In the end, in order to prevent the technical level of his cruiser from being completely thrown off by the Germans, Nikolai gritted his teeth and ordered the cancellation of the construction program of the battleship Rostislav, and decided to order the IIIB scheme from the Germans.

In this way, the 12,000-ton warship has strong firepower and maintains a high level of protection, while also having a speed of more than 21 knots, which is somewhat conspicuous, although the speed of 20 knots is still the top at this time, it is still nearly 2 knots slower than the British Qiangsheng class. Coupled with the layout of the battleship, the American armored cruiser USS Brooklyn was also adopted, and the armor was more difficult to judge from the appearance of its performance, so the new battleship was unlikely to cause much of a sensation.

The battleship will not be equipped with weapons systems after completion, and after delivery, Russian-made weapons and equipment will be installed at the Baltic Shipyard. And the German side is going to provide the Russian side with a full set of design drawings.

Of course, the cost of this battleship is also very impressive, except for all the weapons and equipment, there is still an estimated cost of up to 780,000 pounds, of course, Jochen's side is also very "kind" to help the Russians quote a whole number - 800,000 pounds.

The Russians could only endure the pain, and after the signing of the contract between the two sides, the Royal Shipyard received its first large order, and even though it was already winter, the shipyard's enthusiasm continued unabated, and preparations for the construction of the new ship began rapidly, ready to start as soon as the spring of 1895 arrived.

On November 14, 1894, the wedding of Nikolai and Alex was held as scheduled, after which Alex changed her name to Alexandra Feodorovna, at this time Nikolai had not yet been crowned Tsar of the Russian Empire, but Alexandra had undoubtedly become the woman with supreme power in this old empire.

Jochen looked at the bright smile of this woman, who could also be regarded as his cousin, at the wedding, and sighed in his heart, didn't either Nikolai or Alexandra think about how much trouble it would cause to themselves if the wedding was held only a month after the death of Alexander III?

It is no wonder that the Russian aristocracy did not like their empress, because "she came after the coffin." Coupled with the fact that Alex's behavior could not be compared with that of the Empress Dowager Maria Feodorovna, she was in a difficult situation in this palace, so she had to cling to her husband as the Tsar, and her power manipulation and hysteria were largely created by this environment.

However, Jochen only sighed that the threat posed by Russia in the east of Germany, the overly greedy appetite and vacillating policy could hardly make Jochen optimistic that the friendly relations between Germany and Russia would continue at this time, worried that he was too late, and that he was worried about the Tsar's family harmony.

After attending the wedding, Jochen immediately returned to Berlin, where he stayed in this cold place for nearly a month, and Jochen did not want to stay any longer.

With Russia's purchase of warships from Germany, Rodenham and Werther reached an agreement on many matters such as Russia's borrowing from Germany, and Germany and Russia finally reached an agreement on the question of Qing China.

In Berlin, Caprivi revealed to the British that the Russians would give up their support for France, and that as long as the British could acquiesce to Russia's lease of Arthur, Russia would return the favor and no longer try to get into the British control of the Qing customs by taking the opportunity of borrowing money from the Qing State.

Although the Germans once again reached a tacit agreement with the Russians, which made Prime Minister Gladstone very dissatisfied, it was clear that the Germans did not completely leave the British behind, but still helped the British to stop the Russians' vexatious troubles at a certain time.

Since the annexation of Austria in 1892, Germany has been quite moderate in its foreign policy, without the slightest offensive or expansionist, and is completely comfortable with developing its colonies, nor has it made any expansionary moves.

Gladstone believed that Germany was now trying its best to digest Austria, so it adopted such an attitude of no one to be offended in its foreign policy, calling it a peacemaker at best, and a wallgrass at worst.

Although it is uncertain how strong Germany will be when it completely digests Austria, and whether it will still be as harmless to humans and animals as it is now, Gladstone. But after all, that is a matter of the future, and now the attitude of the Germans as good people on both sides does not make Britain too disgusted and wary of it.

Now that the right of customs control has been retained, and the French have no one to support it, it is not impossible for Britain to sell face. As a result, the efficiency of negotiations has increased rapidly.

Germany and Great Britain were against France, the Russians and Americans were silent, the French and Germans were for the Russians, the British and the Americans were silent, the French were against the Germans, the British were for the Germans, and the Russians and Americans were silent. The French were against the British, the Germans were in favor of the British, and the Russians and Americans were silent.

I said, Americans, this is not the future United Nations, and you are not the guy who abstains from voting at every turn, so it's good to give a reaction, and learn from the guy who votes against at every turn.

In short, as soon as this situation appeared, the French immediately realized that they had become abandoned little daughters-in-law, and when they saw that there was no good fruit to eat, they obediently shut up.

At this time, the war situation in the Far East has also developed to the point that if you don't care about it, something will happen.

Li Hongzhang searched for warships all over the world after the First World War in Dadonggou, but at this time, when the situation of the Sino-Japanese War was clear, the Chileans released Li Hongzhang's pigeon again. However, the Japanese, who had a Izumi in their possession, did not look down on the Chilean Esmeralda (third generation), so there was no need to get a "second Izumi" after passing through Guò (Note 1).

The Qing State did not look for warships to buy in Germany because of the German government's seizure of ships, so the 800-ton torpedo gunboat originally built for Brazil, and the later Qing government's Flying Eagle destroyer still belonged to her original buyer.

As in history, in the case of the sinking of 2 warships and the heavy damage of 2 ships in Dadonggou, Ito Yuhiro made soy sauce in the waters of the Yellow Sea. However, luck is on the Japanese side in the end, Ito Yuheng hopes to win the greatest victory with the smallest losses, and he can't afford to continue to lose the responsibility of the warship.

However, the Beiyang Navy Division did not do this.

On November 21, 1894, Lushun fell, and the Beiyang Naval Division fled to Weihaiwei, but Ito Yuheng did not stop him. The entire Liaodong Peninsula fell into the hands of the Japanese army.

The Beiyang Naval Division was in Weihaiwei, not fighting, not surrendering, not fleeing, just waiting for the judgment of fate in despair. Philmantle, commander of the Chinese fleet of the British Royal Navy, wrote in his diary: "There are no more reinforcements, what exactly is the desperate Beiyang Fleet waiting for? ”

On February 5, 1895, the Japanese Navy dispatched 10 torpedo boats in an attempt to attack Weihaiwei. Under the sabotage of the spies, the protective fence originally built by Germany in Weihaiwei had a secret opening that allowed the torpedo boats to pass through guò, and under the attack of the No. 6 boat of the Japanese 3rd torpedo boat squadron that rushed into the harbor, a Type 84 torpedo hit the engine room of the Dingyuan, and the Dingyuan was seriously injured and ran aground.

On February 6, the Japanese continued their attack and sank the Jingyuan and Weiyuan. On the same day, Ding Ruchang agreed to break through the torpedo boat fleet of the Beiyang Naval Division, but was sunk by the first guerrilla fleet blocking the door.

On 7 February, the captured Weihaiwei Fort in turn opened fire on the Beiyang Fleet in the harbor, and the Jingyuan was sunk.

On 12 February, Ding Ruchang sent Guò Philimantel to Japan about surrender, and the gunboat Zhenzhong went to the Combined Fleet station to surrender to Ito, and at the same time, Ding Ruchang committed suicide by swallowing opium in the Zhenyuan ship.

On February 37, the combined fleet entered Weihaiwei and captured 8 warships from Zhenyuan, Pingyuan, Guangbing, Zhendong, Zhenxi, Zhennan, Zhenzhong, and Zhenbian.

At this point, it was too late to interfere, and finally the five countries reached an agreement:

1. The five countries came together to mediate the Sino-Japanese War.

2. To ensure the territorial and sovereign integrity of the Qing State, Japan must withdraw its troops from the territory of the Qing State.

3. The Qing State needs to borrow money from the five countries to pay war reparations, and the five countries will share the loan amount equally.

4. The indemnity received by Japan must be deposited in the banks of the five countries.

Fifth, the Qing government should meet the requirements of the five countries for reducing import tariffs and sub-export taxes.

6. The Qing government should meet Russia's demand for Lend-Lease of Lushun.

7. The Qing government had to meet the German demands for the establishment of concessions in Tientsin and Hankow.

8. Countries shall recognize each other and shall not interfere with each other in the existing treaties, ports, concessions, etc., vested interests.

Immediately, the five countries jointly submitted a diplomatic note to the Japanese side, demanding that the Japanese side terminate its military action and accept the mediation of the five countries.

The note jointly issued by the five European and American powers, no matter how euphemistic the wording, was not something that the Japanese could refuse, and although the country was full of joy because of the great victory, in the invisible place, because of the huge economic pressure caused by the war against the Qing State, the Japanese people lived in hardship, and the resistance and repression have not stopped.

Therefore, in the face of the joint mediation of the five countries, Ito Hirobumi used this as an excuse to agree to stop military action against the Qing and was willing to sit down at the negotiating table with the Qing and reach an agreement with the Qing government on "peace, development, and prosperity in Asia."

On March 19, Li Hongzhang arrived in Japan, and on the 20th, he held peace talks with Ito Hirobumi in Chunfan Building.

The Japanese side has put forward the following demands:

1. The DPRK is completely independent.

2. Cedion of the Liaodong Peninsula, Taiwan and the Penghu Islands.

3. Compensation for military expenses of 300 million taels of silver

4. Japan and the Japanese will conclude trade treaties on the same basis as those of the European powers, and Japan will enjoy most-favored-nation status.

5. Opening Changsha, Chongqing, Suzhou, and Hangzhou as treaty ports.

The rest of these demands are negotiable, but the second clause is completely contrary to the agreement of the five powers, in which the Liaodong Peninsula is coveted by the Russians, while Taiwan is the unwieldy of the French, so Russia and France are the first to attack. RS