With Guangxu's speech at the New Year's dinner, newspapers from all over the world described this unusual royal dinner in that mysterious country in the Far East. Without exception, all of them began to use the word China to refer to the ancient kingdom of the East. On the day of the dinner, the 90,000 light bulbs lit at the same time allowed countries to see a new world. Mysterious, ancient, decaying, ambitious...... Many words began to be used in the newspapers to describe the country of the East.

No matter how foreign countries describe the strangeness of China, Edison, who is far away across the ocean, is suffering from the emergence of alternating current. Yanjing, the capital of an ancient country in the East, has been embroiled in a fierce controversy over the light brought by electric lights. People in the conservative faction believe that the emperor has seriously damaged the feng shui of the capital by bringing this kind of Western strange silver skill to the capital, and it should be cancelled. And this kind of speech is still in the market, and many Qingliu literati have also joined in to criticize it. Of course, Weng Tongyong, the head of the clear stream, wanted to help the emperor speak, and he personally wrote an article published in the "Wu Shibao", telling about the rapid changes in foreign countries. Of course, this is what the emperor meant. As a result, the next day, the "State Affairs Times" published an article against Weng Tongyong, and Weng Tongrong naturally wanted to fight back. The back and forth quarreled with the "Business Times" as the carrier. On the fifth day, Emperor Guangxu personally published an article, which was very short and had two meanings: the ancient saying is cloudy, and the reason is becoming clearer and clearer, and the discussion can be continued. Second, all electric light wires will be purchased by the emperor, and these electric light wires will be the emperor's private property, and if anyone deliberately destroys the emperor's property, they will be dealt with strictly. I have to say that in this still very feudal society, the emperor is still the supreme existence in the hearts of ordinary people. As soon as the emperor's handwritten article was published, there were no more incidents of vandalism.

There were many quarrels in the newspapers, which not only further expanded the "Business Times", but also brought huge profits to the "Business Times". Although the ministers of the DPRK and China also have their own thoughts, the lights that are lit all night are indeed much brighter than the candles that fill the hall, and there is no unpleasant smell. In fact, some princes and ministers have begun to ask the emperor if they can install electric lights in their homes. Ninety thousand light bulbs are finally working.

The capital is also busy in the New Year, and there are more officials who come to report on their work. In particular, in the emperor's new personnel appointments, it was emphasized that all the new officials should first return to Beijing to report on their work and then go to various places.

In the imperial study, Liu Yongfu was already gray-haired. Ten years earlier, he had defeated the French in Annam, but had been sent far to Taiwan by the imperial court. In fact, he has always been thinking about Annan in his heart. A black flag was handed over to him, just like the black flag of his Black Flag Army back then.

"Take him to Liangguang. Gather your old ministry and raise this banner to let the French in Annam know that the black devil of the past has returned. The emperor's passionate words made Liu Yongfu kowtow uncontrollably.

And Zhao Erfeng, who was kneeling on the other side, knew him. At the end of the Qing Dynasty, during the Xuantong period, all parts of the country were defeated again and again, only he led his troops to expand the territory in the southwest of the motherland, and the boundary monuments marking the borders of the motherland were buried by him himself. It was also their brothers, and the new army in the whole country was in revolt, but only Chuanzhong remained loyal to the Qing court until Xuantong announced his abdication.

"Go to the southern frontier of the motherland, where you are needed. There are many mountainous areas in southern Xinjiang, so you should go and set up a special mountain army of the Qing Dynasty, and the local people are familiar with the terrain and are good at walking mountain roads, so you can recruit people locally. As for money, food, and weapons, you don't need to go through the local government, you can send a telegram directly to the military department or the general staff, as long as you need it, I will prepare it for you. You only have one thing, to form a true elite army for the Great Qing Kingdom. I have also issued you a secret decree that your purpose is not to defend the country, but to be ready to attack at all times. In Annam and Burma, what was lost in the Qing Dynasty always has to be regained. Remember, I have given you five years to prepare, not only in terms of troops but also in intelligence. Five years later, when I give the order, you will command the elite army of the Qing Dynasty to fight out, and at that time I will want you to defeat all the enemies of the Qing Dynasty in front of you, and you must know the location of every grass in the path of the attack. Can it be done? ”

"Wechen will definitely do it." The two replied in unison.

The relatively chaotic imperial court was indeed clear and clear in the negotiations. The Pacific Fleet left in exchange for the cessation of resistance, but the blockade of the army was still tight, and not a single grain or cloth was allowed to enter. The Yue army, which had been starved of food for a long time, could no longer bear it, so he could only promise to buy it from the Qing state at twice the market price offered by the Qing state and send it to the trapped Yue army by the Qing army. And the emperor's forced buying and selling is still very reasonable, the price is placed here, and it is said that it is too expensive to buy it. However, it is impossible for our army to let the food directly delivered to the trapped army, what if the food sent by the company contains ammunition.

Regarding the emperor's righteous and stern words of forced buying and selling, Li Hongzhang actually blushed. As for the removal of all his duties, Li Hongzhang didn't care at all. The first day of the Beiyang sea and land were defeated, and there is always something to show it. And isn't the newly established Ministry of Foreign Affairs still at the top of the six? What's more important is that the emperor said to him: Beiyang has been rotten from keeping up, hand it over to Zhang Zhidong to rebuild Beiyang, and you, Li Hongzhang, will look at the whole country.

"What is a diplomat?" Facing Li Hongzhang and Tang Shaoyi, who came to ask for the will of the negotiation, Guangxu asked.

The two of them thought about it, and both replied that it was an official who specialized in foreign affairs. Guangxu shook his head dissatisfied.

"A diplomat is a group of officials who specialize in foreign affairs and strive for the greatest national interests in foreign negotiations. I thought that diplomats were not merely involved in diplomacy under the orders of the imperial court. Diplomats, on the other hand, are even better, not only fulfilling the diplomatic tasks set by the imperial court, but also actively fighting for greater national interests outside of them. For example, Shaochuan is an excellent foreign official, but he can only be regarded as a just qualified diplomat. And you, Li Hongzhang, are just a good diplomat. Good or even outstanding, you are far from it. No matter how the Western powers comment on the definition of diplomacy, they cannot get rid of the essence of diplomacy after all. It is to do everything possible to strive for the greatest national interest. ”

"Those who do diplomatic work have a high degree of identification with the country, and everything is aimed at maximizing national interests. There are three elements of a diplomat, and Shaochuan only did the first point - shameless. And Li Hongzhang is good because he has done the second point - persistence, and this time he insisted very well on selling grain. Instead of me boasting, I am better than you to be considered excellent, because I have achieved the third point - insisting on shamelessness. No matter how the Western countries say humanity and how they say that we should show the mind of a victorious country, I still ordered the Pacific Fleet to continue to loot along the coast of Yueben, because I insisted on being shameless, and I would only rob to the end if I did not surrender in Yueben. In the final analysis, the diplomat in my heart is a guy who wants nothing but face in foreign affairs. ”

Except for the face, you want everything, that is, it is clearly shameless. Guangxu's words shocked the two of them, only to hear the emperor continue: "But we are not outstanding yet. is obviously doing shameless things, and others can't see it, this is an outstanding diplomat. I hope that one day you will be able to do a good job, and all I have to do is to provide you with the most solid military support diplomatically, so you ask you to cooperate with me. All for the good of the country. ”

"In this negotiation, you must be good and insist on shamelessness, as long as you can get enough benefits, even if you are scolded as a bitch."

"As for the bottom line, North Korea should maintain the status quo, first say that it will take it back and then secretly give it to Yuben, don't force Yueben too hard. Ryukyu must get it back, pay reparations, and offer a price of one billion. The sky is full of asking for money to pay back. 300 million taels of silver is the bottom line, only allowed or not. Remember, at all times, the Qing navy will stand up for you. Let's discuss the specifics. ”

The diplomat's theory, which was newly decided by the emperor, shook Li Hongzhang and Tang Shaoyi. After kneeling down, the two went back to discuss the specific regulations for the peace talks.

Just after the New Year, with the official announcement of the peace talks, the war of the Qing Dynasty against the Japanese finally came to an end. But in Ogne's eyes, the Qing emperor seemed to be unwilling to stop the war in order to fight for national rights.

"Sincerity, there is no sincerity in peace talks. It was they who launched a war of aggression against the Qing State, and now that they are defeated, they want to end the war with a statement? Ridiculous. Now that the invading forces are still entrenched in the territory of the Qing Dynasty, how can this make the people of the Qing Dynasty believe in the sincerity of the peace talks? In a time when there was only Guangxu and Ogne, the two talked face-to-face about how to end the war.

"Your Majesty, it's just the two of us here, so I'll be blunt. In the face of the total defeat of the Cabinet, the statement of peace talks that the Cabinet took the lead in issuing was in fact equivalent to a declaration of surrender. I wonder if this is not a sign of sincerity in the peace talks? At the same time, I must also remind His Majesty that the Western countries want to see a peaceful East Asia, and firmly oppose any move that continues to undermine this peace. ”

Threat, this is a naked threat. Guangxu smiled faintly: "By the way, I don't know if my country has recovered the matter of ordering battleships from your country?" ”

Anti-threat. Ogna shook his head in pain. Because Britain's pro-Yuben attitude had angered the Chinese, a large number of orders were transferred to the United States and Germany, which had agreed in principle to help the Qing build two battleships and fortifications, and send more active officers to help the Qing reorganize the troops. The United States has already received orders for two heavy cruisers and a financial plan to help Qing restructure the gold standard. Not only at the national level, but also a large number of private orders have been eaten by Germany and the United States, and even France has obtained a lot of orders. Only the British Empire, except for the reason that the Qing State did not want to be provoked, the construction of the Qing Southern Railway had not been confirmed for a long time, and nothing else was obtained. For this reason, the merchants in China have long been dissatisfied with him. If the war between the Qing and the Qing Dynasty cannot be resolved as soon as possible, then he will be the end of the minister. Regarding the Qing Emperor's mention of battleship orders, he wanted to use orders and profits to counter-threaten Britain, although it did have some effect.

Eugene knew too well the methods of the emperor in front of him: "Your Majesty, I can't call the shots on this. I have reported His Majesty's request to Congress, and I am sure that the results will be forthcoming. For now, let's turn the conversation back to the war at hand. I wonder what should have been done to show the sincerity of His Majesty's satisfaction. ”

"Three points. First, it was necessary to withdraw troops from the territory of the Qing Dynasty; second, to hand over Nogi Noshinori, who massacred my innocent people in Lushun, and all the soldiers who participated in the Lushun massacre; Third, when he withdrew his troops, he left all the weapons and ammunition behind, and he could only return to his troops empty-handed. As long as the last group of troops left empty-handed, peace talks between the Qing Dynasty and the Qing Dynasty would immediately begin. I can also explain in advance that I will appoint the new Foreign Minister Li Hongzhang to take full responsibility for the peace talks. ”

The day after Ogne left the Forbidden City, the Qing State issued an official decree urging Yue Ben to withdraw his troops from the Qing State again, otherwise they would all be wiped out. Immediately after Guangxu, Tang Shaoyi began to negotiate with the British on the construction of the southern railway of the Qing Dynasty. The sudden plan to build the railway, which was linked to the fact that the British minister Ogne had just entered the palace to meet the Qing emperor, made the embassies of other countries in Dongjiaomin Lane read the meaning of surprise. Although no one knew what the two of them had discussed, and the British minister Eugene was silent afterwards, it was certain that the two men had reached some kind of agreement.

First of all, the British businessmen in China, who had not received orders from the Qing Dynasty, had already complained a lot, and Britain also exerted a lot of pressure on the British minister Ogne. The construction of the Southern Railway of the Qing Dynasty was officially put on the agenda, which helped the British Minister Ogne to temporarily calm the pressure from the trade side. Moreover, the agreement reached through a private meeting also invisibly established the unshakable position of Eugene among the ministers of various countries. At least he was the first to reach an agreement with the Qing emperor in a private meeting.

The British minister, Ogne, established some sort of personal friendship with the Qing Emperor, and he could exert some influence on Qing policy. At this moment, both the ministers of various countries and the United Kingdom can clearly feel that the meaning of this is self-evident. With this personal relationship, Britain will play a greater role in East Asia in the future.

Of course, the Qing Emperor did not gain nothing. The day after the Qing State issued its order to urge the withdrawal of the Qing troops, the British Minister Ogne also expressed his personal hope that the Qing Dynasty could withdraw its troops from the Qing State as soon as possible in order to restore true peace in East Asia. For the anxious political axe, the huge interests of the Qing State have made it so that no one pays attention to their attitude anymore. (To be continued.) )