In addition to battleships, the Navy also dispatched a large number of cruisers to escort these six battleships.
Among them are: Edgar-class cruiser, with a displacement of 7467 tons, main armaments: 10 152mm, 2 233mm guns, machinery: twin propellers, three-expansion engine, the speed can reach 18 knots. This time the Geely Navy directly sent 6
ship.
There are also some light cruisers below, the Euryalus, with a displacement of 3175 tons, main armaments: 5 152mm guns, 2 233mm guns, machinery: twin propellers, three expansion engines. Its speed can reach 18
Festival, the Navy Department directly dispatched all 9 ships in this batch.
Next is the all-steel light cruiser of the first class ordered by Liu Hai, the Cossack-class light cruiser, which has a displacement of 1,980 tons, but is equipped with six 152 mm cannons and has a sailing speed of 20 knots. This class of cruiser is Geely's.
Actually 15 ships were dispatched.
At the same time, the Admiralty appointed Admiral Knut Kron as commander of the fleet.
The total tonnage of this huge fleet has reached a record of 190,000 tons. This has reached 1/5 of the total tonnage of the Geely Navy.
However, this time the Geely Kingdom sent all cutting-edge warships. If something unexpected happens to this fleet, the overall combat effectiveness of the Geely Navy will be reduced by 1/3.
However, given that Liu Hai also has 5 battleships under his command, the Geely Navy cannot guarantee that it can completely eliminate the Nanyang Navy.
To be on the safe side, Geely State sent warships to quickly sail to the Far East, and on the other hand it also sent diplomatic envoys, like Liu Hai once again made a request for mediation.
After Liu Hai received the mediation document sent by the consul of Geely, he immediately threw it aside. He didn't need to think about it to know that this time they were here to stir up trouble, and their purpose was to defeat the enemy without a fight.
He could fully foresee that during the negotiations, they would fully protect the Japanese. Liu Hai now thought that his wings were full and he did not want to play tricks with the Geely people here.
As long as the Geely Kingdom dares to fight with the Nanyang Navy this time, Liu Hai will completely uproot the Geely Kingdom's power in the Liangjiang area.
After receiving no reply from Liu Hai, the Geely government knew that this path of negotiation was no longer feasible, so it gave up the idea of continuing negotiations through Liu Hai.
Instead, they quietly ordered the expatriates in the Liangjiang area to begin to evacuate to the Geely Concession. At the same time, a 300-strong indigenous army from Asan State was sent to the concession to prepare for Liu Hai's sudden attack.
Although Liu Hai didn't know what specific measures Geely Country was going to take, judging from Geely Country's current actions, the people of Geely Country were completely on the opposite side of him.
Time flies by, as September enters? The expedition fleet of the Geely Kingdom has arrived at Lion City, their largest military port in the east.
The fleet led by Knut Kron rested in the Lion City for three days. After all, it will soon enter the Nanyang region, where a battle with the Nanyang Navy may occur at any time. If it is not repaired, I am afraid that the fatigue of the soldiers and the ship will
The wear and tear caused by the long voyage made the ship unable to withstand the coming war.
While the fleet was resting in the Lion City, their minister to the Qing Dynasty, Sir Walter Watson, also formally received the request from the country, asking him to immediately send a final call to the Qing Prime Minister's Yamen.
Ask the Qing Dynasty to immediately stop the war with the Japanese? Continue to implement the agreement reached last time, otherwise the Geely government will intervene in the war? To forcibly maintain peace in the Far East.
Prince Yikuang of Qing County, the head of the Prime Minister's Office of the Qing Dynasty, was so frightened that he trembled all over after receiving the recall.
He has been dealing with foreigners for a long time, but he knows that the current Geely Kingdom is the unrivaled overlord in the world today.
So the Prime Minister did not dare to neglect? He immediately hurried into the palace and reported to Emperor Guangxu the other party's proposal for negotiation.
Emperor Guangxu was also a troubled person. He was still very afraid of the Geely Kingdom. When he received the note from the other party, he was at a loss.
Finally, all the military and military ministers were summoned to discuss how to reply to each other.
As the first person in the Military Aircraft Department, Prince Gong Yixin began to beat his heart after listening to the description of Qingjun Prince Yikuang. He had witnessed with his own eyes the brutality of the coalition forces after they occupied the capital.
After listening to the other ministers of military aircraft, they whispered for a while. In the end, they felt that it was better to listen to the words of the Geely Kingdom and negotiate a peace honestly. Otherwise, once the Geely Kingdom's army came, it might not be the case now.
In addition to being afraid of the Ji Li Kingdom, Prince Gong Yixin also had other thoughts in his mind. These foreign devils helped the Japanese to the point of sparing no effort. In addition to the alliance, there may be other factors involved.
In fact, Prince Gong Yixin did not fully understand that the Japanese had made countless loans to the Gili Kingdom over the years. If they could win this time, a large part of the compensation they would receive would be to repay the loan from the Gili Kingdom.
If they failed, all these loans would be wasted. Therefore, the Geely Kingdom spared no effort to help the Japanese, in fact, it was to ensure that its own interests would not be damaged.
When Prince Gong saw that several other military ministers had agreed to compromise and re-execute the previous agreement, he felt a little disdainful in his heart. Even if you agreed, it would not be in vain if the Liu Hai in the south disagreed.
Now there are two paths before the Qing Dynasty. The first is to hold on and see what the final naval battle between Liu Hai and Geely will be like.
If Liu Hai failed, the Qing Dynasty would naturally have to pay the loss with profits, but it would also be able to eliminate Liu Hai, the warlord of the South.
But if Liu Hai defeats the Geely Kingdom, the Qing Dynasty will be able to save 200 million taels of silver, and will also be able to take back the lease of the Geely Kingdom to occupy the Qing Dynasty.
The second one is to directly force Liu Hai to compromise with the other party, but this is impossible in the view of Prince Gong Yixin. Liu Hai is now determined to fight. The court has no way to force Liu Hai to bow his head, whether it is military or political.
.
It seems that compromise is impossible, and it is better to go all the way to the dark side.
At this time, Emperor Guangxu was actively discussing with several other military ministers how to force Liu Hai to agree to the mediation of Geely Kingdom.
Prince Gong looked at these innocent people, and finally sighed helplessly, stood up and said to Emperor Guangxu: "Long live, the current situation, from the slave's point of view, compromise is of no use anymore, it is better to give full support
Liu Hai, maybe the court can still get some benefits."
After hearing this, Emperor Guangxu's face turned gloomy, "Uncle, you don't know the strength of the Geely Kingdom. How can our Qing Dynasty fight against it? It's better to compromise now. After our Qing Dynasty works hard and regains its strength in the future,
It’s not too late to be ashamed of today’s blood.”
Seeing that Emperor Guangxu had not understood what he meant, Prince Gong Yixin hurriedly stepped forward and raised his hands again and said: "Your Majesty, we just want to negotiate peace with the Geely Kingdom, but I am afraid that Liu Hai in the south will never agree. In this way, our peace negotiation will be in trouble."
What's the point? It's better to fully support Liu Hai in a fight to the death. If we win, we can not only save 200 million taels of silver, but also cut off a piece of meat from foreign countries to supplement our strength. But if we fail, the worst we can do is to pay more in the end.
With some money, the Qing Dynasty was able to eliminate the warlord Liu Hai, which is not without compensation."
After hearing what Prince Gong Yixin said, Emperor Guangxu thought about it in his heart. It was just like Prince Gong Yixin said, he really had nothing to do with his bangs now.
In this case, peace talks are completely unfeasible. It is better to let Liu Hai fight a war with the Geely Kingdom to let the Geely Kingdom know that the Qing Dynasty is not to be bullied.
The more Emperor Guangxu thought about it, the brighter his eyes became. Finally, his two eyes were like light bulbs. It was as if he had found his backbone, and his whole body began to heat up.
Several other military ministers also thought about it after listening to Prince Gong Yixin's words. They felt that Prince Gong Yixin was indeed a veteran who had been in power for decades. This idea was currently the most feasible for the Qing Dynasty.
Already.
So these people also changed their attitude towards asking for peace and agreed with Prince Gong's opinion.
When Emperor Guangxu saw that the Military Department had reached an agreement, he himself was also leaning towards this method, so he said to several other ministers: "Since all the ministers have reached an agreement, then I will follow the public opinion, but we still have to discuss this matter with the Queen Mother
For a moment, you go back first and wait until I have obtained the decree from the Queen Mother before promulgating it to the world."
Prince Gong and others immediately followed Emperor Guangxu's order and left the Yangxin Hall.
Emperor Guangxu sat alone on the throne and thought about how to explain to the Queen Mother next.
Emperor Guangxu understands Lafayette's thoughts. Although she is still in control of the situation in the Qing Dynasty, she is old and no longer has the enterprising spirit of the past. Now she only wants to be safe. I'm afraid if she doesn't have a good excuse,
He will not fight with the Kyrgyzstan.
Finally, Emperor Guangxu thought about it and came up with a solution. Emperor Guangxu finally breathed a sigh of relief after thinking about it.
Three days later, Emperor Guangxu personally drove away and went to the Summer Palace to meet the Empress Dowager Cixi.
Although Lafayette was in the Summer Palace, she was well aware of every move of the imperial court. She was also aware of the protest raised by Ji Li Guo a few days ago, as well as the methods discussed by the military and aircraft ministers in the Yangxin Hall.
In fact, in Lafayette's heart, she doesn't want to fall out with foreign countries, but now even if she doesn't fall out, I'm afraid Liu Hai won't agree.
Since this is the case, let Liu Hai fight together. No matter whether he wins or loses, it will be beneficial to the Qing Empire.
It can be said that the current Lafayette coincides with Prince Gong Yixin.