Beiyang Dream

A large group of people were standing in the council hall of the Zhili Governor-General's Office.

Old Li's group of advisors, along with all the veteran generals of the Huai Army under his command, every single one of them who was in Tianjin, stood in the council hall.

None of them looked very good...

Li Hongzhang had just finished writing a memo.

"Weiting".

Yuan Shikai quickly stepped forward: "Your Excellency."

"Come here."

Yuan Shikai walked up to Li Hongzhang. Li Hongzhang handed him the paper note, then patted Yuan Shikai on the shoulder:

"Yuan Weiting, from this day forward, you are the commander-in-chief of all the armies in Tianjin. I entrust Tianjin to you as my commander-in-chief!"

He emphasized the word "president".

"From now on, you will all call him 'President Yuan'."

Well then, Yuan Shikai became president!

However, it's not for the whole country, but for the president of Tianjin!

The group of veteran Huai Army generals looked at each other, but none of them moved.

I'm not convinced!

Why should I?

Everyone received Nie Gongting's secret telegram... Just follow Liu Zhiyuan's plan, let the Grand Secretary advance a bit more, become the "Emperor of the Ji Tang Dynasty," and everyone can become a founding hero, and be granted dukedoms or marquises as appropriate.

This is wonderful!

How could you, Yuan Shikai, suddenly appear as a loyal subject of the Qing Dynasty, ruining everyone's plans...?

Therefore, no one wants to be the first to kneel.

Li Hongzhang didn't urge them; he just sat there and waited!

The Japanese are attacking Junliang City! Xu Bangdao can't hold out for long.

Once Junliang City is lost, it won't be easy for you people to run to Luanzhou anymore!

At this time, Li Hongzhang and President Yuan were together!

In the end, it was Old Master Song Qing who stepped forward. He was over sixty years old this year, the most senior and experienced in the Huai Army, and even Li Hongzhang treated him with great respect. He looked at Li Hongzhang, then at Yuan Shikai, sighed, then knelt on one knee, clasped his hands and said, "This humble general Song Qing greets President Yuan."

With him kneeling, the others could no longer remain standing still. Wei Rucheng gritted his teeth and knelt down as well. Then came Zhao Huaiye, Dai Zongqian, Huang Shilin, and Zhang Guangqian, one after another, all of them kneeling down.

"We, your humble servants, greet President Yuan."

Yuan Shikai stood there, looking at the row of Huai Army veterans kneeling on the ground in front of him, but he couldn't feel happy at all!

Not only could I not feel happy, but I also felt as if I were standing on the edge of an abyss or walking on thin ice!

President... President of the Tianjin Armed Forces, that title sounds impressive.

But doing it well is not easy!

There's no doubt that the group of veteran Huai Army generals below him would be dissatisfied with him... If it weren't for his intervention, this group would most likely have dragged Li Zhongtang to Luanzhou!

Outside Tianjin, there was a division of Japanese pirates! He led a group of veteran Huai Army generals who were defiant of him, helping Li Hongzhang defend Tianjin, and using the opportunity of commanding the troops to defend the city to expand his own base...

Thinking of this, he quickly bent down and helped Song Qing up: "General Song, please get up quickly, this junior dares not accept such praise."

Then he went to help Wei Rucheng and Zhao Huaiye up, one by one, until they were all up. As he helped them up, he said, "You seniors are all veterans who have followed the Grand Secretary for many years. I am young and ignorant, and I will have to rely on your guidance in the future."

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After saying that, he turned around and bowed respectfully to Li Hongzhang.

"Your Excellency's kindness is deeply appreciated and I am humbled. I will certainly do my utmost to live up to Your Excellency's trust."

Li Hongzhang waved his hand.

Yuan Shikai straightened up and cupped his hands in greeting to the group of veteran Huai Army generals: "Esteemed seniors, I have an idea that I would like to discuss with you."

Song Qing said, "President Yuan, please speak."

Yuan Shikai said, "You seniors must have all heard of the new army that Chang Zhenbang ran in Korea. Why was his new army so good at fighting? To put it bluntly, it was because he followed the path of 'governing the army with military academies'."

"As far as I know, he recruited more than a hundred classmates from the Tianjin Military Academy and used them as the backbone to set up the Nanpu Military Academy."

"Then, he used the officers and sergeants trained by the Nanpu Military Academy to lead his new army... To put it bluntly, the academic affairs office of his Nanpu Military Academy was the camp affairs office of the Nanpu Army. How to fight the battle and how to train the soldiers were all decided by the academic affairs office of the military academy."

He paused here, glancing at the expressions on everyone's faces.

"As for me, I have neither a military background nor have I attended a military academy. If I wish to live up to His Excellency's trust, then I have no choice but to take Chang as my teacher..."

"Let's treat the Tianjin Military Academy as the headquarters of our Tianjin armies, and let the instructors and students of the academy help our predecessors with defense and deployment. In this way, we can strengthen the defense of Tianjin in the shortest possible time."

Li Hongzhang sat there, his mind perfectly clear. How could he not know Yuan Shikai's little scheme?

This Yuan Weiting, he's trying to emulate Chang Zhenbang's methods! He wants to turn the Tianjin Military Academy into the "Yuan Family Military Academy"!

But it's fine this way.

It's better than Li Hongzhang being forced into this position by his subordinates and having some kind of imperial coronation. Of his sons and grandsons, which one could stand up to Yuan Shikai?

Rather than working hard to make wedding dresses for them, it's better to be a loyal servant of the Qing Dynasty for the rest of my life.

As for the Beiyang clique, let Yuan Weiting and Chang Zhenbang fight over it.

Regardless of who they are, they are still junior members of the Beiyang clique, and junior members of Li Hongzhang's faction...

Thinking of this, Li Hongzhang nodded: "Alright. Since you have this idea, then I will also put the Beiyang Military Academy under your control. Use it as you see fit."

Yuan Shikai quickly bowed again: "Thank you, Your Excellency."

Then he turned around, cupped his hands in greeting to the group of veteran Huai Army generals, and said, "Seniors, let me tell you, from now on, the Tianjin Military Academy will be the administrative office of all the armies in Tianjin. From now on, all orders issued by the President will be issued from the Military Academy. Remember this well: no matter how big or small the matter is, as long as the documents sent from the Military Academy are the President's will."

He continued, "Tomorrow morning, students from the military academy will arrive at your respective units with my military orders. They will tell you where to deploy defenses, where to dig trenches, and where to erect barbed wire. These students will serve as your advisors. They will also take the specific deployment orders with them. Listen to what you need to listen to, and do what you need to do. If there's anything you don't understand, have them come back and ask me. Don't try to figure it out yourself. If you make a mistake, it could lead to serious trouble."

Li Hongzhang coughed lightly beside him and added, "Weiting's order is my order! You all better understand!"

The veteran generals of the Huai Army looked at each other, truly at a loss. Old Li was determined not to be emperor. Having no other options, they all said in unison, "We are willing to obey the orders of the Grand Secretary and the President."

......

That afternoon, at the Tianjin Military Academy.

The gates of the military academy were wide open, with two guards standing at the entrance, holding rifles and looking quite spirited. Yuan Shikai, accompanied by Zhang Peilun, Tang Shaoyi, Tian Wenlie, and Lei Zhenchun, stepped down from the carriage, holding Li Hongzhang's handwritten note, and strode inside.

There were already people waiting inside the school.

Standing at the very front was Yin Changyin, the fifth floor. He had been promoted since he returned. He was originally the co-director of the Tianjin Military Academy, but now he had been promoted to director!

Several instructors stood behind him. Leading them was Chang's mentor, Hannagan, with Li Bao, Lauge, Hercules, and Li standing beside him, all dressed in military attire, making them look quite convincing.

Further back were about 140 or 150 students from the military academy... Their military posture was not bad, but compared to the students of Changnanpu Military Academy who were always shouting "preserving the race and the way", it seemed to be lacking something.

Furthermore, the number is still too small. There are only about 140 or 150 students, while the Nampu Military Academy has thousands of students enrolled!

I don't know what to do after graduation.

However, there is one thing that makes Nanpu Military Academy far inferior to Beiyang Military Academy: the "foreign instructors." Chang himself stayed on, and he also transferred several students who had studied abroad from Beiyang Military Academy to Nanpu.

However, he didn't seem to have much faith in the foreign instructors. When the school first opened, there were some instructors, but they weren't teaching officer courses; they taught sergeant courses. Later, those foreign instructors' contracts expired, and they all returned to their home countries. The instructors at the Nanpu Military Academy were entirely Chinese. Even the teaching materials were compiled by Chang, Duan Qirui, Feng Guozhang, Duan Zhigui, Shang, Wu Dingyuan, Kong Qingtang, and their group...

It's definitely not as good as the original version of the Martial Arts Academy!

Thinking of this, Yuan Shikai smiled and stepped forward, first bowing to Yin Chang: "Brother Wu Lou."

Yin Chang also cupped his hands in greeting: "Brother Weiting."

Without wasting any words, Yuan Shikai took out Li Hongzhang's letter and handed it to Yin Chang to read.

"Brother Wu Lou, the Grand Secretary has given an order. From now on, this military academy will be under my control."

Yin Chang took the letter, read it through, and remained expressionless. He then handed it back to Yuan Shikai, nodded, and said, "Since it is His Excellency's will, then I will naturally comply."

Yuan Shikai carefully put away the note, then turned around and addressed the 140-150 students of the military academy, saying loudly, "Fellow students! From today onwards, our military academy will be just like the Nanpu Military Academy! We will also govern the army through the academy! The military academy is the camp administration office of the President's Tianjin armies! From now on, the instructors and students of the military academy are the people of the camp administration office!"

He paused, then raised his voice: "Let's help the Grand Secretary defend Tianjin! Let's show those little Japanese that our Great Qing isn't just about having Chang Zhenbang who can fight! Chang Zhenbang, to put it bluntly, is a graduate of your military academy! If Chang Zhenbang can do it, why can't we?"

As soon as these words were spoken, the students below began to whisper among themselves. Each of them showed an eager expression.

After all, many of their senior classmates had been "winning big" in North Korea, and they had taken several boxes of winning photos and sent them back to the school. It was hard for them not to be envious!

What's so scary about Japan?

However, some people are not happy about it.

For example, Yin Chang is a cunning person. He doesn't say it on the surface, but he's always having doubts in his heart.

Although this Beiyang Military Academy was affiliated with the Beiyang government, it had always been run by the superintendent and co-director, and had many "second-rate translators" from the Tongwen Guan (School of Combined Learning) as instructors.

To put it bluntly, the imperial court was thinking of turning the military academy into a school for training military slaves!

Now Yuan Shikai is going to take over...

We must transform the Beiyang Army's weaponry into something like the Nanpu Military Academy!

What did the Nampu Military Academy teach?

Preserve the species and uphold the tradition!

Yuan Shikai was also aware of Yin Chang's intentions.

After he finished fooling the students, he cupped his hands in greeting to Yin Chang and said, "Brother Wu Lou, I know the reason for this... but the current situation is truly critical! We must work together to defend Tianjin and protect the Qing Dynasty. This military academy still belongs to you, Brother Wu Lou. I'm just borrowing a few people for now; I'll return them to you after the war."

He lowered his voice a little and leaned closer, saying, "Brother Wulou, you've seen it too. This time, the Japanese are coming in with great force. It doesn't seem like they're just going to fight Korea and be done with it. I think they're aiming to establish their capital in Beijing."

Establishing a firm foothold!?

Yin Chang's expression changed.

This is their collective nightmare!

Didn't their ancestors take advantage of the Ming Dynasty's fierce battle with Li Zicheng to invade and establish their capital in Beijing?

Ah, so you're allowed to establish your dynasty, but the Japanese aren't allowed to follow your example?

To be honest, the Qing Dynasty was least afraid of ceding territory and paying indemnities... The Qing Dynasty had plenty of land and silver!

What they fear most is that someone will follow in the footsteps of their ancestors and "establish their rule in Beijing"!

If someone comes to "settle the throne," what will happen to these eighth brothers? They are all remnants of the previous dynasty; they must all be killed!

This time, even though the imperial court had already agreed to cede territory and pay reparations, the Japanese were still relentless and marched all the way to Tianjin. Could they really be aiming to establish their rule in Beijing?

Just as Yin Chang was feeling uneasy, the sound of hooves approached, and a messenger from the Zhili Governor-General's office rode up at full speed. Upon reaching Yuan Shikai, he dismounted, knelt on one knee, and presented a document that resembled a public proclamation to Yuan Shikai: "Your Excellency, this was just delivered to you by the Shandong Governor's Office via express courier, and Your Excellency requests your review!"

"The Shandong Governor's Office?" Yuan Shikai picked up the scroll of documents, unfolded it, and his expression changed immediately.

The document begins: "A Sincere Admonition to the Heroes of the Eighteen Provinces..." Below it reads: "The Manchus, a barbarian tribe from beyond the Great Wall, were neither ordained by the emperor nor did they contribute anything to China. Taking advantage of the Ming dynasty's decline, they violently seized power, establishing a temporary sham regime. They were cunning and manipulative, manipulating the world with countless schemes. The heroes of that time were no match for their military might, and they harbored resentment and anger to this day. This is truly a case of the masses overcoming fate. Now, the time has come for Heaven to triumph over man..."

After reading the "Open Letter to the Heroes of the Eighteen Provinces" that the Japanese had cobbled together, Yuan Shikai chuckled and handed the document to Yin Chang: "Brother Wu Lou, take a look at this... You'll understand what the Japanese are up to after reading it!"