Republic of China: Guandong Ginseng King

Chapter 461 Jilin General
While the Qing court appointed Zhang Xiulan to negotiate with the Eastern Righteous Army, it also took the time to negotiate with Tsarist Russia.

They demanded that Tsarist Russia sign the Treaty of Transfer of the Three Eastern Provinces and then withdraw its troops in batches as soon as possible.

Naturally, Tsarist Russia was unwilling to withdraw its troops so easily. Not only did Nicholas II refuse to do so, he also clamored to send more troops to the northeast and completely defeat the morale army in the east.

Countries such as Britain, the United States, and Japan protested to Tsarist Russia, and Japan even sent a special envoy to Andong via Goryeo.

Make it clear to the righteous army in the east that you can provide all kinds of support.

This is how Japan is. They worship the strong. As long as it is beneficial to them, no matter if they were enemies in the past, they can become friends now.

In response, Qu Shaoyang expressed his gratitude, but said it was not necessary for the time being.

Regardless of the outcome, Japan's contact with the Eastern Righteous Army did put some pressure on Tsarist Russia.

In addition, the reinforcements from Luda and Jilin were severely suffering from cholera and were unable to break through the blockade and reinforce Fengtian.

In addition, patriotic volunteers from the southern provinces broke through numerous obstacles and rushed to the Northeast to support the righteous army in the east.

Seeing that the anti-Russian forces in the Northeast were becoming increasingly powerful, the situation was extremely unfavorable for the Tsarist Russia, and if the Tsarist Russia wanted to send reinforcements from its homeland, there would simply not be enough time.

Forced by reality, Tsarist Russia finally compromised and had to sign a treaty with the Qing government, promising to immediately implement the first phase of the withdrawal plan.

Tsarist Russia finally agreed to withdraw its troops. The court was delighted and people from all walks of life celebrated in various ways.

Many people told the court that the Russian Empire was willing to withdraw its troops and that the Eastern Righteous Army had made great contributions, so the court must reward them.

Under these circumstances, peace talks are hopeful.

The imperial court also showed full sincerity by directly confiscating Zengqi's property and exiling him to Xinjiang to do hard labor, never allowing him to return to Beijing.

The first two conditions proposed by Qu Shaoyang have been met, but the last condition has not been agreed upon.

The imperial court wanted Qu Shaoyang to replace Zhang Xiulan as the governor of the Eastern Circuit, and all the Dingbian troops should be retained to guard the eastern area.

Qu Shaoyang naturally refused, so he proposed to become the Fengtian General, which would allow him to be in charge of the eastern road.

The imperial court could not agree to this condition. The generals of the three northeastern provinces had always been bannermen, and there had never been a precedent of a Han official holding this position.

Furthermore, Fengtian is the throat of the three northeastern provinces and is so close to the capital.

Just in case Qu Shaoyang had other ideas, with the bravery of the Dingbian Army, it would be easy for them to attack the capital.

But the imperial court did not agree, and Qu Shaoyang refused to withdraw his troops. Seeing that volunteers from all over the country were rushing to the northeast, the imperial court was also afraid of causing a big chaos.

Finally, after discussion, the court decided to make an exception and appoint Qu Shaoyang as the general of Jilin.

Zhang Xiulan expressed the court's intention to Qu Shaoyang, and Qu Shaoyang thought that the general of Jilin would also be fine.

But there was a request, that the Eastern Road should be transferred to Jilin and be under his jurisdiction.

Dongbiandao is the foundation of Qu Shaoyang's foothold. Without the unswerving support of the people of Dongbiandao, Qu Shaoyang would have no way to expand the Dingbian Army and fight against Tsarist Russia.

Therefore, Qu Shaoyang meant that since the imperial court intended to let him guard the eastern area, it didn't make much difference whether it belonged to Fengtian or Jilin, so he should just be in charge of it.

In addition, the court had to agree to appoint Chen Yunzhe as the governor of the Eastern Circuit and Chen Yunhan as the garrison commander of the Eastern Circuit.

Other generals of the rebel army were also rewarded, and the Eastern Road was exempted from taxes for two years.

Anyway, the main point is to reward all employees according to their merits, and no one can be left out.

The court discussed and debated for a long time, and finally agreed to Qu Shaoyang's request.

Therefore, the decree of reward soon arrived outside Fengtian City.

Qu Shaoyang led his troops to expel the Russian army and made great contributions. He was specially appointed as the General of Jilin to replace Chang Shun and take charge of the military and political affairs of Jilin.

Chen Yunzhe was appointed as the governor of the Eastern Military Preparations Circuit, and Chen Yunhan was appointed as the garrison commander of the Eastern Circuit.

The main generals of the Dingbian Army were appointed to guard various prefectures and counties. The court provided pensions to all soldiers who died, and the people in the eastern roads were exempted from taxes for two years.

At the same time, Zhang Xiulan was awarded the title of acting General Fengtian for his meritorious service in mediation. The officials of various prefectures and counties in the Eastern Road had their original posts restored and resumed their posts.

Such a result can be said to be a happy and satisfactory one for everyone.

So Qu Shaoyang held a banquet and invited Zhang Xiluan and a group of officials from the Eastern Road.

"My lords, I am really sorry, the situation was special at the time and I had no choice but to do it.

It is my fault that I have caused you all to worry and have been punished by the court. I hope you will forgive me."

At the banquet, Qu Shaoyang personally poured wine for Zhang Xiulan and several other prefects and county magistrates, and apologized in public.

"Oh my, Master Qu, you can't do that. You can't do that.

This is all Zengqi's fault. He deliberately targeted Lord Qu, and Lord Qu should fight back.

Now that you have been promoted to General of Jilin, it is a cause for celebration. Come, let us toast you a glass of wine." Everyone saw this and hurriedly toasted Qu Shaoyang.

Qu Shaoyang was appointed as the General of Jilin, which broke the precedent and everyone expressed their congratulations.

There was laughter and chatter at the banquet, and the atmosphere was really good.

After the banquet was over, Qu Shaoyang invited Zhang Xiulan to another place, asked his attendants to leave, and then Qu Shaoyang knelt down and kowtowed to Zhang Xiulan.

"Godfather, Shaoyang has implicated you. I kowtow to you to apologize." As he spoke, he kowtowed three times in a row.

To be honest, Zhang Xiulan was indeed good to Qu Shaoyang, and he also contributed a lot to the peace talks with the court this time.

Qu Shaoyang is a man who values ​​friendship and loyalty. If others are nice to him, he will return the favor.

Zhang Xiulan never expected Qu Shaoyang to do this, so he had no time to stop him.

"Oh, kid, why are you doing this? It's all in the past. Can your father still hold it against you?

The fact that this matter can be resolved satisfactorily and you can be promoted to General of Jilin is already the best outcome.

From now on, you must not act rashly again. If you don't care about yourself, you should always think about your family, right?"

It is impossible to say that Zhang Xiulan has no grudges in his heart.

Over the past year, Zhang Xiulan lived in fear and trembling with trepidation, fearing that the court would be dissatisfied with him and would punish him.

And all this was because his most valued adopted son rebelled and he failed to control his subordinates. How could Zhang Xiulan not feel resentful?

However, Zhang Xiulan was a broad-minded man, and the matter had been resolved satisfactorily. He also turned a disaster into a blessing and was promoted to acting General of Fengtian.

I think, with a little more effort, he won't have to serve as an acting general anymore and can officially take up the post of General Fengtian.

Zhang Xiulan was very satisfied with the result, so naturally he was not so upset towards Qu Shaoyang.

After Qu Shaoyang kowtowed and apologized, Zhang Xiulan's unhappiness disappeared.

So Zhang Xiluan reached out his hand, helped his adopted son up, and looked him up and down with a smile. "I've long said that you will achieve great things in the future, and it's true. At such a young age, you're already the military and political chief of a province. Great, great."

Zhang Xiulan patted Qu Shaoyang on the shoulder and said with relief.

"Shaoyang can be where he is today, thanks to the cultivation and guidance of his adoptive father. Shaoyang is young, and he will have to rely on his adoptive father more in the future." Qu Shaoyang was very humble.

Zhang Xiulan was very satisfied with Qu Shaoyang's attitude. The father and son put aside their past grudges, talked and laughed, and restored their previous relationship.

The matter was resolved satisfactorily, but there were still many things to be dealt with afterwards, so Qu Shaoyang could not leave for the time being.

In August, the Treaty of the Transfer of the Three Eastern Provinces was officially signed at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in St. Petersburg, and Tsarist Russia implemented the first phase of its withdrawal plan as scheduled.

The Tsarist Russian army began to retreat from Shanhaiguan to Jinzhou and completely withdrew within three days.

On August 20, Yixin and Wang Wenshao signed the Sino-Russian Treaty on the Transfer of Railways outside the Shanhaiguan Pass with the Russian ambassador to China, Resar. Russia promised to return the Shanhaiguan, Yingkou and Xinmin railways.

On the seventh day of September, Yuan Shikai personally went to Shanhaiguan to handle the handover of the Yingkou Railway. The next day, the Yingkou-Shanhaiguan Railway was handed over to the Qing Dynasty.

Immediately afterwards, the Tsarist Russian army returned the southwestern section of Fengtian and the area west of the Liaohe River, and retreated to the vicinity of the railway.

Taking this opportunity, Zhang Xiulan introduced Qu Shaoyang, who was settling the Dingbian Army and the people of Dongbian Road, to Yuan.

Yuan was quite polite to Qu Shaoyang and praised him for his promising future. Qu Shaoyang also took the opportunity to compliment him. The meeting between the two sides was quite pleasant.

By mid-September, the Dingbian Army and all the places in the Eastern Road had been settled, and Qu Shaoyang went to Jilin to take up his post.

On the way, I detoured back to Linjiang to visit my relatives.

From July of the Gengzi year, when Qu Shaoyang led his troops to the front line to fight against the Russians, to late September of the Renyin year, when Qu Shaoyang returned to Linjiang City, exactly two years and two months had passed.

This expedition not only took longer, but was also more dangerous.

Especially after Qu Shaoyang led everyone in the uprising, his family lived in fear every day.

They were worried about those fighting outside, and they were also afraid that if the uprising failed, the whole family would suffer.

Especially Chen Xiuyun, Meng Lanxin and others, who not only have to take care of the whole family, calm people's hearts, but also maintain stability outside.

When the war broke out, many of the Qu family's businesses were closed. The income was already low, and Qu Shaoyang was recruiting soldiers and expanding his strength, and he needed money everywhere.

Not only did Chen Xiuyun spend all her family savings, she also had to rack her brains to find ways to increase income and reduce expenditure and support her husband with all her strength. It was really not easy.

"Dad, Mom, Master, Master's Wife, I'm back. Shaoyang is unfilial and has caused all the elders to worry."

When Qu Shaoyang returned to the Qu family, he met Qu Laokouer and his wife, as well as Liu Dongshan and his wife, and hurried forward to greet them.

Qu Laokouer and his wife were originally with Qu Fu in Fushun. When the news of Qu Shaoyang leading the uprising came back, Chen Xiuyun immediately arranged for people to bring her parents-in-law back to ensure their safety.

As for Doctor Chen and his wife, as well as Shen Lizhen, He Qingzhu and others, after the imperial decree of reward came down, Chen Yunhan immediately arranged for people to take all the family members back to Kuandian.

"It's good that you're back, it's good that you're back." Both Mr. and Mrs. Qu nodded towards their son with tears in their eyes.

During the past two years, the couple lived in fear and were always concerned about Qu Shaoyang who was away. It was obvious that he had aged a lot.

Liu Dongshan and his wife were also very excited when they met Qu Shaoyang. Liu Dongshan patted Qu Shaoyang on the shoulder with a look of pride on his face.

"Well done, Master is so proud. You did a great job."

How could he not be proud? His disciple was a great hero who led his troops to fight against the Russians. The proudest thing in Liu Dongshan's life was that he accepted Qu Shaoyang as his disciple.

"Go check on your wife and children. You haven't been home for the past few years, and the family has been supported by Xiuyun and Lanxin. They have worked the hardest."

Liu Dongshan and Lin Ruolan stepped aside to let Qu Shaoyang walk in front of his wife and children.

Chen Xiuyun and Meng Lanxin, leading a group of children, were looking at Qu Shaoyang with tears in their eyes.

Chen Xiuyun lowered her head and said something to Zhenbang. Zhenbang nodded, and then led his brothers and sisters to rush towards Qu Shaoyang, "Dad, Dad."

Qu Shaoyang now has six sons and two daughters. The eldest, Qu Zhenbang, is fourteen years old this year.

The youngest is Qu Jiali, the daughter of Meng Lanxin. She was born in April of the Gengzi year and is now over three years old.

Eight children came forward, surrounded Qu Shaoyang, and called him "Dad" in unison.

When Qu Shaoyang saw this, he was extremely happy. He bent down, picked up his little daughter, and kissed her little face.

"In the blink of an eye, our Jiali has grown up so much."

In June of the Gengzi year, Qu Shaoyang was ordered to return to Linjiang to integrate the Dingbian Army. At that time, Jiali was only two months old. Qu Shaoyang glanced at his daughter hurriedly and then led his troops to the battle.

In a blink of an eye, more than two years have passed, and that little girl has grown into a pretty little girl. How could Qu Shaoyang not love her?

Jiali is a well-behaved girl. She doesn't feel shy even when being held by her father, whom she has never met. She even smiles at Qu Shaoyang.

Qu Shaoyang was so happy that he held his daughter tightly in his arms and refused to let go.

Those children have grown up and it is not appropriate for their father to hold them, so they can only look at the little sister with envy.

Qu Shaoyang touched his sons' heads one by one, patted their shoulders, spoke to them in a gentle voice, and asked them how their homework was going.

The children chattered back and Qu Shaoyang listened with joy.

"Shaoyang, what about Yuhuan and Chunhong? They helped me when you were not at home.

Yuhuan helps me take care of the things at home and outside, Chunhong and Lanxin are responsible for patrolling and maintaining public security in Linjiang City, and have caught many people who came to cause trouble."

Seeing that Qu Shaoyang was busy chatting and playing with the children, Chen Xiuyun hurriedly reminded him.

Qu Shaoyang looked behind Chen Xiuyun and Meng Lanxin, and saw Lin Yuhuan and Er Yuehong looking at him with smiles on their faces.

"Ms. Lin, Miss Yang, thank you very much for your help." Qu Shaoyang came up to the two of them and bowed to express his gratitude.

The two men returned the greeting awkwardly, "We didn't do anything, so we don't deserve your thanks. Congratulations, sir, on your appointment as the General of Jilin."

The family had known about Qu Shaoyang's promotion to general of Jilin for a long time. No one else would mention it, but the two daughters would definitely congratulate Qu Shaoyang.

Qu Shaoyang nodded. Just at this time, Qu Jiang and Qu Fu came forward and congratulated Qu Shaoyang. The three brothers had not seen each other for a long time, so they had a lot to talk about.

"Shaoyang, let's go home first. Let's sit down and talk slowly.

It's windy outside and the weather is cold. The children are too young, don't let them get cold." Chen reminded.

"Yes, yes, you see, I was so happy to see my family that I forgot everything. Let's go home and talk slowly."

Qu Shaoyang came to his senses at this moment, smiled, slapped his forehead, and hurriedly asked everyone to go into the enclosure.

Lin Xingjia, Lin Xingye, Jiang Chunfu and others, along with their family guards, gunners, farmhands and servants, congratulated Qu Shaoyang in unison. "Congratulations, sir, on your promotion to general."

As the saying goes, when one person succeeds, the whole family will benefit. Now that Qu Shaoyang has been promoted, people like them can also benefit from it.

(End of this chapter)