Chapter 114 Qin Kai's abacus and Zhongtang's tricks

"Lord Zhou, I won't tell you, this time the progress of assisting Vietnam in recruiting the ** is not bad, more than 1,000 people have been recruited, but the ** team of Vietnam is completely unusable, I am busy raising military salaries and equipment, I am afraid it will be difficult to form combat power for a while! And I thought that the war with the French would be a national war! If you don't go all out, you will be defeated! Qin Kai said these words lightly, it seemed that it was a matter that had nothing to do with him at all......

Zhou Fu was also stunned, this Qin Liefeng was really speechless, and he pulled it to Lord Zhongtang again, pondered Qin Kai's words, and asked, "How do you say this?"

"The diplomatic affairs of our Great Qing Kingdom, those bigwigs in the court seem to be busy with the Zhongtang Lord!"

"Indeed......

"That'...... I don't know what Lord Zhou thinks, what kind of ending will this Sino-French battle be after the winner is divided? ”

Zhou Fu pondered for a moment, this question seemed to be too big, but it was not easy to summarize, so he shook his head, "Unknowable!" ”

Qin Kai greatly despised the old man's behavior of refusing to use his brain at all this week, and then smiled faintly, "Lord Zhou, in fact, one thing is certain, whether the Qing Dynasty wins or France wins, this Qing Dynasty is still the Qing Dynasty, France is still France!" ”

Zhou Fu thought about it, it is true, France is strong and cannot annex the Great Qing Kingdom, but the Great Qing Kingdom wants to annex France, thousands of miles away, it is even more impossible, and nodded, "This is indeed the case!" ”

"So, this is a local war, even if France wants to make a big scene, it can't make a big fuss, 30 years ago, dozens of warships hit the city of Beijing, do you think it will happen?" Qin Kai asked very calmly, but he was not calm in his heart, not only would this happen, but it would also become a fact in 20 years, but at this time, he was very sure of Zhou Fu's answer.

"That's naturally impossible, my Beiyang New Army has hundreds of thousands of people, how dare foreigners despise it!" Zhou Fu is full of confidence.

Qin Kai smiled slightly, "That's natural, so now the question is, is Lord Zhongtang fighting or peace?" ”

Zhou Fu looked at Qin Kai, and said secretly in his heart, I came to ask if you can get the French, but after tossing for a long time, he also tossed to Lord Zhongtang, but the god did not change, and smiled lightly, "What about the war?" And what if? ”

This Li Zhongtang's thoughts, the history books are clearly written, even if you can't completely guess what this big man thinks, it is inferred from the facts, Li Zhongtang just wants to make peace, and his bottom line is the information provided by the British Jin Denggan, but it backfired, Jin Denggan is an intelligence idiot at all in this matter, and this news is not accurate at all.

He sent a telegram to Hurd saying that the purpose of the French attack on Vietnam was only to obtain the ports along the Red River for trade, and that the Vietnamese dynasty was only trying to divide the territory along the river, and that the French had drawn up a plan for the destruction of Cochinchina several years earlier, and that a Frenchman who was still wishful thinking would not launch a full-scale attack.

Qin Kai looked at Zhou Fu, "Lord Zhou, I think Lord Zhongtang must have his basis for making the decision to fight or make peace!" I wonder if I'm right? ”

Zhou Fu was surprisingly straightforward in this matter, "Lord Qin is really a smart person, Lord Zhongtang didn't look away!" Indeed, there is news that it was obtained through a very reliable channel in Guò, and the French just wanted to intimidate Vietnam and obtain more trade ports! ”

"How reliable?"

"Very reliable!"

"Oh...... However, as far as I know, the French have made a plan for the total destruction of the state of Vietnam! And not what Lord Nakdo knows! Qin Kai threw a bombshell very calmly.

“…… Lord Qin, where did this news come from? Zhou Fu was also shocked when he heard it, this is heavy news, if others say it, he may not care, but this Qin Kai has been on the front line in Vietnam, and his words must be taken seriously.

"This Tessie knows a lot of countries about the French!" Qin Kai seemed to say something very casually, but this sentence surprised Zhou Fu Not this Jin Denggan sent news, it was all a secret within Beiyang, but at this time he didn't think about the meaning behind Qin Kai's words, what he urgently needed to understand was the reliability of this news!

"Lord Qin, this is a military matter, is your news reliable?"

"It can be said that it is absolutely reliable!"

Zhou Fu fell into deep thought at this moment, if the information obtained by Qin Kai was accurate, then the layout of Lord Zhongtang in Vietnam was too small, the French really beat hard, and it was okay to withstand it, if it was a big defeat, the adult's face would not look good, and the court would inevitably spray people with a spit on the face......

"Lord Qin, this is not a trivial matter, whether it is war or peace, what do you say, just say, I will tell Lord Zhongtang!"

Qin Kai pondered for a while, and calculated the capital at hand, if he wants to defeat the French now, it will definitely not be enough to have the troops at hand, and let him shake out all his family wealth and fight with the French, let's not do it! It's just that when I came to Tianjin Wei today, I came to express Li Zhongtang's gratitude, so I naturally need to have enough sincerity......

"Lord Zhou, this war with the French is definitely not a matter that can be settled lightly, how many people have to die to calm down the French, then how many people will die to the French, this is a war in our vassal country, we have to fight manpower, and 10 France can't fight us!"

Zhou Fu nodded! Qin Kai looked at him and continued: "If Lord Zhongtang wants to fight, how can he prepare early, this French warship may rush to the Dagu Fort at any time, be sure to send more defenders, set up more cannons and foreign guns, and the lower officials are willing to lead the Nanyang Naval Division to fight the French to the death!" ”

"If Lord Zhongtang wants to make peace, then he must also be prepared to fight with the French, if he wants to make peace after losing the war, he is definitely not a person inside and out! So whether it's war or peace, Xia Guan is willing to ask Lord Zhongtang to increase his troops in Vietnam! Fight it out against the French! ”

When Zhou Fu heard that it was another showdown, he immediately asked, "Lord Qin, is this victory or defeat assured?" ”

The corners of Qin Kai's mouth turned up, and he suddenly smiled, "Lord Zhou, do you want to listen to face or plain talk?"

"Naturally, it's straightforward, what Lord Qin is talking about now is a major event related to the fortunes of the country?"

"Let's put it bluntly, the armaments of the border armies of Guangxi and Yunnan are slack, I'm afraid it will be difficult to take on the big responsibility, the Dingzi battalion stationed by the Zhongtang Lord is indeed a strong force, but the Dingzi army is only five or six thousand people, and I really don't know if it can withstand the attack of the French! According to what I know, the French army has nearly 30,000 troops in South Vietnam! ”

"Thirty thousand!" Zhou Fu was also quite surprised by this news, obviously the Qing Dynasty did not know about this news, although he had never led a soldier, but he had been an official under Zeng Guofan and Li Zhongtang for many years, and he also knew what was in the army, 30,000 farmers were nothing to fear, 30,000 regular foreign devil army, that was not easy to fool!

It seems that the goal has been achieved, what kind of person is Li Zhongtang, how can he not see the situation clearly, after the Sino-French war, everyone said that Li Zhongtang misled the country, in fact, the analysis of the strength of the two sides, the difference is indeed very large, in terms of numbers, the French frontal battle reached 20,000 troops, and the Qing army invested 100,000 people, the battle of Xuanguang, 20,000 people known as the elite Qing army, the attack on Xuanguang with only 600 French defenses, the result of several months of siege, the elite was lost, and had to retreat.

The difference in combat power is really a bit jaw-dropping, and what is funny is that these fortified cities were originally in the hands of the Vietnamese Peace Team, and the French easily occupied them with only an advance team of a few hundred people, and then used them to deal with the Qing army with backward guns and poor siege capabilities, and the gap in the tactical awareness of the generals of the two sides is even more obvious!

In their opinion, it was best to weaken and defeat Beiyang through the battle with the French, and then the banner people could once again take the initiative, and their Great Qing State could once again be in power by the banner people. The pressure of internal strife and the strength of the external enemy were obviously important factors in the outcome of the Sino-French battle.

Because...... Even after the victory at Zhennanguan, the Qing army conquered Lang Son and other important towns, but in fact, it was no longer able to attack the hinterland of Vietnam. In the face of Jiancheng, the outdated Great Qing Army, with more than 60% of the cold weapon troops, was powerless to attack!

Zhou Fu pondered for a while before raising his head and asking, "Lord Qin, can't the situation in Vietnam be changed?" ”

He naturally understands that the leading force in the domestic war situation in Vietnam is not in the hands of Li Zhongtang, although the Dingzi Battalion is now temporarily regarded as the commander in Vietnam, but the Military Aircraft Department and the Qingliu Party are staring at that side, this time the agreement signed by Lord Zhongtang and the French Minister Baohai has been under unprecedented pressure, and the latest news is that the bigwigs of the Military Aircraft Department have secretly decided to renegotiate with the French. But there is capital to negotiate, and the capital is ...... now But it was all earned by this young Fuzhou political envoy!

"That's not necessarily," Qin Kai stood beside the Eight Immortals table, picked up some teacups on the plate, and placed them on the table, "Lord Zhou, please take a look!" ”

Zhou Fu came up, and there were five cups on the table between them, he knew that Qin Kai was explaining military affairs, but he couldn't figure out what these five cups represented except for .......

Qin Kai nodded his cup one by one, "These are the key points of Vietnam's defense, Hue, Haiphong, Hanoi, Shanxi, and Bac Ninh!" Then he pointed down, "This is the South Vietnam occupied by the French, from South Vietnam to attack central and northern Vietnam, there are only two ways to choose, one is to take the sea route to occupy Haiphong, and then the river all the way up, occupy Hanoi, and then enter Shanxi and Bac Ninh, and the second is from Ha Tinh Pass along the Red River upward, straight to the important town of Shanxi!" ”

Zhou Fu also understands a little about these, and he writes them down carefully on the side, nodding frequently!

Qin Kai pointed to Hue again, "Hue is the center of Vietnam, there can be no mistakes, I have ordered the third battalion to build a fort in Hue, assist the Vietnamese to train the pro-army in the capital, and then close the channel with mines, if the French want to attack Hue, they will have to pay a heavy price!" ”

He pointed to Hanoi and Shanxi again, "Heavy troops are concentrated in these two strategic points, fighting a defensive battle with the French, cutting off the river channel upstream of the French small gunboats, then the French will not have a large number of artillery support, only rely on infantry to attack the city, our army's chances of victory will be greatly increased!" ”

The Battle of Vietnam, the loss of Hanoi and Shanxi, the two important towns of the plains, made it easy for the French to find a place to hoard war preparations, and it was located in the hinterland, and after the occupation, it was extended in all directions, while the Qing ** team was in the embarrassing situation of being fortified everywhere and defenseless everywhere.

Zhou Fu pondered for a moment, but Lord Zhongtang explained very clearly, let him come to explore the details of Qin Kai, Lord Zhongtang only needs the answer to one question - "Can Vietnam defend!" Can you keep it! "But Qin Kai only said one problem, he can keep it!

But not to say that it can be defended, if the purpose of the French is to attack the entire territory of Vietnam, then this is beyond the scope of the treaty signed by Lord Zhongtang, and it is also beyond the bottom line of Lord Zhongtang, for him who is the top of the top minister, it is impossible to take another step, so how to maintain his status and reputation is naturally the most important choice, as the chief staff, Zhou Fu naturally considered it the same.

He threw out the last hole card, "Lord Qin, get one, or even two big victories in Vietnam, dispel the French plan to occupy the entire territory of Vietnam, and then Lord Zhongtang will come forward to negotiate, I think it will be more appropriate!" ”

Li Zhongtang's hole cards, Qin Kai already understands that he is also here to show his hole cards this time, you Li Zhongtang's chess pieces in Vietnam, we have already played a black hand to stir up peace for you, but we are not a belly black element who harms others and is not beneficial to ourselves, we have thought about it for you Li Zhongtang everywhere, and where Pan Dingxin puts it, it will be a scourge......

"If Lord Zhongtang has this intention, he is willing to follow the work of dogs and horses, but just relying on the power of the protection ** and the Nanyang Naval Division, he will definitely not be able to fight against the 30,000 expeditionary forces of the French, I don't know if Lord Zhongtang has the intention of increasing the army?"

"Reinforcements?" Zhou Fu shook his head, "Lord Qin, this is almost impossible, but the border troops of Yunnan and Guangxi can be mobilized as much as possible, and there are still seventy or eighty thousand, and the Military Aircraft Department will order all efforts to help." ”

Qin Kai listened to the black line on his face, these border troops in Yunnan and Guangxi did not listen to my orders, but he couldn't say this clearly, nodded yes, this matter of Vietnam is almost discussed here, Qin Kai came this time with a sign to listen to the teachings of Lord Zhongtang, and immediately took out the gift list to Lord Zhongtang and asked the first staff to hand it over, and Zhou Fu naturally had a copy.

Zhou Fu was not modest at all, he took it and looked at it, his face was also surprised, he glanced at Qin Kai, and said with a smile: "Lord Qin, this is really not small, then I am ashamed!" ”

Sending Zhou Fu away, Qin Kai hurriedly called Sun Fu over, and when he was talking to Zhou Fu, he took care of Sun Fu and listened in the next room, and he also listened to this content, as soon as they met, Sun Fu asked: "Gale Wind, your layout like this is really a dangerous move!" ”

"What's the risk?"

"If Lord Zhongtang uses you, this battle of Vietnam will definitely be won, otherwise the blame for this defeat lies in you! But how could this war have been predicted? ”

"Brother Sun, I am naturally measured, this land of Vietnam, that is where you and I have made great achievements, tomorrow Lord Zhongtang will definitely summon me, you see...... What do I need to ask? ”

The two sat down to deliberate, and only in the middle of the night did they rest!

Early the next morning, Zhou Fu came to Qin Kai again, and when they met, he pulled him up and said that it was Lord Zhongtang who asked him to go immediately.

The Yamen of the Governor of Zhili, Qin Kai entered for the third time, and in a blink of an eye, the Daotai had become a political envoy, which was quite glamorous from the second-grade member standing there, but it was a pity that the fake braid behind him and the beast robe on his body made him uncomfortable when he walked. ,

Today, Lord Li Zhongtang summoned Qin Kai in the other hall, and the only person who accompanied him was Zhou Fu, and yesterday Zhou Fu came overnight to tell him the news that Qin Kai had obtained from the conversation, and he was naturally very shocked by the very reliable news provided by Qin Kai about the French going to destroy Vietnam.

He has always attached great importance to the friendship with the British, and the work of the Englishman Hurd in the Customs and Excise Department has been recognized by the entire Qing regime, with an annual treasury income of nearly 30 million taels of silver. The news of Hurd's agent in the UK, Jin Denggan, has always been the only relatively reliable information channel for the Qing Dynasty overseas, but this time there is a huge discrepancy with the news obtained by Qin Kai, which can't help but make him worried.

He looked at Qin Kai, who was sitting quite upright, this young man in just two years, from an ordinary official under Ding Richang to a rookie in the Qing Dynasty political arena, he still remembered the year before Ding Richang played a newspaper, saying that the situation when he made a universal grinder, he didn't expect this young man to rise rapidly, and he was even more surprised by the South China Sea naval battle and the decision to train the Vietnamese guard......

And just the day before yesterday, his ally in the court, the sixth prince Ye Yi sent someone to send a secret letter, the Hunan army boss Liu Kunyi, the governor of Liangguang, impeached the Huai army, and the letter of the king of Vietnam was also sent to the military plane...... It's really stupid the older you get, even if you lose the battle in front of the French, if you encounter Vietnamese bandits, you can also lose thirty percent of your soldiers and horses, and lose all your baggage! It's really a shame for Huaijun......

And now it's time to make up for it, Pan Dingxin definitely wants to play the board, but in the end, it is his own lineage, it doesn't matter if he is stupid, loyalty is the most important thing. Qin Kai...... This young man is quite sophisticated, and the position of political envoy this time is naturally Ding Richang's face, but the gift list that Zhou Fu got back yesterday, even if it is a strong heart like Li Zhongtang, he still jumps a few more times!

300,000 taels of silver! This should be more than half of the family background of the new political envoy, this respect is an attitude for the officialdom of the Qing Dynasty, and Li Zhongtang still feels good about Qin Kai's expression of lowering his stature! This price can support a regular army of 20,000 people for a year's military salaries and equipment, and the officialdom of the Qing Dynasty can donate several prefects, and to earn this money, the Jiangnan Weaving Bureau, which can make the most money, needs to start work for nearly half a year......

As for the purpose of Qin Kai's visit to him this time, he couldn't be clearer, the position of the political envoy is already a hurdle for civil officials, and then he is the governor of a province, the governor is already the top of the people, even if it is the eight governors, it is only a slightly higher rank, and there is no subordinate relationship between the upper and lower levels!

Seeing that Sheng Xuanhuai mentioned before that this person is proficient in business, that should be a fact, otherwise in a province of Fujian, how could he not earn so much silver...... Thinking of this, Li Zhongtang smiled slightly, "Political envoy Qin Bu, Wu Shan has already told the old man all your thoughts, and the young man is really arrogant!" ”

Qin Kai arched his hand and smiled, "Xia Guan often recited the famous sentences of adults when he was young, and his husband only held Wu Hook, and his spirit was higher than that of a hundred feet of building; Who has written history for 10,000 years, and wants to be a marquis three thousand miles away, the pride of the adults back then is the real husband! ”

The ...... of the red fruit Very red fruit fruit fart! Qin Kai's face did not change, and his heart did not beat, and he looked at Li Zhongtang very calmly! After saying this, even Zhou Fu, who was sitting opposite him like an old monk, opened his eyes and looked at Qin Kai again, this Qin Fierce Wind is really unusual!!

Li Zhongtang smiled, squinted his eyes and thought for a while, "Political envoy Qin Bu, Wushan said that you proposed to send reinforcements yesterday, I can give this to you, and I will transfer Wu Changqing's army into Vietnam in a few days, with Wu Changqing as the main general, guarding Bac Ninh, you are the forerunner, defending Hanoi and Shanxi, you can be sure to defeat the enemy!" ”

Qin Kai almost sweated when he heard this, this old paste, he accepted our heavy gifts, and just got Pan Dingxin's stupid away, this is good, Wu Changqing has been supported, and his plan to plan and control Vietnam has been in vain! Fiercely, he thought about it again, could it be that there was still a temptation in this? But this face can't be indicated!

He shook his head and made a surprised expression, "Lord Zhongtang, with Lord Pan Dingxin and Lord Wu Changqing leading troops to defend the north of Vietnam, they will definitely be able to defeat the enemy and win, and the lower officials will definitely cooperate sincerely with the two adults!" ”

"Dingzi Army, I have another dispatch," Li Zhongtang obviously downplayed this problem, and continued, "The border troops of Guangxi and Yunnan should protect with Wu Changqing, and hold on to Hanoi and Shanxi, can the political envoy of Qin Bu have a problem?" ”

Qin Kai's brain teaser turned, this Wu Changqing's soldiers and horses are also the strongest in the Huai army, what about Yuan Datou? I don't know if I'm no longer in the army now...... What kind of calculation did this old man Li play, let himself resist in the front, and the Qingzi army was waiting to check the results of the battle? If he was surrounded by the French, it is estimated that he wanted to count on the Qingzi army and the border armies of Yunnan and Guangxi to break the siege, it would really become a pipe dream!

Thinking about it, he naturally threw out a question to solve the siege, "My lord, it's just that Xiaguan has just built this guard, and there is a shortage of manpower, and I am afraid that I will not be able to catch it to defend the two big cities of Shanxi and Hanoi!" ”

Zhou Fu suddenly spoke, "Lord Qin, you can negotiate with Lord Wu Changqing on this defensive issue!" ”

Qin Kai looked at Zhou Fu, this dead old man has accepted our benefits, this hand is not relaxed at all, and it is a pit father's answer, negotiate with that Wu Changqing, will Lao Wu say that we will resist the front, you can't protect the **, and the cat will go behind? But his face was still silent, today it turned out that the two old men colluded to trap us, so we can't be wronged.

He arched his hand towards Li Zhongtang, and his voice raised by half a degree, "If your Excellency makes such an arrangement, the lower officials have no objection, but once any place in Hanoi and Shanxi is lost, I can only retreat to Bac Ninh, but Bac Ninh is a mortal enemy according to the lower officials, and the two sides face the river, and the French army only needs to take a boat to cut off our army's retreat, which is a situation of self-collapse without a fight!" ”