Rebirth of the Northern Giants

I don't know when, rumors spread in Wu Yi's army, saying that there are treacherous officials in the court who want to abolish the emperor and establish a new king. Ye Shuai and several generals wrote a letter against being reprimanded, asking Wu Yi's army to stop meddling, otherwise they will be punished. Ye Shuai, who was waiting for them, stood up and explained clearly what was going on, the crowd was excited, and said bluntly, is there anything wrong with being a loyal minister?

In Yuan Shikai's army, it's another situation. Recently, there have been rumors that Yuan Shikai got too close to reformers such as Kang Youwei and recklessly interfered in government affairs. They all thought that Yuan Shikai was full and was just looking for something to do when he had nothing to do.

"Brother, where did the rumors come from? Have you found out?" Yuan Shikai asked Xu Shichang very annoyed.

Xu Shichang gave a helpless wry smile, and replied: "Rumors are spreading everywhere, and I don't know where they came from, but Gongbao should pay attention these days, and don't make any trouble."

Just as he was talking, a confidant came to report: there was a strong man outside the camp, Wang Wu, who claimed to be Yuan Shuai's old acquaintance, and came to ask to see him.

Wang Wu, Yuan Shikai frowned when he heard this name. This person is Tan Sitong's guard, and he usually stays around Tan Sitong. Why is he here?

Xu Shichang felt that things were not good. Could it be that the capital is really about to undergo some major changes.

After Yuan Shikai thought about it for a while, he asked his confidants to lead him in.

Walking like a tiger, Wang Wulong took a closer look at the person Kang Youwei relied on now as soon as he entered the door, but he saw Yuan Shikai sitting on the armchair with a frowning expression, obviously not very welcome to his arrival.

Wang Wu was worried, thinking that things might not go so smoothly, but also thinking that Tan Sitong and others in the capital were still looking forward to him, so he had to do his best, bowed and saluted: "Master Yuan! Master Xu!"

Yuan Shikai didn't move, his eyelids twitched, and he asked aloud, "Why are you here?"

Looking around, Wang Wu saw that Yuan Shikai asked the other soldiers to retreat, leaving him and Xu Shichang alone.

Without any nonsense, Wang Wu took out two distress letters from his arms and sent them to Yuan Shikai and Xu Shichang respectively.

He also secretly observed the two of them, only to see that Yuan Shikai's face was always cloudy and cloudy, and Xu Shichang was neither sad nor happy.

After Yuan Shikai finished reading, he let out a long sigh and said, "Thanks to Brother Kang and Brother Tan for looking up to me, but I, Yuan, have the will and powerlessness."

Wang Wu pretended to be angry, and provoked Yuan Shikai to say: "Why did Master Yuan say this? When Brother Wutan came, he also told me: Yuan Gongbao of Xiangcheng is loyal and unparalleled. He is a man of lofty ideals who cares about the world. He said that everything depends on the emperor. You, could it be that all of us have misjudged the person, so you hand me Wang Mouzhi to Ronglu, and you can also make meritorious service and receive the reward."

Yuan Shikai's face changed, Huo stood up, and then said with a serious face: "The emperor is the common benefactor of me and brother Tan, and it is not only his responsibility, Tan Sitong, but also my responsibility, Yuan Shikai, to save the emperor. As long as there is an order from the emperor, killing Ronglu is as easy as killing a dog. Why would I, Yuan, dare not do it? It’s just that you don’t have an order from the emperor. But with the two letters, people all over the world will think that I, Yuan Shikai, will start a rebellion Besides, I am afraid that your conspiracy has already been leaked. Recently, there have been many rumors in the army that I, Yuan, colluded with Kang Nanhai and others in an attempt to commit the following crimes. You must have acted carelessly and implicated me, Yuan. So, it is even more difficult for me to raise an army now."

Xu Shichang persuaded from the side: "Wang Daxia and Gong Baoxiu will be angry. Brother Nanhai asked me to lead troops into Beijing to rescue the emperor. This is really unwise. Now there are three groups of troops in Tianjin. Ye Zhikui and Wu Yi's army are stronger than our army. If our army If there is any action, Ronglu will send troops to come, fearing that we will not only fail to save the emperor, but also risk our own lives. This matter has to be discussed in the long term. If the emperor can personally come to my new army and command it, I believe the Tianjin army Don’t dare to disobey, it will not be too late to plan big things.”

Wang Wu snorted coldly, and said unfairly: "The emperor and Brother Tan are already in danger, so there is time to wait, you don't need to be hypocritical, if you Yuan Shikai don't go to rescue, I, Wang Wu, will go to rescue on my own."

Yuan Shikai is a person who is good at drilling camps. When he read the letter just now, he did not think about leading the army to Beijing. Once he succeeds, he will be a minister of great merit.A mature and prudent person like Yuan Shikai would not dare to do it if he was not [-]% sure, so he refused without hesitation.

Wang Wu didn't speculate, so he got up to leave, but Yuan Shikai stopped him: "Hero Wang, please stay."

Wang Wuhu stared, and said angrily: "Why, you Yuan Shikai really want to capture Wang and send him to Ronglu."

Yuan Shikai blushed, smiled embarrassingly, and explained: "Yuan has no such intentions, just to prevent the news from leaking, I also ask Daxia Wang to stay in our army for a few more days, and leave after the situation subsides, otherwise at this time Falling into the eyes of those who care about it, even if Yuan jumped into the Yellow River, he would not be able to clean himself up."

Wang Wu glared at Yuan Shikai for a while, and then sighed: "Brother Tan was smart all his life, but he was confused for a while. He really made a mistake."

After finishing speaking, Wang Wu asked Yuan Shikai to take him down and put him under house arrest.

After Wang Wu left, Yuan Shikai looked at Xu Shichang who bowed his head and said nothing, and persuaded him helplessly: "Brother Xu, I, Yuan Shikai, are now dancing on the tip of a knife. If I make a wrong step, I will fall into hell. There is nothing I can do. Although I sympathize with Kang Youwei and other reformers." , but the power in his hands is not great, and he has more than enough heart but not enough strength."

Xu Shichang said in a low voice: "Should we just sit on the sidelines and watch the emperor, Kang Youwei and others become prisoners, Gong Bao, tell me, is it possible for us to unite with Ye Zhikui's Wu Yi army?"

Yuan Shikai curled his lips, and said disapprovingly: "Don't talk about my quarrel with Ye Zhikui, even if I want to, I'm afraid it's just wishful thinking. Ye Zhikui is Li Hongzhang's man, and Li Hongzhang has always been on the side of Lafayette. I'm afraid that Ye Zhikui will be in trouble." I will give the head I was waiting for to Lafayette."

The two were speechless for a while.

The next day, when Yuan Shikai went to the governor's mansion to meet Rong Lu, Rong Lu suddenly said, "I heard recently that you, Kang Youwei and others are colluding with each other."

Yuan Shikai was startled, and quickly explained: "Go back to the governor, there is absolutely nothing to do!"

"Really?" Rong Lu said calmly and expressionlessly, "But I heard that someone beside Tan Sitong said that Wang Wu came to Tianjin to visit you yesterday."

Yuan Shikai was sweating profusely, thinking that all the matters discussed by Kang Youwei and others in the capital had been leaked. Rong Lu had already clearly understood Wang Wu's intention, so he immediately abandoned his pawn to save the car, knelt down and pleaded guilty: "Master Rong, it is Kang Youwei and others who want to entrust your subordinates." Lead the troops to go to the capital to escort them, but the subordinates have already refused verbally, and detained Wang Wu in the army, and will report to the lord today, and wait for the lord to come and deal with it."

Rong Lu was shocked when he heard the words, he just knew that Wang Wu came to Tianjin, he didn't know why, he didn't expect such a big thing to be cheated by a trick.

Volume [-] The Wind and Cloud of the Capital

Yuan Shikai was guilty of being a thief, and after being deceived by Rong Lu, he fully confessed the conspiracy of Kang Youwei and others, and bluntly said that he was going to sue the Governor-General in an attempt to obtain Rong Lu's understanding.

Rong Lu was not in the mood to listen to such things. On the one hand, he temporarily detained Yuan Shikai in the Governor's Mansion, and sent his confidants to the small station. On the other hand, he hurriedly sent an emergency telegram to the capital.

The Governor's Mansion is the center of Tianjin's eyes, and Rong Lu's frivolous actions can't be hidden from those who are interested. Ye Zhikui soon learned that Yuan Shikai was detained in the Governor's Mansion, and Kang Youwei conspired to persuade him to lead troops into the capital.

After Ye Zhikui heard it, he jumped on his feet and scolded his mother. He was so angry that he only said that Kang Youwei's success was more than failure, and he was depressed that he did not predict the success. It aroused Rong Lu's vigilance, and it was only the sixth day today, and there were still two days before the day of the incident, but fortunately, Wu Yi's army had already made preparations.

Ye Zhikui thought about it for a while, and after discussing with the generals, he decided to act ahead of time, prepare this evening, and start to seize the Tianjin ammunition depot, the telegraph office, and the Governor's Mansion to capture Rong Lu in the early morning of tomorrow, and lead troops into Beijing as soon as possible.

The powerful war machine of Wu Yi Army began to run rapidly, while Rong Lu was still shocked by Yuan Shikai's incident, busy dealing with the new army, and did not notice Ye Zhikui's change, which made Ye Zhikui heave a sigh of relief.

In the Summer Palace in the capital, our Lafayette was having a meal, and there were exquisite delicacies from all over the world on the table. Cixi used her bloody mouth to taste them, taking only a small mouthful of each, and after a few mouthfuls, then served The scarf wiped the corners of his mouth.

Seeing this action, Li Lianying immediately shouted: "Wash your mouth!"

The palace maid immediately brought up two golden basins, Cixi lowered her head, drank milk first, rinsed, and then spit into another basin.

Li Lianying hurriedly stepped forward to help Cixi up, and shouted loudly: "Lafayette drives back to the bedroom!"

The maids and eunuchs are all busy, making preparations for Empress Dowager Cixi to go to bed.

Suddenly there was a message that the eunuch ran in urgently, kowtowed and said, "Lafayette, Mr. Gang outside the palace asked to see him, saying that there is an emergency in Tianjin."

Empress Dowager Cixi raised her eyebrows, resolutely came here so late, something important must have happened in Tianjin.

Cixi said sleepily, "Let him in."

"Lord Lafayette Xuan Gang stepped forward to have an audience."

...

It was passed on one by one, and it was not long before it reached the fortitude waiting outside the door.

Hearing the shout, Gang Yi trotted for a while, ran in front of Cixi, knelt down, and shouted repeatedly: "Queen Mother, Lafayette, something is wrong, the emperor is going to raise troops against you."

Cixi was slightly startled, but seeing that there was no worry on Gangyi's face, she said unhurriedly: "What's going on, please tell me in detail."

Resolute didn't dare to hide it, but added fuel and jealousy, and said smoothly: "Lafayette, the emperor asked Kang Youwei and others to plot to abolish you. Kang Youwei and others found Yuan Shikai in Tianjin and tried to let him lead the army to Beijing. I told Lord Rong about it, and Lord Rong immediately sent a telegram back from Tianjin, and after I received the news, I hurried over to report to you, Queen Mother."

When Cixi heard that Rong Lu had controlled the situation, she felt relieved, and said with a cold snort: "The emperor's feathers are plump now, and he is thinking about how to fight against my own father, resolute, you said Aijia usually treats the emperor how?"

Gang Yi took the opportunity to say: "Lafayette, you have treated the emperor well. The emperor is not satisfied and dares to oppose you. It is better to abolish him. The king of Liduan County is the new king."

Cixi only felt a wave of anger rising from her heart, and said in a hateful voice: "Let's talk about this matter later, it was Kang Youwei and the gang of villains who encouraged the emperor to drive a wedge between our mother and the child, and turned the originally obedient and well-behaved emperor into the current picture." Appearance, resoluteness, you take my Yizhi to Nanyuan to lead an army, today, Aijia is going to the Forbidden City to ask the emperor if he thinks of me as an old woman?"

Resolute hurriedly led the order and left.

Cixi urgently summoned several confidants and ordered them to close all the gates of the capital, blockade the whole city, and began to hunt down reformers.