For that turbulent period of history, Saigo Takamori still remembers it vividly. Pen @ fun @ pavilion wWw. ｂｉｑUｇE。 ｉｎｆｏ

Saigo Takamori looked up at the waning moon in the sky and sighed: "What Japan needs now is time to recover!" ”

Thinking of his friend Monk Tsukizhao, who had disappeared in Jinjiang Bay, tears oozed from the corners of Saigo's eyes.

"Mr. Nanzhou......" Hearing Saigo Takamori's sigh, Gonbei Yamamoto seemed to understand something, and couldn't help but say.

As Shinohara Kunikan was about to make a question, the captain of the "Raiden Maru" Uemura Hikonosei quickly walked to the flybridge and reported to Saigo Takamori that the mine warfare exercise had ended.

"Uemura-kun, in recent times, has there been Qing warships on the Amami Islands?" Saigo Takamori asked.

"The last time a Qing warship appeared near the Amami Islands was seven days ago." Uemura Hikonosei didn't expect Saigo Takamori to suddenly ask about this at this time, he thought about it for a while, and immediately replied, "In the past few days, there has been no news of Qing warships from various observation posts and camouflage reconnaissance ships at sea. ”

Saigo Takamori nodded, turning his head to look into the distance.

"Mr. Nanzhou, it is estimated that the Qing warship should be returning to China to participate in the parade held for the birthday celebration of the Qing Empress Dowager, and of course it may still be stationed in Naha Port." Toshiaki Kirino said with some concern, "They should have been limited by the armistice agreement, so they didn't attack us immediately. Now that the Qing Empress Dowager's birthday celebration is coming to an end, they may be able to take further action. ”

Listening to Toshiaki Kirino's words, the people on the flybridge fell silent for a while.

After a long time, Saigo Takamori said to himself: "Okubo-kun, the negotiations with the Qing people must be quite difficult now, right?" ”

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Beijing, the Old Summer Palace, heaven and earth are a spring.

The dark sky scattered petals, and it seemed to have a faint fragrance. The snow drifted leisurely, rendering the world into a white expanse. At this time, in the spring of heaven and earth, all the pavilions and palaces are also covered in silver, just like the ice palace and the sky.

Although it was cold outside, it was warm inside.

The Empress Dowager Cixi got up and came to the window, staring at the beautiful snowy scene, and was a little stupid.

Seeing the Empress Dowager Cixi get up, Lin Yizhe also got up from the embroidery pier, and his eyes unconsciously looked out of the window.

In the courtyard, several palace maids and eunuchs are using small shovels to shovel pure white snow into porcelain jars.

"When the first emperor was there, whenever such snow fell from the sky, he would follow the example of the ancients and cook tea with snow." Empress Dowager Cixi said softly, "I drink it, but I actually think that it is not better than the water of Yuquan Mountain." But after a long time, it became a thought. ”

Listening to the Empress Dowager Cixi chatting with herself like an ordinary old lady, Lin Yizhe had an illusion in a trance.

"Taste it later, and see how the tea in this garden is different from the outside." The Empress Dowager Cixi turned around and said to Lin Yizhe with a smile.

"Thank you for the grace of the Queen Mother!" Lin Yizhe hurriedly replied.

"Sit down, in this garden, not above the court, no need to be restrained." Empress Dowager Cixi said.

Lin Yizhe thanked him and sat down, and the Empress Dowager Cixi pointed to a wooden cupboard in the corner of the Warm Pavilion, and said with a smile: "This time Tianjin Dayue Water Master, I have seen what this Western military ship looks like, and I am deeply touched. ”

As soon as Lin Yizhe entered this warm pavilion, he saw the golden ship models in these windows at first glance. Although he was not able to look closely, he could also tell that these were models of warships that had been scaled down to scale, including all the main warships of the current Harbour Master's Naval Division.

"Liu Chengyin, take it out and show it to Lin Kunyu, and look at the craftsmanship of the craftsmen of the Ruyi Pavilion of the Internal Affairs Office, which is comparable to the craftsmen of the shipyard." Empress Dowager Cixi said with a smile.

Liu Chengyin responded, stepped forward with several eunuchs, took out all the ship models in the cupboard, and placed them on the rosewood table beside Lin Yizhe.

Seeing these delicate and small models, Lin Yizhe couldn't help but hold his breath.

These models are not big palms, made of yellow rosewood with fine copper, one by one is very exquisitely made, details such as masts, anchors, artillery, flags, all in strict accordance with the proportion of the shrinked, it can be said that each piece is a rare boutique.

Unexpectedly, a ship parade that was not large-scale actually made the Empress Dowager Cixi have such a strong interest in shipbuilding, which really made Lin Yizhe excited.

He took the ship parade as a birthday gift this time, and originally planned to show the imperial court the results achieved by the shipmaster, so as to break the shackles brought by Zuo Zongtang's salary draw at the bottom of the kettle in the future and truly move towards great development. But now it seems that the excitement brought to the Empress Dowager Cixi by this parade is far more than that!

After the parade, Wen Xiang immediately reminded him that the Empress Dowager Cixi might be summoned in the near future to inquire about the shipmaster's affairs and let him prepare early. When Wen Xiang reminded him, he also specifically mentioned that the Empress Dowager Cixi was very concerned about ironclad ships and high-speed reconnaissance ships, and asked him to "pay attention to these two places"......

"The Ministry of Internal Affairs originally planned to make these parts of the ship in gold, but I was told to give it to it and use copper instead." The voice of the Empress Dowager Cixi pulled Lin Yizhe's thoughts back, "They are used to being extravagant, and they don't know how to be thrifty, if all this gold is used in shipbuilding, we will have ironclad ships early in the morning, and Japan will not dare to provoke so lightly." ”

Hearing the words of the Empress Dowager Cixi, who regretted the lack of support for the shipmaster back then, Lin Yizhe couldn't help but feel a move in his heart.

"The Empress Dowager Shengming, if the ship's funds are sufficient, there should be more than a few ships." Lin Yizhe replied cautiously.

"Lin Kunyu, you really tell me, can the Fujian factory build ironclad ships now?" Empress Dowager Cixi asked.

"If you go back to the Empress Dowager, the skills of the craftsmen and apprentices in the Fujian factory have been small, and if the funds are sufficient, the ironclad ship can also be built." Lin Yizhe gave an affirmative answer.

"How big can you build an ironclad ship?" The Empress Dowager Cixi asked, "Is it bigger or smaller than the ironclad ship captured by the Japanese naval division?" ”

"Back to the Empress Dowager's words, now with the power of the Fujian factory, this kind of ironclad ship of more than 3,000 tons is not difficult to build, with the planning of the minister, the ironclad ship of five or six thousand tons should not be a problem, and the ironclad ship of nearly 10,000 tons, limited by the scale of the shipyard and machinery, etc., can not be built, but in time, build a large factory in a better place, buy machinery, hire more foreigners to teach skills in China, within five or six years, the big ship can also be built." Lin Yizhe replied.

"That is to say, what the Fujian factory can build now is a second-class or third-class ironclad ship, and this kind of ironclad ship cannot be built yet." Empress Dowager Cixi said again.

"The Queen Mother Shengming, this is indeed the case." Lin Yizhe heard the Empress Dowager Cixi's questioning becoming more and more professional, and couldn't help but be secretly surprised in his heart.

It seems that this woman, who was demonized in his original time and space, has a receptive ability and level of new things that is by no means comparable to ordinary people!

"It's only been a few years now, and it's not easy for you to run a ship on such a scale." Seeing that Lin Yizhe looked a little frightened, the Empress Dowager Cixi smiled and comforted him, "The road is walked out step by step, the rice is eaten one bite at a time, everything cannot be done overnight, I hope you will work hard in the future to build a first-class ironclad ship of our Qing Dynasty as soon as possible." ”

"The minister obeys the decree! Will live up to the trust of the Queen Mother! Lin Yizhe stood up and saluted.

"No need to be polite, sit down and talk." The Empress Dowager Cixi said kindly.

"Thank you for the grace of the Queen Mother." Lin Yizhe got up and sat down.

"I heard that this 'Flying Thunder' fast ship was designed by you and built by the shipmaster?" Empress Dowager Cixi pointed to the model of the "Feiting" high-speed notification ship on the table and asked.

"Back to the Queen Mother, this 'Flying Thunder' fast ship is based on the 'Meiyun' gunboat, and it was transformed." Lin Yizhe said, "Because it is specially designed to report news, it is to strengthen its high-speed performance, and its ship can travel 20 nautical miles per hour at the earliest, which is unseen in the Taixi countries, and it can be said that it is the first fast ship in the Qing Dynasty and the first fast ship in the world." If it weren't for the fact that these fast ships went back and forth to report the enemy's situation, our brigade would have attacked in time to exterminate the Japanese invaders, and the consequences would have been unimaginable. ”

"That's what you're talking about. According to the General Administration, if it weren't for the rapid delivery by ship and the "post delivery" alone, something would have happened in Taiwan, and it would have been more than a month before Beijing learned that the Japanese had already occupied Taiwan! The Empress Dowager Cixi remembered the past and couldn't help but feel a little annoyed.

"Liu Chengyin, bring me this 'First Express Ship of the Qing Dynasty'."

Hearing the Empress Dowager Cixi's instructions, Liu Chengyin stepped forward quickly, picked up the model of the "Feiting" and sent it to the Empress Dowager Cixi.

The Empress Dowager Cixi played with the golden boat in her hand, and her eyes showed approval.

"I heard that the last time this 'Flying Thunder' ship went to Fuzhou to send its will, it was actually dismantled into a bald ship, what happened?" Empress Dowager Cixi asked with a smile.

"Back to the Queen Mother, in order to send the will to Fuzhou as soon as possible, the 'Flying Thunder' ship pipe took Lin Guoxiang to disassemble the wood on the ship, send it into the furnace cabin, and mix it with coal to increase the speed of the ship. When the ship arrived in Fuzhou, the mast and sampan were dismantled to help burning, because it was an obstacle to the view when entering the port, but fortunately the decree was delivered early, and the minister led the sailor brigade to set off on the same day after receiving the order, without a moment's delay. Lin Yizhe replied, "In this battle of Fujian and Taiwan, the 'Feiting' and other fast ships have made a lot of contributions. ”

Hearing Lin Yizhe's answer, the Empress Dowager Cixi laughed.

"The ship must run fast, but after all, it is a ship to deliver orders, and it must not lose the dignity of the royal family." The Empress Dowager Cixi said, "Can this boiler and other important parts be produced by itself now?" Otherwise, if there is another war, all countries will strictly maintain neutrality, cut off the way they come, and they will be controlled by others. ”

"Back to the Queen Mother, the boiler used in the 'Feiting' is the latest in Britain and France, and the Fujian factory has been able to produce itself." Lin Yizhe said.

"I heard that the speed of warships in foreign countries is increasing day by day, and there are many ships that can travel 123 nautical miles per hour, and the speed of various warships is not less than 145 nautical miles. The Empress Dowager Cixi also said, "The state spares no expense to handle the shipyard, and it is expensive and suitable for war and defense, if the rate is too small, it will be dwarfed." In the future, you must supervise and cooperate with foreign personnel to test the strength of each ship-building method and strive for excellence. ”

"Obey the order!"

"The name of the first fast ship of our Daqing Dynasty must be maintained, and we must not be indulged in slack and fall behind the foreigners!" The Empress Dowager Cixi said, "If you build such a new type of express ship, you can build a larger one, and you may wish to add more boilers, and there will always be no more wood burning. ”

"Obey the order!"

Lin Yizhe knew that this sentence of the Empress Dowager Cixi would herald the birth of a new high-speed notification ship of the shipping administration!

"This time, the General Administration negotiated the purchase of British small iron ships, to defend the Zijin Gate, I probably looked at the pattern number, although these small iron ships have huge cannons, but they can only travel in the shallow ocean, can not far away from the wind and waves, and it is difficult to compete with the ironclad ships, and in case of trouble, they can defend but cannot fight, although what is the benefit?" The Empress Dowager Cixi said, "What I mean is that you can cut the wooden boats and small ferries, and use several and one large ship, so that you have the resources for naval warfare, and you don't have to rely on foreign aid." Lin Kunyu, what do you think? ”

"The Queen Mother! Although the small iron ship is called a battleship, it is actually a water battery, used to defend the mouth, and can be a strong help for the land battery, make up for its shortcomings, and it is difficult to win the ocean. There is no need to add too many of these vessels. Lin Yizhe replied, "Those who are full of war and defense cannot do anything if they are not ironclad ships." The shipmaster and sailor were able to defeat the Japanese ironclad ship this time, thanks to the power of the armored clipper, and now there is a difficulty in building a large ironclad, if you build a number of armored clippers first, to solve the urgent need of coastal defense, and to charge a little, the machine is a little ready, and the technology is better, then it is not too late to build a large ironclad. ”

Hearing Lin Yizhe's reply, the Empress Dowager Cixi was satisfied with the future development direction and coastal defense policy he had set for the ship, and her face showed satisfaction.

"You can do it well, now you still need to take responsibility for the affairs of the water master." The Empress Dowager Cixi said, "If you have any difficulties in the future, even if our sisters and the emperor know it, we will do our best to help you succeed." ”

"Thank you for the grace of the Queen Mother!" Lin Yizhe couldn't help but be excited when he heard that the Empress Dowager Cixi gave a strong guarantee to support him, and his face turned red.

In this way, his dream of a "big navy" is no longer far away!

"The peace talks with the Japanese, you can end it quickly, and with the money paid by the Japanese, you can be a great water healer." Sure enough, the Empress Dowager Cixi's next words gave him another surprise, "When you hand over the envoy for the peace talks, you can be appointed full-time Minister of Naval Affairs and concentrate on handling the navy." ”

"Obey the order!"

Just when the two were talking, the eunuchs and palace maids had already boiled the snow water, cooked the fragrant tea and offered it, and the Empress Dowager Cixi and Lin Yizhe tasted tea together.

Just when Lin Yizhe was leisurely drinking tea and admiring the snow in the royal garden, the Japanese legation was also drinking tea, but the taste was full of gunpowder.

"Five million pounds Japan can't afford either." Okubo listened to Hirobumi Ito's report that Yoshizhe Hayashi had once again made concessions and forgave the Japanese side of 2 million pounds in compensation, and said with a blue face, "We can't accept this condition!" ”

"But Kogi, if we don't accept it, it will mean the resumption of the war." Kido Takayo said, "That Lin Yoshizhe has already said that this is the last condition, if Japan does not accept it, the Qing warships will immediately attack the Japanese mainland." ”

"Then let them attack! I want to see how the Qing people's tofu-like army can land in Japan! A look of fury flashed in Okubo's eyes, and he stood up suddenly, waving his arms, and yelled, "Don't think I don't know what they do!" These days I have traveled all over the pass fortresses in Tianjin, and the Qing Army was a medieval army! No matter how many people there are, it doesn't work! Even the Japanese army of the shogunate era was more than enough to deal with them! ”

"Calm down! Kogi! Ito Hirobumi snorted a little anxiously, "You're right, the Qing Army is a mess, but what we are facing now is the Qing Navy!" And the Marine Forces subordinate to the Navy! This force is by no means an army of the Middle Ages! And their commander is a very capable man! We can't fight him any more! ”

"Shunsuke has a point, even if this force is small in number, if it attacks the Japanese mainland under the cover of the navy, it will cause a lot of damage. Some of the reforms that Japan has just made are likely to be ruined. Kido Takayoshi said, "I'm afraid the loss at that time will not be compensated for by five million pounds." ”

"But, Shoju, Shunsuke, do you know? What does five million pounds mean to Japan?! Okubo Letsu pressed his hands on the table, leaned forward, and glared angrily at Kido Takayoshi and Hirobumi Ito, "This is a heavy debt, a mountain that weighs on Japan's head!" It is the chain which binds the hands and feet of Japan's advance! I don't know much about Japan's finances better than I do! If the Qing people proposed two million pounds, Japan could barely afford it, but if it was five million pounds, Japan would be overwhelmed! This means more farmers are starving! It means that more Japanese women will be trafficked to the South Seas! Do you understand? ”

"But none of this can be compared with the threat of national extinction." Ito Hirobumi said in a deep voice, "If there is a war with the Qing Dynasty, and the Western countries take advantage of the fire to rob it, once Japan falls into the situation of being partitioned, what will it do?" At that time, I was afraid that Japan was willing to pay more reparations, and it was useless, right? ”

Listening to Ito's words, Okubo let out a heavy sigh and fell heavily on his chair.

"It would be nice if there were more Qing slaves rescued back then......" The hoarse voice of the deputy island seed minister came, "Maybe, if I couldn't afford to die that day, the Qing Empress Dowager would have reduced the number more, right?" ……”

Ito Hiroshi Wen Bai Toshima Tanetomi meantom, he looked back at the face of the tantrum-looking Tokushima Tanetomi, and couldn't help but change his complexion.