Chapter 106: Zhongyongbo

  Cixi is colluding with a group of treacherous officials on one side, while Shanhai Yipeng can't wait any longer. Vladivostok has thawed out now, and the Russian army stationed in the Far East is emerging from hibernation. If it weren't for the need to gather more time, not to mention the Russians' notoriously slow efficiency, they might have set sail to attack Japan by now.

  These guys are really notorious, compared to Yang Feng, they are the difference between a small thief and a great bandit. As for the Germans, they are good students, with the madness of a desperate mountain county general, he issued an ultimatum to Li Bingchang, the Minister of Rites in charge of negotiating with him: if Japan does not withdraw its troops within three days, it will be bombed immediately.

  It is said that Go Ito's negotiation results have been quite good recently. After some haggling, the conditions of Yamagata Aritomo have been reduced to 180 million taels. As for Japan's withdrawal from China and recognition of Korea's independence, these are a matter of course. In his own words, Yamagata is also well-read in the classics and is not a savage or barbarian. I was moved by his sense of justice and he was also intimidated by the heavenly mandate.

  It was unexpected that this guy, who had been considered to be able to evoke a sense of justice, suddenly changed his tone and told him in a strong and harsh manner that if he didn't withdraw the Japanese army within three days, he would blow up the tomb, and from today on, execute 5,000 Manchu people in the city every day. Yamagata Aritomo was very astute, he knew that even if they killed 10,000 Han people a day, those Manchu royal families in Beijing wouldn't bat an eyelid, but killing Manchu people would have a much better effect. Moreover, most of the Manchu people in Mukden had relatives in Beijing, so this approach would be more effective and also avoid the resistance from the ordinary people in the city.

  After all, the main body of this city is still Han people. In fact, the main body of these cities in Northeast China are all Han people, and they are basically at the bottom level, and also the most aggressive. As long as they don't make trouble, those abandoned banner people will be told that they will be pulled to the city wall and stabbed to death. They won't have any other reaction except kneeling on the ground and begging. In fact, now Shan Xianyou lives in a noble family, sleeping with his wife and daughter, and also enjoying his smile. This is a thoroughly corrupt nation.

  "You have also read extensively and learned from the writings of sages, how can you commit such brutal acts without fearing the wrath of both men and gods?"

  Yanagawa Heisuke rebuked him sternly, but unfortunately for him, he was met with the hard butt of a Japanese soldier's rifle. Yanagawa looked at the Minister of Rites who had fallen to the ground with contempt, unable to comprehend whether this Qing official was truly foolish or just pretending to be so.

  Was it contradictory that one enjoyed writing poetry and also enjoyed killing people? Did being well-read mean that one couldn't kill others?

  In this regard, he should learn from General Yang, who, even when killing people and burning cities in Japan, did not forget to write so many beautiful poems that intoxicated people. Yamagata Aritomo couldn't help but admire this devil-like enemy while holding the deeds of Yang Feng.

  Just as the Shanxi governor was about to issue an ultimatum, negotiations resumed at Yang's residence. This time, Ito Hirobumi presented Japan's final acceptable conditions: a indemnity of 200 million pounds sterling, which would be paid off within one year; and the customs mortgage would no longer be needed. If this sum could not be paid within a year, they could come back and fight again.

  The second is to lease Kyushu to Germany, leasing the island of Kyushu is definitely not possible, as for Russia, it can cede the Northern Kuril Islands obtained from Russia in exchange for the southern part of Sakhalin Island in the 1875 Treaty of Saint Petersburg to Russia, and leasing Hokkaido and ceding Sapporo are absolutely impossible.

  As for the compensation to Ryukyu, Japan can add an additional ￡1 million in compensation, but ceding the islands south of Tanegashima is absolutely out of the question. If the Allied Powers still do not agree to this condition, then the Japanese people will have no choice but to continue fighting.

  "One year is not enough, then two years; two years are not enough, then three years, even ten or twenty years. Even if your esteemed country were to occupy Japan's land with force of arms, the forty million brave warriors of Japan would not be deterred in the least. They would fight on, day and night, in their own homes, against the invaders, until they had driven them out, or until their own homes had become their graves."

  It turned out that this condition had already moved Waldersee, and during this period, the Japanese army launched multiple attacks of different sizes, experimenting with various attack methods, night raids, tunnel digging, human wave charges, and so on. With more than 10,000 Japanese corpses, they fully tested the reliability and power of trench warfare. Despite this, the Japanese army's madness also shocked Waldersee.

  Especially when the Japanese kamikaze squadrons, with explosives strapped to their bodies, charged towards his own defensive lines, this old general, who had experienced the Franco-Prussian War, couldn't help but feel a few pangs of admiration. It was clear that such a nation would not be easy to deal with. The conditions offered by Japan had actually met the German Emperor's expectations - he had originally wanted Okinawa, and as for compensation of 20 million pounds, it was absolutely not a small amount. Considering the reality that Japan's economy would at least regress by ten years after this war, even he felt that these 20 million pounds were a heavy burden. Moreover, up to now, the Allied forces had plundered over 10 million pounds from various parts of Japan.

  He is now mainly worried that Yang Feng will not agree, after all, the Japanese have not agreed to his request. However, what surprised him was that Yang Feng seemed to be in a state of "whatever" and would agree to anything, but the Russians were resolute in their refusal, insisting on Sapporo and trying to deceive them with just a few barren islands, which is not even the entire Kuril Islands, only the northern part.

  Due to the Russians' firm disagreement, this negotiation ended in vain again, which was expected by Yang Feng. If Japan had proposed such conditions at the beginning of the war, Nikolai might have agreed, but now that Vladivostok has thawed and the Russian army is capable of landing directly on Hokkaido, agreeing to these conditions would be foolish.

  As for him, it doesn't matter if he's real or not. Even if Germany and Russia were to stop fighting and withdraw their troops, he could still continue to fight Japan as a Chinese person. Even if they had stopped fighting with the Japanese, if he wanted to keep fighting, he could use the Ryukyu people as a banner. After all, in Ryukyu, he was the supreme ruler, and they also had every reason to keep fighting until the island of Tanegashima. You imprisoned our king and prince for over a decade and then settled with just ￡1 million? The dignity of the Ryukyu royal family is too cheap.

  He planned to let the King of Ryukyu give himself a title such as "Protector General" and then take over Ryukyu's foreign relations from a legal standpoint.

  As soon as Iwao Oyama left, another order to withdraw troops from the Empress Dowager arrived, but this time it was not only sent through Li Hongzhang to Song Qing and others. In fact, the Empress Dowager had no hope for Li Hongzhang anymore. The old man had dispatched all the warships of the Beiyang Fleet, citing the need to defend against abnormal British movements, drifting outside every day, and then citing the lack of merchant ships for withdrawal, so it would take some time.

  So the Empress Dowager had it delivered directly to Yang Fang's hands through the British legation in Japan. This telegram seemed to be intended to soothe him, and did not mention anything about his dismissal, but instead praised him, and gave him the title of General Jianwei, then explained the situation, ordering him to withdraw troops from Japan as soon as possible for the sake of the overall situation at court.

  "What official is this General Jianwei?" Yang Feng asked Song Qing curiously, but unexpectedly, several old men all smiled awkwardly after hearing this, especially Jiang Zikang who looked particularly embarrassed.

  "General Yang, I am the General of Establishing Might, a first-class military merit title that is completely useless. I am a first-class General of Establishing Might, from a first-class honorary commander to a fourth-class actual commander, this is just a way to deceive us military officers." Jiang Zikang said, this guy really mixed poorly, probably because he was not good at flattering people, and it's said that during the suppression of the rebellion in Rehe, when others were eager to kill civilians to take credit for their heads, he released more than 3,000 captured rebels. This kind of freak is indeed difficult to mix in official circles, so even after sixty years, he was still just a commander, and this was only because Li Hongzhang pitied him due to his age. How could Yang Feng, a thirty-something commander, bear this?"

  "Humph!" Yang Da Boss deeply despised Cixi, then put on an official air and solemnly said: "The imperial edict has arrived, all generals kneel down to receive the imperial edict!"

  Song Qing and the others were stunned for a moment, but fortunately they knew that this guy often inexplicably changed roles, so they quickly knelt down one by one. Then they saw Yang Feng pull out a scroll of imperial edict from his sleeve, a real imperial edict. These few people had seen such things before, and as soon as they saw the packaging, they knew it was genuine, completely different from those sent by telegram.

  "By the Emperor's decree, it is commanded: Yang Feng, the Taiwan Land Patrol Commander, Song Qing, the Sichuan Land Patrol Commander, Xu Bangdao, the Zhengding Town General, and Jiang Zikang, the Named Patrol Commander, have since the倭乱 (Japanese invasion) fought bravely on the battlefield, shedding blood and killing enemies with outstanding achievements. The Japanese were terrified, and their king fled in hiding. I am deeply gratified, therefore, Yang Feng is rewarded with the title of Third-Class Duke of Loyalty and Bravery, Song Qing with the title of First-Class Viscount, Xu Bangdao with the title of Second-Class Baron, and Jiang Zikang with the title of Third-Class Baron."

  I hope you will continue to work hard and make progress without forgetting the kindness I have shown you.

  Besides, the Japanese general invaded Shengjing, disturbing the mausoleums of Taizu and Taizong. I am very angry about this. You can choose a royal tomb in Japan to occupy it. If Shan County has another disrespectful move, you can also bomb their royal tomb to show heavenly power.

  "I obey! I humbly thank Your Majesty for the imperial decree!"

  Yang Dalao finished his performance and handed the imperial edict to Song Qing with a sense of satisfaction. The three of them were overjoyed, feeling that this trip had brought them both fame and fortune. Not only did they each gain a lot of wealth, but they also became famous domestically, even being promoted to the rank of Duke, which was now worth several dozen taels of silver per month. To be honest, with their current wealth, they could spend more than that just by visiting an entertainment venue and giving tips. But this rank was different.