Chapter 167 How to treat each other

"If we don't meet the challenge decisively today, then China will no longer exist tomorrow! Respond to war with war, respond with guns and cannons. There is no other choice!"

There is no doubt that in just a few minutes, there is no need for speeches, no mobilizations, and no need for officials to communicate with the advisory councilors. The meeting was held for only ten minutes. In the applause, the declaration of war against the Japanese Empire submitted by the State Council and signed by His Majesty was approved by a full vote.

"It is said that this empire has conquered Asia and dominated Asia as its national policy. Today, it is said that people provocations and wars, China has to respond to the war. Its purpose is not only to defend China's ability to survive, but also to break the invasion ambitions of Japan, and safeguard international public law, justice, human welfare and world peace. China is a peace-loving nation. Last year, in order to maintain sacred neutrality, it had to defend neutrality by force. At the beginning, it was said that after suffering from actual punishment, it could finally reflect. However, he is obsessed with rape, and more brazenly says that he is going to start a lot, expands his war aggression, and exposes his insatiable ambition of aggression.

Eleven years ago, a man sneaked up on Fengdao. A year ago, after a man sneaked up on Lushun, now, he also sneaked up on my training ship, which shows one or two of the despicable people.

Any country that respects faith and righteousness must be unbearable. The Chinese Empire officially declared war on the Japanese Empire and announced that all treaties, agreements and contracts involving the relationship between China and Japan will be abolished.

At noon, in front of almost every city and county government axe bulletin board across the country, the police with the notice held a tin-rolled loudspeaker in one hand and read the declaration of war aloud.

In the last Sino-Japanese conflict, although the conflict caused tens of thousands of deaths and injuries on both sides, the two countries have never declared war. Now that the conflict has just started, the two countries have declared war, which really shocked many people. However, with the good news of the victory of the "Jingyuan" in the South China Sea, there is no chaos and fear in the market, and it is encouraged by the political axe. Next, the students of each school went out of the school at the first time and publicized the policy of declaring war on the market and the whole country during the war.

At this time, when young students are talking about patriotism and anti-Japanese war there, they always mention Jingyuan. In one night, Jingyuan has become a warship that everyone in China talks about.

"Jingyuan!"

In the British Embassy in Nanjing, Arthur? Fred lay in the data book and looked at the relevant information of Jingyuan. Compared with the ambassadors and counselors, he was more concerned about the future direction of China and Japan, and the possible impact of the final victory or defeat of the war on the Far East. As a naval admiral, he was more concerned about the battlecruiser Jingyuan!

And the telegram from London also constantly emphasizes one thing that Jingyuan must clarify all the information and materials of Jingyuan, especially the information of the South China Sea War.

"The Chinese Ministry of the Navy released the latest information that the Jingyuan was hit by at least 178 shells, including 27 large-caliber shells of more than 8 inches. This is the blow suffered by the Jingyuan in less than two hours!"

As soon as he entered the house, Arx showed the notice in his hand, and his face was full of incredible color.

"You should know that it is not a standard battleship, but a battlecruiser with "warship firepower and cruiser mobility". Although it is a battlecruiser with a displacement of about 20,000 tons, we all know that his armor is not thick. God knows how he survived.

"Excellent captive armor, excellent design and good damage pipe make it tenacious."

Arthur answered Alx's question with one sentence, and then he carefully looked at the information released by the Chinese Ministry of the Navy. Just looking at this simple news announcement, he could imagine what it would be like to appear in Jingyuan.

Maybe it has become a pile of junk for a long time.

"I dare to say that this time, Jingyuan will be repaired in the dock for at least half a year!"

Arks said confidently, and then he pointed to the landing photo of Jingyuan on the table.

"It may be that Jingyuan has been re-entered like this!"

"I don't care about this problem!"

Put down the pen in his hand, Arthur looked at Alx and said seriously.

"Now I only care that the Chinese don't agree with us on the Zhiyuan ship. Maybe we can witness how the Zhiyuan ship exerts its power in future naval battles!"

When mentioning "power", he even deliberately raised his voice. Now the military officers of various countries in China have applied to enter the Chinese navy as observers, and almost everyone has targeted Zhiyuan, but no one has chosen Jingyuan. After all, no one knows whether Jingyuan can catch up with the next naval battle now.

"You and I know now that there are a group of novices on the Jingyuan ship. They just picked up the ship, but they hit Ishi Jian in the sixth round of volley, and sank it in the 19th round. How much do we know about Jingyuan ship now?"

After picking up the cigarette next to the ashtray and taking a deep sip, Arkes continued.

"Jingyuan is the final improvement of Zhiyuan, which is more mature than Zhiyuan. After serving, Zhiyuan encountered many problems, and Jingyuan seems to have solved these problems. He uses a 13.5-inch naval gun produced by Bethlehem in the United States, the largest naval gun in the world, and uses the legal system. According to the analysis of the intelligence we have so far, the new soft steel armor-piercing bullets, the reason why Ishimi was sunk is because of this armor-piercing shell, and his armor is thicker than we think. In addition, his speed may be between 25 knots and 27 knots, which is the information we have at present!"

"It should also be included that the Jingyuan also has more advanced observation and ranging equipment. The Chinese have purchased a lot of advanced equipment from us and the Germans and even equipment in the experimental stage, and introduced patents. These equipment should have been applied by its navy and modified from the Chinese Second Fleet. Look, they prefer to install a variety of equipment to improve the viewing ability of warships. Advanced viewing equipment should be the main reason why they won this disparity naval battle!"

When Arthur was making a supplement for Alex, he wrote down these points on the paper with a pencil.

If the birth of Zhiyuan shocked the world's naval community, and now Arthur and Arcs will never doubt that tomorrow, when Europe wakes up from a waking dream, they will be stunned by the performance of Jingyuan. At that time, Jingyuan built by the Chinese will become the classic of all warships in the world. Fan, even enough to make the world's navies feel inferior and even afraid when facing Jingyuan.

"Now Jingyuan has used this naval battle to prove to the world that any former Zhiyuan ship is just a target in front of him! Perhaps, this is what Chinese people often say if they don't sing, it's amazing!"

Arthur said something very fairly, then twisted the pen and cap in his hand, and continued to express his opinion.

"To be honest, I think Chinese people are too lucky! Two years ago, the Italian naval community proposed to build a full main gun warship, and then we proposed a "perfect cruiser". As a result, the Chinese successfully combined the advantages of these two warships. Moreover, in this naval battle, good luck really accompanied the Chinese. This time, the "good luck Dongxiang" will probably meet the opponent, but The Chinese people seem to occupy technology and even enjoy a certain number of advantages, but in fact, the advantage of the joint fleet is greater. The number of officers in the Chinese navy is insufficient, and the training time of soldiers is short, but the joint fleet is different. Many of their non-commissioned officers have even trained for more than ten years and have experienced the test of the sea battle of Japan.

Arks nodded, luck, luck in the war to a certain proportion, sometimes even two disparate opponents encounter, luck can even play the meaning of determining the surname, just like this naval battle, in the view of Arcs, luck is on the side of the Chinese.

"Well, but I think maybe the Chinese will have better luck. You know, the torpedo launched by the Hairong before it was sunk even hit the tail rudder of the Fuji. Such good luck is rare in the history of world naval warfare!"

Arcs said seriously.

"You know, in addition to the number of warships, artillery and technology, luck often plays a certain role in naval battles. If the luck of the Chinese people can be maintained, I think what politicians in London should consider now is how Britain should coordinate the compensation that needs to be paid in the future!"

Arx's words were just that Arthur laughed. Although Arthur did not have much confidence that the Japanese navy would defeat the Chinese navy, he would not believe that the Chinese navy could defeat the powerful joint fleet.

"Alx, you know, it's a joint fleet that defeated the joint fleet of the Russian navy!"

"luck!"

Arx spit out two words seriously.

"I once said that in the sea battle, the luck of the joint fleet is better than that of the Russians! Therefore, they won a very light power, but this time, to be honest, if Zhiyuan can play at the same level as Jingyuan and have the same luck as it, then it is difficult for the joint fleet to win!"

He paused, and Arkes stressed seriously.

"You should know that for the Chinese people, they don't have many choices. It can be said that winning the naval battle is the only way for them to win. In any case, they must win. Only when they win can they achieve their goals. No matter who wins the naval battle between their two countries, It is equivalent to winning the war, especially for the Chinese, as long as they win the naval battle, they can even win the war without launching a land war that costs a huge amount of military money.

Arcs, who was not good at arguing, looked a little messy at this time, and then he further emphasized.

"Whether for China or Japan, these two close neighbors, like Britain and France in the past, or Britain and Germany now, no matter who wins the war, will try their best to blackmail each other until the last drop of oil is squeezed out. Only in this way can It can weaken the opponent!"

"Just like the Franco-Prussian War?"

Arthur's answer made Arcs nod.

"It may even be more ruthless than Bismarck's request during the Franco-Prussian War. If he wins, they will claim at least 5 billion yuan in compensation for his greed! That is, it is equivalent to the five-year fiscal expenditure of China's finance. Ten years ago, didn't I claim 250 million taels? That's equivalent to the fiscal revenue of the Qing Dynasty for four and a half years.

Greedy!

Greed is the world's biggest impression of Japan. Before the Qing Dynasty War ten years ago, the Qing Dynasty only paid two war reparations, one was the Anglo-Qing War, and the other was the Anglo-French War against the Qing Dynasty. The two wars paid war compensation and compensated merchants for losses, which did not exceed 34 million taels of silver, and said Ben asked for 250 million taels of silver in a war.

"What if the Chinese won? How much compensation will the Chinese demand from Japan?

Arthur's rhetorical question only stunned Alex. He was stunned for a long time, and finally just muttered.

"This problem depends on how the emperors and ministers in China view this issue."

"...It is the original, and it is my greed that has opened the forethe great powers to extort China!"

In the government building of the palace, facing the ministers of the cabinet, Chen Moran answered the "future question" for the first time, just because of Liang Dunyan's request to "use the South China Sea to win Yuwei and convey the will to make peace to Japan through the United States".

He looked straight at Liang Dunyan with a straight face. Chen Moran's best thing to say at this time is probably the soft egg of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. As soon as the navy won a battle, he actually wanted to take the opportunity to make peace. He didn't consider a real problem at all. Is there any benefit for China now peace? Now it's not peace at all. Timing.

"It's true that it's our close neighbor, but ten years ago, this close neighbor didn't let us go easily. We must win this battle. As long as we win the naval battle, the victory will belong to us. The battle in the South China Sea has played our self-confidence, so we should continue to fight with the Japanese. Go straight to the saying that I am soft, and I accept our conditions, if possible!"

The words paused, and Chen Moran raised his eyebrows.

"Liang Qing, don't you want to negotiate with yourself in the Chunfan Tower in Maguan?"

As soon as this sentence came out, the atmosphere in the conference room changed, and everyone was silent. No one wanted to say anything more. After all, to a large extent, this battle is not just a conflict between two countries. This battle has a different meaning for China. This is China's battle of shame. The shame of washing the snow for ten years!

Ten years ago, it was called the First Sino-Japanese War. Due to the [[***] of the Qing Dynasty and the backwardness of the Qing Dynasty, the seemingly powerful China was defeated by the "Dongyi Small Country" of the "Three Islands". The cession of Taiwan and Penghu Islands, the compensation of 200 million taels of silver, the redemption of tens of millions of taels of Liaoning, Shashi, Yucheng, Suzhou, Hangzhou and other trade ports, and the addition of the Japanese concession... This treaty records the humiliation of the Chinese nation, like a boulder in their hearts, making everyone breathless.

If anyone dares to say anything else, even if no one in this room will blame anything, but in case it spreads to the outside world, I'm afraid it will only be regarded as a traitor by the people, and will only be rejected by the people, and even the whole family will be humiliated.

"So..."

Guan Mingtang, who knew that he was unable to save everything, swallowed his ideas. In his original intention, perhaps, taking the opportunity to make peace is the most compromise choice, and even the most favorable choice for China. After all, for China now, it must not be a powerful country, a might threaten the United Kingdom, the United States and other powers. The identity of special interests in Asia appears.

However, His Majesty's decision and the inevitability of the future made him understand that there are not many choices for China. The so-called special interests of all countries in Asia are basically the interests of all countries in China. With China's step by step, conflicts with other countries are inevitable, just a year or two in advance.

"Your Majesty, in this case, we must always set the most basic peace conditions, so that we can grasp the bottom line and adjust our attitude towards the mediation of various countries in the future according to the progress of the war."

Hmm!

Finally, now there is an opinion on the construction surname! Nodding with satisfaction, Chen Moran looked at Guan Mingtang, and his face softened a lot.

"A few questions, how much compensation did we pay in the First Sino-Japanese War, including interest! There is also Gengzi's compensation. How much did we pay to Japan? Including the payment of compensation, how much additional interest do we need to bear?

Several questions in succession only stunned everyone, and Liang Dunyan, who had been reprimanded by His Majesty for proposing peace, almost immediately answered His Majesty's question.

"Your Majesty, reparations for the First Sino-Japanese War. The 200 million taels of military expenses stipulated in the Treaty of Shimonoseki will be paid in eight times, the first 50 million taels will be paid within 6 months after the approval, the second 50 million taels will be paid within 12 months after the approval, and the rest will be paid six times, which will be paid every year from the second year. The treaty also stipulates that "after the first indemnity is paid, the unpaid amount shall be increased by five out of interest per hundred per year." "If it is from the time of the treaty ratification of the swap, it can be fully repaid within three years, except for the interest paid or two and a half years, or less than two and a half years, and the balance is still interest-free." The treaty also stipulates that before the first and second compensations are paid, the army will be temporarily stationed in Weihaiwei, Shandong Province. China pays its military expenses of 500,000 taels a year. In order to raise and pay the reparations of Japanese capital, and also for the consideration of exempting interest and withdrawing the army stationed in Weihai as soon as possible, the financially troubled Qing Zheng Axe was forced to conclude Russian-French loans, Anglo-German loans and Anglo-German loan contracts and Anglo-German loan contracts in 1895, 1896 and 1898, with a total of 300 million taels of debt. According to the balance sheet of principal and interest approved at that time, China has to repay the principal and interest for a total of 741578255 taels.

(to be continued)