Master Yuan, start!

The butts are different, so the positions are different.

Yuan Xiangcheng believed that as a Chinese who rose from humble beginnings, Liu Kunyi might not necessarily want to sell out his country. The secret agreement was just a matter of interests. If he could unify the world in the future, he would be able to do a good job.

But unfortunately not if.

Instead of trusting Liu Kunyi, it is better to trust yourself. Under your own forward-looking leadership, China can do better than under Liu Kunyi.

Under the gaze of everyone, Yuan Xiangcheng put on the iconic military cap of the National Defense Army uniform, straightened his hands, and walked out the door with a righteous look on his face!

"Yuan Xiangcheng, aren't you afraid of retribution for such despicable behavior?" Yu Lianyuan half-hugged Liu Kunyi, his eyes coldly watching his back as he left the house: "What's the difference between the bonded area you set up and the foreigners? Is it treason? Are you really that clean?"

"Mr. Jinshan Yu Lianyuan, there is a new army in Danyang. Give the order!"

"Don't let Yuan Xiangcheng leave Shanghai today!"

The soldiers of the Jiangnan New Army pointed their guns at Yuan Xiangcheng angrily, but did not dare to pull the trigger. They could only place their hopes on Yu Lianyuan.

Eugen immediately signaled the British soldiers to come forward to guard, and nothing could happen again.

When the atmosphere was tense, Liu Kunyi slowly woke up.

During the coma, he only felt his head was dizzy, as if he had dreamed of a different Qing Dynasty.

In the dream, in the 2th year of the reign of Emperor Guangxu, the Qing Dynasty did not split into the north and the south. The Beiyang Fleet was also thriving under the leadership of Li Hongzhang, the governor-general of Zhili. At the beginning of the year, it even went to Southeast Asia and Malacca to spread the power of the Celestial Empire.

While serving as the Governor-General of Liangjiang, he also ran the Westernization Office very successfully, building railways, opening mines, and encouraging industry and commerce.

As for Yuan Xiangcheng? Yuan Xiangcheng was just an arrogant and conceited military commander stationed in Korea, and he was not even allowed to enter the central government.

The whole country was in a state of prosperity, and governors and governors-general from all over the country were racking their brains for the Empress Dowager's birthday banquet at the end of the year, which was Cixi's 1894th birthday in October 10.

But in the blink of an eye, everything disappeared and he was back at the party.

"The Qing Dynasty is so great." Liu Kunyi's mouth moved and he let out a sigh that only he could hear.

Seeing that everyone was looking at him, Liu Kunyi struggled to get up, and the people around him could only support him.

But suddenly, he tugged at Yu Lianyuan's jacket.

"Jinshan, can we discuss with the French whether we can refrain from mortgaging the right of way and hold off on recruiting laborers?"

Hearing this, Yu Lianyuan couldn't believe his ears.

Is this still General Xian, or the Hunan Army leader who fought his way through mountains of corpses and seas of blood?

In all the incidents between the people of Jiangnan and foreigners, you have never been lenient and have often punished local officials. Why do you care about the people now?

If Yuan Shikai wants to fight, then let him fight. Can't the five provinces south of the Yangtze River be compared with his four provinces outside the Great Wall?

If we talk about the people's hearts, how could the Qing Dynasty have won the world? Wasn't it all won by swords and axes?

Yu Lianyuan could never have imagined that Liu Kunyi would speak without thinking after falling into a coma and try to solve the problem by retreating.

"General Xian, things have come to this point. There is no other way but to go to war."

Surrounded by British lobster soldiers, Yuan Xiangcheng's back disappeared at the door of the banquet hall.

War is inevitable.

Chapter 220: Beijing's Response

Beijing, west of the Forbidden City, inside the Summer Palace.

The garden was once magnificent with pavilions and towers made of colorful bricks and bright tiles, but now it is just an empty shell.

Wanshou Mountain on the shore of Bakunming Lake is about 100 meters above sea level. In summer, if the dignitaries in the capital cannot go to Chengde to escape the summer heat, they often use Wanshou Mountain as an alternative destination.

Therefore, Qianlong valued this piece of land and built the Qingyi Garden. After it was burned down by the British and French forces, Cixi chose to rebuild it, renamed it the Summer Palace, and also built a Wanshoushan Tower.

The 7th floor has 9 floors, filled with antiques, calligraphy and paintings, Western toys and porcelain from past dynasties. Going up to the 9th floor, you can overlook the entire lake.

However, on the 9th floor of Wanshoushan Building today, these things are not seen. There are only a few pear wood chairs placed there, which is quite lonely and in sharp contrast to the glory of the past.

Lu: "What a beautiful garden, what a beautiful building, why did His Majesty sell it?"

After Lu Jian Kou Liancai followed Guangxu and a group of ministers up to Wanshou Tower, this sentence was the first thing that came to his mind.

What he felt sorry for was not the garden itself, but the paintings and calligraphy treasures in it, because they had all been sold.

After Emperor Guangxu returned to Beijing, he did say that he wanted to sell everything in the Summer Palace. Kou Liancai thought that he was only selling some of the worthless things in the garden, and the treasures in the Wanshou Mountain Tower would still be kept.

But it was not until today when he went up to the building that he discovered that everything in the building had been sold out. Apart from the basic tables and chairs, there was not a single screen or painting left!

"Your Majesty is truly committing a sin." Kou Liancai looked at Guangxu's back and felt sorry in his heart.

After witnessing the tragic events of the Sino-Japanese War of 1894-1895, this eunuch was worried about the national situation and was extremely anxious. Seeing that Cixi was still obsessed with listening to operas every day and had no desire to make progress, he resolutely decided to persuade Cixi to return power to Guangxu.

However, his action angered Cixi, and he was suspected of being instructed by the reformists. After being interrogated without any results, he was executed at the Caishikou execution ground.

In this time and space, he followed Guangxu to Korea from the very beginning, going through life and death together, so he was deeply trusted by Guangxu and was regarded as his personal eunuch.

97-5.74245) novel

Although the servant felt it was a pity, the protagonist Guangxu did not have any regretful thoughts. He had lived in the Forbidden City since he was a child and was surrounded by antiques, calligraphy and paintings, so he had no burden to sell them.

Today he went up to the tower again, but not to enjoy the scenery of Kunming Lake, but to discuss an important matter.

An important matter concerning the national security of the Qing Dynasty!

Before leaving, Yuan Shikai sent a telegram to Guangxu, expressing his determination to lead his troops south to unify the world for him, and Guangxu also said that he would let him do as he pleased.

But Guangxu did not expect that the situation would develop to this point.

First, there was a unified telegram, then the French consul was assassinated, and then there was news that Liu Kunyi had signed a secret agreement with France, and he even fainted in public.

The news of these bombshells one after another made Guangxu feel for the first time that telegraphs seemed to have shortcomings.

Something happened in Shanghai today, and the capital knew about it before the next night. It happened so quickly that there was no time to react.

Guangxu held the latest telegram in his hand, facing Kunming Lake, with his back to his ministers, his mind full of thoughts.

What exactly was Master Yuan planning to do? Beer q079 clearly said he'd deal with Liu Kunyi first and then decide based on the situation, so why did he go head-to-head with the French right from the start?

The Jindan Dao no longer invaded Rehe and other places, and fled to the Hetao area, causing unrest among the people of Shaanxi and Gansu.

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Lu Chuanlin of Shaanxi contacted the court privately and promised me that as soon as the opportunity came, he would kill the spy sent by Yang Changjun, the governor of Shaanxi and Gansu, in Xi'an and join the light.

Master Yuan, the situation in Shaanxi is unstable. This is a golden opportunity. You can't get stuck in Jiangnan.

Guangxu looked into the distance at the sky, as if trying to see through the thick fog and see clearly into Yuan Shikai's heart.

I don't know how long it took, until the sun was already setting in the west, Weng Tong finally moved his somewhat stiff body and bowed, saying:

"Your Majesty, Yuan Xiangcheng is truly a cowardly man with no strategy. He acts recklessly, relying on the order to act in his favor. Now, he is speaking outrageously against the French, attracting the attention of the Russians. It is truly, truly alas..."

In the end, Weng Tong did not say the four words "disrespectful to the emperor". He knew how important Yuan Xiangcheng was in the heart of the emperor in front of him.

He was grateful for the expansion of territory, the life-saving grace, and the rebuilding grace. It is not an exaggeration to say that Yuan Shikai is a combination of Huo Qubing, Guo Ziyi and Yu Qian. What's wrong with being a little domineering?

They did that for the sake of the Qing Dynasty. Otherwise, they would have kept dozens of concubines at home like Guo Ziyi and embezzled millions of taels of silver. Why would they have gone through the trouble of going south?

In addition, Weng Tong had previously promised the emperor that he would not hinder Yuan Xiangcheng's actions, so at this time he could only say a few words to express his concern.

However, Weng Tong was not only worried about the French, he was more worried about the Russians.

Today, the Russian envoy in the capital was entrusted by the French consulate to inform the court, requesting that Yuan Shikai be "strictly monitored". Once the Russians asked about it, the importance of the matter suddenly changed, which led to Guangxu's decision to summon all the important officials to discuss the matter.

"Your Majesty, what Lord Weng said is not without reason," said Pan Zuyin, the military council member. "But the people's will is what the court wants, and it is difficult for us to go against the will of the people."

"That's right, Your Majesty." Li Hongzao, also a military advisor, chimed in. "Furthermore, after the French Concession tragedy, the court issued a telegram accusing Liu Kun of inciting civil unrest and stating that it would provide compensation to the civilians who died tragically in prison. If Xiang Cheng were summoned back to the capital to be reprimanded, wouldn't that make the world a laughing stock?"

Among the three military ministers, one said that Yuan Shikai had done something inappropriate and should be reprimanded; the other two said that although it was inappropriate, he could not be reprimanded, otherwise how would the court save face?

Although Guangxu had made up his mind, he was still a little hesitant.

"Kou Liancai, what do you think?" As the breeze from the lake blew, Guangxu turned around and asked his personal eunuch.

"Your Majesty, I am a eunuch and I don't understand your considerations." Kou Liancai knelt down quickly and replied without looking up: "But in recent days, the gentlemen in the capital have been applauding the court's telegram, saying that this is a sign of backbone."

"Okay, I understand." Guangxu waved his hand and interrupted Kou Liancai.

In Guangxu's view, the court had already issued a telegram to express its position in order to belittle Liu Kunyi. If Yuan Shikai was called back to the capital to be reprimanded now, would the court save its face and his own reputation?

Moreover, Guangxu knew very well that he was originally a Manchu. Now the southern provinces were divided by the warlords and there were endless speeches of anti-Manchu and pro-Han sentiments. If he did not take advantage of this assassination to make a fuss, how could he win the hearts of the people with the Han governor in the south?

He has read Chinese and foreign classics in the past two years and knows that the best way for a "foreign king" like himself to win the hearts of the people is to remain tough when facing foreign countries. Only in this way can he win public support.

Guangxu understood that times had changed and it was no longer possible to conquer the world by relying on riding and shooting like his ancestors did. He had to think of other ways.

Therefore, although Yuan Shikai took the initiative to reveal the Liu-Fa secret agreement, which aroused the Russians' "concern", concern was not a threat after all, and Guangxu pretended not to hear it.

But who exactly was Master Yuan going to attack? Guangxu fell into deep thought.

Fight Liu Kunyi or the French. If that doesn't work, just call back the National Defense Army and take Shaanxi into your possession first.

"Call Master Yuan and ask him to return to Beijing and explain the next plan in detail."

Guangxu decided to take it one step at a time and call Yuan Shikai back first, taking the opportunity to win the hearts of the people in the capital.

Chapter 221: Taking His Majesty Back to Changbai Mountain

This was the umpteenth time that Yuan Xiangcheng had come to the capital.

第一次他2还是小小的帮玖办朝鲜军务；4第二次0是为了si在天津练三新军5；第三次4是率军败法国；第四次以朝鲜总督身份来参加光绪大婚；至于第五次次则是倒帘之战，提兵上洛，纵马正阳门。

This time, the people of the capital were not as dull and dazed as they were 10 years ago, nor were they as nervous and uneasy as they were after the Anti-Curtain Campaign.

On the contrary, everyone's face is filled with proud smiles. Although there are still more than ten days to the Mid-Autumn Festival, the streets and alleys have already begun to be decorated with lights and colorful lanterns, preparing for a grand celebration.

Yuan Xiangcheng rode his horse to the outside of Yongding Gate, and the armed National Defense Army guards were on guard not far away.

Waiting outside Yongding Gate were the two pillars of the current Beijing officialdom, the Grand Councilor Weng Tong, and the Minister of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Shi Duo.

One Han and one Manchu, one imperial teacher and one prince, it can be said that they observed the etiquette to the fullest.

Not to mention that Yuan Xiangcheng didn't care about these empty formalities, even if he did, the arrival of these two people was enough to make him satisfied.

Seeing Yuan Xiangcheng dismount, Shiduo was the first to nod to Yuan Xiangcheng.

Since Shi Duo resigned from the post of Grand Councilor, he no longer cared about major political affairs and devoted himself to the affairs of the Zongli Yamen. However, he was not very competent as the Prime Minister.

Among these matters, including trade, coastal defense, tariffs, roads and mining, post and telecommunications, and military industry, Shiduo was only in charge of one, and that was trade.

The rest was basically handled by the officials of each department themselves. If they could not make up their minds, they would contact Yuan Xiangcheng outside the Great Wall. Shi Duo was only responsible for stamping the final document submitted.

Anyway, Yuan Shikai also served as the Minister of Beiyang, so he had the right to participate in these affairs.