Master Yuan, start!

"!"

"Come in, Lord Yuan, Lord Fu." The young eunuch waved flatteringly and called Yuan Xiangcheng and the other two in.

Of course, Yuan Shikai and Guangxu met more than once, but that was in Korea, and there was no style or formality.

They had not met many times in the Forbidden City. The first few times they met Guangxu were in large halls such as the Hall of Supreme Harmony and the Hall of Preserving Harmony. This was the first time they met in his small bedroom.

As soon as he entered the palace, he saw a small red sandalwood stool in front of him. Yuan Xiangcheng didn't react at all, but Fu Yu next to him widened his eyes.

Deduction

What does this little stool mean? Fu Yu couldn't help but feel a surge of emotions.

Throughout the Qing Dynasty, being granted a seat was just a courtesy. The so-called being granted a seat was nothing more than changing the seat to a softer piece of felt, while one still had to kneel on the ground.

There are very few people who can actually "sit" and meet the emperor. After Qianlong, there are basically no others except the iron-hat kings.

But now Guangxu clearly wanted to grant him a seat in real life, otherwise he would not have placed a red sandalwood stool there.

Your Majesty, is a Han Chinese so important to you? Fu Yu lowered his head and said nothing, but he was extremely dissatisfied in his heart.

"Master Yuan, please sit down." When Guangxu saw Yuan Xiangcheng coming in, a smile appeared on his face.

"Your Majesty, Yuan Xiangcheng, respectfully wishes you the best of luck!"

"Master Yuan, we are the emperor and his subject because we fled all the way to Korea. There is no need to say these polite words." Guangxu did not put on airs, but spoke more cordially.

This made Fu Yu, the Mongolian beside him, feel even more unbalanced, but Guangxu didn't notice it. Instead, he said to him, "Fu Yu, go wait at the door!"

"!"

"Master Yuan, you've exposed the secret agreement between Liu Kunyi and the French. It's really boosted people's morale!" Guangxu stood up from the throne in high spirits and paced back and forth: "Thank you for your hard work!"

"I am grateful for Your Majesty's kindness. It is not hard work. The unification of China is my duty."

"However, this time you have provoked the French, and also attracted the attention of the Russians in Beijing." Speaking of unification, Guangxu was a little worried: "Master Yuan, are you confident that you can take on these two countries?"

"Your Majesty, I have no confidence at all."

Yuan Xiangcheng replied honestly that he really could not deal with both Russia and France at the same time, but he did not need to deal with the Russians either.

"Master Yuan, doesn't that mean..." Guangxu was a little flustered when he heard Yuan Xiangcheng say he was not sure.

“Your Majesty, the Russian envoy’s expression of ‘concern’ is most likely a personal act and has not been authorized by the Tsar in St. Petersburg.

Zhong's words cannot explain why his country is using military force against Japan while interfering in China's affairs.

Only when all efforts are focused can they be effective. This is something that even a three-year-old child understands, so there is no reason why the Russians wouldn't understand it."

Yuan Shikai did not explain the complex changes in the international situation, nor did he mention the British's secret support for him.

Anyway, all we have to do is make Guangxu believe that the Russians will not go south.

"Then are we sure that the National Defense Army will march south?"

"Have!"

Yuan Xiangcheng was planning to make some big talk. He didn't know what the final result would be or where the front line would advance to if he went south to attack Liu Kunyi, but he couldn't show his weakness at this time.

This is like going to a job interview. No matter whether you can do it or not, you just pat your chest and say that you can do it, and then learn it after you are hired.

"Okay, then let's just wait and see Master Yuan's battle exploits."

"It's just that the National Defense Army's pay is a bit tight. I have been arguing with Liu Kunyi for a long time, and I have been reluctant to mobilize the troops. There are many reasons for this. I have also reported to the court on the issue of military pay before."

"Master Yuan is fighting for the country, so how can the court be short of silver and food? Master Yuan, don't worry. The Ministry of Revenue allocated 300 million taels of silver the day before yesterday, and it has already been shipped to Duan Qirui, Sheng Fei, Feng Guozhang and others. The army will have no worries about money when it marches south!"

Already shipped over? Yuan Xiangcheng glanced at Guangxu calmly, not knowing whether it was Weng Tong's idea or Guangxu's.

Since Duan, Sheng and Feng were stationed in Taiyuan, northern Henan and southern Shandong respectively, the troops of these three towns have been openly cut off from the national defense forces outside the Great Wall.

In the eyes of the imperial court, although they all belonged to the national defense army, it was obvious that these three people were less influenced by Yuan Shikai, so they were safer to use.

Just transport it over there. Do you still think the National Defense Army is a feudal militia army?

Yuan Xiangcheng couldn't help but sneer in his heart. He didn't dare to say all of the military commanders, political instructors, and staff officers above the middle level, but at least 8% only recognized him, Yuan Xiangcheng, and the remaining 2% ​​were more inclined to the commander of the town. However, no matter which side, they would not only listen to the court.

300 million taels of silver is enough to last for a long time. Thank you very much for the three big rockets sent by the court!

Chapter 222: Jianghuai Maginot Line

"Master Yuan, the admiral who faced the Jiangnan rebel army was called Feng Feng." After talking about the military pay, Guangxu remembered another thing.

"In reply to the Emperor, his name is Feng Guozhang."

"Yes, his name is Feng Guozhang. I don't remember the name for sure." Guangxu pulled out a newspaper from the imperial desk, "But the nickname of the Wolf of National Defense is very familiar to me.

But this person doesn't seem to be very good at attacking cities?"

The nicknames of several commanders of the National Defense Army left a deep impression on Guangxu. Except for the symbolic "Eagle", Guangxu also remembered the nicknames of Tiger, Ox, Wolf and Fox clearly.

The fierce tiger Duan Qirui broke through Xifengkou at night and surrounded the training troops inside the pass;

Manniu Shengfei blew up Shanhaiguan Pass, laying the foundation for the National Defense Army's rapid southward attack;

The cunning fox Bai Dingshan tricked Ronglu into taking his head, leaving the army inside the pass loyal to Cixi leaderless.

Judging from their nicknames, the first two were quite suitable for sieges, and the first tough battle in the south was the old city of Xuzhou on the south bank of the Yellow River guarded by the Jiangnan New Army.

Therefore, in Guangxu's view, Feng Guozhang seemed somewhat unsuitable for use on the front line of confrontation.

"Your Majesty, Feng Guozhang fought with unconventional tactics, avoiding the enemy's strengths and attacking their weaknesses. During the Battle of the Curtain, his men used dog sleds to transport supplies outside the Great Wall, and he captured Liaoyang City in a single blow amidst the icy snow.

After going south and entering the pass, he rushed hundreds of miles, all the way from Shanhaiguan in the east to Juyongguan, just to avoid the attack of Ronglu's army.

Although he has never experienced a tough battle, since ancient times, soldiers have always been cunning and tactical, and victory is the most important thing."

Yuan Xiangcheng's words were not an excuse for Feng Guozhang, but his true thoughts.

Feng Guozhang's use of troops was quite similar to that of later Red Army generals. If given a choice, he would try to avoid siege battles and attacking positions, and preferred to use his own mobility to deal with the enemy.

Although he had not been tempered by time and numerous battles, he seemed a little immature. At one point, he led a large army to Juyongguan, only to find that the battle was over.

But if given time, Yuan Xiangcheng believed that Feng Guozhang would be able to figure out his own set of "mobile warfare tactics" for the National Defense Army.

"I am ignorant." After hearing what Yuan Xiangcheng said, Guangxu realized that he had thought too simply.

"No, placing Feng Guozhang in southern Shandong is actually a move by me to mislead outsiders."

"Master Yuan, what do you mean?"

"Your Majesty, Sheng Fei in northern Henan left 1 national defense troops to defend northern Henan, and he himself fled to southern Shandong with the remaining 1.

The one who is actually in charge of the siege in Lunan is the Bull Sheng Fei!"

"What a clever trick! A secret attack on Chencang!" Guangxu, a master of the Romance of the Three Kingdoms, couldn't help but applaud. "Using Feng Guozhang to seemingly defend southern Shandong, but actually defending northern Henan, will surely catch the southerners off guard."

"No," Yuan Xiangcheng denied again, "Your Majesty, there are 1 troops left in northern Henan. By then, Duan Qirui's 2 troops in Taiyuan will also move towards Lu'an Prefecture and southeastern Shanxi. Southern Zhili is as stable as a rock, and Feng Guozhang does not need to return to defend it."

"Then where is Feng Guozhang going?" Guangxu's gaze rested on Yuan Xiangcheng.

"Feng Guozhang has many cavalrymen under his command, and they come and go like the wind. If we want to make the most of them, we must attack the enemy's heartland."

"Liu Kun has already deployed a large force between the Yangtze River and the Huai River. How can Feng Guozhang possibly penetrate this heartland?" Guangxu was puzzled and asked anxiously, "Even if we march south from Henan and then turn towards Anhui, if we encounter a major city in Huaixi defended by a large army, won't we still have to attack it?"

"No."

This was the third time Yuan Xiangcheng said this in front of Guangxu today. If it were any ordinary person, Guangxu would probably be unhappy.

But Guangxu just couldn't feel disgusted with Yuan Shikai, and he was very clever in keeping the secret, making Guangxu only want to know the final answer.

"Your Majesty, Liu Kunyi has deployed a large number of troops between the Yangtze River and the Huai River, along the borders of Shandong, Henan, and Anhui. If we force our way out, we will be in great danger."

Yuan Xiangcheng asked the eunuch for paper and pen, and simply outlined Liu Kunyi's Jianghuai defense line. Guangxu also stepped down from the throne and took a closer look.

"But!"

Having said that, Yuan Xiangcheng poked the tip of his pen to the east of the Yellow River estuary, and the ink soaked into the stone bricks representing the Yellow Sea.

"He deployed a strong defense to the west of the Yangtze and Huai Rivers, but to the east of the Yangtze and Huai Rivers, there was only one defense, Huai'an, and even that was nearly 0 miles from the sea.

The so-called attack on the enemy's weakness lies here.

I intend to rely on sea transport to transport Feng Guozhang's army to the Jiangsu coast. After landing, I will imitate the Nian Army and disrupt their rear, making Liu Kunyi's Jianghuai defense line distracted and leading to a defeat without even having to fight!"

Bypassing the land and landing from the sea was the strategy that Yuan Shikai decided to implement.

This was not his original idea. The British did it during the Opium War, relying on the ocean to fight their way north. Yuan Shikai was just adapting this.

Liu Kunyi's defensive information was not a secret. After Yuan Xiangcheng knew it, he discussed the combat strategy with many staff officers.

The three major fulcrums of the Jianghuai defense line support each other, and any one of them is difficult to attack. At the beginning, Yuan Shikai did want to send a large army to fight a head-on battle.

But the hundreds of 2100-ton cargo ships under the Sihai Shipping Company woke him up, and Yuan Xiangcheng couldn't help but slap himself on the head.

Perhaps due to his fixed mindset, Liu Kunyi ignored the threat from the ocean and thought that the army would attack from land.

But how did I get stuck in this mindset? Why did I have to fight head-on? I had the advantage at sea. I could just land directly along the Jiangsu coast and bypass the impenetrable Jianghuai defense line.

For fear of the news leaking out, Yuan Shikai did not publicize it. This was the first time it was mentioned since entering the Pass.

Yuan Xiangcheng felt that this method was not worth mentioning compared with the later blitzkrieg, amphibious landing, air-ground coordination, and infantry-tank coordinated operations.

But Guangxu was amazed by Yuan Xiangcheng's move.

Although he is the emperor, he is ultimately just a young man in his 20s. How could he have ever been to the battlefield?

As the king of a country, although he yearned for a military life, he was unable to experience it personally due to his status.

Now, hearing Yuan Xiangcheng speaking so powerfully in front of him, he felt an inexplicable sense of heroism and satisfaction in his heart.

However, after careful consideration, Guangxu felt that something was wrong.

"Master Yuan, the Nian Army was able to wreak havoc across the land because they were familiar with the terrain. Furthermore, most of the Nian Army were from Huaishang, and they had close ties with the local area. This is how they were able to evade the previous crackdowns.

When Feng Guozhang first arrived in Jianghuai, even if he was at the peak of his power, he only had one chance. If he was trapped on the Huai River and lost his supplies, wouldn't he be trapped like a turtle in a jar?

"Your Majesty, please don't forget where I am from." Yuan Xiangcheng smiled slightly.

"Isn't Master Yuan from Xiangcheng, Chenzhou Prefecture, Henan?"

"Only a few dozen miles south of Xiangcheng, there is a large ferry crossing between the Yangtze and Huaihe Rivers, called Zhoujiakou Yi.

As early as the Xianfeng period, Zhoujiakou was already a distribution center for goods traveling north and south. If there were no supplies, they would just rob!

"Rob?" Guangxu had never thought of robbing his own people during a war, so he was a little surprised: "Is this a bit..."

"This is certainly a last resort." Yuan Xiangcheng laughed and livened up the atmosphere.