Usurping the Qing Dynasty: My first love was Cixi

Chapter 299 A battle that overwhelms the country! A great victory over Japan!

The declaration of war against Japan did not cause an uproar.

After all, in the eyes of many people in the Qing Dynasty, Japan was simply not worth mentioning. Only those who know the history of future generations know how cruel this country is.

However, not long after the war was declared.

Sir Bruce, the British Minister to China, approached Su Yi and expressed serious concern about the war.

"Prince Regent, if you start this war, it will harm the interests of the British Empire." Bruce said: "Our country also has a lot of investment in Japan, and we also have considerable diplomatic relations."

Su Yi said: "Is your investment in Japan one-tenth of that in China?"

Bruce said: "You also know that it is okay to increase things like interests, but it is absolutely impossible to decrease them."

Su Yi said: "The Japanese burned down our embassy and massacred our officials stationed in Japan. Should we endure it?"

"The Ryukyu Kingdom is our vassal state. The Japanese sent troops to illegally occupy it and asked it to remove its national title. Do we have to tolerate this?"

Bruce said: "However, your actions did harm the authority of the British Empire in East Asia."

Su Yi was silent for a while and then said slowly: "Mr. Minister, in the eyes of you and many bureaucrats in London, have you never regarded our country as an equal ally?"

"If we were treated relatively equally, would we be allowed to suffer such humiliation?"

"I just want to ask, what would you do if your country suffered such treatment?"

Minister Bruce said: "But the British Empire is not your China, isn't it?"

Su Yi said slowly: "Then I want you to ask yourself whether your interests are greater in China or in the British Empire."

"I hope you'll think about it before answering this question."

"Now I'll give you a choice, let you return to London and be a minister of a certain ministry. Are you willing?"

Minister Bruce fell silent.

There is no doubt that he is unwilling to do so.

Nowadays, the position of Minister to China is extremely generous. Although being able to be a minister in a certain department in London would have a better reputation, in terms of power and influence, the difference is too far.

Because the British Empire's overall interests in China are nearly 100 million pounds.

And it is still growing rapidly.

In addition, there was no telegraph line between London and Asia, so any order or communication would take two or three months to go back and forth.

This also means that he, the Chinese minister, is the Turkish emperor of the Far East.

Countless financial groups and related interest groups want to come to the Far East to make money, and the first person they have to visit is him, the minister to China.

Who is willing to give up such a lucrative position?

Just like Hart, the Chief Taxation Department, he handles tens of millions of tariffs every year, and he is also a top official in China.

He also didn't want to go back to London.

"I don't want to," Bruce said.

Su Yi said: "You will return to London in the future, but before you retire, you should return to London to be gilded, and then retire with glory and huge property. So your interests are in China, not in London."

"Then when you think about things, you should consider China's interests, right?"

Bruce said: "Waitoma is watching eagerly, ready to overthrow my position at any time."

Su Yi said: "As long as the British businessmen in China spread the word and do not allow Witoma to serve as minister to China, or even assassinate him when necessary, then he will never become the minister."

"Mr. Bruce, for you to be able to secure this position, your biggest supporter is not London, but me!"

"I have a deeper friendship with Sir Basili, but he has always only been your deputy. Why? This is because we feel that you can represent our interests, and we want to have a normal succession. After you retire, He was succeeded by Sir Basial."

Bruce fell silent.

A few minutes later, he said: "Then let's fight and talk at the same time. Diplomats from China, Japan, and Britain will conduct tripartite negotiations. I will ask Japan to withdraw its troops from the Ryukyu Kingdom unconditionally, regain the independence of the Ryukyu Kingdom unconditionally, and allow Ryukyu to become independent unconditionally." The country paid tribute to the Qing Dynasty and formally apologized to the Qing Dynasty for the massacre of the legation, handed over no less than 500 murderers to the Qing Dynasty, and paid compensation of 8 million taels of silver."

This...is right.

This also provides an explanation for London.

Moreover, Japan will never agree to such conditions.

Bruce said: "Of course, these conditions need to be raised by your envoy. For the sake of peace, our delegation from the British Empire will urge Japan to agree to these conditions."

Su Yi extended her hand towards Bruce and said, "It's a pleasure to cooperate."

Sir Bruce said: "It's a pleasure to cooperate."

……………………

There is no doubt that Japan's actions are by no means unilateral.

Soon, the Russian minister once again entered the palace and asked to see the regent.

"Your Excellency the Prince Regent, on behalf of the Russian Emperor, I formally make a request to your country, please abide by the relevant provisions of the "Aihun Treaty" and the "Qing-Russia-Beijing Treaty" and withdraw your troops from our territory."

"Otherwise, our country will launch a devastating war against your country."

Su Yi's reply was very simple: "Did we cease the war? Aren't we still in a state of war?"

This answer made the Russian envoy's face cold, and he said for a long time: "Your Highness, your arrogance will be punished."

Then he left in anger.

Obviously!

The Russian army will take action next.

It took nearly five years for the Tsarist Russia to mobilize more than 200,000 troops to the Far East, and more than three years to build an extremely solid fortress defense line.

Of course, China is no exception.

In the past two years, Su Ye has deployed nearly 300,000 troops on the Qing-Russian border.

More dense and more impregnable defense lines and fortresses have been built.

The density of artillery is simply amazing.

And at this time, Heilongjiang is no longer as uninhabited as it was thousands of years ago, and there is already a large population.

At least food, coal and many other materials do not need to be transported thousands of miles.

Even for this war, many factories were built directly in Heilongjiang.

There are also several arsenals that have been in production for more than a year.

Because everyone knows that a war that will break out here will break out.

…………………………

“Telegram, telegram, telegram!”

“Vietnam war report, Vietnam war report.”

“French army illegally occupied Hanoi!”

This news did not shock the civil and military officials of the Manchu court.

Although Vietnam was a vassal state of the Qing Dynasty, the French and Vietnam had been at war for many years, and had just occupied the three provinces of Cochinchina three years ago.

Hanoi is of course very important to Vietnam.

But for the Qing Dynasty, it is not important at all.

So, there was not much commotion in the court.

But…

The war reports from the south came one after another.

After the French army occupied Hanoi, the troops kept moving northward, getting closer and closer to Guangxi.

Finally one day.

The telegram from the governor of Guangxi arrived in Beijing.

The French army penetrated deep into our country and massacred thousands of soldiers and civilians.

Suddenly, the Manchu court was shocked.

Are the French crazy?

If you want to fight Vietnam, just fight Vietnam, why fight Guangxi?

There are many inside stories here.

After the fall of Hanoi, many Vietnamese troops, including some insurgents, fought and retreated, often retreating to Guangxi.

How arrogant the French were, and they were full of hostility towards Su Ye.

The other generals sent envoys to the Guangxi Governor's Office to protest, strongly demanding that China hand over the Vietnamese rebels.

The Guangxi Governor refused very firmly.

So, the French army chose to cross the border to attack.

Not only did they kill many Vietnamese troops, but they also killed many innocent soldiers and civilians in Guangxi.

At the same time, the adopted son of the Vietnamese king Nguyen Phuc Shi, who could even be called the prince of the Nguyen Dynasty, came to the capital as an envoy.

Formally asked China for help.

Requested the Qing Dynasty to send troops to save Vietnam.

Su Ye met with the prince, once again expressed sympathy for Vietnam, and expressed strong indignation at the shameless behavior of the French.

Next, the Prime Minister's Foreign Affairs Office negotiated with the prince.

A secret agreement was signed.

And this secret agreement was very thorough.

Open ports, open markets, station troops, etc.

Vietnam is not only a vassal state, but also a protected state. It is guided in diplomacy and accepts the canonization of the suzerain state.

The Qing Dynasty has the responsibility and obligation to protect the integrity and independence of Vietnam by any means.

Next, Baojun, the Chinese minister to Vietnam, formally negotiated with the French envoy.

He demanded that the French army withdraw from Vietnam unconditionally and return the three provinces of Cochinchina.

The French side was furious.

The negotiations between the two sides, of course, ended in vain.

At the same time, the Chinese army has been entering Guangxi in a steady stream.

The commander-in-chief Chen Yucheng and the deputy commander Feng Zicai.

This pair of partners is also quite peculiar. They were opponents and enemies for a long time.

And Liu Yongfu, the Black Flag Army in history, was also in this southern expedition army.

This time, the French army invading Vietnam exceeded 35,000 people.

The southern expedition army assembled by China is more than three divisions, about 53,000 people.

Not only that, there are 20,000 to 30,000 insurgents in Vietnam, which are also indirectly under the control of the Intelligence Bureau.

China and France negotiated again and again.

In the end, the conditions were too different and the negotiations broke down completely.

The British Empire mediated again and again, trying to prevent this war.

Because France was its ally, and Su Ye was also its ally.

In the end, the mediation failed.

But in order to respect the British Empire, China promised not to formally declare war on France.

Moreover, the name of the Southern Expedition Army was changed.

Instead, the more than 50,000 troops were named the Black Flag Army, and they only appeared as the Vietnamese uprising army.

With an order.

These more than 50,000 troops left Guangxi and entered Vietnam.

At this point, the Sino-French War broke out.

…………………………

In diplomacy, there was no formal declaration of war on France.

But in the court and in the domestic propaganda, it was completely that China and France had started a war.

Finally, domestic public opinion began to become extremely nervous.

In the eyes of the Chinese people, the Russians were only secondary powers, and France was considered a top power.

Ten years ago, the British and French allied forces entered the capital and suffered a disastrous defeat at Baliqiao.

The main force of the foreigners at that time was the French army.

The Qing Dynasty was defeated so badly, which shows how powerful the French were.

And this time, the Qing Dynasty not only went to war with Japan, but also with the French?

What if they were defeated?

The title of the top power is still useful.

Sure enough, this war overshadowed other things.

Then.

Su Ye received a secret guest, the secret envoy of Bismarck, the Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Prussia.

"Your Highness the Regent, does the secret agreement between you and Prime Minister Bismarck count?"

Su Ye said, "Hasn't your envoy heard about it?"

The secret envoy said, "I have heard that your country has already declared war on the French."

Then, the secret envoy sighed and said, "I really can't imagine that Your Highness the Regent has such great courage."

When the Prussian secret envoy came to China, he was still very nervous.

The regent of China did not sign anything, but only a verbal secret agreement.

Besides, that was France.

For China, it can be regarded as a top power.

And going to war with the French will undoubtedly anger the British.

Therefore, many people were absolutely skeptical about whether China would abide by the agreement with Bismarck.

In order to get China to go to war, they even agreed to some conditions, especially the conditions of money and weapons.

As a result...

When he came to China, the war had already started.

Su Ye said: "When will your country start the war against France?"

The envoy hesitated for a long time, because this was an absolute secret.

Su Ye said: "July?"

The envoy was shocked.

Su Ye said with disdain: "Mr. Secret Envoy, you are far less frank than Prime Minister Bismarck."

The secret envoy said: "I'm very sorry, I don't have the ability, nor the qualifications to be frank."

………………

Bruce and Bashali, as the highest officials of the British Empire in the Far East, were under tremendous pressure.

Going to war with Japan has already destroyed the order in East Asia.

Going to war with France is a huge provocation to the entire order. Wade and others repeatedly warned Bruce and Bashali to impeach them.

"You two are no longer worthy of being subjects of the British Empire. You have been completely bought by Su Ye."

"You are completely selling out the interests of the British Empire."

"I will impeach you to Her Majesty the Queen and the Prime Minister."

"The power of the British Empire in the Far East must never fall into the hands of you two traitors."

However, now Wade can only be furious.

It takes more than a month for the news to reach London, and more than a month for the debate. Even if there is any order, it will take more than a month to send it to Shanghai.

……………………

And this year of 1870 is destined not to be quiet.

Soon after, the 800-mile express from Heilongjiang came.

The Russian army officially came.

Countless, dark and overwhelming, once again invaded our country.

So, the war between Qing and Russia broke out again.

After five years, it broke out again.

And this time the scale is much larger.

The troops deployed by both sides exceeded 500,000.

This is the largest scale of the Qing Dynasty's foreign war in the past hundred years. It was also the largest war since Su Ye traveled through time.

Of course, it was still not as good as the Russo-Japanese War in history.

But... even if it was placed in the whole world, this was also a large-scale war.

It was also a war that could overthrow the country.

Because this war was too important, Su Ye had to leave the capital again and go to the front line to personally command this war.

……………………

At this time, all the focus and core of the entire country were on these three wars.

The so-called emperor's personal rule was completely suppressed.

At this critical moment, who dared to mention the emperor's personal rule?

Who dared to mention the two empress dowagers to withdraw the curtain.

The entire country faced three foreign wars, and two of them were world powers.

In the hundreds of years since the founding of this dynasty, there has never been such a grand moment.

If you are not careful, it will be a catastrophe.

At this time, the stability of the court overwhelmed everything.

The emperor was young, and the regent went north to the battlefield.

If the two empress dowagers withdrew the curtain, the political situation might be in chaos.

……………………………………

“Boom boom boom…”

The sea area near Ryukyu.

After a long period of negotiation, the fleets of China and Japan finally encountered each other.

Seeing the Japanese fleet, Xu Youren sneered.

This… is this the Japanese fleet?

What a joke.

Is the Japanese fleet of this size?

These are clearly American ships, French ships, and some Russian ships, with Japanese flags on them.

Even many soldiers on the ship have foreign faces.

But Su Ye has done this before, let alone the eldest brother.

Moreover, even if the United States, France, and Russia support it, what does it matter?

The current Chinese fleet is no longer the same as before, and it is definitely the best in Asia.

Moreover, there is also a small Korean navy to support it.

Another point is that all the Chinese fleets are brand new ironclad ships, and even Su Ye participated in the relevant design.

The high-pressure steam furnace was introduced more than ten years ahead of schedule.

Unfortunately, the rapid-fire guns had not yet been fully equipped, and only six were installed in time. However, it was still more than ten years ahead of the historical standards.

In addition to the advanced steam boilers and artillery, the tonnage and artillery of the Chinese fleet still surpassed the Japanese Combined Fleet.

Moreover, this was the first time that the Chinese Navy was truly unveiled.

Is there any truth in the fact that it is the first in Asia and the sixth in the world?

The entire sea area was filled with roaring artillery fire.

The fierce battle was extremely fierce.

It lasted for more than two hours.

The results of the battle had already tilted.

The speed of the Chinese fleet was three or four knots faster, and it was much more agile.

Moreover, the power of the rapid-fire guns was too great.

In the Sino-Japanese War of 1894-1895, the Beiyang Fleet lacked high-explosive bombs, and a considerable part of them were backward solid bombs.

At this time, although it was more than 20 years earlier, the quality of the shells was far superior.

"Boom boom boom..." A series of violent explosions.

The Japanese Combined Fleet was very unlucky, and the flagship was directly hit by the ammunition depot.

The entire battleship exploded violently.

The entire battleship was directly broken into two pieces from the middle.

Then...

The results of the battle began to show a one-sided trend.

About seven hours later

The sea battle is over!

The Chinese fleet has won a great victory.

An unprecedented and glorious victory.

…………………………………

Note: Because of my daughter's application for junior high school, I can only write 5,000 words today. Sorry, sorry, thank you all.