The Qing Dynasty

Chapter 236: Marching into the Capital
The dusty and sweaty man who ran in was none other than the squad leader of the special guard squadron that accompanied Wu Peifu to the capital.

"Lord Wu is still in the capital. This is an urgent letter he asked me to deliver."

As the squad leader spoke, he took out a handwritten letter from Wu Peifu to Teng Yuzao from the pocket of his military uniform.

The squad leader looked at Teng Yuzhao's epaulettes, cap badges, and fiery red collar badges with golden stars, the snow-white shirt collar underneath, and the shining military rank on his chest. He then glanced at the officers sitting upright at the bottom of the stairs, craning their necks to look at him. They all wore golden epaulettes, cap badges, and military ranks, and he couldn't help swallowing secretly.

These epaulettes, collar badges, cap badges and white cloth shirts made in the capital were sent back promptly after each batch was produced. Now, not only have the officers changed into them, but most of the soldiers have also put on their cap badges and collar badges, looking very majestic.

However, their class in Beijing fell behind.

Teng Yuzhao usually did not wear these military ranks and epaulettes. He was even unwilling to wear the straight khaki gray German military uniform that Zai Yi made specially for him. He preferred to wear his German cavalry uniform without the epaulettes of military ranks.

The reason why Teng Yuzhao was dressed neatly today was because he was going to hold a rectification meeting which was extremely important in his mind.

Wu Peifu had not returned at this time. Something special must have happened, so he wrote the letter and sent it back.

Teng Yuzhao didn't care about anything else. He stood on the steps, opened the letter on the spot, quickly read it, put the letter back into the envelope and put it in his pocket, then said to the squad leader with a smile.

"Thank you for your hard work! Go back to the barracks and have a rest. I will need you to do something later."

"Yes." The squad leader responded and ran out of the county government office.

Although the distance from the capital to Gu'an County is only more than 100 miles, and even from the capital to Gu'an County is only more than 20 to 30 miles, a war horse can run this distance in half a day, but they have to be jolted on the horse all the time, and can only dismount and rest for a while when the horse is resting. Therefore, riding back on horseback is not only not easy, but on the contrary, it makes them feel very tired.

Teng Yuzhao looked at the large group of high-ranking officers in the vanguard army who were staring at him eagerly, and said expressionlessly.

"Today's meeting ends here. Liu Yuzhi, Li Xiance, Hu Dianjia, Liu Shijiu, Wang Decheng, Liu Yuanshou, Cao Futian, Pan Jinshan, and Liu Changfa will stay. The rest of you will return to the troops immediately and prepare to set off."

When they heard that they were about to set off, the captains hurriedly walked out while whispering excitedly. They had basically guessed their next destination, which must be the capital.

Although most of these captains were unaware that Wu Peifu was in the capital, everyone was well aware of the current situation: the foreigners would definitely attack the capital next, so their whereabouts were self-evident.

Moreover, it is already 10 noon and the sun has even started to set. The soldiers should have finished their lunch. If we ask them to go back and prepare for departure now, they will have to set off overnight, which shows that the mission is urgent.

This made all the captains excited and they started to get ready.

Just now, their president, the current Beiyang Zhili Military Affairs Director-General, said that among them there will be many candidates for standard commanders, assistant commanders, and town commanders.

No one would disbelieve what their president says, because their president himself is the best example. In just over two months, he was rapidly promoted from an unknown captain to his current high position, and even received the title of earl.

What's more, the people around them, including themselves, were at most sentry leaders and platoon leaders more than two months ago. Most of them were even students who had just graduated or were about to graduate from the Beiyang Military Academy. Now they are all fourth-rank captains, and there are even outstanding people like Wei Jinghai.

As long as they fight hard, make more military achievements, and follow the president closely, the president will never treat them unfairly, and their names will be on the next promotion list.

These people consciously excluded Xue Qian in their minds. There are rumors in the military now that Xue Qian is not very popular with the President because he is not on the same page with him.

Teng Yuzao was very satisfied with today's meeting, because his goal was achieved or even exceeded. The thoughtfulness of Li Xianze and Liu Shijiu made Teng Yuzao very happy.

Originally, he just wanted to remind these arrogant and brave generals to understand that "arrogant soldiers will be defeated", and at the same time test the attitudes of these middle and high-level generals towards him, but he did not expect the response to be so enthusiastic, especially the finishing touch of Liu Shijiu, a rough man, which made Teng Yuzhao feel at ease and reassured, and also made Teng Yuzhao more confident.

As long as he had these generals who were wholeheartedly following him, he would have to think twice before taking action against him, not to mention any minister in the court wanting to seize his military power.

In this regard, we must also find ways to gather these people more closely around us.

Such a small-scale meeting naturally did not need to be held in a spacious courtyard, or even in the lobby of the county government office. Wei Jinghai directly took Teng Yuzhao and others to a room on the left that had been converted into a meeting room.

As soon as he sat down in the conference room, seeing everyone's anxious eyes, Teng Yuzhao said straight to the point without further ado.

"I'm keeping you here to tell you that we're about to enter the capital and join the battle to defend the city." This time, Hu Dianjia spoke first, "Xingfu, haven't we already made a plan? Can't we participate in the battle to defend the capital? The capital is not like Tianjin. The capital is much bigger. We have only 60,000 people. It may seem like a lot, but the capital is too big. If we start a street fight with the foreign devils in the capital, we won't be enough."

Liu Nineteen also said carelessly, "Xuan Qing is right. We won't be able to hold out for long against the foreign devils in the capital. It will be a bottomless pit. It won't be long before our tens of thousands of people will be wiped out by the foreign devils."

Seeing that Liu Shijiu's words were a bit unreasonable, Teng Yuzao coughed and said, "Zi Yu said in the letter that Prince Duan Zai Yi conveyed the Queen Mother's intention that we should enter the capital. They don't want us to stay for a long time, but just a few days, leaving enough time for the Queen Mother to hunt in the west. They are worried that Chengli's Wuwei Army, Green Camp and a small number of training troops can't stop the foreign devils. If the foreign devils break through the city quickly, they will send troops to pursue them."

When they heard that it would only take a few days, everyone felt relieved.

Teng Yuzao smiled bitterly and said, "In addition, Prince Duan sent a message saying that the court has accepted my suggestion to release the foreigners in Dongjiaominxiang, but the foreigners did not dare to leave Dongjiaominxiang at first, fearing that they would be killed by the Boxers and the army as soon as they came out."

"Later, the foreigners in the city sent a representative to Langfang, and after returning, they agreed to release them from the city. However, the foreigners in Dongjiaominxiang, the capital, said that they were worried about these officials of the court. They would only leave if I led the vanguard army to preside over the scene. Otherwise, they would never leave Dongjiaominxiang."

Teng Yuzao's words made the generals attending the meeting look at each other in bewilderment.

Liu Shijiu said in surprise, "Did these foreign devils take the wrong medicine? Xingfu killed the most foreigners. In the past two months, we have killed tens of thousands of foreign devils. Why are these foreign devils still sticking to Xingfu?"

Wei Jinghai smiled and said, "This is the benefit of your Excellency not killing foreign captives. The foreigners probably think that as long as they become our captives, your Excellency will guarantee their safety."

Wei Jinghai looked at Liu Shijiu, Li Xiance, Hu Dianjia and others with a half-smile and added, "This time the foreigners said they only trust us. As long as you agree, these foreigners can leave as prisoners. Their safety must be guaranteed, and there are many people watching over there."

Wei Jinghai's words made Li Xianze, Liu Shijiu, Hu Dianjia and others look at each other and laugh awkwardly.

Although Teng Yuzao had ordered not to kill prisoners, these people did not execute it very well. In the end, Teng Yuzao had to turn a blind eye and repeatedly emphasized that as long as they laid down their weapons, they should not be killed.

This also gave several people a reason. As long as they did not throw away their weapons in time, even if they did not resist, they would be shot or killed by their soldiers in time.

Among them, the most unscrupulous were Liu Shijiu, Hu Dianjia and Pan Jinshan's men. As long as they could ensure that no other foreigners saw them, they would kill any foreigners. They almost never took any prisoners.

Wei Jinghai's words were obviously reminding them that this time was different from the past. It was not on the battlefield where the prisoners could be killed at will. There were no eyewitnesses of the foreigners. If there was one who saw it, he would also become one of the foreigners who were killed.

This time, not only does Teng Yuzhao have to guarantee it, but there will also be many people who can see it. If he kills these people again, it will cause trouble for Teng Yuzhao.

Teng Yuzao looked at his watch and said, "Time is urgent. I am worried that the Queen Mother and the court officials will evacuate the city prematurely and there will be no time to formulate and issue a battle plan, so I will issue the order directly."

"The First Mixed Corps."

"Yes." Liu Yuzhi stood up from his seat and answered.

"Leave one battalion to escort the food and fodder and follow up. The rest should hurry up and prepare. Set out immediately after dark. You must reach Yangfang, northwest of the capital, before noon tomorrow. That's the only way to Shanxi via Zhangjiakou. You will meet the empress dowager's carriage and escort her along the way. I estimate that we will let you go only after we enter Shanxi."

"At that time, if we are still holding on in the capital, you will stay in Yangfang and wait for orders. If we have already evacuated, you will lead your troops to Laishui."

"Yes."

"The Third Mixed Brigade, the Independent Battalion, and the Artillery Regiment will set out together tonight to head for the capital."

"Yes." Hu Dianjia, Liu Changfa and Cao Futian also stood up in response.

Teng Yuzao warned, "Only you two need to know about the Queen Mother's hunting trip to the west. You can't spread it to others for now, so as not to leak the news. You should hurry back and prepare now."

Without waiting for Liu Yuzhi, Hu Dianjia, Liu Changfa, Cao Futian, and Wang Decheng to walk out of the door, Liu Shijiu spoke impatiently.

"Xingfu, what do our assault team do?"

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(End of this chapter)