The Qing Dynasty

Chapter 317 The German Army is Coming

Cixi's words first made Zai Yi feel happy, but then Cixi's last sentence "negotiate peace" was like a basin of cold water poured over his head, making Zai Yi's heart, which had just been heated up, suddenly cool down again.

He just mentioned intentionally that the foreigners wanted to interfere in the government, which meant that he wanted Cixi to return power to Guangxu. He wanted to anger Cixi and make her not rush to negotiate peace with the foreigners.

However, now it seems that Cixi was really frightened by the foreigners, and his words did not cause any ripples in Cixi's heart and did not play any role at all.

Moreover, Zai Yi now completely understood Cixi's thoughts, and at this moment he secretly felt fortunate.

Now that he had Teng Yuzao as a powerful helper, although he could not say that he was invincible, as long as Teng Yuzao was willing to support him, he was very confident that he could at least keep him alive.

For the sake of his son! Even to protect his own life and property, Zai Yi had to do his best to help Teng Yuzao no matter what. Only with the vanguard army there would he be safe.

Zai Yi asked anxiously, "Empress Dowager, the Germans have nearly 30,000 troops and horses that are about to arrive in the capital. Is this news true? Does Teng Xingfu know about it?"

Seeing Cixi shaking her head slightly, Zai Yi couldn't help feeling annoyed.

Since the incident with Huailai, Cixi's mentality has changed significantly. Although on the surface she is still the same as before, in many things, Cixi has begun to bypass the Grand Council intentionally or unintentionally.

Now the only army left to fight against the foreigners is the vanguard army. Fighting against foreigners is completely different from the past, and the Grand Council cannot intervene. The specific method of fighting depends entirely on Teng Yuzhao's decision. The Grand Council can only do some things for the vanguard army in terms of food, wages and coordination with local authorities.

Moreover, in Zai Yi's opinion, when it comes to using foreign guns and cannons to fight, no one can surpass Teng Yuzhao, not only in the Grand Council, but also in the entire Qing Dynasty.

The reason why Teng Yuzhao was able to win battles continuously was simply because he was not hindered by anyone.

In view of this situation, even if Cixi did not inform the Grand Council of the news that the German army was about to arrive, she should at least inform Teng Xingfu!

Especially since Cixi had just said that the vanguard troops would not be allowed to die in the capital, but she did not inform Teng Yuzhao of such important military intelligence at the first time!
What is the reason for this?
Could it be that Cixi is going to abandon the vanguard army?
As soon as this thought popped up in his mind, Zai Yi broke out in a cold sweat.

Cixi also noticed Zai Yi's strange behavior and said hurriedly, "Prince Duan, please be patient. This news was reported by Li Zhongtang of Guangdong and Guangxi in a telegram to Zhonghua. Li Zhongtang's telegram was forwarded to Taiyuan and was just brought by Xu Handu."

"I've called you here today because I want to discuss the two things I just mentioned, and I also want to discuss this news with your Military Affairs Office."

Cixi frowned slightly, "I am still undecided about when to inform Teng Xingfu. I am worried that if this matter is reported to the capital too early, it will cause instability in the vanguard army. Teng Xingfu has too many new recruits, most of whom are from the Boxers."

Zai Yi could not accept Cixi's explanation, but Cixi once again mentioned that there were too many people from the Boxer Rebellion in Teng Yuzhao's vanguard army, which aroused Zai Yi's vigilance. He vaguely felt that Cixi was somewhat worried about the vanguard army.

However, there were some things that Cixi could not say directly in front of him, the chief minister who had strongly supported the Boxer Rebellion.

As for the worry about affecting the morale of the vanguard army, it is just an excuse.

It is even possible that Cixi wanted the vanguard army to have another fierce battle with the heavy foreign troops in the capital, so as to inflict greater damage to the vanguard army. By then replenishing them with new soldiers, the proportion of the Boxers in the vanguard army could be greatly diluted.

However, doing so would inevitably cause great damage to the vanguard army. If they were not careful, the vanguard army would most likely be wiped out. He must find a way to prevent such an outcome.

At the very least, we should try our best to make Cixi give up this evil idea temporarily.

Zai Yi didn't bother to wipe the cold sweat from his head, and hurriedly said, "Queen Mother, we should inform Teng Xingfu about this matter in time, so that Teng Xingfu can make preparations early. Otherwise, if Teng Xingfu is unable to do it, he won't be able to leave even if he wants to."

"Empress Dowager, the Qing Dynasty cannot do without Teng Xingfu!"

Zai Yi continued earnestly, "The composition of the Vanguard Army is indeed somewhat complicated now. Not only are there people from Teng Xingfu's original battalion, but there are also people from the Wuwei Vanguard Army, the Green Camp, and the Allied Forces. There are also many new recruits, and almost all officers are from the Beiyang Military Academy or the Wuwei Vanguard Army's school."

"Wu Ziyu also told me that among Teng Xingfu's original battalion, the weakest ones are the tent leaders and platoon leaders. Although Teng Xingfu recruited some of the scattered Boxers to replenish the lost troops in time, the military power of the vanguard army is still firmly in the hands of Teng Xingfu."

Zai Yi said this to put Cixi at ease. Although there were many people from the Boxers in the vanguard army, there were also many new soldiers from the Wuwei Vanguard Army, the Green Camp, the Training Army, and Teng Yuzao's own recruits. Even the smallest tents were mostly Teng Yuzao's men. Under such circumstances, the Boxers in the vanguard army would definitely not be able to cause any big trouble.

"Also, the people sent by the Military Affairs Office to Yi County came back and said that Teng Xingfu had recruited tens of thousands of new soldiers at the camp office in Yi County and they have been trained almost completely. The only shortcoming is the lack of weapons and ammunition."

"As long as Teng Xingfu has time to recruit these new recruits into the vanguard army, the proportion of people from the Boxers in the vanguard army will be greatly reduced."

In order to further alleviate Cixi's concerns, Zai Yi even took the opportunity to unify the military power in the capital and help Teng Yuzhao expand his strength.

"Teng Xingfu was still quite resistant to the Boxers. The Boxer leaders who stayed in the capital this time, Zhou Zhan and Liu Zhigang, took advantage of the fact that the Queen Mother was on a hunting expedition and the capital was empty, and they were so cruel that they looted the treasury, the shops, and the mansions of ministers and wealthy merchants in the capital."

When hearing Zai Yi mention that Zhou Zhan, Liu Zhigang and their gang looted the capital, not only did Ronglu have a gloomy face, but even Wang Wenshao, who had just been scolded by Zai Yi and was already a little furious, and Gangyi, who had a dazed look, all showed deep hatred on their faces.

Almost all of them escaped with empty hands. All the wealth they had accumulated through various means over the past decades was probably lost to these bandits.

Zai Yi continued, "It was Teng Xingfu who acted decisively and sent troops to search the entire city and killed a large number of Boxers."

"This also shows that although Teng Xingfu's vanguard army accepted many members of the disbanded Boxers, he still had no problem controlling the vanguard army."

Zai Yi exhaled heavily and said, "Teng Xingfu has forged a deep hatred with the Boxers this time. If the Gansu Army had not let them escape, Zhou Zhan and Liu Zhigang, the two culprits, would probably have been executed on the spot by Teng Xingfu."

Cixi naturally understood the meaning of Zai Yi's words and said with a slight smile on her face.

"Prince Duan is worrying too much. Although many of Teng Xingfu's vanguard troops are from the Boxers, I still believe in Teng Xingfu's methods of commanding the army."

"Zhonghua also made a lot of efforts to help Teng Xingfu recruit enough soldiers as soon as possible."

Cixi's words were to tell Zai Yi that he still trusted Teng Yuzao and even helped Teng Yuzao recruit new soldiers.

Zai Yi completely believed what Cixi said. He was worried that there were too many Boxers in the vanguard army. Ronglu should be the same as Cixi, helping Teng Yuzhao to recruit enough new soldiers as soon as possible. Ronglu would naturally spare no effort.

Zai Yi suddenly remembered that he had something to report to Cixi today, so he hurriedly took out a memorial from his arms and handed it to Cixi with both hands.

"Empress Dowager, this is the memorial that Teng Xingfu sent this morning."

When they heard that it was Teng Yuzhao's memorial, Cixi, Ronglu and Wang Wenshao all looked over. Li Lianying took a few quick steps forward and took the memorial from Zai Yi without waiting for Cixi's signal.

Although they fled all the way and only breathed a sigh of relief after entering Shanxi, both Cixi and Ronglu were extremely concerned about the news of Teng Yuzhao who was defending the capital.

They had not expected that Teng Yuzhao, who had just suffered a loss in Anping, could actually stop the foreign army that was coming all the way from Tianjin with unstoppable force.

Moreover, not only did Teng Yuzao organize the Boxers on the day he entered the city, he easily captured the Boxers and the Tiger God Camp, besieged Xishiku and Dongjiaominxiang for two months, and won a great victory over the foreigners in the first battle.

They even thought that the foreigners, who had suffered a great loss, would become angry and humiliated and would immediately launch a fierce attack on the capital.

But what surprised them again was that after that, the foreigners behaved like a good boy and did not dare to make any move. The capital city was firmly defended by Teng Yuzhao for nearly a month.

To the extent that some court officials now even say that they must defend the capital to the death.

Even newspapers from all over the country praised the Vanguard Army and called Teng Yuzao the pillar of the country!
But at this time Teng Yuzhao sent a memorial to the emperor. What had happened?
Cixi nervously opened the memorial sent by Teng Yuzao. After taking a few glances, her face suddenly changed.
Thanks: Zongchi Tianzun for the reward!
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(End of this chapter)