A stroke of bad luck

  A stroke of bad luck

  "Li Hongzhang, you ignorant, shameless old scoundrel!"

  Li huddled in the dark, stinky cabin, holding a dry ration that had already grown white hair, swallowing saliva, comforting Li Hongzhang's family while secretly muttering to himself, "Can this thing really be eaten?"

  "Alas, this life is unbearable!"

  Li Mo was so depressed, having just accepted his new identity after crossing over, only to immediately become a prisoner of the lowest class. This life is really unbearable, if he didn't want to die again, he probably would have had thoughts of slitting his own throat.

  And the one who caused all this is that old turtle egg called Li Hongzhang! Who is Li Hongzhang? Nonsense! Of course, you are referring to the so-called eighth naval power in the world and the first fleet in the Far East, who turned it into a private armed force and political capital, Li Hongzhang, Lord Li.

  Of course, as the number one celebrity of the Qing dynasty at that time, Li Hongzhang would not bully Li Mo, a 12-year-old child who had never seen this old "Li" family celebrity and had no grudges against him. So why did he scold Li Hongzhang so severely?

  The problem started half a month ago. Half a month ago, Li Mo discovered that not only was he not dead, but he had also become the son of Li Guotai, the commander-in-chief of the Han Army's Zheng Huang Banner in the Qing Dynasty's Jinzhou Garrison.

  Li Guotai, though not a good person, had a military career all his life, especially during the several wars against Russia, he not only led by example but also his subordinates were fearless of death, so he was quite a character.

  Especially since Jinzhouwei is adjacent to Dalian Port, since Li Hongzhang wanted to build Dalian into a Beiyang base, Jinzhouwei has been bustling, and originally Li Guotai had no opinion on these things. After all, he was the army, and the Beiyang Navy had nothing to do with him. Taking advantage of the opportunity of Dalian Port's large-scale expansion, Li Guotai also made a small profit. Of course, the biggest winner is that Mr. Li.

  The problem is that as the Lushun Port is about to be completed, a large number of naval troops began to move in, and a steady stream of weapons and equipment flowed into the hands of the Korean pirates from his jurisdiction. This really got Li Guotai's goat, although he wasn't a good guy either. His parents were killed by the Japanese pirates, so he had a deep-seated hatred for them. You could sell to others, but selling to the Japanese pirates was unforgivable!

  Li Guotai, in a fit of rage, didn't think twice and prepared to take action that very night. However, things took an unexpected turn when the matter was exposed, especially since it involved Prince Chun, the head of the Navy Ministry. Who is Prince Chun? He's the number one power holder in the Qing dynasty, and even the current Emperor Guangxu is his son. The outcome was naturally a foregone conclusion.

  Unfortunately, Li Mo crossed over into the body of Li Guotai's seriously ill son at this time. Originally, with his arrival, Li Mo's body was getting better and better every day, and it seemed that his spring as Young Master Li was about to arrive, especially when he thought that if he could get close to the Beiyang Navy, with his skills as a naval engineer, then...

  Before Li Mo's saliva had a chance to drip down, Li Guotai suddenly received an alarm. It turned out that he still thought that offending the Prince of Chun would not be feared, because this matter involved the Navy, and Li Hongzhang would naturally not let it go easily. Moreover, the stolen goods were the military supplies of his Beiyang Navy, which was digging into Li Hongzhang's heart. But who would have thought that Li Hongzhang not only did not pursue Prince Chun, but instead ordered the Beiyang Navy to take the initiative to capture Li Guotai.

  Although he was a military man, Li Guotai was not a fool and immediately knew that Li Hongzhang must have made a choice between Prince Gong and himself for his own benefit. What Li Guotai couldn't understand was why Li Hongzhang would tolerate such a thing!

  Li Guotai couldn't understand, but Li Mo knew that in order to firmly control the Beiyang Fleet, his greatest political capital, Li Hongzhang was not so selfless. Not only did he arrange for his trusted generals, the surrendered Taiping Army general, and Ding Ruchang, who was born into a land army family, to lead the fleet, but also massively planted people loyal to himself, with almost all of the first-line commanders coming from his own camp.

  Moreover, in order to avoid being criticized for having a large army and being self-important, many bannermen were appointed as part of the exchange. These people not only did not understand naval warfare but also used their power to embezzle military rations and sell military supplies privately, ultimately leading to the defeat of the Beiyang Fleet in the Yellow Sea and the loss of the First Sino-Japanese War, which was crucial to the fate of the country.

  What's more, at this moment, the pure and kind king is in charge of the naval affairs department, which not only has a super fat position but also controls the purse strings of the Beiyang Navy. Li Hongzhang failed to take down this position, which was already a mistake. What's more, for his own benefit, at this moment, he can only sacrifice Li Guotai.

  At this time, Li Guotai also knew that he would die, so he hastily sold all his property and arranged for a few trusted guards to secretly protect his only son, Li Mo, who boarded a small boat, preparing to flee south from Shanghai to the UK, while he himself made arrangements and then hanged himself in the backyard.

  As the saying goes, when a person is unlucky, even drinking water can get stuck in their teeth! Li Dashi, carrying the family property that his father had accumulated, hadn't been at sea for long when he was blown by the sea wind and his originally weak body fell ill again with a high fever. What's more unfortunate is that the ship had just passed Qingdao when it was intercepted by a group of foreign devils who appeared out of nowhere, and they not only robbed them but also locked Li Dashi and his subordinates in this small cargo hold. In the following days, more and more people were thrown in, until finally, there were over 20 guys wearing Beiyang Navy uniforms who were also caught and brought in, leaving Li Mu stunned. What kind of pirates are these? How dare they capture people from the Beiyang Navy? Don't they know that it's not 1894 anymore? The current Beiyang Navy can basically roam freely in the Far East waters!

  What a day! Li Mo had nothing to say, it was too unlucky, in this era, he actually encountered pirates who were not afraid of the Beiyang Navy, oh my...! It's scary, if things go on like this, his life would really be in someone else's hands!

  "Ah." He let out a sigh, and Li Mo bit down hard on the dry rations. A wave of musty, moldy smell flooded into his nostrils, almost making him spit it out.

  Fortunately, the current Li Dashi is not the original one. Although he is an engineer, as a republican soldier who has also received strict military training, Li Mo still frowned and forced himself to swallow the dry ration.

  "Master, slow down!"

  Just as Li Mo was struggling to eat the dry rations, a small hand appeared beside him, holding a half-basin of clear water. He looked up to see his personal maid, Qiao Xi, but she no longer had the same stunning appearance as when he first met her. Instead, she wore coarse cloth and rough clothes, with acne all over her face, looking like a poor village boy of twelve or thirteen years old.

  Of course, this was to cover up his identity, but at this moment in the dark, damp and smelly cabin, Li Dashi was already wrinkling his nose while gnawing on dry rations. When he suddenly saw a small face full of pimples rushing in front of him, even his younger brother was startled and almost trembled!

  "It's too terrible!" Li Mo hastily moved half of his body and took over the clear water, starting to drink.

  "Young master, I've investigated and it's true that those men are from the Water Troops." At this time, old steward Li Fu brought a man with no expression, as if someone owed him hundreds of thousands of taels of silver, who looked very fierce at first glance, to Li Mo's side and whispered.

  Li Fu is the old steward of the Li family, who has followed Li Guotai on his southern and northern expeditions for decades. He is loyal and devoted, so at the last moment, Li Guotai entrusted him with his only son to lead a team to Britain, but unexpectedly encountered this situation. The young man by his side is Zhao Long, the leader of Li Guotai's personal bodyguards.

  When Zhao Long was young, his parents were killed by the Japanese pirates. Fortunately, Li Guotai happened to pass by and rescued him. Not only did he teach Zhao Long martial arts, but also sent him to join the New Army for a few years. Later, Zhao Long followed Li Guotai to fight against the Russians in the northern border, protecting Li's safety. It can be said that if it weren't for Zhao Long, Li Guotai would have probably lost his life in the northern border.

  A life-saving favor, a knowing encounter, through thick and thin. Zhao Long was almost like Li Guotai's shadow, but this time he helped the young master escape, only to unexpectedly run into foreign pirates. Originally, he had thought of taking everyone with him to fight their way out, but at that time Li Mo was ill, his whole body burning with fever, unable to move, so he could only hold back his temper, knowing they were locked in the ship's cabin.

  Munching on dry rations, drinking clear water, and listening to Li Fu and Zhao Long's words, Li Mo's heart was turned upside down. Damn it, the Water Division's people even dared to capture them, they were truly a group of desperate fugitives, how could they escape now?

  Li Mo rolled his eyes and looked up at the only ventilation window on the ceiling. Unfortunately, the ventilation window was too small, and at most, it could only allow a child to enter and exit. Moreover, there were iron bars as thick as fingers installed on the window, making it extremely difficult to pass through.

  All that's left is the large hatch on the air window, but every time a foreigner appears, they're fully armed and even withdraw the ladder under the hatch, unless you can turn into a fly, there's no way to get out.

  Is it really like Li Fu and Zhao Long said? Wait until the boat docks before thinking of a solution? Li Mo furrowed his brow, he had always been a proactive person, but now he had to put his life in someone else's hands, which was clearly not in line with his character!

  "What happened in 1889? Hmm...? It seems like AC Milan was founded around that time." Li Mo thought to himself as he gazed out the window.

  "It's all over! My fate must be grasped by myself!" Looking at the air vent, Li Mo suddenly swallowed the last bit of dry rations with a gulp.