Chapter 71: The little devil wants to enter the village
The signing of the "Vietnam Treaty" between the Chinese and French armies did not cause much sensation in the world political arena at that time, but the Qing Dynasty and the Japanese authorities were extremely nervous about it.
Emperor Meiji, who had ruled Japan for 17 years, was sitting on his throne with a withered face, and roared angrily to a group of die-hard followers under the palace curtain, headed by Taisei Minister Sanjo Sanimi:
The so-called Chinese Loyal Army suddenly appeared, and they easily defeated France, known as the world's second largest naval power, within a year!
But our intelligence department has not provided any useful information until now!
Their navy has a terrifying number of more than 50 warships, but we have not found even a single warship. It is as if their warships suddenly appeared out of the air!
The general of Hawaii is named Zhang Long, and he is also Chinese. I suspect that the last diplomatic incident in Hawaii was caused by them. Our intelligence personnel in Hawaii collectively committed bloodshed overseas. This emperor has reason to think so!
Tell me, what does the Intelligence Department of the Empire of Japan do to make a living? Are they dying?
Due to the sudden strong exposure of the Zhongyong Army, they defeated France, known as the world's second navy, with a thunderous force. Emperor Meiji was frightened. In order to cover up his helplessness and fear, he vented his negative emotions to the point of unlucky
I went to the Japanese intelligence agency to increase my confidence and establish my strong image.
Before the red-faced intelligence minister could speak, Sanjo Sanimi hurriedly spoke:
Your Majesty, the Holy Emperor, can explain this matter.
Hey! Minister Taizheng, if you have any opinions, you might as well tell me! Meiji's attitude towards Sanjo Sanimi is quite polite.
Ha Yi!
The deficiencies in the intelligence on the Loyal Army were probably due to the fact that the strategic focus of the Empire of Japan in the early stage was placed on the Qing and Korean lines, while far-away areas such as Hawaii and Vietnam were not taken seriously by the Empire.
The loyal and brave army has been hiding in secret. Not only our country, but also the powerful British Empire did not discover it early. This cannot be blamed on the incompetence of our intelligence department, but on those Chinese people, who are extremely cunning!
I suggest that the empire strengthens its intelligence penetration into Vietnam from now on, and dispatches experts from the intelligence department and Tou Shanman’s Black Dragon Society members to secretly sneak into North Vietnam immediately, assassinate senior officials of the Zhongyong Army, and organize personnel to destroy the base of the Zhongyong Army.
Activity.
The empire also wants to provoke a confrontation between the Qing Dynasty and the Zhongyong Army. It is best to let them kill each other. Only when the Chinese people, rivers and clams fight, can our Japanese Empire benefit!
In addition, according to intelligence from the empire's spies in the Qing Dynasty and Europe, the Qing Dynasty had ordered a large number of large armored ships from some major European countries, with the purpose of expanding the strength of the Qing Dynasty's Beiyang Navy.
Therefore, our Empire of Japan will also increase its investment in the navy, expand the scale and strength of the Imperial Navy, and gradually catch up with the naval fleets of the Qing Dynasty and the Zhongyong Army, making the Empire of Japan the number one military power in the Far East.
Hey! Your opinion is very good! Meiji, who had been gloomy for a long time, was overjoyed when he heard this and praised Sanjo Eimi again and again, as if Japan has become a big brother in the Far East just because of Sanjo Mimi's words!
Hearing Meiji praise Sanjo Sanimi, Ito Hirobumi, who is known as the Five Heroes of Nagashu in Japan and the Three Heroes after Meiji, bowed slightly to the emperor, and then impatiently interrupted: Your Majesty, I do not fully agree with Sanjo Sanimi's idea!
It has been more than ten years since the Japanese Empire was restored, but the local resources are poor. If we want to have strong combat effectiveness, we must learn Western skills, improve our country's scientific and technological level, and strive to strengthen our nation's scientific and technological strength. Only our own is the most lasting.
of!
Of course, in the early stage, our country still has to focus on purchasing ships, but we cannot measure it by quantity. We must be different from the Qing Dynasty's practice of purchasing large quantities of warships. We must focus on today's most high-tech ironclads and win by quality.
As I said just now, our country's resources are scarce and its fiscal revenue is even more limited. It is impossible to support a large naval fleet. Therefore, we must still focus on stability and not act rashly!
We can send a small number of small armed warships to the waters near Vietnam to attack the marine supply lines that harass the Zhongyong Army and hinder the development of the Zhongyong Army. For the Qing Dynasty, I can send spies to bribe senior government officials of the Qing Dynasty. It is best to make them
The Qing Dynasty and the Zhongyong Army went to war to consume the strength of the Zhongyong Army and the Qing Dynasty...
We also need to send senior officials of the imperial government to the British Empire to discuss alliance matters with them. Only with extensive preparations can we remain invincible and achieve the myth of a great Eastern country!
Emperor Meiji felt extremely unhappy when Ito Hirobumi interrupted him just now. He held the samurai sword hanging at his waist with both hands. At this time, after listening to Ito Hirobumi's words, he relaxed his nerves and felt a little more comfortable.
Ito Hirobumi's words hit home in his heart. If you don't become a master, you don't know how valuable materials are! If Japan develops its navy like the Qing Dynasty and the Zhongyong Army, the annual naval military expenditure alone can bring down Japan, not to mention the
A large number of armies are waiting for food and military expenditures! So we still need to think carefully!
After the ministers expressed their opinions, the emperor finally made the final decision:
Spies were sent to infiltrate the Zhongyong Army, and five armed ships were also sent to look for opportunities to ambush the Zhongyong Army's sea transportation lines, and made every effort to hinder the development of the Zhongyong Army.
On the Qing side, intelligence penetration work was also strengthened, and a large number of espionage personnel were sent deep into the Qing Dynasty to wait for opportunities.
Sanjo Sanimi was sent to lead a delegation to Europe to purchase high-tech armored ships, and was also instructed to negotiate an alliance with the British Empire.
But before they were dispatched here, the Zhongyong Army received detailed intelligence information from the Japanese intelligence station. In the end, all the ships and espionage personnel sent to Vietnam mysteriously disappeared without even a splash.
As the ecstatic Toushan Man who was tortured by Zhou Yu, ever since he received Zhou Yu's order to report every move he made against Japan to him, Toushan Man sincerely became Zhou Yu's loyal pug.
, he was full of fear of Zhou Yu from the depths of his soul, without any sense of resistance.
As soon as there was news here, he immediately reported it to Zhou Yu's intelligence station in Japan. Therefore, every move in Japan was within Zhou Yu's sight. It was reasonable for the personnel sent to Vietnam to mysteriously disappear!
Today, Touyama Mitsuru is also a hotshot big shot in Japan. Japan’s high-level news cannot escape his ears, nor can it escape Zhou Yu’s eyes!
Since the last decision of Lord Buddha, the Qing government and the Zhongyong Army once again defeated the French army due to the signing of the "Vietnam Treaty", which aroused great vigilance in the government and the public, and once again held a large-scale court meeting.
This time Liu Mingchuan of Taiwan used the excuse of "preparing for the loyal and brave army" to miss another grand gathering of the Qing Dynasty.
In the court, the old rules were still the same: Cixi was domineering and domineering, and Guangxu was his puppet emperor.
With the experience of the last time, Cixi did not put on her bad face this time, but asked the ministers in the hall in a friendly manner:
I am an abandoned slave of the Qing Dynasty. The Zhongyong Army once again defeated the powerful French army and signed the "Vietnam Treaty" with the French. The most abominable thing is that the Zhongyong Army actually asked France to pay me the 50 million francs compensation from the Qing Dynasty.
If you give it to them, they are slapping me in the face of the Qing Dynasty, and they are openly challenging the authority of the Qing Dynasty.
Last time I failed to recruit the Zhongyong Army to the Qing Dynasty, and I lost a lot of good men of the Qing Dynasty. The Zhongyong Army is openly about to rebel! What do you think we should do?
Zhang Zhidong curled his lips unfaithfully under the court, thinking to himself: Isn't it because of you, an old witch? The loyal and brave army finally won the battle for China, and the Chinese nation was finally proud, but you yourself were incompetent to defeat it.
During the war, I blame the crooked bed for not being able to sleep, but blame the Zhongyong Army instead. If the country is left to us Han people to govern, will these foreign-haired ghosts be so arrogant! They are still talking nonsense here,
Hey, these Jurchens only know how to beg for surrender, negotiate peace, pay compensation, and cede territory. They really embarrass the Chinese nation!
The governor of Sichuan, Liu Bingzhang, and the governor of Fujian, Cen Yuying, had the same thoughts as Zhang Zhidong in the court hall. They were both heartily excited that the Chinese loyal army could overthrow the Gaul Rooster, and they were also quite touched by the Qing Dynasty's begging for peace.
dissatisfied!
There were many people who reported the same idea to the court, but everyone agreed that no one dared to criticize Cixi's strategy as wrong. Isn't this nonsense! It's not like everyone is tired of making trouble for the old witch.
Got it!
Seeing that no one responded to Cixi, Cixi's confidant Li Hongzhang had no choice but to step forward to break the suffocating silence. He stepped forward, bowed in Cixi's direction and said: "Wei Chen has a book to start with!"
Ci Xi harmoniously said: "I am sorry for my family, please play!"
I would like to inform you that the current plan is how our Qing Dynasty should face such a predicament, and we should no longer have hope for the loyal and brave army! Since they are unwilling to return to our Qing Dynasty, then our Qing Dynasty
Just deport them from the country forever!
In Weichen's opinion, the first thing our Qing Dynasty should do is to further strengthen the construction scale of our navy, increase the updating of guns on old warships, invest heavily in expanding the naval bases in Lushun and Weihai, and improve our navy.
The implementation of coastal defense along the Qing Dynasty and the intensification of training of the Qing Dynasty Navy have enabled our navy to develop a higher combat capability.
The telegram instructs purchasers who are purchasing warships in Europe to increase the number of advanced ironclads purchased to prepare for a sudden attack by the Loyal Army and Japan.
With Li Hongzhang's introduction, everyone also expressed their opinions and expressed their own opinions.
Cixi, who had lost face in front of the French, had a rare moment of democracy this time, and combined the opinions of the ministers, made a more practical decision: