Alchemy Greater China

They have experienced the 'pain' of the elders.

What did the imperial army eat?

What does the Beiyang Navy do?

A majestic big country, unexpectedly lost to the island country!

This group of enlightened people simply can't figure it out.

If they don't understand, "Shenbao" and other Chinese newspapers fully controlled by Long Hao will let them understand!

Next, the news spread to more than a dozen large and medium-sized cities in the south of the Yangtze River.

Newspapers in Shanghai were transported to major cities by horse-drawn carriage, water transport, railway, highway, etc., and were given away for free to those who cared about state affairs.

No money is charged, as long as you shout "oppose the Weihai Treaty", you can get a newspaper with fresh ink.

For this measure, a curious businessman made a statistic, and the daily cost of "Declaration" is 20 taels of silver!

The handwriting can be described as huge, regardless of the cost.

These newspapers not only published the full text of the "Weihai Treaty" in detail, explaining the harm to China after the signing of the treaty, but also published the content of the Yellow Sea Battle, the Pyongyang Massacre, etc., with pictures and explanations, so that everyone can see clearly The ins and outs of the Sino-Japanese War of [-]-[-] clearly saw the weakness of the Qing army, the cowardice of the imperial court, and the cowardly behavior of Cixi, Prince Gong, and Li Hongzhang, who "sell their fathers and don't feel sorry for them".

The newspaper was distributed for free for only four days, and it had an effect.

Of course, this effect is not very positive and promotional.

In Xiangtan, Hunan, a small landlord who claimed to be a descendant of Hong Xiuquan from the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom announced an uprising to overthrow the decadent Qing Dynasty. He led 51 villagers into the Xiangtan county government and slaughtered the magistrate's family.Then gather the "conglongzhong" who are close together, raise three hundred troops, and attack the adjacent city of Changsha.

Naturally, this farce-like uprising was quickly extinguished!

The descendant surnamed Hong turned out to be nothing more than a money-hungry and lustful old landlord Lao Cai, a typical landlord in the fish and meat town, because he had read a few copies of the "Declaration" in the past few days and had a few extra drinks at night.So the idea of ​​rebelling and becoming king came up.

The "farce of the uprising" in Xiangtan came and passed quickly. However, this incident was reported by the reporter of "Shenbao", and it was greatly exaggerated, and it soon spread throughout the south of the Yangtze River.

Who do you think is in Jiangnan?

Hunan Army, Huai Army, Guangdong Army...the sturdy men and horses of the late Qing Dynasty are all here.

Therefore, after the "Xiangtan Uprising" incident, the seeds of dissatisfaction with the imperial court sprouted in the hearts of many people...

If we say that the 'Xiangtan Uprising' incident can be regarded as an alternative outbreak of civil dissatisfaction.Then, the dissatisfaction in the officialdom is concentrated in Liu Kunyi, governor of Liangjiang and Huguang.

On the eighth day after the "Weihai Treaty" was exposed, he wrote a letter to the Empress Dowager Cixi, expressly requesting the imperial court to declare the treaty invalid, and to imprison Prince Gong, a "traitor", and absolutely not to negotiate peace with Japan.

Liu Kunyi also said that if a war is needed.He is willing to lead the Nanyang Navy, which is still under construction, to "encircle Wei and save Zhao", and set off from Shanghai.Attack the Ryukyu Islands and Japan's Kyushu Shikoku!

In addition to writing to the imperial court, Liu Kunyi also wrote an eloquent and affectionate Wanyan essay, which was not only sent to Beijing to be posted on the wall, but also published in "Shenbao".

This move immediately won him a lot of popularity.

After receiving Liu Kunyi's letter and reading Wanyan essays circulating in the streets and alleys of the capital, the Empress Dowager Cixi was so angry that she killed two young eunuchs.And Li Hongzhang also vomited blood again and fell into a habitual coma in prison.

Of course, Master Zhongtang still made a routine confession before he fell into a coma: "Liu Kunyi is an old man who speaks better than he sings. How can he pretend to be deaf and dumb when the old man tells him to send troops early? Now the court has endured the humiliation and finally explained it to the Japanese. Reconciled. You jumped out to point this and that again, talking nonsense, really, really angry old man..."

In the face of Liu Kunyi's sudden attack, the Empress Dowager Cixi and other high-level officials returned their spirits, but the specific countermeasures were really in a dilemma, and it was difficult to introduce them.

In the end, the Qing court, represented by Cixi, simply ignored it, and let you make a noise in the south of the Yangtze River, and I will stand still.

Anyway, the treaty has been signed, the Japanese have also withdrawn their troops and ceased fighting, Beijing is safe, and you can yell as much as you like in the south!

It’s not that I didn’t lose that area in the south of the Yangtze River. Thinking about the period of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, I still lived comfortably in the Qing Dynasty after losing half of the country. In a word, you can make as much trouble as you like!

However, Liu Kunyi took advantage of the Qing court's deceitful and let-it-yourself approach.

On the third day after the imperial court was silent, he spoke again in the "Declaration": "The imperial court has difficulties. In order to keep the Queen Mother's birthday from being disturbed, so I made a compromise to negotiate peace with Japan! However, the imperial court has concerns. I, Liu Kun, But I have no worries, and Nanyang has no worries at all! Since the imperial court did not criticize me, Liu, they acquiesced in my actions. Next, I, Liu Kunyi, will avenge those compatriots and soldiers who died in the Yellow Sea battle!"

As soon as these words came to the fore, Deng Shichang's men, who were thought to have perished with the Yoshino in the Yellow Sea battle, also appeared in unison.

They were interviewed by "Declaration" in Shanghai, and stated the situation of the naval battle at that time, and said: The Beiyang Navy is actually strong from the outside, and can compete with Japan's latest fast warships without adding new warships for many years. Come on, it's not easy!

Deng Shichang also pointed out bluntly that if he hadn't obtained a batch of ammunition supplies from Long Hao before the war, he would never have been able to catch up with and sink the Yoshino. Maybe it will be even worse to lose!

Deng Shichang stood up to speak, and the "Shenbao" published this article and continued to distribute it in the south of the Yangtze River. The whole country couldn't help being in an uproar: It turns out that we did not lose to Little Japan because of carelessness. It turns out that our pride—the Beiyang Navy has been corrupted to this point. The result is still a better result after hard work! ?

This cruel fact is like another heavy hammer, smashing the self-esteem of enlightened patriots across the country to pieces and scattering them to the ground.

Liu Kunyi didn't brag, what he said, put it into practice immediately!

On June [-], six warships of the Nanyang Navy departed from Shanghai Port, crossed into the East China Sea, and headed for the Japanese mainland.

Deng Shichang went with him.

On June [-], the Nanyang Navy met a small Japanese fleet in the northern edge of the Ryukyu Islands.And exchange fire.

Both sides suffered damage to each other, but the Nanyang Navy finally repelled the Japanese navy, which was not the main force, and continued to move northward, approaching Nagasaki.

On June [-], the Nanyang Navy fired thirteen shots at the port of Nagasaki, sinking five fishing boats.After killing dozens of Japanese fishermen, they walked away.

Although this action of the Nanyang Navy did not cause a substantial blow to the Japanese Navy, the significance it represents is extraordinary.

When the Beiyang navy was held in its old den and beat up by the Japanese, the weaker Nanyang navy bravely ran to the Japanese territory and launched a powerful counterattack against the enemy!

This is undoubtedly inspiring and boosts national morale.

No, when the news of the victory of 'bombarding Nagasaki' came back to China, the whole country rejoiced.The face of the court is dull.

There are many people who don't understand the truth and shout the loudest: "It turns out that Little Japan is so weak. Each of us donated a penny to support the Nanyang Navy to buy a few more gunboats. Let's kill Little Japan! Everyone agrees, okay?" ah?"

"Yes, kill Tokyo and capture the Emperor of Japan alive!"

"Hey, I'm sorry for the incompetence of the imperial court. You only need to spend one-tenth of the compensation money to buy gunboats. How can Little Japan dare to win by training sailors? Do you still need us to donate money?"

"I have no money. But I have a cheap life, and I want to use this cheap life to exchange ten lives of Japanese beasts! nnd, my Taishan died in Pyongyang, pity my daughter-in-law who went back to her natal family to visit relatives!"

……

Amidst the applause, the Nanyang Navy accepted it without seeing it.Instead, they took advantage of the victory to pursue.

They fired several shots at the southernmost ports of Kyushu and Shikoku in Japan, and killed a small Japanese fleet that was unwilling to leave the port for war. Only on June [-] did the squadron return to Shanghai triumphantly.

The brilliant results achieved by the Nanyang Navy attracted the attention of the Qing court in Beijing.

Those big bosses in the high hall.I started to feel a little regretful, which of course also included the Empress Dowager Cixi, Prince Gong, and some peacemakers: Are we a little too timid?Being bluffed by the gang of Japanese pirates in the east?In fact, Japanese pirates are not as scary as we imagined?Don't you see, the Nanyang Navy ran to their door to shit and pee, and didn't see any decent counterattack from them?Shouldn't we also try to strike out and see if we can win the battle and calm some of the growing public grievances?

However, after much deliberation, these bigwigs finally gave up.

They thought about it this way: Anyway, the treaty for the peace talks has been signed, and the banker has already paid the "down payment", and the next ones to repay the loan are those mud legs anyway. How about taking the risk of a big country promising a lot of money to provoke a war that has been stopped with great difficulty?

Yes, we should do this. We neither encourage nor oppose the actions of the Nanyang Navy. It fights well, and my Qing Dynasty naturally has a good face, which shows that my Qing Dynasty is not incapable of defeating Japan, but only for the sake of innocent lives. , Only then put down Jiang Gui and negotiate peace with the other party.

If the Nanyang Navy fails in the end, we have something to say: look, this is the end of the fight with the Japanese. Look, running the country is not a child's play, and it can't be done by mere courage.

After figuring it out, those bigwigs in the court stayed in the capital with peace of mind, 'waiting and watching'...

It is said that the Nanyang Navy is making troubles near Kyushu and Shikoku Island, and Prime Minister Ito Hirobumi is also a headache.

Relying on his rich experience and the ignorance and weakness of the Qing Dynasty, he was lucky enough to 'win' the Sino-Japanese War. In fact, the day before the signing of the armistice, the Japanese army had been out of food for three days. If Prince Gong was more 'indecisive', the Japanese themselves might It will be the first to be unable to hold on.

Fortunately, the result was lucky and fruitful for Ito Hirobumi and Emperor Meiji!

After receiving the indemnity from the Qing Dynasty, the Japanese army seemed to have added a tube of nutrition, and the entire team was rejuvenated.

In addition to compensation, the benefits brought by other provisions of the "Weihai Treaty" also need to be digested and absorbed by Ito Hirobumi and others.

Hirobumi Ito has all the plans. Let's take a break this year, give the other party a face, and let the old lady in the Qing Dynasty have a good birthday. After the new year next year, I will continue to launch an offensive from the Korean Peninsula and kill those who didn't get it this time. The Liaodong Peninsula was also brought down.

At that time, with the Liaodong Peninsula, Japan can continue to plot China's northeast land.

When the Liaodong Peninsula and the vast northeast black land are connected, the industrialization of the Great Japanese Empire will be able to develop rapidly.

The reason, as we all know, is that China's "chicken head" (outer Mongolia is not yet independent. It is called chicken head to make it easier for modern observers to understand), has vast resources, and Japan has already coveted it. Centuries!

Ito Hirobumi planned well, but all of this was disrupted by the seemingly reckless revenge of the Nanyang Navy.

As for the Nanyang Navy, I explained it earlier.Ito Hirobumi didn't pay much attention to it. He felt that it was a flamboyant fleet only suitable for playing in inland rivers.

If the Beiyang Navy is a regular army, then the Nanyang Navy is at best an urban management officer. No matter how great it is, if you put a hat on it as a "formal urban management worker favored by Long Hao", it will be amazing!

Therefore, when the Nanyang Navy approached Nagasaki Port on Kyushu Island, Japan, Ito Hirobumi just sneered at it after receiving the news.

His judgment is.According to comprehensive intelligence analysis, the Nanyang navy came here just for show, to win Liu Kunyi's reputation and strengthen his control over various parts of the south of the Yangtze River.

At best, the Nanyang navy will retreat a few shots away from the shore.

It was based on this extremely confident judgment that Hirobumi Ito did not mobilize the main warship, but only sent a small force to scare the Nanyang Navy.

But who knows.Urban management has great power, and Ito Hirobumi, who underestimated urban management, suffered a great loss.

Not only the small fleet blocked in the past suffered heavy losses.Moreover, others bombarded Nagasaki. Although only a few fishing boats were lost, Japan's face was lost.

He also said that after defeating Beiyang, he couldn't even protect the mainland, bragging?

The bombing of Nagasaki Port has become an excellent offensive weapon for the downfall of 'Ito' political forces in Japan.They seized the opportunity and launched a siege against Ito Hirobumi's cabinet.

In addition, Emperor Meiji, who finally stopped eating peanuts, also wanted to suppress Ito Hirobumi, so Ito Hirobumi did not have time to correct the mistake of underestimating the enemy against the Nanyang Navy.He was almost thrown into the wild. If it weren't for the great help of the Hongmen forces from the United States, who assassinated several representatives of the most vicious opposition forces, I am afraid that Ito Hirobumi would have been thrown into prison by now, or given It is also unknown whether the short knife cut seppuku.

By the time Ito Hirobumi got out of this massacre by chance, the Nanyang Navy had already run back to Shanghai to celebrate the victory.

Ito Hirobumi was furious, and out of consideration for regaining prestige, a secret order was given to the Japanese Army Garrison in Korea on June [-].

The secret order instructed them to immediately launch a sneak attack on Lushun Port on the Liaodong Peninsula as revenge for the Nanyang Navy's bombardment of Nagasaki Port!

On June 21, the wind was like a shadow, and the clouds were gloomy.

Today's weather was very bad and visibility was poor. At dawn, the Japanese Second Army Garrisoned in North Korea suddenly left their camp and invaded Lushun.

The Japanese army was divided into two groups, one was the mixed division of the siege artillery team, and the other was the support group of the cavalry and mountain artillery squadron.

At 22 o'clock in the morning on the [-]nd, the Japanese army arrived at the city of Lushun and began a "silent" raid on Lushun Port.

It was less than a month after the armistice between China and Japan. Most of the Qing troops stationed near Lushun withdrew. They naively thought that the Japanese would abide by the armistice treaty and would not cross the border between China and North Korea in a short time. Invasion of Lushun Port.

The war began, and the Japanese army used superior artillery fire to suppress the bewildered Qing army in Lushun City, and at the same time used the support team to intercept the Qing army who came to support Lushun after hearing the news.

After two days and two nights of bloody battles, the forts of the Qing army were completely lost, and the Qing army that came to support one after another was also defeated one by one by the mixed column of cavalry and mountain artillery.

There were more than [-] Qing soldiers who fell under the city wall of Lushun alone!

The losses of the Japanese army were not small, but their morale was higher and their equipment was more sophisticated. Not to mention that one was worth ten, but there was no problem in defeating three of the Qing army with one.

On June 25, Dashanyan, the Japanese general in charge of the Battle of Lushun, announced that after the capture of Lushun, he would loosen all restraints and allow his subordinates to plunder and massacre the city freely!

This order aroused the animal nature in the Japanese bones.

At noon on the 26th, the Japanese army finally blasted open the city gate of Lushun. This famous port city in the Liaodong Peninsula stood tremblingly in front of the ferocious Japanese army like a young daughter-in-law who had been stripped naked in broad daylight.

It can be seen that history has not diverged. This massacre, which made the Chinese people feel sad, and was subsequently covered up for nearly half a century, will follow the original script again...

However, at this critical moment, a charge came from the north of Lushun City.

The sound of this trumpet was so loud that it suppressed the desperate shouts of Lushun citizens and the triumphant laughter of the Japanese army for a while!

Huang Shilin, the temporary admiral of Lushun and the general of the Huai army, with a pale face, looked towards the northwest corner, and saw a billow of thick smoke rising from the plain over there. It seemed that there was a large number of cavalry Come quickly.

Huang Shilin didn't care about the wet trousers on his upper and lower body, turned his grief into joy, and shouted to the sky: "There are reinforcements, they are reinforcements! We still have reinforcements! Everyone work harder to block the city gate, and the Japanese devils must not be allowed to rush in." Come to the city!"

For some reason, more than 2 soldiers and civilians in Lushun City already knew the Japanese army's inhuman massacre plan. Therefore, although the cowardly and cowardly Huang Shilin was ashamed by everyone, they still walked towards the city gate that was bombarded by shells, and used their flesh and blood to fight against the city. body, trying to stop the Japanese army who was about to enter the city!

The sudden appearance of reinforcements shocked the Japanese army.

They clearly remembered that the Qing army around Lushun City had been wiped out, and Lushun was now an isolated city! (To be continued..)