"On September 1, the French chief Bo Hua led a large army to invade Danfeng, and our army launched a war with the enemy outside Danfeng City. The two armies fought fiercely for two days, killing more than a hundred enemies, and countless injured people. They sank two French gunboats and injured one. Bo Hua retreated."

Listening to the brief good news, Zaitian was extremely happy. Sure enough, just as Prince Chun said, the Black Flag Army had not been defeated, and the Qing Dynasty had not been defeated, and Vietnam was still in the hands of the Qing Dynasty! Now, Liu Yongfu won another victory in Tonkin.

As for the agreement signed by the Vietnamese king and the French, what right does a vassal king have to represent the Qing Dynasty to sign a diplomatic agreement? The Treaty of Hue was naturally ignored by the monarchs and ministers in the Forbidden City.

"Okay! Liu Yongfu won consecutive battles and deserves a great reward! I passed on my will and appointed Liu Yongfu as the general of Tokichi and the rank of Minister of War. At the same time, each general under his command also has a reward. After Liu Yongfu made a memorial, he will announce it. He will allocate another 100,000 taels of silver to motivate the soldiers."

Liu Yongfu won a battle in Tokyo, which was naturally a good thing. As for the promotion of the title, no one came to the emperor at this time. After Emperor Guangxu finished reading the decree, all the ministers said: "The emperor is wise."

Then Prince Chun Yihuan made a comment: "What should I do with the matter of arms and foreign artillery coach mentioned by Liu Yongfu in his letter?"

The Black Flag Army won the battle, but its efforts were also huge. In addition to winning the victory, Liu Yongfu still needed food and salary. In addition, the most important thing was to have arms.

After fighting a few battles with the French, Liu Yongfu realized that it was really luck that he could cut An Ye's head with a big knife and spear. The second victory in Paper Bridge was completely well arranged by his baby son, and Li Weiye's level was not high, so he won a great victory. The subsequent victory was achieved at a heavy price.

Especially the artillery of the French army left a deep impression on Liu Yongfu. Even without Liu Shaoqing's instructions, he would try his best to ask the Qing court to add some new foreign cannons this time. However, Liu Shaoqing was more thoughtful and wanted the Qing court to try to recruit some artillery trainers for him. The Black Flag Army from remote areas had a very poor level of operation of cannons, and this was a technical job, so Liu Shaoqing couldn't handle it, so he could only find foreign aid.

The little emperor thought for a while, "This gun is easy to solve. It's just a matter of this artillery teacher... King Chun, Shenji Camp or other Beijing Camp, can there be soldiers who can skillfully operate foreign artillery?"

Yihuan replied awkwardly: "Back to the emperor, there are many soldiers and generals who operate the cannons, but they have not passed through the battle formation, this..."

Zai Tian understood that there are people, but they are all mischief. It’s still a matter of shooting a few shots. If you go to battle, it’s probably unreliable.

"In this way, do you have to rely on foreigners?"

Yihuan immediately said: "I heard from the emperor that the German country in Thailand had defeated the French, and Liu Yongfu's army also praised the cannons purchased from the German country that were provided to the Black Flag Army. I thought it would be better to purchase a batch of cannons from Germany to enrich the defense of the capital on the one hand, and to solve the needs of the Vietnamese army on the other hand. As for the teachers who operate foreign cannons, the Germans can also act as the ones."

Zaitian thought for a while, "Not right! It's okay to buy this artillery from Germany, but you can't act too hasty about the teacher. I think Germany is even stronger than France. If we rely on the Germans to defeat the French, we might be able to drive away wolves at the front door and tigers in the backyard. What if the Germans are attracted again?"

The civil and military officials in the court shivered after a few words. The French were so difficult to deal with. The final outcome of this battle was really unpredictable. If the emperor said, he would be aggravated by a more powerful German, it would be a big problem for the Qing Dynasty!

"If so, what should I do?"

Zaitian thought for a while, "You can call Li Fengbao and ask him to find some Italian or Austrians to come to China to serve as instructors."

Li Fengbao was the "supervisor" who led the first batch of Chinese international students to Europe in the third year of Guangxu. He was responsible for arranging international students to study in relevant colleges and enterprises in Britain, France and other countries, and internships and was responsible for the daily management of these international students. In July of the following year, he was recommended by Guo Songtao, the ambassador to Britain, and was sponsored by Li Hongzhang. The Qing government appointed Li Fengbao as a German minister to be envoyed, and was given a real lecture in April of the fifth year of Guangxu.

Now, Li Fengbao is currently serving as an envoy to the four European countries including Austria, Italy, and the Netherlands. If the emperor wants to hire foreign personnel to teach artillery training from Italy or Austria, it is natural to find him.

In October, the imperial envoy **** Zhong, who completed the North Korean affairs, returned to the country.

**** Zhong returned to China by water. After landing in Tianjin, **** Zhongli, who had worked under the curtain of Li Hongzhang, should have come to visit the old man.

"Has the matter in Japan been handled properly?"

"It has been handled after going back to the Nakado. The Japanese were still a little hesitant. When the French started to operate in Vietnam, Inoue Kin even wanted to win some benefits for Japan. Unfortunately, Li Weiye was detained in An Ye's footsteps, which made the Japanese who were originally illusions finally choose to compromise."

Li Hongzhang nodded and then asked, "What are the movements of the Russians?"

**** Zhong said with a slight look of anxiety: "The court originally wanted the Russians to put pressure on Japan and retake Ryukyu again, but the Japanese side bit him to death and refused to agree. Russia could not seek benefits from it, so it would not give up. Before I left, I received news, and Russia began to contact North Korea again, and I am afraid it would still make a fuss on the port of North Korea!"

Li Hongzhang sighed, "The Russians are insatiable, and they are the most difficult character among the Western countries. The sixth prince should not have agreed to the Treaty of Aihui!"

Li Hongzhang and Prince Gong had a scourge, and most of the civil and military officials in the court knew about it, but this kind of evaluation of a prince was not something that **** Zhong could answer.

As if he knew that it was inappropriate to say this in front of **** Zhong, Li Hongzhang immediately changed the subject.

"Uncle Mei is here in Tianjin this time, can he stay for two more days?"

**** Zhong hurriedly said, "I wonder what Lord Zhongtang has to give?"

Li Hongzhang said: "After the imperial decree, I negotiated with the French Officer Tuoguli to discuss Vietnam, but it has made little progress. I heard that you had met him once, so I want to invite you to find out."

**** Zhong once obtained a doctorate in law in France. In the second year of Guangxu, he was sent by Li Hongzhang to France as a "doctoral fellow" to study international law by Li Hongzhang, and also served as the translator of Guo Songtao, the Chinese ambassador to France. In the third year of Guangxu, he passed the liberal arts and science exams at the Paris Examination Institute, becoming the first batch of people studying abroad in the Qing Dynasty and the first Chinese to obtain a diploma/s certificate of French high school entrance examination. Two years later, **** Zhong further obtained a law degree in a private political school (the predecessor of the Paris Institute of Political Science).

It was during his study in France that he was able to meet Tuguli. And last year, he also assisted Li Hongzhang and Baohai in negotiating Vietnam contract matters and was also familiar with the situation in Vietnam. Li Hongzhang arranged for him to inquire about the news, and he was indeed the best candidate.

In his conversation with Tokuli, **** Zhong obtained an extremely important piece of information: France has been appointed to Courbet as the commander-in-chief of the French Army in Tonkin. At the same time, the French army has increased its troops to 9,000 in Hanoi, and will further increase its troops by 5,000 in the next one to two months. The new commander-in-chief Courbet has been authorized by the French parliament and cabinet to launch an attack on the Qing army in Beining at any time to "sweep away all those who hold weapons in Tonkin."

Things are not good!

As expected, the French still played the trick of promoting peace by using war. On the one hand, they negotiated under harsh conditions, and on the other hand, they stepped up military preparations and were ready to fight at any time!

Li Hongzhang, who received the news, immediately reported to the Qing court and suggested that Guangxi governor Xu Yanxu be the governor of Guangxi, go to the defense of Beining, Taiyuan and Liangshan outside Zhennan Pass.

That night, Emperor Guangxu urgently summoned Tang Jingsong.

"Tang Qing, you have actually been to Tonkin. According to your observation, who is stronger than the French army, the Black Flag Army?"

Tang Jingsong did not dare to deceive and said truthfully: "The Black Flag Army is brave, but the French army's guns and cannons are sharp, and the combat arrangement is smooth, and the advance and retreat are moderate. Judging from the weak ministers, the French army should be stronger."

Zaitian frowned, "Didn't it mean that Liu Yongfu has an unusually big man..."

Tang Jingsong said: "Back to the emperor, the young master Liu Yongfu is indeed extremely intelligent, but he is... young..." Tang Jingsong originally wanted to say, "That's a child after all," but looked at the emperor in front of him and asked him to change his words.

"And the Black Flag Army has been short of time to obtain Western firearms, and there are no artillery like the French army, nor do they have naval forces such as gunboats, so..."

Zai Tian understood the meaning of Tang Jingsong. Even if the Black Flag Army had the help of God, its foundation was weak after all, and how could it compare to the century-old heritage of France?

But after the Black Flag Army came out, the little emperor really couldn't think of any soldiers available.

After sighing deeply, Zaitian had to instruct Tang Jingsong: "The French intend to invade Tokichi in a large amount. Li Hongzhang recommended Guangxi governor Xu Yanxu to lead the defense outside the Nanguan Pass. But I think Xu Yanxu is a civil servant after all and has never dealt with foreigners. What's more, the French army is coming in a raging manner this time, and I am worried that this person will not be able to use it. Judging from the current armed forces in Tokichi, it is still the strongest combat power of the Black Flag Army. But Vietnam has surrendered at this time, and Liu Yongfu has lost the support of the Vietnamese government. I am afraid he will retreat in the last battle. If you go this time, in addition to paying 100,000 yuan and some support for weapons and ammunition, you can also assist him in recruiting troops in Yunnan, Guangxi and other places to strengthen his momentum!"

"I understand!" Tang Jingsong received the emperor's will and immediately set off to Guangdong via sea. In order to cooperate with Tang Jingsong, Zaitian wrote a secret decree to him, which clearly required Xu Yanxu to strengthen his support to Liu Yongfu.

On October 30, the Qing court gave a note to France: Vietnam was originally a vassal state of China, and after China used troops to suppress bandits, it was publicly known to all countries. Now France has no way to invade, how can it be contemptuous? If it invades our army's garrison, there is no reason to sit idly by war.

On the same day, Emperor Guangxu issued an order to reorganize the coastal defense and prepare for war.

Especially in Tianjin, in order to prevent the story of the Second Raven War, Li Hongzhang focused on rectification on the one hand, and at the same time ordered the eighth battalion of the Qing army stationed in Jilin, a total of more than 3,000 elite troops stationed in Tianjin to assist in defense.

Zhang Shusheng also recommended Wang Debang, a former Fujian governor who lives in Yongzhou, Hunan. Zaitian grabbed his eyebrows and beard. Based on the principle of using it as a human, he ordered him to recruit local tyrants and go to Guangxi to listen to it.

On November 7, the Qing court issued another order, ordering Yunnan Governor Tang Jiong to go out of the pass to deploy defenses immediately and stationed in Shanxi to "no delays are allowed"!

On November 16, the Minister to France Zeng Jize handed over the note from the Qing court to the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

At the end of the month, Cen Yuying, the Governor of Yunnan and Guizhou, submitted a memorial, requesting to lead the 20th battalion of the Yunnan Army to Shanxi to assist in defense, and Emperor Guangxu approved the memorial.

Under the real threat from France, the old war machine of the Qing Empire had to turn with all its strength!
Chapter completed!