The Qing Dynasty

Chapter 172 No one can escape

Although he was mentally prepared, Teng Yuzhao still felt sad when he heard Yu Lu say this, and said in a deep voice.

"Zhongtang left Tianjin City. I wonder how Tianjin's defense will be arranged? Who will be sent as the commander?"

When Tianjin City was mentioned, Yu Lu's face suddenly turned cold as ice and he spoke in a cold voice.

"Xingfu, this Tianjin City is only my Tianjin City. Whether it is lost or not, it has nothing to do with the rest of us. Who is willing to take the responsibility for the loss of the city and the land? I want to live and die with Tianjin City, but the generals all think that we cannot trap all the troops in the city. We should withdraw from Tianjin and take it slowly. How can I ignore the opinions of everyone and act on my own?"

"Therefore, I have decided to withdraw from Tianjin City tonight. Only three battalions of training troops and the Boxers will remain in the city to defend it. There will be no one in charge in the city."

Yu Lu's words were very clear. No one was willing to stay in Tianjin to take on the important task of defending the city, for they were all afraid of being held accountable by the court for losing the city. Although three battalions of training troops and the Boxers were left behind, there was no one to lead them. These people were leaderless and fighting on their own, and the result was predictable.

Although Yu Lu's words seemed casual, his tone was very helpless.

Teng Yuzao couldn't help but look at the veterans sitting there.

The reason why they are called veterans is not only because Song Qing, the military chief of Zhili, is already eighty years old and needs someone to support him when walking, but also because the youngest ones, Ma Yukun and He Yongsheng, are nearly sixty years old.

When Yu Lu was speaking, Song Qing, Ma Yukun, Lu Benyuan, He Yongsheng and others all bowed their heads and remained silent, only Dong Fuxiang spoke humbly.

"Brother Xingfu, my rear troops are still on the way, otherwise..."

After saying this, Dong Fuxiang sighed and said no more.

Teng Yuzao thought for a moment, stood up, bowed to Yu Lu and said, "Zhongtang, what you said is wrong!"

As soon as Teng Yuzao finished speaking, Song Qing, Lu Benyuan, Ma Yukun, He Yongsheng and others all looked up at Teng Yuzao in surprise.

A light flashed in Yu Lu's eyes for a moment, but then dimmed again.

"Xingfu."

Before Teng Yuzao and Yulu could speak, Lu Benyuan sighed and said sincerely, "General Song is a veteran general of the imperial court. What he said about the troops withdrawing from Tianjin and taking it slow is indeed a wise and prudent statement for the country."

Lü Benyuan's words were apparently praising Song Qing, but in reality he was saying that it was Song Qing's idea to withdraw from Tianjin City, and they were just agreeing with what Song Qing said. Although Song Qing was a military general, he was also very old. How could he not understand the meaning of Lü Benyuan's words? He spoke coldly before Lü Benyuan finished speaking.

"Admiral Lu is right. It was indeed my suggestion to withdraw from Tianjin City, and Lord Lu also agreed. Now I suddenly realize that my previous concerns were not appropriate. How can Tianjin City not have a commander to guard it? Please consider it."

After hearing what Song Qing said, Yu Lu initially thought that Song Qing had changed his mind, and his spirits immediately perked up. He really needed someone to share some of the responsibility for the loss of the city!

However, Yu Lu soon understood the whole story and became furious.

Song Qing looked at Lv Benyuan and said slowly, "I think that as the governor of Zhili, Lord Lu has the responsibility to defend the territory. In my opinion, Lord Lu is the most suitable commander to defend the city, and he should take on the responsibility."

Lu Benyuan sneered, "Assistant Song is wrong."

Seeing that the two sides were about to quarrel again, Yu Lu, who was already full of anger, could no longer hold back. He reached out and grabbed the fine porcelain teacup on the table beside him, threw it hard on the blue brick floor, and shouted angrily. "Enough!"

Seeing Yu Lu's rage, Song Qing and Lu Benyuan finally stopped arguing. Yu Lu let out a breath, suppressed his anger and asked Teng Yuzao.

"Xingfu, what do you mean by this?"

Teng Yuzao bowed his hands and said with disdain, "Although Zhongtang is the governor-general of Zhili, Zhili is not Zhongtang's Zhili, and it is not Zhongtang's responsibility to defend the territory alone. Zhongtang can report today's discussion to the court. In addition, since all the generals present have suggested withdrawing from Tianjin City and taking it slow, why not let all the generals and Zhongtang jointly submit a report. Whoever is unwilling to sign will stay in the city and defend Tianjin."

Teng Yuzhao was not afraid of offending the veteran generals present. His meaning was very clear. He wanted to tell Yu Lu that there was a reason why he could not defend Tianjin City. These generals had no intention of fighting. Whoever did not sign the memorial would stay behind to defend the city.

Between life and death, let's see how these generals choose.

Despite this, Yu Lu still has to take responsibility for the fall of Tianjin, but there will always be someone who shares some of the blame with him.

As soon as Teng Yuzao finished speaking, Song Qing, Ma Yukun, Lu Benyuan and He Yongsheng all had complicated expressions on their faces, especially Ma Yukun, who looked at Teng Yuzao with a look full of resentment.

Teng Yuzhao's words made Yu Lu's eyes light up. Although he did not have the courage to lead the troops to defend an isolated city, he still hoped that someone would volunteer to stay and hold on for a period of time. In this way, even if Tianjin City was lost, his responsibility would be reduced.

However, none of these people were fools and no one was willing to stay, so Teng Yuzhao's suggestion was exactly what he wanted.

Yu Lu pondered for a while, then suddenly shouted, "Someone come here."

Before Yu Lu finished speaking, several people walked out from behind the screen behind him. Teng Yuzhao looked and saw that they were Yu Lu's aides, led by Master Qian.

Although Master Qian only glanced at Teng Yuzhao, his eyes were full of admiration. However, in front of everyone, Master Qian did not have too much eye contact with Teng Yuzhao. He immediately stood aside with his hands down, waiting for Yu Lu's instructions.

Yu Lu seemed like a drowning man who suddenly grabbed a life-saving rope. He immediately came to his senses and spoke with full energy.

"Draft a memorial for me, reporting what the generals said today, and tell them that they all said they cannot be trapped in an isolated city."

Yu Lu's actions undoubtedly pushed the responsibility for the loss of Tianjin City onto these people. Although the generals were dissatisfied, no one had the courage to refute. If Yu Lu was angered, he would really go crazy and forcibly arrange for this person to guard the city. No one, including Song Qing, the assistant, could refuse.

Everyone watched as Yu Lu implicated them all, and although they were unwilling, they could do nothing about it.

Everyone looked at each other with complicated expressions for a long time. Ma Yukun suddenly stood up with a snort, bowed slightly to Yu Lu and said.

"In this case, I think that Tianjin City should elect a brave general to take on the important task of defending the city. The vanguard army has repeatedly defeated the foreigners, and its commander, Teng Xingfu, can personally fight bravely in battle. None of us can match him. Teng Xingfu is the only one who can defend Tianjin City. Please give the order to send the vanguard army to defend Tianjin City, and there will be no danger."

Yu Lu seemed to have not expected Ma Yukun to do this. He paused for a moment and was about to scold him, but Teng Yuzhao didn't care at all. Instead, he stood up and spoke proudly.

"Zhongtang, I am willing to lead the vanguard troops to defend Tianjin."

(End of this chapter)