The components consisted entirely of metal shells and gunpowder; the only thing that could be called refined was the silk used to wrap the propellant grain. The basic principle differed little from a common firecracker. They had a range of four kilometers and an accuracy of around fifty meters.

To speak of its technological content would leave the European and American industrial circles doubled over in laughter. Yet such a thing utilized a standard modular design. During development, a total of over thirty separate units had been involved. For the outer shell, they started with iron plates from the rolling workshop of the steel plant. Later, they switched to aluminum shells from the electrolytic aluminum plant. Still later, they switched back to iron, and then handed the problem to the refractory plant to try and solve. Finally, they settled temporarily on a composite shell of aluminum with a ceramic lining.

The rocket propellant grain and the explosive filler for the warhead were all handled by specialized military industry departments. Each department was responsible for a single, specific component.

Overall, Chen Ke provided the design concepts and then handed the design to a system integration department. This gadget had seen its earliest models appear during the battles against Duan Qirui's Beiyang 3rd Division. As the People's Party's industrial strength progressed and many manufacturing processes were mastered, the rockets were continuously improved.

This was the beauty of modular design: once each department produced its assigned component, they could be assembled into a final product.

No heavy artillery, yet a need for heavy fire—this was the situation the People's Party faced. Given their current low level of industrial strength, Chen Ke had to resort to such "earthy" methods to increase combat power.

"The unit currently has only about a hundred of these 130mm rockets. Once they're fired, we'll have to rely on mortars and smoke grenades. But even so, we must fight," Pu Guanshui said with determination.

While the Frontline Committee was deliberating, a comrade from the Intelligence Department rushed in to report. "Reporting to the Chief: a German force from the fortress is advancing toward us."

No news could have been more surprising to the Frontline Committee.

"Are the Germans crazy?" Pang Zi jumped to his feet in excitement. The Germans already lacked sufficient troops, yet they dared to send a force out to attack. Was there some trick involved?

"How many are coming?" Pu Guanshui asked immediately.

"Based on our observations, about six or seven hundred," the intelligence officer replied.

"What is their current position?" Pu Guanshui asked, even more urgently.

If they could annihilate this German force in one fell swoop, the troops guarding the Qingdao Fortress would be completely depleted. This was a godsend.

"They appear to be about six kilometers away," the officer answered.

While they were talking, another intelligence officer burst into the meeting. "Reporting: the advancing Germans have stopped. They are setting up defensive positions on the main transport route north of Qingdao city."

The eyes of the Frontline Committee members lit up. Pu Guanshui asked, "What is the situation inside the city?"

"Foreigners are rapidly withdrawing into the Qingdao Fortress."

At this answer, Pu Guanshui turned to the comrades. "Are the Germans worried we'll sack Qingdao?"

"Hmph," Pu Guanshui sneered. "Their concern seems to be a good thing for us."

"Is thirty rounds enough?" Pang Zi asked eagerly.

"Prepare thirty, fire twenty. Artillery units, prepare immediately!" Pu Guanshui ordered.

...

These were the defensive facilities established after Germany seized Qingdao. In 1899, Germany began building coastal batteries along the front—at Tuandao, Taixizhen, the Yamen, Huiqian Cape, and the south of Mount Bismarck (now Qingdao Mountain). Along the north side of the ridge, they built land batteries at Bismarck North, Iltis North, Iltis East, and Zhongjiawa. Along the Haibo River, they constructed an infantry fortress line spanning the front and rear shores, consisting of five major forts: Xiaozhanshan, Xiaozhanshan North, Central, Taidongzhen, and Coast—commonly known as Forts 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5.

The central command post of the fortress was located inside the subterranean part of Mount Bismarck and was completed in 1905. It covered an area of 1,600 square meters with a three-dimensional structure—three main floors, with some parts having five—and contained 42 rooms. The bunker was divided into eastern and western sections, with functional areas for command, living, and logistics. Its command system included a military operations research room for the supreme commander, an artillery command room, a naval command room, along with dedicated corridors for commanders, sleeping quarters, lounges, a medical clinic, a dining hall, and a water cistern. The top was equipped with a 360-degree rotating observation post, providing a complete view of the shipping in Jiaozhou Bay and surrounding activities. At this moment, Naval Captain Hanel stood on the observation post using high-powered binoculars to observe the direction of the People's Party forces.

Currently, the German Governor of Kiautschou was being represented by Captain Hanel, who had not followed Admiral Maximilian von Spee to attack Lianyungang. In truth, Captain Hanel had not initially considered this military operation to be much of an affair. Forget the People's Party, which had no navy whatsoever; even if the Beiyang and Nanyang Fleets of the Chinese Beiyang government were combined, they would be no match for the German Pacific Fleet.

However, landing operations faced numerous difficulties. In the eyes of Captain Hanel, von Spee would spend most of his energy fighting the winds and waves of the sea and the climate at the landing site.

Seizing Lianyungang was an excellent move for Germany. Located in Jiangsu, it was close to Shanghai. This would not only make it easier for German ships to reach China's wealthiest Jiangnan region but also give Germany two ports in China. This would completely revitalize the naval situation for the German Pacific Fleet.

If this were in Europe, Qingdao would not be left without a state of alert. But in China, if you strike a local government like the People's Party, you've struck them. Would the People's Party even dare to retaliate? In the military meeting before the mission, Captain Hanel had seemingly seriously raised the possibility. Another Naval Captain, Meyer-Waldeck, had replied with a straight face: "Such a possibility exists, but for it to become reality requires one condition—that the People's Party we are striking is not Chinese."

This brilliant answer had triggered a burst of laughter in the relaxed military meeting.

After von Spee led the fleet away, the German forces were aware of some changes within Qingdao city, but they weren't enough to justify sending police or soldiers to make arrests. It wasn't until the morning that a distraught policeman sought an audience with Captain Hanel, bringing the news that over ten thousand People's Party troops had arrived near Qingdao and intended to attack the fortress.

The Germans dispatched scouts, and after confirming the matter, Captain Hanel was forced to believe it: the People's Party had arrived.

Hanel had never believed the People's Party would launch a military operation against Qingdao, but judging by the current situation, it seemed they truly weren't "Chinese." Once the joke from the military meeting became reality, Hanel's primary feeling was not shock, but bafflement.

Nevertheless, basic preparations had to be made. It had to be admitted that after von Spee took two battalions of Marines, troop strength in Qingdao was severely lacking. The Germans did not have enough force to defend the entire city. In the emergency military meeting, someone proposed that the People's Party's military action was a feint intended to force the Qingdao Germans to call the Pacific Fleet for help, thereby resolving their crisis at Lianyungang.

This view received unanimous approval. It fit the German perception of the Chinese. Following this reasoning, the Germans identified a problem: if the People's Party entered Qingdao to sack it under cover of darkness, the Germans didn't have enough troops to defend.

German intelligence work was actually quite good, partly due to the large scale of business between the People's Party and foreigners, and the many foreign experts in the Wuhan industrial zone. According to the intelligence gathered by the Germans, the People's Party had no powerful heavy artillery—they even lacked 75mm guns.

Judging from the areas under People's Party control, this unit that had reached Qingdao in a few days could not possibly have brought 75mm mountain guns. Therefore, theoretically, by relying on the fortress guns and the forward defensive positions, the Germans could effectively stifle a People's Party offensive. The Germans wouldn't have to wait long; they only needed to get the German civilians into the fortress.

So Captain Hanel sent out a Naval battalion to set up defensive positions while assisting the German civilians in withdrawing into the Qingdao Fortress for temporary refuge. As he did so, Hanel felt a certain selfish resentment. If two of the three Marine battalions hadn't been taken, he wouldn't just be forced into defense—he could have sent troops out to organize an attack.

Through the high-powered binoculars, the German defensive positions were being established quite rapidly. Artillery positions were set, machine guns mounted, sandbags piled, roadblocks placed, and barbed-wire fences strung. All military deployments were made with composure. The German performance was satisfactory.

Defense did not require so many troops. As the German forces were reorganizing their ranks to set up the next temporary position, a ball of strange flame suddenly appeared in the sky.

High-powered binoculars cannot be maneuvered so flexibly; due to excessive force, the lens swung far out of position. Captain Hanel simply let go of the binoculars and looked with his own eyes. Something of an unidentifiable color was flying through the air, but from its tail, it spewed a bright flame. It was definitely not an artillery shell.

Just as he made this judgment, Hanel saw a dozen or so similar objects take flight in quick succession in the distance. These strange things traced beautiful smoke curves in the sky before falling toward the ground. Then, from the points of impact, came massive explosions.

Startled by the blasts, Hanel suddenly realized that the impact zone was all too familiar. After less than a second of rapid mental calculation, he understood. Hastily grabbing his observation binoculars, Hanel saw that the defensive position from moments ago had been transformed into a sea of fire. The successive explosions had precisely and completely enveloped the position. The figures of over six hundred German soldiers had completely vanished within the intense flashes and thick smoke of the explosions.

"Is the People's Party truly going to fight a war?" This question arose in Hanel's confused mind.