On February 15, 1902, the eighth day of the first month of the Lunar New Year, Li Hongzhang took a part of his entourage and a delegation of the Northern Governor's Mansion headed by Wang Yan to board the Xuetang luxury yacht, and sailed to Britain thousands of miles away under the escort of two all-steel battleships, four large fast armored cruisers, four fast protection cruisers, and two destroyers of the Northeast Navy and the Beiyang Naval Division.

Because there are at least 2 and a half months before the coronation of Edward VII, the fleet to Britain has enough time, so the fleet stayed in Fuzhou for 2 days, Li Hongzhang was warmly welcomed by Xu Yingqi, the governor of Fujian and Zhejiang, who has been in office for 3 years, Xu Yingqi is also 70 years old this year, and has served as the secretary of the Ministry of Rites.

After a banquet, after Li Hongzhang and Xu Yingqi retreated, Xu Yingqi said: "Li Zhongtang, there is one thing that makes the old man have trouble sleeping recently. ”

Li Hongzhang asked curiously, "What's so difficult about Lord Xu?" ”

Xu Yingqi sighed and said: "Li Zhongtang, in the new army of Fujian, Zhejiang, and Taiwan provinces under the jurisdiction of the old man, and even in the patrol camp, there are people who will be in the party, and there are still a lot of people in the new army. ”

After the Qing court completed the formation of the 4 towns Wuwei Army, the 6 towns of the Beiyang Army and the 3 Zhending Army, it was already very difficult to raise the new army of these 13 towns, not to mention what to organize and train the new towns, but in the face of the scorching Lin Daxin, the Empress Dowager Cixi and the Guangxu Emperor and others ordered the provinces to gradually dismantle the original weak combat effectiveness of the Green Battalion Army, and leave the silver to form a new army in the provinces, or reorganize the garrison troops named patrol battalions in various places. For a few years, the southern provinces were relatively rich in taxes. A variety of new troops have been trained, and the Green Battalion has been replaced by a patrol battalion.

At present, Fujian, Zhejiang, and Taiwan provinces have nominal three towns of the new army. The title is the 19th town of the Great Fresh Army, the 20th town of the Great Fresh Army, and the 21st town of the Great Fresh Army, but the 3 towns add up to less than 25,000 people, and the equipment is not as good as the earliest 13 towns of the new army, especially in terms of artillery, the difference is even further, each town is the scale of a mixed association, but the new army, the combat effectiveness is still okay, and the rifles equipped in the hands of the soldiers. All were repeating rifles, but there were also a small number of machine guns and artillery.

After the Qing army entered the customs, the Qing court began to recruit the Han army and reorganize the Ming Dynasty's army in order to make up for the lack of troops in the Eight Banners and strengthen its rule in the country.

Before the middle of the Qing Dynasty. The Green Battalion is still called elite, but due to the long-term absence of war, coupled with the corruption within the Green Battalion, favoritism and malpractice. The combat effectiveness of the Green Battalion had dropped sharply, and it had been ineffective since the early years of Jiaqing when it suppressed the uprising of the White Lotus Sect in Sichuan and Chu, and when it came to the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom Uprising. The Green Battalion was on the verge of collapse in the first touch of the war, in the war between the Qing Dynasty and Japan in the year of Jiazi. It is even more unsatisfactory, and it has almost become synonymous with repeated defeats.

So the Green Battalion is the standing army of the Qing Dynasty. With the rise of the new army and patrol battalions in recent years, it has completely disappeared.

Needless to say, the New Army is the most effective army in the Qing Dynasty except for the Dingbei Army, and it completely uses the Western-style military system, training, and equipment.

The patrol battalion is to select the old green battalion and the brave battalion, recruit the people, and form a group, its nature is to defend the place, such as the police or security team, its establishment is divided into horse team and infantry team, and will also train the use of new firearms. Of course, the discipline system of the patrol battalion does not conform to tactical principles, and it is basically equipped with old-fashioned single-shot rifles, but it can be regarded as an army that has undergone new training and uses new weapons, but due to the uneven source of personnel, its combat effectiveness is not strong, but it is much better than the original green battalion.

Hearing Xu Yingqi say that in the new army in Fujian, Zhejiang, and Taiwan provinces, there were Hui Party activities, Li Hongzhang's brows furrowed, Hui Dang is a general term for non-governmental secret organizations with the purpose of opposing the Qing Dynasty and restoring the Ming Dynasty, such as the Tiandi Society, the Elder Society, and the Hongmen Society, which existed in the middle and long of the Qing Dynasty, can all be counted as Hui Dang.

However, what made the Qing court scratch its head was that a group of overseas Chinese formed an organization called the Xingzhong Society a few years ago, and this organization actually put forward the slogan of expelling the Tatars, restoring China, and establishing a united government, and many of those old Hui parties were attached to the side of the Xingzhong Hui and formed a new form of Hui Party. Members of the Xingzhong Society were arrested.

In fact, the establishment of the Xingzhonghui also has Lin Daxin's reason, after the outbreak of the war in the year of Jiazi, Japan was beaten by Lin Daxin, and sought the position of governor of the four northeastern provinces, not long after some overseas Chinese young people came to Shenyang City, wrote to Lin Daxin, asking Lin Daxin to wave the army south, overthrow the rule of the Manchu Qing Dynasty, and establish a united government.

After Lin Daxin read the books of these overseas Chinese youths, he just smiled, and let people send these overseas Chinese youth gifts out of the country, not to mention that Lin Daxin did not mean to overthrow the Manchu Qing Dynasty at that time, even if there was, there would be no United Government, the profession of emperor, Lin Daxin was not prepared to make it disappear in China.

Later, these overseas Chinese youths decided that Lin Daxin was also a lackey of the Manchu Qing Dynasty, so they decided to overthrow the Manchu Qing Dynasty and do it themselves, so they had the organization of the Xingzhong Society, and after the establishment of the Xingzhong Society, they began to win over the original Tiandihui, the Elders' Association, and the Hongmen Old Brothers' Party, and even through the training of the new army in the southern provinces, the power of the Xingzhonghui infiltrated into the new army in the southern provinces, and even in the patrol battalions of the southern provinces, the strength of the Xingzhonghui was not small.

At present, Li Hongzhang's six towns of Beiyang and Lao Huai's army are stationed in Nanzhili, the whole of Henan and most of Shandong, and the Wuwei army of the four towns of Yiketanga is stationed in the area of Beizhili and Beijing, and Yuan Shikai was canonized as the governor of Shanxi by the imperial court, and led the Dingwu army of three towns to be stationed in Shanxi.

Although Li Hongzhang knew about the Hui Party, he did not know it very well, so Li Hongzhang opened his mouth and said: "Since there are Hui parties in the new army in Fujian, Zhejiang, and Taiwan provinces, it would be good to eliminate these Hui parties, and if we can kill a number of backbone Hui Dang cadres who have entered the new army, it will also be a heavy blow to the Hui Party." ”

Xu Yingqi said with a wry smile: "Li Zhongtang, you don't know the specific situation of the new army, when the old man found out that the party was active in the new army, he sent someone to secretly investigate, and it is conservatively estimated that at least two percent of the new army in the three provinces here are people who will be in the party, and more soldiers in the new army have also been affected by the slogan of the party, and the old man does not even dare to move the new army now, for fear that a move will cause a mutiny, which will be terrible." ”

Li Hongzhang's heart is not easy, that stinky boy Lin Daxin also installed a lot of people in his Beiyang Six Towns, Li Hongzhang is not aware of it, but Lao Comrade Li already has the intention of handing over the entire Beiyang to Lin Daxin after his death, and he will turn a blind eye to Lin Daxin's actions in the Six Towns of Beiyang.

Li Hongzhang asked: "Lord Xu talked about this, is there anything that needs the old man's help?" ”

Xu Yingqi nodded and said: "The Hui Party in the new army must be eliminated, just in case, the old man is ready to ask the imperial court to transfer a new army from the north, if in the process of purifying 19 towns, 20 towns, and 21 towns, the Hui Party instigates mutiny, and the old man can have an army in his hands to suppress it." Wuwei Army and Dingwu Army, the old man couldn't invite him at all, so he had to trouble Li Zhongtang's Beiyang Army. ”

Li Hongzhang nodded slowly and said: "Lord Xu can only write to the imperial court and let the Beiyang Army go south to Fujian and Zhejiang, and the old man will send the army of 1 town to assist Lord Xu, but the military expenses of the Beiyang Army all the way to this 1 town?" ”

Xu Yingqi was overjoyed and said: "Thank you Li Zhongtang, the military expenses of the Beiyang Army in this 1 town are all responsible for the old man's Fujian and Zhejiang Governor's Mansion. ”

Li Hongzhang hesitated for a moment and said, "Lord Xu, the strength of our Beiyang Army Town 1 has reached 30,000 people, no problem, right?" ”

Xu Yingqi paused for a moment, nodded and said: "I've heard a little, but as long as the Beiyang Army of this 1 town can help the old man complete the operation of purifying the 19 towns, 20 towns, and 21 towns, the Fujian and Zhejiang Governor's Mansion will not be stingy with a few silver taels." ”

It is no secret that the 4 Zhen Wuwei Army, the 6 Zhen Beiyang Army and the 3 Zhen Dingwu Army have all been expanded to 30,000 people per town, and this Qing Dynasty's armed force, which is second only to the Dingbei Army, is in the hands of Cixi, Guangxu and Li Hongzhang respectively, and it is well known to passers-by.

February 22, 1902, the fifteenth day of the first month of the new year, is the traditional festival of the Chinese Lantern Festival, the first month is the first month of the lunar calendar, the ancients called the night "night", so the fifteenth day of the first month is called the Lantern Festival. The fifteenth day of the first lunar month is the first full moon night of the year, and it is also the night of the rejuvenation of the earth, which is celebrated by people and the continuation of the celebration of the new year.

According to the Chinese folk tradition, on this night when the bright moon hangs high in the sky, people light up 10,000 lanterns to celebrate, go out to enjoy the moon, light the lanterns and set off flames, like to guess the lantern riddles and eat the Lantern Festival, in short, the Lantern Festival is a happy day for the whole family to reunite.

But on this jubilant day, in an officer's dormitory in the 19th town of the New Army in Zhangzhou, Fujian, the atmosphere was very depressing, and more than a dozen people wearing the uniforms of the officers of the Great Fresh Army sat around a wooden table, because of the sudden news, no one spoke for a long time. (To be continued......)

PS: Thanks for the lifestyle!! , 9z Lord of the Gods, Blue Expanse, Drifting. Zero&... Tips! Thanks!

It's raining heavily here in my house, it should be a heavy rainstorm, I went out shopping just in time, there is not even a place to hide from the rain on the side, and so on to the place where I can hide from the rain, and the result is that the pants of the sad urge are through, woo, and then go home and find that the key is not brought, and then I stand at the door soaked for half an hour, and I am currently sneezing, why is it always me who is injured!! R1292