On July 19, the 14th year of A.D., the sound of cannons sounded off the coast of Asan, announcing the prelude to the beginning of the death struggle between the two countries in East Asia in the first year of the First Sino-Japanese War. One side has been sharp for a long time, and the other side is a gangster. Three fast cruisers raided the convoy of the Qing Dynasty, and the "Yingjiang" sank, the "Guangyi" sank, and the "Gaosheng" sank! Hundreds of elite land divisions of the Huai Army were killed in the belly of the fish, and the most powerful warship of the Qing side, the "Jiyuan", hurriedly retreated in response to the battle, and the actions of this warship and its captain Fang Boqian became an unclear lawsuit in the future. All in all, "Jiyuan" still ran away!

After the sound of cannon fire on the sea surface of Asan sounded, the world was shocked. The entire Qing Dynasty, from the center of the Great Qing Dynasty, which was preparing for longevity, to Beiyang, which was responsible for the actual responsibility of North Korea, to the prime ministers and national affairs yamen who liaised with various countries, to the well-informed banner people who were idle, were all dumbfounded in shock for a while.

In everyone's impression, it is a small and poor country, although the Qing Dynasty is now down, but it is several times more powerful than this country. It's not like I've never seen them, short and half-clothed, doing business in some Haikou cities, carefully selling their low-quality Oriental goods...... Tianjin, Shanghai and other places in the concession area also have this kiln, those sisters who say this kiln are not first-class goods, looking at the Qing Dynasty masters have to be soft and small in order to attract some fresh repeat customers...... When did these dwarf robbers become strong and sharp, and they bit Daqing fiercely as soon as they made a move?

After the shock, there was anger, and the Qing Dynasty could be regarded as having done foreign affairs for decades, buying warships and foreign guns, and accumulating ammunition. Beiyang has been known as a powerhouse for a long time. In addition, since the Qing Dynasty was bullied by Westerners, it is now doubling down on public international law. thinks that all civilized and powerful countries in the world speak of public international law, so that only by signing a treaty can the Qing Dynasty not be bullied by foreign devils...... Now Xiao Yueben actually dares to violate the public law of all countries to beat himself?

On the day of the incident, there was a clear stream on the book, and the imperial history responded one after another. The impeachment of Li Hongzhang was unfavorable to the negotiations, which encouraged the arrogance of the Japanese bandits. Since Yue Ben was the first to provoke, he demanded that the Qing Dynasty immediately declare war on Yue! Mobilize the Beiyang strong force to suppress the Japanese thieves on the land of Korea. The warships of the Beiyang Naval Division and the Nanyang Naval Division converge in one place, looking for the military ships to take revenge!

The imperial party smelled this smell for the first time, and these words, a part of the political forces of the Qing Dynasty, which had been squeezed out of breath by the Houdang and local powerful factions such as Beiyang, immediately made a judgment that the best policy today was to declare war. can let Beiyang and Yueben confront each other, and if there is something wrong, Li Hongzhang can be impeached. And this war can also allow Guangxu to gradually come to the front of the stage and take power, which is really a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for the imperial party!

At this time, no matter how strong the flag is over, who would dare to mention that for the sake of Lafayette's longevity, it is better to be patient and negotiate a solution. The world was raging, enough to overwhelm the opponent! They can't say it themselves. After all, the Qing Dynasty still talks about ruling the world with filial piety. Who in Yanjing City doesn't know that the silver of the navy yamen was used in Sanhai, which caused the current naval division to be defeated...... Declaring war forcefully also ruined Lafayette's face and increased the emperor's prestige!

For a while, starting from Yanjing City, there was a sound of shouting and beating. These imperialists never thought that they would lose the war. It is estimated that there is one thought in my heart, since the thieves and I know each other, two thousand years, from the Baijiangkou of the Tang Dynasty, Qi Jiguang Ping, Wanli Three Expeditions to aid Korea all the way down, when is not this little man who does not know the height of the sky and the thickness of the earth suffer? Everyone is the eldest brother against the Western devils, needless to say the second brother, but in the Huanghuang Qing Dynasty, there is still consular jurisdiction and extraterritoriality! The Beiyang Naval Division can use this port as a supply port, and a few years ago, there was nothing to send some warships to deter, and the little thieves were also very deferential.

How can this battle be lost? The only thing to consider is how much of a piece of the pie of power change that falls from the sky, and how much of a piece of the domestic forces each represents can gnaw!

For a time, the wave of declaring war swept through China and abroad. The superintendent's letters and telegrams also came to each other, and they were all righteous and strict. Guangxu also telegraphed Li Hongzhang earnestly and asked: "Now that the war starts, is Beiyang sure?" Is the Korean Army Division enough to defeat the enemy? Li Hongzhang was a member of the staff, and the negotiation was informable, which led to the Asan incident and greatly damaged the prestige of the country. ”

Then the party figures, including Cixi, lost their voices for a while.

In terms of heart, if it is a domestic matter, Cixi, who has been in the highest position of the Qing Dynasty for decades, will calm down while talking and laughing. It was an accident that I couldn't get Xu Yifan recently. Unexpectedly, this guy simply put the words "I'm shameless" on his face. Even if he cheats, there is a way to clean him up after Wanshou.

But for foreign affairs, Cixi and the queen, these post-party figures are all in one sentence, and there is no way. It's always a passive response, and when the butt is kicked enough, it's accompanied by a smile. Anyway, it's not her Cixi's to be embarrassed, and there are people at the bottom of the tank. Said Ben's move, he couldn't pull his face down with a smile on Xiao Yueben's face, and Cixi was also unhappy with Xiao Yueben's disturbance of the longevity situation. But if you want to start fighting, no one cares about it. What are the plans, what are the preparations, how much strength there is, everyone is a mess, many ministers, it is estimated that even Portugal and Spain can't tell the difference!

How to deal with it, whether it should be hard or soft, no one can do anything. For a while, he only cared about the opinions of the ministers of the various countries stationed in Beijing, and he could only watch for a while when the imperial party figures jumped out and shouted loudly. No one can stand up to this group of menacing postures, right?

The reaction of the ministers of various countries was also indistinguishable, and the Russian ministers immediately issued a statement and visited the prime minister's yamen. It is believed that the Russian Empire is definitely on the side of the Qing Empire in its negotiations because it has undermined the public law of all nations and the peaceful situation in East Asia, and that it should be condemned by civilized countries...... How to condemn the book and how to help the Qing Dynasty, people didn't say.

The opinion of the British Empire, which was most valued by the court, made people feel cold in their hearts. The British Empire Minister only expressed regret that he had seen this incident, and believed that it was better for the two sides to negotiate a settlement of the issue. However, the British Empire believed that the suzerainty system in Korea was still so backward. The interests of the Qing Dynasty in Korea are too great, which is not conducive to peace in East Asia, and in Korea, it is still necessary to bring in the interests of more countries in order to maintain a balance in East Asia...... For the rest, wait until the Minister receives an order from the country before speaking.

France still remembers the feud between China and France, and this time it is a bit of schadenfreude. Besides, their interests are in the southwest of the Qing Dynasty, and they don't bother to care about the dispute in the northeast location, and they just say something that doesn't hurt or itch.

The U.S. minister, on the other hand, said something that he thought was too rebellious, and that his move was an irrational act to undermine the peace situation in the Pacific, and that he hoped that the United States and other countries would immediately convene mediated talks, and that the doors of Korea and Northeast Asia would be opened up and that all countries would have equal opportunities...... The United States probably still remembers the Liang Zi who married them in Hawaii. Besides, the current United States really doesn't have much influence.

After such a stirring up of various countries, the ministers of the Prime Minister's national affairs department all looked at each other. No country has said anything weighty, the countries that have the strength to mediate are watching from the sidelines, and the countries that are not capable of mediation are causing chaos there. In other words, no international force is willing or able to restrain Yuben's actions now, and the Qing Dynasty can only face it alone! Needless to say, even if the war is won, it is estimated that the position of the DPRK will not be kept!

Is it really only by teaching Xiao Yuben a lesson that he can get through this hurdle?

North Korea is directly subordinate and northeastern, the only standing water and land division that can be relied on is Beiyang, and Beiyang, can it defeat Yuben?

At least the current figures of the Qing Emperor Party have not yet remembered Xu Yifan, who is alone in the north of North Korea. Even the imperial party, which wanted to win over Xu Yifan the most, didn't think they had the power to change the situation. Just by calculating the numbers, Xu Yifan has 8,000 soldiers in one town (Xu Yifan's expansion of the second town has not been reported to the imperial court), and Li Hongzhang has more than 25,000 elite land divisions in North Korea, and 17,800 standing army divisions in Zhili, Northeast, Shandong, Suiyuan and other places, and the weapons and ammunition reserves are enough to equip tens of thousands of newly recruited troops. Not to mention Li Hongzhang and the Beiyang Sailors!

The tide was surging, but in addition to the anger, Yanjing City, the center of the Qing Dynasty, was in a state of turmoil, and no one knew where the situation would develop.

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"Nakkai! Let's hurry up and call on the ministers of various countries to ask for joint mediation! ”

"Xiao said that he deceived people too much, Zhongtang, let's fight!"

"Ding Yuting is humiliated by the ship, Zhongtang, you must apply!"

"The North Korean Army Division is now lonely, Zhongtang, we must come up with a way!"

"It's too tight up there now, Zhongtang, we have to talk back...... You must pull out a war posture, otherwise you won't be able to explain it! ”

"Where's the salary? Where will the salaries come from? Once the army starts, it will cost money to recruit troops, money for arms, money for grain and grass, and money for defense...... There's nothing fucking about no money! Not to mention that Beiyang's income this year has long been used up, and a lot of advances have been borrowed and advanced everywhere, and they have to be repaid in installments...... The imperial court pointed to us to fight in Beiyang, so we can't help but give money! ”

"What is Xiao Yueben's intention? Can they really count on beating us down? What exactly are they going to do? ”

In Li Hongzhang's signing room, there was a chaotic sound of coaxing among the staff. From the bad news of Asan, all the texts and telegrams poured like snowflakes towards this Beiyang center, and the old man who was almost old was coming.

It is easy to say that there will be no war, but once the war is approaching, it will be found that Beiyang's deployment is full of holes. The sailors had retreated to the northern part of the Yellow Sea, covering only a few bases in the Bohai Bay, and had almost completely abandoned the Korean coastline. The Lu Division was almost not ready for a big battle, not to mention that these tens of thousands of Lu Divisions had been in Korea for a year, and they were almost exhausted. The ammunition and military uniforms and supplies were kept in less than a month, and the most convenient supply by sea was cut off after the sound of artillery in Asan.

The most important thing is that even in the Qing Dynasty, the Beiyang forces, which are already the most open and know the most overseas, basically know nothing about the intentions and movements of the book! No one can say clearly what Ben's appetite is and what their deployment is! It is only known that the fleet of the book is already on the coast of Korea, and the book has 6,000 troops in Korea. Now in the consulates of this country, the telegram cannot be sent!

Li Hongzhang clenched his fists and sat on the chair, without the support of the official case, he felt dizzy and about to fall down.

The Qing Dynasty is the same as his Beiyang, and he still has a bit of an appearance when he is peaceful, and everyone is waiting for this exchange to support the last decency. Once the wind hits, I know that the house is paper-paste! The country, from any point of view, is not prepared for a battle that will affect the fortunes of the country!

The entire Qing Dynasty now has no ability to concentrate China's forces to carry out a modern war!

What's more important is that now the pressure is all on Li Hongzhang's head, and behind it, there are unexplained power disputes in the center of the Qing Dynasty. Once he is not careful, it will be the end of his Li Hongzhang's life's work, including the disintegration of the Beiyang group that he has worked so hard to establish!

The sound underneath is still chaotic, and it tends to get louder and louder. Li Hongzhang's forehead was bruised, and finally he couldn't bear to yell: "Enough!" ”

The sound was so loud that everyone in the room was startled. When it comes to Li Hongzhang's status, it is more or less necessary to talk about physique, be graceful when talking and laughing, and be generous in behavior. Li Hongzhang is no longer the group training in the early years, and he has been treated as a bandit Hanlin. Such a loud roar has not been seen for decades. Suddenly everyone was silent.

Li Hongzhang pressed his forehead extremely tiredly, and his eyes turned to Yang Shixiang. was disappointed to see that this Beiyang little Zhuge was also at a loss.

Yang Shixiang shook his head lightly at Li Hongzhang: "Zhongtang, you can't beat it......"

Li Hongzhang said in a low voice: "But the current trend of the court ......"

Yang Shixiang smiled bitterly: "The trend of the court will not be able to kill our Beiyang, but once the army starts, it will really be the end of Beiyang!" ”

Li Hongzhang raised his eyebrows, just looked at Yang Shixiang, and everyone looked at Yang Shixiang speechlessly. The room was quiet.

Seeing that everyone's eyes were focused, Yang Shixiang didn't know where to start. Do you mean that you have personally felt the disintegration of the Huai army, the arrogance and cowardice of the main force of North Korea, or is it that the current financial weakness is in need of money, but there is no money everywhere? Beiyang, and even the entire Qing Dynasty, is a swollen shelf. There is still a little bit of residual courage internally, but there is nothing to worry about externally? He is a Beiyang think tank, and he is also the general office of the Army Battalion Office, so he knows the strength of Beiyang very well. Everyone is just two words, maintain. As long as the shelves don't fall over, you can eat by leaning on. But as soon as the cannon sounded in Asan, could this frame be maintained?

It turned out that it was this shelf that was borrowed, as well as Li Hongzhang's false name of the Oriental Bismarck. At the beginning, the signing of the Tianjin Renewal Treaty made the Beiyang people think it was a great success. He was afraid of Beiyang and Li Hongzhang, and when the cannon rang out in Asan and he realized that he couldn't scare him, he saw that he was only wearing a pair of pants!

Up and down the Beiyang, there is the important task of guarding the Zhili, and even the entire North China. It is known as 20 years of training in the army, and the water and land divisions are complete. When Chengping is peaceful, he can be majestic and unbeatable, and he is regarded as a behemoth by the world, and when the matter comes, the real insider knows his weakness!

The rest doesn't need to be analyzed, just about money. Once the war began, the amount of money needed was astronomical. The central finance of the Qing Dynasty had already gone bankrupt during the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, and the commanders of the local army and commanders supported the entire Taiping Rebellion through the development of the local financial system of Reading Power ———— with centigold as the main source of income. After the fall of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, the finances of the Qing Dynasty were completely scattered. The revenues that had been expanded through the centigold were quickly divided up by the rapidly expanding bureaucracy and the so-called New Deals. In other words, the Qing Dynasty was no longer capable of opening up new sources of revenue. And this old fiscal system cannot raise funds through the issuance of public bonds. Borrowing foreign debt, when there is a war with a foreign country, is an extremely difficult thing, the Sino-French war is a lesson from the past, Beiyang took out the best mining port as collateral, the world can not borrow money!

This is the case with money alone, not to mention the organization of the army, the mobilization of popular support, and the adaptation of various systems.

The gap between the state system of the Middle Ages and the modern nation-state, the transformation of resources into war capabilities, is so big. Yang Shixiang and Li Hongzhang may not understand this truth, but they can see their own real weakness too clearly.

"But the attitude of the imperial court is ......extremely tough," Li Hongzhang muttered to himself.

"That's the emperor's tough attitude! It's not the Queen Mother's tough attitude! When it comes to the power struggle in China, Yang Shixiang is very sober and has a way.

"Zhongtang, let's negotiate...... No matter how many interests are ceded, just keep our status in Beiyang. Even the Queen Mother is actually happy to see this day come to naught...... We can't afford to win or lose this battle. Only negotiations! ”

Before Li Hongzhang could answer, he heard a voice at the door of the signing room say loudly: "What if you insist on fighting?" Are we going to give up the whole of North Korea? Open the port to this again? Don't talk about the emperor in this way, Lafayette can't explain it. They are anxious to export their crisis, and they want to use the East Asian continent to enhance their national strength, how much can we make? This battle has been planned for a long time, and it has been lying on the salary for 20 years. Zhongtang, we only have to fight! ”

Everyone's eyes turned to see Zhang Peilun wearing a green shirt, standing at the door, still holding a roll of newspaper in his hand, looking at the title, it was the Daqing Times co-run by Tan Si.

Yang Shixiang stood up violently and sneered: "Youqiao, this is not Ma Jiang back then!" It's not your turn to make such a shocking statement! How do you know about Ben's intentions? What are we going to do with it? It's not like you don't know the current situation in North Korea! ”

Yang Shixiang was there to expose the scars of Zhang Peilun's defeat of Ma Jiang, which made his face pale, but he didn't say much, but he just walked in front of Li Hongzhang and put the stack of newspapers in front of Li Hongzhang's public case: "Zhongtang, there are already clear-eyed people, and the intention of the book is determined to come to the original way, and this battle is already a must-fight...... It's ridiculous that we are still messing around, and if we prepare early, we will take the initiative more...... We've flinched so much......"

Li Hongzhang looked blank, just looked at the stack of newspapers, but didn't say a word. The old man's mind is now in a mess, the power dispute between the DPRK and China, the brazen actions of Yu Ben, the current situation in Beiyang, all kinds of piles, have been mixed together, and there is a fierce confrontation in his mind. But it's hard to decide.

"How to deal with it? What do you think about you? Now that the sea route has been cut off, and the situation in North Korea has become so bad that it cannot be worse, what else can be done except to negotiate and stabilize the situation? Zhongtang can only endure humiliation! ”

"Of course there is a way!" Zhang Peilun turned around proudly.

Lu Shi shrank, retreated to the area of the Datong River, and joined Xu Yifan. The power of the DPRK's land affairs will be entrusted to it. With him as the front, he is called the brigade of the land division...... The sailors patrol the sentry port and protect the ship and guard the mouth. The hinterland quickly reorganizes the new army and fills the ports, and it can still ensure an undefeated situation! ”

Before he finished speaking, the room was already in an uproar. Don't say that the imperial court has not yet decided to declare war on Yue, such a move is equivalent to Beiyang mobilization in wartime. is to retreat Lu Shi to the Northern Dynasty, give up Seoul, and hand over power to Xu Yifan, which is already the biggest rebellious voice in the group! If it weren't for Zhang Peilun being Li Hongzhang's son-in-law, it would be estimated that there would be people scolding the street.

Yang Shixiang just sneered and said two words: "Ridiculous." ”

Zhang Peilun still wanted to refute, but he heard Li Hongzhang say coldly: "Enough." ”

As soon as everyone's voices were low, Li Hongzhang still said only these two words: "Enough." ”

He slowly stood up and picked up the newspaper on the table: "I'm tired, I'm going to rest first." Don't tell me anything...... It's a big thing, I'll talk about it when I have the spirit. ”

Zhang Peilun's expression became excited: "Zhongtang! Now is the most critical time, and it is better to make any decision than not to have one! The determination of the people is like iron, and they will never stop and wait for us to figure out a way, and they are approaching again, just in front of them! When the time comes, it will be an uncontrollable scene! ”

Li Hongzhang erupted violently: "What decision do you want me to make now, what decision can I make?" It's a mess up above, and it's a mess on the bottom...... This Qing Dynasty is not my Li Hongzhang's! ”

He roared like thunder, and all the suppressed panic in the past two days broke out: "What can it be? People die and birds are facing the sky, and they are freezing to death at the windward station! Whatever I was going to do, I'm going to do it! It's nothing more than the collapse of Beiyang, and my Li Hongzhang's braids are pulled down! I want to see, apart from me Li Hongzhang, who can have the power to return to heaven and frame this broken house! There is such a person, I let Xian! ”

With that, he turned around and left, leaving a room of people in a daze. After a while, Yang Shixiang smiled bitterly and said, "Youqiao, you should be considerate of Zhongtang." There was a lot of noise above, but they were all a bunch of scholars who could only speak loudly, thinking that they would return to the heart of the world if they had the spirit of Haoran, but they didn't know how difficult the actual situation was...... The next side will only complain, and I want to find a way in the middle hall, what can I do now? If you retreat from North Korea, the sea route will be cut off, and you will not be able to retreat. Entering, that is, to start an all-out war, this responsibility is all borne by Zhongtang, and his old man is tired enough...... We'll just have to wait and see. Xiao said...... After all, it can't swallow our Qing Dynasty. ”

Zhang Peilun's expression was even more sad than Li Hongzhang's, and he shook his head lightly: "If you delay it now, it will be a bit heavier...... Ande heroes turn the tide, Ande heroes turn the tide? Lianfang, in this world, the middle hall can't be saved! ”

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Hiroshima, outside Ujina Port.

After the third day of the sound of the cannon in Ashan, the Qing Dynasty was still in chaos. But in this book, the whole system has been resolutely and efficiently operated.

Several standing divisions and regiments that were in the first batch to go out for the expedition quickly replenished their strength and weapons. These are all drawn from other standing divisions and regiments, and they will be able to be used at full strength as soon as they are strengthened. The divisions and regiments that had drawn out their personnel and weapons were not idle, and immediately began to receive reserve troops, which were urgently organized and ready to be dispatched at any time as a continuation of the troops. These plans have been prepared for a long time, and with the sound of a cannon in Asan, they will start immediately!

The wharf of Ujingang is full of cargo ships and merchant ships, all of which are urgently requisitioned, all of them are ready to start a fire, the smoke is soaring into the sky, and a steam whistle is staggered.

On the dock, it was full of neat columns of soldiers in black uniforms, these short and stocky soldiers held rifles, carried backpacks, and waited in silent formations. Everywhere there was a surge of military hats and bayonets. When the officers who were satisfied met each other, they all saluted each other with murderous awe. All kinds of people from the national service group held flags and slogans to send them together. On the pier, there was a solemn atmosphere.

"Tomorrow, we will declare war on the Qing State......"

Ito, who was standing in front of the floor-to-ceiling window of the conference room of the Hiroshima branch of the Hiroshima branch of the Bank of Japan with a view of Ujina Port, muttered to himself.

"It is estimated that the Qing country is still in chaos now...... God bless, we say that this empire has finally become a modern nation-state one step ahead of schedule since the black ship knocked. And the boss's branch is still the structure of the Middle Ages...... The 2,000-year-old national fortune of East Asia has finally come to change......"

He turned his head slowly and looked at Tou Shanman, who was standing respectfully behind him.

"Toushan-kun, this time it depends on the work of your Xuanyang Society in North Korea for 20 years. The situation in the mountains and rivers, the geographical records of the soldiers, and the pro-forces within Korea are all important conditions for the success of the campaign to conquer and clear the Qing Dynasty...... In the past 20 years, you have also made important contributions to the rise of the empire...... These words also need you in the base camp, and we make decisions, and you are indispensable to this North Korean expert. ”

Toushan smiled: "Contemptible people dare not do their best." ”

Ito smiled: "Toushan-kun, do you think this battle will go well?" Although he was asking, the confident smile on his face showed that he didn't really need an answer.

Toushan thought that the answer would be smooth as a matter of course, but he hesitated for some reason.

Ito looked at him with a look like a falcon: "Touyama-kun, what are you worried about?" ”

Toushan was silent for a moment, and finally replied: "Li Hongzhang is insignificant...... Your Excellency, I'm thinking of another person, he really doesn't look like a Shina man......"

"Xu Yifan?" Ito asked softly.

Since Xu Yifan sabotaged the Donghak Party riot and the Seoul Palace Rebellion caused by the army forces represented by Kawakami Yoroku and the Ronin forces of Toushanman, the Korean strategic considerations of the book have added this variable. However, everyone thinks that it is at most a nuisance rather than a threat. Xu Yifan is a lone army, and he is the enemy of the world. In the face of the power of the whole country, how big a wave can it make? Kawakami Yoroku has already held back his strength this time, and wants to completely wipe out Xu Yifan in the Northern Dynasty...... If he doesn't run fast enough.

Thinking of this, Toushan smiled with self-loss: "Contemptible people are thinking nonsense, don't be surprised, Your Excellency." ”

Ito Hirofumi ignored him, and just repeated softly: "Tomorrow, we will declare war on the Qing Kingdom...... Toushan-kun, isn't it interesting to change the history of the two peoples? ”

(To be continued)