Chapter Sixty-six is difficult to change

  Weng Tonghe was holding a memorial in his hand, lying weakly on the Taishi chair. Yesterday, he had just fought an official lawsuit with the Imperial Household Department - yesterday, Fu from the Imperial Household Department came to the Ministry of Revenue and asked for 10 million taels, saying that it was the will of Empress Dowager Cixi and dared not to delay.

  Weng Tonghe pointed at Fu and said: "Fu Xun, you might as well take this old life of mine to settle the account!"

  Fu Ping's relationship with Weng Tonghe was quite good in the past, but it is different now. Since Weng Tonghe wants to take charge of the war efforts, he actively coordinates with the Ministry of Revenue to raise funds. If outsiders find out that he really allocated 1 million taels of silver to Fu's Imperial Household Department, they will inevitably impeach him at this critical moment, and no one in the Ministry of Revenue can escape.

  Weng Tonghe tore his face and sent Fu back, thinking that he had offended Empress Dowager Cixi. He immediately went to the residence of Minister of Revenue Na Tong to lobby for support. As a Manchu nobleman, Na Tong was well-connected with the Imperial Household Department and the Eight Banners, which made him more influential than ordinary Han Chinese officials.

  It never occurred to him that Tongzhi would show him a bill - it turned out that Fu had been here long ago, originally 2 million taels, but was reduced by half after Tongzhi's persuasion. The items listed on the bill for the birthday celebration made Weng Tonghe dizzy, and the cost of the banquet in the palace courtyard actually reached 230,000 taels, which was obviously a trick of the Imperial Household Department - Emperor Guangxu had asked Weng Tonghe how many eggs he ate before, and he replied "four", then said that eggs were very expensive and he didn't eat them often. The emperor was indeed frugal, but the price quoted by the Imperial Household Department for the emperor was one egg for four taels of silver. Weng Tonghe thought of the relationship between the Imperial Household Department and Empress Dowager Cixi, and reluctantly compromised on this "egg issue" to fool his own students.

  After pouring a torrent of bitter water on Zongtang, Weng Tonghe still had more to say - "The Ministry of Revenue is not the inner court's purse, I want them to know that this is war silver, and this time I will veto it!" As a result, Weng Tonghe learned this morning that the angry words he said to Zongtang last night had already reached the ears of Empress Dowager Cixi.

  Weng Tonghe thought to himself that he had just taken over the vacant position of Minister of Revenue from Yan Jingming, and had secretly felt a sense of pride. After all, being in charge of the country's finances was more prestigious than being in charge of public works, which involved constant dealings with the repair of gardens and mausoleums. He could also use his new position to curb his old rival Li Hongzhang's expansion of the navy and development of foreign affairs.

  Yan Jingming visited Weng Tonghe once before leaving Beijing, telling him indifferently that the one who promoted him to be the Minister of Revenue was Fu, his former colleague in the Ministry of Works. Now thinking back to those days, Yan Jingming's words at that time were very meaningful. This position of Minister of Revenue is absolutely not a good job, and even if he regretted it now, it would be too late!

  "Hefei's memorial absolutely cannot be approved, although the Ministry of Revenue still has several million taels of silver in hand. However, if we really follow what is requested on this memorial, where will the remaining tens of millions of taels of silver go to make up for it?" Zhi Rui said.

  "Not giving is our fault, Hefei has gained an advantage, in the future we will not be able to explain ourselves to the Empress Dowager and the Emperor, let alone in front of the people. Giving is necessary, but it can't all be given. The officials of the Ministry of Revenue should review and control the new purchases of warships, think of ways to control other expenses. Try to keep it within 8 million taels of silver, so that the Ministry of Revenue can still hold on for a while... However, we should memorialize the Emperor. To cope with the war, borrowing is necessary, otherwise it will be difficult to respond!" Weng Tonghe finally made the decision.

  Tianjin and Beijing are so close, any news from Beijing can quickly reach Li Hongzhang's ears. Weng Tonghe, in charge of the Ministry of Revenue, approved part of the war preparations procurement, although with some reluctance, and only about 8 million taels were actually allocated, which was less than what Li Hongzhang had hoped for. However, he was already satisfied with this amount, as it was equivalent to two years' worth of military expenses for the Beiyang Navy, which had not received such sufficient funding in many years. The only regret was that he now had to face the threat from Japan.

  After the declaration of war was issued, Minister to Japan Wang Fengzao set off from Japan and returned to China. However, before leaving, he also sent a final telegram to China about the current situation in Japan - Japan had responded to China's declaration of war and formally declared war on China. It is quite laughable that Japan's reason for going to war was that China's dispatch of troops to Korea threatened Japanese interests there, without mentioning the fact that the Yoshino fleet had attacked the Jiyuan fleet first. In any case, Japan has officially started its operations - the Japanese fleet has reappeared in Korean waters and has also begun transporting troops to Korea.

  It was Japan's actions that led to the reappearance of Fang Boqian within the Beiyang Fleet, and it was then that Tang Yanke finally understood why Fang Boqian, who had "broadly established good relationships" within the Beiyang Navy, had fallen out with Admiral Ding Ruchang. Several months prior, Fang Boqian had directly submitted a memorial to Li Hongzhang, proposing five suggestions, two of which concerned the Beiyang Navy: Firstly, that warships should be concentrated together, as when combined they would be strong, but when separated they would be weak, and before any split occurred, it would be best to quickly gather them in one place, so that they could be deployed in case of an emergency... Secondly, that new warships should be quickly added, as the Japanese dared to look down on China because our naval warships were few in number, and mostly old-style, not comparable to their new-style fast ships and fast guns. If we quickly add many fast ships, and each ship is equipped with many fast guns, then

  And shocked...

  Fang Boqian's five suggestions were not considered as overstepping, and had been passed around in Ding Ruchang's hands before, but there was no news about it. The Beiyang Fleet felt the threat of Japan most deeply, these officers who mostly came from the Fuzhou Mawei Naval Academy and had further studies in Britain, had a deep understanding of Japan's growing arrogance at sea, they all knew that China and Japan would eventually have to fight each other at sea. Of course, after returning home, these officers almost collectively fell into decline due to various reasons, but they still had this insight, if there was going to be a war, they would be the first in line, it involved their own lives and families, even if they had to offend someone, they couldn't care less, that's why Fang Boqian submitted his memorial.

  Ding Ruchang, for some reason, suppressed Fang Boqian's memorial to the throne. Fang Boqian waited in vain and then bypassed Ding Ruchang to speak directly to Li Hongzhang. As a result, Ding Ruchang saw this as a challenge to his authority and repeatedly made things difficult for Fang Boqian, ultimately leading to a complete breakdown in their relationship. Fang Boqian was the "glass ball" of the Beiyang Navy, always being careful not to offend anyone and having a good reputation among both superiors and subordinates due to his ability to make money and take care of others. It was unexpected that things would end up like this.

  When Deng Shichang thought back to when Tang Shaoyi met with Fang Boqian, Fang Boqian entrusted Tang Shaoyi with matters regarding Li Hongzhang. Tang Shaoyi indeed spoke to Li Hongzhang about it, otherwise the second batch of escort ships would not have gone to Zhenyuan first. However, Deng Shichang intervened and made arrangements - after the merchant ship finished loading troops, the Beiyang Fleet's warships arrived late, resulting in a delay of several hours from the original plan. Deng Shichang was also extremely regretful, he did not expect Fang Boqian to be so treacherous, being ambushed by the Japanese fleet on his first outing and almost losing his life. What he regretted even more was that Zhenyuan did not arrive in time to sink the crippled Yoshino, which would have been a great opportunity for merit.

  "Brother Ji Meng, how does Grand Secretary Zhong plan to handle this matter?"

  "What else can be done? Although Ding Rutang was born in the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, he has followed Zhong Tang for over 30 years. Zhong Tang entrusted him with the Beiyang Navy, and at this critical moment, even if Zhong Tang is angry with him, it's useless! For a period of time, Tang Bowen will be responsible for military procurement and purchasing, so he will spend more time living in the city."

  —

  "Ding's background is not a big issue, after all, he is also an old man from the Beiyang. His seniority is there, and even if he is not capable, he will not betray Zhongtang. The key is that Ding is from the army, and if it were to be said that his experience in marching and fighting on land is not a problem, but if it's about naval warfare, how can he command a large fleet? If we really fight Japan at sea, I'm afraid it will be the first time both sides' ships are all steam-powered ironclads. This kind of war has never happened even in the West. Why doesn't Zhongtang use those professionals like Liu Bichen who studied abroad in England?" Tan Yankai said.

  Tang Baowen smiled slightly after hearing this, but did not respond. In fact, whether Tang Baowen responded or not was of no consequence, as Tan Yankai naturally understood Li Hongzhang's personnel policy, which was willing to tolerate the leadership of outsiders over insiders, such as the Beiyang Navy, a characteristic that had become a contentious issue in the late Qing period, just like his teacher Zeng Guofan. Tan Yankai couldn't understand how someone as astute as Li Hongzhang could make such mistakes.

  But thinking about it, neither Lao Li nor Zeng Guofan had any choice in this matter - the first priority for survival in a chaotic world is to put all the resources one can grasp under one's control. One person certainly doesn't have that much energy, and can only maintain an independent small world through ties of blood, affection, and local loyalty. The rise and fall of officials are all subject to the imperial family, and one has no choice but to constantly strive to expand one's power. When one's power grows to the point where even the imperial family doesn't dare to act rashly, then one has secured a certain "safety". But how reliable is this kind of "safety" obtained through a method similar to the "balance of terror" in later times? Only those who have experienced it firsthand can truly understand.

  "These Zhongtang have their own plans in mind, now the Jiyuan ship has begun to be overhauled, but the damage is very serious. The rear main gun and cabins above the deck are almost all destroyed. The front main gun is still usable, only the rivets on the turret base were shaken open and the turret was misaligned. ... "Tang Bowen changed the subject of this inappropriate remark, although he was also very dissatisfied with Li Hongzhang's personnel strategy, but thinking that he himself was also a beneficiary, this identity was a bit embarrassing."

  "Jiyuan ship was seriously damaged, and to repair it, we might need to order new naval guns from abroad again? Will there be enough time for that?" Tan Yankai also knew his previous words had a too broad impact, so he followed Tang Bowen's topic and shifted to the most concerning issue of repairing Jiyuan ship.

  The Ji yuan ship narrowly escaped and sank the Yan Island ship, which was a miracle in the eyes of Tan Yanqian. Not only did he think so, but also many people within the Beiyang government who understood naval warfare. With the emergence of quick-firing guns, the current trend in naval warfare has begun to show a polarized tendency - large ships with big guns and fast ships with quick-firing guns. This trend is in stark contrast to the navies of China and Japan.

  However, this was not the far-sightedness of Li Hongzhang and other founders of the Beiyang Fleet, but at that time there were no quick-firing guns, so the Beiyang Fleet followed

  Trendy procurement of warships. Li Hongzhang's feeling to Tang Yanqi was not the same, but Li Hongzhang also recognized the importance of weapons during the early years of suppressing the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom. As long as he procured weapons, they were all the best in the world at that time. The establishment of the Beiyang Fleet also relied on his good fortune. In procurement of warships, he also targeted the best weapons that the Qing Empire could buy at that time.

  The Japanese, considering the two Chinese battleships Dingyuan and Zhenyuan, unexpectedly built a giant warship with 320mm main guns. However, these main guns were not comparable to those on Dingyuan and Zhenyuan - they could hardly rotate. Now, there is still one Chiyoda-class cruiser that has not been completed, but this is no longer a secret. The main gun of Jiyuan was 210mm. Considering the main gun caliber, Jiyuan was actually larger than Japan's three warships at that time. Moreover, the armor of Yoshino was very weak, with the same displacement as Yoshino, its armor was half that of Chiyoda. The protective armor of Jiyuan was far superior to that of Japanese warships, which was also a key factor in Jiyuan's narrow escape from death.

  According to Mr. Zhong's intention, a telegram has been sent to Liu Qiuxiang, the general manager of Jiangnan Manufacturing Bureau, where there are 12 120mm quick-firing guns, all of which were manufactured two years ago by imitating German Krupp quick-firing guns. In the past, one gun and 20 shells were sent to Beiyang for trial shooting, but at that time, it was not adopted for some reason, so these quick-firing guns are still in Jiangnan Manufacturing Bureau. Since the rear main gun of Jiyuan ship has been destroyed, instead of waiting for imports from abroad, it is better to use these quick-firing guns as a substitute. The caliber is a bit smaller, but it can be changed to a twin turret. It's also a quick-firing gun, and I think its power may not be worse than the original 150mm rear main gun...

  The Jiangnan Manufacturing Bureau can manufacture large-caliber artillery. This news was mentioned by Tang Bingwen to Tan Yankai a few months ago, but at that time Li Hongzhang had the 12-inch cannons installed on site for security reasons, and there were also six 120-meter cannons for defense, unexpectedly, there were still six unused ones. This time, after the main gun of Jingyuan was destroyed, Li Hongzhang took the opportunity to repair it with these cannons.

  "Haha, I wonder what the reason is? I'm afraid Old Li is skeptical of the craftsmanship of the Jiangnan Manufacturing Bureau on the one hand, and worried that he won't be able to get a huge kickback from domestic procurement on the other?! Who would have thought that after all the twists and turns, it would still come back to the old way? Unfortunately, now that things are at a critical juncture, who will give you time to test an even more powerful large-caliber rapid-fire cannon?" Tan Yanqing thought coldly to himself.

  "It would be best if the Jiyuan's combat capabilities could be restored as soon as possible, but since Master Zhong has quick-firing guns in his hands, wouldn't it be better to install them on other warships?" Tan Yankai asked with a hint of disdain for Old Li's petty calculation.

  Tang Bohan shook his head with a bitter smile and said, "It's not that easy to modify this kind of thing. Even if it was used on the Jiyuan ship, it would be like trying to revive a dead horse. If the Japanese hadn't destroyed the rear main turret of the Jiyuan ship, there wouldn't have been any way to install the quick-firing gun. Moreover, even with this modification, time is running out. Although the Jiyuan has avoided the process of importing from abroad, it will still take at least a month or two to complete the modification. Fortunately, this timeline is already much faster than the original one..."

  Li Hongzhang had also considered installing quick-firing guns on other warships, but the most important thing was that there was not enough time. For example, the main gun mounts of ships like Jingyuan and Laiyuan were cast in place and would have to be cut through the deck to replace them. Where was the time for this? Moreover, some Beiyang Fleet commanders had discovered the huge weakness of Japanese warships' thin armor during the Battle of Jiyuan, but the Jiangnan Shipyard only had 120mm quick-firing guns, which would have reduced the caliber after modification and might not be able to penetrate the enemy's armor. This was a mistake made by the Japanese in pursuing Jiyuan.

  Don't look at the Ji yuan being hit by so many shells, but 120mm shells are useless against the armor of the Ji yuan. At most, they can only sweep away structures above the deck. Even if they hit the waterline deck, there is not much effect. Unless a large number of 120mm shells continuously bombard it, it can cause the enemy ship to sink by accumulating quality with quantity - the front and rear of the Ji yuan were hit by nearly 100 rounds of 120mm shells and still had no problem. The most fatal damage was all caused by 150mm shells. It is unknown how many shells are needed to sink it.

  This is a complex math problem, different people have different opinions. Through this not-so-large-scale naval battle, the leaders of the Beiyang Fleet also began to rethink their current weapons and equipment. Is it better to hit one shot that can penetrate the opponent's armor? The power of 150-meter shells has a penetrating effect on most Japanese warships' armor, unless it is some particularly thick armored parts such as the gun turret, which would be ineffective, this is something that 120-meter guns cannot do.