It turned out that the sailors who fled back to the ship were not peaceful. They once again struggled with their companions to go to the police station to continue making trouble. On the way, a soldier bought a Japanese knife. The sailors naturally had another dispute when they arrived at the police station. At this time, the sailor who bought the knife stabbed a Japanese policeman seriously injured.

When the Japanese police saw that the Chinese sailors dared to commit crimes, they rushed forward. The outnumbered sailors in the accident were slightly injured and arrested during the fight. The other sailors fled back to the warship again.

On the warship, Ding Ruchang was furious: "A group of bastards, if you do something like this, how can I explain it to me when I go back! If it causes a dispute between the two countries, I will see your head!"

Some subordinates offered suggestions: "Sir, for the sake of this, we must first inform the consulate and ask them to assist in mediation. In addition, it is better to send a telegram back to see the opinions of the host in the middle hall."

"That's all, you can send a telegram right away."

The warship was anxiously waiting for the domestic call to call, but undercurrents were surging in Nagasaki City. The Japanese suffered losses on their own territory and would definitely not swallow this easily. While Ding Ruchang was waiting for the call to call, the Japanese ronin in Nagasaki and the police had already started to secretly connect and seek opportunities to retaliate against the Chinese.

On the 14th, Ding Ruchang, who strictly restricted the sailors from being allowed to go ashore, finally received a telegram from the country. The telegram was sent by Li Hongzhang, but the content was something Ding Ruchang never expected.

Liu Buchan said strangely: "Why did Lord Zhongtang ask us not to restrain the soldiers and continue to give them holidays?"

Ding Ruchang said angrily: "Ask me, how do I know! Master Zhongtang has always been cautious, but this time it is abnormal. Are you not afraid of causing trouble?"

"That's true, this matter is strange. Please think about it, Lord Zhongtang has always been cautious, why did it go wrong this time? Could it be...?"

Ding Ruchang was stunned and thought immediately. "What do you mean is Lord Zhongtang intends to cause trouble?"

"I dare not, the subordinates are just guessing. But no matter what, it is always right for us to execute the orders."

Ding Ruchang knocked on the handrail and was silent for a moment before saying, "Okay, I'll send an order. The soldiers can leave the ship at will, but there must be sufficient personnel on each ship to deal with the accident. At the same time, the sailors leaving the ship must act collectively and are not allowed to act alone."

"twitter!"

On the 15th, the Beiyang Fleet took another holiday. This time, the sailors went ashore in an organized manner, and a total of more than 400 people went out. In the evening, thousands of Japanese policemen who had planned to block both ends of the streets of various Chinese streets with weapons, and suddenly chased and killed the Beiyang sailors who were wandering on the streets with knives. In the chaos, some local Japanese also poured boiling water from the upper floors and threw stones, and some even participated in the melee with knives and sticks.

Due to unexpected surprise and not carrying weapons, the Beiyang sailors suffered a great loss this time. Afterwards, 5 Beiyang sailors died on the spot (two were killed due to serious injuries afterwards), and more than 40 were injured; Japanese police were also killed, 1 Japanese and 30 injured, and several local Japanese were injured. Afterwards, according to the injury test report of the "Nagasaki Port Qing Ship Sailors' Noisy Battle Incident" produced by the Japanese side, 37 Beiyang sailors were injured, and 14 Japanese side, and the numbers of the two sides were basically close to each other. The former was 6, and the latter was 7 Beiyang sailors and 9 Japanese people. Most of the sword injuries of Beiyang sailors were concentrated behind the scenes, which shows the situation of being chased that day.

The soldiers who were hunted fled back to the warship in a panic. Ding Ruchang, who learned the news, immediately summoned the generals of each ship to meet.

"Sir, things are getting big now. If we don't care, I'm afraid the morale of the military will have an impact."

"Yes, the soldiers suffered a loss. Now the soldiers are shouting for revenge. Some soldiers have retreated their cannon suits. Look at this..."

Langweili and Liu Buchan believe that they should follow the morale of the army and take revenge on the Japanese. Langweili even said: "This is the best excuse. We should start a war against Japan immediately and fight for compensation!"

But Ding Ruchang was still a little hesitant. After all, this is a national event. If the war really ends, it will kill people.

At this time, Lin Tai once said: "Sir, did the telegram from Zhongtang say 'Don't you restrain the soldiers'? It's better to let the soldiers fire two guns to exert their breath. On the one hand, it calms the morale of the army, and at the same time, it can also see the attitude of the Japanese."

Ding Ruchang thought about it and finally made up his mind: "Okay, Kaishi, I'll leave this to you. Remember, just try it. Never let the soldiers have the temperament, only two cannons are allowed!"

"Yes, sir." Lin Taizeng took the order and left. Then, the Dingyuan ship turned the 12-inch giant cannon that had taken off the cannon suit and aimed at the city of Nagasaki.

‘Boom~’’ ‘Boom~’!

Two consecutive shells landed in the city of Nagasaki. The Navy's twelve-inch naval guns are not small toys of the Army. The weight of a shell is almost equivalent to a 57mm battalion gun. If these two cannons go down, the entire city of Nagasaki can feel the vibration caused by the explosion. As for the near the landing point of the shell, it becomes a ruin without leaving any chickens and dogs.

Seeing that the Qing Dynasty really dared to fire the artillery, Japan was no longer angry. Faced with the strong ship and powerful artillery, they could only release the people obediently and apologize and compensate. The Nagasaki Express reported on this, and the British Consul in Nagasaki also wrote the incident into the report.

Originally, the Japanese thought that they would release people, and according to the Qing Dynasty's officialdom, this matter could be turned into a big thing. Unexpectedly, the Qing government refused to let go this time. Li Hongzhang, who was in Tianjin, immediately summoned Hatano, the Japanese Consul in Tianjin, on the 16th and threatened directly: "It is not difficult to start the war now. Our warships are moored in your country, with guns and cannons indestructible, and can be put into battle at any time."

After receiving Li Hongzhang's threat, Hatano immediately sent the information to Tokyo, and the Japanese side immediately investigated the combat readiness of Okinawa and the horse. On the 17th, Li Hongzhang, in line with Guangxu's intention, sent a report to the Nagasaki local consulate, ordering Ding Ruchang to prepare to go south to Ryukyu at any time. The Japanese government immediately learned about the content of the telegram and immediately ordered the governor of Okinawa Prefecture to immediately lead dozens of policemen on his way home.

To prevent the incident from escalating, the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs established a News Inspection Section on the 22nd, ordering newspapers and magazines in Nagasaki, Osaka, Hyogo and other prefectures to submit them to the News Inspection Section for review in advance when reporting on the Nagasaki incident, so as to prohibit the publication of words that insult China and confidential reports.

The most exciting thing now is Zai Tian. He was talking to Lang Weili. This was the best excuse. The young emperor did not dare to delay for a moment. He immediately summoned the Minister of Military Affairs, the Minister of the Zongli Yamen and the Kings to discuss declaring war on Japan.

However, what the young emperor did not expect was that no minister supported the declaration of war on Japan. On the contrary, there was not even a neutral one and unanimous objection.

"Prince, please think twice. It's less than a year since the Sino-French War ended, and the country is building a navy again. The Yellow River breaks, a large number of refugees need to be resettled, and the Northeast also needs investment. Now the country is in financial difficulties, and it is impossible to spend so much money to mobilize the army. Moreover, if war is declared on Japan because of the "Nasaki Incident", it will inevitably lead to greater international conflicts. The Russians in the north are staring at North Korea, and the British in the south have just occupied Myanmar. After all, China and Japan are in a row. Once a war begins, it may not be a good thing for both others and themselves."

Yi? The words are not unreasonable. Let’s not talk about them at the moment. The British were temporarily stuck by the ‘guerrillas’ in northern Myanmar, but the Russian Zai Tian could not ignore them.

Because just two days ago, North Korea had just sent back news that North Korea's Prime Minister Chen Shunze may have reached a secret agreement with Russian Russian Minister to North Korea Weibei. North Korea asked Russia to send troops to protect, and Weibei agreed immediately, namely the "second Russian-South Korea Secret Agreement incident."

The news was sent back by Yuan Shikai, and it was transferred to the Zongli Yamen through Li Hongzhang. Min Yongling, the North Korean right envoy who provided the news to Yuan Shikai, was confident at the time and even issued a copy of the secret letter Chen Shunze had to the Russian minister. Regarding such a major event, Li Hongzhang could not wait to express his opinion, that is, the current focus should be on the reorganization of the military and Russia, and immediately dispatched warships to patrol the coast of North Korea, just in case. Li Hongzhang's opinion was undoubtedly recognized by the vast majority of important officials of the court.

"The Japanese still occupy our Ryukyu and have not returned it. Don't you want to take it back?" Zai Tian still wanted to fight for it. After all, this opportunity is too good now. Moreover, the secret agreement between Russia and South Korea has not been confirmed, and Zai Tian even doubted whether this would be a delaying strategy developed by the Japanese.

"Return to the emperor, the ownership of Ryukyu can be obtained from the Japanese side through peace talks. Now our navy is far stronger than Japan. The day before yesterday, Lord Li sent a report to the Beiyang Navy and ordered him to prepare to go south to Ryukyu. It is reported that the Japanese people immediately evacuated from Ryukyu, which shows that the Japanese have surrendered. As long as we force a little, the contract can be settled and there is no need to start a large war."

Yi Xin analyzed it well, and all the ministers said, "Please think twice." Even his own brother Yi Huan did not support Guangxu's decision to declare war in full.

The current imperial court, including the people, has not yet been full of hatred for Japan. On the contrary, almost everyone believes that China and Japan, two Asian countries, should join hands to unite against the European powers. It is really difficult for these ministers to accept their views now.

It’s okay to teach a lesson. If you really want to start a war, you, your elders, should you save money.

Although Zai Tian is the emperor, he cannot really take the blame for the world and act alone. He can only say, "I have told you repeatedly that the Japanese wolfish ambitions must be eliminated and quick, and there will be a battle between China and Japan. You will not take advantage of the fact that I am strong and weak now, and you will win in one battle. You must wait until they are strong and come to fight us before you can wake up. I can't resist you now, but one day, you will see the result!"

After saying that, he shook his sleeves and turned his head and left.

The emperor used his temper, and the remaining ministers looked at me and I looked at you, and they all said to Yixin: "Prince, what should we do next?"

Yi Xin said: "The emperor's words, let's remember the current affairs. On the one hand, please ask Prince Chun to telegram Li Zhongtang to restrain the soldiers and not to further expand the world. On the other hand, you should also apply pressure through diplomacy to seek favorable compensation. However, you can indeed take this opportunity to determine the matter of Ryukyu, which can be considered as an explanation to the emperor."

Everyone said, "Then it depends on the prince."

The debate on the Qing court came to an end, but the Japanese side became even more lively.

The Dingyuan ship fired the artillery. Although there were only two shots, Nagasaki was a major coastal town with a large population. If these two guns went down, coupled with the fire caused by the explosion, more than a dozen lives would be entered. In addition, the clear military pressure of the Qing Dynasty on the Ryukyu issue made the Japanese army react immediately. The middle and lower-level officers and soldiers demanded revenge, and even ronin connected to seize the fort at the port and go to war with the Qing army.

However, the top leaders of Japan are now very clear. Although Japan has begun reform and reform, a country cannot be completely changed in more than ten years, not to mention that Japan is still a country with poor resources. Although the Japanese despise the "stubborn and conservative" China, China is an ancient and huge empire after all, and the shadow of history is not so easy to erase. More importantly, China's national strength and military strength were difficult for Japan to reach. As for the navy alone, Japan only had three 3,000-ton ironclad ships, and the Beiyang Fleet had two 7,000-ton ironclad ships, other cruisers, gunboats, transport ships, etc., whose quantity and quality are far above Japan. Now that the war is going to begin, isn't this an egg hitting a stone? Therefore, the strong suppression of the Japanese senior management will never allow the situation to be expanded.

On the 22nd, the Japanese Emperor convened a meeting of the imperial court to discuss the proposal to temporarily withdraw from Ryukyu. Then the Japanese were surprised to find that the Qing fleet, which was originally heading to Ryukyu, turned around and returned to the coast of North Korea.
Chapter completed!