Xu Huaijin said helplessly: "Okay, then I will leave for North Korea immediately, what about the affairs of the General Staff?" ”

Zhang Yi continued: "The affairs of the General Staff are handled by me for the time being, and I think I can still deal with it in the short term, so I gave Li Gang an order to transfer Zhang Xiaohuai, the deputy commander of the Independent Division, to return to Shengjing to assist me in presiding over the affairs of the General Staff, and let Jiang Baili temporarily act as the commander of the First Division and replace Zhang Yihu in commanding the First Division." [Ran^Text^Library] []. [774] [buy]. [com]

Xu Huaijin hurriedly wrote it down, handed the record to the adjutant on the side, and hurriedly sent the telegram.

Zhang Yi said: "Huai Jin, when you arrive in North Korea, give you three days to prepare, launch a battle for me, you must hurt the Japanese army, let them understand that if they don't increase their troops, they will be able to resist the offensive of our army, and take Pyongyang down for me in the last breath!" ”

Xu Huaijin nodded in agreement.

Zhang Yi continued: "Okay, Huai Jin, you go and prepare, hand over the affairs of the General Staff to the deputy first, and go to North Korea immediately, don't delay, we are pressed for time, otherwise, it will be too late." If Japan were to increase its troops, it would have already started moving in the next two days. ”

Li Hongzhang said with a smile: "Have you made any moves, just look at the combined fleet that has been cruising in Liaodong for several days, are they still in the waters of Liaodong?" ”

Zhang Yi looked up at Xu Huaijin, Xu Huaijin frowned, and said: "For the time being, I haven't received relevant information, but I'm afraid that Lao Zhongtang's vision will definitely not be a problem, so I'd better hurry up and leave." ”

Zhang Yi nodded, and then said: "Lao Zhongtang, let's talk about Tsarist Russia first, my plan is to return more than 10,000 prisoners of war to Tsarist Russia, and temporarily return Vladivostok to Tsarist Russia, on the terms, that is, first, the Baoding Treaty, all overthrown, and second, pay 20 million pounds sterling in war reparations, and we will only accept pounds, dollars and gold; 3. The garrison in Vladivostok shall not exceed 30,000 men.

Li Hongzhang frowned and said, "With such harsh conditions, I'm afraid that the Russians won't accept it?" ”

Zhang Yi replied: "First, the Baoding Treaty was originally an unequal treaty, and as a violated country, China would never accept any unequal treaty, which is beyond reproach; Second, the war reparations, Tsarist Russia is not as good as Japan, they have money, over the years, they have invaded everywhere, the accumulated wealth, is definitely not what we can imagine, 20 million pounds, is not a huge amount of money, the importance of Vladivostok has an irreplaceable role for them, as long as they have the slightest opportunity, they will take back Vladivostok; Third, as for the garrison limit in Vladivostok, this is equal to nothing, the garrison is only for strategic deterrence, or invasion, now our northeast army is strong, Tsarist Russia will not invade again without adequate preparation, if they are really ready to invade again, this garrison restriction is also equivalent to an empty word, so the third day is basically a formality, I think they will agree, of course, this is our bottom line, as for how to operate, it depends on the old Zhongtang your talent, diplomatic things, to tell the truth, I'm still too tender compared to you. ”

Li Hongzhang nodded and said: "Okay, the old man knows, I'll deal with this, don't be polite to Jianzhi, if it's not for you really can't get out, I'm afraid you won't need my old bones, and you're going to go into battle, hehe." ”

Zhang Yi smiled, and then said: "There is also the matter of Japan, we can't force Japan too hard, in case they jump off the wall in a hurry, little Japan is too narrow-minded and easy to take risks." ”

Li Hongzhang asked: "Then what do you mean, did Jianzhi just let them go?" ”

Zhang Yi smiled: "Let them go, how can there be such a cheap thing?" If you want to negotiate peace, if you want to keep North Korea, they have to give me a hard blood! I only make one demand, that is, we must fully recover Taiwan, and all Japanese troops must leave Taiwan and hand over Taiwan to China, otherwise they will regret it. As for the other conditions, you can decide this old Zhongtang, but Taiwan must take it back! ”

Li Hongzhang nodded and said: "North Korea, Taiwan, these two places, in fact, we should not give them to Japan, they are all key points, Japan can use Korea as a base to attack our three eastern provinces at any time, or Taiwan can be used as a springboard to invade China's southeast coast and then invade Southeast Asia, these are the key positions of Asian strategy, I am afraid, Japan will not easily let go......

Zhang Yi sneered: "Don't let go, I'm afraid that this can't help them, Tsarist Russia and I still have these concerns, after all, they have an army of nearly one million on the Western Front, and their strength is strong, once the fish is dead and the net is broken, it is not something I can provoke now; But little Japan, we don't have any land connection with them, he has to rely on the navy to transport troops, waiting for Lao Tzu's fleet to come back, he doesn't know each other, Lao Tzu will fight the old bottom, and he will be completely crippled! ”

Li Hongzhang asked: "What if the Japanese would rather not want North Korea than keep Taiwan?" ”

Zhang Yi's face turned cold, and he said coldly: "Then the Japanese must be prepared for Lao Tzu to kill all the Japanese troops in Korea!" As long as he withstands it, I don't mind annihilating several of their divisions in one fell swoop! ”

Li Hongzhang's face changed, and he said: "Jianzhi, if they add the troops who came to the rescue, I am afraid that they are a lot more than you, you really want to break the net with them, and why do you have to be Taiwan?" ”

Zhang Yi sighed and said: "My old Zhongtang, North Korea is only our vassal state, not our territory, but Taiwan is different, Taiwan is our inherent territory, if we are really occupied by the Japanese army for a long time, are we worthy of our ancestors and ancestors?" Moreover, my fleet is about to come back, and there is only one military port in Lushun in the entire three eastern provinces, which is not conducive to the development of the combined fleet, so I must include Taiwan in my territory, Taiwan has two natural seaports in Keelung and Kaohsiung, which are the most suitable for military ports, and it will be the largest base for my future development of naval forces to deter Southeast Asia and the Asia-Pacific military! Li Hongzhang looked at Zhang Yi enviously, this young man is full of pride, decisive, far-reaching, if he can be thirty years younger, he must have a good fight with him, old, old. What kind of strong man is in his twilight years, his heart is strong, he is old, his mood is not good, his energy is also not good, and he only has envy left. Li Hongzhang stood up from his seat, paced back and forth a few steps, and said: "Jianzhi, don't worry, this matter is on me, backed by your force, with my face, those ministers will not go too far!" ”