The Qing Dynasty

Chapter 149 Military Affairs Assistant
Teng Yuzao took in the expressions and even the meaning of the words of everyone present.

Liu Shijiu and Liu Changfa were both angry and worried, and their words were somewhat thoughtless.

Li Xiance obviously understood what he was thinking and intentionally brought the topic to Cixi, helping himself to test the people present.

Liu Yuzhi probably didn't quite understand what he meant, but he was still thinking about himself sincerely.

As for Wei Jinghai, there is no need to say anything. From the very beginning, he was thinking about hiding such a large sum of money for himself. It can be seen that Wei Jinghai was grateful from the bottom of his heart for his kindness, and he was even willing to do something extremely treasonous for him.

Moreover, Teng Yuzhao remembered that the silver in the East Bureau was not one million, but more than two million. Although Wei Jinghai told him about the silver under pressure from him, he should have discounted the amount. His purpose was still to hide a huge sum of money for himself, or for the vanguard army.

Wei Jinghai has such thoughts, which is a clear attitude.

The only person who has not expressed his opinion is Xue Qian. Although Xue Qian, like Wei Jinghai, is also a left-behind student at the Beiyang Military Academy, he is still young. He may also be self-righteous and think that he can achieve what he has today based on his abilities, so he has not yet made his attitude clear.

Teng Yuzhao thought to himself, it seems that this person still needs further observation.

At this moment, Teng Yuzhao suddenly thought of Wu Peifu. He regretted asking Wu Peifu to deliver the victory report. If Wu Peifu were here, he would like to see what Wu Peifu's attitude was.

Teng Yuzao coughed lightly and said, "What nonsense are you all talking about? In the Qing Dynasty, those who can sit in high positions are either Manchus with yellow belts or red belts, or talented and capable officials who have been loyal to the court for a long time. How can I, a student of the Beiyang Military Academy, become the governor of a province, let alone such an important position as Zhili?"

"I am where I am today thanks to Yu Zhongtang's selection. If it weren't for Yu Zhongtang, I would never be where I am today. I will never do anything to let Yu Zhongtang down."

Teng Yuzao glanced at everyone and said calmly, "People should know how to be grateful!"

As soon as Teng Yuzao finished speaking, Liu Yuzhi hurriedly said, "Don't blame me, sir. The disrespectful words that everyone said to Yu Zhongtang just now were not only mine, but also everyone else's. I just feel sorry for so much money and things being thrown away here, and I also feel very unfair that the court has abandoned such a great talent like you for so long."

Li Xiance stood up suddenly and spoke in a serious tone.

"Your Excellency's words make sense. Even if Yu Zhongtang is a corrupt official, he was the one who promoted you. I feel the same way as everyone here. Without you, you, all of us would still be worthless and probably would not have the status we have now. No matter what others do, I, Li Xianze, will leave my life to you, you, to repay your kindness."

As soon as Li Xiangze stood up, everyone else stood up as well, expressing their deep gratitude to Teng Yuzao for recognizing their talents and their willingness to follow Teng Yuzao.

Liu Shijiu patted his chest and said, "I, Liu Shijiu, have nothing to say. Even if you raise the flag of rebellion, I, Liu Shijiu, will not even blink an eye."

Teng Yuzao waved his hand and signaled everyone to sit down. He smiled bitterly and said to Liu Nineteen, "Brother, please stop saying these rebellious drunken words. If this gets out, it will be a capital crime."

Liu Shijiu nonchalantly picked up the wine bowl in front of him, drank the remaining wine in the bowl and said, "Xingfu, the things and silver in the East Bureau just mentioned, I think there is no need to calculate them. Since they are in our hands, they belong to our vanguard army. It happens that we are fighting against the foreign devils. Not only are we short of shells and bullets, but military funds must also be very tight. I am afraid that the court cannot give you a large sum of silver. I heard that the Wuwei Army still owes us money."

Liu Changfa also said, "Sir, I heard Qionglin mention that our military budget is very tight. Seeing that the war with the foreigners is getting bigger and bigger, I am afraid that the court will not be able to provide money in the future. We should keep this money."

"What's more, if we had come a little later this time, I'm afraid all the money would have gone to the foreigners."

Wei Jinghai said hurriedly, "Captain Liu is right. In fact, there should be more silver here than this amount. When our people found the silver vault in the south of Dongjuzi, the door had already been smashed open and silver was scattered all over the floor. It is estimated that a lot of it has been robbed by foreigners. If we had arrived a step later, all the silver would have been gone."

Liu Yuzhi also said, "Sir, Ningbo is right. We snatched this silver from the foreigners, so we should keep it."

Xue Qian hesitated and said, "Such a large sum of money is gone just like that! Can the court believe it?"

Liu Shijiu glanced at Xue Qian and said, "When I led my men into the East Bureau, it was full of Russians. The Wuwei Front Army and those members of the Training Army and the Boxers either fled from the west gate or were forced to the north and east by the Russians. Who can tell whether the silver in the silver vault was lost or how much was lost? Besides, as long as we don't say anything about this matter, who would know that there is still so much silver that has not been stolen."

Li Xiance suddenly said, "Sir, I think we must keep this silver for military expenses. No one can predict how long this war will last, and we cannot afford to be short of military funds. However, you'd better report to Yu Zhongtang and say that the silver vault of the East Bureau was robbed by the foreign devils, and we only intercepted more than 100,000 taels."

Li Xiance's suggestion was exactly what Teng Yuzhao was thinking. In fact, he had already laid some groundwork. He had foreshadowed it in the victory report to Yu Lu, saying that according to reports, the silver vault in the East Bureau was robbed by foreigners, and he was sending people to investigate the matter in detail.

Teng Yuzhao didn't dare to be too specific because he couldn't be sure how much silver there was in the East Bureau.

Li Xianze's words were not only agreeable to Teng Yuzao, but Wei Jinghai, Liu Yuzhi, Liu Changfa, Liu Shijiu and others also felt that if they followed Li Xianze's words, they would be more flexible and agreed. Teng Yuzao looked at Xue Qian, who nodded and said, "Sir, I also agree with Captain Li's words."

Teng Yuzao nodded and said to everyone, "Then let's make a deal. We will only report over 100,000 taels, and we will keep the rest for military expenses."

Not only did he get a large sum of money, but he also achieved his goal. Teng Yuzhao finally felt at ease and had time to explain the battle in detail to Wei Jinghai, Li Xianze and others.

The intensity and complexity of this battle exceeded any battle they had experienced before. Wei Jinghai, Li Xianze and Liu Changfa were all very excited when they heard it.

After Teng Yuzao finished speaking, Liu Shijiu continued with an unsatisfied look, "I had a really fucking good time killing people in this battle. I killed people all the way from the East Bureau to the outside of the French Concession. Many of the swords of the assault team were blunted, and some soldiers even broke two bayonets."

Liu Shijiu began to excitedly talk about the fierce scene in which he led the assault brigade from the East Bureau to the outside. Li Xianze, Wei Jinghai and others were very excited. Liu Changfa was even more stunned and said that he should not have been transferred to the artillery.

Liu Shijiu was talking excitedly when the door opened and Wu Peifu, sweating profusely, walked in excitedly.

"Zi Yu, come and sit here quickly."

There was no seat prepared for Wu Peifu for lunch today. Liu Shijiu specifically ordered someone to add another set of bowls and chopsticks and move a chair just for Wu Peifu.

For some unknown reason, or perhaps because Liu Shijiu was born to have a bad temper with Wu Peifu, Liu Shijiu was very close to Wu Peifu.

As Liu Shijiu spoke, he even ran to the door himself and called the guards who were on guard more than ten meters outside to get a wet towel for Wu Peifu to wipe his face.

Then, Liu Jiujiu poured Wu Peifu half a bowl of wine and poured himself a bowl as well. He drank more than the amount set by Teng Yuzhao. Liu Jiujiu seemed unaware of it. Everyone was anxious to hear the news Wu Peifu brought back, and no one cared whether Liu Jiujiu had exceeded the limit.

Wu Peifu didn't even bother to eat and started reporting to Teng Yuzhao in a hurry.

Wu Peifu returned very quickly, but he brought back a lot of information.

Not only did Yu Lu personally meet Wu Peifu, a little-known figure, he also excitedly made an exception and rewarded Wu Peifu with fifty taels of gold as a gift.

Not only because Wu Peifu was Teng Yuzhao's student, but most importantly, Teng Yuzhao brought him another great victory that he had been looking forward to for a long time.

According to the news sent back by Wu Peifu, when he rushed to the governor's headquarters, Yu Lu was furious because He Yongsheng's army and Zhang Decheng's No. 1 regiment in the world failed to rescue Dongjuzi. He was so angry that he even threw a teacup.

Lian Jun and Zhang Decheng's men not only failed to complete the rescue of Dongjuzi, but on the contrary, more than 3,000 people were killed and hundreds were injured by a volley of Russian gunfire. Then they were suddenly attacked by a crazy hacking and killing by the Russian cavalry. When they retreated back to Tianjin City in a panic, 600 to 700 people had been killed or injured.

Although Yu Lu had arranged for Teng Yuzao to rush to Dongjuzi as well, the few foreign troops blocking the periphery were so ferocious that the coalition forces besieging Dongjuzi were even more brutal. Without Lian Jun and Zhang Decheng to restrain them, it was hard to say whether Teng Yuzao could succeed in the rescue. If he failed, he would suffer heavy losses or even never recover. How could Yu Lu not be furious?

Moreover, promoting Teng Yuzao as an exception and having Teng Yuzao form the vanguard army were regarded by Yu Lu as the proudest things in his life. It is said that he had already boasted that he had long seen that Teng Yuzao was a capable pillar of society and had intended to train him by his side.

This time he was appointed to form the vanguard army which has been winning battles one after another. Even in the court, Yu Lu has gained a reputation for having a keen eye for talent.

If the vanguard army was lost, it would be like cutting out his flesh and blood, so this time he was not only furious, but also swore. Not only did he severely scold Zhang Decheng, but even He Yongsheng, the general of a town, was scolded by him.

According to Wu Peifu, after receiving the good news from Teng Yuzhao, Yu Lu was stunned for half a cup of tea before he jumped up and laughed continuously. He then said "Good! Good! Good!" repeatedly, and laughed again. He immediately dictated a memorial to the court to commend Teng Yuzhao. Soon after the memorial was written, he ordered someone to send it to the capital at an express speed of 800 miles.

"teacher."

Wu Peifu took the half bowl of wine that Liu Shijiu had been holding for a while, took a big sip, and then spoke excitedly and hurriedly.

"In the memorial that Yu Zhongtang dictated on the spot, he recommended you to the court as the assistant military affairs officer of the Beiyang Army!"

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(End of this chapter)