The Qing Dynasty

Chapter 492 Conspiracy
Although Teng Yuzao was extremely excited to get help from Yang Shiqi, there were still important matters to be resolved. After asking about Yang Shiqi's recent situation, Teng Yuzao pondered for a moment, turned to look at Xu Shichang, and asked expectantly.

"Brother Juren, what do you think of the three strategies that Lianfu proposed?"

Xu Shichang had been thinking silently, and suddenly heard Teng Yuzhao's question, then he stopped thinking and said.

"General, in my humble opinion, among these three strategies, the best one is a bit radical and will easily cause resentment among the court officials, especially the nobles, and leave a root of trouble."

"And the worst option is too weak, and there is also the risk of being manipulated by others, so I support the middle option."

Xu Shichang's answer finally made Teng Yuzhao breathe a sigh of relief.

Teng Yuzhao was still somewhat unsure about Xu Shichang's attitude, but Xu Shichang's answer finally put him at ease.

Since Xu Shichang agreed with the middle strategy, it meant that he did not object to what Yang Shixiang and Teng Yuzhao were saying and doing to secretly oppose the court.

According to Xu Shichang's character in history, if he did not agree, even if he did not oppose, he would at least remain silent, or even resign from his position and leave. But now he has clearly expressed his support for the middle policy, which explains everything.

Teng Yuzhao and Yang Shixiang couldn't help but look at each other, and both saw a fleeting glimpse of joy in each other's eyes.

Teng Yuzao smiled and nodded, then looked at Wei Jinghai and Liu Changfa.

The two also felt that what Xu Shichang said made sense and agreed to adopt the middle strategy.

Teng Yuzhao took a deep breath, trying to calm his excitement over Yang Shiqi and Xu Shichang's support, and spoke slowly.

"You have all expressed your thoughts, so I will also share mine."

From Teng Yuzao's words, several people could sense that Teng Yuzao did not seem to agree with the so-called middle policy. They could not help but prick up their ears and listen carefully to what Teng Yuzao said next.

"In general, these three strategies all have their merits, but they also have their shortcomings."

"The best strategy is just as you said, it's a bit too aggressive and too tough, while the worst strategy is too weak. As for the middle strategy, it also has the problem of not showing our attitude."

"But Zhongce can greatly win the sympathy of the people for our vanguard army, and even gain more support from them!"

"So, comparatively speaking, I am more in favor of the middle policy because it will do us almost no harm."

Teng Yuzhao only said that it would not cause any harm to himself, but it would cause deep harm to the court. Especially if someone with ulterior motives instigated it, the consequences would be very serious.

Although in history, the imperial court eventually negotiated peace with the great powers, and it was a very humiliating peace, and even paid an extremely heavy price, it did not cause much criticism, and the Chinese people only experienced a brief period of grief and indignation, and soon calmed down.

But that was because the Wuwei Army, which was given high hopes, was vulnerable in front of the coalition forces of foreign powers, and the other Green Camps and trained warriors were even more vulnerable. The coalition forces of foreign powers easily forced the imperial court to abandon the capital and flee all the way to the Guanzhong area.

The imperial court had no more soldiers to use, so it had no choice but to humiliate itself and seek peace, struggling to survive. The current situation is very different from the original history. The vanguard army has won victory after victory, and even defeated the armies of the great powers. It has proved to the Chinese people that the vanguard army is capable of competing with the coalition forces of the great powers.

Even some knowledgeable people were able to clearly realize that if the vanguard army fought to the death with the great powers, there would be no hope of winning in the end.

Of course, there are prerequisites for the coalition forces of the great powers to achieve ultimate victory. The real prerequisite is that the great powers are willing to pay a certain price and spend a certain amount of energy on the battlefield in the Far East.

Or, even if some powers were unwilling to continue fighting, they would still maintain an embargo on the Qing Dynasty, preventing it from obtaining any external support.

However, the current situation and circumstances have made many Chinese people excited. It can even be said that the situation has reached a level of public excitement. It is completely different from history. Under such a good situation, if anyone dares to propose peace talks with foreigners, he will inevitably be spurned by the Chinese people.

At this time, if the news of the peace talks were leaked, the prestige and credibility of the court would be seriously damaged.

Teng Yuzao continued, "However, the place where this news was leaked cannot be Baoding. This will make the court suspicious of Li Zhongtang and your Yang Lianfu. Even those who are interested may associate it with me who is close to Baoding."

"So, the place where the news was leaked should not be Baoding, but should be Xi'an where the imperial court is stationed."

"There must be quite a few nobles and ministers who know that the court wants to negotiate peace with the foreigners. If the news leaked out from somewhere, there would be so many clues that the court would be unable to find out even if they wanted to, and it would become a mystery."

Teng Yuzao's words made everyone nod in agreement, and Yang Shixiang even clapped his hands in praise.

"After Juren and Dashuai made some changes to this strategy, it became completely impeccable. Anyone who wants to pin the leak on Dashuai is just wishful thinking."

In response to Yang Shixiang's compliment, Teng Yuzao simply smiled faintly.

"If you have no objection, then this matter is settled. Lian Fu, please continue. Li Zhongtang has anything else for you to tell me."

Yang Shixiang nodded and continued, "Li Zhongtang also asked me to tell the Marshal that this time the coalition forces suffered heavy casualties and were defeated so miserably that it caused strong reactions in the major Western powers without exception."

Teng Yuzhao was not at all surprised that Li Hongzhang could get news from the great powers. Not only because Li Hongzhang had many years of experience in dealing with foreigners and some of the imperial envoys abroad had close connections with him, but also because Li Hongzhang had been an envoy to major powers such as Russia, Britain, France, Germany, Japan, and the United States, and he was very familiar with each country.

Moreover, Guangdong and Guangxi are very close to British-occupied Hong Kong, so it is easy to obtain domestic news from the great powers from Hong Kong newspapers or from Hong Kong.

Therefore, even though Li Hongzhang was not at the core and was only a provincial governor, he was still much more informed than the imperial court. This was why, even though Li Hongzhang also joined the "Southeast Mutual Protection" and was even elected as the leader by the provincial governors, the imperial court still had to rely on him in peace talks with the great powers.

Yang Shixiang continued, "The French reacted most violently to the news of the coalition's defeat. The French have already started a commotion, not only demanding that France withdraw its troops immediately, but the people are also strongly demanding that Prime Minister Rousseau step down."

After saying this, Yang Shixiang smiled with gloating and said, "This is the second time the French army has been defeated in a war with us. Last time, their prime minister was forced to step down. This time, it is estimated that Rousseau will also be driven out of office."

(End of this chapter)