The Qing Dynasty

Chapter 532 Worry about forcing me to become Zhao Kuangyin

Although Yang Shixiang's words were somewhat sensational, Teng Yuzhao remained calm and nodded to signal Yang Shixiang to continue.

Yang Shixiang said, "Jizhi is right. Most of the provinces allocated to the vanguard army are rich areas, and they can even be said to be the richest places, such as Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Guangdong. Only Hubei can be compared with them in the country."

"But these provinces also have a large number of green camps and trained soldiers. If we dismiss them, it will easily provoke a mutiny. We must have enough troops to deter and suppress them. Sending too few troops will not work."

Yang Shixiang smiled bitterly and said, "However, in this way, the vanguard army will be completely dismantled. From east to west, a line is stretched along the coast of Yanbian, and the two ends are thousands of miles apart. Once someone instigates or lures them with benefits, I am afraid there will be changes. The Marshal is thousands of miles away, and he can't do anything about it. He can't take care of it."

Although Yang Shixiang did not finish his words, everyone had already understood. What Yang Shixiang did not say should be that the generals under Teng Yuzhao might be tempted to change their minds and abandon Teng Yuzhao.

Moreover, if something unexpected happens to these people, it will definitely be related to the imperial court. To put it bluntly, this is the imperial court creating conditions for dividing and disintegrating the vanguard army.

"Besides, the area we are in is relatively wealthy, which actually has nothing to do with the garrison. Military expenses still need to be borne by themselves. Although those provinces are richer, the local governors must be willing to give. As long as someone benefits, these garrisons may not even get a penny. This is possible."

"In this way, the Marshal will not only have to pay a large sum of money for the military expenses of these garrisons, but he may also be doing good for others."

"As for the Wuwei Right Army, although it also has five provinces to take care of, there are not many green camps and trained warriors in those five provinces. Yuan Shikai does not need to send too many troops, and the court also said that Yuan Shikai can send troops at his discretion."

Yang Shixiang sighed, "Also, I wonder if you have noticed that the Vanguard Army is lined up from east to west, while the Wuwei Right Army is from north to south. Moreover, Shanxi, Henan, and Anhui provinces are all adjacent to Zhili. Rehe also has the Wuwei Left Army."

"If Yuan Shikai has any evil intentions, he can go south at any time and split the vanguard troops along the east and west coasts into two."

Having said that, Yang Shixiang did not say anything else, but picked up the wine on the table and poured himself another glass, then tilted his head back and drank the wine.

Having said this, there was no need for Yang Shixiang to continue speaking, as everyone understood that the court was on guard against Teng Yuzhao.

Not to mention that Yuan Shikai's Wuwei Right Army and Rehe's Wuwei Left Army were close at hand, if there were more generals of the army stationed in other provinces who defected to the court, Teng Yuzhao would be even less able to compete with the court.

Zhou Xuexi smiled bitterly and said, "The foreigners haven't withdrawn yet, and the court is already thinking of these conspiracies. This is too much."

Xu Shichang said worriedly, "This is not some conspiracy, these are all open conspiracies. Whether you accept it or not, it will be very disadvantageous to you."

After Xu Shichang finished speaking, no one spoke. They all looked at Teng Yuzao with nervous but cautious eyes.

If Teng Yuzao gets furious, the 400,000 or 500,000 strong army under his command, which would force the coalition forces of the great powers to sue for peace, would be unstoppable. It would not be possible with only the Wuwei Right Army and the Wuwei Left Army.

Teng Yuzao did not speak immediately. Instead, he picked up the small jar of wine on the table and filled it for each person at the table. Then he stood up and paced silently on the ground with his hands behind his back.

Rarely, no one said a word, but their eyes followed Teng Yuzhao's slowly moving footsteps and his figure.

After a long time, Teng Yuzhao stopped and suddenly laughed.

"What the Lian family said makes sense. This is probably what the imperial court is planning."

He looked at Zhou Xuexi again, "Jizhi is right. Since the foreigners have withdrawn their troops, the court will definitely put away the bows and hide the birds. However, it is not necessarily the case that the dogs will be cooked after the rabbit is dead." "Except for the likes of Yikuang who repeatedly said that I hid the property of the nobles and wealthy families in the capital that were looted by the Boxers, and even some people said that the silver that was robbed by the foreigners from the wealthy families in Tianjin was related to me, Teng Yuzao, there is nothing else to criticize."

Teng Yuzao smiled and said, "Even if the money is really related to me, as long as I, Teng Yuzao, don't put it into my own pocket, if I use it to promote Westernization and improve people's livelihood, I will have no shame in front of the heavens and the earth. It will be of great benefit to the livelihood of the people in Zhili, so why should I be ashamed!"

"So, at worst, the worst that can happen is that the bow will be put away after the bird is dead."

"However, in order to promote Westernization, I will not easily leave the position of Governor-General of Zhili."

"At most ten years, if you give me these ten years, I can build Zhili like the European and American powers. Not only will Zhili have railways and roads extending in all directions, but it will also have tall buildings and be able to produce all the industrial products that foreigners can produce. Everyone in Zhili will have clothes to wear, a place to live, and every household will live a life of plenty."

"In Zhili, there will not only be various factories, but also large-scale enterprises that are no less powerful than those in the great powers, and a large number of entrepreneurs, scientists, and engineers will emerge."

Teng Yuzao seemed to be giving his policy speech, except that he seemed completely immersed in the beautiful vision he was talking about, and his tone was firm and passionate.

His eyes are sparkling with brilliance, which makes people moved when they see him and excited when they hear about him!

Zhou Xuexi stood up first, bowed deeply to Teng Yuzhao and said excitedly.

"General, if you can achieve your wish, Xuexi will be willing to die of exhaustion!"

Ning Xingpu, Xi Ligong, Huang Chujiu and others also stood up excitedly and expressed their attitudes to Teng Yuzhao.

Although the words used by several people were different, it all boiled down to one thing: they were willing to do their best to achieve the beautiful vision that Teng Yuzhao had mentioned.

Although Yang Shixiang and Xu Shichang had heard from Teng Yuzao's words that Teng Yuzao seemed to have implicitly acknowledged that he had a connection with the huge wealth in Tianjin and the capital, so what!

As Teng Yuzhao said, if this huge wealth can be used for the national economy and people's livelihood, there is nothing to feel guilty about.

After listening to Teng Yuzao's speech-like narration, they were also extremely excited. Both of them also expressed that they were willing to do their best to help Teng Yuzao achieve his wish.

Teng Yuzao seemed to have calmed down from his excitement, and he clasped his fists and bowed to the group.

"With your great help, Zhiliyang will surely be built and people's livelihood will be improved! Tamamo thanks you all!"

Then, Teng Yuzhao took a deep breath and said to the few people.

"As for Shandong and the training of new troops, what Lian Fu said makes a lot of sense, but I still say that the army is a national treasure and cannot and should not become the private property of a single person."

Teng Yuzao said jokingly, "It's not entirely a bad thing to disperse the vanguard troops. Otherwise, I'm really worried that these people will force me to become Zhao Kuangyin one day."

Teng Yuzhao's sudden words surprised several people at first, and then made them happy. However, except for Yang Shixiang who looked disapproving, everyone, including Xu Shichang, felt disappointed.

All of them suddenly realized that if Teng Yuzao really wanted to sit in that position in the Forbidden City, it would be a very good choice. This broken country would definitely pick itself up and would definitely be a hundred times better than the current court.
(End of this chapter)