June 23rd. Tianjin, Beiyang Yamen.

Li Hongzhang had a murderous look on his face, staring coldly at Liu Buyun, who was obviously drooping his head, but exuding unconvincing from the inside out. For three minutes, he didn't blink his eyelids, but Liu Buyun didn't move at all, but Ding Ruchang next to him was sweating profusely, and his cheeks twitched.

If possible, he will go up and give Liu Buchan a slap! It's all poured on this, you just bow your head, admit your mistake to Zhongtang, and be soft, how can you drop! Do you know how much trouble your rejoicing shot caused!

In the entire hall, a breath that was about to freeze pressed on everyone's hearts. The invisible majesty exuded by Li Hongzhang's not tall body was like a mountain, overwhelming them!

Finally, just when they felt that their heartbeats were about to be chaotic, Li Hongzhang suddenly turned his face to Ding Ruchang and asked expressionlessly: "Did you really hit it?" ”

Ding Ruchang hurriedly replied: "Yes!" However, it was hit by a shot, and the enemy ship ran very quickly, and there was no serious injury! It stands to reason that you should go back now, right? ”

Li Hongzhang snorted: "You don't have to figure out the old man's intentions. It's a big deal. But the trouble now is that no one has identified themselves from beginning to end. In case of a mistake, what do you ask the old man to say? Well? ”

Ding Ruchang broke out in a cold sweat again, but he knew that the old man had absolutely no intention of shirking responsibility. The reason why they asked this is also to let them think it out for themselves.

He was still muttering words there, and Liu Bu replied angrily: "The responsibility for deliberately watching my sailor's reality and opening fire to provoke the battle is on its side!" I'm not wrong! ”

"Yes! You're not wrong! ”

Li Hongzhang did not reprimand him for being unreasonable. Pointing to his desktop: "Someone took a picture of the scene, the boat." It was indeed the Japanese ship "Yaeyama". It is true that you are the ones who have done the shelling, and it is not your fault to shoot back. ”

Ding Ruchang's face just showed joy. was immediately shocked by the next words: "But you haven't thought that from beginning to end, this is a game set up by others?" That cannon wasn't fired by the Japanese at all?! ”

"Huh?! Can...... But how can this be! ”

Ding Ruchang panicked! He was originally a soft character, and he obeyed Li Hongzhang's orders, and he did something wrong in this cold, how good is this!

Liu Buyun raised his head in astonishment, his face full of disbelief! Someone else fired? Hit next to us? Blame the Japanese battleships? How to do it! At that time, it was not only myself who was on the "Laiyuan", there were so many people. I didn't find another boat, and I can't believe it!

Li Hongzhang sneered: "There is no one else, how did the photo come about?" Think about it, how did the Japanese ship "Maya" on the Han River sink a few days ago? Further back, when our troop carrier encounters a Japanese ship in the middle of the night, who will fire a warning shot? From beginning to end, there is another group of people stirring in the center! ”

Ding Ruchang and others suddenly realized! Yes, it's very suspicious! But here's the problem. Who is this, and what is his purpose?

If they are enemies, then why save Nie Shicheng's more than 1,000 people and help get Yuan Shikai back? If it's a friend. This time, however, they want to trap themselves in injustice and deliberately provoke disputes between China and Japan...... What the hell is this? What's wrong with being afraid that the world won't be chaotic?

Ding Ruchang didn't dare to say uncertainly: "Could it be ...... Did the British do it? Or the Russians? But aren't they all helping to mediate? ”

Li Hongzhang didn't explain to him, and sighed: "They are forcing the old man to make a move!" The Qing Dynasty and Japan did not fight for a day. They won't stop for a day. Although it didn't directly attack us, it can create all kinds of crises. Put us in the next cover! This time, the old man wanted to hide. I'm afraid I can't hide from it! ”

"Ahh How good is that! ”

Ding Ruchang panicked first. He knew very well what Lao Zhongtang was trying to avoid the war, as long as the war started, Beiyang would suffer huge losses. When the time comes, the Qingliu Imperial Party will reap the benefits of the fisherman, and the Hou Party will also pull out a thorn in the flesh.

Did they plan it? If you can't defeat the middle hall on the bright side, you will secretly do it? They can come up with ideas in this way, but they may not be able to find someone to carry them out!

Li Hongzhang's political enemies in the Manchu Dynasty all wanted to die as soon as possible. But these people are all able to speak, but none of them dare to tie a bell around the cat's neck at the end.

Li Hongzhang looked at their changing faces one by one, and said with a slight smile: "You don't have to guess, you must not guess." Anyway, that's it. The emperor has repeatedly ordered the old man to go to war, and now there is no room for turning around. Let's go back and hurry up and repair the ship's artillery and get ready for battle! ”

"Yes! Please rest assured, the mark will do your best, and you can ensure that nothing goes wrong! ”

Ding Ruchang was afraid that Liu Buyun would continue to make mistakes, so he pulled him hard, bowed and bowed, and cautiously exited the hall.

When he came to the backyard, Ding Ruchang glared at the other party fiercely and shouted in a low voice: "Lord Liu, when it comes to this, you and I have no way out." I don't ask anything else, are you sure you can fight this battle? ”

When the Admiral is in control of the overall situation, Lord Ding is no problem. But commanding naval battles, he is far less professional than Liu Buchan. Once the army starts to see the battle, the specific work must be the other party.

Liu Buyun's eyes flashed with excitement, and he said categorically: "Liu will definitely live up to the love of Lord Zhongtang and Lord Ding!" Even if I give up this life, I will also completely bring out the majesty of our Beiyang! ”

Ding Ruchang shook his head again and again: "Hey, I can see it through, let's be destined to be a chess piece at the mercy of others." Come back, come back, don't expect to have a peaceful birthday in the future. ”

The two had very different moods and left the Beiyang Yamen.

Li Hongzhang sat upright on the Taishi chair, his eyes slightly closed, concentrating and calming, and thinking silently.

This is the qi cultivation kung fu he learned from his teacher Zeng Guofan. Authentic Confucianism has its own set of internal cultivation methods of knowing and stabilizing, quiet, and peaceful, which has its own interesting interests with Buddhism and Taoism. The effect is the same, completely calming down his restless mind, his mind is clear, and he thinks about important issues with extra sharpness and speed.

In fact, early this morning, he got more definite news. The sample issue sent in advance by the "National News" made his heart tremble.

On it, there are not only blurry photos of the Yaeyama, but also photos of explosions near the Laiyuan. This is still secondary, the point is that it is written in the article that the "Yaeyama" has been sunk!

This news is still blocked. Neither the Japanese nor Goryeo heard of it. So, what channel does the "Guowen Daily" know through guò? Li Hongzhang didn't have time to ask, these days, Yuan Shikai went to deliberately get close to Yan Futao, but he didn't get the truth.

But judging from the newspaper's consistent style, nine percent of the time this is true. Then the question is, the "Laiyuan" only hit one shot from beginning to end, and who did the sinking thing!

Li Hongzhang now wants to deny that it was not done by the Beiyang Naval Division, but it is estimated that no one believes it. So many people on the "Laiyuan" are watching, and there are Chinese and foreigners, so they can't hide it at all. Last night there was a lot of fog in the Yellow Sea again, and God knows what happened to the accident.

The only thing he can be sure of is the force standing behind the "Guowen Daily", as well as Yang Hao, who was pushed to the forefront, and all the things he has done are aimed at pushing the Sino-Japanese conflict to the point of no return!

Weng Tongyi, Zhang Zhidong, Li Hongzao, Hou Dang .......

A personal name, a piece of power, flowing water in Li Hongzhang's mind. The first of the Qing Dynasty was excluded by him, and the Russians who followed were also vetoed after only a breath. The Russians are accustomed to taking advantage of the fire to rob, but they will never plot to provoke disputes and end up in person. They can't do that.

The last option, only the British.

The British needed a fulcrum to contain Russia in the Far East. Could it be that you want to raise the Qing Dynasty and Japan as Gu, but now you want to let the two sides completely separate the winners and losers?

No, it's still not them!

Li Hongzhang finally opened his eyes helplessly and sighed leisurely. I am afraid that the answer to this mystery will not be revealed until the war is over.

That's it, just fight. It's all broken up, and no one wants to get any benefits. However, hum, the old man's cheapness is not so easy to earn. Whoever thinks the mouth is good enough, then come up and give it a try and see if you can break his mouth!

In the evening, an explosive news suddenly spread in Tianjin! The "National News" outside the horrified writing that the "Laiyuan Ship" sank the Japanese ship "Yaeyama"! This means that it will be difficult to mediate the dispute between the two countries. Either war is officially declared, or, one side has to make huge reparations!

The news was then confirmed by a British freighter that had just arrived in Arthur. On the sea they passed, they rescued two surviving Japanese sailors and determined that the "Yaeyama" had sunk!

From Tianjin to the capital, all public opinion exploded!

And in Japan, the Admiralty, the base camp, and the collective fryer, which have not been able to wait for the news of the ship, have been coldly hearing the bad news!

Shikiri's annoyed face distorted, and he shouted, "Go to war!" Declare war on China now! ”

This is simply the greatest humiliation for him! As soon as he climbed to the head of the military order department and was in charge of the chief planning of the navy for this war against the Qing Dynasty, he lost two warships one after another. This shame is unbearable!

On June 24, the Japanese government submitted a second letter of renunciation and unilaterally decided to carry out "internal political reforms" in Goryeo. The troops that had already been stationed in Incheon were all drawn out and entered Seoul separately and deployed to Asan to coerce Nie Shicheng's troops.

The consuls of various countries in the Qing Kingdom took action one after another. When the British Minister Ogne met with the Prime Minister, he asked him frankly: "If war breaks out and your country decides to strike quickly, do you think you have the strength to deal a heavy blow to the enemy?" Will you be able to achieve the final victory? ”

Yixuan hesitated for several minutes and muttered indistinctly: "I'm not very confident in this." ”

The British suddenly had a decision on how to choose! (To be continued......)

PS: PS: Recommended! Pass! The more you smash, the more you get!