The Qing Dynasty

Chapter 322 This is absolutely unacceptable
Cixi, you should see it clearly now.

Since Li Hongzhang had agreed to serve as the court's peace negotiating representative, he would no longer have any other thoughts, at least not the thought of becoming the president.

Therefore, Li Hongzhang's current actions are not for his own selfish interests. Li Hongzhang is considering the court.

The vanguard army rose rapidly like a rainbow piercing the sun. When facing the coalition forces of the great powers, it was not only able to cope with it but also won battle after battle. This made Li Hongzhang see the glimmer of hope that he had been pursuing for many years in the Beiyang government. The ember of faith in the Qing Dynasty that was about to go out in his heart should be rekindled.

Of course, the benefits that Teng Yuzhao and his vanguard army brought to the court were not limited to Li Hongzhang. It should have also influenced the Governor-General of Huguang, Zhang Zhidong, and even caused some changes in the attitudes of some other governors and governors-general. It is entirely possible.

At the same time, a shrewd court official like Li Hongzhang also foresaw some kind of crisis. Li Hongzhang should be preparing for a rainy day. His purpose was not to let the vanguard army become a monolithic entity. He wanted to take advantage of the fact that Teng Yuzhao and his vanguard army had not yet become unshakable and rush to get involved.

In a word, there must be people who are loyal to the court in the vanguard army.

Li Hongzhang's behavior made Cixi happy, but also a little worried.

Although neither Cixi nor Li Hongzhang would think that Teng Xingfu had any rebellious intentions now, or that Teng Yuzhao would have such thoughts in the future, how could these shrewd people not understand the principle of preventing trouble before it happens?

Cixi was a resolute and doer. Ever since the death of Emperor Xianfeng, the strong side of Cixi's nature had been fully revealed. Now that she had thought of it, she would not sit idly by.

As if her mouth was dry from talking, Cixi put down the bronze pestle that she had been holding for a long time, picked up the teacup on the table, and took a sip of tea.

After putting down the teacup, Cixi no longer stared at Ronglu, but swept her eyes across Wang Wenshao and Zai Yi's faces, and spoke slowly.

"Now Teng Xingfu is the General Manager of the Beiyang Zhili Military Affairs. Although he is only responsible for military affairs, he is inevitably involved in many civil affairs, such as supervision, raising food and wages, and other complicated matters."

"In order to allow Teng Xingfu to concentrate on commanding the battle, Li Zhongtang suggested that Zhou Fu and Yang Shixiang go to Teng Xingfu's army to assist him in handling relevant matters."

"You should all know Zhou Fu very well. He is a capable official who is steady and loyal to the Qing Dynasty."

"Not only did he serve as the Tianjin Customs Commissioner and Tianjin Military Commissioner in his early years, but he also served as the head of the Beiyang Front Camp Office during the Sino-Japanese War of 1894-1895. He was not only familiar with the various civil affairs of Zhili, but also made great achievements in military affairs."

"As for Yang Shixiang, you old officials should not be unfamiliar with him. He is a Jinshi and a Hanlin editor. He is known for his competence. Li Zhongtang even suggested that when negotiating peace with the foreigners, Yang Shixiang should be asked to assist him. He is also a rare talent."

"With the help of these two people, Teng Xingfu can handle all civil affairs and matters related to foreigners, which can greatly reduce Teng Xingfu's burden. They will become a powerful helper for Teng Xingfu and will be of great benefit to Teng Xingfu in commanding the vanguard army to fight against foreigners."

Cixi took a breath and asked in a gentle tone, "Do you think these suggestions made by Li Zhongtang are appropriate?"

"Also, Li Zhongtang also said that actually, it is not the entire Qing Dynasty that is fighting against the foreigners, but only the Zhili Province that is fighting against the foreigners."

"Moreover, Teng Xingfu and his army were fighting the foreigners alone, and the rest of the people had no way to intervene."

"In view of this situation, Li Zhongtang believed that the whole province of Zhili must be mobilized to resist the enemy."

Cixi picked up her demon-subduing pestle again, rubbed it in her hand, and continued speaking carefully choosing her words.

"But in this case, Teng Xingfu, the chief military officer of the Beiyang Zhili region, seems a bit out of place, so Li Zhongtang suggested that the court should appoint Teng Xingfu as the governor-general of Zhili to lead the military and civilians of the entire province to fight against the coalition forces of the foreign powers, so that they can remain invincible for a long time."

"What do you think about this matter?"

When Cixi said the last sentence, her eyes had already fallen on Zai Yi, the chief military minister. Cixi's words stunned both Zai Yi and Wang Wenshao!
In the current situation, it is not an exaggeration to say that Teng Yuzhao is facing hundreds of thousands of foreigners alone.

Although there were still some scattered Boxers harassing the foreigners, their strength was too small and they were just a minor threat to the foreigners.

The Beiyang armies were either defeated or suffered heavy losses at the hands of the foreigners and were no longer able to fight. They retreated, or their remnants followed Empress Dowager Cixi in her hunt west and broke off contact with the coalition forces of the great powers.

In the entire Zhili territory, or even in the entire country, the only troops still fighting against the foreigners were Teng Yuzhao's vanguard army and the insignificant 2,000 Gansu troops who were still cooperating with the vanguard army in the capital.

As for the Green Camp and militia in various prefectures and counties in Zhili, they did not dare to confront the foreign troops at all. They either surrendered or gave up resistance and allowed themselves to be slaughtered by the foreigners.

Zai Yi couldn't help but feel excited about Li Hongzhang's suggestion that Teng Yuzhao be appointed as the Governor-General of Zhili.

If this were true, Teng Yuzao would almost become the number one governor-general in the world. At that time, Teng Yuzao had both the Beiyang Zhili and a large army in his hands, and he was very powerful. Not to mention those ministers in the court who attacked Zai Yi, even if Cixi wanted to do something to Zai Yi, she had to look at Teng Yuzao's face.

As long as he could win over Teng Yuzhao, when necessary, he could force his son to take the position, and he would be his most powerful arm.

Although he was extremely excited, Zai Yi still looked hesitant.

He could tell that Cixi had already mostly agreed to the matter in her heart. Rather than discussing and asking about it, it would be better to say that Cixi wanted them to help endorse it.

Since the matter was almost settled, there was no need for him to be too obvious. He did not want Cixi to feel that he and Teng Yuzhao had a close relationship.

Although Zai Yi was unwilling to express his opinion first now, he hoped that Wang Wenshao would be the first to speak up and express his support.

Sure enough, after the initial shock, Wang Wenshao jumped out immediately.

However, what made Zai Yi angry and anxious was that Wang Wenshao did not express his approval, but instead began to speak out in opposition and to stop it.

"Empress Dowager, Li Zhongtang has brought disaster to the country. This must not happen!"

Wang Wenshao's words not only surprised Zai Yi, but also Cixi and Ronglu. Under the current situation, they must win over Teng Xingfu, but Wang Wenshao actually said that the wily Li Hongzhang was misleading the country, which made Cixi and Ronglu very puzzled.

Without waiting for anyone to ask or refute, Wang Wenshao continued speaking hurriedly.

"Empress Dowager, Teng Xingfu fought against the foreigners alone and made great contributions to the court. However, he is only a military man after all and I am afraid he is not qualified for the position of Governor-General of Zhili."

"Furthermore, he now commands a large number of troops and has become increasingly arrogant. This time, when he was defending the capital, he let his men loose and allowed the Boxers to smash Prince Qing's carriage, and even caused Prince Qing to almost die in the capital. Now Prince Qing is hiding in the Gansu Army camp and dares not show up and return home."

"If Teng Xingfu controls the people's livelihood and finances of Zhili Province again, I'm afraid he will become too powerful to be controlled in the future, and he will become a threat to us. I hope the Queen Mother will think twice!"

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(End of this chapter)