The Qing Dynasty

Chapter 108 The Legitimacy of the President

The second victory report that Teng Yuzao gave to Yu Lu was a report on the situation of blocking the Allied Forces' reinforcement troops in the Concession. Teng Yuzao reported that the number of enemies killed was more than 400. He also told Yu Lu that he was now chasing the remaining Allied Forces towards the Concession. At the same time, he asked Yu Lu to let Zhang Decheng's No. 1 Regiment in the World cooperate with him and launch a fierce attack on the Concession immediately.

Although Yu Lu did not assign Teng Yuzao any task to attack the concession, Teng Yuzao was not prepared to just be a spectator.

Teng Yuzhao had just sent out two good news reports when he received a call from Wei Jinghai.

Wei Jinghai told Teng Yuzhao that the Governor-General's Office had just forwarded an imperial edict and documents and seals from the Ministry of War to the Zhili Governor-General's Office from the capital, indicating that the court had officially appointed Teng Yuzhao as the president of the vanguard army.

The decree said that due to the war, all rituals should be kept simple, and Teng Yuzhao should lead the vanguard troops to fight bravely, quell the foreign threat as soon as possible, and create more special achievements.

He had taken over the imperial edict and corresponding documents and seals on behalf of Teng Yuzhao.

In addition, the appointment documents and seals of officers at all levels of the vanguard army reported by Teng Yuzhao through Yu Lu were also sent to Xigu.

The so-called Guanfang is the official seal. Official seals have been the official's proof of position in ancient China a long time ago. No matter how high-ranking an official is, he will have his own seal, which means an official seal and a token of trust. The orders issued by the government will have no legal effect without the official seal of the official.

Teng Yuzhao was naturally very happy to receive a reply from the court so quickly, officially granting him the position of President of the Vanguard Army.

However, he was somewhat surprised that the imperial edict was issued so hastily this time. Not only was there no imperial envoy to read the edict, he did not even need to receive it in person, nor did he need to rush to the capital to express his gratitude in court. This made Teng Yuzhao feel a little disappointed.

Teng Yuzhao even wondered whether such an informal appointment could fully demonstrate the legitimacy of his position as president. At least before the court collapsed, his position had to be formally granted by the court.

Deep down in Teng Yuzhao's heart, he still cares a lot about this ritual that he both loves and hates.

Wei Jinghai also told Teng Yuzhao on the phone that Yu Lu had sent people to ask twice where Teng Yuzhao was now, and also asked Wei Jinghai to find a way to notify Teng Yuzhao immediately and ask Teng Yuzhao to withdraw his troops back to Xigu and wait for orders without any mistake.

Although Teng Yuzhao knew that Yulu was now anxious for him to withdraw his troops, he knew something must have gone wrong again.

Teng Yuzhao could guess without even thinking about it that the situation of the Wuwei Vanguard Army blocking the Allied reinforcements in the direction of Dagukou must be tight, and Yu Lu must have finally made up his mind to begin to perform his duties as the Governor-General of Zhili, no longer caring about the feelings of these senior officers, and determined to disregard Nie Shicheng's face and prepare to transfer him to replace the Wuwei Vanguard Army troops responsible for blocking the enemy.

If that was the case, he really had to stop in time. His vanguard army had not had a good rest for the past few days and had been fighting continuously. The troops were already very tired. Even the newly reorganized Green Camp troops, many of them ran all the way back to Tianjin City from Dagukou, and then began to accept the reorganization of the vanguard army on the third day.

However, Teng Yuzhao still has important things to do, and it is absolutely impossible to ask him to stop completely now.

Teng Yuzao had to obey Yu Lu's orders. Now Teng Yuzao also needed the firm support of Yu Lu, the Governor-General of Zhili and Minister of Beiyang. What's more, blocking the Allied Forces' reinforcements was of great importance. It was related to whether the largest concessions of the four powers, Britain, France, Japan and Germany, in Tianjin west of the Haihe River could be captured in time. Although the opportunity to seize the Russian concessions in Tianjin east of the Haihe River had been lost, it might be possible to capture these concessions west of the river and finally give the Allied Forces a severe blow and lesson.

Conquering the concessions of these powers in Tianjin could even help Yu Lu a lot, allowing him to give an explanation to the court, and it might even save Yu Lu's life. After all, Yu Lu was the first noble person he met after traveling through time. Without Yu Lu's exception and promotion, he would have no idea how long he would have to wait for the title of President!

In Teng Yuzhao's heart, he always has complicated feelings towards Yu Lu, the historical villain.

After a little thought, Teng Yuzao had made his own decision.

Teng Yuzao asked Wei Jinghai to immediately issue an order to Liu Yuzhi, Xue Zhiqian, Liu Changfa and others in the name of the Vanguard Army's Presidential Staff Office. Once Seymour escaped into the concession, the 1st Regiment and the Cavalry Battalion must not attack the concession at will, but must rush back to Xigu immediately and take the time to rest and wait for orders.

Teng Yuzhao himself ignored Yu Lu's instructions and still led his men to rush to the concession.

Teng Yuzao was very worried about whether Liu Shijiu and Wu Peifu could capture the pontoon bridge in time, and he was even more worried about their own safety.

Fortunately, while still on the way to the pontoon bridge, Teng Yuzhao met a communications soldier sent back by Li Xianzhao to report the news. He learned that not only did the death squad successfully capture the pontoon bridge, but Liu Shijiu and Wu Peifu were both unharmed. Only then did Teng Yuzhao feel relieved.

When Teng Yuzhao arrived at the pontoon bridge with his guard platoon headed by Hu Dajiu and Li Yaoting, the guards of the Second Regiment, two reconnaissance platoons and a large number of pack horses, not only had the first and second battalions of the Second Regiment all passed the pontoon bridge, but the first and second battalions were also attacking along Central Avenue and Haida Avenue respectively as planned with the cooperation of the people from Liu Shijiu's Qianzi Regiment.

Now, the sounds of gunfire and shouting on these two streets are sometimes intense and sometimes frequent, especially in the direction of Central Avenue. Not only are the gunshots very dense, but even the sound of heavy machine gun fire can be heard occasionally.

Obviously, there were coalition forces resisting stubbornly on these two streets, and the attacking force composed of the Second Regiment and Liu Shijiu's Qianzi Regiment was not having an easy time.

What made Teng Yuzhao feel a little strange was that Li Xianze did not lead the Second Battalion to attack Haida Road as planned, but seemed to be waiting for him at the bridgehead.

Looking at Li Xianze with a solemn expression and Liu Shijiu and Wu Peifu with happy faces, Teng Yuzhao had a premonition that there might be a new situation. However, after a little thought, the tension in his heart immediately dissipated. He had already taken preventive measures in advance for all the emergencies he should have thought of, and there would be no emergencies that could bring serious consequences to the vanguard troops.

At the bridgehead, Wu Peifu had just helped Teng Yuzhao jump off the horse when Li Xiance spoke anxiously.

"Sir, Xue Zhiqian's cavalry just came to report that Seymour had escaped into the concession half an hour ago."

It was expected that Seymour would flee back to the concession, and Teng Yuzao was not surprised. The only thing that made him regretful was that his hope of taking over the concession tonight was definitely dashed.

"How many remnants of the defeated army did Seymour take back with him?"

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(End of this chapter)