Chapter 48: Encounter with the Enemy
Tan Yanqing's trip to the north this time was ostensibly to present a letter from his father to Weng Tonghe, but while in Tianjin he could not help but visit the "landlord" Li Hongzhang. This letter had an enormous connection with Li Hongzhang, and considering that he had given such a generous gift on Tan's wedding day, it would be inappropriate not to pay him a visit, both emotionally and rationally.
This time, Tan Yankai met Li Hongzhang without the trouble of seeing Zhang Zhidong. As soon as Tang Bowen learned that Tan Yankai was going north with him, he immediately sent a telegram to Tianjin, and the procedure had been set long ago. The next day, Tang Bowen and Tan Yankai arrived at Li Hongzhang's headquarters - the location of the Governor-General of Zhili Province by horse-drawn carriage.
Li Hongzhang, although he was very depressed yesterday and ran to the Haiyuan ship to think about his deceased friend Prince Gong Yihuan, did not stay overnight there. He only returned to Tianjin a bit late. Li Hongzhang's life is very regular, in comparison Zhang Zhidong is far from him in this aspect. It is said that when Zhang Zhidong was the educational commissioner of Sichuan, he spent several sleepless nights thinking about a couplet and then slept for two days and two nights. As provincial governors, Zhang Zhidong's mannerisms are the most arrogant among them all when receiving guests, while Li Hongzhang only needs to make arrangements and will not bother unless it is an extremely important matter. Moreover, Tan Yankai's identity and the letters he carried held great importance for Li Hongzhang.
Li Hongzhang was not only the leader of the Westernization Movement in this era, but also as Zeng Guofan's only disciple, his foundation in classical studies was also among the best. However, as the number one target of the Qing government's deep-seated hatred, his academic achievements were far from being as prominent as those of Zhang Zhidong and Weng Tonghe.
As a young nobleman of the present day, Tan Zhonglin met Li Hongzhang with complete student etiquette - Tan Zhonglin and Li Hongzhang were not enemies. He looked at Li Hongzhang without colored glasses like the Qing officials. He still had great respect for Li Hongzhang's learning, so he pointed out to Tan Yanqing that he should strictly follow the norms of courtesy - according to Tan Zhonglin's judgment, this leader of the Westernization Group was not much different from Zeng Guofan in his bones. In his heart, he was still a conservative old literati who adhered to traditional norms.
As an important entourage, Tang Baowen beside Tan Yankai was "deeply disgusted" with this meeting - the two men met and talked without mentioning foreign affairs, not even the pressing Korean issue, Tan Yankai actually took out his recent poetry collection for Li Hongzhang to review, the two people chatted happily but only about poetry and literature, things that Tang Baowen also understood. However, as someone who had lived abroad for many years and received Western education, Tang Baowen looked down on these things in his heart.
When Tan Yanqing truly faced Li Hongzhang, his mind was a bit dazed. Seeing the 71-year-old old man in front of him, he also felt deeply moved. Tan Zhonglin was very confident in his son's academic foundation and had conducted in-depth research on Li Hongzhang's character through various rumors - all for the sake of serving his son Tan Yanqing. His son could not grow under his own wings forever. The two giants of the current court, Zhang Zhidong and Li Hongzhang, were undoubtedly the best ladders for his son to rise to prominence. He had made great efforts to understand these two people. The main points he wanted to discuss with Li Hongzhang were also predetermined by him beforehand.
Tan Zhonglin's efforts were not in vain, just as he had expected. When Tan Deyi and Li Hongzhang discussed academic matters, it made Li Hongzhang extremely happy inside. However, Tang Bowen did not wait in vain either. The reason why Tan Deyi was famous all over the world was not because of his detoxification pills and anti-sheep textile factories, but because he wrote "Exhortation to Learning". Empress Dowager Cixi and Emperor Guangxu both considered it a masterpiece, even wanting to send a copy to each province's governor and education commissioner. This treatment had never been given before. As the "Number One Governor-General of the Empire", Li Hongzhang naturally put in a lot of effort into "Exhortation to Learning". Following the train of thought of "Exhortation to Learning", the two finally entered practical topics, just as Tang Bowen was getting somewhat impatient.
Li Hongzhang, as the leader of the current Westernization Group, has rich practical experience. More than 80% of the content in "Quan Xue Pian" is about Westernization, and each item is to find theoretical basis for Westernization in the grand righteousness of Spring and Autumn, so that Westernization conforms to Confucianism in theory. It can be said that Li Hongzhang and Tang Yankai are a perfect match, one in practice and the other in theory. This old and young duo not only discussed the problems encountered by Westernization activities but also opened up some discussions on how Huasheng Textile Factory, which is under construction, will cooperate with Risheng Textile Factory in the future.
Li Hongzhang and Tang Yankai had a pleasant conversation. In the afternoon, Tang Yankai demonstrated the wireless telegraph machine to Li Hongzhang. This time, in the Zhili Governor's Mansion, the transmission distance was even farther, almost over 100 meters apart, yet they could still receive the wireless telegraph signal very clearly. After the on-site demonstration, Li Hongzhang gained a new understanding of the functions of the wireless telegraph machine mentioned in Tang Baowen's telegram, and also recognized its enormous military significance.
So far, although Tang has invented the wireless telegraph machine, due to time constraints, it has not been fully tested, and even its maximum distance is unclear. However, this test at the Zhili Governor's Office shows that this primitive wireless telegraph machine is still quite reliable, and if given time to improve, although it may not be put into use in a short period of time, its performance will definitely be further enhanced. Of course, he also needs to order another batch of equipment from Europe again.
The first meeting between Li Hongzhang and Tang Yanqun was very successful, but the two men did not mention the current situation in Korea at all, as if it didn't exist. Afterwards, Tang Yanqun followed Tang Baowen to visit the Tianjin Machinery Bureau, where he saw China's most advanced military production equipment at that time. The four sets of smokeless gunpowder production equipment donated by him to Beiyang were fully operational and producing 800 pounds of smokeless gunpowder per day in the East Factory building. Despite this output, Tang Baowen was rushing to recruit more workers to build new factory buildings, striving to put into use several more sets of smokeless gunpowder production equipment that would arrive in half a month's time, at which point daily production would reach around 2,000 pounds.
According to Tang Bingwen's introduction, Tan Yankai only knew that Li Hongzhang had already taken out the two 12-inch coastal guns and six five-inch quick-firing guns stored in the Jiangnan Manufacturing Bureau to install them on the defensive positions at the Jiangnan Manufacturing Bureau in Shanghai. If it weren't for considering Liu Gong Island being too far away, and Shanghai being a crucial location that cannot be lost, Li Hongzhang even thought of placing these coastal guns and quick-firing guns at the Beiyang Naval Base.
This was also the first time that Tang Yan heard that China could manufacture large-caliber cannons of up to 300 mm on its own, and it was actually a product of Jiangnan Manufacturing Bureau. After Tang Bo Wen's explanation, he only knew that the coastal artillery and quick-firing guns were the first batch of products that had just been manufactured in the second half of last year. In order to produce shells, Tang Bo Wen got Li Hongzhang's support, and some equipment from Jiangnan Manufacturing Bureau was urgently dismantled and transported to Tianjin, but due to the problems of equipment and workers' proficiency, the production of shells could not be increased.
"Brother Ji Meng, the Jiangnan Manufacturing Bureau in Shanghai is convenient for transportation, but Shanghai is also an area where various countries' interests are entangled. The Japanese want to attack Shanghai, which is somewhat impossible, but if Shanghai were threatened by war, the powerful nations stationed in Shanghai will likely force the Jiangnan Manufacturing Bureau to stop supplying Northern Yangtze weapons and equipment for their own interests. You must think carefully about this problem and make more preparations to prevent such a situation from happening!" Tan Yankai said cautiously.
—
In Tan Yankai's past life memories, the Battle of the Yellow Sea never involved Shanghai. At that time, Japan was not as powerful as it would be decades later. At least in the "Triple Intervention" event after the First Sino-Japanese War, Japan was forced to return the Liaodong Peninsula. However, building the Jiangnan Shipyard in Shanghai was also a mistake. Apart from convenient transportation, there were no natural defenses, and destroying the shipyard would be easy if war broke out. The interests of foreign powers, especially Britain, considered Shanghai their own private property, and cutting off the shipyard's production would be an easy task. If Japan really threatened to attack Shanghai at a critical moment in the war, the Jiangnan Shipyard would not be able to provide weapons and equipment for the Beiyang Fleet, which would be disastrous for the Beiyang.
Tang Bohu listened and couldn't help but be stunned, saying: "Zu An, is this really true?! Would the Japanese dare to attack Shanghai?"
Tan Yanqing said: "This is not a matter of dare or not, if the Japanese warship appears on the Shanghai sea, in order to avoid damage to the interests of the powers, even if it is out of a strong posture, the powers will not hesitate to sell us out - think about it, if Shanghai is impregnable, why would Grand Secretary still take out the coastal artillery? If Japan really appears on the Shanghai sea, the outcome of the Beiyang Navy... The powers will reconsider their China policy, and even selling us out is nothing unusual!"
The current situation is tense, but the Beiyang government thinks that this war may not necessarily be a big deal, at most it will just be some small skirmishes. Li Hongzhang also thought so and came up with a plan to take advantage of Japan's domestic parliamentary and cabinet disputes to quickly increase troops in Korea and resolve the Donghak Party issue, thus depriving Japan of its excuse for war. Of course, there were also some talented people in Beiyang who could see from the signs that this big war was already unavoidable, and it was probably their suggestion to deploy the large-caliber coastal guns from the Jiangnan Manufacturing Bureau, but unfortunately, Tan Yankai didn't know who these people were.
Looking at Tang Bowen on the side, Tan Yanqin sighed in his heart. Although Li Hongzhang's attitude and memories of his previous life had changed somewhat, this change was still very limited. Li Hongzhang was still afraid that war would threaten his position, but now he was more or less prepared. As for the outcome, it depended on the arrangement of heaven.
"Brother Ji Meng, I plan to head to the capital tomorrow to deliver the letter from my father to Weng Shu Ping. This is the most important matter, so I won't bother you here any longer..." Tan Yanqing said.
Tang Bowen might have been a bit emotional from the previous conversation, and quietly said: "Zu An's trip to Beijing this time was not easy, and I didn't treat you well as an older brother. However, since you're in such a hurry to leave, Lord Zhong Tang might blame me..."
Tan Yanqian turned around and smiled, saying: "I may still stay in the capital for a while, if it's convenient, I'll go back to Tianjin again. Even if I'm not lucky enough to return to Guangzhou, I'll have to take a ship from Tianjin, so Brother Ji Meng will have to find me a favorable wind ship at that time!"
Tang Bowen also smiled and said: "This will be taken care of by me, I guarantee to get you the most comfortable cabin..."
That night Li Hongzhang heard that Tang Shaoyi was going
After the message, he also took time to have a conversation with Tan Yanqing, just the two of them. So the content is unknown. However, when the First Sino-Japanese War ended after a year and a half, Li Hongzhang returned to Beijing in low spirits and mentioned it to Tang Bowen, asking Tang Bowen to go thank Tan Yanqing on his behalf for planning for him at the beginning.
The next morning, Tang Bowen saw Tan Yanqing off. He took a horse-drawn carriage and headed for the capital Beijing.
Tan Yanqing did not know that when he had just settled down in his residence in Beijing as the Minister of Personnel, a telegram was transmitted from Korea to the Zhili Governor's Office - the naval forces encountered the enemy on Ganghwa Island in Korea and engaged in fierce battle with the Japanese fleet. The current situation is unclear, and the Dingyuan warship has rushed to reinforce it!
Li Hongzhang played a small trick on the telegram, and after the Japanese received the telegram from the Japanese ambassador to China to reinforce Korea, the fleet led by the Jiyuan ship had already landed in the narrow Asan Bay in Korea. Asan is only 150 miles away from Hanyang, and infantry can arrive overnight. This time, the Qing dynasty's reinforcement directly pierced the heart of the Japanese - no matter how chaotic Korea was, as long as they controlled the Korean royal family in Hanyang, they could use the Korean royal family to keep Japan out of Korea. Of course, this is just Li Hongzhang's view.
After receiving the telegram from the Japanese Minister to China, the parliament and cabinet clashed with the Japanese government without any scruples. The internal strife was immediately suppressed, and the politicians enthusiastically raised a wave of "conquering Korea". When Wang Fengzao quickly sent back the situation in Japan by telegram, Li Hongzhang's hands trembled slightly, and a layer of gloom appeared at the bottom of his heart.
The Jiyuan successfully completed its escort mission. 1,500 Huai Army soldiers landed smoothly at Asan Bay under the leadership of Ye Zhichao and Nie Zicheng, carrying their luggage immediately to Hanseong to carry out Li Hongzhang's task of controlling the Korean royal family. In this era, there were no landing ships, and it was relatively easy for personnel to disembark, but it was much more difficult for luggage to disembark, relying solely on the small steamers carried by Jiyuan, Weiyuan, and Guangyi to transport the luggage.
The captain of the Jiyuan, Fang Boqian, might not be very good at fighting, but he knew that this trip was highly dangerous - Japan was also paying attention to Korea, and although they had not yet increased their troops in Korea, their combined fleet had already been patrolling the Korean waters. If it were a normal situation, his Jiyuan would have no problem, but this time he was escorting the Zhenshou steamer, which carried soldiers of the Qing Empire, despite this being one of Li Hongzhang's tricks, it violated the Tianjin Treaty. The Japanese had been expanding their navy like crazy in recent years, and domestically, people didn't feel much pressure from this, but the Beiyang Fleet felt deeply about this change, both countries' navies considered each other as hypothetical enemies, if one day they clashed, it wouldn't be strange at all.
When Fang Boqian saw this narrow and long harbor, a bad premonition surged in his heart. He immediately made a decision - to transport the soldiers ashore with all his might, and have each merchant ship withdraw as soon as it finished unloading, without waiting for assembly. Fang Boqian's approach was opposed by Lin Guoxiang, the captain of the Guangyi warship, who was a guest on the ship. Fang Boqian suppressed Lin Guoxiang with a tough attitude, and Lin Guoxiang, being a relatively weak person, made concessions. This also made Fang Boqian feel relieved - in such a narrow waterway, once the Japanese discovered they were landing here, if they sent a few warships to block the exit, it would be up to them to decide whether to fight or negotiate. The merchant ships had no defensive capabilities and were slow, making people furious, purely a burden. If these merchant ships stayed here, Fang Boqian would not dare to respond for fear of being trapped.
Here is the translation:
Let Zhāo Shāng Lún go first, and if something unexpected happens later, the remaining warships can at least hold their own. In fact, according to Fāng Bó Qiān's idea, it would be best to wait for Guǎng Yǐ Huǒ and Wēi Yuǎn Huǒ to finish unloading their cargo before leaving, with Jì Yuǎn Huǒ bringing up the rear and being the last to unload its cargo. Unfortunately, after Zhāo Shāng Lún left, not even nine hours had passed when the cargo was already unloaded, and the three Jì Yuǎn warships were already turning around and forming a fleet, preparing to leave Yá Shān Bay. Just then, Fāng Bó Qiān saw through his binoculars the one thing he least wanted to see on this trip - three small black dots appeared on the surface of the sea in the northern part of Yá Shān Bay. His heart sank at that moment, and when he turned around, he saw that the "Enemy Ship Discovered" signal flag had already been raised on the mast of Guǎng Yǐ Huǒ, which was rapidly approaching Jì Yuǎn.
"Enemy ship?! In this sea area, who else can be called an enemy ship by the Beiyang Fleet except for the Japanese Combined Fleet?!" Fang Boqian clenched his fists tightly and cursed in his heart: "Damn it, what a coincidence!"
The alarm bell on the Ji Yuan ship rang out, and in an instant, all the sailors rushed out of the cabin to take their positions. The two main gun turrets at the front and rear rotated, the steam engine increased pressure, and thick black smoke billowed out - this was because those sons of the military procurement department had embezzled money, and the naval fleet was burning inferior coal, which produced thick black smoke when operating at full power, making it visible from 800 miles away that it was a Beiyang naval ship. At first, Fang Boqian was anxious to sail out of the bay, but this black smoke made him even more apprehensive, fearing that there might be Japanese fleets lurking around the surrounding waters. Originally, they had not been discovered, but the black smoke had given them away, so he slowed down, trying to prevent the black smoke from attracting the Japanese. Little did he know that heaven was against him!
