"Really?"
Li Hongzhang stood up excitedly and accidentally knocked over the ginseng soup on the table.
He didn't care about it, but stared at Zhang Peilun and asked again.
"Zhongtang, I received this news the day before yesterday. At first, I couldn't believe it either. I called Liu Hanfang, the military reserve officer of Qinglai, Shandong Province, to ask. It was said that on the 18th of the first month, the sound of cannons rumbled on the sea, and a Japanese ship sank!”
"Due to the importance of this matter, I don't dare to believe it. It was only yesterday morning when I received confirmation from the customs office's Englishman, Heard. The Japanese Emperor was heartbroken by the silence of the Songdao and Yoshino, and ordered a three-day mourning-"
"Good! Good! Sure-"
Li Hongzhang said the word "good" three times in a row, and the wrinkles on his cheeks suddenly smoothed out, as if he had become ten years younger.
"Where is Ding Ruchang?" Li Hongzhang asked excitedly.”
Zhang Peilun paused for a moment and said bitterly,""Yu Ting (Ding Ruchang) was previously forced by the surrenders Niu Bingxu and Maglu. Unable to bear the humiliation, he committed suicide!”
"Then…what about Liu Buchan?"
"Liu Buchan was worried that the damaged Dingyuan Ship would fall into the hands of the enemy. After sinking the Dingyuan Ship, he would commit suicide before Ding Ruchang.”At this point, Zhang Peilun was already in tears.
"This…"
Li Hongzhang's body swayed a little. He forcefully suppressed his grief and said,""Fortunately, Yang Yonglin sank the Japanese ships and avenged Yu Ting and his soldiers. However, the Japanese ships were still at the mouth of Liugong Island. They had to think of a way to rescue them!”
Although they had lost their beloved general Ding Ruchang, the left wing commander Yang Yonglin did not disappoint. He sank the Songdao and Yoshino, restoring the dignity of the Beiyang Navy.
Ever since the war with the Japanese army, the army had been routed from Asan to the northeast, and then lost Dalian and Lushun.
Almost every month, Li Hongzhang would receive news of the fall of prefectures and counties and the deaths of soldiers.
The news tortured him until he couldn't sleep and was on the verge of collapse.
He did not expect Yang Yonglin to fight in a desperate situation and actually sink the Songdao and Yoshino, clearing the name of the Beiyang Navy and clearing his name as a famous minister of the Westernization Movement!
"Youqiao, who said our navy can't fight? Immediately report the good news to the court and send a copy to the Prime Minister's Yamen, Prince Gong. I want to recommend Yang Yonglin as the admiral and reward the meritorious soldiers!”
"Also, inform Sheng Xuanhuai to gather a batch of military supplies and find a way to transport them to the front lines."”
"As for Ding Ruchang and Liu Buchan, who committed suicide and died for the country, they were also written into the memorial, requesting the Imperial Court to compensate their families.”After Li Hongzhang finished speaking, he went to the backyard to rest.
Regardless of the upheaval outside, the governor of Zhili and the minister of Beiyang, who had worked hard for a year, could finally sleep well tonight!
------
In the Forbidden City and Chuxiu Palace, the charcoal fire burned brightly and it was as warm as spring.
Cixi's eyelids were drooping and she was about to fall asleep, but she was awakened by the hurried footsteps of Li Lianying, the head eunuch.
"Master!"
Seeing Cixi open her eyes, Li Lianying couldn't help but shiver and immediately stopped.
"Little Li, you usually have the bearing of a prime minister. What is it that makes you so flustered?”Cixi asked unhappily.
She was really annoyed these days!
The Japanese army had taken Lushun and Dalian, and that general called Dashanyan had taken over all the coastal defense turrets in the Weihaiwei area after he landed in Rongcheng Bay.
The Northern Navy was stuck at Liugong Island and would be destroyed sooner or later.
Cixi was already thinking about how to deal with the aftermath. As long as the East Asian people spoke, they would negotiate no matter how much money they spent. As for the Minister of Peace Talks, Li Hongzhang was still the choice.
"Empress Dowager, good news! Great news!" Li Lianying held the memorial and said excitedly,""I received a report today that Yang Yonglin, the commander of the left wing of the Beiyang Navy, led the Zhenyuan warship to attack and sank the Japanese warships Songdao and Yoshino!”
"What is it? Really?"
When Cixi heard this, she actually sat up from the heated bed.
"Empress Dowager, it's absolutely true! This was news from the customs office. It was said that the Japanese Emperor had already ordered the people to mourn.”
Li Lianying said as she handed over the good news.
Cixi finished reading it in one breath, and the wrinkles on her face stretched out like a flower. She knocked on the table with her slender golden nails and said,"This Yang Yonglin is considered a rising star. It's rare!"
After a series of praises, Cixi thought of something and said meaningfully,""Pass the memorial of Li Hongzhang recommending Yang Yonglin to be the admiral of the navy to the Emperor. Since he's in charge, I should let the Emperor make the decision, right?”
Ever since the reign of Emperor Guangxu, the relationship between the Empress Dowager and the Emperor had been very delicate.
Although Li Hongzhang was a member of the rear party, Empress Dowager Cixi decided to put aside the reward first. After all, Yang Yonglin had only sunk two Japanese warships. If the war took a turn for the worse one day, he would have to negotiate with the Japanese!
Cixi was not afraid of peace talks. In any case, she would "pour out China's material resources and win the favor of foreign countries." As long as they could settle the dispute, spending a few silver coins was nothing.
"The empress dowager is right. I'll get the military aircraft to be transferred to the emperor and let the emperor deal with it.”Li Lianying took the memorial and left.
Yangxin Palace Hall.
Emperor Guangxu was sitting on the dragon throne, frowning!
Ever since he took over the government five years ago, he was the emperor in name, but he did not have any real power in his hands.
There were frequent rebellions in the country, land annexation was serious, and the people were displaced.
The armies of the foreign countries were pressing down on the border, and the army and navy were defeated again and again.
The young emperor, who was only twenty-five years old, had already grown a lot of white hair.
Just last night, Emperor Guangxu had summoned his ministers to discuss how to resist the Japanese army, but most of his subordinates were clean and honest people like Weng Tonghe and Wen Tingshi.
The teachings of Confucius and Mencius were reasonable, but they could not accomplish anything specific.
Guangxu could only be anxious!
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