There were still two days to go before the offensive was launched, and the operational staff officers of the Wuhan Northern Expeditionary Army Headquarters were busy and nervous. At this time, Deng Zixuan's eyes were aimed at the map, and his brows were tightly locked. After Chen Jintang and several combat staff officers checked the operations of the Middle Route Corps, they saw Deng Zixuan looking at the map intently, and guessed what he was thinking.

Chen Jintang walked over and said, "Commander-in-chief, are you worried about the capital!" Deng Zixuan said: "Li Hongzhang's descendant troops have been drawn from Shandong for about ten days, I don't know where they have been, and the information should be transmitted." As soon as Deng Zixuan's words fell, Pei Gejin hurriedly came in from outside and said loudly: "Commander-in-chief, the intelligence of the Tianjin Station of the CIA has just arrived, and I learned that Li Hongzhang's descendant troops are currently in Changli County. ”

Deng Zixuan was very satisfied: "Liu Mingchuan did a good job, Changli County is only a few hundred kilometers away from the capital, so that once the capital changes, they can quickly turn around and go west and quickly support the capital." Pei Ge said solemnly: "Commander-in-chief, the capital that makes us most uneasy finally has an eyebrow." At present, all corps are in a state of readiness, and according to the campaign, tomorrow evening, the Western Route Corps will start first. The East Route Corps launched a river-crossing operation in the early morning of the day after tomorrow. ”

Chen Jintang said: "The morning after tomorrow, the left and right flanks of the Middle Route Corps will start an offensive campaign to Henan and Anhui at the same time. "The battle order has been given, so let's be patient. This was the Zuihou War against the Manchu Qing Dynasty, and it was also the Zuihou War against the allied forces on the land of China. We must not only overthrow the Manchu Dynasty, but also expand our territory and burn the flames of war to the land of foreigners, and the Chinese nation will usher in a more brilliant tomorrow in the flames of war! Deng Zixuan's words were a little sensational, and Chen Jintang and Pei Ge couldn't help but boil their blood when they heard it.

The troops were drawn from Shandong, and Li Hongzhang's descendants, with more than 40,000 men and horses, marched from Jinan on 12 March, dragged their feet, walked for 17 days, and arrived at Changli County in Zhili Province on 29 March. Along the way, Liu Mingchuan did not reveal his identity, but he controlled the troops through Wu Qing and Cheng Biao. In order to delay time on the road, he started from Shandong and brought almost all the pots and jars, including the families of the officers, on the road together. Therefore, the troops moved in like a snail crawling.

When the troops arrived in Langfang, the families of the soldiers were secretly placed in Langfang, so as to avoid the burden on the shoulders of the officials during the battle. That night, Liu Mingchuan arrived at Changli County with Wu Qingbu, and then Liu Mingchuan ordered the troops to stop advancing and blockade the county seat, and only allowed to enter but not leave. A house in the county town was used as a temporary headquarters, and Wu Qing, commander of the 11th Division of the Qing Army, presided over the meeting. Guards units of the 11th and 14th divisions served as guards.

Wu Qing faced the generals and said loudly: "Brothers! Master Lee's hand! All the generals stood up. Liu Mingchuan, who was dressed in military uniform, strode in, and all the generals except Wu Qing and Cheng Biao widened their eyes. Wu Qingdao: "Brothers, everyone is surprised that Lord Liu suddenly appeared!" I can tell you now that it was not Lord Liu who was beheaded in the capital at all, but a stand-in. Lord Liu is Lord Li's favorite general, and Lord Li will never do anything that hurts relatives and enemies are happy! All the generals were overjoyed and greeted Liu Mingchuan one after another.

Yuan Shikai, who was sitting in the back row, was taken aback when he saw Liu Mingchuan, and in addition to being surprised, he reacted very quickly, feeling that something big must have happened when Liu Mingchuan suddenly appeared, and he couldn't help but get nervous in his heart. Liu Mingchuan took out Li Hongzhang's token and said majestically: "Brothers! The token is here, and I am exercising my authority on behalf of Lord Lee. The Manchu Dynasty had come to an end, and Lord Li was loyal to the court, but what happened in the end. Do you know what is the purpose of the transfer of troops to the Northeast? It is to dismiss our army, our Huai army children have shed their blood for the Manchu Dynasty for decades, and now they have ended up like this, do you think we can agree? "Can't say yes?" "Damn, it's the other way around!" The following is filled with righteous indignation.

Emotions were mobilized, and Liu Mingchuan said majestically: "Lord Li decided to lead the brothers to a future and lead everyone to defect to the Guangzhou Military Government. When I heard this, there was a sudden silence. Wu Qing said loudly: "I decided to follow Master Li and reversed!" "I also follow Master Li!" Cheng Biao, commander of the 14th Division, also raised his arms and shouted. The other three division commanders also expressed their willingness to follow Master Li. Yuan Shikai went from shock to confusion, and suddenly he figured out that the Northern Expeditionary Army had done it in order to cover Li Hongzhang's rebellion, and he couldn't help but admire the cleverness of the Northern Expeditionary Army in his heart.

Yuan Shikai Bingxue is smart, and he doesn't say when to express his position at this time. "Lord Liu, Yuan is not talented, he has long been disappointed in the Qing court, I am willing to follow Lord Li without complaint or regret, so as to make it clear." After Yuan Shikai finished speaking, he pulled out his waist knife and cut off his braids to express his determination. The atmosphere at the scene was suddenly lively, and Liu Ming saw that Yuan Shikai was so active, he naturally knew what was going on in his heart, and at the same time secretly surprised that this kid was indeed different. After Yuan Shikai's performance, other officers also scrambled to take the lead, and the scene was a little chaotic.

Liu Mingchuan pressed with his hand and said, "Don't be impatient, since everyone has no objections, I will now announce Lord Li's decision." According to the order of the headquarters of the Northern Expeditionary Army, our five divisions formed the Beijing Column of the Northern Expeditionary Army, with Master Li as the commander of the column, the deputy commander of the column was a general sent by the Northern Expeditionary Army, and I was the chief of staff. The commander of the 1st Independent Division of Beijing was Wu Qing, the commander of the 2nd Division was Cheng Biao, and the commander of the 3rd Division was ・・・・・・・. ”

The composition of the officers basically did not move, and Liu Mingchuan shouted: "Yuan Shikai! "Here!" "According to Master Li's proposal, you will be the chief of the intelligence department of the column headquarters!" "Thank you Lord Li for your kindness and humble order!" Yuan Shikai was overjoyed when he heard this. Zuihou Liu Mingchuan said excitedly: "Now I can tell you that the desertion incident that was rumored some time ago was actually in accordance with Master Li's secret order to enter Beijing. At present, an assault team of the Northern Expeditionary Army has also entered the capital. ”

Liu Mingchuan looked around and said, "Lord Li ordered us to stand by in Changli County, and once there is a change in the capital, we will immediately rush to the capital." Now I announce an order, after the officers go back, not to announce the surrender for the time being, and we will announce it after we receive the order to advance to the capital. Officers below the division level left, and officers above the division level stayed behind to continue the meeting. Taking advantage of the chaotic departure of the personnel, Yuan Shikai quietly came to Liu Mingchuan's side.

"Lord Liu, you already know my identity when you say that." Liu Ming preached: "I was there that day, and I really heard it in the next room, do you think I don't know?" Is there green smoke coming out of your ancestral grave, it was Deng Zixuan who personally named you not to kill you, otherwise your kid would probably be dead a long time ago. Yuan Shikai was shocked when he heard this, especially the three words Deng Zixuan, which made his brain blank. Liu Mingchuan didn't say anything more and walked away, but Yuan Shikai was stupid.

Early in the morning of March 30, McMahon led the main members of the coalition command to Tianjin, where he made a secret appointment with the Japanese prime minister. Not long ago, the coalition forces headed by Britain, France, the United States, Russia, and Germany, in consideration of the protracted war in the Great Qing Dynasty, convened a joint meeting of prime ministers in London, England. At this meeting, the five countries further confirmed the agreement on a military alliance, and at the same time secretly reached a memorandum on the partition of China after the war.

The strengthening of military alliances among the great powers is closely related to an article published by US Secretary of State Thomas, entitled "The Yellow Peril." In the book, Thomas explained with a large number of implementations that the emergence of the Northern Expedition in China would bring great disasters to the history of Shijie civilization, and threatened that if left unchecked, it would be no less than the feat of the Mongols conquering Asia, Africa and Europe, and said that Shijie would be ruled by the Chinese in the future. Westerners are unforgettable for the feat of the Mongols who once swept the West. Linking the Northern Expeditionary Army to the feat of the Mongols caused great panic in the West, and it was logical to continue to strengthen the military alliance nepotism.

The United States and Britain, as the big financial powers, decided to bear two-thirds of the war costs, and France and Germany each to bear one-third. Russia was poor, so 50 percent of the war expenses were borne by four other countries, but Russia had to provide a large number of soldiers. At this secret meeting, the Americans proposed to arm the Japanese army against the Northern Expeditionary Army, with the implication that the Japanese should be used as cannon fodder. The Americans' proposal was quickly endorsed by the other four countries, and the labor expedition was indeed not the way to go, and in order to completely defeat the Northern Expeditionary Army, it was necessary to use the human resources of Japan, which was close at hand. Moreover, Japan was eager to move closer to the West, and at the same time had expansionist ambitions, so it hit it off.

An important decision of the joint meeting of prime ministers of the five countries in London was that they would arm 2 million Japanese troops in the next three years, so the five countries authorized McMahon to negotiate with the Japanese prime minister in Tianjin. At present, Tianjin is under the control of the Germans, and for security reasons, the Japanese Prime Minister agreed to negotiate in Tianjin. McMahon learned that the Japanese prime minister had arrived in Tianjin, so he led the main members of the command to Tianjin. Perhaps it was McMahon's luck, just the day before the seizure of the capital. He led his headquarters to Tianjin and escaped a catastrophe.

That morning, Li Hongzhang consulted with Khalid in Li Fucuo, and the action was finalized. The seizure of the capital was scheduled to start at 12 midnight on the 31st, and there was still more than a day to go, so the capital operation entered the Zuihou preparation stage. A subordinate hurriedly entered, "Report! I just got the news that the commander of the coalition forces, McMahon, led the members of the command and had left the city for the direction of Tianjin. Li Hongzhang was stunned when he heard this: "Could it be that McMahon is alert and escapes!" ”

Khalid pondered for a while and said, "Impossible, McMahon left the capital very calmly, indicating that he had an important business trip to Tianjin. Taking a step back, if he found any clues that would be revealed to the Qing court, the Qing court did not react at all, indicating that our actions were not exposed. Regardless of his actions, unfortunately we defeated the coalition headquarters and captured Jihua McMahon. ”

"General Ha, your analysis is reasonable, continue to find out the news, and you must find out what McMahon is going to Tianjin for!" Li Hongzhang ordered loudly, and as soon as his subordinates left, the head of the CIA's Beijing Intelligence Station, Huang, hurriedly entered. Khalid was dissatisfied: "McMahon left Beijing suddenly, how did you report such important information?" Stationmaster Huang wiped the cold sweat on his forehead and said, "General Ha, my subordinates are derelict in their duties." However, we have figured out that McMahon went to Tianjin on a secret date with the Japanese prime minister, so the Qing court did not know what they were going to Tianjin for? ”

"I see?" Li Hongzhang let out a sigh of relief. "How many people are there in the coalition command at the moment?" Khalid asked. "There are still 30 people left in the guard unit, and about 40 officers in the headquarters! That's the case. Stationmaster Huang replied. Khalid said: "Lord Li, the coalition headquarters is located in the capital, and if we occupy the capital, it means that the coalition headquarters will be defeated. Moreover, it is impossible for McMahon to tell the troops below his whereabouts when he leaves Beijing. This can also create a leaderless situation for a while. ”

Li Hongzhang said: "When McMahon learns that we have occupied the capital, he will definitely organize Liliang to launch an attack on the capital, which will make it more difficult for us to defend the capital in the future." Khalid smiled and said, "Lord Li don't have to worry, when our Northern Expeditionary Army attacks in a big way, McMahon probably won't have the energy to think about the capital, but we must be prepared." Li Hongzhang was infected and said: "General Ha, inform all departments that the midnight operation will not change tomorrow." ”

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