On May 18, Min Yongjun, a powerful relative of the Joseon royal family and Concubine Min's nephew, secretly visited Yuan Shikai, the Minister of Commerce and Commerce of the Qing government stationed in Seoul. For this young Chinese official who exercised power in Korea on behalf of the upper dynasty, it was the King of Joseon Li Xi. Yuan Shikai, who had been in power for 12 years, also obeyed his words. Min Yongjun first told the Qing government that it finally agreed to the request of the North Korean royal family and sent the bodies of the North Korean assassin Hong Jong-woo and the murdered Kim Ok-kyun back to North Korea. Of course, this was just an excuse for the North Korean relative and powerful minister to visit. After a few polite words, he immediately mentioned Another news has arrived. The 12,000-strong army led by North Korean general Li Yongnian fought against the Donghak Party rebels near Jeolla Province. However, the situation was very unfavorable. The army could not get supplies at all locally and had to retreat temporarily So , the North Korean royal family hopes that China will send troops as soon as possible to help North Korea put down the rebellion! In response to this, Yuan Shikai, who had originally participated in the training of North Korea's new army, immediately expressed his willingness to make relevant suggestions to the country to help North Korea restore stability as soon as possible However, later that day, when Yuan Shikai was drafting a memorial to Li Hongzhang, he He unexpectedly received another piece of news that made him frown. Even though a full decade had passed, Concubine Min's faction was still extremely jealous of Jin Yujun's early rebellion and expulsion of Concubine Min. After the Beiyang Navy transferred Jin Yujun's body to North Korea, the North Koreans immediately opened the coffin with great fanfare. Killing the body, and just one day ago, Japan's acting minister to North Korea, Jun Sugimura, issued a warning to the North Korean royal family, asking for the proper disposal of Kim Ok-kyun's body. After getting the news, Yuan Shikai went a little crazy. In addition to rushing to the North Korean palace and throwing a tantrum, what made him feel an urgent crisis was that the damn North Koreans had created a timely and appropriate excuse for Japan's intervention! When the telegram was delivered to the desk of the Governor's Mansion in Zhili, Tianjin, Li Hongzhang was meeting with Xue Fucheng, who had just arrived in Tianjin after recovering from illness. Xue Fucheng had always been his most important adviser in foreign affairs, and Xue Fucheng had served as the resident ambassador for many years. The ministers from various European countries are also among the best diplomatic talents in the court, so it is a great relief to him that this person arrived in time at this critical moment. After carefully asking about Xue Fucheng's condition, he was also quite surprised. This Lu Hong he had met not long ago when he met with the imperial envoy Wang Renkan. In his opinion, that young man had a personality comparable to Xue Fucheng's. His overseas experience was a little immature, but he only had official experience. Privately, he also asked Zhang Peilun to pay attention to the opportunity to win over him. After that, he was busy negotiating with the Japanese about Korean affairs. At the same time, he strictly ordered Yuan Shikai to control the situation in Korea, first of all to prevent the Japanese from intervening in Korea But now, the situation in Korea can be said to be changing three times a day. Not only are the Japanese disrupting the situation, but also Russia People are trying to use North Korea as a springboard, and even the North Korean royal family has not stopped. "Uncle Yun (characterized by Xue Fucheng), Yuan Shikai sent an urgent message saying that the Dongxue Party rebellion in North Korea is getting stronger. Minister Min Yongjun, on behalf of the royal family, requested that our country send troops to suppress it" At this point, he glanced at Xue, who was still looking slightly pale. Fucheng, "Originally, this was not a bad thing. Our country had always done this in the early years. But yesterday, Consul Xiaocun of the Japanese Consulate in Tianjin suddenly sent someone to inquire about sending troops to North Korea. This matter may be unusual!" Xue Fucheng was passing through Tianjin this time. After he resigned as Minister of the Four Kingdoms and returned to China, he was still in a hurry to go to Beijing to report his duties to the young emperor. According to the usual practice, other practical duties should be appointed. However, Lu Hong was worried that the Lord of the Central Hall did not have the will to prepare for war with all his strength. He naturally understood that this worry was definitely not It doesn't make sense. Therefore, he immediately stood up and said very seriously: "Zhongtang, for many years, you have often been wary of the Japanese ambitions. The Japanese ambitions were already exposed during the Renwu Incident in Korea 12 years ago. It is said that in the past few years, the Japanese have purchased a large number of weapons. , in this land of East Asia, the purpose is even more obvious Therefore, I think that the court should be fully prepared for war and mobilize elites. If the Japanese army can be defeated in Korea, the current status quo can be maintained. If not, the Korean pass must be guarded. , Keep the Korean royal family in our hands!" After listening to Xue Fucheng's words, Li Hongzhang naturally understood that this was indeed the best solution. Although it was impossible to conclude that the Sino-Japanese war would definitely break out, the people who came to visit the day before yesterday British Minister Organner still stated very conclusively that Japan had no intention of confronting China on the Korean issue, and Hurd, the Customs and Taxation Department who was closely related to him, also conveyed similar news to him, and stated that the British Empire had no intention to do so. Break the current peaceful situation in the Far East! This news made him feel a little relieved. He worked hard all day long as a framer for the Qing Dynasty. After all, he was over 70 years old After thinking about it for a moment, he stood up and took it from the cabinet behind him. He took out a flat wooden box and said, "Uncle, these are some long white ginseng. You have to be careful with your body. I have to ask you to come and consult for details I have asked Yuan Weiting to deal with the North Korean matter carefully. Young man, let me The more he practices, the more he can be of great use!" "ZhongSir, when it comes to sending troops, I think we will select good generals and strengthen the army? "Xue Fucheng could see the fatigue of the old man, but this matter was of great importance, so he added. "Uncle, don't worry about this. Zhengding general Ye Zhichao was training in Xincheng, and the chaos was over the year before last. The bandits of the Jindan Sect in Rehe are marching in a measured manner. I have already sent an order for him to mobilize the best troops, and also appointed Nie Shicheng to organize and train the Tianjin army to respond. At Renwu, only a few battalions of troops can cope with it. The Japanese will certainly not dare to do so this time. With all the fanfare, these troops are enough to handle it! " Li Hongzhang then told Xue Fucheng, "Uncle, you are going to the capital now. I have already taken care of the errands of the new committee for you. You have been the inspector of Shandong for many years, and you should be able to supervise the party this time!" ¡± This news naturally surprised and delighted Xue Fucheng. He has been a senior member of the second rank for a long time, but at this position, it is not easy to take another step forward, and this old man is obviously already making plans. At this time, listening to this, he should be able to go up half a level to the governor's side! The two said goodbye at the door. Naturally, Li Hongzhang repeatedly warned Xue Fucheng's body that the talents of the old people in the Huai clan under him were withering. The Zeng clan back then The fourth bachelor, Xue Shuyun, was the only one who was still working, so he naturally wanted to train him well. Lu Hong was also very busy at this time. It had been several days since he arrived at Port Arthur, but he didn't see any of the senior officers of the Beiyang Navy. Tang Wenjin from the Pingyuan ship inquired about it, and it was said that he had also gone to sea. This made all his contacts completely useless. Fortunately, Yan Fu was still here This guy was offended by his previous actions. Many of his classmates back then, and Na Luo Fenglu is now a very important figure in the Beiyang Navy Camp. Lu Hong naturally also thought that the matter of Yan Review's Beiyang ammunition depot might be related to this Luo Camp Manager. However, At this point, Yan Fu didn't have any clues! However, today's situation finally turned around. Yan Fu's man found out that early in the morning, the two of them arrived at the dock and arrived at the torpedo boat Fulong, which had just returned from Korea. Cai Tingqian, the commander of Fulong who had been in contact with him, was obviously surprised by Lu Hong's appearance, and Lu Hong also noticed a detail. Although Yan Fu and Cai Tingqian were quite related, one was the general office of Tianjin Naval Academy. One of them was a senior military officer from a school, and both of them had studied in Europe and the United States. However, the two of them only exchanged a few polite words and had no in-depth conversation. Lu Hong naturally understood that his current status was quite special. After all, he was here to supervise military discipline. Even if Cai Tingqian and he knew each other, it was unlikely that he would take the initiative to participate in this issue, so he took the initiative to visit the Fulong torpedo boat! Cai Tingqian naturally agreed to this request, having met Lu through Tang Wenjin earlier. Hong, that was also because Lu Hong mentioned the Howell torpedo, and getting acquainted with Lu Yunfan, who had studied abroad, obviously opened his eyes to this, and Lu Hong had a deep understanding of Cai Tingqian¡¯s role in the naval business. The talent shown in the book was also quite praised, so the two of them felt that they had met each other too late. After boarding the Fulong torpedo boat, which was more than 40 meters long and had some characteristics of later ships, Lu Hong immediately realized that, Although this is a torpedo boat produced by the German Sischo shipyard with excellent craftsmanship, it already has some prototypes of later destroyers. In particular, in order to improve seaworthiness and navigation resistance, the bow is no longer inserted straight into the water, but slightly When Cai Tingqian stood in the torpedo cabin and introduced the ugly-looking blackhead torpedo to Lu Hong, Lu was stunned by this big guy with a straight-line range of less than 100 meters and a maximum range of only 400 meters. Hong touched his chin with a rather embarrassed expression. Yan Fu, who had been silent for the whole time, interjected very appropriately and asked: "Lu Du, torpedoes are the most lethal weapons of the navy. Judging from your expression, is there anything wrong? " Hearing Yan Fu's words, Cai Tingqian was also stunned. This person was still a judge a month ago. He didn't expect to be promoted so quickly Lu Hong hadn't answered yet, but he immediately spoke first: "Brother Youling, for this reason, When we were in Tianjin a while ago, Mr. Lu already mentioned that under normal engagements, even if a torpedo boat rushes in without hesitation, it is almost impossible to launch within a hundred meters! " "Then isn't this trash! "Yan Fu opened his mouth and immediately said harsh words, making Cai Tingqian's face turn red!