When Zuo Zongtang heard the emperor's first words, he sighed in his heart. Although he knew it was this ending, facing such a situation of losing power and humiliating the country, how could this upright minister not be heartbroken? Weng Tonghe and Yi were thinking about moving **** Hongzhang, and they were afraid they could only look for opportunities.

Guangxu was not sure about the thoughts of the following people, but the little emperor still knew what their character was. He smiled slightly and continued: "However, signing this contract was not to stolen the country, but on the contrary, signing this treaty was to prepare for war with the French!"

This sentence shocked the sky, and immediately made the old men feel burned on the outside and tender on the inside.

I just said a lot of reasons for "not being able to fight", which made the representatives of the pro-war faction cry. Now, it's a 180-degree turn, why do you still have to fight?

Prince Li Shize quickly started the remark: "Emperor, the emperor has just analyzed it thoroughly. This battle is absolutely impossible, but now the emperor says he is preparing for the war. Where should we start?"

Not only Prince Li was confused, but the others were also confused. They all looked at Guangxu, wanting to know what was going on with the emperor.

"I studied with Master Weng, and I once saw the Han people saying, "Although the country is big, it will perish if it is wary, and even if the world is peaceful, it will be dangerous if it is forgotten. I am thinking, why is my great Qing Dynasty bullied by a small Western barbarian country? Isn't the Saint-Grand in the west when he was in the dynasty, the south was determined to be the three-way battle in the south, and the north was occupied by the Rakshasa Kingdom. Isn't it today's Russia? Why did the Saint-Grand who could fight Rakshasa did not dare to step over the line, but today we would cede land and make compensation for peace? Since Emperor Gaozong pacified Xinjiang, the world has been peaceful for decades, but Britain and France have opened up our coastal defense with just a few gunboats. Why?"

The little emperor's voice was still a little immature at this moment: "It is because of these four words, 'Forget the battle, you will be in danger'!"

This was the first time that the little emperor talked so well in front of everyone. He made a long speech. Several ministers of the regent suddenly felt that the little emperor in front of him was not a twelve or thirteen-year-old child, but a true king of a country. The confidence that emanated from his heart made the few people feel a sense of looking up to him.

"Yes, it's 'forget the war will be dangerous'. Moreover, I have to change this sentence, saying, 'Although the country is big, if the war is big, it will be dangerous!' Although our Qing Dynasty is big, we are surrounded by tigers. The Treaty of Aihui and the Treaty of Iri, the Russians cut off more than one million square kilometers of land. How many times can the Qing Dynasty withstand such cutting? In the east, the Japanese occupied Ryukyu and wanted to occupy North Korea; in the south, the French occupied Nanqi and wanted to occupy Tonkin. Today we gave Vietnam, tomorrow if it was What do the French want Yunnan? Do we give it to you? If the Russians get Yili, if they want Mongolia again, will we give it to you? If the British want Zhejiang, will we give it to you? If the British give it to you today and give it to you tomorrow, the stronger the country will be, the bigger the appetite will be, and the weaker our country will be. In the long run, when the foreigners want to cut off our Zhili and Manchuria, they will be powerless even if they want to fight again. At that time, what are the faces we have to meet our ancestors and the people of the world?”

The little emperor said something reasonable, but after all, Shi Ze and others experienced the Second Opium War. Relying on the big reason alone means they are dissatisfied with everyone.

"What the emperor said is very true, but the emperor has said before that our country's national strength is weaker than France. If the war ends together, France will attack, how can our country resist? It is better to keep a low profile and follow the ancients' sleep on firewood and taste gall. Now our Qing Dynasty is also working on the Westernization Affairs Office. Let's compromise and make every effort. Only when the next day is excited will it be the best strategy. Please think twice."

Looking at Prince Li, Guangxu smiled, and he knew that these old ministers would definitely use these words to persuade him.

"What Prince Li said is a very serious and polite statement. Indeed, if France and the whole country come to fight, our army may be defeated. But I assert that France will not fight with me!"

When the ministers heard this, they immediately started whispering. The little emperor suddenly said this. How sure is he coming? Yi stepped forward and said, "Forgive me for being stupid, please let the emperor make it clear."

"You all know, who is in power in France now?"

All the ministers looked at each other and turned their attention to Yi. Yi's foreman of the Zongli Yamen for many years, and naturally they knew more about foreign affairs than others.

"Return to the Emperor, now the French are in power, the Rufri Cabinet."

"Yes, then do you know how long has Rufri's cabinet been in power? How long can it be in power? Why did Rufri get in power?"

Yi hesitated for a moment before saying, "As far as I know, this person seems to have come to power in the seventh year of Guangxu, and was elected. As for when he stepped down, I really don't know."

Guangxu smiled and said, "You are right. He was chosen. Since he can be elected, he will naturally be elected. France is not twenty years ago now. Now they are implementing a republic system, and the parliament has the final say, not the emperor. I assert that as long as the Sino-French war is together, if France is defeated in Vietnam, Rufel will inevitably step down, and the French parliament will definitely not seek peace again."

"How did the emperor know that the French Parliament will fight again?"

"What is the purpose of the French launching a war? Benefits. If they are defeated, of course there will be benefits. If they are defeated, they will not only cost money, but also sacrifice their lives. France had defeated Italy before, obtained the ******* in Africa, and entered the Congo River Basin and the Niger River Basin closer to explore, but these are all supported by the lives of soldiers and large sums of silver. The country has already had a lot of opponents due to the excessive loss of war in the war. Now if they are defeated by me again, Rufelli will inevitably step down. Just like the French army captured Hue at the beginning of the year, why did it be returned to Vietnam? It was because of the collapse of Ferri's cabinet at that time that the French army was at a loss. You say, all the people in power have stepped down, how could they continue to fight with our country?"

Everyone did not expect that the little emperor was so proficient in Western Affairs. Some things were not even clear about Yi, such as the French army seized Hue in April 1882 and then withdrew again. At that time, both China and Vietnam were inexplicably confused, and the little emperor was clear. Everyone didn't know how to refute, and they were stunned for a moment.

Yi reacted the fastest: "The emperor is wise, it turns out that the emperor has already known the French people's affairs. However, I am worried that once we start a war, will we win?"

Yes, everyone realized that all this was based on France's defeat, but who would win when these two countries fought? What's more, the opponent was France, which is known as the second largest in the world.

"The military strategy is full of people who have won the battle before the war is over. Do you think France is still the second in the world twenty years ago? Wrong, after the 'French-Prussian War' with the German Empire, France has become weak. The signing of the Treaty of Frankfurt made France ced the two heavy industrial areas of Artsace and Lorraine and the population above it, and even compensate Germany for 5 billion francs."

Zaitian knocked on the table and gritted his teeth, "Five billion francs, think about it, how much silver is this? Even if I saved the Qing Dynasty for a hundred years, I would not be able to save it. I just paid the Germans so much money! Now France is now second, fourth and fifth, and it is probably difficult. Moreover, France has just ended its war with Italy, and its military morale is exhausted, and its troops are struggling to fight far away, and its supply is difficult. Our army has the convenience of land and the support of border residents. As long as my king and ministers are united, the soldiers are dedicated, the territory is good, and the people are harmonious, how can we not win?"

In fact, France not only needed to pay German war reparations of 5 billion gold francs—equivalent to tens of billions of taels of silver in the Qing Dynasty, but the annual fiscal revenue of the Qing government was only 70 to 80 million taels, Zaitian was not wrong—at the same time, he also had to pay 1.25 million gold francs a day as the military expenses of the German occupying army.

This kind of plundering and marrow-sucking plunder made France immediately swept out of the club of the great powers. Although it was not a weak country of insignificance, the "Gallic Chicken" had indeed become a "stolen chicken".

Has France really declined to the most in the world? The ministers in the Hall of Peace may not be able to calculate it, but even if they don’t know exactly how much silver is worth, they can probably estimate it.

In the hearts of several old ministers, after the failure of the Second Opium War, the Qing Dynasty compensated 1 or 20 million taels of silver and exhausted the court halfway. The Frenchman signed a treaty to compensate 5 billion francs at once. Why don't he be far from death?

The Qing Dynasty had a great country. It should be no big problem to fight a France that was not far from death and was far away from death, right?

Zai Tian's words immediately raised the confidence of several ministers.

However, Weng Tonghe still wanted to figure it out and asked again: "Since the emperor is confident, why do you still have to sign the 'Li Bao Treaty'?"

"The signing of this agreement has three intentions. First, it is to confuse the French, make them think that I dare not fight, take it lightly, and make them unintentional, so that they can hit them with a headache. Second, it is to appease Britain, the United States and other countries. Our country has just overwhelmed Japan in the North Korean incident. If they are just tough on the Vietnam issue, it may cause concern to other Western countries. Once Britain, the United States and France unite, our army will be passive. Third, now the governor of Yunnan and Guizhou, the governor of Guangxi and other civil and military officials are all factions of the Huai Army. If this battle starts, whether it is money, materials or manpower mobilization, it will ultimately depend on them. If their retreat is not blocked and they really fight passively, how can our army win?"

"But if our country unilaterally tore up the treaty, wouldn't it be more taboo to other countries? Wouldn't Li Hongzhang have more excuses at that time?"

"Hahaha~, Master Weng, don't worry, I asserted that within three months, the French would definitely take the lead in tearing up the treaty, and even Baohai would step down and return to China. Within half a year, the French army would launch a war first. The Black Flag Army was the first to protect the victory. I will arrange for Tang Jingsong to contact him at that time, and make arrangements in advance, which will inevitably lead to a great loss for the French."

In the autumn, Tang Jingsong, the sixth-rank chief of the Ministry of Personnel, once submitted a letter to Liu Yongfu and recommended himself to go to Vietnam to meet him. It turned out to be the foreshadowing of the emperor's private arrangement.

Weng Tonghe was able to secretly slap Li Hongzhang with the emperor. No matter what it was for, Weng Tonghe was very happy. In order to make the matter worse, Weng Tonghe quickly asked: "Then should we inform Li Zhongtang first for this matter?"

"No need, I have decided to host the Shanghai-Guangdong Telegram Line by Li Qingjia. I will specifically inform you at that time. What I said today must not be spread outside!"
Chapter completed!