The Qing Dynasty

Chapter 556: I Need to Vent My Anger

"With Yuan Aiqing's Wuwei Right Army guarding the capital, and Teng Xingfu's vanguard army guarding Tianjin, I am no longer worried about things on land, but the sea is still unsafe!"

Cixi said with lingering fear, "I am very worried. Who knows, one day, foreign warships will block our gates again."

"So, I think it would be better if Teng Xingfu is still in charge of the Beiyang Fleet. The Military Affairs Council should issue an official document and ask Teng Xingfu to restore the Beiyang Fleet as soon as possible, so that our ironclad ships can also sail around the Bohai Bay."

"Even if we can't compete with the Japanese warships for the time being, it will take time for the navy to buy warships and for foreigners to build them. There is always hope."

"Also, isn't Teng Xingfu planning to build a new city in Tianjin? According to the Ta Kung Pao, that new city is like a fairyland. He also said that all residents whose houses were destroyed by the war in Tianjin would be given a rebuilt house for free as long as they could produce the property deeds. The house would definitely be better than before, not worse."

Cixi took a deep breath, as if to calm down, and continued to talk to herself regardless of Ronglu's repeated winks at her.

"Prince Duan, you should take care of this matter. The capital is the face of the court, and many houses have been destroyed by the war. But the court is unable to provide money now. Ask Teng Xingfu if he is still able to take care of it and see if he can also resettle the people in the outer city of the capital."

Finally, Cixi swallowed back the words that she was about to say, because she really couldn't bear to make Ronglu, who was so anxious that sweat broke out on his forehead, anxious and angry.

Moreover, Ronglu had already saluted her and was about to speak.

Seeing that Cixi finally stopped talking, Ronglu hurriedly said, "Empress Dowager, I have something to say."

It seemed that after saying all these things in one breath that required Teng Yuzhao to spend a large sum of money, Cixi felt much more comfortable. She let out a long sigh, a smile appeared on her face, and she said to Ronglu.

"Zhonghua, just tell me what's going on!"

Ronglu sighed slightly and said, "Your Majesty, please allow me to report that regarding the Baoding Military Academy, I agree with your proposal. Baochen will concurrently serve as the general manager."

"The Military Academy is where the court trains new troops. These trained officers are to be used by the court. Such an important place must be looked after by trusted officials of the court."

"But Baochen must also be in charge of the affairs of the Army Preparatory Office, so it is only natural to assign him a director."

Although Ronglu had a lot to say, and some of them were somewhat against Cixi, because of this, Ronglu's opening remarks had to first show support for Cixi, so that the following words would be easier for Cixi to accept.

Ronglu took a breath and said to Yuan Shikai, "As for Duan Qirui, Weiting must also understand the Queen Mother's difficulties."

"This Duan Qirui is indeed a bit rebellious. It is really inappropriate for such a person to lead nearly 20,000 elite troops to stay in the capital."

Although Cixi did not mention the matter of Duan Qirui explicitly, it was Yuan Shikai who took the initiative to bring it up. But how could a man like Yuan Shikai not understand Cixi's thoughts?

But Ronglu was still a little worried. He was afraid that Yuan Shikai was just following Cixi's unspoken wishes and might not be willing to remove Duan Qirui.

Therefore, Ronglu always had to comfort Yuan Shikai.

When Ronglu was training the Wuwei Army, Yuan Shikai was also Ronglu's subordinate, so Yuan Shikai naturally had to give Ronglu enough face.

After Ronglu finished speaking, Yuan Shikai immediately saluted and spoke.

"Don't worry, Lord Rong. This is what Shikai really wants. It has nothing to do with the Queen Mother."

Ronglu nodded, then turned to Cixi and said.

"Empress Dowager, Teng Xingfu has now taken over the mess of the Lu-Han Railway. This is a tough job that will cost more than 20 million taels of silver. Fortunately, Teng Xingfu is willing to take it over. Otherwise, if it is handed over to foreigners to continue the construction, at this time, I am afraid that the court will be criticized again!"

"So I think that in this matter, the court should just accept Teng Xingfu's favor."

"As for rebuilding Tianjin, this is also his responsibility. After all, he is the governor-general of Zhili. He not only has to take care of the food and drink of hundreds of thousands of vanguard troops, but also has to care about the suffering of the people under his rule. If the construction of this new city is as the newspaper says, I estimate that the silver spent is far more than the cost of the Luhan Railway."

"The combined costs of the Lu-Han Railway and Tianjin New City alone are so high that it's hard to imagine how Teng Xingfu could take care of the other costs."

Having said that, Ronglu couldn't help but smile bitterly.

He bowed to Cixi again and said, "Empress Dowager, you know that this navy is very expensive. It's fine to let Teng Xingfu manage the Beiyang Navy, but it's hard to ask him to restore the Beiyang Navy as soon as possible."

Speaking of this, Ronglu couldn't help but shook his head and sighed.

"In my humble opinion, it would be better to let Teng Xingfu restore the Beiyang Fleet within ten years. It does not need to be able to compete with the Japanese navy at that time, as long as it can patrol the sea borders of our Great Qing Dynasty."

"Also, I have objections to the Queen Mother's proposal to repair and rebuild the outer city of the capital."

"This is a matter between the court and Shuntian Prefecture, and they should bear the responsibility. Asking Teng Xingfu to pay for it is unreasonable anyway, and it is easy to cause misunderstandings in the court and the public, so I ask the Queen Mother to withdraw her order."

Zai Yi finally got the chance and said, "Empress Dowager, what Lord Rong said is very reasonable. It was difficult for Teng Xingfu to build the railway and Tianjin City. He even published a prospectus in the newspaper. Obviously, he can't come up with so much money now."

"Besides, since Li Zhongtang built the railway, he has failed to raise funds many times. You can imagine how difficult it is to raise funds."

Zai Yi's words made Yuan Shikai laugh.

He turned sideways and said to Zai Yi with a smile, "Prince Duan, you don't know that Xingfu, with the prestige of a great victory, has an unparalleled reputation among the people. What Li Zhongtang could not accomplish, Xingfu accomplished quite smoothly."

"As far as I know, in just over a month, most of the money for Xingfu's construction of Tianjin New City has been secured, and private investors are very enthusiastic."

"Even the Luhan Railway's share offering is quite good. Although I don't know the exact situation, the people who studied in the United States and their former classmates recruited by Xingfu said in their correspondence that Xingfu was not satisfied with just building the Luhan Railway, and he also wanted to build the Jinpu Railway at the same time. I think the railway's share offering is also progressing very well."

After Yuan Shikai finished speaking, Cixi remained silent for a long while. She just stared at the Yongding Gate which was getting closer and closer, and then her gaze fell on the back of Teng Yuzhao riding on the majestic white horse in the distance.

After a long while, he said, "What Zhonghua said is all mature and wise. We will do as you say about the navy. However, the court and Chen Kuilong are really powerless to do anything about the outer city of the capital."

"Let's not talk about the court. You know the court's details. They really can't afford to build houses to accommodate the people from the outer city."

"Chen Kuilong also has to shoulder the responsibility of forming a new army. There is also a lot of corruption in Shuntian Prefecture, and there are many places that need money."

"I also feel that it is not right to restore the outer city, but there is nothing we can do about it. Let's just do it this way." Cixi smiled and turned to Zai Yi and said, "Prince Duan, you should discuss the matter of the outer city of the capital with Teng Xingfu. If he really feels it is difficult, I will not force him. If he can consider it, I will not treat him unfairly. He can raise any request he has."

Cixi then said to Yuan Shikai, "My dear Yuan, the Wuwei Right Army was the first new army that I agreed to train. It has made great progress in the past few years. You have more experience than the governors of other provinces in training new armies, so you will be more adept at training them. Can you train and expand two new armies in Henan?"

When Yuan Shikai heard that Cixi allowed him to set up two more towns, he was overjoyed.

He knew that the obstacles he had set for Teng Yuzhao had worked, and that this meant that Cixi was ready to vigorously support him and his Wuwei Right Army, so he quickly nodded in agreement.

However, Cixi's next words made Yuan Shikai feel a little cold.

Cixi said solemnly, "The people of Henan are poor and weak. We should not increase taxes to supplement military expenses when expanding the army, so as not to cause public resentment, which would be a bad outcome."

Yuan Shikai made a bitter face and hesitated for a while before nodding in agreement.

Although she could see what Yuan Shikai was thinking, Cixi did not say it out loud. Instead, she turned her head and spoke to Tieliang who was a little later.

"Baochen, Chen Kuilong doesn't have the ability to train a new army in Shuntian Prefecture, so you will have to take care of this matter."

Tieliang was asked to help train the new army in Shuntian Prefecture. Naturally, Tieliang understood what Cixi was thinking and immediately nodded in agreement.

Cixi then said to Yuan Shikai, who still had a bitter face, "My dear Yuan, as a frontier official in charge of a region, you cannot just think about taking advantage of the people who make a living from the land, nor can you just think about how to save money and be frugal. You must not only know how to save money, but most importantly, how to increase income."

"You should learn more from Teng Xingfu in this regard, and you should also think of more ways to promote foreign affairs. For example, you can also open a foreign affairs factory in Henan, and you can also take advantage of the Lu-Han Railway passing through Henan, so that you can also benefit from Teng Xingfu."

"We can even take advantage of the opportunity of connecting with Huguang to do more in transportation."

Cixi's words made Yuan Shikai smile slightly and nod repeatedly.

Cixi then said to Ronglu and Zaiyi, "Zhonghua, Prince Duan, there is something that needs your intervention."

Cixi sighed, "After this hunting trip to the west, I have completely understood the truth of the saying that water can carry a boat but can also overturn it. The people's hearts are formidable!"

"If there is no one from the court to explain some things, it is not a good idea to just read the explanations in the newspapers. The court should also publish a newspaper. Do you think it is feasible?"

Cixi's words cheered up Ronglu and Zai Yi. They all realized the importance of newspapers.

Both of them nodded quickly and couldn't help but praise Cixi's idea.

"The Queen Mother is wise!"

Zai Yi hurriedly said, "Queen Dowager, I beg you to do this."

Cixi shook her head and said, "Prince Duan, you are still in charge of the Military Affairs Office and the Government Affairs Supervision Office, and now you are training new troops in various places. How can you have the time to take care of such a small matter?"

"I think that Yixin has suffered some injustice in the peace talks, and even lost his iron hat. I don't want to disappoint the old ministers."

"Besides, he is the descendant of Emperor Gao after all, so he should be comforted. I think since he is idle at home now, I will entrust this matter to him."

Cixi then said to Zai Yi, "You should also inform Teng Xingfu about this matter. I have already severely reprimanded Yixin, and I want Teng Xingfu to raise his hand as well. Don't attack each other anymore."

As soon as Cixi finished speaking, Ronglu spoke first, "The Empress Dowager is wise. Yixin is the great-grandson of Emperor Gao, so we really can't be too harsh on him. Giving him a job will also relieve the complaints of the nobles and old ministers."

Although Zai Yi was extremely unwilling, he also understood that Cixi would not put Yixin aside just because of Teng Yuzao's opinion, and she would still use Yixin.

It was impossible for him to fight for this important task, so he had no choice but to nod in agreement.

As they were speaking, Cixi's carriage had already entered the Yongding Gate. Looking at the ruins in the outer city that had already been cleaned up, Cixi couldn't help but sigh in her heart. Even Ronglu, who was still trying to persuade Cixi, couldn't help but sigh.

However, Cixi's eyes soon lit up, because she suddenly saw several people wearing black uniforms and holding black and white short wooden sticks standing at the street intersection in the distance.

Cixi's heart was moved, and she pointed at those people and asked, "Are these the so-called patrolmen responsible for public security patrols?"

It was the first time for Ronglu and Zai Yi to see officers dressed like this. They did not dare to answer and turned their eyes to Tieliang.

Tie Liang said hurriedly, "Your Majesty, these people are the patrol officers responsible for public security."

Cixi squinted her eyes for a while, and suddenly said to Tieliang, "These patrolmen have no weapons, only these wooden sticks?"

Tie Liang smiled and said, "Queen Mother, patrolmen in other places will still have to carry weapons in the future, especially in remote areas. They not only have to deal with routine law and order, but also have to eliminate bandits. They can't do without weapons."

"It's just that it's difficult to equip the patrol police in the capital with weapons, so they are only given batons."

Cixi nodded and said, "Baochen, you did a good job!"

Cixi sighed and said, "But there are still too few operators like you in our Qing Dynasty!"

"The burdens you carry now are all very heavy, and each one of them concerns the fate of the country."

"There is no need to talk about the affairs of the Preparatory Office of the Ministry of the Army. That is a matter of utmost importance. The affairs of the Military Academy and the training of the new army in Shuntian Prefecture cannot be neglected either. But now you still have to take on the duties of a patrolman. It is indeed a bit inappropriate."

Cixi said helplessly, "Baochen, don't worry about the patrol job anymore. Just focus on the things you have on hand."

"My dear Yuan, you and Teng Xingfu have one thing in common, which is that you both like to recruit people from the Beiyang Military Academy and those young children who studied in the United States."

"I won't bother Teng Xingfu with this matter. Please recommend a suitable candidate."

(End of this chapter)