Master Yuan, start!

Yuan Xiangcheng noticed his nervousness, so he patted Liu Buchan on the shoulder and said, "Master Liu is right, the South China Sea Fleet is indeed in trouble.

Bawu.Lu Lushan Danyo Cengzhang ZhaoSt: How about this, the auxiliary ships that the South China Sea Fleet lacks can be provided by North Korea. However, after Lord Liu returns to Guangdong, he might as well propose to Lord Li Hongzhang that every summer in the future, he can go to the north to patrol the sea border and be stationed in Incheon Port.

How about letting the North Korean people see the giant Chinese warship and win their hearts?

"How can this be done?" Liu Buchan bowed and refused, but he was ecstatic in his heart. He didn't expect that Yuan Shikai didn't care about his dissatisfaction with the court at all, but instead gave him a big gift.

Yuan Xiangcheng wanted to encourage him, so he stretched out his hands and shook Liu Buchan's hands: "Of course, this is possible. Although I am not familiar with naval affairs, I still have the heart to serve the country. It's just a few small boats. Sir Liu, please train them diligently and leave them for me to go north.

In the future, we will have to rely on our Chinese warships to take Vladivostok back from the Russians!"

When Liu Buchan heard this, his eyes showed an expression of disbelief. He immediately shook Yuan Xiangcheng's hands and replied in an excited voice:

"Yes, thank you, Master Yuan. No, thank you, Wei Ting!"

Chapter 104 Public Opinion and Important Officials of Liangjiang

Throughout the second half of 1888, the attention of the world was attracted by two things.

The first thing was the debate on whether it was time for the Qing Dynasty to reform. From Guangdong and Guangxi to Jiangnan, from Beijing to Incheon, various parties argued endlessly about their opinions.

Those who support the reform cite Russia as an example, Japan as an example, and the new policies implemented by Yuan Shikai in Korea as an example.

He also claimed that these places were completely renewed after the reform, which was truly a powerful tool for strengthening the country.

Those who oppose the reform will naturally point out the loopholes in the other party's views.

Russia reformed its political system but was still defeated by Britain and France. Japan reformed its political system but was still defeated by Yuan Shikai's Qing army in Korea. Doesn't this just show that political reform has limited effect on a country?

Some stubborn officials claimed that "all the reforms in other countries have granted the emperor's authority to ministers. This is contrary to the tradition of the Qing Dynasty and is absolutely unacceptable."

The reformists countered that Britain and France had already reformed their laws, and that their reforms were more advanced than those in Russia.

Yuan Shikai won the battle in Korea because he used a new method to train his troops, which enabled him to win.

In a word, my reforms are better than yours.

Throughout this entire year, neither side could say anything to the other, and neither side could do anything to the other, and the two sides engaged in a huge debate covering all sorts of topics.

The reason why scholars thousands of miles apart could debate with each other was thanks to Yuan Shikai.

Earlier, telegraph lines were laid in Beijing, Shengjing and Korea with the strong support of Yuan Shikai.

Telegraphs can transmit military intelligence and report political affairs instantly, which is much faster than express delivery over 800 miles. The Qing court also deeply realized the benefits of telegraphs, so they were quickly rolled out after the Sino-French War.

Today, except for the Qinghai-Tibet region, the country's telegraph lines are basically connected, from Heilongjiang in the north to Guangzhou Bay in the south, and even Dihua in Xinjiang has telegraph access.

Each provincial capital had a telegraph office, and with the spread of telegraphs, the debate on reform became a real-time hot topic in which scholars across the country participated in person for the first time.

However, telegraphs were expensive and not everyone could afford them, so except for a few wealthy people, more people chose to read newspapers. This debate indirectly led to the birth of newspapers in various places.

Seeing an opportunity, Yuan Shikai summoned scholars from various provinces to the Red Confucian Society and sent them back to their hometowns to establish newspapers. After collecting news of the debates between the two factions in Jiangnan, Beijing, Incheon and other places, they sent the news back to the provincial capitals by telegram.

Flying Bass 822698.51

Although a telegram was expensive, it could be printed into hundreds of copies of newspapers and sold after it was received. The reform movement was a hot topic and was the most eye-catching event in the Qing Dynasty. Whenever there was news about the debates between the reformists in the newspapers, the newspapers would always sell out.

Therefore, after making the initial investment, Yuan Xiangcheng gained a public opinion base in various provinces and a stable source of income, although he could not make a lot of money.

Yuan Xiangcheng learned from the marketing accounts of later generations. One manuscript was used nationwide, and he copied and pasted it in the 21th century using 19st century techniques. Naturally, he was invincible.

In addition to this, he also used the Spring and Autumn style of writing. Although he put both the pros and cons of the views in the newspaper, he often avoided the important issues and expressed his support for the reform in an implicit way.

Therefore, after reading Yuan Shen's tabloids, a considerable number of scholars in provincial capitals tended to support the reform movement. The closer the place was to foreigners, the higher the proportion of people supporting the reform.

The support rates in Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Guangdong and Guangxi are the highest, followed by Huguang and Sichuan, while the remaining inland provinces do not have much tendency.

Most of the scholars in these places still spend their days studying classics and have little interest in political reform. They don't care which faction comes to power as long as they can continue to recruit scholars through the imperial examinations.

The anti-reform factions in the coastal areas were also unwilling to lose their voices in the public opinion field. Although they opposed the reform, they were not diehards.

These people are more inclined to use Western tools to save the country rather than learn Western systems.

Therefore, they also founded two publications, the Beijing Official Gazette and the Jiangnan Official Gazette, in Beijing and Jiangning respectively, and relied on these two newspapers to compete with the Shenbao, the Linhu Daily and the local tabloids that supported the reformists.

As for newspapers targeting foreigners, such as the North China Herald and the North China Daily News, they mostly explained the arguments of both sides to readers from the perspective of watching a play, and stated that China is currently facing a major ideological debate and is about to usher in a change.

However, whether they supported or opposed the reform, no matter how fiercely they argued in public opinion, while arguing, they were also concerned about another thing happening in the capital.

That is the wedding of the current emperor, and the scheduled date is early next year, which is the first month of 1889.

While Yuan Shikai was rejoicing over the mushrooming of newspapers across the country, Zeng Guoquan, the Governor-General of Liangjiang, was in Jiangning City, worried about the situation in Beijing.

The Hunan clique, which once dominated the Three Rivers and Two Lakes area, was increasingly suppressed after Zeng Guofan's death.

Now the only position left for the local army is the Governor-General of Liangjiang, and at most Liu Jintang, the Governor of Xinjiang who is half Hunan and half Chu. This is the weak Hunan Army.

Zeng Guoquan was not as good as his elder brother Zeng Guofan. He did not have the reputation of a great master of Confucianism among the literati. There were even people in the court who secretly ridiculed him.

It is said that other people's sons are supported by their fathers, but he is supported by his elder brother. He is a military man who can sit on the position of Governor-General of Liangjiang with the help of his elder brother.

This is both right and wrong. He was indeed a military man and did not care much about his reputation. There were even rumors that in order to hide the gold, silver and jewelry he had looted from the city of Tianjing, he did not hesitate to break with the Qing court and wanted to support his brother Zeng Guofan as emperor.

But if anyone really thinks that he ascended to the throne because of his brother, they are totally wrong. The emperor can ascend the throne because of blood ties, but a minister cannot become a governor because of blood ties.

This governor was also gained through his battles with swords and guns amidst mountains of corpses and seas of blood.

There was a desolate atmosphere outside the Governor-General's Mansion of Liangjiang. The guards, wearing thin clothes, shivered uncontrollably when the cold wind blew.

However, seeing that the lights in the Governor's Mansion were still on, they did not dare to be lazy and go to the side rooms to keep warm.

Looking towards the guard on duty, several voices could still be heard from time to time in the main house of the huge Liangjiang Governor's Mansion.

Liu Kunyi rubbed his tired eyes and placed the telegram sent from the capital on the table.

He was a veteran of the Hunan Army and once served as the Governor-General of Liangjiang, earlier than Zeng Guoquan. However, he was dismissed from office and returned home due to the dispute over coastal defense and frontier defense in the late Qing Dynasty.

The Sino-Russian war in Xinjiang coincided with Japan's annexation of the Ryukyu Islands.

Liu Kunyi then submitted a memorial requesting that the Ryukyu issue in Japan be resolved as soon as possible, and that the Northwest Border issue be temporarily postponed, and that "they could ally with Britain and Germany to contain Russia and temporarily postpone the handling of Chonghou."

Chonghou was cursed by all officials at that time for signing the traitorous treaty without authorization.

This angered the Qingliu in the court. Zhang Zhidong, the leader of the Qing faction in Beijing at that time, repeatedly attacked Liu Kunyi after the Sino-Russian Treaty was signed, causing the Qing court to summon him back to Beijing, remove him from his post as Governor-General of Liangjiang, and eventually he return home unemployed.

Liu Kunyi stayed there for nearly ten years. It was not until Zeng Guoquan became the governor-general of Liangjiang that he was invited out of retirement to consult.

"Yuanfu, also known as Zeng Guoquan, how is the progress of the Jiangnan Navy?" Liu Kun asked with interest.

"Let Xueqin and Peng Yulin talk about this matter." Zeng Guoquan pointed at Peng Yulin standing beside him and said.

Peng Yulin was also a famous general of the Hunan Army and a senior military official. The Yangtze River Navy was established under his planning.

Rebuilding the navy required coastal defense talents. Zeng Guoquan invited Peng Yulin, who had retired at home, to Jiangning and used his connections to rebuild the Nanyang Navy. He merged the Yangtze River Navy into the rebuilt Nanyang Navy and renamed it the Jiangnan Navy.

Upon hearing this, Peng Yulin introduced: "Although the Kaiji was sunk by the French, the Jingqing and Huantai, which are also Kaiji-class cruisers, were launched later.

In addition, the Jiangnan Navy was supplemented by the Yangtze River Navy, and three armored cruisers similar to the Jingyuan were ordered from the British, but the number of warships was still insufficient.

Even so, the total tonnage of these warships, the main warships of the Jiangnan Navy, is only about 1 tons.

Li Hongzhang's South China Sea Fleet had a total tonnage of nearly 3 tons of main battleships, three times that of the Jiangnan Navy, so the navy was still far behind.

Liu Kun frowned when he heard this. He had spent millions of taels of silver, but his navy was still outnumbered by Li Hongzhang. So he asked again, "Can we buy more warships from the British and Germans?"

Peng Yulin sighed and said, "It's difficult. Most of Li Hongzhang's South China Sea Fleet was ordered before the Sino-French War, and the court has already paid part of the money.

The Jiangnan Fleet is entirely funded by the Liangjiang Governor-General's Office. Yuanfu's hair has turned a few gray because of this. Now that the Emperor's wedding is approaching, I heard that they have spent over 500 million taels of silver. There is no money left for the navy anymore."

Hearing Peng Yulin mention him, Zeng Guoquan coughed twice and said with some disgust: "These Manchus, they are not seen in the battlefield to kill the enemy, but they are all first-rate in spending money!"

In the late Qing Dynasty, those who could become governors of a place were naturally shrewd people. For them, words of loyalty to the emperor and serving the country were just empty words, which they could listen to but not take seriously.

What's more, the three people in the hall are Han Chinese, and they are Han Chinese who have fought on the battlefield with swords and guns without relying on fame. Naturally, they have no awe of the Qing court.

Liu Kunyi was not as bad-tempered as Zeng Guoquan, and he advised: "Yuanfu, why should you hurt yourself for that person in the Forbidden City? You should take care of yourself."

Peng Yulin also said: "That's right, the Qing Dynasty is about to fall into chaos again. We must stay here and watch more of these Manchurians perform."

Zeng Guoquan thought of the recent hot discussion in the city about Guangxu's wedding and chuckled, "I think this emperor's wedding is just another trick up the Empress Dowager's sleeve. She's been in control of government for over a decade, so how could she give up power so easily?"

Liu Kunyi disagreed somewhat: "It is a Manchu tradition to hand over power after the wedding. She is a true Manchu and would never take such a step that would be condemned by the world."

Peng Yulin agreed with Zeng Guoquan's opinion and nodded, saying, "However, with the voices of reform in the court so strong, there's no guarantee that the emperor won't do something outrageous after ascending the throne. If she refuses to give up power after returning it to him, it's understandable."

Liu Kunyi became interested: "If that's the case, then there's going to be some interesting drama in the court. The Emperor's faction is gaining strength and has a legitimate cause. How can a dowager empress be able to control them?"

Hearing this, Zeng Guoquan thought of someone who often appeared in the newspapers: "That upstart from Korea who presented novelties to the palace and repeatedly won the favor of the empress dowager, and he was so close to the capital.

With such a trusted minister around, if anything were to happen, tens of thousands of troops could be quickly dispatched to the west, and the emperor wouldn't dare act rashly."

Peng Yulin often read the newspapers and found that this was inconsistent with the image of Yuan Shikai that he had read in the newspapers. He was a little puzzled: "But why do I hear that Yuan Shikai's various actions in Korea are quite similar to those of the reformists?"

Liu Kun twirled his beard and said slowly, "Reform is not important. Who leads the reform is important."

Chapter 105: Admiration for the Qing Dynasty

Liu Kunyi took a sip of tea, looked at the two people's eager eyes and continued, "Now at this critical juncture when the Empress Dowager has withdrawn and the Emperor has taken power, the court is suddenly clamoring for some kind of reform.

"You tell me, after the emperor takes power, who will lead the reforms, the empress dowager or the emperor?"

"Of course it's the emperor!"

"If the reforms succeed and the Qing Dynasty revives, then by contrast, wouldn't scholars across the country think that the decline of the nation during the Empress Dowager's reign was her fault?"

Peng Yulin's face changed slightly when he heard this. He pointed at the telegram in Liu Kun's hand and said, "I understand, Liu Kun, you mean that it was because she took this into consideration that she summoned the governors-general from all over the country to Beijing.

It seemed that he was celebrating the emperor's wedding, but in fact he was forcing important officials to follow him.

Her real purpose is to make the governors and governors-general choose whether to be loyal to the emperor or continue to be respectful to the Empress Dowager.

Zeng Guoquan also shook his head somewhat helplessly: "It's an open conspiracy. If I have to go to Beijing to ask for some navy funds, I really don't want to get involved in this mess."

"There's no other way. The Ministry of Revenue keeps delaying the allocation of funds with various excuses, so Yuanfu has to work hard. When you go to Beijing on this trip, remember that getting money is your top priority. This matter cannot be delayed." Liu Kunyi instructed.

"As for the factional struggle between the Emperor and Empress, Yuanfu will act according to circumstances."

Zeng Guoquan had no choice but to agree upon hearing this and planned to have someone call the capital back the next day.

...

Zeng Guoquan received the telegram from the Qing court, and Yuan Shikai naturally received it as well, but he was discussing the purchase of warships with German businessmen.

It is not enough to use some auxiliary ships to dig into the corners of the South China Sea Fleet. The factions in the South China Sea Fleet are complicated and may not be completely pulled over by him, so Yuan Xiangcheng himself must make plans early.

Admiral Ding Ruchang was a former infantryman and was a latecomer. He never attended a single day of classes at either the Fujian Naval Academy or the Beiyang Naval Academy, let alone studying abroad.

So it cannot be said that Ding Ruchang knew nothing about modern naval warfare, but it can also be said that he knew very little.