290 wants Taiwan

"Your Excellency, Your Excellency"

Inside the Taiwan Governor's Yamen, the footsteps were as hurried as a drumbeat, Liu Yongfu's face was anxious, and he rushed into the Governor's Yamen while rolling up his sleeves, and shouted before he reached the lobby. (Vertex Hand Hit)

"Yuanting, why are you in such a hurry?"

Taiwan's governor Tang Jingsong just leaned out, Qiu Fengjia also flashed out from the side, he was originally a well-known Taiwanese gentry, and in the past two years, because of the construction of the railway, he is now a big celebrity in the governor's yamen, seeing Liu Yongfu's face was blue, he smiled slightly, and also asked pretendedly: "Lord Liu, what are you." ”

"Zhong Yan is also there." Liu Yongfu said hello briefly, and then took out the urgent report of the imperial court forwarded by the governor of Fujian and Zhejiang: "My lord, the urgent report of the imperial court, the governor of Fujian and Zhejiang told us that the imperial court does not agree to increase the number of troops to assist in the defense, and we must not slack off the French, we must do a good job in dealing with the aftermath, and we must not start a war lightly, and cause disaster to the southeast."

"Shall we be in trouble? Nonsense" Tang Jingsong took the telegram and suddenly trembled with anger.

A few days ago, the French armored cruiser Sancy took refuge in Penghu to take refuge in a typhoon, but unexpectedly a fire broke out on the ship, killing 178 French sailors

If it was just an artillery bombardment, the French actually made a big fuss and even took advantage of this to demand that Taiwan pay one million taels of silver and lease Penghu as compensation, which was really too deceitful

Penghu has always been the gateway to Taiwan, if Penghu is lost, Taiwan is difficult to protect, so since ancient times, it has been a place where soldiers must fight, how can it be handed over

But what people didn't expect was that as soon as he reported this matter to the imperial court, hoping to mobilize troops and prevent France from attacking Penghu, he was refused, and instead became a troublemaker in the mouth of the imperial court, which was really disappointing to him

"My lord, the French warships are monitoring Changhua day and night, and the land of Tainan is pretending to be on fire to plot to seize Taiwan and Peng, according to the subordinates, this is an early ambition, so we should take precautions as soon as possible, and we can't put all our hopes on the imperial court." Having fought in Vietnam for so many years, Liu Yongfu knew best what the French were thinking, and immediately suggested getting ready.

From the fire to the shelling, Qiu Fengjia knew the reason very well, and he originally had a mustard in his heart, but at this moment, when he heard that the imperial court not only did not send troops just in case, but also reprimanded him, he immediately gave up his last thoughts, and hurriedly said: "Lord Governor, Lord Liu is right, if the French really have bad intentions towards Taiwan, I am afraid it will be too late to take precautions." ”

Tang Jingsong is good at everything, but he is a little hesitant, and he doesn't know much about military affairs, if it weren't for Liu Yongfu back then, he wouldn't have been able to achieve a few great victories in the Sino-French War.

Taiwan near Fujian, Guangdong, Jiangsu, and Zhejiang, is the first maritime gateway of the Qing Dynasty, and Taiwan is also the Qing Dynasty to spy on the South Seas must pass through, although the Qing Dynasty has a declining influence on the South Seas in recent years, but if Taiwan is lost, the Qing Dynasty will lose the last sea barrier, which is really not trivial.

But the problem is that he can't get so many soldiers in his hands, there were originally three battalions of soldiers in Taiwan, but most of them are old, weak, sick and disabled, and they are not of great use at all, and the Guangyong mobilized in order to prevent Japan from entering Taiwan has already been withdrawn, and now the most important thing in his hands is the two battalions of the Black Flag Army in Liu Yongfu's hands.

The two battalions of the Black Flag Army, but more than 2,000 people, may be enough if they are used to garrison Penghu, but Taiwan is not big, but it must not be said to be small, even if the 5,000 people are all placed in Taiwan, it is not enough at all, and the ordnance is old and lacks foreign guns, which is really worrying.

"What should I do?"

Seeing that Tang Jingsong didn't speak for a long time, Liu Yongfu was also deeply worried, and after thinking about it, he resolutely said: "My lord, it's better for me to lead the troops to garrison Penghu, as for here, please bother." ”

"But don't worry, sir." Liu Yongfu knew Tang Jingsong's temper very well, and hugged his fists and said: "As long as Yuanting is in Penghu for a day, the French will not be able to distract Taiwan."

"Since Yuanting said so, it can only be done temporarily." Knowing that Liu Yongfu's trip was dangerous, Tang Jingsong couldn't help but feel deeply worried about this general who had worked with him for many years, and said: "I will immediately go to the fold and write a letter to Lord Zhang, even if the imperial court does not send troops, I will definitely mobilize troops and horses from Liangguang to support you." ”

"Then thank you, sir." After Liu Yongfu finished speaking, he was just about to leave, and Qiu Fengjia immediately took out a few silver tickets from his sleeve pocket: "My lord, this is 10,000 taels of silver, which I was going to buy railway materials. ”

"Okay, great, with this silver, the old man can at least buy a few hundred more foreign guns." Tang Jingsong took the silver ticket excitedly, but he didn't notice the corner of Qiu Fengjia's mouth twitching lightly-

In Port Arthur, colorful flags were displayed and drums were sounded in unison, the eight capital ships were all hung with full flags, the officers and men on the deck wearing white naval uniforms were smiling and straight, and the light gray hull exuded a strong strength in the sun.

In the sky, not long after the official establishment, the air force, which was still under the secret of its establishment and number, also came to help, and three huge Hippo-class airships hovered over Port Arthur, making the people who came to join in the fun open their mouths wide and stunned.

Even some foreigners and shipwrights in Port Arthur were stunned by the scene, and the reporters were even more excited with their cameras, because today was the day when Port Arthur was reopened, and it was also a special naval open day for the Duke of Hawaii

In the past two years, more than 100,000 craftsmen and coolies have made this former Beiyang station, known as the first in the Far East, a beautiful ice-free port, full of vitality again, when everyone who has been here or even lived here for a few years looks back, they will find that this harbor has not only been expanded a lot, but also the facilities are far from comparable in the past, just the continuous deep-water wharf, or the dense chimneys behind the two large docks, it is enough to make many people staggered.

"Seventh brother, you said that we can really go to the warship today?"

Next to him, a man holding two little boys attracted Liang Qichao's attention, and after the man squeezed into the crowd and found an acquaintance, he immediately asked, and the two children even got into the crack, looking at the warship in the distance in a daze.

The big man known as the seventh brother smiled: "Of course, didn't you read the notice?" Within three days from today, anyone can go on the warship to visit, not to mention us Jinzhou people, even Fengtian Changchun, as long as you are willing to come, you can also go up. ”

"Really" The man scratched his head, cracked his yellow teeth and smiled: "Hehe, Brother Seven, you are amazing, I can't read or know what is written on the notice, if you don't hear people talk about it, I really don't know." ”

Seventh Brother patted the man's shoulder, swept the dense crowd around him, and said with a smile: "I'll take care of you two boys in a while, look at this posture, there are at least tens of thousands of people, don't lose it." ”

"yes, I didn't expect so many people to come." The man didn't seem to believe it, and then asked, "Brother Qi, do you really let it go for a while?" ”

", when did I ever say a lie?" The seventh brother scolded with a smile and pointed to the dock in the distance: "Look, isn't that the beginning?" I heard that the first batch of people who went up were specially invited distinguished guests, and some of them came from Changchun and Heilongjiang. ”

"Good fellow, come so far away"

"That's, see? The foreigners all went up. ”

"Hey, really, foreigners can go up." In the man's amazement, Liang Qichao also saw hundreds of foreigners visiting the warships one by one under the leadership of sailors, and couldn't help but be surprised by this boldness, he was not an ignorant country man, he naturally knew what the giant ship represented, but he didn't expect that now Li Mo would show such a sharp weapon in public, which was really surprising to him.

This time, he was invited by Kang Youwei and was originally going to go to Beijing to consult the new law, but he wanted to come to Lushun to have a look, but he didn't expect to catch up with this scene, which really excited him.

"Seventh brother, I heard that you entered the factory?"

The two men in front of the queue talked again, and Liang Qichao not only sped up a few steps, but also wanted to hear it behind him.

"Hmm." Brother Qi nodded, and his face couldn't help revealing a hint of pride: "Isn't this at the beginning of last year, when a spare parts factory was opened in the town, I went to try it, but I didn't expect to give it, and after half a year of training, I should go to work in three days." ”

"Spare parts factory? What's that? ”

"Hehe, it's normal for my brother to not understand, in fact, we were also confused at the beginning." Brother Qi smiled and pointed to a few cars on the dock through the cracks: "See?" The factory we went to will make the parts on the car in the future. ”

"Make a car" Dahan's eyes lit up excitedly, with the arrival of a steady stream of cars, now the people in Lushun Jinzhou have long known that this kind of car that will emit black smoke and has four wheels can run by itself, but he didn't expect that the factory that his friend entered now was actually making this, which made him very envious.

"It's not a car, it's the spare parts above." The seventh brother also smiled proudly, and suddenly got closer with his fingers: "Give five yuan a month." ”

"Five bucks?"

"Hehe, look, I didn't make it clear, it's the new money issued by our factory, according to the market price, it's about seven taels of silver."

"What, seven taels of silver will cost seven taels of silver a month" The big man's eyes were straight, he looked at the smiling face of the seventh brother, and suddenly exclaimed: "Seventh brother, didn't you agree to cut the braids?" I've heard that you have to braided your hair when you enter the factory."

", how can there be such a thing." Brother Qi shook off the big shiny braid at the back of his head, and pointed to a few workers with braids on the dock in the distance: "I said you, the babies are so big, don't listen to people's nonsense like old ladies, have you ever seen someone forcibly order to cut your braids?" Besides, you see, in addition to being soldiers, those, who, just those workers? See? People are on the dock day and night, and the ship is busy, and they don't let them cut their braids. ”

"Yes."

Without waiting for the man to continue talking, the seventh brother stopped him one step earlier, and said seriously: "Eighth brother, although we are not brothers, but since you call me Seventh brother, I also have to say that speaking of you, you can't stay in those few acres of fields, now this day, it's different."

"God? Not the same? The man looked up at the sky, still a little confused, just wanted to ask again only to find that the seventh brother had squeezed into the crowd, I wanted to ask clearly, but was entangled by the two sons, had to drag the full of doubts to a big ship in the distance, along the way also worried and cautious, until I found that the soldiers did not pay any special attention to him, just checked the father and son, and then let them into the dock.

Liang Qichao raised his arms according to the sailor's instructions, and after some inspection, he was allowed to enter the dock.

On the dock, the warship, which looked small from a distance before, suddenly enlarged in his eyes, looking at the mighty hull, standing on the wide deck, stroking the thick and cold gun barrel, Liang Qichao suddenly wanted to meet Li Mo, who was affectionately called the young master by many people.

I want to ask, how did he do it, he was able to create such a foundation in the year of the weak crown, and brought back such a powerful warship for the sons and daughters of China.

In the distance, a few whistles woke him, and when he turned his head to look, he saw a long line of ships slowly sailing into the empty harbor in the distance, and when the first freighter docked, he seemed to feel something in the eye.

"The Japanese? It doesn't look like any ordinary person yet."

"How did the Japanese come here? And moreover. Liang Qichao saw the children and women who were following those Japanese men, their faces frightened, his brows furrowed suddenly, and he said in surprise: "There are so many children and women?" Who are they? ”

On the wharf, looking at the large group of Japanese technicians who were walking off the ship, looking at the warships and the crowd of Japanese technicians in a daze in the distance, Chen Ping and Li Enfu, who had just come back not long ago, smiled crookedly, this is a full 3,000 Japanese technicians and their families, and it can almost be said that all the technical elites in Japan have been swept away, and the price is only a few boats of grain and a guarantee to provide a stable life

It's so cost-effective

Although these people still need enough time to observe, and they also need to send people to focus on monitoring, in any case, the arrival of these people will greatly alleviate the shortage of skilled workers on their side.

This is still the first batch, and there will be a second and third in the later period, and so on, and all the 20,000 skilled workers registered in Japan will be transferred here and become the cornerstone of the industrial empire that Master Li dreamed of.

Li Enfu and Chen Ping looked at each other and smiled, and the car drove quickly towards the General Staff.

Outside the car window, Master Li used it when he was in Honolulu, and the trick of the Navy Open Day to attract people's hearts was still in full swing. Japanese skilled workers have also begun to arrive in a steady stream, and the construction of the three eastern provinces has entered the most advanced state.

At this time, another problem is also placed in front of them, that is, Taiwan

In the main conference room of the General Staff, Li Mo tapped his fingers lightly on the tabletop while looking at the huge map on the wall and secretly calculating.

Taiwan's position is undoubtedly too important for him, especially after the Luzon and Ryukyu starts, how to take this big island as soon as possible is urgent, although the Qing government's remaining Fujian Navy Division and Nanyang Navy Division can not threaten themselves at all, but the problem is that Taiwan is beyond the southeast coast, if troops are stationed here, then Britain, which has huge interests in the south of the Qing Dynasty, will feel threatened.

This is not a joke, although Britain does not care much about the north, but the south of the Yangtze River has always been regarded by them as a forbidden territory, the two major stations of the Far East Fleet are Hong Kong and Shanghai, but they are both under the shadow of Taiwan, once the British send troops to occupy Taiwan, it will undoubtedly be regarded as a direct provocation by the British

Japan occupied Taiwan because the British believed that the Japanese navy was weak and would not pose much threat even if it occupied Taiwan, not to mention that Japan and Britain were in the honeymoon period at that time, and now they are simply a thorn in the side of Britain.

If you go directly to occupy it, will it cause a crisis?

In addition to this question confusing him, he personally does not want to start a war with the Qing government now, as a modern person in his bones, he will not regard the Qing Dynasty as his motherland, and he has no sense of belonging in his heart, but his steps are really big some time ago, and he must be digested and digested first.

The first dreadnought in history is about to be built, the navy is also in the stage of shrinking and consolidating, the army is too large and understaffed, and there will be a big war with the Russians in a few years, so he has never wanted to do it right now.

However, if you don't fight the Qing Dynasty now, it doesn't mean that you won't fight in the future, and if you don't cut the carrion, how can you make new meat grow? He is very clear about this, but at this moment, if you want to take Taiwan first, and you can't start a full-scale war with the Qing government, and give Britain an excuse to intervene in the war, the best way is undoubtedly to separate Taiwan and continue to play the trick of seizing from the hands of a third country.

But this is not enough, it must also make the Qing government have no time to take care of Taiwan, and finally have to be forced to agree to France to give up Taiwan, only then can Qiu Fengjia have the opportunity to play some tricks under the pretext of not being willing to cede Taiwan.

"Send a telegram to contact Duan Fei, we must rush to encourage those people to do it before France and the Qing Dynasty fight"