Alchemy Greater China

At this moment, Zhenyuan is waiting for several warships, fifty nautical miles away from Shanghai, hesitating!

Now, Liu Kunyi has mastered the first knife to redistribute the "big cake" vacated by the British. How to cut and distribute it has attracted much attention.

If the Beiyang navy seeks trouble with him at this time and disturbs this matter, he will be scolded as a traitor!

In this regard, Li Hongzhang is very headache!

Long Hao's unreasonable and understated retreat put him in a dilemma, and he was in a dilemma.

Really hateful!

Regardless of his weakness, Li Hongzhang hurriedly summoned his staff to discuss. After a night of ups and downs, they came to a unified conclusion with dark circles around their eyes.

That is: No matter what, Liu Kun must not be allowed to successfully complete this "allocation meeting" smoothly, otherwise, the rise of the Nanyang Navy will be unstoppable, and Beiyang will not be able to explain to Lafayette !

Li Hongzhang came here for two purposes, one is to incorporate the Nanyang Navy, and the other is to get back part of the tariff pricing power.

However, if the current situation continues, he will not be able to accomplish a single goal!

At that time, how will he face Cixi's anger and her debt collection of 100 million taels?

In order to prevent Liu Kunyi from becoming a national hero, Li Hongzhang gritted his teeth and made a decision: strengthen ties with General Fremantle of the Far East Fleet!

From the original light cooperation to eager deep cooperation.

From the original strategy of attacking Shanghai mainly by the Beiyang Navy, it was changed to an offensive strategy based on the "seeking revenge" of the British Far East Fleet and supplemented by the Beiyang Navy.

Li Hongzhang was naturally not willing to see such a change, because of this.Even if Shanghai was attacked by artillery fire, but in terms of tariff pricing power, my side lost the opportunity.It will definitely suffer a lot.

This loss makes me feel aggrieved!

Especially when Li Hongzhang believed that the current strength of the British Far East Fleet was not as good as his Beiyang.

But there is no way, who let Long Hao block Li Hongzhang's way of "righteous conquest" with one move of "retreat"?

If you want to continue to attack Shanghai, put pressure on the people on it, and destroy the Sino-British peace talks.If the division of interests is destroyed, then this war can only be led by the 'bitter master' British!

It's no wonder that Li Hongzhang had the illusion that Beiyang was stronger than the Far East Fleet. It was because Fremantle was advancing too slowly, and it didn't look like he was coming to revenge.

That's right, one of my squadrons has been completely wiped out by others, and your rescue team is still dawdling on the road. This is clearly the rhythm of misunderstanding!

What's more, the information obtained by Li Hongzhang is that the Far East Fleet was severely damaged by Spanish warships in the South China Sea, and they came here at this time.Mostly it was just to show off, to deal with the national and domestic public opinion, not to really have the strength to attack Shanghai.

To fight Shanghai, Beiyang has to contribute!

He is obviously capable, but he wants to become someone else's deputy, and he is obviously the main offensive force.But he has to be willing to serve as a foil for the green leaves, and in the end, he has to give up the benefits he should have gotten.

It's no wonder that Li Hongzhang was extremely depressed.

But depression is better than nothing. Li Hongzhang chose the lesser of two evils, so he quickly got in touch with Fremantle. Fremantle said it was ok, and said that he would go forward and retreat with Li Hongzhang, and clean up Liu Kun, the governor of Liangjiang. one.

Communication at sea was extremely inconvenient. By the time Li Hongzhang and General Fremantle reached an agreement, it was already the end of December.

December 25th.Western traditional Christmas.

Above the city of Shanghai, snow fell, and a faint mist rose outside the port. The water surface was so cold that even a duck could not be seen.The solitude is empty and boundless.

Today is Christmas, but in Shanghai, no one wants to celebrate Christmas.

The Chinese still wear braids, so of course they don’t know who this birthday Christ is, and the representatives of various countries who stay in Shanghai don’t have the heart to go to Christmas. With two big monsters!

In other words, it was two waves of big monsters eyeing Shanghai!

As early as two days ago, everyone in Shanghai knew about it: Li Zhongtang's Beiyang Navy and the British Far East Fleet are here!

These two most powerful fleets in East Asia are here at the same time!

Of course, the coincidence is only aimed at the middle-class citizens of Shanghai who don’t know the truth. The real high-level figures, such as Liu Kunyi, the governor of Liangjiang, the French ambassador, the German general, and the American representative... They all know that these two fleets have actually arrived long ago. They just chose today to issue the ultimatum, and the day after tomorrow, the birthday of Jesus, they will launch an attack on Shanghai, which refuses to surrender!

Facing such threats, the representatives of various countries preferred to surrender. After all, they had seen Britain's formidable naval military power, and knew that once war broke out, the city of Shanghai would inevitably become a sea of ​​flames.

Naturally, their precious lives cannot be wasted needlessly in this sea of ​​flames.

Isn't it just a negotiation? Let the Far East Fleet also send representatives to participate. Anyway, the profit cake originally occupied by the United Kingdom is so big, so it is acceptable to let them share a little bit!

After all, one has to leave room for one's life, and one can't kick the UK out of the big dining table in Shanghai!

That's not kind.

Compared with the instinctive fear of the representatives of various countries for the British fleet, when Liu Kun heard that Li Hongzhang personally led the Beiyang fleet, his first reaction was anger!

Full of anger!

Outrageous!

fly into a rage!

Well, when Lao Tzu’s Nanyang Navy had a misunderstanding with the British ships, you didn’t care about it. Back then, I was cornered by various British ultimatums and sent you a letter of help. Now, we are about to sign an agreement with the representatives of various countries on the redistribution of interests in the Shanghai Concession and the Yangtze River Basin. You are lucky, and you came out and said that you want to attack Shanghai, and that you want to take me back to Beijing for trial!

Grass, are you as shameless as Li Hefei?

When you ruined Zhang Xiaoda (Zhang Zhidong)’s War of Resistance Against France, I saw it, you are a scumbag, a traitor!

Now, you finally revealed your true colors?

In order to eradicate dissidents, the party unites to attack dissidents.How dare you disregard the righteousness of the country and the nation?

The Nanjing Treaty, the Tianjin Treaty, and the Beijing Treaty have been on our heads for so many years.Now it’s so easy to see a little light that can be picked off. Li Hefei, you don’t help me, but instead come here to drag me down and try to catch me. I’m really, really mad at me!

Not for the Son of Man, not for the Son of Man!

I don't know if I have been with Li Enfu for a long time.Liu Kunyi, an ancient old man, also has a little patriotic thought in his heart. Sometimes when he thinks about problems, he will put the interests of the nation above the interests of the country... Well, the country here, of course, refers to the Manchu royal family in the capital.

Therefore, no matter whether it is public or private, Liu Kunyi is not prepared to give up Shanghai. He solemnly told the representatives of various countries: If you want to leave Shanghai, please feel free, but in the future, the negotiating table for the distribution of benefits will lose the share of the country he represents signature!

The implication is.If you run away timidly, don't blame other brave people for swallowing your cake!

Seeing Liu Kunyi's posture of vowing to live and die with Shanghai, those foreign representatives who are reluctant to get the benefits soon can only bite the bullet and wait with Liu Kunyi for the coming of this "Christmas Judgment Day".

Naturally, not all foreign representatives are asking for money or life, representatives of some small European countries.Thinking about the limited income he could get at the peace negotiation table, he silently packed his bags and left Shanghai in a hurry.

When they left, they were still cursing: Let’s fight, the more lively the fight, the better, the more dead people die, the better, when everything is messed up, when you both fight, we will come back to clean up the mess, maybe we can get The benefits are more than now!

……

In short, since Li Hongzhang and Fremantle jointly issued an ultimatum to Shanghai.In the past two days in Shanghai, people's minds are moving and the chaos is extremely chaotic.

If you think about it, the high-level figures are all divided, and they are hesitant to go or stay.Let alone the middle and lower class Shanghai citizens!

They also vaguely heard the news that a war was going to happen, and spread it all over the place, and panic immediately swept across the whole of Shanghai. If Liu Kunyi hadn't urgently dispatched the Qing soldiers to impose martial law in the center of Shanghai, Li Hongzhang and Fremantle might not have Call, Liu Kun will be disgraced by the mob as soon as he calls.

But it's a pity, without the help of Long Hao's men and horses, and Liu Kunyi is not a "Shanghai local snake", so his manpower is a bit stretched after all. No, the Qing army under his command can only guard the so-called central area: the concession He can't control the rest of the big Shanghai with the government.

Because of this, other areas, such as slums, civilian gathering areas, fishermen's habitats, resting places for low-level handicrafts... that is not a random word to describe!

The local ruffians and rogues, green skins, rushed out all at once, taking advantage of this panic, smashing and looting, and the targets were all the "big families" and disadvantaged families with orphans and widows... For a while, human nature will be brought to an end when the end comes. The ugliness of the past is brought into full play.

The situation has developed to such a degree that even the Qing Dynasty officials in old Shanghai can't control it, let alone the 'outsider' Liu Kunyi.

So, he simply closed his ears and let it go!

Therefore, the surrounding area of ​​Shanghai has become a hell on earth in a blink of an eye. Those disadvantaged people are hurriedly packing their bags, dragging their families and preparing to escape from this purgatory Shanghai.

It's ridiculous, before Shanghai was really bombarded by "our own country and other countries", the internal chaos was already in turmoil.

Just when the situation was getting out of hand, a mysterious organization called "Community Aid Association" appeared. All of their members wore soft hats and silver jackets, and held a long stick in their hands, or Don't have a pistol, strong hands, sharp fists... They haunt places around Shanghai that are infested by green-skinned hooligans, and they specialize in rescuing those unlucky residents who are about to be ruined.

The Mutual Aid Society appeared very suddenly and for a short time, so until today, that is, on December 25th, except for those Shanghai citizens who have received favors who would recite Amitabha and recite their good wishes, the rest of the people are I don't know much about it, but of course it also includes Liu Kunyi and the group of foreign representatives who decided to stay and take risks.

Don’t mention the Common Aid Association, let’s focus our attention on Shanghai port.

The fog still hasn't cleared, and the future cannot be seen clearly. The representatives of these great powers hide in the high-rise houses that they think are safe, and use high-powered binoculars to spy on the port through the windows.

over there.Liu Kunyi took his personal guards and stood on a long row of piers, next to the six dilapidated and not yet fully repaired Nanyang Navy ships.

It seems that Liu Kunyi is going to mobilize these sailors who have survived many battles.Sailing out of port again, use these six gunboats to face Li Hongzhang's Beiyang and Fremantle's British Far East Fleet!

The situation is so tragic that if the foreign representatives understand Chinese culture, they will probably beat the beat with tears in their eyes.While hitting the building, while singing Yi Shuihan!

Some foreign representatives said on the spot: "It's too impulsive. Just a few broken ships go out, so you can't be abused by the other party sucking your fingers? It's a pity, if only the navy of the Alchemy Kingdom is still there, it will only rely on Nanyang These ships of the Navy are so difficult!"

"It's not difficult, it's simply impossible!"

However, knowing it was an impossible task, Liu Kunyi was so impulsive, at nine o'clock in the morning.Liu Kunyi and his men had resolutely boarded the six gunboats. At [-]:[-], white steam came out, and six clear and loud whistles ran through the entire pier. After that, the black smoke was like a magic cloud. From the funnel of the gunboat.At the stern of the ship, the waves rolled, and the last six gunboats of the Nanyang Navy set out to sea in the wind.

Go fight to the death with the invading enemy!

Judging from the current situation, Li Hongzhang and Fremantle are actually quite particular about "chivalry". Not only did they tell Liu Kunyi the date of the attack in advance, but they also didn't take the opportunity to drive the gunboats in this foggy weather. Near the port, taking advantage of the almost complete paralysis of the fort on the shore, Liu Kunyi's ship was sunk at close range.

Therefore.Another foreign representative sighed: "This is absolute confidence in one's own strength! I heard that Beiyang has a total of twelve ships, and among them is the Zhenyuan, the number one battleship in the Far East! And Fremantle's lineup Not bad, although they are all battleships eliminated by the British, there are also three battleships with main guns, and the total tonnage exceeds [-] tons! This battle does not need to be fought at all, the difference is huge, the Qing Dynasty The governor of Liangjiang went out to die!"

"Since we are going to die, what are we still doing here? Waiting to die?"

"What are you doing? Waiting for death? You are stupid. You didn't see how weird this naval battle is. This shows that although the Beiyang and Far East Fleets are sure of winning, they don't have the determination to wipe out Shanghai! If I guess That's right, their target is Liu Kunyi, the chief culprit of the whole incident, and we... who are they talking to?"

"Huh, what do you mean? Li Hongzhang wants to talk to us?"

"That's right, if my predictions are correct, that Lord Li of the Qing Dynasty and Ferrimantle are not of the same mind, just watch, once Liu Kun is captured, it will be Li Hongzhang's turn to compete with Ferrimantle! "

"Hiss, what a guts, I know Li Hongzhang, does his Beiyang navy also want to steal food from the British population?"

"Originally he didn't dare, but who let this Far East Fleet suffer heavy losses in the South China Sea? Its current strength may not be able to compete with Beiyang! Li Hongzhang, don't underestimate him. He is the most knowledgeable person in China today. It's an old fox, it's strange that he doesn't seize such a good opportunity!"

During the conversation, the six gunboats had all set sail under the eyes of a crowd of mourners.

Not long after, the six gunboats disappeared into the layers of white mist without a trace, as if they had set foot on the road of no return and would never come back.

Since the gunboat left, those foreign representatives and the Qing army infantry who insisted on staying on the shore ran to the pier and looked into the distance. The sound came, and at the same time, he was also thinking about how he would deal with Liu Kun's defeat in the first battle.

Ten o'clock, eleven o'clock, twelve o'clock... The hour hand kept turning, and there seemed to be occasional gunfire on the sea. However, until dusk, there was still no result of this sea battle that touched the hearts of thousands of people.

What's going on?

Logically speaking, with such a huge disparity in strength, it should end soon, right?

After dragging on for seven or eight hours, what tricks are the two warring parties playing?

Many impatient people, seeing a few small fishing boats moored in the port, felt the urge to sit on them and paddle to the scene of the battle to see what happened.

……

Not to mention the anxiety of the people on the shore, scratching their necks like crazy, Li Hongzhang, one of the parties involved, has an urge to jump into the sea at this moment and finish it all!

Supported by his attendants, he stood tremblingly on the bridge of Zhenyuan, looking at a ship in the distance floating on the sea and flying the British flag of the non-Central African Union, his mouth was like Coptis chinensis, and his tongue was soaked in bitterness. .

That national flag belonged to the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Before today, no matter how many absurd dreams Li Hongzhang had or how many incredible deduction he had made, he never expected that there would be an Olympic flag in the East China Sea. Ships of the Hungarian Empire appear!

Moreover, it is still a batch of submarines!

Thinking of this, Li Hongzhang felt that his eyes were full of gold stars, and he had an urge to pass out and never wake up in his heart.

Ahem, I have to explain things clearly, and I have to start from the beginning in the morning!

In the morning, Li Hongzhang was in high spirits. He was wearing a navy uniform, standing on the broad and powerful Zhenyuan, looking back to inspect the eleven warships behind him. There was an idea that this life was not in vain.

Yes, without mentioning the distance, just comparing the British Far East Fleet ten nautical miles away, Li Hongzhang's thoughts became more and more intense.

The British Far East Fleet on the opposite side does not look like the fleet of the world's largest naval power. Their ships are not big, their queues are loose, their gun barrels are thin and dirty, and even the flags that hang are wrinkled... Really humiliate the dignity of the British Empire.