The Qing Dynasty

Chapter 240 The Attitudes of the Governors
This time, according to Teng Yuzao's instructions, Ning Xingpu brought Xi Ligong and Huang Chujiu to meet their real boss. They only came together because they met Zhou Xuexi in Xuzhou.

In the room next to the flower hall, a large table full of sumptuous food and wine had already been set out. It was sumptuous, but only in Teng Yuzhao's opinion.

The people he was going to entertain today didn't seem to think so, even though this table of food and wine was ordered from the best restaurant in Gu'an City.

Wei Jinghai asked everyone to sit down at the table. Teng Yuzhao saw that Zhou Xuexi, Xi Ligong and Huang Chujiu's eyes kept wandering between him and Wei Jinghai, and said with a smile.

"Do you think my outfit is a little strange?"

Seeing that everyone just nodded without saying anything, Wei Jinghai started explaining with a smile without waiting for Teng Yuzhao to speak.

"This is because the Lord feared that you would feel constrained, so he deliberately did not wear the general's uniform specially approved by the court, nor did he wear his military rank shoulder straps, actually."

Wei Jinghai's words startled everyone, especially Xi Ligong and Huang Chujiu, whose surprised eyes suddenly became much hotter. Even Ning Xingpu and Zhou Xuexi looked at Teng Yuzao with a much closer gaze.

Zhou Xuexi was not only surprised but also reluctant to be asked to come here by name by Teng Yuzao. Even though he knew that he would have something to do immediately under Teng Yuzao, it was much better than waiting at home for a substitute with the title of Taotai. Moreover, his family had no connection with Teng Yuzao.

You know, his father Zhou Fu and Yuan Shikai were both old Beiyang people, and Yuan Shikai had already agreed to temporarily appoint him as the general manager of Shandong University.

It was his father Zhou Fu's suggestion that finally made Zhou Xuexi go.

Zhou Fu really wanted to know who this Teng Yuzhao was. He had the magical ability to almost turn beans into soldiers. In a very short period of time, he put together a coalition army to face the powerful countries, and fought successfully, even winning battles in succession.

Master Qian habitually reached out to stroke his beard, but found nothing. He could only touch his bald chin and said with a smile.

"Your Excellency's admiral's uniform is quite beautiful, especially his golden dragon cap badge and the gold stars on his shoulder straps and collar badges. They were approved by the Queen Mother herself and are the only ones made of pure gold."

Wei Jinghai continued what Master Qian said, "In fact, our master usually wears this cavalry lieutenant uniform without any markings. You can do whatever you want."

Ning Xingpu smiled and nodded, saying, "This should be the first time for all of you to meet Xingfu, so you may still be a little reserved. Actually, although Xingfu is now a high-ranking official with great military achievements and a high position of power, he is very approachable."

At Teng Yuzao's signal, Wei Jinghai began to call the guards to serve wine and food to everyone.

"This place is not as good as the capital, nor can it be compared with Xuzhou or Jinan, let alone a metropolis like Shanghai. Gu'an is a small place, and the food and wine here are the best. I hope I am sorry for not being so hospitable, and I hope you will forgive me!"

After Teng Yuzhao's extremely simple opening remarks, he invited everyone to drink and eat, and the welcome banquet officially began.

There was inevitable greeting during the dinner, and Ning Xingpu reported his situation in Xuzhou to Teng Yuzhao again. Of course, he could not help but express his sincere gratitude to Teng Yuzhao for being appointed as the deputy governor.

After three rounds of wine and five dishes, Teng Yuzhao began to get to the point of the conversation.

There was no way. Teng Yuzhao was very busy today and had other things he needed to deal with.

"As you all know, we are now at war with the invading Eight-Nation Alliance. Fighting a war requires money, especially since the salaries of the vanguard troops are very high, and the related military expenses are even higher."

"Also, there are quite a few military units in Zhili now, but the only one that can pose a serious threat to the invading coalition forces is our Vanguard Army."

"Although the Vanguard Army has the support of the court, it has no external aid. Not only do they have no reinforcements, they also have no sources of guns, ammunition, and medicine. Apart from military pay and food, which the court can help with, the rest basically needs to be solved by the Vanguard Army itself."

Teng Yuzao really wanted to say that due to the Southeast Mutual Protection, the vanguard army was under a lot of pressure, but due to Zhou Xuexi's face, Teng Yuzao only mentioned it vaguely.

Zhou Xuexi's father Zhou Fu was a loyal supporter of Li Hongzhang, and the Southeast Mutual Protection also included the name of Li Hongzhang, who was now the Governor-General of Guangdong and Guangxi.

The most important thing is that Teng Yuzhao did not know the attitude of Zhou Xuexi and his son on the issue of mutual protection in the southeast. He did not want to create unnecessary trouble. Now he needed to uphold the concept of seeking common ground while reserving differences.

As soon as Teng Yuzao finished speaking, Huang Chujiu stood up, bowed to Teng Yuzao, and said sincerely.

"Your Excellency's great military achievements, we have all seen them in the newspapers. Every day, major newspapers in Shanghai report on the bloody battles fought by the vanguard army against the foreigners. Now the people of Shanghai admire you very much! At the same time, they also have complaints about the governors and governors-general who participated in the Southeast Mutual Protection."

Ning Xingpu glanced at Zhou Xuexi and said, "What Cuojiu said is right. There is also a lot of resentment among the people in Xuzhou right now. People are talking about it in taverns and teahouses. I heard that the governor, Wang Zhichun, even arrested many people in Anqing Prefecture on charges of slandering an official appointed by the imperial court."

Master Qian also interjected, "Some of my old friends also mentioned this in their correspondence. They also had different opinions in their letters. Some believed that condoning the Boxer Rebellion and declaring war on foreign powers at the same time was chaos and that treacherous officials in the court were in power." "Others had different views on the Southeast Mutual Protection. My old friends also said in their letters that the foreigners were still instigating those governors and governors to break away from the court and establish themselves. They even said that Li Zhongtang had the intention to contact Sun Yat-sen in Honolulu."

Li Hongzhang intended to contact Sun Yat-sen. Although Teng Yuzhao had seen some information about this in his previous life, he did not believe it because Li Hongzhang had rejected Sun Yat-sen once before.

Now that Master Qian mentioned this, Teng Yuzao couldn't help but be surprised and looked at Zhou Xuexi.

Zhou Xuexi's father Zhou Fu was a staunch supporter of Li Hongzhang, and could even be said to be a close friend. If Li Hongzhang really had this intention, given Li Hongzhang's usual practice, he would probably not have failed to seek the opinions of his confidants like Zhou Fu.

However, what surprised him even more was that Zhou Xuexi did not refute or deny the rumors told by Master Qian on behalf of Li Hongzhang, but instead lowered his head and silently looked at the wine in the white porcelain glass in front of him.

Zhou Xuexi's expression said it all. Teng Yuzao couldn't help but sigh in his heart that the world is unpredictable and the situation is complicated and changeable.

Master Qian took a sip of the fine Fenjiu in his glass and said, "It's just that Zhang Xiangtao's attitude is very intriguing. Someone in Hankou openly raised funds for your vanguard army, but Zhang Xiangtao did not come forward to stop it."

The Zhang Xiangtao that Mr. Qian mentioned is Zhang Zhidong, the Governor-General of Huguang. Zhang Zhidong's courtesy name is Xiangtao, and he is also known as Marshal Xiang.

Zhou Xuexi interrupted and said, "Foreigners protested to Marshal Xiang about this matter. It is said that Marshal Xiang said that his participation in the Southeast Mutual Protection only promised not to allow the Boxers to develop in Huguang and not to provide weapons and ammunition to Zhili, but he did not promise not to allow the people to support Zhili. Fundraising is a spontaneous initiative of the people, and he has no right to stop it."

Teng Yuzhao already knew what Master Qian said from the intelligence on the movements of governors and governors-general in various places compiled by Li Yaoting. Li Yaoting's intelligence also said that one of Zhang Zhidong's aides donated 1,000 taels of silver.

Teng Yuzhao judged that this money was most likely Zhang Zhidong's. Among the provincial governors who participated in the Southeast Mutual Protection, Zhang Zhidong's attitude was more ambiguous.

Teng Yuzao waved his hand, "Brother Cuojiu, please take a seat."

After Huang Chujiu sat down with an indignant look on his face, Teng Yuzao said calmly, "Brother Cuojiu, Mr. Ning, Mr. Fuzhi, and brothers Jizhi and Yucheng, the Southeast Mutual Protection is a matter between the court and the governors. The agreement made by the governors is against the court's connivance with the Boxers and against declaring war on the powers, not against the court."

"They are not without reason. These people have some vision. They probably think that declaring war on so many powers at the same time will only lead to failure. For example, Liu Kunyi once said that if we can't defeat one country, how can we defeat many countries?"

Mr. Qian, whose name is Junfu and whose courtesy name is Fuzhi.

Teng Yuzhao was not surprised by the saying that these provincial governors had the intention of establishing themselves. There was such a saying in his previous life, and Teng Yuzhao did not think it was groundless. It was just that Cixi had superb political skills. When she could not do anything about these provincial governors who were almost accomplices in the rebellion, she decisively chose to retreat. Otherwise, the Qing Dynasty would have perished within a year or two.

I just don't know whether Cixi will eventually retreat because of my sudden appearance.

However, Teng Yuzao's explanation to exonerate these governors and governors was not only a little pale, but also somewhat contradictory. Ning Xingpu, Qian Junfu, Huang Chujiu, and Xi Ligong were all a little surprised that Teng Yuzao was willing to exonerate these people. Only Zhou Xuexi looked at Teng Yuzao meaningfully.

Teng Yuzao tried not to think about this tempting question, and sighed slightly, saying, "I am a soldier, and the duty of a soldier is to defend the country. Facing the invading foreigners, I will fight to the death even though I know I cannot defeat them."

Well said, Ning Xingpu slapped the table and said, "Xingfu, what you said is right! I have seen it in the newspaper. This is what you said. Even when facing a strong enemy, you must be determined to die and dare to draw your sword. This is a brave man with blood. I, Ning Xingpu, have lived for nearly sixty years and have never surrendered to anyone in my life. Xingfu, I admire you with all my heart!"

Feeling that the topic had strayed off topic, Teng Yuzao smiled and waved his hand, "Mr. Ning, I don't deserve such compliments. Let's get down to business."

Teng Yuzao coughed lightly and said, "We just talked about the issue of money. This is a matter of life and death for the Vanguard Army."

"Thanks to Mr. Ning for donating a huge sum of money to support the Vanguard Army. However, Mr. Ning was worried that others would covet it, so he insisted on putting the donation in Teng's name. Teng will not use a single cent of this huge sum of money. All the money will be used for the Vanguard Army."

"Teng's salary is enough for my use, and I have ways to make money. We will talk about this later."

"First of all, I want to say that although this amount of money is quite huge, we cannot just sit back and do nothing. That way, it won't last long. Besides, the vanguard army is in urgent need of purchasing various supplies to fight the enemy."

"So, I plan to set up three companies and a bank to operate this fund, and use part of the profits to support the vanguard army to resist the invasion of foreigners."

"In addition, I am planning to start a newspaper."

When Teng Yuzao got to the point, everyone at the table listened attentively.

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(End of this chapter)