Chapter 290 Want Taiwan

"Your Excellency, Your Majesty!"

In the Taiwan governor's government, his footsteps were as fast as drums. Liu Yongfu's face was anxious. He rushed into the governor's government's government while arming his sleeves. Before he arrived at the lobby, he shouted.

"Yuanting, why are you in such a hurry?"

Tang Jingsong, the governor of Taiwan, had just found out his son, and Qiu Fengjia also flashed out from one side. He was originally a gentry in Taiwan. In the past two years, because of the construction of the railway, he is now a big celebrity in the governor's government. Seeing Liu Yongfu's blue face, he smiled and asked falsely, "Lord Liu, you are here."

"Zhong Yu is also here." Liu Yongfu simply said hello, and then took out the imperial emergency report forwarded by the governor of Fujian and Zhejiang: "Your Excellency, the imperial court urgent report, the governor of Fujian and Zhejiang told us that the imperial court did not agree to increase troops to assist in defense, and also that we should not neglect the French. We must do a good job in the aftermath, and do not start the war lightly, which is a disaster to the southeast!"

"We are waiting for the disaster in the southeast? Nonsense!" Tang Jingsong received the telegram and suddenly shivered with anger.

A few days ago, the French armored cruiser Sanxi escaped the typhoon and hid in Penghu for temporary rest. Unexpectedly, suddenly a fire broke out on the ship, killing 17 or 18 French sailors. They slandered that the mob set fire and shelled Penghu, causing hundreds of deaths and injuries, and once forced Tainan Changhua!

If it's just a shelling, it's all right. Unexpectedly, the French actually made a fuss and took the opportunity to ask Taiwan to pay one million taels of silver and rent Penghu for compensation. It's really too much bullying!

Penghu has always been the gateway to Taiwan. If Penghu is lost, Taiwan is difficult to protect. Therefore, since ancient times, it has been a place where soldiers must fight. How can it be handed over to people!

Unexpectedly, as soon as he reported this matter to the court, hoping to mobilize soldiers to prevent France from attacking Penghu, he was rejected. Instead, he became a troublemaker in the court's mouth, which really disappointed him!

"Your Excellency, the French warships monitored Changhua at night, and the land of Tainan pretended to catch fire and wanted to seize Taiwan. According to my subordinates, this has long been ambitious, so we should take precautions early and not put all our hope on the imperial court." After playing in Vietnam for so many years, Liu Yongfu knew the thoughts of the French best and immediately suggested that he be prepared.

From the fire to the shelling, Qiu Fengjia knew the reason well. Originally, he still had a grudge in his heart, but at this moment, he heard that the court not only did not send troops just in case, but also scolded him. He suddenly became the last distracted and hurriedly said, "Your Excellency, Lord Liu is right. If the French really have bad intentions towards Taiwan. I'm afraid it will be too late if I'm not on guard.

Tang Jingsong is good at everything, but he is just a little hesitant and doesn't know much about military affairs. In those years, if it hadn't been for Liu Yongfu, he would not have been able to win several victories in the Sino-French War. Although he was also willing to defend Taiwan at this moment, the strength at hand was really too weak.

Taiwan is close to Fujian, Guangdong, Jiangsu and Zhejiang, which is the first maritime gateway of the Qing Dynasty, and Taiwan is also the only place for the Qing Dynasty to see the Southern Ocean. Although the influence of the Qing Dynasty on the Southern Ocean has been minimal in recent years, if Taiwan is lost, the Qing Dynasty will lose the last maritime barrier, which is really the same.

But the problem is that he can't have so many bravery in his hand. Originally, there were three battalions of soldiers in Taiwan, but most of them were old, weak, sick and disabled, which could not be used at all. The Guangyong mobilized before to prevent Japanese troops from entering Taiwan had already been withdrawn. Now the most important thing in his hand is the two black flag army in Liu Yongfu's hands.

Two battalions of black flag troops, but more than 2,000, it may be enough to garrison Penghu, but Taiwan is not big, but it must not be said to be small. Even if 5,000 people are all placed in Taiwan, it is not enough at all, and the ordnance is old and lack of foreign guns, which is really worrying.

"What should I do?"

Seeing that Tang Jingsong didn't speak for a long time, Liu Yongfu was also deeply worried. After thinking about it, he resolutely said, "Your Excellency, it's better for me to lead the troops to garrison Penghu. As for here, please take care."

"But don't worry, adults." Liu Yongfu was well aware of Tang Jingsong's temper and hugged his fist and said, "As long as Yuanting is in Penghu for a day, the French will not be distracted by Taiwan!"

"Since Yuanting said so, it can only be like this for the time being." Knowing that Liu Yongfu's trip was dangerous, Tang Jingsong couldn't help but feel deeply worried about the general who had been working with him for many years and said, "I will immediately fold my son and write to Lord Zhang. Even if the court does not send troops, I will definitely mobilize troops from the two sides to support you."

"Thank you, my lord." After Liu Yongfu finished speaking, just as he was about to leave, Qiu Fengjia immediately took out a few silver tickets from his sleeve pocket: "Your Excellency, this is 10,000 taels of silver. I was going to buy railway materials. Since it is in danger, let's take care of these silver rights to our business."

"Good, that's great. With this money, I can buy at least a few hundred more foreign guns." Tang Jingsong took over the silver ticket excitedly, but did not notice the corners of Qiu Fengjia's mouth--

In Lushun Port, colorful flags are fluttering, and the eight capital ships are all full of flags. The soldiers in white navy uniforms on the deck are smiling, with straight posture, and the light gray hull is even more strong in the sun.

In the sky, not long after it was officially established, the air force, which was still secreted by the organization and number, also came to cheer up. Three huge hippo-class airships hovered over Lushun Port, and let the people who came to join in the fun open their mouths and were stunned.

Even some foreigners and boatmen in Lushun were stunned by this scene, and the reporters shouted excitedly with their cameras, because today is the reopening of Lushun Port, and it is also the special naval opening of the Duke of Hawaii!

In the past two years, more than 100,000 craftsmen and hard workers have made this beautiful unfrozen harbor, known as the first in the Far East, rejuvenated. When everyone who has come and even lived here for a few years look back, they will find that this harbor has not only expanded a lot, but also the facilities are far from the past. It is comparable to just the continuous deep-water wharf, or the dense chimneys behind the two large docks, are enough to make many people stunned.

"Seventh brother, do you think we can really go to the warship today?"

Next to

, a man with two little boys attracted Liang Qichao's attention. After the man squeezed into the crowd and found an acquaintance, he immediately asked. The two children got into the cracks and looked at the warship in the distance with a daze.

The man known as the seventh brother smiled and said, "Of course, didn't you read the notice? Within three days from today, anyone can go on the warship to visit. Not to mention us Jinzhou people, even Fengtian Changchun, as long as you want to come, you can go up.

"Really!" The man scratched his head, cracked his yellow teeth and smiled: "Ha ha, you are still the seventh brother. I can't read and I don't know what's written on the notice. If I don't listen to people, I really don't know."

The seventh brother patted the man on the shoulder, swept the dense crowd around him, and said with a smile, "You two guys will be careful in a while. Look at this posture. There are at least tens of thousands of people. Don't lose them."

"Yes, I didn't expect so many people to come." The man seemed to not believe it, and then asked, "Seventh brother, do you really want to let it go later?"

"Bullshit, when did I tell a lie?" The seventh brother laughed and scolded, pointing to the dock in the distance: "Look, isn't that the beginning? I heard that the first batch of guests were all specially invited, and some of them still came from Changchun Heilongjiang.

"Good boy, come so far!"

"That's it, have you seen it? The foreigners have gone up.

"Oh! It's true that foreigners can go. In the surprise of the man, Liang Qichao also saw hundreds of foreigners leading sailors to visit the next warship. He couldn't help but be surprised by this boldness. He was not a foolish country man. Naturally, he knew what the giant ship represented. Unexpectedly, now Li Mo showed such a sharp weapon openly. It's really It surprised him so much.

This time, he was invited by Kang Youwei to go to Yanjing to see the new law, but he wanted to come to Lushun to have a look. Unexpectedly, he caught up with this scene, which really made him so excited.

"Brother Seven, I heard that you have entered the factory?"

The two men in front of him talked again. Liang Qichao not only accelerated a few steps, but also wanted to listen to it after him.

"Hmm." The seventh brother nodded, and his face couldn't help but show a trace of pride: "At the beginning of last year, didn't you open a spare parts factory in the town? I went to try it. Unexpectedly, I gave it to it. I have been trained for half a year, and it's time to work in three days."

"Repment factory? What is that for?"

"Ha ha, it's normal that my brother doesn't understand. In fact, we were also confused at the beginning." The seventh brother smiled and pointed to several cars on the dock through the seams: "See? The factory we went to will make the parts on the car in the future.

"Bing a car!" The big man's eyes lit up excitedly. With the continuous arrival of cars, now the people in the Jinzhou area of Lushun have long known that this kind of car with four wheels that can run by themselves. Unexpectedly, the factory that his friend entered now actually made this, which made him very envious.

"It's not a car, it's a spare part above." The seventh brother also laughed proudly, raised his finger and suddenly approached a little: "Give me five yuan a month."

"Five yuan?"

"Ha ha, you see, I didn't make it clear. That's the new money sent by our factory. According to the market price, it's about seven taels of silver."

"What, seven taels of silver! There are seven taels of silver in a month!" The big man's eyes were straight. He looked at Brother Seven's smiling face and suddenly said, "Brother Seven, didn't you agree to cut your braids? I heard that you have to mess up the braids to enter the factory!"

"Nonsense, there's no such thing." The seventh brother shook the shiny braids behind his head and pointed to several workers with braids on the dock in the distance: "I said, you, the baby is so old. Don't listen to people like an old woman. Have you ever seen people forcibly order to cut the braids? Besides, look, in addition to being a soldier, those workers? Did you see it? They were on the dock at night, and the ship was busy, and they didn't let them cut their braids.

"Yes."

Before the man continued to speak, the seventh brother blocked him earlier and said earnestly, "Ba, although we are not brothers, since you call me the seventh brother, I have to talk about you. You can't stay in that few acres of field. Now this day is different!"

"God? Is it different?" The man looked up at the sky and was still a little confused. Just as he wanted to ask again, he found that the seventh brother had squeezed into the crowd. He wanted to find out, but he was entangled by his two sons. He had to drag his doubts to a large ship in the distance. He was worried and cautious all the way until he found that the soldiers did not pay any special attention to him. After checking the father and son, they were put into the dock.

Liang Qichao raised his arms according to the sign of the sailors. After a check, he was also allowed to enter the dock.

On the dock, the warship, which looked small in the distance, suddenly magnified in his eyes. Looking at the majestic hull, standing on the wide deck, and stroking the thick and cold barrel, Liang Qichao suddenly wanted to see Li Mo, who was affectionately called the young master by many people.

I want to ask how he did it. He was able to create such a foundation in the year of weakness and bring back such a powerful warship for the sons and daughters of China.

In the distance, a few whistles woke him up. He turned his head and saw a long fleet slowly sailing into the remote harbor in the distance. When the first cargo ship docked, he seemed to feel that his eyes had been stabbed by something.

"I'm the one? It seems that they are not ordinary people!"

"Why did I come here? And also." When Liang Qichao saw the frightened children and women who followed the men, he frowned and said in surprise, "Are there so many children and women? Who the hell are they?"

On the dock, I watched a large group of people getting off the ship and looking at the Japanese technicians who were in a daze with warships and crowds in the distance. Chen Ping and Li Enfu, who had just come back, laughed crookedly. This is a total of 3,000 Japanese technicians and their families. It can almost be said that they have swept away all the technical elites in Japan, and the price Just a few ships of food and a guarantee to provide a stable life!

It's so cost-effective!

Although these people still need enough time to observe and send people to focus on surveillance, in any case, the arrival of these people will greatly alleviate the shortage of skilled workers on their side.

This is still the first batch, and there will be the second and third in the later stage. All the 20,000 skilled workers registered in Japan will be transferred here and become the cornerstone of Master Li's dream industrial empire.

Li Enfu and Chen Ping looked at each other and smiled, and the car drove quickly towards the General Staff.

Outside the window of the car, Master Li used it when he was in Honolulu, and the opening of the navy, which attracts people's hearts, is still in full progress. Japanese technical workers have also begun to arrive, and the construction of the three eastern provinces has entered the most **.

At this time, another problem is also put in front of them, that is, Taiwan!

In the main conference room, Li Mo tapped his finger on the table and looked at the huge map on the wall.

Taiwan's position is undoubtedly too important for him, especially after Luzon Ryukyu started, how to take down this big island as soon as possible is urgent. Although the remaining Fujian sailors and Nanyang sailors of Qingzheng Axe can't threaten themselves at all, the problem is that Taiwan is outside the southeast coast. If the army is stationed here, then in the big Britain, which has huge interests in the south of the Qing Dynasty, will feel threatened.

This is not a joke. Although Britain does not care much about the north, the south of the Yangtze River has always been regarded as a ban by them. The two major stations of the Far East Fleet are Hong Kong and Shanghai, but they are all shrouded in Taiwan. Once troops are sent to occupy Taiwan, it will undoubtedly be regarded as a direct choice by the British. Plenk!

The occupation of Taiwan in the year was because the British thought that the navy was weak, and even if it occupied Taiwan, it would not pose much threat. What's more, at that time, it was a honeymoon period between Japan and Britain, and now it is a thorn in the side of Britain.

If you occupy it directly, will it trigger a crisis?

In addition to this confusion with him, he personally does not want to start a war with Qingzheng Axe now. As a modern person in his bones, he will not regard the Qing Dynasty as his motherland, and he has no sense of belonging in his heart, but his steps in the past period of time were really big, and he must be digested first.

The first dreadnought ship in history is about to be built, the navy is also in the stage of shrinking and consolidating its forces, and the army is too short of manpower. In addition, there will be a war with the Russians a few years later, so he has never wanted to do it immediately.

But if you don't fight in the Qing Dynasty now, it doesn't mean that you won't fight in the future. If you don't cut the carrion, how can you make the new meat grow? He is very clear about this point, but if he wants to take Taiwan first at this moment, he can't start a full-scale war with the Qing Zheng Axe. The best way to give Britain an excuse to intervene in the war is undoubtedly to separate Taiwan and continue to play the trick of seizing from a third country. It is just the beginning to take action on the French [***] ship. Now it seems that France is hooked, although It is said that the French finally occupied Guangzhou Bay in history, but that is because Japan took the lead in occupying Taiwan. You know that not everyone can resist the value and charm of the treasure island.

But this is not enough. It must also make Qing Zhengx have no time to take care of Taiwan. In the end, he had to be forced to promise France to give up Taiwan. Only in that way can Qiu Fengjia have the excuse that he is unwilling to cede and play some tricks.

"If you send a telegram to contact Duan Fei, you must rush to encourage those people to fight before the fight between France and the Qing Dynasty!"

(to be continued)