Before the Meiji Restoration began, the emperor, the reformers, and the shogunate had reached a consensus on the issue of reform. Pen "Fun" Pavilion www.biquge.info

In fact, it is in the original history, after the success of the Wuxu Reform at the end of the Qing Dynasty.

Although the last shogun, Tokugawa Yoshiki, was the supreme leader of the shogunate, he himself was a reformist, and in 1867 he was engaged in the restoration of the government.

It was only because the conservative forces of the shogunate were too deep and there was no unity of opinion, and the two feudal domains of Satsuma and Choshu were anxious and couldn't wait, so they launched the war of the shogunate.

The Boshin War ended in 1869, and the last aftermath of the Southwest War was in 1877.

Because of the relationship between the emperor, this war has not been fought yet, if it is according to the original historical trajectory of development, Saigo Takamori died a long time ago, but now Saigo Takamori is still alive, not long ago, that is, before the emperor visited Europe, just after being captured by Xuan Jianzhang, but the emperor ordered that Xuan Jianzhang and Li Hongzhang put Saigo Takamori back.

The Satsuma and Changzhou feudatories had the strength to compete with the central government, while the Chinese reformers had little foundation to speak of, and it was impossible for the feudal ministers in various places to help the reformers fight against the old ones, and in the end it would be even more chaotic than in the Beiyang period.

No matter how the elites at the top toss, the rural clan system at the bottom and the way of facing the loess with their backs to the sky do not change, and the society is still like that.

Of course, there is another situation that has to be considered, and in the process of change, the gun is used to coerce other blind followers.

Hua Huang told Zeng Jize some of his views on the direction of the country, which gave Zeng Jize a new understanding of the situation of the whole country and Hua Huang's foreign policy.

Zeng Jize also reported to Huahuang some of his learning achievements in Europe.

Zeng Jize has a basic understanding of Chinese and Western cultures.

Starting from primary education, he believed: "The so-called primary schools in China are divided into ancient and modern. Sinologists take words, sounds, and exegesis as the beginning of learning, and ancient primary schools also. Song scholars to sprinkle sweeping, to deal with the advance and retreat for the child Mengji site, now the primary school also. ”

And "the so-called primary school of the Westerners uses a microscope to examine the delicate things, so as to help the family to study the difference between the condensation of all materials, the difference between life and death, animals and plants, etc., and the reason why the fetal egg wetting is different."

From the details to know the giant, from the surface to the inside, from the useless to the useful, from the same species to detect the different.

Taking this as a primary school, it is equally important to compete with optics and electricity. Set up a guild to invite people to visit, but also to brainstorm ideas. ”

From this point of view, Chinese studies focus on people's moral texts and the practice of the subject, while Western studies focus on the investigation of objective things.

Zeng Jize did not compare the number of Western studies with China's "knowledge of things".

Although he mentioned that "he wants to make Chinese businessmen imitate the art of European rich countries and strong soldiers, and the learning of learning from things".

However, if he further deduces, he may even be able to conclude that traditional Chinese learning does not really follow the precepts of "sincerity, righteousness, knowledge, knowledge, self-cultivation, family harmony, governance of the country, and peace in the world", but ignores the knowledge of things and goes directly to the road of self-cultivation.

This may be the deviation of traditional Chinese learning from the original dogma of Neo-Confucianism (science), consciously or unconsciously, and this deviation is the root cause of the problems of Chinese learning.

His understanding of Western culture has directly penetrated into Zeng Jize's practice of handling diplomacy.

Zeng Jize found that Western international relations follow a rule, that is, international law, and the fundamental point of international law is to protect national sovereignty, regardless of the size of the country.

Zeng Jize said to Emperor Hua: "Western countries maintain each other's system with public law, protect the vassals of small countries, and all have the right to be independent. ”

This is the biggest cultural difference from the traditional relations between countries in the East. The consciousness of international law and sovereignty has given Zeng Jize infinite strength, and he uses Western international law as a weapon to attack the spear of the son and the shield of the son.

Emperor Hua listened to Zeng Jize's words, he was very happy, and agreed: "It's very good, I thought of going with me, a few days ago, I also talked to Princess Katrina Kafu about education, which is similar to what you said." ”

Zeng Jize said with a smile: "Where do I have any good methods, these are all summed up through his usual speeches to His Majesty in the Huacui Evening News, but after a few years in Europe, I have some new experiences, and I usually educate Siping like this." ”

Hua Huang smiled slightly and affirmed Zeng Jize's work.

In the original history, Zeng Jize successfully recovered Ili in difficult negotiations with Russia. When debating the matter of raising taxes on foreign medicines in the "Yantai Treaty," he said in righteous terms: "All Western countries, no matter how big or small, strong or weak, have their own tax policies, and all of them shall be subject to the customs decrees. Although the guest is strong and big, it cannot encroach on the autonomy of the host country. "The right to raise taxes is up to me!"

For this alone, Zeng Jize was enough to be included in the ranks of famous ministers in the late Qing Dynasty, but his father's light was too strong, covering up the edge of this brilliant diplomat in the late Qing Dynasty.

Zeng Jize also has many unique insights into his experience and understanding of Western society.

For diplomats, it is a basic mission to investigate the "differences in political language, writing, and customs" in the countries where they are located.

Zeng Jize's diary mainly recorded the conclusions of his observations in this regard.

Let's start with the architecture. Chinese buildings are spread out in many planes, and the floors are not high, which is a waste of land.

"The foundation value of the Westerners is very high, so it is a good building, the height is up to eight or nine floors, and the first and second floors of the cave are the kitchens and wine rooms, which can be said to cherish the ground."

Zeng Jize did not further analyze the root cause of this difference.

In fact, this difference is due to the difference in the stage of development between China and the West.

China's cities are not fully developed because they are in the stage of agricultural civilization, while the rapid development of Western cities and industry and commerce will inevitably lead to rising land prices and high-rise buildings.

For garden construction, Zeng Jize also noticed the difference between China and the West.

In the West, the scale of the garden is far-reaching, and the situation is empty. Visiting the place where the swallows rest, the big ones are more than ten miles a week, and the small ones are also three miles a day, without a little heart for the ground, and there is no slightest simple accommodation. If you rejoice with the people, the people will not complain. ”

This conclusion is very insightful: he combined the construction of public gardens in the West with the political ideal of "enjoying with the people", and discovered the people-oriented political gene of Western society. The implication is that most Chinese gardens were built by private or royal families, and did not practice the ideal of "enjoying with the people" of the ancients.

Zeng Jize's understanding of military power. As an ardent supporter of the Westernization Movement, Zeng Jize should be said to be the most sensitive to the gap between the military strength of China and the West.

As for the strong roots of Western military power, he recognized: "The scale of the building is also in line with the intelligence of the people of the country, and the accumulation of decades of experience and the consumption of countless financial endowments before becoming a success." Therefore, Hong is subtle and good at winning. ”

Why is it that the West has been able to use the wisdom and strength of the whole country to create such a huge military machine? Zeng Jize was vague.

Hua Huang speculated that this may be a flaw in Zeng Jize's observation, but it may also be his reluctance to get involved in political disputes.

Because of Zeng Jize's famous article written in Europe, on the other hand, China's own famous article "On China's First Sleep and Then Wake Up" said that "as for domestic political affairs", Zeyun "will not say anything for the time being".

Huahuang affirmed Zeng Jize's thoughts, people who have been abroad for a long time have a unique vision, but people in China, as long as they often read what Huahuang wrote, can also have such an understanding.

"Duke Bismarck, with all sides, plays with Austria, France, and Russia in the palm of his hand. Bismarck was a staunch nationalist, but his foreign policy changed repeatedly, uniting different countries at different times for the noble purpose of unifying Germany. A mature politician must believe that there are no eternal friends. Emperor Hua smiled at Zeng Jize.

Zeng Jize nodded, "Yes." ”

"You will go to Germany this time, and at the same time focus on diplomacy, you also have to make a precursor to China's orders, remember, we have to order German warships, but before formal negotiations, you have to let the Germans know that we are mainly inclined to order British and French warships." President Meng continued to say to Zeng Jize.

Zeng Jize said curiously: "Find a few more to negotiate the price, I can understand this, but why did Your Majesty recognize the warships to order the Germans?" Isn't it true that the British Navy is the strongest in the world, and the French are in second place? The fledgling German industry, is it capable of building battleships of the first rank? Germany's shipbuilding experience is certainly inferior to that of the British and French, and even if we do not have good relations with Britain and France now, I am confident that it will not affect the order, and besides, we also take advantage of the purchase of warships to ease relations with the British and French. ”

When Emperor Hua heard Zeng Jize say this, he knew that Zeng Jize had already done some homework in the navy and warships, and he was very pleased, and said with a smile: "Easing relations does not rely on sending money!" Relying on the contest of national strength, I bought from the Germans who had little experience in shipbuilding, and I had made up my mind, and the German industry was fully capable of building the latest battleships. Moreover, we do not receive the goods directly without inspection. ”

The middle and late nineteenth century was an extremely important stage for the development of the world's ships, and almost all later works on the history of warships and navies will mention this colorful golden age to a greater or lesser extent.

During this period, with the rapid development of the industrial revolution, new technologies and inventions such as steam engines, steel armor, and breech guns continued to emerge, and the wooden sail warships that dominated the seas for centuries reluctantly began to withdraw from the stage of history in the face of new technologies.

In that era, ironclads were undoubtedly the overlords of the seas.

This kind of iron-clad warship, which was developed from the battleships of the sail warship era, played the role of the main battle warship in the navy, and was used to participate in regular large-scale naval operations, and was the backbone of the navies of various countries and a symbol of national strength. According to the simple division standard at that time, ironclad ships can be divided into first-class ironclad ships (displacement of more than 5 and 6,000 tons), and later China's "Dingyuan" was called "first-class ironclad ships all over the world", and this kind of large ironclad ships are the ancestors of later generations of battleships; Another type of ironclad ship is smaller, called a second-class ironclad ship (displacement of 3, 4,000 tons), and the Japanese "Fuso" and "Hiei" ironclad ships belong to this category, and it is customary to call them "small ironclad ships" at that time.

The ironclad ships that Huaguo now needs to buy, as for cruisers, light cruisers, and even smaller gunboats and torpedo ships, Huaguo already has the ability to produce them on its own.

"Okay." Zeng Jize nodded and agreed, "Your Majesty, how many ships do you want, what size?" ”

"Four!" President Meng gestured four fingers, "The biggest ironclad ship of this era!" ”

Hua Huang didn't say it directly, in fact, he wanted four Dingyuan-class battleships!

The "Dingyuan" battleship/first-class armored ship cost 6.2 million marks (equivalent to 370,000 pounds), which is a Dingyuan-class battleship, in the original history, commissioned by the Qing Dynasty to build a 7,000-ton first-class ironclad ship built by the Vulcan shipyard in Tantbury (which was assigned to Poland after World War II, now known as Szczecin).

They are Dingyuan and Zhenyuan, which are the main ships of the Beiyang Fleet of the Qing Dynasty.

Construction began in 1881, and the "Dingyuan" ship was launched on December 28 of the same year, and the "Zhenyuan" ship of the same class was launched on November 28 of the following year; The "Dingyuan" and "Zhenyuan" ships were completed in 1884, and the Dingyuan ships cost about 1.4 million taels of silver, and the Zhenyuan ships cost about 1.42 million taels of silver.

The British ambassador at the time, Wilma, pointed out that the price of these two ironclad ships was already very cheap at that time.

The German government won the order in order to stimulate heavy industry on the one hand and increase Germany's political influence in the Far East on the other.

In 1885, the second ship arrived at Dagukou and joined the Beiyang Naval Division.

At that time, the second ship could be called "the largest ship in Asia".

In the same year, a 2,440-ton cruiser Jiyuan was purchased in Germany, which was far inferior in performance to the "Dingyuan" and "Zhenyuan" ships, but the cost accounted for nearly half of the former, 680,000 taels of silver.

In the shipbuilding contract, it was originally stipulated that the ship would be shipped to China after completion, except for the shipping, but due to the impact of the Sino-French War, Germany was required to maintain neutrality, so it was not shipped until after the war.

In this time and space of Huahuang, Huahuang has increased the number, and the demand for two ships has been changed to four, because Huahuang knows the craftsmanship level of the Germans, and there is no problem!

The Zhenyuan armored ship is also produced by the German Volkeng shipyard and is a quasi-sister ship of the Dingyuan, and the parameters are basically the same. When Weihaiwei fell, the Zhenyuan ship, which had been heavily damaged, was captured by the Japanese and incorporated into the Japanese Combined Fleet, where it participated in the Russo-Japanese War. In 1915 it was decommissioned and dismantled.

Participated in previous battles, and it was still used until the end of the Russo-Japanese War, which fully demonstrated the excellent quality.

Emperor has confidence in the industrial products of the Germans, and most of the current engineers are dug from Britain, Germany, France and the United States, so Emperor has a basic concept of the world's industry.

The same technology, the same cost, must be the last German product.

Zeng Jize nodded, and after getting clear instructions from Emperor Hua, he also had a bottom in his heart.

Buying four first-class battleships at a time is big news, Zeng Jize was secretly boiling in his heart.