The Qing Dynasty

Chapter 253 The Foreigners Are Coming

Teng Yuzhao grabbed the phone, and then Wei Jinghai's anxious voice came from the receiver.

"Sir, it's not good!"

"Pan Jinshan, who just arrived at Deshengmen, called and said that according to the commander of the Tiger God Battalion guarding Deshengmen, a troop of more than 600 Russian cavalrymen rushed over half an hour ago, heading towards Yangfang."

Wei Jinghai's call made Teng Yuzhao's heart suddenly jump. According to the time when Zai Yi left the city, Zai Yi should have just passed by there at this time.

Although Zai Yi and his entourage would not bypass the western city wall and then turn east to Deshengmen to head to Yangfang, they should have taken a shortcut after passing Xizhimen to catch up with Cixi's entourage, but they might still encounter the pursuing Allied cavalry before or after catching up with Cixi's entourage.

Even though the Special Guard Squadron was composed of outstanding soldiers with excellent marksmanship and martial arts who were carefully selected from the entire army, their number was still too small after all.

If they encounter Russian cavalry on the march, if they fail to respond properly, they may all become victims of the Russian cavalry.

Moreover, although Cixi and her entourage had left several hours in advance, not only did Cixi need to ride in a carriage, but Guangxu, the empress, and the concubines also needed to ride in a carriage. In addition, many ministers were already old, and even if they rode on horseback, they could not run at all.

Although Deshengmen was only seventy or eighty miles away from Yangfang, with their group traveling at such a speed, they would be lucky if they could get half of it within this period of time.

Once caught up by the Russian cavalry, although the other side has only more than 600 people, which should be a force of about a cavalry regiment, can those who are protecting the emperor stop these cavalry?

If the convoy was caught up by the Russian army, it would be a huge disaster regardless of whether Cixi and Guangxu were dead or alive.

If both of them died, the country would inevitably be in chaos with no leader; if both of them fell into the hands of the Allied Forces, it would not be as simple as just paying compensation. Not only would the Northeast be ceded, but also Zhili and the coastal and riverside provinces in the south, and even large tracts of land in the Southwest, the snowy plateau, and the Northwest would be ceded.

Even if Cixi and Guangxu were dead and alive respectively, the situation would probably not be much better.

Now that Cixi is dead, Guangxu is in sole control of power. Can he handle the current complex situation?
Can we still maintain the integrity of the country?
If Guangxu died, the Allied Forces would probably immediately blame his death on Cixi, and Cixi would then be unable to defend herself.

Because no one would believe what he said, or some people with ulterior motives would deliberately choose to ignore her self-defense and pin the blame on her.

At that time, I am afraid that this country will immediately fall apart and be taken advantage of by the great powers. Not only will it cede territory and pay compensation, but even those areas that have been independent of each other will be swallowed up one by one by the great powers, and the country will no longer be a country.

No matter which situation occurs, the vanguard troops will be the first to suffer, so Teng Yuzao must try every means to rescue them.

Although it was impossible for the infantry to catch up with the galloping cavalry, Teng Yuzhao still had two cavalry battalions from the second and third mixed brigades.

Xue Qian's cavalry troops stayed in Gu'an. They were responsible for escorting grain and other supplies to Yi County and were not in the capital.

Teng Yuzao ordered in a hoarse voice almost without thinking, "Immediately order the cavalry battalions of the Second Mixed Brigade and the Third Mixed Brigade to rush out of Desheng Gate to Yangfang to protect the emperor."

Just when Teng Yuzhao, who was so shocked that a layer of cold sweat broke out on his head, had not yet come to his senses, Wei Jinghai continued hurriedly.

"Just now, the Russians, Japanese devils, and American cavalry passed through one after another. Their goal was the direction of Yangfang, and they were running very fast. The total number of troops was no less than 4,000."

Four thousand cavalrymen! Wei Jinghai's words almost made Teng Yuzao's nerves collapse.

Perhaps it was because he had just shouted the order that the fear in his heart was temporarily suppressed. Teng Yuzhao's mind came back to his senses a little, and he shouted into the microphone again.

"Tell them not to fight the coalition cavalry head-on. If they fail to rescue us, they should stay with Liu Yuzhi and prepare to support our breakout from outside."

Although the cavalry battalions of the two mixed brigades had more than 600 people in total, when it came to a cavalry battle with the Russian cavalry, these cavalrymen who could barely run on horses were no match at all and could only be targets for the enemy to hack and chop.

It should be said that the cavalry battalions of these three mixed brigades are now just mounted infantry.

After hanging up the phone, Teng Yuzhao stood there blankly for a moment before he took out his cigarette case again, used his slightly trembling hands to light a cigarette for himself with a lighter, took a deep breath, and tried to calm his violently beating heart.

He knew that the cavalry he sent out could at most support and harass the rear of the Allied cavalry. Facing nearly 5,000 cavalry, even if all of their more than 600 people died in battle, it would be of no avail. Now it depended on whether the escort troops headed by Ma Yukun's left army, who accompanied Cixi on her hunt to the west, could stop the Allied cavalry.

Even if they could delay the Allied cavalry for a while, buy some time for Cixi and Guangxu, and allow them to get closer to Yangfang, they might be able to meet Liu Yuzhi's support troops in time, and then they would be completely safe.

Teng Yuzao suddenly thought of Wu Peifu. Wu Peifu and his men would not only certainly encounter the Allied cavalry on the way, but they would also be likely to be located between the two Allied cavalry forces.
Teng Yuzhao sighed deeply and helplessly. He could only pray to God in his heart to save Wu Peifu's life and not let this future Jade Marshal perish too early in the long river of history.

"Xingfu!"

Amid the sound of hurried footsteps, Liu Shijiu's loud voice rang out, and then Liu Shijiu rushed in like a gust of wind.

"Xingfu, the foreign devils are coming!"

"The foreign devils are coming?"

Teng Yuzhao had been weighing in his mind the consequences of the Allied cavalry abducting or killing Cixi and Guangxu, as well as the pros and cons of these consequences, and how he could keep the vanguard army and turn the tide. When Liu Shijiu said, "The foreign devils are coming," he was unable to react for a moment.

It was not until two or three seconds later that he suddenly came to his senses and asked hurriedly.

"American devils or British devils?"

Liu Shijiu, who was a little confused by Teng Yuzhao's sudden call of "American devils, British devils", was also stunned for a while before he reacted.

Nowadays, no one calls people American devils or British devils. Except for the old Russians and the Japanese devils who have some relatively special characteristics, all foreigners who look almost the same are collectively called foreign devils.

"American devils"

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(End of this chapter)