When the first rays of the morning sun shone on the sea, the lookout hand of the Beiyang Fleet suddenly noticed a thick cloud of smoke appearing from the northwest, and judging from the smoke, it should be a small fleet. As the siren sounded, the officers and men of the Beiyang Fleet immediately ran to the battle position, and the Beiyang Fast Fleet also began to turn, leaving two battleships Zhenyuan and Zhenhai to seal the gap, and the other six battleships headed northwest.

"We are the French Far East Fleet, and we have no ill will." Looking at the flag slogan played by the French, Xu Jie breathed a sigh of relief. Although, in his opinion, the French would not choose to go to war with the Beiyang Fleet in the Far East for the sake of the Russians, but they were afraid of anything, so it was not a bad thing to be cautious.

The French fleet consisted of only two warships, the French Bruix and Chanzy. These two ships are of the same class, with a displacement of 4,600 tons, a 3.6-inch waterline armor belt, and are armed with two 7.6-inch guns and six 5.5-inch guns. With a speed of 19 knots, it is a relatively good new armored cruiser. And accompanied by the French, a Russian took a transport boat aboard the flagship of the Beiyang Rapid Fleet, the Tianjin.

"Dear General Xu, I am Russian Minister J.R.R. Tolkien, and I think we must sit down and talk about the misunderstanding that occurred between the two countries some time ago. This damn misunderstanding has cost too many people, and we should stop it, shouldn't we? Tolkien said as he walked into the conference room in Tianjin.

"I think Master Lee has already talked to you, and our condition is £5.5 million. No counter-offers. Xu Jie said with a smile. At the same time, the senior officers of the Beiyang Fleet who attended the meeting together couldn't help but gasp. This Xu Jie is really daring to ask for it! That's more than 30 million taels of silver.

"Mr. Xu, I must remind you that Master Li is proposing 4 million pounds!" An angry Tolkien said with a flushed face, and even his title had changed.

"If I'm not mistaken, I think the latest offer from Lee is £5 million. And now we have trapped your fleet there. As long as I want, as long as I am happy. I can make them not see the moon tonight! Xu Jie sneered.

"Isn't Beiyang afraid of the wrath of His Royal Highness the Tsar? We lost 6 cruisers, but Russia could send 6 battleships plus 6 cruisers! Tolkien said with a grimace.

"Then don't talk about it, send off!" Xu Jie is very simple, at this time, you still threaten me? If the Russians really had a ship to send again, they would have come over a long time ago, so why negotiate?

"We are here to resolve conflicts. You are slandering and slandering in good faith in Russia! Tolkien moved, but did not get up.

"But what you just said is clearly a threat. I don't see half a cent of kindness! Xu Jie sneered.

"I want to ask, can Your Excellency call the shots?" Tolkien asked meaningfully.

"I can't." Xu Jie said.

"Hmph......." Tolkien snorted.

"But I can decide the fate of the Russian fleet and the fate of your country's plans in Hokkaido. The life and death of the Russian fleet is in my hands, and if the Russian plans in Hokkaido are accidentally leaked, I mean, I am not careful, I am afraid that the price you pay will not be a few million pounds, right? Xu Jie said calmly.

"But Lord Li's price is 4 million pounds, and you are Lord Li's subordinate, so you can't call the shots for him." Tolkien stubbornly insisted.

"Listen. My price is not high at all, 4 million as compensation for Beiyang and for the retention of the Russian fleet, and 1 million as a secrecy fee for Beiyang to keep it secret for your country. Xu Jie paused, then pointed to the Rurik stranded in the distance and continued: "As the rescue cost of the Rurik." 500,000 is really not much. ”

"You're blackmailing!" Tolkien yelled.

"If you want to talk about blackmail, your country is one of the experts, taking advantage of my country's domestic and foreign troubles, how much land has your country occupied from our Qing Dynasty." Xu Jie said with a calm face.

…,

"I'm tired now, I'll give you a week at most, if you and I still can't reach an agreement by then, then Mr. Special Envoy will be responsible for everything that happens in the future!" Xu Jie said.

"A week? This is too short, and I am afraid it will not be enough for us to go to Tianjin to negotiate and then rush back. Tolkien protested loudly.

"You still want to negotiate? I only give you time to sign up. That's all! I will go back to Tianjin with Mr. Ambassador and watch everything go unfold. By the way, in order to save time, I would like to invite Mr. Ambassador to take my fastest Guiyuan cruiser in the Beiyang to Tianjin. Xu Jie said that now both sides are rushing for time, Xu Jie needs to speed up his price and plan, and at the same time prepare for the implementation of the new ship plan and agreement. And the Russians also need to act immediately to cut off arms supplies to Japan. The Japanese were already suspicious, and if they didn't act quickly, they would be on guard when they were prepared. The Russians will lose a lot if they do it again.

"Okay, I accept Lord Xu's invitation." Tolkien, having no choice, decided to give in.

As for the rest, it's easy. Let Luang Weili take over the command and lock up the Russian fleet and wait for news. It is estimated that there will be no problems, and then he will return to Tianjin by himself to discuss the issue of negotiations with Japan with Li Hongzhang, and as soon as the Russians make a move, the Japanese will definitely die, even if the Japanese hold the determination of "the whole country is broken", they will absolutely not be able to bear it, and Japan at that time can only collapse. And this time is the best time for Beiyang to get returns. It is imperative to bring back the wealth accumulated in Japan for 20 years during the Meiji Restoration, expand the strength of the Beiyang Alliance, and prepare for future development!

Ordering warships is only one aspect, and if Beiyang is called the biggest beneficiary of this war, the key is to make it the most important. Indemnity is definitely demanded. But more importantly, how to fall into the pockets of the Beiyang Alliance is more important, this money, Xu Jie is quite needed, he needs to establish a large number of new schools, need to provide financing for the development of national industry, need to build a more powerful navy and army, need to further expand the influence of Beiyang to the whole country. All of this requires money!

He now needs to think about his future development plan on the way back, and the end of the Sino-Japanese War means the arrival of a new era. With the collapse of Japan, the pattern of East Asia and even the world is bound to change. This is a time of great events. A time of change.

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