The Qing Dynasty

Chapter 585 None are good things
Teng Yuzhao could tell that Xu Shichang wanted to say that public opinion was on the side of the court, but he stopped in time.

Teng Yuzhao could sense that although Xu Shichang had completely sided with him in his heart, before he officially expressed his attitude, Xu Shichang still had to maintain the dignity of the court on the surface.

Teng Yuzao could understand Xu Shichang's behavior, after all, people like Tang Shaoyi were also present.

But what Xu Shichang just said was not alarmist, but entirely possible to become a reality.

If Teng Yuzao was really defeated in the battle outside the Great Wall, causing serious damage to the Zhi army, under the oppression of the great powers, as well as the exclusion and suppression of Yuan Shikai and Yikuang, coupled with the shift in public opinion, Teng Yuzao would probably have no choice but to resign. In the best case scenario, he would not be able to serve as the Governor of Zhishan.

At that time, the severely damaged and leaderless Zhi army would find it extremely difficult to fight against Yuan Shikai's Henan army and the imperial army controlled by Tie Liang.

Teng Yuzao nodded and said, "Juren is right. Although we are only facing Russia and Japan this time, which is far less than the Eight-Nation Alliance back then, and even if these two countries are added together, their financial resources cannot compare to any of the three countries of Britain, the United States, and Germany, this time it is much more dangerous than before."

Seeing that Wei Jinghai, Li Xianze, Liu Shijiu, and even Cao Futian and Liu Bingyi all looked unconvinced, Teng Yuzhao spoke seriously.

"What I said is completely true."

"Think about it, the Eight-Nation Alliance in the Gengzi Year seemed to be very aggressive and was known as the strongest coalition of eight powers in the world, but they committed a major military taboo and looked down on us. Their troops were not many in the early stage, and they had to increase their troops again and again only after repeated defeats."

"But this is a tactic of adding fuel to the fire. When they finally come to their senses and mobilize a large force to encircle and suppress us, we have not only become stronger in terms of soldiers and horses, but also have gathered hundreds of thousands of people. At this time, they continue to make the mistake of underestimating the enemy and advancing rashly."

"We defeated them one by one in the mountainous area, and finally they were completely defeated and there was no way back."

"With so many countries, there are so many different thoughts. They are bound to check and balance each other. No one wants others to gain more advantage. Moreover, we are divided and disintegrated. That is why we were able to negotiate to end the war."

“But this time, it’s very different.”

Teng Yuzao then signaled the staff officer who was taking notes in the back, "Bring a few more bottles of beer, and make sure they're cooler."

Then Teng Yuzao continued, "As far as I know, although the Russians only have less than 130,000 ground forces in the Northeast, they have already prepared 600,000 to 700,000 troops in the Far East they occupy."

"Once the war breaks out, an army of 700,000 to 800,000 will be assembled in the Northeast in a short period of time, and they can quickly march along the railway to the Yalu River, as well as strategic locations such as Fengtian, Liaoyang, and Lushun."

"Under such circumstances, the Japanese will either not fight or they will send a large force directly into battle."

"Compared with the Russians' military strength, I estimate that the Japanese will send out around 500,000 troops in the initial stage, and they will also send out both the navy and the army."

Teng Yuzao looked at these generals and spoke seriously.

"If we want to win by trickery against such a large group of troops, it will probably be much more difficult. If we want to defeat them, it will inevitably be a big and fierce battle. If we are careless, not to mention a big defeat, we may even suffer heavy losses and even be wiped out in one battle."

"Especially, we are facing two large armies in the Northeast, the Russians and the Japanese, with a combined force of 1.5 to 6 million. Once they join forces to deal with us, it will be extremely difficult for us to defeat them."

Teng Yuzhao's words made all the generals put away their unconvinced looks and replaced them with solemn expressions.

No one can guarantee whether Russia and Japan, the two powerful countries that fought against each other in the Gengzi Year, will join forces again to deal with them in the Northeast. If they really want to unite, that would be an army of 1.5 to 600,000!
Just thinking about such a situation made Wei Jinghai and others nervous. Such an opponent would not allow them to be careless at all, let alone underestimate the enemy.

The staff officer who went to get the wine had returned to the conference room. He left three opened bottles of beer in front of Teng Yuzhao and gave two bottles to Liu Shijiu.

Before Teng Yuzao could make a move, Wei Jinghai had already taken the bottle and filled Teng Yuzao's glass.

Teng Yuzhao took a sip of cold beer and looked at the generals again. Seeing their expressions, Teng Yuzhao knew that his words had achieved their purpose. He secretly let out a long sigh and then said to Xu Shichang with a sneer.

"Kikuto, as for contacting other countries, don't even think about it anymore."

Seeing Xu Shichang's surprise, Teng Yuzao said, "Juren, you don't know that none of these powers will help us."

Before Xu Shichang and others could ask questions, Teng Yuzao had already spoken.

"Let's not talk about the British, let's just talk about the Americans who are relatively friendly to us."

"The Americans are only willing to trade with us now, especially since they have great interests in Zhili. They just don't want to see our Zhili army suffer losses. But the Americans are like all the great powers. Deep down, they still don't want to see our country become stronger."

"The Americans also want to see us and the Japanese become seriously hostile in the future, so that they can gain greater benefits from both sides."

"As for the Germans and the French."

Teng Yuzao smiled disdainfully, "The French and the Russians are allies now. The French are still counting on the Russians to help them resist the Germans when the Germans attack them again. This time, it is mainly the French who are lending money to the Russians and selling them a large amount of weapons and equipment."

"As for the Germans, although they have always disliked the Russians, they really hope that the Russians will fight with the Japanese supported by Britain and the United States, so as to divert the British attention, financial resources, and even military forces to the Far East, so as to reduce the pressure from the British on him in Europe."

"If the Russians are unwilling to give up the fat meat in their mouths, they will inevitably continue to send more troops to the Far East, and the pressure from the Russians on the Germans will also be greatly reduced. These are what the Germans want to see."

"Therefore, the Germans are now also lending money to the Russians and even selling them large quantities of artillery, heavy machine guns and ammunition."

"Damn it!"

Liu Shijiu was so angry that he slammed the table and stood up, rolling up his sleeves and said, "I have seen through it all. None of these great powers are good. We don't rely on anyone but ourselves. Marshal, I believe in you. As long as you are here, we are united. Even if the Russians and the Japanese join forces in the Northeast, we are not afraid."

Liu Shijiu could be said to have expressed the inner thoughts of the generals present. As long as Teng Yuzhao was there, they would dare to fight against the million-strong Japanese and Russian troops.

Teng Yuzao nodded and said, "Okay! As long as we are united, our Zhi army will never lose a battle."

Teng Yuzao motioned Liu Shijiu to sit down, then looked around at everyone and said, "Although the court has asked me not to participate in the war this time, no one can guarantee that these foreign devils will not suddenly turn their troops westward and rush into the interior."

"Therefore, in order to ensure the safety of Zhili, although I agreed not to participate in the war, I was also determined to take precautions outside the Great Wall so that I can respond in time if the situation changes, so as to prevent the war from affecting Zhili." "Marshal, has the court agreed?" Yang Shiqi asked with a frown.

Teng Yuzhao guessed that Yang Shiqi saw through his thoughts and said it in a nonchalant manner.

"Shanhai Pass is not far from the capital. This time, there may be two powerful countries outside the pass that are eyeing us with nearly two million troops. Those people are naturally worried. They will not be willing to go west again. How can they not agree?"

Teng Yuzhao's words were obviously an allusion to Cixi.

Teng Yuzao continued calmly, "So I asked that heavy troops be deployed outside the pass in advance to prevent it, so that we can respond in time if the situation changes."

"But the court is very worried that the number of troops we have deployed outside the Great Wall and on the Shanhaiguan front is too small to stop the enemy's million-strong army. They are also worried that there are no troops to defend the coastal areas of Zhili and Shandong. They are very conflicted."

Teng Yuzao sneered and said, "Originally, the scattered Zhili troops could be transferred back to Zhili, but the court was unwilling to gather the scattered Zhili troops."

"As far as I know, the court even asked Yuan Xiangcheng about this matter."

"We want Yuan Xiangcheng to send a town to assist us, but Yuan Xiangcheng refuses to send troops out of the pass. He only wants to station troops in Zhili so that we can free up troops to go out of the pass."

"He wishes!" This time it was Wei Jinghai who couldn't help but speak.

Li Xiance also said anxiously, "Marshal, this cannot be agreed to. Once things change, our retreat will be cut off. All the Marshal's property is in Zhili."

Teng Yuzao waved his hands and said, "Of course I won't agree. I told the court clearly that if that's the case, I would rather go against the court's wishes and resolutely transfer troops back to Zhili."

"Finally, the court agreed to transfer the Sixth Regiment in Fujian back to part of Zhili. The defense of Fujian against Taiwan would be jointly defended by the small number of troops left in the Sixth Regiment in Fujian and the Second Regiment in Liangjiang."

"At the same time, the 26 regiments stationed in Sichuan were transferred to Zhili to assist in the battle."

"In addition, Zhang Zhidong also expressed his willingness to send 18 regiments of Hubei New Army to listen to the court's orders. According to the court's intention, they can help us guard the coastal areas of Zhili so that we can free up our hands."

"It's just that the soldiers of the Hubei New Army are all from the south of the Yangtze River in Hunan and Hubei. Southerners can't stand the bitter cold in the northeast, so I rejected them."

The 26th Regiment in Sichuan was Liu Yuanshou's original 7th Regiment, which was transferred to Sichuan to assist in the disbanding of the old army. When the Army Department's Preparatory Office unified the numbers, their number was changed to the 26th Regiment.

As for rejecting Zhang Zhidong's kindness, Teng Yuzhao said on the surface that the officers and soldiers of the Eighteen Regiments were all from the south and could not stand the cold, but in fact, Teng Yuzhao was very worried about the internal instability of the Hubei New Army. Three years ago, many of the backbones of the Self-Reliance Army came from Zhang Zhidong's Hubei New Army.

Even now, Teng Yuzhao also believed that the most restless was probably the Hubei New Army. Teng Yuzhao did not want these people to cause trouble in Zhili first, as that would disrupt his plan.

Based on this idea, Teng Yuzao could only politely decline Zhang Zhidong's kindness.

Hearing that Liu Yuanshou would come back with the Twenty-Six Towns, Liu Nineteen was the first to speak excitedly.

"Good! With Yannian back, we can rest assured and have more troops."

The officers of Liu Yuanshou's Twenty-Six Towns were all from the original vanguard army. Teng Yuzhao was naturally relieved when they rushed back. This town was now almost a genuine Zhi army.

Even so, Teng Yuzhao didn't want anyone to talk about this matter directly, so he spoke quickly.

"According to my estimation, the Japanese are about to start fighting. In my opinion, the fighting may start in half a month at most, so we must prepare in advance."

Ignoring Wei Jinghai, Liu Shijiu, Li Xianze and others who were eager to try, Teng Yuzhao looked at Yang Shixiang and other civil servants.

"The war with the Eight-Nation Alliance taught us one thing: wars are fought with money and food. Today, this means money, food, weapons, ammunition, and sufficient soldiers. As long as we have enough of these, we will not lose this war."

"So, let's talk about Lianfu first."

Yang Shixiang nodded and said, "I'll just give you a rough outline. I'll ask them to tell me the details."

The "they" that Yang Shixiang was referring to were naturally Yang Shiqi, general manager of the Beiyang Communications Administration, Liang Dunyan, the Zhili provincial governor, Cao Jiaxiang, general manager of the Beiyang Patrol, Zhou Shoushen, general manager of the Beiyang Steamship Company, Zhou Xuexi, general manager of the Beiyang Foreign Affairs Administration, Xi Ligong, general manager of the Aurora Bank, and Ning Xingpu, general manager of the Trade Bureau.

As the governor of two provinces, Yang Shixiang was destined to be in charge of only the overall affairs and major issues; he would definitely not be able to explain the details of each place.

"Marshal, since you took charge of Zhili and Shandong provinces and promoted Westernization, the situation in Zhili and Shandong provinces has been very encouraging, especially Zhili. The number of people from all over the country who have come to open factories in Zhili has increased significantly. The goods produced in Zhili and Shandong are not only sold all over the country, but a large part of them are also bought by foreigners and shipped back to their countries."

"Nowadays, customs and industrial and commercial taxes have increased significantly year after year. Although we use a lot of these taxes to build roads, build schools, and settle refugees from other provinces, as well as military expenses and salaries of officials at all levels, and even have to pay a large sum of money to the court, we still have a slight surplus in the past three years."

Due to the vigorous promotion of Westernization and the implementation of preferential policies, the number of merchants from various provinces rushing to Zhili and Shandong to invest increased significantly, and tax revenue naturally increased significantly.

Not only what Yang Shixiang just mentioned, but even nearly half of the money that was taken out from the Aurora Bank to purchase the warships has been repaid.

Yang Shixiang said with some regret, "Although our grain reserves are sufficient, even if they are not enough, we can purchase them from other provinces. However, once the Zhi army joins the war and the military expenditures are incurred, our tax revenue will not be enough. At that time, I am afraid we will have to borrow money from Yucheng."

Today's Zhi army is not Teng Yuzhao's private army. The military expenses should be paid by the two provinces of Zhi and Shan. However, it is normal that there is a shortage of money.

Next, Yang Shiqi talked about railways. Although the Tianjin-Zhangjiakou Line had been built and the Lu-Han Railway had been put into operation for a long time, the Tianjin-Zhangjiakou Line was still operating at a loss. Although the Lu-Han Railway made money, the dividends it received every year had to be used for the construction of the Jinpu Line, and he always had no money.

After Yang Shiqi finished talking about the operation and construction of the railway, he said again.

"The Jinpu Railway will be completed by the end of next year at the latest. However, it would be inappropriate if we were to go to war with the British. By then, we would probably be cut off by British warships on the Yangtze River."

"Could you please ask Lord Zhou to speed up the construction of the Wusongkou Fort? Or we can simply mobilize some of the old navy ships to the two rivers and form a river defense fleet."

(End of this chapter)