In March, the capital is full of spring, catkins are flying, and the spring breeze of Hexi has formed a warm air mass, surging in the streets and alleys of the capital. At the beginning of the www.biquge.info of the pen ~ fun ~ cabinet, Yuan Shikai entered the capital as the minister of Beiyang, served as the minister of military aircraft and the secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and became a central minister. However, for Yuan Shikai, there was no joy in the promotion.

Yuan Shikai started in North Korea, and his outstanding performance reflected his political and military talents. After the defeat of the First Sino-Japanese War, although Yuan Shikai fled back from the Korean Peninsula in embarrassment, his military talent was appreciated by Li Hongzhang. Li Hongzhang, who was the minister of Beiyang at the time, said that Yuan Shikai had the name of knowing the soldiers, so he ensured that Yuan Shikai was responsible for supervising the training of the Great Fresh Army.

In 1895, Yuan Shikai trained at a small station between Tianjin and Tanggu. The Beiyang New Army had a total of 6 towns (about 7,000 people per town), thus establishing the main military force in the late Qing Dynasty. Due to Yuan Shikai's meritorious service in supervising the training of the new army, his career was smooth. In the Gengzi Incident, Yuan Shikai served as the governor of Shandong, commanded the New Army to suppress the Boxers, and quickly stabilized the situation in Shandong. In 1901, Li Hongzhang became an ancient man, and Yuan Shikai acted as the Minister of Beiyang and the Governor of Zhili, and the following year he became a powerful figure in China and abroad.

In 1902, the Qing court was forced by the internal and external situation to implement the new policy, Yuan Shikai strongly supported, and concurrently served as the Minister of Training, continued to train the Beiyang New Army in Baoding, until 1905, the Beiyang New Army was organized and trained into an army, with a quota of 12,500 soldiers per town. Except for the first town, which was controlled by the Manchu nobleman Tie Liang, the other five towns were all under the control of his henchmen, and the main generals were all important generals during the training period of the small station, which established Yuan Shikai's powerful power. The expansion of Yuan Shikai and the Beiyang power posed a serious threat to the hereditary status of the Manchu pro-noble group in the Qing court.

The royal family instigated some imperial envoys to impeach, saying that Yuan Shikai was in a high position, and even predicted that he would follow in the footsteps of Cao Cao and Liu Yu. In 1906, Yuan Shikai took the initiative to resign from various part-time tasks, and handed over the 1st, 3rd, 5th, and 6th towns of the Beiyang New Army to the direct jurisdiction of the War Department. The following year, Yuan Shikai was transferred to the Minister of Military Aircraft and the Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to achieve his goal of "protecting himself". Although Yuan Shikai and Yang Shixiang both belong to the Beiyang family, Yang Shixiang is loyal to the imperial court, while Yuan Shikai has personal ambitions, and the two are essentially different.

The opening of Shandong's port, along with the increase in tax revenue, greatly alleviated the financial constraints of the Qing court. And Zhoucun was ordered by a milky Maotou county, and the governance was prosperous, and its reputation rose in just a few years, which attracted Yuan Shikai's great attention. Especially the name Ge Yunfei, a little person who has no inch of fame has such energy, which makes him confused when he is crawling and cautious in the officialdom. This young man is not only a man of governance, but also of business. Not only does this man speak German fluently, but he also knows how to move around the Germans.

All the officials of the Great Qing Kingdom, such young and talented people are almost rare, it can be said that there are none. Yuan Shikai realized the importance of this character, if this person is not used for himself, he will inevitably become a confidant in the future. Shandong's geographical location and strategic value have a special complex for Yuan Shikai. This time, he sent Song Shiyuan to Zibo as the prefect for two purposes. First, use Zhoucun, a treasure of feng shui, to lay out in Zibo. Second, let Song Wenyuan investigate Ge Yunfei and use it.

At this time, Yuan Shikai in the government held Song Shiyuan's letter in his hand thoughtfully. A man in plain clothes walked in. "My lord, I'm back!" "How's it going?" "My lord, my subordinates have secretly inspected 3 Gexing villages around Tianjin Wei, and there is no such person. The situation of the Linglong gold mine is true, according to the clues, we went to Qingdao to investigate, Ge Yunfei had been in the church, he was an orphan is true, no other background. "You're glad you're suffering!"

Yuan Shikai's mystery was solved, Ge Yunfei's German was learned in the church, and he was able to explain it with ease with the Germans. In addition, Ge Yunfei is a person with outstanding talent and the ability to learn from a teacher.

Another point is more important, this time it was confirmed that Ge Yunfei could not have anything to do with the Manchu relatives and nobles (the former Zibo prefect Tong Wannian, Yu Zaifeng had secret contacts, and Yuan Shikai had already known about it. If it weren't for Yan Jiakang's unintentional move, Tong Wannian would probably have died unexpectedly. At present, Emperor Guangxu is seriously ill, and the Empress Dowager Cixi is not in good condition. Nowadays, in just three years since the opening of Shandong's port, the economic development led by Zhoucun has doubled Shandong's total economic output.

Yuan Shikai knew in his heart that nowadays, the alliance would become a climate in the south, and although several rebellions last year were suppressed, this momentum was not curbed, on the contrary, uncertainties were increasing day by day. This promotion to Minister of Military Aircraft was supposed to visit the Empress Dowager Cixi, but the meeting was delayed, and it was foreseeable that the Empress Dowager Cixi's health showed signs of deterioration. In addition, according to reliable sources, Emperor Guangxu's condition is also getting worse. If the Guangxu Emperor and the Empress Dowager Cixi died, the Qing Dynasty would inevitably sit on the crater.

Obviously, depriving himself of the power of the governor of Zhili and the minister of Beiyang is depriving himself of his military power, which further proves that Cixi is dealing with the aftermath for herself. He is not worried about military power, and the main generals of the Beiyang New Army are his henchmen. Now what he is most worried about is the dying layout of the Empress Dowager Cixi, all kinds of signs have been revealed, let Yang Shixiang serve as the governor of Zhili, let Zaifeng walk on the Minister of Military Aircraft, and the military affairs to occupy military affairs, there is no doubt that the Empress Dowager Cixi pinned her hopes on Zaifeng.

Yuan Shikai knows better in his heart that the current Manchu Dynasty civil and military have a deep prejudice against themselves, especially the Manchu nobles led by Zaifeng, and they "hate themselves to the core", what kind of situation will happen once the Empress Dowager Cixi dies, the shrewd Yuan Shikai has been prepared. Throughout the Manchu Dynasty, there were no people who could turn things around, and the hairy boy Zaifeng didn't pay attention to it. However, once there is a change, it is better to retreat as an advance. Now that the layout of Shandong is beginning to take shape, he breathes a sigh of relief with Song Shiyuan's Nobunaga in his hand.

Carrying the hope of the Qing Dynasty, the **** Ye Zaifeng is very active, relying on the popularity accumulated in Germany, it seems that he has become the leader of the Manchu ministers and the needle of the sea. But in Yuan Shikai's eyes, Zaifeng is not even as good as a small county order in Zhoucun, Shandong. Taoguang Yanghui is Yuan Shikai's magic weapon to protect himself, and he took the initiative to resign as the governor of Zhili and the minister of Beiyang, just to let the Manchu civil and military see their high wind and bright festival. Now let Zaifeng toss, the higher he jumps, the harder he falls, maybe when he will ruin his life.

In the Chuxiu Palace of the Imperial City, the 74-year-old Empress Dowager Cixi sat on the kang to review the folds, and sat on the chair with a low brow. After the New Year, Cixi's body became heavier and heavier, and she often had diarrhea, so she was no longer in Chuxiu Palace. The weather became warmer, and the Empress Dowager Cixi was a little more energetic, so she continued to review the folds in the Chuxiu Palace. The Empress Cixi's face was pale, and her hand was obviously sluggish. There are no important twists and turns at the moment, and they will not be sent to Cixi.

After reading the recital, Cixi leaned on the mat and rested for a while. Soon Cixi opened her eyes, and the eunuch Li Lianying hurriedly stepped forward to serve. "Zaifeng!" "The minister is here! Please command the Queen Mother! Jae-bong hurriedly knelt on the mat. The body of this palace is not as good as day by day, and I am afraid that the limit is coming! "The Queen Mother is only a jade body that is not safe, and the Imperial Doctor said that it is no big problem, and the Queen Mother must not be presumptuous." "I know my body, but once I die, where will the Qing Dynasty go?"

"The emperor's condition has not improved, and our mother and son can be said to be connected to the same disease. A hundred years after the palace, the burden of the Qing Dynasty will fall on your shoulders. "Queen Mother, you are the Mother of the Qing Dynasty, God will let you live longer, and your subordinates pray every day, I wish the Queen Mother long live!" "Zaifeng, don't deceive yourself. At present, the only capable minister who can take on the big responsibility is Yuan Shikai, but this person is ambitious. How to use this person to not be rebellious is the key to ensuring the social stability of the Qing Dynasty. ”

"I know you have prejudices against Yuan Shikai, but it takes time to weaken his power, so don't rush it." "The queen mother, your subordinates don't dare to make a mistake." "Stand down! I am tired! "It's the Queen Mother!" Zaifeng walked out of Chuxiu Palace, and the expression on his face changed greatly. He was not interested in Cixi's words, after all, he had grown his knowledge and opened his eyes abroad, and his desire for power was becoming more and more urgent. Seeing Cixi's state today, Zaifeng's heart was not sad, but on the contrary, there was an inexplicable excitement.

Cixi's health is deteriorating, what disease does she have? Nowadays, the doctors can't say clearly. According to modern medical analysis, Cixi has problems with many organs and is a syndrome. However, it is impossible for the Empress Dowager Cixi to report to the world that she is sick, but the Guangxu Emperor is sick but women and children know about it. At the beginning of the year, the Empress Dowager Cixi issued an edict, ordering the world to offer a panacea to treat Emperor Guangxu.

The Empress Dowager Cixi has already made up her mind to let her son succeed to the throne, and Zaifeng is naturally looking forward to this day as soon as possible. As for Cixi's words to reuse Yuan Shikai, Zaifeng didn't hear it at all, but after Cixi's death, it was Zaifeng's mediocrity that accelerated the demise of the Qing Dynasty.