The news that the Jiang Xi was bombed and sunk in the port of Manila instantly spread throughout the Qing Dynasty, and it immediately became the headline of many newspapers. If you take this sentence alone, it is like Spain blowing up and sinking the Jiang Xi after searching it. All the newspapers were accompanied by at least two photographs, one of Qingxi soldiers pushing each other, and the other of Spanish soldiers climbing the gangway of the Jiangxi. A newspaper in the Philippines published a picture of a soldier in a Spanish military uniform bent over the inside of the warship.

Fools know that the Qing Dynasty, which had just completely defeated Japan, had already secured the position of the first military power in East Asia, and as long as the Qing State equipped the warships that were ready to be bought, even the British Far East Fleet could not compare with the Qing fleet, so Britain deliberately transferred two more Sovereign-class battleships from the Mediterranean and Indian fleets to the Far East. Therefore, not to mention the old-fashioned Far East Fleet of Spain, even if all the Spanish warships are concentrated together, it is impossible to be the opponent of the Qing people. And at this time, Spain just provoked the Qing people, didn't they look for death?

The Spanish government naturally knew the difference in strength between it and the Qing State, and it would not be able to clean up Cuba alone, so what could it say about dealing with the Qing State. In response to the sudden situation, the Spanish Government has repeatedly stated that it has nothing to do with this incident. But this was useless, and the Qing soldiers deliberately sabotaged the Chinese warship and placed explosives in the ammunition bin, resulting in the detonation of the ammunition bin. The best proof of this is the photograph of the Spanish soldier bending over and raising his legs, and the American who took the photo has died under the debris flying around after the explosion.

In the Yingtai Chunhui Pavilion, Guangxu frowned and looked at the secret telegram sent back from Manila. We lost 28 dead and 17 seriously wounded. All of them were affected on the pier at the time of the explosion, and there were only about 40 soldiers on board from Annam and North Korea participating in the training at the time of the explosion. Guangxu knocked on the table and said to Yang Du next to him: "Arrange the casualties according to the battlefield rules." ”

Because of the explosion of the Jiang Xi, the Qing and Western countries quarreled endlessly, and the Qing soldiers guarded the dock to prevent the Spaniards from approaching. The Spanish government, unable to conduct an investigation, could only put on white skins and let the British intervene. And the British, out of the need to suppress the ideas of the Qing people, are actively active.

It's not over. The Australian fleet learned of the explosion of the Jiang Xi when it docked at Pontianak for the first replenishment on the 7th, and turned around towards Manila without waiting for the replenishment to be completed on the same day, and Manila entered the fleet's range on the evening of the 10th.

Commander of the Spanish Far East Fleet, Don? Patricio? Rear Admiral Montoho was terrified when he learned that the Qing fleet had set out from Pontianak and headed for Manila. Rena, the largest warship in his fleet? The Christina has a displacement of only 3,500 tons, and the smallest protective cruiser on the Qing side is also larger than herself. To be on the safe side. He sailed his fleet into Krabi for shelter. Who knew that the Qing fleet was coming towards him in a battle formation, all the barrels of the guns were raised high, and without saying a word, a cannonball hit.

"Boom", the shell did not hit the warship, but it stirred up a column of water that soared into the sky, and the Qing State gave Spain a dismount as soon as he saw it. Montojo hurriedly waved a banner asking for dialogue. And hurriedly sent personnel to explain to the Qing army, while he did not forget to order the fleet to prepare for battle. Who knew that it was okay not to give an order, when the gun barrels of his fleet had just begun to turn, a red light suddenly burst out on the Qing fleet cruising in the distance, and the rapidly flying cannonballs pulled out bursts of sharp whistling and swooped down on the Spanish Far East Fleet.

"Boom, boom, boom" A series of explosions exploded in the Gulf of Cavite, and an 800-ton gunboat was torn apart by a series of shells. A number of warships were also damaged. At this time, the Qing ship waved the flag: "Don't move at all, let the fleet commander come and answer." ”

The enemy's powerful fleet, accurate artillery bombardment, and his own lack of room for maneuver, plus the number of shore-based batteries could not match the number of Qing naval guns, Montoho had to sit on the speedboat Qing flagship. Under the barrel of the main gun of the new flagship of the Nanyang Fleet, the Haiqi (formerly the Japanese Azuma), Montoho met with Lin Yongsheng, the commander of the Qing Nanyang Fleet, the commander of this fleet.

By translating the words. Lin Yongsheng understood what happened. For now, the soldiers of the Jiang Xi are still on the docks to guard the sunken warship, while the Spanish and Filipino authorities have provided necessary food and tents, and are actively treating the wounded Qing soldiers. In the face of Montoho's assurance, Lin Yongxiang thought that he needed to confirm it himself, so he and Montojo transferred to the Haitian (formerly the Japanese Suma) and sailed towards Manila, leaving behind the fleet still cannon nails, and they received orders that if the Spanish fleet made any changes, they would all sink it on the spot.

Port of Manila. Lin Yongsheng met the soldiers who lived in tents and had plenty of food, and while he praised these soldiers for sticking to their posts and asking for credit for them, he used the telegram in the port to get news from China.

"White people have always looked down on my yellow-skinned Chinese, why are the Spaniards so well-behaved this time? Not only is there no voice of accusation. There was no protest, and the non-stop explanations were puzzling-" In the State Council of the Qing Dynasty, Foreign Minister Tang Shaoyi said with some doubts. He was already ready to slap the table with the Spaniards, so that he could take the opportunity of the big victory over Japan to show the prestige of the Qing Dynasty. I didn't expect to use it at all this time, and I was very disappointed.

"This time, our Royal Navy defeated the Japanese Combined Fleet, which even the white people thought was going to win, and the Royal Army had the strength to destroy Japan. Plus the airships of the Air Force, which none of the whites of Europe can counter. A series of wars in the Qing Dynasty not only stabilized the surrounding situation, but also played a brilliant national prestige in the Qing Dynasty. The British had to talk about each other, not to mention Spain, which had long since declined. From the perspective of Weichen, Spain is afraid of angering my Qing Dynasty and being retaliated against. "Ouyang Zhenhua, the secretary of the Ministry of War, has a picture of Zhizhu in his hand.

"From Weichen's point of view, it was what you did in Nanyang that scared Spain, and people are afraid that we will do it again in Luzon." The words of Lin Qizhao, the head of the household, caused the audience to laugh.

Guangxu didn't stop it, how good it was for the meeting to be so jubilant, and to do things in a harmonious and happy manner, why should you be noisy all day long.

"Spain's two major colonies, Luzon and Cuba, were engaged in large-scale anti-colonial wars. The armed struggle of the people of Cuba and the Philippines against Spanish colonial rule held back a large number of Spanish troops. In Cuba, Spain had effectively lost its dominance, and was able to maintain a defensive line and lose the ability to attack. In Luzon, if China hadn't leaked the news of the Luzon rebels to the Spaniards in advance, maybe Luzon would have become independent. The Spaniards did not even have enough forces to hunt down the rebellion. How can there be energy to deal with the attack of the Qing Dynasty. In the opinion of Wei Chen, this time he can put forward a demand to Spain for fair treatment of the Chinese, and this demand includes Spain itself. Wang Shizhen's words were categorical.

"The old minister can bring it up first. In addition, in tomorrow's talks, our side will propose to set up a joint investigation team to investigate the truth of the incident, so as to delay the time. Li Hongzhang frowned: "But the emperor." In the opinion of the old minister, wouldn't it be better to simply take this opportunity to occupy Luzon directly? Why do you have to wait until April to do it, the old minister is only afraid of long nights and dreams. ”

Li Hongzhang's words attracted the support of all the ministers. Guangxu shook his head and said, "You don't understand what I mean, but now that we do it, there will be no place to sell our warships." Luzon is going to be decided, and we will also take the opportunity to pull the United States into the water. ”

While the Qing and Western sides were arguing over the Jiang Xi explosion, the Qing fleet visiting Australia suddenly shelled the Spanish Far East Fleet. And if the incident that led to the sinking of a Spanish warship added fuel to the fire, it suddenly plunged the entire South Sea into the possibility of war breaking out at any time. At the negotiation meeting on the 11th, Qing Foreign Minister Tang Shaoyi's fierce words made people feel as if they had declared war.

"Hell, these war maniacs." When Ogna returned to the embassy, he began to curse. Did the Qing people think that if they won the war, they could ignore the British Empire? Eugene sent a telegram to Hong Kong, demanding that the Far Eastern Fleet set sail for the south early tomorrow morning. Since it was useless to talk about it, Eugene wanted to see if the Qing Kingdom would not dare to start a war desperately in the face of the mediation of the British Imperial fleet.

There is no need to wait for the arrival of the British Far Eastern Fleet in Manila. In fact, during the negotiation meeting the next day, Tang Shaoyi was silent for a long time after receiving an urgent telegram, and then his words were fierce. But nowhere near as aggressive as yesterday. Eugene looked coldly, and he could say with certainty that the telegram was about the departure of the Far East Fleet of the British Empire. Ogne wants to see how long Tang Shaoyi can be tough.

The negotiations continued, but Tang Shaoyi's words became softer and softer. Shortly before the noon recess, Tang Shaoyi awkwardly put forward a new proposal: In view of the essential conflict between the two countries in the Qingxi and Western regions over the Jiangxi explosion case, he proposed the establishment of a joint investigation team in the Qingxi and Western regions, and asked the British to supervise the progress of the entire investigation and discuss the follow-up matters after finding out the true situation of the matter. Ogne smiled, the majesty of the British Empire was not something that a Qing country could resist.

But Ogne soon regretted it, because the next day the largest newspaper in the Qing Dynasty, Shi Shi Bao, wrote that the British had sent the Far East Fleet to Manila to mediate. In view of the strong combat strength of the British Far East Fleet, China proposed to set up a joint investigation team to find out the truth of the Jiang Xi explosion incident. Such words are undoubtedly accusing Britain of using war to force the Qing to make concessions, which is tantamount to instigating the Qing people, who are already antipathetic to Britain, to reject Britain even more. Ogna, who thought that the situation was serious, called the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Qing State but could not find anyone who could be in charge, so he could only rush to the State Council of the Qing State to see Li Hongzhang. Demand that such statements be stopped. But it was still at night, when he walked out of the door of the legation, he saw that a shop selling British goods outside the embassy had been stormed by the mob, and the police only warned the mob not to harm anyone's life, and only stood by and watched until the mob had left, and then went in to take the injured shopkeeper to the hospital. When Ogner arrived at the State Council, he learned that Premier Li Hongzhang had strictly ordered the propaganda agencies not to publish any more information about the formation of the investigation team. The next day, however, the newspaper again published the beating of the shopkeeper, and the focus shifted to the ransacking of the shop for selling British goods. For a time, everyone in the entire Qing Dynasty was in danger. They stopped selling British goods. This puzzled Ogne, who thought that the handling of the Jiang Xi explosion was appropriate, but this happened. Of course, all this is an afterthought.

The Spanish Government is willing to set up a joint investigation team between the two countries to thoroughly investigate the cause of the incident. As for the fair treatment of the Chinese, it is enough to verbally agree. The Spanish Governor of the Philippines, Polavisia, who had received the news that day, could finally breathe a sigh of relief and hurriedly sent guards to the dock with telegrams.

On the Haitian, Lin Yongsheng was not at ease after reading the telegram, so he deliberately boarded the dock overnight to contact China by telegraph, and after getting the exact news, Lin Yongsheng immediately ordered the blockade of the Spanish Far East Fleet to be lifted. Rear Admiral Montojo finally reassured, but he was careful not to let his fleet leave Cavite, at least there were shore guns there.

For Lin Yongsheng's visit, Polavischa was very surprised. Lin Yongsheng said that because of the diversion to Manila, there were not enough supplies in Pontianak. And it has also delayed a lot of time, hoping that the Philippine authorities can provide the remaining supplies.

"We'll pay, and it's cash. As for the sinking of the Guiyankuai ship, we admit it. We will all wait for the government's final decision on what to do. ”

For Lin Yongsheng's suggestion. Bolawechia was a little excited. That night, he ordered the mobilization of all kinds of materials needed by the Qing State to be sent to the docks, and even pulled the military coal.

However, when the news of Qingxi's formation of an investigation team reached the United States, Roosevelt suddenly felt a chill. Yes, Spain is old. Not only did the Qing people notice this phenomenon, but the Americans also noticed it. Today's U.S. monopoly capital conglomerates are in dire need of new markets, places of investment, and sources of raw materials. As a result, all kinds of propaganda machines have created public opinion for foreign expansion. However, now that the whole world has been carved up by the old colonial powers, the United States wants to re-divide the world's colonies, but because of its limited strength, it is still unable to compete with Britain, France, and other countries, and only the decrepit Spain is a good target.

So the Maine was sent to Cuba, so Dewey took the Pacific Fleet to Asia, but the Qing explosion of the Jiang Xi was exactly the same as the way he planned the destruction of the Maine. If the Qing were going to war with Spain, then Dewey's U.S. Pacific Fleet and Ben would not be able to intervene. If it was just that the Qing wanted to declare war on Spain under the pretext of declaring war, but now that the Qing State has set up a joint investigation team under the pressure of Britain, will the United States and Spain also set up a joint investigation team in the future? Once a problem is identified, how can it be explained to the international community?

When Roosevelt shared his concerns with his friend William, who was also the president of the United States at the time? McKinley recounted. McKinley told him, "Don't worry, as long as we can beat Spain." ”

Therefore, when the Qingxi Jiangxi Explosion Joint Investigation Team was still being formed, and the day after the departure of the Qingguo Australian visiting fleet, which had completed the replenishment of the Qing State in Manila, a huge explosion sounded again in the port of Havana in Cuba on 15 February. Many officers and soldiers died before they could ask what had happened.

Before the Qing Dynasty's Jiang Xi bombing case began, the US Maine explosion followed one after another. This incident caused a sensation not only in the United States, but also in the whole world, and major newspapers in various countries reported the event with headlines. Time. The streets and alleys of various European countries are talking about these two things, but the most talked about is who blew up the "Maine", after all, the Qing Kingdom must be too far away from them.

The successive bombings have left the Spanish government anxious. Fortunately, the Qing State in the Far East is forming an investigation team, and it can finally let go and concentrate on the United States first. However, the Spanish side proposed the formation of a joint investigation team, and the relevant US side announced the results of the investigation, claiming that the Spanish had sunk the warship with a mine, and that they simply and without hesitation put the blame on the Spanish Government. No superficial work at all.

As soon as this news spread, the United States boiled. Some expansionists seized the opportunity to hold rallies everywhere, publish newspaper articles, and fanatically carry out war propaganda: "Avenge the victims of the Maine!" ”

In the face of the indignation of the United States, the Spanish government was ready to independently investigate the Maine bombing, but the United States resolutely rejected them. And that's not all, it didn't take long for the United States to drag the damaged "Maine" to the Atlantic Ocean and let it sink to the bottom of the sea amid the raging waves. As a result, the investigation can no longer be continued.

On February 21, 1898, the first day of February in the 24th year of Guangxu of the Qing Dynasty, this day was the full moon banquet of the princess of the Qing Dynasty. At the banquet, the emperor ordered the construction of a 10,000-ton luxury cruise ship, and asked that it be completed on the first birthday of the eldest princess as a gift for the eldest princess's first birthday.

At this banquet, a British reporter bluntly asked the Qing Emperor: "What does Your Majesty think about the bombing of the USS Maine?" Is this conducive to the Jiang Xi explosion case in your country? ”

At that time, Guangxu was holding his daughter to show off to the ministers, and after hearing the question, he replied: "I don't know if it helped me, but I have some questions." Since the Maine was sunk by a mine, it should be seen that the column of water that soared to the sky was calm that night; If a mine can only be detonated with wires, but I have not heard of any wires found; It is well known that explosions in water kill a lot of fish, but I heard that there were no dead fish at the scene. What made me even more puzzled was why I rushed to drag the mutilation into the deep sea without waiting for the investigation to end. You must know that the Jiang Xi of the Qing Dynasty is still parked on the dock. There is a saying in China: bragging, not drafting. (To be continued.) )