The Qing Dynasty

Chapter 449: Where People's Hearts Are

Although Teng Yuzao noticed that the attitudes of those who stood up last to express their support for his decision were different from those who expressed their opinions first, or that they were reserved, he did not think that these people had any objections to his approach.

For example, the Lin brothers may not be like this. They do not have much good feelings towards this court. This may be because they have lived abroad in their childhood, and their sense of identity with this country is not very strong yet.

As for Li Yaoting, who stood up last, Teng Yuzao was even more indifferent.

Teng Yuzao noticed that Li Yaoting had been observing everyone's expressions. This was Li Yaoting's way of reminding everyone that as the director of the security department, he was fulfilling his duties and doing his job.

As for the attitudes of Hu Dianjia and Xue Qian, Teng Yuzhao was not surprised at all.

In Teng Yuzhao's opinion, these two people have always had a strong sense of identification with the imperial court, and it will take time to change their attitudes.

Only Li Yulin made Teng Yuzhao feel a dull pain in his heart.

Li Yulin's greatest strength, and also his greatest weakness, is that he is too calm. Teng Yuzhao is really helpless about this former good brother and good subordinate.

Sometimes Teng Yuzhao would be frightened by his own thoughts. Li Yulin knew too many of his secrets. If any of those secrets were leaked, it would immediately cause an uproar in public opinion. His image in the eyes of the Chinese people would also be seriously damaged. It was not impossible that he would even be ruined.

If such a person is not absolutely in line with himself and is not absolutely loyal to him, it is extremely dangerous for him.

In Teng Yuzhao's view, the one who would pose a serious threat to him was not the hundreds of thousands of aggressive coalition forces, nor even Cixi, the actual ruler of the Qing court, but his good brother.

Do I really have to take drastic measures myself to eliminate the hidden dangers?
What interested Teng Yuzao most were Pan Jinshan, Wang Decheng and Cao Futian.

Teng Yuzhao discovered that in recent months, no matter what he did, Pan Jinshan would act according to Wu Peifu's attitude. As long as he found that Wu Peifu agreed with something, Pan Jinshan would immediately follow suit.

Wang Decheng and Cao Futian, on the other hand, just watched Liu Shijiu act.

Wu Peifu and Liu Shijiu have become the weather vanes. It seems that whatever Wu Peifu and Liu Shijiu do will satisfy Teng Yuzhao. Following these two people will not only not be wrong, but will even win his favor from time to time.

Teng Yuzhao couldn't help but secretly admire in his heart, these people are all smart!

What made Teng Yuzhao most happy was that all the generals who joined the "Endeavor Society" and their chiefs of staff, under the leadership of Wu Peifu, Liu Shijiu, Liu Yuzhi, Li Xianze, Liu Changfa, Li Jinyu and others, gave him firm support for his decision almost without reservation.

Teng Yuzhao believed that as long as the "Fenjin Society" was given some more time, these people would make sure that the "Fenjin Society" spread to every corner of the Vanguard Army. Any general who wanted to betray them would be firmly resisted by the members of the "Fenjin Society" without having to do it himself.

In a word, at that time, the vanguard army would not be swayed by any general who made unusual moves, and the commander would resolutely obey the orders of Teng Yuzhao alone, which made Teng Yuzhao very excited.

Teng Yuzao tried hard to suppress the anxiety and excitement in his heart. He waved his hand to signal everyone to take a seat before continuing.

"As for those civilians..." "If they just helped the coalition forces to do some work, it is understandable and they can be exempted from accountability."

"Even merchants and gentry who sold food and other military supplies to the foreign coalition forces can be exempted from prosecution."

"But we should not be lenient with merchants and gentry who buy grain from other places, even from neighboring provinces, and then sell it to the foreign coalition forces, as well as those who are greedy for small profits, help foreigners capture Chinese people, and spy for the foreign coalition forces."

"People like this not only have no country or home in their hearts, they are completely collaborating with the enemy and are traitors! For these people, regardless of whether they are Manchu or Han, and regardless of their origin, they will all be treated as collaborators and killed without mercy! We must kill one to warn the rest, to serve as a warning to others!"

"What these people have done must be published in the newspapers. Not only should they be disgraced, but their heads should also be used to warn the world that such people are traitors to the country and should be punished by everyone."

By the end, Teng Yuzao's tone had turned murderous, making Shen Jiaben feel a chill on his back.

You know, he was also an official who followed Ting Yong out of the city to entertain the foreign coalition forces. If Teng Yuzhao really wanted to investigate, he would not be able to escape.

Fortunately, with the unanimous agreement of all the generals, including Zhou Fu who nodded in agreement, Teng Yuzao's tone softened.

Little did he know that at this moment Teng Yuzhao was secretly very nervous, and he almost said the word "traitor" just now.

After calming down, Teng Yuzao gave Shen Jiaben some instructions again.

"Sir Shen, although this is your duty as the Censor, I still want to remind you."

Shen Jiaben hurriedly bowed and saluted, "Your Excellency's instructions, I will naturally listen attentively and will not dare to neglect anything."

Teng Yuzao nodded and said, "I would like to say a few more words about investigating and punishing traitors. We must be very careful in this matter. We must not let a traitor go, and we must not wrongly accuse an innocent citizen. We must eradicate all evil and provide solid evidence. We must not allow the petty officials below to use this matter to blackmail the people and enrich themselves."

"Once the facts are verified, no matter who it is, even if it is a scholar, gentry, or official, their crimes will be made public and they will be executed on the spot, and then a report will be submitted to the court."

Before Teng Yuzhao could finish his words, a staff officer walked into the meeting room with a letter in his hand.

When Wei Jinghai saw the staff officer from the General Staff Office, his heart tightened.

The military situation is now very serious. Hundreds of thousands of coalition troops are approaching, almost at the gates of the city. In recent days, he has continuously received intelligence about the coalition forces from investigators and intelligence personnel from Li Yaoting's security department. The military situation changes several times a day, which makes him, the deputy chief of staff in charge of operations, feel nervous.

Wei Jinghai hurriedly stood up and walked forward, taking the letter from the staff officer. After just a glance, he couldn't help but look at Teng Yuzhao. Then, after asking the staff officer a few questions in a low voice, he motioned for the staff officer to wait for a moment and walked quickly towards Teng Yuzhao.

Everyone was aware of the urgency of the military situation, and the staff officer's sudden arrival at the conference room inevitably attracted everyone's attention.

Wei Jinghai walked to Teng Yuzao's side, leaned over, and whispered a few words in Teng Yuzao's ear. Teng Yuzao's expression was surprised at first, and then a trace of unspeakable bitterness was revealed on his face.
(End of this chapter)