"We are not just facing the Russians. Our task is not only to repel the Russian attack. The most important thing is that we need to completely break the shackles that hindered the development of China, as well as the decaying Qing Dynasty. —Xu Jie

If the confrontation between the Beiyang system and the Russians at sea was a war preparation on the surface, then the war preparation against the center was carried out secretly, and the emperor and queen had concentrated all the forces they could concentrate after several months of preparation. Empress Dowager Cixi's northwest training army and the forces of the Houdang region. Both Guangxu and Yuan Shikai's new armies were already concentrated near the city of Beijing, and the entire area around Beijing was directly turned into a large barracks. And for safety, Cixi left the Summer Palace and arrived in Chengguan Town, while Guangxu also left the Forbidden City and arrived at Fengtai Daying.

The overall situation was that the Imperialist Party was in the south, and the latter Party was arranged in the north. A lot of military power. It is already quite obvious that the whole city of Beijing is about to catch fire, and even ordinary Beijingers can feel the smell of gunpowder in the alleys. Therefore, those who can walk pack up their softness and leave overnight, and those who cannot leave pray for God's blessing. In the face of this situation, whether it is Cixi or Guangxu, they are making the most difficult preparations. And look for the best time to do it.

But at this time, a large net slowly unfolded on the periphery of Beijing. From Xu Jie's point of view, the Beiyang garrison of Zhili and some troops from the south have begun to deploy on the periphery of Beijing. Of course, these are all secretly acting, and in order to stabilize the emperor and queen, Beiyang still allows the entry of materials and equipment for the time being. Just wait for the two sides to fight and lose, Beiyang will act again. And in order to be able to calm the situation in Beijing in the shortest possible time. Beiyang still made several arrangements.

First of all, the first point is to control the entire telegraph system of Zhili, whether wired or wireless. Once the war starts, Beiyang will cut off the telegraph line from Beijing to various places at the first time, and the wireless telegraph will be due to the problem of distance. It is impossible to spread outside the direct subordinate, not to mention the expensive construction of the radio station. The emperor and queen were very little equipped.

The second is the blockade of all roads into Beijing. The blockade of railways and official roads is naturally the first priority. Some troops of the Beiyang system entered various communication arteries in the name of changing guards. Large numbers of light infantry entered the countryside and small towns in various capacities, and controlled the trails with the cooperation of local intelligence officers.

A simple lockdown will not do enough. Xu Jie is asking for a quick resolution to the riots in Beijing in a short period of time. Therefore, after discussion, Li Hongzhang and Xu Jie decided to specially allocate 20,000 mobile troops for direct combat against the emperor and queen parties. In order to prevent the other side from prematurely detecting Beiyang's attempt, the two troops were stationed in Shanhaiguan and Tianjin. It is normal for the former to be stationed as an important pass. It is also normal for the latter to have a strong army as the seat of the governor of Zhili, so in a short period of time, such a transfer will not attract the attention of the other party. Just wait for the time to strike from behind the defense lines of the emperor and queen!

And in order to defend against possible interference, Beiyang also needs to leave some mobile forces to deal with contingencies. And the main enemy among them is even some Outer Mongolian princes who have been secretly colluding with Tsarist Russia! After the First Sino-Japanese War, although Beiyang tried its best to win the war against Japan, after the war, Beiyang was busy repairing the wounds and development caused by the war, and was unable to exert influence on distant Outer Mongolia. And the center is even more busy with infighting. All this allowed the Russians to find a second front against the North Sea. That is the ethnic separatists in Outer Mongolia. After receiving financial and material support from Tsarist Russia. The power of the princes of Outer Mongolia, who were plotting for independence, increased greatly. And under the bewitchment of the tsar's envoys, these people have secretly prepared, ready to fish in troubled waters in the turmoil of Zhili.

For this momentum, Xu Jie's response plan is divided into 2 steps. The first step was to cooperate with some princes in Inner Mongolia who were inclined to Beiyang to ensure peripheral security. Xu Jie can be sure. The troops of a simple Outer Mongolian prince would not be much stronger. It's more just about providing logistical support. If the Russians were going to go big, then there would certainly be a large number of Cossack cavalry running along. Therefore, Xu Jie's first step is to defend and ensure the safety of the Inner Mongolia region.

And the second plan is after the situation in Zhili is stabilized. If the situation in the northeast is also clear, then there will also be a force from the northeast to launch a strike on the Russian garrison in Outer Mongolia to the west, and by the way, sweep away the hostile elements in Outer Mongolia.

And after all this is done, what Beiyang is trying to do is how to win domination of the whole country in a short period of time. On the whole, the difficulties faced in establishing a government dominated by Beiyang after the end of the war were not very great. Liu Kunyi and Zhang Zhidong in the south have already expressed their support for the Beiyang operation, plus the areas under Beiyang's control. The whole of the rich east is under the control of the Beiyang or the supporters of the Beiyang. However, the northwest and Qinghai-Tibet regions were still outside the control of Beiyang, or even if the Qing Dynasty was the strongest, the Qing central control over these regions was relatively weak. Otherwise, there would have been no rebellion in Jungar and the rebellion in Xinjiang.

On the one hand, Beiyang needs to buy or persuade some powerful local factions to accept the rule of the new government and give certain benefits, but at the same time, while picking up a carrot in one hand, it must prepare a stick. Moreover, in Xu Jie's plan, some of these people who occupy the land are not suitable to continue to control the military and government after the situation stabilizes, so Xu Jie also needs to mobilize a large number of officials to take over the functions and powers of some local governments while making military preparations. In short, Xu Jie's principle is very simple, if the other party cooperates, he can at least allow the other party to go home and become a rich man. If the other party resists, then resolutely destroy it!

As for the external aspect? At present, the closest relationship with Beiyang and the most reliable is only the United Kingdom, and the common interests of the two sides allow the two sides to stand together. Therefore, once the war started, the most effective foreign aid that Beiyang could rely on was the British, and a large amount of money and materials could be transported to Beiyang through the sea lines of communication of the British Empire. Of course, the price behind this is also huge, but in this case, Xu Jie has no choice, and completing the regime change in the shortest possible time is the most important thing. With the development of the times, the industrial technology of the British Empire has slowly fallen behind, and Germany, as a rising star, has a considerable foundation in technology. Xu Jie's approach is to introduce German technology and fully mobilize private capital to limit the dumping of British products in China.

Yesterday there were no new chapter subscriptions for 250, and the chapter subscriptions of the day before yesterday accumulated for two days for 260——! The author's heart is cool and cool——! (To be continued.) If you like this work, you are welcome to vote for recommendation and monthly passes, and your support is my biggest motivation. )