The Cantonese Rebellion was quickly put down, and the Qing court was once again faced with the dilemma of rewarding the Fifth Town and Long Qian. Cixi received a report from the Military Aircraft Department and clearly instructed to give a reward, but in the opinion of the Military Aircraft Department, it was easier for the Fifth Town to quell the rebellion, and the soldiers pushed all the way over, which was a simple march, but fought a small battle in Lingshan, eliminating the rebellious Zhao Sheng rebels, and the giant Kou Huang Xing absconded and did not know what to do, and the war was over. It's a bit too light, and the ending isn't very satisfying. And Long Qian took advantage of Zhao Shengzhi's rebellion to send Guangdong to form two new military standards with great effort, which is a typical arrogant and domineering behavior.

Due to the propaganda of Tie Liang and others, the Manchu ministers of the Military Aircraft Department were very wary of Long Qian, except for Yi Xuan, who had a short mouth. Under the influence of Tie Liang, Shi Xu wantonly slandered the military exploits of the Fifth Town at the military aircraft meeting, and seized Long Qian's domineering actions in handling Guo Renzhang and the disbandment of the Guangdong New Army, believing that the Guangzhou general Fu Qi was deaf and weak, and Zhou Fu indulged Long Qian, and was suspected of forming a party for personal gain. The Fifth Town not only did not give a reward, but should issue an order to take responsibility, and the Governor of Long Qian and the Commander of the Fifth Town were revoked and transferred back to the center for other placement.

Among the Han ministers, Zhang Zhidong, who had already entered the military aircraft department, advocated rewarding the fifth town. Zhang Zhidong is not only a good hand in running industry, but also a layman in military training, and the eighth town of the Hubei New Army, which was sharp in the Zhangde Autumn Exercise, was built by him. He said to Na Tong, Shixu and other military planes who opposed the heavy reward of the fifth town, don't underestimate walking, eighty percent of the soldiers who can walk can fight, but the soldiers who can't walk will definitely not be able to fight. The fifth town marched in the scorching heat, marched quickly, and deployed carefully, even if it ran a Huang Xing. Nor can it hide its merits. If the party is in turmoil, why should the fifth town be transferred south? If you don't give a reward, you may chill the soldiers. As for the dispatch of the Guangdong New Army, if you were yourself, you will do the same, and if there is a big mess like Zhao Sheng, shouldn't you take precautions?

Yuan Shikai, a newly promoted military aircraft who had lost military power and was in charge of foreign affairs, agreed with Zhang Zhidong's opinion that the Fifth Town should be rewarded, and he believed that Long Qian had no merit in Guangdong, and of course he should be rewarded. However, in view of his achievements in Shandong, it proves that Long Qian is very good at civil affairs. It was proposed that Long Qian be given the post of governor of Guangdong. Entrust it with full authority to govern the civil affairs of Guangdong. Of course, the commander of the fifth town and the governor of Guangdong can no longer serve concurrently, and they can choose a merit to take over Long Qian's military position. He then recommended a candidate, and heard that Zhou Yi, the co-commander under Long Qian, was old and had the heart of the army. It can be entrusted with the acting control of the fifth town. As for the Admiral of Guangdong. There was originally a naval commander Li Zhun there, who could be represented by Li Zhun.

Yuan Shikai praised Long Qian and suggested that he be promoted, of course, he had no good intentions. Purely for their own sake.

But Yuan Shikai's opinion was appreciated by Na Tong, who thought it was Lao Cheng's words for the country.

Compared with Long Qian, who was far away from the emperor of the sky, Lao Yuan's life was not very easy. He was a little worried about the direction of the court after Cixi Yan's deterioration of health, if Guangxu, who was also sick and crooked, took back the power of the king, he was probably finished, and he couldn't even save his life. Because he heard more than once that Guangxu hated himself deeply because of the change of Wuxu. This hatred led to the hatred of the royalists and the Qinglius, and even affected the rapidly rising young elites in the area, such as the Guangxu brother Prince Zaifeng, who entered the military aircraft to learn to walk. Therefore, during this time, Yuan Shikai's main energy was to do his own work, and strengthened contacts with foreign envoys, especially the British, who were the objects of his deliberate friendship. He firmly believed that the great powers had a say in the succession of the imperial throne that could not be ignored. This has been proven in the year of Gengzi. And among the great powers, the voice of the British Empire is the most powerful. The British have always been looking for spokespeople, and they are undoubtedly more suitable candidates than the aggressive Zaifeng Tieliang Puwei and others. As for military work, since you are suspicious of Long Qian, then I will cooperate. In fact, Yuan Shikai took the opportunity to kill Long Qian largely out of selfishness, he analyzed from a series of events, and believed that the combat power of the Fifth Town was definitely not inferior to the Beiyang elite soldiers he had trained single-handedly, and if the troops were the same, his troops would not be sure of victory. In particular, in a private letter to his brother Xu Shichang after learning that the Fifth Town had quelled the rebellion in western Guangdong in one fell swoop, he frankly said that the Fifth Town was actually the first elite in the United States, and even the Third Town, known as the first in Beiyang, was difficult to compare. Those fools in the imperial court only now realize that Long Qian's threat is too late, the fifth town is already full-fledged, and the one who will compete with me in the future will definitely be Long Qian.

Now that he has the opportunity to seize his military power, Lao Yuan will naturally not let it go.

Yuan Shikai also knew that because Wang Huaiqing did a very bad job in Shandong, he completely failed Tie Liang's hopes, which further aggravated Tie Liang's concern about Long Qian's power in Manchuria. At this time, it is in line with the wishes of Tie Liang and others to reward Long Qian for his exploits in the Fifth Town. This will do no harm to him by intensifying the relationship between Long Qian and the center, and it will allow the imperial court to turn its attention to Shandong and the fifth town in Guangdong, and let alone let himself be in charge of the War Department.

As for proposing Zhou Yi to replace Long Qian, it is a secret of Yuan Shikai. When Zhangde Qiucao saw this person, he arranged for Duan Xiangyan to envelop him, and this person was greedy for money and accepted the first small benefit. It's easy to do with the beginning. Later, Cao Kun secretly reported that Zhou Yi's brother-in-law was under him, because his brother-in-law had a grudge against Long Qian for killing his father, and he had been angry for many years. Yuan Shikai was overjoyed, so he secretly ordered Duan Zhigui to take full authority to operate this matter. Except for a very few people in Beiyang, no one knew that he had secret dealings with Long Qian's generals.

If Zhou Yi can take over the Fifth Town, maybe he can bring this elite into the Beiyang system. How much of a gain is that? Million? Even 10 million is worth it. Of course, Yuan Shikai couldn't take out 10 million silver. But if the fifth town falls to Beiyang, Yuan Shikai's position will completely change the fact that there is really no need to doubt.

But Zhang Zhidong and Yixuan did not agree with Yuan Shikai's opinion. Zhang Zhidong's reason is very simple, it is already a precedent for Guangdong not to have a governor, and now giving Long Qian the post of governor will inevitably make him suspicious. What's more, this person has been leading troops and is not accustomed to civil affairs, so I am afraid that something is wrong. Yi Xuan simply said that in order not to cause chaos in the fifth town, Long Qian's position as the commander of the fifth town must not be dismissed.

Worrying that the removal of Long Qian from his military position would cause chaos in the Fifth Town was the common reason of the two important ministers, and Zhang Zhidong said it mildly. Yixuan is very straightforward. Zhang Zhidong is out of public interest, and Yixuan is out of self-interest. Because the rising Manchurian elite almost unanimously believed that Yixuan was mediocre and corrupt, they spared no effort to seize an opportunity to attack Yixuan. Yixuan believes that with Long Qian leading the army, his position is much safer.

At this point, the topic is very heavy. Will there be a rebellion if Long Qian is removed? It's hard for anyone to say. Ready-made examples are placed here, and Yuan Shikai is. Although Lao Yuan has been expelled from the new army, his influence is still there. Tie Liang and Liangbi, who took over the command of the new army, both felt that Zuozhong, the general of the new army, was still acting in the eyes of Lao Yuan. Feng Shan, a veteran Manchurian general who was directly in charge of the army, simply said that except for the first town, the rest of the towns could not be commanded at all. Unless Duan Qirui, Feng Guozhang, Wu Fengling, Wang Zhanyuan, Zhao Guoxian, Duan Zhigui, Li Chun, Cao Kun, Chen Guangyuan and other generals are all driven away. Otherwise, the four towns of Beiyang still have the final say.

Duan, Feng, Wu, Zhao, Wang, etc. are all the backbone of the Beiyang Army, how can they all be dismissed at once? Isn't that a joke? The reality is cruelly laid out in front of us, and the Military Aircraft Department has no choice but to face up to this reality. Therefore, Yuan Shikai's opinion was shelved. No longer think about removing Long Qian from military power. But Long Qian was not promoted. Since the Queen Mother wants to be rewarded, then give some silver.

As a result, the Military Aircraft Department came up with an opinion to report to Cixi: confer Long Qian with a third-class uncle. 2,000 taels of silver; Reward the officers and soldiers of the fifth town with 20,000 taels of silver.

played Cixi, Cixi basically agreed, but said that last time he gave Long Qian 10,000 taels of silver, this time it was reduced to 2,000 taels, which is not appropriate, so let's do it according to the Hunan and Jiangxi rules. Although Cixi was not in good health, her mind was still very clear, and she wanted the Military Aircraft Department to issue an order to blame the Guangzhou General Fu Qi. Of course, it is because of its ineffective work, if the military strength of Guangdong is enough to quell the rebellious party, why should the fifth town be transferred to the south? At the same time, Cixi said to Yixuan and Zhang Zhidong who played opposite, is the fifth town going to be transferred? Where to transfer is better, the Military Aircraft Department should make proper preparations.

Yixuan felt that the old queen mother was already suspicious of Long Qian. Last time, she also paid attention to Long Qian's personal reward, but this time she was relatively cold. It's actually not interesting to go from a first-class son to a third-class uncle, this is not the beginning of the founding of the country, and no one takes the worthless title seriously, especially the Xinjiang ministers who hold real power. Look at it, isn't it a clear signal that Galeries Lafayette actually offered to consider transferring the fifth town out?

In fact, Cixi's attention has recently been diverted from Guangdong. When she learned that Lingshan had defeated Huang Xing's main force in the first battle, she was relieved and no longer paid attention to the war in western Guangdong. Regarding the military, Cixi couldn't tell when she had great confidence in Long Qian. felt that as long as Long Qian was in command of the former enemy, he would be foolproof militarily. Regarding the concerns of Tie Liang and others, Cixi's heart is like a mirror. The Fifth Town is already a military presence that should not be underestimated, which is obviously not in the interests of the long-term peace and stability of the imperial court. However, the Fifth Town's efforts to eradicate the rebels were a fact that could not be discredited, so Cixi had to think carefully about how to deal with the potential threat. The best way to do this is of course to capture this elite army in the hands of the imperial court. The lessons of history are there, the lessons of the late Tang Dynasty and the five dynasties of the division of feudal towns, and the lessons of the Song Dynasty's control of military power that led to the loss of the country due to the ignorance of the generals, made Cixi depressed. Guangdong is an important place, the fifth town to stay in Guangdong is just an expedient measure, the best way is to transfer the fifth town back, transfer Long Qian to the center, and leave the fifth town he built, in that case, Long Qian can be preserved, because the fifth town was built by his own hand, the loyalty of this army has also increased, and both sides are good. Cixi didn't want to get rid of Long Qian, and Cixi seemed to trust Long Qian more than Yuan Shikai. Talent is rare, and it is not considered to remove him from his official position without any big mistake Cixi, but what position should he be given? Cixi didn't think about it. Moreover, the garrison of the fifth town is also quite hesitant, and Shandong cannot be returned, where is it better to go? Cixi also had to think about it.

Cixi's current problem is no longer a matter of chaos in Guangdong. She had a trickier problem than the League. That is the impact of the case of Xu Xilin and Qiu Jin. Almost all the country's public opinion is condemning the imperial court, accusing the imperial court of brutality in dissecting people's hearts, accusing the imperial court of secretly killing Qiu Jin but shirking to be saved by his comrades. For a time, public opinion was turbulent, and it was linked to the slowness of the imperial court's constitutional steps, so that the imperial court had almost no excuse. Private newspapers led by "Declaration" seized on Xu Qiu's case, "Ms. Xi Qiujin, a teacher at Shaoxing Mingdao Women's School, has studied in Japan and has a high level. Recently, he was accused of being Xu Xilin's henchman, so he was captured and secretly executed. Those who heard it were all stunned. ”

The word "cowardly" contains outright indignation.

The private newspaper clung to the "innocent punishment" and then accused the imperial court of deceiving the people with all the democratic rights promised in the preparation for the constitution. What do you say about fornication and disorder? Which messy party is Qiu Jintong? Hidden weapons? Do you know that it is not planted by the government? How could anyone know that the Lu Dao government was coming to arrest him, and he hid his weapons on his body?

The defenses made by newspapers such as "Beijing Daily" and "Political Official Daily" controlled by the imperial court were weak and weak, and there was no conclusive proof that Qiu Jin was robbed, so the imperial court was extremely passive. For the first time, the Manchu court, accustomed to the "herdsman" mentality, truly appreciated the power of public opinion.

Zhang Zengxi, the governor of Zhejiang, felt fear. Faced with the Shaoxing prefect's request on what to do, the governor Yamen actually called back and asked the Shaoxing prefect Guifu to figure out his own way. In desperation, Guifu had no choice but to publish Qiu Jin's confession, in order to prove that Qiu Jin was not wronged, it was they who were wronged - Qiu Jin had already been robbed.

Although the confession was announced, public opinion just didn't believe it, and even said that it was forged by the imperial court, and what else did Qiu Jin's poems say so majestic? How joyful are his words? Where is it like a confession?

The Shaoxing Prefecture also publicized the testimony of relevant personnel in Shanyin County and the testimony of the family of the murdered cell boss Liu Qi, proving that Qiu Jin had indeed been rescued by the same party, and that she had been refuted by private newspapers without any skin, and even the ironclad facts had become a lie full of loopholes.

Zhang Zengxiao, the governor of Zhejiang, who was denounced as a beast by public opinion, said that he was not sick, and he could not do it in Zhejiang, so the imperial court transferred him to Jiangsu. Unexpectedly, the Jiangsu Education Federation and the Preparatory Constitutional Association headed by Zhang Jian immediately launched a fierce expulsion campaign, saying that Jiangsu is a pure land and must not hide dirt and dirt. The imperial court had no choice but to transfer Zhang Zengwei again to the relatively peaceful Shanxi, where he was soon dismissed.

Guifu, the prefect of Shaoxing, who actively advocated the quick killing of Qiu Jin, was also dismissed, and did not dare to live in Zhejiang at all, moved to another place, and was overthrown by the Qing Dynasty, this person had to change his name, or was tracked down by the police department, and was imprisoned for more than ten years on several charges, and finally died of illness in prison.

It's hard to believe that public opinion was so powerful in those days. But this is all historical facts.

Behind the incident was Cixi's great anger. Punishing relevant personnel in Zhejiang is also the meaning of the question. Even if he really killed Qiu Jin, it would be better than now. What is murder? How many people did the Manchu Qing Dynasty kill in the Central Plains? How did you get to this now? Later, the center expressed doubts about whether Qiu Jin was dead or not. This matter is really more wronged by the Manchu court than Dou E.

Cixi knew that the Xu Qiu case had set off an anti-Qing upsurge in the southeast, but the imperial court was helpless, and she decided to carry out a political revolution to save the dying Qing Dynasty. At least Long Qian is still loyal to himself for now. (To be continued......)