After the power of the Time Travel Group was released, a big wave occurred in Shanghai. Because the series of victories achieved by the Time Travel Army were confirmed, many officials and gentry had hope, believing that the power of this group of overseas Chinese could be relied on to fight against the Eight-Nation Alliance. Some people also believed that after this group of overseas Chinese returned to the Qing court, the Qing Dynasty had a powerful army, which could not only defeat the Eight-Nation Alliance, but also recover all the land that had been ceded before. The Qing Dynasty no longer had to be afraid of foreigners.

However, Zhou Fu and Sheng Xuanhuai are outstanding people after all, so of course they would not think things were so simple. Of course, they knew that defeating the Eight-Nation Alliance might not be too difficult, because the Eight-Nation Alliance had only 20,000 to 30,000 people in total, and their strength was not strong. However, the strength of the Eight-Nation Alliance is not the same as the strength of the Eight-Nation Alliance. Any country participating in the Eight-Nation Alliance has very strong strength. In fact, the Eight-Nation Alliance is not only one percent of the strength of these countries. This group of overseas Chinese may be able to defeat the Eight-Nation Alliance, but it is by no means an opponent of any of the Eight-Nation Alliance. As long as any country is serious, even if it only uses half of the strength, this group of overseas Chinese cannot compete with it.

And take a step back. If this group of overseas Chinese are really strong enough to defeat any country in the Eight-Nation Alliance, then this strength is not something that the Qing Dynasty can fight against now. The real motivation for this group of overseas Chinese to return to China is so interesting. It is a dangerous move to drive the tiger and swallow the wolf. If the tiger swallows the wolf, it will bite it when it turns around.

The other telegram was beyond the expectations of the two. There was a person who could be regarded as his own. He met this group of overseas Chinese by chance and participated in almost all the experiences of the overseas Chinese landing. Of course, the two could see that Zhao Weizhong's telegram must have been instructed by this group of overseas Chinese, but Zhao Weizhong is still of great value.

Li Hongzhang picked up the second telegram and said, "What do you think of this telegram?"

Zhou Fu pondered for a while before saying, "Zhongtang, according to his humble opinion, since this group of overseas Chinese can defeat the Eight-Nation Alliance fleet and seize Dagukou and Tianjin, its strength is not visible. Zhao Weizhong is the old subordinate of Zhongtang, and has sent a power to Zhongtang and conveyed messages to Zhongtang. Zhongtang will call back if he does not visit it to test the reality of the situation."

Li Hongzhang glanced at him and said, "It is feasible to call back, but how to reply to Zhao Weizhong, is it necessary to send someone to Tianjin to contact him?"

Before Zhou Fu could answer, Sheng Xuanhuaiji said anxiously: "Zhongtang, please don't send anyone to Tianjin."

Li Hongzhang said: "Xingsun, how do you say this?"

Sheng Xuanhuai said: "Zhongtang, as far as we know, this group of overseas Chinese defeated the Eight-Nation Alliance fleet, but still attacked at night. They were lucky enough to succeed. They were not a war. In addition, they captured Tianjin, and took advantage of the main forces of the Eight-Nation Alliance in Beijing and Tianjin was empty, so they took advantage of the opportunity to enter. Now the Eight-Nation Alliance still has more than 20,000 military strength, and the German fleet has arrived in Shanghai, with more than a dozen iron-clad ships and more than 8,000 infantry troops, with extremely strong troops. , Soon, the general will march northward and attack the Eight-Nation Alliance, and the outcome of this battle is unknown. If people are sent to Tianjin to contact this group of overseas Chinese at this time, if this group of overseas Chinese loses to the Eight-Nation Alliance, wouldn’t this move be given to foreigners? In the future, there will inevitably be many troubles. Therefore, if you rely on your humble opinion, it is better to ignore this temporarily, but just wait and wait for the change and move."

Li Hongzhang was silent for a while before slowly saying: "If this group of overseas Chinese loses according to Xingsun's opinion, it will be fine, but what if this group of overseas Chinese wins?"

Sheng Xuanhuai was stunned for a moment, and was speechless for a moment.

It turns out that Sheng Xuanhuai's inertial thinking is that China will definitely not be able to defeat foreign countries, so everything is based on this thinking. He never thought about what to do if China wins. But now it is not the Qing army that is fighting against the Eight-Nation Alliance, but overseas Chinese, whether it is a sneak attack or taking advantage of the situation. But at least for this reason, this group of overseas Chinese have always had the upper hand in military affairs. It is true that the Eight-Nation Alliance still has 20,000 troops, but did not take the initiative to attack and capture Tianjin again, but wait for the German fleet to arrive and attack forward and backward. This is obviously only relying on the Eight-Nation Alliance, and it is not sure that this group of overseas Chinese is defeated by the Eight-Nation Alliance.

Although Sheng Xuanhuai is not optimistic about this group of overseas Chinese, he cannot have no chance of winning. Then if Li Hongzhang ignores the telegram sent by Zhao Weizhong, the final result is that this group of overseas Chinese wins, then it will also be unfavorable to Li Hongzhang.

At this time, Zhou Fu said: "Zhongtang, I think it's better to call Tianjin back and ask Zhao Weizhong to come to Shanghai to have a lecture, how about it?"

A gleam in Li Hongzhang's eyes flashed with a look of praise. Zhou Fu was older than Sheng Xuanhuai and his eyes were farther than Sheng Xuanhuai. Because this telegram was sent to Li Hongzhang in the name of Zhao Weizhong, and Zhao Weizhong was Li Hongzhang's old subordinate, so it was understandable that Li Hongzhang called back to ask Zhao Weizhong to come to Shanghai to report to him. If overseas Chinese want to show sincerity, Zhao Weizhong should also be asked to come to Shanghai. On the contrary, if overseas Chinese don't let Zhao Weizhong come to Shanghai, then the mistake will not be with Li Hongzhang.

Of course, if this group of overseas Chinese really let Zhao Weizhong come to Shanghai, they can also take the opportunity to ask Zhao Weizhong clearly, and it will not be too late to make a decision.

So Li Hongzhang turned his head and said, "It's so good, just do it."

Sure enough, after Li Hongzhang's call back, he received another call from Zhao Weizhong in less than two days. The article stated that Zhao Weizhong was willing to come to Shanghai, but now the German fleet has arrived in Shanghai and will go north to Tianjin soon. The Eight-Nation Alliance stationed in Beijing also intends to retake Tianjin. Therefore, at this time, he is not inconvenient to leave Tianjin and come to Shanghai. After this group of overseas Chinese defeated the German fleet, Zhao Weizhong will immediately rushed to Shanghai to meet Li Hongzhang.

The reply to the call was both unexpected and beyond Li Hongzhang's expectations. What was expected was that Li Hongzhang had long estimated that this group of overseas Chinese would not let Zhao Weizhong come to Shanghai. What was unexpected was that after this group of overseas Chinese defeated the German fleet and the Eight-Nation Alliance, Zhao Weizhong would immediately arrive in Shanghai, which seemed to show that Zhao Weizhong was full of confidence in the strength of this group of overseas Chinese.

Of course, Li Hongzhang knew that Zhao Weizhong was just a spokesperson for this group of overseas Chinese. His reply was actually the reply of this group of overseas Chinese, saying that this group of overseas Chinese planned to meet with Li Hongzhang after defeating the German fleet and the Eight-Nation Alliance.

At first glance, there is nothing wrong with the reply from overseas Chinese, because although this group of overseas Chinese have achieved good results so far, they have not gained an absolute advantage. When the German fleet has arrived in China, the Eight-Nation Alliance is not at a disadvantage, and in Li Hongzhang's view, the Eight-Nation Alliance still has a certain advantage. Then the confidence of this group of overseas Chinese is convinced that they will definitely be able to defeat the Eight-Nation Alliance and the German fleet.

Although Li Hongzhang didn't really think much about this group of overseas Chinese, he was not sure that they would definitely lose to the Eight-Nation Alliance. After all, at the beginning, who would have thought that such a force would suddenly come out and disrupt the current situation in northern China.

Of course, it is not a bad thing to Li Hongzhang's opinion that this group of overseas Chinese is not a bad thing. Of course, Li Hongzhang would not naively believe that this group of overseas Chinese really cares about China and wants to return to the Qing Dynasty. But the current situation in China is so bad that it is uncontrollable. With such a force as overseas Chinese, no matter how bad it is, it will not be damaged.

Using barbarians to control barbarians and using the contradictions between the great powers to check and balance each other to gain corresponding benefits for the Qing Dynasty. This is the main idea of ​​Li Hongzhang's diplomacy, and it has indeed played a certain role in Li Hongzhang's previous diplomatic experience. Therefore, the more overseas Chinese nowadays may be able to be used. No matter what, this group of overseas Chinese still tends to the Qing Dynasty on the surface. If it is used well, it may also be able to win a relatively beneficial result for the Qing Dynasty.

From this idea, Li Hongzhang hopes that this group of overseas Chinese can survive the Eight-Nation Alliance and the German fleet to not fail. Of course, it is best for both sides to fight to lose both sides. Then it depends on how capable this group of overseas Chinese are.

Of course, I should also consider the matter of reconciliation with the Eight-Nation Alliance. After all, the overall situation is determined when this battle reaches this point. Even if this group of overseas Chinese do not lose, it will not affect much situation. According to Li Hongzhang's estimate, it is best to have a situation where both sides are evenly matched, but this situation is exactly what Li Hongzhang wants to see most.

At this moment, my family came in and said, "Zhongtang, the commander of the German fleet is also the commander of the Eight-Nation Alliance, Marshal Wadesi, asked Zhongtang to go to the German ship to report."

Li Hongzhang was slightly stunned. The German fleet arrived in Shanghai three days ago, mainly resting in Shanghai, and understanding the current situation in the north. He also held a welcome banquet at the German Consulate in Shanghai. Not only were consuls from various countries in Shanghai invited to attend, but he also invited Li Hongzhang, Shanghai Daotai Yu Lianyuan and other Qing officials. However, Li Hongzhang and Yu Lianyuan did not attend, but were represented by Sheng Yihuai to attend the appointment.

Because the German fleet came to China to fight, although Li Hongzhang and Yu Lianyuan both participated in Southeast Mutual Protection, remained neutral in this war, and could go privately with consulars from various countries, it was still very inconvenient to attend a banquet that welcomed the German fleet. Because it was a court official like Li Hongzhang and Yu Lianyuan, it was Sheng Xuanhuai. Although he is now the Master of the Dali Temple, he is still a businessman in essence, so it is most appropriate for him to represent him to attend.
Chapter completed!