Chapter 32

Lin Yuan asked, "What's wrong with you?"

Shen Wanqing didn't understand why she would get angry so easily just by hearing his words.

Shen Wanqing said, "Nothing much. Didn't you say you have a crush on a girl? I was just surprised!"

Lin Yuan replied, "Where did I say I have a crush on her? She is the princess of the Ryukyu Kingdom."

Shen Wanqing's jealousy intensified, and she said, "A princess, huh? You're going to be a prince consort!"

Lin Yuan quickly explained, "That's not what I meant. I meant we can use their power to take over Ryukyu. Ryukyu is now Japan's Okinawa Prefecture. By occupying Ryukyu, we can have a place to develop and also give the Japanese a hard lesson."

Shen Wanqing felt a bit embarrassed and said, "So that's what you meant?" After saying that, she started to get angry with herself. During her time at the training base, she had the highest score in emotional control, but today she got angry so easily.

Shen Wanqing said, "Tell me, what do you need me to do?"

Lin Yuan said, "I plan to send her family out of Japan to our people. However, I know they are under strict surveillance by the Japanese. So, I want you to think of a way. Aren't you special agents good at kidnapping and rescue operations?"

Shen Wanqing thought for a moment and said, "I do have a plan to help them leave Japan, but I need to meet them first. Arrange it for me."

Seeing her confident demeanor, Lin Yuan was very pleased and couldn't help but say, "I knew it, Wanqing, you always have the best ideas!"

Shen Wanqing's face turned red, and she lowered her head to eat. After a while, they finished their meal and each went about their own business.

According to the Japanese schedule, the afternoon was for sightseeing. Lin Yuan and the others naturally had no time, so only Chen Fei went. Lin Yuan had brought Chen Fei hoping he could provide security, but after arriving in Japan, he realized that the real expert in security was Zhang Hua. Chen Fei was completely clueless about it. The journalist Tang Fan could still go out to capture valuable historical images, so Chen Fei became a complete idle person.

Fortunately, Chen Fei knew Japanese, so walking around in Shimonoseki and enjoying the scenery wasn't too boring. The Japanese government was worried about extreme actions from the public, so there were police maintaining order along the way.

As a member of the entourage, Chen Fei walked behind Li Hongzhang's sedan chair. He curiously observed the Japanese people around him and suddenly noticed that a young man seemed suspicious.

The others were standing still, watching, but this man was following the sedan chair. He only looked at Li Hongzhang's sedan chair, and his hands were hidden in his sleeves, as if he was hiding something. When the sedan chair turned the corner, he suddenly quickened his pace and pushed through the crowd.

The instincts honed on the battlefield made Chen Fei rush towards him, but he was too far away, and there were other people in between. Chen Fei was a step too slow. The man reached Li Hongzhang's sedan chair first, pulled out a gun from his sleeve, and aimed at the sedan chair. As he pulled the trigger, a gunshot rang out. Chen Fei pushed through the people in front of him and rushed to the man. Before the second shot could be fired, Chen Fei punched him to the ground.

The people around also reacted, realizing there was an assassin! The crowd, hearing the gunshot, screamed and ran away. The police rushed over and quickly subdued the assassin. Li Hongzhang's entourage lifted the curtain of the sedan chair to check on Li Hongzhang. They saw that his face was covered in blood, and he was unconscious.

Li Hongzhang was then taken to the hospital. As in history, a bullet hit him one inch below his left eye, but it did not endanger his life. The assassin was named Koizumi Toyotaro, a member of the Japanese right-wing group "Shinato-kan," who was extremely dissatisfied with the Chinese and wanted to assassinate Li Hongzhang.

Ito Hirobumi, upon hearing this, was furious and said, "This incident is more serious than the defeat of one or two divisions on the battlefield!" Japan was already at a disadvantage in the Korean War, with the Combined Fleet controlled by a mysterious ship, losing sea control. The Qing court could send large forces to attack the Japanese in Korea at any time. However, it seemed that the Qing court was unaware of this situation, so he wanted to act tough and force the Qing court to sign a treaty favorable to Japan. But this incident put Japan in a very passive position in the negotiations.

When Lin Yuan heard about this, he was shocked and thought, "I didn't expect the assassination of Li Hongzhang to happen so soon, but I can use this to my advantage."

Lin Yuan then found Li Jingfang, who was at the hospital with Li Hongzhang. Li Jingfang, having experienced many storms, was not overly panicked by his adoptive father's assassination.

Lin Yuan walked over and said, "Mr. Li, how is the Lord Minister?"

Li Jingfang, full of respect for the mysterious Lin Yuan, replied, "Thank you for your concern, Mr. Lin. My father is now out of danger."

Lin Yuan asked, "Mr. Li, the ancient sages said, 'Loyalty is the essence of being impartial and selfless.' No sage has ever forgotten the state for personal reasons. What do you think about the upcoming negotiations?"

Li Jingfang said, "With this incident, the court will certainly appoint me as the chief negotiator. However, I am inexperienced and lack the ability to handle such a task. I have no idea how to proceed with the negotiations."

Lin Yuan smiled and said, "Mr. Li, why don't you leave this to me? I guarantee that the negotiation results will satisfy the Empress Dowager and the Emperor!"

Li Jingfang found it hard to believe that Lin Yuan had such capabilities and frowned. Lin Yuan whispered something in his ear, and Li Jingfang was overjoyed, clapping his hands and saying, "If that's the case, it would be wonderful!"

Li Jingfang recommended Lin Yuan to the Qing court, and the court specially appointed Lin Yuan as an imperial envoy. The next morning at 9:00, at Lin Yuan's suggestion, the second round of negotiations began on time. This time, Lin Yuan started with a forceful attitude and said, "Mr. Ito, regarding the assassination of Lord Minister Li, has the culprit been apprehended?"

Ito Hirobumi, knowing he was in the wrong, said, "Mr. Lin, we have apprehended the culprit. Please rest assured, we will punish the criminal severely!"

Lin Yuan smiled and said, "I believe your country will handle it fairly. We can continue yesterday's negotiations. According to our Emperor's wishes, since both sides have ceased hostilities in Korea, there's no need to focus on the details of the ceasefire agreement. Our Qing dynasty has always governed with filial piety. The Emperor is a great filial son, and November 7th is the 60th birthday of our Empress Dowager. The Emperor has decided to sign the treaty as soon as possible."

Ito Hirobumi didn't expect Lin Yuan to change so quickly and directly bring up the treaty, feeling a bit unprepared. Before Ito Hirobumi could speak, Lin Yuan took out a document and handed it to Ito Hirobumi, saying, "This is the treaty we have drafted. I hope Mr. Ito will review it."

Ito Hirobumi opened the treaty and his face changed dramatically! The content of the treaty was too humiliating!

Article 1: Japan recognizes China as the suzerain of Korea. After Japan's occupation of Korea, all the tributes Korea owes to China will be repaid.

Article 2: Japan will transfer the administration of the following places and all the fortresses, weapons, factories, and public properties to China permanently.

The places are: The Ryukyu Islands, from 121 degrees to 129 degrees east longitude and from 23 degrees to 28 degrees north latitude.

This clause was initially written by Lin Yuan as: Japan cedes the Ryukyu Islands to China. Later, Lin Yuan found the original text of the Treaty of Shimonoseki and copied it verbatim, with Japan being the ceding party.

Article 3: Japan will pay 200 million taels of silver to China as war reparations, with a detailed payment schedule.

Article 4: In trade, if Japan grants any preferential treatment to a third country, China will automatically receive the same treatment (i.e., Japan grants China most-favored-nation status).

Article 5: If Chinese citizens violate the law in Japan, the Japanese government has no right to interrogate, arrest, or try them. They must be handed over to the Chinese embassy in Japan for handling (i.e., Chinese citizens have extraterritorial rights).

After reading the treaty, Ito Hirobumi, no longer maintaining his composure, slammed the document on the table and angrily said, "Have you forgotten your defeat in Pyongyang?"