The Qing Dynasty

Chapter 448 Playing cards against common sense
Teng Yuzhao's question about the officials of Zhili prefectures and counties going to comfort and reward the invaders of the coalition forces of foreign powers, and even helping the foreigners to raise military rations, was not groundless.

For some unknown reason, many county officials in Zhili did not have much hostility towards the invasion of the allied forces. Many of them, like Ting Yong, opened their doors to welcome the thieves.

Not only did these officials not resist, they would not do anything to secretly obstruct the coalition army's efforts to raise military supplies. They were so respectful to the coalition forces that it was as if they were meeting their superiors, and they were extremely respectful to A Yu.

The better ones wanted their cooperation in exchange for the coalition forces not harming the local people, while the more selfish ones only hoped that the coalition forces would not harm their personal safety or cause any loss to their own property.

What's more, there were officials who not only welcomed the coalition forces that invaded their jurisdiction with a smile, but also organized the gentry and common people to welcome the coalition forces, and even sent cattle, sheep and food as rewards to the other side, as if the invading coalition forces were their saviors who would save them from water and fire.

Although Teng Yuzao had always been courteous and polite to these local officials since he met them who followed Zhou Fu to Luzhou Prefecture, this made many Zhili officials, including Shen Jiaben, feel a lot more relaxed when facing Teng Yuzao, their new superior.

But at this time, facing Teng Yuzao's stern tone, which even had a hint of coldness in it, Shen Jiaben couldn't help but become nervous. He quickly stood up and bowed to Teng Yuzao, then smiled and spoke carefully.

"Sir, there are many county officials like this in Zhili. I think these people should be severely reprimanded and asked to repent and reform. Otherwise, local government affairs may be difficult to handle for a while."

Seeing Teng Yuzhao's unhappy expression, Shen Jiaben quickly added something, knowing that his words would not satisfy Teng Yuzhao.

"Your Excellency, it is clear that most of these officials were forced to flatter the foreigners in order to protect the people in their territory from suffering. Or, they were forced to take the initiative to cater to the foreigners under pressure from the gentry in their territory. Shouldn't we be too harsh on these people?"

"Besides, it's not just the officials and gentry who are like this. Many common people will also work for the foreigners for the sake of petty gains. If we only punish the officials severely, it may be difficult to convince the people. If we also punish the gentry and common people severely, it may cause complaints and negative comments, which will be detrimental to your reputation. You see."

Shen Jiaben's meaning was very clear. There were too many such officials. Not only did they welcome foreigners, but they also continued to be officials of the imperial court as usual and obeyed the jurisdiction of the Governor-General and the Provincial Governor of Zhili. If they were to be severely punished, there would probably not be many local officials in Zhili, and the future government affairs of Zhili would inevitably be neglected.

Even if the imperial court is unable to send officials to take over in a short period of time, the collection of military rations and taxes needed by the vanguard army will become a problem.

Moreover, the actions of some gentry and common people were also outrageous. As long as the foreigners did not infringe on their own interests, these people had no hostility towards the foreign coalition forces.

What's worse, some gentry and common people, in order to get some money from foreigners, did not only do harmless things such as running errands for the Allied Forces. It can be said that they were forced to do so in order to make a living or under the pressure and coercion of foreigners.

But there were many people, both Manchu and Han, who would actually lead foreigners for money, secretly help foreigners identify members of the Boxer Rebellion, and even help foreigners spy on military intelligence. This left Teng Yuzhao speechless.

Teng Yuzhao couldn't help but lament in his heart that a nation without a concept of national identity and sense of identity is not only lamentable, but also very sad.

Teng Yuzao shook his head firmly and said, "Even if government affairs are neglected, Zhili will never tolerate the existence of such officials who do not distinguish between enemies and friends and have no country or home. All such officials, no matter what rank they are, will be expelled and will not be allowed to stay in office. Then you report the names to me, and I will report to the court to impeach these people."

Teng Yuzao's words made Shen Jiaben a little at a loss. You know, even though Teng Yuzao was the governor-general of Zhili, he had no right to remove an official from his post, even if he was a seventh-rank county magistrate. Moreover, there would inevitably be fourth-rank prefects and other officials among them. Teng Yuzao could only submit an impeachment memorial and wait for the court to make a decision on these officials.

Of course, the imperial court would most likely not lose face for the governors and would basically approve their impeachments.

But Teng Yuzhao is now not playing by the rules at all. He first drives people out and then impeaches them. To put it mildly, this is against court etiquette!

To put it in a broader sense, it means being arrogant and conceited and looking down on the imperial court.

Shen Jiaben couldn't help but look at Zhou Fu, but Zhou Fu nodded and said.

"People like this are tantamount to treating an enemy as a friend. They are not worthy of being officials of the Qing Dynasty. I will join you in impeaching them."

Although Zhou Fu did not say whether he agreed with Teng Yuzhao's statement that he drove people away first, the meaning of his words showed that he had no objection to Teng Yuzhao's statement.

The governor and the provincial governor both held the same opinion, and Shen Jiaben suddenly lost the courage to argue. If he really wanted to annoy this young governor who was currently very popular in the Qing Dynasty, Shen Jiaben believed that Teng Yuzhao would definitely not mind spending a little more time and effort to add his name, Shen Jiaben, to the impeachment memorial.

Seeing Teng Yuzao's firm attitude towards dealing with these officials, Shen Jiaben knew that this matter was irreversible. He couldn't help but sigh in his heart, but still said with a bitter smile. "My lord, what these people did can indeed be regarded as the crime of treason, which has violated the laws of the Qing Dynasty. Although there are excusable circumstances, the crime is unforgivable. I am in charge of the criminal affairs of Zhili, and I cannot shirk my responsibility. I will work with the two lords to jointly impeach these officials."

Shen Jiaben, the third most important figure in Zhili, had already expressed his opinion, and Yang Shixiang and Xu Shichang stood up and spoke almost at the same time.

"Your Excellencies, we will also jointly impeach these unscrupulous officials."

Although Yang Shixiang and Xu Shichang both wore the uniforms of the Vanguard Army and were considered generals of the Vanguard Army, they were both from the Hanlin Academy. In the eyes of the court and the world, their status was much higher than that of other generals of the Vanguard Army. They were qualified to participate in the impeachment memorials of the Governor-General, the Provincial Governor, and the Provincial Surveillance Commissioner.

Moreover, the participation of two Hanlin scholars in the impeachment will make the impeachment memorial more weighty.

Not to mention Yang Shixiang, Teng Yuzao was still satisfied with the attitudes of Zhou Fu, Shen Jiaben and Xu Shichang.

Teng Yuzhao did this not only because he hated these officials and disdained to have anything to do with them, but he also wanted to use this opportunity to establish his own official authority in Zhili so that he would have fewer shackles of lip service when governing the local area in the near future.

In addition, Teng Yuzao has deeper considerations.

Including the provincial governors, many officials of the imperial court, and even Empress Dowager Cixi, did not care too much about the actions of these officials who had no sense of family and country in their minds, as well as the unscrupulous gentry and common people.

Teng Yuzhao wanted to use this to change the thinking of the Chinese people, and even the people in power in the court who had such thoughts, and establish the mindset of the Chinese people to defend their country and resist foreign humiliation together.

In addition, Teng Yuzhao had an unspeakable thought, which was that he wanted to use this opportunity to test the court's attitude towards him.

Given his current reputation in the country, his decision will definitely arouse strong approval and support from gentry, people, and especially scholars in other provinces.

It would be fine if the court approved of his approach, but if the court did not allow him to expel these officials, even if it arranged for these expelled officials to continue serving as officials in other provinces, it would cause criticism from the people against the court.

As the saying goes, a thousand-mile dike is destroyed by an ant hole. Those who want to achieve great things often need to start with small things. Teng Yuzhao wanted to subtly influence the world's perception of the court. This incident was just a small pit he dug for the court.

Even if the imperial court accepted it with a pinch of its nose, Teng Yuzhao would leave a good impression on the people, which would only be of great benefit to his reputation, and there would not be any bad feelings towards him at all.

With a "bang", Wu Peifu, who seemed to have understood Teng Yuzhao's thoughts, slammed the table and stood up.

"Sir, these people are like acknowledging the enemy as their father. Anyone can kill them. Simply driving them away would be too easy for them. In my humble opinion, these scums should be executed on the spot to serve as a warning to others."

There was another louder slam of the table, which made the teacups on the table jingle. Without even looking, Teng Yuzhao knew that it must have been done by his good ally Liu Shijiu.

Sure enough, following the sound of slamming the table, Liu Shijiu started shouting in an angry and hoarse voice.

"Damn it! We fought the foreign devils and lost tens of thousands of our brothers, but these bastard officials betrayed us and colluded with the foreign devils."

"If it were you, I'd say you don't need to worry about it. Just leave it to me. I'll make sure I chop them all off!"

"Yes, chop all these bastards off."

Before Liu Shijiu finished speaking, Li Jinyu, Wang Decheng, Pan Jinshan and Cao Futian all jumped up.

Immediately afterwards, Yang Shixiang, Wei Jinghai, Xu Shichang, Liu Yuzhi, Li Xiange, Hu Dianjia, Liu Bingyi, Su Xilin and others also stood up and shouted loudly with an angry look on their faces.

Then, the rest of the people in the conference room stood up and expressed their support for Teng Yuzao's decision.
(End of this chapter)