The Qing Dynasty

Chapter 525 Peace Negotiations
It is already August. In the past two months,

Yongqing, Longhu Village, Vanguard Army Headquarters.

The midday sun was scorching. No matter where it shone, everything was white. The air was even hotter and more importantly, the air seemed to be frozen, and there was not even a trace of wind.

At this time, even if you are indoors, it is still hot and unbearable because there is no wind.

In this season, the weather is so sunny and bright, and the shade of trees is the only good place to cool off.

In the shade under the grape trellis in the headquarters courtyard, there is a large round table, on which are placed cooling drinks such as herbal tea, sour plum soup, and even two large plates of sliced ​​iced watermelon.

There were eight people sitting around the round table, including Teng Yuzhao, Wei Jinghai, Yang Shixiang and Xu Shichang. The other four were quite surprising, as they were Zhou Xuexi, Xi Ligong and Huang Chujiu, headed by Ning Xingpu.

In addition, sitting next to Teng Yuzhao was a middle-aged man in his forties with a round face and wearing glasses. This slightly plump middle-aged man was none other than Li Hongzhang's son Li Jingfang.

Li Jingfang had arrived in Yongqing a month ago and reported to Empress Dowager Cixi, who appointed Li Jingfang as assistant to the Minister of Commerce of the Beiyang Government, mainly responsible for the communication and negotiation between Teng Yuzhao and the foreign powers.

Two months ago, shortly after the vanguard army captured Langfang, Xu Shichang was arranged by Teng Yuzhao to go to Baoding to participate in the peace negotiations when the foreigners urgently demanded peace talks.

Xu Shichang and Yang Shixiang arrived in Yongqing by train this morning.

Ning Xingpu, Zhou Xuexi, Xi Ligong, Huang Chujiu and others met in Pukou after receiving an urgent telegram from Teng Yuzhao. They rushed all the way via Anhui and Shandong by land. They only slept for a short while in Bazhou the previous night and then rode fast horses all night long. They arrived in Yongqing almost at the same time as Yang Shixiang and Xu Shichang.

They had just finished a welcoming banquet hosted by Teng Yuzhao. Now, while enjoying the cool air under the grape trellis, they listened to Wei Jinghai and Yang Shixiang briefing Ning Xingpu and others on the vanguard army's recapture of the capital and Langfang, the siege of Tianjin, and the peace talks.

On the night that Teng Yuzhao led his troops back to Langfang, he selected prisoner-of-war representatives from the United Kingdom, the United States, France, Germany and Japan from the Allied forces captured in Xianghe. Each country had a captain officer, and they were sent to Langfang through shouting.

These five countries all have troops in Langfang.

The reason for letting these people enter Langfang was that Teng Yuzhao believed that it would be best if the remaining coalition forces in Langfang could surrender voluntarily. This would have a greater impact at home and abroad, especially for the people of the eight countries that participated in the invasion of Zhili.

Teng Yuzao's move to persuade the enemy to surrender was unanimously opposed by Liu Shijiu, Li Jinyu, Pan Jinshan, and even Wei Jinghai, but Teng Yuzao still insisted on his decision.

Teng Yuzhao told the captives who went to persuade them to surrender that if the remaining coalition forces in Langfang refused to surrender, he would launch a general attack on Langfang in the middle of tomorrow. Once he entered Langfang, he would not accept a single prisoner.

However, after the prisoners were released, there was no further news. However, the coalition forces from Tianjin that came to provide assistance suddenly withdrew to Beicang and the relatively intact Beiguan of Tianjin City on the morning of the next day.

Teng Yuzhao estimated that it was very likely that the foreign devils in Tianjin had learned through some unknown channel that the Allied Forces that fled from the capital had been destroyed in Xianghe, so they ignored the remaining Allied Forces in Langfang and hurried back to protect themselves.

Since the coalition forces from Tianjin had retreated, Teng Yuzhao was too lazy to pay attention to them for the time being.

At noon the next day, Teng Yuzhao punctually issued the bombardment order. According to Teng Yuzhao's plan, since he was determined to surrender and not take any prisoners, he could have some excuses to avoid being involved in the peace talks, which would be extremely detrimental to his subsequent development of Westernization and promotion of industrialization in Zhili.

In order to capture Langfang as quickly as possible and thus deter the warring powers, Teng Yuzhao took out all the cannons he had just seized in Xianghe, including mortars from several towns, totaling more than 1,500 large and small artillery pieces, and launched a fierce artillery attack on Langfang, which had already been reduced to rubble.

The scene of so many artillery firing at the same time was extremely shocking. Not to mention Liu Shijiu, Wu Peifu, Li Jinyu, Pan Jinshan, Wei Jinghai and others, even Liu Changfa, the chief artillery officer of the vanguard army, was shocked.

However, just as the shelling began, the American troops in Langfang were the first to raise the white flag, followed by the British and French troops who also raised the white flag and demanded surrender.

This time, even Liu Changfa opposed accepting the surrender of the remnants of the Allied Forces.

To this end, Teng Yuzhao explained to these people earnestly for a long time before he finally convinced them.

However, after such a delay, it is estimated that the remnants of the Allied Forces in Langfang suffered at least thousands of casualties.

When the American, British and French allied forces walked out of Langfang without any weapons and with their hands raised, the German and Japanese troops inside also chose to surrender, and Langfang was thus recovered.

In this battle, more than 89,000 coalition troops were annihilated and captured, including more than 73,000 prisoners alone.

A total of more than 60,000 guns of various types were seized, including 182 intact artillery pieces and countless ammunition.

Within two days, not only did they recover the capital and Langfang, but they also annihilated and captured more than 100,000 allied forces, and even forced tens of thousands of allied forces in Langfang to surrender. This great news quickly spread throughout the country.

After the imperial court in Xi'an received Teng Yuzao's telegram reporting victory, they were first stunned with shock, and then filled with ecstasy. Everyone sang praises to Teng Yuzao, and even Yikuang, who hated Teng Yuzao to the core, had to shut up.

However, in order to further verify the authenticity, Cixi issued a series of orders. In addition to asking Li Hongzhang, the Grand Secretary of Wenyuan Pavilion who was temporarily staying in Baoding, to send trustworthy personnel to Beijing, Xianghe and Langfang to inquire in person, she also asked Liu Kunyi, the Governor-General of Liujiang in Shanghai, Zhang Zhidong, the Governor-General of Huguang, Lu Chuanlin, the new Governor-General of Guangdong and Guangxi, as well as Wang Zhichun, the Governor of Anhui, and Yuan Shikai, the Governor of Shandong, to inquire with foreigners from multiple directions.

At the same time, Teng Yuzao was also required to report the details.

It was not until Li Hongzhang, Liu Kunyi, Lu Chuanlin and Zhang Zhidong successively sent telegrams to congratulate the dynasty on this unprecedented victory in a hundred years that Cixi finally dared to believe it was true.

It is said that after Cixi was sure that the great victory was not a false report by Teng Yuzhao but a real one, she locked herself in her bedroom for a whole day and refused to see anyone who came to see her.

Even though Ronglu was worried that something might go wrong after Cixi's joyous occasion, he asked for a meeting, but Cixi still refused to see him.

It was not until the next day that Cixi, in a rare move, summoned all the ministers to the General's Mansion and announced in public, without consulting anyone, that Teng Yuzhao would be promoted to the rank of Grand Secretary of Baohe Hall and the rank of First-Class Duke of Zhenguo.

Teng Yuzhao was ordered to immediately report the names of meritorious officers at all levels to the court, and the court would commend and promote them all.

At the same time, it was announced that the Ministry of Army would be established, and the governors of each province would recommend candidates for the Minister and Deputy Minister of the Army. The Ministry of Army would provide unified guidance to the provinces in training new armies.

Cixi's announcement shocked everyone in the court.

The first-class Duke of Zhenguo, which is the highest title that a Han Chinese can obtain, means that he cannot serve in the capital. The Grand Secretary of Baohedian is also the highest-ranking Grand Secretary, and no one has been promoted to the Grand Secretary of Baohedian for more than a hundred years.

Although some people tried to persuade Cixi to revoke her decision, she refused and announced the end of the court after leaving only Ronglu and Zai Yi.

Unlike Cixi's caution, ever since the Ta Kung Pao first published the news that Teng Yuzhao had recaptured the capital, and that Zhili had won a series of great victories within two days, annihilating or capturing more than 200,000 foreign coalition forces, the people in the three towns of Wuchang immediately became excited. Not only did they celebrate with drums and gongs and firecrackers, but tens of thousands of people also rushed to the front of the Hankou Concession and held a demonstration all night long.

Because of the fear that the people would attack the concession, the British Consul in Hankou, Sir John Smith, had to send someone to cross the river quietly to Wuchang to ask Zhang Zhidong to persuade the people to stop.

Zhang Zhidong was also worried that something might happen in Hankou and cause trouble for Li Hongzhang's peace talks, so he hurried over to persuade them in person. After half an hour of persuasion, he finally persuaded the people to leave.

This news was immediately reprinted in all large and medium-sized cities across the country. Not surprisingly, it immediately made the Chinese people cheer and rejoice. For a time, firecrackers from all over the country were sold out. It was like Chinese New Year in all large and medium-sized cities, with firecrackers deafening day and night.

People from all over the country unanimously praised Teng Yuzao.

As for Zhili, it goes without saying that after the governor Zhou Fu announced that all the houses of the people in Zhili that were destroyed by the war in the front line would be appropriately compensated by the governor's office, the people of Zhili cheered, and many families even set up a longevity tablet for Teng Yuzao.
After listening to Wei Jinghai's introduction, Ning Xingpu, Zhou Xuexi, Xi Ligong and Huang Chujiu were even more deeply moved. They had personally experienced the enthusiastic scenes of people celebrating in the three towns of Shanghai and Wuchang, and they were still extremely excited at this moment.

As for the peace talks mentioned by Yang Shixiang and Xu Shichang, it is not so pleasant to talk about.

Although the peace negotiations were initiated by the foreigners, they did not go smoothly.

What the great powers did not expect was that Li Hongzhang was particularly tough this time.

First of all, the negotiation location. The powers first demanded that the talks be held in Tianjin. After half a month of arguing, they proposed that if Li Hongzhang did not want to negotiate in Tianjin, the talks could also be held in Beijing.

Li Hongzhang also firmly opposed this.

Li Hongzhang's reason was that there was still the issue of compensation in the capital, and he would never agree to the demands of the great powers until peace talks were reached.

Moreover, Li Hongzhang agreed to hold talks only in Baoding, citing poor health as an excuse for his inconvenience in traveling far away. Otherwise, he would resign from his position as the peace representative to the court.

In the end, the powers had to agree to Li Hongzhang's request and agreed to hold the negotiations in Baoding.

The powers then proposed that in order to ensure the smooth progress of the negotiations, both sides needed to achieve a ceasefire and then continue talking.

Li Hongzhang also firmly opposed this without hesitation.

Li Hongzhang's reason was that as long as the peace talks were not completed, the war was not over, and it was impossible to cease fire first and then negotiate peace.

If the great powers want to stop the war as soon as possible, they can only negotiate peace as soon as possible, and then there will be a ceasefire.

In the end, the great powers reluctantly agreed to negotiate first.

Regarding Li Hongzhang's proposal, which was actually publicly announced by Teng Yuzao in the newspaper, that this issue should be discussed with the envoys of the great powers, the envoys of various countries did not object, but the representatives of the Allied Forces headed by Waldersee strongly opposed it.

In the end, Li Hongzhang did not insist on this point, but he also made it clear that he could talk to the leaders of the Allied Forces first, but when it came to matters concerning relations with other countries, he would only talk to the envoys of various countries.

Afterwards, the coalition forces of the great powers hurriedly began negotiations with Li Hongzhang.

After the peace talks began, the heads of the coalition forces made unreasonable demands, including demanding that the culprit be held accountable and that huge compensation be paid to the great powers.

Li Hongzhang just laughed off these unreasonable demands.

Regarding the so-called culprits, Li Hongzhang clearly told the leaders of the Allied Forces that he could accept the court's request to deal with some officials who condoned the Boxer Rebellion, but the prerequisite was that the Allied Forces must also hand over the leaders of the Allied Forces who caused huge losses to the Qing Dynasty and condoned their subordinates to kill innocent civilians to the Qing Dynasty for disposal.

These so-called war criminals were the heads of the Allied forces who participated in the peace talks. Naturally, they became furious and left the meeting on the spot.

In fact, this is exactly what Teng Yuzhao hoped to see. He has not been idle in the past two months. The vanguard army has been expanded to 500,000, and the troops in each town have been greatly expanded. The first to eighth towns have a strength of 80,000, and the artillery town has also been expanded to four towns, two of which are heavy artillery towns.

Since the coalition forces refuse to talk, force them to talk.

Immediately, Teng Yuzhao launched an attack on Beicang controlled by the Allied Forces. Under the cover of fierce artillery fire, he occupied Beicang in just one day, forcing the Allied Forces to the line of Tianjin Chengbei Gate, the first-level Laolongtou Railway Station in the concession area, Dagukou, and Lutai, greatly squeezing the Allied Forces' space for activities.

After capturing Beicang, they deployed their troops in Lutai, preparing to attack Lutai at any time.

This time, the coalition forces were completely frightened by the powerful combat capability displayed by the vanguard army, because as long as the vanguard army occupied Lutai, the coalition forces near Tianjin City would become an isolated force, and it would only take a short time for them to be destroyed by such a powerful vanguard army.

Although the Allied Forces had to agree to the Russian army's transfer of another division from outside the Great Wall to Tianjin, and Japan was forced by the great powers to send the newly replenished Fifth Division to Tianjin again, they still did not dare to be careless and immediately demanded to restart the peace negotiations.

However, although the coalition forces agreed to peace talks, the negotiations still did not go smoothly. After more than two months of repeated discussions, they have only reached a consensus on the issue of war criminals and culprits.

The Allied Forces no longer demanded that the imperial court punish the so-called culprits according to their demands, and Li Hongzhang also had to agree not to pursue and punish these war criminals. If both sides did not pursue each other, they would be even.

Although Teng Yuzao was not satisfied with the result, there was nothing he could do. After all, he still had to deal with these powerful countries. Closing the country to the outside world would be digging his own grave. Teng Yuzao, a time traveler, would never do such a stupid thing.

Other terms are still under dispute.

The main point of contention is the issue of compensation.

Xu Shichang and Yang Shixiang were ordered by Li Hongzhang to rush back to discuss countermeasures with Teng Yuzhao.

(End of this chapter)