Wang Guorui took advantage of the loophole in the ceasefire agreement to make the Japanese army suffer a big loss, and the Japanese army began to pinch their noses and admit it, not daring to fight back. And in the final analysis, Taiwan's army is very strong 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 much as possible, and it is impossible for them to go to war with the Japanese army. So now everyone is waiting for how to discuss the Taiwan issue next, and this is the most important place. If the two sides cannot reach an agreement, then the war will have to continue, and it will not be beneficial to either the Japanese army or the Taiwanese side.

"Let's negotiate with the Japanese army, what is that old deflated calf Li Hongzhang doing here?" Wang Guorui looked at the list of people who came to negotiate and said.

And Zheng Hong immediately said: "Hehe, this time our Lord Zhongtang obviously saw the hope of taking back Taiwan, and he came over to make meritorious contributions." You must know that he originally signed the Treaty of Shimonoseki, and he was already very scolded as a traitor by the people of the whole country. And now that we are playing well, that makes him see the hope of recovering Taiwan, so of course he wants to come over and try his best to save his reputation. This would restore the notoriety he had at the time of the signing of the Treaty of Shimonoseki. ”

"This Li Hongzhang is really thinking about daydreaming! wants to take back Taiwan, so that he has become a hero instead! However, don't look at who has the initiative! Wang Guorui snorted.

About half a month later, Li Hongzhang, a special envoy of the Manchu Qing Central Court, and Japanese Prime Minister Hirobumi Ito also set off for Taiwan to prepare for negotiations on the handling of Taiwan's aftermath. Originally, Japanese Prime Minister Hirobumi Ito did not want to come in person, but Li Hongzhang, the prime minister of the Manchu Qing Dynasty, came in person, so how could the Japanese side not send a person of equal status? Therefore, Ito Hirobumi also had to come and come over to discuss the issue of Taiwan's ownership.

"Woo-" Li Hongzhang came on a boat, and his heart was very complicated.

"Father. What are you worried about? It's not that you can take back Taiwan this time, but this is a great credit to you, father! Li Hongzhang's son Li Jingfang asked.

And Li Hongzhang immediately smiled bitterly and said: "What I'm worried about is that Wang Guorui!" ”

"Wang Guorui, that Hsinchu County, Taiwan? What can a small county have? Can he influence your father, the big man of the court? Li Jingfang asked.

However, Li Hongzhang said: "It is difficult to say that the Taiwan of today is no longer the Taiwan of the past. It can even be said that it is not the Taiwan of the imperial court, but the Taiwan of Wang Guorui! ”

Li Jingfang didn't quite understand the meaning of Li Hongzhang's words, in his eyes, Wang Guorui was also a small magistrate, could he still be stabbed? But he didn't dare to contradict his father's words, he just knew himself.

And Li Hongzhang saw that his son still didn't understand the problem, and couldn't help but think in his heart: "Wu'er Jingfang, it's really useless!" ”

As a father, even if it is just Li Jingfang's uncle and adoptive father, he actually evaluates his son as "useless". I have to say that it is a tragedy, and this also shows that Li Hongzhang has failed to educate future generations in this life.

"I went ashore, this time I finally have the face to come to Taiwan, after all, this time I am here to take back Taiwan, not to cede Taiwan." Li Jingfang said.

When Li Jingfang handed over Taiwan, he did not have the face to come to Taiwan. But now he thinks that he is the one who has come to take back Taiwan, which is a great contribution to the imperial court and the people of Taiwan, so he has the face to come to Taiwan. And this Li Jingfang seems to have worked hard to bring Taiwan back. It seems very natural.

"Welcome to Master Li Hongzhang!" A man came over to greet him and said.

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

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

"What? You're going to send a battalion officer out to meet us? Li Jingfang was annoyed.

In Li Jingfang's eyes, his father was a prime minister-level figure in the Qing Dynasty, even if he went to a foreign country, the prime minister and emperor of other people had to come out to greet him in person. But when he arrived in Taiwan, a battalion-level staff officer came out to greet him. It's a shame. Even if Wang Guorui came out to greet him in person, it would be natural in Li Jingfang's eyes, after all, Wang Guorui was just a small magistrate, and he was not a high-level person, so when the prime minister came, he dared to be so lazy? And the status of a battalion-level officer. Of course, Li Jingfang, a person who has drunk foreign ink, knows in his heart that he is just a general manager in the Manchu Dynasty. A prime minister is here, and it is ridiculous to let a general manager of at most seven grades greet him.

"Our Lord Wang said that when treating real distinguished guests, Lord Wang will personally come out to greet them. And if it is a person who betrays our interests in Taiwan to wag his tail and beg for mercy from outsiders, then we naturally do not deserve to let Lord Wang come out to greet him, and being able to 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.

"Jingfang, people don't welcome us, we are uninvited people, and it is normal for people to be unenthusiastic. Let's go, why bother with each other? Li Hongzhang said.

Li Hongzhang's city mansion is much stronger than his son, so he naturally won't be angry because of this matter. Of course, he knew that he had signed the Treaty of Shimonoseki and sold Taiwan, and that the Taiwanese had a bad impression of themselves, and this was normal. If Taiwanese people have a good impression of themselves, then Li Hongzhang feels abnormal. Since he was the representative of the signing of the Treaty of Shimonoseki, he could only accept his fate, and what else could he have. This time, he took the initiative to come over, that is, he saw that Taiwan had hope of recovering it, so he took the initiative to come over and want to take back Taiwan. In this way, Li Hongzhang can re-establish some prestige, and then he can give himself some political capital. The domestic pressure is increasing, because Wang Guorui won the war, everyone thinks that Japan is very weak, so they advocate severe punishment for Li Hongzhang, who compromised with Japan at that time.

Therefore, Li Hongzhang is under great pressure, and he hopes to take back Taiwan this time, so that he can obtain some political capital. On the other hand, Li Hongzhang also wanted to see who was able to defeat the powerful Japanese army at that time and annihilate the three divisions of the Japanese army, and what ability did he have to annihilate the three divisions of the Japanese army. Li Hongzhang dispatched hundreds of thousands of Huai troops and failed to do it, but Wang Guorui did it, this is what Li Hongzhang is most curious about.

And soon, Hirobumi Ito also came here. And the person who received Ito Hirobumi was also a battalion-level officer, which made Ito Hirobumi very unhappy. But after all, Ito Hirobumi's castle is still relatively deep, so he didn't take the initiative to say it. And then the two sides also did it together, and negotiations began in the former Tainan Prefect's Yamen, the current Taiwan Anti-Japanese Leader's Office, in Tainan.

"I am the British Empire's Minister to China, Dou Nale, and I have received an order from China to mediate this conflict between the Taiwan region and Japan, and this negotiation will be a discussion that will determine Taiwan's future. The agreement signed this time will be carried out under the supervision of our British Empire, and we ask you to obey it. Dou Nale said.

"It's ghostly!" Wang Guorui scolded in his heart.

This British Empire is really haunted, and there are their shadows everywhere. At the time of the last armistice, there was a British consul in Taiwan, James, and now the British Minister to China, Dou Nale, has also come out in person, so he is simply a ghostly guy. However, Wang Guorui also knows that Britain is the number one power in the world in this era, and no one can bypass them, and it is normal for the British minister to come over to mediate. And the British will definitely not be at ease, so he also wants to gain his own interests.

However, now that the talks have begun, there are three parties to the discussions. On the Japanese side, Wang Guorui represented the Taiwanese side, and the Manchu mainland central government on the side of the side. These three parties all have their own interests, so they must negotiate, and then fight and compromise with each other. However, the most powerful now is the side represented by Wang Guorui, because they have strength. Wang Guorui had already controlled the entire situation in Taiwan, and the Japanese soldiers were trapped and could be annihilated by Wang Guorui at any time. The reason why Wang Guorui did not annihilate them was to leave some hostages as a means of blackmail, so that Japan had to give in. These hundreds of thousands of hostages, but very important things, naturally cannot be killed.

"Now, all of you have stated the claims of all sides, and then we, the British Empire, will conduct a mediation that is as much in line with the interests of all parties as possible, so that all parties can obtain a result that is as satisfactory as possible." Dou Nale said.

And Dou Nale also hopes to be able to mediate this matter as much as possible, and then get a performance for himself when he just took office. After all, he has just begun to take up the post of British Minister to China, so he hopes to do his best to make some achievements. And this is what the saying goes, the three fires of the new official taking office, Dou Nale also wants to do his best to make some achievements, and then prepare for the next work. He even hoped to use this mediation to obtain some benefits from both the Manchus and Japan. It is not surprising that this method of obtaining benefits through war mediation is also a common thing in the eyes of the British.

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