Master Yuan, start!

The position of the "Assistant Minister" in the cabinet is not as high as that of the Prime Minister, but higher than that of the ministers of other departments.

However, this assistant cabinet minister is not responsible for any actual government affairs. If we make an analogy, he is similar to the "vice president" and "deputy prime minister" of later generations.

It can only be said that the Qing court was quite creative. The "Assistant Minister of the Cabinet" was obviously a reference to the "Assistant Grand Secretary", which was in line with the "My Great Qing"

The Prime Minister in the royal cabinet of the original time and space was Prince Qing Yili, and there were two assistant ministers, namely Na Tong and Xu Shichang.

Among them, only Xu Shichang had some ability. He had made great achievements when he served as the Minister of Military Affairs. The establishment of a province in the Northeast was formed at his initiative. He was also the first governor-general of the three northeastern provinces. Whether in the central or local government, he could be said to be an able official.

Moreover, he had a close relationship with Yuan Shikai, and the six Beiyang towns were also quite respectful to him. It can be said that Xu Shichang had a certain influence in both the military and political circles of the late Qing Dynasty.

But such a person could only be ranked third in the cabinet and was questioned by Prince Qing Yiliang.

The most famous thing these two people did in history was to co-found the Wuqing Company, one of the earliest "three official positions wholesale" companies in modern China, and made a fortune by selling official positions and titles.

I don't have any real skills at all.

In fact, the person who really did the work in the royal cabinet was Xu Shichang, a Han Chinese. It was just that the Qing Dynasty was too greedy in history. Even when the country was in turmoil, it still clung to the principle of giving priority to the royal family.

This led to the complete disappointment of China's constitutionalists and bureaucrats who were inclined towards the Qing Dynasty, and to the tacit consensus across the country to "sit back and watch" the Wuchang Uprising.

But no matter what, Yuan Shikai would not give up his position as the powerful governor in the local area and go to Beijing to serve as a minister who was ordered to do things according to the emperor's orders.

Therefore, he never thought about taking the position of Prime Minister from the beginning, because holding this position basically meant that he was not allowed to leave the capital.

Now, his presence can be seen everywhere, whether outside the Great Wall or in the south of the Yangtze River.

It's really not worth wasting your time in the Forbidden City.

However, what Yuan Xiangcheng did not expect was that Yi X seemed to be trying to elevate him and created a "Cabinet Prime Minister and Foreign Minister"

Yi X is so kind-hearted, how could he trust a Han Chinese like me so much?

Even if it was to protect Guangxu's life and throne, there was no need to exchange the position of Prime Minister for it, right?

However, this is not a complete cabinet prime minister. If there is a foreign minister, does it mean there is also a "home minister"?

Yi X obviously did not adopt the approach of the assistant minister of the cabinet in the original time and space. Yuan Xiangcheng thought to himself, in this case, which of the ministers inside and outside the cabinet is higher in rank?

In the end, he was eager to protect his son, so he decided to make a Han Chinese the head of all officials.

Or maybe he has other plans, and the position of Prime Minister and Foreign Minister is just a decoy.

Yuan Xiangcheng was thinking this, but Yi X on the other side was completely unaware of this and continued to order people to read it out.

"Duan Qirui, commander of the First Regiment of the National Defense Army, was awarded the title of Admiral of Jiangbei for his contribution in capturing Yangzhou, and was stationed in Yangzhou, Jiangsu."

"Sheng Fei, commander of the Second Regiment of the National Defense Army, was awarded the title of Admiral of the Huanghuai region for his contribution in capturing Xuzhou, and is stationed in Xuzhou, Jiangsu."

"Feng Guozhang, commander of the Third Regiment of the National Defense Army, was awarded the title of Admiral of Jianghuai for his contribution to the capture of Huai'an, and his station was in Luzhou Prefecture, Anhui."

"Duan Zhigui of the Fifth Regiment of the National Defense Army, for his meritorious service in defending the capital, was awarded a yellow jacket, the title of Fengtian Admiral, and was actually appointed General of Jinzhou (Lüshun)"

The first three were originally given the title of "admiral", which was actually generals. They were all promoted based on their achievements in the battle to the south.

The last one, Duan Zhigui, was promoted to general and awarded a yellow jacket because of his meritorious service under his nose.

But Yuan Xiangcheng thought to himself that they seemed to have all been transferred from their original bases and were getting farther and farther away from Beijing.

Duan Qirui was transferred from Shanxi to Huai'an, Sheng Fei was transferred from northern Henan to northern Jiangsu, and Feng Guozhang and Duan Zhigui went even further. One ran directly from Shandong to Hefei south of the Huai River; the other ran from Shanhaiguan to Dalian Lushun.

It seems that they were worried about the strength of the National Defense Army and were not confident in leaving them in North China.

"Wang Zhanyuan of the Seventh Regiment of the National Defense Army was awarded the title of Admiral for his contributions in successively capturing the cities of Fuyang, Yingshang, and Shouzhou, and assisting in the capture of Yangzhou. He was actually appointed General of Shouchun Regiment."

"Cao Kun of the Ninth Regiment of the National Defense Army was awarded the title of General of Huaiyang Town and Huai'an for his contributions in capturing Yancheng and assisting in the capture of Yangzhou."

"Wu Changchun of the Eighth Regiment of the National Defense Army has been awarded the title of General of Langshan Town, Tongzhou, for his contribution in the capture of Yangzhou."

All south of the Huai River!

After seeing the places where these three people were rewarded, Yuan Xiangcheng completely confirmed Yi X's intention. The generals of the National Defense Army were promoted in large numbers, but they were getting farther and farther away from the capital.

This means

Prince Gong, Ambassador Yi D, pacified the capital and its surrounding areas. After the rebellion broke out in the capital, he contacted the Eight Banners to stabilize the people's hearts. He and Yuan Shikai assisted in organizing the Eight Banners' anti-rebel army to boost the people's morale. After Xiang Cheng advanced westward, he entered the palace to share government affairs and prevent further chaos in the capital.

Tie Liang was killed thanks to the joint efforts of Yi D and Yuan Shikai. One was responsible for internal affairs, while the other was responsible for external affairs. They were good at both temple planning and battlefield planning, and only then were they able to defeat the enemy in half a month.

Prince Gong Yi D, for his meritorious service in pacifying the capital, was rewarded with double the prince's salary, granted three first-class guards, and specially appointed as the Prime Minister of the Cabinet."

Hearing this, Yuan Xiangcheng smiled inwardly, it was indeed so.

Manchus are still Manchus after all. Apart from the young Guangxu, very few people can cross the Manchu-Han divide.

The position of Prime Minister of the Cabinet was split into two, one is the Prime Minister Yi Xin, and the other is Yuan Shikai.

On the surface, this is absolutely fair and no one is superior to anyone else.

In the eyes of the people of the world, Yuan Shikai, as a Han Chinese, was absolutely honored to be on equal footing with Yi Xin, a member of the royal family, a prince, the emperor's sixth uncle, and the regent's sixth brother.

YiX, YiX, you really play a good hand.

Yuan Xiangcheng couldn't help but applaud the Regent Yi Xin in his heart.

If the left and right ministers are established, there will be a distinction between superiors and subordinates. In ancient times, the right was always respected.

If we follow Yuan Xiangcheng’s previous proposal to establish a cabinet assistant minister, it would seem a bit unfair to the meritorious officials, and the cabinet assistant minister is ultimately inferior to others.

Only by using the two words "inside and outside" can we avoid distinguishing between high and low and at the same time keep power in the hands of the Manchus themselves.

Since the Prime Minister and the Foreign Minister are all "foreign", they must go south and north to lead troops to fight.

In this case, who should be entrusted with the complicated affairs of the court in Beijing?

Naturally, it was handed over to the "Secretary" to handle. Otherwise, would the telegram chase people? What if the secrets were leaked?

On the surface, there was no distinction between the two, and Yuan Xiangcheng was even promoted half a level, not being an assistant minister of the cabinet.

The Manchus used all their little tricks to engage in intrigue. Yuan Xiangcheng couldn't help but sigh in his heart, what if you said it openly?

I am busy with the war now and certainly will not ask for the position of Prime Minister. Why should I pretend to be favored by using the position of "Foreign Minister"?

Was it that the Regent Yi X was blinded by power and could not see the development of the situation, or was it that Yi D talked about brotherly friendship and made the Regent finally lean towards the Manchus?

Yuan Xiangcheng didn't know this, nor did he want to know.

Prime Minister of the Cabinet and Minister of Foreign Affairs is probably his last position in the Qing court, Yuan Xiangcheng muttered to himself, after dealing with Liu Kunyi, it’s time to deal with you.

Chapter 271 Russia, Mongolia, and the Golden Elixir Dao

The situation in the capital gradually calmed down, but this did not mean that the forces opposing the change disappeared.

Just as Yuan Shikai was heading south again, dozens of Inner Mongolian cavalry came from the south of the desert on the Mongolian Plateau, thousands of miles away from Beijing. After disguising themselves, they passed through the poorly defended Kulun Gate and headed straight for Prince Tushetu Khan's palace in the city.

Kulun City is the political and economic center of the Mongolian Plateau and a distribution center for commercial trade between the grassland and the inland.

After collecting tobacco, tea, ironware and industrial products from the mainland, Shanxi and Shaanxi merchants gathered in Zhangjiakou and transported them to Kulun City by horse team.

在库2伦售卖一番9后，搜集草原4的毛0皮、肉干、奶4酪，通过马3队运往5中俄交界6的买卖城，卖4给西伯利亚的俄国人。

Afterwards, Shanxi and Shaanxi merchants bought more Russian goods and returned to the mainland by the same route.

Zhangjiakou, Kulun, Maimaicheng Commercial Road, this is the "Northern Tea Horse Road" that runs through the entire history of the Qing Dynasty and Tsarist Russia

Crossing the fragrance of wild grass in Inner Mongolia, passing through the desolate desert and Gobi, gazing at the white clouds on the plateau, the sand and gravel are intertwined with the blue sky and white clouds. This road depicts a magnificent picture spanning hundreds of years.

It arose during the reign of Emperor Kangxi and ended in the colonial wave of the late Qing Dynasty. It was not as far as the overland Silk Road of the Han and Tang Dynasties, nor as dangerous as the Maritime Silk Road of the Song and Ming Dynasties.

Moreover, in later generations, due to political reasons involving Mongolia, this period of history is often not known to the public.

In the palace of the Zasak Prince of the Right Left Banner of the Tushetu Khanate, more than a dozen Mongolians were sitting on the ground. In the middle left position, there was a bald man who was obviously dressed like a Russian.

What is even more surprising is that Lu Tian, ​​the "bandit leader" of the Jindan Dao uprising, is also sitting here openly.

"The Emperor of the Qing Empire seems to be summoned by the Eternal Heaven. It's a pity that the Han Chinese Yuan Xiangcheng has stabilized the situation. As for the Mongol Empire, I wonder what will restore the glory of Genghis Khan!"

Prince Handadorji of the Tushetu Khanate of Outer Mongolia was the first to speak, and right from the start he made extremely treasonous remarks.

Handadorji inherited the title of Prince of the Right Left Banner of the Tushetu Khanate just three years ago.

But as early as 1890, when he was still a Mongolian prince, he had already come up with the idea of ​​making Mongolia separate from the Qing Dynasty and become independent under the instigation of the Russians.

The Tushetu Khanate was the most important of the four tribes in Outer Mongolia.

The seat of the Living Buddha of Outer Mongolia, Kulun, is here; Maimaicheng, the largest trading town on the Sino-Russian border, is also here; the Kulun Minister is also stationed within the jurisdiction of the Tushetu Khanate.

Logically speaking, the Tushetu Khanate was where the Qing Dynasty's power was most concentrated and should have been the most submissive.

The emperor was summoned by Eternal Heaven to restore the glory of the Great Mongol Empire. Is this something a Mongolian prince should think about?

More than a hundred years ago, such a thing would certainly not have happened. At that time, the Tushetu Khanate was defeated by Galdan of the Dzungar Khanate and Tsewang Arabtan, uncle and nephew, and had to flee in panic and seek help from the south.

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However, as the national strength gradually declined, the Qing Dynasty's control over Outer Mongolia became increasingly unsuccessful, and the ambitions of the Mongolian princes of the Tushetu Khanate could no longer be suppressed.

After Emperor Xianfeng, the Qing Dynasty had only 400 or so soldiers stationed in Kulun. Even in order to guard against Russia, they only added more than 500 soldiers to defend Kobdo.

This situation continued until the end of the Qing Dynasty. That is to say, for most of the late Qing Dynasty, there were only 200 Qing troops in Outer Mongolia, which covered an area of ​​more than 1000 million square kilometers.

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Pay attention to distinguish Outer Mongolia, which is divided into six parts in total.

Among them, there are four XXX Khan tribes, collectively known as the Khalkha Mongols.

Adding Kobdo and Tannu Uriankhai makes Outer Mongolia complete.

Four XXX Khanates + Kobdo + Tannu Uriankhai Uliastai General's jurisdiction

On average, one person has to oversee more than 2000 square kilometers, which is equivalent to the size of two Chongming Islands.

Relying on these 1000 people to balance the nearly 1 soldiers of Outer Mongolia is like walking on a tightrope at all times. Any carelessness will lead to an unstable situation.

Although Handadorji spoke wildly, some of the Outer Mongolian princes present did not agree with him.

Only the bald lama in Russian clothes and the Jindandao bandit leader Lu Tian nodded to show their approval.

However, looking at this group of mediocre and cowardly Outer Mongolian princes, Handadorji felt so angry that his teeth were itching.

"Why not give these princes from Inner Mongolia to the Manchu Emperor?" The Outer Mongolian princes present suggested, "Who knows, the Emperor might even reward us with gold, silver, and jewelry!"

Upon hearing this extremely stupid proposal, Handadorji almost fainted.

Looking at the Outer Mongolian princes and nobles present, they were timid, their eyes were evasive, and they didn't dare to speak.

Hangda Dorji drank the milk tea in his hand, wiped his beard and shouted: "The Manchu emperor no longer values ​​Mongolia. What he needs now are Han people, Han dogs!