Super Dictator

Cixi squinted her eyes, thinking of a way to prevent Wei Jichen's popularity from continuing to grow. The reason why Wei Jichen suddenly attracted the attention of the whole country was because he stood out from the crowd and was defeated steadily when all the armies were in silence. It's time to win.

This naturally aroused everyone's goodwill at once. Later, because Guangxu delegated power to him and appointed him as the assistant military affairs officer, he was given the power to control the battles of the armies. He led the armies to victory after victory. , and the main credit for these victories naturally belongs to the President.

Just like the outcome of the Battle of Yushubao, although it was achieved by Wei Jichen's Wei Zijun, Feng Sheng'a dared to claim the credit because Wei Jichen belonged to Feng Sheng'a Temperance at that time. If Feng Sheng'a hadn't died in such an embarrassing and bizarre death, Wei Jichen must have He really got most of the credit.

Therefore, Cixi first thought about how to deprive him of the power to control the armies.

"Has Wei Jichen made any mistakes recently?" Cixi slowly asked Li Lianying next to her.

"Returning to Lafayette, I have never heard that Wei Jichen enriched his own pockets and deducted the soldiers' wages, nor that Wei Jichen was greedy for life and afraid of death and hesitated to move forward." Li Lianying read so much information about Wei Jichen, but she really couldn't find anything that was beyond the pale.

When Cixi heard what Li Lianying said, she became even more afraid of Wei Jichen. As a minister, you have no shortcomings at all. How can this be done? A perfect person can only be an emperor.

Cixi stood up in frustration, and two palace maids immediately stepped forward to support her left and right arms.

"This Wei Jichen has really become a saint and the savior in the hearts of the people." Cixi said to herself in a sinister tone.

But for a while, Wei Jichen had no choice but to sit down.

At this moment.

"Lafayette, Prince Rui is asking for an audience outside the palace." A eunuch came in and reported softly.

"Why is Zaiyi here? Let him come in quickly. The Ai family has not seen him for a long time, and I don't know what he has been busy with these days." Zaiyi's son Pu Jun is very popular with Cixi. By the way, She also fell in love with her niece-in-law.

After a while, Zai Yi followed the little eunuch and walked in.

"Kneel down to Lafayette." Zaiyi gave a big salute.

Cixi waved her hand lightly and asked with a smile: "Why hasn't Pu Jun come to the palace to see the Ai family these days?"

"Old Buddha, this boy has been studying hard and practicing martial arts recently, and he doesn't even have time to eat. For this, the servant blames him. He once wanted him to tell the servant eloquently, "Japanese Kou Bian, as the Aixinjueluo family "Young children, you should strengthen yourself so that you can take care of Lafayette in the future." Zaiyi imitated his son's voice so perfectly that he made Cixi laugh for a while.

"This child is very filial. He is much more conscientious than the one in the Forbidden City. The one in the Forbidden City has not come to say hello to the Ai family for three days in a row. It seems that the Ai family is old and can no longer take care of things, and the front door has gradually become deserted. ." Cixi complained casually in front of Zaiyi like an ordinary old man.

It was thought that his complaint would make Zaiyi have other thoughts in mind.

"Lafayette, the emperor is busy with political affairs, so he naturally has less time. I heard that the emperor is working hard to govern and wants to learn from the West and reform the system to become stronger." Zaiyi praised.

"Reform to strengthen the country? Humph, you are still too young and don't know the heights of the world. Throughout history, every restructuring has caused chaos in the world, but there have been very few successes. The Qing Dynasty is now suffering from internal and external troubles, and it is even more unbearable. After a lot of trouble, the Ai family has supported Li Hongzhang in his Western affairs. Isn't this a way to become stronger? This road must be taken step by step. The emperor wants to run away before he learns to walk. He will not give up until he falls down. " Ci Xi said unhurriedly, and then seemed to feel that what she said was too off-topic. She touched her nails and asked aloud: "By the way, how come you have time to come to the palace today? Could it be that it's really... Are you here to see this lonely person in the Ai family? "

Zaiyi smiled, then with a straight face, she said seriously: "Old Buddha, I came to the palace today to ask the Queen Mother to make decisions for my bannermen. Nowadays, my status as a Manchu is really declining, and it is almost not as good as that of the Han people. ”

Cixi snorted noncommittally and scolded: "Tell me the important point."

Zaiyi did not dare to sigh any more and said hurriedly: "Old Buddha, it's a long story, but I'll keep it short. This is because Wei Jichen, a young boy, has no law. When he was in Liaodong, he killed one of our banners for no reason. Man, the bannerman who was killed was Feng Sheng'a's nephew. Later I heard that Deputy Commander Feng died inexplicably because of this incident, and I don't know if it had anything to do with Wei Jichen."

Zaiyi recounted the story again with added detail.

Originally, Cixi closed her eyes and listened indifferently. When she heard the three characters Wei Jichen, her closed eyes suddenly opened. After Zaiyi finished speaking, a smile appeared on her face again. .

"This Wei Jichen is really too presumptuous. Without the order of the imperial court, he dared to kill the generals of the imperial court privately. Although he has won many battles and made many achievements, he cannot act recklessly and ignore the imperial court. If this continues , That's fine, Xiao Lizi, find the Minister of Military and Aircraft Sun Yuwen." Cixi turned to Li Lianying without thinking.

"Hey, I'm going to declare it right now." Li Lianying didn't know what the main force was thinking, and she really felt like dozing off. Prince Rui immediately sent him a pillow.

Zaiyi didn't expect that this matter would go smoothly. He got these tens of thousands of taels of silver with almost no effort.

Cixi also saw Zaiyi becoming more and more pleasing to her eyes, and said kindly: "Prince Rui, whenever Pu Jun is free, let him come to the palace more often. The palace is deserted, and there is no one in the Ai family to talk to." None."

"What Lafayette said, it is his blessing that Pu Jun can enter the palace to see you. I would like to thank Lafayette for his kindness." Prince Rui quickly knelt down to express his gratitude.

My dear, there will be more after this chapter^.^,

Things in the palace were easily spread, not to mention that Cixi didn't want to hide it at all.

Not long after, news spread that Lafayette was angry because Wei Jichen killed a Manchu leader for no reason.

The number of people in the court who originally wanted to express their gratitude to Wei Jichen suddenly decreased a lot. The wind direction above has changed, and of course it will also change below.

In the capital, at the residence of Xu Shichang.

Yuan Shikai was drinking and chatting with his allied brother Xu Shichang. Yuan Shikai, who had always been ambitious, naturally did not want to be an official in charge of logistics. No, as soon as he returned to the capital, he discussed the matter with his brother.

Xu Shichang, also known as Bu Wu, received Yuan Shikai's support to go north to take the examination. He was first elected as a candidate, then a Jinshi, and is now an editor of the Hanlin Academy. Although his official position was a big one, he was able to make friends with some of the upper echelons of the Qing Dynasty. The information was very well-informed, so he stayed in the job for several years, otherwise he would have asked for release long ago.

"Weiting, the imperial court has established a military affairs office. After the war, it intends to reorganize the old army and retrain the new army. Now the Guangxi Inspector Hu Xiefen has recruited the new army and started training in Tianjin Machang. This civil servant Hu Xiefen I have no knowledge of military affairs, so this is a good opportunity for you to comfort Ting." Xu Shichang told Yuan Shikai one by one the news he had learned.

Yuan Shikai picked up a piece of food with chopsticks, put it into his mouth, and replied somewhat depressedly: "I also know that this is a great opportunity. Unfortunately, like Hu Jiefen, I, Yuan Shikai, am also a civil servant. I don't know if the court can take notice of it."

Xu Shichang shook his head and said: "Weiting, what you said is wrong. When you were the Prime Minister of North Korea, didn't you help North Korea train its army? How can you say you don't know how to fight?"

Yuan Shikai's eyes lit up, and he shook his head in despair: "Compared to those generals who have actually been on the battlefield, I, Old Yuan, am still not qualified."

"I asked Wei Ting why you are so ignorant. As long as it works properly, even if you have not been on the battlefield personally, you will be able to become famous and gain a reputation as a knowledgeable soldier. As for whether you can train new recruits well, that's it. There is no need to worry. Although there are not many new talents nowadays, those unhappy students who graduated from Tianjin Military Academy cannot be recruited, not to mention that they can hire foreign instructors, so why worry about not being able to train soldiers? , pointed Yuan Shikai and said.

"Brother, what do you mean?" Yuan Shikai turned over and looked at him with surprise. Yuan Shikai had long seen that Xu Shichang had a lot of skills, so he sponsored him to go to Beijing to take the exam and became sworn brothers with him.

Now, he has indeed become a good counselor for himself.

Xu Shichang first took a sip of wine, then put down his chopsticks slowly, then raised a finger and said with a smile: "Weiting, you need to do two important things now. One is to become famous, because the imperial court Nowadays, we tend to use Western methods for military training. You can translate some military books from Western countries in Songyun Caotang and vigorously advocate the use of Western methods for military training, so that others will know that you are a 'knowledgeable soldier'."

Yuan Shikai's eyes lit up and he nodded repeatedly.

Xu Shichang raised his second finger and continued: "The second is to find someone you can rely on in the court. Now the Supervisory Military Affairs Office has just been established, with Prince Gong Yi and Prince Qing Yikuang as the general directors. , Li Hongzao, Weng Tongsu, and Ronglu will handle it together, so you need to find a way with these people. "

Yuan Shikai suddenly had an idea, and suddenly felt that a broad road was right in front of him.

He couldn't help but carefully weigh it in his mind. He could build some relationships with these people. After all, his uncle was also a minister in the court, so he still left some connections for him.

The first is Prince Gong. Prince Gong has been suppressed by Cixi for nearly 20 years. Recently, Cixi invited him out again because he wanted to negotiate peace with Japan. This person has long been blunted and has lost his enterprising spirit. , therefore, just treat him as a high-altitude Buddha and worship him.

It would be easier to get in touch with Prince Qing Yikuang. This person has no talent but is very greedy for money. He can get it done with some yellow and white things.

As for Prince Gong, Prince Qing, Li Hongzao, and Weng Tongsu, these people are all military ministers and busy with their affairs. It is certain that the specific affairs of the Military Affairs Department will fall on Ronglu.

Who is Ronglu? He is a close associate of Lafayette. There are also some rumors that Ronglu has some unclear relationship with Lafayette. Although he is not well-known now, he has a bright future. This person must be made friends with.

In a moment, Yuan Shikai analyzed these people in his mind, and then found the person who was most beneficial to him.

Yuan Shikai felt relieved, drank a glass of wine happily, and said with a smile: "Brother is indeed a very good person, but he is not as talented as a younger brother. I, Yuan Shikai, will definitely not forget the kindness of my brother's guidance in the future when I become successful."

Yuan Shikai was not only good at maneuvering, but also good at winning over people's hearts.

When Xu Shichang heard what he said, he couldn't help but said unhappily: "Why did Weiting say the same thing between the two families? You and I are brothers. If it hadn't been for your support in the past, I, Xu Shichang, would have been down and out. Weiting must never say that again in the future." ”

Yuan Shikai raised his cup with a look of shame and drank three cups in a row: "This is all because of my clumsy mouth. I should punish myself with three cups of wine. I hope you won't take offense."

The two drank a few glasses of wine, and Yuan Shikai sighed again and said: "The students who graduated from Tianjin Military Academy have never been on the battlefield. They talk about military affairs on paper, but they don't know if they are of any use. They still don't have those veterans who have been polished on the battlefield." Believe it or not, if I, Lao Yuan, want to train new soldiers, I must use both old and new talents."

It's not that Yuan Shikai doesn't want to find some veterans to help him, but famous people will look down on him, so Xu Shichang suggested that he recruit talents from the Military Academy.

When Xu Shichang heard what Yuan Shikai said, he suddenly smiled and asked: "Weiting, who do you think is the most famous general in the Qing Dynasty now?"

Yuan Shikai said without hesitation: "Needless to say, it is naturally Wei Jichen. I met this person in Ximu City. He was still a small general soldier at that time. Although he was somewhat famous, he was not as famous as he is now. The realm of the world.”

Yuan Shikai continued with an annoyed look on his face: "I should have regretted it before. When I heard that the Japanese were coming to attack Ximu City, I, Yuan, took the lead and did not become close friends with Wei Jichen."

Xu Shichang put down his chopsticks, smiled lightly, and said softly: "This young man is about to be unlucky."

"Oh, how can I say this? Wei Jichen has won consecutive battles and his reputation is at the peak of the sky. Could it be that the imperial court has become wary of him?" Yuan Shikai reacted immediately and asked in disbelief.

Xu Shichang nodded heavily, looked left and right, lowered his head and said, "There are rumors in the palace that Lafayette is very unhappy with him. Do you think it will end well if Lafayette is thinking about him day and night?"

Yuan Shikai said regretfully: "What the imperial court did is tantamount to destroying the Great Wall. It seems that it still doesn't trust us Han people. Although Wei Jichen and I have not been together for a short time, I can see that he is full of knowledge and is proficient in all military strategies. This is rare." He also has a very detailed knowledge of Western military law, which can be said to be unparalleled by anyone in the Qing Dynasty. "

If Wei Jichen knew that Yuan Shikai said this about him, he might be dumbfounded. He and Yuan Shikai were talking nonsense that day, and he used the knowledge of later generations to talk nonsense about the military systems and national conditions of Britain, the United States, Germany, and France. After all, Wei Jichen was much more knowledgeable than people of this era. Yuan Shikai was secretly frightened at that time, and he was constantly calling for talents, so he would drink with Wei Jichen from time to time and make friends with him.