It is said that Ben is a small country. For thousands of years, he has been following the ass of the Heavenly Empire like a little brother. Occasionally, I want to challenge the authority of the big brother, which time was not the big brother held down his head and beat him. And this time, the news that Ben wanted to start a war against the Qing Dynasty under the pretext of two entourages was full of excitement among the people in the market and the public opinion in the clear stream. A few small islands in the sea dare to openly threaten the Qing Dynasty? He also said that he was not ashamed to start a war with the Qing Dynasty. This is okay, and the capital is lively this time.

"His grandmother, if you want me to say that the queen mother should not even pay the two thousand taels of silver, this is not according to the emperor's will, our Beiyang sailors of the Qing Dynasty just drove over, and those Dongyang dwarfs are not honest. Dare to argue with our Daqing, and he doesn't weigh his own weight? A flag man drank Gao Mo, his face full of disdain.

For many years, who has seen the Orientals? If you want to say that the Qing Dynasty was bullied by those Westerners, looking at the guns of the foreigners, who told us that we couldn't beat people in that battle? But now the Oriental people also kick their noses in the face and wear a Westerner's clothes, so they want to take advantage of our Qing Dynasty?

"Yes. The head of the Oriental people, it is not enough to serve water and pour tea for our flag people, if he really wants to fight, can he reach it? The words made everyone in the teahouse laugh.

"In fact, there is no need for Li Hongzhang's Beiyang Naval Division, don't we still have a magic machine battalion. Cheap can't always let Li Hongzhang take it all alone, and we should also let our flag people show their faces, no, the brothers said that this is not the reason. The crowd was in a roar of praise.

The common people don't understand what the politics of the court are, and compared with the people in the market who are all elated, the ministers and officials are now preoccupied.

The emperor's toughness towards Yue Ben was beyond the expectations of all officials, and the aggressiveness of Yu Ben was very much like a war. All sorts of theories have sprung up. It is said that there can be no war now, and the Qing Dynasty is not ready for a war; Some people say that if they take this opportunity to go to war against Yue, they will lose the war, so as to boost the decline since the Opium War; It is also said...... Anyway, there's everything to say. The excerpts of the governors from all over the country also flew to the capital like snowflakes. Persuasion, the main battle, now the situation is complicated, which makes Guangxu's head big.

In fact, Guangxu also thought about taking advantage of this exciting moment of people's hearts, and when Yoshino, a new member of the navy, had not yet returned, he would go all out and take the initiative to fight over. But a strategic analysis report from Wang Shizhen's staff made Guangxu finally give up the idea of going to war.

First, it is said that it is an island country, and whether it can win or not depends on the Beiyang Naval Division. However, Luang Weili's report can only ensure that there is an advantage in naval warfare and that it can be invincible, and it is probably impossible to completely annihilate this fleet. Second, the new army now has no combat strength, and the Huai army is chaotic internally, and if there is a mistake in the dispatch of offensive and defensive forces in wartime, it will be completely lost. The third most important is that there is no supply.

Guangxu also went to Cixi with the excerpts of the hundred officials, and gave instructions on what to do with the current remarks of the hundred officials. But Zixi didn't express his opinion with Ben, but only said that the emperor should decide on his own on this matter. Guangxu, who was forced to be helpless, could only reply: I know.

In the palace of Prince Li, the peach blossoms in the courtyard are red. Under the peach tree, Prince Li Shiduo and Sun Yuwen sat opposite each other, and hot water vapor slowly rose from the table between the two.

"Lord, isn't the emperor building a new army just to collect the power of Beiyang? Now Li Hongzhang's son Li Jingfang has made such a big mess, why don't you take advantage of the situation at this time, just take back the power of Beiyang, and kill him Li Hongzhang's arrogance. "Sun Yuwen tried to find the queen mother, but he didn't take it seriously about the emperor. Now that the emperor has shown his prominence in the court, this makes him a little confused for a while. This is not a matter of course, so this is the prince to ask for advice.

"I can't take it, and I won't take it. The emperor is still counting on him Li Hongzhang. Priest's words sounded a little absent-minded.

"At the beginning of the establishment of the new army, the emperor made it clear that he would take the West as an example and practice the fact that the royal army is in charge. But the emperor wants to take charge of the army, and this Beiyang is the first stumbling block, this opportunity is very good, even if he takes him Li Hongzhang has nothing to say. On the contrary, the emperor also handled it well with Li Hongzhang's negotiations, not only did not mention Li Jingfang's matter, but also rewarded him with a yellow coat and a lot of silver. It's puzzling. ”

"If the emperor really wants to move, Li Hongzhang will not be angry. Poor Weng Tonggong two generations of emperors, and his reputation was lost with this throw. ”

"It's not the emperor's thing. How can you say that it is also the emperor's teacher, and it is also for the good of the emperor, even if it violates the holy will, it can't be like this? Do you want this respectful teacher? Nowadays, many literati and students have a way of criticizing the emperor. The emperor's throw is afraid that he will throw away the hearts of the people. There was some regret in Sun Yuwen's words, but his face was unremitting.

Shi Duo just glanced at it lightly: "A few days ago, this king went to see Weng Zhongtang. I saw a wound on my head, and my expression was extremely bad. seems to have aged a lot all of a sudden, and there is a sense of seclusion between the words. If it weren't for the persuasion of the Queen Mother, I am afraid that I would have resigned and returned to my hometown long ago. ”

"Who knows if this is intentional on the part of the emperor. I also threw out an emperor last year, and now I have become a celebrity in Shanghai. Sun Yuwen looked at the thick "Business Times" on the table, and said with some jealousy.

Everyone knows what Sun Yuwen is talking about. At the beginning, Sun Jianai was taken off and thrown out of the palace because he opposed the emperor personally taking charge of the army. I didn't think about throwing it, and threw out the first calligrapher in Shanghai and the largest newspaper tycoon. Today, he has opened the "Business Times" to invite people from all walks of life with skills as guest secretaries, and has opened up special pages for agricultural technology, industrial management, business information, geographical encyclopedia, humanities and the world, and other special pages to explain his specialized disciplines. From time to time, he also published special issues, such as asking people to explain how to grow more grain that can make an acre of land more abundant; Another example is to explain the working principle and processing technology of those tools made by foreigners. The entire Qing Dynasty, rich and poor, young and old, and all walks of life, can find their favorite content in the newspaper. Just talking about the serialized poignant love story has made countless boys and girls crazy.

And where is there no shadow of "Business Times" in today's Qing Dynasty. Just saying that this queen mother is constantly every day can be seen. Moreover, the operation of the "Business Times" has attracted the attention of foreigners, and many foreigners have come from the West to visit Sun Jianai to learn from this brand-new newspaper business model. Moreover, Sun Jianai used the vast influence of the "Business Times" to advertise, and the advertising revenue was very considerable.

The effect of advertising is also amazing. The Queen Mother saw a kind of food in the newspaper, and the advertising words written were not bad. The Queen Mother really deliberately asked the Ministry of Internal Affairs to purchase some. As a result, everyone looked at it, and even the emperor and the queen mother could see that it was pretty good in the last advertisement. Nowadays, if you want to post an ad in the "Business Times", you don't necessarily have to be rich.

Shi Duo gently picked up the "Business Times" on the table and flipped to the column of "Street Talk": "I've read it." At the beginning of the Tianjin incident, there was everything. Now that it's over, the emperor no longer mentions it, and the queen mother never ignores it. I really don't know which one of these girls is singing. ”

What is even more incomprehensible is the mind of the Queen Mother. There was such a big thing, and the ministers in the court had actually been waiting for the Queen Mother to speak, but the Queen Mother seemed to be completely unconcerned, and she was focused on watching a play in the palace? The queen mother did not express her position, but the emperor did not show such a tough attitude. This situation is really confusing.

"This is the queen mother's cleverness, let the emperor be in front. If it happens, it will have the guidance of the Queen Mother. If it doesn't work, the Queen Mother will come out to speak again. It also gives the imperial court a room to advance and retreat. ”

"I'm afraid the Queen Mother made a mistake this time." Shi Duo stood up: "The emperor is so tough, he has already forced him into a dilemma. Although the queen mother said that she asked the emperor to pay 2,000 taels of silver to settle the matter. But this folk ......"

Shi Duo sighed deeply: "You will understand when you have time to sit in the teahouse......"

In the Tianjin Zhili Governor's Mansion, Li Hongzhang, who had just sent off Lin Qizhao, president of the Daqing Bank, was full of joy.

This time, the Beiyang Naval Division was transferred to the sea to inspect and the Huai Army was transferred to various places, not to mention the military salary, just the cost of the promotion, and the material supply of the Beiyang Naval Division was hundreds of thousands of taels of silver. The imperial court did not allocate a penny of these silvers, and the reimbursement of expenses reported to the household department was also beaten back by Weng Tongyi: the imperial court was in a tight budget, and there was no such expenditure this year, so Beiyang was asked to raise and solve it by itself.

Hundreds of thousands of taels of silver, with Beiyang's family still supported to live. But the court's approach is chilling. In case of trouble, only Beiyang is responsible, and if there is nothing to do, suspicion is restricted. When he was full of worries and wanted to stop, Lin Qizhao brought the emperor's will.

Because Li Hongzhang asked the Ministry of Household Affairs for reimbursement of some expenses for the transfer of various departments in Beiyang, the Ministry of Household Affairs rejected it. In particular, Daqing Bank was asked to advance payment, and then Daqing Bank asked for an order to negotiate with the Household Department. Lin Qizhao also brought the emperor's original words: How can there be a reason to let the horse run and not give the horse grazing, and the cost of the Beiyang Naval Division's cooperation with the new army training will also be paid in advance by the Daqing Bank.

Hundreds of thousands of taels of silver, it is nothing if the court reimburses it or not. But the emperor's approach is nostalgic.

"Zhongtang, what does the emperor mean by wanting to repair the Lushun Fort?" Zhang Peilun didn't know why: "It's only been a few years since the completion of this fort, and the facilities are complete, and at this time, the emperor suddenly wants to propose a good repair, how to repair the good charter, how to raise a plan, it can't be completed in a day or two." ”

"But the old man doesn't see it that way." Li Hongzhang looked at the map of Lushun and smiled slightly: "How do you say that the emperor is sure that the area around Chair Mountain and Case Mountain in the northwest of Lushun is a dead end of artillery fire." ”

Zhang Peilun took a closer look and suddenly found an important question: "Zhongtang, no matter how the emperor knows." This Lushun Fort was originally to defend against the enemy from the sea, but the chair mountain and the case mountain in the northwest of the Lushun mouth pointed directly to the north. Who is the emperor guarding against? ”

Suddenly, Li Hongzhang's heart seemed to have been struck by lightning, and he was speechless in a daze.

Of course, Guangxu learned about this from later history, when Hannagan presided over the construction of the fort here, he mainly aimed at targets at sea, and gave less consideration to flank attacks. It is said that Ben took advantage of the dead corner of the Qing army's artillery fire on the back side of the Shanxi side of the case to capture the fort here. It's just that the reason for this can be explained. The income from selling drugs suddenly made Guangxu a lot more abundant, and many of them had already planned and finally had money to carry it out. The repair of this Arthur Fort was ranked first.

No matter what the emperor means, the will has come down, and I don't want Beiyang to give a tael of silver. This Lushun Fort, if the emperor wants to cultivate goodness, he will cultivate goodness. But when Hannagan heard that the fort he had built might be flawed, the stubborn German would not agree. After arguing in every possible way, and finally refusing to cooperate with the Marines on the pretext of training the Marines, the matter suddenly reached an impasse.

After the distraught Guangxu heard this, he hurriedly recalled Michael, Wang Shizhen and the staff together from the new army that was training in the northeast. At the subsequent staff meeting, the plan proposed by Guangxu stunned all the staff officers, and they didn't even know the basic situation of the sea area, how to make a plan. As a result, Guangxu once again forced the emperor to formulate a new training plan, which allowed the people in the staff to continue to act.

Next year will be the first year of the first day, but the country is still not ready, outside the imperial study, the sunset is slowly setting.

;