In Japan, the Japanese government received the news of the military rebellion three days later than in history, and then the Meiji Emperor convened an imperial meeting, and after some discussion, a group of elders decided that Foreign Secretary Inoue Shin would sit in the remote command of Shimonoseki in Japan, and appoint Jiro Yoshida as a plenipotentiary commissioner, leading four warships, three transport ships, and 1,500 soldiers to Korea to question the guilt, and at the same time find out the whereabouts and life and death of Hanafu Yoshiko.

When the Japanese fleet arrived off the coast of Korea, it was suddenly attacked by three unidentified armed ships, all of them flying black skull flags, but in fact, each flag was different, one was a bull-headed skeleton, one was a one-eyed skeleton, and one skull had a straw hat on its head.

The Admiralty people recognized the ship on the opposite side and said to Jiro Yoshida, "My lord, that is a legendary pirate ship, extremely fast and fierce. ”

When he spoke, the other party had already fired a cannon, and because the distance was relatively far, the error was relatively large. But before Jiro Yoshida had time to relax and breathe a sigh of relief, the opponent's second round of artillery had already fired.

Although the flagship Fuso had four 240mm Krupp guns, plus one 170mm gun in the bow and stern, and six 12-pounder guns, it was too slow to fire and not very accurate, so it was rarely a threat to pirates. The other three are the East Ship, the Hiei Ship, and the Dragon Ship, and the situation is similar.

It is said that the four naval warships are better, at least they can fight back, but the three transport ships behind are unlucky. An hour after the battle began, one of the transports was sunk, the other two were shot twice, and one was now sailing without steam. The other had one of the three masts broken.

Shang Yi looked at the Japanese ship on the opposite side, and said in his heart, how can this Japanese carry it so much! I was just cruising off the coast of western Korea, and I met it.

The Junzi-class destroyers reached a maximum speed of 32 knots, more than twice the speed of the Japanese ships, and used twin 45 times the diameter, 120mm rapid-fire guns. Relying on their swift speed and constant and ferocious firepower, they constantly suppressed the Japanese battleships. The east ship was already on fire at this time, and the other three battleships were also beaten to the ground.

However, at this time, a sergeant reported: "Commander-in-chief, we are running out of fuel on our ship. ”

Shang Yi nodded and said, "Ask about the Chivalry and the Assassin." ”

Not long after, news came that the other two ships also had strict fuel consumption. After all, it took a lot of time to go around the open sea, and although the speed was only maintained at 15 knots at that time, it could not stand up for a long time.

Shang Yi thought about it, forget it, since he knew that Japan was coming, there might be arrangements on the side of the General Staff, and there was no need for him to send all the Japanese to the bottom of the sea. After all, the other party still has a certain ability to fight back, and if he is hit by a shot on his back, his own ship will be uncomfortable.

"Order, the whole fleet, return to port!"

The Japanese were already a little desperate, but in their shocked eyes, the other party turned around and walked away inexplicably, just like two hours ago, inexplicably began to attack.

"Yaga!" Jiro Yoshida scolded, unspeakable, and at the same time let out a sigh of relief. "Immediately rescue the people who fell into the water and extinguish the fire!"

The Japanese are busy, and they are called a grievance in their hearts! After more than two hours, their own side was beaten to the point that they had no power to fight back, one transport ship sank, and all the remaining ships were damaged in different ways, and a careful count showed that more than 300 people were killed and 200 people were wounded.

Tossing from daytime to dark, Jiro Yoshida finally made up his mind to continue his journey to North Korea.

Wang Yi had already received the news that the Japanese were going to Korea, and according to the estimation of Shang Yi and others, they should have gone to Jemulpo, that is, Incheon to land. However, after being beaten by Shang Yi, I don't know if I will go back.

On August 18, 1882, the news finally came that Jiro Yoshida and his party had landed in Jemulpo.

The Koreans thought it was strange when they saw the Japanese, how could the Japanese be so poor, the battleships were all broken and sunk, why did they still drive over? Do you have to ask for maintenance costs?

Jiro Yoshida was so angry that he almost killed when he saw the North Koreans talking about it, but he finally endured it.

On August 22, Jiro Yoshida led his men into Seoul, but the army remained in Jemulpo.

Accompanied by the King of Heungseon, King Yi Hee of Joseon received him, and Jiro Yoshida submitted seven requests in person.

"We demand the restoration of the Japanese Legation in Korea, the compensation of the Japanese residents killed in the mutiny, the surrender of the masterminds of the mutiny to Japan, the expansion of Japan's commercial power in Korea, and the stationing of Japanese troops in the Korean capital......"

The king of Joseon, Li Xi, didn't speak, and the lord glared at Jiro Yoshida and said, "No need to say any more, we won't agree to your request!" ”

Yoshida Jiro stared at him, and then said coldly: "Since this is the case, let's prepare to meet each other in battle!" The consequences will be borne by you! After saying that, he turned around and left, and then rushed back to Jemulpo to prepare for war with North Korea.

Although Dayuan-kun said it very strongly, he was only tough in words, and the North Korean soldiers under him had already been frightened by the last incident of the Yunyang ship on Ganghwa Island. As soon as they heard that they were going to fight the Japanese again, many people deserted.

Just when Dayuanjun was at a loss, Ma Jianzhong, a member of Beiyang Province, suddenly led 200 Qing soldiers into Seoul on August 24 to "mediate in the middle", which was unanimously welcomed by the whole of Korea. At this time, Wu Changqing, the commander of the Guangdong Navy Division, and Ding Ruchang, the commander of the Navy Division, led 3,000 Qing troops to land in Masan, Korea, one after another, and the Japanese army led by Jiro Yoshida entered Seoul on August 25, preparing to ask for the crime of mutiny as the suzerain.

In the barracks, Ma Jianzhong, Wu Changqing, and Ding Ruchang were talking, and suddenly some of their soldiers came to report, saying: "My lord, there are two people who claim to be the North Korean branch of Dashang outside the camp gate and ask to see them. ”

Ma Jianzhong and Ding Ruchang are both from Beiyang, so they are very familiar with Dashang, while Wu Changqing has lived in the south for a long time, although he has also heard the name of Dashang, but he does not feel so real and impressive.

"Please!" Ma Jianzhong and Ding Ruchang took the lead in going out to greet them, and Wu Changqing saw it and went out with him.

Kim Zhiying and Xi Benxiong stood at the gate of the camp, escorted by a team of forty horses.

Ma Jianzhong, Ding Ruchang, and Wu Changqing were all people who knew the soldiers, and when they saw the military appearance of the Dashang Insurance Team, they were all secretly taken aback. The two young men in the lead were followed by the forty men, riding tall horses, all with short hair and no braids, wearing peculiar military uniforms, carrying steel helmets, carrying strangely shaped steel guns, two pistols stuck in their waists, and sabers on the side...... And something they don't recognize.

At this moment, they were all just riding quietly on their horses, but even so, a fierce spirit was still blowing in their faces. The 600 men that Wang Yi gave to Xi Benxiong were all in the outer northeast and fought against the Russians. They fought against the Cossack cavalry, slaughtered the regular Russian legions, and each of them had at least fifteen or sixteen lives.

"Good soldier!" All three nodded secretly.

Jin Zhiying and Xi Benxiong turned over and dismounted at this time, hugged their wrists and arched their hands: "I've seen all of you!" ”

"General Manager of the North Korean Branch of the Lower Dashang Branch, Kim Sik Young. This is the battalion commander of our insurance team, Xi Benxiong! Xi Benxiong generally does not speak on such occasions.

"Excuse me, excuse me." Wu Changqing understood, no wonder the chairman of the big business a few months ago dared to send troops to the capital, which scared a group of ministers in Beijing, and there was such a group of arrogant generals under the hands of the emotional family.

After a group of people entered the barracks, Xi Benxiong only took a few glances, and then he didn't have much interest in this group of Qing troops.

After entering the big tent and taking their seats, Ma Jianzhong said at this time: "I don't know if your company will have losses in this Korean military rebellion." If there is a loss, we can ask North Korea to compensate. ”

"Thank you for your kindness, our company is fine." Kim Sik Young said with a smile.

"Then I wonder why you two came here this time?" Ding Ruchang Road.

"Yes, the Japanese had landed at Jemulpo a few days earlier, and there were signs of an advance into Seoul after Daewon-kun rejected the request of their minister."

"We already know about it."

"Then I don't know how to deal with the current chaos?" Xi Benxiong finally spoke.

"This ...... We haven't decided yet! I don't know what you mean by big business? ”

"Our chairman hopes that our business can continue in North Korea, and Daewon-kun's policy of closing the country is very bad for us because he cannot continue to govern."

"Could it be that Concubine Min's people came back?" Ma Jianzhong frowned.

Jin Zhiying nodded with a smile and said, "That's true, but North Korea is the North Korea of my Qing Dynasty, and if it is handed over to one person alone, it is obviously not in our interests!" So, we're going to recommend one person to all of you! ”

"Who?" Ding Ruchang asked.

"This person's name is Zhao Ningxia, he is the nephew of Queen Shenzhen, this person is not very talented, but he is very obedient to our Qing Dynasty and very obedient!"

The three of them immediately understood what Kim Zhiying meant, which was to clearly interfere in the affairs of the Korean dynasty, overthrow the monarch of the courtyard, welcome back Concubine Min, nakedly support Zhao Ningxia, and find a spokesman for the interests of the Qing Dynasty in the DPRK.

The three of them didn't say anything, and Ding Ruchang suddenly said: "It's not bad to keep one Zhao Ningxia, but what should we do with the courtyard?" ”

"If the three of them are willing, they can go in and tie him up and bring him back to the country, and if the three adults are troublesome, they can also hand it over to our big businessmen. Of course, we will not kill him, spare him for his life, and then take him in the palm of our hands, at least there is a counterbalance to Concubine Min, who is at odds with the Japanese, the Russians, and other countries. If she really doesn't know each other, then we will push the courtyard monarch to the throne! ”

Now Wu Changqing, Ma Jianzhong and Ding Ruchang understand that in the eyes of the big businessmen, there is no so-called repaying grievances with virtue and gentlemanly demeanor. It is completely naked national interest calculation, one qiē for the sake of the Qing Dynasty.

"What about the Japanese?" Wu Changqing said.

"I would also like to ask your Excellency to send someone to explain this matter, and tell the Japanese that the conditions that we can accept are to rebuild the Japanese embassy and compensate the Japanese civilians for their losses, totaling 100,000 silver dollars. The rest of the conditions will not be accepted! ”