Chapter 98

Lin Yuan smiled and said, "As the military strategy goes, if you are capable, pretend to be incapable; if you are incapable, pretend to be capable. My words are for those ears behind us to hear."

Chen Fei asked in confusion, "What do you mean by 'ears behind us'?"

Lin Yuan smiled and said, "Of course, I mean the Japanese spies lurking around them."

Seeing Chen Fei's puzzled face, Lin Yuan said, "In our time, later generations studied a series of declassified archives from the First Sino-Japanese War and found that Japanese spies were almost everywhere in China. They could obtain our information at any time, such as the unit numbers, numbers, equipment, and garrisons of Chinese troops; the number of guns, pounds of gunpowder, and bullets produced daily by the Jiangnan Arsenal and the Tianjin Arsenal."

"Even worse, many spies even infiltrated the high-level personnel, such as Li Hongzhang's trusted aides being bought by the Japanese. Decisions made in the imperial court in Beijing were quickly known by the Japanese!"

Chen Fei said, "But crossing the desert to attack the enemy, this method is obviously impossible. The Japanese definitely won't believe it."

Lin Yuan smiled and said, "If someone else proposed this method, no one would believe it. But if I propose it, the Japanese might believe it."

Lin Yuan made a valid point. In our time, if an ordinary person says he can do something everyone thinks is impossible, everyone would think he is crazy. But if a very capable person says it, people would be half-convinced.

At this moment, a subordinate reported that Li Hongzhang had returned from Tianjin and wanted to see Lin Yuan.

Lin Yuan hurriedly followed Chen Fei to Li Hongzhang's residence. Li Hongzhang was still dressed casually, which was one of his leadership styles. He treated his subordinates like a family.

As soon as Li Hongzhang saw Lin Yuan, he said, "Mr. Lin, Song Qing and the others have told me that you insist on attacking the Russians first and crossing the desert. Is this really appropriate?"

Lin Yuan immediately noticed a middle-aged man standing beside Li Hongzhang. He looked at him a few times but said nothing.

Li Hongzhang smiled and said, "This is Dai Jingchun, my trusted aide. He has always been with me. You can speak freely."

Hearing this name, Lin Yuan's heart skipped a beat. This person had been bought by the Japanese!

During the First Sino-Japanese War, how many Chinese secretly provided intelligence to the Japanese was a huge and painful mystery!

So Lin Yuan said, "Lord Li, this is precisely my plan. As the military strategy goes, use the orthodox to engage, and use the unorthodox to win. That's why I thought of this method. I know it's extremely difficult, but I have already thought of a way to cross the desert and defeat the Russians."

Seeing Lin Yuan's confidence, Li Hongzhang did not say much more. After all, Lin Yuan's previous actions had given people the impression that he was almost omnipotent.

As soon as Lin Yuan left, Dai Jingchun immediately sent the information to the Japanese.

Lin Yuan went to see Emperor Guangxu. His deeds had already spread throughout the Forbidden City, and everyone knew he was a favorite of the Empress Dowager and the Emperor. The Empress Dowager had even granted him a large mansion, so it was very easy for him to see Emperor Guangxu.

Emperors of the Ming and Qing dynasties usually reviewed memorials in the Qianqing Palace. Lin Yuan came to the door and saw an old eunuch approaching with a smile. "Lord Lin, don't go in just yet."

Lin Yuan asked, "What's the matter?"

The old eunuch said, "His Majesty is in a rage inside, and it's all because of the Japanese."

Lin Yuan smiled and said, "No problem, I'll go in and see." Without waiting for an announcement, he pushed the door open and saw several eunuchs kneeling on the ground, trembling slightly as if they were on thin ice.

At this moment, Emperor Guangxu saw Lin Yuan enter and said, "My dear minister, you came just in time. Look at these Japanese, they are really outrageous. They have occupied our land and still have the nerve to ask us for a maintenance fee!"

Lin Yuan took the memorial. The traditional characters and vertical writing style took him a while to read. It turned out that Japan had proposed peace terms: Shengjing could be returned to the Qing court, but 30 million taels of silver had to be paid as a fee for maintaining order during the Japanese occupation!

There was another clause: the lease of Lüshunkou for 199 years, and other terms such as the joint development of mines in Daye, Hubei, with the minerals produced, such as iron and copper, to be prioritized for Japan. Japan, being a resource-poor country, had to import various raw materials needed for industrial production from abroad.

Lin Yuan smiled and said, "Your Majesty, don't be angry. This might be an opportunity for us."

Emperor Guangxu asked, "An opportunity? What opportunity?"

Lin Yuan smiled and said, "We can pretend to negotiate with the Japanese, giving them the impression that we won't attack them."

Emperor Guangxu was surprised and said, "Weren't you planning to attack the Russians first?"

Lin Yuan shook his head and said, "How could that be possible? We can't cross that desert."

Emperor Guangxu nodded in understanding and said, "This is called 'deception in war.' I will find someone to negotiate with the Japanese, making them think we are seeking peace."

Lin Yuan smiled and nodded. Emperor Guangxu then said, "My dear minister, do you know the story of Han Xin? I plan to emulate Emperor Gaozu and appoint you as the commander-in-chief. What do you think?"

Lin Yuan thought, "Spending money on this would be better used to equip the troops with more guns." Just as he was about to refuse, a plan formed in his mind.

Two days later, in a high-end Japanese club, Sakura Yomei looked puzzled and said to the spy chief, Tashiro Mitsuru, "Does this Lin Yuan really have a way to cross the desert and defeat the Russians?"

Tashiro Mitsuru said, "He is Lin Yuan. Think about his actions. Which one could be predicted by ordinary people? Not to mention his performance in the last war, but just recently, he said something to Emperor Guangxu in the Tiren Pavilion that made the Emperor trust him greatly. He could even blow up a mountain, which I think was probably done by those flying things. Also, he could drink so many people under the table and still act as if nothing had happened. I think this Lin Yuan might really have a way to do what he said."

Sakura Yomei said, "Isn't the Qing Emperor going to negotiate with us?"

Tashiro Mitsuru said, "The Qing Emperor has basically agreed to our peace terms, paying silver to redeem Shengjing and agreeing to lease Lüshunkou to us. Fighting two enemies on one battlefield is a great taboo in military strategy, so I believe the Qing court will not attack us in Shengjing."

Soon, a telegram was sent back to Japan, stating Tashiro Mitsuru's judgment: The Qing court will not attack the Japanese in Shengjing.

Next episode preview: What new plan does Lin Yuan have? How will Lin Yuan use modern technology to transform this ancient army?

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