Chapter 91: The First Time We Met and Forgot the Year (2)

"......Forehead" Zhang Yi didn't expect to meet Li Hongzhang for the first time, so many people were present, Li Hongzhang threw out such a sharp question, and was stunned for a moment.

Leaning slightly, Zhang Yi replied: "Lord Zhongtang, the Sino-Japanese war situation is quite complicated, since the adults are asking, then the humble position will be presumptuous, if there is anything inappropriate, please also ask your adults Haihan." ”

Li Hongzhang said with a smile: "Anyway, there are no outsiders here, let it go, it doesn't matter." ”

Zhang Yi sorted out his thoughts and replied: "Lord Zhongtang, my lords, the current Sino-Japanese war situation is in a state of weak equilibrium. Originally, before that, because Japan had been planning for a long time, was well prepared, and had the upper hand in the early stage, our Qing Dynasty could only deal with it passively, and the situation was very embarrassing. Today, after the two major wars in Korea and the Great War in the Yellow Sea, the Japanese navy has suffered serious losses and has not yet recovered its vitality, and the army has been wiped out more than 14,500 people, which is very wounded. On the other hand, in the Qing Dynasty, the strength of the troops in the DPRK has been continuously strengthened, and at the same time, after several fierce battles, the combat effectiveness of the various units has been markedly improved, and the Korean war situation has now gained a slight upper hand. Although the Beiyang Naval Division suffered certain losses, it was still within the range of bearing, and it would soon be able to recover its combat strength. Therefore, the Sino-Japanese war situation is now on a weak balance. But in the long run, I am not very optimistic about this war, in a word, Japan for the invasion of Korea, and then watch the Qing Dynasty has been planning for a long time, fully prepared, from the Japanese emperor to the common people, all of them are single-minded about war, and at the same time established by the emperor remote control, the unified command of the base camp, the navy and the army to participate in the coordinated participation of the combat military system, the Japanese combat efficiency has been brought into full play; On the other hand, within our Qing Dynasty, Lafayette is in charge of peace, the emperor is the main battle, it is difficult to unify the government decrees, and the Qing Dynasty military is also full of mountains, from our Huai Army to the Hunan Army, then to the Chu Army, to the Eight Banners Soldiers, and then to the Green Battalion Soldiers, there are a lot of troops, almost nearly a million, and the combat effectiveness is weak, and they are not subordinate to each other, and there is no unified command, how can such a military system give full play to the combat power to the maximum? Moreover, although in the past ten years, the Qing Dynasty has been in peace, but the treasury is still empty, how can there be no money to support the Sino-Japanese war? These problems have seriously restricted the trend of the Sino-Japanese war, and it is even more difficult for our Qing Dynasty to win the war! ”

Li Hongzhang and others nodded frequently.

Zhang Yi continued: "Let's not talk about the army for the time being, let's talk about the navy first." My Beiyang Naval Division was operated by Lord Zhongtang, and I know the roots, may I ask how long it has been since the ships, artillery, and ammunition of the Naval Division have been updated? The total tonnage of our naval division is only more than 30,000 tons, but the Japanese have already exceeded more than 40,000 tons, not counting the three latest cruisers they recently ordered from Britain. In the last battle in the Yellow Sea, our Beiyang Navy was able to show that its elite was exhausted and prepared to go, and only two-thirds of the Japanese ships participated in the battle. Although the Krupp heavy artillery of our Beiyang Naval Division was powerful, the rate of fire was obviously weaker than that of the Japanese warships, and the Japanese ships fired three shells, but our troops only fired one shell, and they were passively beaten. Looking at the speed of the voyage, the slowest speed of the Japanese warships is more than 20 knots, the fastest of our army is only 24 knots, and most of them are only 14 or 5 knots, which is no longer on the same level as the Japanese ships. The bigwigs of the imperial court are still dreaming of being the first in Asia in Beiyang Naval Division? Lord Ding is here, may I ask Lord Ding, what you said is wrong? ”

Ding Ruchang looked at Zhang Yi in shock, these are all military secrets of the Beiyang Naval Division, although he also knows some about the data of Japanese warships, but he is not yet clear to Zhang Yi, he has such an accurate grasp of the military data of the Chinese and Japanese navies, and at the same time the analysis is also in place, how is this possible? Could it be that he is really as clever as Zhuge Kongming's side?

Li Hongzhang and others set their eyes on Ding Ruchang and waited for Ding Ruchang's answer.

Ding Ruchang calmed down after a while, and replied: "Ladies and gentlemen, Lao Zhongtang, what Zhang Yi said is true, in fact, in the battle of the Yellow Sea, my Beiyang Navy Division was able to win and return, it is really a fluke." In a battle with the Japanese Navy, Fang Zhi sat in a well and watched the sky, the speed of the Japanese Navy was far above our army, and our Beiyang warships wanted to encircle it, and they were bound to ascend to the sky, and in the end they could only rely on the heavy armor of the two ships of Dingyuan and Zhenyuan, forcibly blocking the main force of the Japanese army, and other warships surrounded its guerrilla fleet, and in the end, they still escaped a few ships. Speaking of artillery, although our army's Krupp heavy artillery is hugely powerful, the rate of fire is too slow, and the Japanese have already fired a few shells at our warship, so our army can fire one, which is too passive. If the naval division does not allocate funds to purchase new heavy artillery, it will be really dangerous for our Beiyang naval division to engage the Japanese army in the future. ”

"Shhh Everyone took a breath of cool air, even Li Hongzhang did not expect that the Beiyang Naval Division was now so far behind the Japanese Navy. In the first battle of the Yellow Sea, it was so dangerous to win, and in the next battle, I am afraid that the idea of relying on the Beiyang sailors will be more restrained.

Zhang Peilun asked Zhang Yi: "Zhang Guandao, then according to your intentions, my Qing Dynasty will not have a chance to win against Japan this time?" I don't have any advantage in the Qing Dynasty? ”

"Advantages? Yes! Zhang Yi affirmed: "The advantage of our Qing Dynasty is that it has a vast territory, which provides us with sufficient strategic depth. Secondly, our Qing Dynasty has a large population, with 40,000 people, and the supply of soldiers is sufficient, and it can be recruited on the spot at any time to replenish its combat strength; Third, Japan's national strength is only more than 200,000, and according to their finances, even if they are expanding their army, they cannot exceed 300,000, which is already their limit, and they simply cannot afford to raise any more. More than 200,000 Japanese troops, he can send to Korea and our country, the number of troops will not exceed 200,000, excluding the army left behind to maintain the rule, can be used to invade Korea, attack the Qing Dynasty, at most no more than 150,000 troops, such a small number of troops, to occupy the entire Qing Dynasty, is tantamount to a fool's dream! If according to my idea, it is to lure the snakes out of the hole, bring them all to the Great Qing Kingdom, and attack them in groups, they are isolated and completely wiped out, it is a matter of time, but the court will not agree to me to do this anyway? ”

"It's not the same as not saying it!" Zhang Peilun pouted.

"Young Qiao!" Li Hongzhang stopped Zhang Peilun and said, turned his face to Zhang Yi and said: "Zhang Yi, what you said does have some truth, but you also know that it is difficult to work, are there any others?" ”