The Qing Dynasty

Chapter 64 Too Conservative
Although He Yongsheng didn't care about how to defend against the enemy.

First, he was not the chief commander, nor was he the main force general of the Wuwei Army. He knew the details of his several battalions of training troops best and was almost an dispensable role. The success or failure of defending Tianjin had little to do with him and his training troops.

However, as the general, he had to answer Yu Lu's question and stood up.

"Reporting to the Lord, I fully agree with the strategy of the Pavilion of Success. Everything is up to the Lord to decide."

He Yongsheng's answer was flawless. He neither offended Nie Shicheng nor satisfied Yu Lu.

Yu Lu nodded and looked at Teng Yuzhao again.

However, Teng Yuzhao could not and would not be as smooth as He Yongsheng, as this was a national war.

No matter what his attitude was towards the corrupt and pedantic Qing court, now he could only think about how to resist foreign invaders.

Teng Yuzao did not fully agree with Nie Shicheng's combat deployment. He believed that this strategy was too conservative, and could even be said to be a prison for himself, restricting his own hands and feet.

Although Teng Yuzao also knew that it was very difficult to achieve anything under the current circumstances.

Because it was difficult for the Wuwei Army and the Boxers to unite, at least Zhang Decheng and Nie Shicheng could not get along.

However, there is a saying in later generations that not only was Nie Shicheng most likely killed by Zhang Decheng's Boxer Rebellion, but there was also a battalion of soldiers in the Wuwei Front Army, most of whom had secretly joined the No. 1 Regiment in the World. It is also possible that they were instructed by someone to shoot Nie Shicheng in the melee, which ultimately killed him on the spot.

Moreover, it is said that during the previous attack on Zizhulin Concession, Maxim of the Wuwei Vanguard Army also fired at the retreating militiamen after the attack was unsuccessful.

The Wuwei Vanguard Army and the Boxers have deep grievances against each other. Now in Tianjin, the Wuwei Vanguard Army has the largest number of troops and is the absolute main force among all the defending forces in Tianjin. However, it and the Boxers are incompatible. If the two sides cooperate in combat, it will only add fuel to the fire and a fierce conflict will break out sooner.

Despite this, Teng Yuzao still wanted to give Yu Lu and Nie Shicheng a reminder.

Teng Yuzao stood up and saluted Yu Lu, then said, "Sir, before the main force of the Wuwei Front Army and the troops of the Wuwei Left Army arrive, President Nie's deployment can be considered very safe, and I have no objection."

Although Teng Yuzao expressed no objection, Yu Lu and Nie Shicheng still heard the hidden meaning in Teng Yuzao's words. Nie Shicheng was a little surprised, while Yu Lu's eyes flashed with joy.

Yu Lu asked anxiously, "Xingfu, if Gongting's main force and Zuo Jun's troops arrive, how should we deploy them?"

Teng Yuzhao won two battles with the strength of one battalion, especially the battle today, in which he killed more than 1,500 foreign devils in one battle. This was a great victory that had not been seen in the Ming Dynasty in decades since the victory at Zhennan Pass. Teng Yuzhao was promoted to the position of general as an exception in order to repay the grace of saving his life, which made him even more proud.

At the same time, Yulu also deeply admired Ronglu's ability to identify people.

Ronglu not only valued Teng Yuzao, but also recommended him to himself. This made Yulu extremely admire and grateful to Ronglu, his ally who shared the same attitude as him in dealing with the Boxer Rebellion!

This time, he sent a letter to Ronglu along with the victory report, which not only praised Ronglu for his good judgment, but also showed that he would let Teng Yuzao use him and give him a platform to display his military talents. Yulu now had great trust in Teng Yuzao and would definitely attach great importance to his opinions.

"Sir, General Nie."

Although Teng Yuzao had raised some doubts about Nie Shicheng's combat strategy, at least he pointed out the so-called shortcomings, which made the generals of the Wuwei Front Army feel uneasy, but Teng Yuzao called Nie Shicheng "General", which instantly made these generals' unhappiness disappear without a trace.

Junmen is not only a title for senior military officials, but also a title used by subordinates to address their superiors.

Now Teng Yuzao is the new president of the Vanguard Army, and is on equal footing with Nie Shicheng. Although these self-righteous generals still think that Teng Yuzao, the new president, got this position by luck, but the fact that Teng Yuzao lowered his status to address Nie Shicheng made them feel that Teng Yuzao knew how to respect the hierarchy, which made them inevitably feel closer to Teng Yuzao in their hearts.

Moreover, in the eyes of the generals of the Wuwei Vanguard Army, not to mention that the court has not yet issued an official written approval, even if the document was issued, the vanguard army would only have a few people, and their financial resources and strength would be far inferior to Nie Shicheng. You know, their Wuwei Vanguard Army is the elite among the elite that the court values ​​most.

In fact, Teng Yuzao did not think as much as these generals did. His address to Nie Shicheng was just a habit, and he did not do it on purpose.

Moreover, in his heart, he had great respect for Nie Shicheng. When he called Nie Shicheng "General", he was not at all pretentious, and he didn't even feel unhappy at all. He felt that the title of "General" was justified.

"I agree with what General Nie said about the importance of Laolongtou Railway Station and Dongjuzi."

Teng Yuzao nodded and said, "If Laolongtou Railway Station is in my hands, the traffic between Tianjin City and the capital will be uninterrupted. Holding Dongjuzi will cut off the connection between the Dagukou coalition forces and the concession, cut off the concession's external aid channels, and thus isolate it and make it an isolated army."

"So, these two places are the most critical. However, the military strength of the East Bureau is still a little weak, so we need to increase the number of troops there."

After completing these preparations, Teng Yuzao began to describe the follow-up strategies that Yu Lu wanted to hear.

"Once the follow-up troops of the Wuwei Front Army and the Wuwei Left Army arrive, you can concentrate your superior forces and, with the cooperation of the Boxers, take down the Laolongtou Railway Station in one fell swoop, and then go all out to attack the concessions, and remove the nail that the coalition forces have nailed in our rear. After that, you will have no worries and can lead your troops eastward. Even if you cannot restrain the coalition warships, you can still focus on blocking the coalition forces that are invading Tianjin along Tanggu and Dagukou."

"it is good!"

Yu Lu dared not report the news of the fall of Dagukou. Prince Duan Zai Yi, who controlled the government, and the Grand Councilor Gang Yi had a grudge against him, especially in their attitude towards the Boxer Rebellion. Their conflict was even more acute. The two had long criticized him for insisting on suppressing the Boxer Rebellion. If they had learned that Dagukou had fallen, they would not have missed the opportunity to impeach him as the Governor-General of Zhili.

It was only today, after receiving the news of Teng Yuzhao's great victory, that he dared to send the letter of apology for the loss of Dagukou along with the memorial reporting Teng Yuzhao's great victory at the Beiyang Military Academy to the capital.

Yu Lu could imagine that, although he made an exception and promoted Teng Yuzao, thus achieving an unprecedented victory, it was still difficult to withstand the attacks from his two political enemies, Zai Yi and Gang Yi.

Unless he could wipe out the foreigners around Tianjin in one fell swoop, and then take advantage of the situation to counterattack and retake Dagukou.

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(End of this chapter)