Super Dictator

On the same day, Guangxu Dynasty asked Liu Kunyi and Wang Wenshao whether they were sure to fight again.

The next day, Wang Wenshao and Liu Kunyi replied to the Prime Minister's Yamen.

Sun Yuwen, the Minister of Military Aircraft, took a look at it first and saw that Wang Wenshao's reply was roughly as follows: "Admirals Song Qing, Nie Shicheng, Wei Jichen, Commander-in-Chief Zhang Gaoyuan, Chen Fengqi and other military camps are in close contact with each other, and we will definitely be able to fight, and each has its own merits." I cannot make any assumptions about whether the available generals are reliable or not. It is related to the overall safety. I should ask the Minister of Military Affairs, the Supervisory Military Affairs Office, and the Prime Minister's Office to discuss everything and make a decision. I met with Liu Kunyi in Tangshan yesterday and came up with a rough idea. same."

When Sun Yuwen saw this, he immediately entered the Forbidden City with a telegram, met Guangxu in the Yangxin Hall, and reported: "Your Majesty, what do I say? Wang Wenshao is still not completely sure."

Although Wang Wenshao's tone was a little uncertain, it seemed that he was still inclined to fight again. Chinese people never say anything to death.

But this way, once Sun Yuwen interpreted it, it changed.

Later, Liu Kunyi's reply came: "We can fight, but it's hard to turn against a blunt force."

Liu Kunyi meant that he could fight again, but who could guess the outcome of the war in advance?

Sun Yuwen caught the last sentence and said to Guangxu: "Even Liu Kunyi is not really sure."

Damn it, this is war, not playing house. Who dares to pat his chest and guarantee that he will win? Others Liu Kunyi said that we can fight, why do you turn a blind eye?

Then Wang Wenshao sent another urgent telegram, reporting that the Japanese fleet bombarded Dagukou, destroying two forts and causing about 500 casualties.

The remaining ships of the Beiyang Fleet were saved because they were hiding in the harbor.

When Yikuang, Duoduo, Xu Yongyi, Sun Yuwen and other central ministers saw this telegram, they were even more frightened and increasingly disagreed with Guangxu's recall of Li Hongzhang.

When Li Hongzhang's telegram arrived in the evening, Prince Gong, Prince Qing and others were overjoyed and urged peace.

Because the compensation under the treaty was suddenly reduced by almost half, it was already within the range they could bear, and the Japanese made some concessions on some minor details, so they simply ignored the cession of Liaodong and Taiwan.

"Your Majesty, in my opinion, this is the biggest concession made by the Japanese. To avoid regret, I think we should send a telegram to Li Hongzhang to sign the pledge in time and then exchange the contract as soon as possible." Sun Yuwen looked anxious, as if his country occupies how much It seems cheap.

"Yes, Your Majesty, there is no guarantee in war, but there is certainty in peace. Taiwan is a barren land and can be conquered without any hindrance. In the land of Liaodong, only a few cities such as Lushun, Jinzhou, and Fuzhou were given over to the Japanese, and most of them were given over to the Japanese. It's fine if it's still in the hands of our country. We can take it back after our country has made great efforts to improve its military affairs and rectify its military affairs." Duduo advised. He knew that Guangxu was unwilling, so he left a trail and said that he would plan for big things after strengthening his troops.

Yikuang exaggerated his words and talked about the terrible consequences of another war, saying: "The Japanese have occupied a small half of Shandong and can go north at any time. The Japanese fleet is even more eyeing the waters off Tianjin. The Japanese have given up the land they actually occupied in Shandong. This is unfortunate. It is such a great blessing that there is no need for more wars. It will be too late if Zhili falls and loses more territory. "

Yantai, Shandong Province, was a treaty port stipulated in the Sino-British Treaty of Tianjin. The Japanese did not dare to offend the British, so they did not mention the cession of Shandong. Yikuang put gold on his face, saying how kind the Japanese were and how hard Li Hongzhang and others had gone through.

Even though Guangxu was unwilling to do so, these central ministers tried their best to force him to sue for peace, and he had no idea. Guangxu himself was not a man of great talent and strategy, capable of making arbitrary decisions.

Yikuang and others saw that Guangxu remained silent, knowing that he had already agreed in his heart.

Yikuang then continued: "Your Majesty, the Japanese side wants to strictly investigate the assassination case of Xi Kuan Erlang. It is said that Wei Jichen was involved in the matter, so as to prevent the Japanese from using this as an excuse to cause things to change again. I think it is necessary to recall Wei Jichen quickly." , let him leave Liaodong to temporarily avoid the limelight."

Guangxu's face darkened and he said displeasedly: "Wei Jichen is a meritorious minister. He fought consecutive battles in Liaodong and achieved such a favorable situation for us. Is it because of the Japanese's words that we have to punish him now? I can't do that. , If I do it, I will be a foolish king, and the people of the world will probably secretly accuse me. "

Yikuang hurriedly denied it and said: "Your Majesty, my slave did not mean to punish Wei Jichen. Your Majesty recalled him, which is a kind of protection for him. The Japanese will definitely make this matter a big deal and a trivial matter. Your Majesty cares about him, but you can't. It was decreed that Wei Jichen should be allowed to return to his hometown in honor, and then he would pay homage to the court, reward him with a horse in the Forbidden City, and present treasures as a token of his favor. When the contract is concluded and everything is settled, your Majesty can do whatever he wants. Your Majesty loves his ministers so much. Everyone in the world will praise you."

Guangxu said with some worry: "If the Japanese break the contract and invade Liaodong again, without Wei Jichen, who can stop them?"

Prince Gong was surprised and thought to himself: Wei Jichen actually has such a great status in His Majesty's heart.

However, he was relieved when he thought that Wei Jichen did have some ability to turn the tide.

It's just that Liaodong is really not suitable for the main battle now, and Wei Jichen, who can stir up the nerves of the Japanese at any time, was stunned. Prince Gong agreed: "Your Majesty, Song Qing and others are not ordinary people. If the Japanese make any changes, Wei Jichen can return at any time." Liaodong, I believe it’s not a big deal.”

When Guangxu heard this, he felt a little relieved and said: "In this case, I will order Wei Jichen to return to Tianjin to wait for the imperial edict and come to Beijing to see him. Well, I will send the yellow robe and mandarin jacket and the flower feathers for his eyes to Tianjin as a token of personal friendship." Be graceful.”

Now even Xu Yongyi, Sun Yuwen and other central ministers were secretly jealous in their hearts. Wei Jichen, this boy, is really a member of the Holy Family, with unlimited glory and a bright future.

Since Guangxu did not recall Li Hongzhang, representatives from China and Japan signed the Treaty of Shimonoseki at Chunfan Tower.

There are four main contents of the treaty: first, the Qing government recognizes North Korea as an independent country; second, it permanently cedes southern Shengjing Province, Taiwan, and the Penghu Islands to Japan; third, it pays 80 million taels in compensation, and fourth, it opens seven places including Shuntian Prefecture. It is a commercial port.

Compared with history, a lot has changed. In addition to the greatly reduced amount of compensation, more than half of the land in Liaodong ceded has also been reduced. In the original history, it was bounded by the Liao River, but now it is bounded by Gaiping, Ximucheng, and Dakaoling. as a boundary.

After Li Hongzhang signed the contract, he felt that it would be a shame to stay in Japan any longer. The Chinese representatives were all depressed and depressed, and left Japan by ship that day.

The Japanese representatives were all complacent and arrogant. Ito Hirobumi and Mutsu Munemitsu took the "Yaeyama" ship from Shimonoseki to Hiroshima to claim credit for Mutsuhito.

When the great powers learned about the contents of the Shimonoseki Treaty, they were ready to take action. Ministers stationed in Japan frequently sent telegrams to the country to ask for domestic opinions. For a time, there was a dark wave in Japan, and various forces joined forces to prepare to interfere with the treaty.

At the same time, Wei Jichen, who was in Liaodong, also received a telegram from the Military Aircraft Department, asking him to return to Tianjin immediately to wait for Guangxu's summons and the court's reward.

There was an uproar on the front lines, and people with a discerning eye knew that the imperial court was determined to negotiate peace, otherwise Wei Jichen, the famous anti-Japanese general, would not have been transferred from Liaodong.

Outside Gaiping City, Song Qing led the crowd to bid farewell to Wei Jichen.

Wei Jichen was riding high on his horse with Wang Huaiqing and several other soldiers beside him. Wei Jichen had urgently asked Li Yunfei to come to Gaiping City and entrust Wei Zijun's affairs to him.

Wei Jichen believed that with Li Yunfei, Wang Shizhen, Zhao Hu, Mengzi and others watching, and with Song Qing's care, nothing serious would happen to Wei Zijun.

He was relieved and prepared to go back and have a good rest. Besides, it was good to go back to Tianjin, where he could do some activities.

"Commander, after seeing you for a thousand miles, we must finally say goodbye. After many years, we will definitely meet one day." Wei Jichen was not able to salute on the horse, so he could only say with cupped fists.

Song Qing sighed, and then said pointedly: "You are determined to kill the thief, but you are unable to save yourself. Zijie, the situation in the capital is no better than that in Liaodong. The situation in the capital is complicated, and it is ten thousand times more dangerous than the battlefield. You must be careful and careful every step of the way."

"Boy, I know. Thank you very much, Song Shuai, for reminding me." Wei Jichen said with a smile.

Nie Guilin, who was next to Song Qing, had an envious look on his face and said with a hint of jealousy: "Shuai Wei is going to Tianjin. I heard that the emperor has even prepared the yellow mantle. Alas, why doesn't old Nie do such a good thing and still be here? I don’t know when the bitter cold land of Liaodong will end.”

Wei Jichen glanced at Nie Guilin indifferently. This general who was originally against him but was finally willing to be driven by himself represented the vast majority of Qing generals who were somewhat afraid of death.

"Don't worry, the imperial court will definitely need your reward." Wei Jichen smiled lightly.

Nie Guilin said sternly: "Without Commander Wei, I, Nie Guilin, probably wouldn't be here today. Commander Wei will only give orders in the future, even if he can only say one word."

Wei Jichen knew that people like Nie Guilin would only help him with small things, but seeing that he spoke so sincerely, he nodded to him.

Wei Jichen glanced at Li Yunfei and Wang Shizhen for the last time. Everything was said without saying anything, and everything that needed to be explained had been explained.

Wei Jichen will never dismantle Wang Shizhen's artillery team. Of course, there is nothing he can do about the artillery team that Song Qing merged in later. Wei Jichen will keep other people's artillery teams even if they are bribed. These are all It was handed over to Wang Shizhen for processing.

"Commander Song, everyone, take care, we will see you again someday." Wei Jichen pulled the reins and glanced at Gaiping City from a distance.

After a war, many brothers died and many new faces emerged.

Deng Dapeng, Cheng Bushi, Xiao Monk and others died unfortunately, Nie Cairong returned home, Zhang Zuolin's escort agency had opened in Haicheng, and Li Que'er also opened a brothel in the eight major alleys of the capital.

My own Wei Zijun can be considered to be in full bloom. I will come back to Liaodong.

"Drive!" Wei Jichen shouted, no longer stopping, and headed towards Yingkou, then entered Shanhaiguan by land and returned to Tianjin.