The Qing Dynasty

Chapter 356 Seeing Through the Scheming
Zhang Zhidong continued, "In addition, Hongming, please write to Shandong Yuan Weiting, Anhui Wang Juetang, Sichuan Governor Kui Jun, the new Henan Governor Yu Menglin, and Yunnan and Guizhou Governor Wei Guangtao on my behalf, asking them if they would like to purchase second-hand Japanese 1886-year rifles and French rifles."

After the communication channel with Teng Yuzao was established, Teng Yuzao secretly transported the promised rifles to Wuchang via Henan Province by land. Among them were 1898 Japanese Type 1898 rifles and nearly French M- rifles and American M- rifles.

It was also stated that more rifles would be delivered in the future.

Although Teng Yuzhao looked down upon the French M-1898 rifle and the American M-1898 rifle, it did not mean that these two rifles were completely useless. In fact, they were better than the Japanese Type rifle, at least in terms of bullet capacity. Not to mention that their other performance was no worse than that of the Japanese rifle.

In addition to equipping his own new army with some rifles, Zhang Zhidong also wrote to Li Hongzhang, asking whether Guangdong and Guangxi would purchase these second-hand Japanese rifles as well as French and American rifles.

Unexpectedly, Li Hongzhang not only readily agreed to the purchase, but also took the initiative to raise the price to 15 taels per rifle and paid the advance payment. He also purchased 10,000 Japanese Type 30 rifles at one time.

Zhang Zhidong naturally saw through Li Hongzhang's abnormal behavior.

This was because Li Hongzhang guessed the source of the batch of second-hand rifles in Zhang Zhidong's hands, so he took the initiative to increase the price to buy them, which was also a disguised way of showing goodwill to Teng Yuzhao.

Zhang Zhidong naturally would not hide Li Hongzhang's goodwill. The vanguard troops who had already transported guns to Wuchang conveyed Li Hongzhang's intentions to Teng Yuzhao.

However, not to mention that Teng Yuzhao still has Japanese rifles in his hands, even at the speed at which the vanguard army is seizing rifles, it is estimated that the number of rifles in Zhang Zhidong's hands will accumulate more and more. The new army trained in Huguang must be limited, and Zhang Zhidong is reluctant to sell them to the gentry to guard their homes and defend against bandits.

For this reason, Gu Hongming was still a little worried about how to deal with this batch of rifles.

What he didn't expect was that in order to raise money for Cixi to move the capital, Zhang Zhidong actually took the initiative to act as an arms broker for Teng Yuzhao.

"Also, immediately arrange for capable personnel to go to Jingmen to survey the land and plan the roads. The scale of the new palace city should be comparable to the area of ​​the Forbidden City in Beijing."

Ignoring Gu Hongming's gasping expression, Zhang Zhidong continued speaking.

"We will also place advertisements in newspapers in Shanghai and Hong Kong, saying that we are planning to hire foreign architects to design Western-style buildings and landscape gardens for the new capital."

Although the idea of ​​fundraising had gradually become clear in Gu Hongming's mind as Zhang Zhidong spoke, the worry on Gu Hongming's face became even more intense.

It's not just a matter of money. According to Zhang Zhidong, he wanted to make this matter a hot topic as soon as possible so that the whole world would know about it.

However, since Zhang Zhidong had made it clear that he was not only not afraid of the anger of the great powers against him, he was not even worried that the great powers would send troops to Huguang.

Since Zhang Zhidong believed that the great powers would not send troops to Huguang, Gu Hongming did not need to express this concern.

Although Zhang Zhidong was very talented, he was somewhat ambitious, as can be seen from the fact that no matter what he did, he liked to do it in a grand and comprehensive manner.

In Gu Hongming's view, Zhang Zhidong must be trying to show off again.

Although he could no longer persuade her on this matter, Gu Hongming still had to talk about the issue of money.

Finally, after Zhang Zhidong finished speaking, Gu Hongming said with a wry smile.

"Xiang Shuai, this is indeed a way to raise a large sum of money, but it is still a drop in the ocean. It will take time to raise the funds."

"In addition to the two million reserved for the construction of the Lu-Han Railway, can we use the money for the guns that Li Zhongtang paid for as the preliminary survey and design costs for the new capital?"

Zhang Zhidong waved his hands and said, "No, that 150,000 silver is the favor money Li Shaoquan got from Teng Xingfu and the Queen Mother. How can we embezzle it? I, Zhang Zhidong, am not the kind of person who would take credit for the credit."

"That sum of money must be used for its intended purpose. If it's insufficient, we can still advance it. Right now, the Hanyang Gun Factory is stepping up the production of bullets and nuclear shells, and they need a steady stream of money to buy raw materials. How can we embezzle it?"

Zhang Zhidong waved his hand and said, "It is absolutely unacceptable to embezzle the money of the Hanyang Gun Factory. This is over."

"In short, Li Shaoquan's money must not only be handed over to the Hanyang Gun Factory, we must also ensure the capital needs of the Hanyang Gun Factory, and urge them to speed up the production of Maxim bullets and artillery shells."

Zhang Zhidong said to Gu Hongming, "Although the court is no longer able to take care of Teng Xingfu's food and wages, I don't think Teng Xingfu is short of money for the time being. What he lacks most now is ammunition."

"I have already instructed the Hanyang Gun Factory to ask the workers to work overtime and produce more weapons and ammunition. In particular, Teng Xingfu's people said that what they lack most are Maxim bullets and 75mm artillery shells. We can use these bullets and artillery shells to exchange for their rifles. This is what I have promised, and there must be no mistake." Using the ammunition urgently needed by the vanguard army to exchange for rifles was also Zhang Zhidong's gesture of goodwill to the court and Teng Yuzao. Gu Hongming naturally knew this.

Seeing Zhang Zhidong's refusal, Gu Hongming smiled bitterly and said, "Marshal Xiang, the cost of building a Forbidden City is a terrifying amount. I'm afraid the money we have raised is still far from enough!"

Zhang Zhidong became more and more proud as he spoke. Seeing that Gu Hongming's face was almost twitching with worry, he finally couldn't hold it in any longer and laughed happily.

Zhang Zhidong noticed that his laughter made Gu Hongming even more confused, so he stopped laughing.

"Hongming, please take a closer look at the letter."

Gu Hongming picked up the letter and pointed to a paragraph and said, "Xiang Marshal, the letter said that this matter is very urgent and also reminded Xiang Marshal not to slack off."

Zhang Zhidong smiled noncommittally and said, "Then look at the previous sentence again. That's what he said."

"Although moving the capital to Jingmen involves a wide range of issues and is a particularly large undertaking, it is not something that can be done in a short time."

"It's not something that can be done in a short time. On the surface, it means that this is not something that can be done in a short time. On the dark side, it means that the Queen Mother is not in a hurry."

"Also, do you know how many years it took to build the Forbidden City in the capital?"

Although Gu Hongming was knowledgeable, he had been living abroad for a long time and was not very clear about these trivial historical matters.

Zhang Zhidong said, "It took fourteen years to complete the project."

Zhang Zhidong sighed and said, "As the saying goes, it is rare for a person to live to be seventy. The Empress Dowager is already sixty-five. Do you think she can live another fourteen years?"

Talking about Cixi's life span seemed very disrespectful to her, but Zhang Zhidong didn't seem to care at all and continued talking.

"She may not even be able to guarantee that she will live another ten years, let alone fourteen."

"Although the letter also said that it's okay to be a little simple in the early stage, if you still remember that in the year of Jiawu, in order to prepare for her 60th birthday, she forcibly embezzled money to build the Summer Palace when the Beiyang military budget was extremely tight, you would not believe this nonsense anymore."

Zhang Zhidong sighed and said, "Women are short-sighted and love luxury. This is in their bones. Especially now that she is actually the emperor of the emperor, she will be more thoughtful. If you compare this letter carefully, you will find that this letter is very mysterious. The empress dowager's scheming is really beyond the reach of ordinary people!"

When Zhang Zhidong said this, Gu Hongming seemed to understand something and asked anxiously, "Xiang Marshal, do you mean to say that the Empress Dowager's plan to move the capital to Jingmen is false?"

Zhang Zhidong nodded and said, "Moving the capital must be done with preparation. My original intention is not to do it now. It should be done after the war is over. From now on, the court will no longer be threatened by foreign soldiers."

"However, Teng Xingfu, who is now fighting against the coalition forces of the great powers in Zhili alone, has to raise military funds on his own. How much money will it cost for her to build such a large project at this time?"

"Especially, this is not the year of the First Sino-Japanese War, when the great powers would help put pressure on the Japanese. Now we are at war with all the great powers in the world, and no one will put pressure on these great powers that are rampant all over the world to urge them to end the war as soon as possible, not to mention that the foreigners have even occupied the capital."

"There are only two possible solutions now. One is that the two sides decide the winner; the other is that both sides are no longer able to fight and have to negotiate a solution."

"It seems impossible to defeat the coalition of all the world's great powers. Even if Teng Yuzao is a good fighter, he can't do it. After all, he can't do it alone."

"So, if the imperial court is unwilling to voluntarily admit defeat and negotiate peace, then the best outcome must be to continue to fight the foreigners until they can no longer afford to fight. This way, we can still strive for a good peace outcome."

"Now it seems that Teng Xingfu has defeated powerful enemies in succession for two or three months. Not only has the vanguard army not been defeated, but it has become stronger and braver with each battle. It is not a fantasy to realize the second situation."

"As long as Teng Xingfu can hold on, the foreigners will be the ones who can't hold on."

"At this moment, what Teng Xingfu needs most is food and military support. How could she not know that? How could she really come up with the idea of ​​moving the capital, a bottomless pit that eats up money?"

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(End of this chapter)