After several days of bickering between the two sides, Wang Guorui finally reached a contract on behalf of Taiwan and Japan's representative Ito Hirobumi, referred to as the "Taiwan-Japan Contract". And this contract Wang Guorui signed with Japan as the leader of Taiwan, and Japan was also signed by Ito Hirobumi on behalf of the Japanese government, and after the signing was completed, it officially came into effect.

"After negotiations between the Japanese government and Mr. Wang Guorui, the leader of the Taiwan region, the Prime Minister of the Empire of Japan and the leader of the Taiwan region reached the following terms and conditions."

"First, the Great Japanese Empire has renounced its sovereignty over the Taiwan region in accordance with the will of the people of Taiwan, and the future of Taiwan and the future of Taiwan will be decided by the Taiwan people themselves in the future, and the Great Japanese Empire cannot interfere."

"Second, this is the end of the war between the Empire of Japan and the Taiwan region, and the two sides cannot use this as an excuse for further incidents in the future. The army and navy of the Empire of Japan will withdraw from Taiwan mainland, the Penghu Islands and other affiliated islands in batches. ”

"Third, the Taiwan region will release prisoners of war from the Imperial Japanese Army in batches, and the food and lodging expenses for the prisoners of war during this period will be paid separately by the Imperial Japan."

"Fourth, this time, because the Japanese Empire and the Taiwan region have a misunderstanding of poor communication between both sides, both sides are responsible and do not pay compensation to each other."

"Fifth, the treaty will be implemented from the date of its signing, and the state of war will cease on both sides."

The treaty is not complicated, it is just five articles. For example, this kind of treaty between countries is actually more about the interests and strength of Chiguoguo, and the content is actually simpler than many commercial terms, and it is extremely simple compared to hundreds of commercial terms. However, Taiwan's efforts to achieve these five articles are not simple.

This time, Japan relinquished its right to rule Taiwan, and Taiwan itself decided its own fate. And Japan will also talk about the withdrawal of the army and navy from Taiwan, and then return to China to recuperate. As for the issue of reparations, Japan will not pay reparations even if it is killed. Japan is also very rigid in the payment of reparations, and will definitely not choose reparations. And Japan is also determined, Wang Guorui does not have a navy. Therefore, it was impossible to go to Japan, which also caused Japan to have no fear, thinking that Wang Guorui could not hit Japan.

However, it is impossible for Japan to demand compensation from Wang Guorui, because their army cannot defeat Wang Guorui. Wang Guorui and Japan each have the advantage of the army and navy, and both are island countries and regions, so neither side can help the other. So. Everyone has no way to hold each other, so that is, the two sides do not pay compensation to each other.

And Wang Guorui has more than 100,000 Japanese troops under his command, of course, he wants to blackmail Japan. And Wang Guorui extorted only two million taels of silver, which is not too much, because if there are more, Japan will not do it. Therefore, two million taels of silver is already the limit of Japan, and no matter how much Japan can't take. Japan's finances are very tight, and it can't support it at all, and Wang Guorui can't extort much. In addition, on this issue, Dou Nale also helped Japan speak. As for the British minister's words, Wang Guorui really had to think about it, so he finally agreed to Japan's idea of exchanging two million taels of silver for more than 100,000 prisoners of war.

"Victory! We've won! "Victory, our Taiwan victory!" "Hooray! Long live Taiwan! "Victory!" ……

Hearing the news of the signing of the treaty, and Wang Guorui also began to explain the content and meaning of the treaty, and the people who were waiting for the outcome of the negotiations also began to cheer. Because they finally won this time, they felt that they were finally victorious, after all, they defeated the Japanese invasion. Moreover. There was no reparation for this victory, and no rights were sold. This time it can be said to be a rare victory. None of the victories won by fighting the war on their own were lost at the negotiating table.

Although the Japanese were not able to pay the reparations, it was very good for the people. At least, they didn't pay the reparations, which was already a huge victory. When fighting against other countries, even if you win, you have to pay a huge price. However, this time Taiwan was able to win without paying an additional price, which was enough to make them feel honored. This is a victory for all the people of Taiwan, because after all, many people have also joined the army, and some people have also contributed money and efforts to participate in the work of supporting the front. Therefore, the victory of this war was shared by all the people of Taiwan.

And Li Hongzhang looked at the Taiwanese people and cheered. Then he said: "Taiwan, maybe it will no longer really belong to me in the future!" ”

"Father, this time this kingdom Rui is so rude that he actually blew you away. If you want to say that you are the first member of my Qing Dynasty, a very popular minister, and he is just a magistrate, why can he negotiate with the Japanese instead of you? Moreover, they reached an agreement with Japan, which also had to be approved by the imperial court. As soon as they reached a contract with Japan without the consent of the imperial court, did they take the imperial court seriously? Li Jingfang said unhappily.

And Li Hongzhang couldn't help but shake his head at his adopted son and nephew. He was very disappointed in his son, because his son was not a material that could become a big thing. He is too naïve for politics. Now, of course, Li Hongzhang can see that even if Taiwan does not seem to be occupied by the Japanese army this time, it will never be able to return to the situation of the original Manchu rule.

According to the contract, although Japan gave up its sovereignty over Taiwan, the treaty was full of different meanings. First of all, this treaty was signed by the leaders of Japan and the Taiwan region, not with the Manchu central government, so it was a matter between Japan and Taiwan, and between Japan and the Manchu central government. In other words, the signing of the contract this time has nothing to do with the Manchu Qing Dynasty.

In addition, the contract signed between Japan and Taiwan does not contain any information about the relationship between Taiwan and the Manchu Qing Dynasty, and this "Taiwan-Japan Contract" is only to explain that Taiwan's future and Taiwan's ownership are determined by Taiwan itself, which means that Taiwan itself decides, and even more specifically, Taiwan itself decides. As for whether Taiwan will rejoin the Manchu Qing Dynasty or whether Taiwan will establish itself as a country, it will be decided by Taiwan itself, and it will not be demanded by the Manchu Qing Dynasty. Taiwan is fully entitled not to obey the orders of the Manchu central government. As for the settlement of the Taiwan matter and the re-attribution of the Manchu rule, this is something that many Manchu officials take for granted.

Many Manchu officials believed that Taiwan should be re-ruled by the Manchu central government, that is, according to the way it was ruled in the past, so that it was the method they had in mind. But they don't know at all that Taiwan is already Wang Guorui's world, and by that time, Wang Guorui has become a local overlord, so are they willing to be a courtier of the Manchu Qing Dynasty again? Wang Guorui has tens of thousands of troops under him, and his combat effectiveness is much stronger than that of the Manchu Qing, so will Wang Guorui still be willing to surrender to the Manchu Qing? Can't you set yourself up as a king? This is also something that the domestic bureaucrats have not taken into account, so this is also a very dangerous situation.

"Father, is Taiwan going to rebel?" Li Jingfang asked.

"Rebellion? What qualifications do we have to say that Taiwan is in rebellion? Does Taiwan still belong to us? Li Hongzhang asked.

"How not?" Li Jingfang asked.

"Hmph, we have ceded him to Japan, and then Taiwan will become independent from Japan, what do you say is the relationship? Taiwan is now qualified to decide its own destiny, which means that they can join our Qing Dynasty, and they can also consider deciding their own destiny. Therefore, you should not take it for granted and think that Taiwan must belong to us. Li Hongzhang said.

"Bastards, aren't they afraid of the court pursuing them?" Li Jingfang asked.

"They have tens of thousands of troops, and even the Japanese have not defeated them, are they afraid?" Li Hongzhang asked.

Li Jingfang was speechless, because the most important thing for Wang Guorui was that he had soldiers in his hands, so he was naturally not afraid of the threat from the mainland. Therefore, if Taiwan is unwilling to be incorporated into the mainland again, then the mainland will not have any good way. And Li Jingfang thinks that the mainland is orthodox, so he subconsciously believes that Taiwan should return to the motherland. But now it seems that Taiwan can have its own ideas, after all, they have ceded Taiwan to Japan, which means that they have no relationship with the mainland. After going back and forth a few times on the contract, Taiwan has nothing to do with the mainland, so how can Li Jingfang accept it?

"No, we can't just let Taiwan out of our control, otherwise how can we face the civil and military officials of the imperial court? If they dare to rebel against the court, then we must punish them severely! Li Jingfang said.

And Li Hongzhang couldn't help but shake his head at Li Jingfang again, this Li Jingfang, like many domestic officials, is afraid of foreigners like a tiger, but he is full of confidence in his own people. When many domestic troops heard that they were going to fight with foreigners, they were very scared and ran away. And once it is a war with the rebels at home, it often has a great morale boost and dares to fight to the death. This mentality is definitely problematic, because since ancient times, China has been strict inside and lenient outside, and it is far better to bully its own people than to deal with foreigners.

Many officials are constantly compromising with foreigners, but they have zero tolerance for revolutionaries and rebels in their own country. Therefore, even if we know that Taiwan is strong and its military strength is stronger than Japan's, we must find a way to recapture Taiwan. They have simply forgotten what kind of attitude they had when they ceded Taiwan, and now that they heard that Taiwan might want to stand on its own, they immediately began to be angry. Li Hongzhang is also very speechless for this mentality. (To be continued......)