The Qing Dynasty

Chapter 666 Do you still remember the Marshal's couplet?

Seeing Wang Yingkai kicking the ball to him, Wang Zhanyuan forced a wry smile and said.

"You know, my Lord, that Xingfu has always been aloof. I didn't have much friendship with him when I was in the Military Academy. Only Zhiquan and Shang Dequan were on good terms with him. I don't think he would pay any attention to me if I wrote to him."

They didn't seem to realize that, unknowingly, they had replaced Teng Xingfu with the more intimate Xingfu.

Seeing that both of them refused to write the letter, Zhang Huaizhai sighed in his heart and said.

"Sir, according to what you said, Marshal Teng has no one close to him in the Military Academy, so it doesn't matter who writes. I think, in order to make it more important, Zichun, Maoxuan, Yunshan and I should write a letter to him together. With us, Xingfu will definitely give him face."

Zhang Huaizhi added, "If the court knows about this in the future, Zichun and I are willing to take the blame."

Zhang Huaizhi said meaningfully, "Sir, we must protect our troops!"

Zhang Huaizhi's words moved Wang Yingkai's heart. He couldn't help but think of the couplet that Yuan Shikai wrote when he was thirteen years old, "The dragons in the wild are hibernating, and the deer in the Central Plains are fat."

Wang Huaiqing took a deep breath and said, "Sir, Zhiquan is with Xingfu. If we write a letter to Xingfu, Zhiquan will know about it. Zhiquan will help us for your sake. It would be best if you could give us a name."

Although Wang Huaiqing was worried about being blamed by the court in the future and still wanted to tie himself down, he also knew that if he did not sign his name, not only would these generals think he was irresponsible, but even Teng Yuzhao would think that he and he were estranged.

Seeing that Wang Yingkai was somewhat interested, Ma Longbiao suddenly said.

"Sir, I think it would be better to wait until He Zonglian arrives. You know, if He Zonglian's first town is gone, even if we reach Shaanxi, it will be difficult to resist the Zhi army across the river. If we can persuade He Zonglian to follow us to Shaanxi, that would be the best way..."

What Ma Longbiao said was right. Without the second town, it would be absolutely difficult for He Zonglian's first town to gain a foothold in Shanxi. There were only two options waiting for him: either be destroyed by the Zhi army or surrender to the Zhi army.

But if this happens, it is certain that the court will blame Wang Yingkai afterwards.

Ma Longbiao's words made Wang Yingkai hesitate again.

Probably guessing what Wang Yingkai was thinking, Zhang Huaizhai and Wang Zhanyuan looked at each other, and after they exchanged glances, it was Wang Zhanyuan who spoke.

"Sir, we are going to Shaanxi in compliance with the order of the Army Department. Shanxi's affairs are the affairs of the First Town and have nothing to do with us. Your Excellency led the troops to Shaanxi alone to carry out the order of the Army Department."

"If the imperial court blames us in the future, it won't be a big deal. If it really doesn't work, we can go to Guangdong and Guangxi to seek refuge with the Marshal."

Wang Zhanyuan's words not only surprised Ma Longbiao, but also made Wang Yingkai feel secretly nervous.

The Marshal that Wang Zhanyuan was referring to was undoubtedly Yuan Shikai.

The reason why Wang Yingkai was nervous was that he had long suspected that Zhang Huaizhai and Wang Zhanyuan were still secretly maintaining close contact with Yuan Shikai. Now he could roughly judge that his suspicion was 80% accurate.

He looked at Wang Huaiqing, Tian Zhongyu, Bao Guiqing, and Lu Yongxiang again, and saw that they also had expressions of surprise and confusion, and Wang Yingkai felt a little relieved.

He could see that these people were probably unaware of the situation.

Wang Yingkai couldn't help but sigh inwardly.

My skills are still not as good as Yuan Shikai's. It seems that it is definitely not that easy to control the second town.

Surprised, Ma Longbiao couldn't help but ask Wang Zhanyuan in confusion, "Brother Zichun, if we surrender to the Marshal, will the court not blame us? Will the Marshal be able to protect us then?"

Wang Zhanyuan chuckled and said to Wang Yingkai and Ma Longbiao.

"My Lord, Brother Jinmen, I guess that since the Marshal has volunteered to go to Guangdong and Guangxi to reorganize the local new army, he will most likely stay in Guangdong and Guangxi. If the Marshal does not return to the court, the court will naturally give him face, just like the Southeast Mutual Protection in the Gengzi Year. No one can do anything to the Marshal."

"What's more, there is Xingfu making trouble in Zhili!" Although Ma Longbiao came from a military family and had not even attended any military school and had little education, he was not stupid. He had understood what Wang Zhanyuan said. Yuan Shikai also wanted to learn from Teng Yuzhao and control his own military power.

Wang Yingkai said tentatively, "It would be best if the Marshal could stay in Guangdong and Guangxi, but the British are very powerful there, and it's so close to Hong Kong, I'm afraid the British won't agree!"

Seeing Wang Zhanyuan opening his mouth to speak, Zhang Huaizhai hurriedly interrupted and said with a smile.

"The Marshal is definitely not an ordinary person. If he doesn't want to return to the court to be a military minister, he will naturally find a way."

"Sir, we can still make long-term plans for the future, but now we have reached a critical juncture, so you should make a decision as soon as possible."

Knowing that Zhang Huaizhi didn't want to say more, Wang Yingkai maintained his normal expression. He stood up and paced on the ground for a few steps. He stopped behind Ma Longbiao, patted Ma Longbiao on the shoulder and said.

"Jinmen, we can't fight this battle!"

"Xingfu dared to send troops into Jin, which proves that he is fearless and does not worry about our two towns. Fortunately, he just wants to force us away and does not want to embarrass us."

"He just wants to occupy Shanxi. He has even arranged for someone to replace Shanxi Governor Zhang Renjun. This shows that he will never let go of Shanxi and will take it as soon as possible. This has given us a glimmer of hope."

"If we really want to fight with his people, we are forcing him. In order to protect Shanxi, he will definitely not show mercy to our men. Zizhi is right. Protecting our troops is the most important thing now."

Then Wang Yingkai glanced at everyone with a burning gaze, sighed deeply, and said meaningfully.

"You should all know the couplet written by the Marshal, right? The Marshal is a man of great ambitions."

When they heard Wang Yingkai suddenly mention Yuan Shikai's couplet, everyone lowered their heads with complicated expressions and remained silent.

Yuan Shikai's most famous couplet is naturally the one that goes "The dragons in the wild are hibernating, and the deer in the Central Plains are fat." However, this couplet is very inappropriate to bring out now.

Wang Yingkai continued to talk to himself, "We left He Zonglian behind and rushed to Shaanxi alone. It is inevitable that the court will blame us."

Wang Yingkai sighed and continued, "To be honest, this is exactly the situation. We have Teng Xingfu in the north and the imperial court in Huguang, the heartland. If the commander-in-chief is in Guangdong and Guangxi in the south, the scene of Zhuolu in the Central Plains may reappear."

Wang Yingkai took back his hand from Ma Longbiao's shoulder and spoke in a heavy tone while pacing.

"Zichun's suggestion of surrendering to the Marshal is, in my opinion, a middle-of-the-road strategy at best."

"Don't forget that we accepted Tieliang's money without the Marshal's knowledge. It's impossible that the Marshal is unaware of this."

"Although the Marshal is broad-minded, there is always a grudge in his heart. Let's just join the Marshal's army. In the future..."

Wang Yingkai did not keep all the money that Tieliang had collected from the Second Town. He only kept five thousand dollars and gave three thousand dollars each to Zhang Huaizhai, Wang Zhanyuan, and Ma Longbiao. Including the artillery commander Tian Zhongyu, each of the ten commanders received fifteen hundred dollars. The remaining one thousand was given to the chief of staff appointed by Tieliang.

When this huge sum of money was mentioned, not only did the expressions on the faces of Wang Huaiqing, Tian Zhongyu, Bao Guiqing, Lu Yongxiang and other commanders change constantly, but even Zhang Huaizhai and Wang Zhanyuan's expressions became very complicated.

They all accepted the money, and when Wang Yingkai was making the proofs for them, he also told them clearly that this money was given to him by Tieliang, and he did not want to keep it all to himself, but was willing to share it with everyone.

Even the interests involved told them that if they did not accept the money, Tieliang would not only make things difficult for them in the future, but he would also find a suitable reason to dismiss them from their posts, investigate them, and even put them in jail. Moreover, Wang Yingkai's words had been proven, and Duan Qirui was a good example.

Wang Yingkai also told them that Yuan Shikai would be very unhappy if they accepted the silver.

Seeing the temptation of the huge sum of money, these people finally unanimously expressed their willingness to accept it, as long as they remembered Yuan Shikai's past kindness in their hearts. They also supported Wang Yingkai not to tell Yuan Shikai about this matter.

Although this matter was not a big deal, they all knew in their hearts that it was impossible for Yuan Shikai to not take this matter to heart. He would probably bury it deep in his heart, and no one could tell when it would come out.

Now that Wang Yingkai had reminded them, they naturally began to worry.
(End of this chapter)