Beiyang Dream

Chapter 42 Empress Dowager, Oh no! Li Hongzhang has his eye on the money for repairing the Summer Pa

Berlin, the study of the Qing Dynasty's embassy in Germany.

It was three o'clock in the afternoon, and it was already getting a little dark. The fireplace was burning wood, and the room was warm.

Tirpitz and Captain Hasser had been politely seen out, leaving only four people in the study: Hong Jun, Sai Jinhua, Chang Desheng, and Guo Shigui.

Hong Jun sat in the armchair, his old face sullen, his eyes fixed on the gold-embossed greeting card and framed photo on the table, seemingly lost in thought.

Sai Jinhua stood beside him, examining the greeting card from all angles. "My lord," she said, "look at the handwriting. It's beautifully written in elegant German script. 'On the occasion of the Empress Dowager's sixtieth birthday'... See how thoughtful the Emperor is! The Empress Dowager's birthday is still four or five years away, and the card has already arrived. If this is reported, it will all be thanks to you, my lord!"

Merit?

Hong Jun's lips twitched.

He certainly liked the credit. He'd spent three years abroad, just waiting to earn some merit so he could return home and get a promotion. But behind that credit... lay a huge financial blunder of 2.3 million taels of silver!

He had read Li Hongzhang's telegram, which said that the reorganization of the Weihai and Lushun forts had saved 1.08 million taels of silver, just enough to buy a small ironclad armored vehicle. Now, however, the small armored vehicle had become a large machine, and the 1.08 million taels had turned into 2.3 million taels. That's a difference of 1.22 million taels!

Where would we get 1.22 million? It's definitely not in the Beiyang government's accounts. The Ministry of Revenue? That old miser Weng Tonghe is a total stingy man; he'd never give it to us. That leaves only one option—the coastal defense tax.

But what was the donation for coastal defense for? It was for the Empress Dowager's renovation of the Summer Palace! It was earmarked for this purpose only!

If he were to report this as a merit, the Empress Dowager would be pleased and approve it. But where would the money come from? Could he really dare to ask the navy for donations? If he did, the garden's construction would be slow, and the Empress Dowager would blame him…

Sai Jinhua then caught a glimpse of the words on the back of the photo: Happy Birthday, Dear Empress Dowager Cixi...

She was taken aback at first, then burst out laughing and quickly covered her mouth, looking up at Chang Desheng.

Chang Desheng stood diagonally opposite Hong Jun, observing his leader's expression. Seeing Sai Jinhua's expression, he quickly raised a finger and gently shook it to his lips.

Sai Jinhua curled her lips slightly, turned her face, and handed the photo to Hong Jun with the front facing up:

"My lord, look at this. A portrait of His Majesty the German Emperor on horseback—how majestic! In Europe, the exchange of photographs between monarchs is the highest form of goodwill. The German Emperor's gift of a portrait clearly tells us—Germany intends to forge a lasting alliance with the Qing Dynasty!"

Chang Desheng mentally gave Sai Jinhua a thumbs up: This girl is really something!

He quickly picked up the conversation:

"My lord, what the lady says makes sense. What kind of country is Germany? Its army is recognized as the best in the world! Moreover, they are a rising power with few colonies abroad, and their influence doesn't extend to our Great Qing. This relationship is exactly the 'befriend distant states while attacking nearby ones' strategy. Germany is the one we should befriend!"

He winked at Guo Shigui.

Guo Shigui understood, took half a step forward, his face beaming with a smile, and even spoke in Tianjin dialect:

"My lord, Colonel Nati said that the reason they strongly recommended we buy this 8,200-ton behemoth is purely to ensure that the Empress Dowager's 60th birthday four years from now can be celebrated peacefully and in great style!"

He counted them on his fingers, one by one:

"Your Majesty, you are wise to see this. These past few years, the Japanese have been vying with us in Korea, putting all their effort into building their navy. They've bought quite a few new, fast ships from Britain and France. Our Dingyuan and Zhenyuan are good, but they're slow, only fourteen or fifteen knots. This 'Longevity Ship,' on the other hand, is eighteen knots! It's significantly faster than the Dingyuan and Zhenyuan!"

"And then there's the artillery. It's armed with six 240mm rapid-fire guns and ten 150mm rapid-fire guns. Those Japanese cruisers would be severely damaged with just one hit. But those small Japanese guns... they'd only scratch its surface!"

"That's what you call fast, fierce, and resilient! As long as this ship reaches Tianjin before October of the 20th year of the Guangxu Emperor's reign, and stands firmly in the Bohai Bay, even if the Japanese had the guts, they wouldn't dare to cause trouble!"

Seeing that the time was right, Chang Desheng delivered the final blow:

"My lord, the Germans originally quoted 4.6 million taels for this ship. It was His Majesty the German Emperor who, out of consideration for the Empress Dowager's virtue, personally approved a 'birthday gift price'... 2.3 million taels, a 50% discount! This is their kind gesture."

He paused, lowering his voice:

"If anyone ruins this, it will not only disappoint the Emperor and damage diplomatic relations between the two countries, but also... what if, four years later, Japan really does stir up trouble around the time of the Empress Dowager's sixtieth birthday, invade, seize Korea, or even disturb the Emperor's carriage..."

"When the Empress Dowager is furious and asks, 'Where did these little Japanese get the audacity?' what will the high-ranking officials in the court say? They will definitely say, 'It's all because of so-and-so that they ruined the Emperor's plan to sell the birthday warship at a low price, and that's why the Japanese dare to be so arrogant!'"

Upon hearing this, Hong Jun's heart skipped a beat.

That sounds like a scare tactic. But in these kinds of situations, it's better to be safe than sorry! If you really run into trouble, the blame could be incredibly heavy!

Hong Jun took a deep breath and then slowly exhaled.

"This is a matter of great importance," he began slowly. "I... will immediately draft a memorial, submit it to the General Administration, and forward it to the Empress Dowager and the Emperor for their review. We cannot allow the Emperor's good intentions to be in vain!"

"Your Excellency is wise!" Chang Desheng and Guo Shigui bowed in unison.

......

The first day of the twelfth lunar month in the fifteenth year of the Guangxu Emperor's reign.

Tianjin, the Governor-General's Office of Zhili, the main hall.

It was about the right time, around 4 PM. The sky in Tianjin was overcast, as if it were about to snow.

The flower hall was warmed by an underfloor heating system. Li Hongzhang and Prince Chun Yixuan sat facing each other at a round rosewood table, with a set of Jun ware tea utensils in the middle. The tea had already been refilled twice.

Prince Chun is forty-nine years old this year, but he looks older than his actual age. His face is yellow and bloodless, with heavy bags under his eyes. He sits there with his body slightly hunched, and coughs softly from time to time.

This father of Emperor Guangxu now holds the title of Minister of the "Office for the Management of Naval Affairs." He is specifically responsible for misappropriating naval funds to build gardens for "the beloved Empress Dowager Cixi," a weighty responsibility indeed! Now, with the end of the year approaching, Prince Chun's trip to Tianjin is to discuss with Li Hongzhang how much should be left for the Beiyang Fleet after the misappropriation of naval funds next year.

"Your Highness," Li Hongzhang picked up his teacup, blowing away the floating tea leaves, "has the General Administration of Customs... received a definite figure for next year's budget for the Beiyang Fleet?"

Prince Chun sighed, his voice a little hoarse: "Shaoquan, it's difficult. As for the Ministry of Revenue, Master Weng is adamant that the annual expenditure of the Beiyang Fleet cannot exceed 1.3 million taels."

Li Hongzhang sneered inwardly.

One million three hundred thousand? Just the existing ships of the Beiyang Fleet alone cost one million seven hundred thousand a year for maintenance, coal, ammunition, and pay!

But he didn't show it on his face, only shaking his head and saying, "Your Highness is right. With everything soaring in price these days, this 1.3 million... isn't even enough to barely keep things afloat!"

He paused for a moment: "Now Japan is pressing closer and closer to Korea, and its navy is constantly adding new ships. The Beiyang Fleet's advantage is clearly fading away. The recent adjustment of the deployment of coastal defense batteries saved over a million taels, but that's only enough to buy a small boat..."

Prince Chun raised his eyelids and glanced at Li Hongzhang.

He was a shrewd man. Li Hongzhang's words were largely true, but the Beiyang Army's desire to buy a large ship capable of overwhelming the Japanese, and to try and take advantage of the 260 million taels of silver allocated for coastal defense, was absolutely out of the question!

"I understand Shaoquan's difficulties," Prince Chun said slowly, "but the court also has its own difficulties. The Empress Dowager's garden... they're pressing for it too. And the coastal defense donation can't be touched."

This is tantamount to blocking the road.

Just as Li Hongzhang was about to speak again, footsteps sounded outside the flower hall, followed by Zhou Fu's voice, which, even through the curtain, carried an irrepressible joy:

"This humble servant, Zhou Fu, has important matters to report to Your Highness and the Grand Secretary!"

Li Hongzhang and Prince Chun exchanged a glance.

"Come in," Li Hongzhang said.

The curtain was lifted, and Zhou Fu entered, clutching a telegram in his hand, his smile barely contained. Upon entering, he first straightened his sleeves, then respectfully bowed – a gesture of respect reserved for princes. He then turned to Li Hongzhang and bowed deeply.

"Your Highness, Your Excellency," Zhou Fu said with a hint of joy, "the urgent telegram from Minister Hong, the ambassador to Germany, has arrived!"

Li Hongzhang thought to himself: They've arrived.

His expression remained unchanged: "What were you talking about?"

Zhou Fu took a deep breath and said:

"Hong Xing's telegram stated: Emperor Wilhelm II of Germany, to congratulate my Empress Dowager on her 60th birthday next year... oh no, the 20th year of the Guangxu Emperor's reign, has personally written a greeting card, along with an imperial portrait, and entrusted his naval captain Tirpitz to deliver it to the legation. The German Emperor highly praises the Empress Dowager's virtuous character and admires Chinese culture..."

Prince Chun was a little confused: "Wait, a birthday celebration? Isn't that still more than four years away?"

"Your Highness," Zhou Fu said with a smile, "this is precisely where the German Emperor's sincerity lies—he's been thinking about this for a long time. Furthermore, to show his sincerity in celebrating his birthday, the German Emperor has specially ordered his Navy to sell a new ironclad warship to our Great Qing at 'half price'!"

"Half price?" Prince Chun was taken aback.

"Yes!" Zhou Fu unfolded the telegram and read aloud, "The ship has a standard displacement of 8,200 tons, six main guns, ten secondary guns, a speed of up to 18 knots, and sturdy armor... The original price was 4.6 million taels, but the German Emperor personally set the 'birthday gift price' at 2.3 million taels!"

"How much? How much?" Prince Chun almost stood up from his chair.

"Two million three hundred thousand taels, Your Highness," Zhou Fu repeated, adding, "Minister Hong stated in his telegram that this ship was specifically designed to counter Japan's new cruisers. If this ship can arrive in China before the Empress Dowager's birthday, Japan will certainly not dare to provoke us, and the Empress Dowager's birthday can be guaranteed. Conversely..."

He paused, then glanced at Li Hongzhang.

Li Hongzhang slowly replied, his voice steady: "Conversely, if our refusal of the German Emperor's kind offer emboldens Japan to provoke us during the Empress Dowager's birthday celebrations... and we alarm Her Majesty, no one can bear such responsibility!"

Prince Chun felt a sudden darkness before his eyes, thinking: "Empress Dowager, this is bad! Li Hongzhang has his eye on the money for repairing the Summer Palace!"