In the last quarter of 1898, all parties were making the most difficult preparations for their goals. Guangxu and Cixi are accumulating strength for the most difficult battle. The Russians are strengthening his Far Eastern Fleet and Army. The Japanese, on the other hand, were preparing for the imminent start of a large-scale war, and at the same time spared no effort to order agents in the occupied territories to harass the Russians through some secret channels. And Beiyang united again after 3 years and did its best to prepare for war. If it is said that the purpose of the First Sino-Japanese War in Beiyang was to defend against the Japanese and solve the country's external troubles. So what Beiyang has done this time is to fundamentally solve the system and system that imprison this country!

For this reason, whether it is Xu Jie, Li Hongzhang, Liu Mingchuan, Li Hanzhang or other places, the Beiyang forces have been mobilized, and the necessary materials and troops have been assembled to the northeast and Zhili through various channels. And Iktanga in the northeast also began to fulfill his promise, on the one hand, set up a military station from the rear to the front, and at the same time said that in the event of war, he would ensure the stability of the Manchus in the northeast. Defensive lines and historical roads were built. There is an atmosphere of solemnity throughout the Northeast.

And when the focus was on the Northeast and Zhili, the bigwigs in Beiyang did not relax their vigilance against Nanyang and Manchuria. Especially for the latter, although part of the strength in their hands has been transferred to Zhili by Cixi or Guangxu, as the owner of a province, Beiyang must be vigilant. A large number of retired soldiers were drafted as reservists ready to devote themselves to a possible war in the interior. At the same time, more and more spies and internal lines that have been lurking and unused have finally played their role, and the work of obtaining information and plotting rebellion has begun to be in full swing. The strength that Beiyang has accumulated for a long time has finally begun to show gradually!

And for Liu Kunyi and Zhang Zhidong in Nanyang. The top management of Beiyang still decided to focus on wooing. First of all, there is no fundamental conflict of interest between the North and South Seas. From 1891 onwards, Li Hongzhang paid attention to improving the relationship with the Nanyang system. Whether it is economically or militarily, Beiyang tries its best to take care of each other without affecting its own development. So, until now. The various strata of the Nanyang system have established a certain connection with Beiyang to a greater or lesser extent, and the other party will not overreact without touching their interests too much.

And more importantly, Liu Kunyi and Zhang Zhidong are not monolithic! Liu Kunyi is a true descendant of the Hunan army. And Zhang Zhidong is a clear stream that "parachutes" directly from the center! Ideologically, Liu Kunyi was relatively conservative before the First Sino-Japanese War, and had a certain degree of resistance to the Westernization Movement. Jang Zhidong, on the other hand, was a Westernist, at least on the surface, who supported the construction of factories and the training of new troops. And after the first afternoon, although the two tend to be the same in thought. However, on the issue of economic interests, there are still some conflicts between the two under the rule, and it is not difficult to understand that where there is commerce and trade, there is competition. So in this case. The relationship between the two sides will not be particularly close.

And after analyzing the situation of the two governors. Xu Jie and Li Hongzhang believed that as long as their status and interests were temporarily guaranteed, the Nanyang side would choose neutrality by itself, and after a long period of development. Nanyang also recognized the gap between themselves and Beiyang, in this case, they would never make any moves like eggs touching stones, after all, in Xu Jie's plane in the Gengzi Revolution in 1900, Nanyang and Beiyang played a southeast mutual protection together!

At this time, Liu Kunyi, Minister of Nanyang Commerce, was discussing this matter with Ding Zhuoqian, the Admiral of the Nanyang Fleet, in the Governor's Palace. Judging from various channels, the emperor and queen are about to fight. Although I don't know what action Lu Dao Beiyang will take, inaction is certainly not the style of Li Hongzhang and his students. And what Liu Kunyi has to do now is how to ensure that he can stand on the right team in the future. Get the most out of it. …,

"In the eyes of Lord Ding, which side will be the final winner of this battle between the central emperor and queen?" Liu Kunyi didn't talk nonsense, and asked bluntly.

"I'm afraid that no side will win." Ding Zhuqian shook his head and said. "My lord, we can't just stare at the two praying mantis of the emperor and queen and ignore the two eagles beside us."

"This eagle is Beiyang, so who is the other eagle?" Liu Kunyi asked in some surprise.

"Lord Liu, if it's just to deal with the emperor and queen of the center, is it necessary for Beiyang to work so hard? The strength of Li Zhongtang and Lord Xu is enough, so why do you need Lord Liu and Lord Li Hanzhang's troops to transfer north? Ding Zhuangqian asked rhetorically.

"You mean Russia? Do they have a plan? Liu Kun broke out in a cold sweat when he boarded. Whether Beiyang wins or one of the emperors wins, they have a way to ensure their interests, but if there is an invasion by foreign enemies, once Beiyang collapses, this Nanyang will definitely not be spared, not to mention anything else, without the Beiyang Fleet, his ships in the Nanyang will not be able to stop the Russian fleet at all! At that time, all kinds of business dividends may not be related to Nanyang! And from the bottom of his heart, for foreign enemies, Liu Kunyi is still inclined to join forces with Beiyang to fight the enemy together.

"Then in your opinion, can this Beiyang hold off the attack of the Russians?" Liu Kunyi asked.

"It's not a big problem. If the Russians attack suddenly, Beiyang may start to be passive again. But after all, the Northeast is vast, and more importantly, the Russians have not yet built the railway, and they have to put part of their troops in Japan. In this case, the attack will not be persistent. What's more, Mr. Xu has been operating in the Northeast for 3 years, and he has put war preparedness against Russia in the first place from the beginning. More importantly, Beiyang has already understood what the Russians mean. The Russians have lost their first hand. Ding is still very optimistic about the situation.

"This land battle is fine, but what about naval battles? A large number of supplies need to reach the north by sea, the Russians already have 2 military ports and several anchorages that can be used for temporary supplies, the decisive battle of the Beiyang Navy Division and the foreign sailors are naturally not afraid, but in the face of harassment, I am afraid that the Beiyang Navy Division is also lacking in skills. Just like the Spaniards did in the just-concluded Spanish-American War. Liu Kunyi said with some concern.

"The point is that the Russians' military port is too far away from the combat area, which consumes a lot of time and supplies during the voyage, and once the battle is damaged, it can only return to Vladivostok, and the port of Muroran is likely to be attacked at the beginning of the war. Therefore, in terms of supply and continuous operations, it was far inferior to the Beiyang Naval Division that obtained Japanese ports. Ding Zhuqian was very surprised that Liu Kunyi could say the above words, and he didn't know when Lao Liu was so interested in the navy.

"Japan will let Beiyang use its port?" Liu Kunyi was a little skeptical about this.

"Only after the defeat of the Russian Far Eastern Fleet did the Japanese have a chance to regain lost territory. If the Russian Far East Fleet still exists, then as long as the blockade of Japan is completed, no matter how well the Japanese Army fights, it will only be an undefeated result. Ding is still very clear about Japan's dependence on the sea.

"Is this enough for the North Ocean to defeat the Russians? Russia is not comparable to Japan back then, and it costs money to fight a war, and I don't know if the silver in Beiyang is enough to support this war. Liu Kunyi was still a little skeptical.

"Money is definitely not an issue, not to mention the large amount of reparations that Beiyang received from the war against Japan, as well as the industrial and financial industries built with this money. The support of the British alone was enough for Beiyang to win this vital war. From the perspective of the overall situation, Beiyang already has a considerable chance of winning before the war starts, and this plan is still very amazing. Ding said.

"British? By the way, they want to stop the expansion of the Russians in the Far East. Liu Kun nodded in agreement. …,

"In this way, after this big change, the world is Beiyang?" Liu Kun's tone revealed a trace of unwillingness.

"Sooner or later, it is Beiyang, from the external environment, the European powers all support Beiyang, from the internal environment, Beiyang controls the richest and most rapidly developing region of our country. And the Second Beiyang Naval and Amphibious Division won the national championship. More importantly, the people agree very much with the measures taken by Beiyang and the concept of governance. In this case, no one can stop Beiyang from controlling the whole country. Ding Zhuangqian said carefully.

"Your Excellency, please rest assured that even if Beiyang unifies the whole country, the political system that will be emulated will be close to the West rather than the monarchy. After all, winning the war this time does not mean that the Russians will be able to win next time, once the Far Eastern Railway is built, the Russians will make a comeback, in this case, Beiyang will choose unity rather than dictatorship. Ding Zhuangqian knew what Liu Kunyi was worried about, what he was worried about was that the Huai system would be excluded and suppressed in the future political life.

"So, we should support Beiyang's operation?" Liu Kunyi asked.

"Speak up early, benefit early. Once the war starts, the first goal of Beiyang will inevitably be to attack the Russian army in the northeast, and we can take the opportunity to clean up those places that tend to be in the center. And if I do this, I can also increase my chips in Nanyang. Ding said. Rather than being forced to give in at the end, it is better to participate in the whole operation as a collaborator and gain the initiative from the beginning.

"I'm afraid it's not okay to fight the Russians with real swords and guns, but it should be no problem to fight those Eight Banner masters. And once the war starts, what is most needed is food and transportation capacity, if Nanyang makes some more articles in these aspects, I am afraid that Beiyang will also have to cede some power and interests, right? Liu Kunyi said to himself. Liu Kunyi finally accepted Ding Zhuangqian's suggestion.

"In that case, then the matter of joining forces with Beiyang has been decided, in your opinion, how will this Zhang Zhidong choose?" Liu Kunyi asked.

"He commanded earlier than us, and I still have a group of people in Nanyang, but Zhang Zhidong has no foundation, just a commander sent to the local area from the center. He had no room for bargaining. Ding Zhuangqian said affirmatively.

"Now that you have decided to unite with the Beiyang, Admiral Ding, your Nanyang Fleet has to make some achievements, don't let the old brothers of the Hunan army down. As for money or something, there's no problem, you can do it boldly. Liu Kunyi said.

Thank you for the book friend pony in the woods, there is no Zhang Juzheng in the world for the reward, and the monthly ticket support of book lovers ~~. Yesterday I updated the big chapter of more than 4,000 words, and the result was in exchange for a subscription of 420. How does this make the author embarrassed——! (Your support is my biggest motivation.) )