Volume 1: The Battleship Yitian Changes into the Sino-Japanese War of 1894 Chapter 45: The Old Fox's Mission
"We have won a great victory on sea but suffered a great defeat on land. The war has already spread to the Qing mainland. Your Majesty is now undecided. In your opinion, how should we use the military?" Li Hongzhang asked after he finished reading.
Sun Gang thought for a moment and said, "In my opinion, our navy should bombard the major cities on the Japanese mainland again to shake the Japanese's fighting spirit. We should fortify the land and clear the fields so that the Japanese army has nothing to rely on. We should also spread the news of our navy's victory in Korea so that the Korean people will rise up and harass the Japanese army's rear. Only then will our army have time to reorganize its troops and fight again."
"Bombarding the Japanese mainland, the sea power is in my hands now, that's feasible." Li Hongzhang frowned and said, "But what if we are defeated again and again on land?"
"So why not take advantage of the Japanese's request for peace and force them to stop the war through negotiations?" Sun Gang now fully understood Li Hongzhang's painstaking efforts and said, "Otherwise, the war will continue for a long time. Even if we can win, it will not be worth the loss."
"Good boy, you really know me." Li Hongzhang sighed tiredly, "It would be great if the emperor thought the same as you."
"If Lord Zhongtang has any instructions, I will do my best." Sun Gang looked at the old man who was already a little exhausted and blurted out.
"Have you guessed what I want you to do?" Li Hongzhang looked at him with some relief and asked.
"I have some idea of what General Ding gave me before he left, but I am not sure." Sun Gang smiled and replied, "Please let me know, Master Zhongtang."
"The Emperor has always wanted to summon the navy officers and soldiers to comfort them personally. I would like to take this opportunity to have you come to Beijing to meet the Emperor, explain the pros and cons, and ask the Emperor to agree to peace talks, so as to end the war before the Empress Dowager's birthday." Li Hongzhang said, "If we don't do this, the longer the war lasts, the more powerful countries will come to profit from it, and our Qing Dynasty will have no chance to rest, which will cause endless troubles!"
"Junior understands." Sun Gang nodded, a trace of worry involuntarily appearing on his face. Sure enough, nothing good happened. Is the emperor so easy to see ? This old fox, can he carry such a heavy burden?
However, what Lord Zhongtang said is also right. In China's current situation, the army is both old and new and corrupt. Although the navy has seized the sea power, the Battle of Dadonggou shows that there are many problems in the navy's command, system and logistics support! Now the navy alone may not be able to completely reverse the decline of the land. It is better to find a way to suppress the Japanese in a peaceful way! Buy time to solve these problems.
"Lord Sun Yuwen of the Military Affairs Office is from the same clan as you and has a good impression of you. With his help, you can go with peace of mind." Li Hongzhang saw that he was worried, gave him a letter, and comforted him: "If this is successful, your great contribution will be unmatched in the court."
"Don't worry, Lord Zhongtang, I will persuade the emperor to agree." Sun Gang said, "If Lord Zhongtang has any other instructions, please let me know."
"You must make it clear to the Emperor that this peace talk is not about seeking peace, but about promoting peace through war." Li Hongzhang smiled bitterly, "Otherwise, I don't know how many new titles I will have."
"Junior understands." Sun Gang nodded and replied.
"Go meet Lord Sun first after you enter Beijing and discuss with him. Ask him to take you to see the emperor." Li Hongzhang thought for a moment and said, "If this is done, I will be relieved about your future. I will wait for you to come back and help me deal with the Japanese at the negotiation table." He laughed strangely, "Do you think they can step on my portrait at will?"
Finally arrived in Beijing. There is no express train or high-speed train.
"My God, how long will it take us to ride on the bumpy road?" Sun Gang lamented as he sat in the carriage. Only now did he realize how difficult it was for Beijing and Tianjin to have no railway.
"Don't worry, sir. We can reach the capital tonight," replied the coachman.
"Please keep going, old man. I wasn't used to it at first, but I'll get used to it soon." Ma Yue said with a smile, "I used to ride a horse and walk by myself before."
"Ah?! Won't we meet bad guys on the road?" Sun Gang was shocked.
"Every era has its own ways." Ma Yue said, "I have guards at home and an escort agency, so what's there to be afraid of?" She said nonchalantly, "Old Ma has a unique skill of flying knives, do n't you know?"
"I really didn't realize that." Sun Gang thought of the old man he met for the first time, and was surprised and said.
"Wait for him to show you his skills someday." Ma Yue said with a proud smile, "Don't think you are great just because you have a warship. You can't operate a warship yet, right?"
"I will try my best." Sun Gang said to her very seriously. That was his glorious dream when he was a child.
"Forget it." She saw through him clearly. "You're not a good captain, but you're good at strategic planning and conspiracy." She said bluntly, "Forget about charging into battle at sea."
"Is this the image you've given me?" Sun Gang looked at her with amusement and asked.
"You have only met Master Zhongtang twice, and you have already learned bad things from him." Ma Yue looked at him, nodded affirmatively, and said, "I hope you can take over his job in the future."
"That's wishful thinking." Sun Gang shocked her beautiful expectation. This girl really dared to think, "With my talent, it's a bit tiring to just be a deputy general. You think this is the starting point. You can write whatever you want to be. Just let me go."
"Some things are beyond your control." Ma Yue looked at him steadily and said, "If you don't develop in this direction, something bad will happen. I will write your word Sun backwards."
"What, what, what?" Sun Gang was a little confused by her. She smiled and lay in his arms without saying anything else.
After arriving in the capital and settling down in the post house, Sun Gang saw that it was not late yet, so he simply changed his clothes, took Li Hongzhang's letter and business card, and went directly to Sun Yuwen's residence.
He didn't know much about this Grand Councilor who had the same surname as him. History textbooks seemed to classify him and Li Hongzhang in the same category, and didn't say anything nice about him. Sun Gang only knew that this man was the Grand Councilor and Minister of Justice, worked in the Zongli Yamen, had a good relationship with Li Hongzhang, and was deeply trusted by the Empress Dowager Cixi. As for the rest of his life and deeds, he knew nothing about him. What Sun Gang wanted to know from him now was information about Emperor Guangxu and Empress Dowager Cixi (he didn't know much about the specific situation of these mother and son). Don't say one wrong word, it's not a question of whether the Lord Zhongtang's task was completed or not, losing your head is no joke.
Thinking of the famous "Ten Cruel Tortures of the Qing Dynasty" in the movie, he couldn't help but feel a chill down his neck.
