The Qing Dynasty

Chapter 543: Consensus among the Confidants
Morrison's question hit the nail on the head, and Teng Yuzao had to answer, so he smiled and said.

"Since the war is not over, my troops must of course prepare for war."

"I thought that since the peace talks have already taken place, there would be no need to fight this war. The troops have been slack for a long time and urgently need to be trained and prepared for war at any time."

Morrison thought for a moment and then continued to ask.

"General, you just said that you would accept my interview in Tianjin, so how long do I have to wait?"

Morrison's questions were a bit tricky. If Teng Yuzhao didn't know that this man was an out-and-out journalist, he would have thought he was a British spy.

Teng Yuzao couldn't help but laugh. "Mr. Morrison, I think your words may be suspected of spying on military secrets. You should know that even in Europe, during the war, spies are not protected by any conventions. I can have you shot immediately."

As soon as Teng Yuzao finished speaking, several black gun muzzles were pointed at Morrison. Louise was so scared that she screamed and ran to the side quickly.

The other reporters around Morrison also hurriedly dodged to avoid being affected.

Morrison was so frightened that his face turned pale, his lips trembled and he couldn't speak.

Teng Yuzhao did not expect that his men would react so sensitively. It should be because of Morrison's identity as a foreigner. He hurriedly shouted back several soldiers who were pointing guns at Morrison.

"Mr. Morrison, please don't mind. Because of this war, most of my soldiers hate the crimes committed by you foreigners in Zhili. You have been in our country for a long time. You should know that we have an idiom, which means that when the city gate is on fire, the fish in the pond will be affected."

"I know you are just a journalist who wants to get the latest news in advance, not a spy. I am deeply grateful to you for being the first to expose the Russians' attempt to occupy our country's three northeastern provinces. Naturally, I will not do anything that endangers your personal safety. You can rest assured about this."

"As for how long it will take for us to meet in Tianjin, it's hard to say. I personally think that it will take time before my personal safety is fully guaranteed."

Teng Yuzao's answer was rather vague, even somewhat evasive.

However, if you think about what Teng Yuzhao said carefully, there doesn't seem to be anything wrong.

If Teng Yuzao were to accept Morrison's interview in Tianjin, there was only one possibility, that is, Tianjin was already under the control of the Vanguard Army.

Of course, there are two possibilities. One is that a peace agreement was reached and the Allied Forces withdrew from Tianjin and returned home; the other is that the vanguard army attacked Tianjin City and drove away the Allied Forces.

Morrison wiped the cold sweat from his head and forced a smile.

"Thank you very much for your generosity and magnanimity, General! I will send your speech today back to the Times headquarters. Do you mind?"

Teng Yuzao shook his head and said to the reporters with a smile.

"I hope you can publish my speech in the newspapers as soon as possible. If any of you lag behind, your news will very likely become old news."

"Also, I want to add one more thing. I am the Minister of Beiyang and I am in charge of the Beiyang Navy. As you all know, our navy suffered great losses during the Sino-Japanese War of 1894-1895. I want to rebuild the Beiyang Navy. We cannot build the warships we need domestically for the time being, so we can only buy them from abroad."

"I hope you guys will spread the word for me too. I will only buy from countries that are good to us."

Teng Yuzhao stopped talking and spoke to the reporters.

"Well, you have waited for so long at my temporary headquarters, and now you can finally report to your respective newspapers and publications. Let's stop here today!"

After Teng Yuzhao finished speaking, he waved to the reporters, turned around and walked back to the headquarters surrounded by Yang Shixiang, Wei Jinghai and others.

Teng Yuzhao returned to his room, changed into clean clothes, and hurriedly washed his face. Without taking a rest, he suppressed the fatigue and returned to the living room.

He knew that Yang Shixiang and the others must still be waiting for him, waiting for his next instructions.

At this moment, Yang Shixiang, Wei Jinghai, Wu Peifu and others in the living room all had happy expressions on their faces. The gloom on their faces when they were waiting outside the door had long since disappeared.

Although the guards had already cleaned the courtyard carefully inside and out when Teng Yuzhao went outside to meet a group of reporters, not only had the broken wine jars and other items been cleared away, the tables and chairs had also been wiped again, and even the doors and windows had been opened for ventilation, there was still a faint smell of alcohol in the living room.

As soon as Teng Yuzao walked into the living room, Wu Peifu handed him a bowl of steaming ginseng soup.

"Teacher, this is the ginseng soup made from the old mountain ginseng that the chief of staff left behind last time. Drink it while it's hot to replenish your body."

Teng Yuzhao did not refuse. He just looked at Wei Jinghai with gratitude and drank the ginseng soup. He had not eaten a single bite of food in the past two days and he really should replenish his energy to strengthen his extremely weak body.

After drinking the ginseng soup, Teng Yuzao felt much better both physically and mentally. He smiled and asked everyone to sit down.

As soon as they sat down, Yang Shixiang said with a smile.

"Marshal, we were just discussing what you said to the reporters today. It's really satisfying, especially the fact that you pushed all the responsibility for signing onto Yixin. This is a brilliant move. Shixiang admires your civil and military skills!"

Xu Shichang also said with deep feeling, "The Marshal's move is indeed brilliant. After the reporter published the Marshal's speech in the newspaper, the people at home will certainly praise the Marshal's actions and words. Even if the Empress Dowager is dissatisfied with the Marshal, she can't do anything. I think her best way is to take advantage of the opportunity given by the Marshal and put all the responsibility on Yixin."

Wu Peifu nodded in agreement and said, "I think Yixin should be punished to appease the people."

Wei Jinghai and Liu Yuzhi were still a little uncomfortable with the intrigues in the court, and couldn't get a word in for a while, but they also felt that what the three said made sense, and their eyes were full of admiration when they looked at Teng Yuzhao.

Teng Yuzao smiled bitterly and said, "Although I gave the Queen Mother a way out, I'm afraid she will be even more defensive against me now. She will suppress me and the Vanguard Army overtly or covertly. We have to be on guard against this!"

Xu Shichang nodded and said, "You are right, Marshal. I guess she will definitely support Yuan Weiting to fight against you. Once she has the chance, it will be disadvantageous to you. You should make some arrangements early!"

In the past, if Xu Shichang could not avoid mentioning Cixi, he would always use the court to refer to her. Even when mentioning Cixi, he would respectfully call her the empress dowager. Today, he directly used the third person pronoun "she" to refer to Cixi. This was the first time, which made Teng Yuzhao look at Xu Shichang seriously.

Teng Yuzhao's gaze unexpectedly met that of Yang Shixiang, who was also surprised, and both of them couldn't help but smile knowingly.

Xu Shichang, who was somewhat worried, did not notice the expressions of Teng Yuzao and Xu Yangshixiang, and continued, "Shichang now completely understands that from the perspective of serving the country and the people, the Marshal is the one who truly works for the good of this country! Only the Marshal has the ability to govern this country well."

"Although Yuan Weiting has done me a favor, I cannot abandon the greater good for the sake of the lesser good. I believe the Marshal should be prepared to deal with extreme situations in case of emergency."

Yang Shixiang also nodded in agreement and said, "Juren is right, Marshal. People have no intention of harming tigers, but tigers have the intention of hurting people's hearts. Once the foreigners withdraw from Zhili, the Marshal must make preparations early to prevent the situation from changing suddenly."

"At least, the number of troops left in Zhili cannot be too small."

Wu Peifu also nodded and said, "Teacher, as the saying goes, the first to strike is the strongest, the last to strike will suffer. Besides, there is only a thief for a thousand days, but there is no such thing as a thief for a thousand days. It is better to get rid of it once and for all."

Although Wu Peifu did not mention the word "rebellion" throughout the speech, everyone understood the meaning of his words.

Wei Jinghai also nodded and said, "Marshal, Ziyu is right. Such a cowardly and incompetent court should have been replaced long ago. With just your order, we will overthrow this court and let you take the throne."

Liu Yuzhi also said in a hateful voice, "Marshal, although the current situation cannot be said to be very good for us, we are still in an advantageous position. In order to live a peaceful and comfortable life as soon as possible, Empress Dowager Cixi actually disregarded the interests of the country and instructed the signing of such a humiliating contract."

"If we lose the three northeastern provinces in the end, this war will be worse than the one in the Jiawu year. It is better not to have such a court!"

While Wu Peifu, Wei Jinghai, Liu Yuzhi and others were saying these blunt and explicit words, Teng Yuzhao had been secretly observing Xu Shichang out of the corner of his eye. Xu Shichang did not show any obvious dissatisfaction on his face, he just sighed.

Xu Shichang's expression said it all. Teng Yuzao couldn't help but feel overjoyed and said to Wei Jinghai.

"Ningbo, have someone fetch two more bottles of the best Fenjiu."

Wei Jinghai smiled and said, "No need to take it, Mr. Lianfu has already prepared it."

Yang Shixiang said with a smile as he stood up and took the wine from the table by the window.

"What the Marshal did today was very smart. Ningbo, Juren and I feel that based on the Marshal's passionate speech to the reporters today, it is worth making public."

Yang Shixiang brought two bottles of wine and poured wine into several teacups brought by Wu Peifu. Teng Yuzhao stood up and picked up the wine glass, and several others also stood up with their wine.

Teng Yuzao raised his glass and said sincerely, "Let's not talk about other things for now. Although the court is now in a state of irreversible decline, it is still a centipede that will not turn back even if it dies. Once something changes, the country will be in chaos. Let's just do our own thing now. With your help, we will definitely do a good job in Zhili."

"The commander is right!"

Yang Shixiang was the first to agree. "This is the principle of building high walls and storing abundant food as Zhu Sheng said. As long as we develop Zhili well, have strong financial support, and are close to the capital, once the court causes the wrath of heaven and people, it will be a matter of course."

"That way, the impact on the country will be minimal, and the people will be spared from suffering."

Teng Yuzhao raised his head and drank the wine in the glass in one gulp, then motioned for everyone to sit down before he spoke.

"However, Kikuto is right. We still need to be prepared so as not to be caught off guard when the time comes!"

Wei Jinghai frowned and asked tentatively, "Marshal, do you want to send fewer troops to those nine provinces to help disband the Green Camp?"

Before Teng Yuzhao could speak, Liu Yuzhi suddenly spoke.

"General, why don't we just not send troops there? If something unexpected happens, let's see what the court will do."

Teng Yuzao shook his head and said, "Yuxuan, this country is not the court's country, this is the country of all of us. Although except for the Song Dynasty, Zhao Kuangyin wore the yellow robe and won the world without bloodshed, all other dynasties had to go through wars when they changed dynasties, but the people were still the ones who suffered."

"What I mean is that this country cannot be in chaos. Soldiers still need to be sent. Just make some minor adjustments."

"Moreover, the three towns planned to be sent to the three northeastern provinces will not be in place immediately due to the Russians, so we will still have sufficient troops near Zhili."

Yang Shixiang asked in surprise, "Marshal, do you mean that the Russians will not withdraw their troops?"

Teng Yuzhao's words surprised everyone.

Teng Yuzao nodded. "As Morrison said, Britain, Germany, the United States, France, and Japan do not want to see the Russians monopolize the Northeast, but for more than a hundred years, the Russians have never easily let go of the land they have acquired, and they will do so again this time."

"Even with the pressure from these powers, the Russians can only use a delaying tactic at best, and then come up with various excuses to delay their departure, ultimately creating a fait accompli of occupation."

Xu Shichang asked worriedly, "What should we do? If we continue to fight, our plan to promote Westernization in Zhili will be greatly affected!"

Teng Yuzao shook his head and said, "Under the pressure from these powers, even if the Russians are unwilling to withdraw their troops immediately, they will make a timetable for withdrawal in order to cope with the pressure from the powers. During this period of time, we cannot act immediately."

Teng Yuzao sighed and said, "Our country has too many debts. If we don't catch up quickly in science, education, and national defense industry, I'm afraid we will fall further and further behind. By then, the Japanese may find an opportunity to take advantage of us again. So we can only postpone the battle with the Russians for a few years before settling accounts with them."

Teng Yuzhao has gotten used to drinking these days. He unconsciously took the bottle and filled the teacup with it. He picked up the cup and took a big sip.

"I estimate that in three years at the latest, we will teach the Russians a lesson. By then, there may be more Japanese who want to gain some benefits in the Northeast. We will deal with them as well. In three years, in another three years, our vanguard army will be able to teach these two evil neighbors a lesson in our home."

Wei Jinghai slammed the table and said, "The Marshal is right. When the time comes, we will take back Taiwan Island as well."

Teng Yuzao pondered and said, "To take back Taiwan, we need a navy that can compete with the Japanese fleet. This will take some time, but Taiwan will eventually be taken back. Not only must we avenge the humiliation of the First Sino-Japanese War of 1894-1895, we must also make the Japanese pay double."

Teng Yuzhao's words made everyone very excited, but Yang Shixiang was the first to calm down and said.

"Marshal, I guess the foreign devils will have to negotiate with us next. What's your plan?"

(End of this chapter)