Beiyang Dream

December 3, 1894, morning.

Outside Uiju Castle in North Korea, on the banks of the Yalu River.

A group of more than 20,000 people are crossing the river in waves on the pontoon bridge.

In front were Nie Shicheng's cavalry and infantry, behind them were Chang's troops from the First and Second Training Brigades of the Nanpu Military Academy, with supply trains and artillery units sandwiched in between.

The procession of more than 20,000 people stretched from the south bank of the Yalu River all the way to the north bank, with no end in sight.

The troops seemed to be in good spirits, with a certain air of valor and high morale.

Unfortunately, they crossed the Yalu River in the opposite direction...

Chang and Nie Shicheng rode side by side on their horses, standing beside the pontoon bridge, watching their respective soldiers walk past.

Neither of them spoke, just frowned and watched their troops slowly "cross the Yalu River in the opposite direction"...

Chang knew perfectly well what Nie Shicheng was thinking at that moment.

Old Nie must be thinking about Li Hongzhang's matter.

Li Hongzhang claimed he would "defend Tianjin to the death," but everyone knew he was betraying the Qing Dynasty! Defending Tianjin was merely a pretext for signing a humiliating treaty. If he left Tianjin and fled to Luanzhou, the Japanese would have no choice but to charge towards Beijing... Empress Dowager Cixi and Emperor Guangxu would most likely flee west, and most of those in Beijing would probably die.

But the First Sino-Japanese War was bound to be protracted... Li Hongzhang might end up in the same situation as Liu Zhiyuan.

However, Chang had long known that Li Hongzhang would do this.

He had previously discussed with Nie Shicheng about "kidnapping" Li Hongzhang and taking him to Luanzhou, but it was really just a matter of personnel matters.

He knew in his heart that Li Hongzhang had been "licking" Empress Dowager Cixi's boots his whole life, just like his teacher Zeng Guofan, who was described by Zou Rong as a "great slave" who was eventually controlled and killed by Empress Dowager Cixi!

He's destined to be a traitor who sells out his country for personal gain; there's no way he can get away with it!

But what Chang is worried about now is something else entirely.

money.

He's almost out of money!

Not counting the Fourth Brigade stationed in Lushun and Dalian and the Third Brigade stationed in Weihaiwei, the 11,000 men he currently commands cost him a full 100,000 taels of silver every month.

One hundred thousand taels!

100,000 a month, that's 1.2 million a year.

But how much income does he have right now?

The Beiyang government paid him 250,000 taels a year.

The smuggling business in Hwanghae Province and Pyongan Province of North Korea, plus the customs duties at Jinnampo, could bring in 30,000 to 40,000 taels a month—and that's after the war started, when it was less; before the war, it was much more.

Emperor Guangxu had previously given him 800,000 taels of silver, not 800,000 taels for a year, but a total of 800,000 taels.

So, it seems like we can barely hold on.

The problem is, his 11,000 men didn't just fall from the sky. The initial recruitment costs alone amounted to over 300,000 taels of silver! Add to that the cost of equipment and ammunition, and it came to over a million taels of silver.

With this transaction, he personally invested at least a million taels of silver.

Of those more than one million taels, most of it was a "warlord loan" he borrowed from Nanyang Bank.

Using loans to become a warlord? What kind of talk is that?

And he's currently fighting for the Qing Dynasty!

He's risking his life for the Qing Dynasty, and he's even losing money... Is that fair? No, it's not!

And they can't hold on any longer!

Once they crossed the Yalu River, they could forget about smuggling profits from Korea. The 800,000 taels of silver Emperor Guangxu had given them were almost gone. What would happen to his 11,000 men?

Although his soldiers recited the Yellow Book and shouted "Preserve the race and the Way" every day, they were still mercenaries at heart! They were mercenaries who would only fight for money!

If you're really broke, who'll risk their life for you?

In addition, Cao Kun's Third Brigade, Duan Qirui's Fourth Brigade, and even Emperor Guangxu and Li Hongzhang paid their bills!

The Fourth Brigade was a railway protection unit of the Kwantung Railway Corporation, built with funds from the corporation. The recruitment of soldiers and the purchase of equipment alone cost 400,000 taels of silver. Surely Emperor Guangxu and Li Hongzhang couldn't just pocket the shareholders' money for nothing?

In the Third Brigade, there were 1,000 men that Chang himself funded, which cost him nearly 200,000 yuan in total!

Chang calculated in his mind that it would take at least two million taels of silver from Emperor Guangxu and Li Hongzhang to settle their previous accounts.

Oh, and that doesn't even include mobilization costs and wartime pay.

Although he didn't pay his men double wages or give them any troop deployment expenses, rules are rules, and Emperor Guangxu and Li Hongzhang had to follow them!

With these two additions, it's well over three million!

Every year thereafter, they would have to pay him at least 2.2 million taels of silver in exchange for him to maintain this army.

Therefore, after crossing the Yalu River in the opposite direction, his most important tasks, besides holding Lushun and Dalian and securing the second "dog position" in the Far East through the "watchdog retest," were to collect debts from Li Hongzhang and Emperor Guangxu!

How should we collect this debt?

The more he thought about it, the more annoyed he became, and his brows furrowed.

They're going to take a hard line!

Just then, the sound of horses' hooves came from across the river. Chang looked up and saw Luo Shijie, the director of the Statistics and Survey Department of Nanpu Military Academy.

The young man rode his horse and galloped along the pontoon bridge.

When Luo Shijie arrived in front of Chang, he did not dismount but gave a military salute from horseback.

"Principal, we can cross the river now!"

Chang nodded and turned to look at Nie Shicheng beside him.

"Brother Gongting, let's cross the river!"

Nie Shicheng didn't speak, but turned back to look at the mountains and rivers of North Korea...

Then, gritting his teeth, he declared, "Cross the river!"

So the two of them rode their horses together onto the pontoon bridge.

The pontoon bridge swayed precariously, the Yalu River rushing by with a loud gurgling sound. Chang glanced down at the river, thinking: I wonder when Chinese troops will be able to cross the Yalu River again...

Before long, the two arrived at Jiuliancheng Ferry on the north bank of the Yalu River.

Several people were already standing at the ferry crossing.

The leader was a thin man dressed in the robes of a ninth-rank official; he was probably the inspector in charge of this area.

Standing next to him was a chubby man in a scribe's official robe; he was clearly a member of the Zhongjiang Tax Bureau.

Behind them were two more, wearing ceremonial vests and carrying red-tasseled spears with rusted tips. I wonder what use those things were when the Japanese attacked.

These people all stared wide-eyed, probably searching for Chang in the crowd.

They all knew they had to come often.

This man is a high-ranking official, serving as a candidate provincial judge and imperial commissioner assisting the Beiyang Army!

Today, they have come to kowtow and pay their respects to Lord Chang.

The problem is, they can't even tell which one is Chang now.

They couldn't understand the uniforms of the Nanpu New Army at all.

Besides, these people are all dressed similarly, so who knows which one is a high-ranking official?

However, Nie Shicheng was wearing the official robes of a first-rank admiral, and they recognized him at a glance.

Several minor officials rushed over and knelt down with a thud.

"This humble servant greets Your Excellency the Admiral!"

Nie Shicheng reined in his horse, glanced down at them, and casually asked, "Where is the garrison commander of Phoenix City? Why haven't they come to greet us?"

The leading inspector inwardly groaned.

The city garrison commander, Yilibu, is a high-ranking official of the third rank! How could he, a mere ninth-rank patrol inspector, dare to ask why he hadn't come?

But he dared not say that!

"Reporting to you, sir," the inspector said, bowing his head, "Lord Iribui... he's busy reorganizing border affairs, so..."

"How dare you!"

The shout startled the patrolman.

However, judging from the voice, it doesn't seem to be that admiral.

The inspector looked up and saw a tall man in the uniform of the Nanpu Army next to Nie Shicheng pointing at him with a riding whip.

"I think... he's busy with his alliance with the Japanese, isn't he?"

What? Colluding with the Japanese?

The inspectors were stunned.

If you say that Lord Yilibu is corrupt and lawless, then you are not wronging a bad person.

It could communicate with the Japanese...

Nie Shicheng was also stunned.

He thought to himself: Chang Zhenbang, what evil tricks are you up to now?

Chang ignored them, raised his riding whip, and pointed to a notice board not far away.

"What is that?"

The inspector and Nie Shicheng looked in the direction of his whip.

Beside the ferry crossing stood a notice board. A piece of paper was pasted on the board, covered with black and white writing.

The inspector's face froze instantly.

He passes by that sign every day, and there wasn't this sign in the morning! When was it put up?

"What did you write?" was a common question.

The inspector's lips trembled a few times.

"I...I can't read..."

"You can't read?" Chang laughed, a cold laugh. "You're a patrol inspector, and you can't read?"

The inspector knelt on the ground, not daring to lift his head.

Chang ignored him and turned to look at Luo Shijie.

"Yingshi, read it!"

"yes!"

Luo Shijie saluted, dismounted, and strode to the notice board. He glanced at the paper, cleared his throat, and read it aloud.

"An ancient sage once said: 'Those who are destined for good will be rewarded.' He also said: 'But destiny is not constant; it is for the virtuous, and for the wicked it is lost.' The Manchus, a barbarian tribe from beyond the Great Wall, were neither ordained by destiny nor did they contribute anything to China. Taking advantage of the decline of the Ming Dynasty, they violently seized power, established temporary stability, and manipulated the world with countless schemes..."

"That's fine."

Chang waved his hand, interrupting Luo Shijie.

He turned to look at Nie Shicheng, his smile becoming even more "wicked".

"Brother Gongting, I never expected that the Japanese 'Letter to the Heroes of the Eighteen Provinces' would actually be posted in the territory of the Deputy Commander of Jinzhou. It seems... there really are people here colluding with the Japanese!"

Nie Shicheng looked at Chang, his mind racing.

Chang Zhenbang is about to make trouble.

But let them make an attack if they want...

He nodded and continued speaking in the same manner as Chang.

"That's right, this 'Letter to the Heroes of the Eighteen Provinces' was indeed fabricated by the Japanese. In Korea, collaborators with the Japanese often posted it everywhere."

"England!"

"Students are here!"

He pointed his horsewhip in the direction of Jiuliancheng.

"Take men to Jiuliancheng and search it!"

"yes!"

Luo Shijie waved his hand, and led a dozen soldiers from the Statistics and Survey Department of Nanpu Military Academy, mounted their horses, and charged towards Jiuliancheng.

He glanced at their backs, then at the kneeling inspector and the few minor officials, and smiled.

"Let's go, let's go into town too."

......

Inside Jiuliancheng, in the main hall of the patrol office.

He often sat in the middle chair, with an eight-immortal table in front of him. The table was piled high with a lot of things: notices, books, pamphlets, all sorts of random items, covering the entire table.

The inspector, along with the clerk from the Zhongjiang Tax Bureau, and two others, made up a row of four people kneeling, all looking like something terrible had happened.

Chang Zheng rummaged through the things on the table with his hands, turning them over one by one.

"A Letter to the Heroes of the Eighteen Provinces," he picked up a notice, read the names, and put it aside.

"The Yangzhou Ten-Day Diary," he picked up another book, flipped through it, and then put it aside.

"The Record of the Defense of Jiangyin City," Chang picked up another book, "The Record of Meihualing," and then another, "A Brief History of the Southern Ming Dynasty..."

He flipped through several books in a row, and finally looked up at Nie Shicheng.

"Brother Gongting, what kind of books are these? I've never heard of them before!"

Nie Shicheng stood to the side, looking completely bewildered.

He thought to himself: Chang Zhenbang, what exactly are you trying to do? Did you have these things searched out, or did you have them put in there? Are you trying to hold a literary inquisition on the grounds of the Deputy Military Governor of Jinzhou?

But now... is this the time to wage literary inquisition?

This approach is really something!

But Nie Shicheng is now in cahoots with Chang, so no matter what tricks Chang is up to, he can't expose him.

"I...I don't know either."

Chang nodded in satisfaction, then looked to his left, right, and behind him.

Feng Guozhang stood on the left, Shang stood on the right, and Duan Zhigui stood behind.

They are all key members of the Nampa Group!

"Did you know?"

Several people shook their heads together.

"have no idea."

"Never heard of it."

"Your humble servant is utterly innocent!"

Chang's gaze finally fell on the Zhongjiang Tax Bureau committee member kneeling on the ground.

"You," Chang pointed at him, "can you read?"

"That's a scribe," he nodded quickly.

"Replying to your question, sir, this humble servant...this humble servant knows how to read."

"That makes things easier!" Chang picked up the copy of "The Yangzhou Ten-Day Diary" from the table and tossed it in front of him. "You read it, read it loudly, start from the beginning!"

The scribe looked at the book on the ground, his face turning pale.

These books are all antithetical!

If this had happened during the Qianlong era, it would have been a literary inquisition at the very least!

But wasn't this literary inquisition all about Manchus persecuting Han Chinese?

How come it's reversed now?

Is this Han Chinese official going to use literary inquisition to punish... Yilibu, this official?

He's trying to overthrow the Heavenly Gang!