The Qing Dynasty

Chapter 61: Kill first and tell later
Not sure if this Teng Yuzhao was born with good hearing and good eyesight, or if it was because of his time travel, but Teng Yuzhao discovered that his hearing was now extremely sensitive.

Yu Lu folded the letter in his hand and put it back into the envelope, then put the letter into his robe sleeve, took a deep breath, as if to calm his emotions, and then coughed lightly.

With Yu Lu's light cough, all the generals and Boxer leaders who were whispering stopped talking, sat up straight, and prepared to listen to what Yu Lu, the Governor-General of Zhili and Minister of Beiyang, had to say.

Yu Lu looked around at everyone in the room and suddenly raised his voice.

"Generals, leaders of the militia, since the foreigners occupied our Dagukou Fort yesterday, causing General Luo to die on the battlefield, and then forcibly occupied our Laolongtou Railway Station, injuring our soldiers and civilians, destroying our property, and treating our glorious Celestial Empire as if it were nothing, the foreigners' actions are truly outrageous. I cannot bear to see the prestige of the Qing Dynasty being tarnished, and I can no longer turn a blind eye to the harm to the soldiers and civilians. Moreover, it is my duty to defend the territory and protect the safety of the people. Therefore, today I have decided that the Beiyang government will officially declare war on the foreigners."

When he said the last few words "declare war on foreigners", Yu Lu shouted almost at the top of his lungs.

Although the imperial court condoned the Boxers in burning down churches and attacking foreigners and Christians, it had not formally declared war. Now that Yu Lu wanted to declare war on the Allied Forces before the imperial court, he naturally did not represent the imperial court, he could only represent the Beiyang area.

Even so, it is somewhat bold and reckless.

Teng Yuzhao thought again and couldn't help but smile bitterly.

The Qing Dynasty was indeed about to fall. Not to mention that Yu Lu, who was forced into a corner, dared to act first and report later and do as he pleased, even the provincial governors in the southeast had long since ignored the safety of the court and protected themselves. Even the Wuwei Right Army, which was established as a support for the court, was indifferent to this.

As soon as Yu Lu uttered the words "declare war", there was no reaction from the government troops. However, it immediately aroused strong resonance among the Boxers on the opposite side. Many leaders could no longer wait and immediately stood up, waving their fists and shouting excitedly.

"Start the war!"

"Start the war!"

"Go to war with the foreign devils!"

Teng Yuzhao expected the reactions of the government troops and the Boxers.

The government troops did not react enthusiastically because these generals had all participated in the Sino-Japanese War of 1894-1895. For example, Nie Shicheng's Wuwei Vanguard Army fought against the Japanese army from Korea all the way to Liaodong. They all had deep experience in hot weapons warfare. In their eyes, Westerners were more powerful than the Japanese devils. They were relatively cautious about going to war with these foreigners from the Western powers. This was normal.

Of course, it cannot be said that their caution means they are afraid of the enemy and avoid fighting. It is just prudence. If Yu Lu wants to fight, they will not disobey him. Unless the imperial court gives them an order, they will obey the orders of Yu Lu, their immediate superior.

Teng Yuzhao suddenly thought that Lu Benyuan did not meet with him today because he must have learned that Yu Lu was going to go to war with the foreigners, and he wanted to avoid future responsibility!
Nie Shicheng and He Yongsheng looked at each other, and then turned their eyes to Teng Yuzhao. Teng Yuzhao smiled awkwardly at the two of them, spread out his hands, and looked like he had no idea either.

If Teng Yuzhao's vanguard army had not won two great victories in succession, the two of them would not have looked at the new commander of the vanguard army, who now had only one battalion of troops and was promoted by Yu Lu.

Moreover, He Yongsheng had seen the photos of the killing of thousands of Russian soldiers. Although Nie Shicheng had not seen the photos, he had Pan Jinshan's detailed report. Moreover, Ma Yukun rushed back to Shanghai Customs overnight to mobilize troops. It was said that he was stimulated by the fresh victory of the Presidential Palace.

Originally, the two thought that the new president was a close confidant of Yu Lu, and that it was he who encouraged Yu Lu to go to war with the foreigners. But now it seems that this is not the case, but the two still believe that Teng Yuzao is not unrelated. It is estimated that it was Teng Yuzao's two lucky victories that made Yu Lu forget himself.

From the looks in the two men's eyes, Teng Yuzhao could sense what they were thinking, but he had no choice. Moreover, in the original history, Yu Lu had declared war on his own before the court. His great victory could only be said to have made Yu Lu more confident.

Looking at the jubilant expressions of the Boxers across from him, Teng Yuzhao felt somewhat complicated.

In Teng Yuzhao's view, the reason why the leaders of the Boxer Rebellion responded positively was that the government had been safeguarding the interests of foreigners for a long time. Some officials even favored foreigners in order to avoid foreign disputes that would alarm the court and cause attacks from political opponents. Whenever there was a conflict between foreigners and Chinese people, the government would suppress the people without asking any questions.

As a result, the people's hatred for foreigners deepened, and even the fire in the city gate affected everyone, and even religious believers became the target of their hatred.

Now that they have declared war on the foreigners, not only can they relieve the resentment that has been pent up in their hearts for a long time, but they will also no longer have government troops suppressing and encircling them.

Now, although no one in Tianjin City and the capital dared to openly encircle and arrest them, anyone who bullied and suppressed them would be reprimanded by the court. Even a second-rank military official like Nie Shicheng was severely criticized by the court.

However, in the surrounding states, counties and villages, many officials still do as they please and do not give them any chance to breathe. Once they discover those who are forming altars or associations, they are immediately arrested and killed, leaving them no room for maneuver.

As for other provinces, there is even less room for them to survive. Take Shandong for example. Yuan Shikai, the current governor of Shandong, was the one who captured and killed the brutal Boxers.

However, once a war breaks out with the foreigners, not only will they be able to achieve their wish of attacking the foreigners, but the government will also rely on them and naturally will no longer care about their affairs.

Among them, of course, there are also some lawless elements who try to take advantage of the situation to fish in troubled waters and gain some benefits.

Among the leaders of the Boxer Rebellion, it can be seen that Zhang Decheng and Cao Futian were the leaders. Cao Futian did not speak, as if he was waiting for Zhang Decheng to speak first.

Zhang Decheng's No. 1 group in the world is large in number and powerful, and there are even many small groups affiliated with him, which makes Zhang Decheng now implicitly the leader of the Boxers in Tianjin City.

Zhang Decheng stood up and clasped his fists to Yu Lu, "Master Zhongtang, the purpose of the Boxers is to destroy the foreigners and support the Qing Dynasty. It is our duty to fight against the foreigners. We, the world's number one group, will obey your orders and are willing to be the vanguard in attacking the concessions."

"it is good!"

Yu Lu praised loudly and turned his gaze to Cao Futian.

Cao Futian's men had been assisting Ma Yukun's battalions in defending the Laolongtou Railway Station. Seeing Yu Lu looking at him, they stood up and clasped their fists towards Yu Lu, "I am willing to serve you, Lord Zhongtang."

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(End of this chapter)