Beiyang Dream

August 1894, 7, night.

North Korea, Jinnampo Commercial Port, inside the reception room of the British Consulate General in North Korea.

He was holding a coffee cup, sitting face-to-face with the British Consul General in North Korea, Jattomar. The two had been exchanging pleasantries for quite a while, talking about all sorts of trivial and pointless things.

At that moment, a consulate secretary walked in, holding a telegram, and handed it to Gyaltsen.

Jia Tuoma took it and glanced at it, then looked up at Chang and said solemnly, "General Chang, this is a secret telegram from the Tianjin Consulate."

He paused, then said, "Beitang Fort has been captured by the 4th Brigade of the Japanese 2nd Division."

His hand, which was holding the coffee cup, didn't move, and his face remained expressionless, as if he hadn't heard anything.

Gyaltsen continued, "The two battalions of Ren soldiers guarding the fort collapsed at the first contact, and couldn't even hold out for two hours..."

After he finished speaking, he looked intently at Chang.

But Chang didn't react at all; he just held his coffee cup and sipped it intermittently.

After waiting a while, seeing that he didn't speak, Jia Tuoma spoke again.

"General Chang, I know that in Chinese history, there was a period called the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms. At that time, the Khitan people, a northern barbarian tribe, captured Kaifeng, the capital of the Later Jin Dynasty, and even took the emperor of the Later Jin Dynasty prisoner. There was a general in the Later Jin Dynasty named Liu Zhiyuan, who was stationed in Hedong at the time. He watched the Later Jin Dynasty perish without sending troops to its aid. Later, the Khitan people could no longer stay in the Central Plains and withdrew. Liu Zhiyuan then led his troops into Kaifeng, became emperor himself, and established the Later Han Dynasty."

Damn it, yet another China expert!

Chang was cursing inwardly!

What are you, a foreigner, reading about the history of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms for no reason? You even know how Liu Zhiyuan became emperor, and you're still telling me what that means? Are you supporting me becoming Liu Zhiyuan, or opposing me becoming Liu Zhiyuan?

He thought this to himself, but didn't say a word.

Seeing that he remained silent, Jia Tuoma continued, "But General Chang, you can't be Liu Zhiyuan now. At least not this time."

He took a sip of coffee and said, "Because Whitehall Street doesn't believe you can become the leader of all of China after the fall of the Qing Dynasty. If Li Hongzhang were willing, Whitehall Street would be willing to support him. But..."

But what?

He often looked up at Gyaltsen.

"But..." Jia Tuoma put down his coffee cup and looked at Chang: "Li Zhongtang just told our Minister to my country, Mr. Ogner, that he would live and die with Tianjin!"

Chang was filled with such hatred that he felt an itch to bite Li Hongzhang.

Li Hongzhang, you old bastard! You'd rather be a traitor than the emperor? Do you know what you've missed? Do you know that if you had been emperor, I could have… sigh!

Thinking of this, he asked coldly, "So...you want to stop the Japanese from occupying Beijing and Tianjin?"

Gyaltsen shrugged, gave a wry smile, and said, "What do you suggest we do? We can't let China fall apart. That would allow the Russians to take advantage of the situation and severely damage our commercial interests in the Yangtze River basin."

:

He paused, then added, "Moreover, Prince Gong already expressed his stance to Mr. Ogner the day before yesterday. The Qing Dynasty can relinquish Korea and pay a certain amount of reparations to end this war."

Chang was taken aback for a moment: "So, the war is about to end?"

It's too early to end this! How long has this war lasted? I haven't even become the "King of Guandong" yet, and the Qing Dynasty is already ceding territory and paying reparations?

Koja Toma shook his head and said, "No. The war must continue."

Chang was stunned again: "Are we going to continue?"

"Yes," said Jia Tuoma, "but the match cannot be decided in Beijing or Tianjin."

Chang immediately understood: So you old British people wanted to see a "dogfight," huh? To see if I can actually guard the house? To see if my dog ​​can actually bite?

Gyaltsen explained, "The reason we must continue fighting is that, under the current circumstances, there is still a significant gap between the conditions that the Qing Dynasty can offer and the conditions that Japan expects. Therefore, the Japanese army will soon turn to the battlefield outside Manchuria."

He looked at Chang and said, "As your friend, I hope you can return to Liaodong as soon as possible and prepare. If you can demonstrate sufficient value on the Liaodong battlefield..."

He paused here, picked up his coffee cup, and took a sip.

address:\\\\\\\\\\\\.\\\\\\

Chang Xin said: Are you trying to keep me in suspense? You only said half of what you wanted to say... Just finish what you were going to say already!

He waited a while, and seeing that Gyaltsen still didn't speak, he couldn't help but ask, "If I can fight well enough on the Liaodong battlefield, what benefits will the British Empire give me?"

Gyaltsen put down his coffee cup, looked at him, and said, "I can't guarantee anything right now. After all, I'm just a consul general, not some big shot. But..."

He paused, then said, "I heard some 'reliable information' from my friends on Whitehall Street."

Chang's ears immediately perked up.

Gyaltsen said, "Russia is powerful. It has the world's fifth largest industrial system after Britain, the United States, and France. It is by no means something that a local warlord relying on a small-scale peasant economy can contend with."

He looked at Chang and said, word by word, "You need to develop some industries, just like Japan."

industry?

Chang's eyes lit up immediately.

Industrialization!

Dog food is actually industrially produced!

You, Great Britain, are quite kind! You even know to give me good food...

He quickly followed up, "Does the British Empire want to help us industrialize?"

Upon hearing "helping to achieve industrialization," Jia Tuoma frowned and explained, "Well... what I've heard is this: if you can hold the Liaodong Peninsula... then the customs in Liaodong and Liaoxi can be managed by your people from now on."

:

Chang watched him for a while, and seeing that Jiatuo Ma hadn't responded, he pressed on, "That's all?"

Jia Tuoma nodded, looking at Chang's expectant face: "Isn't that enough?"

Chang was speechless.

What's enough? A customs control right, and you call that helping industrialization? Are you kidding me?

Seeing his expression, Jia Tuoma knew that he didn't understand.

However, this is understandable, as the matter is complex and not something that ordinary people can comprehend.

He paused, then asked, "Do you know what the biggest difficulty Chinese people face when setting up factories in China is?"

Chang thought about it for a while, but couldn't answer. He'd never run a factory before!

Gyaltsen said, "This is an unfair likin!"

"Unfair likin?" Chang still didn't quite understand.

“That’s right,” said Jattomar. “When British-made industrial products are imported into China, we only need to pay a 5% customs duty and a 2.5% import tax. Together, they amount to about 5% of the product price.”

5% + 2.5% = 5%...

Chang Xin said: The mathematics of the Qing Dynasty Customs...

Jia Tuoma, thinking Chang didn't understand, continued to explain: "Why is 5% plus 2.5% equal to 5%? Because both taxes are levied on a specific basis based on the fixed price of silver before its significant devaluation. Therefore, the actual tax rate is very low."

"But if you Chinese set up your own factories, not to mention all those exorbitant taxes that I don't even understand, the transit tax alone is a bottomless pit. From the place of production to the place of sale, they collect 20% to 30%, which is nothing at all."

Chang understood: if foreign goods are subject to a 5% tax and domestic goods are subject to a 20% to 30% tax, then domestic goods are definitely doomed! They won't have a single chance!

Jia Tuoma then asked, "But what constitutes a foreign product? What constitutes a domestic product? Who decides that?"

He looked at Chang and smiled: "Of course, it's the efficient and incorruptible Qing Customs under Hesheng's leadership."

Chang understood immediately.

Ah... I see! Damn, they want to "clean up the place of origin"!

If I could control the customs in Northeast China, then domestically produced industrial products, especially light industrial products such as textiles, could be laundered as foreign goods.

Pay me 5% customs duty plus import tax, and then sell it as if it were in the Chinese market. That way, it can compete fairly with genuine foreign goods!

Although these "domestic imported goods" are not necessarily more competitive than "genuine imported goods," they can at least sweep away local products, such as homespun cloth and homespun iron, because the Chinese market is so big!

There's still enough room for "industrialization" to replace "handicrafts." While it may not be as advanced as the industrialization of the 1950s, it can at least rival that of neighboring Japan, right? Those wealthy Southeast Asians who support Lao Tzu can now make a fortune from the "domestic goods, foreign products" business!

He picked up his coffee cup and took a sip.

:

The coffee had gone cold, but his heart was burning with passion.

When Jia Tuoma saw Chang's cheerful expression, he understood.

This guy is a smart man, no, he's a smart "dog"!

Jia Tuoma cleared his throat and continued, "General Chang, you need to prove one thing before you can get the benefits I just mentioned."

Chang Zheng was feeling quite pleased with herself when she heard him say that, and quickly asked, "What is it?"

Gyaltsen said, "You understand, in Liaodong and Liaoxi, at least on the Liaodong Peninsula, it's impossible for Japan to defeat you!"

Chang nodded, his face full of confidence: "I know that! In Liaodong, no one can defeat me! Not Japan, not Russia!"

"That's good," said Gyaltsen. "However, as far as I know, your forces are very limited. You can't possibly hold Liaoxi, Liaodong, and the northern part of the Korean Peninsula at the same time."

Upon hearing this, Chang immediately understood.

Oh, so they want me to give up North Korea?

Handing North Korea over to Japan?

He thought for a moment, then asked, "What about North Korea? I've been building up Zhennanpo for three years, are we just going to abandon it like that?"

Jia Tuoma said, "Zhennanpu might be suitable as a concession for the Qing Dynasty, but as for other places, you come out here!"

Chang started making plans in his mind.

What do the British mean by this?

That means Japan still has "dog seats"!

If Li Hongzhang were willing to act like Liu Zhiyuan and become emperor himself, the British might have abolished Japan's "dog throne" and fully supported him. But Li Hongzhang was unwilling...

So Japan has simply gone from being "the only watchdog in East Asia" to "one of the two dogs in East Asia".

As for North Korea, let Japan see it!

Chang was filled with such hatred!

It wasn't that he hated the British, or even the Japanese, but rather Li Hongzhang!

However, this result was exactly what he had expected.

Moreover, he had already laid a trump card for today's situation three years ago.

This trump card is... Yuanshan!

The Russian Pacific Fleet is still lingering in Wonsan Port, refusing to leave!

:

This is a great hand!

If this is fought well, it could be the spark that ignites a future Russo-Japanese War!

He thought for a moment and then said, "Mr. Jiatuo Ma, I have a few ideas. Would you like to hear them and see if they are suitable?"

Gyaltsen nodded: "Go on."

He often said, "First, my troops will soon withdraw from the northern part of the Korean Peninsula. That's no problem; I was going back to Liaodong to fight anyway."

Jiatoma nodded.

"Secondly," Chang continued, "I will hand over Pyongyang and Wonsan to the King of Joseon. The new army of Joseon, which is now under my command, will also be handed over to the King of Joseon."

Gyaltsen nodded again, a satisfied look on his face. Giving it to Korea or Japan made no difference...

"However," Chang changed the subject, "I will keep Zhennanpu. As a concession of the Qing Dynasty, it will be preserved until after the war. I hope the British Empire can guarantee me that neither the Japanese nor the Koreans can touch Zhennanpu."

Jia Tuoma thought for a moment and nodded: "I will make suggestions to Baiting Street regarding the Zhennanpu issue, but I cannot make any guarantees at this time."

"OK!"

......

When Chang returned to his dormitory at the Nanpu Military Academy, it was already past midnight.

The lights in the "Principal's Building" were still on.

When Chang pushed open the door, he saw Feng Guozhang, Shang, and Duan Zhigui sitting inside waiting for him.

When the three men saw him return, they all stood up.

Feng Guozhang spoke first: "Brother Zhenbang, how did it go? What did the British say?"

Chang waved his hand, gesturing for them to sit down.

He sat down, picked up the teapot on the table, poured himself a cup of cold tea, and gulped down a few mouthfuls.

Then he spoke.

"Starting tomorrow, we will withdraw to Liaodong as planned."

He often said, "Just leave one battalion to guard Zhennanpu. Take the rest back to Liaodong!"

Feng Guozhang frowned: "What about North Korea? We and General Nie have already left..."

Chang waved his hand, interrupting Feng Guozhang. He knew that everyone was unhappy about giving up Korea, which they had been working on for three years, but that was something that couldn't be helped... so there was no need to discuss it!

"That's settled then!" he said. "Huafu, Zichun, you will begin the withdrawal tomorrow according to plan! Xiangyan, you will come with me to Pyongyang."

:

Duan Zhigui was taken aback: "Going to Pyongyang? What for?"

"Go and dig a huge pit for the Japanese!"

: