The Qing Dynasty

Chapter 58 The most lacking thing is time
Teng Yuzao went on to say, "People who have studied, especially those who studied in church schools, are not required to be over 50 years old, as long as they are in good health. Other conditions are not limited. If we can recruit people who have studied abroad, we can give them a resettlement fee of 1,000 taels. For example, many of those young children who studied in the United States are not living well in various places now. As long as they are willing to come, no matter what they studied, we will accept them. If there are still those who are not satisfied with the resettlement fee, you can come to me individually."

Teng Yuzhao remembered that with the strong support of Li Hongzhang, several batches of Chinese children went to the United States to study. Many of them found that their knowledge was useless after returning to China. These people were valuable talents who had received modern higher education. It was a pity that they were wasted. He had to race against time. If it was any later, many talents would have been taken away by the visionary Yuan Shikai.

For example, Tang Shaoyi, one of the Chinese students studying in the United States, was spotted by Yuan Shikai at an early stage and was always tried hard to win him over. Tang Shaoyi is now serving under Yuan Shikai, the governor of Shandong.

"Also, find some time to bring 1,000 taels of silver to Master Qian to discuss the matter of recruiting doctors from the Beiyang Hospital and the Western Medical School. First, we want to reward him for leading the troops to rescue us this time. Second, we want to discuss this matter with Master Qian. If he helps, this matter will be almost halfway done."

It would be great if the Vanguard Army had such a hospital. Not only could the wounded soldiers of the Vanguard Army receive better treatment, but it could also train more medical talents for the Chinese people. If we only talk about the Westernization Movement, Li Hongzhang is definitely the best.

"In addition, we need to purchase a large number of mules, horses, and carts at high prices. If Xigu is lost, we won't be able to transport the things in the Xigu warehouse without a large number of mules, horses, and carts."

Li Yulin quickly wrote down Teng Yuzhao's words in the small notebook he carried with him. Not only Li Yulin had this habit, but most of the students who graduated from the Military Academy still retained this good habit they had acquired in the academy.

Li Yulin blurted out in surprise, "Xingfu, are you saying we can't stand it here?"

As soon as he said this, Li Yulin's expression immediately darkened. He knew that he had asked a very wrong question.

If Laolongtou Railway Station is an important point for Tianjin's external liaison and even a key starting point for the Allied Forces' attack on the capital, and Dongjuzi is a key point and node between Dagukou and the Concession, then this place is Tianjin's outpost facing the Concession. If the Allied Forces occupy this place, they will have built a barrier for the Concession to the north and east of Baihe River. Moreover, the Allied Forces will be in a position to attack or defend Tianjin City and will have complete control of the initiative.

The coalition forces could not abandon or ignore such an important location.

Teng Yuzhao took a deep puff of the cigarette in his hand, threw it to the ground and crushed it with his foot, then sighed and said.

"Up to now, although the imperial court has begun to openly allow the Boxers to attack the coalition forces, it has not officially declared war on the Eight-Nation Alliance. Half a month ago, Yu Lu was still commanding the Wuwei Army to suppress the Boxers and strive to maintain law and order in Tianjin. Generally speaking, the relationship with the Western powers can still be maintained."

"It's just that the court has been wavering between fighting and joining. Now the coalition forces have taken Dagukou and sent troops to force their way into the capital, but they were blocked in Langfang by more than 20,000 soldiers from the Wuwei Front Army and the Boxers. Although there is no news yet, the coalition forces that want to force their way into the capital are small in number, reportedly only more than 2,000 people. They can't get through and will definitely retreat."

"But once these 2,000-plus coalition forces retreat to Tianjin, together with the coalition forces that are now attacking the Laolongtou Railway Station and the coalition forces in the concession, the shortage of troops in Tianjin by the Western powers will be alleviated immediately. Moreover, now that the coalition forces have occupied Dagukou, they can land at Tanggu with confidence, and their reinforcements will continue to arrive in Tianjin. If they want to enter the capital, they must have a stable and large enough rear base. The concession is too small to accommodate so many of them, and Tianjin City is the most suitable base."

"The only troops in Tianjin that can fight the coalition forces now are the 14,000 to 15,000 Wuwei Army. Even if we include the Tianjin Training Army and the Boxers, the total number of troops in Tianjin will not exceed 30,000. Let alone the coalition forces of 30,000, even 20,000 will probably not be able to resist. Not to mention here, even Tianjin City will surely be lost." Teng Yuzao shook his head grimly and said, "Under an overturned nest, how can the eggs remain intact? If Tianjin City is not saved, how can Xigu be saved? So we must prepare for retreat in advance."

"What if we use all the cannons and heavy machine guns in Xigu?" Li Yulin asked with some reluctance.

Teng Yuzao smiled bitterly and said, "Qionglin, why are you confused? You know that gunners and heavy machine gunners need long-term training. How can we expect them to be trained in ten or twenty days? If we leave it to them, they won't be able to exert much power. At most, they can scare those foreign devils. We have these dozens of students from the Military Academy. Otherwise, we would have no way to defend these heavy machine guns."

"Besides, the Wuwei Front Army has enough artillery and heavy machine guns! But I heard that with the cooperation of more than 20,000 Boxers in Langfang, they blocked the more than 2,000 coalition troops for several days, but only killed and injured 200 to 300 coalition troops..."

At this point, Teng Yuzhao no longer wanted to waste words. No matter how good the weapons were, they would not be able to exert their due power under the command of these old army generals who had not been trained in modern military thinking.

"Qionglin, do as I say."

Although Teng Yuzhao used words of negotiation, his tone was unquestionable.

Time. What Teng Yuzhao lacks most now is time. As long as he is given three months, or even one month, he has the confidence to defend the city of Tianjin, and even drive all the coalition forces in the concession into the sea. But he knows that the coalition forces will not give him time.

In this case, Teng Yuzhao could only adopt the method of exchanging space for time as much as possible. In this way, he could at least ensure that the Eight-Nation Alliance would not be unstoppable after occupying the capital, and would not enter a no-man's land in the entire North China, roaming around at will, burning, killing and looting.

Li Dazhui returned quickly, in less than two hours, with dozens of carts and dozens of mules and horses. With the help of everyone, he loaded the captured supplies and the supplies sent by the Allied Forces in exchange for prisoners onto the carts, tied them to the horses' backs, and arranged for Li Xiance to send a platoon of people to escort them.

During this period, Wei Jinghai sorted out Teng Yuzhao's records on tactics and issues that need attention in individual soldier training before and after the war, and handed them to Li Yulin, Liu Yuzhi and Li Xianze. Only then did Li Yulin rush back to Xigu with a large number of weapons, ammunition and supplies.

Thanks: Laogui Wuge, 20210101172928180, 20210704085040849, Yin Yangwuxing, Shenlan

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(End of this chapter)