Tang Dynasty, I can lead troops through ancient and modern times

Chapter 229 Comparison of Strength

Li Chengqian continued, "Then there was another confrontation in the South China Sea, the closest to a war between the two sides. The South China Sea incident ended with us successfully driving away the other side's navy.

This incident formally established our political status as a world power, and was also the fuse that caused America to completely break off relations."

"America has just recovered from the political crisis and immediately launched actions against us. But at this time, their dark president's term has expired, and the legendary Trump has come to power..."

"Chuan Jian Guo, why do they sound like one of us?!" Cheng Yaojin asked doubtfully.

Li Chengqian laughed and said, "This is just a nickname we give him. Chuan Jian Guo is definitely not one of us, but everything he has done has promoted the development of our technology in disguise."

"It was also under his leadership that America officially launched a trade war against us, but we withstood the pressure and became more courageous as time went by."

"They block our chips, so we make them ourselves."

"They imposed tariffs, and we immediately introduced countermeasures."

"After decades of development, we now have enough strength to confront America head-on.

At the critical moment of the trade war, our national destiny came again. A sudden plague changed the entire world pattern and completely unleashed the power of our world factory. "

"The unprecedented change in Baini has officially begun..."

"Then there was the two bears' fight for territory, the Great Unity of the Killer, the ahem, flood-spreading operation, and events that affected the country's destiny. America has interests all over the world, and it needs to put out fires wherever they are, which means they have no time to deal with us."

"As for us, we will continue to focus on development. When America looks back, they will find that China's revival has been completed and the prosperity of the Tang Dynasty has returned to the east of the world.

There is no country in the world that dares not to take our voice seriously. When we say something or launch a policy, everyone must take it seriously and think carefully about the deep meaning of this policy..."

"This is what I call national destiny. It sounds fantastical, but it has become established history. It is something that really happened."

"We are going to the University of Tokyo in 2024. We are going to persuade the top leaders to lead a modern warship to support the Sino-Japanese War and destroy the Japanese navy. How do you think?"

National destiny...

Everyone was still immersed in the national destiny described by Li Chengqian.

Although they still did not have a deep understanding of the country's destiny in later generations, it did not prevent them from imagining the various difficulties that the country experienced in later generations.

America, a country more powerful than the Tang Dynasty, has miraculously survived repeated suppression and attacks.

This is the destiny of the country!

It's not easy...

Li Shimin sighed: "Perhaps there is such a thing as national destiny. Since we are already very powerful in 2024, why don't we just destroy America!!"

Li Chengqian shook his head: "Wars in later times are not like the large-scale battles we have now. It's not that simple."

"Besides, the East University had not yet developed into a complete entity at that time. If you can participate, try not to participate. Let the West be in chaos for a while. We only need to continuously deliver blood packs in the rear..."

Although Li Shimin still didn't quite understand, he didn't continue to ask about the future Dongda. Instead, he asked: "What about the Qing Dynasty at the end of the 19th century? How should we deal with it?"

Li Chengqian nodded: "Now I will analyze the comparison of the Qing and Japanese forces at that time for you!"

"In 1890, the Qing Dynasty's Beiyang Navy had seven warships of more than 7 tons, with a total tonnage of more than tons."

"The Japanese Navy has only five warships over 5 tons, with a total tonnage of about tons."

"But by 1892, Japan had completed the ten-year military expansion plan that had been in place since 1885 ahead of schedule. On the eve of the First Sino-Japanese War, Japan had established an army with 23 regular soldiers and 6 reserve soldiers, including six field divisions and one imperial guard division."

"The total displacement of the Japanese Navy before the war was tons, exceeding that of the Beiyang Navy."

"This is Japan after completing the Industrial Revolution. With its small territory, it has surpassed the huge Qing Dynasty in strength."

"The Qing Dynasty, however, was still an agricultural country. All naval equipment was purchased, and only a small number of small warships were built by themselves."

"A small industrial country versus a large agricultural country, who do you think will win?"

Everyone looked at each other, not knowing what to say.

Li Chengqian continued: "During this period, the Qing Dynasty, after decades of Westernization Movement, began to see initial results and began to underestimate the enemy."

"In the process of dealing with Western countries, we believed that Westerners "did not benefit our land and people" and just wanted to gain some advantages in trade, so we relaxed our awareness of armaments."

"Since the Beiyang Navy was officially established in 1888, it has not added any ships. The ships are gradually aging. Compared with the new warships added by Japan, they have weak firepower, slow firing rate and slow speed."

"The Beiyang Fleet has 25 warships and 4000 officers and soldiers."

"Before the First Sino-Japanese War, the Beiyang Fleet had built three major bases in Dagukou, Weihaiwei and Lushun. However, the Qing Dynasty's military reforms basically remained at the low-level stage of improving weapons and equipment. Although the total strength of the army and navy reached more than 80, the organization was backward, the management was chaotic, the training was slack, and the combat effectiveness was low."

"After 1891, the Beiyang Fleet even stopped buying guns and ammunition."

"During July 1894, Japan's plot to start a war became increasingly obvious. Domestic public opinion and Qing generals stationed in Korea requested the Qing court to increase troops and prepare for war. The court formed a pro-war faction headed by Emperor Guangxu Zai Tian and Minister of Revenue Weng Tonghe."

"However, Empress Dowager Cixi did not want her 60th birthday to be interrupted by war. In order to preserve the strength of his own Huai Army and Beiyang Navy, Li Hongzhang also attempted to reconcile. These people formed the peace faction in the Qing court."

"Although the pro-war faction headed by Emperor Guangxu prevailed within the Qing court at that time, Empress Dowager Cixi also hoped to end the war as soon as possible to avoid delaying her grand celebrations, so she was inclined to peace talks, but under pressure from the people and the government, she did not dare to advocate peace openly for the time being."

Li Shimin sighed, "In every stage of our history, there is really no shortage of such troublesome people. How annoying!"

Cheng Yaojin even said: "Then kill that Empress Dowager Cixi!"

Li Chengqian said, "After that, if we let Guangxu take power, will the Qing Dynasty become better?"