The Qing Dynasty

Chapter 655: Power on and Return to Office

“You all said very well!”

Teng Yuzao sighed and said, "It's too hasty to be hasty, and too slow to be slow. I think that under the current situation, neither is very appropriate."

Teng Yuzao continued to explain, "In the current situation, the fighting between the Japanese and Russian armies on our land outside the Great Wall has not stopped. They are just gasping for breath, licking their wounds, and accumulating strength."

"They are ready to fight each other again at any time to decide the outcome, in an attempt to permanently occupy the three northeastern provinces, and even think of using this as a springboard to invade all our lands and launch a full-scale invasion against us."

Teng Yuzhao’s words made Ye Zugui sigh first.

"What the Marshal said is true. Let's not talk about the recent events. Let's just talk about the Jiawu Year. If it weren't for Li Zhongtang's efforts to maintain the situation, the Japanese devils would have been able to invade the interior of China at that time. It would be a question whether the current situation can be maintained."

Ye Zugui, Teng Yuzao, Wei Jinghai, Yang Shixiang, Duan Qirui, Tang Shaoyi and others either came from the Beiyang or had received favors from Li Hongzhang and were very grateful to Li Hongzhang. Even Tang Shaoyi's study in the United States was strongly promoted by Li Hongzhang and Zeng Guofan.

Therefore, Ye Zugui's words made them all nod frequently.

Teng Yuzao sighed, "As for the dangerous situation of national destruction and genocide, the people in power in the court are not only completely oblivious to this danger, but also completely stand by and watch."

Teng Yuzao smiled bitterly and said, "The thoughts of those powerful people in the court are clearly seen by the world. They are afraid of the power of Japan and Russia and dare not send troops to recover the territory. They don't want us to take action because they are worried that we will become more powerful and shake their foundation."

"As for the territory outside the Great Wall, we can only hope that the great powers will intervene in the end, just as they did during the Sino-Japanese War of 1894-1895 to return Liaodong to us, and eventually spend hundreds of millions of taels of silver to buy back our own land."

Teng Yuzhao attached great importance to the words "his own land".

"The commander is right!"

Tang Shaoyi's face flushed as he said, "This court should have been overthrown long ago. We..."

Tang Shaoyi was originally thinking about talking about sending troops to overthrow the Qing court, but when he remembered what Teng Yuzao had just said, Teng Yuzao was not satisfied with his suggestion and the opinions of Yang Shixiang, Xu Shichang and himself, thinking that it was either too hasty or too slow, and he must have his own opinions, so he stopped talking.

At this point, Teng Yuzao's eyes had become extremely determined, and he unconsciously raised his voice and spoke in a resounding voice.

"But they all made a wrong calculation. It would be fine if I, Teng Yuzao, did not come to this world. But now that I am here, I will never let such a great humiliation be imposed on us again."

"This time, not only will I drive them out, but I will also make them pay a heavy price. They must compensate us with real money!"

Teng Yuzao looked at Xu Shichang and said with a smile, "This compensation will be used entirely as funds for the reconstruction and development of the three northeastern provinces. Once the land outside the Great Wall is developed, it will all be excellent fertile fields. It will eventually become our granary, rather than an extremely cold and barren land that is dispensable in the eyes of the court."

Teng Yuzhao's words made Xu Shichang, who had been in a heavy mood, excited. As Xu Shichang had already arrived outside the Great Wall and started to exercise the powers of governor, he knew very well how fertile the black soil there was.

Teng Yuzao continued, "In order to thwart the plots of Japan and Russia and make them pay a heavy price, we must prepare for war vigorously and cannot be negligent for a moment, but..."

Having said that, Teng Yuzao once again showed a bitter smile.

"Since we are going to take it back by force, we must be prepared for a big fight. You know, we are facing two powerful countries. If we don't fight, then it's fine. But if we do, we must be prepared to go to war with the two countries."

"Especially the Japanese. They are well aware of the limitations of their island nation and have long coveted our land outside the Great Wall. They will definitely not let go of this opportunity easily. In the end, they will fight with the whole country and will never give up easily."

Teng Yuzao said with some regret, "Warfare requires not only money and weapons and ammunition, but also a stable rear that can continuously provide these to the front line, including sufficient well-trained soldiers and related supplies. This is also one of the reasons why I insisted on becoming the first prime minister of the cabinet."

"We cannot wait until the victory of the two countries outside the Great Wall is completely decided, and the victorious side will go all out to deal with us before sending troops. That way we will miss the great opportunity, and our officers and soldiers will not only make greater sacrifices, but also spend more financial resources to support this war."

"However, now that the imperial court has done this, it will be difficult to fully recover the territory outside the Great Wall!"

Teng Yuzao further explained, "Under the current situation, if we send all our troops to the border areas, we may be stabbed in the back by the imperial court at a critical moment. We will inevitably have to fight on two fronts and be exhausted. If we are not careful, the troops outside the border may be defeated and return." "It is even possible that the great powers may collude with the imperial court and unite to deal with us."

"Don't forget it."

Teng Yuzao pointed at the telegrams on the low table with his chin. "The British and Japanese have openly supported the Qing court's appointment of Yikuang as prime minister. The British even dispatched their Far East Fleet."

"If the Japanese have time, their fleet will also get involved. You know, the Japanese have four battleships and eight heavy cruisers comparable to battleships, not to mention the old British maritime hegemon."

"If their fleet blockades or even threatens us along the coast, we will most likely be besieged from the east, west and east by the Qing court, the Japanese and the British."

"If that happens, we will not only face a shortage of weapons and ammunition, but also face financial difficulties. After all, we have to export a large number of goods to make money, and important materials such as machinery and steel must be imported from Germany and the United States."

Teng Yuzao's words made Yang Shixiang, Xu Shichang, Tang Shaoyi, Ye Zugui, Duan Qirui and others look solemn.

Teng Yuzhao let out a long breath and said bitterly.

"So, now is not the time to break off relations with the Qing court."

"Marshal, are we just going to sit there and watch?"

Teng Yuzhao's words made Tang Shaoyi anxious again.

Teng Yuzao smiled and shook his head, saying, "Of course we won't just sit and watch, or even sit here and wait for death! This is not my habit, Teng Yuzao!"

Teng Yuzao said in a firm tone, "This is what I'm going to say next."

When they heard that Teng Yuzhao was going to talk about his plan, everyone couldn't help but listen seriously.

Teng Yuzhao picked up the glass of beer that Ye Zugui had already poured for him on the coffee table, drank it all in one gulp, put down the glass and looked at Yang Shixiang and said.

"Since we cannot break off relations with the imperial court for the time being, I certainly cannot announce that I will take office as the Prime Minister."

Seeing that Yang Shixiang was about to speak, Teng Yuzhao spoke again.

"Not only will I not announce my inauguration as prime minister, but I will also issue a telegram immediately after returning to Tianjin to publicly support the court's move to implement constitutional government."

"During this period, in order to ensure the stability of the northern provinces and prevent the war outside the Great Wall from spreading to the interior of the Great Wall, I will also announce my return to the post of president of the Zhi Army and publicly suggest to the court that the new domestic army be unified as the National Defense Army."

"it is good!"

Yang Shixiang became somewhat excited. Teng Yuzao did not request to be announced to return to the post of President of the Zhi Army which he had just resigned, but announced it on his own, which made his attitude clear to Cixi and the entire court.

This not only made it easier to unify the thoughts of the officers and soldiers of the Zhili Army, but also allowed Teng Yuzhao to achieve his goal of commanding the Zhili Army with justification.

Although he had not yet thought clearly about Teng Yuzao's suggestion to transform the new armies of each province into national defense armies, from his understanding of Teng Yuzao, he believed that there must be deep meaning behind it.

After Yang Shixiang praised him, he frowned slightly and asked Teng Yuzao.

"Marshal, will the court agree to your return as president of the Zhi Army and your proposal to rename the new armies of each province as the National Defense Army?"

(End of this chapter)