Chapter 131 Heart knot is difficult
The dust is up and down.
No one expected that the cloud of war between the two countries, which was shrouded in the Qing Dynasty six months ago, would end with the sudden victory of the Pacific Army. Without the support of the navy, the Japanese army on the Korean battlefield was unable to attack again, and the Qing army did not want to continue the counterattack for the time being, so they were calm for the time being. Japanese immigrants from Ryukyu and Hawaii also began to evacuate on a large scale at gunpoint, and everything seemed to be gradually recovering.
But all those who pay attention to this area know that a larger vortex is gradually forming.
In fact, Li Mo is very clear about the reason for the outbreak of the First Sino-Japanese War. In addition to Japan's own expansion requirements, it is extremely important for Britain, France and other countries to contribute to the flames! The reason why Britain supports Japan is to curb Russia's expansion in the Far East, while France hopes to drive Russia back to Europe and counterbalance the growing Germany.
This is also why even after the departure of the fleet, Li Mo has been worried about the problem, not that he can beat himself, but the reaction of the great powers!
From the current point of view, the reason why they were able to succeed this time was completely based on the fact that they had completely annippled the Japanese fleet before they reacted, so that they had to face the reality! Although they all have the ability to eliminate themselves, if they want to fight hard, the price is undoubtedly not worth the loss. This is the main reason why the powers are willing to let Japan sit down and negotiate with themselves!
As for compensation, it is entirely because of the rising United States, which has been coveting the Far East for a long time. In fact, Li Mo was also very surprised why Roosevelt dared to agree to such a large loan on behalf of the American government axe, but later he realized that the United States is now in the year of capital surplus, the warehouse is full of products, and more and more domestic workers are facing the danger of unemployment.
At this time, a huge market with a population of 30 million is simply a pie falling from the sky for the United States, and this market is still a traditional British sphere of influence. It can rely on loans to open the market, which is undoubtedly a boost to the domestic economy! You should know that most of the loans provided by the United States are required to be used to purchase American products, except for the funds used to compensate Honolulu's political axe.
And just two days ago, they obtained the right to trade in Yokohama Port in the name of loans, which means that a large market is slowly pushing away! More importantly, on the other side of Japan, there is a larger market with a population of more than 400 million! This is a godsend for Americans who have long wanted to share a cup of the Far East!
Now, although Japan has lost its navy, the army has basically taken root in North Korea. With the trust gained by using loans, a trade route from Japan to North Korea and then from North Korea to the Qing Dynasty has been easily opened up!
In the final analysis, Master Li won the war, but put a stronger wolf for the Far East! It's really unclear who made the profit in this war.
The United States used war loans to find a new way out for excess capital. The British have also made huge profits. As the best ship supplier in the world, I will definitely throw a large number of warship orders to them.
Although Master Li, who was in the middle of the storm, became a prince of protecting the country, controlled the whole Ryukyu, and received 30 million compensation, he has been regarded as a thorn in Britain, France, the United States and other countries. In the future, not to mention continuing to buy warships, I'm afraid it is the two battleships being built in Britain. Whether it can be delivered or not is a question, and what is more important now is that how to continue to gain a foothold in Ryukyu and live more freely in the cracks of the great powers has become the biggest problem in the minds of the Pacific Army!
On January 1, 1895, after Ryukyu basically returned to calm, the Grand Duke of the Kingdom of Hawaii, the new Prince of the Protector of Ryukyu, Young Master Li ordered the Pacific Fleet to withdraw to Honolulu within two months, except for Long Xiao and four destroyers for Ryukyu's protection.
Although everyone knows that the Pacific Army will not give up Ryukyu, it is still necessary to make a gesture, so this statement soon received the support of Britain, France and other countries, at least so that the chaotic Far East can calm down for the time being.
At the same time, in the face of Shang Tai, the king of Ryukyu, who generously crowned himself as the protector of the country, Master Li was not ambiguous. First, he privately took out 100,000 dollars and gave it to the king to let him repair the palace and enjoy the happiness. In addition, he promised to help train 300 palace soldiers to form a palace guard. At the same time, he also ordered the current bulging government affairs. The hospital took out five million pounds for the infrastructure construction of the Ryukyu Islands, and finally invested in the construction of two coal-fired power plants, a shipyard, and dozens of supporting factories with the continuous transportation of machinery and materials.
At the same time, Master Li, who opened the Golden Finger, was still on Chongdadong Island, which already belonged to him. He set up a phosphate mine with his own pocket and a phosphate processing factory on Ishigaki Island. As long as he thought of millions of phosphate mines on Chongdadong Island, Master Li's water involuntarily flowed down.
Incanding bombs! White phosphorus bomb! The young master burned you to death! Master Li hid in the dark corner, waving his fists!
But as soon as Master Li's ambitious development plan was put forward, he was hit in the head!
Labour force!
Nearly 200,000 days later, I left one after another. Although I completed the most critical step in the process of going to Japan, it also caused a sudden decrease in the Ryukyu labor force. Even if I immediately transported people from China, I could not fill such a large labor gap, which made Li Enfu lament that I should be left to work hard for a few years. Send it away!
Li Mo has no choice but to deal with such a huge labor gap. In addition to letting Lin Yongxiang continue to find people from various recruitment points in China, he can only temporarily tap potential from the inside. First, 20,000 workers who have completed the expansion of the seaport in Hawaii will be transported here. At the same time, 20,000 locals have been recruited, plus those in Ryukyu. More than 10,000 Chinese workers have finally temporarily gathered the workers who clean up the seaport and lay the foundation.
Although 50,000 people sound, in the era of lack of machinery and pure manpower, they are sprinkled on thousands of square kilometers of Ryukyu Island and Aimei Island, and basically they can't even see the waves.
Finally, Li Enfu also went to meet Shangtai, the king of Ryukyu, on behalf of the young master, hoping that he could agree to the subsequent huge immigration plan. Originally, everyone was worried about whether the old guy would agree to such a large-scale immigration plan! Because according to the plan, the State Council is ready to emigrate 200,000 people from the Qing Dynasty in the next three years to completely make up for the loss of manpower after my departure. You know that once the task is completed, Ryukyu will be annexed in disguise!
But Shang Tai didn't even nagging, so he agreed to the plan and actively cooperated with the issuance of the notice. Later, everyone knew that in fact, after Shang Tai saw Li Mo's expulsion, he guessed that he was going to emigrate. Since it can't be stopped, it's better to be straightforward. After all, the barrel of the gun is still in Li Dashao's hand!
Moreover, Li Mo's development plan is a real benefit for the Ryukyu people. His only idea at this moment is to fight for more benefits for the Ryukyu people who have always supported him!
With people, I got a key immigration permit. In line with the principle of the young master's highest, largest and best work, the Ryukyu Shipyard took the lead in breaking ground. The continuous delivery of equipment from China, coupled with some newly purchased, made the prototype of the Ryukyu Shipyard soon appear. Six docks, total With a total shipbuilding tonnage of 130,000 tons, Ryukyu suddenly became the largest shipbuilding base in the Far East, and even surpassed the Hawaiian shipyard started by Master Li!
With the supporting large-scale smelters and forging plants, etc., the construction began at the same time. Ryukyu Island seems to have become Oahu Island two years ago, full of construction sites and busy people. Even Lin Jiye, the head of the Chinese sweet sugar industry, after seeing a good sugar cane plantation foundation on Ryukyu Island, announced the construction of a small sugar mill and a food processing plant here.
In addition, because Ryukyu is very far away from Hawaii, Li Mo also secretly ordered Changlin to immediately build large radio base stations in Hawaii, the Ogasawara Islands and several major islands of Ryukyu in the name of building a factory to facilitate contact.
At the same time, Master Li pocketed 100,000 pounds and quietly ordered Li Fu and Duan Fei to build a large villa for him on the largest island of the former Ogasawara Islands, which belongs to him and has been renamed Yuexi Island! At the thought of the thought that he could take all the beauty, shuttle between the scenic Ogasawara Islands, miss the blue sea and blue sky, look at the whales, step on the beach, and finally hug the beauty to live in a luxury villa, Master Li trembled all over!
"It's cool to go to war! No wonder the great powers like to fight, weakening others, and getting astronomical wealth, which is even better than the young master's enclosure!" After arranging everything, Master Li was relieved. He leaned against the rocking chair and lay on the balcony, looking at the shipyard in the distance, and the cracks in the corners of his mouth began to expand.
Prince Li's mouth is drooling. He not only gets the most urgently needed mechanical equipment, but also the luxury villa that originally belonged to the King of Ryukyu has become his private property. If it were small here and hugged her to do it, how comfortable it would be!
Master Li, who just took a big bite on himself, began to miss women again! But if Xiaoxiao comes and sees the one who is still resting in Ryukyu, will he fight?
I couldn't help sighing: "It's so annoying." -
The young master was upset and his heart was difficult to solve. Naturally, his men would come out to solve it immediately.
At the beginning of February, Ryukyu was no longer chilling. Standing in Naha Harbor, there were lights and colorful scenes to welcome the New Year. Even the shipyard site, which had been busy for more than a month, was much deserted because of the Spring Festival.
Chen Ping stepped on the gravel with a shallow foot and walked to the dry dock that had begun to be excavated, with a smile on the corners of his mouth. For him, more and more shipyards mean more and more warships and the growing Pacific Army.
Behind him, Fang Boqian also observed the shipyard that had begun to take shape in front of him, and his heart swayed like the undulating tide on the shore. He didn't expect that the ink of the Yokosuka Treaty, which shocked the world, had not yet dried up, and Ryukyu had entered a period of great development.
Fang Boqian breathed a little sadly. The experience of the past two months made him feel novel and nervous. Thinking of the previous battle, it finally turned into this long breath.
From stepping on the Antarctic Star battleship, which is bigger than the two ships of Dingzhen, to coming to Ryukyu with the Sky Surveyor, standing on the deck and watching the Sky Surveyor roar with his men, and then to landing in Ryukyu with the landing troops.
He saw with his own eyes that he was destroyed by the fierce attack of the Pacific Army. On such a big island, three thousand fierce soldiers did not last for ten days and turned into blood mud in the rumbling gunfire of the fleet.
What surprised him even more, and even suspected for a long time was that the main force of the Japanese joint fleet, which had defeated the Beiyang Marine Division, was killed by the Pacific Fleet in a total annihirated method in just a few hours. Not only that, even their Sasebo base was destroyed by artillery fire.
Kobe! Osaka! Wu Gang! Even in the last Kagoshima, the familiar local names were extinguished by the roar of the naval guns. It was not until the last Yokosuka Treaty was issued that he suddenly woke up.
The weather has changed!
My prospective "son-in-law" is now the Prince of Ryukyu and the Grand Duke of Hawaii. He has a powerful fleet that can cross the vast sea, with more than 3,000 square kilometers and hundreds of thousands of people.
Can such a person still recognize himself as the "father-in-law" of the Beiyang deserter? Especially for several months, Li Mo has been making a deal of affairs at the beginning of the war, and he can't dodge to see himself on the pretext of not being able to dodge, which made him even more worried.
Seeing Fang Boqian looking at the construction site, Chen Ping first broke the silence: "Cousin Yi, are you still used to living these days?"
"It's okay." Fang Boqian replied, but his tone was full of helplessness. Although these sons Li Mo ordered people to be delicious and took the initiative to arrange a way out for his subordinates, he never mentioned his father-in-law, which made him a little uneasy.
"Cunse Yi, the past is over, and everything should be looked forward!" Chen Ping smiled and walked to Fang Boqian and stood side by side.
Fang Boqian slowly withdrew his eyes and turned his head to look at the familiar but strange person in front of him. He once saw with his own eyes that Chen Ping was excluded, oppressed, and refused even slamboard because of his name, but now he is already the Chief of Staff of the Pacific Army.
Those ridiculous rules disappeared into the air in the blink of an eye at this time like blisters bulging with the waves. And the person who has the courage to break these rules is his "s-in-law".
"Thank you, Yuanshou. These days, Fang Boqian, lived a good life. He didn't worry about everything, but he also made me see a lot of things clearly." Fang Boqian tilted the corners of his mouth.
"Yes." Chen Ping knew that Fang Boqian was still worried that the young master would not admit his father-in-law. He couldn't help looking up to the sky and shouted, "Cousin Yi is free now. He is not like us. He is busy all day long, and he doesn't know what he is busy with."
"If Yuanshou's words are heard by others, I'm afraid you will say that you were born in happiness and don't know happiness."
Chen Ping smiled self-deprecatingly, took a breath, looked serious, and asked, "Cousin Yi, do you feel that the young master has not seen you since you came, and you are a little unhappy?"
As Chen Ping's words turned around, Fang Boqian, who had just relaxed, frowned again and quickly said, "Biqian is still a sinner now. It's God's grace to be able to get his life back. There is no dissatisfaction."
"Cuncle Yi's words are wrong. It's the young master who saved you, not God!" Chen Ping bent the corners of his mouth and continued to say, "In fact, cousin Yi is completely over-hearted. If it hadn't been for the young master's love, how could he send someone to rescue you?"
Fang Boqian frowned. As soon as he wanted to speak, he heard Chen Ping take the lead and continue to say, "To be honest, I asked my cousin Yi to come out today. In addition to distraction, it is also because the young master has a pimple in his heart. Let me ask you."
"A pimple?" Fang Boqian raised his head and didn't understand what the other party would have.
In fact, Chen Ping didn't understand what pimples Li Mo would have, and he was as confused as Fang Boqian. They know that Fang Boqian has been promoted as the biggest villain in Beiyang in later generations. It is no wonder that Master Li is not disgusted to get married with such a man who ignored his comrades-in-arms and fled with a ship!
What's more, Master Li now also has a fleet in his hand. If it is known that there is a father-in-law who drives a warship on the battlefield, what will his generals think of him? Therefore, this pimple is difficult to untie. If it is stuck in the throat, I have to ask Chen Ping to ask clearly.
"The young master asked me to ask you why you suddenly returned to Lushun first." Chen Ping said euphemistically.
Although Fang Boqian was surprised, this matter has spread all over the world now, and there is nothing to cover it up. He gritted his teeth and said, "After the war that day, the four ships of Yoshino, the striker, used the speed to quickly cut Yangwei, Chaoyong, Zhiyuan and my Jiyuan from this array. Their warship speed was fast, and the artillery speed was also fast, although we I also wanted to break through the siege quickly, but I was always pulled away by them with speed. Yang Wei and Chao Yong could soon be set on fire. Although my Jiyuan and Zhiyuan rushed to the flagship not far away, the speed of Yoshino's four ships was really too fast. In order to protect the flagship from being dispersed, Deng Shichang had to use his body to hit the Yoshino. Overturn.
When I saw the Dingyuan mast collapse and I couldn't command it, I was ready to take Jiyuan to rescue Deng Shichang. Unexpectedly, I was caught up by the Langsu and damaged my bow, and the gun rack could not be moved, so I ordered to withdraw temporarily and wait until it was repaired.
I didn't think that Guangjia saw me retreat to one side and left with me. Later, the sea was full of smoke, and I couldn't see the situation clearly. I don't know what happened to Dingyuan and their situation, so I..."
"So, in fact, cousin Yi just retired temporarily? Then why did you return directly to Lushun later? Chen Ping frowned, and the cold light in his eyes flashed slightly.
"I..." Fang Boqian opened his mouth and looked at Chen Ping for a long time. Suddenly, he avoided his eyes and bowed his head and said, "I'm afraid! I'm afraid that Jiyuan will go back and be besieged by the four ships of Yoshino. I'm afraid that those brothers who have been with me for many years can't even put away their bones!"
Speaking of this, Fang Boqian suddenly covered his face and cried bitterly. From his trembling words, Chen Ping could see that he was indeed scared by the war!
In fact, when the eagle went to pick up Fang Boqian that day, he had already sent someone to secretly check the situation of Jiyuan. The warship was indeed, as Fang Boqian said, the bow was flooded, and there were several cannons that could not be used, but it could not be a reason for him to leave, because this injury was not fatal, so when I heard the sentence "I'm afraid. At that time, Chen Ping nodded slightly.
"No one will be afraid!" Chen Ping tried his best to make himself look more relaxed and said with a smile, "That day, we intercepted me. Hundreds of gunners trembled nervously. More than a hundred guns covered the shooting. It was not until the third round that one shot was also hit. It was this shot that made the gunners feel that my warship was not difficult to fight, and finally the more accurate."
"So, fear is not terrible, and it is difficult to get rid of terrible heart demons." Chen Ping picked up Fang Boqian, held his hand and patted him: "Cousin Yi, I'm very happy that you can tell the truth. I believe the young master is also very happy."
"I'm sorry for them!"
Fang Boqian cried and squatted on the ground
(to be continued)