The news of the establishment of the Guangzhou Military Government soon spread throughout the country, and all the truth was revealed to the world. The two months above the court in the capital can be described as turbulent. The changes in Fuzhou and Shanghai were not digested, and then bad news came from Guangzhou. In the face of such a critical situation, the imperial court had no choice but to speed up the mobilization of troops, and asked Western countries to mobilize troops to work together to encircle and suppress. However, just when the Qing court was mobilizing troops, another rebellion broke out in Guangxi, which was not trivial.

Just when the imperial court was caught off guard, the news of the establishment of the Guangzhou military government came again. At this time, Zuo Zongtang had already gone to Xi'an and began to mobilize Shaanxi and Gansu soldiers and horses. Li Hongzhang was quickly summoned from Tianjin to the capital, and now the people of the Manchu Dynasty were panicking, and no one could withstand this kind of successive blows. Above the court, Minister Yi of the Military Aircraft said with a pale face: "Lord Li, your judgment with Lord Zuo has come true, that Deng Zixuan, who has a lot of money, is really a great rebel!" ”

"Where is this man now?" Li Hongzhang was surprised. "Now it can be confirmed that Deng Zixuan led his troops to eliminate 5,000 French troops in Annan, and An Dajie was not done by the Black Flag Army at all. Deng Zixuan waved his troops into Guangxi and swept the entire territory of Guangxi. Then he entered Guangdong, joined forces with the rebels in Guangzhou, and occupied the whole territory of Guangdong. At present, Deng Zixuan established a military government in Guangdong and appointed himself commander-in-chief of the Northern Expeditionary Army. Zhang Zhidong defected to the enemy, currently serving as the chief executive, and has jurisdiction over the four provinces of Fujian, Guangdong, Guangxi, and Yunnan. ”

Li Hongzhang was taken aback when he heard this: "What Lord Zuo said is true, this person named Deng Zixuan is really not an idle person, in the blink of an eye, Shili is so big, the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom back then cannot be compared." Especially when Zhang Zhidong surrendered to the enemy, Deng Zixuan was like a tiger with wings, and half of the country was at his fingertips. Yi continued: "The foreigners have confirmed that the weapons used by the rebels are self-made, and their performance has surpassed that of the Remington rifle. And the rebels also used a type of throwing bomb. It's terrifying. ”

Li Hongzhang said disgracefully: "Queen Mother, if this is the case, the Qing Dynasty is in danger. Deng Zixuan is not an ordinary grass coward, this person is familiar with the Four Books and Five Classics and understands history. The key is that this person understands foreign languages and is familiar with Western countries. This person is good at business and familiar with mechanical engineering. There is no precedent for such a person to rebel against Chu Xiong in history. Not long ago, Huang Yisheng, the Yangtze River Naval Division, led 3,000 people to attack, but was defeated by a small number of rebels, which shows how powerful the rebels are. ”

Cixi heard that her voice was hoarse and weak, and she said weakly: "Lord Li, you are waiting for the pillar of the Qing Dynasty, you have to come forward at this critical juncture, there is a good way!" Li Hongzhang said without thinking: "Deng Zixuan led his troops to destroy 5,000 French troops in Annan, and in terms of their combat effectiveness, the Huai Army and the Hunan Army are not opponents at all. The key is that Deng Zixuan can make his own weapons, which is the most terrifying. With the expansion of his shili will soon expand the army, hundreds of thousands of rebels armed with foreign guns, we simply cannot resist. ”

"How good is this, it is so difficult that the Qing Dynasty will be ruined in one fell swoop!" The six gods of Cixi have no owner, and the faces of the ministers are like ashes. Usually the ministers are afraid that they will not have the opportunity to perform, and they can all speak well, and there is silence in the hall at this time. Minister of Military Aircraft Yi said: "Lord Li, but it doesn't hurt to say it!" ”

Li Hongzhang continued: "The top priority now is to form a defensive front along the Yangtze River to block the rebels' advances. In addition, the Anglo-French forces were required to enter Jiangbei to strengthen the defense and buy time for the formation of a solid defensive front. In order to prevent the rebels from entering the west from Sichuan, the Shaanxi-Gansu-Hunan army was ordered to enter Sichuan. Sichuan is the gateway to the west, and it must not be abandoned. If the rebels occupy Sichuan, it will be dangerous for the troops to leave the western part of the Qinling Mountains! If the rebels occupy the west, the Yangtze River defense line will also be useless. "There is no need for Li Hongzhang to say the following words, the civil and military forces of the Manchu Dynasty, including Cixi herself, know what the ending is.

It can be said that Li Hongzhang's analysis is very good, if you send troops into the south of the Yangtze River, it can only be a tactic of adding oil, once the main forces of the Hunan army and the Huai army are defeated, the Qing Dynasty will have no troops available. At present, it takes time for foreigners to send troops, and it takes time to get assistance from foreigners. It took time for the Qing court to expand its army. The civil and military forces of the Manchu Dynasty, including Cixi herself, thought about it carefully, and the army of the Great Qing State was so miserable. Except for the Hunan army and the Huai army, there is no division capable of fighting. ”

Cixi said: "Lord Li, I order you to immediately lead the Huai army to form a defense line on the Yangtze River and control the Beiyang Naval Division. In addition, he urged the foreigners to blockade the coastal areas and send troops into the mainland as soon as possible. "Your Majesty!" Li Hongzhang replied loudly. "Yi!" "The minister is here!" "Immediately instruct Zuo Zongtang to lead his troops into Sichuan, there must be no mistake!" "Your Majesty's Order!" Cixi continued: "Immediately notify the Mongolian minister and quickly transfer 20,000 Mongolian cavalry into the hinterland of the Central Plains. In the blink of an eye, the Qing court changed its strategy.

Deng Zixuan did not expect that the Qing court changed Jihua. Deng Zixuan's attempt to annihilate the Qing army in the south of the Yangtze River was in vain, and the Qing court's change of strategy Deng Zixuan was ignorant, which added unimaginable difficulties to the later campaign. After Li Hongzhang took over the important task of the Yangtze River defense line, he immediately launched mediation with the ministers of various countries at the Prime Minister's Yamen, and Zuihou finalized that Britain and France, that is, the fleets of various countries, would blockade the coastal areas south of the Yangtze River. French troops from the mainland joined forces with British troops and landed north of the Yangtze River. Other countries have accelerated the pace of sending fleets and providing arms assistance.

Britain promised Li Hongzhang to use the arms provided by various countries to train 100,000 new troops for the Qing court. Li Hongzhang, as the minister of the Yangtze River defense line, once again swelled his power. He ordered his subordinates to immediately recruit troops to expand their troops in Zhili, Henan, Shandong, Jiangsu, and Anhui. At the same time, the Huai Army was officially renamed the Great Fresh Army. Now the new army no longer has to pay for it from his own pocket. In addition, in order to form a defense line on the Yangtze River, Li Hongzhang could arbitrarily mobilize the green battalions of the four provinces.

Zuo Zongtang heard the news of the establishment of the Guangzhou Military Government in Xi'an, and at the same time confirmed that Deng Zixuan was a rebel. Even so, Zuo Zongtang was still shocked. Slowly saying that he had the same thoughts as Li Hongzhang, given that he had contact with Deng Zixuan, Zuo Zongtang was even more anxious. He knew that Deng Zixuan had a layout in Shanghai, Fuzhou, and Guangzhou, and then swept Guangxi. The next step is to plot Yunnan. The key is that in addition to the water division, there are almost no divisions in Jiangnan that can fight.

I thought of it, as a well-planned Deng Zixuan, I didn't expect that in the current state, half of the Jiangnan Deng Zixuan was already at my fingertips. Zuo Zongtang couldn't understand, how did Deng Zixuan build the arsenal? In view of this, Zuo Zongtang's judgment coincides with Li Hongzhang's judgment. He can make weapons by himself, which shows that Deng Zixuan's military system is very perfect, which means that there is no problem in rapidly expanding the army. Therefore, Zuo Zongtang fully agreed with the formation of the Yangtze River defense line and the defense of Sichuan.

After analysis, Zuo Zongtang believed that Deng Zixuan needed to expand his army after plotting against Yunnan, and he would have to launch an attack early next year at the earliest, so he had time to plan for the defense of Sichuan. Zuo Zongtang ordered the governor of Sichuan to start a defense first, and enter Sichuan immediately after the Shaanxi and Gansu armies gathered. On this day, Zuo Zongtang was checking the movement of the army, and his subordinates came in and said, "My lord, a stranger has sent a letter. Zuo Zongtang took the envelope and checked it and found that there was not a word on it.

Zuo Zongtang tore open the envelope suspiciously, and after reading a few lines, he looked at the signature on the back. Seeing the signature Zuo Zongtang, he couldn't help but close his eyes to calm his mood, and Zuo Zongtang continued to read the letter. After reading the letter, Zuo Zongtang couldn't help but stand up and walk back and forth on the ground. "My lord! Whose letter makes you so irritable! Seeing this, the subordinates couldn't help but ask.

"I'm afraid you can't imagine that it was Deng Zixuan who wrote a letter to me!" Zuo Zongtang stopped walking and aimed sharply at the staff. "Could it be that Deng Zixuan is trying to convince you to submit?" The subordinate asked in surprise. Zuo Zongtang shook his head and said: "What is a generation of heroes, Deng Zixuan is the first person in the ages." There was not a single word in the letter that mentioned the meaning of submission, but praised my merits and respected me as a hero of the Chinese nation. Looks like I'm destined to be bloodied! ”

"Your Excellency has always believed in yourself, why do you say that?" Subordinates are confused. "Deng Zixuan, for me, is like me stripped naked and standing naked in front of him. Even he knew exactly what I was thinking, and such an opponent was terrible. And my understanding of him is like seeing flowers in a fog, and he does not shy away from describing 10 years of hard work and careful preparation in his letter. In his eyes, the Qing court was like a walking corpse, and told him that his greatest enemies were Western countries. Think about the outcome of someone with this kind of strategic vision? ”

In view of the understanding of Zuo Zongtang, in Deng Zixuan's mind, Li Hongzhang is variable, and Zuo Zongtang will not rebel. Therefore, Deng Zixuan did not intend to persuade Zuo Zongtang from the beginning, but on the contrary, he had to defeat him on the battlefield. This can not only fulfill his fame, but also play a greater deterrent role for the Qing court.

Now let's turn the lens to Fuzhou and see the situation after the changes in Fuzhou. The change in Fuzhou followed the change in Shanghai, and Fuzhou was not noticeable. After Shanghu occupied the city of Fuzhou, the general of Hangzhou led his troops to attack, but as soon as he made contact, the Qing soldiers were beaten to pieces. After the news of the Shanghai Revolution came, General Hangzhou hurriedly led his troops back to Hangzhou to defend the city.

On this day, Shanghu was training the army in the Fuzhou barracks, and the passwords on the playground were heard one after another. At present, his security brigade has been expanded to 5,000 men, and the market towns around Fuzhou City have been occupied by him. At this time, Shang Hu was standing upside down with his hands behind his back, black leather boots, and a military uniform. The sun was scorching, and sweat ran down his cheeks from the big cap.

"Report to the brigade commander, the commander-in-chief of Guangzhou is calling!" A subordinate trotted in front of him. Shang Hu took the telegram and checked, "Great, the lord has established a military government in Guangzhou, and announced to the world that the commanders will immediately be notified to convene a military meeting." An hour later, at the headquarters in the city, all the officers arrived. Shang Hu said loudly: "Let me tell you a good news, the lord has established a military government in Guangzhou and announced it to the world. At present, the entire territory of Guangxi and Guangdong has been captured. Everyone couldn't help but cheer when they heard this.

Shang Hu waved his hand and said: "Our department is officially named the Fujian Independent Brigade, and the commander-in-chief ordered us to send troops to the north to assist the deputy commander-in-chief in occupying Hangzhou and opening up the railway line. Our task was to go north to capture Ningde, and then wave our troops into Zhejiang, asking us to occupy Wenzhou, Taizhou, Ningbo, and Shaoxing. Now I command! "All the generals stand up!

"Tie Ying!" "Here!" "You led the 1st Independent Regiment and the security forces to hold Fuzhou City, there must be no mistake!" "Subordinate Order!" "Liu Buzhan!" "Here!" "You command the First Fleet and control the forts along the river, and there must be no mistake in careful defense!" "Subordinate Order!" The next day, Shang Hu led the 2nd and 3rd Independent Regiments and 3,000 soldiers and horses of the artillery team to the north.