Although, the cavalry of the Northern Army that appeared outside Yanjing City was only one battalion, more than a thousand people. And was quickly driven away by a large force sent by the Beiyang Army, but even so, it caused great panic in Yanjing City.

"There has been a big defeat on the front line, the cavalry of the Northern Army has already hit the outside of the city, and soon the Northern Army will come!"

"God open your eyes! Yuan Datou's living Cao Cao murdered Lafayette and the emperor, and now, someone will soon come to avenge Lafayette and the emperor! ”

After Yuan Datou ascended the throne and became emperor, the hardcore crops of the Manchus have been abolished, and those Manchu nobles who are rich have become fat sheep in the eyes of Yuan Datou, which makes the Manchus in Yanjing City extremely hostile to Yuan Datou, and they wish that the northern army could capture Yanjing City. It would be great if the Manchu Qing could be restored.

Although, at this moment, ten towns and ten mixed associations of the Beiyang Army have been assembled in Yanjing City, a full 170,000 people. Relying on the fortified city of Yanjing City, it may not be without the strength of a battle. However, the rapid defeat of a total of twenty towns on the front still dealt a great blow to the Beiyang Army. In particular, these later formed units no longer had the courage to fight the Northern Army. If you want to defend Yanjing City in such a situation, you can imagine how difficult it is.

In the Forbidden City, in the imperial study, Yuan Datou, who was dressed in a dragon robe, once again lost his temper. was actually beaten to Yanjing City by the cavalry of the Northern Army, which is a shame at all! Duan Qirui, who was in charge of the defense of Yanjing City, was even scolded for his head and face.

"What to do? Everybody talks about what to do now. The Northern Army is already very close to Yanjing City. Today, their cavalry can appear outside Yanjing City, and I am afraid that in a few days, their main force will appear outside Yanjing City. Will we be able to hold Yanjing City and defeat them? Yuan Datou asked angrily.

The troops deployed in Shanhaiguan and Changping, a total of twenty towns, were all the elite of the Beiyang Army. But. These elites are so vulnerable. This made Yuan Datou already hard to believe that they could still win this war.

"Your Majesty, there are only two options for the sake of the present. One is to defend Yanjing City to the death, and gather other armies in Beiyang and the Northern Army to fight a decisive battle under Yanjing City. If we win, the world will still be ours. If it fails. Then this world is the Northern Army. Xu Shichang said.

Yuan Datou frowned, this was undoubtedly a desperate gamble. It is equivalent to gambling all the lives of the Beiyang Army. If they win, they will be able to keep their world. But if you lose, you'll lose everything.

"What about the other option?" Yuan Datou asked.

"Another option is to give up Yanjing City and move the capital elsewhere." Xu Shichang continued.

"Move the capital?" Yuan Datou pondered. The best thing to say is to move the capital, but if it is not good, it is to run away. In this case, it will be a major blow to Yuan Datou's personal prestige and the morale of the Beiyang Army. If there were other options. Yuan Datou would never choose to move the capital. However, now it seems that moving the capital is undoubtedly the best choice.

Although Yuan Datou has already made a decision in his heart, he has no performance at all on the surface.

"Let's talk about these two choices, how should we choose?" Yuan Datou looked at the ministers of Beiyang.

"Your Majesty, I propose to move the capital. Yanjing City was too close to the control area of the Northern Army. It was completely under the front of the Northern Army, and there was no depth at all. Shanhaiguan was not able to take it again. The Northern Army only needs to send troops from Shanhaiguan. It is easy to hit the city of Yanjing, and if the capital can be moved to the south, then there is no such danger. What's more, the south is the land of fish and rice, and it is also an important place for the imperial court. Moving the capital to the south would be more conducive to our control over these important areas. Chancellor of the Exchequer Sheng Xuanhuai said first.

Yuan Datou nodded, for Sheng Xuanhuai's statement. Very satisfied.

"Shaochuan, what do you think?" Yuan Datou asked.

"Your Majesty, if we are sure to defeat the Northern Army, it is undoubtedly the best choice to defend Yanjing City. If you need to avoid the edge for a while, then it is better to move the capital. Other than that. If we move the capital to the south, we can better accept the help of foreigners. The influence of the Northern Army in the South was much smaller in comparison. Wu Tang Shaoyi said.

Yuan Datou once again looked at the Minister of War Wang Shizhen and the Chief of the General Staff Duan Qirui. The civilian faction is now in favor of moving the capital, and the next thing is to see the attitude of the military. If the military agrees to move the capital, then it is an agreement.

Wang Zhizhen and Duan Qirui glanced at each other, and both of them understood Yuan Datou's thoughts. It's just that, from their point of view, they are undoubtedly opposed to moving the capital at this time. Yanjing City is about to be taken down by the northern army, and moving the capital at this time is not just an escape? When the time comes, what will the whole world think of them? The morale of the troops will be devastated. Even if the capital is moved to the south, will the northern army let them go? Once the Northern Army takes advantage of the situation and attacks to the south, they will still be defeated.

"Your Majesty, the minister opposes the relocation of the capital. Although we have lost twenty towns, we still have more than 400,000 troops. As long as they are all assembled in Yanjing City, they may not have the capital to fight with the Northern Army. As long as we win, the world will be saved. Wang Shizhen said stubbornly.

"Yes, Your Majesty. We must have the courage and confidence to fight to the death with the Northern Army, so that we can have the possibility of victory. Now that the capital has been moved, even if it can escape for a while, it will not last long after all. Duan Qirui also said.

Suddenly, Yuan Datou's face was not very good-looking. Although, he knew that what Wang Shizhen and Duan Qirui said was correct. However, it is almost impossible for the current strength of the Beiyang Army to defeat the Northern Army! If he is sure of winning, he is of course willing to fight to the death with the northern army. But he was afraid that if he lost, he was afraid that the Northern Army would not let him and his family go at all. It was precisely because of this that he planned to move the capital to the south. As for what to do after the capital is moved, I have to find another way.

Xu Shichang saw that Yuan Datou's face had changed, and hurriedly came out to play a round.

"General Wang, General Duan, the gap in strength between us and the Northern Army is too big, and if we defend Yanjing City, there is only one way out. Moving the capital to the south and thinking about it in the long run, that's a good way! Xu Shichang said.

"Prime Minister, if we don't even have the courage to fight to the death, then how can we be the opponent of the Northern Army? It is better to surrender directly to the Northern Army. Otherwise, even if he fled to the south, he would only survive for a few days. Duan Qirui said with some anger.

At this moment, not only Yuan Datou's face was not very good-looking, but even the faces of those civil officials became a little ugly.

"Your Majesty, why don't you and some of the important ministers leave Yanjing City and go to the south. The main force of the Beiyang Army stayed in Yanjing City and fought with the Northern Army. If we can defeat the Northern Army, we will return to Yanjing City. If you lose the battle, you can only think long-term. Chancellor of the Exchequer Sheng Xuanhuai said. He is now extremely unoptimistic about the Beiyang Army.

"Bu Wu, what do you think?" Yuan Datou nodded, and then looked at Xu Shichang.

"Your Majesty, this is the best of both worlds." Xu Shichang also said.

Yuan Datou gave in, and Wang Shizhen and Duan Qirui had to compromise and no longer insisted that Yuan Datou must stay in Yanjing City.

The situation is urgent, and Yuan Datou hopes to leave Yanjing City tomorrow and go to the south. However, the choice of accompaniment is a difficult problem. Although Kaifeng and Luoyang are good, they are too close to Yanjing City. If the northern army captured Yanjing City, it would be easy to launch an attack on Kaifeng or Luoyang. Although Chang'an in the west is an ancient capital, it has not developed well since modern times. The economic conditions are very poor, and it is simply not able to support all kinds of expenses in the capital. Therefore, we can only turn our eyes to the south.

Among the big cities in the south, there are Wuchang, Jinling, Dongfang and Yangcheng. These cities were all big cities in the early 20th century. However, Wuchang was now in the hands of Zhang Zhidong, the governor of Huguang, who was clearly opposed to Yuan Datou. Although the East is known as the Paris of the Far East, it is the territory of foreigners, and it is not suitable as a capital. As for Yangcheng, it is too far south. In addition, Zhang Renjun, the governor of Liangguang, also issued an anti-Yuan telegram.

So, in the end, only Jinling remained. Jinling is also a large city in the lower reaches of the Yangtze River and the ancient capital of the Six Dynasties. It is a place where it is a dragon, and it is completely suitable as the capital of a country.

Therefore, Yuan Datou finally decided to set Jinling as the accompanying capital, and he would evacuate Yanjing City with the civil and military ministers tomorrow and go to Jinling. Because the Jinpu Railway has not yet been built, it is not easy to travel thousands of miles from Yanjing City to Jinling. What's more, everyone drags their families with their families, which delays time even more.

Yuan Datou ordered that the ten towns and ten mixed associations in Yanjing City should defend here and fight to the death with the northern army. The rest of the Beiyang Army marched towards Jinling. After all, after using Jinling as a companion capital, it also needs a strong military force to defend it. Ding Zhenduo, the governor of Fujian and Zhejiang in the south, is also anti-Yuan!

In addition, Yuan Datou also hoped that the ministers of various countries in China could leave Yanjing City with him. In this way, it undoubtedly proves that countries are still on his side. Unfortunately, with the exception of Britain, Russia, and Japan, the rest of the ministers did not seem to want to leave Dongjiaomin Lane.

On November 23, Yuan Datou and other senior officials of the Beiyang government left Liuyan Capital with their families and headed south. (To be continued......)

PS: The third update is here, asking for subscriptions, monthly passes and recommended tickets! Thanks to book friends playfeng, Xu Yuenian, elf, and Cang. Hao's monthly pass!