【2nd Update】

On May 20, 1894, just as Yang Shixiang was rushing to Lushun on the naval training ship Jikang, a huge naval exercise was being carried out on the sea outside Dagu in Tianjin, and Li Hongzhang, the governor of Zhili and minister of Beiyang, deliberately invited more than a dozen high-ranking diplomats and military attachés, including the British minister to China, Eugener, the American minister to China, Tian Bei, and the Russian minister to China, Casini, and at the same time, he also invited Komura Shoutaro, the minister to China, to attend the naval parade that day.

With the rumbling salute, the main force of the Beiyang Naval Division led by Dingyuan and Zhenyuan in the distance, the "Eight Great Yuan", came in a formation with billowing black smoke, and on the Dingyuan ship in the center, the flag was unfurled, and the Admiral Ding Ruchang of the Navy Division stood on the bridge in high spirits, holding a Zeiss monocular purchased from Germany in his hand, and observed the change of the fleet left and right with great satisfaction.

And on the nautical chart in front of him, several formations of the drill were placed one by one, and Liu Buyun, the chief soldier of the Zhenyuan pipe band and the chief soldier of the right wing, looked at the large merchant ship Changqing of the China Merchants Steamship Bureau that followed the naval formation with a strange expression.

Soon, a wooden fishing boat, dragged by the Guangjia torpedo boat, slowly sailed in front of the crane wing fleet from a distance of less than 2,000 meters, and immediately, with the change of the command flag on the Dingyuan ship, the guns of more than 100mm caliber on each ship opened fire one after another, and the fierce firing of the 305mm twin heavy guns of the two ships in Dingzhen was particularly spectacular!

Although no new rapid-fire guns have been installed in the Beiyang Eight Distances, the firing speed of small-caliber single-mounted 120mm and 150mm guns in this era is not slow, and considering the shaking of the hull from side to side, in fact, even if it is a rapid-fire gun with fast loading and automatic repositioning, if it really hits the target, it will be at most 2 to 3 rounds a minute.

The small-caliber artillery firing in Beiyang was obviously skillful, and after just five minutes, the target ship had been hit by a number of shells, and the skyrocketing flames appeared...... In order to highlight the effect, the target ships are sprinkled with flammable gunpowder and fire oil in advance, which is also an important means to ensure that the target hits.

Surrounded by a group of Western diplomats, Li Hongzhang's tall and thin figure was straight, looking at the family wealth he had saved with great effort in the distance, looking at the sky-high fire on the target ship, he smiled at the British Minister Eugena next to him and said: "Minister Eugena, my country's determination to defend the vassal state, from His Majesty the Emperor to the Navy, is very resolute, so I hope you can explain your country's position to the Far East in order to avoid conflicts that affect regional stability!" ”

Listening to the translation of the bearded Englishman and the Customs and Excise Department Hurd standing between the two of them, Minister Eugena smiled and raised the delicate glass in his hand to salute the most powerful old man in the Far East, "Dear Lee, Rear Admiral Filimantel, commander of the Far East Fleet of the British Empire, has led four warships to Seoul, North Korea, and we will focus on the situation in Korea...... Rear Admiral Filimantle believes that your country's ironclad ships still hold absolute control of the sea, and the generals of the naval division are also first-class in the Far East! ”

Hearing the praise from the British minister, the Huai officials standing behind Li Hongzhang were all smiling, and it was obvious that the British Empire, as the number one maritime power today, was absolutely convincing in this matter, and even Li Hongzhang showed a pleased smile at the moment.

Not far away, several officials with bowed heads and cold faces also looked nervously at the Beiyang Fleet that was closing in the distance, while Minister Komura discussed the position of the two countries on the Korean issue with Russian Minister Casini on the side, but it was obvious that the Russians who had long wanted to get involved in North Korea did not give him a good face......

Obviously, all this fell into the eyes of Zhang Peilun, who was behind Li Hongzhang, and the military training that was said today had obviously achieved the original intended goal, at least, the British, Russians, and French had already begun to put forward to Li Hongzhang the willingness to take the initiative to mediate the Korean dispute, and for these powers, any kind of change in the situation in the Far East was unnecessary.

And to his surprise, a little later, the envoy to China, Xiao Cun, came over to Li Zhongtang to congratulate Li Zhongtang on the success of the performance, and after the politeness of the two diplomatic surnames, Xiao Cun actually mentioned the North Korean issue very directly, "Your Excellency Honorable Governor Lee, for the civil unrest in North Korea, our political axe is also deeply worried, I hope that your country can help the Korean royal family restore political stability as soon as possible, in that case, it will be of great help to the economy and trade of China!" ”

Li Hongzhang's eyes flashed, and he closed his eyes slightly and stared closely at the short diplomat in front of him who was wearing a dress, and he immediately asked: "Your Excellency Komura, do you mean on behalf of Prime Minister Ito of your country, or your personal opinion!" If our two countries can reach an agreement on the North Korean issue, I will be happy to have a more in-depth exchange of views with you tomorrow! ”

"Your Excellency Governor Lee, I am naturally conveying the opinion of this cabinet, and our political axe believes that if China does not assist the Korean royal family, the political situation in Korea may undergo unpredictable changes...... As far as I know, the Donghak rebels have conquered Jeonju, and the Korean royal army is further crumbling! Xiao Cun had a serious expression on his face, and affirmed Li Hongzhang's question very decisively and firmly.

Li Hongzhang sighed softly, glanced at Zhang Peilun behind him on one side, and immediately understood the meaning, and immediately stepped forward and arched his hand towards the small village, "Minister Xiaocun, since both of us have this very close understanding of the North Korean issue, why don't we ask Minister Eugena today to discuss how to solve the North Korean issue and form a written diplomatic agreement as soon as possible...... You see, if it's possible! ”

To the surprise of Zhang Peilun and other diplomats, Komura immediately agreed to start diplomatic consultations on the North Korean issue as soon as possible, but he was very embarrassed to say that he must immediately ask Prime Minister Ito for instructions and obtain relevant authorization.

That night, in the Governor's Mansion of Zhili, he summoned Ding Ruchang, the admiral of the Navy who was about to return to Lushun, and made his current military considerations very clear, "Yu Ting, it is not easy to prepare for the construction of the Navy, and you must not use troops easily at sea, remember to remember!" I have asked British Minister Eugener and Russian Minister Cassini to mediate the Korean affair, both of which have interests in Korea that cannot be renounced, and I have ordered Minister Wang Fengzao to hold talks with Ito Hirobumi as soon as possible! ”

Ding Ruchang heard Li Hongzhang's grand strategy in diplomacy, naturally he was very relieved, this is indeed a great means of surrendering the people without fighting, 30 years of coastal defense construction, Li Zhongtang purchased more than 300 German Krupp cannons, and built dozens of fortresses known as iron walls on the entire imperial coastline, with his understanding of running the navy for many years, if you want to break the impregnable coastal defense fortifications from the front, any fleet needs to pay a sufficient price!

Early the next morning, the main force of the Beiyang Naval Division pulled out of anchor and returned to the Port of Arthur, and on the same day, Yuan Shikai, Minister of Commerce in Korea, received a telegram from Li Hongzhang, Minister of Commerce of Beiyang, asking him to immediately investigate the opinion of the Minister of North Korea on the Qing Dynasty axe to send troops to Korea...... It seems that there is no other intention!

At the time of the deceitful diplomatic negotiations between the Chinese and the Chinese, Lu Hong, who was in Port Arthur, obtained several important clues, and the source of the news was Cai Tinggan, who seemed to have a good relationship before, and then, when Yang Shixiang, who came to visit Wang Renkan on behalf of Li Hongzhang, appeared, Lu Hong had already realized that the seemingly difficult news in his hands was obviously suspected of being made by Yang Pingshi......

However, the problem is obviously not the source of the news, but the accurate surname of the news, after Yang Shixiang and Wang Renkan had a secret talk, Lu Hong took the Yongying battalion of the Qin Mission, and suddenly took over the quartermaster station at the east gate of Lushun.

However, this raid has obtained important physical evidence, Tateyama, the senior member of the navy who holds the position of the Beiyang Navy Division, has obviously completely lost his vigilance in years of corruption, and Lu Hong almost didn't make much effort to copy out the Yin and Yang accounts of the Changshui Division from the cabinet of the third aunt here......

What's even worse is that an account of Lishan presenting Jingyi to the officials was also confiscated, but Lu Hong immediately sealed this account and handed it over to Yang Shixiang, who blocked the door, he only looked at it a few times, and there were many names of high-ranking officials in the Huai department, but this was not the purpose of his coming here!

On the same day, the Navy Yamen assistant Lishan family was arrested by the Qin Chayong Battalion, this old guy actually married 12 concubines in a row, but because there were too many people arrested, Wang Renkan had to temporarily escort people to the Sailor Battalion Fort, otherwise there would really not be so many cells.

Of course, on the day of the arrest, in fact, Wang Renkan had already secretly telegraphed Weng Tongxi, apparently seeing the opportunity to restrict the Beiyang Naval Division, Weng Ge Lao immediately launched a big discussion on the issue of the army [***] in the court, and the Qingliu cadres began to violently attack the blatant corruption in the army as if they were bloody......

By the 28th, the Military Aircraft Department had already issued a swift reply to the former confidant of Prince Alcohol's Mansion and the assistant of the Navy Yamen Lishan to seize the official and escort him to Yanjing for trial, and in the telegrams exchanged, Lu Hong immediately discovered a major opportunity!

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