Without the pain of being severing, most Chinese people who think they live in a peaceful and prosperous era would never have thought that they would be so close to danger.

Since May, many conflicts broke out on the Koryo Peninsula, and subsequent battles, even Pyongyang offensive and defensive battles, and several naval battles, most people treated them with the attitude of watching the show. In the hearts of the people of the Qing Dynasty, my glorious country of the Celestial Kingdom will not lose to the Japanese a small country.

Even at the beginning, most important officials of the court thought that Japan only had a population of millions and could not raise tens of thousands of soldiers. Even if they won, there was nothing to be proud of.

Even though Yang Hao announced the details of Japan through the Guowenbao, telling their cruel history little by little, the whole mobilization and various preparations made for invasion in recent decades, there was still an argument between the government and the opposition that "Yang was just an alarmist."

Now, the most important thing in the minds of almost all the important officials is to defeat Li Hongzhang.

The previous victory of the Yellow Sea Battle made them feel very regretful. The Qing army, which retreated to the mouth of the Yalu River, actively prepared for the war, and in their opinion, the chances of winning were more than half. Therefore, even though Weng Tonghe was dissolved, the powerful Qingliu Emperor Party still disagreed with the mobilization of the full-scale war and was slow to go.

However, in just a few days, the Japanese army actually raided on their own land! Although most people might not be able to find the small county town called "Rizhao" according to the map, they also felt the vibration that had not happened in more than half a year.

The Japanese are really bold! They openly invaded the Qing Dynasty's homeland, and they are going to rebel!

The "war" on the heads of civil and military officials in the court began to be implemented for the first time, but their focus was not on the civilians who died. Apart from the unavoidable Shandong Governor Li Bingheng who gave a heartbroken note, only some people from the people were discussing it. Only the candidates who gathered in the capital and even around preparing for the next year's examination were debating.

Within one day, 90% of the memorials written across the country were condemning Li Hongzhang for "As the governor of Zhili and the leader of Beiyang coastal defense, he actually allowed only Japanese soldiers to invade the territory, which was dereliction of duty. The court spent tens of millions of troops to raise troops, what was the food for?"

The contribution of the bloody battle between the patrol battalions and the Beiyang soldiers was vaguely described by them. On the other hand, they expressed doubts about how the Yang family and the Yizhou regiment were able to resist the invading enemy, and even killed more than a thousand. They kept urging Li Bingheng to send people to investigate and verify. There were countless loyal Qing ministers who asked to find out whether the force Yang family possessed was legal and whether the military preparations of the Yizhou regiment were too strong.

A country with a huge size has various reactions to this, but it only lacks a kind of shared hatred for the enemy that truly belongs to the national group in the face of aggression war.

Tianjin, Beiyang Yamen.

Li Jing was angry and rushed into the back hall in a hurry. His disgusting appearance made Li Hongzhang, who was reading a stack of street tabloids, feel very unhappy and slapped the table.

"I'm so nervous. What a person! He's so old that he must be calm even when the sky falls!"

Li Jingfang trembled all over and stopped quickly, with a dignified look down respectfully: "Yes, my father taught me the right lesson."

"Hmph!" Li Hongzhang glared at him and said nothing more, but he couldn't stand the things in his hand. He simply left them all and asked lightly: "What the hell is that you are so anxious?"

Li Jingfang took out a stack of sticky notes from his sleeve and said excitedly: "Father, look at these important officials of the court. They don't care about the Japanese pirates' invasion and the people's suffering. They are all determined to take advantage of the issues and let you step down! The situation is now in danger, and the great powers are watching the Japanese fight with us. If you are not careful, it will be the end of the country and the family! They... they can't tell the difference between the severity and only know how to fight in the internal struggle!"

Li Hongzhang glanced at the notes indifferently, and knew without looking at them that they must have been copied from the telegraph room. In addition, there should be excerpts of memorials to the court, which he managed early in the morning and could grasp the dynamics of the court at any time. Anyone who wants to get rid of him through political struggles will have basically no secret of the content of the memorials submitted to the emperor.

Li Hongzhang knew the faces of the people in the court better than anyone else. He raised his head and looked directly at Li Jingfang: "You are anxious to get angry about this? Do you think this thing can hurt my fur?"

Li Jingfang shook his head: "No. My son is angry. They don't care about how serious the hidden crisis is in this matter! Britain, France, Germany, the United States and Russia all tried to seize benefits that were beneficial to them in this war, and even did not hesitate to do it for it. "Guowenbao" explained and disclosed several times, so they should have seen it clearly, right? But you see, they just wanted to break up, drag their legs, and clean up the training regiments that had won the battle! It was simply..."

He was so angry that he didn't know what words to describe it.

Li Hongzhang sighed: "You are still not experienced enough."

He stood up, walked back and forth slowly in the hall with his hands behind his back, and said leisurely: "Do you think they can't see the situation clearly? In fact, they understand better than anyone else. Don't forget who they are, Qingliu! As long as you have an official position, you can be famous all over the world, what's the point of killing a few civilians? I thought that when I fought against the Taiping Army and attacked the Nian bandits, there were tens of millions of casualties, and the entire south was defeated, and the city was killed. Now, isn't it still peaceful in the world?"

Li Hongzhang was the one who killed people back then, and he was today. He was tough and no longer shy about some mortals. Who is the best guy who can stand in the court who has experienced countless open and secret struggles and several life-and-death battles?

"Yang Hao, that boy, was close to us. He helped Beiyang several times, but he refused to pull out a single hair to respect those innocent people. He even repeatedly caused some trouble to shake their king, wise ministers and wise men, and even had the danger of overthrowing the orthodox Qing Dynasty. Now he is about to enter the house, how can they let it go?"

Li Jingfang didn't understand it at first, but then he thought about it carefully and realized: "Yes, I still felt strange, why did Yang suddenly change his temperament and publicize their strength for the first time. Could it be that Yang Hao is planning to take advantage of the situation to take the stage?"

Li Hongzhang nodded slowly: "That's it. You think. After half a year of cultivation, Yang Hao's name "Mr. Huasheng" has become famous all over the country and is more well-known to foreigners. Because of his continuous destiny, he is regarded as the wise man who knows the world's storm best. His momentum has reached its peak, so of course he must take the opportunity to go further. You also know that today's efforts to govern and create a career that surpasses his ancestors is thirsty for seeking talents. There are also frequent statements of reform and strengthening between the government and the country. Maybe by chance, Yang will be able to step into the court in one fell swoop and compete with me!"

Li Jingfang was horrified!

If you think about it carefully, I am afraid that Yang Hao really has such strength. He is rich, famous, talented, knowledgeable, good at fighting, and understands industry, military, diplomacy, and economics. He is a generalist. If he is older, he will be a prime minister!

If Emperor Guangxu really recruits peace, even if the official rank cannot be very high, once he pushes up the Zongli Yamen, Li Hongzhang's Beiyang Yamen will be useless!

As for the Beiyang Fleet, if you use Yang's means to create another force, it is estimated that as long as you pay, Guangdong and Fujian Navy may help you, and you will immediately pull up your arrogance!

But then he rejected the idea: "Yang Dingshi could not surrender to the court. Looking at his various actions, he was trying his best to change the current situation in China, inspire the wisdom of the people, and reform the past and the innovation. How could such a person be willing to be inferior to others? I would rather believe that he would accumulate enough strength and raise the flag to rebel!"

"That's true." Li Hongzhang nodded in praise, "The people in the court must not allow Yang Hao to challenge their authority. The Yang family may not have the intention at all, so the result is that the Yang family's plan is ill-behaved and wants to destroy the Qing Dynasty. Of course, such a threat must be ruthlessly strangled. If it were me, he would not allow him to do so!"

Li Jingfang was shocked and looked at Li Hongzhang: "Father wants to attack him too? But they have just repelled the Japanese invaders. How can such a heroic and chivalrous act..."

Li Hongzhang glared at him fiercely: "Childish! It is related to the safety of the world. The more such a hero is, the more merciless he must be eliminated! This world must be controlled by people who read the books of sages and take the imperial examinations. A group of outsiders who hold Western weapons must never enter the house!"

Seeing that Li Jingfang was tampering with his neck and obviously disagreeing, Li Hongzhang suddenly laughed: "Of course, the people in the court must have thought so. But here I just want to take over the current crisis first. Helplessly, the British obviously have the intention of being biased, but I am afraid... the situation is worrying!"

In the past, Li Hongzhang was always lucky and could drag the Russians to stir up trouble, so that Britain could not express its opinion directly. This could prevent Japan's ambitions.

But now he didn't dare to think so. He understood that the Japanese made Yang Hao so bad, and he was still storming upwards. If Britain really wanted to be fair, it should mediate vigorously. Unfortunately, in the report I received yesterday, the British openly intervened in the Battle of Rizhao, but helped the Japanese fleet escape!

Now on the banks of the Yalu River, the Japanese army continues to increase their troops. The forces that attacked Yang Hao were originally going to directly attack Dalian Lushun and confiscate him from Li Zhongtang's old nest. With the current power, they could not defend at all. This time, they were once again benefiting from the Yang family.

After Li Hongzhang sat back to the table, he gently tapped the handrail with his fingers and said to Li Jingfang: "Yang Hao must have his picture when he showed his strength. Please contact him, and I believe that this boy must have an explanation. Well, when you have time, read more Western military books he sent."

Li Jingfang's heart was immediately filled with a huge sense of happiness, and he was asked to read military books. This was to agree to his request to join the battlefield before! When he was dizzy, he bowed to the end: "Thank you, father!"

Capital, Summer Palace.

The Empress Dowager Cialis listened to the opera troupe sing songs lazily and said to Li Lianying who was bowing beside him: "I heard that yesterday the emperor wanted to issue an order to praise Yang Hao and asked Li Hongzao and the others to persuade him to go back?"

Li Lianying carefully agreed: "That's not true. But what the ministers said makes some sense. The Yang family does not respect the court and has repeatedly acted rudely. This time, they even hid military weapons and secretly stored weapons. The Japanese were also seduced by them, otherwise they would not leave such big places and go to the small county town to make trouble?"

The Empress Dowager Cixi could not see any joy or anger on her face, and she said slowly: "This man is not content. I am not satisfied with my birthday. Is there any explanation for Little Li Zi, is there any other thing on Li Hongzhang?"

"Reply to the words of Lafayette! Li Hongzhang said that the iron armored ship was still counting on Yang Hao for repair. Without their new cannons, it would not be able to defeat the Japanese."

The Queen Mother Cixi said "tsk", looked at the stage with a slight narrowed her eyes and said lightly: "Then keep going!"

Li Lianying felt a sudden strife. Lord Lao Fu was not good for the people below and was dissatisfied. He began to wonder if he should take the opportunity to take the opportunity to take the blame or something.

In the embassy district of Beijing, at a cocktail party where envoys from various countries participated, British Minister Ogne asked the American Minister Tian Bei: "I wonder if there have been new changes in the attitude of the United States towards Far East affairs? Do you intend to actively participate in the Sino-Japanese dispute?"

Tian Bei smiled and said, "America is only interested in making money. The Far East does not have the benefits we need, at least not now."

"So, will the US Concession in Tianjin continue to maintain the status quo? It seems that the construction inside is very good and the investment is huge. If the United States regains its governance rights, the harvest will be satisfactory."

Tian Bei shook his head: "I think it's good now. No matter what, it's always nominally the territory of America."

Ogne was a little disappointed and was about to turn around and leave, but Tian Bei said meaningfully: "However, according to relevant laws in our country, expatriates who have left their homeland for more than a year will automatically lose their American citizenship."

Ogne's eyes lit up immediately and he clinked his glass of wine: "Tonight, this sentence is the most beautiful." (To be continued, please search for Astronomy, novels are better, updated and faster!

ps: Thanks for the reward of sand and stones in the water!
Chapter completed!