After the Danyang incident subsided, the imperial court and the Liangjiang region could finally breathe a sigh of relief. Liu Hai also focused his main energy on the construction of the Baodao base.
Liu Hai still attaches great importance to this base. If the Taiwan base is built, Liu Hai will be able to station the fleet in two places. Then if something happens, the fleets of both sides can form a joint fleet at sea to fight the enemy in unison.
After Liu Hai invested a lot of money, the construction project was carried out very quickly.
In July 1891, the construction of Baodao Keelung Base was finally completed.
As a congratulatory gift for the completion of the construction of the new base, Liu Hai is preparing to lead the main force of the Nanyang Navy to the Keelung base and has sworn control of the Keelung base.
On July 15th, the entire Nanyang Navy was dispatched, including one ironclad, one armored cruiser, 6 new cruisers, and 5 old cruisers, with a total tonnage of more than 45,000 tons. This does not include the rest of the Nanyang Navy.
Auxiliary ships, such as mosquito gunboats, torpedo boats, transport ships and other ships.
It can be said that the current tonnage of the Nanyang Navy has exceeded that of the Beiyang Navy, ranking first in Asia.
Once this fleet of more than a dozen warships left the port, it was naturally very powerful. It was quickly discovered by foreign warships. They followed the Nanyang Navy all the way south, and did not leave until they entered the open sea.
The Nanyang Navy marched southward for five to six hundred nautical miles. After all the foreign warships disappeared, they headed southward and conducted training on the sea.
By the time the Nanyang Navy arrived at the treasure island of Keelung Port, more than ten days had passed.
Taiwan Governor Liu Mingchuan warmly welcomed the arrival of the Nanyang Navy.
Liu Mingchuan personally brought Liu Hai to the governor's office to greet Liu Hai at the dock. After a few polite words, Liu Mingchuan took Liu Hai into the governor's office.
Both parties took their seats in the flower hall of the governor's Yamen.
After the servant brought the fragrant tea, Liu Mingchuan said to Liu Hai with emotion: "The Nanyang Navy is indeed magnificent. I used to think that the Beiyang Navy was the best in the Qing Dynasty, but now it seems that the Nanyang Navy is not inferior to the Beiyang Navy.
"
Liu Hai just nodded after hearing Liu Mingchuan's praise. The current Nanyang navy can indeed compete with Beiyang, but he still dare not make such a guarantee if it is to completely surpass Beiyang.
"Sir Governor, I came to Baodao this time. Fabao Island is much more prosperous than before. This is all due to the governor's contribution to the governance of Taiwan. Compared with the governor, my contribution is nothing."
Liu Mingchuan was not proud of Liu Hai's praise, but frowned and said: "Although Baodao is developing well now, foreign invasions occur from time to time in the north of Taiwan. There is a Diaoyutai that was originally the territory of the Qing Dynasty, but it has
Occupied by Japan, this place is very close to Taiwan, and if a troop of troops is deployed, it will pose a great threat to Taiwan."
After Liu Hai listened, he glanced at Liu Mingchuan secretly. Was Liu Mingchuan casually chatting with him, or hinting to him?
However, Liu Hai now feels that the navy has become fully fledged, while the Japanese navy has not yet reached its final climax, and it is still okay to bully them now.
"Don't worry, Governor. In a few days, my brothers will go north to the Nanyang Navy to relieve the Governor of this worry."
Liu Mingchuan finally showed a smile, but he still pretended to be cautious and said: "There is no order from the court, how can we start a war?"
When Liu Hai heard what Liu Mingchuan said, he took a sip from the tea cup next to him. He wanted to see what Liu Mingchuan was going to say.
"Although we cannot go to war, if the Japanese provoke and invade our territory, it is okay for us to fight back in order to protect our homeland." Liu Mingchuan said this was very obvious, and he almost told Liu Hai to immediately send troops to attack Diaoyutai.
However, Liu Hai naturally cannot fight alone in this matter. If he acts alone, the Hunan Army will be blamed by the court in the end. However, the faction to which Liu Mingchuan belongs, Li Hongzhang's Huai Army, can reap the benefits.
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So Liu Hai smiled and said: "Since our Nanyang Navy has warships and is capable of blockade, Diaoyutai cannot be captured. Why don't the governor send troops on Taiwan Island to follow the Nanyang Navy to the north. With the help of the Nanyang Navy, we will be able to capture it easily."
Diaoyutai.”
After Liu Ming heard Liu Hai's words, he nodded helplessly. Originally, this time he thought of letting Liu Hai go and poke this hornet's nest, but he was reaping the benefits from behind. Unexpectedly, Liu Hai saw it.
However, Liu Mingchuan thought about it again. If the two parties cooperated together, the imperial court would only say a few words and not dare to make any big moves. This was an action launched by the Hunan Army and the Huai Army together. The imperial court would not dare to offend them at the same time.
These two factions.
"In this case, I will send a thousand troops to follow Admiral Liu on the expedition!"
Liu Hai nodded and did not speak. In fact, he was unwilling to go into this muddy water. It was just his Keelung base. After all, it was built on Baodao. It also depended on the face of the governor of Baodao.
"Although we have said this, we cannot let the matter slip. Why don't you and I each submit a memorial to the court to explain this matter? At the same time, we can state our interests to Mr. Liu, the governor of Liangjiang, and Mr. Li, the governor of Zhili, so that they can submit memorials at the same time.
Support us, what do you think, the governor?"
Liu Mingchuan nodded. Although they were still acting without authorization, they were still greeting the imperial court.
This time the two parties reached a consensus, and then Liu Mingchuan invited Liu Hai to have a meal, and Liu Hai took his leave and returned to his ship, the ironclad Jiangxi.
After Liu Hai came back, he immediately summoned the leaders of each warship to the meeting room of the ironclad ship.
These warships originally thought they were here to enjoy the mountains and rivers this time. After casually showing their military power, they would leave one or two warships to defend the base, and the others could return to Shanghai.
Little did they know that Liu Hai suddenly gave them a blow in the head in the conference room.
"This time, I went to meet with Liu Mingchuan, the governor of Baodao. He told me that the Diaoyutai in the northern part of Baodao is very important, but it was illegally occupied by the Japanese. Therefore, he requested that he join me in sending troops to retake Diaoyutai."
After Liu Hai said this, he looked down at the generals below. They all had some differences about this matter. After all, this was not the will of the imperial court. It would be difficult for the imperial court to explain to them if they started a war without permission.
Liu Hai naturally saw their anxiety, "Don't worry, everyone. I have discussed this with Liu Mingchuan just now, and we will each submit a memorial to the court to explain this matter."
When the generals below heard this, they still didn't feel any less worried in their hearts. After all, even when it came to important matters, they had to kill first and then report later.
But Liu Hai couldn't control so much. In fact, Liu Hai thought about it clearly on the way back.
The capture of the Diaoyutai this time was just a prelude for him. If the Japanese combined fleet came out to Qing Dynasty, it would happen to wipe out the entire Japanese combined fleet on the sea.
In this way, Japan can be cut off in the middle before its navy reaches its strongest point. If this is the case, it may be possible to avoid the brutal war between the two sides in the Sino-Japanese War of 1994, and also establish the Qing Dynasty's dominance in East Asia.
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Liu Hai only waited on the dock for one day before the thousand men and horses sent by Liu Mingchuan were already in place.
Liu Hai personally loaded the 1,000 men and horses onto the transport ship, and then as the Jiangxi's whistle sounded, the entire Nanyang Fleet pulled anchor and set sail.
The 13 capital ships of the Nanyang Fleet, together with the transport ships, left the Keelung base and slowly headed north. At this time, Liu Hai and Liu Mingchuan's memorials were also sent to the military aircraft department via telegram.
After Prince Li Shiduo received the memorial, he was so frightened that his generals were so domineering that they even started a war with foreign countries.
This matter was not something he could decide, so the foreman of the Military Aircraft Department didn't care about anything, took the heavy item and went straight to Cining Palace.
After receiving the report from Prince Li Shiduo, Empress Dowager Cixi was also furious. Now the Hunan and Huai armies are paying less and less attention to the imperial court.
But after all, she had been in charge of the Qing Dynasty for many years. Although she was angry in her heart, she did not show it on her face.
"This matter is not trivial. We should immediately send a telegram to Li Hongzhang and ask him to come to Beijing immediately to explain the reason."
In Cixi's view, Liu Mingchuan would never dare to act without Li Hongzhang's decision on such a big matter.
As for Liu Hai's current position in the Hunan Army, as long as he gives an order, the Hunan Army's tens of thousands of troops will march forward bravely. What he decides is naturally decided by the Hunan Army, so there is no need to ask Liu Kunyi, the Governor of Liangjiang, about this matter.
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After Prince Li Shiduo left Cining Palace, he immediately sent a report to Li Hongzhang, the governor of Zhili, asking him to enter Beijing immediately.
And Li Hongzhang had just received a telegram sent to him by Liu Ming, the governor of Baodao. Li Hongzhang was a little angry at that time. The telegram sent to Liu Ming at that moment told him to withdraw his troops immediately.
As a result, Liu Ming sent a message back that the army had boarded the ship and was missing, and they might not be able to recall it.
After Li Hongzhang received the call back, he immediately threw his favorite porcelain vase. However, the matter was over, and now he was thinking about the aftermath.
Li Hongzhang immediately summoned his staff to discuss how to deal with the Japanese next.
As Li Hongzhang's chief aide, Zhang Peilun immediately made suggestions to Li Hongzhang after hearing the cause and effect.
"The matter has come to this. Since we cannot retreat, it is better to fight and let the Beiyang Navy go south to join forces with the Nanyang Navy to suppress Japan. If necessary, seize Ryukyu to use it as a base to deter the entire country of Japan."
After listening to what he said, Li Hongzhang was silent for a long time, and finally said: "Although I say so, I'm afraid the great powers will not allow it."
At this time, the staff member Ma Jianzhong spoke, "Don't worry, sir. The Western European powers are waiting for the Qing Dynasty to resist the Rakshasa people in the north, so they will not interfere too much. Moreover, Japan is just a small profit for Westerners. They
We will not be hostile to the Qing Dynasty because of Japan. The most we can do is to let the Qing Dynasty stop when enough is enough and maintain Japan's independence."
Zhang Peilun also followed and persuaded: "Sir, the matter has come to this, this battle has to be fought. If the Japanese will not be injured by a small beating, they will still be a threat to our Qing Dynasty in the future. It is better to take advantage of this time to let the Japanese
Be completely depressed to avoid future troubles."