Part 4 Chapter 12: The Voice of Restoration

Just when everyone thought that Chen Congyun would react strongly, Chen Congyun calmly accepted the order of a temporary ceasefire. When the imperial edict reached Jiulian City, a heavy snow covered the northern country into a white world.

"Three-eyed peach feathers and Prince Shaobao are all worthless things." In private, Chen Congyun said with a smile to his subordinates.

"The three million taels of ounces allocated by the Ministry of Revenue, this time it was very timely." Ouyang Quan held the small notebook next to him, squinted his eyes and settled the accounts.

Hu Xueyan slapped his mouth and hummed twice. After taking the abacus and making a slam, he pushed the abacus forward and said, "The court is too stingy. Not to mention this battle, the ammunition consumption alone is a 3 million yuan. According to me, the Ministry of Revenue said that he would have to give another five million taels, otherwise the hole would not be filled."

Chen Congyun sighed slightly, "The old man said many times that I leaned against the emperor, and it seems that this time I couldn't hold back. News in the capital said that the emperor meant to allocate 6 million taels to the new army. The old man said he had no money all day long, and he took out 3 million to be forced to get over it."

"I don't know where the idle man from Nanshan came out. A new article about military pay has not been allocated by the Ministry of Revenue. Scholars from all provinces in the capital will not agree. Xingsun called and said that the doorstep of Weng Tonghe's Minister of Revenue has been lively recently than Caishikou, and many scholars go to make trouble every day." Hu Xueyan still looked sad and looked sad, without any sign of being funny.

"Imperial Party, the Hou Party, this is the current situation in China." Tang Shaoyi, who had not spoken much, actually said something angrily, then lowered his head and placed his hands on the brazier without saying anything. Chen Congyun looked at Tang Shaoyi in surprise. This guy was always taciturn. What's wrong with today? It smells a bit like an angry young man!

Ouyang Quan threw a new newspaper from half a month ago on the table, pointed to the article in it and said with a smile: "This idle man in Nanshan is so brave. Look at how he wrote it. The failure of Beiyang is Li Hongzhang's failure and the failure of the Westernization faction. If China wants to be prosperous and strong, it is not enough to rely solely on the Westernization behavior of officials under the state mechanism. Through the development history of the new army, we can compare it. We are also armed with the equipment of foreigners. Why can the new army win battles while Beiyang defeated? The root cause is that Chen Congyun is in Vietnam and Jiangsu, and his army is promoting the practice of introducing the Western model in a comprehensive way. Vietnam's military factories, steel factories, and railways adopt the model of cooperation with foreigners, and the same is true for Jiangsu's civilian enterprises. From this we can see that the most urgent task of future development of a country and strengthening a military force is to change. Only change can lead to a way out."

Chen Congyun frowned and said in a low voice: "This idle man in Nanshan is simply harming me."

"He is right. If there is no change, China will be over. The new army won a hundred battles, which is not enough for those prodigal sons to ruin. Seeing that our army was about to cross the Yalu River, the imperial court issued an imperial edict, we had to stop obediently. Isn't this giving the Japanese a chance to breathe? Lord Shen, we have to continue fighting this battle. We can't just let it go. The orders of the king outside the country are still unbearable." Tang Shaoyi rushed up suddenly, his face turned red, and he pointed to the outsider's door and said, "Mr. Shen, you can go out and see. In this cold weather, the white flour, chicken, duck, fish and meat that the people are reluctant to eat, one by one, and one by one, and one by one, to the military camp. Why? Didn't we avenge the new army?"

Chen Congyun looked at Tang Shaoyi with a smile and said nothing. Hu Xueyan came over and patted Tang Shaoyi on the shoulder and said, "Shaochuan, don't be excited."

Chen Congyun walked over and looked at Tang Shaoyi meaningfully and said, "Carry it out, go on the road tomorrow and go back to Tianjin." After Chen Congyun said that, he turned around and left the room, rushed to another yard and came over.

The guards at the door stood at attention and opened the door for Chen Congyun. Chen Congyun stepped in, and there was a lot of lively inside. Keze, Li Yaozu, Hu Yu, Cao Yi and other military generals were all staying inside.

"All are here? Let's start." Chen Congyun sat down in the middle, and the generals standing in two rows sat down.

"Fifth, the sixth two divisions have all been sent out. According to the requirements of the military throne, each person has a white cloak, the related mules, horses, and forage, and the guide has also been found. Fighting in a climate of minus 40°, our army will face the most severe test. Most of the new troops are from the south, and all difficulties must be taken into account in advance." Zhao Xinglong, the director of the Intelligence Department, stood up and looked at Chen Congyun. After seeing Chen Congyun nodded with satisfaction, he sat back in his position. Keze stood up and walked to the big map hanging on the middle wall. He held a pole in his hand and pointed to the map:

"The General Staff plan to adopt the fifth and sixth divisions to advance lightly, take Pyongyang, and then take the opportunity to go down to Seoul. Considering the climate and supply difficulties, the worst plan is to attack Pyongyang and retreat along the Datong River after being hit. Now the troops have been hidden and approached thirty miles away from the Datong River line and are ready for all attacks."

Chen Congyun waited for Ke Ze to finish speaking, then looked at Li Yaozu and the other three and said, "Whether you can take Pyongyang will directly have a huge impact on the future negotiation results. Remember, after taking Pyongyang, I will hold on the spot, but I must make a big move to continue to move south with great fanfare. Second, the action must be fast. Although the Japanese army is afraid of being beaten, they are hiding along the Datong River. There are still 10,000 Japanese troops in Pyongyang City, so don't be careless."

"Please rest assured to the military officer!"

"Okay, the mission has been assigned, so you can go back to the army as soon as possible. In 10 days, I will probably be able to arrive in Tianjin. At that time, I hope to see the good news you sent back from Pyongyang."

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On the eve of the Spring Festival in 1895, the ship that Chen Congyun took docked at the pier in Tianjin. In addition to Sheng Xuanhuai, there were also Li Hongzhang's confidants such as Zhang Peilun and Yang Shixiang.

"Zi Go!" When he was still on the side of the ship, Chen Congyun saw Sheng Xuanhuai's shaking arms.

"Brother!" Chen Congyun stepped down, rushed forward, and held Sheng Xuanhuai's hand tightly.

In the back house of the Governor General of Zhili, in Li Hongzhang's study, the charcoal fire was red and warm in three large braziers. After not seeing each other for several months, Li Hongzhang seemed to have grown much older.

When Li Hongzhang saw Chen Congyun, an excitement flashed in his eyes. After greeting Chen Congyun, he said with a wry smile: "Zi Gui, you have asked me a problem. The 30,000 army went south quietly. When the telegram to report the victory came to me yesterday, I was shocked."

Chen Congyun pondered for a while and whispered: "Zhongtang, Congyun's move is helpless. At present, Qingliu, the court, is trying to attack the Lord with the excuse of defeat in Beiyang. For the sake of the Lord, he must obtain a certain advantageous position at the negotiating table in order to maintain the position of the leader of the Lord's border minister. Congyun will submit a memorial to the court. Congyun will bear the great sin alone. I want everyone to know that Chen Congyun is from Beiyang."

Li Hongzhang said with a stern face and said slightly, "I'm confused, can I not know what you think? I've handed over to the empress dowager early this morning, and the apology was also handed over. On the side of the Three Kingdoms Ministers, I also greeted him, saying that the Japanese would fight undeclare, and whether we would fight a whole group without announcing a ceasefire? Now the Three Kingdoms Ministers are just talking, and the court is scared, and I'm helpless." Li Hongzhang said this, which is equivalent to treating Chen Congyun completely as his own person.

"Zhongtang, although Britain and the United States are the most fierce, they will not be too tough. However, the Russians have been trying to plan for our Northeast and expand their interests in the Far East. Now, as long as Lord Zhongtang is a little tougher to the Russians, let Britain and the United States know that we will not compromise with the Russians, this matter is no big deal. What Congyun is worried about is not the matter of peace talks, but how should we go about the development path of Beiyang after the ceasefire between China and Japan."

Li Hongzhang's face became solemn, and he looked at Chen Congyun's expression and said in a low voice: "What do you have to say it, just say it."

Chen Congyun pondered for a while, but still looked up suddenly, and said with a deep look: "Reform, only reform and reform can be the foundation for saving the country."

Li Hongzhang remained silent...

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Nanshan Yiren posted another new article titled "Where is the path to China today?"

Unlike the simple criticism of current affairs in the previous article, this article is almost a declaration of reform. Nanshan idlers proposed a series of reform measures, abolishing sensitive words such as imperial examinations and constitutional formulation have become the mainstream tone of the article. In summary, the overall idea is "People can do their best to their talents, the earth can do their best to their uses, and the goods can flow freely."

This article by the idle man in Nanshan is like a meteorite falling from the calm water surface, causing huge waves to be set off in the hearts of scholars all over the world.

The endless debate began, and the debate was mainly divided into two factions, each with its own vests in the newspapers and refuted each other. One faction was a supporter of the idle people in Nanshan, advocating a thorough reform and reform, and learning from the West in an all-round way. The other faction was heartbroken and opposed, emphasizing that the laws of the ancestors could not be changed, especially the abolition of the imperial examination, which caused many people to live.

Inside the Guangdong Association Hall in Shanghai.

While a young man was writing hard at his desk, a handsome young man came in at the door. After entering, the person who came opened his arms and said, "Yixian, haha! I guess you are the idle man in Nanshan."

"Haodong, why are you? When did you come back from Honolulu?"

Yes, Nanshan Immortal is the pioneer of the Chinese revolution in history, the great Mr. Sun. (ps: I don’t know if I will be ignored by river crabs by writing this way. I will write it according to my own ideas. River crabs are river crabs, who will make some soy sauce?)

"Hurry up, sit down and have some water."

Lu Haodong put down his luggage with a smile, took the cup and didn't rush to drink it. Instead, he took out a newspaper and handed it to Mr. Sun and said, "Yixian, don't rush to greet me, first take a look at the new Express special issue that just came out today."

Mr. Sun took the newspaper and opened it. His eyes lit up. He stared at the newspaper for a long time. After reading it, he was still unsatisfied. He slowly put the newspaper on the table and said, "Thirty fames, dust and soil, eight thousand miles of clouds and moon. Chen Congyun resisted the order and sent troops to attack Pyongyang and eliminated three thousand enemies. Are you not afraid of becoming the second Yue Wumu?"

The two sighed softly at the same time and fell silent. After a while, Mr. Sun grabbed the manuscript on the table and tore it to pieces and said, "I still have the heart to argue with these boring literati. It's so childish and ridiculous. Look at how Chen Congyun told British reporters that sending troops to Pyongyang is to seek greater living space for the Chinese nation. North Korea is China's lifeline in the Far East, and Vietnam and other neighboring countries are barriers to southwest China. Even if they are torn to pieces, they will still be taken down."

"If there is the way out for the rise of China today, reform and reform are the fundamental strategy. China today has been lagging behind the West for more than a hundred years, and time is endless." The two of them thought about what Chen Congyun said in the newspaper, and were in great great mood for a moment.

"Haodong, what kind of pattern do you think of Chen Congyun's change? You must know that as a key figure in reversing the Sino-Japanese War of 1894-1895, his influence was decisive."

"I don't know this anymore, I should ask him to know."

"Yes, I'm fine. I'll pack up now and go north to Tianjin."

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In another room in the Guangdong Association Hall, a man with a beard gently put down the newspaper in his hand, and a young man opposite was staring at his expression.

"Zhuo Ru, pack up and leave for Tianjin."

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Chapter completed!