Sheng Xuanhuai was so happy to see Li Hongzhang, and knew that the content of the message must be very much in line with his heart, and asked: "My lord, how is it, what does the message say?" ”

Li Hongzhang listened to Sheng Xuanhuai's inquiry, and said with a smile: "Xingsun, this Zhang Yi does have some ability, just in such a short period of time, he gave a first-class strategy, he is really a hero out of a young man." Yes, the conditioning is clear, the analysis is penetrating, and it is deafening. The last one, in particular, is insightful. It's a pity, after all, it's not easy to talk about being young and wanting to fight for a long time and exhaust Japan's national strength. Once the battle at the front is lost, with the temperament of Lafayette, how can he be willing to devote his national strength to fight to the death. Surely the land will be cut and sued for peace, with all his life. ”

Sheng Xuanhuai took the telegram from Li Hongzhang's hand, also browsed it, and echoed: "My lord, this Zhang Yi has such insight at a young age, but it is rare. ”

Li Hongzhang shook his head and said: "It's rare, at least the old man definitely doesn't have such profound insight when he is his age." Xingsun sent a telegram to Ding Ruchang, telling him to make every effort to reorganize the naval armament, inspect the ship's artillery and ammunition, and prepare for battle. For the generals who are on the corpse position, what should be taken is taken, and the combat power of each ship must be guaranteed. In addition, it is necessary to select competent generals to transport reinforcements and be more vigilant against Japanese sneak attacks. This war can be avoided for the best, once it is inevitable, there is only one battle, after all, Japan is not Britain and France, and we are not afraid of them. ”

Sheng Xuanhuai nodded yes and asked, "Lord Zhongtang, once the real war between China and Japan breaks out, which one does your lord prefer to dominate the overall situation?" ”

Li Hongzhang smiled bitterly: "Originally, Gongting was the best candidate, brave and resourceful, loyal to the country. It's just that after all, he is only a town commander-in-chief, and his qualifications are lacking, and Zhang Yi's analysis in the telegram is quite reasonable. If there is not a commanding battlefield general in Korea, I am afraid that the general soldiers of each town will do their own thing and do not listen to the dispatch, and they will make mistakes when the time comes. ”

While the two were discussing, someone outside the hall hurriedly barged in and reported: "Lord Zhongtang, there is a post report from the front, saying that it is the university scholar Weng Tongyi, who came to Tianjin to inquire about the Sino-Japanese war at the behest of the Queen Mother, and the people have entered Tianjin City!" ”

Li Hongzhang was overjoyed when he heard this, and said with a smile to Sheng Xuanhuai: "Xingsun, things are easy to do, since the Queen Mother sent Old Man Weng to ask for countermeasures in person, it means that Lafayette has no idea in his heart, and it just so happens that we can ask for credit for Nie Shicheng." Please ask the Queen Mother to give an order, take over Ye Zhichao's post as the commander of the direct subordination, and be fully responsible for the Sino-Japanese war in Korea, you can act cheaply, in this way, North Korea is mainly based on Gongting, supplemented by Zuo Guigui, and there is a young man like Zhang Yi, who must be able to block the Japanese army! ”

Sheng Xuanhuai also smiled and nodded.

Li Hongzhang and Sheng Xuanhuai have decided on a plan, and ordered the team to be listed to welcome the arrival of Weng Tongyi.

How did Sheng Xuanhuai come about? After the Battle of Toshima, China and Japan immediately declared war, but after the declaration of war, how to meet the war? Where to send elite aid to Korea, and where to send elite Gong to defend Gyeonggi? Which general went to the front to lead the whole army? Which minister coordinates the money? Above the court, there has been a quarrel, there are different opinions, there is no plan, the Empress Dowager Cixi is in a hurry, and the main battle against Emperor Guangxu has no idea. In the end, the Empress Dowager Cixi saw that the courtiers could not come up with any good plans, and was furious, scolded Weng Tongyong, the leader of the Qingliu who was fighting the main battle, and finally ordered him to immediately go to Jinmen to ask Li Hongzhang for advice on the strategy against Japan. Although Weng Tongyi, who was reprimanded by Cixi, was extremely reluctant to deal with Li Hongzhang, he had no other way but to go to Tianjin to see Li Hongzhang.

When everyone greeted Weng Tongyi to Li Hongzhang's mansion, Weng Tonggong ignored the wind and dust all the way, and asked eagerly: "Brother Shaoquan, now that China and Japan are at war, the old man came to ask for advice at the behest of Lafayette, the situation is urgent, I hope Brother Shaoquan will teach me, and I also ask Brother Tai to remember the favor of the imperial court, and deal with it quickly?" ”

Li Hongzhang looked indifferent and replied: "Master Weng, you are the Minister of Military Aircraft, the pillar of the country, how dare the old man be so polite?" Lafayette is wise I, Master Weng has the talent to go through the heavens and the earth, as for Hongzhang's words, don't listen to it. ”

Weng Tongyi's face was slightly red, knowing that Li Hongzhang was still angry that he was making things difficult in military spending. Weng Tonggong said helplessly: "Old Zhongtang, now that the two dukes of Chinese Zheng and Wen Xiang have passed away, those who are proficient in foreign affairs and good at military affairs are none other than Lao Zhongtang. ”

Weng Tongyi was angrily scolded by Cixi before leaving Beijing, the wars between China and Japan were caused by belligerents such as Er, and now the war is together, the lives are devastated, and the country is shaken, how to deal with it? Weng Tongyi is a scholar, how to understand the war, and he was trained to be ashamed of himself. Cixi was furious, and ordered him to get up immediately and ask Li Hongzhang for advice, if he could not get a satisfactory answer from Li Hongzhang, he would return to the court by himself, and there would be no good fruit to eat. In desperation, Weng Tongyi could only breathe in a low voice, begging Li Hongzhang to offer suggestions and suggestions to help him get through the current difficulties first.

Li Hongzhang saw that Weng Tongyi had bowed his head, and his heart was a little more comfortable, and he said helplessly: "Master Weng, now the imperial court, regardless of the flag soldiers or the green battalion soldiers, is all corrupt and has no combat power, only the children of Huaixiang can still fight, but the troops are insufficient; The Beiyang Navy has not been rectified for many years, its armament is lax, and once the naval battle begins, we have no chance of winning. ”

Weng Tong was stunned for a moment, and asked, "What about our warship?" It took ten years for the Beiyang Navy to be built, isn't it known as the first in Asia? ”

Li Hongzhang said angrily: "Master Weng, you are in charge of the household department, and you usually ask you to allocate funds and rectify the armament, but you always avoid talking about it. Now that something has happened, you come to ask the warship, can you win the battle just by relying on the warship? Soldiers have not been trained for a long time, and their skills are unfamiliar, how to operate artillery to meet the enemy? Without ammunition reserves, warships are targets to be placed on the sea, and no matter how many warships we have, what is the use? ”

Weng Tong smiled and said, "Brother Shaoquan, what happened in the past?" The money and food in the court are quite tight, and you also know that we are courtiers who are self-conscious, and it is the old man who is negligent. Now that the war is imminent, as long as we can win the war, Brother Shaoquan has something to ask, we will write to the Queen Mother and the Emperor together, and it will definitely be accurate, the country is in danger, and I hope that Brother Shaoquan will not shirk. ”

Li Hongzhang was helpless and said: "Master Weng, the old man has just received a telegram from North Korea, a few days ago, the Korean Japanese army raided Asan, Ye Zhichao was cowardly and incompetent, escaped from the battle, and was killed by the Japanese army. Fortunately, Nie Shicheng was loyal and brave, quite strategic, and took precautions in advance, so that the Nanda battalion retreated in the siege of the Japanese army, so as to retreat to Kaesong. Today, the Japanese army in Korea has more than 20,000 troops, and follow-up reinforcements are still landing from Inchon and heading north. I am afraid that in a few days, tens of thousands of troops will be assembled on the front line of Kaesong, and now Nie Shicheng is firmly holding Kaesong, with only 3,000 troops, and the situation is already very critical. ”

Weng Tongyong's face changed greatly when he heard this, and he really didn't expect that the situation in the Korean war had deteriorated to such a point. Weng Tong asked, "Brother Shaoquan, how is this good?" Once Korea is lost, the Japanese army will advance westward, and it will enter the three provinces outside the Guanwai, which is where the dragon vein of my ancestral court of the Qing Dynasty is located. ”

Li Hongzhang sighed secretly in his heart, these bigwigs in the DPRK and China will only intrigue on weekdays, but when it comes to a critical time, they can't stand up to! Li Hongzhang took a deep breath and said: "For today's plan, the only way to do this is to quickly organize reinforcements to rush to prepare for war outside the Guan. Please ask the emperor to decree, and the camps outside the gate immediately rushed to Kaecheng to support Nie Shicheng. Now that Ye Zhichao has died in battle, the governor of Zhili is vacant, and he has just been promoted to become the governor of Zhili, the governor of the Korean war situation, and the people and horses of the Korean battalions are all under Nie Shicheng's control, giving him the right to specialize in the battle, so that the Korean war situation has a chance to turn around. In addition, the old man also needs to sit in the Beiyang Navy, and it is really difficult to get out. On the land military, it is recommended that the Queen Mother appoint a capable minister, the governor of the imperial court, the troops outside the Guan, once the DPRK is lost, we can rely on the Yalu River, Linjiang may as well fight against the Japanese army. Song Qing, the governor of Sichuan, is proficient in warfare, Liu Mingchuan of Taiwan is also a civil and military all-rounder, and Liu Kunyi, the governor of Liangjiang, is also a loyal and brave talent, all of which can be appointed, please ask the Queen Mother Lafayette to judge. ”

Weng Tongyi cautiously asked: "Brother Shaoquan, may I ask, how much troops does the imperial court have to send in order to win the war against Japan in Korea?" ”