Chapter 368 Thunder

In Changsha City in September, the scorching sun is like fire. In the early morning, the body is full of sweat.

Everyone wants to hide in the shade of the tree and make a pot of tea. However, there are still people dancing knives in the yard with a hot head. The silver tip of the knife reflects one or two golden lights from time to time, which makes people dare not look directly at it.

After a knife, Xiong Xiling finally got out of the stuffiness in her chest. She took the teacup from the maid's hand and poured two mouthfuls of cold tea fiercely, and only felt comfortable all over.

"Brother Xiong is good at swordsmanship."

As soon as Xiong Xiling got off the teacup, he saw that several men in military uniforms had quietly walked into the small courtyard and hurriedly greeted them: "Brother Tan, Brother Dong, why do you have time to come to the cold house?"

"Ha ha, Brother Xiong is too polite. If this is a humble house, won't my family become a slam home?"

"Haha..."

Several people laughed for a while. The led officer suddenly narrowed his eyes and looked at Xiong Xiling and said, "Brother Xiong, the knife dance is smooth, and the tightness in the chest should have subsided a lot."

Xiong Xiling is a famous talent in Changsha, and he was born in the family of three generations. He couldn't hear the meaning of the other party's words. After ordering the servant to look at the tea, he sighed: "Brother Tan, you are asking knowingly."

"It's not that you don't know that the south of the Yangtze River is chaotic. Now Lord Zhang has half of his time off, and the magistrate of Changsha would rather be sick and idle at home than go out of the mountain. The city has long been in a mess. If it goes on like this, I'm afraid something big will happen!"

"Yes." The officer next to him also shook his head: "What's the point of such a confrontation? Take a look at the north side of others, build railways, build factories, promote water conservancy, and let children go to school for free!"

"Look at us again, alas..." Another long sigh.

"Have you heard about it? The Northwest Army of Xinhua has entered Ili. Tens of thousands of troops are waving their knives at night, pouting those who returned to the rebels and Russians to kill them. It is waiting for Xinjiang to recover. The officer on the side shook his Hunan army uniform and said, "When the army calms down the northwest and the army returns to the south of Sichuan, I really have to wear my skin to the end."

"What kind of news is this? It's strange that tens of thousands of return to the rebels can stop the Xinhua Army!" Brother Tan curled his lips and said, "What's the big deal in Hangzhou!"

"Oh? What happened in Hangzhou?

"The special envoys of Britain and France have arrived in Hangzhou. It is said that the emperor should step down within a month, otherwise he will send troops to fight!"

"Bang!" Xiong Xiling patted the table fiercely: "Damn it! These foreigners treat us as casually pinched persimmons! When will I ask them to make the decision on the affairs of China!"

Seeing Xiong Xiling angry, the man surnamed Dong smiled and said, "Brother Xiong, don't be angry. The foreigners are also rabbit tails. It's getting shorter and shorter day by day. Yesterday, the Prime Minister of Xinhua, Li Enfu, Lord Li, had summoned the British and French ambassadors in Yanjing and asked them to withdraw their warships from the Yangtze River, otherwise they would bear the consequences!"

"Really!" These words immediately made Xiong Xiling blush excitedly, but soon he was stunned. After looking at the man thinking for a moment, he suddenly lowered his voice: "Brother Dong, how do you know that it was only yesterday?"

The man picked up the tea and took a sip, glance at the eyes focused on his face, and his face suddenly became serious: "Brothers, to be honest, Dong has agreed to the other side and will not stand in confrontation!" The emperor is right. The Chinese family, why bother to take advantage of foreigners, in an image of my Xinhua vitality!"

"So!" A sharp flash in the man's eyes: "On the eighth day of August, I will lead the uprising!"

"Your Majesty? On the eighth day of the first lunar month, lead the camp to rise up?!"

Xiong Xiling naturally knew that the emperor in his mouth was the one, but he didn't expect that this silent brother, who had always looked like a gas bag, was actually the first of his people to take this step. He couldn't help admiring and worrying.

Several people next to him also knew that it was very important, and quickly advised, "Brother Dong, the uprising is not a small thing. If it is a failure, isn't it..."

Brother Dong waved his hand and stopped everyone from persuading again. He resolutely said, "Since you are in military uniform, you are a soldier. You should protect the family and the country for the righteousness of the nation!" How can we sit back and watch the country split, let foreigners run rampant, and slaughter our generation!"

"The country has changed its face, and the dynasties have changed since ancient times. If the Qing Dynasty is virtuous, how can it be overthrown?"

"My heart is strong. You brothers don't have to persuade me anymore, and then..." Brother Dong said this and suddenly blinked: "Have you ever seen the precedent of the emperor allowing the soldiers to be in danger?"

This sentence immediately made everyone understand that Xinhua must have a big move after being dormant for a year!

After hearing this, Xiong Xiling's eyes lit up. Suddenly, he got up and walked to Brother Dong and patted his shoulder and said, "Brother Dong, on the eighth day of August, Xiling will come to join you!"

"Yes, I'll go too!"

"Let's go together!" -

On the embankment of the Yangtze River in Hankou, Chen Ping held up the telescope and looked serious.

In the lens, two British cruisers and a French cruiser were quietly moored on the Yangtze River, and the sailors carried some large boxes into the cabin from time to time.

"All German, Italian and American warships have been withdrawn yesterday. It seems that Britain and France are also ready to leave today." As soon as Luo Feng finished speaking, wisps of black smoke began to emerge from the chimney of the three cruisers in the distance. After a while, the black smoke became thicker and thicker, and the hull began to slowly deflect.

It seems that he was right. Luo Feng couldn't help rubbing his hands proudly. He had been nesting here for more than a year. Looking at the northwest to kill, he suffocated his master.

"Don't be happy too early. It's not so easy for the British to give up the southeast!" Chen Ping handed the telescope to the guard and stared at Luo Feng, who rubbed his hands. "They are not the Eight Banners of the Qing Dynasty. Be careful!"

Luo Feng nodded quickly, but continued to shout, "Chief of staff, don't worry, the whole southeast, except for the navy and Hong Kong and Shanghai, where they focus on defense, there are only a few thousand troops. If we can't take it down, we should have hit each other!"

"Well, I'll buy you a piece of tofu for you later!" Chen Ping was very clear about the temper of the ace master. He was the kind of guy who was virtuous but had a heart to fight, so after kicking him away with a smile, he asked, "Where is the emperor's party?"

"This morning, Honolulu and Truc reported at the same time that they had received a radio signal from the visiting formation. They have arrived at the last stop in Chile and will leave for home in three days!"

Zhang Zuolin paused for a moment and shook his head: "But the communication signal is not good, and the order of action has not been received yet."

"It's okay, the emperor knows better than us." Chen Ping waved his hand and continued to ask, "Is the navy ready?"

Zhang Zuolin is very clear that the southeast is not a big problem. The first, the third and fifth main divisions, plus the seventh division are also returning from the already calm Borneo, and the two land regiments that have secretly entered Taiwan. If 100,000 people can't fight, it's true. I'm going to hit the wall.

The protagonist of the Battle of the Southeast is still the navy, because Britain and France will never be willing to give up the southeast, so whether the navy can contain the British and French fleet is the key, so it immediately reported: "The first and second fleets are ready to return the news, and the submarine brigade has also entered the ambush position. Commander Long guarantees that if Britain and France are true He is determined to intervene. He is sure to eat them!"

Hearing that the navy was ready, Chen Ping couldn't help taking a deep breath, and the emperor finally made up his mind not to delay the southeast!

In Britain, it was dragged in Boer, and it was no longer possible to transfer troops to the southeast from other places. Germany reached a friendly agreement with itself, which minimized the threat of France's large-scale military interference, so that after the two most worried two families lost their teeth at the same time, the United States, Italy, Austria and other countries would not come out of the limelight, and the land of China finally The best opportunity for unification!

For more than a year, in order to recover the southeast, the General Staff and the Prime Minister's Office have struggled, and now it is finally time to harvest!

"Report, the secret telegram of the emperor transferred from Honolulu!" When the correspondent had trotted all the way to the front and looked at the folder in his hand, everyone's hearts suddenly rose to their throats.

"Thunder." The communication staff spread out the folder and slowly said two words--

"Your excellency, your excellency."

In the government of the governor of Guangzhou, Lv Weitang gently walked to the window. After shouting twice and not responding, he sighed in the bottom of his heart. Just as he was about to turn around and leave, a withered big hand suddenly grabbed his arm.

He was suddenly shocked. After turning around, he saw that Li Hongzhang had opened his gradually astigmatism at some point. He saw that a flower had lost its luster like grass, and his mouth squirmed desperately, but he could not make a sound.

It was not until the maid next to him handed over the warm water to smooth the air, the representative of the Chinese Westernization Movement, but the old man who had reached the age of the wind and candle grew up and said, "Weitang, what's the matter?"

Seeing that Li Hongzhang was so ill, Lv Weitang didn't know how to say what to say. Since the pressure on foreigners in the north, the days in the south have not been good. Especially after Sheng Xuanhuai was arrested, the money bag in the south seemed to have been drained. No one knows what happened. Everyone only knows. Prices of rice are soaring every day, but silver seems to be scarcer by day.

At that time, everyone understood why Li Mo wanted to fight against a businessman. After losing Sheng Xuanhuai, he could no longer find anyone in the south who could manage so many industries in an orderly way. Perhaps even if there was, no one was willing to set this thunder!

Southeast mutual insurance has become a broken window paper. Students make trouble, and officials resign. They all have no intention to confront the north. In the final analysis, everyone is Chinese children. Why bother to take advantage of foreigners in the end!

Seeing that Lv Weitang didn't speak for a long time, Li Hongzhang had already seen it and knew that his life would not be long. He smiled and said, "Say it, I don't want to be an unknown ghost."

Hearing this, Lv Weitang felt more and more dizzy in front of his eyes. Finally, he had to brace himself and gritted his teeth and said, "Lord Zhongtang, the foreign sailors have begun to withdraw from the Yangtze River. Li Enfu has issued an ultimatum on behalf of Xinhua. If the Southeast Mutual Insurance is not cancelled within three days, If you don't surrender, just...!"

"Three days?! How could this happen? Didn't Britain promise me that I would definitely not let Li Mo cross the river?!"

Seeing Li Hongzhang excited again, Lv Weitang didn't know how to persuade him. He shook his head and said with a wry smile, "I'm not very clear. I only heard that Li Mo went to Europe this time and brought a new warship. Even the British were moved, and he also used this warship to reach an agreement with Germany. At present, all the German garrisons have been Withdraw from the southeast!"

"A warship? A warship was completely withdrawn by Germany?!" Li Hongzhang's eyes suddenly widened and seemed not to believe Lv Weitang's words. Beiyang was established by him in those years. Now the Qing Dynasty has not made people know more about warships than him, so he can't believe it. How many years has it been? Li Mo actually built a warship that moved Europe. Is it possible?

"A German counselor told me, and the British are also stepping up negotiations with Li Mo's representatives, hoping to get the technology of the warship."

"Iron armored warship, an iron armored warship can force Britain and France to do this! Li Mo, Li Mo, I'm still not as good as you!" Li Hongzhang looked at the ceiling and smiled bitterly.

He knew very well that after the Germans left, Austria-Hungary and Italy would certainly not want to muddy the water. Although France was aggressive, in fact, it only cared about Vietnam. In this case, there was only one British single tree left. How could it hold up the southeast!

"That's all, that's all!" Li Hongzhang waved to Lv Weitang: "You all go, let's go."

"Finally, take me to tell Lord Zhang."

"The Qing Dynasty is gone!"

(to be continued)