“Father, gentlemen. The Qing government’s conditions were too harsh, and the Sun Never Sets also fully sided with them. Therefore, this round of negotiations failed to achieve any results and broke down completely.
Next, the war between us and the Qing government will continue. And, we have also offended the Sun Never Sets in the process, which is very likely to attract an attack from them. Everyone should be mentally prepared for this.”
Li Jingyuan reminded them.
“Third brother, why did you offend the Sun Never Sets again? Even if we made some concessions, we shouldn’t offend the Sun Never Sets! They are the world’s hegemon, the world’s most powerful nation! No country in the world is a match for the Sun Never Sets. We’re seeking our own destruction by offending them!”
Upon hearing that Li Jingyuan had directly rejected the Sun Never Sets and offended them severely, Li Jing Shu was instantly terrified, like an ant on a hot pan.
“Father, don’t you have a connection with Sir Walsingham? You should talk to him and ease the tension. Perhaps, if we pay a higher price, we can make the Sun Never Sets not be our enemy!”
Li Jing Shu suggested.
In his opinion, the Beiyang Army defeating the Qing Army was good news!
This meant that the Beiyang Army’s possibility of overthrowing the Qing Dynasty had greatly increased.
And, he was undoubtedly one step closer to the position of the Crown Prince!
But now, Li Jingyuan had offended the Sun Never Sets, which naturally frightened him badly.
The Sun Never Sets Empire was the world’s hegemon, offending them was tantamount to suicide!
Li Jingyuan frowned and glanced at Li Jing Shu, but did not pay any attention to him.
“Father, gentlemen. Although the Sun Never Sets will strongly support the Qing government this time. But, it’s certain that the Sun Never Sets’ method of support will be to provide the Qing government with a large amount of weapons and equipment, and help them train their troops.
Perhaps, they will even force the Germans to abandon the sale of weapons and equipment to us.
As for the possibility of the Germans personally entering the war against us, it is very small.
We don’t need to worry about this at all!”
Li Jingyuan said.
“Third brother, things have come to this, there’s no use saying anything else. We’ve offended the Sun Never Sets, so be it. For us, defeating the Qing Dynasty, overthrowing them, is the most important thing.” Li Hong Zhang said.
The other Beiyang high-ranking officials nodded in agreement.
“Yes, father. Next, the Beiyang Army will increase its attack intensity. We aim to deliver a fatal blow to the Qing government within the next year!” Li Jingyuan said.
By next year, the newly formed 12 infantry divisions will have formed combat effectiveness.
At the same time, the weather conditions will also be suitable for launching an offensive.
At that time, it will be time for the Beiyang Army to engage in a final decisive battle with the Qing government.
The negotiations between the Qing government and the Beiyang Army broke down, and when the news reached Yanjing, Empress Dowager Cixi and Emperor Guangxu were equally delighted. They were not unhappy about the breakdown of the negotiations at all, but rather saw it as an opportunity to completely eliminate the Beiyang Army.
Empress Dowager Cixi ordered the formation and training of the Eight Banners New Army to be accelerated.
In addition, she ordered all the provincial governors to mobilize more troops to prepare to cooperate with the imperial army to besiege and wipe out the Beiyang Army.
At the same time, she also requested that Prince Qing Yi Kuang continue to discuss with the Sun Never Sets, preferably asking them to send troops directly to help the Great Qing Dynasty suppress the rebellion of the Beiyang Army.
In the eyes of Empress Dowager Cixi and other high-ranking officials of the Great Qing Dynasty, the Sun Never Sets Empire was the world’s hegemon!
To deal with a local rebel force like the Beiyang Army, wouldn’t it be a piece of cake?
But unfortunately, they were overly confident in the Sun Never Sets Empire.
After all, the land army was the Sun Never Sets Empire’s weak point.
Moreover, in the face of threats from numerous opponents, the Sun Never Sets might not be willing to send their army to travel thousands of miles to the Far East to fight the Beiyang Army.
Sir Walsingham, the Sun Never Sets Empire’s ambassador to the Great Qing Dynasty, also promptly reported the news of the breakdown of negotiations to his country.
Robert Cecil, the Sun Never Sets Empire’s Prime Minister and Foreign Secretary, was also furious when he learned that the Beiyang Army had blatantly disregarded the Sun Never Sets Empire.
Prime Minister Robert Cecil was determined to give the Beiyang Army a taste of their own medicine, to punish them, and to let the Beiyang Army’s high-ranking officials know what kind of consequences they would face for offending the Sun Never Sets Empire, the hegemon.
Prime Minister Robert Cecil instructed the ambassador to the German Empire to express his protest by selling a large amount of weapons to the Beiyang Army, demanding that the German Empire stop selling weapons and equipment to the Beiyang Army.
At the same time, the Sun Never Sets Royal Navy’s Far East Fleet also received orders to blockade the ports along the Shandong coast, preventing the Beiyang Army from obtaining weapons and equipment from overseas.
Most importantly, he instructed the ambassador to the Japanese Empire to contact the Japanese high-ranking officials and try to persuade them to join this war.
This way, the Sun Never Sets Empire could use the Japanese as cannon fodder to achieve its goals without risking its own forces.