After all the Japanese left, Chonghou hesitated a little and said to Lin Yizhe: "Kunyu, today's peace talks are a bit too much, right?" ”

Of course, Lin Yizhe understood the meaning of Chonghou's words, and couldn't help but smile slightly: "The Japanese are extremely cunning, Chonggong has also been taught these days, if they don't ask for such a sky-high price, how can they sit on the ground and pay back?" ”

Chonghou was stunned, recalling the scene when Lin Yizhe negotiated with the Japanese before he arrived at the Prime Minister's Yamen, sighed, and nodded. Pen @ fun @ pavilion wWw. ｂｉｑUｇE。 ｉｎｆｏ

"I understand Kunyu's intention, which is to squeeze the silver out of the Japanese, but now that the peace talks have broken down, if the Japanese envoy returns to China with the flag, will he really want to start a war with them?"

"Chonggong rest assured, the Japanese envoy will never return to China on this basis." Lin Yizhe said with a smile, "They are just forcing their posture to save face, and they don't dare to do that." ”

"Shicai Kunyu said that sending a naval ship to Ryukyu to comfort the overseas Chinese is a way to intimidate the Japanese, but I heard that there seem to be Japanese soldiers stationed in Ryukyu, and if there is a conflict, it will not be what the emperor wishes to start a war with the Japanese......" Xia Jiahao reminded Lin Yizhe.

These two ministers, who are considered to be more knowledgeable in the prime minister's yamen, are still most worried about the resumption of war at the moment.

Guo Songtao saw the hesitation on the faces of the two of them, understood what they were thinking, and replied for Lin Yizhe: "It is already a battle that must be won, and if it is fought, it will be fought, and when the Japanese people spit out the money, there will be no need for such tongues." ”

Listening to Guo Songtao's words that seemed to be a bit bookish, Chonghou and Xia Jiahao were quite disapproving, the two glanced at each other, and Chonghou said: "Kunyu remembered the twists and turns of the war before, I have seen it, the current situation, my sailor is better than Japan, and the land division is weaker than him, if the war resumes, there is no certainty of victory, in this case, why not relax a little and make it within my range?" ”

"Chonggong knows that Japan has no border with our country, and if there is a full exchange of troops, the victory or defeat depends on the sailors." Guo Songtao smiled and said, "Now that the ships that the Japanese sailors can fight have been completely wiped out, there are only a few small old ships, which are powerless to compete with our sailors, and even if their land divisions are strong, there is nothing they can do without the cover of the sailors." If the war resumes, the ships of our naval division only need to bombard their shores and block their sea routes, and the Japanese will be trapped. ”

Hearing Guo Songtao's words of "not in and not far", Lin Yizhe couldn't help but admire Guo Songtao very much.

Guo Songtao, who is also born in reading the "Book of Sages", has a comprehension of new things and the ability to learn and apply them is indeed beyond the times!

Through these words, Chonghou and Xia Jiahao understood the confidence of Lin Yizhe to open his mouth to the Japanese lion, and also understood why he told the Japanese that he would send a sailor ship to the Ryukyus. But the two of them still expressed doubts that Hayashi could squeeze so much money out of the Japanese.

"So I'll make a bet with the three of you today." Lin Yizhe smiled and said to the three prime ministers and ministers, "With 20 taels of silver as a bet, if this peace talks, I fail to obtain such a huge amount of money from Japan, I will lose 20 taels of silver and you, if I win, you only need to give me 5 taels of silver." ”

Seeing that Lin Yizhe was so confident, Chonghou and Xia Jiahao didn't say anything anymore. Although Guo Songtao smiled, he also had some doubts in his heart about whether Lin Yizhe could squeeze this astronomical amount of compensation from the Japanese.

At about the same time, Okubo Ritsu, who got into the carriage, looked at Ito Hirobumi and a few others sitting next to him, cold sweat trickled down his forehead, and his face turned from white to blue.

"I can't imagine that he dares to blackmail us like this......" Okubo Ritsu said hatefully, clenching the white gloves in his hand tightly, "Damn! Damn it! ”

"He's not just blackmailing us, he's making military threats." Hirobumi Ito said in a deep voice, "He said that he was going to send warships to the Ryukyus, and I don't think he was talking empty words. ”

"Yes." Kido Takayo nodded, "I think he may have made such preparations a long time ago." ”

Thinking of the possible outcome for Japan, all four people in the carriage were worried.

"He must not be allowed to succeed! Never! Okubo hissed, a frenzied look in his eyes that frightened the other three in the carriage.

"Kogi! Calm down! Kido Takayo said sharply.

"We have to find a way to stop it!" Okubo Ritsu made Kido Takayoshi scream to wake up, he deserved to be one of the "three masters" of Japan's Meiji Restoration, knowing that this was not the time to panic, he immediately tried to calm himself down.

"Now I'm afraid we have to rely on foreign interference." "We should inform the U.S. minister of the outcome of today's negotiations and suggest to him that Kiyokuni may go to war with the U.S. over the Monaken incident and seek U.S. support," Kido said. ”

"Not only the American minister, but I think we should also make contact with the Russian minister." Okubo Ritsu said, a cold glint flashing in his eyes, "We want to give the hateful Qing people the impression that Japan and Russia are about to form an alliance!" Let the Qing people not dare to go to war against Japan! ”

"Yes, this is a good way to put pressure on the Qing court." Hirobumi Ito agreed with Okubo Ritsu's approach, "Even if we can really reach an alliance with Russia, we might as well fake it!" ”

"Fake play?" Listening to Hirofumi Ito's words, Okubo Ritsu and the other three were all surprised.

"If Japan wants to strengthen itself, it needs strong foreign aid, and if Russia is willing to form an alliance with Japan, it will greatly help Japan contain the Qing Dynasty." "So if we can really make an alliance, it will be a good thing for Japan." My concern now is that Russia may not be willing to form an alliance with Japan. ”

"Yes, the Russians don't do anything that has no interests." Takayoshi Kido also said, "If you really want to form an alliance with Russia, Japan will probably give Russia great benefits." ”

"And what about the benefits for the Russians? It's better than being squeezed so badly by the Qing State! Okubo Ritsu remembered today's negotiations, and there seemed to be a fire burning in his eyes, "If Japan agrees to the conditions of the Qing Kingdom and pays so much compensation, it is equivalent to giving up the opportunity to rise!" will be trampled under the feet of the Qing Kingdom forever! In contrast, even if you pay Russia a certain benefit, it is a hundred times stronger than giving in to the Qing state! ”

"Yes! Compared with the amount of reparations, it is enough to cede all of the island of Birch (i.e. Sakhalin) to Russia! As long as Russia can help Japan to avoid the blackmail of the Qing State! Kido Takayo said.

"Yes, it's worth the price in comparison." Okubo Ritsu said, "Shunsuke, I'll leave the matter of talking to the Russians to you, and the question of the ownership of Huatai Island may as well be used as a weight in negotiations." ”

"Okay." Hirobumi Ito nodded in agreement.

"I think we can also take advantage of the Qing people." At this time, Ito Hirobumi came up with his own solution.

"Take advantage of the Qing people?" Okubo Ritsu glanced at Hirobumi Ito and suddenly understood.

"Mr. Chunmu, are you planning to use the imperial historians who are in charge of supervision by the Qing Imperial Court to impeach Lin Yizhe?" Yanagihara Maemitsu, who had not spoken, immediately understood what Ito Hirobumi's method was and immediately said it.

"Yes. Although the imperial historians of the Qing Dynasty were not of high rank, they had the power to impeach ministers. We can make a fuss about them and get them to impeach Lin Yizhe, accuse him of making things difficult for no reason, sabotage the negotiations, and push the Qing emperor to remove Lin Yizhe. Hirobumi Ito said calmly, "If you can remove him and negotiate with someone else, that would be the best situation." Even if he can't be replaced, he may consider his position and reduce the indemnity in order to reach a peace agreement. ”

"Shunsuke's strategy is clever, and the Qing officials are greedy, in order to reach a peace agreement as soon as possible, it is advisable to give these Qing officials a certain amount of bribes." Kido Takayo said happily.

"Yanagihara-kun, can you find those imperial histories?" Hirobumi Ito asked, turning to Maemitsu Yanagihara.

"Yes." Yanagihara Maemitsu nodded, "Although we don't have direct contact with them, we can contact them through an intermediary." ”

"Let's do it." Okubo Ritsu nodded and said to Yanagihara Maemitsu, "No matter how much bribes are given to these Qing officials, compared to the indemnity, it is a negligible amount. So, don't skimp on money. ”

"I understand." Yanagihara Maemitsu nodded.

Okubo noticed that Yanagihara Maemitsu didn't seem to be very interested in bribing Chinese officials, and that he had always looked thoughtful, and felt a little strange, so he asked, "Yanagihara-kun, do you have any other good suggestions?" ”

"Oh...... In my opinion, in addition to the Russian and American ministers, the British ministers should also have more contacts there. Yanagihara hesitated, but still didn't say what he thought.

Britain has always expressed opposition to Japan's invasion of Taiwan, and the failure of the army to conquer Taiwan this time has added to their pretext. The British may not be willing to help us. Okubo snorted from his nose, "Britain and Russia have always had a deep contradiction, and if they knew that we were planning to form an alliance with Russia, they would definitely regard Japan as an enemy and turn to help Qing Guo!" There is nothing feasible about this solution, so forget it! ”

Hearing that Okubo Ritsu vetoed his proposal, Yanagihara Maemitsu was silent.

"Let's take action from now on!" Okubo looked at Hirobumi Ito and the others, sighed, and said, "The future of Japan is up to you!" As he spoke, he sat there and bowed forward.

Ito Hirobumi and the other three bowed and returned the salute, and at this time, the hearts of the four Japanese people all felt extremely heavy.

At this time, the Japanese did not know that a great crisis was about to come.

Harbour Wharf, Hong Kong, 6 September 1874.

Busy ferries sail between the north and south shores of the harbour, with fishing boats, cargo ships and steamships passing by from time to time, and the sound of steam whistles weaves together a wonderful sea scene.

At this time, there were many ships moored in front of the dock, most of them were foreign steamers, and among these ships, the figure of five cruisers flying the dragon flag was particularly eye-catching.

These are the five main cruisers of the Fujian Shipbuilding Division of China, "Fujing", "Jianjing", "Princess Heshuo", "Chaowu" and "Chengqing".

Although it is not the first time that a Chinese warship has come to Hong Kong, the arrival of a Chinese warship has attracted a large number of residents to stop and sightsee in the past few days. People have speculated about the purpose of these warships coming to Hong Kong, and they have used their imagination to play out their imaginations, and naturally, the most associated thing is the naval battle between China and Japan that took place in the waters of Taiwan.

The most rumored thing is that these warships came to Hong Kong to resupply and then sail straight to the Japanese mainland to fight.

The warm sunlight reflected through the porthole of the officer's cafeteria of the armored cruiser "Fujing", which inlaid Pei Jinquan's body with a faint gold edge, but also reflected the corners of his mouth trembling slightly. There are also hands that lie flat on their knees, and they are still shaking despite trying to suppress them.

He's been in a thrilling mood these days.

In fact, since receiving Lin Yizhe's secret instructions before going to Beijing, his mood has not calmed down.

Because now as the supreme commander of this fleet, only he knows the purpose of Lin Yizhe's mooring of this fleet in Hong Kong.

"Min Xiu, I've been thinking about it for a long time, what are you thinking?" A familiar voice sounded in the doorway.

Pei Jinquan raised his head and saw Deng Shichang walking in with a smile.

Although Pei Jinquan heard Deng Shichang greet him, his mind was still in meditation, and he was unaware of Deng Shichang's greeting.

"Min Xiu! What do you think? So fascinating? Ye Fu, who walked in after Deng Shichang, couldn't help but call him too, and he raised his head.

"Ah...... Zhengqing, Mengmei, you are here. Only then did Pei Jinquan wake up from a dream and greeted Deng Shichang and Ye Fu: "Hehe, here...... Distracted. ”

"What the hell is Min Xiu thinking? So distracted? Deng Shichang asked with a smile.

"yes, let's hear it." Ye Fu also raised his eyebrows.

Although Pei Jinquan is the oldest among the shipmasters and sailors, and now he is the commander of the sailors, he is inferior in terms of education than the later pipes from the shipmaster and sailor school, and he often has a low self-esteem. But because he is easy-going by nature and treats people honestly, although he is not a Fujian person, the pipe bands do not despise him, but when they get along, they are not as humble and strict as in the army.

"I think what I want, one is a hero, the other is the situation." Pei Jinquan's eyes flashed in a trance again, and he said, "Is it the hero who creates the situation, or the situation that creates the hero?" ”

Listening to Bei Jinquan's words, Deng Shichang was slightly stunned, and then immediately spoke: "The ancient proverb has a cloud that the current situation creates heroes, and there is also a saying that heroes create the current situation, but in Deng's humble opinion, the current situation can create heroes, but heroes may not be able to shake the current situation!" ”

Whether the times create heroes or heroes create the times is an unsolvable paradox like chickens laying eggs or eggs laying chickens, and although the words Deng Shichang said at this time still sound a little infectious. But for Pei Jinquan, it is like scratching the itch in the boots, but it is just like the wind passing through the ears.

"Can Zhengqing give one or two examples?" Pei Jinquan asked.

"Min Xiuke still remembers that in Daoguang's twenty-year opium campaign, the three dukes who were martyred?" Deng Shichang looked at the beautiful scenery of Hong Kong Harbor outside the window and said.

Hearing Deng Shichang talk about the three general soldiers Guan Tianpei, Ge Yunfei and Chen Huacheng who were martyred in the Opium War, the eyes of Pei Jinquan and Ye Fu were gloomy.

"The three general soldiers are all sacrificed for the country in the bloody battle, and after they die, they are extremely grieved......" Deng Shichang suddenly stopped, he looked at Bei Jinquan, "It's a pity, we still lost the battle." ”

Deng Shichang's gaze suddenly deepened, and his expression became thoughtful.

Ye Fu's eyelids jumped suddenly, and a strange feeling floated in his heart, he picked up the cup and took a sip of tea. Then he put down his arms and said slowly: "Zhengqing, please speak." ”

"Although Deng did not experience the opium battle, he had heard it talk about it. Although our Daqingshui Division and Lu Division suffered successive defeats in this battle, it was also related to Zhongjie, Ge Zhuangjie, Chen Zhongjie and other loyal and brave people who fought to the death for the country. Deng Shichang continued.

Pei Jinquan nodded solemnly, his eyes gloomy. And Ye Fu's face was also full of sentimentality.

"Zhengqing, can the three general soldiers be called heroes?" Pei Jinquan's voice was much darker than at the beginning.

"If the three martyrs can't be called heroes......", Deng Shichang said with deep eyes, "From now on, there will be no heroes in the world!" ”

"However, Deng Mou has one thing that is unclear - after the martyrdom of the third duke, in addition to the praise of the imperial court, how can there be some waves among the people of Shilin?"

"The martyrdom of the three dukes has been more than 30 years ago! If it is really a relative or a remnant of sorrow, others have also sung! Deng Shichang's voice has turned cold, "In fact, after only a few years of martyrdom, the three dukes have almost been forgotten by the world!" ”

Pei Jinquan was stunned.

Deng Shichang suddenly turned his head to look out the window, at this time, the sun outside was close to noon, which was extraordinarily bright, stabbing his eyes, but making Deng Shichang's mood calm down in an instant.

"Min Xiu......" He turned his head again, looking at Pei Jinquan in front of him with blazing eyes, "This Hong Kong has been occupied by the British for many years, and now you look at this Stusi people, do anyone still remember the shame of ceding the city and giving up the land?" ”

Pei Jinquan was slightly stunned. He moved his lips with some hesitation, but he still didn't say a word.

The three of them were speechless for a moment.

The hour hand of the floor-to-ceiling chiming clock from Guangzhou points steadily to the Arabic numerals symbolizing 12 o'clock. A dull bell rang out.

"Zhengqing doesn't have to worry too much...... Bei Jinquan lowered his eyebrows, gently stirred the black tea in the cup with a spoon, and said in a gentle tone: "It's all my own people here, if you have anything to say, it's okay to say it." You have shared weal and woe, you can know everything without scruples, say everything, if something happens, you have Kunyu to take care of us. ”

Thinking of Lin Yizhe, Pei Jinquan had a warm feeling in his heart.

"Deng thinks that the reason why the death of the three princes cannot awaken my will to hate the same enemy of the whole country is that the people's wisdom has not been opened! As the so-called family and country, the people of our country, because most of them are poor and have no Sichuan capital to go to school, so there are many illiterate people, and all the foolish people of this generation often have a home but no country in their hearts, and regard state affairs as if they have nothing to do with their own external affairs, so they are almost completely concerned about the rise and fall of the country, and naturally they will not have the idea of serving the country because of the death of the three princes. Deng Shichang said bluntly.