Master Yuan, start!

Although he fought ruthlessly on the battlefield and often went to the front lines as a garrison admiral, he relaxed day by day after Wu Changqing returned to China.

As soon as Wu Changqing left, he entrusted his three battalions of troops to Ma Jianzhong, and strolled around Seoul with a few horsemen.

Ma Jianzhong himself was mostly responsible for assisting the affairs of the Qing, North Korea, Japan, Western countries and other countries, and had no time to deal with military affairs. He only held the final power to dispatch troops, and the daily training of troops was left to Yuan Shikai.

This actually gave Yuan Shikai room to maneuver. Among the 2000 new troops under his command, more than a hundred were poached from the Qing troops stationed in Korea. However, the move was done covertly and was not discovered.

However, as the number of new troops increased day by day, even if they hid in the valley outside the concession, they would sooner or later be discovered by someone with ulterior motives.

He dismounted and hurried into the embassy. Before he even entered, he heard a hearty laugh: "I suppose this is the East Asian national hero himself. I didn't expect him to be so young. Heroes are truly born young."

Looking forward, Ma Xiangbo, dressed in a clean long gown and looking a little thin, was standing outside the door to greet him.

"Brother Ma, I've been waiting for you for a long time. I am not talented enough to bear such praise."

"I invited Brother Ma here this time because I hope to use his connections to help Xiangcheng resolve the impending crisis from North Korea."

"Oh? Before coming here, I also learned about the current situation in North Korea. Is it really this serious?"

"Brother Ma has his reasons for not stopping. Korea is nominally a vassal state of the Qing Dynasty, but in reality, the pro-Japanese faction in the country is growing in power. And after hearing that the French completely annihilated the Qing Dynasty's Fujian Navy, its king's attitude has wavered several times.

"What Xiangcheng has seen day and night is that the people of Hancheng are in turmoil from top to bottom, as if a storm is about to come." Yuan Xiangcheng vented all his worries.

With the upcoming Gapsin Coup, Yuan Shikai not only had to deal with the Korean rebels and the Japanese army, but also had to stabilize the Korean upper class and prevent them from turning to the pro-Japanese faction.

However, the number of troops Yuan Xiangcheng had was far from enough, so he had to seek help from others.

It's not that he is seeking the far away instead of the near, but Ma Xiangbo not only has traveled extensively to various countries and has rich modern and contemporary knowledge, making him qualified to serve as a political commissar, but he is also the cousin of Ma Jianzhong, who now leads three battalions of troops.

Now, the remaining Qing army leaders in Korea, apart from Wu Lingchangqing who returned home, are Wu Zhaoyou who is nowhere to be found, and Ma Jianzhong who is mainly in charge of foreign affairs.

Although Ma Jianzhong entrusted the daily military training to Yuan Xiangcheng, he did not fully trust Yuan Xiangcheng. The daily rotation and deployment of the Qing army still required his order.

Yuan Xiangcheng was afraid that things would become urgent and he would be slow to act, so he called his brother to give him advice.

It is better for the county magistrate to be in charge now. Through Ma Xiangbo's relationship, when the mutiny comes, Yuan Shikai will be able to control the Qing army in Korea more easily.

Ma Xiangbo stroked his beard and said, "I already knew about this matter. I never thought that my cousin was also in Korea. I will go find him tomorrow."

"But were these two articles really written by Wei Ting?" Ma Xiangbo took out the two newspapers in his hand and said to Yuan Xiangcheng.

"It is indeed what I wrote. Xiangcheng was stationed in Korea for two years, and I often saw Japanese people beating and scolding vendors in the streets of Seoul and disturbing public order.

I always thought that the foreigners in the capital city did the same thing to us Chinese people, so I felt increasingly humiliated and wanted to find out the secret of the foreigners' strength.

That’s why I spent several years reading books by famous Korean and Western writers, hoping to find a way to save our nation.”

"Brother Weiting is so determined and has such a great army under his command. He will become the backbone of the country sooner or later."

When Yuan Xiangcheng heard this, he just sighed that he was really good at judging people, and then said:

"I wonder what Brother Ma thinks of the imperial court's recent so-called Westernization Movement?"

Ma Xiangbo replied, "In my opinion, the so-called Westernization Movement is nothing more than a bureaucratic achievement that wastes national funds but has little effect.

As Brother Weiting wrote in his article "Germany's Rebirth" published in this newspaper, without reforming the system and changing the mindset, opening more shipyards and machinery factories will be nothing but castles in the air."

Yuan Xiangcheng was surprised that the person in front of him could see through the essence of the Westernization Movement at a glance. It seemed that he had found the right person.

"As you can see from Xiangcheng, according to foreigners' estimates, China's population is now over 3 million, while Russia, the largest country in the West, has only over 9000 million people."

The population of all Western countries combined is less than that of China, but Belgium, a Western country with a population of only one million, produces more than 1 tons of steel. The most powerful country, England, produces one million tons of steel annually.

You have read a lot of Western books, so you must understand the importance of steel to a country's military. It is no exaggeration to say that steel is the mother of guns and cannons.

China is known for its vast territory and abundant resources, but now it is only concerned with purchasing guns and artillery from foreign countries at high prices, and its steel production is almost zero.

Weiting, do you think it's ridiculous or not? Now the imperial court cannot produce all its own guns and cannons. To make guns and cannons, it has to buy raw materials from foreigners.

What kind of Westernization is this? What kind of self-strengthening is this? "

Chapter 6 Fukuzawa Yukichi's Concerns

Just as Yuan Shikai and Ma Xiangbo were denouncing the strange phenomena of the Westernization Movement, on the other side of Seoul, a young man dressed in traditional Korean attire was hurried through the streets.

Leaning against the wall, he avoided the patrolling Qing army, turned into the alley beside him, and faced a closed door.

"clang"

"clang"

Knock three times in a row.

After a while, the door slowly opened a crack, revealing a pair of eyes looking out the door. After finding that there was no one around, they spoke:

"Is that Goro? Come in quickly."

The Korean young man named Goro flashed into the house. In addition to the person who opened the door, there was already a man in kimono who was looking at the map on the table.

Seeing Wulang come in, the man quickly waved his hand to signal him to come forward.

"Teacher, Wu Zhaoyou is still gambling in the Qingshang Guild Hall today, and Ma Jianzhong is also handling business matters at the Joseon Palace. Only Yuan Xiangcheng left the city early this morning and has not been seen since he returned in the evening."

"No problem. Yuan Xiangcheng just went to the Qing Concession in Incheon to see how his business was going. As an assistant to the Korean military, he didn't want to think about properly reorganizing the new army. Since he was ordered to garrison in Korea, he has established a trading company and intervened in the trade of Korean ginseng, furs, and dried goods.

No wonder the Qing Dynasty was such a great country, yet it has become so weak. Everyone is obsessed with selfish desires. When will the country prosper with such insects?

The man who criticized Yuan Shikai harshly in the room was named Fukuzawa Yukichi. He had always advocated Japan's expansion into the East Asian continent and was both contemptuous and covetous of China.

Fukuzawa Yukichi never imagined that Yuan Shikai's trip to the Qing Concession in Incheon was fake, and his real purpose was to take the opportunity to train troops in the mountains.

However, Fukuzawa Yukichi had not yet written his famous book "Leaving Asia", and his systematic ideas of aggression had not yet taken shape.

While traveling in Korea, he met his student Inoue Kakugoro, who was currently one of the editors of the Seoul Junpo.

The Hanseong Sun is the earliest modern newspaper in Korean history, founded by the Enlightenment Party of Korea.

Of course, this title had already been taken away by the Dong-A Ilbo, founded by Yuan Shikai's Korean friend Kim Byung-si.

But this does not affect the status of the Seoul Sun in North Korea's official news newspapers. This newspaper is a newspaper that officials in North Korea must subscribe to.

Therefore, as one of the editors, Kakugoro Inoue was able to grasp the context of the Korean political situation to a certain extent by receiving and compiling articles.

"Wulang, can you discuss a date for the uprising with the Enlightenment faction in Korea?"

"Teacher, Jin Yujun told me today that he wanted to hold a Hongmen Banquet to kill the Qing army generals and conservative ministers, and then at the same time, launch a surprise attack on the Qing army's weapons depot.

By taking both approaches, the Qing army will be leaderless and can then storm the palace, issue orders in the name of the king, and put down the rebellion."

"Nonsense! Has this guy read too much Romance of the Three Kingdoms? He can even think of the Hongmen Banquet and the night raid on the arsenal?" Fukuzawa Yukichi scolded Inoue Kakugoro.

"What's more, of the three Qing army leaders, Wu Zhaoyou has been missing all day, Ma Jianzhong is not seen except on diplomatic matters, and there is only one Yuan Xiangcheng.

Even if Yuan Xiangcheng is killed on the spot, there are still two people left. What should we do then? "

Inoue Kakugoro replied indignantly, "But if we don't kill the general first, the Qing army is so powerful that the Kaika faction will be easily suppressed after they start a rebellion. Then the years of hard work the Imperial Empire has put into managing Korea will be destroyed in an instant."

"Okay, let's not talk about the Hongmen Banquet for now."

Fukuzawa Yukichi was worthy of being the person who proposed many national policies of Japan in the future. At six o'clock, he followed his student's words and continued to speak.

"However, if you want to attract the attention of the Qing army in the city, you don't necessarily have to storm the arsenal. You can set fire to the nearby area and then escape from the city to attract the Qing army to chase you.

By then, only the Korean New Army will be left in the city, and half of the Korean New Army's strength is already in the hands of the Kaihua faction, waiting for chaos to break out and then taking advantage of the opportunity to launch an uprising."

"Then let's do as you say, Master." Wu Lang sighed, then suddenly remembered something and asked, "Master, what is the current situation of the war between Qing and France?"

"The French defeated the Qing Dynasty's Fujian Navy, nearly annihilating it, and bombarded the Fuzhou Mawei Shipyard until almost all its equipment was unusable.

The French army is now besieging Keelung, Tamsui and other places. I'm afraid the Qing Dynasty will soon have to cede territory and pay compensation."

"God is truly helping Japan, Master! France is at war with Qing to the south, and Qing will have no time to care about Korea. They might even have to withdraw the remaining three battalions of Qing troops."

Wu Lang was so happy that he almost jumped up, but considering that he was about 1.5 meters tall, even if he jumped up, his waist would just be higher than the table.

"Maybe." Fukuzawa Yukichi was not so optimistic. Although he despised what the Qing army did in Korea, he felt something was wrong in his heart.

How did the Qing army quell the Korean rebellion with the help of such people? Was it Wu Zhaoyou, a gambling addict, or Ma Jianzhong, a weakling, or Yuan Shikai, who was only interested in making money?

"Goro, prepare yourselves and don't let the news leak out. Speed ​​up the transportation of firearms and explosives from the country, and contact the righteous people in the country to join the uprising."

"is teacher"

After hurriedly completing the docking, Wulang put on the iconic Korean wide-brimmed hat, came out of the house again, and walked out of the alley with a calm expression.

On the other side, Yuan Xiangcheng and Ma Xiangbo had already finished their conversation.

Ma Xiangbo, who received Western education since childhood, did not find it strange that Yuan Xiangcheng said "treason", nor did he have much loyalty to the emperor.

Yuan Xiangcheng then informed the other party of his plan to carry out ideological education for the Beiyang Incheon New Army, and the two hit it off.

It was decided to carry out political education for the new army within the framework of nationalism advocated by Yuan Shikai.

When Yuan Shikai heard that Ma Xiangbo was proficient in geometry and had served as an artillery consultant to the foreign rifle team during the Taiping Rebellion, he was so happy that he slapped his thigh.

Since he came across this time, he has been worried about cannons. He has been busy opening a business and buying and selling them just to make money to buy a few cannons.

But after buying the cannon, I found out that it couldn't fire.

Of course, you can fire randomly, but that can only scare ordinary people. It is useless on the battlefield. Not only will it not hit the enemy, it may also hit friendly forces.

The company's plan to hire foreign teachers has been delayed for a long time and no suitable person has been found.

Either they are capable or the foreigners who sail to and from Korea do not want to stay in Korea, a cold and bitter place in the Far East.

Or perhaps some unqualified foreign adventurers, seeing the high salary, lied about their knowledge of artillery, but were exposed within a few days and were kicked out of the camp by Yuan Shikai.

So Yuan Shikai officially appointed Ma Xiangbo as the political instructor and artillery instructor of the Beiyang Incheon Military Academy.

91310(zero

After the matter was done, Yuan Xiangcheng politely sent Ma Xiangbo back to his house and waited for him to find his cousin Ma Jianzhong, and the matter of Korea would be accomplished!

Chapter 7 Premonitions of Chaos

"Oh, I don't know when this day will end!" On the streets of Seoul, two Qing soldiers with long spears on their backs were patrolling boredly.

"Want to return home? Then just wait. Lord Wu Changqing has just returned to garrison Jinzhou. Unless the imperial court wants to fight a big war with the foreigners, there is no hope for us to return home!"

"How can the imperial court swallow this? I heard that the French attacked and blew up all the Fujian navy in Southeast Asia, even destroying the shipyard. If I were the Empress Dowager, I would definitely not tolerate this."

"You? You call yourself the Buddha. You're more like the old turtle, but I can see you don't understand." The older man lectured the young man next to him.

"You can only be a soldier, right? Even if the Fujian Navy is completely destroyed, will it delay the Empress Dowager's meal of 108 dishes? I'll continue to tend the garden and listen to the songs as usual."

"Brother Liu, you can't say that. Although I didn't pass the imperial examination, I did study sage books for a few years in my hometown. Is the Qing Dynasty really as bad as you say?"

"You, don't think about these family and national affairs. Think about which prostitute to go to tonight. The affairs of the Qing Dynasty are not worth our concern. Since you have no hope of passing the imperial examination, just be a soldier."