The Qing Dynasty

Chapter 606 Resignation Storm
In the following period, telegrams from Tianjin came in like snowflakes, with one telegram reporting the situation almost every hour.

There was no other way. Duolun was too isolated from the outside world. Even Zhangjiakou, a transportation hub between the inland and Inner and Outer Mongolia, was also isolated. If Wei Jinghai had not reported the situation in time, Teng Yuzao would have been in Kulun and the meeting would have been unaware of the outside world.

In Wei Jinghai's subsequent telegram, he mainly informed Teng Yuzhao of news from various places.

After receiving the imperial edict last night, Zhang Zhidong, the Governor of Huguang, boarded the train and entered Beijing along the Lu-Han Railway.

Early this morning, his aide Gu Zhenfu publicly published in the newspaper what Zhang Zhidong had told him before his departure. Zhang Zhidong clearly told the world that he had received the imperial edict to express his gratitude last night and had quietly gone north to Beijing to take up his post.

Zhang Zhidong expressed his hope that the successor governor-general would make good use of the great opportunity of the rapid development of foreign affairs in Zhili, Shanhai and Liangjiang provinces, and continue to work hard to promote the development of foreign affairs in Huguang and benefit the people of Huguang.

Zhang Zhidong also wrote the Xiangzhuan of Qian Gua and Kun Gua of the Book of Changes and asked Gu Zhenfu to publish it in the newspaper: "The heaven is vigorous, and the gentleman should strive for self-improvement; the earth is gentle, and the gentleman should carry the world with great virtue."

Zhou Fu's departure was not as grand as Zhang Zhidong's. Although he accepted the post of Governor-General of Guangdong and Guangxi according to the imperial decree, he submitted a memorial to the court the next day, stating that he was not feeling well and needed to rest before taking up the post.

Without waiting for a reply from the court, he rushed back to Zhide's home that same day to recuperate.

Zhang Zhidong and Zhou Fu, one was like a gust of cool breeze, I left quietly without taking anything, and the other was holding his nose and trying to compromise and not cooperate with the resistance. But what surprised Teng Yuzhao was the Henan Governor Yuan Shikai.

To Teng Yuzhao's surprise, Yuan Shikai actually accepted the order generously, and even urged the successor Governor Duan Liang to rush to Kaifeng to take over as soon as possible. He also appointed Wang Shizhen, the chief of staff of the Henan Army, as the temporary president of the Henan Army.

The court had different appointments and dismissals for Yuan Shikai and Teng Yuzao. Yuan Shikai was also dismissed from the post of President of the Henan Army, while the court only mentioned the dismissal of Governor-General of Zhishan for Teng Yuzao, but did not mention the President of the Zhi Army and the Minister of Beiyang.

Yuan Shikai also said that Zhang Zhidong was expected to pass through Zhengzhou tonight, and he would rush to Zhengzhou, where he would ride a bicycle with Zhang Zhidong, who was heading north along the Lu-Han Railway, to go to Beijing and join the Grand Council.

"Commander."

After reading the situation report sent by Wei Jinghai, Li Jinyu asked Teng Yuzao with some confusion.

"Yuan Shikai always regarded his Wuwei Right Army as his life. Could it be that he is just gone like this? Has Yuan Shikai changed his character? Or has he become disheartened?"

Although Teng Yuzhao was also a little surprised, he shook his head decisively because of his understanding of Yuan Shikai.

"Yuan Weiting is a man of strong will. It is impossible for him to change his character or become discouraged. I think he will probably use some shady tactics, such as secretly instigating his subordinates to mutiny, and eventually force the court to let him stay in Henan."

Teng Yuzao smiled appreciatively and said, "Zhang Xiangshuai is much more casual. When he was not allowed to work in Huguang, he just walked away. This kind of character is definitely not fake! Xiangshuai is a real person!"

Wu Peifu also agreed and said, "Teacher's evaluation of Xiang Shuai is very appropriate, but Xiang Shuai should also be dissatisfied, just like his saying that the sky is vigorous, and the gentleman should strive for self-improvement; the earth is low, and the gentleman should be virtuous and carry all things."

Worried that Teng Yuzao didn't understand the meaning of this sentence, Wu Peifu added, "The latter sentence is telling the court to be tolerant and forgiving. It's obvious that she is dissatisfied with the court's decision to cut off her own wings. It's probably also a complaint about being held accountable by the court later. Cixi should understand this meaning."

"Moreover, if Yuan Shikai really gets into trouble, it would just serve as a footnote to Marshal Xiang's words of advice."

"Marshal." Li Jinyu said suddenly.

"I am deeply inspired by what the Marshal and Ziyu said. Why don't we, the Zhi army, also make some noise?"

Before Li Jinyu finished speaking, a staff officer brought a telegram. Li Jinyu took the telegram and read it, and couldn't help laughing.

While handing the telegram to Teng Yuzhao, he said with admiration.

"The Marshal is right. Yuan Shikai wants to cause trouble with us."

It turned out that the content of the telegram sent by Wei Jinghai was that the Henan Army and the Zhi Army had exchanged fire.

It turned out that Pan Jinshan's Third Regiment stationed in Shandong and Anhui was actively bombarded by small units of Cao Kun's Third Regiment of the Henan Army at the junction of Henan and northwest of Xuzhou, Anhui, and southwest of Liaocheng, Shandong.

Without further orders, Pan Jinshan did not dare to launch a large-scale attack across the provincial border. He only responded with heavy artillery fire. The Henan Army that was engaged in the firefight has now retreated.

Cao Kun has now been transferred to be the commander of the Third Town, and the one who remains in the capital is the First Town led by Fengshan.

Wei Jinghai also said in the telegram that according to intelligence, the Third Regiment of the Henan Army was gathering in the Guantao and Guanxian areas, and seemed to have the intention of expanding the war. Wei Jinghai asked Teng Yuzhao what to do if the Henan Army launched a large-scale attack?
Teng Yuzao thought for a moment and said, "Telegram Chief of Staff Wei and tell him to order Pan Jinshan to defend the provincial border. If the Henan Army crosses the provincial border, we must fight back resolutely. Otherwise, we can just fight back with artillery fire."

"Also, tell Pan Jinshan not to show all his strength. Just match the enemy's firepower. Otherwise, the Third Regiment of the Henan Army will be hurt. If they retreat, the show will not go on."

"besides."

Teng Yuzao added, "Let Ye Zugui send a telegram to the Military Affairs Office to ask for naval funds, and ask the Military Affairs Office to play a role as well."

The navy’s military expenses are not allocated by the Ministry of the Army, so the only way to claim the military expenses is to go to the Grand Council.

"Have Chief of Staff Wei and Yang Lianfu send a joint telegram to the Military Affairs Council, telling them that in the past, the Zhili Army's military expenses, in addition to the Beiyang Customs revenue and the taxes of Zhili and Shan Provinces, were mostly supplemented by the Aurora Bank. Now that the Aurora Bank is unable to operate, the Zhili Army's military expenses cannot be raised, and the court urgently needs funding."

After Li Jinyu finished recording Teng Yuzhao's telegram, he gave it to Teng Yuzhao for review, then handed it to the confidential staff officer waiting on the side, and then he and Wu Peifu looked at each other and smiled.

They all knew that the navy, which was a big spender, plus the 600,000 to 700,000 direct troops, had a monthly military expenditure of nearly 10 million. Such a huge number would surely scare the court.

Even if this made them more determined to take over the Aurora Bank, it would give them an excuse to march directly into the capital and take Teng Yuzhao into the Forbidden City.

"teacher."

Wu Peifu pondered and said, "Once we fight the Third Regiment of the Henan Army, the court will immediately ask Yuan Shikai to restrain his subordinates, but this doesn't seem to help him stay as the governor of Henan, right?" Teng Yuzao nodded and said, "You are half right. In my opinion, after Yuan Shikai receives the order from the court, he will definitely pretend to call on the Henan Army to cease fire, and then continue to enter Beijing on the grounds that he is no longer the president of the Henan Army and has no power to restrain his subordinates."

"And the Third Town will definitely not obey orders and will continue to gather troops. Even the Henan Army in other towns in Henan will take some actions, such as demanding pay, or even pretending to mutiny and looting the place."

Teng Yuzao's words frightened Wu Peifu, "Teacher, Yuan Shikai dared to do such a thing!"

In response to Wu Peifu's surprise, Teng Yuzao just smiled and did not answer.

Teng Yuzhao knew very well that Yuan Shikai had played this trick in history. Cao Kun was appointed commander of the Third Division after the town was changed into a division. Yuan Shikai did not want to go south to take office as the President, so he secretly instructed Cao Kun to let his troops mutiny. It was normal for him to do something similar now.

"Commander."

Li Jinyu asked, "The court hated Yuan Shikai for participating in the Southeast Mutual Protection in the Gengzi Year, that's for sure, but they were also wary of the Marshal. Why didn't they also remove the Marshal from his position as the president of the Zhili Army this time, but only removed Yuan Shikai from his position as the president of the Henan Army, and even kept the Marshal as the Minister of Beiyang?"

Teng Yuzao smiled disdainfully and said, "Although the court regards me as a major threat to the court, looking at the country now, only Yuan Weiting and I are the greatest and strongest. If we are forced to rebel at the same time, the court cannot afford it."

"Only Yuan Shikai will be attacked. The imperial court is sure that Yuan Weiting will not dare to make any moves due to the pressure from our Zhi army. They are planning to take over the Henan army first and then slowly deal with us."

"If Yuan Weiting obeys obediently this time, I estimate that the court will soon merge the Henan Army and the two towns of Shuntian Prefecture into one army and hand it over to Tie Liang for command."

Teng Yuzao sneered again and said, "It's just that the court still underestimated Yuan Weiting, and even more so, underestimated me, Teng Yuzao."

Having said this, Teng Yuzhao stopped talking and did not continue.

Although Li Jinyu and Wu Peifu were both his confidants, Teng Yuzao was not prepared to say too much on this matter. These confidants of his had already been eager to carry him into the Forbidden City.

If his words were too blunt, he was worried that his confidants would lose control and rush into the capital tomorrow to make the matter a fait accompli forcing him to swallow it.

After that, another situation report was received from Wei Jinghai, which said that merchants and citizens from Shanghai, Wuchang, Guangzhou, Taiyuan and other places went to the local governor's office and the governor's office to petition, urging the local governor and governor to appeal to the court on their behalf, demanding that the Aurora Bank open immediately to exchange the banknotes in their hands.

It was not until the evening of that day that Teng Yuzhao received a telegram from the Qing court, which was sent by someone on horseback after a day's journey from the Beikou Santing Yamen in Zhangjiakou.

The telegram was not sent from the Zongli Yamen, but from the Grand Council.

The telegram said that Teng Yuzhao should send a telegram immediately to restrain the various units of the Zhi army and the navy, and asked him to return to Tianjin as soon as possible to properly handle the aftermath. All matters related to the "Aurora Bank" can be discussed carefully after he returns to Tianjin.

After seeing this telegram, both Wu Peifu and Li Jinyu showed disappointed expressions.

It was obvious that the court had some regrets, but this was not what they hoped for.

Teng Yuzhao was very clear about what these two people were thinking. He was even very worried that these two people would take risks. As soon as he left, they would be the first to attack the court. After something happened, he would have to advance his plan.

Therefore, Teng Yuzhao not only asked these two people to go back to Tianjin with him, but also sent an urgent telegram to Wei Jinghai, requesting all the town commanders except Hu Dianjia who was far away in Fuzhou to return to Tianjin to discuss important matters.

This telegram rekindled the hope of Li Jinyu and Wu Peifu. They thought that Teng Yuzao was angry at the court's sudden move and would take drastic measures. They excitedly followed Teng Yuzao onto the airship and rushed back to Tianjin.

Just to the surprise of Wu Peifu and Li Jinyu, after Teng Yuzao rushed back to Tianjin by airship, he did not continue to dwell on the court's intention to annex the Aurora Bank. He even did not try his best to appease the generals who were indignant about his dismissal as Governor of Zhishan. Instead, he just told them that he was not satisfied with just making the people of Zhishan and other two provinces rich.

Teng Yuzao's words were enough. Not only were all the generals delighted, but even the civil servants Yang Shixiang, Xu Shichang, Yang Shiqi and Tang Shaoyi were all smiling.

However, Teng Yuzhao solemnly warned everyone that they should only have one thought in mind now, and that was how to fight the war outside the Great Wall, and everyone should prepare for war with peace of mind.

After instructing the generals, Teng Yuzhao began to deal with the incident caused by the court with peace of mind.

After seeing off the generals who came to Tianjin, the first thing Teng Yuzhao did was to submit a memorial requesting to resign from all his current and concurrent positions.

After submitting his resignation to the court again, Teng Yuzhao immediately sent a telegram to the whole country, stating that since the uprising in Tianjin in the year of Gengzi, he had experienced fierce battles and worked hard to promote foreignization in Zhishan Province. He was already exhausted physically and mentally and was not up to the task. Therefore, he resigned from all his positions and concentrated on running enterprises such as the "Aurora Industrial Development Company". He would not ask the court to repay the military expenses and the costs of developing railways and mines in the past.

Finally, Teng Yuzhao announced that he would close the door to visitors from today onwards and would no longer participate in court affairs. The President of the Zhi Army and the Beiyang Minister asked the court to send successor officials as soon as possible.

After this incident, Teng Yuzhao had completely seen through the true nature of the imperial court, and he was no longer prepared to maintain the court's dignity in everything.

Therefore, when the court asked him to rush to the capital to discuss how to resolve the issue of "Aurora Bank", he did not go to the capital in person, but asked Yang Shixiang to discuss with the court on his behalf. His resignation memorial was also submitted by Yang Shixiang on his behalf.

Teng Yuzao's attitude was very clear. He wanted Yang Shixiang to tell the court that the Aurora Bank had issued more than 180 million banknotes. If the circulation of banknotes was stopped now, the Aurora Bank would have no choice but to go bankrupt. Therefore, he needed the court to take out 140 million silver dollars. After he dealt with all the banknotes, he could hand over the Aurora Bank to the court.

From then on, the military expenditure of the Zhi army and navy would need to be 150 million yuan each year to maintain the corresponding combat effectiveness. He could not only ensure the recovery of the land outside the Great Wall, but also take on the responsibility of coastal defense outside the Great Wall and east of Shanghai.

At the same time, Xi Ligong was appointed to go to the capital to ask the Ministry of Revenue Bank for the loan that had matured from the Capital Commercial Bank.

Teng Yuzao's telegram immediately caused an uproar in the court and the country. After publicity in various places, the Vanguard Army Support Association and the Qiangxue Society in various places, together with the gentry in various places who supported Teng Yuzao, jointly wrote a letter to the court, strongly requesting the court to retain Teng Yuzao.

After a heated public opinion report, three days later, the court finally appointed Prince Duan Zai Yi and Prince Zhuang Zaixun to rush to Tianjin to appease Teng Yuzhao.

Not only did he solemnly tell Teng Yuzhao that the relevant decree regarding the withdrawal of the Aurora Bank and the repayment of the debt owed by the Capital Commercial Bank would be made by the Ministry of Revenue Bank, but the repayment would have to wait until the stock exchange opened.

He also guaranteed that the court would never interfere in the affairs of Zhishan Province again without consulting Teng Yuzao.

At the same time, he brought an imperial decree to Teng Yuzao, ordering the Beiyang Minister and the President of the Zhi Army to jointly manage the military and political affairs of Zhishan and the three northeastern provinces.
(End of this chapter)