Chapter 292 Duel, Second Navy!

"Guangzhou riots?"

Liang Qichao listened to the news brought by Kang Guangren in a daze, and he was a little stupid.

How is this possible?

Before in Hong Kong, he also contacted some people of the Xingzhong Association, but at that time, he was deeply influenced by Kang Youwei and felt that those who engage in republicanism were unrealistic. Especially when the domestic people were stupid, rash republicaning would only aggravate turbulence and division, and be used by those who had intentions.

On the one hand, it is to protect the emperor and establish a constitution, and on the other hand, it is to overthrow the self-reliant republic of the Qing Dynasty. Everyone's ideas are incompatible, so Liang Qichao went further and further with those republican factions. But it was because he knew that after knowing it for a period of time that he felt strange. You know, those people in Xingzhonghui raised an uprising two years ago. Because the failure ended hastily, many people were exiled overseas. How could they suddenly rise again when that failure was still vivid?

And according to Kang Guangren's description, the scale should be not small. Half of Guangzhou City is about to be occupied, with one or two thousand people. This is not a small number! Where did they get the guns in such a short time? Where did so much money come from?!

Kang Youwei is even more anxious, because he knows better than anyone that in the eyes of the court, the important surnames in the Liangguang region are much larger than that of Taiwan, so the imperial court will never sit back and watch Guangzhou's reading power. It will definitely send a large army to strangle, which will certainly delay the matter of Taiwan, and the French will definitely take this opportunity to increase their access to Taiwan. Bay's attack, if this situation really occurs, the one who has been disappearing after Jiawu, will the old Buddha who did not make a sound come forward to do politics again?!

Thinking of this, he couldn't sit still. After looking at Liang Qichao, he sighed and hurried out with his brother and Tan Sitong.

Kang Youwei guessed it well. The Guangzhou Uprising, which caught people off guard, completely disrupted Emperor Guangxu's determination to resist the law and protect Taiwan. Guang Yong, who was originally going to Taiwan, had to be sent to destroy the revolutionaries first, and the French took the opportunity to increase their attack on Penghu.

On August 25, after several days of shelling, Gigote, the commander of the French Far East Fleet, announced the occupation of Penghu. In the same way, the French ship Basger and Lion arrived in Changhua. This time, the French learned the lesson of tenacious resistance in Keelung during the Sino-French war, shelled Changhua, which had weak defenses, and also learned from the method of the Pacific Fleet to deal with the Japanese, and took high-intensity and intensive artillery preparations for a day and one night of shelling. After that, the final 300 landing troops occupied Changhua with little effort!

When the news reached Yanjing, the whole Forbidden City seemed to have exploded, and Cixi was even more "angry", angrily scolding Emperor Guangxu for not thinking about diligent politics, being bewitched by villains, and being close to the Weixin faction, so that the people could not make a living, so that something in Guangzhou happened.

At the same time, Li Hongzhang was invited to come out of the mountain again, appointed him as the governor of Guangzhou, and transferred 20,000 troops from Liangguang, Fujian, Zhejiang and Huguang, and ordered him to stabilize Guangzhou to recover the revolutionaries.

At this time, the empress party led by Sun Yuwen advocated the surrender policy, advocated agreeing to France's request, leased Taiwan and Penghu to France to avoid war, and made every effort to encircle and suppress the revolutionaries in Guangzhou. The news immediately caused an uproar. Weng Tongsu, Kang Youwei and others took this opportunity to attack and vote. The policy of reduction, on the grounds that Taiwan is an important gateway to the coast of the Qing Dynasty, means that it must be guaranteed.

The two parties in dispute made Emperor Guangxu even more like a needle, and finally had to agree to send Sun Yuwen to negotiate with France.

On August 28, Sun Yuwen and the French Ambassador to China launched negotiations on the Taiwan issue. The French were pressing forward step by step, and there was no way to fight back on the southeast coast. Under the internal and external troubles of the Revolutionary Party in Guangzhou, there were almost no requitant conditions for the negotiations.

After getting the news that the riots in Guangzhou began to spread, the French ambassador to China was more arrogant, saying that if it could not lease Taiwan Peng, France would reserve the right to take progress on the southeast coast. This statement made the Qing court sweat with fear.

At this time, Taiwan has also reached the most critical moment. Tang Jingsong, the governor, was even more anxious to send a telegram to Yanjing, asking for the heroes in the sea, whether they are sea pirates or horse thieves, those who can recapture the lost land, give rewards and protect their land; those who can donate guns to help others make contributions, and those who can be rewarded with the same.

However, the Qingzheng axe, who had decided to rent Taiwan, was indifferent, and also returned to reprimand him, saying: "Although Taiwan is heavy, it is lighter than the southeast coast. If the enemy takes advantage of the victory to attack the southeast, half of the Qing Dynasty will not be guaranteed. Taiwan is alone overseas, and it can't stay for a long time..., so you can't forget all kinds of troubles in the past because of righteous indignation.

After receiving the reply, Tang Jingsong was completely disappointed and knew that the court was going to give up Taiwan and France, but he was still unwilling to give up, and was ready to send troops to help Changhua, and was also ready to organize ships to retake Penghu. But what he didn't expect was that Yao Jinfan, the alternate county commerce bureau, whom he reused, rolled away the guns and silver after learning that the court was going to rent Taiwan.

At the same time, a battalion of soldiers who went to support Changhua were captured by the French without even firing a gun. Jigot, the commander of the French Far East Fleet, was even more energetic and prepared to personally lead three cruisers to Keelung Harbor to avenge the tragic defeat in Lion Ridge more than a decade ago.

The current situation of no money and no soldiers made Tang Jingsong completely desperate, but he did not know that at this critical moment, a group of local gentry suddenly came to the Longshan Temple in Taipei.

In the backyard of the once quiet temple, there have been several tables of eight immortals. The fragrant fruits and vegetables on the table are attractive, but no one has the heart to take a look, and all of them are concentrated on the middle.

Qiu Fengjia was dressed in black, looked serious, and slowly swept over the crowd.

"Gentlemen, this is a critical moment when I am in trouble in Taiwan. Zhong Yu doesn't want to say anything nonsense. I have a piece of news to tell you first." Qiu Fengjia slowly took out a telegram from his pocket and said, "Two days ago, I got a call from my friend in Beijing, and the court was ready to rent Tai Peng to the French!"

"What!"

"Why is the court like this?"

"Yes! Taiwan has been a southeast barrier since ancient times. How could the imperial court do this!"

"Damn it!"

A word immediately made the gentry and celebrities from all over Taiwan here make a noise. Everyone did not doubt Qiu Fengjia's words. From returning to Taiwan for the exam, to teaching and educating people, to the recent construction of the Taiwan Railway to benefit the countryside, and repeatedly funded to help poor students. It can be said that Qiu Fengjia's reputation in Taiwan at this moment is even better than that of the governor Tang Jing. It's still high.

Everyone began to denounce the court's countermeasures one after another. Some people said that they should immediately organize civil groups and vow to protect the platform to death. More people stopped and looked at Qiu Fengjia standing in the center. They knew that since he gathered everyone today, he must have a plan.

"Brother Zhongchang might as well say it directly. Calling me to come here today is to raise funds or to organize civil groups. As long as you say a word, everyone will follow you!" In anger, someone immediately raised his hand and took the lead in asking.

Qiu Fengjia glanced at everyone and shook his head: "To tell you the truth, I have learned from the governor Lord Tang that Penghu has been lost, and Lord Liu Yongfu and the generals of the two flags have returned to the sea."

"In addition, the Fuzhou Marine Division was also captured by the French. After hearing the news, the Nanyang Marine Division also returned to Shanghai and did not dare to fight again. The Revolutionary Party uprising broke out in Guangzhou. The court had no time to care about Taiwan at all, and no more soldiers could be sent."

"In the middle of the night yesterday, Yao Jinfan took away hundreds of thousands of taels of silver you raised and fled to Fujian, and the French have sent three or four ironclad ships to the north along Changhua. In another two days, they can reach Keelung. More than ten years ago, the Lion Ridge will reappear!"

One by one, from Qiu Fengjia's mouth, shocked everyone's face crooked like earth, especially when they heard that there was no foreign aid on their side, but the French army was taking a detour to Keelung Taipei, and they had no idea.

Civil groups can be formed and funds can be raised, but without foreign aid, where can guns and ammunition be purchased? This is not more than a dozen years ago. The French warship bombarded Changhua for a day and a night, causing nearly a thousand casualties, and the sent reinforcements were disarmed without firing a single shot. How can they fight?

"The court has given up Taiwan, and the intention of leasing has been decided. It's really infuriating to ignore our millions of people in Taiwan!" Qiu Fengjia's voice slowed down: "In fact, if I don't say it, I'm afraid everyone can guess that it is even more difficult for Taiwan to protect itself at this time. In order not to let those foreigners take Taiwan and let my people in Taiwan be enslaved for generations, I have contacted the Pacific Army stationed in Ryukyu and asked them to intervene!"

"Pacific Army!"

"Is it the young master? The one who just defeated Japan?

"Yes, I heard that dozens of Japanese warships were sunk in one breath, forcing me to surrender again."

"But the Pacific Army and the French are both foreigners. If they come, what's the difference between them and the French?"

"Nonsense, when will the Pacific Army be a foreigner! From generals to soldiers, they are all my Chinese children. The young master's father is also the former commander-in-chief of the Jinzhou Green Battalion!"

"Yes! I just came back from Ryukyu a few days ago, and they called me. In my opinion, it's better for us to write a joint letter and invite the young master to settle in Taiwan.

"It's easy to come to Taiwan, but they are really willing to help us deal with French ships, and they are not afraid of the French retaliation?"

Discussion, the voice of surprise filled his ears with the wind. Hearing these words, Qiu Fengjia slightly hooked the corners of his mouth. Although there were still a few objections, most people did not seem to have much resistance, so they immediately raised their hands and said, "Nowadays, I can also tell you that the Taiwan Railway is actually the Li Shao. In order to improve the difficulties of traveling in Taiwan, I was asked to build it with private funds.

"This is...really!"

In the face of doubts, Qiu Fengjia nodded. With his movements, the seat seemed to explode. Everyone opened their mouths wide and couldn't believe that this railway, which was related to millions of Taiwanese, was actually funded by others!

"Now!" Qiu Fengjia raised his voice: "Sendary warships of the Pacific Fleet have arrived outside Keelung Port. They will help us block the French, but..."

"In order to prevent the French from finding an excuse to continue to coerce the coast of the Qing Dynasty and kill our Chinese children, Master Li said that his army would not enter Taiwan for the time being. He hoped that we could manage Taiwan by ourselves."

"Manage Taiwan by yourself?!"

The surprise sound once again filled the sky above the whole temple--

Off the coast of Keelung, when Jigot arrived with three armored cruisers and a troop carrier, he jumped up, because he found that there were already four battleships of the Pacific Fleet on the opposite side!

"Damn it, what are they doing here?"

As Ji Rushan stepped on the Baya deck with snow-white gloves and smiled, the shocked Jigot quickly got the answer.

On the deck, dozens of French [***] officials stood solemnly, and the white navy uniforms looked neat and neat in the sun. Ji Rushan's heart was slightly, which was worthy of being the second largest naval power in the world. At least this strict military appearance was much better than that of Russia and the later days.

"Mr. Jigot." Ji Rushan walked to Jigot with a smile, shook hands and saluted and said, "I'm very sorry, my Duke doesn't want the Far East equilibrium to be broken, so he sent me here to wait for you. I hope you can leave immediately."

"Leave!" Jigot glanced at the already prepared in the distance. The muzzle was aimed at the four battleships here, and sneered, "Huh, do you want to challenge my fleet?"

"I'm sorry, sir. I'm a soldier and can't answer your question. I got the order at all costs! Ensure the balance of Taiwan!"

"At all costs!" The corners of Gigot's eyes twitched: "Do you want to declare war?"

"I don't want to." Ji Rushan's smile was even stronger: "But I will carry out the order seriously!"

Gigot people are about to explode. What's the matter? I worked hard to get Penghu, and I was about to take Taiwan and become the hero of the whole country. Why did I suddenly meet the Pacific Fleet at this time?

And are these yellow monkeys crazy? Don't they know whose road they are blocking? I'm not a Russian idiot, nor am I inexperienced. This is a French warship, a squadron sent from the world's second most powerful fleet!

"General Ji, I think you have made a wrong choice. You are not facing a ridiculous Russian or a dwarf. You are a challenge to the world's Second Navy and an insult to France! I want to protest, and I won't retreat! No one can resist my fleet. I want to tell you that Caesar's descendants will not lose to you yellow-skinned pagans!"

"Yellow-skinned pagans!" Ji Rushan sucked his nose and muttered softly. His eyes flashed by. Suddenly, he slowly took off his white gloves in front of everyone and smiled: "Mr. Jigot, please pay attention to your words."

"Since you don't want to withdraw your troops and insult me and my comrades-in-arms, we might as well in our own private names, according to the European tradition..." Ji Rushan lightly threw his gloves on the chart table in front of him.

"Dal"

"D duel!"

"In private name!"

Not to mention Jigot, the whole Baya was silent. Looking at the white gloves, everyone stamped their feet in their hearts and scolded, bringing four battleships to fight against three cruisers. This is the duel etiquette of the Far East barbarians?!

Don't declare war, play a private duel? When did they worship European traditions so much?!

Just as the officials were about to curse, the four battleships in the distance suddenly slowly raised their muzzles, and the reflected light under the sun instantly stung the eyes of all the French sailors.

A drop of sweat finally oozed from Jigot's forehead and dripped on the deck, piece by piece

(to be continued)