The Qing Dynasty

Chapter 635 This is a hidden killer move

Yuan Shikai looked at the astonished expressions of Wang Shizhen and Zhao Bingjun, smiled slightly bitterly, and waved his hand.

"Pinqing, Zhi'an, don't think I'm exaggerating. The situation of separatism has actually existed for a long time."

Seeing that the two men's expressions did not calm down because of his words, but instead became more nervous, Yuan Shikai sighed and continued.

"Although the invasion of the foreign coalition in the Gengzi Year destroyed the prestige of the imperial court, it helped Teng Xingfu. Not only did his reputation soar, and there was no one else who could match him, but he also gained control of an unrivaled and powerful armed force."

"The imperial court was running out of financial resources and needed Teng Xingfu to raise money to fight the foreigners. It had no choice but to hand over Zhili's tax revenue to him for ten years to support his army."

"The court's move is like drinking poison to quench thirst, so that Teng Xingfu now has a well-trained army and sufficient food, and has been able to become a powerful vassal who controls a region."

"In fact, the imperial court made one mistake after another. In order to restore the coastal defense and take over the Lu-Han Railway, both tasks required Teng Xingfu's efforts, and they even handed Shandong over to him to manage, resulting in the current situation where he is too powerful to be removed."

"Although the Queen Mother is well aware of the drawbacks and has even thought about limiting or even weakening Teng Xingfu's power, it is too late. Teng Xingfu is no longer a soft persimmon that the court can easily control."

"You all know that when the imperial court took away my military power, they actually tried to remove Teng Xingfu's military power, but they only tried for a short time and stopped in time."

Yuan Shikai sighed and said, "Also, although the three provinces outside the Great Wall are now in the midst of war and it is hard to say what will happen in the future, no one wants to be the governor of the three provinces. The court thought that the position was a hot potato and threw it to Teng Xingfu."

"It's a pity that, apart from Zhang Xiangtao who pretended to be deaf and dumb and didn't make any comments, the other mediocre officials in the court were all short-sighted, drunkards."

"You must know that although the three provinces are border areas, and the Russians and Japanese are watching covetously, those powers absolutely do not want to see any of them monopolize the benefits of the fertile land outside the Great Wall. As long as we deal with it properly and use the pressure from the powers, it is not impossible to take back the three provinces."

"Even if we take a step back and say that at most we just need to pay a little more silver, it would be fine. But handing it over to Teng Xingfu is a big mistake. In my opinion, it is even tantamount to raising a tiger and leaving trouble. The governor who controls five provinces is ultimately a hidden danger!"

Yuan Shikai said regretfully, "Speaking of Shandong, although Shandong is a remote place with poor people, the court originally wanted to use it to drag down Teng Xingfu, but Shandong not only has a strong folk character, but also a large population! This provides Teng Xingfu with endless troops."

Yuan Shikai's explanation made Wang Shizhen and Zhao Bingjun change color, and even Liang Shiyi, who had been calm and composed, became very solemn.

Yuan Shikai took a sip of beer and continued, "You haven't read the Romance of the Three Kingdoms, have you?"

"You should not have forgotten that Cao Mengde had millions of soldiers only after he defeated the Yellow Turbans and occupied the Qingyan area. The soldiers from Shandong are as brave as the Hunan Army, and they are all good soldiers!"

Qingzhou and Yanzhou, during the Three Kingdoms period, roughly included Shandong and large areas of southwestern Hebei and southeastern Henan.

Yuan Shikai took a deep breath, as if trying to calm his resentment, and spoke again.

"In fact, the Queen Mother is not a foolish person. She has long seen that local forces have a tendency to grow, and she is especially cautious of local officials who participate in the Southeast Mutual Protection."

"So much so that after the foreign coalition forces withdrew, the imperial court first began to think about taking away the power of those of us who participated in the mutual protection. Originally, relying on Li Zhongtang and Liu Kunyi, plus Zhang Zhidong, these big trees could still guarantee the safety of Wang Zhichun and me."

"But things don't go as planned. After Liu Kun died, the court no longer had to worry about it. Li Zhongtang also died, and the court was relieved about Guangdong and Guangxi. Zhang Xiangtao was the only big tree left, and it was difficult for him to support the country alone."

"Without Li Zhongtang and Liu Kunyi to block us, Zhang Zhidong, Wang Zhichun and I became the first targets of the imperial court. They transferred Zhang Xiangtao and I to the capital, and sent Wang Zhichun to Guangxi. They even found a reason to dismiss Wang Zhichun from his post, and even put him in danger of being assassinated. Now he dares not stand out at home anymore."

"All the above actions, on the surface, are to settle accounts with us, but in fact, they have only one purpose, which is to eradicate the budding of separatism. This is also the reason why my military power was eventually taken away."

"Even when Cao Zhongshan's army mutinied, the court did not completely withdraw its order. Now it seems that I am still required to participate in the affairs of the Ministry of War, but Tieliang has a tight control over the Ministry of War, and I can't get involved at all."

"That's right. The imperial court still doesn't trust me and wants to bribe you town commanders."

"Fortunately, not only the Queen Mother, but also the important officials in the court know that Teng Xingfu is the biggest and strongest sprout of separatism. With Teng Xingfu by my side, the court still needs me to check and balance him, and even allows me to nominally intervene in the affairs of the Ministry of the Army."

"Otherwise, I would have to hand in my resignation and return to my hometown in Xiangcheng to retire."

Yuan Shikai sighed, "The Queen Mother and those important officials are well aware that Teng Xingfu's millions of troops are very close to the capital. The court has to be very careful when dealing with matters related to Teng Xingfu, for fear of angering him."

"In the Gengzi year, a large amount of gold and silver was stolen from wealthy families in Tianjin and Beijing, but the Empress Dowager suppressed the case. The Ministry of Revenue and the Bank of China issued banknotes, but because Teng Xingfu disagreed, they were temporarily not circulated in Zhili and Shandong. These are all living examples. Everything had to be done according to Teng Xingfu's mood."

"All of the above, to some extent, can already be said that Teng Xingfu has almost reached the level of controlling the emperor to control the princes. But you have also seen that for a long time, the court has dared to take away Teng Xingfu's military power!"

"As far as I know, the Army Department's downsizing and reorganization plan is also on record. If Teng Xingfu is dissatisfied, the Zhi army can temporarily not downsize and reorganize, but instead focus on gathering new troops from various provinces and achieve unified dispatch to achieve a force that can check and balance the Zhi army."

"But no one expected that Teng Xingfu would so easily agree to the downsizing and reorganization just to become the first prime minister! But I always feel uneasy, and always feel that Teng Xingfu has a trick up his sleeve."

"At least, it will not be easy for Tieliang to control those arrogant and brave generals of the Zhi army."

Yuan Shikai brought his conversation back to the point, "Tell me, does Teng Xingfu's current situation resemble that of Cao Cao?"

"Like! So similar!"

Zhao Bingjun first responded to Yuan Shikai, "Teng Xingfu is simply a living Cao Cao. Everything he does is like a Cao Cao. He is just short of wearing a sword and going to the palace!"

Wang Shizhen did not respond to Yuan Shikai's topic about Teng Yuzao being like Cao Cao, but nodded.

"You are wise, Marshal. I also thought that although Teng Xingfu resigned as the president of the Zhi Army and was no longer the governor of Zhishan, he was still the minister of Beiyang. Not only those generals of the Zhi Army were promoted by Teng Xingfu, but even Yang Shixiang and Xu Shichang were able to become governors in such a short time. It was all thanks to Teng Xingfu. They are all grateful to Teng Xingfu."

"Unless Teng Xingfu truly stops interfering in the military and local affairs, he can still influence these people even if he is a commoner."

Liang Shiyi, who had been silent, suddenly frowned and said.

"Marshal, I think that this time Teng Xingfu's resignation as the president of the Zhi Army is actually a strategy of retreating to advance, and it even contains a killer move." Liang Shiyi's words shocked the three people, including Yuan Shikai. After a long while, Yuan Shikai stood up again, put his hands behind his back and began to pace in the hall.

Seeing that Yuan Shikai didn't say anything and just frowned in thought, Liang Shiyi spoke again.

"Teng Xingfu's announcement that he would immediately submit his resignation is actually just a pretense to avoid being branded as someone who disrespects the imperial court, which would affect his tenure as prime minister."

"As for military power."

Liang Shiyi sneered and shook his head, "As long as his generals don't buy into the Ministry of Army's account, the military power of the Zhi Army is still in the hands of Teng Xingfu. And since Teng Xingfu is no longer the president of the Zhi Army, then no matter what outrageous things his generals do, it has nothing to do with him."

Yuan Shikai suddenly stopped and slapped his thick palm heavily on the shiny forehead, saying in a lost voice, "Yes! That's it!"

"I always feel that it's a bit strange that Teng Xingfu gave up his military power so easily. In order to become the first prime minister, Teng Xingfu is ready to do anything."

Although Yuan Shikai did not finish his words, the three of them understood what Yuan Shikai meant. He believed that if Teng Yuzhao could not become the first prime minister of the cabinet, he would even go to war with the court and seize power by force.

As soon as this thought popped up in their minds, the expressions of Wang Shizhen and Zhao Bingjun changed drastically, and Zhao Bingjun said hesitantly.

"But, Marshal, is it really like this? I don't think so."

"Teng Xingfu's Zhili army only has ten regiments, two of which are in Liangjiang and Fujian, which are far away from Zhili. There are only eight regiments left in Zhili and its surrounding areas."

"Even if we count our six towns, the imperial court also has ten towns in Zhili and Henan, which is slightly more than ours. Why does Teng Xingfu dare to be so arrogant? How dare he be so reckless?"

Yuan Shikai smiled bitterly and said, "Zhi'an, you are not in the army, so you don't know how strong Teng Xingfu's Zhi army is."

Yuan Shikai took a deep breath, calmed himself down, and explained to Zhao Bingjun.

"Before the foreign coalition forces withdrew, that is, when Li Zhongtang was negotiating peace with the foreigners, Teng Xingfu boasted that he had an army of 500,000. I guess that even if he didn't have 500,000 troops at that time, he must have 400,000."

"Moreover, as far as I know, Teng Xingfu has been recruiting new soldiers every year in recent years, saying that he wants to replace retired soldiers and recover the land outside the Great Wall. However, it is impossible for the number of new troops assigned to each province by the Ministry of the Army to be increased."

"In the past few years, apart from adding a Marine Corps to the Navy, he has not added any additional troops. So tell me, where did all his new recruits go?"

"You have to know that when Teng Xingfu first started his army in Tianjin, one of his conditions for recruiting soldiers was that they only wanted to be young and strong. He didn't have many old soldiers who needed to be retired."

"So, there is only one possibility, that is, Teng Xingfu stuffed all those new soldiers into his existing ten towns, but because he was responsible for all the military expenses himself, the Army Department was unable to grasp the number of soldiers in each of his towns."

"Also, the organization of the Zhi army is different from all the new armies in the country. It does not adopt the two-two organization of the great powers. The Zhi army is a three-three organization. There are three divisions in a town, and each division has three battalions. The same applies to the following."

"That is to say, based on the establishment alone, his eight towns are enough to match our ten towns. If he expands the establishment of tents and platoons, the number of people will be much greater."

"Rumor has it that his several main garrisons have far more than 20,000 soldiers, not to mention 16,000."

"According to my estimation, the number of soldiers in Teng Xingfu's main towns is likely to be 50,000 to 60,000, or even 60,000 to 70,000."

Yuan Shikai's words frightened Zhao Bingjun, and he asked hesitantly.

"So, his army must be more than 500,000, or even 600,000!"

Yuan Shikai nodded and sighed, "That's about right. I estimate that the strength of the eight regiments of the Zhi army, at the most conservative estimate, is far more than 400,000."

"On the other hand, even if we include the six garrisons of our former Henan Army, and each garrison of our former Henan Army has more than 20,000 soldiers, and some have as many as 24,000 to 25,000, the total strength of the Shuntian Army is less than 300,000, more than 200,000, which is only about half of his Zhi Army."

Yuan Shikai sighed and walked to his seat, then poured himself another glass of beer. After taking a sip of the cool beer, Yuan Shikai felt much calmer and continued.

"What's more, Teng Xingfu not only has a military police force with more than 10,000 people, he also has a patrol corps in Zhili and Shandong provinces, each with more than 10,000 people. It is said that the people in these patrol corps have participated in the military training of the Zhili army. With a single order from Teng Xingfu, these two patrol corps will immediately become the army of two towns."

"Even Teng Xingfu's army has far more cannons and machine guns than the Shuntian Army. Tell me, does Teng Xingfu have the right to be so arrogant? And does he have the right to be so reckless?"

Yuan Shikai's explanation made Zhao Bingjun open his mouth in shock, but he was speechless for a long time.

After a long while, Zhao Bingjun spoke unwillingly again.

"Even if our troops in Shuntian Prefecture and Henan are no match for Teng Xingfu's Zhi army, each province now has new troops. Once a fight breaks out, those new troops will come to support the king, and their combined strength will definitely be greater than that of the Zhi army!"

"At that time, even if Teng Xingfu was a fierce tiger, how could he resist the siege of so many troops?"

Zhao Bingjun originally wanted to say "a pack of wolves", but then he realized that comparing his own side to wolves was somewhat inappropriate, so he changed his words in time.

Yuan Shikai didn't care about Zhao Bingjun's words. He just smiled and said, "Zhi'an, there is a precedent of mutual protection in the southeast. Who can guarantee that the new troops from various provinces will come to rescue?"

"That's one reason. Secondly, even if they are willing to come, the new troops in Liangjiang, Guangdong and Guangxi, Jiangxi, Anhui and Fujian will not be able to move for a while. They still have to contain and deal with Teng Xingfu's troops in Guangdong and Guangxi and Fujian."

"The new troops from Yunnan and Guizhou cannot be counted on because the journey is long and difficult. At most, the new troops from Huguang, Sichuan, Shanxi, Shaanxi and Gansu can arrive. But except for the new troops from half a town in Shanxi, the other new troops are still out of reach."

"And Teng Xingfu's Zhi army is very close to the capital, and is distributed on three sides in an advantageous position to surround the capital."

(End of this chapter)