YAMAGATA'S SUBSEQUENT OPERATIONS. 575 After that was accomplished, Wei-hai-wei, on the other side of the Yellow Sea, was to be attacked. With its capture the Japanese fleet and armies would hold the keys of the Yellow Sea and the Gulf of Pe-chi-li,and all would be ready in the spring for an advance into the Gulf,anattack on the mouthof the Peiho, and a march onPekin,Oyama's armycombining its operations with Yamagata's forces descending from Manchuria.

two wounded. The skirmish and the subsequentretirement of the Japanesewasrepresented by the Chinese as a brilliant victory. The other scouting parties had several skirmishes, mostly withdetachedpartiesof Chinese"braves." But it was reported that behind these scattered parties of Chinese there wasa considerablearmy gathering, which was later discovered to be Iko-tenga'sManchu Tartar force. Towards the end of November Iko-tenga advanced against the Japanese outposts, combining his attack with an advance of the Chinese force at the Mo-tien-ling Pass. This led to some sharp fighting withNodzu and Tachimi's divisions,in which everywhere tlae advantage was with the Japanese.

Before describing the expeditionsagainst Port Arthur and Wei-hai-wei, we may anticipate a little the orderof time, and complete the story of Yamagata's operations up to the end ot November. There is no need of going into detail, as the main interest of the war is henceforth with Oyama and the " Second Army.'' After the crossing of the Yalu by the Japanese, the Chinese army had broken up. Sung hadled about 10,000 men to Feng-huangcheng (i.e. the '" PhSnix City "), an important town, the meeting-place of several routes, about twenty-five miles to the westward of Wiju. Iko-tenga,with about 4,000 men, retired to the north-east. About 3,000 wentawayto the southwest towards Liao-tung. The remainder dispersed. Yamagata resolved to break up the principal body of Chinese in his front, that commanded by Sung, and pushed forward Tachimi's division towards the "PhSnix City" for the purpose. On October 29th Tachimi's cavalry scouts sent back word that the Chinese had set fire to Feng-huang-cheng,and were in full retreat. Next day Tachimi entered the town, of which only a small part had been burned. Two guns, three mortars, some rifles, and a quantity of camp equipment were found in the place, and some stragglers from the Chinese army were brought in as prisoners by the cavalry. They reported that Sung's force had broken up, some going westward towards Xiu-chaug,some northwards, and a few to the south in the direction of Takushan. It was subsequently ascertained that Sung had kept about 5,000 men together, and marched them north-eastwards to occupy and fortify a pass in the hill- on the road to Mouken, known as Mo-tien-ling (the " Sk\ touching Pass"), which Meanwhile Yamagata's third brigade, under General Katsura, had been pushed from tlae Yalu southward to occupy Takushan, at the north end of the Liao-tungPeninsula,in order to facilitate Oyama's invasion. The place was occupied after a mere skirmish on November 7th. A column under General Oseko then drove the Chinese detachments out of the country to the westwardaroundHsiu-yen.

Iko-tenga and his Tartars were defeated at Tsao-ho-kou (i.e. the Grass River Pass) on the last day of November. Marshal Yamagata then concentrated his army in the old Chinese camps on the Yalu at An-tung and Chiu-lien-cheng. with a brigade holding Feng-huang-cheng,and another at Takushan. Outposts and cavalry patrols watched the country to the north and west,and observed the Mo-tien-ling Pass. Bu' it was not expectedthat the Chinese wouldgive much further trouble for some weeks to come ; for the winter had begun, the rivers were freezing, and the country was being covered with snow. Yamagatahad thus drawn his army together to simplify the question of supply, as, now that the ice was forming along the coast, nothingcould be landed nearer than Ping-yang Inlet inKorea,and everything thus sent to him had to be brought up to his camps by a long overland journey.

He had soon after to resign the command of the Japanese armiesin the north on account of ill-health,the resultof exposure to the severe climate of Manchuria. He nan Led over the command of the " First Army " to his able lieutenant, General Nodzu, the victor of Ping-yang. Though he hadonly been a few weeks actively directing the campaign, Yamagata had won a high reputation for his able organisation of the advance from Ping-yang,his victorious forcing reported to be the strongest position :en tlae Japanese army and the old Manchu capital. Tachimi sent small columns to reconnoitre the passes west andnorth of Feng-fo cheng. He found the Mo-tien-ling Pass very strongly held, and in a skirmish in front of it the reconnoitring party lost oneman killedand