Most Chinese people who do not feel the pain of their skin and think that they are living in a peaceful and prosperous era would never have imagined that they would be so close to danger.

Since May, many clashes have erupted on the Goryeo Peninsula, and since then, there have been a series of battles, even offensive and defensive battles in Pyongyang, and several naval battles, most people have treated them with the mentality of watching a play. In the hearts of the entire people of the Great Qing Dynasty, my Brilliant Heavenly Empire will not lose to a small state like Japan.

Even in the beginning, most of the important officials of the imperial court actually thought that Japan had a population of only a few million, and the soldiers could not make up tens of thousands. Even if you win, you don't have anything to be proud of.

Even if Yang Haotong guò "Guowen Bao" published the details of Japan, telling little by little about their brutal war history, the mobilization and various preparations made for aggression in recent decades. Between the government and the opposition, there is still an argument that "Yang is just alarmist".

Now, the most important thing in the minds of almost all important ministers is to defeat Li Hongzhang.

The previous disastrous victory in the Yellow Sea made them feel very regretful. The Qing army, which had retreated to the mouth of the Yalu River, was actively preparing for war, and in their opinion, the chance of victory was more than half. Therefore, even if Weng Tongyi was rectified, the powerful Qingliu Imperial Party still did not take it seriously and struggled with the all-out war mobilization.

However, in the past few days, the Japanese army actually raided on their own soil! Although most people may not be able to find the small county town called "Rizhao" according to the map, they also feel the shock that they have not felt for more than half a year before.

The Japanese are really bold! They blatantly invaded the homeland of the Great Qing Kingdom, and this is to do a counter-attack!

For the first time, the Manchu Dynasty's civil and military rhetoric began to implement the "start of war", but their focus. But it didn't focus on the civilians who died. In addition to the unavoidable Shandong governor Li Bingheng, he had a heart-wrenching excerpt. Only some people in the people are talking about it. Only the movers who gathered in the capital and even around to prepare for next year's examination are denouncing.

Within one day, ninety percent of the excerpts written from all over the country were condemning Li Hongzhang as "as the governor of Zhili and the head of the coastal defense of Beiyang, it can be described as dereliction of duty to allow a few Japanese soldiers to invade the country." The imperial court spent tens of millions of dollars to build large ships to support the army, what did it do for food? ”

The merits of the patrol battalion and the Beiyang officers and men in the bloody battle were blurred by their downplay. It's the other way around. However, he expressed doubts about how the Yang clan and the Yizhou regiment could resist the invading enemy, and even killed and injured more than a thousand, and kept urging Li Bingheng to send someone to investigate and verify. There were also countless loyal Qing courtiers who demanded to find out whether the force possessed by the Yang clan was legitimate, and whether the Yizhou regiment was too powerful.

The reaction of the country to this is varied, but it is the only thing that lacks a common hatred of a real national group in the face of a war of aggression.

Tianjin, Beiyang Yamen.

Li Jing looked angry, and hurriedly rushed into the back hall, behaving at a loss. Li Hongzhang, who was reading with a stack of street tabloids, was greatly displeased, and slapped it on the table.

"Panicked. What does it look like! How old are you, you have to be calm when the sky falls! ”

Li Jingfang trembled, hurriedly stopped, and bowed his head respectfully with a dignified appearance: "Yes, my father is right." ”

"Humph!" Li Hongzhang glared at him and didn't say anything more, but he couldn't stand the things in his hand. simply left it all and asked lightly: "What is it that makes you so anxious?" ”

Li Jingfang took out a stack of sticky notes from his sleeve and said with a little excitement: "Father, look at these important ministers of the imperial court, they don't care about the invasion of the Japanese and the suffering of the Li people at all, they are all deliberately trying to use the topic to play and let you step down!" Now the situation is as dangerous as an egg, and the great powers are all sitting back and watching the Japanese fight for the life and death with us. If you are not careful, it will be the end of the country and the family! They...... I can't tell the difference between the light and the heavy at all, I only know the infighting! ”

Li Hongzhang glanced at those notes lightly, and knew that they must have been copied from the telegraph room without looking at them. In addition, there should also be excerpts for the imperial court, but this is a means for him to grasp the dynamics of the imperial court at any time. Anyone who wants to get rid of him through the guòzheng zhì struggle has basically no secret about the content of the excerpt to the emperor.

Regarding the faces of the group of people in the DPRK and China, Li Hongzhang knows better than anyone else. Raised his head and looked directly at Li Jingfang: "Are you in a hurry for this?" Do you think that this idea can hurt the old man's fur? ”

Li Jingfang shook his head: "No." The son is angry, they don't care at all about the hidden crisis in this matter! Britain, France, Germany, the United States, and Russia have all tried to seize beneficial benefits for them in this war, and even did not hesitate to do so. "Guowen Daily" has elaborated and disclosed several times, they should also see it clearly, right? But look at it, they only think about dismantling the stage, dragging their feet, and cleaning up the regimental training that won the battle! Simply, it's ....... ”

He was so angry that he didn't know what words to use to describe it.

Li Hongzhang sighed: "You, you still don't have enough experience. ”

Standing up, he slowly paced back and forth in the hall with his hands behind his back, and said leisurely with his two fingers in the direction of the capital: "Do you think they can't see the situation clearly?" In fact, they understand better than anyone else. Don't forget what kind of people they are, Qingliu! As long as there are officials who can be famous all over the world, what is the death of a few ordinary people? I want to fight the Taiping army and bandits back then, with tens of millions of casualties, the entire south is sparsely beaten, and the cities are slaughtered. Isn't it all over the world now? ”

Li Hongzhang was the head of the person he killed back then to get to where he is today, and his heart is hard, and he has long been unshaken by some mortals. Among those guys who can stand up above the court, which one of them is not a top person who has emerged after countless open and secret battles and several life-and-death struggles?

"Yang Hao's kid got close to us, and helped Beiyang several times, but he refused to pull out a single hair to honor those clear streams. He also repeatedly caused some incidents to shake the pattern of their monarchy, ministers, and virtuous, and even threatened to overthrow the orthodoxy of the Qing Dynasty. Now that they are about to enter the house, how can they let it go? ”

Li Jingfang didn't understand it at first, but then he thought about it carefully and suddenly realized: "Yes, I still thought it was strange, why did the Yang family suddenly change his temperament." For the first time, their strength was openly proclaimed. Could it be. Yang Hao is planning to take advantage of the situation to appear on the stage? ”

Li Hongzhang nodded slowly: "That's it." You want to. After half a year of cultivation, Yang Hao's name of 'Mr. Huasheng' has become well-known at home and abroad, and is more well-known to foreigners. Because of the many results of hitting China's foreign front with one sentence in a row, he is considered to be the wise man who knows the general trend of the world best. His momentum has reached its peak, and of course he needs to take the opportunity to go further. You also know that it is necessary to make great efforts to create the cause of the ancestors of Chaomai, which is to seek talents. Between the government and the opposition. There have also been repeated arguments about changing the law and trying to become stronger. Perhaps, by chance, the Yang family will be able to step into the court in one fell swoop, and it is unknown to fight against the old man! ”

Li Jingfang is thrilled!

Thinking about it carefully, I'm afraid Yang Hao really has such strength. He was rich, famous, talented, and good at war, as well as understanding industry, military affairs, diplomacy, and economics. can be called a generalist, if he is older, he is a proper prime minister!

If you really want to give Emperor Guangxu Zhaoan. Even if the official rank cannot be very high, once he tops the prime minister's yamen. Li Hongzhang, the Beiyang Yamen, is really nothing!

As for the Beiyang Fleet, if you want to create another force with Yang's means, it is estimated that as long as you pay money, the Guangdong and Fujian sailors may help you, and the shelf will be pulled up immediately!

But then he vetoed this idea: "It is impossible for Yang Dingshi to defect to the imperial court." Judging from their various actions, they are trying their best to change the status quo of China, inspire the wisdom of the people, and reform the old and bring forth the new. How can such a person be willing to be subordinate? I'd rather believe that he will have enough strength to raise the banner of rebellion! ”

"Exactly." Li Hongzhang bowed his head approvingly, "The people in the DPRK and China must not allow Yang Hao to challenge their authority. I'm afraid that the Yang family is not here at all, so the result can only be that the Yang family has a bad plot and wants to bring down the Qing Dynasty. Such a threat, of course, must be strangled mercilessly. If it's an old man, he can't be tolerated! ”

Li Jingfang was taken aback and looked at Li Hongzhang: "Father is going to attack him too?" But they had just repelled the Japanese invaders, so how could they ...... such a heroic and chivalrous act. ”

Li Hongzhang glared at him fiercely: "Childish! It is a matter of the safety of the world, the more such heroes are, the more ruthlessly they must be eradicated! In this world, it must be controlled by people who read the books of sages and take the right path of the imperial examination, and a group of outsiders with Western sharp weapons must not enter the hall! ”

Seeing that Li Jingfang stiffened his neck and obviously disagreed, Li Hongzhang suddenly laughed: "Of course, everyone in the court must think like this, but the old man here only wants to pass the current crisis first." Helplessly, the British obviously have the intention of favoritism, but I am afraid that it will be ...... The situation is worrying! ”

Before the change, Li Hongzhang always had luck in his heart, and he could drag the Russians to stir it up, so that Britain could not express its position directly. In this way, Japan's ambitions may be stopped.

But now he didn't dare to think like that, understanding that the Japanese had made Yang Hao so bad, and they were still fighting to the top, and if Britain really wanted to uphold justice, it should vigorously mediate. It is a pity that just yesterday received a report that the British openly intervened in the Battle of Rizhao, but they helped the Japanese fleet escape!

Now on the banks of the Yalu River, the Japanese army is constantly increasing its troops, and the bunch of forces that attacked Yang Hao were originally going to directly attack Dalian Lushun and copy his Li Zhongtang's lair. With the current strength, it can't be held at all, and this time, it is the light of the Yang family again.

Li Hongzhang sat back at the table, lightly tapped the armrest with his fingers, and said to Li Jingfang: "Yang Hao shows his strength this time, and he must have other plans." You contact him, and the old man thinks that this son must have a saying. Well, when you have time, read more of the Western military books he sent. ”

Li Jingfang's heart was filled with a huge sense of happiness, and he asked him to read the military book, which was to fulfill his previous request to join the battlefield! In a daze, he bowed to the end: "Thank you, father!" ”

Beijing, Summer Palace.

The Empress Dowager Xi lazily listened to the opera troupe singing, and said to Li Lianying, who was bowing to her side: "I heard that yesterday the emperor wanted to issue an edict to praise Yang Hao, and let Li Hongzao persuade them to go back?" ”

Li Lianying carefully agreed: "Isn't it." However, what the ministers said also has some truth, that the Yang family does not respect the imperial court, and has repeatedly acted inferiorly, and this time there are even private weapons and hidden swords. The Japanese were also seduced by them, otherwise they wouldn't go to so many big places, but go to that small county town to toss? ”

The Empress Dowager Xi couldn't see any joy and anger on her face, and said slowly: "This person, there is no contentment." It's my birthday, and I don't think I'm having a good time. Xiao Lizi, is there a saying from Li Hongzhang's side? ”

"Back to Galeries Lafayette! Li Hongzhang said that the ironclad ship was still counting on Yang Hao to repair it. Without their new cannons, they couldn't beat the Japanese. ”

The Queen Mother of the West snorted, looked at the stage with a slight narrowing of her eyes, and said lightly: "Then continue to toss!" ”

Li Lianying's heart struck, Lafayette is not good for the people below, and she is dissatisfied. He began to wonder if he was taking the opportunity to fall into a well or something.

At a reception attended by envoys from various countries in the embassy area of Beijing, British Minister Ogne asked American Minister Tian Bei: "I wonder if there has been a new change in the attitude of the United States toward Far Eastern affairs?" Interested in actively participating in the Sino-Japanese conflict? ”

Tian Bei smiled: "The United States is only interested in making money. There are no interests in the Far East that we need, at least not now. ”

"So, will the American concession in Tianjin continue to maintain the status quo? It seems that the construction inside is very good, and the investment is huge. If the United States took back its governance, the harvest would be satisfactory. ”

Tian Bei shook his head: "I think it's good now." In any case, it is still nominally part of the United States. ”

Ogne was a little disappointed, and was about to turn around and leave, but heard Tian Bei say meaningfully: "However, according to the relevant laws and regulations of our country, expatriates who have left the mainland for more than a year will automatically lose their American citizenship. ”

Eugene's eyes lit up and he touched his glass: "Tonight, this sentence is the most beautiful. (To be continued......)

PS: Thanks for the sand and gravel in the water for the tip!