In Dagu in April, the cold wind blowing from the north is no longer as biting as it was earlier, but it is still cold. In the distance, the Bohai Sea was slightly rippling, and a British flag freighter was slowly approaching.

The whistle sounded, and the workers who were sweating profusely on the dock only raised their heads slightly and looked out to sea, although the weather was cold, the heavy work still made the workers sweat profusely. The workers casually took off the sweat towel around their necks and wiped the sweat, and then buried their heads in the work. Before the imperial court developed the Northeast, there were several small freighters like this every day, but now they are all larger freighters, and this kind of small cargo [***] family has long been accustomed to it. Regardless of whether it was a German, an American, or some other foreigner with a high nose and blue eyes, they rushed to Jinmen in a hurry, not for the mountain of goods piled up on the docks. The sound of cargo handling and the shouting of compradors witnessed Dagu, the busiest wharf in northern China.

"Get out of the way, get out of the way." Suddenly, there was a disturbance on the dock, and two carriages, escorted by a group of soldiers from the Governor's Palace, slowly stopped on the pier through the noisy crowd. A Goshha stepped forward, raised the curtain lightly, and two figures stepped down from the carriage.

The one at the front, many compradors and merchants on the dock are recognized, and they are often seen when they are doing business in the Governor's Palace, this person is Zhang Peilun, the son-in-law of Li Hongzhang, the Beiyang Minister of the Governor of Zhili, and the middle-aged man with a calm face in the back seems to be very angry, but he has never seen it.

"I don't know who is here this time, and he has such a big face. Unexpectedly, Li Zhongtang's beloved son-in-law Zhang Peilun and Master Zhang personally came forward to greet him? Someone stood in front of the warehouse and muttered quietly.

Before the words fell, another person got out of a carriage behind, wearing a foreigner's tuxedo, a high top hat, and a typical Oriental beard, standing behind Zhang Peilun, looking at the cargo ship that was sailing in the distance with a solemn expression.

The merchants on the dock of the "Oriental ......" are all smiling. Since the emperor's railway plan excluded the Orientals, and the subsequent New Year's dinner did not invite the Orientals, these Orientals did not have the arrogance of the early years.

"Fang Liang, what is the origin of this Oriental man? Why did the emperor attach so much importance to this person, and let you come to Jinmen in person. Zhang Peilun looked at the freighter that was slowly approaching in the distance and asked softly.

Standing next to Zhang Peilun was Zhou Qin, as an opponent, in fact, he had known this person for a long time. Originally, the emperor didn't want him to be exposed, but he still invited the emperor's special order to rush over from the capital. At this time, when he heard Zhang Peilun's question, he just smiled faintly, and looked at the Oriental man behind him slightly. There was no answer. Zhang Peilun immediately understood. Standing on the ground behind him was Toshio Inoue, the military attache of the Embassy in China. It is really inconvenient to talk about anything in front of this person at this moment. Then he kept silent. He looked heavily at the freighter that was docking.

At the bow of the freighter stood a middle-aged man in his 40s with a silent expression. The gaze calmly gazes at the noisy harbor, letting the special smell of the North China Sea breeze blow.

The freighter had just docked. The workers who had been waiting on the dock immediately became busy. The workers in charge of loading and unloading rushed forward to the side of the ship with wooden sticks and ropes, hoping to resist one more trip. The compradors of the foreign banks walked to the dock in a hurry. Began to arrange for his subordinate, the clerk of the bookkeeper and the people on board the ship to count the cargo. Check the accounts and go through the handover procedures. This freighter came from Yantai, and although it was a freighter, it also carried a lot of passengers. At this moment, they walked down the gangway in twos and threes.

Noisy crowd. The middle-aged man with a silent expression walked down the gangway. When he stepped on the ground of the dock, he took a deep breath and said softly, "It's been 6 years." Qingguo, I'm back again......"

This middle-aged man with a serious expression. It is said that the chief staff officer of the General Staff Headquarters of the Army, the head of the spy report on China, Nagakawa Kami, is the sixth. Responsible for the collection of military intelligence on China by the military department. His last trip to China was in 1887, six years after that.

Before opening Tianjin, Kawakami had already inspected Busan, Incheon, Seoul and other places in North Korea, and then transferred to Tianjin by boat via Yantai. This time, he planned to visit the No. 1 Arsenal in Tianjin, visit the Armament Academy, and then watch the artillery drill and the pace of infantry training. If possible, he will personally climb the Beitang Fort to watch the mountain artillery exercises and inspect the terrain around Tianjin.

Think about it in six years. The entire empire, from the emperor to the commoners, was desperately preparing for the future of the Yamato nation, and every copper plate saved was transformed into warships, artillery, and ammunition, like a column speeding in the direction of hope with full horsepower. Arsenals, shipyards, railroads, fleets and new army ...... After all, the archipelago is too small to bear the pride and dreams of the emperor. Kawakami couldn't help but feel a sense of pride in his heart.

And the Qing country in front of him seems to be still the same, full of people with braided hair, dark faces, and weak bodies, just like this ancient country, exuding an aging and stale atmosphere.

Many years ago, this vast country was admired by the Empire, and it is a pity that the Empire shed tears when the Mongol Iron Cavalry trampled the Great Song Dynasty under their horses' hooves. But now, the country is vulnerable to the guns of the Westerners. There is an ancient saying in this country called feng shui turns, the reincarnation of the world, this country is no longer enough to bear the hope of East Asia, this land and the people on the land, what they need is the chrysanthemum and sword of the empire!

The Yueqing Trade Institute and the embassy in China, located in the British Concession in Shanghai, have sent back countless top-secret pieces of information in the past year, and now the Imperial Navy and Army have completed their pre-war preparations. But Kawakami was well aware that the empire had not really completed its preparations for war. Thinking back to the time of Toyoku Hideyoshi, he saw that the emperor of the former Ming Dynasty had not been in court for twenty years, and thought that he had found an opportunity to revitalize the empire. But such a lion who was already asleep just turned over slightly, and beat back the hand that the empire had outstretched, and the great man of a generation Toyoju Hideyoshi went back. The Qing Dynasty in front of him, although weak to the empire, was still huge, like an incomparably huge shadow. The purpose of this trip to China is that General Kawakami will witness with his own eyes and make the best choice for the General Staff Headquarters and the Empire.

For the decision-making center of the empire, the main enemy of the empire's conquest of the Qing Dynasty was Li Hongzhang's Beiyang, so the empire's decision-making was made for Beiyang, but now this new army that has emerged, an army formed strictly after the German [***] team, and several of its main commanders have also studied in the German [***] school, why did the Qing suddenly form this army at such a time? It is rumored that this army is just a tool for the Qing emperor to seize power, or has another purpose.

Over time, intelligence sent back from the Qing State showed. The Forces nouvelles were highly disciplined, and the sound of guns coming from the Forces nouvelles camps every day suggests that the Forces nouvelles may have been trained at a higher intensity than the Empire. It is a pity that countless infiltrations and reconnaissance by the intelligence services have not been able to see this army with their own eyes. What is the deployment of troops, weaponry, composition and other relevant information of this army? How is the combat effectiveness? How much difference is there compared to Li Hongzhang's Beiyang Huai Army? Once a war breaks out in the future, how will the Qing Dynasty use this army? This made the entire Imperial Staff Headquarters suddenly full of all kinds of suspicions. However, the opportunity has come, the new army of the Qing State will conduct long-distance training, and at the same time, Li Hongzhang's Beiyang Naval Division will also participate in it, which will be the best way for the empire to understand the strength of the Qing State.

When Qing Guo established Dacheong Bank last year, Prime Minister Ito Hirobumi showed a keen interest in Dacheong Bank. Compared with military intelligence, any economic initiative of the Qing Dynasty at this time was worthy of the attention and study of the imperial high-level. This work was specifically carried out by Seishi Arao, director of the Seiki Trade Research Institute, and since Seishi Arao was once a subordinate of Kawakami Yoroku, he would be responsible for coordinating and directing the work while Kawakami Yoroku was in China.

Thinking of this, Kawakami showed a helpless wry smile on his face and looked at the crowd beside him. In the crowd, a dark and thin figure was standing on the dock with a simple suitcase, he was one of Kawakami's most powerful assistants in the army staff headquarters, Kotaro Munakata.

Looking at the gaze of Major General Kawakami, Kotaro Munakata nodded quietly, carrying the suitcase he was carrying, and walked against the crowded group to the freighter, he will take the freighter to Shanghai. This time, he will secretly contact the director of the Yuqing Trade Research Institute, Arao Sei, and cooperate with Kawakami to take on the mission of collecting all intelligence. Unfortunately, they didn't know that there were a few pairs of eyes staring at them in the distance.

"We can go down, tonight. You will meet the most powerful governor of the Qing Dynasty and the most formidable enemy of the empire, Li Hongzhang, the governor of Zhili and the minister of Beiyang. Hehe, but I'm sure he'll be hospitable......" Kawakami smiled, turning back to the staff officers who were following him.

On the wharf, on the third floor of the Shunfeng Logistics Warehouse, behind the half-hidden windows, several pairs of binoculars are looking at Kawakami and his party.

"Have you memorized all these birdmen?" Zhou Qin appeared behind many voyeurs.

"My lord, I've written it down."

"Very good, from now on one-on-one staring at them, even how many farts they have to figure out." Zhou Qin remembered the emperor's tireless advice before going out, no matter what method was used, they could not be allowed to take away the slightest bit of information.

In the imperial study, he stood coldly and quietly. Since the Prime Minister's National Affairs Yamen received a message from the Chinese Embassy in China, Major General Kawakami, deputy chief of staff of the Army General Staff Headquarters, will visit China in the near future. Then, Guangxu's heart suddenly became a little inexplicably uneasy.

"Did Fang Liang arrive in Tianjin?" Guangxu asked thoughtfully.

"Back to the emperor, Lord Zhou arrived in Tianjin three days ago, and met Li Zhongtang and brought the emperor's will over. Lord Zhou replied, and Li Zhongtang would fully cooperate. In addition, Lord Zhou has already dispatched good manpower to supervise and prevent everyone in Kawakami and his party. Leng Jun whispered.

Hi, Guangxu sighed deeply: "I said that I tried every possible way to listen to our reality, but we don't know anything about this book. This unfavourable situation must be reversed. It is said that it is dark for a while, and we must also use the way of others to give back to our bodies. Lin Yongxiang was instructed to intensify smuggling of the waterway and cooperate with the intelligence department to find out the data of the waterway and the military and economic information as soon as possible. ”

Looking at the back of Leng Jun going out, Guangxu stood up. China, said Ben. The first head-to-head confrontation began.

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