The Qing Dynasty

Chapter 183 Cixi's Thoughts

In order to protect himself, Ronglu had not participated in the debate over peace or war for some time. He even stayed indoors for many days because he hated seeing the Boxers running around the streets of the capital, and he was too lazy to even ask about the affairs of the court.

Ronglu was a little depressed, not only because Cixi was angered by Zai Yi's sudden foreign teacher's note.

Although the note from foreign teachers only had four points, each one hit the nail on the head for Cixi.

In the note to foreign teachers, the foreigners proposed:

1. To designate a place where Guangxu lived; 2. Foreigners collected various taxes and levies on behalf of the Qing government;
3. Take charge of the national military on behalf of the Qing government; 4. Return power to the emperor.

These four points not only required Cixi to return power to Guangxu, but also required the foreigners to control the army, money and food. This was undoubtedly an attempt to control the lifeblood of the Qing Dynasty.

After reading the diplomatic note from the foreigners, Cixi was so angry that she went crazy on the spot. Not only did she immediately convene a royal meeting and issue an edict to appease the people and formally "declare war" on the foreign powers, but in order to show her determination to resist the foreign powers, Cixi immediately ordered the beheading of ministers such as Xu Yongyi, Lishan, and Lianyuan who advocated the suppression of the Boxer Rebellion.

Ronglu was unwilling to participate too much in state affairs. Besides knowing that Cixi was still determined to go to war with the foreigners at this time, he also had to be somewhat humble towards Zai Yi and did not want to cause unpleasantness with Zai Yi.

Ronglu acted in this way not because he was afraid of Zai Yi's power as the Grand Minister of the Imperial Court, the Head Minister of the Grand Council, and the Minister of Foreign Affairs, but because Zai Yi was also the biological father of the eldest prince Puyi.

Although Pujun was clearly the eldest prince with an ambiguous concept, he was the crown prince that Cixi wanted to use to replace Emperor Guangxu who was still imprisoned in Yingtai.

However, since Cixi asked the question today, Ronglu knew that this was a rare opportunity, so he gritted his teeth and no longer hesitated. He bowed deeply to Cixi and spoke in a tearful voice.

"Your Majesty is wise. In the early days, the Qing Dynasty mobilized the entire country to defeat the British and French powers. It was defeated by Japan in the Sino-Japanese War. Now, with the strength of Zhili Province alone, it is competing with all the powers in the world. How can it resist?"

"Besides, if we allow the militia to spread, it will easily breed banditry in the long run. If we make a mistake, it is very likely to be another rebellion like the Hong Xiuquan Rebellion in the past."

"The best thing to do now is to take advantage of the victory in Tianjin and start peace talks with the great powers in the hope of reaching a satisfactory result and ending the war. Otherwise, our Qing Dynasty will be in danger!"

"What nonsense!"

As soon as Ronglu finished speaking, Gangyi jumped up with a red face and loudly scolded Ronglu.

"The Queen Mother is wise. In today's situation, the Qing Dynasty can take advantage of the victory in Tianjin to wipe out the foreigners and recover our territory. How can we allow ourselves to degenerate and take the initiative to negotiate peace with the foreigners?"

"Moreover, Ronglu previously had secret dealings with those governors-general in the southeast who had disloyal intentions, and now he is spreading alarmist rhetoric and inciting the empress dowager to do evil. How can a subject do this? I ask the empress dowager to punish him."

Gangyi is different from Zai Yi. Zai Yi has to curry favor with the eldest prince and win over the court officials, but Gangyi, the "thug" that Zai Yi values ​​the most, is different. He must take the lead in some things.

Cixi knew that Ronglu and Li Hongzhang had telegram exchanges, but she was not prepared to reveal her knowledge.

In Cixi's mind, the court officials must never be of one mind, otherwise she would not be able to control them and the government.

The court officials will always have factions and mountaintops, so she only needs to maintain a good balance and not let any one party dominate, and then the court officials will all be obedient.

This time, the Southeast Self-Defense Agreement between the governors and the foreigners made made her alert.

Although she now needs Zai Yi, a pro-war faction, to control the government and suppress the pro-peace faction, she also needs someone who can counter Zai Yi's snobbery. Zai Yi also needs someone to restrain him, otherwise his power will grow and it will be disastrous.

Cixi said calmly, "You are all loyal ministers of the Qing Dynasty. In this time of crisis, you need to work together to protect the Qing Dynasty and not attack each other."

Then Cixi ignored what Gang Yi had said and spoke to Ronglu.

"Zhonghua, if Teng Xingfu is asked to expand his army, do you think he can defeat the foreigners?"

When Zai Yi saw that Cixi ignored Gangyi's request to punish Ronglu, he knew that it was impossible to let Ronglu suffer a loss today, so he hurriedly shook his head at Gangyi, indicating that he should not target Ronglu anymore, and then he quickly interrupted.

"The Queen Mother is wise. The foreigners have suffered repeated defeats. The number of enemies annihilated by the Vanguard Army several times is less than 10,000, probably 7,000 to 8,000. If we allow the Vanguard Army to expand its army, the annihilation of the foreigners will be accomplished in no time."

Ronglu naturally understood Cixi's words. She still had a fantasy of destroying the foreigners with the bravery of the vanguard army. Although Ronglu sighed in his heart, he was powerless. He shook his head bitterly and said, "It takes a long time to get familiar with Western soldiers and train them to practice guns and artillery. It is not a short-term task. Although the foreigners have suffered repeated defeats, it is not difficult for the Japanese to transfer troops from their homeland or even from Korea to Tianjin City. They can arrive in seven or eight days at the fastest."

"Moreover, the Middle East Railway built by the Tsarist Russia has already passed Fengtian and is almost reaching Yingkou. The Tsarist Russia now has nearly 200,000 troops in the Northeast. It won't take too long for them to transfer troops to Yingkou via the railway and then send warships from Lushun to transport the troops to Dagukou."

Ronglu continued with a melancholy look, "These are secondary. The most worrying thing is that Teng Xingfu is familiar with Western warfare, and the vanguard army relies entirely on quick guns to defeat the enemy. Now not only are there no foreigners selling us guns and ammunition, but even the domestic arsenals and machinery bureaus are unwilling to sell a single bullet. Without guns and ammunition, not to mention that no matter how many soldiers Teng Xingfu recruits, it will be useless. Even the Western firearms in his current soldiers are useless. Not only will it be difficult for him to annihilate the enemy, but once the foreign reinforcements arrive, he will have trouble protecting himself. If things go wrong, the entire army may be wiped out."

"At that time, as long as the foreign troops surrounded Tianjin City on all sides, the vanguard troops would run out of ammunition and food."

Yu Lu's words left everyone in the hall speechless.

After a long while, Gangyi said bitterly, "Queen Dowager, after this battle, we must dismiss all those governors who are seeking self-protection but are actually disloyal, and hand them over to the Ministry for discussion and punishment."

Gangyi's words made Ronglu's face change color. There were rumors that among the governors and governors-general who signed the Southeast Self-Protection Agreement, some were secretly advocating independence from the Qing court. Ronglu believed that many people, including Cixi, had heard this rumor, but no one had ever dared to say it publicly.

The reason is simple: the combined power of these governors and governors-general is too great, and the Qing court is simply unable to contend with it. As long as this matter has not come true, no one will break this window paper.

If we win the war against the foreigners, it will be fine. With the Wuwei Army and the Vanguard Army, the governors and governors will not dare to act rashly. But if we fail, if the situation is not handled properly, there will be chaos in the world.

Cixi thought for a long time with a gloomy face, and then slowly spoke. "Ziliang, please draft an imperial decree. Teng Yuzao has made great contributions to the defense of the enemy and deserves to be rewarded. Teng Yuzao is promoted to General of the Nation, awarded with the Double-eyed Peacock Feather, and given the title of Minister of War. He has the right to submit special memorials, and is allowed to expand the vanguard army as needed. The meritorious officers and soldiers should be reported to the Ministry for discussion as soon as possible."

"Tell Teng Yuzao that if he is unable to cope with the situation, he can choose a time to withdraw from Tianjin City, save himself, and then do his best to deal with the foreigners."

"Also, the vanguard troops can go directly to the prefectures and counties of Zhili to collect the required food and salaries without any orders from above."

Cixi's words left Ronglu, Zai Yi and Gangyi all stunned.

It is not so bad to be a general guarding the country with a double-eyed peacock feather. Although this title is almost the highest title for a military general, it is also normal in times of crisis.

However, it was a bit too much for a military general to be given the title of Minister of War and the power to directly deliver memorials to the emperor. Such ministerial titles have always been given only to governors and governors-general.

Teng Yuzhao's extraordinary glory made him second only to Yu Lu in the Beiyang Army in terms of honor and respect.

Moreover, since Teng Yuzao had the right to directly deliver memorials, he had the capital to compete with Yu Lu, which was very unfavorable for the relationship between generals.

What is even more shocking is that as long as Teng Yuzhao thinks it is necessary, he can recruit soldiers to expand the army at will, and the counties under his direct jurisdiction have to pay money and food.

"Queen Mother, no!"

This time everyone was very united. Not only Ronglu tried to stop it, but Zai Yi and Gangyi also spoke up to stop it at the same time.

Gangyi even said, "Please ask the Queen Mother to withdraw your order, otherwise there may be trouble in the future."

Cixi waved her hand calmly and said, "I know what you are thinking. You are all important ministers of the old country, but you should also know that we should take emergency measures. The most urgent task now is to deal with the foreigners. If there is any army that can fight against the foreigners like the vanguard army, I will never do so."

Cixi's words made the three of them stand still. What Cixi said was the truth. Although Ma Yukun and Song Qing were still there, they definitely did not have the ability of Teng Yuzhao. Now the Qing court really could not do without Teng Yuzhao!
After a moment of silence, Zai Yi seemed to have made up his mind and stopped trying to dissuade Cixi, but asked.

"Queen Mother, should Ma Yukun be punished for withdrawing the troops without authorization?"

"No."

Cixi shook her head decisively and refused, saying, "Now is wartime, and Zhili only has Teng Xingfu, Ma Jingshan, and Song Zhusan available. How can you insult the general? Just give Ma Jingshan some good advice, and don't question him too much."

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(End of this chapter)