Rebirth of the Northern Giants

"Queen, the Governor of Hong Kong reported that the Far East Fleet is suspected to have been annihilated by the Chinese fleet. If you want to use troops against China, you need to send a fleet from the mainland, which will take a lot of time." Prime Minister Robert took the opportunity to express his opinion.

"It doesn't matter, Your Excellency Prime Minister, you also know that the empire is now preparing to launch troops against the Boers. Once the troops are transferred from the mainland, not only will the gains outweigh the losses, but it will also give the Chinese a chance to breathe. But if we directly send troops from India to attack China's Tibet, I don’t have so many worries.” The Minister of War obviously thought about it for a long time, and said it was his own countermeasure in a calm manner.

These politicians are naturally different from those ordinary people. Those ordinary British people only clamored to teach the Chinese a bloody lesson. Slogans such as overthrowing the military government and hanging Ye Zhikui were very loud.

However, these cabinet members are considering actual interests. It is not an easy task for troops to land at Dagukou in China and then overthrow the military government. However, if troops are sent from Tibet, the degree of difficulty will be different.

On the one hand, Britain has long coveted China's Tibet. After the first war of aggression against Tibet, it gained trade in Tibet, enjoyment of extrajudicial jurisdiction, and no taxation.

However, because the Tibetan people hated the British deeply, people from all walks of life in Tibet resolutely opposed it. The three major monasteries in Lhasa called on the Tibetan people not to trade with Britain and India, and to boycott the sale of Indian tea to Tibet. Grazing on their own pasture.

The British were dissatisfied with their desires, and believed that the only way to get the benefits they deserved was to directly send troops to occupy Tibet.

"Attacking from Tibet is a clever strategy. After years of exploration by the empire in Tibet, a map has been drawn that I believe is very easy to enter Tibet. Moreover, the Chinese government has no troops stationed in Tibet. Those Tibetan soldiers are a group of indigenous people. , They hold big knives and spears, how can they resist the empire’s machine guns and cannons.” Prime Minister Robert immediately echoed the opinion of the Secretary of War, and described the prospect of invading Tibet to Victoria.

Not only is Victoria now the Queen of England, but she has shamelessly taken the throne of India into her own hands. She has longed for the holy land of Tibet for a long time. Now that she has such a good excuse, she certainly wishes for it.

"In this way, let Indian Governor Curzon prepare to send troops, and let the Chinese pay the due price for their arrogance."

The British finally bared its fangs to China. .

Volume Two, The Wind and Cloud in the Capital, Chapter [-], Reaction to the Peace Negotiation

The ceasefire negotiations between China and Russia, after the news spread that both sides have sent delegations, has aroused the attention of all parties. This half-year war, known as the contest between the polar bear and the Chinese dragon, is very important for China to achieve such a result. , all countries are amazed.

At the beginning of the war, all countries were not optimistic about China, and they all thought that China would cede territory and pay compensation, but the result surprised them, and countless people began to analyze various reasons.

As the number one Asian boy who pays attention to China, Japan, from the perspective of China, deeply analyzed several important reasons why China can win this war.

The "Tokyo Shiji" newspaper wrote that the reason why China was able to win the Sino-Russian War was not unrelated to the propaganda policy of the military government. The military government successfully aroused the patriotic enthusiasm of the domestic people and made them sweep away the old Qing Dynasty. Shen Chen, fighting with the power of a country against the power of a place in the Russian Far East, it is not surprising that he won in the end.

"There is no doubt that Ye Zhikui, the leader of the military government, is a battlefield madman. He used his reputation to fool and incite ordinary people and make them work for him. He once said: There are tens of millions of people in China, so it is not surprising that hundreds of thousands of people died , he is a tyrant, under the rule of this person, although China may achieve certain victories in a short period of time, it will definitely lead China into hell in the end."

Shintaro Koike, the official head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan, said this to a reporter who came to interview.

The reporter continued to ask: "Your Excellency, what do you think of some people in China who regard Ye Zhikui as the most outstanding yellow man for hundreds of years?"

The reporter apparently remembered the race debate from a while back.

Xiaochi curled his lips and said disapprovingly: "They are exaggerating too much. You all know what happened in the Sino-German war. The Chinese army is ten times that of the enemy. The Sino-Russian war is not much different from this. In fact, the military government diplomacy The policy is very bad, provoking the Western powers everywhere, not knowing how to hide their strengths and bide their time, is really unwise."

The reporter asked again: "If the empire goes to war with China, what are the odds of winning?"

Xiaochi moved his body a little, made himself sit more solemnly, and said: "China and Japan are separated by a strip of water, and they are friendly countries. In fact, China and Japan will not go to war, but if they insist on being better than each other, the Chinese are not The opponent of the empire, the empire has been accumulating energy for more than ten years, and China cannot catch up in a year."

In fact, the reason why Japan did not dare to start a war for a long time was not only that they were shocked by the fierce fighting power shown by the Chinese army in the Sino-Russian War, but also because the Japanese navy did not have the determination to defeat the Chinese navy at this stage.

They are waiting. Their six-six fleet plan (with 6 battleships and 6 armored cruisers) has been launched specifically for the Chinese navy after the Sino-Japanese War. The Fuji ship and its sister ships were built last year, and it is expected that they will be able to ship in the next year completed.At that time, the strength of the Chinese navy will be surpassed in one fell swoop, and several other ships will be launched one after another. Especially after the Sino-British confrontation, the British are desperately building ships for Japan.

Of course, the Japanese are not ignorant of the news that the military government ordered three battleships from Germany and the United States, but they believe that after the military government's fleet is built, their own fleet has already formed combat effectiveness, and it will be self-evident by then.

What's more, the self-righteous Chinese ordered three battleships from the West, and all other warships were manufactured by themselves. From the perspective of the Japanese government, it was really stupid. Not only was it a waste of money, but the quality was not guaranteed.

As a result, they tightened their belts, the emperor took out all his private money, and the whole people held their breath, waiting for the day when the navy surpassed the Chinese fleet by an overwhelming advantage.

Except for the sour tone of the Japanese, they still said a certain amount of truth, but the views of the French government and people on this war are completely nonsense.

The French "Times" tried its best to slander, saying that China had achieved certain results in this war by lying on the corpse, and accompanied it with a cartoon satirizing Ye Zhikui. , Below are the corpses of countless Chinese people pressing on the bodies of several Russians.

Most French newspapers attribute Russia's slight disadvantage to the human offensive with the Chinese, and also believe that the Russians were not ready for war before the war, their strength in the Far East was too weak, and their logistics lagged behind.

No matter how quarreled outside, Li Hongzhang led the Chinese delegation to leave Beijing at high speed, and headed towards the place of peace talks agreed by the two parties: Khabarovsk.

The domestic people are quite rational. Except for a very small number of people clamoring to abolish the Sino-Russian "Beijing Treaty" and "Aigun Treaty", most people think that the military government at this stage should restore people's livelihood as soon as possible, actively catch up with the big powers, and prevent the British. Retaliation, try to avoid fighting on two fronts. The protraction of the Sino-Russian war is very detrimental to the new military government. It is acceptable to use the actual ceasefire line as the dividing line. part of the territory.

While domestic newspapers were vigorously advocating for the military government and Ye Zhikui, Ye Zhikui embarked on a journey to Tianjin.

This trip, in addition to expressing condolences to the naval officers and soldiers, was also because he had received news that the Beiyang Manufacturing Bureau had developed a brand new submarine, which could carry a 457mm torpedo tube and a 1mm pneumatic explosive gun. Ye Zhikui, who got the news, couldn't help being overjoyed, so he was going to investigate on the way.

The temporary ceasefire on the Sino-Russian front and the temporary silence of the British were all the reasons why Ye Zhikui was able to walk away. Of course, he still delegated some matters to the ministers, and asked for instructions by telegram for important matters.

On the 23rd, Ye Zhikui only took a small number of Habayashi guards and officials from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Jianren Shiwu and others, and traveled in secret.

After several days of exhausting boats and cars, Ye Zhikui finally arrived in Tianjin on August 8. He was very satisfied with the conditions along the road. It was a bustling scene. More than half of the railway from Beijing to Tianjin has been built. It is estimated that in a few days It will be open to traffic within a few months, and by then Beijing and Tianjin will be within reach.

In view of the secret trip this time, except for a few officials including Zhili Governor Zhou Fu and the General Office of the Manufacturing Bureau, most of the other Zhili officials did not know about it.

This is also convenient for Ye Zhikui to investigate the people's sentiments all the way. Zhili is the head of the provinces. The military government has always attached importance to it. The new policy measures of the government strive to become the cultural and technological center of the military government. Zhili University of Technology, Zhili Telegraph Institute, power plants, etc., as long as new technologies that have just been applied abroad, they are all Chinese copycat versions. .

Volume Two, The Wind and Cloud of the Capital, Chapter [-], The Power of Submarines

Zhou Fu was a veteran minister of Beiyang, and he served as the inspector of Zhili. He was Li Hongzhang's old aide and was proficient in foreign affairs. After Li Hongzhang became Minister of Foreign Affairs, he recommended him as the governor of Zhili.

Today's governor of Zhili is equivalent to the governor of a province in later generations, and has no military power, so Ye Zhikui is not afraid that he will find some moths.

On the evening of the 26th, a group of people came from the Zhili Governor's Mansion. They were all dressed as ordinary soldiers, but the guards at the gate could tell at a glance that these people were not good at it. looking around.

The guards at the gate secretly guarded, and one of them came forward to salute, and then said: "This is the Governor's Mansion of Zhili, what is the purpose of coming here?"

Wang Xiaosheng handed over a document and said with a smile: "Please upload it to the governor, and say that the capital is here."

The guards didn't dare to be negligent, and hurriedly walked in. When I saw Renshi, I was standing beside Ye Zhikui, and saw the Generalissimo looking leisurely at the surrounding streets.

He couldn't help but said with a smile: "The villain has seen that time has passed, but Tianjin has completely changed its appearance, and it is almost unrecognizable. There are few signs of chaos in the past, and the pedestrians on the street have more self-confidence. It's the Grand Marshal's credit."

Ye Zhikui couldn't help smiling.

Just as he was about to speak, he saw a large group of people walking out of the Governor's Mansion.

Zhili Governor Zhou Fu, Admirals Deng Shichang, Lin Taizeng, Guo Baochang, and Pan Meiyuan, General Office of the Manufacturing Bureau are all listed here.

The little soldier at the door was startled, who has such a great power to let the governor personally welcome him out of the door.

The few people who were about to see Ye Zhikui waved his hand, pointed inside, and signaled to go in, they could only smile and say hello.

Among the five people, only Zhou Fu and Deng Shichang had met Ye Zhikui, the other three had only heard of the great name, but had never met the real person. Seeing that the generalissimo was indeed as easy-going as the rumors said, they couldn't help but feel relieved.

Several people walked into the hall of the Governor's Mansion, and after everyone sat down in order, Zhou Fu said aloud: "The Generalissimo has hidden his whereabouts, and I have been very worried these days. Fortunately, seeing that you are safe and sound, I am relieved."

Ye Zhikui showed an apologetic smile and said: "I am just afraid of trouble, and the New Deal is in full swing in various places. It would be unwise to stop the progress and cause unnecessary losses just to meet me. Let Mr. Zhou worry about it understanding."

It's okay for Zhou Fu to keep talking.

Ye Zhikui looked at Deng Shichang and other admirals with a smile again, and said with emotion: "Unexpectedly, the navy has achieved such a great record in such a short period of time. Will never treat and forget.”

Deng Shichang glanced at Guo Baochang, and replied with a smile: "The Nanyang Fleet contributed a lot to the reason why they achieved such great results. Without their sacrifice to lure the enemy, the British Fleet would not have been wiped out."

"Admiral Deng is seriously serious. If there is no Beiyang Fleet, we will have all kinds of schemes in Nanyang, and they will fail in the end." Guo Baochang also praised Deng Shichang when he saw Deng Shichang's humility.