Master Yuan, start!

His words hinted that Yuan Xiangcheng was the mastermind behind the incident.

Naturally, not many people in the world believed what Zaixun said, especially the people in the capital, who all scoffed at it.

If you are not the murderer, then why are you running?

But the assassination of Guangxu could not be concealed after all. As the news from foreigners continued to appear in newspapers, the news spread from Bohai Sea to the Singapore Strait, from London to New York, all of China and even the whole world knew about it.

No matter what, Guangxu was still an emperor, not to mention the emperor of the number one superpower in the Far East.

After his assassination, the European royal families were still frightened and chose to increase the number of guards around them.

Such big news naturally became the top new topic of conversation among the people at home.

This was different from the gossip that the people were discussing in teahouses and restaurants about who assassinated Guangxu, whether he was dead or not, whether his death was kept secret or he was in a coma.

Politicians across China have also begun to make their voices heard.

Yiktang'a, who was stationed on the banks of the Songhua River, called to appeal for peace between the two sides and even expressed his willingness to come to Beijing in person to find out the truth.

Yiktang'a is the only trump card of the Bannermen now. When he was the governor of Heilongjiang, he did not give in to the provocation of the Russians. He is one of the fierce generals who can be compared with the tigers, wolves and bulls of the National Defense Army.

But he was far away in Heilongjiang and did not know what was happening in the capital. He only knew that Guangxu was assassinated and then Prince Zhuang escaped.

As a member of the lower-class bannermen, he instinctively did not want to see the bannermen killing each other, especially now that the Russians were eyeing them covetously from across the Heilongjiang River. He felt that there should be no chaos within the country.

The Russians were not only dishonest on the banks of the Heilongjiang River, but also interfered on the Mongolian border. Due to the repeated concessions of the Japanese, Russia's appetite increased greatly. In order to capture Hokkaido, they kept transporting supplies to the Far East.

However, the railway only reached the east side of Lake Baikal. The Russian ambassador to Beijing proposed hiring Mongolian cavalry to transport supplies, passing through the Great Plains outside the Great Wall to reach Vladivostok.

Faced with this kind of opportunistic behavior, Yuan Xiangcheng flatly refused, but now that Prince Chun was in power, the impression that foreigners were fierce had long been engraved in his mind like a mental stamp. Yi Xin actually wanted to agree and use this to make friends with the Russians.

The most surprising thing was the joint telegram issued by Wuchang and Jiangning.

You know, although China is now divided into two, it has actually been split into several parts. The south seems to obey the Wuchang court as the legitimate government, but in fact it has long since obeyed orders and not announcements.

Only Zhang Zhidong, who was weak in strength, still clung to this tiger skin and refused to let it go.

But after the army suffered a disastrous defeat, Liu Kunyi decided to pick up the flag of the Qing court again in order to stabilize the people's morale in the rear. He changed his previous dismissive attitude towards the Wuchang court and sent a joint telegram with Cixi.

The telegram expressed understanding for Prince Zhuang, saying that Guangxu was indeed deceived and wanted to lead the Qing Dynasty astray. Cixi was unable to persuade him back then, and decided to establish a new emperor for the sake of the Qing Dynasty.

Now that Guangxu has been assassinated, it is time to trace back to the past, honor the "Baoqing" emperor of Wuchang, and restore the unity of the Qing Dynasty.

Therefore, Prince Zhuang Zaixun was specially appointed as the General of the Northern Expedition and Tieliang as the General of the Bandits Suppression, hoping that they could capture and kill Yuan Shikai in Beijing.

At the same time, as soon as the telegram was sent, Liu Kunyi ordered the Hunan Army on the south bank of the Yangtze River to cross the river and began to harass the food and grass routes of the National Defense Army. In addition, with the help of the French, he transported a large amount of supplies and medicines to Yangzhou City, as if he wanted to build Yangzhou into a fortress in the north of the Yangtze River.

At this time, Churchill, facing the turbulent situation in the Far East, suddenly had a flash of inspiration in his mind.

He decided to write a novel based on a country ruled by foreign races near the Mediterranean, telling the story of a brutal war caused by the assassination of the king.

He didn't know why this idea suddenly popped up in his mind, but he believed that if he wrote it down, he would be able to make a lot of money by using the assassination of the Qing emperor as a gimmick.

...

Inside the central military tent of the Eight Banners Anti-Rebellion Army, people kept coming in and out of the makeshift command center, waiting for the latest intelligence.

It was said to be the headquarters of the Eight Banners Anti-Rebellion Army, but in fact the combat staff were almost all staff of the National Defense Army who followed Yuan Shikai to the north.

"Yiktang'a, the Russians are passing through, and Hunan and Hubei are merging." Yuan Xiangcheng put away the telegram, rubbed his temples, and forced himself to stay awake.

These were not problems that needed to be dealt with immediately, so there was no harm in delaying them. The most important thing at the moment was to let the Tieliang Bannermen and the Eight Banners Rebellion Suppression Army kill each other.

"Chief Instructor, the Eight Banners Anti-Rebellion Army is newly established and cannot be used for major tasks. Do we really want to use them to fight Tie Liang?" A staff officer with an accent from outside the Great Wall was writing and drawing on a piece of paper with a worried look on his face.

"The Eight Banners Anti-Rebellion Army is the Eight Banners, but the Bannermen Army under Tie Liang's command is not the Eight Banners? They are equally useless!" Another staff officer with a Tianjin accent retorted.

"That's different. After all, the Bannermen Army has been training for some time and has field artillery. The Eight Banners Anti-Rebellion Army only has mortars. Besides, the 10th Regiment is also in Tieliang's hands!"

The staff officers' concerns were justified. Tie Liang now had an army of more than 10,000 men under his command. Although they had not experienced actual combat, they were well-trained.

On the other hand, Yuan Shikai's army in the capital, including the 2000-odd national defense troops urgently dispatched from Shanhaiguan, only had more than 4000 men, and more importantly, they had no heavy weapons.

Although everyone knows that the National Defense Force is the most powerful army in the world, even the most elite troops will find it difficult to win a battle without the right weapons.

"Tieliang can't sit still." Yuan Xiangcheng thought for a moment and said, "With the troops he has, if he doesn't capture the capital before the Guanwai National Defense Army marches south, he won't be able to escape once Duan Zhigui arrives with the 5th Regiment.

Where else can he go then?

To the west is the Chu army, to the south is the national defense army on its southern expedition, and outside the pass is the national defense army's headquarters. Unless he is willing to run off to eat sand in the Gobi Desert!"

"Chief Instructor, if we just hold on and wait for help, the Eight Banners should have no problem." Several staff officers looked at each other and talked about the recruitment situation of the Eight Banners anti-rebel army.

In the atmosphere of "if you don't join the army, you will be collaborating with the bandits", the bannermen in the capital burst out with unimaginable enthusiasm for their own lives and property.

In a short period of time, the Eight Banners Anti-Rebellion Army recruited 1.5 people, and the mobilization rate was almost close to 2%. If the number of people in the Tieliang Banner Army is added, the mobilization rate of the Eight Banners in the capital will undoubtedly exceed 2%.

Compared with the mobilization rates of more than 10% in European nationalist countries, this is naturally far from enough.

But for the Eight Banners, which had been raised for more than 200 years and almost worn out, this was already a remarkable achievement.

At this moment, they took out the old tools that had been collected for hundreds of years from their homes, or found the helmets of their ancestors, or put on the swords passed down from their families, and shouted "I can't lose face"

These people might be afraid of foreigners, but they would feel relieved when they thought that the people on the opposite side were also bannermen, these Eight Banners rebel army who had been uneducated and had been carrying caged birds since childhood.

We all grew up naked, so who doesn't know who's capable? The elite National Defense Force under Lord Yuan will be arriving soon. You, Tieliang, can wait for death.

In this way, the newly formed Eight Banners Anti-Rebellion Army was sent by Yuan Shikai to the city of Gongji and Wanping County in the west of the capital to defend the city and resist the impending Tie Liang army.

Chapter 259: Gongji City Falls

Gongji City is the location of Wanping County in later generations. The Yongding River flows to the south of the city, and there is a world-famous Lugou Bridge on the river.

Today, the "Lugouqiao Xiaoyue" stele written by Emperor Qianlong has not been damaged by artillery shells and still stands by the bridge.

"Shou Chang, Gongji City depends on you!" Yuan Xiangcheng looked at the inscription in front of him and encouraged the bannermen behind him:

"Your grandfather, Mafa, is Duolong'a, one of the many dragons, tigers, and wolves. He's a figure that even the Fa and Hui bandits are terrified of. You're the eldest grandson, have you ever forgotten the deeds of your family?"

The bannerman named Shouchang hurriedly bowed and said he was terrified.

"Sir Yuan, I dare not forget the glory of our ancestors.

I was promoted from a seventh-rank captain to the current fourth-rank guard commander responsible for defending Gongji City, and I'm afraid I've failed the master's trust."

The general staff can be composed entirely of members of the National Defense Army, but the main commander defending the city, Yuan Xiangcheng, decided to find a bannerman to do it, otherwise, the subsequent plan could not be carried out.

Moreover, this bannerman must be famous, but he cannot have any real skills.

Otherwise, if Tieliang's army was really blocked at Lugou Bridge, how could the Bannermen and the Lu army still kill each other?

However, during the late Qing Dynasty, there were very few bannermen who entered the court. Even if there were, most of them took the civil service route, and not many of them actually took up swords and guns to become military officers.

After searching for a long time, the only person who met these two conditions and had not been taken away by Tieliang was Shouchang.

Shouchang was the eldest grandson of Duolong'a. Duolong'a fought in all directions throughout his life. He successively captured the city of Tianjing in the south of the Yangtze River and suppressed the Hui rebellion in the northwest.

During the war against the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, he was as famous as Bao Chao, a fierce general under the Hunan Army, and was known as "Duolong Baohu".

But after Duolonga died, he had only one son. This son was extremely filial. He only inherited Duolonga's first-class baronship, was unwilling to take up an official position, and supported his mother for the rest of his life.

This also led to the fact that although Shouchang was a descendant of a military family, his official career was not very smooth because his father was "unmotivated". At the age of thirty, he relied on Duolong'a's protection to barely get a seventh-rank city guard captain.

"As long as you are loyal to the court, there is nothing to disappoint!" Yuan Xiangcheng thought to himself, it would be better if you can't hold it. If you can't hold it, the Eight Banners Anti-Rebellion Army will be in disarray, which will allow Tie Liang to expand.

"Tomorrow I will have the National Defense Army cross the river to spy on the enemy. You will only need to stay in Gongji City with the Anti-Rebellion Army. You are not allowed to leave the city without permission. As long as you defend the city well, it will be a great achievement. Do you understand?"

This sentence seems to restrict the Eight Banners' anti-rebel army, but in fact everyone can understand its meaning.

The National Defense Army goes out of the city to fight, and the Anti-Rebellion Army just needs to defend the city. Everyone gets the credit, and the danger is borne by others alone.

Shou Chang secretly glanced at Yuan Xiangcheng and thought to himself that he was worthy of being a person valued by both the emperor and Prince Chun. He was truly devoted to the Qing Dynasty and cared about the safety of the bannermen more than a bannerman like me.

So he immediately leaned forward and said, "Yes, I will definitely live up to Master Qi Yuan's trust!"

Seeing Shou Chang's flushed face, Yuan Xiangcheng patted him on the shoulder and began to praise him:

"Come on, your ancestors have also made great contributions. Don't bring shame to the family tradition. If you are a good person, don't bring shame to your Mafa!"

"Yes, I will follow Master Yuan's instructions!"

...

After receiving Yuan Xiangcheng's order to defend the city, Shou Chang sent people to inspect the city defense and guard the bridges every day, as if he was determined to defend the city well.

According to his opinion, Gongji City is just a small city. With more than 12 people working in shifts day and night, -hour round-the-clock surveillance is no problem at all.

But we can only say that the Bannermen are still Bannermen after all.

Indirectly complacent, continuously living a life of idleness and waiting for death.

Ever since the National Defense Army instructor in the city followed the cavalry out of the city to gather intelligence, the Eight Banners soldiers guarding the city have become lax and no longer pay attention to patrolling the city.

Everyone felt the sun was too hot, and most people just walked around the city wall a few times.

Teaching flow 77445:

The Eight Banners who were checking the caravans passing by the Lugou Bridge also lay in the shade and stretched out, waiting for the caravan manager to come forward and ask people to check the goods, instead of taking the initiative to check.

For these Eight Banners, the fire that had just been ignited in their chests was completely extinguished in the boring life of defending the city in these few days.

Anyway, with the National Defense Forces in front of them, they relaxed their vigilance.

When they were bored, they thought of their house in the capital. Although it was small and shabby, it could at least shelter them from the wind and rain.

It’s not like now, where we have to sleep on the floor every day and get bitten to death by mosquitoes at night.

...

"Sir, Sir!"

"Sir, I'm here to get the documents to cross the bridge!"

While lying on the ground enjoying the cool breeze, a shout brought the Eight Banners stationed at Lulingou Bridge back to reality.

Seeing that his colleagues around him didn't want to get up, an Eight Banners guarding the bridge with a dogtail grass in his mouth cursed his bad luck inwardly.

He patted his butt, stood up, walked up to the businessman and asked impatiently.

"Where did it come from?"

"Shanxi, Shanxi." The young merchant in coarse cloth took a half step back, bent down with a smile and took out a few taels of silver.

Seeing the silver in the vendor's hand, Diao Cao Baqi's lazy look disappeared and his eyes lit up.

He turned his head to look at his comrades lying behind him, and calmly put the silver into his arms.

"Shanxi, what are you transporting?" Looking at the thick cotton cloth covering the convoy, the Eight Banners Man walked forward, but before he got close, he smelled a pungent sour smell.