Master Yuan, start!

They also extorted 38 million taels of silver from the Qing Dynasty, which was about half of the Qing government's fiscal revenue that year.

In the final third phase, the French army attacked Taiwan from the sea and successfully landed. However, they were met with a head-on attack by Feng Zicai and others on the land route in Guangxi, severely injuring the French commander, Negri. This forced the French to accept the Qing court's request for peace.

At this time, the situation had just developed into the third stage. The French army had landed in Taiwan, and Liu Mingchuan was struggling to hold on in Taiwan. The Qing army was still accumulating strength in Guangxi to defend against the French, and could not withdraw any troops to support Liu Mingchuan.

Even if they found a troop transport ship, they would not dare to set out to sea immediately. The French blockaded the Fujian coast and sank every Qing ship they saw. By the time the support forces arrived in Taiwan, only one in ten would survive.

: The situation in the Southern Kingdom has deteriorated to this point. The three people in the hall don’t know that there will be a great victory at Zhennan Pass. They are all anxious and helpless.

"My Lords and Master Li, although the French are powerful, their attack on Taiwan is like a rootless tree, and they can only be trapped in Keelung."

"Why not let Lord Liu Mingchuan hold Taiwan firmly, while our Qing dynasty delivers a decisive blow to the French in Vietnam, using war to force peace?"

When the three leaders of the empire were at a loss, the loud voice of Yuan Shen came from outside the hall.

"Good luck to the two princes and Lord Li." Although he was very unhappy, Yuan Xiangcheng still kowtowed to the three Manchu officials in front of him.

At this moment, Yi Liao felt as if he was in a state of panic. He touched his burned hand and asked, "Are you Yuan Xiangcheng?"

"In reply to Your Highness, I am Yuan Xiangcheng. My carriage was supposed to arrive in Beijing tomorrow. But as soon as Xiangcheng returned to the country, he heard about the changes in Taiwan, so he abandoned the carriage and rode all the way to Beijing, just to help relieve the worries of the Qing Dynasty." Yuan Xiangcheng replied with his head down.

Yuan Xiangcheng still understood the situation. Now he was just an assistant in military affairs with only 2000 new recruits under his command. He was not yet at the point where he could control the situation.

At present, this parasitic vine of his still has to rely on the big tree of the Qing Dynasty court to continuously absorb nutrients, even though the tree has long been hollow inside and its appearance is also mottled.

But its crown is still towering into the clouds, its roots are deep into the earth, and its branches and leaves can still provide shade.

The enemy was strong and we were weak, so Yuan Xiangcheng felt that it was not shameful to be humble at this time.

However, Li Hongzhang's reaction was somewhat beyond his expectations.

"Since you have just returned to Beijing, you should report to the Ministry of War and wait for an audience. Who told you to trespass into the prince's mansion?" Li Hongzhang said with a frown, as if Yuan Shikai was not promoted by him.

"What's more, this is a national affair, how can a mere third-rank military officer like you arbitrarily interfere? Not to mention that you haven't even been promoted yet, Yuan Xiangcheng, you're so arrogant!"

Hearing Li Hongzhang's rebuke, Yuan Xiangcheng was shocked and cold sweat broke out on his back.

"Am I in trouble?"

"Oh no, I'm overdoing it."

But immediately I was filled with doubts. Didn't you tell me not to rush to the Ministry of War after returning to Beijing, but to see you first?

After arriving at your house, didn’t you ask the doorman to inform me to come to Prince Chun’s mansion as soon as possible?

Why are you blaming me now?

Li Hongzhang was so obviously playing the villain and the good guy to Yuan Shikai. If it were any other time, the shrewd Prince Chun would have already seen through Prince Qing's love for his old lover.

However, Prince Chun Yixun was worried about the situation in Taiwan and the future of the Qing Dynasty at the time, and did not think much about it. He just felt that Li Hongzhang was a little anxious about military intelligence and was a little too harsh on Yuan Shikai.

There is nothing wrong with young people being a little arrogant. Otherwise, what is the job of our ministers in the court? Isn't it to keep a rein on them and prevent them from acting impulsively and causing trouble?

Seeing that Li Hongzhang was so unappreciative of his talent, Prince Chun Yixun wanted to win him over and take Yuan Shikai for himself.

Of course, it was not for himself, but for his eldest son, Guangxu, who was now 14 years old.

Guangxu was about to reach the age to rule the country himself, but judging from the Empress Dowager's current behavior, she had no intention of withdrawing from the throne, and it was unknown how long this period of regency would last.

Taking this situation into consideration, it is natural for him to find more help for his son in the court.

Li Hongzhang was promoted by Cixi, and he had too deep ties with the southeastern forces. Moreover, he was already very old, so Yixin did not count on him.

Yuan Shikai was originally from Henan. His great-uncle served as the Governor-General of the Grain Transport System. Although he participated in the suppression of the Nian Army, he had no faction in the local area.

It is neither Zeng Guofan's Hunan faction nor Zuo Zongtang's Chu faction, and has nothing to do with Li Hongzhang's Huai faction.

When Yuan Jiasan was serving as the governor of Anhui, Li Hongzhang had just returned to his hometown to organize militia.

Moreover, when Yuan Shikai was suppressing the rebellion in Korea, Wu Changqing happened to transfer almost all the troops of the Qing Camp back to China.

It can be said that he earned his official position and rank through his own hard work, and the Huai faction did not show him much favor.

Now that he was reprimanded by Li Hongzhang, it was a good opportunity for him to change his allegiance.

Thinking of this, Prince Chun Yixun tried to appease Yuan Xiangcheng a little: "Yuan Xiangcheng, Lord Li has praised you many times. He just scolded you because the military situation was urgent and you happened to be in the line of fire, so he spoke to you in a harsh tone."

After Yi X finished speaking, he asked Yuan Shikai to apologize to Li Hongzhang as soon as possible, which eased the seemingly awkward situation.

Seeing that Li Hongzhang's anger had subsided, Yi Xin took a puff of his pipe and turned back to Yuan Xiangcheng and said:

"We have all read the telegram you sent to Lord Li more than ten days ago, before you returned from Korea.

You said the French are now holding some damn Berlin Conference in the German capital to carve up Africa.

At that time, the French had not yet occupied Taiwan. Yuan Xiangcheng, according to what you said, the French should have no time to care about our Qing Dynasty, but why did they act against common sense?

"Yes, I was wondering how you knew the news that even the court didn't know?" Yiliang calmed down and expressed his doubts to Yuan Xiangcheng.

It is naturally impossible for Yuan Xiangcheng to say that he came from the past and knew the trend of history.

The only excuse is that after the opening of the port of Seoul, Korea, merchants came from all over the world, and I learned about it from a Western merchant.

As for why the French attacked again after signing the contract, it was actually a misunderstanding.

In June 1884, after Li Hongzhang and Foulnoy signed the Sino-French Brief Articles, the Guanyin Bridge Incident broke out, which the French called the Northern Lebanese Conflict or the Lang Son Conflict.

It was later confirmed that the Frenchman Foulnoy's misunderstanding of the terms led to the French army misunderstanding the time of the Qing army's retreat, resulting in a fire conflict during the handover.

But Yuan Shikai couldn't say that the French couldn't recognize Chinese characters and made a mistake. He could only think about it and took out the world map he carried with him from his waist.

Spreading on the ground, he looked left and right, and fixed his eyes on the pipe in Prince Chun Yix's hand.

"Your Majesty, may I borrow your pipe?"

Prince Chun had some plans for Yuan Shikai, and was also curious about why the French signed the treaty and then broke it and attacked, so he did not care about the disrespectful behavior.

So after hearing that, he took two big sips and handed it to Yuan Xiangcheng.

Yuan Xiangcheng said: "I'm sorry"

He immediately took up his pipe and began to point at the map.

"Your Majesties, Lord Li, please look at the map. This is what the foreigners call Afrika, but I will simply call it Africa.

The Berlin Conference, convened by Westerners, was supposedly about resolving the Congo issue, but in reality it was about dividing up the various powers' influence in Africa. Yuan Xiangcheng pointed his pipe at Congo, the heart of Africa.

"According to your map, the three countries of Britain, France and Germany are fighting the most fiercely." said the map of Xiangcheng next to Yilin Jar.

"Yes, the three powers in Africa are intertwined, and you are in me and I am in you. Now that the meeting has not ended yet, how can the French have the energy to get involved in Taiwan." Li Hongzhang found for the first time that the war situation could be analyzed in this way. The focus of the Sino-French war was not in China and France, but in Europe.

Yuan Xiangcheng pointed to the equatorial region of Africa and said, "Before I returned, I received news that the French had ceded Guinea, parts of the Red Sea coast, and parts of the South China Sea at the conference.

The current French Prime Minister, Jouvaise, must have felt that he suffered a loss at the Berlin Conference and was unable to explain himself to Congress, so he was looking to make amends with the Qing Dynasty.

Li Hongzhang was thinking deeply at the side and finally understood the situation. It turned out that the French did not have to be fought. As long as Guangxi was held and the British assisted in mediation, the French might not necessarily stop.

"Yuan Xiangcheng, according to what you said, the French are probably just testing the waters. If the Qing Dynasty resolutely fights back and actively seeks peace, the French will most likely agree."

Upon hearing this, Yi X coughed heavily, implying that it was shameful for Yi Lianhui to talk about seeking peace in front of outsiders before the fight even started.

Although the idea of ​​seeking peace and stability has been consistently implemented by the central government from the decision-making level of Empress Dowager Cixi to the executive level of Li Hongzhang and Yili since the resignation of the Sixth Prince Gong,

但后上来的1奕X却0和慈禧0的想法有7些不6一样9，他明面1上对4慈禧3恭恭敬敬6，为慈禧尽心尽力的办事。

However, as his son grew older, he gradually had some plans of his own.

Although he was also a peace advocate, he was different from the real peace advocates in the central government headed by Cixi and Li Hongzhang. He could be said to be a fake peace advocate and did not want to sell out the country too much. After all, the Qing Dynasty would be handed over to his son Guangxu in the future.

If he sells too much now and hands over a mess to his son, why should he go to so much trouble now? Wouldn't it be better to be the emperor's father in peace? Why bother getting involved in this mess?

Hearing Yi Liannan's question, Yuan Xiangcheng remembered a famous saying from later generations, cleared his throat and said: "Your Highness, if you seek peace through war, peace will survive; if you seek peace through peace, peace will die."

The three central leaders in the hall actually all wanted to use war to promote peace, but they did not understand the international situation and did not know to what extent they should fight before seeking peace. Yuan Xiangcheng's visit was just the right time to answer their questions and resolve their doubts.

The only difference is that Li Hongzhang just wanted to get away with it, sell more, and sign the contract quickly.

Prince Chun Yix wanted to be more aggressive, sell less, and sign the contract quickly.

As for Prince Qing Yilieyou, let the two gentlemen say whatever they want. Anyway, I was brought up by the Empress Dowager just to make up the numbers, so I will follow the opinions of the two gentlemen.

Li Hongzhang just felt that the court had gained a new talent who was familiar with the international situation and was both civil and military. In his heart, he felt that the broken Qing Dynasty could only last a few more years with the support of Yuan Shikai.

Although Yuan Shikai seemed to be giving him advice, he had actually been thinking about escalating the Sino-French War for a long time.

He could no longer wait for the Sino-Japanese War of 1894-1895, which would happen ten years later. He had to speed up, he had to speed up.

The sooner the fig leaf of the Qing court is torn off, the better. The fall of the Rufelli cabinet and the disastrous defeat at Zhennan Pass were just the fuse. The real reason was that the benefits of invading China were too small and the cost was too great.

Then as long as the French found a place to make money, even if Li Hongzhang and Cixi wanted to make peace, they would have to continue fighting.

Even if Jules Ferry fell, the French who came to power would not easily make peace with the Qing Dynasty and would inevitably drag the Qing Dynasty down further.

As the Qing court gradually lost its authority, Yuan Shikai secretly recruited soldiers and accumulated strength.

By then, who among the civil and military officials in the court can stop Yuan Shen from taking action?

Chapter 22: Two Kings Show Kindness

It was already late at night when I walked out of the palace.

Yuan Xiangcheng went to the east of the city in search of the house that Li Hongzhang had awarded him. At that time, Dongcheng was not the Dongcheng District of later generations where the east was rich and the west was noble. This area was mostly temporary residences for ministers coming to Beijing and houses for bannermen.

Whether in the past or present life, only a few people can live in a courtyard house in Beijing, and most ordinary people still live in a "horsetail house".

Maweidou is a simple version of a three-sided courtyard or four-sided courtyard formed by several houses, with the roof of one house higher than the others, forming a "horsetail" shape.

The houses in Maweidou are relatively compact in layout and have small courtyards, but they can still meet the living needs of residents.

The house that Li Hongzhang awarded to Yuan Shikai was a Maweidou in Dongcheng.

As they walked on the road, Yuan Shikai gradually came to his senses. Li Hongzhang was acting with him, but his acting skills were not good enough to notice it.

"An old fox is still an old fox. If it weren't for the limitations of the times, he wouldn't have been condemned to eternal infamy along with the Qing Dynasty."

But no matter what, even though Yuan Shikai spoke very eloquently in the palace, he was determined not to help the Qing Dynasty win this war.

He wanted people all over the world to further recognize this foolish and corrupt court. If he did not do so, there would always be people who would have hope for the Qing court.

In the original time and space, the Hundred Days' Reform and the preliminary constitutionalism delayed the Qing Dynasty for 10 years.

The Qing Dynasty should have collapsed after the Sino-Japanese War of 1894-1895 and perished after the Xinhai Revolution. It was these so-called reforms that stabilized the reformists within the bureaucratic class.

Under the shackles of hope for the Qing Dynasty and corrupt Confucian thinking, he watched the Qing Dynasty perform a farce for 10 years.

As soon as the Imperial Cabinet came into being, the lie of preparing for constitutionalism was exposed.