"The emperor's mother is angry! The son also felt that there was something very strange about this, so he didn't rush to deal with it...... "Emperor Tongzhi saw his mother's anger getting stronger and stronger, and his forehead suddenly sweated. Pen @ fun @ pavilion wWw. ｂｉｑUｇE。 ｉｎｆｏ

"If you really call that Lin Yizhe right, our Qing Dynasty's affairs are not good, but it is bad for these things that have no heart!" The Empress Dowager Cixi pointed to the thick stack of folds and said sharply, "These bastards will be strictly investigated by the Criminal Department!" If there is a situation of collusion, the punishment will be severe! ”

"My son obeys!" Emperor Tongzhi shuddered when he heard this, and immediately responded.

Weng Tongyi, who was standing on the side, couldn't help but be shocked when he heard Emperor Tongzhi's answer, he wanted to say a few words for the official who impeached Lin Yizhe, but he recalled the word "Tongyu" in the words of the Empress Dowager Cixi just now, and his heart was also excited, and the words of argument shrank into his mouth, and he couldn't say it anymore.

Although Weng Tongyi wondered why the Empress Dowager Cixi suddenly thought of the "tongwen" of the officials from Yu Lingchen's recital, he also knew in his heart that this kind of loss of integrity and integrity was definitely possible for those poor people.

At this moment, at the Prime Minister's Yamen, the judgment of China and Japan is still continuing. Due to the absence of the head of the Japanese diplomatic corps and the chief negotiator, Toshimito Okubo, due to "illness", the negotiations were mainly between Yoshitetsu Hayashi and Hirobumi Ito.

In his diary, Guo Songtao recorded the negotiation scene in detail.

"On the 12th, the peace talks resumed, but Okubo was still not present, Ito was the leader, Kido was second, and Yu and Lin Kunyu talked with him."

"Lin Kunyu said: 'Your envoy saw my abridgement this time, but there are only two sentences, yes and no.'"

"Ito said, 'This is a peace talk, and debate is not allowed?' ”

"Lin Kunyu said: 'Debate is naturally possible, but the conditions set must not be reduced in the slightest.' ”

"Ito said, 'That is, I will defend myself with the amount that has been discussed.' First, the indemnity of 7 million pounds is a huge amount that our country can hardly bear. ’”

"Lin Kunyu said: 'This is the number that has been reduced, and the reduction of one million pounds is because my queen mother has a long life, and she is extraordinarily generous, and it has been reduced beyond reduction, and if your country does not allow it, and the war resumes, the reparations will be even greater.' ”

"Ito said: 'The reparations are so great that Japan cannot afford to give them, and if the amount is even larger, it will be even more impossible to give. Please also reduce it to yes. ’”

"Lin Kunyu said: 'The number of funds has been reduced again, our ship is now in Ryukyu, this is an alliance under the city, and it cannot be otherwise.'" ”

"Ito could not answer, and Lin Kunyu said: 'Japan changed the old system, reformed the law, made great achievements in railways, telegraphs, mining, and commerce, and improved the currency system, which can be described as a vast source of wealth, and the mere amount of seven million pounds may not be reduced by this.' ”

"Ito said: 'The Restoration is only a small success, the land is only agricultural products, the grain is not yet self-sufficient, there is not much financial resources, there is no way to open up, if this money is not paid, then our people will die!'" Please reduce it again. ’”

"Lin Kunyu said: 'Japan lives in the corners of the four seas, produces a lot of money, has a wide range of financial resources, and our people also have 10,000 people in Japan to make a living. ”

"Ito said, 'How about Japan asking your minister to be prime minister?' ”

"Lin Kunyu said: 'Play my emperor, if the emperor allows it, you can go.'" ”

"Ito said, 'If you don't allow it, your minister will not be able to go.'" Your minister should put himself in his shoes and be considerate of the situation in which we are in trouble. If the treaty is written according to this number, the Western countries will know that they will be able to compensate for foreign debts, and they will inevitably demand heavy interest on us, and the debts cannot be borrowed or repaid, and the dishonest countries will resume war. Why bother too much? ’”

"Lin Kunyu said: 'This time, your country invaded our border first, killed our people, bombarded our cities, cut off our trade routes, and plundered our merchant ships, our people suffered heavy casualties, and the loss of goods and goods was hundreds of millions. This is your own self-inflicted! If it is not for our country to blindly force each other, it is really too much blood debt, otherwise it is not enough to relieve the anger of the people and relieve the country's difficulties. As for borrowing to repay the debt, it is your country's responsibility. ’”

"Ito said, 'What if you can't pay it back?' ”

"Lin Kunyu said: 'For the sake of harmony between the two countries, one million pounds has been subtracted, and it will be reduced again by all difficulties.' ”

"Ito said, 'Please reduce it again.'" ”

"Lin Kunyu said: 'There is no less.' ”

Ito was silent for a long time, and then said, 'I have not been able to agree to this. However, the right to borrow is in the person and not in me, and the borrowing can be repaid as soon as possible. Although your country has won this battle, why should you push people too much? Makes it impossible to take responsibility? ’”

"Lin Kunyu said: 'Your envoy can't take responsibility, is it not allowed to say?' ”

"Ito said: 'We are sincere and willing to renew the old friendship with your country, but we cannot wait for what we cannot do, and we cannot help but tell you directly.' ”

"Lin Kunyu said: 'According to my abridgement, I have tried my best to reduce, and if your country insists on not allowing it, there is only one way to start the war again.'" ”

"Ito said: 'Please reduce the reparations by another four million pounds, and seven million will not be bearable.' ”

"Lin Kunyu said: 'There is no further reduction, if your envoy does not allow it, he should send troops to the capital of your country to ask for it.'" ”

"Ito said, 'Your two countries are neighbors separated by a strip of water, and there is no need to break up like this, but there must be reconciliation.' ”

"Lin Kunyu said: 'This kind of compensation is your country's compensation for my losses, and it is still a debt, and if the debt is paid off, the two countries will naturally reconcile.' ”

"Ito said: 'Asking for debts is too ruthless, although it is not sincere. The abridgement of the previous sentence was really out of sincerity, and your minister blamed me for not saying this, but I spoke very bluntly and clearly told your minister that Japan would not be easy to attack. Britain, France, and the United States have failed to attack many times (the Sathro-British War before the Restoration), and the coastal waters of Japan are turbulent, and the Japanese people are strong and aggressive, which is not comparable to the people of your country. Your country now has only 10 soldiers, and the soldiers trained by Esifa are only tens of thousands, so how can you attack Japan? ”

"Lin Kunyu said: 'Whether it can be captured or not, you will know in a battle. This time, Fujian and Taiwan were slaughtered by your country, and the soldiers of our Navy Division and Lu Division gritted their teeth and hated it, no matter what kind of suffering, they were willing to bear it! This time your country invaded Taiwan, the Chinese soldiers blocked it, and everyone thought that the Chinese soldiers could not endure hardships, and the ships and artillery could not be used, and they were not opponents of the Japanese soldiers. Since our soldiers entered Taiwan to drive out the thieves, they have fought several fierce battles, but they have not suffered losses, and they have succeeded everywhere on land and water. ”

"Ito said: 'Taiwan is not comparable to Japan, and the Japanese people are brave and brave, defend the land and resist the war, and they should fight to the death. In the past, when the Yuan soldiers entered the army, there were many casualties. Although your country's naval division and land division are strong, after all, there are not many of them, and attacking the Japanese mainland will inevitably suffer heavy losses. What is the benefit of a fight to the death between you and me, and both sides are defeated? He was laughed at by the Western countries. I also hope that your minister will think twice. ”

"Lin Kunyu said: 'Now the situation is different, our soldiers are not the Yuan soldiers of the year, and our sailors are not the wooden ships of the Yuan, if your country wants to fight a heavy war with our country, see that I will use this number of troops to defeat Japan.' ”

At noon, the peace talks rested and each said goodbye. When shaking hands, Ito asked for a big reduction in the indemnity, and Kunyu shook his head and said, "It can't be reduced." ’”

After retiring, Ito Hirobumi got into the carriage with a pale face, and Kido Takayoshi followed him into the carriage with a gloomy face.

All three of them were so preoccupied all the way that they didn't say a word until the carriage came to the Japanese legation.

Everyone got out of the carriage, and Yanagihara Maemitsu saw Ito Hirobumi and Kido Takayoshi returning, and immediately greeted them.

"Mr. Chunmu, Mr. Songju, ...... today. How's the talk? Yanagihara asked with some eagerness.

"In vain." Ito Hirobumi sighed and shook his head, "This person is determined to be our enemy......"

Hearing Hirobumi Ito's answer, Yanagihara Maeko's heart tightened.

"By the way, Yanagihara-kun, how are you doing there? These days, those Qing officials should be playing for the impeachment of Lin Yizhe, right? Hirobumi Ito asked.

"They've already played, but ......" Thinking of the news he had just received from the Nakato, Yanagihara Maemitsu's face suddenly became very ugly.

"What? No effect? Kido Takayo read something from Yanagihara Maeko's face and immediately asked.

"Not only did it have no effect, but many of the officials who played the game were arrested......," Yanagihara replied in a low voice, "I heard that many officials have been accused of 'collaborating with the enemy......"

"What?!" Listening to Yanagihara Maemitsu's answer, Hirobumi Ito and Takayo Kido were all taken aback.

"Could it be a leak?" Ito Hirobumi hurriedly said, "Don't let the Qing government find evidence that we bribed them!" Otherwise, we're all doomed! ”

"There is no evidence." Yanagihara Maemitsu said, "We asked an intermediary to contact them, and what we gave them were all silver bills issued by Chinese money banks, and the Qing government could not find us even if they traced it." ”

"That's great......" Ito sighed with relief.

"However, since we are doing it so secretively, why are we still being detected by the Qing government?" Kido asked, frowning.

"It is likely that the officials Yanagihara-kun found were too timid and confessed as soon as they were intimidated." Ito Hirobumi sighed, "It's impossible for this kind of official to keep secrets for us. He looked at Yanagihara Maemitsu, "Who is the highest-ranking of these people you are looking for?" ”

"The general political envoy is Yu Lingchen." Yanagihara said, "This person had previously tried to impeach Lin Yizhe, but he was unsuccessful, and was punished by the Qing government. This time, I paid him 2,000 taels of silver through an intermediary, and asked him to try to impeach Lin Yizhe to sabotage the peace talks......"

"Do you know the content of this man's recital? Yanagihara-kun? Hirobumi Ito asked.

"He sent someone to show it to me, the content is very well written, and I think it should be able to pose a certain threat to Lin Yizhe." Yanagihara Qianguang said, and memorized the content of Ling Chen's impeachment of Lin Yizhe.

Hearing that Yanagihara Maemitsu had memorized Ling Chen's recital word for word, a hint of surprise flashed in the eyes of Hirobumi Ito and Takayoshi Kido.

"You actually memorized them? Yanagihara-kun? Kido Takayo asked in surprise.

"Yes." "He was worried that someone would notice that he had left the manuscript, so after he showed me the manuscript, he would come and burn it in front of me." But they didn't know, and I wrote it down. ”

"Judging by the content of this memo, this man is an expert on the language of impeachment." After listening to Yanagihara Maemitsu's recitation of the content of Ling Chen's recital, Ito Hirofumi pondered for a while and said, "This memora is very cleverly written and in line with the actual situation. Lin Yizhe is still haunted by the murder of his wife, and there are often unconscious expressions in his words, this article can be said to have written about his key points, but why did the Qing Emperor not approve the content of this memorabilia, but arrested the person who wrote it? ”

Hearing Hirofumi Ito talk about the dead Aya, Yanagihara Maemitsu's heart couldn't help but feel very sad.

"I have inquired about the specific situation, and it is said that the arrest of these officials was not from the order of the Qing Emperor, but from the instructions of the Qing Emperor Dowager, who was only carrying out his mother's will." Yanagihara Maemitsu said.

"Obviously, Lin Yizhe has an extremely important position in the hearts of the Empress Dowager of the Qing Dynasty!" Ito Hirofumi frowned, "The Empress Dowager of the Qing Kingdom would value him so much!" It's incredible......"

"Now it seems that the method of impeaching Lin Yizhe by bribing Qing officials to impeach Lin Yizhe is no longer working." Kido Takayoshi sighed, "Now there is only one way left, but I don't know how Kogi and the Russian minister are talking." ”

When Ito Hirobumi and others were negotiating with Yoshizhe Hayashi, the "sick" Okubo Ritsu was actually not idle.

"Nothing worked. The Russian minister was not at all interested in our proposal for an alliance, and the Russian government was not willing to offend the Qing for the sake of Japan at this time. Yanagihara Maemitsu shook his head and sighed, "After Mr. Kogi came back, this time he really fell ill. ”

"What?!" Hirobumi Ito was taken aback.

He has worked with Okubo for many years and has a deep understanding of Okubo's character. Okubo Ritsu is not a person who gives up easily, and this time he actually fell ill, obviously suffering a blow that he could not bear.

"Yes! How can a polar bear be eager to swallow such a weak Japan, so how can it help us? Kido Takayo sighed as well.

"Is there nothing that can be done? ......," Ito said with some indignation.

Kido Takayoshi and Yanagihara Maemitsu were relatively silent. The atmosphere in the room became extremely heavy for a while.

I don't know how long later, there was a sudden sound of lightning and thunder outside the window, and the three heroes of the Meiji Restoration in Japan looked up in unison, and saw that the sky outside the window was already covered with black clouds, and from time to time lightning broke through the darkness and made bursts of thunder, indicating that a storm was coming.

Yanagihara Maemitsu looked at the dark clouds in the sky, got up suddenly, and walked out.

"Where are you going? Yanagihara-kun? Kido Takayo asked, looking at the back of Yanagihara Maehitsu, who was walking heavily.

"I'll go see him." Yanagihara Maemitsu paused, did not look back, but replied in a somewhat lonely voice.

"You're going to see Lin Yizhe?" Hirobumi Ito suddenly understood and asked.

"Yes......" Yanagihara Maemitsu's voice revealed unspeakable pain, "I'll beg him to let Japan ...... go"

"You're going to beg him?" Kido Takayo asked in a hoarse voice, of course he understood what Yanagihara Maemitsu's departure meant to his own personal reputation.

"Yes......"

"But...... Will he listen to you? ......" Kido asked again.

"If you don't try, how can you know?" Yanagihara hissed, "Now...... As long as there is a glimmer of hope, you should try it...... For Japan...... What do you want me to do...... I'm willing to ......."

Hearing Yanagihara Maeko's answer, the corners of Ito's eyes became moist.

Yanagihara Maemitsu didn't speak again, but walked to the door step by step, and an embassy staff member saw Yanagihara Maemitsu go out, worried that it would rain for a while, so he took an umbrella and followed out.

Yanagihara Maemitsu didn't know how he had come to the door of Kenryo Temple, and he walked forward calmly, until he saw the surprised and wary gazes of the gatekeeper and the guards, and then he came back to his senses.

"Who are you? Who are you looking for? The porter looked at Yanagihara Maeko, who was dressed in a suit and leather shoes, and asked in a not very polite voice.

"Excuse me, please call Lord Lin Yizhelin, and say, the old man Yanagihara Qianguang asks to see him." Yanagihara Maemitsu said, took out a business card of his own from his pocket, handed it over, and stuffed a small door bag at the same time.

"Ouch! Lord Yanagihara, I can't do it! The porter glanced at this business card in his eyes, which was many times more shabby than the famous cards commonly used by Chinese scribes, and originally had a contempt in his heart, but the bluffing titles such as "Deputy Envoy of Japan" and "Senator" on the business card and Yanagihara Maemitsu's self-proclaimed "old friend" still played a certain role, and he accepted Yanagihara Maemitsu's business card, but rejected the door bag he handed over.

According to the rules, the door bag is not anyone's!

"You wait first, I'll go in and report to you." The porter said politely, took the business card and trotted away.

Yanagihara Maemitsu stood at the door, waited for a while, and after a while, the porter came back in a hurry.

"Mr. Yanagihara, my Lord Lin asked me to bring you a message, thank you for coming to visit, but now the peace has not been completed, and the official business is in person, so it is not appropriate to meet for the sake of avoiding suspicion. Please go back! ”

Yanagihara Maemitsu listened to the porter's words and didn't say anything, but stood there fixedly.

The porter waited for a while, and couldn't help but be surprised to see Yanagihara Maeko standing still and not leaving.

"Mr. Yanagihara, please go back!" The porter seemed to realize what Yanagihara Maemitsu was going to do, and urged him.

"If he doesn't see me, I won't leave." Yanagihara said with a blank expression, still standing in place.

Seeing his stubborn tone, the porter couldn't help frowning, and he no longer paid attention to Yanagihara Maeko, but turned back and closed the door.

Yanagihara looked at the small building inside the wall, didn't speak, just stood there.

It was late at night.

The sky was still flashing from time to time, with a faint thunder, Lin Yizhe put down the book in his hand, yawned, and was about to fall asleep, as if he suddenly remembered something, so he shouted, "Someone." ”

A servant came in response, and Lin Yizhe asked, "Is that Japanese still there?" ”

"Yes, my lord, I'm still standing there and not leaving." The servant replied.