The sunset was like blood, and a round of sunset sank into the sky far away in the west, like a terminally ill patient, who was reluctant to swallow the last breath. Dark clouds were hanging low in the east, the wind was howling, and a storm was imminent.

An old man sat quietly on the first seat of the council hall, his face ashen and his brow furrowed, allowing the cold wind that had already carried a chill to slip in from his neck. In front of the public case, more than a dozen confidants and staff members were arguing nervously and fiercely; The chaotic sound made the old man, who was already worried, feel a little more irritable.

As the head of the entire Beiyang Group, Li Hongzhang couldn't know too much about the combat effectiveness of his subordinates. Beiyang has been training for 20 years, known as the complete sea and land division, majestic when the peace, and is considered by the world to be a dragon and a tiger; But those appearances are just a bloated shelf, which can scare the rebellious people internally, and resist foreign invasion externally, which is almost a fool's dream! Not to mention anything else, as for the so-called victory of Toshima, none of the people present will believe it; Fang Boqian is timid and cowardly, and he usually trains his troops and has a bit of an appearance, if he can win such a big victory, then Beiyang has already recovered all the many ports leased by various countries in the Qing Dynasty!

Li Hongzhang took a deep breath and tried to calm his irritable and worried mind, but when he thought of the main force of the Beiyang Naval Division heading to the Korean Han River for a combat cruise, he couldn't help but beat a drum in his heart. When he sits in his position, there are too many things to worry about, and it is by no means easy to let go. This time, due to the pressure of the court, he was forced to let Ding Ruchang lead the main force of the fleet to the north to find the enemy to fight, and he had already greeted the eighteenth generation of those Qingliu ancestors in his heart; It took 20 million taels of silver to build this modern navy, and if it is lost, the Jingshi portal will lose its barrier, and when Japan comes to land at the Dagu Pass, won't the Forbidden City fall again like more than 30 years ago?

"Boom!" The thunder exploded and was deafening.

Looking out of the window of the council hall, the dark clouds in the eastern sky were like thousands of horses galloping, rolling and surging, surging towards the western sky. The wind is howling, and the dust is blowing. A gray-yellow dead leaf was knocked down by the strong wind and blew diagonally along the window, impartial, and landed right in the center of Li Hongzhang's public case. The gray-haired old man glanced at the dead leaf, and a bone-chilling desolation suddenly appeared in his heart.

Thirty years ago, he was valued by Wen Zhengen for the first time, and he was enthusiastic and high-spirited; Thirty years later, the heroic words of his prime have long since rolled east with the long river of time; Sitting in Zeng Guofan's former position, facing a more dangerous situation than back then, he was finally able to understand the difficulty and difficulty of Enxiang.

At the beginning, what Enxiang had in his hands was a huge army that was enough to change the dynasty; Now in his hands, he is the only elite team in the entire Great Qing Kingdom that can support the backbone in front of the Taixi powers, and its name is Beiyang.

The pouring rain was like a river in the sky, and in the blink of an eye, the scenery outside the window was already shrouded in mist. Everyone was shocked by the sudden heavy rain, and involuntarily stopped the rambling argument, and for a while the council hall was quiet, only the sound of the rain outside the window and the thunder that sounded from time to time echoed in their ears.

Li Hongzhang pressed his forehead tiredly, turned his gaze to a middle-aged man on the right side of Lu, and said, "Pingshi, as a Beiyang think tank, let's talk about it." How should this battle be fought? ”

The middle-aged man is dressed in a green shirt and has a square face, and at first glance he really has the demeanor of a Confucian general; Hearing Li Hongzhang speak, he sighed lightly and said: "Zhongtang, this time, we are using the power of a corner of the North Ocean to fight against the Japanese soldiers of the whole country. ”

Li Hongzhang nodded slowly and said, "Go on, the old man wants to hear your opinion." ”

The self-proclaimed warrior man in the prime of life arched his hand to Li Hongzhang, who was sitting on the head, and continued: "At present, I have only more than 45,000 people in the land division in Beiyang, and even if we rely on the weapons reserves of the past 20 years to raise more than 10,000 men and horses, the land is probably not an enemy of the Japanese people. The huge number of Green Battalion Eight Banners has been eroded to death, and it cannot be calculated as a front-line combat strength at all. If Weng Shuping of the household department can wholeheartedly raise materials and military salaries for my Beiyang; The soldiers served their orders, the generals were handsome and clear, and they held on to the front line against danger, and they still had the strength to fight. ”

Hearing Yang Shixiang say the name of the emperor of the current dynasty, Li Hongzhang's face showed undisguised disgust. He pondered for a long time, and his words revealed an unspeakable taste, as if he was unwilling, but also seemed to be happy: "Although Weng Shuping has been fighting with the old man for so many years, he is by no means a person who does not know the times; In this national war, even if he was unwilling in his heart, he did not dare to abandon the moral articles for so many years, risking the disapproval of the world, and stuck the lifeblood of Beiyang behind his back. I understand what you mean, take a defensive position in North Korea and try to avoid a frontal advance with heavy casualties; Consume the Japanese in order to win over the Tessie powers to enter into mediation. ”

Yang Shixiang nodded and said, "Zhongtang is wise." Although Korea is a vassal of our Celestial Empire, after all, it is a barbarian land that does not respect education, and it is far less important than the main force of our Huai Army. Shi Xiang said a heart-wrenching word, as long as the main force of our Huai army is still there, even if the front line is defeated, our Beiyang will still be the Beiyang of the Great Qing Kingdom; And once the main force of our Huai army is lost, even if it is a crushing victory on the front line, it will be a disaster for Beiyang. Because there are too many people who regard me as a thorn in the flesh in the side, they can't wait to drive us out of this position. ”

He paused, and then said: "As for the sailors, although it is not the most critical factor in this war, if we can take this opportunity to purchase a few new ships from abroad, it will also be more able to act as a tiger in the mountains and deter the Japanese invaders." Speaking of this, he smiled bitterly and said: "Our Beiyang sailors have not added any pieces of board over the years, and the maintenance of the ships we bought back at the beginning is not satisfactory; Today, it has long lost the name of the first fleet in Asia. If there is no input of fresh blood, it is difficult to ensure that those Japanese people do not make any crazy moves. ”

"Do you want to buy a boat...... Now how can we have money in Beiyang to buy ships? And what country would sell us a ship in a war? In the crowd, an untimely voice suddenly came out.

Thunder rolled and torrential rain poured down.

Li Hongzhang took a sip of the water cup on the table, and tapped the bookcase lightly with his fingers: "Regarding the question of buying a ship and silver, this time I basically don't have to worry about it. According to the news from the Jingshi, this afternoon in the Yangxin Palace, the emperor has issued an order to ask the household department to give me 2 million taels of Beiyang silver for the purchase of foreign ships, and instructed that if it is not enough, I can continue to ask for it from the household department. Thinking of the old rival Weng Tongyi's face like pig's liver, Li Hongzhang's heart was happy, and the corners of his mouth couldn't help but hook up a smile.

A middle-aged man sitting in the front row had a strange color on his face, and nodded: "This is very good, our Beiyang has been stuck in the neck of Master Weng for so many years, and it is finally his turn to be bloodied." However, in accordance with international practice, neutral third parties are strictly prohibited from selling military materiel to either of the warring parties; At present, the Qing Dynasty and Japan are already at war, even if Beiyang has money, where to buy it? ”

Yang Shixiang smiled slightly and said, "Brother Youqiao is smart, but at this time, he is blind? The people who can sell us the ship are far away and close at hand. That country has made so many expressions, if we can't get a glimpse or two, wouldn't it be too incomprehensible? ”

The middle-aged man groaned for a moment, and suddenly his mouth suddenly opened. At a time when the situation on the Korean Peninsula was tense, Germany sent warships to visit Weihaiwei, which had vaguely given a signal to Beiyang; On the 23rd birthday of Emperor Guangxu, the second son of the German emperor personally came to the scene to congratulate him, and almost all the doubts of the outside world have been fully explained. After "Dingyuan" and "Zhenyuan", Germany couldn't wait to sell the third large capital ship to the Qing court! The most important thing is that Germany did not declare neutrality in the Sino-Japanese War, which means that it is possible to sell weapons and equipment to one of the warring parties!

"What Pingshi is talking about is the German big iron ship that came to visit my Beiyang. The ship has been moored in Weihaiwei for about ten days, and the navy pipe belt door should have a preliminary understanding of it, and if the performance is good, it should be an excellent choice to buy it. The middle-aged man said.

Li Hongzhang was slightly distracted in his heart, a few days ago, Ding Ruchang and many ship pipes and belts jointly signed a letter, showing its superior performance, and asked him to buy this German ironclad ship. At that time, I was only surprised by the rare agreement between the admiral and his generals, but I didn't take this matter to heart. In recent years, the value of silver has been depreciating, which has taken a big advantage when exporting, but if you want to buy things from abroad, you need to pay much more silver taels than before. Beiyang has been poor for many years, and even a large part of the maintenance of daily military expenses has to be paid by him Li Hongzhang out of his own pocket; If you want to buy a capital warship that is more powerful and advanced than Dingzhen, it will cost 5 million taels of silver, can this money fall from the sky?

However, with the outbreak of the Sino-Japanese War, this proposal was picked up and examined again by Li Hongzhang in his heart. Now the household department has given 2 million taels as a special fund for the purchase of ships, and it is estimated that 1 million taels can be pulled out from the old thing Weng Shuping; His eldest brother Li Hanzhang served as the governor of Liangguang, and he could also drum up a lot of money. If we can really buy this ironclad giant ship, which was just completed by Germany last year, the strength of the Beiyang Naval Division will be able to make a huge leap forward, and even ...... The victory or defeat of the sea is still unknown?

Li Hongzhang swallowed a mouthful of saliva, his Adam's apple moved slightly, and his heart couldn't help beating again: Japan is an island country, and its land army that invaded Korea almost relied on the shipping in the rear; If the Beiyang Naval Division can crush the main force of the Japanese Navy in a naval battle and blockade the Tsushima Strait; Then tens of thousands of enemy troops in Korea will be alone! At that time, he can really be like what was stated in the edict of declaring war, "gather strong divisions and advance one after another"......

A picture came to his mind that he had never dared to think of before, his face flushed, his fists clenched. However, he is no longer the hot-blooded Li Hongzhang of forty years ago, and he has calmed down again after a while. This Beiyang Naval Division is the biggest hole card in his hand, and it is necessary to ensure the intimacy and integrity of the main battleship; This is the absolute strength guarantee of his Li Hongzhang and all the officers and soldiers of the entire Beiyang Naval Division in the court! Ships must be bought, and naval battles must not be fought; If we were really forced to go to war, we would not be able to engage in a head-to-head confrontation with the main forces of the Japanese Combined Fleet!

Yang Shixiang's words are extremely right, as long as the army is still there, Beiyang will never fall in the court!

As soon as he thought of this, Li Hongzhang suddenly had an idea in his heart, he looked at his son-in-law, and said: "Youqiao, before you go to Biannan, send a telegram to my brother in my name, saying that Shaoquan (Li Hongzhang's character) is now in urgent need of silver taels, and I hope he can help me raise one or two." In addition, in my name, I will send a telegram to Wei Rugui, Ma Yukun and other former enemy generals, so that they can act by relying on the fortified city, sticking to Pyongyang, and taking the camera, so that the strength of our army will not be greatly depleted. ”

The middle-aged man bowed to Li Hongzhang and said yes respectfully.

"Pingshi, thank you for your hard work, tomorrow you will go from Tianjin to Jingshi, visit the German Minister Schneider, and talk to him about whether the ironclad ship can be sold to us." Li Hongzhang turned his gaze to Yang Shixiang again and said, "We don't have much money in our hands, so the price can be reduced as much as we want." ”

Yang Shixiang bowed slightly and said, "Kindness is relieved, Shixiang will definitely kill the price to the lowest." ”

Li Hongzhang raised his head and glanced at the audience, only to find that the sky had become gray at some point. Looking at the still raging torrential rain and wind outside the window, he sighed faintly: the house in the Qing Dynasty has long been decayed and dilapidated, and it is all up to himself, a pastemaker, to paint him with a layer of bright red paint; Now that the storm is coming, I wonder if this house will collapse in the storm, or will it continue to hold on to the sick body and usher in a new day?

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Autumn Moon is a slow hand flow.,A lot of times I can't write 1000 words in 1 hour.,It's really hard to update~~~ Let's give some recommendations and collections to comfort it.

PS: I just found out that I have an evaluation vote, bow and thank nkj8084 for your evaluation