The Qing Dynasty

Chapter 274 Ultimatum
"absurd!"

Teng Yuzao said sternly, "The person who spread this rumor is really despicable. I just met Prince Duan this morning, and I didn't hear him mention any imperial decree. If there was an imperial decree, how could I, the General Manager of the Beiyang Zhili Military Affairs in charge of the defense of the capital, not know about it?"

"Tell the Boxer brothers that at least I have not received the imperial edict yet."

Teng Yuzao then added, "Brother, you must also make it clear to the Boxers that even if there is an imperial decree, I will protect their safety in the capital."

In fact, Teng Yuzhao wanted to say that everything would be fine if he joined the vanguard army, but he stopped talking when the words came to his lips.

Because Teng Yuzhao is almost certain that the purpose of this content will definitely appear. Even if it has not appeared now, it will appear in the near future.

Therefore, Teng Yuzhao did not say anything definite, he just said that he had not received such an order.

However, Teng Yuzhao also suspected that these were people with ulterior motives who were spreading rumors and misleading the public in an attempt to confuse the Boxers.

Because at this moment, Cixi's life or death is still unknown. Even if she is intercepted by the coalition forces of the great powers now, I am afraid that the great powers have not yet figured out what benefits they want.

"Marshal, who would spread such news?" Wei Jinghai asked with a frown.

"Those who have high profits will be suspicious," Teng Yuzhao said calmly.

"The person who is most responsible for this rumor is naturally the one who spread it."

Wei Jinghai nodded in agreement with Teng Yuzhao's opinion. Just as he was about to speak, the phone rang again.

A staff officer answered the phone and reported to Wei Jinghai, "Deputy Chief of Staff, it's Captain Cao of the Independent Battalion calling."

Teng Yuzhao calculated the time in his mind when he heard Cao Futian's call. Although Cao Futian's brigade headquarters was located in Guang'anmen, he should have just returned by now. He called so urgently, what could be the matter?
Wei Jinghai took the call and just after listening to a few words, his expression became a little strange. He just said into the receiver, "Captain Cao, please wait a moment."

After Wei Jinghai finished speaking, he put the phone receiver on the table, then hurried to Teng Yuzhao and spoke in a low voice.

"Marshal, Cao Futian called and said that the Deshengmen garrison just reported that a group of nearly a thousand foreign cavalrymen had just returned from the northwest."

Teng Yuzao was shocked by Wei Jinghai's words.

In the morning, the Allied Forces' cavalry had just gone to chase after Cixi's group. Now they hurried back. Could it be that they caught up with Cixi and captured them?

"Marshal, you say"

Although Wei Jinghai did not say the following words, Teng Yuzhao already understood what he meant. Teng Yuzhao took a deep breath, tried to calm himself down, resisted the urge to go over and pick up the phone, and spoke to Wei Jinghai.

"Ningbo, go and ask in detail if this is the only group of foreign cavalry coming from the northwest? Also, is there anyone in their group?"

Wei Jinghai walked back with a serious expression and picked up the phone receiver again. After asking carefully, his expression relaxed.

"Captain Cao, have your men keep a close eye on the foreign cavalry coming from the northwest. You know, they have several thousand cavalrymen."

After getting the reply, Wei Jinghai put down the phone and walked back and said, "Marshal, Cao Futian said that his people said there were only foreign cavalrymen and they didn't see anyone else in their team."

A lot of telescopes were obtained from the Beiyang Military Academy and Xigu, plus the continuous seizures. The vanguard army's telescopes were not only equipped to the captain level, but also to the reconnaissance units of various troops. Teng Yuzhao did not think that Cao Futian's men would have any omissions.

So, what if this is just the vanguard of the coalition forces?
Their large army had captured Guangxu and Cixi, but they were just walking behind. Teng Yuzao quickly overturned this assumption. If the enemy had captured these two invaluable treasures, how could they dare to send a thousand people to go ahead? They would definitely send someone back to report the news and ask the coalition forces to send troops to meet them, while concentrating their forces and heavily guarding them to prevent them from being snatched back.

In other words, the current situation just proves that the coalition forces did not succeed.

Teng Yuzhao deduced that it must be the appearance of Liu Yuzhi's support troops that protected Cixi and her entourage.

"Dear Marshal Teng, the envoys of various countries really want to get a personal guarantee from Marshal Teng. I wonder if Marshal Teng can meet our request."

Suddenly, a man's voice with an obvious foreign accent was heard outside, shouting at the top of his lungs using a loudspeaker.

But before the other party could finish his words, a series of coughs were heard.

Wei Jinghai smiled and said, "Marshal, the foreign devils can't wait any longer. You'd better give them some reassurance pills as soon as possible. Otherwise, I'm worried that even if many foreign devils won't be burned to death, some will be choked to death."

Accompanied by Wei Jinghai, Teng Yuzao climbed up the ladder to the roof.

Teng Yuzao looked towards the embassy area and was shocked.

The entire embassy area was not filled with smoke as he had imagined. Although there was still a lot of smoke, and the pungent smell even made his throat itchy, flames could be seen rising from large areas on the east, south, and north sides. Only the western side near the Ministry of Households was mostly intact.

Teng Yuzhao couldn't help but feel a little regretful. If he delayed a little longer, or even burned some people to death, he was afraid that the people inside would no longer negotiate any conditions with him.

Wei Jinghai took an electric loudspeaker from the staff officer and shouted at him.

"No matter who you are, you are not qualified to speak to our Marshal. The envoys must nominate a representative to speak to our Marshal."

Soon, a hoarse voice came from the other side, shouting in English, "Dear General Teng Yuzao, I am Sir Claude MacDonald, the British Empire's Minister Plenipotentiary to the Qing Dynasty. On behalf of the ministers of the embassy district, I would like to thank the general for coming in person."

As soon as Dou Nale finished speaking, the voice of the person who had just spoken was heard again from the other side, which allowed Dou Nale's words to be translated into Chinese.

Teng Yuzao took the electric speaker from Wei Jinghai and shouted into the microphone, "Hello, Sir Dounale, the fire is getting bigger and bigger. If you need me to make any guarantees, please tell me quickly, otherwise I'm worried that some people will be burned to death."

Teng Yuzao's words made Dou Nale no longer hesitate and hurriedly shouted, "General Teng, we can surrender immediately, but only to your troops. I hope you can promise us that you will guarantee the safety of all of us, and then send us all out of the city and let us return to the coalition forces."

"I'm sorry, Sir Dounale. I can guarantee the safety of all of you after you surrender. I can also release the civilians and diplomats out of the city and return them to the coalition forces. That's all."

"I hope Sir Claude Donald understands that this is a war. I will not allow those soldiers to go back. They must all become my prisoners. They will not be released until the war is over."

Teng Yuzao went on to say, "I would also like to solemnly remind you, Sir, not to play any tricks on me, let alone attempt to disguise soldiers as civilians or diplomats, otherwise I will withdraw my promise. I hope you understand the seriousness of the consequences."

Teng Yuzao looked at the watch on his wrist. "It is 3:35 pm now. I will only give you ten minutes. If you still haven't surrendered after the time is up, I will also take back my promise."

"Please remember that I am serious about my words. This is an ultimatum!"

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(End of this chapter)