Volume 1: The Battleship Yitian Changes into the Sino-Japanese War of 1894 Chapter 46: Audience at the Palace
There were not as many elaborate details as in the pigtail operas. When he arrived at Sun Yuwen's house, the doorman immediately led him into the living room as soon as he saw the letter and the name card. Before he could even see clearly what kind of wood the table he was sitting on was made of, Sun Yuwen came to see him.
This Grand Councilor was plump and looked very much like many leaders in later generations, with a shiny forehead, but a very kind face. He walked towards him with a smile on his face. Sun Gang stepped forward to greet him, but was grabbed by the Grand Councilor's hand.
"How's your hand? Let me see." The eldest master of the family looked at Sun Gang's hand full of burn scars with great pity, and his love for the younger generation was beyond words. Although it seemed like he was trying to win him over, Sun Gang still felt a little touched.
"The navy soldiers fought desperately to win this great victory. I don't want all our efforts to be wasted. It makes me ashamed to face the soldiers on the front line!" Sun Yuwen pulled him to sit down and sighed.
Sun Gang was surprised by what he said. As soon as he came in, he heard the sound of opera from behind. The military minister was actually in the mood to watch a play at this time! But his words really confused him.
"Old man, what are you talking about..." Sun Gang asked in a low voice.
"You have hurried all the way to Beijing, so you don't know the situation on the front line, right?" Sun Yuwen smiled bitterly, "Today's battle report shows that the Japanese army has captured Haicheng and Gaiping, and is about to reach the city of Fengtian."
"How could this happen?" Sun Gang was shocked. Were the Japanese good at fighting? Or were the Qing army too weak? Wasn't this too fast?
"Here are the details, take a look first." Sun Yuwen took a stack of telegrams and handed them to him. Sun Gang read them carefully, while Sun Yuwen opened Li Hongzhang's letter and began to read it.
It turned out that after the collapse of the Yalu River defense line , the Qing army retreated all the way. Ding Ruchang and Song Qing were unable to stop them, and Fenghuang City, Changdian and other places fell into the hands of the Japanese army one after another. Except for Zuo Baogui, Nie Shicheng, Ma Yukun and others who blocked the Japanese army in stages, the rest of the troops collapsed one after another, and all their guns, artillery and ammunition were lost to the enemy. The Japanese army immediately concentrated the captured Qing army artillery and bombarded Haicheng. The Qing army immediately collapsed and fled in all directions. Haicheng fell in less than a day.
On the Liaodong battlefield, the Qing army was completely defeated.
How would Ma Yue feel if she knew that the Japanese were about to reach her home before she traveled through time? Sun Gang was thinking absentmindedly, and Sun Yuwen's voice brought him back to his senses.
"The situation in Liaodong has deteriorated to this point, and some people are trying to instigate the emperor to cross the sea and invade the Japanese mainland . I don't know what to say." Sun Yuwen was obviously very angry, and said self-deprecatingly: "So I listen to opera at home to relieve my boredom, but you laugh at me."
"Who gave the emperor this idea? This person should be executed." Sun Gang said. What kind of a rotten idea is this? The Qing army's combat level is so poor that it's almost catching up with Chinese football. Let them go to Japan to fight? You can't be so embarrassed to complain about the Chinese, right?
"I have the same idea." Sun Yuwen laughed, and was obviously very happy with his words. He looked at him approvingly and said, "We can talk about this between the two of us, but don't say this to the emperor. That person is the emperor's teacher."
Sun Gang knew who he was talking about and was shocked. No way? If the teacher of two generations of emperors, Master Weng, was at this level, one could imagine the students he taught .
"I have read the naval report you wrote. The Queen Mother and the Emperor praised it highly. Although you are young, you are calm and steady, and I like you very much. You and I have the same surname and we are from Shandong, so I will call you my nephew." The military minister smiled and said, "Li Zhongtang said that you are thoughtful and restrained, and he strongly recommended you to me. The Emperor wants to summon the navy officers, but the Zhongtang and I are quite hesitant, because the navy has just won a victory, and the Emperor is young and energetic. If he believes that the Japanese army can be attacked and our army can fight, and insists on his own way, it may be detrimental to the country. So we arranged for you to come to see the Emperor. Do you understand the Zhongtang and I's painstaking efforts?"
"I understand, old sir, please rest assured. I will persuade the emperor to agree to peace talks and end the war as soon as possible, so that our Qing Dynasty will have time to reorganize the army and strengthen the military in order to plan for the future." Sun Gang said.
"I feel relieved when you put it that way." Sun Yuwen said, "What are you going to say when you see the emperor?"
"Although the navy has won, our advantage at sea is not enough to reverse the defeat on land. The British may be secretly supporting the Japanese in order to reap the benefits. Looking at the current situation, it is better to end the war as soon as possible while the situation is still favorable to us." Sun Gang looked at him and said, "Otherwise, it will be a protracted war, and even if we win, the gains will not outweigh the losses. Moreover, the Japanese army is approaching Fengtian. If they disturb the mausoleums of our ancestors, it will be a concern."
"Good! Li Zhongtang really didn't misjudge you." Sun Yuwen said happily: "Tomorrow I will accompany you to see the emperor. Remember, don't forget your last sentence just now!"
He had originally wanted to take a good look at what the Forbidden City looked like during this era, but now he had no time for that.
Sun Yuwen led him in a hurry, and he could no longer remember the way they came.
In the past, he wanted to visit the Forbidden City in Beijing, but he never had the chance. Now that he has the chance, he is no longer in the mood to visit.
Along the way, he was thinking about his speech in his mind, as if he was back in the college entrance examination.
What we have to deal with now is much more difficult than the college entrance examination.
If he fails in the college entrance examination, the worst that can happen is that he can just go home. But if he says something wrong, he can only wait for Ma Yue to collect his body, right?
He couldn't remember how he got in. He lowered his head and didn't dare to look around. He was still thinking about something when a clear voice said to him, "Are you the Sun Gang?"
He was stunned for a moment, and Sun Yuwen gently pulled him and said, "Your Majesty, it is this man. According to the report of Li Zhongtang in Tianjin the other day, if Sun Gang had not stolen the secret formula of Japanese ammunition, which greatly increased the combat power of our Beiyang Navy, the outcome of this naval battle would still be unpredictable."
"How could such a thing happen?" Emperor Guangxu said in a surprised voice, "How come I didn't know about it?"
"Your Majesty, there are some things in Li Hongzhang's report on the navy battle that have not yet been shown to Your Majesty." said an old voice.
After they said this, Sun Gang came back to his senses and replied respectfully, "Your Majesty, I pay my respects to you." According to the rules, he began to kneel down and kowtow. This was inevitable. It was so fucking awkward, he cursed in his heart. He raised his eyes slightly and saw a graceful and elegant woman sitting over there, and he couldn't help but be startled.
"Your Highness, I pay my respects to the Empress Dowager." No way? Didn't they say Cixi was there too?
"No need for formalities, just stand up." Emperor Guangxu was much younger than imagined, but he always looked a little melancholy. Normally he should be living a happy life, but looking at his expression, Sun Gang could be sure of one thing.
He definitely doesn't have as many happy days as I do.
At least, as long as I want, I can be with my loved one every day.
And he can't.
The impression that Empress Dowager Cixi gave him was not as terrifying as the legend said. At least in his opinion, this woman who was said to have ruled China for forty years during the darkest period of time, did not have a ferocious face, and she did not seem to be too old (she was well maintained?). She looked similar to the mother of his friend Qu Dapeng in his original world.