The Qing court's declaration of war was issued on June 21. At the same time, there was also the edict of King Qin. After all, Cixi was not so comfortable with her Gyeonggi force.

On this day, Rong Lu, Minister of Military Aircraft and Secretary of the Ministry of War, sent a telegram to the governors of the south, and his tone and views were extremely surprising, because in this telegram, Rong Lu appeared as a complete anti-war faction.

Rong Lu first condemned the "crime" of the imperial court attacking and killing the envoys, saying that "the two countries are at war, and the envoys are not guilty, which has been the case since ancient times", and then asserted that "a weak country can reach more than a dozen strong countries, and the danger is immediate", talking about the helplessness of the imperial court to take this step, and reprimanded the Manchu magnates except for the "Qing Di" (referring to Prince Qing Yixuan), most of them have become boxers, "although the two palaces are above the saints, it is difficult to turn the public", and finally reminded the governors of the south that the war broke out, and the south was bound to be endangered, and preparations should be made as soon as possible.

Rong Lu was really the most elusive person at that time. From this telegram, it can be concluded that Rong Lu's loyalty to Cixi was in fact very suspicious. He's pedaling two boats again. Moreover, he was extremely pessimistic about the war in Gyeonggi and pinned the rest of his life on the governors in the south.

The southern officials were headed by Liu Kunyi, Zhang Zhidong and Li Hongzhang, who had just arrived in Liangguang. In terms of style, insight and prestige, there was no one in the Manchu court at that time who could compare with these three people.

Yuan Shikai is not ranked yet.

The telegram is a good thing, and it is much more convenient than the previous fast horse 800 miles expedited. Prior to this, Liu, Zhang, and Li had been paying attention to the movements of the Jingshi and discussing countermeasures with each other.

When the Hongyang rebellion began, the imperial court showed a pattern of internal light and external importance. The members of the Hunan and Huai departments occupied most of the throne of the governor of the eighteen provinces because of their military exploits, and the imperial court was helpless during the war, and naturally became suspicious after the war. Zeng Guofan, the originator of modern warlords in China, after weighing the weight, regardless of the persuasion of his subordinates in various ways, decided to cooperate with the Manchu court to the end, and exchanged the peace of mind of the court by dismantling the Hunan army, and also obtained the wealth and security of himself and his descendants. The good of his headband saved China from a possible civil war in the late nineteenth century. In exchange for a short-lived so-called "Tongguang Zhongxing". In terms of the political situation, the authority of the imperial court is increasing.

Liu Kunyi and Li Hongzhang's qualifications and prestige are not as good as Zeng Guofan's, and Zhang Zhidong is even worse. These three ministers were watching the situation, and the other governors were naturally silent. But now a decision must be made. If they openly support the imperial court's declaration of war on all nations, then. As you can imagine. Whether it's Guangzhou or Jiangning. will all be hit by the coalition navy. China's economic center of gravity has long since shifted southward, and the consequence is that all the little foundation accumulated by the Westernization Movement for decades will be lost. Therefore, the three Xinjiang ministers exchanged letters and telegrams. made a decision that was extremely embarrassing to the imperial court, that is, "Southeast Mutual Insurance"!

What is Southeast Mutual Insurance? To put it simply, it is partial neutrality. If you want to fight foreigners in the imperial court, then fight. But we don't follow you. Consulates, churches, and all foreigners in the southeastern provinces should not only not be attacked, but should also be properly protected. In exchange for partial peace.

For a while, the court had a feeling that it had been abandoned by its own people.

Li Hongzhang's telegram to the world was even more interesting, saying that the decision of the imperial court was "chaotic", and that failure to obey the order was not a rebellion, and that the wrong decision of the imperial court was not carried out.

Yuan Shikai has been paying attention to the attitudes of the three ministers. Now that his attitude is clear, he has been pushed into an extremely embarrassing position, does he listen to the chaos of the court?

Shandong was mentioned in the edict of the declaration of war, which was Yuan Shikai's biggest headache, "In and Shandong provinces, there were no less than hundreds of thousands of volunteers gathered on the same day__" The minister who drafted the edict firmly believed that Yuan Shikai's army of King Qin would definitely appear in Gyeonggi.

Can Yuan Shikai send troops? No, never. He is the person who is the best at observing the wind and steering the rudder, and he completely agrees with the opinions of Liu Kunyi and others. Moreover, for the sake of their own future, they must not throw the troops they have worked so hard to build into a battlefield that is bound to be defeated and lost!

Yuan Shikai has already judged at this moment that as long as he has elite soldiers in hand, even if he offends the imperial court in the matter of King Qin, the imperial court will have nothing to do with him. But if you lose this army, you really become an insignificant little person.

"Brother Kikuren, respond to the initiative of Southeast Mutual Insurance. We can't go crazy with them! Yuan Shikai finally made a decision.

"However, this will definitely offend the court." Xu Shichang agreed with Yuan Shikai's decision, but he thought of another layer, with Yuan Shikai's qualifications and prestige, how could he compare with those three ministers? "Comfort Ting, you have to find a way to get the best of both worlds."

"What's the best of both worlds there?"

"Actually, there is. Don't forget to hire a secretary. ”

Yuan Shikai's eyes lit up, "You mean, recruit Long Qian?" ”

"Exactly. It's nothing to give him a name, and it's nothing to spend some silver, as long as he is willing to send troops in the name of the Wuwei Right Army, everything is easy to discuss. ”

Yuan Shikai high-fived with a boxer, "Wonderful! This plan to kill two birds with one stone, that is, the eldest brother, you can think of it. It's wonderful! ”

Xu Shichang re-found the letter written by Wang Shizhen, "The servant has followed Yuan Gong for a long time, and I am confident that Yuan Gong will focus on the overall situation of Beiyang and accept Long Qian's subordinates...... You can send important people to Zhengjiazhuang to discuss the matter of returning to Shun, and Long Qian should greet him......"

"Comfort Ting, Shaochuan's trip is not in vain. At least make sure that Long Qian did have the intention of surrendering. You take a charter and let Shaochuan go again. ”

"This matter should not be delayed for a long time, the sooner the better. It's better to bother the eldest brother to go on a trip himself. Yuan Shikai quickly made up his mind, "Big brother can completely represent me." If Long Qian is willing to go north to King Qin immediately in the name of Wuwei's right army, everything is easy to talk about...... "The more Yuan Shikai thinks about it, the more thorough it becomes, the Jingshi has become a mess of porridge, even if Long Qian has other thoughts, how bad can it be?" "Big brother, the key to recruiting peace is that Long Qian's subordinates quickly left Yizhou and went north to King Qinwang in the name of the Wuwei Right Army, which is the foundation of everything."

"I know." Xu Shichang bowed his hand to Yuan Shikai, "Without further ado, I will prepare and leave for the south tomorrow." I want to see what kind of character this Long Qian is. ”

The next day, Xu Shichang, who had carefully considered the details several times, only took Tang Shaoyi and a team of personal soldiers to leave Jinan, all the way to the west, first to Yanzhou, after meeting Cao Kun, he showed Cao Kun Yuan Shikai's warrant, which is very simple, just one sentence, everything is subject to Xu Shichang's dispatch, and there must be no delay or neglect.

Cao Kun knew the status of Xu Shichang in Yuan Shikai's mind, Tang Shaoyi just went back, and within two days, Xu Shichang appeared in Yanzhou, what does it mean, Cao Kun, who seems to be honest but thoughtful, guessed eight or nine, "What do you command?" ”

"You immediately prepare the military uniforms of 1,500 people, as well as 100,000 taels of silver, and transport them to Zou County." Xu Shichang drank tea, "Also, prepare a batch of ordnance, especially bullets, as much as possible." ”

Cao Kun pretended not to understand, "Is this going to fight Zhengjiazhuang?" ”

Xu Shichang sighed and retreated, "Zhong Shan, the Jingshi is in chaos, and the society is in danger. The court transferred us to King Qin. 100,000 urgent! ”

"King Qin? Never. "Although Cao Kun is in southwest Lu, the news of Jingshi is still in hand.

"What Zhong Shan said is extremely true." Xu Shichang was pleased, "But weighing the pros and cons, we can't offend the court, this fatal errand must be done for us!" ”

Cao Kun suddenly realized, "The marshal is ready to recruit the Mengshan army__"

"Exactly! Time is tight, and there is no room for delay. You stay in Yanzhou and dispatch everything, and I will go to them. When I received my handwritten letter, I immediately complied with it. Got it? ”

"Then my days will be miserable, and my brethren's money will have to be taken out."

"Hurry up with power. You have to know the general idea! Okay, I'll go to Zou County. Xu Shichang stood up.

Xu Shichang didn't even eat, so he was accompanied by a battalion officer named Chen Guangyuan sent by Cao Kun, escorted by a cavalry team, and quickly marched along the official road through Yanzhou to Zou County.

Zou County is under the control of the official army, but it is close to the bandit area, and the market is still stable. Cao Kun set up a whole battalion in Zou County as a precaution. However, since the battle of Yuanzhuang, the two armies seem to have a tacit understanding, the Mengshan army does not leave Zhangqianzhuang, and the official army does not leave Zou County. For a few months, the area was relatively peaceful.

From Zou County to the east, eighty miles to Zhangqian, that is the territory controlled by the Mengshan army. As soon as he arrived in Zou County, Xu Shichang saw Chen Guangyuan, the commander of the garrison, showed Yuan Shikai's warrant, and ordered him to eat. He set out to follow up half an hour later.

Tang Shaoyi knew that he was very powerful, and without saying a word, he took an entourage from Jinan and got on the horse. He had just walked this road, and he was very familiar with it, and he didn't need Chen Guangyuan to send a guide.

Chen Guangyuan was transferred from Jinan to Yanzhou after the war in Yuanzhuang, and Cao Kun's main force, Ma Jianxun's troops, had been transferred to Yizhou to strengthen its defensive strength. Chen Guangyuan is very puzzled by today's situation, he also graduated from the Wubei Academy, and he "charged" in Yuan Shikai's school, Xu Shichang can be regarded as his teacher.

"My lord, what are we going to do? According to the information I have, the thief army has gathered in Zhangqian Village in a big way, which is too dangerous. ”

"We're not fighting, I'm an emissary, what's the danger? Didn't Master Cao tell you? Xu Shichang knew that Chen Guangyuan was also Yuan Shikai's henchman, "The situation is urgent, I can't fight with the Mengshan army anymore, I am ordered by my lord to recruit Long Qian's subordinates." ”

Chen Guangyuan was taken aback. A few days ago, Tang Shaoyi went to the bandit area through his own defense area, and he knew that Cao Kun's explanation was to promote Wang Shizhen's release. Now it seems that the surrender operation has already been launched.

With Xu Shichang's identity, there is no need to be like this, "My lord, the bandit army has defeated our army in a row, and it is very arrogant, you are so anxious, what should you do if he asks for a price over there?" ”

Xu Shichang explained, "No, even if he asks for a price, as long as he agrees to surrender to Cheng and send troops, Yuan Weiting will meet all the conditions." Xu Shichang reined in his horse, "Xiufeng (Chen Guangyuan), don't leave it at that, don't let so many people go, leave the two to lead the way, lest they be suspicious." ”

At a fork in the road, Xu Shichang took three entourages and embarked on the road to the bandit area. (To be continued......)

PS: For some readers' criticisms, I posted a section in response to the public version, you can take a look at it, and give comments on it.