Besides, after Li Hongzhang received the order from Emperor Guangxu, he immediately went to the capital without any delay.
But this time Emperor Guangxu listened to the persuasion of Prince Gong Yixin and summoned Li Hongzhang in the Yangxin Hall as soon as he arrived in the capital.
After Li Hongzhang kowtowed and saluted, Emperor Guangxu raised his eyes and looked down at Li Hongzhang. He saw that Li Hongzhang now had gray hair and beard, and was much older than he had been some time ago.
Seeing this, Emperor Guangxu couldn't help but feel pity for a while. This veteran minister had been serving the Qing Dynasty all his life, and even at this age, he still had to go out to fight against Liu Hai.
So Emperor Guangxu hurriedly ordered someone to show Li Hongzhang how to sit. After Li Hongzhang thanked him, he gently sat on the chair.
At this time, Emperor Guangxu asked: "Li Aiqing, what do you think of the situation in the Qing Dynasty today?"
When Li Hongzhang heard Emperor Guangxu's question, a light suddenly appeared in his somewhat cloudy eyes, and then quickly disappeared.
"Long live my lord, from my perspective, the current Qing Dynasty is in trouble, not externally, but internally."
Li Hongzhang pointed out at this glance that the current crisis in the Qing Dynasty came not from the great powers, but from the restlessness of the internal people.
Emperor Guangxu nodded after hearing this, and then continued to ask: "In Li Aiqing's opinion, how should we pacify it?"
After listening to this, Li Hongzhang pondered for a moment, and then continued: "In my opinion, it is better to stabilize the opponent temporarily, and then actively accumulate strength, and annihilate it in one fell swoop when the time is right."
Emperor Guangxu was a little unhappy after hearing this. "Although this method is mature and prudent, it takes too long and is not good for the country. Doesn't Li Aiqing have a way to win quickly?"
Li Hongzhang listened to Emperor Guangxu's questions below and shook his head in his heart. This emperor was still so impatient, but he didn't understand that governing a big country is like cooking small dishes. His impatience would only make things worse.
"Long live Qi Zun, now that the opponent has grown up, if we attack rashly, things will happen unexpectedly, and it will be out of control. It is better to stabilize the opponent temporarily, and then accumulate strength before attacking."
Emperor Guangxu could only sigh when he heard this. Although he knew that he was a little impatient, but as he watched Liu Hai becoming more and more powerful, he was not anxious, and that was the reason why he had a ghost.
"Then I wonder what policies Li Aiqing will adopt after taking office?"
Li Hongzhang said that Emperor Guangxu finally asked for an idea. He thought about it in his mind. Now he should try his best to obtain Emperor Guangxu's approval, and then he can have sufficient funds to realize his wish.
"Long live Qi, after I take office in Zhili, my first priority is to restore the Huai Army's establishment, train new troops, and purchase firearms so that Zhili will have an army capable of conquering and fighting."
Emperor Guangxu nodded when he heard this. If so, that would be the best. Now the court is short of an army that can go to the battlefield.
"The next step is to reorganize the Beiyang Navy. Although the Beiyang Navy was defeated, it was not because our strength was inferior to others, but because the Beiyang ships were old and the Japanese were cunning, which led to the failure."
Li Hongzhang's words were somewhat tactful. He knew very well that the strength of the Beiyang Navy was actually much worse than that of the combined fleet. Coupled with the lack of support from the imperial court, the Beiyang Navy was undefeated.
That's why there are ghosts.
However, Li Hongzhang did not dare to say these words in front of Emperor Guangxu, otherwise, the governor-general of Zhili he had just acquired would be able to fly immediately.
Emperor Guangxu's eyes immediately lit up when he heard that he wanted to see the Beiyang Navy again, "My dearest friend, I really appreciate what I said. Now that the Beiyang Navy has been completely wiped out, the waters near the capital are almost undefended. For the sake of the imperial court,
To ensure safety, the Beiyang Navy must be rebuilt."
Since Emperor Guangxu listened to Prince Gong Yixin's words, he knew that Liu Hai's navy was powerful and that it would be easy to follow the Tianjin Wei Straight to the capital. Therefore, Emperor Guangxu only felt that it was difficult to sleep and eat.
Now if Li Hongzhang wants to rebuild the Beiyang Navy, it is in line with his own wishes, and with Li Hongzhang's mediation, he is not afraid that the old Buddha in the Summer Palace will disagree. In this way, the reconstruction of the Beiyang Navy is very sure.
"Then Lao Aiqing thinks that the Beiyang Navy should purchase a few more warships to ensure the safety of Tianjin Wei and the capital."
Li Hongzhang thought for a while and then said: "With the current strength of the enemy, if we want to ensure the safety of Tianjin Guard, I believe that we must purchase at least 4 more first-class ironclad ships and several armored cruisers. If we cooperate with Tianjin Guard
The fort, come to think of it, no country in the world today can easily break through the Tianjin Guard and threaten the security of the imperial court."
Emperor Guangxu frowned when he heard this. The price offered by Li Hongzhang was really too high. Not to mention anything else, the silver taels consumed by the four battleships alone were worth a fortune.
But Emperor Guangxu thought about it, if he didn't do this, how could he suppress bangs?
So he gritted his teeth and said: "Old Ai Qing's words are very suitable to my liking. When Lao Ai Qing took office as governor of Zhili, he immediately wrote a memorial to report to the court."
When Li Hongzhang saw that Emperor Guangxu agreed, he was also full of surprise. The reason why Li Hongzhang wanted to bid for four battleships was to give Emperor Guangxu room for bargaining. In fact, in Li Hongzhang's heart, as long as the imperial court could agree to purchase two battleships, he would be satisfied.
Unexpectedly, Emperor Guangxu fully agreed to his request under Liu Hai's pressure.
After this meeting, Li Hongzhang went to the Summer Palace again to report his current situation to the Empress Dowager Cixi.
Although Empress Dowager Cixi is currently retiring in the Summer Palace on the surface, she is actually following every move of the imperial court.
Therefore, Empress Dowager Cixi had already known about Li Hongzhang's conversation with Emperor Guangxu in the Hall of Yangxin.
And now Li Hongzhang repeated it in front of Cixi, which was no different from what the Empress Dowager Cixi knew.
The Empress Dowager Cixi was satisfied and naturally had more smiles on her face. Therefore, Li Hongzhang did not face any difficulties this time. At the same time, he received the assurance from the Empress Dowager that the imperial court would fully support the funding of the Beiyang Navy.
Li Hongzhang happily returned to Tianjin Guards after receiving the approval of the two big men in the imperial court.
After Li Hongzhang returned to Tianjin, he immediately revealed the news to the great powers, telling them that the Qing Dynasty was planning to purchase four battleships.
This news immediately caused a stir among the great powers. You must know that purchasing four battleships will cost a lot, and the profits will be astonishing.
Li Hongzhang did not immediately decide which country to purchase from. Instead, he sent envoys to Western countries to inspect warships before deciding which country to build them.
At this time, Sir Dou Nale, the Minister of Geely to the Qing Dynasty, came to visit Li Hongzhang privately.
Li Hongzhang was also surprised by the other party's visit, but he quickly realized that the other party was probably coming for those warships.
After Li Hongzhang had an idea, he met the minister in the flower hall.
After the two parties met and exchanged a few pleasantries, Sir Dounale directly brought the topic to the warship.
"Master Li, I have heard rumors that the Qing Dynasty wants to purchase four battleships. I don't know if it is true."
Li Hongzhang touched his beard, and then said with a smile: "I didn't expect the gossip to spread so quickly. The court made a decision and there were rumors among the people."
Sir Dou Nale's eyes lit up immediately when he saw Li Hongzhang's admission, "Master Li, now our British Empire is the number one in the world in terms of the construction of new warships. I hope that Master Li can purchase this batch of warships from our country of Geely."
.”
Li Hongzhang replied noncommittally, "I'm afraid this is inappropriate. I have already sent people to investigate and finally select the best ones."
When Sir Dou Nale heard that Li Hongzhang did not immediately agree to him, he knew that Li Hongzhang was selling for a price.
Now he knows that there are many people in the West who want to get this business. In addition to the Kingdom of Geely, there are also the Kingdom of Will and the Kingdom of Noodles.
Except for the Empire of Will, their shipbuilding industry is now advancing rapidly and can almost compete with the British Empire.
Let's just say that although the Noodle Kingdom is not very developed in terms of shipbuilding capabilities, the warships they built are actually very advanced. Even the design bureau of the Geely Kingdom has not completely suppressed them.
These two countries are competing, and if they lower their prices slightly, then this business may have nothing to do with Geely.
However, Sir Dou Nale also had his trump card, otherwise he would not have dared to come to see Li Hongzhang like this.
"Master Li, do you know that building a warship is a very tedious project. How many years does it take for a warship to be laid from the keel to delivery?"
Li Hongzhang nodded when he heard this. He also knew the manufacturing time of warships very well. The Dingyuan and Zhenyuan ships back then took several years.
Sir Dou Nale saw Li Hongzhang nodding, so he continued to say: "If it takes a few years, I'm afraid it will not be a good thing for the Qing Dynasty, because the threat from the south is getting more and more serious, and you may not be able to wait that long.
time."
When Li Hongzhang heard this, his eyes were a little dark at first, but when he thought about it, Sir Dou Nale, what did he mean by saying this? I'm afraid he was either mocking himself, or he had another agenda.
So Li Hongzhang touched his beard and did not get angry. Instead, he listened quietly to what the other party had to say.
Sir Dou Nale saw Li Hongzhang acquiescing, and a smile appeared in his eyes. He knew that the matter was already half done.
"But Lord Li, don't worry about time. Our Geely Kingdom now has two battleships that are about to be completed and can be sold to the Beiyang Navy immediately."
After hearing this, Li Hongzhang was surprised for a while, but he calmed down immediately. Now that the Geely Kingdom has lost a large part of its new warships due to Liu Hai's defeat, they are now working overtime to restore their strength. How can they give up their ready-made warships to