Inside the Imperial Study of the Forbidden City

Guangxu sat on the dragon case and looked at the Dadonggou naval battle report that Tang Shaoyi had just sent in his hand, and Li Hongzhang was sitting in the lower position. His heart was trembling, Liu Fen, Zhang Shicheng and Li Jingfang, their affairs had been firmly grasped by the emperor. Except for Li Jingfang, who was still in his own house, the other two people's families were already on their way to Beijing. How to deal with it only depends on the emperor's anger.

Guangxu put down the battle report in his hand and sighed long: "Li Hongzhang, you have supported the Beiyang Fleet for the Qing Dynasty's reading power, and also supported the Qing Dynasty's more than ten years of peace, and you have created the ** of the Qing Dynasty's Westernization Movement...... You have been loyal to the Qing Dynasty all your life, and you can be said to be a famous name for a lifetime. Li Hongzhang, Li Hongzhang, it's also you, you're old, but your reputation is ruined in the hands of your nephews in your later life. Liu Fen and Zhang Shicheng, all of them ask for money and don't want their lives, and Zhang Honglu, the alternate Daoist in Shanghai, who sells rice and other grain to the army according to your son Li Jingfang's wishes. Your Li Hongzhang's Beiyang side and Yu himself are fighting to the death, but your sons and nephews can't wait to dig your corner. Is this a travesty of your faithfulness throughout your life? ”

Li Hongzhang knelt down in fright, and said: "Weichen is incompetent and has no way to teach his son, and Weichen is willing to be punished." "That being said, but now that the war is raging, punishing Li Hongzhang at this time will inevitably lead to a defeat at the front.

Guangxu gently picked up Li Hongzhang, who was kneeling on the ground: "You are also the great history of the feudal territory, and I don't kneel here." Sit down and talk. Liu Fen, Zhang Shicheng, and Zhang Honglu can't escape, and after returning to Beijing, you will be beheaded at the noon gate, and you will personally supervise the beheading, which is also a punishment for your inability to teach. As for Li Jingfang, I will punish him for not leaving your mansion for ten years, and he will be punished for ten years of confinement. The current war is like this, and you have to be careful. ”

Guangxu's calm tone made Li Hongzhang a little confused: "Back to the emperor, it's the incompetence of the ministers." If he had listened to the emperor's decree and decisively marched from Korea instead of hesitating, it would have taken time, and he would not have found an excuse himself. ”

"You're wrong, if they can't find an excuse in this matter, then they will find another excuse. He said that Ben had already been eyeing me for a long time, and sooner or later he would have to look for this battle. Guangxu sighed: "How sure do you think the defense line of the Yalu River can be held?" ”

"Now the Yalu River is the elite of Beiyang. And to fight more and less, to wait for work. We-Chan Guarantee ......"

"Guarantee to stay? I can't hold it. Guangxu waved his hand to interrupt Li Hongzhang's words, looked at Li Hongzhang's appearance of wanting to speak and stopped, and smiled faintly: "Most of the defeated soldiers on the Yalu River are defeated and retreated from North Korea, and their morale is completely lost. The newly transferred troops did not retreat at the touch of a button, but they were all defeated troops with no morale in their eyes, and how high could this morale go. Song Qingdao is a tiger general, and the advance and retreat are based on evidence and orderly scheduling. But he is just a military minister in Beiyang, a Sichuan governor. Do you really think that the various departments of Beiyang and Fengzhou Province will be controlled by him? ”

Guangxu's words shocked Li Hongzhang in a cold sweat, in fact, this is what he is most worried about. Beiyang was established by him Li Hongzhang, and he knows the door and door best here, but these standards are all from the Pingyanghong Rebellion, and all eyes are above the top. If he Li Hongzhang is here, there will be no problem, and no matter how bad it is, Ye Zhichao can also control one or two. But Ye Zhichao not only took the lead in fleeing in the battle of Korea, fearing the enemy, but also falsely reported his military exploits. This makes the Yalu River now only supported by Song Qing.

"Your Majesty, please rest assured, the first battle of the Yalu River is related to the safety of the land of Longxing in the Qing Dynasty, and Wei Chen will advise all ministries more. Work together and listen to Song Qing's scheduling. So far, Li Hongzhang can only say it.

I didn't think that Guangxu still just smiled faintly: "It's good that you can have confidence, but it's naturally great if the Yalu River can win." ”

After speaking, Guangxu got up and paced back and forth in the imperial study, thinking about it and deciding that it was better to say it: "In this battle between China and China, you Beiyang will bear the brunt. You're also a minister of the court, so I'll tell you the truth. As the saying goes: Defeat before winning. I really don't think about the battle of the Yalu River. Right now, I want you to do two things. ”

"Please make it clear to the emperor, Weichen will do his best."

"One, the wall is clear. Of course, it is difficult to evacuate as many people from the west of the Yalu River to the area around the Liao River as possible to the west of the Liao River, but it is necessary to withdraw the surplus grain and other materials, and as much as can be withdrawn within a month. I have prepared enough food in Jinzhou. Second, set up an ambush at the entrance of the garden. At the beginning of last year, the new army exercised how to win Lushun as quickly as possible. I've got you covered. All you need to do is come up with a counterattack plan for the Forces nouvelles exercise and implement it. Guangxu stared at Li Hongzhang and asked, "Can you do it well?" ”

Li Hongzhang nodded: "Wechen will do it with all his might." It's just that this Yalu River defense ......"

"Although the night is dark, the staff of the military academy should not have slept yet, why don't you go and listen to the opinions of the staff officers?"

In the middle of the night, the gates of the Forbidden City slowly opened, and a carriage galloped away. Guangxu and Li Hongzhang did not speak in the carriage, although it was a grace of heaven for Li Hongzhang to be able to ride in the same carriage with the emperor, but Li Hongzhang's mind had already run to the Yalu River, the emperor was right, can Song Qing control the various departments? At this time, in Jiulian City by the Yalu River, Song Qing also knew very well in his heart that except for the Ninth Battalion of the Yi Army, which could barely be mobilized, most of the rest of the departments listened to the propaganda and did not listen to the tune.

"This time, the old man was appointed by the imperial court to take charge of the front-line defense of the Yalu River, and he felt a great responsibility. The big guys all know about the things they did a while ago. Pyongyang is defeated, and the Beiyang Naval Division of Lord Zhongtang is also defeated, if we can't hold the defense line of the Yalu River now, the door of the Qing Dynasty will be opened to the little devils, and this situation will collapse to the extreme...... When the old man was ordered, he had already made it clear to the court, if this trip could not be done. The only one who died to repay the country, the old man had nothing else to say. If you lose this battle, it will just be a death, and I hope that the big guys will work together to fight hard for our Qing Dynasty, as long as we hold this river defense. Blocking the little devil from attacking the land and road of Longxing in the Qing Dynasty, the old man will definitely report to the court and ask for credit for the ministry........."

Poor Song Qing's mouth foam flew out, but the generals sitting below didn't seem to move much. Nominally, all armies were under their own command, except for the border army led by the Heilongjiang general Yi Ketang Asuo, and the Heilongjiang Qizi training army commanded by the guard Wu Heng'e, but the various armies had always been not subordinate to each other, and they suddenly gathered together at this moment. In the final analysis, it is just a matter of negotiating with the generals to demarcate their respective defensive areas. If the generals are not convinced, refuse to use their lives, and stick to the defense line to block the sharp attack of the army, I am afraid that no matter how meticulous the plan is, it will only be on paper.

Sitting next to Song Qing, Yi Ke Tang. At the moment, he was also gloomy, and his face was silent. He is a Heilongjiang general. The position is far more respectful than Song Qing, and this time he only assisted Song Qing in planning the defense of the river, and was not subject to Song Qing's control. Today, it's on this scene. Naturally, I didn't want to say anything, so as not to make Song Qing have scruples. But seeing the disapproving faces of the generals below at this moment, a faint anger also rose in his heart.

He had heard a lot about the bad deeds of the Beiyang troops who had been defeated all the way back from Pyongyang. Especially the Sheng army led by Wei Rugui, although Wei Rugui has been taken by the imperial court, but after the defeat of the local team under him in Pyongyang, the discipline has been corrupted to the extreme. Counting on these people to hold the defense line of the Yalu River, if the battle really starts and their team is still holding the position, these people will slip away first, aren't they left to make dumplings for themselves?

The scene was deadlocked for a while, and Yi Ketanga couldn't stand it anymore, and arched his hand and said: "Song Junmen, since the imperial court uses Song Junmen to oversee the defense of the Yalu River, Song Junmen only needs to arrange scheduling. Most of you here have also studied at the Emperor's Military Academy, and we still know this military order. ”

As soon as Iktanga spoke, the generals could no longer sit still. First of all, Nie Shicheng stood up and spoke: "The lowly rank will do his best to defend the defense line of the Yalu River. The battle of North Korea was defeated by those who should have been defeated, and those who should not have been defeated were also defeated, and I have nothing to say, but I just fought hard, and if I lose again...... I didn't have the face to go back when I said anything. ”

"Song Junmen's order is that the lowly rank will do their best to defend the defense line of the Yalu River......" the generals shouted one after another.

Having said that, Song Qing also knew in his heart at the moment that his prestige was not enough to suppress these people below, but the situation was so difficult that he had to hold on. Next, Song Qing began to arrange the deployment of the defense areas of various departments, anyway, there is only one Yalu River, and where it is guarded, it is also guarded, and these people below have not many objections.

The deployment of troops on the defense line of the Yalu River is centered on Jiuliancheng, from the mouth of the Changdian River in the northeast to the Dadonggou and Dagushan areas in the southwest, and the cities and towns along the Yalu River are fortified in passes. Divided into left and right wings, the left flank of the defense line is commanded by Yi Ke Tang A, Wu Heng led the six battalions of the Qi Zi Lian Army to garrison the positions around the Anping River Estuary, Louzi and Pushi River Estuary, and Yi Ke Tang A led the 13 battalions of the town border army to defend Dongyang, Sudian and Changdian River Estuary. The right flank of the defense line was commanded by Song Qing, and the key passes on the right bank of the lower reaches of the Yalu River, such as Jiuliancheng, Hushan, Andong, Dadonggou and Dagushan, were garrisoned by the Ming Army, the Luyu Defense Army, the Yi Army, the Sheng Army and the Feng Army.

It was easy to arrange a stoppage, and the generals began to ask for food, weapons, and equipment. Pyongyang was defeated, more than half of the weapons and ammunition of the various units were lost, and morale was low. Song Qing also knew in his heart that while doing his best to meet the needs of various ministries, he said that he would ask Li Zhongtang for the required weapons, ammunition, food, and materials.

The building in the center of the military academy complex is the staff headquarters set up in the military academy, and it is still brightly lit in the middle of the night.

Guangxu took Li Hongzhang, who was still the first time to go to the military academy, and went straight to the second floor. The guards standing on the left and right at the central entrance on the second floor are the guard companies directly under the General Staff. To Li Hongzhang's surprise, the emperor came in a dragon robe, but the two guards at the door turned a blind eye and stretched out the rifle in their hands to the door, and the bayonets on the muzzle of the guns crossed in front of the door and flashed with metallic luster. I saw Guangxu take out a booklet from his arms and hand it to the guards. After the guards inspected it, when they returned the booklet, they took their guns and saluted. No sound was noticed from beginning to end.

Guangxu stretched out his hand to push open the door, and the scene inside the door came into view. Li Hongzhang's first impression was -- big, big, very big. Today's General Staff is not just a large conference room when the military academy was first established. According to Guangxu's requirements and the needs of the General Staff Department itself, after half a year of reconstruction, the current General Staff Hall is more than 500 square meters, with three floors high.

After entering the door, Guangxu turned sideways and said to Li Hongzhang: "Welcome to the staff headquarters." Then he stretched out his hand and made a gesture of please.

Li Hongzhang was already shocked by the scene in the hall, and he didn't pay attention to Guangxu's gestures. It's just that Mu Wei followed Guangxu into the staff hall, and everything in front of him made Li Hongzhang's eyes widen. The entire second floor was actually just a wide corridor around the side, and he was now standing on a platform in the middle of the second floor of the hall.

"The emperor has arrived."

As the sound fell, everyone in the hall stopped, but they just turned around and raised their hands to salute, and went their separate ways. Even the staff officers on the second floor only lowered their heads and whispered something after saluting.

When the emperor came, he not only had to check the documents, but also asked the emperor to open the door himself. Not only did the people in the hall not shout three long live, but they couldn't even bow down to the basics. After the salute, everyone was busy, and there was not even one who came to say goodbye. This is incredible for Li Hongzhang. It's like another world.

"See the emperor's ......," Wang Shizhen came up from the stairs on the side. Since Michael went to Jinzhou, Wang Shizhen has been the supreme commander of the staff department left behind.

"You wait." Guangxu interrupted Wang Shizhen: "Let me introduce Lord Zhongtang first, our General Staff of the Qing Dynasty." ”

On the wall in front of him hung a huge map of the world, which Guangxu had asked Ougner to enlarge and hang here. In the past, the Celestial Empire was nothing more than the boss empire of Asia, but now that the Westerners have invaded, the Celestial Empire has grown old. Hang such a map, first, so that all staff officers can clearly understand the world; Second, if China wants to become a true Celestial Empire, it needs to be recognized by every country on this map.

Directly below the platform on the second floor is a large flat map on a table, on which different colors indicate each country. On it are small flags of different colors representing various meanings. In and around the area representing the Yellow Sea, there are a large number of small red and blue flags. It indicates that the war is raging in this region. At the table, there are some staff officers with long poles, who will update the position of the small flag above with the latest information they have received.

Above the map table, there is the future South Seas and Australia Theater Command Office. Now it's empty. There are some tables on the upper left side of the map table, but they are also empty, and this is the future Central Asian theater command office. There are only a few people on the left side of the map table who are busy, this is the special command area of the reconnaissance company, and Guangxu still hasn't said a word here, in fact, this is the special operations command area, and it is not easy to expose it now. The far left side of the hall was empty, and that was reserved for the future. In the upper left corner is the place reserved for the European theater of operations. Underneath it is reserved for the African theater of operations. The far right side of the hall is equally empty, leaving it all to the North and South American theater of operations. To the right of the map table is the naval command area, and there are only a few people. The busiest part of the entire hall is the upper right side of the map table, the command area of the Qing Dynasty and the Northeast Asian Theater. Now this place is surrounded by the current staff of the Eight Cheng Ren. They gathered around the sand table in the center of the entire command area and watched the Chinese army face each other on the sand table. The desks around the desk were full of people.

"In the room just below our feet is the Intelligence Center. There are the eyes and ears of the entire staff. All information exchanges in the General Staff are relayed through the intelligence center. And I put him right under our feet, in fact, I want to tell every chief of staff standing on this platform with decision-making power that every order of the staff headquarters needs to be based on accurate information. Intelligence will be the cornerstone of the entire decision-making hierarchy. After speaking, Guangxu walked to the guardrail and said to Li Hongzhang: "Come, come here." Look down at this map of the world. Each flag on it carries an army, and when the supreme commander here gives an order, the corresponding troops are moved according to the commander's order, and the flag representing the army will move accordingly. ”

When Li Hongzhang walked to the guardrail, Guangxu said to Wang Shizhen beside him: "After dawn tomorrow, I will personally go to the Fengtai camp to give the flag to the first division of the new army. ”

When Guangxu's words fell, Li Hongzhang saw a staff officer at the map table replace one of the two small blue flags that were originally placed in the capital and replace them with a small blue flag in the shape of a triangle. Wang Shizhen looked at Li Hongzhang with a puzzled look on his face, and explained: "Blue represents the Qing Dynasty's own army, and red represents the enemy. The square flag indicates the garrison, the triangle indicates that it will be ordered to mobilize, and the direction of the triangle indicates the direction in which it will be mobilized. And the position of the flag indicates where the army is now located. ”

Li Hongzhang looked at the map under the stage, thinking about the words and deeds of the people on the stage, and below was the galloping of thousands of troops. A kind of heroism that has been lost for many years rises to the sky: "Your Majesty, please allow Weichen to stay here and command." (To be continued.) )