Chapter 68: Fabrication

  Li Hongzhang's high-profile pro-war stance in the "Strong Learning Digest" made Weng Tonghe feel for the first time that his old opponent might have really moved, and what was most distressing to him was the military procurement memorial from Li Hongzhang, with tens of millions of taels in military expenses enough to make him anxious to jump off a building.

  Although he had entered the military machine, the imperial examination opened for the birthday of the Empress Dowager was also held as usual. Zhang had just walked into the highest examination hall of the Qing Empire three days ago. The chief examiner, apart from Weng Tonghe, also included Zhang Zhiwan, who had already withdrawn from the military machine due to health reasons. Everything was under Weng Tonghe's operation. Zhang's paper was taken up by the collector Huang Siyong and placed in the first one of that stack after being marked with a fake name. When handing it over to Weng Tonghe, he also looked at Weng Tonghe meaningfully and patted this volume.

  This time, Weng Tonghe finally didn't make a mistake again. He hastily pulled out Zhang's paper and looked at it while intentionally praising it. After finishing reading, he clapped his hands together with great force - for a sixty-five-year-old man, this was already the greatest strength he could muster.

  "This volume is non-negotiable, it's settled as I, Lao Fu, have decided!"

  Several chief examiners looked at each other, and in the end only Zhang Zhiwan said indifferently: "Master Weng, this is just the first book. At least you should read a few more books, right? If the officials outside find out about it, wouldn't that be embarrassing?! What do you two think, Master Zhi and Master Lan?"

  Zhang Zhongwan was also a top scorer in the imperial examination, and he was even before Weng Tonghe. If we say that among the Hanlin scholars, seniority is the most important, then according to the rules of the imperial examination, Zhang Zhongwan still had considerable power of speech in this round of selection. If the two got along well, it would have been up to Zhang Zhongwan to decide the first place. In the end, the "Zhiyong" and "Lan Gong" mentioned by Zhang Zhongwan referred to Lin Shu and Li Hongzao, who were also chief examiners.

  Zhang Zhiwan's small scheme did not succeed, and it can't even be considered a scheme. Not to mention the quality of this volume, but reading only one volume and determining the top candidate is probably also a strange phenomenon since the imperial examination began. It doesn't make sense in terms of emotions or reason. Weng Tonghe shouldn't have made such a mistake. He was new to the military machine and his ambition couldn't help but rise, plus he had repeatedly promoted Zhang and caused a stir, seeing that after Empress Dowager's 60th birthday, the Emperor would truly take control of state affairs. At the same time, considering Zhang's age, he had to make Zhang the top candidate, using this as a starting point to quickly promote Zhang to a central position, becoming a key figure in the emperor's party - Weng Tonghe was anxious!

  Li Hongzao took a look at Weng Tonghe, took over the volume and flipped through it for a while, saying lightly: "The one Uncle Ping got is indeed not ordinary, ranking first is not excessive!"

  Zhi Rui heard and deliberately said loudly: "Lan Gongde is highly respected, and Weng Shifu is the first to review the volume as a minister. It can be determined as Dingyuan!"

  Zhang Zhiwan was about to say something. Xue Yunsheng, who was beside him, tugged at his sleeve and whispered: "We don't have a sister being raised in the Jingren Palace!"

  Zhang Zhiwan was taken aback, then thought to himself that he had already passed the imperial examination and would soon be returning to his hometown to retire. There was no need to offend anyone else, he just couldn't stand Weng Tonghe's behavior. Thinking again about what Xue Yunsheng had said, he became even more enlightened - Zhi Rui was not only a student of Weng Tonghe, but also the elder brother of Empress Cixi's niece, and Li Hongzao could tolerate this exam paper without any doubt, it must be that Zhang. Having figured out these connections, Zhang Zhiwan, who had once been full of grand ambitions, retreated, and when he looked back at this symbol of the imperial examination hall, his heart was filled with confusion, incomprehension, and sorrow. Perhaps there were other things too, but in any case, he still submitted his resignation to the emperor and empress dowager half a month later and left the capital forever.

  When the eunuch called out the name: "First place, Zhang from Nantong!", Weng Tonghe's heart finally felt at ease. After more than a decade of careful planning, it wasn't until today that he was able to succeed, making the old man feel quite relieved and delighted. He said with a smile: "Your Majesty, the number one scholar Zhang, came in 60th place in the provincial exam, coinciding with the Empress Dowager's 60th birthday, this is indeed a heaven-made joy!"

  The Guangxu Emperor naturally knew that his teacher attached great importance to Zhang, and also knew the teacher's plan, which was to quickly establish a foundation for himself to assist in governance, so as to gradually replace the Empress Dowager's people in the future. He happily said: "Yes! How could I not have thought of this? Quickly send someone to the Western Garden to inform the Holy Mother Empress Dowager!"

  In order to make up for the financial deficiency of the imperial court, with the consent of Emperor Guangxu, the Ministry of Revenue led by Weng Tonghe began to raise foreign loans. As it was a secure loan for the Qing Empire and could also bring certain political benefits through borrowing, the Ministry of Revenue easily obtained 10 million taels of silver from HSBC shortly after contact.

  Although the silver has not been received, with 10 million taels in mind, Li Hongzhang's military procurement memorials were cut off, and the Ministry of Revenue only gave 8 million taels. This 10 million taels plus the remaining funds on hand, as well as various provincial taxes and other items, will be enough to last until the end of the war

  It's almost done.

  However, Weng Tonghe was relieved too early. He seemed to have forgotten the Ministry of Internal Affairs, which was watching him with a tiger's gaze. The Ministry of Revenue had borrowed such a large sum of money, and it would not let go of Weng Tonghe so easily. Weng Tonghe did intend to conceal this loan, but the Ministry of Revenue was the Qing dynasty's purse, and many Manchu nobles had also placed people inside to fish for silver. As soon as the loan contract was signed, they caught wind of the smell of silver and came seeking money with outstretched hands.

  "The Ministry of Revenue is not the purse of the Imperial Household Department!" This sentence had long been passed into Cixi's ears, and in the past few days, the Imperial Household Department had not even gotten a single silver coin from the Ministry of Revenue. The Imperial Household Department was so angry that they tore their face off and severely accused Weng Tonghe in front of Empress Dowager Cixi.

  Weng Tonghe naturally had his own sources of information, and the news that was passed on to him told the Empress Dowager did not get angry, but instead scolded the Imperial Household Department. Old Weng's heart finally felt relieved after hearing this, he understood this woman very well, she was quite fond of the Weng family, over the years she had summoned him alone more than a dozen times. This was rarely seen in other ministers, even Li Hongzhang and others. However, this favoritism towards the Weng family gradually became distant after the Emperor took personal control. In recent years, terms such as "Hou Party" and "Di Party" have been circulating in the official circles of the capital. The "Hou Party" naturally doesn't need to be mentioned, after the Emperor's marriage he still couldn't truly take charge of the government, this term clearly pointed to Empress Dowager Cixi; as for the "Di Party", it was deeply meaningful. In any case, Weng Tonghe as the Emperor's teacher, the title of leader of the Di Party was unavoidable.

  But before Weng Tonghe had a chance to praise Empress Dowager Cixi for her magnanimity, he heard another piece of news that made his soul fly away - "From today on, the Holy Mother Empress Dowager will hold an audience in the Qianqing Palace!"

  The edict of Empress Dowager Cixi hit the weakness of Weng Tonghe - he had been trying so hard to please her, and even used the silver coins that should have been used for the North Sea Fleet to build a garden for her, just in the hope that after the completion of the garden, she would retire from the political stage of the Qing Dynasty.

  —

  "What's the point of summoning the Queen Dowager?!". Weng Tonghe felt depressed.

  Just as Empress Dowager Cixi, the Imperial Household Department and Weng Tonghe were playing roulette at a gaming table, the situation in Korea underwent another change - on April 20th, Japanese Minister to Korea ōshima Ken'ichi led an escort of eight hundred men straight to Hanseong where they clashed with the forces of We Jungui, who won a great victory killing hundreds of the enemy and lifting the siege of Hanseong...

  This battle report is like a stimulant, and it seems that all officials of the Qing Empire have become wise and victorious generals. The whole court is discussing how to defeat Japan and resolve the Korean situation...

  Tan Yanqing was one day ahead of Beijing in knowing this news, and receiving this news really made him feel unexpected. But thinking about it, the Japanese had only 800 people after all. And in Seoul, there were two generals, Wei Rugui and Zuo Baogui, with at least 7,000 troops, so it was not difficult to crush Japan's surprise attack plan to seize Seoul.

  However, Tang Yanqi really underestimated the fake skills of the generals of this era. In fact, Wei Rugui's 2,200 men encountered the Japanese army in a place less than 100 miles away from Hancheng. The Japanese army was demoralized after days of marching, and the terrain was very favorable to Wei Rugui. At the beginning of the battle, ōshima Yoshimasa chose to disengage from the Qing army, with only eleven casualties - at this time, Wei Rugui forged a telegram.

  At dawn on the second day, ōshima Kiyosuke led the charge at the front, but in just one charge, Wei Rugui fled first, which was completely different from the previous day. The 800 Japanese troops pursued Wei Rugui's unit all the way to the walls of Hancheng, and an astonishing 1,000 out of 2,000 soldiers were lost!

  Fortunately, Zuo Baogui reacted promptly and the Qing army had laid down heavy troops in Hancheng without dispersing. Facing the Japanese army that followed, Zuo Baogui set up infantry artillery on the city wall of Hancheng to bombard the Japanese army. However, at this time, Wei Rugui actually escaped from the north gate and was chased back by Zuo Baogui's personal soldiers. At this time, in order to firm up the determination of the soldiers to defend the city, Zuo Baogui had five boxes of foreign silver thrown on the city head, vowing to resist the Japanese army to the death.

  The Japanese army was not large in number, and they arrived in a hurry, with only one bronze cannon, which was far inferior to the Krupp field gun used by the Beiyang Army. They had only captured three guns carried by Wei Rugui, so they had no intention of attacking the city. However, Zuo Baogui had eight field guns in his hands, plus the original bronze cannons in Hanzhong, which gave them a firepower several times that of the Japanese army. Under their resolute resistance, the Japanese army, with less than 1,000 men, was naturally powerless.

  After giving up the Japanese army's plan to attack the city, Zuo Baogui was afraid that Wei Rugui would escape and disrupt the military morale he had just stabilized, so he dispatched his personal soldiers to strictly guard Wei Rugui, and all the soldiers under his command were transferred to his own command. After the battle situation stabilized, he immediately sent a telegram, and Beiyang finally received the true war report.

  "Wei Rugui is incompetent, send a telegram to Korea, let Zuo Baogui take charge of defending Hanyang!" Li Hongzhang said in a hoarse voice, banging his fist on the table.

  Facing Li Hongzhang's anger, the signing room of the Zhili Governor's Office fell into a silence for a moment. Tan Yankai saw that except for Zhang Peilun, who was still fanning himself as usual, everyone else had lowered their heads: "It turns out that even the Beiyang officials are afraid of Old Li's temper?!"

  Tang said, "For now, let's prioritize two things..." Tan Yanqian stepped forward and said.

  "Speak!" Li Hongzhang raised his head and looked at Tang Yanqi, then glanced at the others in the signing room, also knowing that he had lost his temper a bit earlier.

  "The first is to defend the city of Han, how many Japanese troops have arrived in Han? Is Left Treasure's grain and military supplies sufficient to cope? The second is how the Japanese army came. Since the Japanese army dared to attack a big city like Han, this number should not be small, but no matter how many Japanese troops there are, they need ships to transport them. When did the Japanese start transporting their army to Korea? The navy must patrol against the Japanese fleet and restrict the scale of the Japanese landing in Korea!"

  "We have only been able to control the northern part of Korea so far, and if it weren't for the fact that Seoul is close to Yasan, we wouldn't have been able to occupy Seoul so quickly. The Japanese can land anywhere in the south of Korea at will, but according to Li Bao's telegram, there aren't many Japanese soldiers yet, and they only brought one bronze cannon with them, and the siege artillery was captured from Wei Rugui..." Zhang Peilun said.

  Tan Yanqian glanced at Zhang Peilun, who also took a look at Tan Yanqian. With a faint smile, he fanned himself with his fan and continued: "It can be seen that the Japanese army besieging Hancheng is not numerous, and they are not well-prepared either. As Zu An said, the current priority is still whether the naval forces can discover the Japanese fleet..."

  Just as Li Hongzhang was about to say something, Li Jingfang rushed in from outside and said: "Father, a telegram has come from Britain that the last of the three Tsukuba-class cruisers built by France for Japan, the Tsukuba, left France ten days ago and returned to Japan!"

  Tan Yanqing's eyes lit up when he heard the news, and when he turned around, he saw Zhang Peilun looking at him. He smiled slightly and made a please gesture to Zhang Peilun. Zhang Peilun turned to Li Hongzhang and said: "Your Excellency, this is an opportunity. The Japanese fleet must pass through the South China Sea on their way back home, and they will have to stop along the way. Your Excellency can order the envoys stationed in various countries to pay close attention, and as soon as they discover the Japanese fleet stopping over, they should immediately report its location back home. We cannot let the tiger return to the mountain, we must ambush and kill it halfway!"

  Li Jingfang looked at Zhang Peilun with a somewhat puffed up expression, as if he wanted to swallow him whole - he had rushed back so urgently just to propose the idea of ambushing the Bridge-Laying Fleet to Li Hongzhang, but unfortunately Zhang Peilun had beaten him to it.

  "The Hashidate is the last of the three Fujiwara-class cruisers built by Japan specifically to counter our Dingyuan and Zhenyuan. Its size is similar to that of the Seiyo Maru, which was sunk by the Jiyuan not long ago. Although Japan already has new-style warships like Yoshino and Takasago, they still have a deep concern for our two ships in their hearts, and spared no expense in purchasing the Fujiwara-class cruisers, showing how much importance they attach to them. Now that Seiyo Maru is sunk, if we can sink Hashidate as well, it will be extremely advantageous to us diplomatically, and may even force Japan to make concessions!" Tan Yankai said with a smile.

  "Sinking the bridge would force Japan to surrender, and we wouldn't have to bow our heads to the Russians to give up interests in Korea......" Li Jingfang immediately reacted, diverting the topic to diplomacy, an area where Zhang Peilun was not familiar with. As long as he could strike at Zhang Peilun, he would never let go of any opportunity.

  "Ding Junmen, Beiyang Fleet, the country's elite, is also where my life lies! Halfway to hijack the bridge and stand on the ship, you, the commander of the Beiyang Fleet, give me an answer!" Li Hongzhang thought for a moment, then gently tapped his hand on the table, shifting his gaze to Ding Ruchang.

  Ding Ruchang suddenly stood up from his seat, knelt on one leg and said: "Zhong Tang, Ruchang has received the imperial court's great favor, and also received your excellency's favor of knowing me. I often think that only with my death can I repay... My subordinate does not speak empty words today, heaven is above, I, Ruchang, will definitely kill the Japanese pirates at sea!"

  Li Hongzhang's tightly knitted face finally relaxed a bit, saying: "Zhi Cheng is commendable! Zhi Cheng is worthy of waiting for! It's inevitable to fight Japan, and I've also gained confidence in my heart! Get up, you go back to the Liu Gong Island Navy Office, prepare to assemble warships, replenish supplies, and wait for my order to set sail at any time. Once a Japanese ship is spotted, sink it immediately, and make sure it can't return to Japan!"

  After listening to Li Hongzhang's words, Tang Shaoyi also secretly sighed in his heart: "Old Li is still unwilling to fight the Japanese to the death. If there is a shortcut that can be taken to avoid war and damage to the Beiyang Fleet, he will do whatever it takes - the Beiyang Fleet is the foundation of his independence in the late Qing court, and Old Li's ability to maintain his position in the officialdom relies on this fleet! Maybe the assassination of Bridge Li is an opportunity, a chance to take a shortcut. But won't the Japanese protect Bridge Li? Will this be the beginning of another brutal battle?"

  The return of the Japanese warship made Tan Yankai feel a strange sensation, and for a moment he was distracted in the signing room of the Zhili Governor's Office...

  Li Hongzhang flew into a rage and immediately telegraphed Zuo Baogui, dismissing Wei Rugui on the spot and sending him back to China. He also replaced Wei with Zuo as commander of the Huai Army stationed in Seoul.