After Liu Hai returned to Shanghai with his wife Zeng Yuying, Liu Hai's life finally entered a peaceful period.
During this period, Liu Hai earned a huge amount of wealth by constantly flipping between the two planes.
At the same time, Liu Hai's long-awaited four Iowa-class battleships had completed all modifications, and the Xia government officially delivered these four battleships to Liu Hai.
Liu Hai immediately put the four battleships into the space-time ring.
Liu Hai is not ready to use these four battleships now, because he knows very well that as long as these four battleships appear in front of the Qing Dynasty, they will definitely have a huge impact on the entire world.
Liu Hai did not want the Qing Dynasty to improve the level of battleship construction in the world because of this class of battleships.
But this is also a bit unfounded, because a battleship is an overall project and cannot be built just by looking at the appearance. For example, the cannon on the battleship, its boiler transmission system, and the aiming system are all
It is the embodiment of technology.
Precisely because Liu Hai didn't know clearly, he regarded these four battleships as his trump card.
In this way, time passed peacefully for a year, and the Qing Dynasty entered 1892, the 18th year of Guangxu.
In the past year, it can be said that the Qing Dynasty finally boosted its morale. During the conflict with Japan, the Qing Dynasty government was able to force Japan to cede territory and pay compensation. For ordinary people, it can be said that nearly half of the
The only good news we've gotten in a century.
But they didn't know that because of such a war, the crazy wolf next door became even crazier.
After the Japanese Emperor learned the contents of the Beijing Treaty, he was furious and did not have the courage to overturn the agreement, so he could only endure the humiliation and bear the burden.
After the Japanese government borrowed money from Britain again to compensate for all the indemnities of the Qing Dynasty, the Emperor of Japan announced in public at another cabinet meeting that from now on he would only eat one meal a day and all the royal expenses saved would be used for the development of the navy.
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Not to mention this, the Emperor of Japan delivered an imperial speech to all of Japan in the next few days.
The people of all Japan are asked to live frugally and develop a navy in order to avenge today's humiliation.
The Japanese people still believe in the emperor's words. They see that even the emperor is frugal in food and clothing, let alone the common people.
So many companies directly issued orders that from now on, only half of the salary of all staff would be paid, and all the remaining money would be donated to the Navy Department.
Many Japanese private women also actively participate in the export of foreign labor services.
This labor export sounds nice, but it actually means going to Nanyang and various parts of China to work as prostitutes. The money they saved? Except for a small part sent back to the country for their families, most of it was donated to the Japanese Navy.
The Japanese government was not idle either. It announced that year that it would restore the proportion of military expenditures between the navy and the army, increasing military expenditures to 70% of the entire national income.
Anyone with a discerning eye can see that the Japanese are crazy? If any country dares to be so ferocious and violent, the country's economy will collapse sooner or later.
Even if the Japanese are more tolerant than the people of other countries, they can't hold on for a few years. If after a few years, the Japanese can't achieve a big victory and get a huge windfall, the country will definitely collapse.
After Liu Hai got this information, he was silent for a long time, and then locked himself in the study and did not come out for a whole day.
By the time Liu Hai came out again on the second day, he had already written a memorial and sent it to the capital. This was his last advice to the Qing government and also their final test.
If the Qing government can act according to its own wishes, at least it means that they are not corrupt enough and can be supported? In that case, as a loyal minister, he will stay dormant during the war in the Qing Dynasty.
But if the Qing government dismissed its own suggestions, it would be no wonder that it had become rebellious.
The entire Chinese nation is not a nation of one family and one surname. In the face of national danger, any loyalty to the emperor is nonsense. As long as the Chinese nation can stand in the forest of the world, what's the point of being called a traitor?
Liu Hai's memorial was quickly sent to the military aircraft department.
Prince Shiduo, as the foreman of the Military Aircraft Department, was naturally the first to watch the memorial of an important minister like Liu Hai.
After he opened the memorial and read it, he felt a little angry. Liu Hai was so ignorant that he interfered in court affairs.
Elehebu saw the displeasure on the face of Prince Li Shiduo, so he walked over and asked, "What's going on, Your Majesty? Whose memorial made people so angry?"
Prince Li Shiduo calmed down his emotions, and then handed the memorial to Erhebu, "You should also take a look, this is the memorial of Nanyang Navy Admiral Liu Hai."
Erle and Bu took it and opened it. The general content of the above is: Japan has been expanding its military expenditures recently, and the navy and army have received a lot of financial support. I think Japan's next target is the Qing Dynasty. Just in case, I hope the court will increase its support for the Qing Dynasty.
Invest in the navy, reduce unnecessary waste everywhere, and follow the example of Japan to prepare for emergencies.
In addition to the warning above, it was also written that the Emperor of Japan called on all Japanese people to live frugally in order to support Japan's development of its navy.
Erlehebu nodded frequently after reading the memorial. He quite agreed with Liu Hai's judgment.
"Your Majesty, I think this memorial is quite pertinent. I hope the court can implement it."
Prince Li Shiduo glanced at the other party. He did not expect that El and Bu could agree with Liu Hai, the traitor.
"What do you mean? Don't you know that the imperial court needs money in all aspects now? Once military spending increases, there will be leaks in other places."
In fact, Prince Li Shiduo has one sentence that he has not said yet. If the imperial court increases military expenditures, Nanyang and Beiyang will get the lion's share. Wouldn't this increase the strength of the two local powerful factions? Now the imperial court can no longer restrain them, and let them
If we increase our strength, I'm afraid the imperial court will be completely overthrown.
When Zhang Zhiwan saw the two of them chatting lively, he came over and asked, "What are you talking about, Your Majesty? I wonder if I can find out."
When Erle and Bu saw Zhang Zhiwan coming, they quickly handed him the memorial with bangs in their hands.
Zhang Zhiwan took it and read it at a glance. He still admired Liu Hai's vigilance in his heart. However, this person only knew military affairs but not politics. The Qing Dynasty has just achieved a delicate balance. If it continues
If military spending increases, this balance will be broken.
"After reading this memorial, I find that this memorial is simply unrealistic. Our court is so big and there are so many places where money is spent. If we arbitrarily cut off the food and salary in other places, I'm afraid there will be trouble immediately."
Prince Li Shiduo smiled immediately when he heard someone supporting him, "Master Zhang is right, I don't think I will mention this matter anymore."
After Prince Li Shiduo finished speaking, he took the memorial from Zhang Zhiwan and put it aside. Does this mean to leave it unpublished?
Xu Gengshen once served as Minister of the Ministry of War, and he still had some knowledge about military affairs. He had just sat aside and listened to the discussion of several military ministers, and already knew that this was the strategy memorial presented to the court by Liu Hai, the admiral of the Nanyang Navy.
But when I saw Prince Li Shiduo being so negligent and letting things go casually, I felt a little unhappy towards these people.
So after getting off work at the Military Aircraft Department, he quietly went to the pile of memorials and took out Liu Hai's memorial and read it carefully. After reading it, he no longer felt applauded.
As expected, Liu Hai had a very clear understanding of the international situation, and actually mentioned in the memorial that Japan had reached an extremely vicious stage, and if it continued like this, it would definitely launch a war with other countries within a year or two.
Then the Japanese's goal must be the Qing Dynasty. If they don't increase military spending and increase the number of warships now, they will be caught off guard in the event of a war, which may be detrimental to the country.
Xu Geng himself didn't understand how such a far-sighted memorial could be shelved by Prince Li Shiduo.
Xu Geng thought for a while, and finally gritted his teeth and carried the memorial in his arms. Then he left the military aircraft office without going home, but went directly to the Yangxin Hall.
Xu Geng came to the Yangxin Hall and told the eunuch guarding the door that he wanted to see the emperor.
The eunuch who was guarding the gate knew that he was the minister of military affairs and that once he came to see the emperor, something big would happen, so he did not hesitate to go in and report it immediately.
At this time, Emperor Guangxu was lying on the imperial desk, reading some memorials. These memorials were all about trivial matters. Occasionally, there were one or two major events that were approved by the Empress Dowager Cixi.
However, even these trivial matters made Emperor Guangxu a little worried.
You must know that although the emperor has been in the palace since he was a child and has been taught by great Confucian scholars, he has only just taken charge of the government. In addition, the Qing Dynasty is indeed experiencing a decline in national power, so all kinds of troubles are piled up in one place.
When Emperor Guangxu was troubled, the eunuch next to him quietly came to Emperor Guangxu's Dragon Case and knelt down on the ground, "Long live my Lord, Minister of Military and Aircraft Xu Geng is outside asking for an audience."
Emperor Guangxu was surprised at first when he heard this, and then felt a sense of joy in his heart. During the year he was in charge, the Minister of Military and Aircraft rarely reported to him alone. Now that a Minister of Military and Aircraft came to see him alone, he naturally asked him to
I feel happy and think that I have been recognized by some ministers this year.
"Quick, let Mr. Xu come in quickly."
After receiving Emperor Guangxu's order, the eunuch hurried out and brought Xu Geng in.
After Xu Geng entered the main hall, he first bowed to Emperor Guangxu as a monarch and his ministers.
Emperor Guangxu saw the military minister being so polite and smiled and said, "Xu Aiqing, get up."
Seeing Xu Gengshen stand up, Emperor Guangxu asked: "Ai Qing, what important matters have you come to report to me this time?"
"Long live the memorial, Nanyang Navy Admiral Liu Hai submitted a memorial that made some sense, but it was shelved by Prince Li Shiduo. The minister was afraid of ruining the important affairs of the court, so he came to report to the emperor privately."
Emperor Guangxu was a little curious when he heard this: "What kind of memorial is this that makes Aiqing care so much?"
Xu Gengshen hurriedly removed the memorial from his sleeve, raised his hands above his head, and asked the eunuch to deliver it to Emperor Guangxu.
After Emperor Guangxu read the memorial, he also fell silent, and then he asked: "The Japanese are really so crazy. Even the emperor eats one meal a day just to develop military power?"
"Long live Qi Zhen, this matter is absolutely true. Wei Chen also got some information, but it's just not as accurate as Liu Hai."
After Emperor Guangxu heard this, he immediately stood up, stomped back and forth in the hall, and finally said to Xu Gengshen: "I know about this, you go back first."
Xu Gengshen had already finished everything he could do, and the remaining matters depended on how the court would deal with them, so he resigned to Emperor Guangxu and withdrew from the Yangxin Hall.