Time flies, and two days pass in a blink of an eye.

Qingying took the initiative to take the battleship Brandenburg to the Far East, firstly, to appreciate the human customs of the land of China at the end of the 19th century, and secondly, he could not bear the pain of staying in the Berlin Imperial Palace and cramming education every day. But what he didn't expect before was that the 23rd birthday of Emperor Guangxu of the Qing Dynasty was actually on July 28. Qingying was in Weihaiwei, and before the bed was hot, a telegram from the German ambassador to China, Schneider, had already slapped on his desk, saying that Wilhelm II had an order for Qingying to go to Beijing immediately to participate in the birthday celebration ceremony of Emperor Mites Qing without delay.

Although Qing Ying was reluctant to attend the birthday banquet of Emperor Mites Qing in his heart, he also understood the truth that he had to seek government in his position. After crossing by himself, he has such a cheap identity, so he should naturally take on the corresponding obligations. After cursing the damned Emperor Qing countless times, Qing Ying packed his bags again and set off on a merchant ship from Weihaiwei to Dagukou in Tianjin; Lori, as a key figure in breaking through Germany's neutrality, also went with the ship. Qingying had been on a sea boat for three months before, and she had already resisted the turbulence of objects floating on the water, but it was the first time Lori went to sea by boat, and although the Bohai Sea was calm, she still vomited a lot of meat and eight vegetables.

Since the construction of the railway from Tianjin to Lugouqiao had only just begun in 1894 and was far from being able to open to traffic, Qingying had to change to a horse-drawn carriage to go to Kyoto by the official road after getting off the ship. Compared with the 21st century, the traffic in this era is obviously extremely backward, and the 300-mile journey took 4 hours; By the time Qingying arrived in Beijing, a thousand-year-old city, it was already the evening of July 24.

As the sun sets, the entire ancient city is gilded with a dark red and purple blood-colored glow. The carriage drove slowly down the cyan stone paved streets, dragging a long black gallery behind it. Qingying opened the window and looked out, although it was close to night, the rows of shops on both sides of the street were rarely closed; The people of the capital are very cooperative to go back and forth in the streets and alleys, resting in front of all kinds of stalls.

On the eve of the First Sino-Japanese War, the capital of the Beijing Imperial Capital presented a scene unimaginable to future generations: on the one hand, the decay and decline of the old empire that was already in its twilight; On the other hand, it contains the vitality of the emerging national capitalism. Since the Tongzhi Dynasty, after more than 30 years of Westernization Movement in order to improve itself, the results have begun to appear; In terms of military, economic, cultural, medical, educational, and so on, there has been a great improvement compared with before the country was closed to the outside world. The Jingshi, which had fallen in the Second Opium War, had regained its former prosperity, and its crowds and traffic were even better than those of the imperial city 35 years earlier; Millions of people in the capital are full of hope and moved by this seemingly peaceful and prosperous world.

Two days later, it was the 23rd birthday of the emperor of the Qing Dynasty, Aixin Jueluo Zaiyan, and three months later, it was the 60th birthday of the old witch of Cixi. On the occasion of the approaching birthday of the two supreme rulers of the Mites Qing Dynasty, the official spared no effort to create a festive and peaceful atmosphere, and took this opportunity to vigorously promote the prosperous theory of "the saint is in the world, and the light is prosperous". Although there are still 2 days before Guangxu's birthday, Qingying came all the way, both sides of the street have been hung with festive red lanterns, and from time to time there are dragon and lion dancers blowing and blowing through the streets, attracting the surrounding people to applaud.

Looking at the intoxicating scene of this prosperous party, Qingying closed her eyes and sighed heavily, with a bitter look on her face.

Japan's intention to covet Korea and its aggressive intention against Mites had been unmistakably revealed through a series of large-scale troop transfers half a year earlier. However, the mites have deceived themselves by hiding their ears and stealing bells, and few people have really considered giving Japan a blow to the head to protect the country's peace. After more than 200 years of foolish people's policies, ** and slavery education, the blood of the vast majority of Han people has almost been wiped out under the butcher's knife of the mite Qing, and only a wise heart is left to protect one's body. Under the white terror of this authoritarian rule, in this context in which the whole society is praising the emperor and queen mother's wisdom, greatness, glory and correctness, praising a happy life and looking forward to a better tomorrow; Who would dare to disobey the will of the old witch and jump out to state the Japanese threat theory and affect her 60th birthday celebration? Even Li Hongzhang, the Beiyang minister who was known as the Bismarck of the East and held great power, was jealous under the cruel words of the old witch Cixi, "Those who make me unhappy today, I will make them unhappy for life".

In addition, Li Hongzhang also wants to preserve the strength of Beiyang, lest it affect this large area of his family business; As a result, he resigned himself to Japan's provocative moves in Korea, and only wanted the foreign powers to mediate and intervene. In the current Mites Qing court, the power and influence of the two old witches Cixi and Li Hongzhang are even higher than that of the Mite Qing Emperor Guangxu who lives in the Forbidden City; Seeing that these two people were not very concerned about Japan's actions in Korea, the other officials and people were even more at ease. In their view, Japan is a barbarian, and to say that they can threaten the Celestial Empire, how is this different from worrying about the sky? Take 10,000 steps back and say, even if the sky falls, there is still Li Zhongtang, the Optimus Prime in the court, and it will not be their turn to die if they want to die!

At this moment, thousands of miles away in Korea, the war clouds were already thick, and the mixed brigade under the command of Major General Yoshimamasa Oshima began to attack the mite Qing army stationed in Asan. Because the Qing government and Li Hongzhang had hesitated to make a decision on whether to make war or peace with Japan, they did not send more troops to Korea to show strength, nor did they allow them to show weakness and withdraw, nor did they build war fortifications for fear of creating a tense atmosphere, so that they sat idly by and watched Japan gain a big seat in Korea when their own side did nothing. In addition, the commander Ye Zhichao has already become cowardly and faint in the life of Yingge and Yan Dance for 20 years, and he has long lost the courage of the year. As far as Qingying knows, Pyongyang, the fortified city, also only held for 1 day.

Five hours later, Japan's 1st Guerrilla Fleet will also attack ships from Beiyang bound for Korea to transport troops in an undeclared war. The "Jiyuan" pipe led Fang Boqian to escape and turned into a fast wind, allowing the friendly troops to suffer without moving like a mountain. Thinking of Fang Boqian, who escaped twice in history, Qingying couldn't help but glance at Liu Xue'er's little Lori next to her, if there was no variable of herself, I was afraid that this 13-year-old Lori would become the Nth concubine of the middle-aged officer who was greedy for life and afraid of death, right?

Thinking of this, Qingying couldn't help but have a smile on her face. The face of this Lori is seven or eight points similar to the girl named Shixia that Qingying fell in love with in her previous life, they are all so beautiful, quiet and secluded. Seeing this Lori,It's like seeing her.,Although it's not a foreign encounter.,This Lori can't be the real Shixia.,But it also made Qingying's heart feel great relief.。

Either way, it's always a wonderful thing to have a loli by your side.

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On July 28, 1894, the 23rd birthday celebration of Emperor Guangxu was held in the Taihe Hall of the Imperial Palace. String music Shaoshao, purple smoke swirling, civil and military officials to congratulate Ruyi, rolling waves; Three kneeling and nine knocking, the sound of "long live" shook the mountains and rivers. The news of the Battle of Toshima, which was brought back by the "Jiyuan" the day before yesterday, has long been selectively forgotten by these officials; In their hearts, the lives of those hundreds of Qiu Ba are as cheap as mustard, where can they compare to a fraction of the longevity of the Holy Birthday?

Under the deliberate propaganda of the authorities, the Battle of Toshima, which had been a mess, was touted as an unprecedented victory; The Battle of Asan, which broke out on the land of Korea, was pushed to a peak by Ye Zhichao's false report and the double polish of the Ministry of Rites. The people of the capital do not doubt that he can have such an auspicious rui before the longevity of the holy life, isn't it God bless the Qing Dynasty and prosper with the light?

The two battles on land and sea that took place successively in Toshima and Asan caused great repercussions in the Chinese government and the opposition; Due to the false reports of the military exploits and the exaggeration of victories by the former enemy generals, the Qing government made a miscalculation of its own strength, believing that Japan's small country was vulnerable to attack, and the voice of the main battle of the domestic Qingliu was getting louder and louder. As Emperor Guangxu grew older, he was unwilling to rely on Cixi's snort for everything; If Japan can be defeated in the war, with this merit, it will be a matter of course to recover the power that originally belonged to the emperor! With the acquiescence of the imperial party, the angry youths who are called "clear streams" splashed ink and waved their tongues; Gorgeous and majestic articles sprung up one after another, forming a powerful public opinion, so that the Lords and factions headed by Cixi had to make compromises.

On the first day of the seventh month of the twentieth year of Guangxu in the Chinese calendar, on August 1, 1894, the Qing court officially declared war on Japan. "With a special notice to the world, Yu Xiaoran handled this matter in the imperial court, which has been benevolent and righteous, and the provocation of the Yu League is extremely unreasonable, and it is difficult to tolerate it again. Li Hongzhang sent all the armies to quickly advance and suppress, gather strong divisions, and march one after another to save the Korean people. And along the rivers and coasts, the generals and the ministers of the army, reorganize the march, and when the Japanese steamers sail into the mouths, they will immediately meet the head-on attack and annihilate all of them, so that they will not retreat a little and cause them to commit crimes. ”

On the same day, Japan, which had been waiting for this time, immediately declared war on the Qing court, and the Sino-Japanese War broke out. In addition to Russia and Germany, Britain, France, the United States, Austria and other powers declared neutrality. In order to get the latest news about the war in the first place, dozens or hundreds of war correspondents flocked to various countries in the world, completely ignoring that the Korean Peninsula had become a real purgatory.

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First of all, Qiu Yue admitted her mistake and shouldn't have invested too much ink in mite clearing. Originally, my idea was to only write about a naval battle of Dadonggou that was different from history, and a small mite in the war; As a result, as soon as the cause and effect are explained, it becomes a bit too much...... ╮(╯_╰)╭

Once I'm done writing about the naval battles, I'll end this branch story and go back to the main story.