Super Dictator

In the Governor's Mansion of Zhili in Tianjin, Li Hongzhang, Minister of Oceania, sat hunched behind the table and coughed non-stop.

Li Hongzhang's son Li Jingfang poured a cup of tea and put it on the table, and said with some worry: "Father, you have always been in poor health, so it is better to stay up less late."

Li Hongzhang spit a mouthful of thick phlegm into the spittoon, and then he felt a little relieved. He took the documents on the table with both hands and said helplessly: "Now the front line is fighting fiercely, and everyone inside and outside the court blames me for the defeat, so I don't care. It’s not okay to stay out of it.”

"Father, did Zhang Shilang come to the Governor's Mansion not long ago to seek peace?" Li Jingfang served as the Qing minister to Japan and had some understanding of diplomatic matters.

Li Hongzhang picked up the tea, took a sip gently, and then said: "Lafayette and Prince Gong hope to end the war as soon as possible to avoid the destruction of both sides. Unfortunately, now that the Japanese have tasted the sweetness, I am afraid they will not give up for a while."

"Father, what does the emperor mean?" Li Jingfang stayed in Japan for a long time and was well aware of the greed of the Japanese.

"The Emperor listened to Weng Tong and Lao'er, and not only reactivated the Hunan Army, but also ordered me to send the Beiyang Fleet to Haiwei to fight the Japanese. The Beiyang Fleet suffered too many losses. If we use the coastal forts, we can still deal with the Japanese. Once we leave the port, , it’s more bad than good.” Li Hongzhang obviously complained about Guangxu, and he didn’t have so many worries in front of his son, and expressed his inner thoughts.

Li Jingfang sighed and said: "But the soldiers on the front line are so helpless and retreating steadily, which puts my father in a dilemma. My father's more than ten years of hard work has been ruined in one day."

Li Hongzhang let out a long sigh, put down the tea cup in his hand, and said with a bitter look on his face: "I have been doing things all my life, including military training and the navy. They are all paper tigers. How can I really let it go? It's just a superficial job. If you don't expose it, you can still deal with it for a while. It's like a broken house, which has been patched up here and there by a paper poster, and turned into a clean room. Although you know it is paper and paper, you can't tell what kind of material is inside. You can make a few holes and repair them at any time, but you will have to tear them apart easily, and you have not prepared any repair materials or transformation methods. Naturally, the truth will be revealed and it will be out of control, but what is the skill of the paper maker? Can you take responsibility?"

"Yes, the imperial court is not at ease with my father and is trying to contain him in many ways. The reason why Weng Tonghe dared to seize the navy's silver when he was the Minister of Household Affairs was without Lafayette's approval. Would he have such courage?"

"After all, this court is a Manchu court. I, Li Hongzhang, have been a slave all my life, and I don't know when I will be the end of it." Li Hongzhang said with some frustration. Everyone in the court regarded the Huai Army and the Beiyang Navy as his. The private soldiers, when they went to the battlefield, used the Huai army as the main force. If they failed, they would blame themselves.

"Father, do you think the Hunan Army can save the overall situation?" Li Jingfang turned over the copywriting on the table and asked with a frown.

Li Hongzhang first sneered a few times, and then said: "The weapons of the Hunan Army are backward, even worse than my Huai Army. Then Liu Kunyi is not a fool. Seeing that the situation in Liaodong is in decay, he has been delaying the time to leave the border. , Liu Kunyi has not left the capital for a long time, and I heard that the emperor has issued repeated orders urging him to go to Shanhaiguan to plan military affairs. "

Although Li Jingfang was not familiar with military affairs, he could still understand telegrams sent from various places.

He was talking to Li Hongzhang while he was turning over the pages just now, when he suddenly let out an exclamation while turning over the pages.

Li Hongzhang glanced at it and found that it was a telegram that had just been sent today, but he had not had time to check it.

Li Jingfang immediately took out the telegram and reported: "Father, the battlefield in Liaodong has changed again."

"Oh, apart from Song Qing and others losing Gaiping, is there any good news?" Li Hongzhang became interested.

"Father, please read this. This is a telegram from Wei Jichen in Haicheng." Li Jingfang raised the official document in his hand and said with a smile.

Wei Jichen and Li Hongzhang felt much relieved when they heard the name of this young man. This young man stood out in Liaodong and often brought quite a surprise when the armies were retreating.

Li Jingfang gently read out the contents of the telegram: "On the 20th, Japanese pirates attacked Ximu City. His subordinates were ordered to garrison the Yushu Fort about 3 kilometers outside the city. The enemy's 3rd Division gathered more than 6,000 people to surround the subordinates. Commander-in-Chief Feng Sheng’a dare not support.”

When Li Jingfang said this, his expression suddenly changed. He was surrounded by more than 6,000 people. Although he knew that Wei Jichen escaped in the end, the hardships could be imagined.

Seeing his father Li Hongzhang put his hands on the table and even forgot to drink tea, Li Jingfang was listening attentively when he continued to read: "My subordinates fought with the Japanese for three days and killed many enemies. Then they led the troops to break through. How sad. The sentry officers of our military camp suffered casualties one after another. The brave soldiers suffered casualties of more than 1,000, and the artillery drill instructors also suffered many casualties. Although the number of thieves was more than doubled, they still refused to retreat. The subordinates led hundreds of soldiers and killed them twice, leaving only a dozen. His subordinates galloped through the ice and snow and were shot in the legs. They finally led the remaining 700 people to break out of the siege. However, they heard that the commander Feng Sheng'a had fled Ximu City. He had no choice but to retreat to Haicheng. However, after careful calculation, the Japanese should have lost more than half, with casualties several times that of our army. It is difficult for them to have enough energy to attack Haicheng in the short term. My subordinates are thinking about counterattacking Ximu City and regaining the territory lost by our army. However, on the way, they heard that Commander Feng Sheng'a drank and had fun, played day and night, and died in his bed. He was afraid that Haicheng would be lost, so he had to stay all night to defend Haicheng. Now all the troops are gathering in Haicheng. My subordinates see that the troops and horses are strong, and it is possible to conquer Ximucheng. I hereby send you a telegram. "

"Wei Jichen is really a newborn calf who is not afraid of tigers. We are worried about defense here, but he actually considered counterattacking Ximu City." A smile appeared on Li Hongzhang's lips, and he immediately put aside all the information sent today.

Then he checked carefully to see if Wei Jichen had falsely reported his military exploits.

Li Jingfang also enthusiastically helped to check.

Li Hongzhang soon found out what Wei Jichen said about the Battle of Yushu Fort: Our Wei Zijun and the Japanese fought in Yushu Fort. At that time, the general Wei led his soldiers to fight to the death, repelling the Japanese many times, and then broke out. The Japanese were forced to Despite their reputation, they did not dare to pursue them. The Japanese suffered many casualties in this battle, and blood flowed into rivers. Corpses lay in the wild, and they were not cleaned up day and night. This was a great victory since the war began. "

This is what the spy reported.

Others, including Nie Guilin, Ma Jinxu, and Jiang Xiyi, the generals of the original Ximu City, jointly reported the matter, expressing Wei Jichen's military exploits and his military skills. All the generals admired him in their hearts. As long as some more soldiers and horses are deployed, this can be expected.

"It seems that Wei Jichen is really a brave and strategic general. It is really incredible that Nie Guilin, Ma Jinxu and other veteran generals will be convinced by him." Li Hongzhang was like Bole discovering a thousand-mile horse, and he was sincerely happy. .

"Father, the Battle of Yushubao is undoubtedly the greatest victory since the war began. I will go to the Empress Dowager, the Emperor, and the Military Aircraft Department to express my merits for the Wei army in an attempt to inspire the soldiers of the three armies." Li Jingfang immediately started from a political perspective. Thinking about it, now everyone in the imperial court is impeaching Li Hongzhang, saying that his Huai army has been defeated repeatedly and is useless. The battle of Yushu Fort is enough to get Li Hongzhang out of this predicament.

Therefore, this matter should be publicized vigorously, and it is best to make it known to everyone.

Li Hongzhang had a smile on his face, but he said: "This matter is not urgent." But in his heart, he was thinking about how to write.

Coincidentally, just when Li Hongzhang was feeling itchy, his staff Zhang Peilun walked in with a happy face and a telegram.

"Zhongtang, what great news is that the Japanese general Shanxian Youpeng has left Liaodong recently and will return home in despair." Zhang Peilun kept looking inside, and almost tripped over the threshold when he entered the door and fell to the ground. This shows that his heart got excited.

"A friend from Shan County has returned to China?" Li Hongzhang thought to himself, what does his return have to do with us, but he believed that Zhang Peilun would not be happy for no reason.

"Zhongtang, why did you, Daoshan County Youpeng, return to China? He was dismissed from his position as commander of the Japanese First Army. Apparently, I heard that the Japanese base camp recruited him back because he needed to recuperate. But I also heard that Another theory is that Youpeng of Shanxian County suffered a big defeat at the gate of Ximu City. In order to deal with him, the Japanese headquarters dismissed him from the post of commander of the First Army." Zhang Peilun finished with a smile on his face.

The biggest reason why Yamaxian Youto was dismissed was that he repeatedly violated the instructions of the Japanese base camp and went his own way. However, there was also a slight connection with the Battle of Yushubao. However, Zhang Peilun said that the Battle of Yushubao became the main reason for Shanxian's dismissal. .

Li Jingfang immediately understood that there was still a lot to do in the battle of Ximu City. One battle actually caused the Japanese to have to change the frontline commander. It can be seen how heavy the losses of the Japanese were and how brave and skillful our army was in fighting.

Li Hongzhang is an old fox. Li Jingfang has thought of it. How could he not think of it?

He quickly summoned several sergeants from the telegraph office to claim credit from Guangxu and Cixi.

Needless to say, Guangxu would be happy to hear the news.

Although Cixi strived for peace, with this great victory as a bargaining chip, it would definitely be much easier to negotiate peace.

Li Hongzhang was so excited that he took a few steps back and forth in the room. This victory could get him out of the predicament, but it was not enough. He longed for power, missed power, and was always thinking about how to climb up.

Can you conquer Ximu City? Once the recovery is successful, the Qing army in Liaodong will change from a situation of continuous retreat to a situation of strategic offensive.

However, to conquer Ximu City, the few men and horses in Haicheng were definitely not enough. Reinforcements had to come from other places. Li Hongzhang immediately made a decision in his mind.

"Father, here is another official document written by Wei Jichen. In the official document, he was worried that the Japanese would go south to attack Shandong and annihilate our Beiyang Fleet." Li Jingfang is now very interested in Wei Jichen and has been checking the documents he sent or sent. Telegrams and official documents.

"Going south to attack Shandong?" Li Hongzhang frowned and said indifferently: "The Japanese only want to capture Fengtian, so how can they divide their forces to attack the Shandong Peninsula? I think Wei Jichen is overly worried."

Zhang Peilun said with a smile: "In any case, Wei Jichen is giving us a reminder. We are not afraid of ten thousand, just in case. Zhongtang asked Shandong Governor Li Bingheng to gather reinforcements. Ding Ruchang should pay more attention to the movements of the Japanese fleet."

Li Hongzhang nodded and said with a smile: "It's okay to remind them to pass Wei Jichen's official document to Li Bingheng."