The Qing Dynasty

Chapter 604 Contingency Measures
"Commander!"

Yang Shiqi continued, "Prince Duan also asked me to tell the Marshal not to be a rootless duckweed."

Zai Yi's words made it very clear that he did not want Teng Yuzao to give up his post as Governor-General of Zhishan and run to the capital to be a seemingly glorious minister of military affairs.

Yang Shixiang frowned and said first, "In my opinion, it is because in the past year or so, there have been people from the public calling on the court to implement constitutional government. The court has long expected this day to come, so it has already made a plan."

"Now that Lord Zhou and Zhang Xiangtao took the lead in calling for action, the court was not only able to respond quickly, but also came up with this method of cutting off the source of the problem."

"This time, Lord Zhou and Zhang Xiangtao jointly signed this memorial, telling the court that they can no longer play dumb. They have brought out a plan that they had prepared long ago. They want to solve the problem of several provincial governors who are regarded as hidden dangers by the court at one time, and then continue to drag on the constitutional government. The Marshal must be careful!"

Yang Shiqi also nodded and said, "I heard from Zai Yi that it is very likely that Yikuang knew about the memorial from Lord Zhou and Zhang Xiangtao last night."

Zhou Xuexi asked curiously, "My father and Xiang Shuai's memorials arrived at noon, how did Yikuang know about it in advance?"

Yang Shiqi smiled and said, "Jizhi, think about it, the court can ignore the people's calls, but if the most important governors in the world jointly proposed constitutional government, how dare the court ignore it? They must have been prepared in advance, and it is even possible that they have arranged personnel in the mansions of Lord Zhou and Zhang Xiangtao."

"Also, Yuan Shikai certainly doesn't want to make things easier for the Marshal. He refused to sign the petition, so who can guarantee that he didn't secretly collude with the court? It's just that it's inconvenient for Yuan Shikai to directly report Mr. Zhou and Zhang Xiangtao's intentions to the Empress Dowager. That would be too conspicuous and would bring him bad reputation in the future."

"But if he could let the Empress Dowager know about it through Yikuang, it would be the best of both worlds for him. No one would accuse him of selling out his friends, and he would please the Empress Dowager. If there is a day of constitutional government in the future, he, Yuan Shikai, might be the winner."

"This way, once the truth is revealed, Yuan Shikai will have something to say."

Xi Ligong sneered and said, "Yuan Shikai is still trying to play the same trick as in the Gengzi Year, but Ronglu is dead, and now he is hooking up with Yikuang again."

"But he didn't expect that the court might also be worried about him, so he was transferred from the position of governor."

Yang Shiqi smiled bitterly and shook his head, saying, "Yucheng is wrong!"

"In my opinion, the court wanted Yuan Shikai to join the Grand Council just to make the Marshal speechless, not because they were afraid of Yuan Shikai."

"In the eyes of the imperial court, only the Marshal is the one they fear the most and are most worried about."

"Especially, the Marshal is now promoting Westernization in Zhishan Province and is doing very well. In a few years, when the results are obvious, the Marshal will be widely praised by the government and the public. By then, it may not be a matter of delaying constitutionalism. Many things may be beyond their control."

Yang Shixiang thought for a moment and said firmly, "Marshal, Zai Yi is right. The Grand Council has almost become a consulting office and has no authority at all."

"We must not leave these two provinces, Zhishan, and we must also tell Lord Zhou and Zhang Xiangtao to stay where they are."

Zhou Xuexi already understood what his father meant, and now he had no more worries, so he spoke to Teng Yuzhao.

"Marshal, Lord Lian is right. We must not leave these two provinces of Zhishan. This time, the Marshal will refuse to accept the order!"

After Teng Yuzhao took a big sip of the foamy beer that Tang Shaoyi had just filled for him, he did not immediately answer Zhou Xuexi and Yang Shixiang, but asked Yang Shiqi.

"Xingcheng, what is the exchange rate for our paper money when the imperial court's treasure notes are exchanged for our paper money? Is it one to one?"

"Yang Shiqi shook his head and said, "No, it is said that Zhang Yunyan originally wanted to set it at a one-to-one ratio, but Yikuang insisted on a one-to-two ratio, which means that their treasure notes are denominated at two silver dollars. I guess Yikuang wanted the people to feel that the court's treasure notes are better than our paper notes."

Teng Yuzao sighed and suddenly said, "The court is about to start making moves, but you all should be patient and listen to me first."

Teng Yuzhao stood up and began to pace as usual.

“Although it is the Ministry of Revenue Bank that requires us to hand in our principal and exchange it for the imperial court’s treasure notes, on the surface we are only missing out on a large amount of interest, but in reality our loss will be irreparable.”

"This is simply robbery, and it is the will of the imperial court. If we really do it, our bank will completely lose its meaning, the promotion of foreign affairs in Zhishan Province will probably be greatly reduced, and military expenditures will be difficult to sustain."

"The imperial court is now supporting Yuan Shikai in terms of military expenditures, hoping that once Yuan Shikai's Henan Army grows stronger, it can compete with us. However, the imperial court will not allocate a large amount of military expenditures to us, so we can only watch the Henan Army continue to grow stronger."

"And by then, as long as the imperial court can control the military expenditure, let alone we want to start a war outside the Great Wall, the current size of the Zhi army will not be able to do so, and we may have to reduce our military."

"After they bring us down, they will rely on Tieliang's men and the remnants of our Zhi army to deal with Yuan Shikai, and finally allow Tieliang to dominate alone."

Teng Yuzao sneered and said, "After all, those nobles in the court will never trust us Han people."

Wei Jinghai said anxiously, "Marshal, this Aurora Bank must not be controlled by others. It must be in our hands. Not to mention that a war is imminent and the huge military expenditure depends entirely on the support of the Aurora Bank, even for the sake of these elite soldiers we have worked so hard to train, we cannot agree to them."

"Most of our elite soldiers have fought in the war against the Eight-Nation Alliance. It would be a pity to disband them. They might be recruited by Yuan Shikai and Ma Yukun and blackmail us."

"In my opinion, the imperial court is worried about the Marshal and is trying to strip him of his military power! Why not..."

Teng Yuzhao waved his hand to stop Wei Jinghai from saying anything else and spoke seriously.

"Ningbo, I have said again and again that the Zhi Army also belongs to the imperial court, not to me, Teng Yuzao. If the imperial court wants me to hand it over, it's fine."

Teng Yuzhao's words startled everyone, and Wei Jinghai was about to speak again.

Teng Yuzao continued, "However, the Russians still occupy a large area of ​​our land outside the Great Wall. The Japanese are not doing it with good intentions when they go to war with the Russians this time. They are also planning to take over the land outside the Great Wall."

"Even Taiwan is still occupied by the Japanese."

Teng Yuzao took a deep breath and said, "At this moment, it is absolutely impossible for me to hand over the military power. I, Teng, am confident that there is no one in the country who is more familiar with Western warfare than me. I also don't believe that at this stage, there is anyone who can do better than me in military and civil affairs."

"So, you all should keep your minds at ease. I will not give up the military power of the Zhi Army for the time being."

"Correct!"

Wei Jinghai said first, "We will not accept this order! We will gather our troops immediately and see who dares to attack the Marshal."

Wei Jinghai's words clearly had a treasonous tone, but no one present seemed to think there was anything wrong with them.

Teng Yuzao shook his head and said, "Ningbo, I can't refuse the imperial edict. If I don't accept the imperial edict, I'm afraid that someone will immediately say that I, Teng Yuzao, am against the court, and someone will discredit me on the grounds of justice."

Teng Yuzao is now unrivaled in military power. Not only is there no force in the country that can resist him, but even if all the military forces in the country are added together, they will not be the opponent of the Zhi army. Teng Yuzao has been holding back and willing to swallow his anger, which is somewhat unworthy. He mentioned it to Yang Shixiang and his brother in private, but Yang Shixiang unexpectedly agreed with Teng Yuzao's current approach.

Yang Shixiang told Yang Shiqi that he thought Teng Yuzhao's current approach was correct. If they acted rashly now, war would likely break out in the country, and even a situation like the Southeast Mutual Protection would occur again.

At that time, the local forces supported by various powers formed alliances with each other, and Teng Yuzao would probably find it difficult to deal with them.

What's more, it was even more inappropriate when the Russians and Japanese still occupied the areas outside the Great Wall.

Yang Shixiang quietly told Yang Shiqi that Teng Yuzhao was waiting now, and he still needed more universal and stronger praise. Once the time was ripe, he would act without hesitation.

Teng Yuzao had only one purpose in doing this, which was to complete this epoch-making change at the lowest cost.

However, Yang Shiqi did not take his brother's words seriously. He thought that Teng Yuzhao would waste a lot of time by doing this.

As for the righteousness that Teng Yuzhao talked about, in Yang Shiqi's view, it was completely meaningless and he even sneered at it.

In his view, justice and reputation are worthless.

Wang Mang was the only one who cared about reputation, but in the end he still got nothing good in history books!
Zhao Kuangyin did seize the throne from his former master, but he still established the famous Song Dynasty and left his name in history.

Yang Shiqi sighed secretly and said with a wry smile.

"Marshal, I agree with what Prince Duan Zaiyi said. Zhili and the Zhili Army are the foundation of the Marshal. Without these, no matter how righteous or famous you are, it will be useless!"

Teng Yuzao glanced at Yang Shiqi and said with a smile, "Xingcheng, you misunderstood what I meant."

"What I mean is that I can accept the imperial court's order, but only half of it. I can no longer serve as the governor of Zhishan. According to the imperial court's order, Lianfu will serve as the governor of Zhishan."

Yang Shixiang said hurriedly, "Marshal, this won't do."

Teng Yuzao waved his hand and said with a smile, "Mr. Lian, the court wants to promote you, how can you refuse?"

Without waiting for Yang Shixiang to speak again, Teng Yuzhao spoke again in a serious tone.

"Don't forget that I still have a title as the Minister of Beiyang, which also manages the three northeastern provinces. I will only serve as the Minister of Beiyang and the President of Zhili Army. When we recover the lost land and drive the Russians and the Japanese away from our land, I will leave and no longer serve as the Minister of Beiyang and the President of Zhili Army. I can do whatever you want me to do."

Upon hearing Teng Yuzhao say that he would eventually resign as Beiyang Minister and President of Zhili Army, Wei Jinghai stood up from the sofa anxiously and was about to speak. Xi Ligong, Zhou Xuexi and Tang Shaoyi also looked anxious.

Only Yang Shiqi and Yang Shixiang looked at each other, with excitement shining in their eyes.

If Teng Yuzhao really wanted to recover the lost territory and drive out the Russians and the Japanese, it would be impossible for him to resign from all his positions at that time, because his reputation was so high that no one in the country could match him.

Yang Shiqi smiled and reached out to hold Wei Jinghai who was about to stop Teng Yuzhao, and bowed to Teng Yuzhao and said.

"The Marshal does not care about personal gains and losses, and is dedicated to the country and the people. This is admirable and admirable!"

"I think that after the imperial decree is issued, the Marshal should issue a clear memorial to express this attitude."

Teng Yuzao glanced at Yang Shixiang, smiled knowingly and said, "Okay, but you have to be careful with your words, so as not to make the Russians and the Japanese too wary of us."

"besides."

Teng Yuzao continued, "Please take care of the matter, Lord Lian. Once the imperial decree is issued, please send a telegram to Lord Zhou and Marshal Xiang to inform them of my decision."

"I guess that when they see the imperial court's decree, they will understand that the imperial court's arrangement for them is not just a delaying tactic, but also a move to cut off the source of the problem. I'm afraid they will feel discouraged."

"However, they will all obey the order and take up their posts, unwilling to be known as those who disobey the order."

Teng Yuzhao sighed and stopped dwelling on this topic.

Looking at Xi Ligong, he said, "As for the court's despicable means of plundering the Aurora Bank, I will never agree with it. As I said before, I will never surrender until the foreign devils who have occupied our land are driven away."

Teng Yuzao looked around at everyone and said, "Aurora Bank is different from Governor Zhishan. This Governor was given by the imperial court. They can take it away if they want. But Aurora Bank is my private property. If they want me to hand it over, I don't agree."

Teng Yuzao slowed down his tone and continued, "Since it is not allowed to circulate, and we are not allowed to exchange the banknotes we have issued, we will simply suspend business temporarily."

"Mr. Lian, as the Governor General, you need to intensify the publicity and make it clear to all the businessmen, officials and people in Zhili that it is the imperial court that does not allow the Aurora Bank to exchange the currency."

"Also, the paper money issued by the Aurora Bank must continue to circulate in Zhishan Province. We must find a way to stop the circulation of the treasure notes issued by the Ministry of Revenue Bank, but the method has to be more covert."

“For example, you can spread the news that they have insufficient reserves and that they are completely over-issuing.”

"In addition, Yucheng also needs to contact the banks in Tianjin from countries such as Britain, France, Germany, and the United States, and tell them that since the Ministry of Revenue Bank does not allow the circulation of banknotes issued by the Aurora Bank, the Aurora Bank is likely to declare bankruptcy, and they may not be able to recover the funds they have invested in the stock market."

Teng Yuzao looked at Li Yaoting again, "Hanhun, tell Cao Jiaxiang to maintain order in Tianjin. If anyone wants to file a complaint, they can go to the capital. Xingcheng can arrange more trains to send them back for free."

"As for me, I will follow the plan. I will leave Tianjin in a moment to inspect the troops of the Fifth and Eighth Regiments."

After hearing what Teng Yuzhao said, Xi Ligong had an idea in mind. He nodded in agreement and said worriedly.

"Marshal, what if the Ministry of Revenue and the Bank come with documents to urge us to process the documents?"

"Tell them that this is my, Teng Yuzao's, personal property. If they have anything to say, let them come to me."

Teng Yuzao said calmly, "Doesn't the Aurora Bank have a security team? As long as no one dies, just do your job with confidence."

Wei Jinghai said, "General, in order to prevent any unexpected events, have Liu Bingyi dispatch a battalion to Langfang. Also, the Ninth Town will stop taking vacations and all personnel will be on alert."

(End of this chapter)