Although Wu Chaoyue himself did not deliberately publicize it, the news of Wu's army's total annihilation of the naval division of the Russian coalition army still spread all over the land of China at an astonishing speed, which immediately shocked the world and caused a huge sensation overseas. Pen % fun % Pavilion www.biquge.info

In the face of this good news, the territory controlled by the Wu army was of course full of joy, and the soldiers and civilians all rushed to tell each other, cheering for victory, feeling that Wu Chaoyue had avenged the blood and national hatred for the two opium wars, and washed away the shame of successive defeats in front of foreigners for more than ten years. Not only did many literati and writers rush to compose lyrics and write books for Wu Chaoyue's great victory, but even many Qingliu Shilin, who originally believed that Wu Chaoyue was a comprador traitor, exclaimed, "Isn't Wu Chaoyue's traitor a traitor?!" ”

Because of this, Wu Chaoyue's victory also played a huge role in establishing prestige and winning people's hearts, after Wu Chaoyue was impressed, many so-called Qingliu celebrities who would rather die than eat Wu Su gradually changed their positions and began to be willing to work for Wu Chaoyue. The reality of this era was that the landlords and gentry actually controlled the rural people, so the ruling base of the Wu army was suddenly strengthened a lot, and the situation of internal crises was greatly improved.

Britain's mouthpiece in China, the "North China Jiebao", directly pointed out that the gold content of Wu's victory was actually greater than the capture of the capital, marking the complete failure of the Tsarist army's armed intervention in China's civil war, and it was destined to become a watershed in China's civil war.

Bao Bell, the resident Chinese correspondent of the "Times," Britain's number one newspaper, whose stance has always been inclined to Wu Jun, also once again published a commentary article in the "Times," which is published in Britain, praising Wu Chaoyue's victory as a great rebirth of ancient China after learning from Western civilization, and also a repetition of the defeat of the West's advanced science and technology and system over the backward system of tsarist Russia's serfs, and the Western countries are about to usher in a civilized and friendly new China.

In addition to marveling at the great victory of Wu Chaoyue, the media in France, the United States, and other countries generally suggested that their own governments provide Wu Chaoyue with economic, political, and military assistance as soon as possible, consolidate and deepen the friendship with Wu Chaoyue, and help Wu Chaoyue, who is bound to win the final victory, end the Chinese civil war as soon as possible, comprehensively develop the Chinese market, and obtain a huge supply of raw materials and dumping ground for industrial products.

Diametrically opposed to the jubilant Wu army's control and the hopeful Western media, the Manchu Qing side's reaction to the annihilation of the Qing and Russian coalition forces was like a bolt from the blue, so that after receiving the news, Ruilin, the Manchu Shanxi governor who was surrounded by the Wu army's northern route army in the isolated city of Taiyuan, cried on the spot, screaming that Taiyuan was doomed.

Then, when the morale-boosting Wu army soldiers used gunpowder to blow up the Taiyuan city wall, Ruilin, who was desperate to the extreme, did not even do the last dying struggle, and directly swallowed the poison to commit suicide, the Wu army successfully broke through Taiyuan, and the Shanxi prefectures and prefectures north of Taiyuan also surrendered faster than one another, and it was only a matter of time before the Wu army took the entire territory of Shanxi, and the last money bag of the Manchu court basically fell into the hands of the Wu army.

Ruilin just cried in despair on the spot, after learning the news of the annihilation of the Qing Russian coalition army in the military aircraft department, the devil six fainted directly, and after being rescued by the officers of the military aircraft department, the devil six also grabbed the guards who came to deliver the letter, shook and yelled: "Tell me, is this news true or false?" Has it been confirmed, is it fake news? ”

"Lord Wang, it has been confirmed again and again." The guard wiped his tears and said: "Every newspaper in the Shanghai Concession is reporting this matter, the slave didn't believe it, and also found a foreign merchant ship from Hubei to Shanghai to inquire about the news, every foreign ship said that our sailors and the fleet of the Rakshasa country are finished, and no one escaped from the mouth of the lake by boat. ”

After that, the guards who rushed back to the capital from Shanghai to deliver the letter also took out a few copies of the "Hubei People's Daily", handed them to Guizi Liu, and said: "This is a newspaper sent by a foreigner merchant ship to the minions, with photos of our sailors and the remnants of the Rakshasa sailors after they surrendered, as well as photos of us when we were defeated. ”

I grabbed the newspaper and opened it and only looked at it twice, and saw the photos of the soldiers of the Wu army cheering on the red single boat of the Manqing Water Division, as well as the photos of Wen Xiang being escorted by the soldiers of the Wu army, the devil six fainted directly again, and after being rescued by everyone, the devil six finally cried and roared in despair: "Ancestors and ancestors, is it true that my Qing court is really going to end?!" ”

There were choked voices in the military aircraft department, but many people cried very fakely, because Wu Chaoyue made it very clear in the text of the army that in addition to the seven major sins headed by Devil Six, other Manchu officials who surrendered were exempt from death, and those who made meritorious contributions could also be promoted, so even if Wu Jun really entered the capital, these people still had the choice of changing their masters to serve, of course, they didn't need to be as sad and desperate as Devil Six who was at the top of the list.

After finally calming down a little, Devil Six did not rush to report the bad news to Cixi and Ci'an, and chose to go straight to the Tsarist Russian Legation in Beijing to discuss with the Russian Minister Ignatiev and ask if the Tsarist side could send troops to attack Wu Chaoyue again?

When Devil Six saw Ignatiev, Ignatiev seemed to know his intentions, and before Devil Six could speak, he asked directly: "Gong, you already know the situation of the war?" ”

Devil Six hurriedly nodded and asked again, "Mr. Ignatiev, do you know it too?" ”

"I already knew the day before yesterday." Ignatiev said coldly: "Wu Chaoyue directly sent someone to send the letter of our Navy Colonel Grigory to Shanghai and handed it over to the office established by our country in the Shanghai Concession, and Colonel Grigory confirmed to me that our fleet has indeed been completely wiped out, and our two rear admirals have also died on the battlefield. ”

"Mr. Ignatiev, how are you going to take revenge?" Devil Six hurriedly asked.

"Revenge?" Ignatiev smiled bitterly, and suddenly shouted: "Do you know, this time it's not just our fleet that is finished!" I'm done too! This expedition was initiated by me as a strong advocate, and it was I who reported to the country that I was absolutely sure of defeating Wu Chaoyue, and now that our fleet has lost so badly, how can the country spare me? After His Majesty the Emperor received the war report, not only will I lose my official position, but I may also go to prison! ”

"It's not that serious, is it?" Devil Six asked with some concern - although Ignatiev is vicious, his diplomatic position is extremely close to the Manchu court, and Devil Six certainly does not want Ignatiev to fall.

"It's worse than you think!" Ignatiev yelled again, "Our Black Sea Fleet no longer exists, and now the Baltic Fleet has suffered heavy losses, or is it because of the losses caused by my strong claims, how can His Majesty the Great Emperor spare me?" I'm done! It's over! Do you understand?! ”

Devil Six was completely speechless, and Ignatiev waved his hand in despair and said, "I know your intentions, but if I convince the country to lend you troops again, I will never be able to do it." You go directly to our Governor-General of the Far East, or wait for the next Minister of Great Russia, I can't help you. ”

Seeing that Ignatiev's desperate expression did not seem to be fake, the devil got up and said goodbye even more desperately, and the result was also the death of the pro-Manchurian and anti-Wu who did not change, Ignatiev suddenly said again, "Gong, to tell you the truth, I estimate that it is impossible for us to agree to send troops in our country anymore, and it is the most suitable to protect the interests of our Great Russian Empire in the Far East by giving up the establishment of diplomatic relations between you and Wu Chaoyue." The smartest choice for you now should be to start peace talks with Wu Chaoyue as soon as possible, and then weaken Wu Chaoyue through political means, which is your last hope for turning defeat into victory. ”

After walking out of the Tsarist Russian legation with difficulty, before the devil could see the situation clearly, a guard had already greeted him, and said: "Lord, the queen mother of the two palaces has issued a message to summon you to enter the palace immediately to meet you." ”

"Sister-in-law, they already know? Someone in the Military Aircraft Department is informing? Devil Six's first reaction was that there was a traitor in the military aircraft department under his control, but after thinking about it, Devil Six smiled bitterly and said secretly: "What's the use of not having sisters-in-law's eyeliner in the military aircraft department?" Wu Chaoyue has always had a secret connection with my sister-in-law, such a big victory, can he not ask my sister-in-law to show off? ”

was expected by the devil six, when he entered the Cining Palace and saw Ci'an and Cixi, Cixi really asked An Dehai to hand over a letter from Wu Chaoyue to the devil six, and asked directly: "Sixth, Wu Chaoyue's traitor claimed that he had completely annihilated our sailors, as well as the fleet of the Rakshasas, is it true or false?" ”

Devil Six didn't look at Wu Chaoyue's ostentatious letter, just nodded painfully, and said: "It's true, our sailors are finished, and the fleet of the Rakshasa people is also finished, and not even a single boat has escaped back to Shanghai." ”

There was silence in the Cining Palace, and after a long time, Ci'an's sad cry suddenly sounded, but Cixi could still maintain her composure, and asked: "I heard that you went to the embassy of the Rakshasa country just now, what did the minister of the Rakshasa country say?" Can you send troops again to help us crusade against Wu Chaoyue's rebels? ”

Devil Six shed tears, choked up and told Cixi Ignatiev's answer, as a result, Ci'an of course cried even more sad and pitiful, and Cixi, who had always been calm, also closed her eyes in despair and sighed: "Is the Great Halal coming to an end?" ”

After hesitating for a moment, the devil six still told Ci'an and Cixi Ignatiev's final suggestion, but Cixi was silent after hearing it, and Ci'an wiped her tears and said: "Sixth brother, look at Wu Chaoyue's letter from the traitor." ”

According to Ci'an's request, Devil Ziliu opened the letter to read it, and what surprised Devil Ziliu was that in the letter, in addition to showing off his martial arts, Wu Chaoyue once again took the initiative to ask for peace talks.

Of course, Wu Chaoyue's conditions for peace talks were also very harsh, the main conditions were first to ask Ci'an and Cixi to hand over power, stop hanging the curtain and listen to politics and retreat to the inner palace; The second is to give the devil six to death, deprive the prince of the prince and the prince of alcohol and the real power, and execute the leaders of the coup d'état such as the monk and Guiliang; The third is to make Wu Chaoyue the prime minister and regent, and control state affairs.

In addition, Wu Chaoyue also put forward a very unexpected condition, that is, he asked the Manchu court to sever diplomatic relations with Tsarist Russia, arm the Northeast Frontier People's Self-Defense Army headed by Xu Delin and Zhang Dengying in the Heilongjiang area, fully support them in resisting the Tsarist Russian invading army, and punish the local officials who had deliberately wrongfully killed the soldiers of the Northeast Frontier People's Self-Defense Army.

After carefully reading Wu Chaoyue's letter, Devil Six was inevitably a little surprised, and said in confusion: "Strange, this traitor can already win by force, how can he take the initiative to ask for peace talks?" ”

"You are still the prime minister and minister Wang, and you can't see such a simple plan to capture and indulge?"

Cixi reprimanded very quietly, and pointed out sharply: "The purpose of Wu Chaoyue's traitor in writing this letter is to show his hypocrisy and hypocrisy, so that others think that he is still a loyal minister of the Qing Dynasty, and the fault is that we are not them. The second is to provoke our civil strife, make our monarchs and ministers suspicious, suspicious of each other, and even kill each other for our lives! The third, of course, is to drive a wedge between us and the Rakshasa Kingdom and cut off our only foreign aid! In this way, if he wants to break through the capital, won't it be much smoother and easier? ”

"Traitor!" Devil Six gritted his teeth, and then muttered in his stomach, "But my sister-in-law is also treacherous enough, Wu Chaoyue's vicious intentions of traitors can all be guessed." ”

At this time, Cixi spoke again and said, "Sixth brother, I called you here today, my sister and I not only want to ask about the water master, but also want to discuss a big matter with you. But declare in advance, you must not have any misunderstanding, we will not let Wu Chaoyue traitor harm you. ”

Devil Six is not stupid, as soon as he heard Cixi's tone, Devil Six knew that he was finished, and suddenly asked in despair: "Sister-in-law, do you want to make peace with Wu Chaoyue and the traitor?" ”

"This is the only hope to preserve our Qing court." Cixi replied very directly and said: "Don't worry, we will make saving your life a prerequisite for peace talks, and if Wu Chaoyue rebel does not agree, we will not negotiate peace!" ”

"But at the very least, I have to strip off my lord and real power, or even be imprisoned forever, right?" Devil Six smiled bitterly in his heart, but he still had to thank him respectfully, "Brother I thank the imperial sister-in-law for her life." ”

"There's no need to say something wrong." Cixi shook her head and said, "For the sake of the Qing Dynasty, sixth brother, you have to suffer a lot of grievances this time. But don't worry, you will definitely have a chance to make a comeback, my sister and I decided to negotiate with Wu Chaoyue rebels, the purpose is not to save Wu Chaoyue's life, but to eradicate this chaotic minister and thief, and restore my Qing Dynasty! ”

Devil Six looked up at Cixi in surprise, and said in his heart that our Qing Dynasty is now like this ghost, what hope can there be to eradicate Wu Chaoyue? However, after seeing that the expression on Cixi's face did not seem to be fake, Devil Six couldn't help but ask curiously: "Sister-in-law, what are you going to do?" ”

"Wu Chaoyue is in the peace talks, no matter what conditions are proposed, we can discuss with him, and we can even directly crown him king!" Cixi said coldly: "But there is a precondition, that is, he must eliminate the long hair first, and then enter Beijing to govern!" ”

Devil Liuyi smiled bitterly when he heard this, and said: "Sister-in-law, forgive your brother for being brave, you think that Wu Chaoyue is too naïve, with his treachery, how can you agree to such a precondition?" If the subordinate dares to take the first guarantee, the traitor will definitely find all kinds of excuses, asking to bring the army into Beijing to govern first, and then crusade against Changmao. ”

"That's what we're looking for you for." Cixi didn't care about the cynicism of Devil Six, but said solemnly: "Before making peace with Wu Chaoyue, we want you to do one thing first, secretly conclude an alliance with Changmao, and join forces to crusade against Wu Chaoyue's traitor!" ”

"Join forces with Long Hair to cut down Wu?" The six devils were taken aback.

"Yes." Cixi nodded, and said coldly: "Yang Xiuqing, the long-haired pseudo-king, is not a fool, and he will not fail to see that after Wu surpasses the traitor and destroys us, he will inevitably attack him immediately, and now we join forces with him to fight Wu, which will benefit him without harm, and it is also his only chance to protect himself!" As long as Yang Xiuqing's long hair does not enter the water, he will never refuse our kindness! ”

When the six devils opened their mouths and stammered, Ci'an also opened his mouth and said, "Sixth brother, when my sister said that she planned to join forces with Changmao, I was also taken aback and felt that there was no such possibility. But after thinking about it carefully, I found that since Longhair can borrow a way for us to crusade against Wu thieves, it means that Yang Xiuqing, the long-haired pseudo-king, does not want to see Wu surpass the rebel thief's family, and if he helps us for the first time, he will definitely be able to help us for the second time. ”

"And it's easy for Longhair to help us." Cixi said coldly: "First of all, the first point, the division is famous, Wu Chaoyue made an alliance with them, and negotiated peace with us, Yang Xiuqing rebels took the opportunity to send troops to crusade against Wu Chaoyue's rebels. Second, Changmao doesn't need to risk launching an attack, as long as he blocks the Yangtze River waterway, it is enough to force Wu to surpass the rebels and send troops to the east, dredge the waterway, and save us from fire and water! ”

"Sixth brother, do you understand what your sister-in-law means?" Ci'an added for Cixi: "We don't want to bow to Wu Chaoyue, but we want to delay the army through peace talks, delay time, and give the long-haired master a famous excuse to go to war, and then even if the negotiation fails, it doesn't matter, as long as we can't support it, Changmao will definitely send troops to surround Wei to save Zhao, save us from danger, and buy us more time." ”

The devil had nothing to say, and he admired Cixi to the extreme, kowtowed and said: "The emperor's sister-in-law is a strange plan, and the courtiers sigh to themselves, if this can really be the case, there is still a glimmer of hope in my Qing court." ”

"It's a pity that there is only a little hope." Cixi sighed, and urged: "Hurry up and do it, just send the Rong Lu from last time, bring more precious gifts, as long as Yang Xiuqing agrees to secretly form an alliance, any conditions can be discussed." ”

Devil Six agreed, and after leaving the Forbidden City, the first thing he did was to send someone to pass Ronglu to his home to meet. However, what made Devil Six dumbfounded was that he had just returned to Prince Gong's Mansion, which was not far from the palace, and Rong Lu had already run out of the gatehouse and kowtowed, Devil Six couldn't help but ask curiously: "Rong Lu, you are a Scud, I only sent someone to pass you on the way out of the palace, and you came so soon?" ”

"Lord Wang, you sent someone to summon the minions?" Rong Lu was also stunned, and then hurriedly explained: "Back to the prince, the slave was not summoned, but there is an urgent confidential matter to report to you, and I have been waiting for you here for more than an hour." ”

"What's confidential?" Devil Six hurriedly asked.

Rong Lu looked left and right, and asked for permission to talk to Devil Six in close quarters, and then whispered to Devil Six's ear: "Lord Wang, Yang Xiuqing, the long-haired puppet king, sent a secret envoy to Beijing, got in touch with the slave, and asked the slave to introduce him to you, saying that there is an important matter that he wants to discuss with you face-to-face." ”

"Longhair took the initiative to send someone to contact this king?" Devil Six was dumbfounded at first, but after coming back to his senses, a smile suddenly appeared on the corner of Devil Six's mouth, and he muttered: "Ancestors and ancestors, God helps the Qing Dynasty, this time the Qing Dynasty may really be saved." ”