The Grange was surrounded, and the emperor was trapped. Song Qing and Zuo Guigui were unable to relieve the siege of Tianzhuangtai. This news spread throughout the Qing Dynasty at once, and Jinzhou, which was the first to get the news, was completely in chaos.

Tang Shaoyi ignored it and directly asked all the three battalions of the Seventh Regiment left in Jinzhou to go for reinforcements, and on the other hand, he sent a telegram to Tianzhuangtai to scold Wang Shizhen and Qi Yide first, and then asked for the establishment of a temporary second division, and asked Leng Jun to pick people in the hospital in Jinzhou. As long as they can walk and run, no matter which army they were in before, all of them will be assigned to the temporary second division. In addition, Tang Shaoyi strictly ordered that all the reorganization must be completed within three days, and the front line of Tianzhuangtai must be transferred. The storerooms were all opened, and the guns that had just been dismantled from the oiled paper and still smelled of butter were distributed to the officers and men of the Second Division, and boxes of bullets were taken out. Not only that, Tang Shaoyi also recruited more than 2,000 migrant workers to repair the road leading to the Tianzhuang Terrace for the artillery battery. Guangxu's biological mother Yehenara? Wanzhen had already washed her face with tears when she first heard that Tianzhuangtai was surrounded, and now she is disregarding her identity, using her clumsy tongue to cheer up the officers and soldiers and raise money for the front line in various places in Jinzhou. If Tang Shaoyi hadn't stopped her, she would have gone to the front line with the third battalion of the Seventh Regiment a long time ago.

As soon as Liu Kun of Shanhaiguan learned that the emperor was surrounded in the Tianzhuang platform, the teacup in his frightened hand fell directly to the ground. Now there are still 30,000 soldiers and horses in Shanhaiguan, and although he is also anxious, he does not dare to make his own decisions. Hurriedly sent a telegram to the imperial court, asking for the transfer of 30,000 horses from Shanhaiguan to support Tianzhuangtai. He did not wait for the return of the imperial court, and immediately prepared the whole army to prepare for the expedition, and mobilized all the wagons that could be mobilized to stand by at Shanhaiguan.

And Li Hongzhang in Tianjin no longer has to pretend to be sick now, because this time he is really sick. Li Hongzhang, who was preparing to deal with the landing of the Chinese army on the Shandong Peninsula in the future, also wanted to send troops to take the sea route, and because of the repair of the damaged ships of the combined fleet, the Beiyang Fleet was unable to escort the ship. Walk by land, but there are not enough wagons. Li Hongzhang, who couldn't come up with a way left and right, at this time, Tianzhuangtai issued a strict decree at the insistence of Guangxu. The Navy, which had been dragging its feet and had not yet set out, was ordered to immediately escort the marines to attack the Ryukyus. Li Hongzhang fell ill in a hurry after seeing the will.

Li Hongzhang on the sickbed had bright red cheeks, but he didn't forget to give the court an excerpt: "The war is already like this, we must put the safety of the emperor first, and we must not let the emperor fall into the hands of the enemy, otherwise the overall situation will be passive." For today's plan, the only way to do this is to immediately transfer 30,000 people stationed at Shanhaiguan to reinforce Tianzhuangtai. Youqiao, according to this meaning, help the old man make an excerpt. ”

"Zhongtang, the imperial court intends to transfer these battalion heads to reinforce the front line of Tianzhuangtai, and it should have been ordered a long time ago." Zhang Peilun persuaded on the side: "Now that there has been no movement for a long time, why should Zhongtang offend the Queen Mother at this time." ”

"Youqiao, are you also nonsense? There are not a few court ministers offended by the old man, and he usually does not dare to go against the old man because he is afraid of the strength of Beiyang. Now in the First Sino-Japanese War, the weakness of the Huai army has been shown in front of the world. Regardless of the outcome of this battle, the Huai army will definitely be dismantled after the war. How can these ministers of the DPRK and China not fall into the ground? But the emperor is different, the emperor has ambitions and Zhongxing must start from Zhili, so that Beiyang will have a glimmer of life. Now the army is attacking Tianzhuang Terrace regardless of the retreat, as long as the Tianzhuang Terrace is kept, the emperor is saved. The situation of the battle can be reversed immediately, and it also ensures Beiyang. ”

Zhang Peilun nodded and began to study ink. Li Hongzhang thought of another thing: "There is another point, you immediately telegraphed the old man's intention to Liu Kunyi and Zhang Zhidong, and asked them to play this with the old man." Although Liu Kunyi and Zhang Zhidong have some disagreements with the old man, they will agree to the national crisis. ”

Cining Palace

Cixi put down Li Hongzhang's excerpt, looked at the prince Sanqing and the six military planes kneeling in Cining Palace, and said slowly: "This Li Hongzhang's excerpt also said that the Shanhaiguan soldiers and horses would be transferred to rescue Tianzhuangtai. What do you think? ”

The kneeling crowd looked at each other. Since the Queen Mother asked this, everyone knows the meaning of the words, the Queen Mother is unwilling to adjust from the bottom of her heart, but the one in Tianzhuang Terrace must be the emperor of the Qing Dynasty. said that if the troops are not transferred, in case the Grange falls, it will be infamous for eternity. But if it comes to troop transfer, who knows what the master above means. At this time, they all wanted to protect themselves, and let others say that this soldier was not adjusted.

After a while, the priest saw that no one had come out to speak. As the foreman of the Minister of Military Aircraft, he can only say two sentences first: "Lafayette Mingjian, not only Li Hongzhang has been excerpted, but Liu Kunyi and Zhang Zhidong and other governors from all over the country have been excerpted, and they have asked the imperial court to send troops and reinforcements as soon as possible." The slave also thought that this soldier should be transferred, and he had to be transferred immediately. The one who was besieged by the Grange must be the emperor of our Qing Dynasty. Saying that, Shi Duo kowtowed a few times in a row: "The slave has already asked Liu Kun of Shanhaiguan, and the soldiers and horses are ready to stop, just wait for the imperial court to send troops as soon as it arrives." ”

"That's what everyone means, right?"

"Galeries Lafayette." These words are said in unison.

"Then who is the leader of this Shanhaiguan army?"

"Back to Lafayette. It was Wu Dawei, the governor of Hunan. Sun Yuwen came out of the class and said: "The slave has already informed Master Wu. Now that the emperor is trapped in Tianzhuangtai, the queen mother will definitely send troops to reinforcements. The slave asked him to lead the troops with his heart, and only waited for the will of the imperial court to arrive, so that he would definitely launch a powerful reinforcement to Tianzhuang Tai. When Sun Yuwen said this, he said the word "powerful" and used extra force.

Sun Yuwen's words fell, and everyone present felt sorry in their hearts. Why didn't I think of this meaning, and let this Sun Yuwen catch up with the front.

Cixi looked at Sun Yuwen, worthy of the person who knew her mind best. couldn't help but nod with satisfaction: "Look, what I said is called Lao Cheng Mouguo." Then hurry up and give an order to Shanhaiguan. ”

The matter of Shanhaiguan transfer of troops has been decided, and everyone will disperse. Only Shi Duo and a few others remained.

When the Manchu Dynasty was civil and military, Cixi naturally wanted to behave without being surprised. At this time, all the people left around her were confidants, and Cixi showed a melancholy face: "Get up." Sixth, how is this and the peace talks with me?"

"Back to the Queen Mother's words, according to the Queen Mother's intentions, Weichen has been in contact with Minister Komura Shoutaro in private, and he said that his attitude is very tough, and he will not talk about it unless Li Hongzhang. Although the slave repeatedly stated that Li Zhongtang was now sick and could not be a director, he said that he did not want to talk more with the slave, and still hoped that the Qing Dynasty would send Li Hongzhang to show the sincerity of the peace talks. Yi Xin heard Cixi's question, hurriedly stood up, bowed and replied.

"Sincerity, sincerity. Could it be that if I get rid of Li Hongzhang, there will be no one? Take the will of the mourning family to see Li Hongzhang, as long as he can still move, let him come forward to talk first...... "Cixi is in chaos." In the more than 200 years since the founding of the Qing Dynasty, there has never been such a critical situation.

"Back to the Queen Mother, the servant has already inquired about the Governor's Mansion of Zhili. said that after Li Zhongtang heard that the emperor was trapped in the Grange, he vomited several liters of blood. Now it is said that there are many directors who can get out of bed, and it is all handled by his son-in-law Zhang Peilun...... Yi Xin thought for a while and said: "Queen Mother Lafayette, now the emperor is fighting on the front line, and the minions are negotiating peace behind their backs, and Li Hongzhang will come forward again." In case it spreads, how can this government and the opposition explain it? It's better for the slave to contact the minister in private again. ”

Cixi couldn't figure out what to do, so she could only nod: "This can only be the case for now." Shi Duo, let the imperial doctor in the palace bring more good medicinal materials and go to Tianjin to take a look at Li Hongzhang. When he is better, let him go to Beijing. I am afraid that he will be indispensable for peace talks. ”

The priest chirped and agreed. Yi Xin said: "This peace talk is indispensable, and the compensation for land cession is indispensable. The slave wants to ask the court to make a charter, and the slave can talk to him. ”

"What kind of charter can I have now, no matter what conditions I put forward, I will agree to it first. In front of us, we will stabilize the situation first, and then change the emperor back. Cixi sighed deeply: "The emperor is young and vigorous, so he thinks about what to fight with himself to the end, but the Qing Dynasty also has the capital to fight blood......"

Cixi's words made everyone's hearts cold, especially Yi Xin. Agreeing is just a little effort, but who can really resist the consequences of agreeing to any conditions. For a while, the entire Cining Palace seemed to be frozen by the cold wind.

Li Lianying's knock on the door woke everyone up: "Enlighten Lafayette, the imperial study Kou Liancai asks to see you." The emperor sent a farewell message from the Grange Terrace. ”

"What?" Cixi shook violently, and her body almost fell off the chair.

"Things on the battlefield are unpredictable, and I could not have predicted this situation a few days ago. Now that he has given up all his retreats and concentrated all his forces to storm Tianzhuangtai, his intention is to capture me alive. In front of the Liao River, I made an oath: either win, and return with dignity. Either defeat and bury the bones of the grange. Now it seems that I will be laid to rest here. However, the court and the world must not think of me, I have the consciousness of dying in battle since the conquest. ”

"I am not bound to win, and in my opinion, this move is clearly in full swing, but in fact it is tired. It is said that the rear road of the army has been cut off, and there is no supply of food and ammunition, how long can the remaining food and ammunition of the whole army be used? Three? Five or ten? I dare to assert that it is no more than fifteen days at most. This move by the army is nothing more than a last resort. As long as we will never surrender to peace in the Qing Dynasty, after 15 days, the army will decide on food, salaries and ammunition. At that time, it was time for me to slaughter the Qing Dynasty. Therefore, all armies and units in Liaodong should not be in a hurry to open the encirclement of the army at Tianzhuangtai, but should mobilize all their forces to besiege the army regiments. Step by step, gradually encroaching, little by little to consume the strength of the army, when the army is tired and has no ammunition to resist, and then annihilate the Liaodong army in one fell swoop. The imperial court only needs to act according to my will, and the Qing Dynasty will win in the end. Those who were lost were only 5,000 officers and men, including the 2nd Division of Tianzhuangtai and me. ”

"The hound must eventually die on the mountain, and the general will inevitably die in battle. When you put on a military uniform, you are a soldier. If you are a soldier, you should protect your family and defend the country, and you should have the consciousness of dying on the battlefield. If I really die in battle, please bury me in the bones of the Grange, so as to fulfill the oath by the Liao River. If there really is a spirit in the sky, let me be on this grange platform to protect the land of China and the Chinese family. In the name of blood, I tell the nine ghosts, the gods and demons of the heavens, and I hope you will bless my Chinese people to rise up bravely and strive for self-improvement. ”

"It is said that the country is small and weak, and after 20 years of reckless military force, it has only made up six divisions and less than 100,000 soldiers and horses, while our Great Qing Kingdom has a million soldiers. He had already emptied the treasury and borrowed 60 million yuan from the British in order to find a war in the First Sino-Japanese War. Even so, I will use up all the money I have borrowed. No money to live on? In this way, as long as the Qing Dynasty does not surrender, how long can this be fought? However, at this time, he surrendered and made peace, saying that in order to repay the borrowed money, he would extort the war reparations of the Qing Dynasty on a large scale. How much does that cost? 200 million taels or 300 million taels? Even if the whole army fights again, it does not need to spend so much money. This shows that people all over the world have their own ideas about where to go. ”

"This may be my last decree. Hope and do it. ”

"Carried by heaven, the emperor summoned and said: After I died in battle, please ask the Empress Dowager Cixi to set up a new monarch for the Qing Dynasty. There must be no peace talks. The command of the various ministries in Liaodong should be ordered by the General Staff. In order to unify the arrangement, we must not fight separately and reproduce the situation of the Korean war and let the enemy defeat them one by one. The army was frustrated in Liaodong and decided to attack Shandong again, in order to attack the capital from the north and south and force the Qing Dynasty to surrender. The Shandong War was controlled by Li Hongzhang, who did not seek victory in a single battle, but blocked it step by step, consuming the war resources of the army. After the army is exhausted, it will launch a counteroffensive. Chin this. ”

"I don't believe this nonsense. But the curse of the Son of Heaven that I promised was determined to become a terrible ghost, and the life of the surrendered person and the whole family and the whole clan. ”

Guangxu's farewell message looks more like a dying orphan, and it is always intermittent. In one sense, it is not allowed to surrender and negotiate peace. On the contrary, the battlefield strategic analysis sent back by the Tianzhuang Taiwan General Staff in a code makes people feel that there is a possibility of ultimate victory.

Kou Liancai read it for half an hour before finishing it. The entire Cining Palace was quiet.

"Lafayette, this is ...... with me," Yi Xin stopped halfway through speaking.

"Go, faster. Let's change the emperor back first. (To be continued.) )