The Qing Dynasty

Chapter 319 War Criminals and Culprits

Ronglu was still excited. In order to maintain his composure, he took a deep breath and spoke to Cixi.

"The Queen Mother is right. Teng Xingfu is determined to fight the foreigners. This has always been his stance. His move is not inconsistent with the peace talks."

Ronglu continued with great interest, "Teng Xingfu is a wise man. He knows very well that it is not appropriate to challenge all the powers in the world with the power of the Qing Dynasty, or more precisely, the power of the Zhili Province."

It was Cixi who nodded to the edict declaring war on the foreign powers. Although this was done under the instigation of a group of ministers who advocated war, Cixi agreed after all. Even at this time, Ronglu had to be cautious.

"So, the final result must still be peace talks."

"As Prince Duan said, only by fighting can we stop the war and only by fighting can we negotiate peace. The better Teng Xingfu and his vanguard army fight, the more they hurt the foreigners, and the sooner they will give up and propose peace to us."

Seeing that Ronglu had said a lot but still hadn't mentioned the issue of war criminals mentioned in Teng Yuzhao's memorial, Wang Wenshao spoke anxiously.

"Sir Rong, we are talking about the war criminals mentioned in Teng Xingfu's memorial. We haven't talked about whether the war should continue. You should tell me why Teng Xingfu mentioned the war criminals at this time and used this issue to provoke the foreigners."

Ronglu nodded slightly to Wang Wenshao and said with some pride.

"Master Wang, please be patient. I will stop here."

Then Ronglu turned to Cixi.

"Empress Dowager, since peace talks are inevitable, we should prepare for it sooner rather than later. We can't just wait for the foreigners to come and ask for exorbitant prices and force us unreasonably."

When Ronglu said this, Zai Yi and Wang Wenshao seemed to have realized something, but Cixi had already understood.

"You mean, what Teng Xingfu meant is to make an offer to the foreigners first, so that if the foreigners still want us to deal with the culprit, we can use these war criminals as an excuse?"

"The Queen Mother is wise! This is what Teng Xingfu meant."

Ronglu said with emotion, "I have read the Ta Kung Pao that Zhang Xiangtao sent to me by express horseback many times. I have read it almost every day in the past few days. After reading it every time, I am deeply impressed by Teng Xingfu."

"Teng Xingfu not only has a clear understanding of the great powers, but also has a more thorough understanding of the nature of foreigners. He is truly a rare talent!"

Ronglu gave Teng Yuzao a high evaluation from the bottom of his heart!
Because the complete edition had not been published yet, Zhang Zhidong only sent five days' worth of space from the Ta Kung Pao, which contained the serialized articles on "The Rise of Great Powers". Cixi, Ronglu and Zai Yi all had copies.

After reading the above “Rise of Great Powers”, these three people were deeply touched.

Not only was Zhang Zhidong's high evaluation of Teng Yuzhao high, but the content of the article also deeply shocked the three people.

Especially for Cixi and Zai Yi, after reading the first five chapters of "The Rise of Great Powers", especially the two about Britain, they felt their horizons were broadened. At the same time, they also felt fear and even deep regret for their rash declaration of war on the great powers.

However, when it comes to declaring war, not only would they not say it themselves, but even the court officials did not dare to make any overt or covert accusations.

In addition to regret, they also felt that the author of the article, Teng Yuzao, was a rare talent and that in time, his achievements would definitely surpass those of Li Hongzhang, Zhang Zhidong and others.

In the letter sent along with the newspapers, Zhang Zhidong could not help but praise Teng Xingfu highly. He also said that Hankou not only had the "Vanguard Army Support Association", but now there was a non-governmental organization called the "Strong Country Society", which gathered many scholars to enthusiastically discuss Teng Yuzhao's "Rise of a Great Power". He himself also donated 1,000 taels of silver to the society to publish their journal.

Today, the two organizations, the "Strong Country Society" and the "Vanguard Army Support Association", are extremely active. They have raised large sums of money and are preparing to send people to deliver them to the Vanguard Army.

In fact, these two organizations had already attracted protests from foreigners in the Hankou Concession, led by the British. However, Zhang Zhidong rejected the protests by saying that the "Southeast Mutual Protection Agreement" could only restrict Hu Guang's government from supporting the war against foreigners and condoning the Boxers, but there was no clause requiring him to restrict civilian support for the Vanguard Army.

Zhang Zhidong also mentioned that in addition to raising funds, the "Vanguard Army Support Association" also gathered a large number of young people who were willing to join the Vanguard Army to resist the invasion of foreigners, and they would be rushing to Zhili soon.

Zhang Zhidong praised Teng Yuzhao everywhere in the letter. Cixi could see that Zhang Zhidong had high expectations for Teng Yuzhao and the Vanguard Army. He even thought that even if the Vanguard Army was creating miracles, he would not be surprised!

Zhang Zhidong's letter made Cixi both happy and worried.

The good news is that although Zhang Zhidong signed the "Southeast Mutual Protection Agreement", Ke Xin still supported the court. At least he supported Teng Xingfu's vanguard army in fighting against foreigners.

What worries her is that this "Strong Country Society" reminds her of the "Strong Country Society" chaired by Kang Youwei and Liang Qichao two years ago. She hopes that this "Strong Country Society" will not be a replica of the "Strong Country Society".

Cixi put aside the distracting thoughts in her mind, nodded, and spoke in a raised voice.

"Prince Duan, Zhonghua, you two both said it well!"

"Only when you can fight can you talk about peace. This is a wise saying."

"If the Qing army and the foreigners were to collapse at the first blow, then the final result would not be peace talks, but only a humiliating treaty."

At this point, Cixi also sighed with emotion and said slowly, "Teng Xingfu has made great contributions to the country. He is worthy of being called the backbone of the Qing Dynasty!"

Cixi seemed to have gained confidence. She looked at Zai Yi and Ronglu and spoke in a resolute tone.

"In that case, we still have to fight this battle. Tell me, how should we arrange it next?"

Zai Yi's condition has improved a lot at this time, although peace talks will definitely be necessary in the end.

But Teng Yuzhao was now preparing to strive for a better outcome in the peace talks, and was even ready to respond to the rumors spread by foreigners by labeling them "war criminals" and to hold accountable the imperial court for condoning the Boxer Rebellion and advocating war.

Among the culprits that the foreigners wanted to investigate, Zai Yi was at the top of the list. With Teng Yuzhao's precautionary preparations, it was estimated that neither he nor his son would be in any major trouble.

Now that he had settled his mind, Zai Yi completely relaxed. His mind seemed to become much more active. He bowed to Cixi and said.

"Empress Dowager, I think that first of all, the court should approve all of Teng Xingfu's memorials, especially the Lutai defeated troops that Lord Rong took in. They should all be given to Teng Xingfu. Only in his hands can these people perform their best."

"Secondly, since we are going to fight, the imperial court must fully support Teng Xingfu. Not only should we not interfere with his actions, but we should also clearly tell him that when he fights the foreigners, he should not fight them head-on. He should just deal with them and bite them hard when the time is right, and continuously consume their strength."

"So, the Queen Mother must allow him to evacuate the capital if necessary."

"In addition, Song Qing, Ma Yukun, Dong Fuxiang and others are to lead the troops to garrison Niangzi Pass and protect Taiyuan. If the foreigners come, they must resist resolutely and are strictly ordered not to retreat a single step, otherwise they will be killed without mercy."

When Zai Yi said this, there was a strong murderous intent in his tone.

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(End of this chapter)