(The second update arrived, this change lasted four hours, and the establishment of the late new army was explained in advance, the highest formation is the army, under the jurisdiction of several towns, a town has about 12,500 people, equivalent to a modern division, and so on, the association (brigade), standard (regiment), battalion (battalion), team (company), platoon (platoon), shed (squad), a total of eight levels.) ）

The news of Yuan Shikai's sudden dismissal was officially made public after the edict was filed with the Military Aircraft Department, unexpectedly, the officialdom of the Great Qing Kingdom maintained a rare silence about it, and the calm can even be described as silent, as if it was just the normal dispatch of an insignificant official, only a few people who know the inside story know that this result is what kind of political wrestling it has been, for the initiator Ye Kai, the Yuan Shikai incident is his first stepping stone close to the center of power, although he knows very well that even without his own participation, Yuan Shikai will also become the first frustrated person in the political arena in the first year of Xuantong, but to put it bluntly, use Yuan Shikai's political magnifying glass to hype himself, such a good exposure opportunity is in front of him, Ye Kai does not need to use it in vain.

In stark contrast to the collective silence within the officialdom, in the public opinion that filled the capital, the storm was almost like a hurricane, sweeping all corners of the entire newspaper circle, almost reaching the point of boiling, to the post-modern people shocked and extremely ironic, many private newspapers published editorials, lamenting the resignation of Yuan Shikai, lamenting that the country was missing a capable Han minister, and even some rather inflammatory tabloids, taking advantage of this opportunity to stir up ***, the implication, The spearhead was directed at the Qing regent who sat in the Forbidden City.

In order to meet the upcoming constitutional moment, the current subtle and relaxed social environment has allowed private newspapers to sprung up, however, the out-of-control public opinion boom in recent years once made the Qing official lose face, and had to urgently promulgate the "Great Qing Newspaper Law" to regulate and restrict, but the effect does not seem to be so immediate.

Looking at the overall situation, this turmoil, only the article in the China section of the Times is relatively pertinent and objective, after describing the ups and downs of the life trajectory of this powerful minister in three pages in a row, at the end of the article, the Times gave this conclusion: Yuan is the most politically potential official in China after Li Hongzhang, he is proficient in military and diplomacy, under his rule, modern military facilities and civilian alms have been everywhere in this province called "Zhili", but because of this, there is the support of the army, Perhaps a major reason for Yuan's downfall, the vast country ruled by a minority, the question of loyalty, or, more directly, loyalty to the upper echelons of the Manchurian aristocracy, seemed to be more concerned with the Qing rulers.

Regardless of the tendencies of these assessments, with the end of winter and the arrival of the new year, all of them will be drowned in the joyful atmosphere of saying goodbye to the old and welcoming the new, as if an intermission gives the forces a room for relaxation, as the Times article predicts, since the supreme ruler is obsessed with the question of loyalty, it also means that more people with evil intentions will become victims of politics, but the following historical reality proves that the Times's speculation is still too conservative, and a battle involving all factions of the royal family, The political chaos between the Beiyang bureaucracy and the Constitutional New Party is silently nurturing in this special atmosphere that seems to be calm

Qianqing Palace, Hongde Palace.

A ceremony for the appointment of senior officers is proceeding step by step, Zaitao, Yulang, Tie Liang, Liangbi, and some senior generals of the military system are receiving special appointments from the highest levels of the military, and there is no doubt that after this appointment, everyone present will have a greater say.

All the people in the hall are dressed in military uniforms, and the semi-formal ceremony requirements are not strict, but the imitation German-style woolen military uniform is still incompatible with the simple and heavy furnishings in the hall, and the hat is still the style of the Qing Dynasty winter official hat, which will be replaced by a narrow-brimmed military hat that is more in line with the Western style in the near future, the only difference is that it will be inlaid with a metal imperial regiment dragon emblem.

The edict of appointment clearly conveyed the will of the regent, Dorobel Zaitao, the infantry commander Yu Lang, and the War Department Shangshu Tieliang as the minister in charge of the Praetorian Guard, and Liangbi, who had previously made great contributions to the overthrow of Yuan, also became the most important first infantry co-commander of the Imperial Janissary Army in accordance with historical development.

At the appointment ceremony of the army system, there were some additional notices, Zaitao and Yulang were officially awarded the title of county king, with a dragon relief on their chests, and at the same time, Liangbi was also appointed as the deputy commander of the Han army with a white flag, although this title that was once in real power has become as flashy as chicken ribs with the changes of history, and the symbolic meaning is far greater than the reality, but as an indispensable part of the resume, the special intention of the regent is self-evident.

The eunuch's reading echoed over the main hall, and the personnel appointments of the Praetorian Guard continued, but Ye Kai had already turned his gun.

He did not have any objection to the letter of appointment itself, and only announced a roof arrangement for a few principal officials, involving specific positions and the establishment of the military branches, Ye Kai had enough room to choose. But on this letter of appointment, a person's name makes Wei Wei a little unsatisfactory.

His eyes silently glanced at the War Department Shangshu on the oblique side, and the conspirator's head was running at high speed

Forbidden City, Imperial Garden.

After lunch, Zaifeng always likes to walk here a few times, one is to digest and digest the greasy meal, and the other is to take advantage of the scenery here to relieve the pressure caused by heavy government affairs, in a sense, this is also a kind of digestion.

"Liangbi, how is the Praetorian Guard's arrangement?" Zaifeng accosted the new Praetorian Guard commander beside him as he walked.

"The minister is stepping up the drawing up of the personnel list, and in a few days he will go to the branch to raise money for military training, and after the spring of the new year, he will begin to formally recruit soldiers."

Satisfied with Ye Kai's answer, Zaifeng had a smile on his face, this new army he had high hopes for did not disappoint him, and after a while, he then ordered: "This conscription, we must add more brave soldiers, the soldiers we have trained cannot be worse than those in the six towns of Beiyang, and" Zaifeng turned his head and instructed meaningfully: "Recruit more Manchurian soldiers, after all, it is for the sake of our Qing Dynasty." ”

"The minister must live up to his mission!" Ye Kai almost didn't listen to what Zaifeng said later, but he still patted his chest and assured in affirmative, but secretly he had already begun to think about another thing, "Regent, this military training is one thing, the minister is wondering if there is a way to take back the military power once and for all, Lafayette let the War Department command the six towns of Beiyang before his death, but whether it is the War Department or the Beiyang Army, this military power can't reach our royal hands in the final analysis." ”

Although Ye Kai's words were to the point, Zaifeng still sighed a little with interest, and said a little stupidly: "Take back the military power? How easy is it to talk about it, when the imperial court was short of silver, it ordered the governors of various places to raise their own funds to train the new army, but now it is difficult to return, and this military power can not be recovered if you want to. When it comes to this problem, Zaifeng is almost bitter, if it is really this simple, he will not need to spend so much effort to cultivate an army of his own.

These expressions fell into Ye Kai's eyes, and almost in the next moment, he made up the next drama in his brain, and after a while, he suddenly straightened his face and said solemnly: "When the minister was studying in Japan, he once checked the systems of various countries and felt that Japan's military system had a reference. ”

"Tell me" Zaifeng glanced at Ye Kai and didn't stop him.

"Japan's military system has not only a military department, but also a general staff." Ye Kai replied unhurriedly: "The military department is in charge of the troops, the staff department is planning, the two work together, and check and balance each other, no one can fall there in this military power." ”

"Staff?" Hearing this unfamiliar word, Zaifeng stopped, and seemed to find something desirable from Ye Kai's words.

"The General Staff Department is not involved in military training in peacetime, directs troops in various matters, and focuses on planning, but in wartime, it has the power to command and transfer troops." Ye Kai also stopped, turned around and explained: "So the minister asked the regent to set up a military capital office after the Japanese General Staff, and fight against the army department. ”

Ye Kai's last words could not be emphasized, and when he heard the name Tie Liang, Zaifeng's eyelids jumped almost subconsciously.

Around the issue of Zaifeng's regency and supervision, Tie Liang has always been a clear and opposing attitude, a few days ago, the relationship between the two reached the point of incompatibility, several fierce quarrels are anytime and anywhere, without shying away, especially when I got the news that Tie Liang and the Empress Dowager Longyu secretly communicated with each other, Zaifeng was almost like thunder, if he came again to listen to the government, let his son be a puppet like Emperor Guangxu for a lifetime, Zaifeng couldn't wait to throw Tie Liang far away to Kulun as a minister in Tibet, but in the end, Tie Liang has been in the army for more than ten years, has a deep foundation, and also has a lot of influence in the Beiyang Army, and is the second military commander in the entire empire after Yuan Shikai, especially on some issues of principle, the views of the two still tend to be the same.

After pondering it for a long time, Zaifeng remembered what Ye Kai said after the imperial meeting, "'Who can guarantee that the princes who are conclusive are not the next Yuan Shikai? Now it is tantamount to a barrel of high-purity gasoline, which once again ignites his deep sense of crisis about power.

"You can plan this matter privately first, but you can't call it the military capital government directly," Zaifeng lowered his head and thought about it, "Let's tentatively call it the military advisory office first." ”

"Yes"

Ye Kai nodded and agreed, wanting to break the pattern of interests and form a new department with real power, it was not easy to say, he understood that the steps should not be too fast, but every step should be stepped on steadily.

"Liangbi"

"The Minister"

Just when Ye Kai was thinking for a moment, Zaifeng's eyes swept around, and after sending off the eunuchs beside him, he said in a voice that only two people could hear: "Let go of the military power in advance, this king has more important things to discuss with you today." ”