1890 King of Southeast Asia

On February 25, the Beiyang Navy Admiral Ding Yuting (Ding Ruchang) and the Beiyang Navy Right Wing Commander Liu Zixiang (Liu Buchan) arrived at the Zhili Governor's Office.

Li Hongzhang turned down all the things for the day and waited for the two to arrive.

"The official Ding Yuting (Liu Zixiang) pays homage to the Lord Zhongtang!"*2

"Stand up and talk!" Lord Li

"Yuting, Zixiang, take a look at this." Li Hongzhang gave them the document issued by the Zongli Yamen before they could ask.

The two looked at it carefully.

"How can this be done?" Before Liu Zixiang had time to speak, Ding Yuting spoke first.

"I am from the infantry, but I know that the enemy situation is unclear. It is a taboo for military strategists to divide troops rashly, not to mention the responsibility of Beiyang. How many warships should be sent for this southern expedition? How are the supplies? How is the military expenditure? Military strategists, how are the enemy situation, how many ships and guns are there? What is the purpose of this war? What if there is a change?" Ding Yuting looked through the information for a long time and did not see any information related to Nanhua except the two words Nanhua, let alone the purpose of this expedition.

"Humph! It's just a plan of a few Qingliu people to seize power. Weng Tongsu has made a good calculation. If this battle is lost, the blame will be on Beiyang. If this battle is won, he will have the credit of leading the battle and can also gain a good reputation." Li Hongzhang said with a little anger.

To be an official in the die Qing, especially a high-ranking official, you must have the skill of nourishing your qi. Li Hongzhang was angry that Weng Tongsu regarded his Beiyang as a stepping stone for advancement.

"Sir, I have something to say." Liu Zixiang said after Li Hongzhang finished speaking.

"Speak!" Li Hongzhang valued Liu Zixiang's opinion more. After all, he was a naval officer. However, Ding Yuting was his direct descendant. If he was to control the navy, he should be the commander-in-chief.

"I have heard of Nanhua. I heard that it was a colony of the Dutch. The Chinese suffered a lot. In October of the Gengyin year, they captured a city and called it Nanhua. It was not until the end of last year that they occupied Java Island. I don't know why the court paid attention to this small country in the border area?" Ding Yuting asked.

"Is there such a thing? Although the Dutch have a narrow territory, they have no shortage of strong ships and powerful guns. Why did they occupy the island?" Although Li Hongzhang sent people to collect intelligence, he did not hold much hope.

"I don't know the details. I just checked the news of Java after hearing about it. Java is just a narrow island with a length of 2,000 miles from east to west and 300 miles from north to south. The island is covered with dense forests and the climate is unusually humid. Maybe its strong ships and powerful guns can't play a role!" Liu Zixiang guessed.

"Just a province? How far is it from me?" Li Hongzhang asked in confusion.

"From Guangzhou, it's about 7,000 miles. But sailing on the sea, along the route, it's thousands of miles away!" Liu Zixiang said.

"Ten thousand miles away?" Ding Yuting was surprised.

"Zhongtang! This is absolutely not feasible! If we don't submit to war, the supply of thousands of miles of sailing will be a big problem." Ding Yuting said excitedly.

"Got it! Don't go back to Lushunkou for the time being. Wait for me to report to the court and wait for the court's reply. Go down." Li Hongzhang was tired after hearing this, and there was no need to ask later.

After the two left, a slightly fat figure walked out from the back hall.

"Father-in-law." The man bowed.

"No need to be polite, take a seat." Li Hongzhang said.

"Youqiao, you heard what I said just now, what do you think?" Li Hongzhang asked.

This person is Zhang Peilun, with the courtesy name Youqiao, Li Hongzhang's son-in-law, born in a famous family, a former Qingliu, and participated in the Sino-French War.

"Master Zhongtang, this war must not be started!" Zhang Peilun said.

"Why?" Li Hongzhang was testing Zhang Peilun.

"First, the enemy situation is unclear, second, it is far away across the ocean, and third, it is hasty to fight. Knowing yourself and the enemy will ensure victory in a hundred battles, but if you don't know yourself and the enemy, how difficult it is to win!" Zhang Peilun said.

Li Hongzhang took a sip of tea and asked: "Anything else?"

"The most important thing is that this matter was proposed by Weng Tongsu, a Qingliu. The Queen Mother did not object, and there must be some twists and turns in it!" Zhang Peilun said.

Weng Tongsu is a representative of the Qingliu, and it is normal for him to advocate the war, but he is a member of the imperial party, and he is also the leader of the imperial party, the imperial teacher! The taste has changed.

"The emperor is old, and the empress dowager will let the emperor speak more or less." Li Hongzhang said.

"The clean stream is a calamity to the country! He Weng Tongsu knows nothing about war and danger, and only knows how to fight for power and profit, hum!" Zhang Peilun said, but avoided this sentence, he did not understand what his father-in-law meant.

"Hehe, if I guess correctly, the empress dowager will hand this matter over to the clean stream." Li Hongzhang said to Zhang Peilun, he really admired Zhang Peilun's talent, but unfortunately, Zhang Peilun participated in the Sino-French War as a clean stream, was defeated, deprived of his official position and fame, and never hired again.

However, without going through this level, Li Hongzhang might not really like this person.

"What do you mean?" Zhang Peilun understood, but sometimes he had to pretend not to understand.

"We can't fight this war with money. If we lose, our Beiyang will fall, and people will mistakenly think that our country is weak and exhausted. It's possible that there will be another war, but! We can't win, because if we win, the old Buddha will be unhappy!" Li Hongzhang said.

"Since we are so far away, send four fast ships to Jingjing. First, the ironclad ships are not strong enough due to the long journey, and second, the main force has not yet been deployed, so the victory or defeat will not be a big deal." Zhang Peilun said.

"Don't worry, wait for me to write a letter, and the navy will attack. There is no reason not to pay!" Li Hongzhang said happily.

"Huh! Weng Tongsu? A villain!"

Indeed, the Beiyang Fleet sent out four ships at once, and the court couldn't say that the Beiyang Fleet didn't contribute. They couldn't send all of them out, right? Moreover, the voyage was not enough, and only the two Zhijing ships could reach it. With the maximum endurance horsepower, it was no problem to run back and forth, provided that they could not stay for a long time.

The two Dingzhen ships were the country's heavy weapons, guarding the capital, and could not be moved. The fleet went there for sightseeing and left immediately. When they returned, they said that the supply was not good, so they had to withdraw first and then negotiate.

In the end, the Beiyang Fleet contributed, but there was no way to win. It was far away from the ocean, there was no supply on the way, and if they didn't return, would they leave the ships there? That was also a hard work, and they could also cheat a sum of military funds.

The person who proposed it should be held accountable. If you don't understand the military, don't talk nonsense! Then what? The imperial party was held accountable, the emperor's personal rule was suspended, and the empress dowager continued to hold power with good reason.

Beiyang cheated military funds and was happy, the Empress Dowager suppressed the Emperor Party and was happy, the Empress Dowager continued to be in power and was happy, and a world where only the Emperor Party was hurt was achieved!

…

On the evening of February 15th, in Weng Tongsu's village, the Japanese envoy, Yewaisheng Yezijiro, was eating and talking with Weng Tongsu.

"Sir Weng, this is a small gift, not a respect!" Yewaisheng said with a smile in fluent Beijing dialect. At the same time, he put an envelope on the table.

"Special envoy Yewaisheng is polite, I am also sharing the worries of the emperor and serving the country!" Weng Tongsu bowed in the direction of the palace, and when he put it down, he accidentally knocked it on the table, and the envelope on the table disappeared.

"Then... when will Beiyang send troops?" Yewaisheng asked again.

"In the past few days, the court has reached a consensus that he is the governor of Zhili, but he is just a governor, and he just submitted a memorial to ask for money." Weng Tongsu really thought he could win, and with this military merit, not to mention a promotion, at least the emperor can gradually rule the country, so how can he, the imperial teacher, be treated unfairly?

"He should do it sooner rather than later. Once the news leaks out, he will be prepared to fight to the end, which will add a few more accidents." Yewaisheng said with a serious face, as if he really cared about Weng Tongsu.

"No hurry, this is an open conspiracy. According to the laws of our ancestors, the emperor should rule the country personally. No matter what, the emperor must do it, and no one can stop it." Weng Tongsu said.

"But your news is good! You know that a small country with few people was established in such a remote place. But fortunately he established it, and he is still a Han Chinese, otherwise, the empress dowager would not have such a big reaction." Weng Tongsu sighed again.

"Hahaha! No, no, Japan is not as rich as the Celestial Empire. It can only pay more attention to changes overseas. After all, it lives by the sea! Lord Weng is very smart. I just provided some information. The plan made by Lord Weng is really admirable." Yewaisheng said with a smile, but in fact he looked down on the person in front of him more and more.

"Can this be an important minister of the empire? The Qing Dynasty is already corrupt, and it should be us, Japan, who use this fat continent!"

"Hahaha! Thank you, thank you! The Queen Mother has spoken, and he has to go to the Beiyang even if he doesn't want to! If he wins, it's the Emperor's wisdom, and he can make a step forward in ruling the country. If he loses, it's because Li Hongzhang is useless and should be punished! The party behind the party has lost a general!" Weng Tongsu seemed to be drunk and said proudly.

"Lord, you are wise! Yewaisheng toasts you a glass!" Even though Yewaisheng was disdainful, he knew that this was an important chess piece. In this incident, no matter who wins or loses between the Qing Dynasty and Nanhua, the rift has already occurred, and Japan's goal has been achieved.

Of course, if the Beiyang Navy could be weakened, it would definitely be a big surprise, but the Beiyang would not be stupid enough to use warships to attack the artillery, and there were not many navy in the Nanyang, it seemed that there were only two gunboats?

Yewaisheng did not understand why Japan did not personally take over the rich island of Nanhua, whose navy was so weak.

…

Inside the palace walls, people were also discussing this matter, and the similarities were almost the same. The focus was not on Nanhua, but on the boring dispute between the emperor and the empress.

"Xiao Shunzi." Chuxiu Palace, where the old Buddha lived all year round - I heard that she was used to living there, so she decorated it?

"The slave is here!" A little eunuch ran over and almost lay on the ground to reply.

"Why is there no news from Li Lianying? Go and urge him!" The old Buddha said, leaning on the chair.

"Old Buddha, the slave is here!" Before Xiao Shunzi ran out, another eunuch ran in, and it was Li Lianying.

"Why are you back so late?" The old Buddha's voice was a little cold, and Li Lianying shuddered.

"Replying to the old Buddha, the Japanese envoy went to the emperor frequently, and Xiao Dezi didn't catch up. I have been waiting for her." Li Lianying said.

"Japanese envoy? Ridiculous! Can the envoy of a small country be brought to the harem? Does the emperor not want the ancestral family rules?" The old Buddha was furious. Of course, the point was not the ancestral family rules, but that the emperor contacted foreigners and even got support.

"What did Xiao Dezi say?" The old Buddha calmed down and asked.

"This matter is indeed the handiwork of the emperor, but it seems to be instigated by the Japanese pirates." Li Lianying said.

"What do you mean by it? That group of clear streams only learned the words of saints. How could they pay attention to overseas affairs? Nine out of ten, this news was also brought by the Japanese pirates. Hum! A bunch of idiots! Being led by the nose!" The old Buddha said.

"What does the emperor...he...think about this matter?" The old Buddha's voice was softer.

"Your Majesty... Your Majesty fully supports this matter, and has asked Xiao Dezi to pass a message to Lord Weng, asking him to bring up the issue of the navy at tomorrow's court meeting." Li Lianying said, knocking his head to the ground.

"Hmph! This emperor! He is not willing to be lonely!" The old Buddha snorted coldly.

"Have pity on me! In the year of Xinyou, the first emperor passed away, leaving us orphans and widows, suffering. I dare not relax at all, for fear that Zaichun would grow up crooked. Unexpectedly, my son died of illness. He took the emperor to attack again. Poor me, I treated him as a son, but he treated me as an enemy. I am his aunt! At the beginning, I endured the crying of my sister and took him to the throne. Now I am not in power yet, and I am going to drive me away?" The old Buddha sighed.

"If he has the style of Emperor Shengzu, it would be fine, but what about it? It is a compliment to say that he is ambitious but incompetent!" The old Buddha looked at the trembling eunuchs, lost the nature of speaking, and stopped talking.

"Go down, I am tired." After sorting out her emotions, she became the woman with power over the world again.

…………

On February 16th, the tenth day of the first lunar month, the emperor gave a banquet at a small court meeting.

"Report to the old Buddha, the Beiyang Navy has submitted a memorial, saying that the military equipment and food are insufficient, and requested to add 10 million military funds to prepare for the expedition." Shi Duo said.

"10 million?" This amount caused an uproar.

"This is enough to buy another Beiyang!"

"Your small country also needs so much military funds? Is it Li Hongzhang who embezzled?"

"Your Highness, I impeach Li Hongzhang for embezzling military pay, lax military discipline, oppressing the good, and bullying the people..." Someone immediately stood up and said.

Snap!

"Silence!" The eunuch waved his whip and shouted again.

"Shi Duo, how much silver is left in the Navy Office?" The old Buddha asked, she was going to take heavy measures.

"To answer the old Buddha, the Navy Office has 600,000 silver in deposits, but it still needs to allocate funds to various arsenals, machinery bureaus, and military pay for soldiers. Only more than 100,000 can be used." Shi Duo said.

He is unwilling to pay money. He is a party behind the party, and his efforts are not appreciated?

"Weng Tongsu, how much money is left in the Ministry of Revenue?" The Empress Dowager asked again immediately.

"To answer the Holy Mother Empress Dowager, the Ministry of Revenue has more than 20 million silver in deposits, but it needs to be transferred to various places, and the estimated surplus is 5 million." Weng Tongsu knelt on the ground.

In fact, how could there be so much? This is the result of Weng Tongsu's interception of the flow, otherwise it would be a good thing if there is no deficit.

As for how to make up for the deficit later? The imperial party won, so it's okay to arrest a few of the empress's party, right? Isn't the money coming? But Li Hongzhang can't give as much as he wants.