Super dictator.

In the Zhili Governor's Mansion in Tianjin, Li Hongzhang, the Minister of Oceania, sat hunched behind the table, coughing non-stop.

Li Hongzhang's son, Li Jingfang, poured a cup of tea and put it on the table, and said worriedly: "Father, you have always been in poor health, it's better to stay up late."

Li Hongzhang spit a mouthful of thick phlegm into the spittoon, and he was relieved a little. He took the documents on the table with both hands, and said helplessly: "Now that the front line is in a hurry, and both inside and outside the court are blaming me for the defeat, I don't care. It’s okay if you want to stay out of it.”

"Father, Zhang Shilang came to the Governor's Mansion not long ago, did he seek peace?" Li Jingfang was the Minister of the Qing Dynasty in Japan, and he knew something about diplomacy.

Li Hongzhang picked up the tea, took a sip, and said just now: "Lafayette and Prince Gong hope to end the war as soon as possible, so as to avoid the loss of lives on both sides. Unfortunately, now that the Japanese have tasted the sweetness, I am afraid they will not give up for a while."

"Father, what does the emperor mean?" Li Jingfang stayed in Japan for a long time and knew the greed of the Japanese.

"The emperor listened to the words of Weng Tonghe and the old man. Not only did he reactivate the Hunan Army, but he also ordered me to send the Beiyang Fleet to Weihaiwei to fight the Japanese. , it’s more bad than good.” Li Hongzhang obviously complained about Guangxu, and he didn’t have so many worries in front of his son, and he confided his inner thoughts.

Li Jingfang sighed and said: "However, the soldiers on the front line are so ineffective, they are retreating steadily, which puts my father in a dilemma. My father's hard work for more than ten years was ruined in one fell swoop."

Li Hongzhang let out a long sigh, put down the teacup in his hand, and said with a bitter face: "I have been doing things all my life, including military training and the navy. They are all paper tigers. How can I really let go of them, but they are just barely painted. If it is not exposed, it can still be perfunctory for a while. It is like a dilapidated house, which has been repaired by a paper craftsman and turned into a clean room. Although it is clearly pasted with paper, it is definitely not sure what kind of material is inside. Even if there is a little wind and rain, Make a few holes and repair them at any time, and you can also deal with them. It is necessary to tear it apart, and you have not prepared any repair materials and transformation methods. Naturally, the truth is revealed and it is out of control. Can you take responsibility for it?"

"That's right, the imperial court is worried about my father, and has been restrained by many parties. The reason why Weng Tonghe dared to seize the navy's silver when he was the head of the household department was without the approval of Lafayette. Would he have such courage?"

"After all, this imperial court is full of people. I, Li Hongzhang, have been a slave all my life, and I don't know when I will become a leader." Li Hongzhang said a little disheartened. The entire court regards the Huai Army and the Beiyang Navy as his own. Private soldiers, when they went to the battlefield, used the Huai army as the main force, and if they failed slightly, they blamed it on themselves.

"Father, do you think the Hunan Army can save the situation?" Li Jingfang flipped through the papers on the table and asked with a frown.

Li Hongzhang sneered at first, and then he said: "The weapons of the Hunan army are backward, and they are worse than my Huai army. Then Liu Kunyi is not a fool. Seeing the situation in Liaodong is corrupt, he has been delaying the time to leave the customs." , Liu Kun has not left Beijing for a long time, and I heard that the emperor has issued repeated decrees, urging him to go to Shanhaiguan to plan military affairs."

Although Li Jingfang is not familiar with military affairs, he can still understand the telegrams sent from various places.

He was talking to Li Hongzhang while flipping through the pages just now, but suddenly he let out an exclamation while flipping through the pages.

Li Hongzhang glanced at it, and found that it was a telegram just delivered today, and he hadn't had time to check it yet.

Li Jingfang immediately took out the telegram and reported: "Father, the Liaodong battlefield has changed again."

"Oh, apart from the loss of Gai Ping by Song Qing and others, is there any good news coming?" Li Hongzhang became interested.

"Father, please take a look. This is a telegram from Wei Jichen in Haicheng." Li Jingfang raised the official document in his hand and said with a smile.

When Wei Jichen and Li Hongzhang heard the name of this young man, they felt a lot more relaxed. This young man stood out from the crowd in Liaodong, and when the armies were constantly retreating, he would often bring surprises.

Li Jingfang gently read the contents of the telegram: "On the 20th, Japanese pirates attacked Ximu City, and the subordinates were ordered to garrison Yushubao about 3 kilometers outside the city. Fengsheng dare not support."

When Li Jingfang said this, his countenance changed, and he was surrounded by more than [-] people. Although he knew that Wei Jichen escaped in the end, the hardships involved can be imagined.

Seeing his father Li Hongzhang put his hands on the table and even forgot to drink tea, he was listening seriously, Li Jingfang continued to read: "My subordinates fought with the Japanese for three days, and killed many enemies. After leading the troops to break through, alas, alas, Our barracks sentry officers suffered casualties, more than 1000 were killed by Yong Ding, and many were also killed by Pao Bian's instructor. Although the number of thieves killed was doubled, they still fought to the death. The subordinates led hundreds of soldiers and rushed to kill them twice, leaving only a dozen people. ;Three changes of war horses were all shot to death. His subordinates drove through the ice and snow, were shot in the leg, and finally led the rest of the 700 people out of the encirclement. However, they heard that the commander Feng Sheng had fled Ximu City. He had no choice but to retreat to Haicheng. Calculating carefully, the Japanese should have lost more than half, with casualties several times that of our army. It is difficult to attack Haicheng in the short term. The subordinates are thinking about counterattacking Ximucheng and regaining the territory lost by our army. However, on the way, they heard that the commander Fengsheng Drinking and having fun, playing and singing day and night, he died between the bed and the bed, fearing that Haicheng would be lost, he had to stay on guard all night, now all the armies are gathering at Haicheng, and my subordinates see that the soldiers are strong and strong, and it is hopeful that Mucheng will be defeated, so I hereby send a telegram.”

"Wei Jichen is really a newborn calf who is not afraid of tigers. We are worried about defense here, and he actually considered counterattacking Ximu City." Li Hongzhang smiled, and immediately put all the information sent today aside.

Then check it carefully to see if Wei Jichen falsely reported his military exploits.

Li Jingfang also enthusiastically helped to check.

Li Hongzhang soon found out what Wei Jichen said about the Battle of Yushubao: I, Wei Zijun, and the Japanese fought in Yushubao. Because of their prestige, they didn't dare to chase after them. The Japanese were killed and injured in this battle, blood flowed into rivers, and their corpses lay in the wild. They have not been cleaned up all day and night. This is a great victory since the beginning of the war. "

This was reported by the spies.

Other generals Nie Guilin, Ma Jinxu, and Jiang Xiyi, who had originally analyzed Mucheng, jointly reported the matter. They said that Wei Jichen's military exploits were brilliant, and that he used soldiers like a god. All the generals admired him in their hearts. As long as we dispatch some more soldiers and horses, this matter can be expected.

"It seems that this Wei Jichen is really a brave and resourceful general. It's amazing that Nie Guilin, Ma Jinxu and other veterans will be convinced by him." Li Hongzhang was sincerely happy like Bole had discovered the Maxima .

"Father, the Battle of Elm Castle is undoubtedly the greatest victory since the beginning of the war. As the Empress Dowager, the Emperor, and the Military Aircraft Department, I will show meritorious service to the Wei Zijun, in order to inspire the hearts of the soldiers of the three armies." Li Jingfang immediately discussed it from a political point of view. After thinking about it, Li Hongzhang has been impeached by the whole court now, saying that his Huai army has been defeated repeatedly and is useless. With the battle of Yushubao, Li Hongzhang is enough to get out of this predicament.

Therefore, this matter should be vigorously publicized, and it is best to make it known to everyone.

Li Hongzhang had a smile on his face, but he said, "This is not urgent." But he was thinking about how to write in his heart.

Coincidentally, at the moment when Li Hongzhang said "my heart is itching", his staff member Zhang Peilun walked in with a telegram with a happy face.

"Zhongtang, great news! The Japanese general Shanxian Youpeng has left Liaodong recently and is going back to China in despair." Zhang Peilun kept looking inside, and almost tripped over the threshold when he entered the door, which shows his heart excited.

"A friend from Shan County has returned to China?" Li Hongzhang thought to himself, what does it have to do with us if he returns to China, but he believes that Zhang Peilun will not be aimless and happy for no reason.

"Zhongtang, why did you friend from Daoshan County return to China? He was dismissed from the post of commander of the First Japanese Army. On the surface, I heard that the Japanese base camp recruited him on the grounds that he needed to recuperate, but I also heard that Another way of saying it is that Youpeng from Shan County suffered a big defeat at Ximu City, and in order to deal with him, the Japanese base camp will relieve him of his position as the commander of the First Army." Zhang Peilun finished speaking with a smile on his face.

The biggest reason why Shanxian Youpeng was dismissed was that he repeatedly violated the instructions of the Japanese base camp and went his own way, but he also had a little connection with the battle of Yushubao, but Zhang Peilun said that the battle of Yushubao became the main reason for Shanxian's dismissal up.

Li Jingfang immediately understood that there was still a lot to be done in the battle of Ximucheng. A battle actually caused the Japanese to change the front-line commander. It can be seen how heavy the losses of the Japanese were, and how brave our army was.

Li Hongzhang is an old fox, Li Jingfang has thought of it, can he not think of it?

He hurriedly summoned several sergeants from the Telegraph Bureau to claim credit from Guangxu and Cixi.

Needless to say, Guangxu will be happy to hear the news.

Although Cixi tried her best to make peace, but with this big victory as a bargaining chip, it will definitely be much easier to negotiate peace.

Li Hongzhang was so excited that he took a few steps back and forth in the room. This victory could get him out of the predicament, but it was not enough. He longed for power, missed it, and always thought about how to climb up.

Overcome the wooden city analysis?If it affects the whole body, once the recovery is successful, the Qing army in Liaodong will change from a situation of retreat to a situation of strategic offensive.

However, to overcome Ximucheng, the troops in Haicheng are definitely not enough, and reinforcements must be obtained from other places. Li Hongzhang immediately made a decision in his mind.

"Father, here is another official document from Wei Jichen. In the official document, he worried that the Japanese would go south to attack Shandong and annihilate our Beiyang Fleet." Li Jingfang is very interested in Wei Jichen now, and has been checking the documents he sent or sent over. Telegrams and official documents.

"Go south to attack Shandong?" Li Hongzhang frowned, and said indifferently: "The Japanese want to conquer Fengtian wholeheartedly, so why would they divide their troops to attack the Shandong Peninsula? I think that Wei Jichen is too worried."

Zhang Peilun said with a smile: "Anyway, Wei Jichen reminded us, don't be afraid of [-], just in case, Zhongtang, let Shandong Governor Li Bingheng gather reinforcements, and Ding Ruchang pay more attention to the movements of the Japanese fleet."

Li Hongzhang nodded and said with a smile: "It's okay to remind them, and hand over Wei Jichen's official document to Li Bingheng."