The Qing Dynasty

Chapter 553 Yuan Shikai wants to trip you up

Ronglu's words startled Cixi a little again, and she quickly turned around and looked at Yuan Shikai on the other side with an inquiring look.

When Yuan Shikai heard Ronglu mention him, he had already perked up. Seeing Cixi looking at him with inquiring eyes, he hurriedly bowed and spoke on horseback.

"Queen, it is true."

"This happened six years ago when I was training troops in Xiaozhan. Since all the instructors I invited were from Germany, my Wuwei Right Army also adopted German training methods. Among them, the marching in step was what the German instructors required the Wuwei Right Army to master proficiently."

Hearing that the German instructor attached so much importance to marching, Cixi couldn't help but feel a little puzzled and asked hesitantly.

"I heard that the Germans are always rigid and pragmatic and don't like to embellish their ideas. So, it seems that the rumors I heard are wrong?"

"Could it be that Germans also like to play with fancy but in fact gaudy and useless things like this?"

Yuan Shikai also sensed that Cixi was dissatisfied with Teng Yuzao. While nervously figuring out in his mind what had caused Cixi's dissatisfaction with Teng Yuzao, he explained with a smile.

"Your Majesty, what you heard is true. The Germans are indeed rigid and pragmatic. They are very serious in doing things. And the goose-stepping is not just a show."

Yuan Shikai had already thought of his excuse at this time. He was determined to win back a point with Cixi. Even if he could not draw with Teng Yuzhao, he would at least use some shady tricks to suppress the other party secretly.

Yuan Shikai, who had made up his mind, smiled and said, "Empress Dowager, Duan Qirui, who studied military affairs in Germany, told me that the German army attaches great importance to the goose-stepping. Although they also goose-step during military parades, it is not just for the sake of looking good."

Without waiting for Cixi to ask further questions, Yuan Shikai continued.

"Duan Qirui said that the German army's goose-stepping originated in Prussia, Germany. The Germans believed that the significance of the goose-stepping was to constantly strengthen the soldiers' sense of strict discipline and obedience to the overall situation in daily military training. It was precisely because of the strict discipline and the sense of mutual cooperation that the Prussians finally unified Germany and established the current German Empire."

"The Germans believed that it was the iron-clad discipline of the German army that provided a strong guarantee for their victory over the French."

"Therefore, in the eyes of the Germans, strict military discipline is a very important criterion for measuring the combat effectiveness of an army. This is why they emphasize the need to do more goose-step training during training."

"Oh!"

Yuan Shikai's words shocked Cixi so much that she opened her mouth wide. She first looked at Tieliang behind Yuan Shikai, then looked at Yuan Shikai and asked nervously.

"My dear Yuan, from what you said, in order to train a strong army, we just need to cultivate military discipline?"

"Also, according to your statement, the reason why Teng Xingfu's vanguard army defeated the million-strong foreign army repeatedly was because they were good at practicing the goose-stepping technique?"

Cixi's words made Yuan Shikai laugh and cry for a moment. It was definitely impossible to fool Cixi. Not to mention that there were Ronglu and Tieliang, who were more or less knowledgeable about military affairs, beside him. Even Zai Yi, who was on good terms with Teng Yuzhao, would not care about him and would reveal the matter to Cixi. Then he would be in big trouble.

But it was really difficult to explain it clearly to someone like Cixi who had almost no idea how a war was conducted.

However, Cixi was not only the Empress Dowager, but also the actual ruler of the Qing Dynasty. If the Southeast Mutual Protection was still in place, or the coalition forces of the great powers had not withdrawn, it would be fine. But now he has returned to the court, and Yuan Shikai does not have the strengths of Duan Qirui. Yuan Shikai sighed in his heart, and hurriedly explained with a smile.

"Queen Mother, this strict military discipline is what we call strict compliance with orders, but strict military discipline alone is not enough to win a battle. To win a battle, the army must also have good combat skills, which means good training."

"In addition, we need sophisticated weapons and equipment, as well as good strategies and tactics. And we also need soldiers who dare to fight, are willing to fight, and are good at fighting. None of these can be missing."

".There is also the advantage of military strength, as well as the right time, place and people."

Yuan Shikai took great pains to finally explain his feelings to Cixi.

Cixi counted on her fingers, constantly calculating something as Yuan Shikai described the conditions needed to win a battle. When Yuan Shikai finished speaking, Cixi was about to continue asking questions, but she saw that her carriage had arrived at the area where Duan Qirui, the foreign ministers, and Chinese and foreign reporters were, so she had to stop talking.

Cixi just looked at Duan Qirui deeply, then turned to the foreign ministers and dozens of reporters.

Although the flashing spotlights of the reporters made it difficult for Cixi to open her eyes, she still squinted and waved to the foreign ministers and their families.

Cixi's unprecedented move was immediately greeted with applause from the ministers and their families.

"Happy Queen Mother!"

"Hello, Queen Mother!"

American Minister Conger and Japanese Minister Uchida Yasuya also greeted Cixi in Mandarin.

Several ambassadors' wives also greeted Cixi with a smile in their native language.

Such a scene made Cixi's originally tense face reveal a smile.

Several brave Chinese and foreign journalists wanted to get close to Cixi's carriage to interview her, but without exception they were forcibly stopped by Duan Qirui's subordinates who quickly ran over.

After finally passing the area where the foreigners and reporters were, Cixi put away her smile and continued to ask Yuan Shikai with a frown.

"My dear Yuan, according to what you said, I just calculated that whether it is foreign guns and cannons or manpower, the vanguard army does not have as many as the foreign army."

Cixi said with some self-mockery, "We have none of the advantages of time, place, and people. I originally thought that with the troops of our Qing Dynasty, the Boxer Rebellion that spread like a snowball, and strong cities like Tianjin and the capital, we could still have the advantages of all places and people, and we could be on equal terms with the foreigners."

But who would have thought that although these troops looked numerous, they were of no use at all. Not to mention the Green Camp, the Trained Warriors, and the Boxers who were said to be invulnerable to swords and guns, even if I and the court had saved hundreds of millions of taels of silver by cutting down on expenses to build a new army, it would not be enough."

Having said this, Cixi seemed to want to stop talking and hesitated for a long time, but finally couldn't help it, as if she couldn't help but say it.

"These seemingly mighty and majestic armies of millions either collapsed at the first blow, were out of reach, or simply refused to obey orders."

"And we Manchus are not up to the task. Not a single person has stepped forward to take up the responsibility of resisting the invaders."

"Luo Rongguang is quite capable, and Yu Lu is also a capable official. At least they can still fight against the foreigners!"

When Cixi said this, she couldn't help but sigh heavily, "What a pity for them!"

It was Yuan Shikai who refused to obey the imperial order, it was Zai Yi who advocated accepting the Boxers, and it was Ronglu who spent a huge amount of money to set up the Wuwei Army. Without saying it explicitly, everyone knew who Cixi was criticizing.

Cixi's words not only blamed Yuan Shikai for signing the Southeast Mutual Protection Agreement, but also Zai Yi and Ronglu were not spared and were also criticized by Cixi. Even Tieliang, a Manchu, could not escape. Several people could understand the meaning of Cixi's words, and their faces were full of embarrassment. Sweat beads appeared on Yuan Shikai's round forehead again.

They all hurriedly dismounted from their horses and prostrated themselves on the ground, kowtowed repeatedly to Cixi on the dirt road.

"I am incompetent!"

"I am guilty!" "I am blind and misled the Queen Mother. I deserve to die!"

The noise made by these people startled Guangxu, who was lost in thought. He was stunned at first, then a happy smile appeared on his face, and his lips even moved, as if he was mumbling something.

Although Guangxu's voice was low, Li Lianying and Xiao Dezhang, who were riding horses closely behind Cixi's carriage, still heard what Guangxu said.

Guangxu was saying, "The law of nature is cyclical, and retribution will come."

However, these two popular figures around Cixi just looked at each other. They could see each other's thoughts in each other's eyes. They just smiled bitterly and refused to speak again.

The sudden actions of several people made Cixi feel that their words were a bit harsh. She stamped her feet lightly, and the imperial carriage stopped in time, and she scolded in a low voice.

"All of you, please stand up and speak. This is so disrespectful in public!"

This is not the imperial court, this is on the official road outside Yongding Gate. Given their status, it is indeed inappropriate for them to kneel down and apologize here. When they heard Cixi's words, they hurriedly got up from the ground and stood there awkwardly.

"Mount!"

"Get started."

The former was spoken to Ronglu and four others, while the latter was spoken to the eunuchs who handled the imperial carriage.

The imperial carriage set off again. The four men wiped the sweat from their foreheads, climbed onto the horses in a hurry, and urged their horses to catch up with Cixi's carriage.

However, these people all looked a little disheveled. They didn't have time to take off their hats in such a hurry that the tops on their heads were a little crooked.

Especially Yuan Shikai, because there was sweat and dirt on his forehead, and he had just wiped it with his sleeve, so his face was now covered with dirt.

Seeing the miserable looks of several people, Cixi winked at the maid following the imperial carriage, and the maid handed a silk scarf to Yuan Shikai. While thanking Cixi, Yuan Shikai hurriedly wiped the dust and sweat off his face.

To ease the embarrassment, Cixi sighed and said.

"When you get old, you become talkative and can't keep things to yourself. But once you've said it, you feel relieved. What I just said went off topic. Don't take it to heart. Now that I've said it, it's over. I won't mention it again."

Cixi's words made both Yuan Shikai and Zai Yi secretly breathe a sigh of relief.

"My dear Yuan, I have just gone off topic. Let's continue. What I mean is that Teng Xingfu had no advantage in terms of guns and soldiers, and he was taught by Germany, so why was he able to defeat the foreign coalition forces of one million soldiers?"

"Even when Teng Xingfu pressed on step by step, the foreigners not only did not get angry, but also did not send reinforcements to continue fighting. Instead, they took the initiative to propose peace talks. This is something that has never happened in the Qing Dynasty for a hundred years!"

"Even this time, the court only..."

Cixi suddenly paused for a moment, then continued.

"Could it be that Teng Xingfu is better than his teacher?"

"Or is it really that the vanguard troops are good at marching?"

"Or maybe Teng Xingfu was born to be good at leading troops, but why didn't he get a chance to display his skills when he was under Li Zhongtang?"

Yuan Shikai did not panic in response to Cixi's series of questions. He tried to calm his heartbeat which had just been frightened by Cixi, and took a deep breath and spoke.

"In reply to the Queen Mother, I have gathered my subordinates and carefully studied Xingfu's vanguard army and all the battles he has fought. What the Queen Mother said about Xingfu's shortcomings is absolutely correct."

"However, after careful consideration by me and many of my subordinates, we all agree that the reason why the Vanguard Army was able to defeat the world's most powerful coalition of eight powers was due to three factors."

When they heard that Yuan Shikai had figured out how Teng Yuzao could win, not only Cixi, but also Ronglu, Zai Yi, and even Tieliang pricked up their ears, fearing that a word of it would be revealed.

Zai Yi wanted to tell Teng Yuzhao this news, asking him to be careful against Yuan Shikai and his Wuwei Right Army.

Ronglu and Tieliang, including Cixi, wanted to obtain the secrets of military training so that they could train new troops in the same way to prevent the vanguard army from dominating the market.

Yuan Shikai naturally knew what these people were thinking, but he still sighed and said.

"Empress Dowager, after careful consideration by the generals and I, we believe that Xingfu led the vanguard army to fight against the coalition forces of the great powers, and not only did he not lose, but he actually won. First, Xingfu is good at commanding troops; second, he knows how to appoint people; third, Xingfu is naturally intelligent and has a good understanding of Western warfare, and his attainments are far beyond those of foreigners."

Yuan Shikai and his companions were all surprised for a moment, then looked unbelieving and spoke hurriedly.

"Queen, please listen to me slowly."

Yuan Shikai organized his thoughts and spoke carefully.

"Queen, first tell me about this skill of controlling soldiers."

"When Xingfu started his army, he only had one battalion of soldiers. Although thousands of Nie Gongting's Wuwei Vanguard troops joined later, there were only a few thousand new soldiers. The rest were either the defeated soldiers of the Green Camp and the Training Army, or the recruited young and strong, or a large number of Boxers."

Yuan Shikai seemed to be worried that Cixi might not hear clearly, so he emphasized the words "Boxers".

Seeing that Cixi didn't react and was still listening to what he said with her ears perked up, he hurriedly continued.

"Although the Vanguard Army has a complex origin, they can still be transformed into soldiers with good military discipline in a short period of time."

"After careful consideration, I think the most important thing is the high salary and excellent food of the vanguard army."

"I have heard that the Vanguard Army must have meat for every meal, and at the very least they must have meat soup. As a result, wherever the Vanguard Army goes, the local poultry and livestock will be swept away by them, and they will even send people to other places to search and buy them, and then bring them back."

Afterwards, Yuan Shikai not only described the military pay of each unit of the vanguard army very clearly and accurately, but he was even able to describe the pensions for the wounded and those killed in battle without any error. Finally, Yuan Shikai said with a sigh.

"It is precisely because of such high military pay and pensions that the soldiers of the vanguard army fought bravely and no one was willing to retreat, for fear of losing this generous pension."

"I made a preliminary estimate. Since the beginning of the war, the number of casualties in the vanguard army will definitely not be less than 50,000. With this calculation, including the military pay, Xingfu will not be able to fill this hole unless he has more than 80 million taels of silver every year starting from this year."

Yuan Shikai's words left everyone, including Cixi, stunned.

Yuan Shikai continued to say, "This does not include the expenditure on weapons, ammunition, military supplies, and food expenses. If all of this were included, it would be impossible to form the Beiyang Navy while Li Zhongtang was still alive."

(End of this chapter)