On the afternoon of 10 July, more than 20 warships of the main fleet of the Qing Imperial Navy broke into Tokyo Bay, preparing to attack the port of Yokosuka, the naval industrial base of the Saimoto, and then shelling the port of Kyoto industrial base.

But just before the start of the war, a small boat with a white flag came to negotiate. Deng Shichang thought that he had surrendered, so he happily received the envoy, but it turned out that it was Chen Xi, the minister of the Qing Empire.

From Chen Xi's mouth, he learned that he had already sued for peace with the Qing Empire, and the Qing Zheng Axe had agreed to an armistice and negotiate peace, so he asked Chen Xi to come and dissuade Deng Shichang from attacking again.

Although Deng Shichang and the officers and men of the whole fleet were not reconciled, Chen Xi had Wang Chenhao's telegram order in his hand, and Deng Shichang had no choice but to obey it, and immediately ordered the whole fleet to withdraw from Tokyo Bay, anchor in the open sea, and wait for instructions for the next operation.

On 11 June, Lin Dong, consul general of the People's Republic of China in China, held peace talks with the Qing government on behalf of the Qing Dynasty, with Russia and the United States participating as mediators, and personnel from Britain, France, Germany, and other countries attending as observers.

Both sides expressed their desire to end the state of war, and the topics revolved around compensation for war losses and the delivery of post-war benefits.

The greatest losses in the war were naturally on the part of the city, with the casualties and losses of the navy, army, and civilians exceeding 200 million yuan, while the destruction of the Hanshin Industrial Zone and the Nagoya Industrial Zone and the destruction of the port were even more severe to the economic and industrial development of the capital, which could not be measured by money.

In contrast, the losses on the part of the Qing Empire were minimal. As the victorious country, it was normal to demand reparations and attach various conditions, but the prime minister of the Qing Dynasty, Yamen Minister Yi, planned to abandon the demand for war reparations in order to save trouble. This move was immediately strongly opposed by Wang Chenhao, deputy envoy to the talks, and the talks were suspended.

Yi privately negotiated with Wang Chenhao, saying that the Qing Empire, as the upper kingdom of the Celestial Empire, should be courteous. Wang Chenhao knew that Yi wanted to end the war province's reincarnation as soon as possible, but he resolutely disagreed and had to ask for compensation.

"Lord Wang, the country is small and lacks resources, and it has suffered heavy losses after this battle, and it will not be able to recover its economy for several years. In this case, we, as a state of etiquette, are also a great power of the Celestial Empire—"

"Sixth Prince, let's not deceive ourselves?"

Wang Chenhao interrupted Yi's words and said, "What are we now? A great power in the Celestial Empire? Who's coming at us? Who is the big country bigger? Still not being bullied! The state of etiquette also scores time! ”

Wang Chenhao asked a series of rhetorical questions, speaking with the smell of gunpowder, and Yi's face was very ugly. Since Yi repeatedly raised his concerns about Wang Chenhao in front of Guangxu, he obviously felt that Wang Chenhao had changed his attitude towards him, and he no longer talked and laughed at him as before.

As a pivotal prince in the court, Yi is majestic in front of others, but Wang Chenhao has no confidence at all.

"Then what does Lord Wang want? Do you want to say that you can't compensate tens of thousands of taels of silver? ”

Wang Chenhao snorted coldly: "In the Battle of the First Sino-Japanese War, when Xiao Xiaoben bullied us, he dared to open his mouth and ask for hundreds of millions of taels of silver. Now that feng shui is in turn, it's our turn, and it's really difficult to explain to the people if you don't want hundreds of millions of taels of silver. ”

Yi was in his heart, Wang Chenhao explained to the people one by one, this kind of thing should have been something that the emperor should worry about, but Wang Chenhao really didn't take the emperor in his eyes when he said this.

"Lord Wang's heart is admirable, but you say that you want tens of thousands of taels of silver, and they can afford it!"

Wang Chenhao said: "It's one thing to say that I can't afford it, and it's another thing whether we want to or not, these are two diametrically opposed political statements. ”

Yi asked, "What does Lord Wang mean?" ”

Wang Chenhao said: "Whether I can afford it or not, we have to ask for it." They make money as much as they take out, and if they can't take it out, they let them owe. Ten years is not enough, twenty years, twenty years is not enough, fifty years, in short, let them pay reparations not only to satisfy us, but to weaken the national strength, there can be no strong countries around China, this kind of truth will not be understood by the prince, right? ”

Of course Yi didn't understand, but as soon as Wang Chenhao said this, he understood, and secretly praised Wang Chenhao's unique strategic vision in his heart, but he pretended to nod in understanding.

"What Lord Wang said is very true, so in your opinion, how much should we ask?"

Wang Chenhao thought for a while and said: "20 million pounds, so they don't have the money to buy warships to develop the navy." At the same time, all treaties signed with the Ryukyu Kingdom shall be abolished, and the Lord's territory shall no longer be claimed, and the expansion of the Ryukyu Kingdom shall be notified to us. ”

Yi was helpless, he couldn't afford to provoke Wang Chenhao now, if he didn't meet Wang Chenhao's requirements, it was estimated that he would have to make a fuss again, so Yi agreed, and the two returned to the conference hall again to resume negotiations.

Returning to the negotiating table again, Yi's tone changed significantly, and it was Wang Chenhao's turn as the main negotiator. Lin Dong, the minister of the capital, was acceptable to Wang Chenhao for abolishing all the treaties signed with him, as well as the territorial claims of the Ryukyu Kingdom, and it was acceptable for him to inform the Qing Empire of the naval expansion plan, but the indemnity of 20 million pounds scared him stupidly.

After the two crises, this year's fiscal revenue has dropped from 11 million pounds to less than 9 million pounds now, and this is still thanks to the economic aid of the United States and loans from France and Germany, which has made the economy better.

"The indemnity of 20 million pounds is too much, and it is said that this political axe cannot be repaid at all, please reduce it!"

"I remind you that if you don't agree to me now, it will be regarded as a renunciation of peace talks. At the slightest command from me, our fleet will rush into the Gulf of Tonkin and destroy the Yokosuka naval base and the industrial area of Tokyo, and in just a few days, the economic losses of your country will exceed 20 million pounds in compensation. ”

Wang Chenhao refused to make concessions, and with his current absolute military strength, Wang Chenhao firmly believed that the strategic idea of taking advantage of your illness to kill you could completely destroy the economic and military strength of the country and make it impossible for the country to recover for decades.

Lin Dong turned to Yi, and Yi just smiled bitterly and expressed his support for Wang Chenhao's proposal. Lin then asked for a temporary adjournment and held closed-door meetings with Russia and the United States, while also seeking support from other powers.

More than an hour later, US Minister Charles made a separate appointment to meet with Wang Chenhao for a closed-door meeting. At the same time, the Russian minister Kuman also held a separate meeting with Yi.

"Did Mr. Charles serve as a lobbyist for the sake of Yuben?"

"What does Lord Wang think?"

"If not, then I'll be happy!"

Charles smiled and said, "I'm a soldier, and so are you, so let's not talk like politicians." ”

Wang Chenhao smiled and nodded.

Charles then said: "I can't afford 20 million pounds, and 20 million dollars is about the same, what does Lord Wang think?" ”

Wang Chenhao smiled: "If you can't afford it, can you borrow it!" Isn't it the generosity of your country's large sums of money? I think 20 million pounds is really a drop in the bucket for your country, as long as your country is willing to lend it to me, won't it be solved? ”

Charles frowned and said, "Lord Wang seems to be dissatisfied with the US political axe aid?" ”

Wang Chenhao smiled faintly, took a sip of tea, and then said lightly: "This country is not big, but it has a lot of aggressive ambitions. The Emperor's Imperial Pen, published in 1868, made it clear that his ambition to annex Korea and China was already clear to the whole world. What would we think if such an ambitious neighbor were helped by money as powerful as the United States? ”

Charles smiled slightly and said: "Our political axe also has a bitter heart for the aid of Yueben, and on the Hawaii issue, I have always opposed it, so we have to show favor to them. ”

Wang Chenhao said: "Didn't the Hawaii problem be solved last year? At the same time, with the strength of the United States and the weakness of the United States, you do not have to curry favor with you. ”

"On the surface, it's settled, but more than 30 percent of the people in the Hawaiian Islands are settlers, less than 5 percent of the Americans, and the Native Hawaiians are still doing this, and our U.S. Constitution is now very unfavorable to our annexation of Hawaii, and we have to appease our neighbors who have enough influence over Hawaii," Charles said. ”

Wang Chenhao knew that Charles only said most of the reasons, and on the other hand, the reason was that he hoped that the water would lead to the west, and the United States did not want the United States to expand eastward, and the purpose of aiding the city was to enable the company to better expand westward and deal with China, which was a powerful country. This is the usual tactic of the United States to defend itself against the enemy's borders.

"Your country is now building a large-scale ocean-going naval force, and it is said that your country really does not need to be nervous, but it is unwise for your country to support our enemies, and it must be known that long-distance friendship and close attack are the real national defense strategy, and it is the best policy if you and our two countries can trust each other!"

Of course, Charles could not admit that the United States supported the strategy of containing the Qing Empire, but he also believed that a long-distance and close attack was the best policy.

"This time I came to China to take up the post of minister to China, before I left, US President Mr. McKinley specially told me that Mr. Wang is our friend. The last time I went to visit Lord Wang, I didn't know that your wife was there, I'm really sorry, please take me to say hello to your wife. ”

The lady in Charles's mouth naturally refers to Rothschild, which is obviously close, Wang Chenhao knew that Charles still had follow-ups, so he nodded in thanks.

Sure enough, Charles went on to say the true mission of his trip to China.

"Before leaving, President McKinley introduced me to your Consul General in the United States, Mr. Tang Shaoyi Tang. I had a very pleasant conversation with Mr. Tang, and in many respects we have the same or similar values. I heard Lord Tang mention that Lord Wang had any objections to the Spanish occupation of a large number of colonies in Asia and the United States? ”

As soon as Wang Chenhao heard this, he immediately understood the real purpose of Charles's visit to China. Why did the US political envoys to China all serve as civilian officials before, but this time they suddenly sent a naval colonel? From the moment Charles mentioned Tang Shaoyi and Spain, Wang Chenhao knew that the Americans were ready to take action against Spain.

In fact, in Wang Chenhao's time, the United States would launch the Spanish-American War ten months later to seize Spain's colonies in the Americas and Asia.

Wang Chenhao once ordered Tang Shaoyi to inquire about the United States' assistance to Russia in building new-type warships, and asked Tang Shaoyi to put forward support for the United States' stance on the Cuban and Philippine issues when necessary, in exchange for the favor of the United States, and at the same time, at the same time, let the United States have some scruples and technical reservations about helping Russia build new-type warships.

Any war is planned some time before the outbreak of the war, and it can be planned for months or centuries. The Republican Party in the United States began planning before it came to power, and immediately began to prepare for it. The Americans were careful to conceal their intentions, believing that their intentions to plot the Spanish colonies would not be known to the other powers, otherwise it would be difficult for other powers to intervene.

However, what frightened the US political axe was that the Americans' plan was actually guessed by Wang Chenhao, which made the American political axe very nervous, and immediately sent a special envoy Charles to China to test Wang Chenhao's intentions. If Wang Chenhao made out the intentions of the Americans, it would inevitably attract the attention of the great powers and arouse the vigilance of Spain. In that case, the United States will have no choice but to deny the facts, and this will create an incomparably strong public opinion obstacle for the United States to invade the Spanish colonies in the future, and will be extremely unfavorable to the future strategic plan of the United States.

This was Charles's first purpose in China. His second purpose was to check the real situation in the countries of the Far East, especially Spain's military strength in the Philippines, as well as the international environment around the Philippines and the military strength of various countries. This is because the United States also plans to plot against the Philippines, and once a war breaks out, it will inevitably involve the interests of neighboring countries, and if it cannot take into account the interests of all parties, the United States will not dare to blindly take action against the Philippines.

As a naval colonel, Charles came with the US Navy's Asian Fleet, and when he passed through the South China Sea, he secretly surveyed the sea conditions and naval forces around the Philippines with Dewey, commander of the US Asian Fleet, and secretly surveyed the water conditions of Manila Bay and the defense of nearby forts under the pretext of docking in Manila, so as to find out the bottom of the Spaniards and prepare for war.

Wang Chenhao relied on his existing intelligence and the trend of the Spanish-American War that he was familiar with, and he guessed Charles's true purpose.

"Just like what Mr. Charles marked at the beginning, we are all soldiers, so we will not go around the bush."

Charles knew that Wang Chenhao was going to get straight to the showdown, so his expression suddenly became nervous and listened quietly.

After Wang Chenhao paused, seeing Charles's expression of approval, he suddenly asked, "I wonder when your country is ready to make a move against the Spanish colonies of Cuba, Puerto Rico and the Philippines?" ”

Charles exclaimed, looked at Wang Chenhao with surprise on his face, and was stunned for a moment. Although he was already mentally prepared, when Wang Chenhao directly said when the United States planned to do it, there was only shock left in his heart.

After a long time, Charles said curiously: "Why did Lord Wang say this? How can we do anything to Spain? This is a serious violation of the U.S. Constitution, and American citizens will not allow it. ”

Wang Chenhao said: "What? Did Colonel Charles learn from the politicians? But your expression is not suitable for being a politician, because your face is not as thick as theirs, and the lie is immediately visible. So you don't want to pretend, don't you think I've already made it clear? ”

Charles felt like a failure, and there seemed to be nothing to hide in front of Wang Chenhao.

In the end, Charles sighed and said: "I really admire Lord Wang's grasp of the current situation, since the words are clear, then let me ask Lord Wang first, which country have you mentioned this matter to?" ”

Wang Chenhao knew Charles's worries and smiled: "Do you think I'm stupid? How can such a thing be known to other countries? ”

Charles breathed a sigh of relief and asked, "Then Lord Wang must have something to ask for, right?" ”

Wang Chenhao smiled and secretly criticized Charles Although he is a soldier, he still has a certain diplomatic foundation, no wonder he was appointed as the minister to China.

"If I say I don't ask for anything, you won't believe it. I just want you Americans to eat meat, and I'll just drink the soup! ”

Charles smiled, secretly begging Wang Chenhao in front of him to be able to calculate that the United States was acting against Spain, and he could be described as a super strategist, how could it be as simple as drinking soup?

"Lord Wang, just say it, right?"

Wang Chenhao smiled: "You haven't answered my question yet?" ”

Charles rolled his eyes, secretly criticizing this Wang Chenhao for being really cunning. Anyway, it was already here, and he didn't want to hide it. Before coming to China, the American political axe had anticipated this, so Charles was allowed to act at the right time.

"Alright! I admit it! ”

"Admit what?"

Charles was speechless for a moment, and wanted to be vague, but Wang Chenhao was obviously not easy to fool.

"I admit that your inference is correct, the 200 percent tariff imposed by the Spaniards on American businessmen in Cuba has already made the American government very unhappy, and it cannot be resolved after many years of negotiations, so we do intend to solve it by force."

Wang Chenhao smiled: "That's good!" Since you admit it, then I can rest assured to cooperate with you! ”

Charles asked rhetorically: "I have already admitted it, so will Lord Wang also be honest?" ”

Wang Chenhao nodded and said, "Of course!" I'm honest! I told you just now, you Americans eat meat, and I'll just drink soup after me! ”

Charles was a little dissatisfied and said, "It's better to be specific!" I'd better reply to the US political axe as soon as possible and make arrangements earlier! ”

Wang Chenhao understood that this meant that the Americans were about to make a move, so Charles was eager to negotiate conditions with Wang Chenhao.

"I was expecting you to do it next spring, but now it seems like it's going to be sooner?"

Charles was frightened again, secretly begging Wang Chenhao in front of him was really powerful, as if he had eyes in the beauty [***] department. Could it be that he has eyeliner inside the American political axe? This was the only acceptable reason for Charles.

"Lord Wang!"

Charles looked displeased, so Wang Chenhao stopped talking nonsense with him, smiled and said: "My request is very simple, first of all, I want to grasp the detailed plan of your country to build warships for Russia, including what technologies have been transferred, and it is best to give me a copy of the drawings!" ”

Charles nodded, "No problem!" The affairs of your country and Russia can be understood by the American political axe. ”

Wang Chenhao nodded, and then said: "Secondly, I want Guam and Puerto Rico!" ”

Charles asked puzzledly: "I can understand that you want Guam, after all, Guam is in Asia, and it is not too far from your country." But what do you want Puerto Rico for? It is located in the Caribbean Sea in the Americas, and your rule seems beyond the reach of it. ”

Wang Chenhao smiled mysteriously and said, "You don't have to worry about this, I want Puerto Rico for vacation!" ”

Holiday?

Charles was speechless for a moment, knowing that this was just Wang Chenhao's prevarication.

"Anything else?"

Wang Chenhao cheekily continued: "The third is that after your country occupies the Philippines and Cuba, we will also enjoy superhuman treatment, allowing us Chinese to live and set up factories in the local area and enjoy the treatment of American citizens!" ”

Charles said, "I can promise you the first and third right now. But the second one, Guam and Puerto Rico will be given to you, which I cannot guarantee. Guam and Puerto Rico both have Spanish garrisons, so won't Lord Wang let us the United States take them down and hand them over to you, right? ”

Wang Chenhao smiled: "Of course not!" When your country sends troops, I will also send troops to help, what do you think? ”

Charles suddenly fell into deep thought, considering Wang Chenhao's conditions.

As far as the United States is concerned, the main purpose of waging the war against Spain is to control Cuba's sugar, coffee, and tobacco profiteering industries, and to control the Philippines only to open up the dumping market. Of course, there are also military considerations. The invasion of Cuba was the bridgehead for the United States to begin its aggression against Central and South America, and the invasion of the Philippines was a springboard for the United States to intervene in Asian affairs.

Wang Chenhao's claim for Guam is to control the Pacific Ocean and strategically cut off ties between the United States and the Philippines. The reason for asking for Puerto Rico is that Wang Chenhao has taken a fancy to Puerto Rico's excellent ports, and in Wang Chenhao's time, Puerto Rico had the world's largest sea, air, and amphibious military bases, such as the Roosevelt Rhodes base. At the same time, Puerto Rico is also a nail that Wang Chenhao wants to put in the Caribbean, laying a good foundation for intervening in American affairs in the future.

As for the situation that Puerto Rico is far away from the mainland and out of reach, Wang Chenhao is not worried, he knows that the Panama Canal will be opened to navigation in the future. Once the Panama Canal was navigable, this problem was solved.

Charles did not know Wang Chenhao's true purpose, and the United States did not have much interest in Guam and Puerto Rico, and it would have been better if Wang Chenhao was willing to send troops to assist.

Out of consideration for US interests, Charles agreed with Wang Chenhao's proposal in principle, but he could only reply after consulting the US political axe.

The two consulted behind closed doors for more than an hour, but most of the time was to discuss the cooperation between the two sides, and the issue of this was put aside. It was not until the two reached a preliminary consensus on the issue of joint military contributions to Spain that the topic turned back to the issue of reparations.

"It's true that this can't support this huge amount of money, can Lord Wang give in?"

Wang Chenhao waved his hand and said, "Actually, we don't give in, it's good for your country!" ”

Charles was puzzled, so Wang Chenhao explained to him.

"I'll stick to my principles later, but I can relax the conditions. It is said that the original name does not need to be paid off at once, and it can be repaid in installments. As for the lenders, I will support the US political axe to lend to the capital, which means that the United States can intervene in the economy. I think that when your fleet pried open the door of this book, it was for this reason. ”

Charles understands that Wang Chenhao is not relenting. Now that Wang Chenhao has agreed to unite with the United States, the United States will certainly have to compromise with Wang Chenhao on this issue.

Thinking of this, Charles nodded in agreement.

(To be continued)