June 6, 1894, solar terms: mangzhong.

In the second hall of Beiyang Yamen, Li Hongzhang opened a copy of the just-published "Guowen Bao" with both hands, only to feel that the four four-open rough papers weighed thousands of catties, and the calm mind that he had trained in his life was uncontrollably shaken, and his depressed face seemed to be pregnant with a storm that was about to break out!

The people sitting or standing below are all his most important staff and confidants. One by one, they lowered their heads and held their breath, and they didn't dare to take a breath, waiting for his thunderous anger to erupt!

After a while, Li Hongzhang's old voice pierced the oppressive atmosphere of suffocating people, with a trace of exhaustion and self-deprecation: "Wow! I can't imagine that the old man has been conceited and smart all his life, but today, he has been tricked by that small state, and all his old faces have been thrown into the Java Sea! But I asked a kid who couldn't stay here with the old man to poke him out. This slap is very hard! ”

No one below dared to answer, and everyone could hear that Lord Zhongtang was already angry, accumulating to the extreme, and there was no more and more lightning and thunder rage, but word by word, it was like a knife in the hearts of these brachial staffmen!

The truth that the lord humiliates the death of his ministers does not only apply to the emperor. They all had to be promoted by Li Hongzhang to have today, Lord Zhongtang was so humiliated, it was caused by their dereliction of duty, they didn't open their mouths to scold, but it was more uncomfortable than pointing their noses and scolding their mothers!

Li Hongzhang shook the newspaper lightly, and then said: "The old man does not intend to doubt whether what is said above is true or false, but now he only wants to know that if it is true as the newspaper says, Japan is determined to start a war with me, and Britain deliberately stands by and watches, and chooses which side to support according to the results of the war." So, there really is no way back except for war? ”

He raised his old eyes and slowly looked at the faces of everyone present. His most trusted foreign secretary and former U.S. Vice Consul in Tianjin, Bidger (the previous text was wrong, corrected) cleared his throat and said frankly: "Lord Zhongtang, judging from our understanding of the strategy between powerful countries, the situation mentioned in the newspaper is very likely to appear. ”

Li Hongzhang didn't comment, and looked at De Xuanlin again. The German's eyes narrowed slightly, and he also nodded: "I'm afraid this is true." Although the agreement between Britain and Japan has not yet been signed, everything that should be negotiated has been negotiated, and the result will not change much. You know, Britain needed an eastern fulcrum to control the expansion of Russia and the United States, and the object of cooperation had to have a strong military force. As far as the last two months are concerned, the Qing Empire has obviously dragged on a lot. ”

"Still, we have a good chance of winning. In terms of comprehensive national strength and military strength, the Qing State was stronger than Japan. As long as this war is won, Japan's economy will collapse, and the bonds they issue in London will become debt that crushes them. The British Empire had no choice but to support us. ”

Hannagan wasted no time in making his judgment. He had just returned from Europe and was a little more aware of the situation there.

The understanding and tone of the foreign aides are generally similar, but without exception, they are not optimistic about the policies that Li Hongzhang has implemented before. In particular, he delusionally imagined that the great powers would continue to wait and see what happened, be impartial, and that as long as he played with power, he would be able to make Japan retreat without a fight.

The staff members of their own country are able to do things, and when they rise to international priorities, they will inevitably lack some of them, but they have the advantage of having a wide range of paths, and they have considerable experience in the internal struggle of deceitful and deceitful.

Zhang Peilun coughed lightly and interjected: "Fu Xiang! Presumably, newspapers have also been seen in the palace at this moment, and the people's discussion has long been instigated, and the clamor for war is bound to be endless. If we hesitate, we are afraid that it will not be beautiful. In my humble opinion, it is better to increase the troops sent to Korea as much as possible, and make the sailors vigilant along the way! Otherwise, as the newspaper said, the Japanese have already completed the reorganization of their troops, waiting for the opportunity to move, and if they make a sudden attack, the situation in North Korea will be in danger! Don't go unnoticed! ”

"I'm afraid the news is not accurate! When we waited for the Xingshi to move the crowd over, and found that the Japanese had no intention of going to war, wouldn't we be laughing and generous? ”

Li Hongzhang is really hesitant, he is too conceited, and he absolutely believes that his judgment will not be wrong. The Japanese have always shown a flattering gesture in front of him, and every step has been explained again and again without other meaning, that is, this time Keisuke Otori took people to North Korea, and it was only 20 policemen and an Yaeyama ship, even if as the newspaper said, there were another 300 sailors, in the face of Nie Shicheng's first batch of 910 elite soldiers, what could they do?

Besides, don't people also explain that those people go to protect overseas Chinese, how can it be enough to fight!

On the Japanese side, Wang Fengzao's exact news has not been sent, and Li Jingfang's vigorous "Japanese threat theory" has already made him numb, and he has been disturbed one after another, and it is difficult to make a decision for a while.

But subconsciously, Li Hongzhang had to remind himself that his previous views may really be wrong!

This issue of "Guowen Bao" is like an atomic bomb with a yield of 10 million tons, and it slammed firmly on the heads of countless Chinese people who are still immersed in the dream of the heavenly empire.

On the front page, there was an unclear photograph with the shocking words in large letters: "War is imminent!" Japan establishes a wartime base camp! ”

At the bottom of the photograph is a detailed list of the lineup of the Imperial Council headed by Emperor Muhito, the newly appointed Navy Commander Shikinori Kayama, the Minister of the Navy Saigo Norimichi, the Chairperson of the Privy Council, Aritomo Yamayama, the Minister of War Iwayama, and the Deputy Chief of Staff Headquarters Kawakami Surokuroku.

This was followed by a detailed list of the members and positions of the entire base camp organization, the organization of the newly formed Combined Fleet, the names and division of labor of all the ships, the six divisions currently reorganized, and so on.

The article lists in detail the root cause and purpose of the establishment of the base camp, the phalanx strategy of action, the command of the Japanese naval and army forces, the guidance of public opinion in Japan to clamor for war, and the connivance and covert support of Britain. What is even more important is that Japan openly denied the suzerain-vassal relationship between the Qing State and Korea, claiming that "the imperial government has never recognized Korea as a vassal state of China", and clearly stated that it would send troops in accordance with the "Tianjin Convention".

If this is not convincing enough, then in the second edition of the serialized "Japan Chapter of the Rise of Great Powers", a full four pages are specially devoted to detailing Japan's expansion since the founding of the country, following the downfall, reform, strengthening the army, industrial development, civilization, and constitution, until today! It clearly broke away from Asia and joined Europe, conquered South Korea, invaded Taiwan, occupied the Ryukyus, gained an inch, established a "sovereignty line" and "interest line", formulated the "Struggle with the Qing Dynasty", put forward the "Crusade against the Qing Dynasty", and completed a preparatory work in 1892!

Subsequently, in view of the Dingyuan and Zhenyuan two specially customized three-view ships, the Japanese Emperor Muren cut down on food and clothing, called on the people to donate together, and did not hesitate to send thousands of ** to Nanyang, the United States, and the Qing Dynasty to sell prostitution, go to Europe to issue war bonds, and raise funds to build more advanced warships, and its deputy chief of staff, Kawakami Caoliudu, personally went out to do extensive and meticulous investigations from Busan, Incheon, and Seoul in North Korea to Yantai, Tianjin, Nanjing, and Shanghai in China, and dispatched a large number of spies to find out military intelligence.

One qiē and one qiē are waiting for the best opportunity to provoke a war, defeat the Qing State in one fell swoop, gain the support of the British, and then rise strongly to become the first power in Asia!

Since the Japanese Restoration, the military, industry, education, and legal system have surpassed the Qing Dynasty in all aspects, and all kinds of potential forces that others could not see before, and the shocking figures have made everyone who sees it feel numb to the shocked scalp and speechless!

Contrasting the two, not all fools can come to a clear conclusion. In contrast, Li Hongzhang's wishful peace, or the mediation of the great powers, have all become jokes! Obviously, the other party's knives have already been handed out, and this side is still stupidly confused by the hypocritical smile on his face, so it is no wonder that Li Hongzhang feels as if he has been slapped hard!

This slap was so loud that the Qing court, countless ministers, and countless literati and talents among the people were all at a loss for a while. They would rather think that this is the "Guowen Daily" is grandstanding and exaggerating, but the reputation laid down by the foreshadowing for more than a month makes them involuntarily believe that this qiē is true!

In the palace, Emperor Guangxu trembled with anger, shook the newspaper and asked Weng Tongyi: "Master Weng, you say, this is all true?" Li Hongzhang just let the Japanese play around? There are so many people up and down in the Great Qing Kingdom, and none of them can see their wolf ambitions clearly? I don't believe it! ”

Weng Tongyi was happy to see Li Hongzhang unlucky, and he didn't mind doing it at all, and nodded solemnly: "Your Majesty, Li Shaoquan has always had nothing to look forward to, and he thinks that there is no one else in foreign diplomacy, and negligence is inevitable. It is imperative to remind him not to make mistakes! If the army is unfavorable, it damages the dignity of the emperor and the Celestial Empire, and disturbs the holy life of the queen mother, it is a great crime! ”

"Humph! I don't believe that a small country can beat our Qing Dynasty! Sue sù Li Hongzhang, this time you must not fail! ”

Guangxu is impatient, he has just nominally been pro-government, and he is about to make some achievements to prove himself, but there is Weng Tongxiao's gang of sons, and they are in a hurry.

On the side of the Summer Palace, Guangxu's words advocating war reached Cixi's ears, and she said lightly: "Then let Li Hongzhang watch it!" With so many big ships and horses, you can't just eat and do nothing, right? ”

Li Lianying quickly conveyed the meaning to Li Hongzhang, and Li repeatedly hesitated, and immediately settled down, and ordered Nie Shicheng and Ye Zhichao to step up the transportation of troops and go to the DPRK quickly. But in his heart, he still hoped that it would be better not to fight.

"Don't fight? How can it be! I've worked hard to push things to this, and I'm just waiting for you to make a big fight! ”

Yang Hao took a steam gunboat, far away with the "Tunan" sailing from Tanggu to North Korea, cutting through the waves and running on the sea! ps: Thank you book friends for 141028093616317 reward!