My Italy

After the defeat of Pyongyang, the defeat of the Yalu River, the fall of Port Arthur, and the defeat of the Dadonggou naval battle, in just three months, the Qing army suffered successive defeats, losing tens of thousands of troops. Now the war has burned to the land of Longxing, the Qing court.

This frightened the Qing court. As the actual commander of this war, Li Zhongtang was even more overwhelming. Not to mention that most of the family's fortune has been lost and their intestines are filled with regret. But there was no turning back after the construction started. Everything must be fought now, otherwise he, Li Zhongtang, would be the culprit. So he currently thought of a solution that was not a solution.

Borrow foreign soldiers!

Speaking of which, Li Zhongtang also had rich experience in borrowing foreign soldiers. During the Taiping Rebellion, Li Zhongtang borrowed foreign soldiers. When Gordon formed a foreign gun team to defend the concession in Shanghai, he was borrowed by him to deal with Changmao.

During the subsequent Sino-French war, reinforcements were borrowed from Italy. Although it was delivered to Li Zhongtang's doorstep by himself, it didn't matter to Li Zhongtang. Being able to borrow foreign soldiers is his ability, and Li Zhongtang is the only one in the world who can borrow foreign soldiers.

Although Li Zhongtang was skilled in the business of borrowing foreign soldiers, this time it was no small matter because he borrowed a little too much. At least over ten thousand. This person is not a relative of Li Zhongtang, so he must pay a huge price.

And this matter is of great importance, so except for a few people, no one else knows. This time, except for his confidant Zhou Fu, he brought no one else with him when meeting and discussing with Italian Minister Jia Liwen. After all, people talk a lot, and if the matter is not discussed, it will cause uproar in the city, and he doesn't know what moth he will come up with. Thinking of this, Weng Tonghe's disgusted face appeared in his mind.

"Yushan, you said that borrowing troops this time can be done?"

Facing Li Zhongtang's questioning, how could he not know what he was thinking as he had been his confidant for many years? Zhongtang had no idea.

"Sir, if this can be done, the Italian people have great interests in our country. Judging from their interactions over the years, they have great goodwill towards us. I think the Italian people have also been involved in fierce battles in Europe in recent years, and they have a lot of foreign debts. If so. If you pay a certain price, then the habits of others should be the same."

Zhou Fu's words made Li Zhongtang feel at ease. They also knew about the discussion with Italian Minister Jia Liwen about borrowing troops. After learning about Italy's performance in recent years, Li Zhongtang also had a high evaluation. Although the land battle was not as good as Germany, and the naval battle was not as good as England, it still had eight or nine points of its combat power, which was a strong reinforcement.

Yes, the senior leaders of the Huai Army have a high opinion of Italy. It is not much worse than Germany in land battles, and it is not as strong as Britain in naval battles. It has raised Italy to the point where it is comparable to Britain and Germany. Although it sounds like a compliment to have good relations with Italy, it also shows that Italy's successive victories in recent years have greatly improved Italy's international status.

At this time, Li Zhongtang's eldest son Li Jingfang came to report, "Father, the guests have arrived."

"Okay, let's go over there."

That's right, in order to keep it secret, even the servants' work was done by Li Zhongtang's son.

In a secret room in the Governor's Yamen, Minister Jia put aside his blouse and looked at the place. In typical Chinese style, there are only a few chairs besides a long table.

At this time, Li Zhongtang and Zhou Fu walked in.

"Mr. Jia, I hope you will pay attention to your negligence."

"It doesn't matter, I'm extremely happy to see Master Zhongtang again."

After a brief exchange of greetings, Li Zhongtang spoke. "The main reason for inviting Minister Jia to come this time is to ask for something."

"Can you please speak frankly, Master Zhongtang?"

"Currently, our country has suffered heavy losses in the war with Japan, especially on naval vessels, so I would like to purchase a batch of off-the-shelf warships from your country. In addition, our country is also quite short of personnel. Can we recruit a group of retired officers and soldiers from your country? Replenish the purchased warships. In addition, your country also knows that our country's current losses on land are not small, so retired army officers and soldiers also need it. Of course, our country also knows that this will make things difficult for your country, so in terms of cost, our country can pay the price of hiring consultants. , give these retired officers and soldiers the treatment they deserve."

Good guy, Jia Liwen was startled by Li Zhongtang's opening. Rather than hiring a consultant, he was clearly planning to invite Italy to send troops.

"Lord Zhongtang, you also know that our country is neutral in this war in the Far East. Your country hired our retired officers and soldiers to come to China during the war, which will seriously interfere with our country's neutrality."

As soon as Jia Liwen said these words, Li Zhongtang and Zhou Fu looked at each other, something interesting!

Instead of refusing directly, the target mentioned the difficulties. This was because he was waiting for him to make an offer.

"Our country is willing to pay 20 million taels of silver to your country to purchase a batch of ships and arms. In addition, we are willing to pay a monthly salary ranging from 40 taels to 200 taels for each military consultant who comes to China according to his pre-retirement military rank. In addition, if there is an accident while we are in China, we are willing to pay 600 taels of resettlement fees for each person who is disabled, and we are willing to pay 800 taels for the burial of those who die. "

Li Zhongtang gave a lot. You must know that the Huai Army Zhengyong only received 4.2 taels of silver per month. This was given to the Italian Army almost ten times as soon as he opened his mouth. He was indeed rich and wealthy.

Li Zhongtang had no choice. Each of these powers was more greedy than the other, and they all hoped to draw concessions in the Qing Dynasty and reap benefits. On the contrary, Yi Ren, who can just give money directly, seems strange among them. Can Li Zhongtang sign any contract for the concession? So I can only think of ways to deal with money.

Jia Liwen frowned after listening to the conditions given by Li Zhongtang.

"Li Zhongtang, I would like to ask how many retired officers and soldiers from our country you plan to hire?"

"A few thousand."

Although he didn't understand what Minister Jia meant, Li Zhongtang still told the truth.

After listening to Li Zhongtang's words, Jia Liwen shook his head and said. "Li Zhongtang, with all due respect, your country has hired fewer people."

"ah!"

Jia Liwen's words shocked Li Zhongtang and Zhou Fu, which was not enough.

Seeing the expressions of the two people in front of him, Jia Liwen, who knew that the other party would misunderstand, opened his mouth to explain. "You have misunderstood. This is not what I said, but the estimate of our military. At present, the Japanese army has a standing army of more than 80,000 people and a reserve force of nearly 200,000. If we want to defeat the Japanese army, our country does not have three or four With tens of thousands of people, it is difficult to do it. And considering the current strength of the Japanese navy, our country also needs to dispatch at least 80,000 tons of warships, so the cost is not cheap at all."

With thirty to forty thousand people, we also need 80,000 tons of warships, and the money needed for this is gone.

At this moment, a trace of regret flashed through Li Zhongtang's heart. He needed to borrow so many foreign soldiers. Did the Qing Dynasty have enough money?

Everyone was silent for a while, and the room fell into an eerie silence.

Although Jia Liwen didn't know Li Zhongtang's inner thoughts, he could guess some.

"Your Excellency Zhongtang, this is a necessary condition to win the war. If our country provides help, then the outcome of this war will also be based on the will of Your Excellency Zhongtang."

Jia Liwen's words were a naked temptation to use the court's money to deal with the Huai army. Now Li Zhongtang was tempted. Originally, he did not intend to fight the Japanese, but was prompted by the imperial court to do so. Now we can invite foreign soldiers to deal with the Japanese, but the court still has to pay for it, right?

However, this matter was serious, and Li Zhongtang still needed the support of the court.

Therefore, in the end, the negotiations with Jia Liwen were limited to verbal agreements, and everything had to be decided after Li Zhongtang came to Beijing.

The day after the secret meeting with Minister Yu Jia, Li Zhongtang went to Beijing in person to meet with Cixi and Guangxu. After nearly two days of secret discussions with the Emperor and Queen Mother, Li Zhongtang finally got the result he wanted. Considering the safety of the Longxing land in the northeast, the Qing government had to accept Li Zhongtang's suggestion and recruit 30,000 retired army officers and soldiers and 4,000 retired navy officers and soldiers from Italy. In addition, it also purchased the arms and leases needed by these people from Italy. warship.

Yes, leasing warships is also a pioneer. The Qing Dynasty leased three Italian Turin-class ships, two Venetian-class warships, and some other warships. It leased nearly 80,000 tons in one go, surpassing the Japanese Combined Fleet in one fell swoop. This The situation at sea immediately reversed.

And as the Qing court announced the news to the world, it immediately caused an uproar in all countries.