Disbanded the Military Aircraft Department and set up a cabinet, Yan Yangtian is one of the thirteen ministers of state The Minister of War is only in name, the court and Yuan Qi are very tacit and did not propose the reform of the military system, the nationalization of the army is still on the lips, whether it is the Empress Dowager Ci'an or the newly appointed Prime Minister Prince Gong Yitong has no idea of transferring the military power in his hands.

Since it was in vain, Yan Yangtian simply went to Beijing to take up his post, not only him, but Xiao Mingliang, as the Minister of the Navy, also did not go to Beijing to take up his post, but stayed in Qingdao.

Walking into the study quickly, Yan Yangtian saluted: "Big shopkeeper——。 ”

"Sit." Yi Zhishu smiled and said: "I have been planning for the northwest for many years, and now the opportunity has finally come." ”

Hearing this, Yan Yangtian said happily: "The Franco-Prussian War broke out? ”

"Not yet, but it will break out soon, and the war will break out in a month at most." Yi Zhizu said slowly: "For Prussia and France, this is a war related to the national fortunes of the two countries, whether it is the scale of the war, the duration of the war, or the impact, it is far from being comparable to the Prussian War. ”

Hearing this, Yan Yangtian's heart was greatly excited, as early as the outbreak of the Austro-Prussian War, Yuan Qi planned to take the opportunity to expand in the northwest, but because the Austro-Prussian War ended too quickly, he had to put it on hold, and after four or five years, he finally waited for a better opportunity.

"The telegram ordered Chen Hongming of the Northwest Military Region to immediately lead his troops to assemble in Anxi."

"Telegraph Xinjiang Zuo Zongtang, be sure to ensure the logistics of the army!"

"The telegram ordered Anxi Feng Renxuan to enter a state of first-level combat readiness."

"Telegram Xiao Mingming, immediately lead the fleet south to Groba."

"Students obey!" Yan Yangtian hurriedly got up and stood upright, and the loud voice responded.

Yi Zhishu glanced at Zhao Liewen and saw that he had stopped writing, so he continued: "Call the Russian minister and ask him to come to Shanghai immediately." ”

"Call Bangladesh and be ready to .......go west at any time."

Before she finished speaking, Lin Meilian walked quickly to the door and reported: "The big treasurer, the Russian Minister to China, Yevgeny Karlovich Buze, has come to pay a visit. ”

Yi Zhizhi smiled contentedly, "I was about to send a telegram to invite him to come to Shanghai, but he came by himself, and I have ——。 After speaking, he looked at Yan Yangtian and said: "Tell Shi Dakai that a large number of arms will arrive in Bangladesh later, and Yuan Qi will contain them in the northwest, so that they can rest assured that they will boldly carry out the westward expedition!" ”

Yevgeny Karlovich Butzer came to Shanghai for the Tianjin Teaching Case, in which three Russians were killed and a trading house was robbed, because of his close relationship with Yuan Qi, he refused the joint protest proposed by France, and did not intend to follow France to claim compensation, but rushed to Shanghai to meet Yi Zhishu to discuss privately, he believed that Yuan Qi would definitely not lose their compensation.

It is not the first time that Zhennan Wangfu Bu Ce has come, last year he took over the post of minister to China, he made a special trip to Shanghai to visit Yi Zhicontent, now the relationship between Russia and Yuanqi can be said to be extremely close, with the rapid development of the Qing Railway, especially the rapid development of the Northwest Railway, the trade between the Qing and Russia is growing rapidly at an astonishing speed, and Russia's attention to Yuanqi can be said to have reached an unprecedented level.

Seeing Yi Zhixiang standing at the gate of the courtyard from a distance to greet him, Bu Ce hurriedly walked quickly, and when he saw the other party stretched out his hand, he quickly took off his hat and shook hands and smiled: "Shanghai is the most attractive city I have ever seen, and I want to apply to China to move the embassy to Shanghai." ”

Listening to Lin Meilian's translation, Yi Zhizhi smiled heartily: "This is not a good idea, Beijing is the capital of my country,"

Butzer said: "Isn't the U.S. Embassy in Shanghai?" ”

"Sooner or later, I'll have to move to Beijing." Yi Zhishu said and stretched out his hand to be polite, and after entering the study and taking a seat, he smiled and said, "Your Excellency the Minister is here for the Tianjin teaching plan this time?" ”

"I'm here to breathe the air of civilization and freedom in Shanghai." Butzer said with a smile: "Staying in Beijing, the frequent visits of ministers from various countries hope that Russia will join them in protesting, and I don't want any misunderstanding to affect the friendship between your two countries." ”

Yi Zhizhi was quite satisfied with Russia's attitude, and said with a smile: "You can make a list of your country's losses in Tianjin, and our country will give you a satisfactory compensation." ”

Seeing him so happy, Bu Ce was full of joy and thanked him repeatedly, but he wondered how much compensation he should ask for, but Yi Zhizhi changed his words, "Your Excellency can pay attention to the situation in Europe recently?" ”

Europe? Butzer was stunned for a moment and said, "Is something big happening in Europe?" ”

Yi Zhizu showed a sly smile, "Send a telegram to His Majesty the Emperor of your country, if you have the opportunity, do you still have the ambition to get involved in Turkey?" ”

A chance to get your hands on Turkey? What's really going on in Europe? Butzer leaned forward slightly, "May I ask what the opportunity is?" ”

"An opportunity related to your country's 100-year national fortune!" Yi Zhixiang smiled and said, "I hope to get a reply as soon as possible." ”

Northwest, Xinjiang, Dihua, Governor's Palace, Signature Room.

Entering June, Xinjiang became very hot, especially at noon, it was even more scorching, put down the telegram, Zuo Zongtang picked up a folding fan and shook it slowly, Yuan Qi was finally going to start a large-scale westward expedition! In fact, as soon as spring began, with a large amount of baggage arriving in Xinjiang, he had already guessed that Yuan Qi might use troops on a large scale this year, but when the speculation became a reality, his mood was still a little complicated.

He is not against the expansion of the northwest, but the pace of Yuanqi's expansion is too fast, he does not approve of the large-scale expansion to the west without fully consolidating the two provinces of Xinjiang and Anxi, and the goal of Yi Zhi's contentment is very clear, to expand all the way to the Persian Gulf!

This expansion will have to face not only the declining Persian Empire, but also England, known as the world's largest power, which has been in Xinjiang for many years, and he knows very well how much the Northwest War will cost, even if Yuan Qi has strong financial resources, it will be difficult to support the protracted war in the Northwest.

He didn't dare to imagine what kind of situation Yuan Qi would face once the northwest was defeated, what kind of situation would Xinjiang and Anxi face, and what kind of situation would the Qing Dynasty face?

A hurried sound of horses' hooves interrupted his train of thought, no need to guess, he also knew that it should be Chen Hongming coming, and sure enough, soon an entourage came to report, "Lord Tai, commander of the military region Chen Hongming came to visit." ”

"Ask him to come in." Zuo Zongtang said and stood up and walked to the wall to open the curtain to reveal a large map of Central Asia and West Asia, and soon, Chen Hongming's voice sounded behind him, "Lord Zhangtai——。 ”

Zuo Zongtang turned around and beckoned, and when he approached, he pointed to Turkey and said: "Has the prince considered it, Turkey's geographical location is extremely sensitive, and the Persian Gulf is adjacent to Turkey, who in Europe would believe that we just want to occupy the Persian Gulf?"

The Mongol Iron Cavalry has been a lingering nightmare for Europeans for hundreds of years, and this northwestern expansion will cause panic throughout Europe? Will the occupation of the Persian Gulf put itself on the cusp? ”

Chen Hongming groaned for a while, and then said: "This time the northwest expansion, the prince will pull Russia in." ”

Pull Russia in? Zuo Zongtang reacted in a flash, this is to put Russia in front, with Russia in front of the Qing Dynasty, the Qing Dynasty will not become the target of the public, and he can occupy the Persian Gulf with peace of mind, he couldn't help but secretly praise, this abacus is really fine, the Crimean War has been seventeen or eighteen years in a flash, Russia has recovered from its injuries, has revenge, and has the opportunity to make a comeback, and will not let it go.

After a slight groan, he said, "There seems to be no sign of war in Europe. ”

Chen Hongming glanced at him and said firmly: "Soldiers take obedience to orders as their duty. ”

Zuo Zongtang glared at him angrily and said, "Don't worry, the logistics supply guarantee can't be wrong!" ”

"Thank you, Lord Tai." Chen Hongming saluted: "The troops will be drawn one after another from tomorrow. ”

Anthy, Kokand.

Anxi was established as a province, and finally the provincial capital was located in the city of Kokand in the Fergana Basin, where the climate is suitable, the land is fertile, and can grow wheat, melons and fruits and other water-intensive staple foods.

The Governor's Mansion of Anxi is located in the center of the city, which was rebuilt from the original royal city, and in the signing room, Feng Renxuan stared at the large map on the wall with his hands behind his back.

"Lord Maker." Li Hongzhang stood at the door and wiped the sweat on his forehead, he inspected outside the city and heard that Feng Renxuan was summoned, and hurriedly rode back, walking all the way, his chest and back were soaked with sweat.

Feng Renxuan turned around and couldn't help but smile when he saw his appearance, paced to the desk and picked up the folding fan and handed it over, "The prince has called, and he has entered a state of first-level combat readiness." ”

"Level 1 standby status?" Li Hongzhang unceremoniously took the fan and fanned the wind.

"It's just that you can go on the expedition at any time." Feng Renxuan said: "All along, the prince has been waiting for a war to break out in Europe, taking advantage of the opportunity of Britain being pinned down to carry out a westward expedition. ”

It's finally time to go west! Li Hongzhang was excited for a while, Yi Zhixiang had clearly told him that after making meritorious contributions to the west, he would transfer him back to Beijing, he had long been eager to start the westward expedition, in fact, Anxi was not barren, on the contrary, it could be called rich, but it was too remote, thanks to the opening of the cable telegraph, not too closed.

"This western expedition is extremely important for Yuan Qi, and it is also extremely important for the Qing Dynasty, and the prince has made it clear that this battle is related to my country's centennial national fortune!" Feng Renxuan said unhurriedly: "For this expedition to the west, Yuan Qi has been preparing for several years, and has spent a lot of manpower, material and financial resources ........ ”

"Don't worry, sir." Li Hongzhang said in a deep voice: "The lower officials will definitely do their best. ”

"You don't have to worry about the war ahead, Chen Hongming has led 50,000 troops to Anxi, and the Nanyang Navy fleet is also advancing towards the Persian Gulf, advancing by sea and land, attacking from both sides, and there is no suspense in the war." Feng Renxuan looked at him calmly and said, "The logistics supply of this battle is the most important thing. ”

"Don't worry, sir." Li Hongzhang hurriedly said: "The lower official dares to guarantee the head of the army to ensure that the logistics supply of the army will not be interrupted. ”

Feng Renxuan nodded, for the logistics supply of the Western Expedition, the two of them have tried many exercises, as long as they do not neglect their duties, there will not be too much leakage, he groaned slightly, he continued: "Anxi is newly built, the people's hearts are not stable, once the army is empty, I am afraid that someone will take the opportunity to make trouble, and when it is extraordinary, it is necessary to use extraordinary means, and there is no need to be stubborn." ”

Li Hongzhang smiled when he heard this, "Don't worry, your lordship, the lower officials are not people who stick to the law." ”

On the shore, the officers and men of the brigade were boarding the ship in an orderly manner, and on the deck of a third-class ship, Yang Xiuqing quietly watched this scene with a cigarette in his mouth, and the New Sixth Army retired more than 4,000 officers and men, and recruited more than 4,000 veterans from Qingdao to supplement it.

There was a sound of footsteps behind him, and Luo Xuan's voice came, "This time to the south, the opponent may be the British Navy." ”

"Our opponents are not the British, they are Persians and Arabs." Yang Xiuqing turned around as she spoke, "The British have nothing to worry about, when didn't the Yuanqi New Army beat the British all over the ground to find teeth?" ”

"Don't underestimate the enemy." Luo Xuan said: "In the past, the weapons of the two sides were not equal, and the new army of Yuanqi occupied an absolute advantage in weapons, and now there is no difference between the weapons of the two sides. ”

"As long as our weapons are not too far behind, none of us are afraid!" Yang Xiuqing said confidently, paused, he raised his eyebrows, "You shouldn't be cowardly before you fight, right?" ”

"We haven't fought any battles, when have we ever been cowardly?" Luo Xuan raised his chin slightly as he spoke, "I'm worried that the old brothers will suffer too many casualties, and many of the old brothers are actually tired of it, but they just saw that we didn't leave, so they stayed with us." ”

"Thinking too much." Yang Xiuqing said disapprerovingly: "When did the Yuanqi New Army have large-scale casualties?" Yuanqi's pension is sky-high, and it is extremely important for casualties. ”

Luo Xuan glanced at him and said, "Love soldiers like children, this is a good habit......." ”

Smacking these words, Yang Xiuqing said with a smile: "When did you learn to speak around the corner, you are not afraid of death, dare to fight and dare to fight, this is the fine tradition of our New Sixth Army, and this cannot be changed." ”

"Well, in vain." Luo Xuan smiled.

The flagship 'Qingdao', the official cabin, Seng Greenqin looked at Guo Zhongmu eagerly, "This northwest expansion may be the largest in the Qing Dynasty, and it may also be the last large-scale expansion ........in the Qing Dynasty. ”

"The prince is all ****, and he still wants to share the merits?" Guo Zhongmu said with a smile: "Besides, this time, the prince's merits are not small. ”

Monk Greenqin was worried that the class teacher would return to Beijing, and he was caught between Gongwang Yili and Yi Zhicontent, so he hurried over when he heard the news, and he estimated that Yi Zhixiang would not agree to his request, so he hoped to persuade Guo Zhongmu to come to a prelude before chopping, and the other party joked when he saw it, he hurriedly said: "It's not for my own sake, it's mainly for the sake of the sons." ”

Guo Zhongmu couldn't be worn by him, and said, "I'll call for instructions?" ”