Chapter 72: The Poisonous Plan

  Four 37mm cannon shells loaded with shrapnel exploded almost simultaneously inside the command cabin of Kiyoshimo, sending shards of metal flying in all directions like a shotgun blast in the confined space, hitting everyone inside and leaving them battered and bloody. PING-KEI Hwang San, a brilliant graduate of the US Naval Academy at Annapolis, was particularly badly hit, with over a dozen pieces of shrapnel embedded in his body, including one that had blown out his left eyeball, making him almost unrecognizable as he lay on the ground, wailing in agony.

  Yang Feng didn't know that he had ruined the best tactical master of the Japanese Navy. As soon as he saw Yoshino open fire, he immediately ordered a retreat and fled south at a speed of 45 knots, leaving behind the explosion of Japanese shells in the water. He quickly returned to the base, and out of revenge for the Japanese Navy's interception, he immediately sent a telegram to recall the other two destroyers that were hunting at sea. Then, he ran to the outer sea of Kagoshima, bombarded all Japanese ships he encountered with big guns for a whole day, including merchant ships and fishing boats, sinking them all to the bottom of the sea. The people on Kagoshima Island were terrified, and even the Kumamoto Division that was left behind rushed to defend the coast.

  Fortunately, the two ships only fired a few shots and then returned, which allowed the Japanese to breathe a sigh of relief. They then began to condemn Yang Feng's attack on civilians internationally, but this was destined to be meaningless. At that time, Japan was seen as a barbaric country in the eyes of Europeans, perhaps slightly better than before, but not much. Mr. Yang, out of respect, took revenge for the brutal attack he suffered at sea, which is completely understandable. If he hadn't been driven to extreme anger, how could a great poet who wrote so many poems full of love and beauty, wisdom and emotion have committed such an irrational act?

  But this also made Yang Feng suddenly think, shouldn't he put some effort into the Ming Cheng Empress who was beheaded and even had her corpse beheaded? Although she hasn't been killed yet, if they stimulate the Japanese a bit, will they really take action against her? If they can do what they originally did in history, it's estimated that there will be no turning back on international public opinion. Moreover, this is also a good opportunity to purge the upper echelons of Korea, the stick's imperial court has too many complex forces, pro-China, pro-Russia, pro-Japan, and pro-self, these people except for pro-China should not be left behind, if they can let them take advantage of this opportunity to kill each other, it should be a good result.

  For example, the current Queen Min should have been driven back to school by Grand Internal Prince, these old ladies who are not inferior to Empress Myeongseong must be eager to find someone to provoke and seek external help. The Grand Internal Prince seems to have secretly communicated with China now, and those Gaehwapa have crawled up under the support of the Japanese, that is to say, investing in these two houses is not very reasonable, and the remaining choice is Russia, anyway she has been in contact with Russians from the beginning.

  In that case, a staff member familiar with Korea is needed. Big Brother Yang doesn't know what to do now, and it would be perfect if he could find him. Yang Feng suddenly thought of Yuan Shikai, thinking about the twelve years this guy had been in Korea, and couldn't help but feel amazed, able to play politics to his level, it can already be said that he has reached the pinnacle.

  He immediately returned to Taipei.

  "Yuan Weiting should now be in Liaodong as a consultant for military affairs, what do you want him for?" Xue Fucheng said inexplicably.

  "Plotting something." Yang Feng said with a sly smile.

  "Tell me about it?" Xue Fu Cheng said with great interest.

  "You look at this war now, to put it bluntly, it's just the North Korean leaders messing things up themselves. These guys don't think about the kindness of our great nation that has nurtured them for generations, they only think about reforming and betraying our vassal state. Because they have no ability, they go around seeking help from all sides, pulling in Japanese, Russians, and even Americans. As a result, they've brought in a pack of wolves, and after bringing them in, they found out that these guys are even more ruthless than us. They want to drive them away, but where can you find such good fortune in this world? In the end, they've almost destroyed their own country. Fortunately, we're being kind and sending troops to help them resist Japan."

  After all, it's just that these guys have impure thoughts. I think we should take this opportunity to clean them up, but we are civilized people and can't engage in such barbaric behavior. It's best to let the Japanese do it for us, let them kill off all those who are pro-Russian and pro-American, and then after we defeat the Japanese, we'll kill off all those who are pro-Japanese. That way, only those who are pro-China will be left in Korea.

  However, in terms of specific operations, it is necessary to have someone familiar with Korea. Yuan Yingtai is undoubtedly the most suitable person for this task. I would like to ask you to contact him on my behalf. If he is willing to come and help out, I am willing to provide financial support to help him recruit an army to fight on the battlefield and gain recognition. What's the point of being a descendant of a Huai Army general if one doesn't learn how to lead troops and fight battles?!

  Xue Fu Cheng smiled and nodded, this old guy was also notorious for his cunning, such a ruthless plan naturally made him very pleased. As for contacting Yuan Shikai, it was no big deal, he was now just a errand boy on the front line, dispensable. After receiving the telegram from the Zhili Governor's Office, although he was a bit puzzled, relying on his desire to control the army, he immediately agreed.

  Li Hongzhang didn't have any opinion on this, Xue Fucheng had already told him about Yang Feng's plan to let the Japanese help clean up the pro-Russian forces in Korea, which was also something he would be happy to see. As for Yang Feng supporting Yuan Shikai, he didn't have any opinion on that either, after all Yuan Shikai was also a junior of the Huai Army, even if he had an army it would be just like his own.

  Yuan Shikai boarded the flying eagle destroyer that came to pick him up at Lushunkou, and then sailed directly to Taipei. After arriving in Taipei, he was immediately received at the Taiwan Governor's Office.

  He is still a Taoist, at the same level as Yang Feng and Zhang Quan who bought him for 5,000 taels of silver. As Yang Feng and Xue Fu Cheng are both second-grade officials, it's natural to show respect when meeting them. Calculating their ranks, Xue Fu Cheng and Yuan Bao Qing should be equals, so he paid his respects to Xue Fu Cheng as a junior, and exchanged pleasantries with Yang Feng and Zhang Quan as equals. As they sipped their tea, the conversation turned to Korea.

  "If we had followed Brother Weiting's suggestion earlier, we wouldn't have to fight this battle. It's the imperial court's own fault that things have come to this point." Yang Feng said with a cold smile.

  "It seems that the imperial court also has its own difficulties." Yuan Shikai smiled awkwardly, he didn't dare to agree with such a disrespectful remark. However, towards Yang Feng, he suddenly felt a sense of camaraderie. After the Imo Incident in Korea, facing Japan's increasingly pressing situation, he had proposed directly making Korea a province of China. After all, in theory, Korea was still a vassal state of China, and even if it were made a province, others would have no right to cause trouble. At that time, Japan's power was relatively weak, and it absolutely didn't have the guts to go to war with China.

  Or simply open up Korea and invite all the powers in, which would also cut off Japan's ambitions. However, Empress Dowager Cixi and her group of incompetent officials had no such awareness, and after some hesitation, nothing came of it.

  "After all, it's the Koreans' own fault. If they hadn't been playing tricks and colluding with this country and that country, thinking only of betraying our vassal state, they would not have ended up like this. It's their own doing. After this war, those who are pro-Japan, pro-Russia, and pro-America should all be eliminated." Yang Feng said.

  "Yang's words are very good, I have been in the court for many years, and what I worry about most is not the Japanese, but rather people like Queen Min. The Gaehwapa party colludes with Japan to betray us, and Queen Min colludes with Russia with the same goal. If it weren't for these people causing trouble, Korea would never have reached this point." Yuan Shikai said in deep agreement.

  "So we'll use the Japanese to get rid of all these people." Yang Feng said viciously.

  "What does Governor Yang mean?" Yuan Shikai asked in puzzlement.

  "It's simple, I want Empress Ming to seek help from the Russians, but I don't know what channel to use," said Yang Feng.

  "The channel is simple, Empress Myeongseong has many pro-Russian people around her, especially Li Jingfang. As long as you find a foreigner familiar with him and stir him up a bit, it's easy to get things done. Moreover, the Russian ambassador's niece is close friends with her, this woman is born reckless and greedy, as long as you give her some benefits, she'll do anything. Besides, Russians have been eyeing Korea for a long time, if Empress Myeongseong asks them to come, they will definitely take action. But if we really bring in the Russians, it will definitely be unfavorable to us." Yuan Shikai said.

  "Don't worry about this, before the completion of the Siberian Railway, it's hard for Russians to take substantial action in the Far East, especially this year, the Russian Emperor is dying, and the Crown Prince is getting married, they won't risk offending Britain by sending troops at this time. As for some behind-the-scenes small actions, that's harmless." Yang Feng said with certainty.

  "Is the Russian Emperor dying?" Yuan Shikai didn't understand why this guy's information was so well-informed.

  "He and the Russian Grand Duchess are intimate friends, the kind of friends who can stay at each other's homes." Xue Fucheng said calmly.

  Yuan Shikai was taken aback for a moment, then smiled and said, "In that case, there's no need to let her ask the Russians for help, we can just ask you directly."

  "You mean, let someone spread the word in front of her that I have connections, and make her believe that as long as she goes through me, she can directly submit her request to the Russian Emperor. Of course, I haven't seen her request myself, but the Japanese can see it." Yang Feng's eyes lit up immediately.

  Yuan Shikai nodded in agreement with a somewhat hypocritical smile.

  "This matter will be planned by you, tomorrow I will have someone send you to Shanghai, my Bogus洋行 and Yang's shipping company, Jinyuan Company all have branches in Hankou, they will fully cooperate with you, and Jinyuan has a wireless telegraph station in Hankou, which can be used for encrypted communication. After the matter is successful, I will invest to help you build an army of 2,000 people, and provide you with military instructors." Yang Feng said immediately, playing this game still depends on Big Brother, oneself is definitely not as clever as him.