Master Yuan, start!

The temporary commander of the French Army, Hebenzier, who had long seen that the Qing court was eager to seek peace, was sending most of his troops to Taiwan while pretending to negotiate with the Qing court.

First, they made a huge demand, demanding that the Qing government pay 2000 francs as compensation to each French soldier who died in the battle, totaling about million francs.

It also demanded that the Qing army voluntarily withdraw from the Lang Son area, give up its sovereignty over Vietnam, and open two trading ports each in Yunnan and Guangxi provinces for the import and export of French goods.

However, within the French Expeditionary Force, especially the army, the French accounted for less than one-third, and the rest were mostly Algerians and Vietnamese, as well as some international mercenaries. It is really unimaginable to pay 10,000 francs in compensation to a Vietnamese.

These conditions did not seem to be proposed by the defeated party in anyone's eyes, and some ignorant people even thought that France was the winner.

Zhang Zhidong, the acting governor-general of Guangdong and Guangxi, was so angry when he saw the conditions brought by the French that he stormed out. He didn't want to ask for peace in the first place, but was forced to sit down at the negotiation table under the strong pressure from the central government. When he saw such a contract, he chose to take sick leave.

On the one hand, it shows the unwillingness to actively seek peace with the center: 5-B6 shows 44 full, and on the other hand, it does not want to accept the hot potato of negotiation.

Guangxi Governor Pan Dingxin did not have such ability and could only tell Li Hongzhang all the conditions.

Chapter 46 I guessed the beginning but not the end

At that time, the Guangxi front had not yet been connected to the telegraph, so the only way to convey the news was to run to Guangzhou City to report to Li Hongzhang. The trip back and forth took a lot of time, and also bought a lot of time for the French to transport troops.

In the Grand Council of the Forbidden City in Beijing, a group of Grand Councillors stood at attention, with their heads lowered, fearing that they would anger the Empress Dowager.

At this moment, in the Grand Council, in addition to a group of military officials of all sizes, Li Hongzhang, the Governor-General of Zhili, was also summoned to be questioned.

"Sir Li, didn't you report before the New Year that as long as we win a battle, the French will naturally agree to our Qing Dynasty's request for peace?" Cixi pinched the long nail cover on her little finger, trying her best to make herself look less anxious.

Putting down the fragrant tea offered by Li Lianying, Cixi stared at Li Hongzhang and asked, "It's been several months now. You said the French were willing to seek peace, but why are they still arguing over the treaty? The war is dragging on, and even the British are asking if we can mediate and help. Lord Li, this is different from what you said at the beginning."

Li Hongzhang had no choice. After all, the French had a very good attitude at the beginning, giving people the feeling that they could definitely talk.

The amount of pensions can be negotiated, the number of trading ports can be negotiated, and most importantly, the sovereignty claim of Vietnam can also be "jointly managed by both countries."

This gave Li Hongzhang hope of a successful signing of the treaty. In order to show friendship, he took the initiative to send French prisoners to the outskirts of Hanoi.

But after receiving the prisoners, the French not only did not lower their demands, but instead began to go back and forth at the negotiating table.

First, he said that the statistics of French casualties were incomplete and the negotiations were suspended; then he said that the site of the trading port still needed to be surveyed and peace talks would be resumed after the survey was completed; finally, he used the excuse that the weather was too hot and simply did not go to the appointment.

At this time, even the most obtuse person would realize that the French army was deliberately delaying.

When the negotiation leader Pan Dingxin heard from the fishermen that French warships were constantly entering and exiting the Red River estuary, he was so frightened in the midsummer weather that he broke out in a cold sweat.

"Oh no, something is going to happen in Taiwan!"

Pan Dingxin thought that the French were going to take advantage of the negotiations to launch a full-scale attack on Taiwan, so he immediately sent this speculation to Guangzhou by express horse and then reported it to the central government by telegram.

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Just as the telegram reached the Governor-General of Zhili, the news that the French had declared in the newspapers that they would never give up also reached the capital.

People inside and outside the capital were in panic for a while, and it was in this context that Li Hongzhang went to the Grand Council to discuss matters.

Now being questioned by Cixi in the Grand Council, Li Hongzhang was quite helpless and replied with his hands folded:

"Your Majesty, according to Guangxi Governor Pan Dingxin, the French feigned negotiations in the past few times to seek peace. Guangxi fishermen saw the French using warships to transport soldiers and are afraid they are planning to attack Taiwan."

"What? The French said in the newspaper that they would never give up and actually wanted to take over Taiwan!" Prince Chun Yixun was also in the Grand Council and was shocked to hear the news.

"Liu Mingchuan was already struggling in Taiwan, and he had previously reported that it was difficult to hold on to Keelung, and that he had to save the available troops for defense in the countryside. But if all the French went to Taiwan, what would Liu Mingchuan use to defend it?" Prince Li Shiduo also thought that the French were going to occupy Taiwan, and he felt that something bad was happening in Taiwan.

"Let me be frank. Years ago, you all submitted a memorial stating that the French had traveled thousands of miles and their troops were exhausted. We, the Qing, could gather a large force to attack them by surprise, defeat them, and use the prestige of this victory to sign a beautiful treaty."

"If I knew it would be like this, I would never agree to your stupid plan!" Cixi slammed the armrest of her chair and loudly questioned all the military officials in the hall.

"Now, if all the French go to Taiwan, how will Taiwan be defended? Will the Qing Dynasty be forced to cede Taiwan?"

"Empress Dowager, please forgive me!" Facing Cixi's questioning, all the military officials, big and small, could only kneel down together, but they were still speechless after hearing Cixi's questions.

After a while, Zhang Zhiwan, a member of the Grand Council, said, "Her Majesty, my brother is at the front lines and says everyone in Guangxi is eager to fight. The people are donating food and drink to support the royal army, vowing to teach the French a lesson. If the French take Taiwan, we might as well have our frontline troops advance on Hanoi and trade Vietnam for Taiwan."

Zhang Zhiwan was the cousin of Zhang Zhidong, who was then the acting governor-general of Guangdong and Guangxi.

As soon as the words fell, Li Hongzhang immediately shouted: "Absolutely not! The battle of Zhennan Pass can be used as an excuse to provoke a border conflict, but if the army attacks Hanoi, it will be a full-scale war with the French!"

"Sir Li, what are you talking about? If the French attack us, it is not a declaration of war. If we attack the French, it is a declaration of war? Even if it is a declaration of war, can we still be afraid of the French?" Another Han military official, Yan Jingming, said sarcastically.

Yan Jingming was a member of Hu Linyi's court, and could be considered a contemporary of Zeng Guofan and Li Hongzhang. However, he lacked military expertise, but rather possessed considerable financial experience. Consequently, he was appointed Minister of Revenue by Empress Dowager Cixi and subsequently served in the Grand Council.

Because of the Westernization Movement, the Ministry of Revenue usually gave Li Hongzhang a lot of money, but Li Hongzhang also embezzled a lot of it. Therefore, people usually disliked Li Hongzhang the most, as he always claimed to be strengthening the country through Westernization, but in fact he was just enriching his pockets.

"Lord Yan, do you want the Gengshen incident to happen again?" The Gengshen incident that Li Hongzhang was referring to was the British and French allied forces' invasion of Beijing in the tenth year of Emperor Xianfeng's reign.

"Did Lord Li's efforts in foreign affairs over the past twenty years go in vain? Were the five armies near the capital trained in vain?

If you are so afraid of the French, why bother with Westernization, buying warships, and fighting in Guangxi? You might as well just cede Taiwan to the French!

Yan Jingming was not afraid of Li Hongzhang when he got angry. He was a lone minister in the court and was tired of staying in the capital, so he felt like giving it a try.

Li Hongzhang's words did not scare Yan Jingming, but reminded Cixi of the scene when he hurriedly left Beijing with Emperor Xianfeng and fled all the way to Rehe.

She never wanted to experience that feeling of having no control over her life or death again in her life.

Having made up her mind, she changed her harsh tone and spoke softly, "My two lords, please stop arguing. This is all for the sake of the Qing Dynasty. In times of crisis, we should cooperate fully.

But I am not sure about this idea. Taiwan cannot be lost, and the French cannot be overly angry.

Otherwise, we can transfer more troops from Huguang and Sichuan to the Guangxi front to respond, but don't attack the city first, just let the French know that our army has arrived.

We can talk to the French later. If that doesn't work out, we can negotiate compensation and give Vietnam's suzerainty to France. Anyway, I see that Vietnam is a vassal state in name only. It hasn't paid tribute for a long time, so asking for it is useless."

Seeing that Cixi was about to sell his son's country again, Yi Xin was also anxious. He hurriedly said, "Empress Dowager, we have just saved Korea, but Vietnam is about to be lost. How will the Western countries view our Qing Dynasty? We cannot easily agree to this matter with the French!"

However, Cixi's words were very much in line with Li Hongzhang's wishes, so he just watched Yi Xin speak silently, without stopping.

Cixi ignored Yi Xin's objections and said to herself, "Alright, that's it. I'm tired. Li Hongzhang, I'll leave this matter to you. You must not give the French another excuse to go to war."

"Li Lianying." Cixi stood up from the throne.

"Your servant is here." Li Lianying took small steps and walked out holding Cixi's arm.

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"How are the progress of the Qingyi Garden reconstruction project with the Imperial Household Department? I haven't seen it for a while."

Cixi's voice gradually faded away, leaving only a few ministers of the Grand Council looking at each other in bewilderment.

The head Grand Councilor, Prince Li Shiduo, was a man without a strong opinion. As soon as Cixi left, he bowed to Li Hongzhang and said, "Sir Li, it all depends on you to negotiate with the French. The Grand Council fully supports you, Sir Li!" Then he also walked out.

Prince Chun Yixun shook his head helplessly upon seeing this. He knew that Cixi's intention was nothing more than to ask for peace, but she knelt too quickly.

At least try to attack Hanoi first. Liu Mingchuan in Taiwan has merchant ships from the Fujian coast for supplies and the support of the Taiwanese people. It will not be easy for the French army to capture Taiwan in a short time.

He also heard that the French could not tolerate the heat and more of them died of illness than in battle. Now that summer had just begun, there might be a chance of improvement if the situation dragged on.

But things have come to this point, and he is a soft-hearted person, so it is impossible for him to go against Cixi's wishes. Otherwise, he would not have taken the initiative to offer to manage the garden renovation in order to please Cixi in the original time and space.

He could only say to Li Hongzhang: "Sir Li, thank you for your concern. The rest are easy to discuss. However, Taiwan is the land recovered by Emperor Kangxi, and it must not be ceded." Then he walked out of the Grand Council.

Li Hongzhang received Cixi's tacit approval and went to the Zongli Yamen to send another telegram.

The five armies of Jiashen, which had been transferred and trained for nearly half a year, returned to their respective locations for garrison.

The telegram ordered all ports along the southeastern coast to hold their fortifications to guard against French attack. At the same time, it told Liu Mingchuan to hold on to Taiwan and await support.

After the arrangements were completed, Li Hongzhang murmured quietly: "Yuan Xiangcheng, ah Yuan Xiangcheng, you guessed the beginning, but not the end.

After the great victory at Zhennan Pass, the French were indeed willing to negotiate as you said, but why did they change their minds now?..."

Chapter 47 Encounter Three

At this time, on the southern battlefield, after several reinforcements, the number of French expeditionary forces in the Far East once reached 20000. Although thousands of people were lost in the Vietnam battlefield, in Courbet's view, the remaining number was more than enough to march north.

He ordered Hebenzhe to leave thousands of pure French troops to guard Hanoi, and all the remaining people were sent to Taiwan on board ships under his tough demands.

So, when Li Hongzhang received the negotiation conditions, he was undecided and had to ask for instructions from the central government.

The French had already completed the military transport, and Courbet, who was in Taiwan, currently had more than 15000 French troops under his command.

However, Courbet was arrogant and boastful. In the original time and space, he insisted on staying in Taiwan. Not only did he forcibly blockade the coast of Fujian and Taiwan regardless of public opinion from various countries, but he was also unwilling to withdraw his troops. In the end, he was infected with the plague and died in Penghu.

With the support of tens of thousands of troops in this time and space, their confidence is overflowing, and they are unwilling to abandon Taiwan even if they have to go north.

Courbet planned to leave more than 2000 troops to guard Keelung, 1000 of whom were pure French.

He also asked the Japanese to send some soldiers ashore when they delivered medicine next time, and then he confidently weighed anchor and set sail, preparing to annihilate the Qing navy in the Jiangsu and Zhejiang areas first, and then return to transport troops north.

He even declared, "In this expedition, I will let the great Gallic rooster trample on the sleeping lion of the East, and let the European countries see that France is still a great country. Even if it is defeated by the Germans, it is definitely not something that the dirty and lowly Qing people can provoke!"

His subordinate, Li Shibi, even urged him to bring everyone with him and march north to fight. Taiwan could be taken later; Keelung's defenses were already in tatters, so retaking it wouldn't be difficult.

But Courbet refused to listen and insisted on sending troops to stay. "Captain, with the Baya here, are you still worried that I won't be able to win? Just point the guns in the direction of the Qing capital, and they will naturally sue for peace and agree to our terms."

After the outbreak of the Sino-French War, Courbet led the French Far East Fleet to join the war. The Far East Fleet had a total of 35 ships of various sizes, most of which were stationed in Saigon, patrolling the coast of Vietnam, and some were pressing towards Guangxi and Hainan.

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Courbet led three ironclad ships, three unprotected cruisers, two gunboats and some small ships, a total of about 3 ships, to invade the coast of Fujian and Taiwan.

In the Battle of Mawei, under the leadership of Wu Guba's flagship, the ironclad ship Baya, the Fujian Navy was completely wiped out in less than an hour.

It can be said that at this moment in the East Asian waters, the Baya is invincible, and no warship can withstand its cannon fodder baptism.

...

The sea was filled with fog, and a glimmer of light was visible in the gray sky. The orange light came from the sea in the distant east and reflected on the face of Wu Ankang, the commander-in-chief of the Nanyang Navy.

As soon as Wu Ankang received the telegram from the court a few days ago, he knew that the situation was not good.

He also recalled what he had seen in the telegraph office last year: a telegram sent by the imperial court to the Fujian navy, which said: "If they don't move, I won't send either."

"No one may fire without permission. Only after the enemy ships have opened fire can one return fire. Anyone who violates this order will be executed, even if they win."

As a result, due to the court's timidity, the Fujian Navy did not actively prepare for war, and only responded hastily when the French warships arrived.

Many ships were severely damaged before they could even weigh anchor, and almost the entire army was wiped out in less than an hour.

Now he was holding the new telegram in his hand, and his mood had sunk to the bottom.

The telegram said the French were heading for Taiwan, but Taiwan had long since become an isolated island. Wu Ankang knew that the best way to attack Taiwan was not to attack Taiwan itself, but to wipe out the imperial warships along the southeast coast.

Once all the imperial warships were destroyed and Taiwan lost its external support, the French could then slowly launch a siege or a frontal attack.

Last year, the French launched a surprise attack and wiped out the Fujian Navy. Now the only remaining resistance force on the southeast coast is the Nanyang Navy stationed in Jiangsu and Zhejiang.

He was in Zhejiang, and the court's demands on him in the telegram were not as outrageous as those on the Fujian Navy. It just asked him to strengthen the defense of the artillery, but the strength of his Nanyang Navy was not as good as that of the Fujian Navy.

The navy docked in the port was like a sitting duck, so he could only order the offshore artillery to be on duty day and night.

As for the fleet, he came up with a stupid idea. In order to prevent the Nanyang Navy from being completely wiped out like the Fujian Navy, he decided to let a group of ships patrol the coast and return to the port once a day to replenish coal and water.