On November 14, 1885, the British suddenly sent troops to occupy the Burmese border fortress Minhra, officially provoking the Anglo-Burmese War.

It's like a small stone thrown into the otherwise calm surface of a lake, which suddenly stirs up infinite ripples.

"Didn't you say that the British would not send troops?" Guan Xu looked coldly at Li Hongzhang who was kneeling in front of him and said.

Li Hongzhang lowered his head at this time, knelt on the ground and said: "The minister is not doing well, please ask the emperor to punish the crime." ”

"You are my Minister of Foreign Affairs and Minister of Military Aircraft of the Qing Dynasty. But it was played by the British Foreign Secretary, and the British sent troops in a premeditated manner, but I was not prepared at all. You, you still stupidly told me that the British would not send troops, and at the last moment, the Qing Dynasty was not prepared at all! Guan Xuqing scolded Li Hongzhang.

Li Hongzhang knelt on the ground in fright, trembling all over, and said continuously: "The minister is guilty, please ask the emperor to punish the crime." ”

Prince Gong hurriedly said: "This time it is the treachery of the British, and it is not the fault of Li Zhongtang alone, and the minister thinks that the most important thing now is how to deal with the provocation of the British." ”

"Okay." Guan Xuqing softened his tone and said: "Since Prince Gong intercedes, I will only punish you for one year, and I hope you will punish you with a small punishment and a big commandment, and you will be an errand in the future." Get up and talk. ”

Li Hongzhang was relieved, and after getting up, he wiped the cold sweat on his head and said, "Emperor Xie." ”

Guan Xuqing sat on the dragon chair, looked at the ministers of military aircraft on both sides majestically and said: "The British have treacherously invaded our subject country this time, and treat me as nothing. A simple sentence seemed to set the tone of the conversation below.

"I think that the British attack on Burma this time is because they don't want to give me too much time to react. I hope to eat Burma in one bite, and at that time the occupation of Burma has become a fact, and I can no longer recover it. Weng Tongsu said.

"What Lord Weng said is true, but Britain has several times the army and navy in the Far East. I'm afraid this battle will be difficult to win! "Prince Alcohol objectively analyzes the situation of friend and foe.

Guan Xuqing listened to what they said, although he didn't dare to say it explicitly, but the meaning revealed in his words was that Daqing was far from being an opponent of the British. Sending troops to Burma would not do the country or the people any good.

"Hmph, why have I been listening to it for a long time to cheer up the British? What is the army and navy are several times larger than my Qing Dynasty! I had a million divisions in the Qing Dynasty, and tens of thousands of people in two divisions in the Burmese region that the British barbarians invaded. His Indian Ocean fleet is all dilapidated warships, which are far from the main ironclad ships of our Qing Dynasty. What are you afraid of? "If the eyes can kill, then the Minister of Military Aircraft present has been killed several times.

At this time, Li Hongzhang, who had just been severely reprimanded, suddenly said: "Your Majesty, the British barbarians are treacherous. I don't need to believe it in the Qing Dynasty, if China and Britain go to war. Naval supremacy remained paramount, and the British supply lines had to pass through the Indian Ocean in either direction. As long as we cut off their supply lines, the British would be defeated without a fight. ”

Guan Xuqing sat up straight from the dragon chair, looked at Li Hongzhang with glowing eyes, and said, "Go on." ”

Li Hongzhang continued: "But the British navy is three times stronger than our Qing Dynasty, and the Pacific Fleet is one of the main British fleets. In the hinterland of the Qing Dynasty, there was a British fleet docked in Hong Kong, which was known to be one ironclad ship, two cruisers, and five gunboats, with a total tonnage of less than 10,000 tons. The minister suggested that the Taiwan branch of the Daishimizu Division and the Vietnamese branch should encircle him. It is the truth to annihilate a living British force first, avoid a decisive battle with the main British force, and divide and annihilate it. ”

The world is too crazy, Li Hongzhang actually wants to go to war against Britain without declaring war? Seeing that Li Hongzhang, who gave in to everything on weekdays and did not want to forge ahead, was actually fooled by British foreign history this time, which stimulated the blood of men in his bones.

Guan Xuqing looked at him with a smile and said slowly: "The naval war is sea power, not one or two warships, we should focus on the big picture, and we should not covet such petty profits." The destruction of the British fleet in Hong Kong would not benefit the overall situation, and only by defeating the British Pacific Fleet could it truly grasp the sea supremacy. Moreover, the Hong Kong ground fleet is now a caged bird, and keeping him can attract the British fleet to come to the rescue. ”

"The minister is ignorant, please ask the emperor to give advice." Li Hongzhang said with a pious face.

Guan Xuqing stood up from the dragon chair, walked to a world map and stopped, and the ministers of military aircraft behind him followed.

"Look, only Vietnam is the closest to the Indian Ocean on the southeast coast of the Qing Dynasty. However, the sea route is blocked by Malaysia, Singapore, and Thailand, and the Indian Ocean can only be entered from Singapore into the narrow Strait of Malacca. Hongzhang, if you were a British general, where would you put their most elite Pacific Fleet? Guan Xuqing asked, pointing to the map.

"Singapore?" Li Hongzhang said in surprise.

"Sixth uncle, what do you say?" Guan Xuqing turned his eyes to look at Prince Gong.

"Back to the emperor, as long as the British defend the Strait of Malacca, our Qing warships will not be able to enter the Indian Ocean, and they will not be able to cut off their logistical supplies from Afghanistan and India to Burma." Prince Gong pointed to the map and said slowly.

Guan Xuqing nodded with satisfaction and continued, "So, I decided to let the Great Clear Water Master sneak attack Singapore. I bet the British Pacific Fleet must be in Singapore. Sinking one is counted as one, at least so that the British will not dare to unscrupulously transport supplies in the Indian Ocean. To put such pressure on him, to make the British always feel that the Strait of Malacca will not be captured by our Great Shimizu Division one day. After Guan Xuqing finished speaking, he looked at the sky outside the window, and the domineering spirit that gave up who else emanated from him unnaturally, making people have the urge to bow and worship.

Everyone looked at each other, looked at the 16-year-old emperor, and did not speak out to dissuade him.

"Wow."

The news of the British invasion of Burma has been spread through several southern newspapers such as "Daqing Daily" and "Declaration", "Circulation Daily", and "Guowen Bao", and the restaurants and teahouses are all rumors of the British treachery, and they are calculating when the emperor will announce the dispatch of troops to Burma, just like defeating the French in Annam, and then drive the British devils out. It is impossible not to mention the impact of the Sino-French war on the people, and the grievances accumulated since 1840 have finally been vented quickly, reshaping the image of a great country that all countries have come to Korea.

Inside the study of Prince Li's mansion.

"Fifth uncle, my Amma died early. Don't you fool me? Zai Lian asked suspiciously.

Shi Duo smiled coldly when he heard this, pulled out a piece of paper from his sleeve and said, "You will understand by looking at this." ”

"Guangxu transports guns and ammunition to the south?" Zai Lian frowned, raised his head and said to Shi Duo: "Fifth uncle, where did this news come from?" ”

Shi Duo waved his hand and said, "You don't care where the news comes from, in short, it is absolutely true." Do you see what it means? ”

Zai Lian thought for a while and said, "Could it be that there is a war in the south and the British??" Guangxu, he's crazy! ”

"Guangxu took advantage of the reorganization of the new army to transport all the guns and ammunition of the Nine Bureaus to the south, and did it so secretly, there was not even a little news in the court, and it would never be meaningless to do so. Moreover, I received a secret report that these days, Zuo Zongtang said that he was going to Jiangnan to inspect the new army, but in fact he had abducted to Yunnan. Looking at it this way, Guangxu is really preparing something, maybe he is really preparing for war with the British. ”

"Guangxu is addicted to war, Britain is different from France, and Vietnam is not Burma. He wanted to paint a scoop like a gourd, like he did to the French in Vietnam, and to the British in Burma. Zai Lian said.

"Hahaha, we don't care about that. It was the silver of the imperial court that was lost in the war, and it was his Guangxu's soldiers who died. It's his to win the battle, and it has nothing to do with us if he loses. I want to tell you that the domestic gun bureaus have developed some new grenades and grenades, and the major gun bureaus are rushing to produce new gadgets. So guns were imported from Germany and the United States again. It is estimated that Guangxu wants to arm all the newly recruited new troops as soon as possible and go to Burma to fight if necessary. Shiduo whispered.

Zai Lian said as if he didn't care about himself: "What does this have to do with me? He has already removed the soldiers and horses of the Eight Banners, Xiao Wang, I don't have a single soldier in my hands, what? He Guangxu will also equip me with weapons? ”

"Now the defense of Northeast China, Xinjiang, and Mongolia is empty, and the new army is mostly training in Jiangnan. As soon as the German guns arrived, Guangxu would inevitably move the new army north. How about this king appointing you to be a general, and letting you lead the troops? Shiduo said excitedly.

"Me? Could he be willing? Zai Lian's saliva of excitement flowed.

"You can't let the Han people hold all the military power, you have to give up some to our flag people. You have been to the martial arts hall, and you have led soldiers before, plus this king Baoju, it shouldn't be a big problem. Shidor swore solemnly.

Zai Lian listened, and a strange smile appeared on the corner of his mouth: "If this is really the case, it would be great." When Guangxu throws all his troops to the south and fights with the British, my troops outside the pass can turn back and strike back, and maybe we can still get the support of the British. ”

Shi Duo said at this time: "After the thing is done, you have to bring all the soldiers with you, and then it can come in handy, and you give a list of those who don't listen to the dispatch, and I will help you transfer them all." ”