After Wang Guorui took advantage of the loopholes in the ceasefire agreement and made the Japanese army suffer a big loss, the Japanese army also began to pinch their noses and admit it, and dared not fight back. In the final analysis, Taiwan's army is very powerful in this regard, and it is useless for them to fight back, so it is better not to waste the lives of soldiers. Now too many Japanese soldiers want to return to China as soon as possible, and it is impossible for them to twist the Japanese army to fight. So now everyone is waiting to discuss how to discuss the issue of the Taiwan region. This is the most important thing. If the two sides cannot reach an agreement, the war will have to continue, which will be of no benefit to either the Japanese army or Taiwan.

"We are negotiating with the Japanese army. What is that old **** Li Hongzhang doing here?" Wang Guorui looked at the list of people who had come to negotiate.

And Zheng Hong immediately said: "Hehe, this time our Lord Zhongtang obviously saw the hope of taking back Taiwan, so he came here to make meritorious service. You must know that he signed the Treaty of Shimonoseki originally, and he has already He was reviled as a traitor by the people all over the country. Now that we are fighting well, he sees the hope of taking back Taiwan, so of course he wants to come over and restore his reputation as soon as possible. This can properly restore the Shimonoseki Treaty he signed at the time the notoriety of the time."

"This Li Hongzhang really wants to daydream! He wants to take back Taiwan, so he will become a hero instead! However, it doesn't matter who has the initiative!" Wang Guorui snorted.

About half a month later, Li Hongzhang, the special envoy of the central court of the Qing Dynasty, and Japanese Prime Minister Hirobumi Ito also set off to Taiwan to prepare for negotiations on the disposal of Taiwan's aftermath. Originally, Japanese Prime Minister Ito Hirobumi didn't want to come in person, but Li Hongzhang, the prime minister of the Manchu Qing Dynasty, came in person. How can Japan not send someone of equal status? So Ito Hirobumi also had to come to discuss the issue of ownership of Taiwan.

"Woo—" Li Hongzhang came by boat, and his heart was very complicated.

"Father, what are you worried about? It's not possible to take back Taiwan this time. This is a great contribution to you, Father!" Li Hongzhang's son Li Jingfang asked.

And Li Hongzhang immediately said with a wry smile, "I'm worried about that Wang Guorui!"

"Wang Guorui, the county magistrate of Hsinchu, Taiwan? What can a small county magistrate do? Can he influence your father, a big boss in the court?" Li Jingfang asked.

But Li Hongzhang said: "It's hard to say. Today's Taiwan is no longer the Taiwan of the past. It can even be said that it is not the Taiwan of the imperial court, but Wang Guorui's Taiwan!"

Li Jingfang didn't quite understand what Li Hongzhang meant. In his eyes, Wang Guorui is just a small magistrate, can he still be stabbed? But he didn't dare to refute his father's words, he just knew himself.

But Li Hongzhang saw that his son still didn't understand the problem, and he couldn't help thinking in his heart: "My son's prescriptions are really useless!"

as a father. Even if it is Li Jingfang's uncle and adoptive father, it is a tragedy to say that his son is "unusable" in this way. This also shows that Li Hongzhang failed in educating future generations in his life.

"Going ashore, I finally have the face to come to Taiwan this time. After all, this time I came to take back Taiwan, not cede it." Li Jingfang said.

When Li Jingfang originally handed over Taiwan, he had no face to come to Taiwan's land. But now he thinks that he is the one who came to take back Taiwan, and he has made great contributions to the court and the people of Taiwan, so he has the face to come to Taiwan. And this Li Jingfang seems to have made Taiwan's return through his own efforts. It seems very natural.

"Welcome Lord Li Hongzhang!" A person came over to greet him.

"Who are you, where is your Lord Wang Guorui?" Li Jingfang asked.

And that person immediately said: "I am the battalion-level staff officer of the Taiwan Anti-Japanese Volunteer Army Staff Department. My name is Song Yang. Master Wang asked me to receive you!"

"What? You just sent a battalion-level officer to meet us?" Li Jingfang was annoyed for a while.

In Li Jingfang's eyes, his father was a prime minister of the Qing Dynasty. Even if he went to a foreign country, the prime minister and emperor would come out to greet him in person. But when we arrived in Taiwan, a battalion-level staff officer came out to greet him. This was really embarrassing. Even if Wang Guorui came out to greet him in person, it was only natural in Li Jingfang's eyes. After all, Wang Guorui is just a small magistrate, not a high-ranking figure, how dare he be so negligent when the prime minister comes? As for the status of a battalion-level officer, Li Jingfang, who had drunk foreign ink, of course knew it. In the Qing Dynasty, it was nothing more than a general. It's absurd for a prime minister to be greeted by a general at most seven ranks.

"Our lord Wang said that when we treat real distinguished guests, only the lord Wang will come out to greet them in person. And if it is someone who sells our interests in Taiwan to beg for mercy from outsiders, then we are naturally not worthy of letting lord Wang come out to greet them. But we can send me A battalion-level staff officer is already very face-saving!" Song Yang said.

"Bastard, do you know who the person in front of you is? He is..." Li Jingfang wanted to say something, but was stopped by Li Hongzhang.

"Jing Fang, people don't welcome us. We are people who came here uninvited. It's normal for people not to be enthusiastic. Let's go, why bother with each other?" Li Hongzhang said.

Li Hongzhang's city mansion is much stronger than his own son, so naturally he will not be angry about this matter. Of course he knew that he signed the Treaty of Shimonoseki and sold Taiwan. It is normal for Taiwanese to have a bad impression of him. If Taiwanese have a good impression of themselves, then Li Hongzhang feels abnormal. Since I have become the signing representative of the Treaty of Shimonoseki, I can only accept my fate, what else can I do. This time he took the initiative to come here, that is to say, he saw that Taiwan had the hope of taking it back, so he took the initiative to come here and want to take back Taiwan. In this way, Li Hongzhang can re-establish some prestige, and then he can gain some political capital for himself. The domestic pressure is increasing, because Wang Guorui won the battle, and everyone thinks that Japan is very weak, so it is advocated that Li Hongzhang should be severely punished for compromising Japan at that time.

Therefore, Li Hongzhang was under great pressure. He hoped that he could use this time to take back Taiwan, which would allow him to gain some political capital. On the other hand, Li Hongzhang also wanted to see who was able to defeat the powerful Japanese army and annihilate the three divisions of the Japanese army, and what ability did Wang Guorui have to annihilate the three divisions of the Japanese army. Li Hongzhang dispatched hundreds of thousands of Huai troops, but Wang Guorui did it. This is what Li Hongzhang is most curious about.

And soon, Ito Hirobumi also came here. And the people who received Ito Hirobumi were all battalion-level officers, which made Ito Hirobumi very unhappy. But after all, Ito Hirobumi's castle is relatively deep, so he didn't take the initiative to say it. And then the two sides also did it together. In Tainan, the former Tainan prefect Yamen and the current Taiwan Anti-Japanese Leaders Office began to negotiate.

"I am Doona Le, the Minister of the British Empire to China. I have received an order from China to mediate the conflict between the Taiwan region and Japan. This negotiation will be a discussion that will determine the future of Taiwan. The agreement signed this time will It will be implemented under the supervision of our British Empire, and please listen to it." Donale said.

"It's really lingering!" Wang Guorui cursed inwardly.

The British Empire is really lingering, and their shadows are everywhere. During the last armistice agreement, there was James, the British Consul from Taiwan, and now the British Minister to China, Donal Le, also came out in person. This is a guy who lingers. However, Wang Guorui also knew that Britain was the most powerful country in the world in this era, and no one could bypass them. It was normal for the British minister to come to mediate. And the British will never be at ease, so he just wants to obtain his own interests.

However, since this meeting has started, there are three parties involved in the discussion. On the Japanese side, on the Taiwan side represented by Wang Guorui, and on the Qing mainland central government side. These three parties all have their own interests and demands, so they all have to discuss and then fight and compromise with each other. However, the most powerful one now is the party represented by Wang Guorui~lightnovelpub.net~ because they have strength. Wang Guorui has controlled the overall situation in Taiwan, and the Japanese soldiers are trapped and can be wiped out by Wang Guorui at any time. The reason why Wang Guorui did not annihilate them was to keep some hostages as a means of coercion, so that Japan had to submit. These hundreds of thousands of hostages are very important things, so naturally they cannot all be killed.

"Now, all of you express your opinions, and then we, the British Empire, will conduct a mediation that suits the interests of all parties as much as possible according to the requirements of all parties, so that all parties can obtain a result that is as satisfactory as possible. ” Don Nale said.

And Dou Nale also hopes to mediate this matter as soon as possible, and then get a performance for himself when he just took office. After all, he has just taken up the post of the British Minister to China, so he hopes to make some achievements as soon as possible. And these are the three fires of new officials as the saying goes, and Dou Nale also wants to make some achievements as soon as possible, and then prepare for the next work. He even hopes to use this mediation to gain some benefits from both the Qing Dynasty and Japan. This method of gaining benefits by mediating wars is also a common thing in the eyes of the British, which is not surprising at all.

As for how to mediate, it depends on how to meet the interests of the British Empire. (To be continued.) xh118