The Qing Dynasty

Chapter 561 Joint Military and Political Meeting
Although the name of this mansion is Beiyang Minister and Zhili Governor's Mansion, it actually has three signs hanging on it. The Vanguard Army Headquarters is also here.

Since this is the highest political and military institution in Zhili and Shandong, it also covers a very large area, with a length and width of 500 meters each.

The overall planning and design of Tianjin New City was designed by a French designer and dozens of Chinese and foreign designers.

The overall design blueprint was fully discussed by all parties and finally approved by Teng Yuzao himself.

The overall architectural style of the new city can be summarized in eight words: majestic, novel and beautiful.

In the new city, except for a few classical Chinese buildings that were not destroyed, such as the Sankou Trade Office on the north bank of the canal, all the buildings are neatly constructed, most of them adopt a combination of Chinese and Western styles, and only a few buildings are completely in Western architectural style.

The buildings on both sides of the main street have one thing in common, that is, no matter whether they are a combination of Chinese and Western styles or purely Western styles, they are all tall and large, giving people a feeling of returning to the Han and Tang dynasties at a glance.

The Beiyang Minister's and Zhili Governor's Office is a building that combines Chinese and Western styles. This magnificent and majestic Governor's Office has created many firsts in the country.

First of all, it changed the layout of all government offices in the country that had walls. There was no wall. However, for safety reasons, a one-meter-high brown and thick iron fence was installed in the place of the wall. Densely trimmed shrubs were planted next to the iron fence. Behind the bushes, the iron fence was surrounded by tall transplanted ginkgo trees.

Most of the trees in the Governor's Palace are ginkgo trees, with only a few places planted with other decorative trees to beautify the environment.

According to the design, only ginkgo trees are planted on both sides of all the main streets in the new city.

The plaque of the Beiyang Minister and Zhili Governor-General's Office is also different from the past.

In the past, not only the Governor's Mansion, but all other government offices had their plaques placed horizontally on the door lintels. However, Teng Yuzhao's Governor's Mansion was different. It had no door lintel, so naturally it could not hang a plaque. It only had three vertical black lacquered plaques with gold characters hung on the granite doorposts on both sides of the wide main entrance.

They are the Beiyang Minister's Office, the Zhishan Governor's Office, and the Beiyang Army Headquarters.

There is no need to mention the Beiyang Ministers, as for the Zhishan Governor's Office, it is because Teng Yuzhao is now the governor-general of Zhili and Shandong provinces, so his Governor's Office must naturally be marked out, just like Zhang Zhidong's Huguang Governor's Office.

Although Teng Yuzao was actually the governor of two provinces, the common people and officials still called it the Zhili Governor's Office out of habit.

The sign of the Beiyang Army Command is actually the Vanguard Army Command. However, since the imperial court unified the numbers of all domestic troops, the name of the Vanguard Army could no longer be used, at least it was not convenient to use it in public. Therefore, people now use the abbreviation of a certain province's troops based on the region.

For example, the headquarters of the Vanguard Army was in Tianjin, and the Beiyang Minister Teng Yuzhao, the president of the Vanguard Army, was still there, so the Vanguard Army was called the Beiyang Army.

As for Yuan Shikai, who was in Henan, his Wuwei Right Army was called the Henan Army. The Wuwei Left Army in Rehe, as it was not a province at that time, had no suitable abbreviation and was simply called the Rehe New Army.

Teng Yuzhao was quite annoyed that the people, even in official documents with the Army Preparatory Office, as well as in domestic and foreign newspapers, referred to the vanguard army as the Beiyang Army.

At the same time, Teng Yuzhao sometimes felt a little secretly happy in his heart because he had snatched the title that originally belonged to Yuan Shikai's Wuwei Right Army.

The third first of the Governor's Palace is that it is not only grand, but also unique in style.

Although it is a combination of Chinese and Western styles and its shape is not unique, its appearance is very special.

It is special because the five-story main building in the middle of the Governor's Palace or the more than 30-meter-wide front facade all use floor-to-ceiling glass windows. Due to the special inlay method, when viewed from the outside, it looks like a whole huge piece of glass attached to the wall.

What’s most special is that this seemingly entire wall of glass is actually light blue.

Not only the main building of the Governor's Palace, but also the four-story podiums on both sides, including the glass windows of the two four-story buildings built symmetrically on the left and right, are all light blue. When the sun shines, the Governor's Palace becomes sparkling, and you can even see white clouds floating slowly on the huge glass walls.

Such a spectacular sight surprised and amazed the people, and they secretly called this place the Crystal Palace.

There are separate four-story buildings on both sides of the Governor-General's Office. The one on the left is the headquarters of the Beiyang Army, and the one on the right is the office location of the Zhili Provincial Governor and Censor.

Today, from the perspective of outsiders, the situation inside and outside the Naoyama Governor's Mansion seemed a bit tense, because not only were the original four guards on duty now eight, but through the iron fence outside the Governor's Mansion, one could also see rows of patrolling guards going back and forth from time to time.

This is because, this morning, in the large conference room of the Left Army Headquarters, a meeting of all senior officers, including the generals of the newly established Navy Department, was held.

After lunch, a joint military and political meeting was held in the conference room on the second floor of the Governor-General's Mansion, including senior officials from Zhili and Shandong, as well as senior officials and important personnel related to the New Deal and Westernization Movement.

Since almost all important personnel from the Beiyang government are here, vigilance naturally needs to be strengthened.

This conference room in the Governor's Mansion is the only carpeted room in the Mansion. The chandeliers are all imported high-end chandeliers, and the walls are inlaid with wall panels. Although the decoration style is still a bit simple, it is not shabby. At least it is much better than the decoration in Teng Yuzhao's office.

This is the formal place where Teng Yuzao receives important people, such as visiting envoys from various countries.

This conference room is very spacious, and considering that there are many special people among the participants, Teng Yuzao specially arranged to hold the meeting here.

Inside the conference room, leather sofas were placed in a semi-circle in the middle of the floor. There was a coffee table between every two sofas, on which there were not only ashtrays but also tea cups.

Behind these sofas are several rows of leather chairs, and in front of the chairs there are also coffee tables, tea cups and other items.

The most special thing is that there is a brass rod standing on the ground in front of each coffee table, with a flat round disc similar to a small drum and shining with metallic luster on the top. There are dense fine holes in the front of the disc, and there are even wires leading out from the bottom of the metal rod and then converging into a metal cabinet the size of a desk in the corner of the conference room.

This thing is nothing but a microphone. To be precise, its scientific name is a carbon-particle microphone. It is the latest type of microphone invented by American inventor Emil Berliner. It is much more advanced than previous carbon-particle microphones.

The only special thing is that it was not imported, but produced by the Aurora Telephone Company, a subsidiary of the Aurora Industrial Development Company located in Tianjin.

Even with so many seats, it still seemed a bit crowded, but Teng Yuzao had no choice because there were too many people attending this joint meeting, dozens of people, including all the important figures of the Beiyang faction. Since it was a joint military and political meeting, not only the generals of the Beiyang Army attended, but also senior officials from Zhili and Shandong.

In the spacious conference room, on the two sofas in the front, on the left was the seat of Teng Yuzao, the highest official of the Beiyang clique, and on the other sofa on the right sat Zhou Fu, the governor of Shandong.

There are two sofas placed opposite each other on both sides of Teng Yuzao and Zhou Fu, and behind them are leather chairs with backrests to save space.

Sitting on the sofa on the left and on the leather chairs behind the sofa were Beiyang Army generals wearing neat summer military uniforms.

Starting from the position closest to Teng Yuzhao, arranged in order were Beiyang Chief of General Staff Wei Jinghai, Beiyang Military Industry Equipment Department and Logistics Department Director Li Yulin, Artillery Director Liu Changfa, Deputy Chief of General Staff Sun Shijun, Military Medical Department Director Lin Lianhui, and Tongxu Department Director Lin Liansheng. These people were all generals of the command organizations directly under the military headquarters.

Although Lin Lianhui, Lin Liansheng, and Sun Shijun are only major generals, they are responsible for the relevant work of the entire army after all, and their positions must be at the forefront.

Sitting on the leather chairs behind these people's sofas were relevant personnel of the headquarters, such as Zuo Mingyang, the director of operations who also had the rank of major general, and the heads of various departments, whose ranks ranged from lieutenant colonel to colonel.

Below them were two generals in their forties wearing white military uniforms.

The leading general held the rank of lieutenant general. Although he was of medium build and even a little fat, he looked very dignified when sitting on the sofa. This man was the Minister of the Navy Ye Zugui.

The general sitting on the sofa below him was a major general, tall. Although his cheeks were a little thin, his eye sockets were sunken, and his light brown eyes were very bright. He was still sitting upright on the sofa. This man was Sa Zhenbing, the famous naval commander of the Republic of China in later generations.

This man was named Ye Zugui, a native of Fujian. He was a graduate of the first driving class of the Fuzhou Naval Academy. He was selected to study abroad at the Greenwich Naval School in the UK for three years. He had interned in the same class as the British prince on the British Navy's armored battleship "Soleilberlin". When he returned to his country, the British prince gave him a ring with a sapphire inlaid with diamonds as a farewell gift.

Because of his intelligence and diligence, Ye Zugui received high praise during his study abroad, and was praised as "diligent, quick-witted, and well-trained". He later served as the captain of the "Jingyuan", one of the four main ironclad ships of the Beiyang Fleet. During the Sino-Japanese War of 1894-1895, he took the initiative to hoist the command flag and replace the flagship Dingyuan to command until the Japanese ships finally withdrew.

Ye Zugui not only performed brilliantly in the Battle of the Yellow Sea, but also had a remarkable performance in the subsequent Weihaiwei defense battle.

Ye Zugui once used the "Jingyuan" ship as a temporary flagship and led the four gunboats Zhennan, Zhenbei, Zhenxi and Zhenbian to support the defenders of the Nanbang Fort and killed the commander of the Japanese left-wing fleet, Major General Otera Yasuzumi.

On January 1 of the following year, more than 15 Japanese warships of various sizes all sailed close to the sea off the south mouth of Weihai, lined up, with gunboats in the lead firing, and rushed into the south mouth.

Despite the disparity in numbers, he still led the "Jingyuan" ship to Nankou and engaged in a fierce battle with the Japanese ships. Around noon, the "Jingyuan" ship was hit in a vital part by enemy artillery and then ran aground. In order to avoid being used by the enemy, he blew up and sank the ship himself.

After the Beiyang Fleet was completely annihilated, all the Beiyang Navy commanders were dismissed from their posts, and Ye Zugui was also imprisoned in Tianjin.

It was not until the 25th year of the reign of Emperor Guangxu that he was reinstated from his post and appointed commander of the Beiyang Fleet.

This time, Teng Yuzao reorganized the two ocean navies and established the Ministry of Navy, with Ye Zugui as the first Minister of the Navy.

Another general who obviously did not have the appearance features of a Han Chinese was none other than the famous Seljuq general, the former captain of the Weiyuan of the Beiyang Navy, and the deputy general and guerrilla commander of the elite left camp, Sa Zhenbing.

Although Sa Zhenbing was born in Fujian, his ancestral home is in Shaanxi. He, Ye Zugui, Liu Buchan, Fang Boqian, Yan Fu and others were the first batch of students from Fujian Shipbuilding to go abroad, and were also sent to the Royal Naval College Greenwich in the UK to study driving.

Although Sa Zhenbing did not have the opportunity to participate in the Battle of the Yellow Sea, the Battle of Weihaiwei gave him the opportunity to fight against the Japanese invaders. During this period, Sa Zhenbing was ordered to garrison on the Ri Island.

When the Battle of Japan-Island Defense broke out, it was midwinter. The Japanese army attacked in four batches with 18 ships and bombarded the Japanese islands with heavy artillery fire from the north and south artillery batteries of Weihaiwei that had been occupied by the Japanese. In the extremely dangerous situation, Sa Zhenbing, who brought only sailors, remained calm and commanded the counterattack.

Facing the enemy's artillery fire, Sa Zhenbing personally operated the rapid-fire cannon to fight back and was injured in many places.

Even the Japanese records praised the island defense operations commanded by Sa Zhenbing. The Japanese wrote: In this battle, the enemy's artillery was quite capable, using eight cannons to fight against more than 20 ships in our fleet. They operated skillfully and fired fiercely at our ships.

It was not until eleven days later that Sa Zhenbing received an order from Ding Ruchang to lead his troops back to Liugong Island.

After the Sino-Japanese War of 1894-1895, all the surviving naval officers and soldiers were dismissed and repatriated. Sa Zhenbing also returned to Fuzhou. Sa Zhenbing was penniless and his family was struggling to support itself. He could not even raise his two children, so he had no choice but to work as a private tutor in officials and gentry families to earn a living.

In the 22nd year of the reign of Emperor Guangxu, he was invited by Zhang Zhidong, the then Governor-General of Liangjiang, to be the chief officer of Wusong Fort and was promoted to assistant commander of the Self-Strengthening Army.

In the 25th year of the reign of Emperor Guangxu, the imperial court discussed rebuilding the navy and ordered ships such as "Hai Tian" and "Hai Qi" from Britain and Germany respectively. It also reinstated Ye Zugui, the deputy admiral of the Beiyang Navy, and appointed him as the commander of the BJ Navy.

At that time, Ye Zugui believed that Sa Zhenbing's knowledge, experience, and character were far superior to his own, so he recommended Sa Zhenbing to the court to serve as the commander of the navy, but Sa Zhenbing insisted on not accepting the position. Finally, the court had to appoint Sa Zhenbing as assistant commander and captain of the "Haiqi".

Teng Yuzao finally selected these two people to serve as the commander of the naval fleet and the minister of the navy. In addition to their knowledge and their performance during the Sino-Japanese War of 1894-1895, there was another reason why Teng Yuzao decided to hand over the navy to them.

That is, during this peace negotiation, Yikuang proposed to sell five large warships of the Beiyang Navy, including the "Hai Tian" and "Hai Qi", and to cancel all maritime defenses, in order to show that the court had no intention of preparing for foreign wars, in order to please the powers.

As soon as this proposal was put forward, it was strongly opposed by Sa Zhenbing and was later abolished due to protests from Ye Zugui and others.

This time, Teng Yuzhao appointed Sa Zhenbing as the commander of the naval fleet.

Below these two men were the First to Ninth Regiments, the Cavalry Regiment, as well as the Guards and Marine Corps Commanders and other generals.

Sitting behind all these generals on the left were the chiefs of staff of each brigade, including the chiefs of staff of these generals. As the generals had left the team, those brigade commanders were unable to attend the meeting, so Teng Yuzao ordered their chiefs of staff to attend the meeting. The military ranks of these chiefs of staff of each brigade were all at the level of colonel.

But among the chiefs of staff behind Wu Peifu, there was a young lieutenant officer sitting. He was particularly eye-catching because he was not only young but also only a lieutenant officer.

What caught people's attention the most was that the appearance of this middle-ranking officer seemed familiar to many people at first glance.
(End of this chapter)