Chapter 34: Li Hongzhang Arrives in a Grand Manner

  First of all, thank you to "Red Thunder" brother for the reward, I'm very happy. Secondly, Xiaochong wants to try to rush up the rankings this week because Xiaochong saw a glimmer of hope and hopes that brothers can give more support. Xiaochong also hopes to rush to the homepage, with tears in his eyes. Brothers who have votes, please help out!

  ………

  Before the Sino-Japanese negotiations began, Emperor Meiji appointed Prime Minister Itō Hirobumi and Foreign Minister Mutsu Munemitsu as plenipotentiaries to enter Korea for negotiations. On October 15, Japanese negotiators arrived at Incheon by warship and hurried to Hanseong to join with the commander of the First Army, Yamagata Aritomo, in preparation for going to Pyongyang for negotiations.

  The Japanese negotiating team included Kaoru Inoue, Chief of the Navy General Staff, Count Aritomo Yamagata, Commander-in-Chief of the First Army, Komura Jutaro, Minister to Korea, Shigeta Suetarō, Governor-General of the Military Government in Manchuria and others totaling over 30 people.

  Itō Hirobumi and Yamagata Aritomo met in Seoul, where Itō asked Yamagata in detail about the reasons for this defeat and expressed incomprehensibility at the loss of many mid-to-low-ranking officers in just a few battles.

  Shan County has a friend who heard Ito Hirobumi's question and replied with a hint of melancholy: "Ito, after our army's repeated explorations, we finally understood the reason for the heavy losses of the Imperial Court. It was because Ye Zhiwei had established a new type of special forces called the Iron Blood Thirteen Eagles."

  "Special Forces! What kind of troops are they?" Ito Hirobumi clearly heard the name for the first time, furrowed his brow and asked.

  "Yamagata thought for a moment, trying to make Ito understand. He explained: "This is similar to our country's ninjas, but also different. In short, their tasks are varied, assassinating enemies, gathering intelligence, protecting generals, and even directly participating in battles. However, please rest assured, my First Army has already begun building a special operations team based on the example of Ye Zhiwei's special warfare unit. I believe that if we fight again next time, it won't be so easy for Ye Zhiwei to succeed."

  Ito Hirobumi let out a sigh and said, "In that case, thank you for your hard work, Governor of Yamagata."

  ……

  The Qing government, led by Li Hongzhang, set out for Korea with his group of Beiyang generals. The entourage included Li Jingfang (Li Hongzhang's son), who had previously served as the Chinese minister to Japan and had taken a Japanese woman as his wife, Wu Tingfang, who was familiar with diplomatic affairs, Ma Jianzhong, an American advisor, former US Secretary of State Cassius Clay, and others. They sailed on a commercial ship from the mouth of the Daedong River in Korea and would soon arrive in Pyongyang.

  Pyongyang, in Ye Zhiwei's camp, Ye Zhiwei was inspecting each tent.

  Because Li Hongzhang is coming, he will definitely review each department, so Ye Zhi-chao orders each department to make preparations. He says that if anyone makes me unhappy during the inspection, I will make him unhappy from now on. Ye Zhikui can only say quietly, "Face-saving projects are never lacking in any era."

  Ye Zhi Kui led Feng Guo Zhang, Wang Shi Zhen, Wen Bai Shan and others to inspect each camp in advance. Because his usual requirements were very strict, no problems were found, so they prepared to return to the main account. When passing by the training ground, he saw a familiar figure and walked forward involuntarily. The other people did not dare to move forward.

  He had originally seen Xiaoling lying on the ground, aiming at the target and practicing her shooting seriously. As the daughter of a butcher and with an unclear relationship with Ye Zhikui, no one dared to stop her.

  Ye Zhi Kuai walked up, frowning and scolding: "Little Linglong, what are you doing? Is the gun very fun to play with? What if it accidentally goes off and hurts yourself?"

  Xiao Linglong saw Ye Zhikui and quickly got up, her face red as she pulled at her clothes without saying a word. Seeing Ye Zhikui's accusatory gaze, she became even more silent. Ever since Xiao Linglong had secretly kissed Ye Zhikui at the city gate last time, every time she saw him, she appeared flustered and embarrassed, completely unlike the demonic girl she was in front of others. After recovering from her illness, the little girl returned to her true nature, jumping around and playing tricks on people all day long. The soldiers of the Tiger and Brave Army found this young lady lovely and lively, without any pretenses, although they were often teased to tears, they all adored her. They secretly gave her the nickname "Little Demon Girl".

  After that time with Ye Zhi, although he understood her thoughts, recently the time was tight, and Xiao Linglong was still young, what romantic thoughts could they have, so he put her aside and didn't care about her anymore.

  The little girl didn't know what was on Ye Zhiwei's mind, but instead secretly regretted it, fearing that Ye Zhiwei might not like her. She didn't dare to ask Ye Zhiwei directly, so she thought that even if Ye Zhiwei didn't like her, she would still want to be an indispensable person by his side, just like her own father. That's why she practiced shooting diligently, hoping to help Ye Zhiwei in the future and stay by his side.

  Ye Zhi Kui really didn't understand the thoughts of these daughters who had turned several bends, seeing that Xiaoling's forehead was still stained with some mud. He couldn't bear to blame her again, so he stepped forward and gently wiped it away with his hand, then said: "Look, you're not careful at all, getting mud all over your body. Hurry back now!"

  Xiao Ling's face turned red, and she softly murmured a response. The charming shyness of the young lady and the sweet fragrance of her youth momentarily stunned Ye Zhi Kui, and when he came to his senses, Xiao Ling had already walked away.

  Shaking his head to dispel the distracting thoughts, Ye Zhiwei beckoned with his hand, and the instructor from the distant training grounds sprinted over.

  "How long has Xiao Linglong been training here?" Ye Zhikui asked the instructor.

  "As for Little Ling, the training is clear, and she immediately replied: 'Tell Ye Shao that Miss Ling has been here for nearly half a month, and each time she trains for a long time before leaving.'"

  "Is that so?" Ye Zhi Kui hesitated for a moment, initially thinking that Little Ling was just here to have fun. Now it seemed she really liked playing with guns. In that case, he couldn't stop her either. "From now on, whenever she comes again, you don't need to stop her, but the firearms and ammunition must be checked beforehand, making sure everything is perfect, got it?"

  "I understand!" The teacher responded.

  …………

  On October 16, Li Hongzhang and others entered Pyongyang. Ye Zhi-chao led the Korean generals to welcome them outside the city gate. Ye Zhi-kui finally saw this historically controversial Grand Minister, but at that time, Li Hongzhang was still full of splendor. He was already very old, with white hair and beard, wearing a three-eyed flower crown, wearing a yellow horse cloak, walking between them still dragon-like, his eyes were piercing and spirited. When he saw Ye Zhi-kui, his eyes lingered slightly, with a hint of encouragement. Although Ye Zhi-kui only caught a glimpse of him at the city gate, it left a deep impression on him.

  Li Hongzhang rested at his residence for a while, and then the Queen of Korea held a grand banquet at Anhe Palace to entertain Li Hongzhang and others, to welcome him and wash away the dust. Li Hongzhang naturally went with pleasure, and later summoned Ye Zhicha and others to understand in detail some things that happened on the battlefield in Korea. Li Hongzhang was very gentle when dealing with people, and when his subordinates spoke, he listened with a smile, and at critical moments, he would ask one or two questions in a timely manner, making the generals feel like they were enjoying a spring breeze.

  One day, Li Hongzhang proposed to inspect the various departments of Korea. Despite his old age, he personally visited each camp and inspected them one by one. When he arrived at the Hu Yongjun's camp, he saw that the troops were neatly dressed, the camp was clean, and the soldiers looked refreshed. He couldn't help but say to the people following him: "The Hu Yongjun army is truly a tiger-like elite force."

  They hadn't gone far when they arrived at another camp, where they saw the officer in charge with a fat head and big ears, short and stout. Without wrinkling his brow, he asked Ye Zhongji: "Who is this person in your camp? I see that he has no bearing of a soldier, how can he hold such a high position?"

  Ye Zhui's face turned awkward, just as he was about to respond, when he saw Ye Zhui being reprimanded by his superior because of himself. He secretly thought it was not good and hastily stepped forward, kneeling down with an excited expression: "Ah! This is indeed the Grand Minister, no wonder I saw the purple energy coming from the east, the auspicious bird perched on the branch. It turns out that it's really the Grand Minister who has arrived! I've been waiting for you day and night, finally, the Grand Minister you, whom Ye General admires and respects every day, has arrived! I'm truly honored, it's an infinite glory! I was originally a person from Dongying, but because I admired the Great Qing Dynasty and admired the Grand Minister, I abandoned my dark past and joined Ye General's camp to serve as a humble servant for you and Ye General."

  After he finished speaking, he still looked at Li Hongzhang with his scorching small eyes, as if he would die for him with just one word from Li Zhongtang.

  Ye Zhi Kui secretly cast a look of appreciation, and said at the right moment: "This man was originally a Japanese army sergeant, later defected to me, made many contributions, so I promoted him as the captain of the first battalion of Korea."

  Li Hongzhang looked at Ren Shi and saw that honest-looking face, and connected it to what he had just said. He couldn't help but stroke his beard and smile slightly, saying: "He's quite a clever fellow." Ye Zhi Kui secretly let out a sigh of relief.

  Li Hongzhang reviewed the various departments and then returned to Pingdu to rest, and the officials of Korea trampled Li Zhongtang's threshold in an instant.