As Liu Shaoqing speculated, although the Ryukyu issue has plagued North Korea's peace talks for a period of time, Japan is surprisingly tough on this issue, and the United States does not want Japan to be too weakened now, while France is worried that once China gains a lot in the North Korean incident, it will directly affect his negotiations with China on the Vietnam issue. Therefore, under the struggle of all parties, on October 27, China and Japan, Japan, North Korea, China and North Korea signed agreements respectively.

In accordance with the treaty, China once again established its status as the sovereign state against North Korea and obtained war reparations of 500,000 taels of silver from Japan. At the same time, North Korea also needed to pay one million taels of silver as the military expenses for China's troops.

In order to ensure the stability of the political situation in North Korea, the Qing court also decided to keep Wu Changqing's army stationed in North Korea for a long time, monitoring Japan on the one hand, and helping North Korea stabilize the situation.

As for the Ryukyu issue, in desperation, the Qing court had to temporarily shelve the dispute and agreed to leave the Ryukyu issue to be resolved later, but it was clearly stated that before the dispute could be reached, the Japanese side also advocated sovereignty over Ryukyu and was not allowed to station troops or immigrate to Ryukyu.

In addition to obtaining the 500,000 yen of embassy reconstruction costs and funeral expenses provided by North Korea, Japan has obtained the coveted right to station troops in North Korea. Of course, it is in the name of protecting the safety of embassy staff. Under China's intervention, it is clearly stipulated that the number of troops stationed shall not exceed 100, and soldiers can only carry weapons within the Japanese embassy area.

Japan also demanded that the initiator of the incident be punished, and the rebellious officers, soldiers and people must be handed over to Japan for trial.

This is easy to deal with. The Qing court and North Korea took out dozens of Korean soldiers who died in this war and the bodies of poor people to Japan. Even if they were paid, you didn't know who they were. I insisted that these people were already executed by us. Do you believe it or not? I believe it anyway.

North Korea naturally suffered the greatest losses, but Daewon-jun was able to take power again.

Queen Min became the culprit of this incident. The Qing army sent two generals Chen Yunlong and Wu Changchun to lead more than 100 Qing soldiers, and Hong Chunmu, the leader of the North Korean Gaozong, sent by Lee Hee, to Chungju to capture Queen Min and return to the palace. At the same time, King Lee Hee of Korea issued a self-criticism edict to inform the world of Queen Min's crimes.

As for compensation and other things, it is something that the North Korean people need to bear. For the officials of the Daewonjun faction, they only see the official positions vacant because of Queen Min's fall.

After the contract was signed, a small episode happened.

After signing the treaty, the Japanese side asked the Qing Dynasty for Japanese prisoners of war captured by the Qing army in this conflict. However, they did not expect that the Qing court, which had always been polite and generous in diplomatic affairs, did not release the captured Japanese soldiers happily this time, but instead threatened them to ask for ransom. Otherwise, these prisoners of war would have to be brought back to the domestic trial.

All fools know what will be waiting for these soldiers after they are brought back to China.

The Army strongly advocated that the government should cherish these veterans who had been on the battlefield. Under domestic pressure, the Japanese government had to spend 500,000 taels of silver again to redeem these captured soldiers.

The redeemed soldiers were treated like heroes after returning to the country. Because of the propaganda of the army, the responsibility for combat failure was passed on to the navy, while the captured soldiers were exaggerated as tragic heroes who were abandoned by the state and fought alone without any support, and finally gave up resistance for the benefit of the country.

The soldiers who fell into battle were enshrined in the Yasukuni Shrine together with 13 Japanese soldiers killed by the Korean uprising soldiers and citizens, including Horimoto Rizuo, Suzuki Kanetaro.

Although the Navy took the blame, it was affordable.

Taking this opportunity, the Navy Minister cried to the people and the government about the inferior equipment, and repeatedly showed the heroic spirit of the officers and soldiers who died in the naval battle, especially the price of a major general. Therefore, amid the sympathy of the people, the Japanese government decided to start a large-scale construction of the navy.

In order to purchase new warships, the Japanese government tightened its belt. There was even a slogan among the people, "Eat less meat in daily life and lose less meat in wartime."

In the imperial study, Emperor Guangxu was chatting with Yihuan.

"What do Prince Chun think about Li Zhongtang's negotiations with the French this time?"

"If you go back to your master, I think..."

"Don't be a master, a slave." Zaitian interrupted Yihuan with a little impatiently, "When there is no outsider in the future, just say it."

Of course, Yihuan knew why the little emperor said that, but Guangxu could ignore the constraints of the monarch and ministers' etiquette and law, but Yihuan did not dare to be like him. But after the emperor said this, he could only respond for the time being: "Yes, I know."

Seeing that Yihuan could not change his words, Zaitian frowned impatiently, but he knew that this would not be a stern one or two days, and he was not in a hurry at this moment, and then he ignored him and just listened to what he said.

"From the nucai, Li Hongzhang's negotiations with the French this time may be difficult. The French are not as easy as the Japanese, but if we talk about compensation for land cession, opening ports, etc., it is not appropriate to have the North Korean Agreement on pearls and jade in front."

The little emperor waved his hand: "What kind of pearls and jade are ahead, you will stick gold on your face. The Navy and Army spent so much, so many people died, and even sunk a ship. They took back two million taels of silver. How dare you say it?"

Seeing that the little emperor was not very happy, Yihuan immediately stopped talking. Zaitian also knew that his temper was unreasonable, and then said, "Of course, I don't want you to do this. The national strength is so strong that it will inevitably be subject to others. But that Ma Daozhong is not bad, and he also knows to exchange prisoners for money. This time Li Hongzhang went to Shanghai for negotiations, so he should really bring him."

Then Zaitian thought of something, waved his hand and said, "Forget it, it's too late now, let's go next time. I also know that there may not be any result this time, so Vietnam must not relax."

Yihuan knew that the emperor was talking about preparing for war in Vietnam, so he hurriedly said: "Zhe~"

Zaitian then changed the topic, "The day before yesterday, several governors from the south submitted a memorial, hoping that the court could send an operator to supervise Guangdong and Guangxi. I originally wanted to choose one of Li Hongzhang and Zuo Zongtang, but Li Hongzhang had just signed Liangjiang and is now in charge of negotiating with the French. It is probably not appropriate to transfer him to supervise Guangdong and Guangxi so quickly. Zuo Zhongtang is too old and has been exhausted all the way. At least he will be troubled. Wherever he goes, it will cause trouble. So I have never made up my mind to choose this person. In your opinion, is there any minister in the court able to take on this important task?"

Yihuan thought for a while and said, "There are two candidates here, one is Zeng Guoquan, the governor of Shaanxi and Gansu, and the other is Zhang Zhidong, the governor of Shanxi. These two are young and strong, and are enterprising, and they are both good ministers of the country."

Guangxu nodded: "Indeed. But I still have some explanations for Zhang Zhidong. It's not advisable to give up halfway. It's better to use Zeng Guoquan. Zeng Guoquan is older, has a strong foundation, and is steady in his work, and is competent."

Since the emperor said that, the matter was decided. After that, Yi Huan would naturally contact the ministers and make proposals at the court meeting. Zeng Guoquan could take office as soon as the emperor used the seal.

After talking about this, Guangxu said again: "How is the matter of smokeless gunpowder?"

Previously, the emperor summoned craftsmen from the Machinery Bureau of Shenji Camp and personally taught the secret recipe to produce a new type of gunpowder. The residue of this medicine was very small after burning, and because it was burned, it was even more powerful. At that time, because there was only a faint blue smoke when the medicine was burning, it was named "Smokeless Gun Powder".

After that, the emperor personally selected a man named Wang Shishou and sent him to Germany to work in a mission. He intended to use the Germans to set up a gunpowder manufacturer to earn some money for the royal family.

These things are all organized by Yi Huan, so he will naturally know the truth.

"The day before yesterday, Wang Shishou called and said that he had negotiated with his German father-in-law and applied for a patent for smokeless gunpowder, and was preparing to open a factory in the near future to produce this new type of gunpowder. He is now negotiating a contract with the German Mauser factory and preparing to supply it."

After hearing Yihuan's reply, Zaitian said seriously: "This smokeless gunpowder is a big deal. Don't look at the fact that our Qing Dynasty is bullied by Western powers such as Britain and France. But with this, no one can bully us in less than twenty years. Remember, this matter must be kept confidential now. In this factory in Germany, even if the shares invested in the Prince Chun Mansion, the profits collected every year will be temporarily earned. I will use a lot in a few years. I will write a charter to tell you where to use the money. Humph, as long as it is well operated, it will not take twenty years, and this money will probably not be less than the customs tariff silver in our Prince Chun Mansion now."

Yihuan didn't care about this gunpowder at all. He didn't understand. According to his ideas, this was the little emperor's whim and was chaotic. Don't say that he never thought about the benefits this thing could bring to the Qing Dynasty. On the contrary, he thought that the little emperor was dissatisfied with a plaything, which was a misfortune of the Qing Dynasty. He wanted to find an opportunity to persuade the emperor. At this time, he heard from the emperor that the prosperity of the Qing Dynasty was all pointing to this medicine. Good guy, it's no less than the customs tariff silver! Do you know how much customs tariff silver is? 14 million taels of silver a year! The annual expenditure of the Qing Dynasty almost all comes from here.

Yihuan, who had no slight trust in this, couldn't help but pour cold water on the little emperor: "Emperor, I think, if our Qing Dynasty wants to return to the glory of the Holy Master, we still need to promote education and cultivate, farming and weaving, so that the country can be prosperous and the people can be safe and prosperous, and the four barbarians will come to pay attention to this Western medicine, which is a very skillful trick, how can it be used for great use?"

Zaitian turned his head and looked at his biological father, and smiled and said, "Strange skills? Do you know that the Westerners used these strange skills to open up the coastal defense of the Qing Dynasty. Without these "strange skills", foreigners could occupy Hong Kong? Can we be defeated by Bali Bridge? Can the late emperor be forced to hunt north and die in a foreign land? Can the Old Summer Palace be burned by foreign devils?"

The little emperor's series of questions made Yihuan speechless and unable to answer the words.

It seemed that I realized that my attitude was a bit too aggressive. After all, I was facing my biological father. Zaitian suppressed his emotions and then his voice slowed down: "Of course, what the prince said makes sense. It is definitely not possible to rely on a gunpowder alone, even if it is advanced, and there are many other tasks to be done. What you said about promoting education and engaging and farming is not wrong. That's why I asked Wang Wenshao to open a new school."

Previously, Wang Wenshao and Jing Lian were involved in the case of "Yunnan Reimbursement". Although the court had no direct evidence to prove that the two were guilty, Zhang Peilun made three memorials in January and Wang Wenshao, and the young emperor made another loss. In the end, the two wrote a letter to resign and were willing to "donate" 500,000 taels of silver to relieve the floods in the south, which was why the matter was settled.

Afterwards, the emperor issued an order to supervise the new school in Zhili and Jiangsu to teach Western physics, chemistry, machinery and other knowledge. The cost was paid out of this million taels of donation.

Yihuan still couldn't understand the intention of the young emperor, but he also knew that if he persuaded him again, he would lose the etiquette of the monarch and his subjects. This was not in the Prince Chun Mansion, but Zai Tian's father, so he had to listen to whatever he said. Now, it was just the opposite. What the young emperor said, he had to listen to it.

As he was speaking, Li Lianying whispered into the room, "Go back to the emperor, Prince Gong, Zuo Daren, Master Weng and other ministers have arrived. Should I announce it now?"

Zaitian then remembered that because of Vietnam, the court temporarily summoned the governor of Yunnan and Guizhou, Liu Changyou, to Beijing for a briefing. Today, it was specially arranged for the Minister of Military Affairs and Liu Changyou to discuss matters with the Heart Hall. Originally, he wanted to have a good time with Yihuan and see what his father was thinking. The father and son communicated first to advance and retreat together, but as they were chatting, they went off topic.

After giving Yihuan a blank look, the little emperor gave all the responsibility to his father in his heart. Now that all the officials have arrived, it would be bad to have a secret conversation with his father in the room. Zaitian had no choice but to instruct: "Please come in."
Chapter completed!