The Qing Dynasty

Chapter 233 Only Trust Teng Xingfu
Zai Yi took a deep breath and said, "Zi Yu, there have been some changes to what was originally agreed upon. Listen carefully and then go and inform Xingfu immediately."

Zai Yi looked at Wu Peifu and smiled bitterly, "Although Song Zhusan ran to Xiyuan to plead guilty to the empress dowager early in the morning, saying that he had sent Ma Jingshan to Gaobeidian to gather up the defeated troops. The empress dowager also comforted him with kind words, saying that victory and defeat are common in the military, and asked Song Zhusan not to be discouraged, and that defending the capital was the most important thing."

"But in Tongzhou, more than 30,000 people were defeated after just one encounter with the foreigners. This incident still frightened the Queen Mother. Originally, because Xingfu had won several victories in the north of Langfang in the past few days, the Western Hunting had been temporarily put aside. Now the Queen Mother has brought up the old matter again. As soon as Song Qing left today, she called me, Gang Ziliang, Ronglu, Master Xu and others in to discuss the Western Hunting."

Gang Ziliang is the Grand Councilor Gang Yi, and the Master Xu mentioned by Zai Yi is Xu Tong. Before coming to the capital, Wu Peifu put a lot of effort into learning about these court ministers. He even went so far as to consult his teacher Teng Yuzhao, and went to Hu Dianjia, who knew more about court ministers, to ask for advice for a long time.

This Xu Tong, whose name is Yu Ru and nickname is Yin Xuan.

He was a member of the Han Army's Zhenglan Banner, a native of Fengtian, and a Jinshi in the Daoguang period.

Since the tenth year of Emperor Xianfeng's reign, he served successively in the Hanlin Academy, the Veritable Records Bureau and other places, and later became the teacher of Emperor Tongzhi.

After the ninth year of Tongzhi, he served successively as the Minister of Taichang Temple, Left Vice-Censor-in-Chief of the Censorate, Cabinet Scholar, Right Vice-Minister of Rites, Minister of Rites, Minister of Personnel, Associate Grand Secretary, and Grand Secretary of Ti-Ren Pavilion. He had a long career, was extremely stubborn and conservative, and especially hated Western learning.

He had just been designated by Cixi as the teacher of the eldest prince Puyi, so Zai Yi called him Master Xu.

Not only because he was his son's teacher, but also because Xu Tong, like Zai Yi, Gang Yi and others, also advocated using the Boxers to deal with foreigners and supported Cixi's declaration of war, so he respected him very much.

Zai Yi continued, "I came here not only to inform Ziyu that Xingfu led his army to withdraw from Anping, but also because I was assigned by the Queen Mother to ask Ziyu a definite question. If Xingfu leads the vanguard army into the city, how long do you think Xingfu can defend the capital?"

Teng Yuzhao had already anticipated that he would be asked to defend the capital when he came, and he specifically instructed Wu Peifu to do so. However, he also told Wu Peifu that although it was impossible to hold on, he could not refuse if Cixi insisted on sending the vanguard army to guard the capital.

Wu Peifu heard Zai Yi's words and said with a wry smile, "Your Highness, my master said that in modern warfare, it is impossible to defend the city walls. The defensive function of a strong city wall in the face of hot weapons is quite limited, especially if there are not enough troops and artillery fire, it is absolutely impossible to defend. If you just keep defending the city, you will only die faster."

"What if it's a street fight? Xingfu fought very well in the street fights in Tianjin!"

Wu Peifu shook his head and said, "My master said that the capital is too big. It is impossible to fight street battles in the city without 100,000 people. The vanguard army still has too few people. If the foreign devils break through the city wall, it will be easy to break the vanguard army's street fighting defense line and compress the vanguard army from all sides into a certain area. In that case, the vanguard army will soon run out of ammunition and food."

Zai Yi lowered his head and thought for a while, then seemed to understand. After another heavy sigh, he spoke with an expectant look.

"Well, in that case, let's take a step back. The Queen Mother said that if Ziyu still insists that he can't defend the capital, then please ask Xingfu to lead his troops into the city. The Queen Mother doesn't expect Xingfu to defend the capital, just one or two days."

"The Queen Mother's hunting trip to the west must be prepared. Most of the ministers in the court will also be taken with them. Besides, the Queen Mother's carriage cannot move too quickly. Someone must hold the foreigners back for a while."

Seeing the surprise and disappointment on Wu Peifu's face, Zai Yi smiled bitterly.

"Don't blame me, Ziyu. This is all my fault."

"Half a month ago, after receiving Xingfu's memorial, the Queen Mother had the idea of ​​hunting in the west. But I thought at the time that Tongzhou City was high and deep, and there were already tens of thousands of heavily guarded troops. Even if it was not good enough, they could at least hold Tongzhou for ten days, even if they didn't hold it for half a month like Xingfu did. But I never expected that these tens of thousands of people were useless people who only took money but couldn't fight. I have already apologized to the Queen Mother."

"Hey!"

Zai Yi slapped his thigh heavily, "It's a pity that there is no medicine for regret. It's useless to say anything now. I'll continue."

"The Queen Mother knows that Xingfu's troops are insufficient, but there is really nothing she can do. Those useless people are unreliable. How can the Queen Mother dare to use them to protect the emperor? If they were the ones who were to be chased by the foreigners, these useless people would scatter in a hurry!" "The Queen Mother hopes that Xingfu can send a capable general to escort him. After entering Shanxi, she will immediately release Xingfu's escort troops."

Zai Yi thought that Wu Peifu would express embarrassment or say that he had to go back to report to Teng Yuzhao, but unexpectedly, Wu Peifu nodded immediately.

"Please go back and report to the Queen Mother. Ziyu will go to find my master immediately. Before I left, my master said that if the capital is in danger, the prince and the Queen Mother will give orders, and Ziyu will not refuse. He will obey them. Even if the vanguard troops are wiped out, he will protect the prince and the Queen Mother."

Seeing that Wu Peifu not only spoke with such confidence, but also, whether intentionally or unintentionally, actually put him before the Empress Dowager, he could not help but feel overjoyed!

Zai Yi was about to say a few words of admiration when Wu Peifu stood up and said, "Your Majesty, this matter is urgent. Zi Yu will leave immediately and report to my master on horseback."

Wu Peifu pointed to the convoy parked on the road outside and said, "Your Majesty, please arrange for someone to take good care of these things."

Seeing Wu Peifu leave in a swift and decisive manner, Zai Yi felt both moved and a little regretful. He quickly reached out across the table and grabbed Wu Peifu's arm.

"Zi Yu, walk slowly. I still have something to say."

After pulling Wu Peifu to sit down, Zai Yi continued, "Xingfu's memorial said that we should stop besieging Dongjiaominxiang and release the foreign diplomats. Ziliang and I have also persuaded the Boxers in the capital, and Lord Rong has sent people to contact the trapped foreigners, but these foreigners refuse to leave, saying that they are worried about us and that it is a trap. We will kill them as soon as they come out."

"Until three days ago, they said they were going to leave the city to negotiate with the foreigners in Langfang. As soon as the people who left came back today, the foreigners changed their minds and said they only trusted Xingfu. If Xingfu came to the capital to guarantee them, they would agree to evacuate. The Queen Mother also wanted Xingfu to do this before the foreigners broke into the city."

As for the foreigners in the embassy area who initially refused to leave, they changed their minds after sending someone to Langfang. Wu Peifu believed that this was because they learned from the foreigners in Langfang that the vanguard army did not kill captured foreigners.

He nodded and said, "Okay, Your Majesty, I will also report this matter to my master."

Seeing Wu Peifu about to get up and leave, Zai Yi finally couldn't help but said, "Zi Yu, what I just said, can you write a letter and have your people take it to Xingfu? The situation is urgent now. The news that Tongzhou has fallen has not yet spread. Once the news spreads, I'm afraid the capital will be in chaos immediately. With you in the capital, we can discuss things sooner or later."

"Besides, there are so many things that need to be taken care of. I am afraid I will not be able to take care of them during these days. If I hand them over to the servants, I am afraid they will be careless and cause some damage. If anything is lost, I will not be able to face Xingfu. If you stay in the capital, you will not be able to take care of them more carefully."

After all, Wu Peifu was born a scholar, and he had read about many things in books that he had not experienced. As the saying goes, a scholar knows everything about the world without leaving home.

He had understood Zai Yi's meaning. Apart from his apparent intention, he was probably worried that Teng Yuzhao would not lead his troops here. With him, Teng Yuzhao's only direct disciple, in the capital, he was at least a "hostage".

Now that he had figured out the reason and the matter was urgent, Wu Peifu did not pretend. He immediately took out paper and pen and started writing at the neighboring table.

Zai Yi also wrote a letter, and they both sealed the envelope. Zai Yi then asked Wang Huaidao to find some sealing wax to seal the envelope.

Wu Peifu handed the two letters to the squad leader and, after giving instructions, he left only two people with him and arranged for the squad leader to ride away on horseback.

Thanks: I Love Industrial Rabbit book friend for the reward!!!

感谢：ldart、20190911040726174、浪子江淮、公子别割了、20170429215129799、20190101202845799、122325422555、20220828183725091、三峡风、没事蹦蹦、平凡之路二、希格拉之耀、20220828183725091、20210301105267525784、20230902435-DC、20170517234014532/20190131003221438、深蓝等书友月票、推荐票支持！

Your support is the driving force of Zuima!


(End of this chapter)