Tianjin, Jingang Bridge Zhili Governor's Palace. Li Hongzhang's study. Today's Tianjin Zhili Governor's Mansion ushered in an uninvited guest, and Weng Tonggong, the head of the household department, came to Tianjin on behalf of the emperor. He asked Li Hongzhang why he did not continue to increase his troops in North Korea. And why didn't the main force of the Beiyang Navy take the initiative to attack the main fleet of the Japanese Combined Fleet.

"I don't know if the salary and war expenses of the household department are in place." After hearing the message conveyed by Weng Tongyi, Li Hongzhang asked.

"This, it's not in place yet, but Lord Zhongtang can send troops first. The war expenses were subsequently allocated by the center. Weng Tongyi's face did not change color, and he said without a beat.

"What does Lord Weng mean that the Beiyang soldiers can go to war with the Japanese army hungry and without all the weapons? The person who paid this attention should really be killed. Saying this, Li Hongzhang's eyes shot a cold light, which made Weng Tongyi next to him shiver involuntarily.

"Can Beiyang pay a part of it in advance? And then the imperial court will choose the opportunity to make up for it? Weng Tongyi saw that it didn't make sense, so he decided to take a detour.

"Let's talk about the Beiyang Naval Division first, since the imperial court allocated the 3 million taels for the purchase of ships, has the imperial court ever given another tael of silver for the repair of the Beiyang Fleet? This battleship for guns, the purchase of ships, and the new generals and sailors are all paid by me in Beiyang, how can the imperial court ever say that it will be made up? It's been 4 years, shouldn't the court make up for the original arrears first? Li Hongzhang snorted coldly.

"Could it be that Lord Li regards the Beiyang Naval Division as his private property? This is the sailor of the Great Qing Dynasty. Do you have to negotiate the price for the sake of the Qing Dynasty? Weng Tongyi's face changed and he said angrily.

"This Beiyang Fleet is naturally the sailor of the Great Qing Kingdom, but this is a war with the Japanese Invaders. Do you want my Beiyang officers and soldiers to pay out of their own pockets?! The imperial court doesn't even raise soldiers, and in the end, the armies have to pay for equipment and transportation supplies to fight the war, have you ever seen this kind of strange thing in the past dynasties? Even the people know that the emperor is not a hungry soldier, and Master Weng is a well-educated person, how can he not even understand this truth? The imperial court has a flag of 40 million taels every year, and there are a lot of officials, but only I, the Beiyang army fighting on the front line, can have less silver? Speaking of which, where is the royal face? Li Hongzhang said angrily.

"Having said that, but this soldier can't come out, once the Japanese fight the Northeast, it will be amazing, this is the land of Longxing in my Qing Dynasty." As soon as it looked hard, Weng Tongyi immediately changed his face and began to wipe his tears.

"The Northeast is indeed the land of Longxing in my Qing Dynasty, and this court should allocate funds, the court can't even want the land of Longxing in order to save some silver, right?" Li Hongzhang asked rhetorically.

"But the imperial court really can't come up with money, Li Zhongtang, as the head of the nine governors in the world, should be anxious about what the imperial court is anxious about." Weng Tongyi was even more silent.

"The matter of silver, even you, the master Weng who is in charge of the financial power of the Qing Dynasty, can't solve it, what can I, a mere governor? By the way, the old minister has already made an excerpt, and the excerpt has the consumption and gains of our Beiyang armies since the war. In addition to military salaries, should the rewards for meritorious personnel also be discussed? Don't chill the hearts of the front-line soldiers. The little money I have in Beiyang has already been hollowed out by the sailors and the land masters, and I really don't have any money. Li Hongzhang also said with a sad face.

"Hefei old thief, you are really good." Weng Tongyi scolded secretly in his heart.

And when Li Hongzhang and the imperial court were fighting a lawsuit, public opinion gradually became lively as the war unfolded step by step. Surprisingly. This time, it was not the scholars who had read the Four Books and the Five Classics that set off the upsurge of public opinion. Instead, foreigners took the lead, and Chinese and businessmen followed up, plus local governments fanned the flames! In fact, as early as after the Battle of Toshima, the comments of foreign naval experts had been distributed in major cities of the Qing Dynasty by some "intentional" businessmen, and the pamphlets were also divided into several types, mainly text-based, supplemented by pictures. And more of them are like small advertisements for future generations, posted in the streets and alleys of the city, with a few pictures and a small amount of text to let those people know that the Qing Dynasty has won the war! And it was a big victory. And Xu Jie has also become the focus of heated public opinion for a while. For a time, Qi Wuyigong was alive and other titles were buttoned to Xu Jie's head like snowflakes. And with the total annihilation of the Oshima Brigade, Nie Shicheng and the Chinese regiment became famous. This makes the people feel even more proud. In the wonderful articles of some readers, the Qing Dynasty seems to have become the kingdom of the Celestial Empire again, but unlike the previous praise of merit, no one mentioned anything about the emperor, mainly focusing on how the Beiyang Army was good at fighting. can be called the pillar of the country. As for the imperial court? It's not that it hasn't been mentioned, but the important thing is to say whether to increase military spending and reward meritorious personnel? …,

As the war entered the second stage, the relieved Japanese army suddenly exerted its strength, and at sea, the Japanese guerrilla fleet and the Beiyang Rapid Fleet fought and lost. When the Beiyang Guiyuan 3 arrived in Shanghai, the bridge burned by bitter acid and the terrifying bullet holes on the side chord of the battleship, as well as the officers and men of the Beiyang Naval Division who were covered with burns and bloodstains, gave people a more intuitive understanding of the tragedy of the war. At this time, in addition to the articles of foreign naval critics, many people from the mainland came out to open their eyes for the Beiyang Naval Division. Based on the oral accounts of the officers and men of the Beiyang Naval Division and the technical analysis of foreign commentators, they painted the description of the Battle of Izu. "This thing is more enjoyable than a script." An unknown businessman said afterwards. Under the operation of some people, this qiē spread all over the country at a very fast speed. The gentry from all over the country also generously supported Beiyang. (Well, in fact, many of them value the opportunity to make a fortune provided by Beiyang!) And more and more wounded soldiers came back from the front line of Yuefeng Mountain, and even those at the bottom of the society who couldn't read a single word knew that the Second Beiyang Marine and Land Division was fighting really hard. At this time, someone wrote an article to ask questions, when this national disaster is at the head. Why is only the Beiyang Army trying its best to resist the enemy? The Eight Banners Army of the imperial court, what are the provinces training their troops doing? What about the rewards and pensions for meritorious personnel and those killed and wounded in battle? Why has it been 4 months since the war began, and there has not been any appropriation and promotion from the imperial court? This article is like a stone that stirs up a thousand waves. All kinds of rumors rose up all at once. Saying that there are people in the court who want to take this opportunity to get rid of Beiyang, and some moral gentlemen in the court have taken the benefits of the Japanese. What spread everywhere for a while, the center was anxious, and the emperor was also anxious, and he wanted to give an order to that person. But how powerful was the Emperor's decree? Out of Beijing is the territory of the governor of Zhili, and the governors of the provinces under the Beiyang system will naturally not find this trouble, as for the Nanyang? The previous paragraph of playing soy sauce has already made people scold the blood of the dog, and now to arrest these "loyal liver and righteous gall" people will not make themselves even more isolated from the world? Although Liu Kunyi still has a grudge against Li Hongzhang, he will not do such a bad reputation. As for Zhang Zhidong? This feudal official from a clear stream will see his reputation even greater than the sky. He even wrote a letter asking the imperial court to urgently allocate funds and compensate the war dead. As a result, this rhetoric became more and more powerful, and it was on the side of Qingjun.

The recent public opinion has made Weng Tongyong, who was born in Qingliu, very surprised. Judging by the situation of all dynasties. Qingliu should be the main force in controlling the direction of public opinion, although the various remarks disseminated by the people this time did have the participation of scholars. But after all, it is a minority, as the emperor's teacher, Weng Tongyi is 100% sure that at least those protégés under his command will not talk nonsense. But now it seems that the wide spread of the remarks and the speed of their spread greatly exceeded the expectations of Weng Tongyi and other old Qinglius. Why? Weng Tongyi couldn't figure it out, Guangxu couldn't figure it out, and Cixi couldn't figure it out. And Li Hongzhang in the Governor's Mansion of Zhili and Xu Jie who were far away in Shanghai went to laugh on the side.

This Jishi really answered his words. Foreigners, merchants, and scholars were mobilized. Li Hongzhang looked at the telegram sent by Zhang Peilun and nodded with satisfaction.

"The influence of the Seiryu Shizi was limited to scholars, and in this way, the whole country had a general understanding of the war situation from top to bottom. If someone still wants to give me Beiyang eye medicine behind my back, you have to be careful. Zhang Peilun was also quite satisfied with the result. Now Beiyang has kicked the ball of the financial problem to the imperial court. Whether it is for the safety of the Northeast Longxing Land or the face of the imperial court, it is estimated that this military expenditure can be made up, right? As for whether it is misappropriation of flag affairs or external loans, or even the money for the Queen Mother's birthday, it has nothing to do with me Beiyang. …,

"I have time to ask Sheng Xuanhuai, how much money I have in Beiyang." Li Hongzhang suddenly remembered something and said.

"I've already summed this up with Mr. Xu and Mr. Xu. Judging from the current consumption, once the new troops of Liangguang and Taiwan arrive, the hoarded materials will only be enough to barely garrison the Liaodong Peninsula. And the ammunition consumption of the sailors is even greater. Guang Jishi's quick calculation fleet has already used up almost the corresponding ammunition of the two major manufacturing bureaus in Jinling and Jiangnan. Even Luang Wili's fleet now had to delay its arrival, and all the transport ships and funds were used to procure weapons and ammunition from Britain and Italy. Zhang Peilun said with a worried face.

"This war is really expensive." Li Hongzhang sighed.

"Also, according to the calculations of Jishi's friend, the British businessman Garin. If Beiyang can't get more than 30 million taels of compensation after the war, then the loan and arrears alone will make Beiyang bankrupt! At that time, the imperial court will not be able to come up with so much money, and it will not be willing to pay for my Beiyang! Zhang Peilun said.

"Got it. Sue sù military gates. Let's just say that I, Li Hongzhang, will definitely not let everyone suffer, this battle must not only be big, but also won. Li Hongzhang said.

This week's first catalog page cover recommendation, everyone help~~~