On September 18, early in the morning, the battle report of the Beiyang Navy Division and the "Guowen Bao" were sent to Li Hongzhang's study together.

Lord Nakado picked up the thin message and glanced at it, drooping his eyelids and snorting aside, concentrating on reading the front page of the newspaper.

He now understands that the official news channel of the Great Qing Kingdom is not as reliable as a newspaper. It's ridiculous, but it's also very helpless. So much so that he often has a feeling that he has fallen behind lately.

The headline of the "Guowen Bao" continued the calm attitude that has been maintained in recent months, and used the title "An Unfinished War -- The Beiyang Naval Division Showed Fatigue in a Disastrous Victory, and the Japanese Navy Was Arrogantly Dealt a Heavy Blow" to illustrate the entire process of the naval battle in the Yellow Sea from beginning to end.

Needless to say, the name of the writer is naturally the famous "Huasheng" - Yang Hao.

In an unusually calm tone, the article unreservedly points out the problems of the Chinese and Japanese navies, the various mistakes made in the battle, and the reasons for victory or defeat.

Li Hongzhang noted that he very frankly pointed out that the overall strength of the Japanese army had not been damaged, and most of the warships would be repaired within a few months on their home turf. On the other hand, the Beiyang Naval Division, after decades of Westernization Movement, bought warships and built factories, but did not keep up with the relevant technology and equipment for repair and maintenance. It will be almost impossible for the Dingzhen 2nd ship, which has suffered heavy damage this time, to be properly repaired.

Therefore, the victory of the Beiyang Naval Division is not enough to boast, and when the Japanese army makes a comeback, it will only be passively beaten.

In addition, the article also pointed out that the naval battle was only a part of the Sino-Japanese war, which determined the ultimate success or failure of both sides. Still an army war. in this regard. The Qing army's preparations were much worse than the navy's. With the retreat of the defenders of Pyongyang. The rear movement was slow and chaotic, and the possibility of being forcibly advanced by the Japanese army to Liaodong, or even to Zhili, was extremely high.

Speaking of which, Yang Hao, who got the news yesterday, was actually even more depressed.

He thought that he could turn the tide of the war by helping the Qing army hold Pyongyang, but he didn't expect to leave on the front foot, and Zuo Guigui suddenly had a high fever on September 16 because of gunshot wounds and heavy rain overnight, plus national fatigue. Unconsciousness.

By the 17th, when the battle was raging in the Yellow Sea, he was dying. Under the instigation of Wei Rugui, who advocated retreating, Jiang Zikang and others also believed that the ammunition was exhausted and the food could not be held for a long time. As a result, the defenders began to retreat that day.

And Ye Zhichao, who arrived in the rear a day earlier, also hung up one step ahead.

This is a good thing, and the army sent to Goryeo broke two generals in a row, and the order was chaotic. Although Li Hongzhang urgently mobilized Song Qing as the commander-in-chief to lead the troops to reinforce. Late.

Seeing the latter conclusion, Li Hongzhang was not happy at all. Especially in the photo. The two ships of Dingzhen and the "Laiyuan" were almost flattened and burned down the superstructure, and the battleship was surrounded by countless bullet marks and holes, and his beard trembled in distress.

What if you sink the three capital ships of the Japanese army and kill the head of the military affairs bureau, Shikinori Kayama? The strength of his own family has been greatly damaged, and he can't do it by relying on the sailor to take care of the home.

As the admiral, Ding Ruchang was seriously injured by the shelling and was rescued, but he couldn't take care of things for the time being. The question of who is responsible for this mess is another headache.

Putting down the newspaper, Li Hongzhang let out a rare sigh, revealing a trace of exhaustion in his cloudy eyes.

Li Jingfang, who came in with tea, happened to see it, and was taken aback, and hurriedly asked, "Is my father worried about what the newspaper said?" ”

Li Hongzhang shook his head slightly, took the tea bowl, took the lid of the cup and slowly opened it, and suddenly looked at Li Jingfang and said, "Are you still complaining that the old man didn't let you go to Goryeo to lead the troops that day?" ”

Li Jingfang bowed his head: "Don't dare!" The father, who is clear-sighted, sees more clearly than the son. ”

Li Hongzhang put down the tea bowl and sighed: "You still have grievances!" Don't think that Zhang Youqiao's dissuasion is blocking your way forward. He is also thinking about your reputation and that of the old man. If you look at what the newspaper says, if you go there, can you do it better? ”

Li Jingfang glanced at the "Guowen Daily" on the table, hesitated for a moment, shook his head and said, "No." Decades of suffering are difficult to return, and it cannot be saved in a day. The son also thought that training a new army could make up for the shortcomings. ”

Before the battle of Pyongyang, Li Jingfang repeatedly asked for orders to go to the front to lead the troops, especially after Ye Zhichao's mediocrity and timidity were exposed, he was even more eager to fight. was reminded by Zhang Peilun that Li Hongzhang was unable to make the trip, and Li Jingfang was greatly dissatisfied because of this.

However, the subsequent newspaper special issue revealed the current bad appearance of the Qing army. The terrible appearance of the battle fully illustrates the severity of its backwardness. There are so many sharp weapons and equipment, but they can't even unify the basic equipment, let alone the extremely demanding modern logistics. Training and tactical literacy or something, it's even more like a floating cloud.

It can be said that the huge Qing Dynasty, with a population of 430 million, cannot even produce 10,000 qualified soldiers. Those who went up were just making up the numbers, and once the war started, they had to fight with their lives.

Fortunately, the current Japanese army is all raw melons and eggs, and the weapons and ammunition are all insufficient, and after the other party exercises out, the Qing army can only be a group of soft-footed crabs that are driven around the mountains.

Li Jingfang didn't read the newspaper, and he finally understood how big his gap was. However, the literati habit in his bones can't be changed for a while.

This has also been a common problem among Chinese scholars since the Song Dynasty. It seems that after reading the book of sages, you can immediately lead your troops to fight and win a decisive victory thousands of miles away. Don't you look at how many truly qualified Confucian generals have been there in the past thousand years from then to now?

was refused to go out at home, Li Jingfang simply dangled in front of Li Hongzhang every day as if he was angry. In addition, I am worried that the old man will be angry with the bad news ahead, and he can also take care of it.

Although he didn't know his own life, Li Hongzhang never treated him as an outsider. sighed and said: "The old man originally thought that it was better to be quiet than to be still, but the tree wanted to be quiet and the wind did not stop!" The necessity of training a new army must be known to the imperial court now. But I have to carry this black cauldron of defeat. ”

Li Jingfang said angrily: "If it weren't for their repeated constraints behind their backs, why would they get to where they are today? Father, this lawsuit is going to be fought with them. ”

The clear stream in the DPRK is simply a group of scourges.

They were the ones who were trying to get money for the Empress Dowager Xi to repair the garden, in order to let the emperor pro-government. Later, they were the ones who cut off the navy's appropriations to stop building ships, in order to prevent Li Hongzhang's strength from further increasing. Now that the war is not in a hurry, one by one they have turned into masters of the art of war, and they have come up with ideas like hand-to-hand tricks. There is a kind, you go up and try to fight?

Li Hongzhang waved his hand and smiled: "Where to fight clearly, wow!" Forget it, don't mention them. Tell me about your recent investigation, is it true that the Yang family is from Rizhao, Yizhou? ”

Li Jingfang's spirits perked up slightly, and he nodded affirmatively: "Just like what the secret report said." Nowadays, most of the so-called foreign goods sold in various parts of the country are transshipped from Rizhao. Yang also operated a huge factory in the mountains outside the county, and opened a port and shipyard by the sea, which was no less large than the Jiangnan Machinery Bureau. ”

"Wow! It seems that this kid really has some doorway. Li Hongzhang patted the table lightly, his eyes flashing, "When the old man inspected Haiphong three years ago, Rizhao County was just a partial fishing port, and there were many sailboats, but it was useless. Unexpectedly, after such a little light, he made such a noise. Well, in this way, the soldiers used were also recruited locally? ”

Li Jingfang replied: "It should be." According to the Yizhou government, Yang Hao is the general manager of the local regimental training, and at first he thought that he was just getting some people to take care of the home, but he didn't expect that he was really trained to become an elite soldier, and even the Japanese army couldn't beat him. ”

The excitement and appreciation in his words made Li Hongzhang very dissatisfied, glared at him fiercely, and shouted: "Have you ever seen a courtyard where the guns are several times sharper than those of the imperial court officials and soldiers?" Hmph, Yin has accumulated armor, has gunboats, is powerful, and has outstanding prestige, this is to rebel! ”

"Huh?!" Li Jingfang was taken aback by this comment, frowned and said, "Isn't it?" Most of Yang Hao's foundation is now in Tianjin. Isn't he afraid that you will raid his house in a fit of rage? ”

Li Hongzhang sneered: "Just look at the fact that he has never refused to keep braids, and there is no respect for the court in his mouth, you can know what his intentions are." In addition, you also know his epigraph, which is called 'Dingshi'! Hmph, Dingge world, what a big ambition! ”

Yang Hao's expression was only started when he came to this world. Because of the tripod, so use the tripod as the word. Originally, it was intended to be called "Dingtian", which means to change the world. However, the name of "Yangdingtian" is really not good, so it is called Dingshi.

Li Jingfang really calmed the old man's undisguised murderous aura. Could it be that his father really had murderous intentions towards Yang Hao?

He wasn't happy to see such a bad outcome. In the past few days, Li Jingfang has read almost every article signed "Huasheng". The understanding of various ideologies in it, the sophisticated analysis and argumentation of current affairs in the world, and the whipping into it, are amazing.

Although he has not officially met Yang Hao, in his heart, he has already regarded this young man in his twenties as a year-old friend. He is the one who can truly open his eyes to the real world with him and intend to devote himself to making a difference.

Although Yang Hao's strength has gradually been revealed, Li Jingfang has not yet realized his intention to overthrow the Manchu Dynasty cholera world. More often than not, I feel that Yang Hao is like a person who wants to promote national change, rather than a reckless man like Hong Yang who only knows how to destroy and does not know how to build.

But he knows better that Li Hongzhang is a standard old literati temperament, paying attention to the whole thing from beginning to end, and loyal ministers do not matter to the two masters. That's why he has to work hard to frame the Qing Dynasty to die, just to wait until the day he dies and not change color. At that time, the coffin will be closed, and he Li Hefei will be able to get a nickname with the prefix of "Wen", which will be a complete merit.

In this way, he must not allow anyone to spoil the good situation, and the struggle between the DPRK and China is another matter. Rebel? But we have to see if the knife in his hand is sharp enough! (To be continued......)

PS: Thank you for the 2011 monthly pass!